“Beloved & Respected When the Cursed Botle was Absent”

Transcribed by Scott Hinckley July 2020 (Original Spelling)

Sat Jan 17^th. Weathr moderate. I prepare for town & get there then Rolla hitches up & helps me deliver my “Websters Unabridged”. They weigh near 10 lb each. I receive my Salt & coffee from Idaho Fals by Ung Roberts who only chargd me 75 cents freight so I am once more afloat on the bilowy main. My son in law Billy sang Boosel Bam at T. Georges.

Mond the 19^th. I count my money & find I hav only $2.17 to commese the week with so I put in 1 bone instead of 2 to make soup.

Jan 20 Tues GHAHarris esqr Salem. Dear Sir. Receivd of Geo HA Harris two hundred and 20$ for enclosd notes and interest $130.08. credit on act of books & subs $89.92. thanks for remittance & patronage. We solicit Ur future orders. Note we trust our patrons wil promptly inform us if any mistake occour in their accounts. The Juv Instr pr A. H. Cannon

Jan 29 thur. 1/2 inch more snow over the way but the weather is quite warm for the time of year. I sel to August W. Belnap 10$ worth of books for Rock. I give him 1 mo to deliver. It never rains but it pours—so I count $25.85 in my purse this morning but I shal soon get rid of it.

The Park city Portrait Co. 308-316 Dearborne Street Chicgo Ill. Feb 3-91. Dear Sir we hav this day shipd Ur portraint & hope it wil prove satisfactory.

Feb 4 Wed. The roads ar unbroken so I neglect the Burg. At some time during the nite Rolla & Lewis Ricks arrives & present me with a ful bottle of whisky. I refuse at 1^st but soon the coaxes me & I imbibe to the health of Lewis whose B. Day happens today.

Feb 15 Sund. It blu like heck the fore part of the night & is pretty stif now tho not so cold. I put on my best clothes today to honor the holy sabath but no 1 comes to view them as there is no S. School or meeting today.

Franklin Hart Remedy Co New York city. Dear Sir Urs duly recivd & we ar glad to hear fr U. we have just a few wk’s of the winter season before us & we woud advise U to push the sale of the “Lung Invigorator” & “Pain conqueror”. People more or less at this particular period ar troubled with cough’s, colds & lung troubles also Rheumatism & Neuralgia & as there are no beter remedies for these troublesome complaints (the Invigorator for the former & the conquorer for the latter) there is sure to be a big demand for them. (I encourage the reader to google these fantastic remedies of yester year and read there advertisements)

Thurs 19 Feb. Not so cold and little trade. Bern had been to Market Lake & brought my likeness that came from Chicago. I gave Jos Larsen the cold chisel & Rol the hatchet & the case was carefuly opened & Rol drw the old man out. It is a fine picture & good likenes of how I lookd at 37 when I was a Major U kno. Gents: the life size crayon portrait & frame of myself is a work of art & magnificently framd & without doubt wil gain U many customers as Ur prices ar exceeding low. It arrived in good shape. Thanks. Respectfuly Geo H A Harris.

Mar 8 Sun. quite a turn out at Sunday School & meeting after which some of them cals & trades. Egs has fel to 18 cents. Some boys wanting to exhonerate themselves on staying away from meeting & looking to me for an excuse I tel them the Lord gives them 24 X 7 hrs or 168 hr pr week & they ought to afford him 2 out of that in gratitude.

Mar 21 Sat. the first day of Spring. I spring out of bed at ½ past 5 & rejoice in a good cup of coffee & some nice bread & butter. Last evening I sold 2 Websters to Mis Anna Rus Dist Sch Teach for 6$.

Mar 24 Tues. The sno seems hateful about disappearing. Yesterday I was visited by the Ward Authorities & they request me to be rebaptized in which ofer I am extremely grateful.

Mar 27^th. The anniversary of my 1^st weding 37 years agol. I drink 4 cups of coffee as a reminder. It has snowd 1 in & has raind 2. I am busy making lining for eg boxes & shal soon hav to make boxes. I am raking every nickley together to pay Sol Kimble on act of books unsold on the shelves.

