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St. Xavier, Montana
July 09, 1897

My own true loving little wife,

Received two letters from you yesterday and glad to hear from you. I couldn’t of lived in the Ft. at Ft. Yates as I had no letter to anyone there and had no invitation to live with anyone. I would rather live outside a fort any way. You ought to see the Indian I am painting he is stark naked except a breach cloth on and his body is painted red, face and all, and is (2) tattooed blue. He has the most beautiful feathers on and fur. I came very near not getting any of the Indians to sit for me among the Crows. I wrote you that I had started a picture at Ditch Camp & didn’t finish it on account of the Indian having to go away. The Indians here saw the picture and I had engaged an Indian to come before the unfinished picture was seen. The Indian didn’t show up. Pretty soon Mr. Campbell came in and ask me why I didn’t finish the Indian had started at Ditch Camp. Told him because the Indian had to go home but I would finish it later on. He says do you know what these Indians have just told me? (3) He says they held a meeting last night about you and said the reason you didn’t finish the picture was because the Indian wouldn’t sit any longer. They say that you take these Indian pictures east and you throw poison on the face of picture and the minute the poison touches to face, the Indian who sat for that picture drops dead 1,000 miles away. I thought he was joking, but found out he wasn’t. Well I says, what can I do to make them believe I don’t do that and can’t do any such thing? He says, I would get them together and talk to them. Mr. Campbell speaks good Crow and the Indians have confidence in him. So he (4) says to them, now you Indians have known me for nearly 20 years. Have I ever deceived you or wronged you in any way? They said no. Now he says, Mr. Burbank is a good man and he likes you and wants to paint pictures of you. It is true he does take these pictures east and he sells them to people that like the Indians and it does you no harm, but good. I wouldn’t allow Mr. Burbank on the place a minute if he was a bad man, etc. and finally the Indians commenced to sit. You can just see how careful one has to be, they are simply grown up kids. I will close now and write some more later on. (5) Sunday, July 11, I finished the Indian in red this morning and commenced to paint the cutest little papoose about three years old. Her hair and eyes are jet black and her mother painted her face and where her hair it parted is red. She has a lot of Indian beads and shells around her neck. Her name is “White Shell”. After I finished her Chief Pretty Eagle sits for me. He has a fine war bonnet and buckskin jacket trimmed with beads and ermine. Have several Indians engaged ahead to sit one will have his body painted green, another yellow, and another blue and tattooed and feathers etc. to match. The chiefs have two costumes one a dance costume and another a war costume. Next week a chief comes (6) 25 miles to sit for me. He has a fine costume he was here this morning and took something off from his head and put it in my hat he wanted me to wear, so I am. I couldn’t be in a finer place for my purpose so many Indians live nearby and all anxious to sit and Mr. Campbell who am stopping with, is such a nice man he does the housework makes bread. You ought to see the disorder the house is in. He only makes the bed when he changes the sheets. When his wife returns she will have a lot of work to do. He is such a good natured fellow and I tell you a brave fellow. The Crow Indians are such nice fellows (7) so jolly and good natured and so patent. I feel sorry for them. They have to put up with so much xxxxxxx. they know it all right, and they say some day they well the pushed a little too hard and then there will be trouble with the trouble they had with the Cheyenne’s lately was on account of some fool white people. the Cheyenne’s are different Indians from the grows they won’t stand so much they have been fighters for years. Tell Will the Indian’s picture he sent lives near here and is thought a good deal of. Also there is fine shooting here principally prairie chickens they shoot them by the barrels so they say and a good place for ducks in season. (8) Mr. Campbell has a nice crow kitten I pet her every day. She comes in my room and gives a little Crow whine. a Crow Indian came to see minutemen was at Ft. Sill when I was there he was with the Apache Indians. the this is an awfully lonesome place as quiet and still as can be. The mail comes by wagon three times a week but I am so busy the time goes fast. It is 75 miles from a railroad. there are only about six white people here. I go around looking just as they do. expect to be here several weeks as couldn’t be in a better place. If you haven’t received the $50.00 from Uncle Ed my dear write him to send it to (9) you. I got a letter from him yesterday and he said when I wanted any money to let him know. before I left Chicago bought a lot of cheap pretty handkerchiefs for Indians also a lot of those paper dolls that are already cut out each ball as for addresses and hats and they can be put on and taken all. I give them to the little Indian goals and it uses them. If you want to get a lawn the good side of an Indian just give his children presence the little growth is set for minted a I paid the mother and she gave the money to the little goal and told her to buy what she wanted so she did the Indians are so fond of their children and love (10) them so much they do all they can to let them have a nice time. The Crows and Sioux are very sociable among themselves if a half dozen or any number are together and one of them lights a cigarette he takes a puff or two and each Indian takes a few they the pass it around and in their Tipis and they sit down in a circle. One gets a pipe passes it to the other and fills it and he passes it to another and he lights it and each takes a few puffs and they talk, laugh, and joke. They are great jokers at the dance sometimes an old cuss would be dancing all by himself (11) and while the rest would laugh and holler at him. the Indians are like me. they want me to live with them. It is a funny thing but all these Indians have such fine taste in fixing them selves up. At the war dance an old squaw would decorate a horse just fine with bead work and won a little saddle made for the occasion made of buckskin and beads for their child. Then the child would have won a beautiful buckskin dress trimmed with beads and elk teeth. If the child was too small they would tie them on and then give the reins to the child and let her go. One can’t help but like the Indians, they are so good and kind (12) and just as honest and square as can be, and they we’ll do more for a dollar than any person on earth. They will ride 50 miles to do a favor for nothing and when one is good to them they never forget it. I have got some mighty good friends among the Indians. White children like the Indians because they are kids themselves and play with them, go horseback riding together, and lay in their tepees and sing songs etc. I saw a Mrs. Burke in Chicago. She said she was going to New York to live. Well darling I must close. Goodbye darling.

Your own true loving husband,

Elbridge
Lots of love hugs & kisses.
P. S. you had better address your letter to Saint Xavier, Montana.