Creator
Helen [Muir]
Recipient
[John Muir]
Transcription
[4]
for you know how little there is to be done in my shanty, and I am happier without a hired girl. And besides Mr Van Dyke wants Mary to learn housekeeping just so long as there is no one to put extra work on her shoulders.
Write and tell me if I can ask Mrs Funk to board me. And please dont worry. Im all right - I simply want to stay that way, and have found that the present arrangement isnt going to work well.
I wish you could be here to enjoy this glorious day. Spring has really come.
We are all well. The Van Dykes ask for you.
Always yours
Helen
[1]
Daggett, Cal/
March 10 - 08
Dear Papa -
This is a beautiful sunny day in the desert, calm and warm, and I am going to ride as soon as I finish this letter.
I received the package of postcards a few days ago - thank you. My shanty will look gay when I get them all on the walls.
There is something I want to ask your advice about. Since Miss B. left I have been expected to help Mary so she wouldn't have any extra work on account of my being here. I find that this
04093
[2]
plan wont work, for tho' I dont do much, still it tires me. Neither Mary nor Mr Van Dyke see any reason why helping a little with the cooking etc. can tire me, and I dont see why either, but it does. Now dont worry thinking I have hurt myself for I havent, but I wanted to talk to you before I did. Now what I want to do, is to let Mrs Funk, the lady who lives just across the yard, board me. She understands my ca[se?] perfectly, is a nice kind woman, and a good cook. This change would leave Mary with the same amount
[3]
of cooking as she had before we invaded their household, and I would have nothing to do but keep my little shanty in order, and continue to grow fat. I have not said anything to Mrs Funk for I wanted to ask you first, but I know she will take me at the same amount we pay the Van Dykes. I feel sure the Van Dykes will understand and not think we are ungrateful. But so long as I board with them I am expected to help a little. And toward summer Mary helps outdoors with the hay etc. so an extra person here would give her a little more trouble. There is no use in my having a servant
Location
Daggett, Calif.
Date Original
1908 Mar 10
Source
Original letter dimensions: 20 x 25.5 cm.
Recommended Citation
Muir, Helen, "Letter from Helen [Muir] to [John Muir], 1908 Mar 10." (1908). John Muir Correspondence (PDFs). 5309.
https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/muir-correspondence/5309
Resource Identifier
muir17_0297-let.tif
File Identifier
Reel 17, Image 0297
Collection Identifier
Online finding aid for the microform version of the John Muir Correspondence http://www.oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/kt0w1031nc
Copyright Status
Copyright status unknown
Copyright Statement
Some letters written to John Muir may be protected by the U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.). Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by copyright beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user.
Owning Institution
Holt-Atherton Special Collections, University of the Pacific Library. Please contact this institution directly to obtain copies of the images or permission to publish or use them beyond educational purposes.
Pages
2 pages
Keywords
Environmentalist, naturalist, travel, conservation, national parks, John Muir, Yosemite, California, history, correspondence, letters
