I told them evry thing we seen & done & the girls wouldent hardly leave me for a minut they was so exited over what was I telling them but mr. & mrs. Chambers wouldent lissen to none of it & wouldent stay a round where we was at & I guess they was sore they picked out holland where they wasent no exitemunt or nothing. If it hadent of been for me telling them storys a bout the war we would of had a rotten trip because they wasent nothing doing at all on the boat & if I told them storys onct I must of told them a hunderd times because they kept after me to tell them again.
Prof. Baker says the storys kept geting better the more I told them but that was just my way of telling them Ed & I will try & remmember evry thing we went threw so as I can tell you & Kate when I see you & I wisht youd come over and pay us a visit so as you could here all a bout it. I bet they will be a crowd down to the place tonight because our name was in the paper where we got back from europe & all the boys will want to here the dope & I guess Im the 1 that can give it to them eh Ed.
Well Ed I dont know if Im glad we made the trip or not because it cost me a hole lot of money & I was figgureing up on the train comeing home & it cost me a bout 8 hunderd dollars all to gather & that includs all expenses including $140 for the fair acrost the ocean & $150 comeing back acrost the ocean & a hunderd dollars r r fair on this side of the ocean comeing back & 4th to N.Y. city & back & all expenses includeing what I lost in the poker game & I wouldent of never lost it if the cards had broke good a couple of times. & besides the 8 hunderd dollars Minnie lost some of her close & only brung a bout ½ of them with her a way from Brussels.
She says shes got to have a hole new out fit & how much will that cost me godd knows I dont & for all my money what did I see. Nothing but a hole lot of water & 3 or 4 1 horse towns that you could stick them in the Chgo. river with out over flowing the banks & a lot of scared Belljums & a bout 3 times as many dutch men is they is in milwaukee & you could go up to milwaukee 3 times & see as many dutch men is we seen & it wouldent cost you over 10 dollars & thats not saying I would want to throw a way 10 dollars or $.10 cents to look at dutch men tho Id give up $.75 cents to see 1 or 2 of them say hands Wagner or Frank Schulte.
But still in all I cant say the trip was waisted & probly we seen more exitemunt then wed of saw if we took the reglar tour No. 2 like it was in the book & besides that I had the satisfaction of showing them dutch men that I wasent afrade of there hole army.
But what do you think now Ed? We hadent no sooner got home than Minnie pulls it on me that on acct. of our trip geting broke up by the war she realy had an other trip comeing & would I take her up to black Lake Mich. where her sisters been all summer & I says black Lake wheres that? & she says its up in Mich. near holland. Near Holland I says.
I should think youd got enough of being near holland because when we was in Belljum we was near holland & look at the time we had.
She says yes but they wont be no danger of us getting in trouble up to this place if youll just keep your mouth shut & not tell no funny storys & I says shut up your self & quit talking a bout trips because Ive herd enough a bout trips & next time you want to go vissiting you can go over on the north side & vissit the animuls in lincoln pk. but you wont never get me to go a long with you because Im not never going out of the 3rd ward again & she says it wouldent be fare to the rest of the city for you to stay in 1 ward & I says your to smart & she dident say nothing back.
Well Ed I hope you & Kate can come over & pay us a vissit & may be you could come when prof. Bakers here because he promussed he would come to Chgo. when he got a chance & I says to him dont for get our No. & he says you bet I wont because I will want to here you tell some more storys so you see Eddy he likes them storys of mine pretty well even if the dutch men dont.
Write & let us know how are you geting a long Ed & take care of your self & dont take no bad money. Kindest to Kate.
His right name was Frank X. Farrell, and I guess the X stood for “Excuse me.” Because he never pulled a play, good or bad, on or off the field, without apologizin’ for it.
“Alibi Ike” was the name Carey wished on him the first day he reported down South.
