Morris, Phillip Doddridge

10 autograph letters, signed ("P.D.Morris"), 37 pages (8vo in various sizes), to his wife Sarah Howell Morris ("Sally" or "Sade"), on the Missouri River & Montana Territory, 1864-1865; formerly folded, a few stains, but generally clean.

formerly folded, a few stains, but generally clean.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Philip Doddridge Morris (1833-1865) graduated from the Hopedale Teacher's College (Hopedale, Ohio) where he met his wife Sarah Howell, who he married in 1856. The Morris's went west to Terra Haute, Indiana where Phillip began his career as a teacher. During the Civil War, he was drafted into Indiana's 43rd Infantry Division, but deserted and headed west along the Missouri River from St. Louis, Missouri to the Montana Territory where he tried to make a go of it as a miner.

His letters reveal his uncertainty about his life choice and his longing for his family, as well as many details of the miner's life at the Silver Creek mines, near Virginia City. His last letter details his resolve to return home, but tragically, on 28 October 1865, he died in Omaha, Nebraska, never again to see his wife Sally and "babies" as he affectionately called Emma and May.

[500 miles up the Missouri near Leavenworth KS], 21 April 1864, 4 pages: "There are about 60 miners on the boat. We have a pleasant time looking at things as we pass along, & shooting at wild ducks & geese & pelicans which there are thousands of. The passengers & soldiers all have revolvers ..." — "Secrets for Sally", Virginia City, Montana Territory, no date, 2 pages: "Dearest sweetest companion it is for you & our children that I live. If it was not for the loved ones of my heart I would not fear the army. Dearest Sade you know if it had not been for fear of a draft I never would have come out here ... I believe there is a fortune here for every man that will work right & save what he makes but it cannot be come at all at once ..." — [near Fort Randall, SD], 24 May 1864, 4 pages: "We have been progressing slowly since we started for Idahoe, we was in St. Louis 10 days before we started & this is 37 days since we started ... the last 22 days we moved 11 miles ... This is the beautifulest country in the world but I could not be induced to live in it. There is I believe 100 miles back from the river without a stick of timber ... one vast stretch of prairie as far as the eye could see & the wind when it blows one can hardly stand up & that is nearly all the time ..." — [Silver Creek, Virginia City, Montana Territory], 21 July 1864, 2 pages. — [Silver Creek Mines], 14 August 1864, 4 pages: "We got to the Silver Creek Mines on the 19th July & prospected for three weeks & could not find anything that would pay & our money & grub getting low, I thought it time to get to work. Wages being scarce in the Creek, the miners did not want to hire & I took a job of putting up a store house ... we do not get as large wages as we should have for this country but we will do very well ... Most of the emigrants turn round & go back as soon as they look around a day or two ... Alec & me boards ourselves for about 80 cts per day gold. Green backs are worth 50 cts to the $1.00, flour is $25 per hund[redweight] bacon 65, salt 50 cts per lb. beans 30 cts per lb. sugar 65, coffee $1.00 per lb. in gold & double these figures in green backs." — [Silver Creek], 15-16 November 1864, 5 pages. — [Silver Creek], 25 January 1865, 2 pages. — [Silver Creek], 6 April 1865, 4 pages + 1 page to his daughters: "This is a hard country although I believe it is a rich country. There is too much cold here for me ... it snowed about 2 feet on a level down where we are & probably 50 ft. on the main range or divide 6 miles above us. ... I got a letter from John Morris this morning & I believe I am in as good a place as if I was at home for John says they feel over the coming draft as I would if a lot of wolves had me up a sapling & was gnawing it down & it was beginning to crack." — [Silver Creek], 19 May 1865, 3 pages & 2 pages to his daughters. — [Silver Creek], 4 July 1865, 4 pages: "I have fully made up my mind to come home this fall or winter if I have no more money than will fetch me home. There is gold in this country but it comes to near costing $1.25 to get $1.00 ... if a man would set right to it & work like a nigger, live like a dog & sleep alike a hog for 4 or 5 years they would make a little a head & in that time they would be broke down & not hardly fit to live in a civilized community. For my part I can come home & make a good living, enjoy the comforts of a sweet little family & meet with God's children & live happy, and not work but half as hard as I do in this country."