Letter written by Henry Ebenezer MacDonald - Harris County Texas John Hendry 13 May 2001 ************************************************************************** USGENWEB NOTICE: In keeping with our policy of providing free information on the Internet, data may be used by non-commercial entities, as long as this message remains on all copied material. These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or for presentation by other persons or organizations. The submitter has given permission to the USGenWeb Archives to store the file permanently for free access. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material for purposes other than stated above must obtain the written consent of the file contributor. ************************************************************************** Transcript of a letter from Henry E. MacDonald of Houston, Texas, to his brother Roderick in Melbourne, Australia. Houston Texas Dec 28th 1897 My Dear Roderick I received you very welcome kind letter dated Nov 20th on Dec 20th just one month. I have no idea how my letter got astray. May be it was on account of quarantine during the Yellow Fever Scare. Well we have had a time of it since I wrote you last. Every thing was at a standstill. RailRoads all shut down, no work and even, just now there are about 150 men out since that time in the Southern Pacific Shops. There was a great deal of sickness but very few deaths. New Orleans was the worst. We all had it in a mild form. There was hardly a house in Galveston or Houston which did not have a visit from it. However it knocked bussiness higher than a kite. Shops, Bussiness Houses, RailRoads were shut up. You could not travel no where. There were men stationed 5 miles from town with double barrell shotguns and would let no one in. Our Shops are shut up for another week owing to repairs. Will start up 3d of Jan. I am glad that the Southern Pacific are running for the poor people need work after been out so long. Today the weather is fine but for the last 3 weeks it was wet & muddy all the time. Bussines is not as brisk as it should be, but we have a good deal of work in the Shops here. There are some buildings going up but the most work is in street paving. I think times will pick up here after the New Year. I had a letter from Alick about a month ago. He was well then & at work. I got a paper from him the other day where the strike is still on and expect to closed down in Clydebank on 17th Page 2 and by todays dispatches the strike is still on and no sign of yeilding. I received a letter the other day from Chicago. Rod says he received a letter from you also on the Decr 20th. He has been so very bussy that he hardly got time to write. They were all well when he wrote. I have not received any news from Montreal in a long time. I was under the impression that I told you some time ago what my Occupation was but I must forgot, However I will give you a detailed account of the different bussiness I was in since I came to Texas - in year 1866 I worked on the first street car track in Galveston or in Texas also working Rolling Cotton - in 1867 was Watchman on steamboat Ruthven, Capt Gordon, was up Trinity River 800 miles amongst the Indians - in 1867 Yellow Fever, came near dying , worked in Cotton Press - in 1868 & 9 was Receiving Clerk in Cotton Press - in 1870 & 71 was receiving Clerk for G H & H RRd also in Grocery House of P. J. Willis Marx & Kempner. Since 1872 I worked my self up to be a Machinist. Up to 1870 a stranger could work himself up but as the years grew on their sons grew older and their friends became more numerous so they filled the jobs that could be got. However I never did like the grocery trade, I am now at the trade I desired. I worked 5 years for the Southern Pacific, also for the H. E. & West RRd a short time. The most of the time for H and T C RRd. So you see I had my own little ups & downs. If I did not have friends I never would be where I am and strange to state Mr Burns the one who made me as I am was Foreman at the time and now & has been for years Master Mechanic. It is a fact that in all the RRd Shops in Mexico all over Texas & Western State & Territories I am known, I have talked to mechanics & engineers from different parts who heard of me only as Mac. & Scottie My part of the work is steam fitting, and though I say it myself, I have the best reputation as steam pipe fitting anywhere. So much, so good. Note : - I suspect there must have been a further page or pages to this letter