home with is to dinner; Ross is looking very badly he is a little dyspeptic, and looks sallow, and billious, he says he would like to write to you, but does so little writing the he neglects it from time to time: they have all gone up to Austins now, and I am improving the quiet by writing; but here they come back, and will start home in a few minutes and I must stop and talk to them a little; Mother is going down with them to stay three or four days.  Margery is very sick, they considered her quite dangerous yesterday; they fear she is going into consumption; they have gone over to Aunt Sarahs;  O yes Cousin Cary Wilson is up, he is hunting a farm, sold his own for 20 per acre; land down where he lives is much lower than here, we look for him up tomorrow, he is at Scotts. Monday Evening, Oct 24th  The duties of the day are over and my thoughts are with my loved one far away, this as usual has been a busy day; but my health is so good that I can stand a hard days work as well as any of the girls; O! twould do you good to see me now.  I am looking so hearty more so than you ever saw me.  I have so much color, and such an appitite, I tell you I am a real Garrett in that particular, if in no other:  Well Cary Wilson has not come yet. Gum McCall went up this morning to Desmoines, (he is a juror in the Supreme Court U.S.) he said Cary was going to look 'round down there for a farm; I believe he has not a very large capital to invest; there were some land buyers out here today, from Indiana, they are coming out day after tomorrow to look at the farms, those springs of ours will be a great attraction to that place now, nearly all the wells in the county have failed; Austin has two that he has always thought to be dry weather proof, but I heard him say today that he would have to have water soon.  It would require a great deal of rain effect the wells now especially deep ones.  If you could be here yourself a few weeks you could do more towards selling it than Austin can, he has a great deal to attend to, and does the best he can I think.  He and Harriet are both very anxious for me to stay with this winter, or till you come home if I wish but I would rather stay here and Mother and Emma both insist so hard on it too.  Libbie is going up to Dacotah or wherever Ellison is this, and I presume Mary Jane will stay down at McClains this winter, so there will be a small family here.