Lehi City Utah 31 Mar 91. Dear Father. Wel father I haven’t got much to write about this time. I gues U wil be suprizd to hear that I am going to get married on the 18 of next month April. I am going to mary Minerva Thomas 1 of Joe Thomas girls. I wish U wasn’t so far off so U coud attend the weding. I woud like to hav u present. From Ur loving son C. Vivian Harris. Lov to al.

American Fals Ida 2 Ap 91 Mr. G H A Harris. Dear Sir. After so long a time, I wil try to write U that promisd leter, I hav been sick since I came home. Wel now for the sermon. What shal it be: let us take evil spirits for a rex. Whisky! What is it good for. It is good to keep our prisons ful. It is good to keep our officers busy for without its aid our Judges woud hav but little to do. Without whisky our dances woud be dry afairs for there woud not be a row once a year to make them lively. 1 thing in its favor, it never downs a man until the man downs it. How are we to get rid of this demon? The only way I kno of is to starve him out. I am writing this sermon to U for the Ung people & as Ur a good talker I woud ask the favor or U to do Ur best to keep them from faling. Giv my regards to Mr. Ward & al who may feel interested in the horrible infidel. Urs with Respect Heber Dille.

Pleasant Grove Apr 9-91 Dear Old Fried GHAH. I expect to go to the Pen tomorrow for 6 mo, if not sooner pardon’d by the Prest. I hav sent a petition numerously signd by influential parties & expect to get out soon. George write me ad Utah Pen. Hope U ar OK. Remember me to al Ur friends Urs truly Ben W. Driggs Sen.

Apr 11 Sat. A beautiful morning. I b-fast on egs, some that were axidently brok by Orson Larsen in transportation to the store. W ar stil paying 12 1/0 cents fro 10 cents to Rexburg, 20 cents a case to M. L. & $110 pr ca by expres to Ogden. At noon James Olsen & his father arrives. I freight him to the Burg with 2 cases egs 5 saks of wheat, which he sels for me at the Mil at 50 cents pr bu & gets Co-op scrip $517. I then trades it out in things I can make a little on & Jim hauls my things back. I pay him 75 cents & so goes the time & closes this week.

Apr 20 Mon. Weathr cloudy was a little afraid I was going to get Dipthera, but took a dose of my medicine & am much beter. A bed bug interviewd me during the night & this morning I interviewd about a doaen & sent them to the happy hunting grounds. They were early birds & caught the worm. In 1836 the Kirtland Templ was dedicated on the 27^th day of March.

Apr 29. The dear Twins 26^th Bday. They little think I think on them. I send my egs 50 doz (this time) by Alfred Hanson who does not break 1. I sel to Waldran who looks tho each 1 singly by the light of a lamp. It looks & fees tedius to I but as we ar in his celar we must be patient.

Utah Penitentiary 30 Apr 91. George H A Harris. Ur very welcome & cheerful leter under date 24^th reachd me last night. It is 3 weeks since I came to this place—I am turn’d out as a “Trusty” at 6 am. Remaind out until 8 pm with exception of going into meals I have been put in charge of the fowls, quite a soft job. There is only 16 of the brethren now here & several of them wil soon be set at liberty. Al of our folks ar on the Trusty list working upon the farm. We ar treated with politnes & civility by the officers in charge. B. S. Driggs.

May 7 Thur. I b-fast on sausage bread & cofe. A. S. Belnap ( our 2^nd counselor) cals & weighs some fast flour donated 13 ½ lb. I tel him if there ar any body in the ward that needs assistance I wil devide with them. Although I am pretty hard run, it is beter to sufer rong than do rong. (Fast meeting used to be held on Thursday night)

May 23 Wed. Trade slack. There is a trial before Justice Cahoon in Rexburg between Clem Ward & James Jensen for breaking the peace at the late marriage dance of Al Roylance. It seems that James Jensen was partly inebriated & that Alice Ward refused to act as his partner in dance which riled Jim who gave vent to his feelings in some ruf talk about the girl. Clem undertook to revenge the insult by hiting Him below his left eye. Clem paid a small fine and James got off.

1 June 91 Mr Heber Dille, Ur kind favor of the 23 ult came safe & pleasd me in learning of ur welfare…with U I admit that drunkenness is a great evil, but infinitely small in comparison with the greater or greatest evil of celibacy. Only think of the times & opportunities that U hav squanderd & of the many heart aches that U hav causd & of the fruitful fields that U hav left unplowd & unsown & please seriously contemplate, that if al men folowd your uncertain example where o where would the rising generation be & what woud become of the little globe on which we dwel…Hoping to hear from U again Urs respectfuly, Geo HAH.

