Edward W. Axson to Jessie Woodrow Wilson Sayre

My dearest little Jessie

Your long and very interesting letter reached me some time ago and, needless to say, I was delighted to hear from you. I had wanted to write to you ever since I left Princeton but had been so very busy both in Virginia and down here that I had very little time for writing other than business letters. I have gotten all my orders for my apparatus &c off now however and am waiting till my laboratory is built and I can move in—so I have a good deal of time to myself.

So far I like it here very much though it is a pretty wild rough place and there is nothing at all but the furnace, a big store and a few straggling houses perched up on the sides of the hills. I havent done any hunting yet but expect to go out some day this week with one of the men here. While I was in Virginia I went out a couple of times but it was not very good there—I only succeeded in killing two quail there. The place I stayed there was right up in the heart of the Allegheny Mts and the scenery was grand—The James River took its rise just about half a mile from the hotel.

Prince has grown so that you would hardly recognize him—when we left Princeton you know he was just about twelve inches long while now he is over two feet and to the tip of his tail he is over two & a half. The black mark on his back has developed into a perfect figure 7. He makes friends every where I go—in Virginia the people vowed I should not take him away—the negro boy at the hotel treated him like a baby and Prince became devoted to him. I took a picture of the two together & if it turns out well I will send you one. In Nashville all the children fell in love with him & used to quarrel over who should have him. He sleeps in a big dry goods box in my room and every morning comes & begs to be taken up on my bed. The negro cook here has a dog too & he & Prince are good friends now & play together all day. The first time they saw one another it was real funny. Prince was up on the porch when Fletchers dog came around the corner of the house—Both dogs stood & looked at one another for a moment and then both turned tail & ran. Prince took in the situation first though and when he saw the other dog running he turned around and began to bark furiously.

Fletchers dog is the most cowardly cur that ever lived and is one of those dogs who barks at every body—I hope Prince will not be corrupted by his evil communications. Cousin Hatties boys have a big Gordon setter named Romulus and as soon as Prince entered the house Rom became intensely jealous—he got back in a corner and sulked like a spoiled child whenever Prince was around, and whenever Prince went away Rom would at once come out & want to be petted. Prince tried his best to make friends—he would go up to Rom & sniff & wag his tail at a great rate. Romwouldnt pay the slightest attention though until Prince became too familiar—then when he couldnt stand it any longer he would snap at Prince and give a short loud bark which would frighten Prince so badly that he would get his big feet tangled and fall all over himself in all the while yelling like he was being killed—it was too funny. He followed me to the mines a few days ago and on the way back we had to cross a creek. I was on horseback and as Prince had never had any experience with running water he was afraid to follow at first. When he saw I wasnt going back for him however he plucked up courage & waded in. The current was quite swift & almost over his head and it looked as if he were going to be swept away—but he finally got across & managed to climb out looking like a drowned rat & very miserable. He is getting pretty well trained now & doesnt get as many whippings as he did but for about a week I guess he thought life was not worth living. It was hard to whip him he behaved so pitifully—he would run away & h hide under the house crying to himself and then in a few minutes back he would come to lick my hand and make friends again wagging his tail as hard as he could.

I had a very pleasant stay in Nashville—seeing our cousins & making the acquaintance of a lot of new ones. They all asked about you girls. Little Sal is just as sweet and pretty as can be—I quite fell in love with her. She had a birthday while I was there—Thanksgiving Day—her eleventh—& she was very very happy. Cousin Lil Hoyt telegraphed that she was sending her a present from New York—we older ones knew it was going to be a watch like Lil's but Sal had no idea what it was & was guessing all kinds of things. The younger children gave us a play that night—Cinderella, with Sal as Cinderella & Lil as the Fairy Godmother. It was very pretty.

I suppose you girls are all becoming excited over Christmas—how I wish I could be there with you like last Christmas. Has Aunt Madge come up from Baltimore yet? I shall possibly go up to Nashville for a couple of days if I can get my laboratory well started by that time. I have written to subscribe for the Youths Companion for you girls for next year and hope you will enjoy it as much as I used to.
This has been a long letter hasnt it—so I must close now with best wishes for a Merry Christmas for all.
By the way Jess I want you to do something for me. We are so cut off down here that I hardly know what is going on in the outside world. So if Papa has no objection I want you to save up the Times after everybody has finished with it & send them down to me say twice a week. I will send you the money for postage & you can get some stamped wrappers at the Post Office—and out of every dollar I send you can keep twenty five per cent commission for candy—figure out how much that will be. How do you like the proposition?

With lots of love for all

Your loving
Ed.