Tell Ann I will bring her a guitar with the greatest of pleasure when I come home and also Fred and Lizzy some presents. Tell Fred he must wait till I come and I will get him a gun and he must learn all he can till I come home. ... I want him to go in some business. ... Show all my letters to Kate and tell her they are as much for her as anyone, that she must not think hard of me for not writing to her for I am hard at work six days in seven and the seventh is washing and cleaning up day so it takes pretty much all the time....
Your Son
John R. Tice
Evidently Tice found operating a pack-train to be more profitable than mining. In the following letter he writes of his work and of conditions in the new country.
Jacksonville, Oregon, Nov. 17/53
Dear Father and Mother,
I wrote to you some four or five weeks ago which I hope you will receive for I have not written many letters for some time. I wrote the reason and will also [explain) in this. We are packing and are on the road all the time and have not an opportunity to write only when we stop and lay over a day and then some times we are out from houses and have no place to write). We have to live out doors all the time packing. Packing is dirty, disagreeable work but it pays us good wages. We have brought in wheat to this valley from Umpqua for seed. There is a great deal of wheat going to be sowed in this valley this season and (that) makes wheat in good demand. We bought ours for $4.00 pr Bu—and have sold the most of it for $10.00 pr Bu which is a good profit. Andy has gone today to engage another load if he can. He is well and says to mention his name to his folks. We have twelve mules, which is enough for us to pack in the winter. We have been pretty hard run for money to buy mules or I would have sent some money home, but will have plenty the next trip if we do as well as this, and I will send some home. Mules are very high now, from $100 to $200 a head. We have a good lot of mules, and I think they will bring us a good price in the Spring when we want to sell, for we are going to sell out and come home in the Spring certain, for I have been long enough from home I think, and I know you think so. There is but one
