| Title: | Alexander Robb, Nicola Lake to his father, [Dundonald?]. |
|---|---|
| ID | 2299 |
| Collection | Irish Emigration Database |
| File | Robb, Alexander/20 |
| Year | 1873 |
| Sender | Robb, Alexander |
| Sender Gender | male |
| Sender Occupation | farmer |
| Sender Religion | unknown |
| Origin | Nicola Lake, British Columbia, Canada |
| Destination | N.Ireland |
| Recipient | unknown |
| Recipient Gender | male |
| Relationship | son-father |
| Source | T 1454/6/9: Copied by Permission of Dr J. C. Robb Esq., M.B.E., M.D., M.C.H., Cambourne Park, Belfast. |
| Archive | The Public Record Office, Northern Ireland. |
| Doc. No. | 9405201 |
| Date | 08/07/1873 |
| Partial Date | |
| Doc. Type | EMG |
| Log | Document added by LT, 09:05:1994. |
| Word Count | 986 |
| Genre | |
| Note | |
| Transcript | Nicola Lake July 8th 73 [1873?] My dear Father Last mail but one brought me three letters from home, one from Eleanor one from Susanna and one from yourself. I need not tell you how much I was pleased to hear from yourself directly once more but I suppose it is my own fault that I do not hear oftner [more often?] as I know that I have been writing to my sisters much more regularly than I have to you. You ask me my dear Father whether I ever think of home? If you had been as many years as I have been away from home you would not have thought it necessary to ask the question. Since the day I left Dundonald until now, there has never one day or scarcely an hour passed but I have thought of home and the dear ones who live there. Situated as I am, in a wild country, with nothing but mere acquaintances around me, is it not natural that my thoughts should continually revert to those places where I was once so happy and that my heart should cling to the people whom I love and who I believe love me perhaps much better than I deserve. For your kind offer to assist me in case I should think of coming to see you, I can only say that I am deeply grateful and if I can manage it at all I will try and avail myself of it. I think it would make me feel ten years younger to see you all once more I had intended to try and come home a year from next fall, and with the assistance you offer me I have no doubt that I could manage to do so, but for one thing. The fact is that I am afraid I will have go to Victoria this Winter. I have not been so well as usual these four or five months and I am beginning to think that I want change of air. I have now lived eight years in this high altitude and I think that I want a sniff of the salt water to put me to rights again. Victoria is the Capital city of this country it is situated on the sea side [seaside?] and enjoys a beautiful climate and I have no doubt but a month or so down there will make me all straight again. The only thing I am sorry about is that it will take money which I had intended for a better purpose. I mean I meant to see you with it. I am almost sorry that I have told you anything about this matter as it may make you uneasy and I can assure you there is no ocassion [occasion?] for feeling so, as I am actually not sick. I only feel not so robust as usual. Times are very dull here this Summer and farm produce when it comes to market is likely to be very cheap, even if it can be sold at all which I greatly doubt. We were expecting the Canadian Pacific Railroad would be started this Summer which would have made things quite lively, but the way things look now it is not likely to be started for a year yet if then and every thing [everything?] has fallen in consequence. Bullocks which last year would bring twelve pounds cannot now be sold for eight the few which are sold fetching not more than two pence halfpenny per pound dead weight. This is quite different from the price you mention in your letter, but they would pay very well here even at that figure if we had only a ready sale. It costs little or nothing to raise cattle here and one can keep an almost unlimited numer [number?] Lots of people who started ten or twelve years ago with only a few head of stock have now from one to four thousands each. It would do you good to see the stock in this valley now. Not that the land is anything extra but the Condition is surprising and the abundance of feed makes them grow very large. I sold a two year old bullock last year which weighed between 900 and 1000 lbs of beef sinking offall [offal?], and I never fed him one pound of anything from the day he was calved. We have had a very backward Season for so far. Very cold, and what is more surprising a great deal of rain. This last week however has been fair and very warm and everything is growing very fast The grass is better than I ever saw it and when I tell you there is about seventy miles long and ten or fifteen miles wide of it for a few hundred cattle to run over you will agree with me in thinking they are not likely to starve to death, mine now can scarcely walk they are so fat. I mean to start haying tomorrow. The hay we get here is a natural grass which we call rye grass it is however nothing like the grass of the same name at home. It grows very tall from 5 to 8 or 10 feet high and it is awful hard work to mow it as the stems are almost as thick as pipe shanks and very hard and tough. It makes pretty good hay when cut in Season and keeps cattle in the winter even if not cut, as the stems are so strong that the snow cannot break it down and cover it Tell Susanna that I have not been getting any papers these last few weeks and that I am going to write to her and scold her about it. Supper is just ready so I must finish Give my love to John Eleanor and all at home and believe my dear Father your affectionate son Alexander Robb |
