Friend Norman,

I will write you a few lines tonight to let you know that all the boys that I know from that part of the country is well. I was with Dan a good part of the day a week ago last Sunday. Him and I went over to Jim Neilsen's and spent part of the afternoon. Dan is in very good spirits. I was in St Paul and seen Amos and Lizzie and Emma and George. They were all pretty well.  You spoke of St. Andrew's Day in your letter and your good time. Well, the last time I took any part in celebrating St. Andrew's Day was in November 1867, twenty five years ago.  The day Charley Rose and I and Gilbert Stalker, George Smith and Marcus Crombie went across the woods from Kingsbury quarry to the Melbourne quarry to Melbourne and Richmond and fooled away the day till night. Then Charley and George and I started back to the Melbourne quarry and we found out we could not go through and undertook to go back and stopped all night in the woods there, there was about 2 or 3 inches of snow fell that day, but I had a piece of candle from Alex McKay and he was at the corner with Uncle Robert and we succeeded in starting a fire with the candle. Then Charley  and I rustled the old wind falls and got stuff to burn to keep George warm and we started at gray day break and got to the Boarding House at about ten and Aunt Margaret wouldn't speak to us.  She thought we was on a drunk. But I had drunk very little that day and was perfectly sober all day. Well, Norman. I had an agreeable surprise a short time ago. I got a piece of wedding cake from Richmond. I was glad to hear of Sam's marriage and he was following myself on the wrong side of the line. Now, it gives me a little new courage. I was reviewing the Gore a short time ago. Someone I work with said he thought girls much have been scarce where I came from as there was a great many old bachelors. And I began to look them over and it scared me as I counted 8 or 10 I courted from that vicinity, for you know how it is...

Yours fraternally
William Ross