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Laguna, New Mexico
Valencia Co.
November 13, 1897

My own true loving little wife,

Yours received and glad to hear from you. Did your father receive the $62.00 all right, my dear? I wish he would acknowledge it.

I have got one 9x13 picture finished and will have two others finished in a day and all these are saleable, two of them have these fine water jars on their heads. I think I am going to (2) get an Indian to fix up for me in dance costume with his face painted and fixed up. Their dances are very sacred and they don’t allow any white people to see them, but am pretty sure I will get one of them. I am going to paint a pretty little Pueblo Squaw with a green shawl.

The Pueblos say "sca" for no and "ha-ah" for yes. They are queer people, but nice people. There is an Indian trader store here kept by some Jews; that is where I loaf after supper. I go in the back of the (3) store when there is a fire and I have a quiet smoke and talk. The Jews are awfully nice people, so nice to me. Last eve a poor cuss came in the store and one of the Jews asked him if he was hungry and the fellow said yes. So the Jew told him to go behind the counter and help himself, which he did. They have a cat in the store and she climbs up in my lap and sings a Pueblo Indian song to me. There are only two places to go here in the evenings. One is the store and the other (4) the depot.

Tomorrow is Sunday and I don’t know whether I will work or not. I guess I will have to, to pass away the time.

I am glad your mother enjoyed her visit in Chicago. Is it cold enough to wear your seal skin, my dear? I am glad you have it as it will keep you nice and warm.

I got a letter from Captain Watson at the Crow Agency. He said an artist had been there from Milwaukee. He said he couldn’t paint as good as me. I expect a lot of (5) artists will be painting Indians now, but I will give them a good chase. So few of them can get character, not one in a thousand, and that is what it takes, most especially, with Indian pictures.

You would just fall in love with a little Indian picture have nearly finished. She is an awfully pretty little Indian girl with big black eyes and such funny decorations on. She has a beautiful jar on her head. Her name is Se-way-you-sah.

The one I have finished, her name is Si-we-ka. (6) and the other's name is Ki-you-se. I think the names are pretty.

In all their houses, there is the queerest smell from something they cook. It is all I can do to stand it but their houses are very clean. The floors are clean as can be. They have the queerest way of dressing their hair which is awfully homely.

These Indians are entirely independent of the government as they are self supporting and independent. A minister used to preach in their church on Sundays, and one (7) Sunday he said that all the people who didn’t believe in his church would die, or something to that effect. The Indians drove him out of the church and won’t allow him in anymore. Missionaries come here and are fooling around trying to convert these Indians.

White people who have lived here for 30 years say they have never known these Indians to quarrel and they live huddled together in a little village. Sometimes one house built on top of another and (8) they are the most peaceful of people that never quarrel, and the white people say here the Indians ought to go east and teach the white people how to live peacefully together, etc. And it is so. Where I have been, I have seen missionary work and it would be better for the cause if they were kicked right out of the place. They loaf around and do more harm than good. The only work they do is to draw their salary.

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

Lots of love hugs & kisses,

Elbridge