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Keams Canon, Arizona
Jan 3, 1898

My own true loving little wife,

Yours received and glad to hear from you. Received the pocket book & six hand kerchiefs but not the calendar yet. Much obliged for them.

Mr. Keams lives 11 miles from here and is an Englishman. I eat with a German who lives near where my studio is. I have finished one picture of the Snake Dance costume, showing all the figures, & tomorrow start another different Snake Dance costume, and while I am painting the head he doesn’t eat or drink anything that day. (2)

I have so many Indians engaged ahead can’t keep track of them. The other day I was on the Mesa and there was four stark naked little boys, each one with a rope tied around his waist and four Indians driving them as though they were playing horse. There were four musicians, three singers, and one fellow with big drum. They went from house to house and a squaw would come out and throw ice water on each boy. They told me they did that so it would either rain or snow soon.

These are such queer people a painter could come here and stay all his life and never exhaust the subject. One could write a long (3) story on how the Moqui farm. This place is more than 6,200 feet high, more then a mile and this high altitude doesn’t agree with me very well. Makes me very nervous and a little touch of rheumatism. So many here have it. xxx xxxxxxx feel well, have a good appetite, and sleep well. I will be here anyway two months and maybe more.

It would take me a year just to paint the costumes they have for their Gods. There are 100 of them and all different.

I received $50.00 from Harper’s Weekly for the White Swan picture. When I see White Swan again I will give him $5.00. He is such the nice good fellow.

Well my dear I must (4) close. One gets so awfully careless about his dress & looks out here. I look like thunder, long hair, shoes haven’t been shined since left Chicago, wear hardly any clothes or hat, and my beard is generally a week old. Tomorrow morning am going to commence and take a cold sponge bath every morning. Saturday night & Sunday is lonesome for me as I am the only one here, but I have a lot of Indians always hanging around.

Good night darling. Your own true loving Husband.

Lots of love, hugs & kisses,

Elbridge