From William Wright   March 11th 1843.

Cincinnati | March 11th 1843.

My dear Jack

I wish I was possessed of a small sprinkle of your genius that I might convey to you in a proper garb the pleasure I experienced on the receipt of your always but now doubly dear letter.¹ It was new life to me to know that the same emotions feelings and generous confidence still existed between us unimpaired by either time or distance and the same thoughts and actions which bound us in early years are still cherished and blooms as freshly in our bosoms as our native Shamrock² upon its native earth. I hope they will know no blight upon this side the grave and I trust we shall meet again in those blest abodes where no such thing as change is known. You seem to think that I have looked on the wrong side of the page of our boyhood and that I had passed over all the mishaps, troubles, and perplexities of that period unheeded. Now with all due deference to your opinions, I must say that it would be a great piece of folly in me to have done the contrary, for the dark side of the present is quite enough without ransacking the past for perplexities. I hope we may always experience the same pleasure in looking at the actions of our manhood that we do in beholding those of our earlier years. You also seem to imagine that the scenes and employments of our young days would not have the same attractions for us now that they had then. Granted, still Master Tyndall you must not think that I am either incapable or indifferent of enjoyments of that sort. Perhaps its because I am the father of a family that you would make the insinuation. But I say married men against old batchelors any day. You may regard that epithet lightly, but you had better look sharp; you have numbered nearly as many years as I have and have not much time to lose. Do not pass by this little bit of advice but take advantage of it and profit by it. One reason why I wish to get you in the traces is that already I am ahead of you in regard of family and if you do not make extraordinary haste I shall lessen the chances of your overtaking me. A wee bit about this gossoon³ of mine. He has taken pretty much after your style tall and lovely as a lark and oftener in mischief than any other of his age I ever saw, in fact a real harum-scarum chap and if his mischief keeps pace with his years and stature I do not know what I shall do with him. So I find you have had your share of

accidents by flood and field

of hair breadthscapes⁴

I am glad you had so providential an escape from your visit to the wreck of the illfated Killarny.⁵ The terrors of the land are nothing when compared with those of the mighty deep. You had difficulties to encounter by land also, I wish I was near you when you were on that shooting scrape and I would have slipped a corn dodger⁶ in your fist. Oh its fine receipt for allaying those unpleasant feelings which one experiences when the stomach is empty, particularly when accompanied by a slice of raw pork. I was sorry to see that them ere gulls gull’d you.⁷ But if you had borrowed my Kentucky rifle⁸ it would have made them keep at a respectful distance – they are death on anything within 200 yards, those who are expert with them can take down a squirrel at that distance without making a hole in the skin that is by shooting them through the eyes. I have had some very pleasant days out shooting and fishing last fall. Pigeon shooting is very pleasant at that season of the year. They arrive in immense quantities to feed upon the Beech nuts and stop here some two or three weeks and sometimes stop as long as 6 or 8 weeks according as the weather holds, if it sets in cold they immediately take their departure for the South I have been told by persons in whose veracity I can rely that some seasons they arrive in such numbers that at night when they roost it is very dangerous to travel through in consequence of the falling of the limbs of trees borne down by their weight. I suppose you would like to hear a little about Cincinnati, its situation commerce &c. It is bounded on the South by the Ohio river and encompassed on North East and West by hills, so that it is situated somewhat like the pit of a theatre, the river occupying the place of the stage. The leading streets run nearly due North and South crossed by others which run East and West. The streets are numbered (as almost all the new cities in States are) from No 1. up in numerical order, so that it is easy for a stranger to make out the place he wants without much enquiry. Cincinnati being the largest city West of the mountains,⁹ it is the great depot for supplying North parts of old Kentucky, Indiana Illinois territory of Iowa and South part of Ohio with manufacturies of all kinds, receiving and shipping the produce of these States which they receive in return for these manufactures. And as for pork why we beat the world all hollow. Imagine, if you can 300,000 hogs slaughtered in this city in 2 or 3 months as they are obliged to confine the year’s killing to the cold season. Its astonishing what a number of hands are employed in this one business Coopers employed the whole year making Barrels and kegs, The number of light boats¹⁰ which it gives employment to conveying it to N. Orleans¹¹ and returning laden with the productions of the sunny South, particularly groceries. It is no unusual sight to see ten Lt boats¹² puffing away at our wharfs preparing to start up or down the river laden to the guards with freight, passengers, and their luggage, as they can accommodate 300 passengers easily independent of freight. The building of the boats gives a great deal of employment to our mechanics, its greatly facilitated by the snags, which are plenty in the Mississippi and Ohio rivers. They are large trees which are carried away by the freshets¹³ off the banks and placed in the channel. It frequently happens that where a boat runs on her downward trip, when returning in exactly the same place she strikes a snag and is sunk. Loss of life is small compared with what one would expect, as the generally have steam enough up to carry the boat to either side of the river after the accident occurs. I have seen in one of last week’s papers the report of 4 boats snag’d each of which was worth 30,000 Dollars or £6000 independent of their cargo. In fact all the crack boats of West have been lost this winter. You would like I suppose to hear something respecting your humble servant I am engaged in the dry goods¹⁴ grocery and 21 doz.¹⁵ other trades such as the shoe trade Queens ware¹⁶ and hard ware, in fact it would puzzle you to come into our stores and ask for an article we have not got. Business is carried on very differently here from what it is at home. There is a son-in-law and son of my uncles in company along with me. We trade under the cognomen of Wright and Company and I am happy to add are doing a very safe business, although I do not much relish a partnership concern, as one of the parties are generally imposed upon I expect as soon as our limitation expires to commence on my own a/c. My wife,¹⁷ Sanders and his wife¹⁸ attend the dry goods department; and my cousin and I the other – or grocery &c.

