Creator
Celia J. Galloway
Recipient
John Muir
Transcription
[1]
Portage, Wisconsin,
January 18, 1894
My dear uncle John,--
Your letters and the Express Order came the other day, and we all thank you very much for the kind New Year's remembrance.
I divided the money up and gave each one their share to get for themselves what they liked best. I thought that would give more satisfaction, and you do not mind, do you?
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[3]
We are all pretty well here,--That is, we are all up and about our work as usual, thankful that we are not seriously ill, like so very many all around us.
But there are some colds and indispositions.
None of us have yet had the Grippe this winter, and all now hoping to escape it altogether.
We have remarkable weather for this place at this time of the year.
The snow is entirely gone, and it is warm and mild, like spring.
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[3]
We have had a great many dark, gloomy, misty days. For days we have not seen the sun until today. And so there are numerous cases of Grippe, Pneumonia, and all kinds of lung troubles.
I'd rather it would be 20[degree symbol] below, all the time, for I dearly love cold frosty weather,--snapping, cold days when the snow crunches under your feet and your breath almost freezes solid in front of you! That's what I like, and then is when I enjoy living.
These raw, damp, chilly days, made us
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[4]
feel gloomy and cross,--and life is a burden instead of a delight.
Anna and baby Kenneth have been with us since before Christmas. Kenneth is getting to be a big, bright boy, and is very good.
His eyes are getting bigger and blacker, and everything he sees is a perfect wonder to him.
I've been teaching him to make some faces; I might be in better business, might I not?
But then, you see, I get so tired of that stupid little box, down
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[5]
at the store, where I am shut up all day, that when I get home I must give vent to my spirits some way; and ,as I may not make faces myself, why I have to teach Kenneth to do so.
I suppose you are all taking in the Mid-Winter Fair, and I wish that I, too, might come and see,--not only the Fair, but California.
But wishes are vain, and a waste of time. What is the use wishing for that which one knows very well they may not have!
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[6]
I really am beginning to think that I cannot endure the store very much longer; but will have to go back to my old love,--That of cramming arithmetic into poor, defenseless little urchins,--filling little heads and little hearts, and keeping little hands out of mischief, and little feet from getting into forbidden paths. After all, I like that best.
Well, uncle John, I think you once more for your kind gift.
Love to aunt Louie, Wanda, Helen, and any of the other
01770
Location
Portage, Wisconsin
Date Original
1894-01-18
Source
Original letter dimensions: 22.5 x 14 cm.
Recommended Citation
Galloway, Celia J., "Letter from Celia J. Galloway to John Muir, 1894 Jan 18." (1894). John Muir Correspondence (PDFs). 6806.
https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/muir-correspondence/6806
Resource Identifier
muir08_0057-let.tif
File Identifier
Reel 08, Image 0057
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
4 pages
Keywords
Environmentalist, naturalist, travel, conservation, national parks, John Muir, Yosemite, California, history, correspondence, letters
