| Title: | John James Murphy to Martin Murphy, 20 June 1870 |
|---|---|
| ID | 4101 |
| Collection | Argentina - Murphy |
| File | murphy/76 |
| Year | 1870 |
| Sender | Murphy, John James |
| Sender Gender | male |
| Sender Occupation | cattle breeder |
| Sender Religion | unknown |
| Origin | Uncalito, Argentina |
| Destination | Haysland, Co. Wexford, Ireland |
| Recipient | Murphy, Martin |
| Recipient Gender | male |
| Relationship | brothers |
| Source | |
| Archive | |
| Doc. No. | |
| Date | |
| Partial Date | |
| Doc. Type | |
| Log | unknown |
| Word Count | 1404 |
| Genre | property, money, fencing land, shearing, employees, profits, sending money |
| Note | |
| Transcript | Flor del Uncalito Dear brother & friends, Your letter of 7th February 1870 duly to hand. The pleasure I would have felt has been somewhat lessened from the fact of you still being suffering from the effects of your leg. But thanks to God he has provided you with a tolerable share of patience and a good constitution, otherwise the case might be worse, for you are one of the few that have bore it out. Dear brother, my right & title to that part of Crosstown still in our possession I wish to make it over to you, to enable you (at the expiration of Cormick's lease) to arrange matters to your satisfaction. See Harvey, or whatever attorney you think best, & find out how the business can be done & if we can succeed in carrying it out by me signing the documents here. Have them sent out to me in a registered letter, or if it can be done sufficiently safe by me sending to you the power of attorney from here. But me sending you the power of attorney from here may not be sufficient to establish your right to the place as real owners & this I wish to do if it can be done legally & secure. The place is no use to me here, & if I go home I shall never need it. Consequently I want to make the business easy for you to carry out at whatever time you think it necessary to make a change. I sent sixty pounds to Brother James on the first of new year. I hope he has received it safe. I wish him to give the price of a passage to Father Reville for a young girl I sent home for sister to the girls William got out a short time ago. She lives at Mrs. Codds Cummins. I have not yet commenced the work of fencing on account of waiting the arrival of the wire from England, which I expect daily. I have made some changes as the principal of carrying out the work in place of seven wires as intended I now only put six with a ditch outside to protect better from cattle. On this principal it will cost me more to do the work & by a more minute calculation I find it will take more material to finish the job, as I have made some necessary additions to it. The whole will now stand about £2,000. It is the first job of this kind attempted to the North or West of Bs. As., & all the great Estancieros are waiting to see the result with the greatest possible interest & anxiety. Most of them seem to take the same view of the matter, that it will not pay. But when the advantages is laid clearly before them they remain as if convinced of being under an unperceived mistake. I expect & hope from the way the season is going on not to be a dollar in debt by next March, after completing the work & finishing everything to my satisfaction. I have yet to buy out about $60,000 dollars for material and about $30,000 dollars for doing the work, the best of the material. I have on the ground & paid for, so I shall not be very hard run for cash. I feel somewhat disappointed at you not having said anything about the harness, but I suppose it escaped your memory when writing your letter. There is a brother of the girl I sent for expecting to come out with her to William. John Boggan & William Edmond is expecting to start for home about the 10th of April next. I am sending some wool by John. It is not yet up to me liking & don't know if it be of any use to you. We took the wrong steps with it. We should have washed on the sheep back & to have given it much less sun when drying. I would prepare more by next year but I think it's not worth the trouble as I fear from the shortness of the people. It will be of little use for your work. The wool of this country is only adapted for fine merinos. But I did expect you will be able to make something of it. Nor papers this month, nor have I got any but once this last four months & then the papers of two mails came together. James Pender is a very good boy, very ready & willing. Patt Carr is left after being with us twelve months. He struck for rise of wages & after settling with him and knocking about the place a week or so he sent Peter Cormack to see if I take him back. But I declined doing so. Peter Cleary is the staunchest & best man I have. John Richards I will have to dismiss him. He is getting on badly. I have here at great loss by him these last two years through his want of care & attention to his business. He is scarcely a single night at home in his own house, unless when he has visitors such as himself, leaving my sheep trusting to the Almighty. Of bad disposed people last year I am short on the whole establishment about 2,000 two thousands of the number of increase I should have & which would be worth just now about $50,000 or £400. No small loss for one year. The risk of sheep being stole this last year is much more certain, as those slaughter houses through the country are ready to bug of any person that drive to them no matter how they came by the stock, & I believe this principal has been carried out on rather an extensive scale last year, & will likely continue so long as sheep bear the present bolen as no regard is paid to the matter by the authorities unless your find your sheep with the parties. But they are sure to be killed before you even miss them out your flocks. There are numbers looking for sheep to buy this year & are ready to $20 dollars per head. But cannot find any for sale. As to John Cullen, he may have expected different treatment to that received. It is not likely I could need more of him that other people in may imploy equally as good or better than he. & from the way his cousin Rossiter treated me, & knowing he would at same time be going over to where he was. I told Cullen when he came out that I had got almost turned against imploying new comers, as when they got to know anything of this business & become of service they cleared out to some other place as his cousin did. This piece of information displeased him but did not prevent him from doing likewise. He was discontented with me & was so afterwards with every place. He left the country displeased with everything in it, & the people here surprised at his childish & discontented behaviour. John Cullen is no doubt a good honest man, but only fit for home, for which I think he cried about every day he stayed in this country. Fat sheep without wool are selling at 30 dollars. The camps are splendid, such as I never seen them before. At this early season pasture fully a foot high. Cotter is I believe living in a place called Carmen de Areco, but John Boggan or William Edmond can tell more about him than I can. I sent home £10 to Father Reville, £5 to put a headstone over Ellen's mother, & other five to distribute amongst the poor of the parish for her soul. This means did not afford than to do much for her before Peter Cleary is sending £8 to his father by John Boggan. Ellen send also a little dress to her namesake, James's youngest daughter. The men are all well about here. I had a letter from Patt yesterday. They are all well out there also. Ellen join me in sending kind remembrance to you all. Hoping it will find you all in good health I remain as ever your dear & affectionate brother, John J. Murphy |
