From Edward Fitch to Dear Parents
Your welcome letters of dates of July 20 & 24 came to hand last Mon eve. The five dollars from Mrs. Claflin will enable me to pay for a hat that I bought last Apr and have not yet paid for.
The letter of acknowledgement for Aunt E you have probably given her before this time and on a week ago last Friday I sent a letter to Mr. Shaw. I sent it you see before I got your suggestions in regard to it but if I wait until I get the revolver before I write to the Dr. I am afraid he will never get a letter from me for I never expect to see it. I am sorry you sent it in the way you did and did not wait till you could send it direct to me by Mr. Pomeroy or some other one coming to Lawrence. I want it very much just now for I have just been loading up all the guns that we have got about the house and we don’t know what night we may be attacked. We shall keep every firearm well loaded at our bedside all the time. The ruffians are gathering above us on the creek and are coming down some night to sweep all the settlers in this valley, at least so they say, so that this may be the last letter you may get from me. The ruffians are now 150 strong but they are receiving reinforcements every day. Eleven went up today to join them. My neighbor Whitlock is among them & I expect nothing less than that my house will be burned if nothing worse befalls me.
Yesterday I was down on the Wakarusa to get plums and first heard of this expected foray and today I have been over to the other side of the valley. The settlers there are arming to defend themselves as well as possible. The millitary company of Lawrence and the Wakarus have both gone to Osawatomie and have been gone a week so we are not able at present to rout this force. The troops which have been camped near here have within a few days been called in to the Fort. I wrote thus far on Sunday and had not time to finish and have had none since until now.
Wed. P.M. Last night a force of Free State men went down to Franklin and attacked a lot of Pro Slavery men that were there in a log cabin. They had a cannon and a lot of muskets. Our boys succeeded in dislodging them and capturing the cannon and a large number of muskets. One of our men was killed and two more quite badly wounded. Today the troops have gone down there. Col. Lane was with them it is said. I have not seen him.
Mr. Stowell has come as far as fifteen miles this side of Nebraska line and stopped to found a town which they call Lexington. In regard to Stowell and also in answer to your letter about Wood and some other things I intend to write more fully within a few days. Just now we are very much hurried. I have recovered my health again. I was under the weather for about ten days. I sent an article which I had written for the Hopkinton Patriot to Whittemmore last Monday. If you ask him for it he will probably give it to you and it would do to read at the Anti Slavery Soc. meeting very well. When you say “I believe you already know that I am President of the Anti Slavery” you presume on my knowing considerable, considering that you never spoke of it before.
Don’t show this to any body. I write on a bed and in a hurry.
Yours truly Edward P Fitch