June 5 Friday. It is lovely weathr. I arose at day break ¼ to 4. I breadfast at sunrise 4-30 & it is 20 m. past 6 when my neighbor stirs. Perhaps he was up in the night & down in the day. Let us reason together 2 hr & 35 m lost every morning & 2 hrs & 35 m. worth of coal oil every evening woud only be 65,940 hrs in the course of 70 years lost & only about that much coal oil recking 1 cent pr hr. I hope my great grandchildren wil go to bed at early dark so as they can get up with the rising heavenly sun & save health & save their time & save their property & save their souls.

Do away with al national banks. Fix the amt of money pr capita (say 50$). Free coinage of gold & silver: as certain the amt of the deficiency & apportion it among the several states according to population, controld by officers who coud loan the deficiency to the people in saml amount at low interest taking unimcumberd real estate for security. Let no corporation or co. hav any load & the individual only a fixd amt. when the security was fixd I woud give hom land certificates & make them legal tender for al debts due. This money woud cost gov nothing & be perfectly secure as the people woud be their own bankrs.

June 11^th. I borrow 9 egs to fil the case & ship them by mail to SHJER. Then on return’g the carier brot me the rec. for the box before so I paid him 25 cents. Sold some to Charly Yury & took his wife’s order for a saucepan from the CBU cat. Cyrus cal’d & brought some seed corn as the frost had kild some of his. Elmina Judy cald & traded for threat & sugar. She is about 14 yr old & a very wel behavd las. David Nelson cald & kindly paid me bal due 35 cents. Every little helps as the dear old lady said.

Jun 14 Sun. I arise erly & b.fast. Bishop Wilson cals & trades. Prest Ricks & lots of wagons ar jogging north for a special conf at Wilford. GHB, Cy & Amanda cals with my clean clothes. They report being highly edified with the lengthy & pensful testimony born the prvious day by Rug Howard, who must shurly hav had a swig at some bodies botle or tried to fulfil prophesy by proving that the weak speakers of the church were ahead of the strong.

June 20 Sat. Johnson is not buying butr & is paying 15 fr egs so we shal have to pay as much. I get my Herald & in it I find Christopher Madsen of Manti took an overdose of laudunum & died. Tina Thompson of PG was arrested at Provo for pilfering from clothslines & back yards in the west part of that town. The Register answers that the State vs James Harris trial in district court, D. W. Standard presiding set for June 17.

June 26 Fri. It rains, it blows, a herd of sheep is grazing on the N Town Lots. The mail carier buys 3 lb coffee & 200 lb of Oats al for cash…it is the worst case of trouble I ever heard of exepting jobs. They buried 5 in 4 weeks. (lots of reports of diptheria) A petition was circulated this week asking Judge Stoudrod to suspend sentence in the case of James L. Harris vs Mr. H Layman. It is to be hoped the ends of justice wil be met in the court extending mercy in this case for we doubt not but what Mr. Layman has already learnd the leson as completely as if the law was vindicated by his serving a term of years in the Blackfoot or Boise jail.

June 27 Sat. Forty seven years ago at the time when the hands of the clock stood at 15 m past 5 oclock. The best blood was spilt by the Assassans bulet & 2 of our 4 seald their testimiony of the truth of the Everlasting gospel of the Son of God & left to continue the’r grand mission in the worlds above.

I cald & had a shave at the upper house & also a shingle then seeing Vic Gleason I rode home with him. We got a drink of whisky & a drink of water at the South Teton. Then we had a long chat on religious maters, having the spirit

July 4 Sat. I arise erly, breakfast, quick put on my best togs & when the Marshal’s wagon cals I ride with him to the bowery ¼ m ESE. There ar many congregated. I take a back seat but afterward get forward when cald & read the Oration previously written. The singing was excellent. Amosa Belnap read a dry piece, Annie, Irving & Wille stood on the table & sang wel but I didn’t think the subject was appropriate…then we had a nice picknik. I treated the poleseters & flag raiser to 2 gals of Mother Anderson’s Beer 50 cents…James is spending the holidays at Boise I rec.

