Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1922-11-28
FORMER AUGUSTA MAN
II PEACE RIVER, WRITES
OF DIRE NEEDS OF FAMILY

and children. who have taken a gov
eminent claim and are endeavoring
TO make living. They have met with
Ieverses ~ have all the other pion-
GERS Of that locality as drouths have
burned up their crops. Following is
q letter which the former Augusta
man has written his sister in this
city, The letter is self explanatory.
Anyone having an interest in the
plight of these folks, many contribute
towards their aid. Sums of any
amount may be left at the Journal
Office and will be forwarded by the
eister.
Peace River, Alberta, Nov. 18th. 1922
Dear sister:
Just a few lines to say that we are
all well and hope that you are the
same. l am going to get P to write
for me because she can write faster
and better than l can so will die
tate 1t to tell you just what is up.
Well, 1t Is just like this, we are
strictly up against it and have been
looking for this to happen for a year
and l have been trying to fight
against 1t. but it seems as though
it must come and the worst of it is
we are not the only ones in this
Peace River district. the country is
settled up with poor and new begin
ners. 1t has left me where have got
to get the money somehow or be
-, -;
had a job for two weeks that paid
up a back grocery bill and I am broke
fiatter than a pancake and the worst
Of all Is there is nothing to get to do
I am going to town today to see if
I can get few groceries on tick,
tomorrow am going to start into the
bush to hunt a moose and I am not
don't get one I won't come back,
probably I can sell some of it and
have some Of it to eat.
I received letter the other day
from the man that has the bill Of sale
OF the horses, I paid him some when
Father sent me the money and gave
him the bill of sale of the third horse
so he informs me that he will have
to have the balance of the money
and interest at the end Of the 60
days or he will foreclose on me and
sell the horses.
It has just about worried us to
death and we don't know which way
to turn or what to do, but I find
out there are others that are doing
| the same thing that I am going to
ask you to do. There are papers be-
ing sent to England, Ireland, Scot
land. U. 8. A., and Eastern Canada
by people in this district to their
relatives asking for help to tide
them over from starvation, it would
make your heart ache to see people
striving so hard and still are desti-
tute and in rags and tatters.
Tell What we received his and
R-parcel and that I am going to
write him a letter when I get back
| from the hunt. We also received your
box and Pts busy ripping them up
making clothes for the kids, had to
| borrow $40 from a guy in town to
| get the box out of the express office,
1t was for the kids sake that he lent
it to me; told him l did not know
when l could pay it back to him. Now
! l don't know how 1 am going to thank
you folks enough for the clothes and
tell Father I thank him a thousand
times for that overcoat for it is a
! dandy and that the girls are going
to give him lots of kisses when they
| see him, for they found some pennies
in the pocket. Now I hate to write
and tell you this stuff but it would
| be hard for me to tell you just how
things are, but If I ever see you l
can tell you something that will open
your eyes: there are people here from
Ohio that have gone through
droughts. been burnt out and starved
| out in a number of different states.
SO do not blame it on the Dominion
| Of Canada or the flag that we are
| living under.
You might say why don't we pick
| up and get out but these old timers
say that is where they made their
mistake, so we have got to stick I'M
country has its day, everything is
fiat and if we tried to sell out we
| would not get enough to pay the
war tax on our tickets and Ma and I
actually go without things to eat to
make sure that the Riddles have
f~plenty. although we don't let them
know why We don't want this and
that. If we did not have the children
we would have to see starvation in
our faces before we would ask for a
cent and our crops were burned fat
to the ground, not even a potato did
we get, all Of our work gone and the
money 1t cost to put it in.
Just to show you, had 1t been a
good year, they get 400 bushels Of
potatoes to the acre but this year
they got nothing, stuff has to be
shipped in and the price Is high; but
we are getting pretty we'll fixed up
for clothes, Elva's sisters sent us
about SIS worth of new clothes.
Now I am going to ask you to take
a paper and see what you can get
for relief money, don't be afraid to
ask anybody. I don't care who it is.
am asking you to do this because
I know that you will do your best
and I would not ask this II did not
have to. Now this is not for Christ
mas presents 1t is to save US from
being destitute entirely, just to show
you how we are trying, when went
to dig my we'll one evening the chill
dren saw some prairie chickens so I
went out to get them, got two and
wounded one and Rand were