Letter from Peter Force to his Uncle Manning Force

1208 K Street
Washington DC
January 16, 1881

My dear Uncle,

I was glad to receive the business cards from you. Since you went away I have had seven teeth pulled.

Since school opened again we have had very long lessons. The subject of last Monday was an adventure in Putnams life and the funniest one was when Putname was a boy he went after some nuts with some boys and they waited at the foot while Putname went up to the tree to shake the nuts down but while he was shaking he fell and was hooked to a small branch by the seat of his pantaloons and he could not get at the granch to loos himself and the branch would not hold the weight of Putname and another boy and he was too far out of the branch for them to get at him from the main part of the tree and they could not reach him from the ground and so they thought they would have to leave him but at last one boy went off and came back with a gun and loaded it and shot right for the seat of his pantaloons and Putnam fell to the ground uninjured and a large hole in the seat of his pants. Of course there was a laugh and the teacher was not inclined to believe it at first but the boy said it was and told him where he saw it and the teacher said if taht was true it beats William Tell.

Aunt Elizabeth has got a hen now for her little rooster. Yesterday I went to see a lady who has a parrot that would laugh, cry and talk and cough and play sick. When it played sick it would groan and stand its feathers like a dog when he barks and it would open and shut its eyes and look just as sick as a parrot could look. All join in love to you Aunt Francie and Horton.

Your affectionate nephew,

Peter E. Force

Translation notes:

Peter Evans Force (1868-1930) is the son of Henry Clay Force, 1832-1874 and Katherine Ogie Frierson Force Martin. Peter was the 2nd child born to this marriage and the oldest son. Elizabeth is the wife of William Q. Force, Manning's brother.