1. This letter was written by a man who is traveling west. He is writing to his wife and baby about the land available to purchase in Nebraska where he plans on building a house. In the letter, he also talks about how he misses his wife and child very much. He wants to get the house built, so his family can come and live with him again.
2. One thing that stood out to me was how the man said that he was going to build his house out of sod and that it was a very effective method. He says that he has seen sod houses that have been made to look very nice by smoothing the sod, sweeping it with a broom until the grass roots stick out, and plastering it. He says, "They are just the most comfortable house to keep warm you ever seen." I found this very surprising because I didn't think that a house made of sod would be a very protective and warm house, but, according to the man, building a house with sod was very popular and very effective.
3. The act of letter writing at this point in time to people migrating west was extremely important, especially since paper wasn't very common. People used letter writing to write to their loved ones to inform them about the progress of their journey. It gave their loved ones a way to feel involved in the their life and journey. To loved ones, letter writing made them feel important because if they received a letter, they would know that their friend or family member was thinking about them on his or her journey and was willing to take the time out of their journey to write to them.
From the Atlantic to the Pacific, Overland
http://www.over-land.com/diarybarnes.html
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