| A letter from Arthur to his brother Maurice Witts |
Oneel 7.6.0 Wee Waa 15 March 1907 My dear old Maurice Yours 0f the 30th June just arrived not a very hurried Jaunt Think you, but never the less very welcome to me. Am always so pleased to hear of your doings, and no doubt you have luck. To have your house smashed is hard lines, but to lose your box, port and bed your only comfort is what I call rotten luck, but you seem cheerful with it all and just as well too whining would do no good and as Jimmy Soaber would always say try the b----d again. Your trip to Mab�s or rather the return was not all that could be desired- when a chap is to sleep on bamboo poles his luck smells a bit. I reckon what a fine specimen of lout you must have looked. Shirt with one sleeve, trousers with one pocket, shoes tied together and very much draggled- What would Mab have though if she had seen you then. How is the dear little girl? You have a fine number trees in now if only they were leaving, when as they start to bear. If you could only get your produce away easily and freely what a difference it would make. we have little trouble getting ours away now. A platform a mile and a half from the doorstep and about the same from the woolshed, but the trouble is to get something to send away- Ewes will breed two lambs a year but only one fleece, and there is nothing else to send but the carcass. We have about 9,000 wethers to send down during the winter the are very fat and should be really prime by July - have had great seasons of late and this summer beats all. Have had 2 � inches of rain this week just as the feed began to dry a bit and just in time for 22,000 Ewes that have commenced to drop, so they should give good account of themselves. Should have fifty or sixty thousand to shear next August and all should cut great fleece-- I am looking out hard for a management still. It is rotten not to be able to get a home of some sort and settle down. Have had a chance or two but with people I would not go to- Good old jack Mc. is ever on the alert and has a place in view now in Qland. He has written down below to find out particulars. It may be a rotten place who knows. I could have the Parson�s cottage here as it is empty but you know old lad that, that is not my style if I can possibly as better bring my dear old girl to a small cottage and share, �150 p a and keep. it may be all right for some but it is not what I wish to bring my wife to. I thought one time that I would have the management here but the place is very deeply involved and it will not pay Mr. Q. to retire and pay a manager while he can still do it- If we had a few more of these bonser years, say three or four, then he may retire but you know that, if, is an ugly word to get rid of. Mr. Q advises me to stay try and get a place of my own, but one with such limited means has to start in such a small way that it is rather a steep ladder to climb for a man of my age. No doubt if I had bought a small place three years ago I would have coined money as all have done about here for the past few years. It is a wonderful country in good seasons but a b- in bad ones- Harry is doing well at Gunning and poor old Ned is doing very well at Surveying, has more work that he can do of course. You know he has leased Jumble and has rented the opp. 1,000 acres only, and had all that burned out a while back. Just managed to save the house, but they got heavy rain shortly after and any amount of feed soon came. Fred is a queer Curs and lives all his time about Jumble etc. droving and such like and never goes over to see his wife. I fancy I see myself away from my wife for months at a time. Not if I know it. Derby at last joined the benedicts and I suppose will soon have a tribe like the rest , Mrs. Fred has one-- Great Amateur Races Walgets- 10th and 11th April,. A very big affair I believe this year, Girlie Molly Dale (Narralie) Cousins, are to go down. Nell Druits another cousin is or will be back in Walgets for them. Nell can�t get on with her step mother too well so spends most of her time away. Don�t know that I shall go to Walgets- I want to go up to Tenterfield in June and don�t want to be away to much, but goodness knows I go away little, rarely leave Oneel I had three weeks with my girl and her people at Tenerfield at Xmas- I think I told you in my last letter all about the holiday. Very few of the family at home now- One married, two in Tasmania and two at school in Sydney, only five youngest here, and rotten little cows they are- They appear to me to get worse every week, one of the little cows comes in front of visitors etc. and catches me by my diddles and says. Is that your knife. She has done it several times. Will send Ray�s last letter to you so you can see how things are over that way --- Good by old lad and very best of luck be yours always is my sincere wish of Your affectionate brother Arthur |
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| Transcribed By Paul Jones From the Handwritten pen and ink-- I have tried to keep to the original format and terminology- The original script was written on both sides of a fine rice letter paper- and with the use of pen and ink, the script on the reverse side found its way through the paper over the years, combined with the fact that the gentlman concerned wrote his (w,u,n,m) and (o,v) and (r,e) looking the same, it was difficult to interpret |
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