The captain suddenly called to his post at Madawaska.

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Augusta, State of Maine, Jan. 23, 1832.
To the Editor of the Portland Courier, again.

Dear Friend,—The more I write to you, it seems
to me the better I like you. I believe there is n't but
one person that I set so much by, and that is Gineral
Jackson, who was so kind as to give me a commission,
and let me have spending money besides. I 'm pretty
much out of money now, and the man that I board
with keeps dunning me for pay; so I wish you would
be so kind as to send me four or five dollars till I get
some more from the President. I writ for it last week,
and I think I shall get it in a few days. I told you in
my last letter, if I got over the furenza, you should
hear from me pretty often. I 'm getting nicely again
now. I dont cough more than once in five minutes or
so, and my toes and ears that were froze so bad coming
up from Madawaska are nearly healed over. All I
have to do to 'em now is jest to grease 'em a little when
I go to bed at night and in the morning when I get up.
I have to keep a handkerchief over my ears yet when
I go out, but my toes are so well I dont limp hardly a
mite. As to our legislater business we get along middling
well, but not quite so fast as I thought we should
considerin it goes by steam. One reason I suppose is
because Mr. Knowlton has been a good deal unwell
and could n't take hold and drive it right in end as he
used to. But he 's got better now, so I hope the wheels
will begin to buzz again.

About the quarrel that our party's got into, I 'm
pesky fraid it 'll blow us up yet; and I don't know
what we shall do to stop it. We 've had a caucus as
I told you we should in my last letter, and tried to
hush matters up as well as we could. But some of 'em

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are so grouty, I expect nothing but what they 'll belch
out again.

I was glad the Argus took my advice and kept back
the reply to the Age.

We had a little bit of a tussle here to see who should
be appointed agent to go to Washington to tell the president
to hold on to the territory down to Madawaska.
Mr. Preble and Mr. Deane and I were the three principal
candidates. Some thought Mr. Preble ought to
go because it would be for the interest of the republican
party; and some thought Mr. Deane ought to go because
he had been down there a good deal and knew all
about the Madawaska country; and some thought I
ought to go because I had been down there the last of
any body, and because I was such good friends with the
President I should be likely to do better than any body
else could. I thought my claims were the strongest,
and the Governor said he thought so too. But he said
as affairs now stood it would n't do to appoint any body
but Mr. Preble.

And besides I dont know as I ought to go off jest now,
for I had a letter yesterday from one of my subalterns
down to Madawaska, that there 's some trouble with my
company there: some of the Sarjeants been breaking
orders, &c., and I dont know but I shall have to go down
and Court Martial 'em.

p378-101

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