Early days in Paraguay, 1874
The following text of a letter from Paraguay was sent to me by Rupert Dexter in November 2005, with permission to include in this webpage. The writers paint a different picture from that of Tom Shrewsbury and Annie Godward. Perhaps this was because the writers of the letter below went to Paraguay with some experience of farming.

Itá, Paraguay, August 5 1874

Dear brother and sister,
I received your kind and welcome letter and was very glad to hear from you after such a long time, and was very glad to hear you was both quite well, but I was surprised to hear you had left the police and gone to Greenhithe to live again and got another situation. I daresay you like the country better than the town for it is much nicer to live in. I was very glad to hear Peter, Rose and father and all brothers and sisters where quite well. Dear brother you do not mention Aunt Mary and poor Charlotte, whether she is dead or not, as she was very ill before we left England. I was very glad to hear that you had heard from sister Ellen and that they was quite well. I suppose they have got more children than one now.

I am going to tell you a little about the voyage. I was not very sea sick myself but I was ill all the time we where on board the ship. The children where not very sea sick much but they did not have much appetite to eat the buiscate and that is for myself. I could not eat scarcely all the time I was on board. I did not feel so frightened as I was afraid I should be very sick. I have often thought of Elisa when I think of all the people and children sick, she said it would be a miserable sight; there was everything: the best to eat that could be bought and plenty for everyone and more than they could eat. When we arrived at Ascension I thought it was a very queer place to see the people going about almost naked with only a shimeezse, very short almost up to there knees that is the dress of the country and a white cloth over there heads. There dress is all white, men and women. The men wear a pair of trousers and a shirt. they never wear shoes and the children go about naked. The baby was not born on board of ship; she was born at Itá so she is a native of the country. They all speak Spanish.

I am sorry to tell you that our little Lizey died a few days after the letter was posted. She was not very well for a long time but she died very sudden one night taken worse and died in an hour. We buried her under a Grange tree close to the house. I must tell you that this is a beautiful country, almost always sunshine, no fogs, a very healthy place. I must tell you more the next time for we are very busy getting our ground ready for planting.

We planted tobacco last year but we are not going to do the same this year; we are going to plant sugar cane; that is a paying game you may fancy; it can't be such easy work; we grow corn miandysher beans enough for the year there is no bread and butter out here. I often think I should like a piece of dry bread for a change. There is plenty in Ascunsion. Sugar is very dear, everything is very dear. There it is much better than England, when you are poor, when you have got no rent to pay, not much to buy makes one feel happy there is no poor beggars here. They are all the same. They all grow what they eat and are not like the English. What ever they have got to eat they will give it to you if you pass there houses. I must tell you more about it when I write again.

If you write to father give my love to him and tell him I will write to him next time. I was not surprised to hear grandfather Lane was dead - he was very old. We are much obliged to you for writing about the money. Mr Edwards 'as wrote to Mr Cheeseman requesting him to pay the money to you. If we could get it out of her it will be great help to us when we get our crops in.

Give our love to all brothers and sisters. So now I must conclude with my kind love to you both; never forget both of your kindness to us as long as I live and ... the same yourself.

From Emma and I. Edwards, Itá