1854 01 23 Carrick, John S. to Wm Andews

Shortcreek  January 23^rd AD 1854

Respected Friend   I take the preasant

 oportunity of informing you that we

are all well at preasant with the exception

 of unkle John  he is still living  when that

 is said it is all that I can say for we do

 not know how soon he will be numbered

 with the dead  he has ben very bad for three

 weeks he was 21 days without a pasage

 last Thursday  Doctor------------ succeded in getting

 a pasage but it seems as tho it did not

 do him any good, he does not suffer

 very much near so much as might

 be expected we have to sit up with him

 at nights he does not sleep much, he has

 not taken any nourishment for

 two weeks except a sup of cream once

 or twice a day.  I wrot a fiew lines

 to John soon after you left us and

 requested him to write and let mee know

 how you got home  I would haf writen

 to you some time a go but I did not

 know what to write as unkle John has

 ben very much the same as when you was

 here  he does not talk so bad as he did

 we have had a very dry winter till last

 week we had a rite smart wet spell and

one of the hail storms.  We have very

 suden chainses some days warm others very

coald  this is one of the coald ones

 I have nothing more of importance to write

  only to request you to answer this

 by the return mail.  yours respectfully

                        John S. Carrick