Pay Day wont come

Bloomington Feb 21 67

Dear Wife & Children

this is a most excrable pen I recd yours last thursday Eve sorry to hear that you are all ailing dont get hard sick for heavens sake for we are in a tight place just now but if I have my health shall work out of it in a month or two I hope as I wrote before business is dull and things look Blue but I hope a bad beginning may be the precursor of a good ending my Toolls did not reach here so that I shall not get in but 16 days this month I was just one month after leaving Sturtevant in getting to work here but it is a short month and there seems to be more Sundays than usual week before last the bluebirds were singing Frogs peeping Geese flying warm as May this morning we have from 4 to 6 inches of snow and it is quite wintry on next months rent you must make Lanton wait if necessary and keep a stiff upper lip earn as much as possible and try and see if we cant get a start this year if possible. I must say I am doubtfull with my present knowledge of this country whether we ever move out here, but I presume things will look different in the spring and business gets lively, much obliged to you Lilly for your letter meat & Bread is cheaper groceries very little higher rent twice as high such Tenements as ours would be 25,00 per month here, if one owns a house they can get along better here than in the East Coal Bituminous 4,00 per Ton wood 6,00 per cord Board from 1 to 2 dollars higher washing 1,00 per Doz. Butter 25 to 30 Corn 50 per Bushel B Stk 15 Flour 6 to 10 sausage 15 Ham very high 22 Carpenters wages 250 to 350 in summer Machinists 3 to 350 year round 10 hour