Page 6 Benjamin Lafayette Smith's Letters, etc.
 
 I do not reckon you noticed the date of my last letter. Pa carried it in his
 pocket—book about 2 weeks. He forgot to put it in the office.
 Cousin Mack, did you ever get the envelops that I sent you in my letter last
 smumer. By you not saying anything about them I reckon you did not?
 I asked you to tell me your sweet hearts name and you did not do it.. Oh, Cousin
 you do not ksow how glad I will be to see you next winter. Cousin Priss says
 that she reckons that she & Cousin Bob will come with you to see us.
 If I do not have some pets for you, I will have a nice present for you. Penn
 & Sherman were catching snow birds all the morning after it snowed and caught
 enogh to make us a tolerable good bird pye. I have been a sort of overseer
  for Pa ever since I quit school, and I attended to 15 pigs for a choice one.
 He had about ten very poor calves, he gave Sherman & Penn one apiece to, fatten
 them. Pa answered yours and Cousins letters last week. I reckon I will answer
 hers next week; if I do not have a great many bard lessons to get at night.
 I, Pa, Sherman, Penn and some negroes killed 197 rats last Thursday.
 I have got one of the prettyest sweet hearts you ever saw.
 Write soon to your affectionate Cousin,
 Benjamin Lafayette Smith
 
 -----------------------------------
  February 8th 1857
 Dear Cousin Martha (Warren)
 I received your letter on the 20th of Jan. I was very glad to
 receive it indeed. This leaves us all in tolerable good health and hope it
 will find you enjoying the same. Sherman & Penn both say if you will write
 to them first they will write to you, but I expect it will be a ion time be-
 fore you will do that, because you are so slow writing to every body else.
 Charley & Sissy both are as fat as they can be. They have a big fight some
 tines. He can most whip her.
 We will start to school tomorrow to Mr. Turnipseed. I reckon he was to com-
  mence last Monday, but he did not, We went to school to him 8 months last
 year.
 I received a letter from Cousin Mack at the same time I received yours.
 It has been very pretty weather all the week except yesterday it was raining
 all the evening. There was a sale a week before Christmas at Mrs. Beltons.
 I went to it and bought 2 cows & calves and gave $10 for them, Pa bought 9
 and gave about $25 for them & bought 11 from Mr. Johnson and gave $45 for them.
 Mr. Belton, Mr. Paterson (our sherif for a part of last year) and a few others
 died on account of drunkness.
 Miss Emily Toland & Jim Nance have been married since you left. Miss Lawrence
 & Francis Megee have been married & she has got a little boy three weeks old.
 Ma has got a little boy five weeks old. I named him Buster for a nick, When
 you write again you must tell me a good name for him. Mr. King has sold his
 land to George Whitfield for $25 an acre. Pa bought 320 acres for $23.l5 an
 acre and has got half of it fenced & beded up and the other nearly fenced in
 for a pasture.
 Sherman & Penn bad a wright smart of fun Christmas night patting for the negroes.
 They had off their coats just going it. There has been a great many wild geese
 and pigeons here this winter. I killed three pigeons at a shoot once & a goose
 at another.
 Sherman hunts some times. He hardly ever shoots at anything less than three
 times. Yours in truth, friendship and love,
  Lafayette