June 25, 1860

Heared from Maw and Paw again.  Every one is doing good.  
Becky had herself a little boy.  They named him Ezra.  
Paw said that the ten acres of cotton they planted by the 
creek done real good.  With prices the way they are, he 
was able to lay some money aside for hard times.  
Everyone there is talkin about the national election.  
Sentiment is real strong against Lincoln. They're calling 
him the black republican, and the ape.  Looks for shore 
like Georgia will leave the union if he's elected.  I wish 
Paw would send Will to work with me, but he'll most likely 
keep him on the farm to help him.

Wrote a letter to Elizabeth.  In a few months, I'll have 
enough land paid for to farm.  Once I finish the cabin and 
get a few acres cleared, I'll send for her and we'll get 
married.  I'd rather have her here if the south seceeds.  
Texas is pretty far away from the deep south.  It'll probably 
be safer here if fighting starts.

I am about finished with the cabin.  Put it on a hill next 
to a nice crick. There's a place by the crick fer a good garden.  
All I really have to do is build a rope bed and a little furniture, 
hang the doors and I'm finished. One good thing about being the 
overseer for the Colonel is that one of the slaves is a fair 
blacksmith.  Instead of hanging the doors with leather hinges, 
he's making me some real iron hinges.  Doin some little ones for 
the window shutters too.  I took some advice and built the house 
so's it can bedefended against Indians.  All of the doors and 
shutters have shooting ports built into them.  We don't have much 
problem here, but it pays to be ready for some.  Next week I'll 
start working on a small barn and chicken house. I work there on 
Sundays, since my job with the Colonel's cotton plantation takes 
most of the time and I have to stay there except on the sabbath.  

I hope God will forgive me for working on the sabbath, but it's 
the only time I have to do for myself.  Some of my friends in the 
militia come over and help Sunday afternoons.  Otherwise, I 
wouldn't be as fer as I am.  When Igit finished, I hope the Colonel 
don't blame me fer quittin as overseer.  I hain't a hard job, but 
I don't much care fer it.  Lately, some of the slaves have been 
restless.  A lot of abolitionists coning around trying to spread
trouble has stirred up some problems mostly with the young single 
buck slaves.  There hasn't been any slave revolts like in the south, 
but some slaves have run.  One of the better field hands ran from 
the plantation. Darn fool was caught of course.  Couldn't read, 
didn't know which way was which.  They found him half way to 
Schulenberg headed west.  Ain't nothin west of there but Indians 
and desert.  If he had gone north, he'd have to go thru The Indian 
Territory.  Even if he got north, he don't know nothin but croppin 
and plantin cotton.  He'd a starved to death.  

Wish the yankees would but out of our business.  They're just 
troublemakers.  If they'd leave us alone, we'd get along just fine.  
Made me sick, but we put the boy in shackles and whipped him as an 
example to the others.  I don't ever want to do that again.  He'll be 
OK, but that paddle bruised him pretty bad.  Don't ever want slaves of 
my own even if I could afford them.  I can be just as happy with what 
me and mine can raise with our own hands.