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Laguna, New Mexico
Valencia Co.
November 10, 1897

My own true loving little wife,

I will have a 9x13 picture finished tomorrow and I know that if I should exhibit it in Chicago I would sell it right off for $200.00. Hereafter I am going to charge $200.00 for the 9x13 instead of $75.00.

The picture will have finished tomorrow is a little girl fixed up as the Pueblo Indians do, which is altogether (2) different than any other Indians have seen. She has got a beautiful water jar on her head. I have another picture half finished of another girl, she had some work to do, so will finish it later.

Have got quite a number of Indians engaged ahead to sit so probably will be here a month. I never slept so in my life as I do here. I go to bed at quarter of eight and don’t wake up until half past seven. I wish you could see the Indian village my dear. I go up there every day after (3) work. It is the most foreign looking place I ever saw. The houses are all one story, and some of the houses are built on top of another and they use a ladder to get in them. They are perfectly flat on top as they have very little rain here. The houses are built of rock and then plastered over with Adobe (mud) but it dries as hard as stone. Then on the inside they plaster it with some white powdered stone and it is as white as snow. The floors are as hard as stone and they have (4) Navajo rugs on the floor. The houses are just like they are in Zuni and the Indians have little bits of donkeys to carry things for them. It is an awfully artistic place. All around the country here they have these villages. When I first went up there the children were scared to death of me and ran like rats. They made me think of them so little. Some little kids 6 & 7 years old will have a baby on its back carrying it around. The next time I went there I took (5) some candy with me and showed it to them and you should have seen them. They swarmed all around me and followed me all over.

It is a sight to see them carrying water in these jars on their heads without touching the jars with their hands. I am going to try and get some of the Indian men to sit for me, painted up, and I think I can managed it before I leave. But the girls are so interesting that I haven’t tried to paint the men.

The Indian woman where I sleep is as nice as she can be. (6) She is always a fussing around. I have a nice bed to sleep in with everything so neat & clean. I get my meals in an Indian house. Some white people live in half of the house and Indians in the other half, but I have nice meals.

I can buy these beautiful large jars here decorated for 50 cents. Don’t you remember the one Uncle Ed showed us, my dear, down in his room. These are the same and I can buy Navajo rugs, genuine, for $3.00 small xxx, but they are worth $15.00 in Chicago or more.

I am (7) all over my cold and indigestion. I drink hot water every night for supper. The climate is beautiful here, the sun shines every day, very seldom see a cloud in the sky. The evenings are cool but fine to sleep. I have no fire in my room and I sleep like a log. I have taken a lot of photos of the Indian village here.

Well, my dear, I will close now and go to bed. Good night darling. Your own true loving husband.

Lots of love hugs & kisses,

Elbridge