February 15, 1905

Stationery from The Alvarado Hotel, Albuquerque, N.M.

Feb 15 1905

Dear friend Rose:

Yours of the 8^th received. Wrecks seem to be rather common on the Santa Fe, although they don’t seem to kill very many people. In 4 trips to Albuquerque, I was layed out 3 times by wrecks. My last trip into Kansas City we were delayed by a wreck and all sorts of trouble on account of the unusual severity of the weather so I arrived in K.C. 26 hours late. I came right out the same day. I haven’t any home to go to in K.C. now. My brother has had rather hard luck in his western trip. He was not familiar with the Missouri State law regarding landlords and tenants. He did not give landlord 30 days notice before moving so after he had put everything in the freight house the landlord sued him for a month’s rent and seized the furniture. My brother had left town and did not know anything about it. So that I will have to straighten it out for him. Costs etc. will make it cost him about $70 or $75 which he can charge up to experience.

Will return Miss Dickinson’s letter. She can write when she gets around to it, it seems. Try and be prompt in your answers and perhaps she will get the habit.

The weather here is much warmer than we had at K.C. It is snowing a little to-day, but the snow melts before it strikes the ground.

Have not yet taken out a claim yet. But there is yet time to get in line for Spring ploughing. Pretty near make up my mind to have every trip be my last one, but when I get in, I decide to hang on a little longer. Can make a living here, and the agents here seem to think this is so much better than the east I have been thinking perhaps I am not doing as well as I might after I get on to the ropes. But I guess it is because they don’t know what the east is.

Yours truly,

Max