October 20th, 1883 Rev. James H Wilbur  Walla Walla My Dear Brother  Your very welcome letter came to hand last mail, and we were glad to  hear of your health and prosperity My wife and myself were in Portland about the last of September, and hoped to find you there, as we saw by the papers that you and Mrs. W had been at the Clarendon Hotel   Bro Dickerson at the Dalles told us he thought you were still there, as you had not stopped at Dalles on your way up. But the Clerk at the Clarendon (where we stopped) said you had gone some days before     I presume you saw Bro Dickerson on  his way East with the Pioneers   Judging  from his looks, I fear it will do him no good   When I was in Portland I went  
        to Taylor Street Church   Are they not running the church there more for Taylor St. and less for Christ? The longer I live, the less I feel my particular bonds of Church, but if  I know my own heart my desire grows stronger, that    all may come to the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord      I am not doing  much to that end   perhaps less than I might, but it is very discouraging    We had a Special Agent here   a Christian Quaker, and at his suggestion Gen Milroy repealed the law permitting gambling and horse racing, but the bars being once down it will be difficult to put them up, though the Police are instructed to arrest all who are found gambling or running horses     I try to point my boys, in the Sunday School to Jesus   I trust I have done some good    Bro Roe suggested that I visit the Church about once a month, but I have been sick all the time since I returned from Portland, and am so overwhelmed with work that it seems  
        to me I must rest Sunday   But I doubt the beneft of my going there   Unfortunately the Indians are all down on the Agent, and of course I share with him, though I have done all I could to prevent the course he has sometimes  taken   But the Gen dont like advice    He has treated me with so much kindness    has got my salary raised to  1200, and seems so fearful I shall resign, that I cant find  it in my heart to leave him, though I know  I ought to do so   My salary was raised without any asking from me   I was offered the same rate to go to Forest Grove, but I cant leave Gen Milroy in the lurch, much as I may  deprecate some of his moves   We are  now in the biggest kind of a mess     The Gen went last night to the potatoe field and found the boys playing   they, say they  tried to explain why they were not at work --he says David Duly sauced him, and went  after David with his heavy cane, hurting him very much   I think the General  
        misunderstood David   We had just got a new Supt. of Teaching from Minnesota, who I think would have made a grand success of the School (Bro. Cox became sick and resigned, and is now keeping a store over at the Sound)   The new  Supt. was very much provoked at the General and resigned   So our School is likely to be a failure this winter   Gen Milroy wants my wife to take the position of Matron, and us both to go to the Boarding House and take charge of it this winter   We had thought of accepting, but since the new fuss, I think we will not mix up in  the row   I send letter from 2d Auditor which explains itself   also answer which please sign   also please get Dr. Kuykendall to  sign the enclosed certificate  amp; forward to 2d Auditor   My wife joins in love to Mrs Wilbur and yourself   pray for us   Very Truly Yours   J.H. Fairchild