Carolina watchman. [volume] (Salisbury, N.C.) 1871-1937, 1913-07-16
AFTER TWENTY YEARS.
J. \. Mclaughlin Thought 10 Have Passed
Away Still Lives.

Dear Brother:
Your letter received two weeks
ago, also card this morning. Was
sorry to hear of so many deaths
and your bad health. Hope this
will find you etter, 1t leaves me
in fairly good health. Though l
am old and of little use l am IN
good cheer and perfectly content
ed, You wish me to come back
to live with you. Surely l would
love to do 80 and possibly IN a
future day l will be able to come
and see you and all of the other
people I knew before 1 left there,
especially the young relations l
received letters from this morn
ing they say 1 know nothing
about. If / should ever return to
North Carolina, there are dlt1oul'
ties I would have to labor under
that possibly you are not aware
of. In the first place l could not
unload about 1876 acres of land
and step on it and call it my
home, neither could I buy it and
pay for it if you or some one had
it to sell. 1 have earned plenty
in my time, I have worked hard
all of my life. but misfortune,
bad management and travelling
has kept me down. l never want
ed much and at one time l thought
I was all right for good with IL
acres and q cabin that would keep
out rain and cold. but at last it
left me and l can only walk by it
now and look at it in another
mans hands. / want you to cure
yourself up, fix up your business,
and if you can figure any way for
me to earn my expenses on the
old home, or any of your belong
ings we will talk about me CROSS.
ing the continent, but never let it
come in your mind that l want
something from some u who
owes me nothing. ] want plenty
of their friendship. Yes l want
friends, not enemies, and l hope
we are all friends.
The reason why I didn't write
III 80 long was because l was try
ing to fit myself with something
and be able to write satisfactorily
one time in my life. but when I
was broke 1 made up my mind
never to let anybody know what
became of me OF course l knew
you thought | was doing wrong by
not writing. Many times during
the 10 years Of silence l thought
how good it would be to hear from
she old land of my birth. You
cannot realize how much good it
would be to me to see the old
house and the oaks in the front
yard which 1 suppose are dead long
ago. Everything around the old
place is fresh in my mind as it
was IS years ago. 1 can Q you
and everybody else just as 1 could
when l left, but the rising lads
that l am receiving letters from
is what seems curious to me. They
have grown up to manhood since
1 left and 1 can only imagine
what they look like. I received a
letter from Fred same time / did
yours. one from Allen Worton,
Ethel Goodnight and T. E.
Goodnight. These oame today e.
P. M. told me he thought he had
sent one back, but was not sure.
All the children seem to be intel
ligeLt and modern in every re-
spect. If you see them tell them
[ sure will blunder out a letter to
them in a few days. I had no
idea that they would have 80 much
respect for me as they seem to
write. Ethel writes me q good
letter, says she is the baby, but if
[ could see her I would not think
her much of a baby. Says she is
10, you remember it ia 10 years
last January l wrote you the last
letter. l was at Celia Bend, Arl-
zonia, one poor cactus and salt
water country I never want to see
again.
After this l will write you or
some one no matter where [ Am so
that you will know of me. Elk.
plain Bakers Mill, I don't know
it. Tell me something about
Bingham Hart and Harvey Nc.
Lane. also James Seamon and