March 21^st. the interval between the dates of this letter has been big with events; a sad catastrophy occurred by the explosion of a pork house which was on fire¹⁹ by which a number of our most respectable men hurried to untimely graves.²⁰ As it is likely you will see the particulars in your newspaper²¹ I have omitted to mention them. Another event which at present creates a great deal of curiosity and anxiety is the appearance in the Heavens of a bright beam Light extending from the Hudson to the belt of Ocean its breadth is in appearance about 1½ to 2 degrees. It makes its appearance about an hour after sunset and remains visible till ½ past 8 o’clock and gradually sets in the same places as the sun. Our learnd folks suppose it to be the tail of a comet and late discoveries in the East of its body seem to settle it in their opinion that it is one.²² In the East there is a great deal of excitement on foot in consequence of the preaching of a Mr Miller²³ who asserts that the world terminates on this year,²⁴ and this appearance of a heavenly body is a great source of alarm at any time, it is doubly so now, to a great number of individuals who believe in the above gentleman’s doctrine. It is computed that he has one million followers in the East and numbers of them are scattered throughout the republic²⁵ I myself am a little inclined that way I believe it is just as likely to occur this year as for 10 years hence as occur it must sometime (may God in his infinite mercy prepare us for it and we need not care then when it does come). Another prevention which I met with was we purchased a large lot of dry goods which were sunk in the Ohio river and hastening the sale of them occupied my attention almost day and night as we wanted to get them off hands before they were injured; the ducking did not injure the material at all but it spoiled the sale of them. The moment I got my hands loose I set to finish this epistle you must not imagine that these are the only lines I pen’d to you since I received yours, I assure you I have written some 4 or 5 letters and in consequence of their bad construction I consigned them to the flames. I now forward you this one although no better than its fellows, for I find if I was to wait until I would write one as it should be or as I would like it to be, it would be a long time before you would receive one from me. However if I have not conveyed my ideas to you as they should be, I trust you will attribute it more to the head than heart, for be assured you occupy the most exalted position there of any of my comrades in early life I would now make a request for you before I close and that is to loose no time in letting me have a letter from you. So farewell I hope we may meet again

I remain your attached friends | W. Wright.

P.S. Remember me to your Father and Mother I hope they are in good health. Also your uncles Caleb, Jack²⁶ and William’s family You will much oblige me by letting my Father²⁷ and Mother know that you have heard from me and that we are all in good health, in fact enjoy as good health as at home, I never felt the least change or inconvenience since I came here except the heat in summer which is very great. This is an unusually late Spring here the ground is quite bound up with frost although at this season of the year it has been customary to have the market stocked with new vegetables I could not raise a bunch of clover for a Shamrock on Patrick’s day²⁸ I felt the loss of it very much as I am proud of being a Paddy.

Once more good bye | W. Wright

I wish I could slip in a small piece of paper as I have got a great deal more to say. But it is impossible, as we are obliged to pay double postage for the smallest enclosure, they only allow a single sheet for one postage it is very high compared with what it is with you.²⁹

Direct your next to | William Wright | Cheapside | Lower Market Street | Cincinnati | State of Ohio.

RI MS JT/1/5/1804–7

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