Charles E. H. Bates Family Correspondence, 1899-1930 - 3

The rice is up fine and we shut the water off the 23rd of Sept. and start harvesting Oct. 1st. It is said to be the best field of rice in the state & believe me if you saw it you'd believe it too. It really is a beautiful crop.

My pigs had hog cholera but everything is fine now. I lost 11 head of hogs out of the 100. That's pretty good. And hogs at 20 [cents] a pound. What if the entire 100 had died. Curtains, Goodnight!

The new draft registration is Sept. 12th. Dewey Weinmann won the Judgeship of Alameda easily.

Well Sneddy dear, take good care of yourself and come home soon. I hope that you are well and happy as does Kinksie, With love As ever Your loving brother, Jocelyn

P.S. Martha & Mr. & Mrs. L. asked to send their love to you.

727 Paru Street. Sept. 10th

Dearest Edward,

No letters yet from you dear and it is difficult to keep on writing. When one does not hear --- you feel [underlined] as if it is no use, that they do not reach you! But I hope [underlined] they do. We are very anxiously looking for a letter from you. Each day we hope will bring one.

Father & I went up to see Jocelyn last Saturday at Nelson. We started about 10.30 slept at Woodland all night, arriving at Nelson about 2 P.M. of Sunday. We were glad

to find that he was there out in the fields working. [inserted at top edge:] We had sent no word that we were coming. He looked well. but the mosquitoes are dreadful [underlined] up there. I have been suffering ever since with mine there are dozens of bites on each ankle - right up to my knees even & I could not sleep with them last night. It seems that our place swarms with them & the worst of it is [underlined] they are the malaria bearing Mosquitoe [Mosquito] & all the dampness for the rice Culture makes them worse no doubt. Jocelyn is interested in the rice greatly [underlined] & claims to feel well but I fear he's getting inoculated

with malaria which is not worthwhile --- Do you think so? Of course Jocelyn hopes to master the art of rice growing & then develope [develop] into an agriculturist & make a fortune --- but at present it is other people who are doing that while he & others do the work --- I question very much whether what he gets out of it in the end would compensate - if he got malaria into his system -- Mr. Meeks health has been almost ruined for years by malaria and I don't want Jocelyn to get that way so have felt rather upset about his being there ever since --- We only came home last

night - you see yesterday was admission day & a holiday that was the reason we went for we had almost [underlined] three days & it is a long trip. We took "Kinks" with [underlined] us! He was a good deal of trouble & very funny at times. We had no one to leave him with.

Letter from Dick at last but no news & does not say where he is which is disappointing. He had got your card dear & enclosed it advising our keeping it & all such souveniers as they will be interesting "after the War." He was very glad to hear of your safe arrival as were we all. Mrs Durney read me a letter from Raymond