Edwin S. Blanke Cochise, Arizona Nov. 25, 1910 Mr. Theodore L. Blanke 618 Fulton St. Wausau, Wisconsin Dear Brother Theodore, I received your letters, four in all, and also the $85. and thanks very much for the quick work. I was in Thanksgiving, but only got one from Tempe and the first one addressed here, so had to come back today again. It's a long ride in, 12 miles, but it's good roads no hills. Yours of Nov, 19th. I did figure about that sickness and funeral expense you have had. How much money have you now to work on? We cannot do any plowing or anything else until we get a fence around all or part of the field. That will take $70 or $75 to do it. I will cut all the posts. Yesterday, the fellow living across the street leased his place (320 acres) to cattlemen for $200 for three month's time. All this fellow has done is fence it a year ago. Next fall he can rent it again for three months at the same price. If we could fence our place I could rent it too this spring. We would have to fence it in about a month, though. You know there are several head of cattle running on it every day. I put up the house and put in the floor, but have no window or roof on it yet. I have that old piece of canvas that laid around home for the past ten years on it. Today it is raining quite hard, and my stuff is getting wet. I have enough money now to put on a roof. It will cost $6.00. I heard from Arthur and he has work now so I am going to write to him and see if he will put in $250 and take that other place. and fence it. We could lease it for three months at at least $150. so that would help some. I need a well, too. So far, I have been getting the water from Sulphur Springs. One place, I can get water at 7 1/2 feet on our place, and at the highest place it is 11 or 12 feet to water, and lots of it. I can drill a well myself in two hours, but will have to case it and that costs 55 cents per foot, and I ought to go down about 15 feet. If we can fence it and rent it we would need a small engine and pump, but the cattle company pays you extra for pumping water, enough to pay you well for your time and use of engine. I tried to do something like you wrote about with that other piece of land, but it won't work. There are several other fellows after it. We two have all the land we can possibly handle right now. If we could put this in shape, we could make a stake in a short time. People are coming fast. One U.S. man was in here a few weeks ago and another over to see me last Monday and is coming back the latter part of this week and locate all the wells and their depth. I wish I could get ours done by that time. I am going to let him take my oil stove for a few days. My house cost me so far $25 and roofing $5, so all together when finished, $30. It saved about $10 buying out that other fellow. Say, I would not sell our horse for $50. He is a good saddle horse and work horse. A little bucky, but I worked him. I bought several dollars feed for him, but he won't cost us anything now but a feed of grain when I come to town. I put him in the neighbors pasture and let him use the horse once in a while. I will be alright now. If you can, send $20 some time about the middle of next month. Am in a hurry to get back. Will write more later. Am well. Hope you are all the same. Your brother, Edwin P.S. The reason so many are selling so awfully cheap right now is there is no work here and they are broke, with no one backing them. If we had one thousand dollars cash to put into this thing right now, I could sell for five thousand next summer. The fellow who filed on that other 160 is in Michigan and the people around here don't know what town. Just one real estate man who used to be in Wilcox and now is in Los Angeles has the relinguichment. He no doubt is making $50 or $75 on it, but what can you do? We can't swear he is holding the relinquishment, but he said if I deposit $100 in the bank here he will give me the relinguishment. The real estate men here want $10 for their trouble in finding this out for me.