Transcribe Hornaday, W. T. Letter to Ward, Henry A. (1881-12-25)

some articles from you but never saw anything there until tonight as they were printed in the outside sheet of the Bulletin. I believe however that Fred did tell me some time up that he had to rewrite some articles from you for the paper. Mr Howell thought it not worth while to have a set of the elephant in the Bulletin, so it will not appear, this of coarse I told him just what you wrote. The poem of the British Ase" we will keep for the third number, having had two pieces of poetry in type when your letter to me arrived.

    This will be all for this time. I need not say

"welcome back to America? for I know you must have had a glorious trip and I am not sure you will be glad to be welcomed back to the wear and tear and worry of American life. Nevertheless, I could not be more glad to see the "pearly gates" of the New Jerusalem than I was to see the Golden Gate at Frisco after that miserable, wretched, soul-souring voyage in the stinking steerage with 600 dirty Chinamen on the S. S. Belize commanded by the meanest officers I ever sailed with, on whom light curses day by day. I was glad to see Frisco, and on that voyage I could on one or two occasions have welcomed even a sunken rock.. It was the most perfectly miserable trip i ever took on either water or land. Just fancy 600 Chinamen blowing their noses on the deck all at once! If </u you > have come over steerage I am sorry for you, and I heartily welcome your deliverance from such durance vile. We are all anxious to see you back here once more, but cannot even conjecture when you will be likely to reach here.

  Hoping </u this > letter will reach you I remain

Yours truly & sincerely, Wm T. Hornaday