July 4, 1607
Dear Elizabeth Holland,
The days grow hot as summer comes around the corner, and I am missing you more than ever. Work is becoming stressful, and my mother and father are encouraging me to find a mate. Yet I will not be able to become a married man until you have come to the New World. My heart still belongs to you, but that is not what this letter is about. This letter that was thoroughly thought out is about how life is in the New World. This letter was sent on my behalf to try to change your mind on how you look at the world. I want to try to make you turn around and come to be with me. Of course you will be leaving the luxurious heated homes in England, but there will be a decorative hut waiting for you. Also, you may expect a scrumptious meal awaiting you. My dear, please come. Please.
As I have said before, work is becoming traumatic; not just for me, but for everyone else, too. The heat is growing, making it hard for us to stay cool, yet that is not a reason why you should fear the world and stay cooped up in a crammed house. The rain falls swiftly at nighttime, watering the crops, making the work for the farmers slightly easier. Towards the beginning of our arrival in the New World, we had sunny days, yet the weather was somewhat too hot or there was not enough rain. If it was not the weather, it was the nasty little bugs that crawl around eating the leaves of our yields. As for hunting, in the beginning of our trip, it was a great success. The Natives turned out to be quite friendly, although the early reports of earlier settlers said they were to be beasts of the devil. I do not believe them, and you should not either. Our deer traps have been working well, and there has been much good game. Other days, the hunts are average. The fishers are working hard, and it looks like their hard work pays off! They found large schools of fish, but sometimes we are unlucky and raccoons raid the drying fish and eat it all, leaving us only a few pounds.
Other jobs in the New World are quite similar to the jobs in England. For example, there are town criers, town cobblers, hatters, blacksmiths, gunsmiths, millers, tailors, cooks, doctors, farmers, fishers, and hunters. My job pays me well, and it also helps many others. I guess you would have already known for I was an apprentice in England to Walter Geddy, the famous doctor. I may be called to a colonist's home to check on the sick at night, or maybe during the day. I will be called to duty day and night, so if you decide to come, my dear, do not worry if I leave the hut in the middle of the night. My good friend, John Levi, is the town tailor and if I ask him, he will style your clothes as you wish. As the days go on, we are progressing in all ways. We have more than enough pounds of food, and we have a plentiful farm animals, horses, and muskets. We are thriving as the successful colony, the Stars of Hope.
Trading with nearby colonies and Natives has not been difficult, and the results are always the same, everyone walking away in peace. There has been one time when we even traded land with a nearby colony. The name of their colony was Gravilton. We gave them 500 pounds of food for two acres of land. I guess they were so anxious to stay alive that they even traded their land. Other times, we gave about 300 pounds to natives for two acres. Compared to other neighboring colonies, I believe that our colony is flourishing and growing bigger and bigger next to the smaller colonies.
Like I have said earlier in this letter, my mother and father wish me to find a mate; they wish for me to become a wedded man. My mother is still slightly on the arrogant side. She is as silly as a goat. She cares about herself often instead of others. She is fat or as she likes to call it, chubby. My father, on the other hand, is lean and tall. Oh how I miss my little brother Zachary. He sadly died of very severe malnutrition last spring. We prayed and prayed, but God decided that it was time for him to leave. We all miss him dearly, but mother tried to hide it. She says that if she showed that she had weaknesses, people would be trying to trample her down and be as high as she is. Our trading has been good and my family, other than my brother, is healthy and cheerful.
Other than trading, family, farming, fishing, and hunting, there have been ship rebuilding’, other white men coming to trade furs for food and muskets, harsh, cold winters, back up funds, and arguments that lead men to destruction. Lately, there have been men who have been fighting over a deer. They argued, and soon the argument turned into a fight. Last winter, I suffered from a very bad cold, but thank God I am still here in the New World. Not only did I suffer, but almost the whole colony suffered from it. Only a few men were well enough to go hunt, fish, and farm, but that was not enough people to catch enough food to feed the colony. We were lucky to have only lost three men. As fall and winter pass, more white men are coming around. Some tried to settle here, but they were no match to our, once-again, strong men. Other times, the men come around to trade furs for food and muskets. After our slight difficulties, we are prospering once again!
As you see now my dear, life in the New World is not as bad as you think it is. The weather is fine, the huts are comforting, and the food is abundant. The colonists are kind and understanding. Everyone works together to make a living. And the Natives have not attacked us yet or have been unkind, so we are perfectly safe from Native attacks. The summers may be too hot and you may be sweltering day and night, and the winters may be cold and harsh, yet there is nothing to be afraid of, for I will be by your side forever, and ever.
Sincerely, with a loving heart,
Seth Levi Jones