July 10 Fri. I send for my mail by Clem Ward who brings me this: Boise City 5 July 91 Geo H A Harris

Dear Father. I kno U wil be anxious to hear from me & I embrace the opportunity. I ar here on the 3^rd & found things far beter than I anticipated. There is 78 prisoners here, so I am informd & it seems that about 1/3 came from Bingham Co or nearly so. I do not kno the reason for that, as there is not very many escapes coming here when they come before the Bfoot court. But I must say that Judge Stanrod is a very mild Judge & I believe a man that wants to do his duty. I am satisfied that had I not employd any lawyers I coud hav done beter as I woud hav pled quilty to “Petit Larceny” (whisky) & I coud hav had the charge cut down to that & I kno I woud not hav got more than 30 days in the county jail. But they coud clear me so easily & here I am & wil make the best of it & I kno 11 mo. Wil let me out. It seems natural for me to behave myself & I am sure no person wil hav any trouble if they act right. We hav a plenty to eat & wear & ar alowd out in a large yard from 9 AM til 4 PM. Then we ar confind to our cels said cels about 13 X 7. I am alone in mine which I much prefer. We can get al the good books we want as there is a library here. U must not expect leters more than once in 2 wks. We ar not alowd to write oftener. We furnish ourselves in writing material also a light at nite—if we hav any. I hav not got any as yet. Tel the boys to write. I wil be pleasd to hear from them. Remember me to them also to Wil & Sady. I wil close for this time. I hav just written to my folks at home so U wil excuse more this time. With kind regards to al Friends I am as ever Ur loving son. J. L. Harris. I do not hav enough to do, as I hav always workd so hard & so much leasure does not agree with me. I can receive al leters sent so write often. James. I wil inform U as regards the rules as I get beter acquainted. J. L. Harris.

July 14 Tues. I write. Mr James L. Harris Boise Ida. My dear Boy, Ur kind leter of 5 July 91 came safe & comforted me considerable in learning of Ur health & contentment. I was afraid U had forgotten Ur old Dad but am glad that it was an unnecessary fear. U say it is natural for U to behave Urself, that is so James. The pride of the family & the pet of the neighborhood was always beloved & respected when the cursed bottle was absent. But now U ar of age to reflect & learn to control Ur mind & appetite & I pray my Heavenly Father to console U in this sad affliction & enable U to bear the same with patience, for surely U hav a great many years to liv to provide for & comfort Ur bereavd but kind & loving family. In Ur leasure hours try & study the history of nations. The bibgraphy of Great Men & the Geography of the world we liv on. For in the days to come, U wil hav Ur mind settled on those thins & it wil keep U out of mischief. I am pleasd to learn that U hav access to a good Library. Now if U wil spend 3 or 4 hrs every day in reading & 4 or 5 hrs every night in reflectin & comiting to memory the things U hav read, U wil find that the time wil pas swiftly away & this portion of Ur existence wil be more like an oases in a desert & U wil be able to appreciate the value of good books, that U hav not had time to peruse in the busy years of the past. Now that U hav written me, I shal not feel slighted if U write to Ur brothers & we shal get to hear of U from one another. They ar al wel at present & desire their kindest lov to Jas. In the mean time believe me still to remain Ur fond & loving father GHAH. PS I send U som paper & a directed stampted envelope so U can write to me or them. H.

July 19 Sun I count my money I hav on hand $16.55. I must save it for freight for time & freight wil wait for no one. I also hav a due Geo from Flam $1.25 & Co-op scrip $2.40.

The devil sends the wicked wind that blows our skirts knee high,

But Heaven is just & sends the dust that flies in the bad man’s eye.

July 22 Wed. I get my Heralds & a leter from James in which he says that had he a choice he should not stay in such a place long for 10 months woud suit him as wel as 10 years & do him as much good. He sent love to brothers, sisters & friends.

July 25 Sat. It sure is sombody’s Bday today. I must look at my small record book AH! It is my Dear Maria’s 7 years unger than her devoted 2^nd husband the father of her 3 Unger boys & also B.Day of our darling Marion Desdoemony in 1861. Thirty one years ago I feel as tho I shal soon embrace her & her devoted mother in the land of peace.