Herculaneum August the 25 [1821]
This days mail brought my dear sons wellcome letters of the 13 and
14 of July which afforded me much real sattisfaction. I had
received one from you dated the 7 ult but as you had not heard of your
dear Fathers death I posponed answering it till I heard from you
again, yes my dear Stephen this unexpected stroak of divine
providence must have afflicted your affectionate heart most sensibly, even
at this time, when more than two months has passed away in sadness
and sorrow, I can hardly realize the reality of the melancholy event,
to have him taken from us at a time when his prospects appeared so
flattering and his expectations of future happyness and prosperity
raised to the highest pitch, oh what a lesson for those he has left
behind to strugel a few years longer in this vail of tears, my dear
Stephen wishes to know the particulars of his Fathers death I
wrote you soon after it took place and sent the letter [by Mr] Bruffy
to Orleines, what he did with the letter I have not learnt but least
theay never reatch you, I will again give you a short detail your
dear parent was in very bad health when he returned in march and
was but a shadow of his former self but such was his anxiety to
arrange all his business in this quarter, I could not prevail on him to
attend to his health and taike those medicines necessary to restore it
as soon as he was able to ride he went to St Louis, where he was
detained six weeks setling with the directors of the bank this might
have been don in one, had theay been disposed to do him Justice, at
length one generous and disinterested man, even a lawyer, steped
forward and vollanteered his services to your persecuted Father, he
said the sale of the lead mine estate was an Illegal one, that he would
undertake to recover it and not receive one dollar till he had gained
it he stated this to the board of directors which brought them to a
compromise and your Father after the greatest perplexity and delay,
at length obtained a full receipt from the Directors, exonerating
you and J. B [James Bryan] and bringing the bank 5000 dollars in
his debt he returned home, spent and exhausted with fatigue but
would take no rest, started in fore days for Potosi to mack a finish
of business their, I felt greatly allarmed and did all I could to
prevail on him to take advice and postpone his Journey a few days, you
know his determined and perservering disposi[t]ion, he had fixed
the 25 of May for leaving this country and he had not a moment to
loose, he laid sick at Dr Mc Grady several days, then finished his
business and started to Bellview, laid two days very ill at Mr Buggies,
but persisted going on the third day to Sqr. Stepn and finally on the
seventh day after he left the mines arrived at Hazel run so ill he
had to be helped of the hors this was the 2 of June, he appeared
very unwilling even then to give up and the next day Commenced
setling his accounts with J B and thought he would be able to ride
to this place in two days, all this time the disease was gaining fast
on his sistom, the day I expected him home, an express was sent for
me I [took] out Dr Benhiser [Bernhisel] with me he is from
Philadpa and came highly recommended He said his disordor was a
violent Inflamation of the lungs, he bleed and blistered—staid a day
and night and pronounced him out of danger, I watched by him
day and night gave him his medicine every hour and for two days
we all thought him on the mend—my sister and a young man who
was to go with him had set up Thursday night his fever was higher
on that night than it had been at fore in the morning I discovered
the St Antony fire was all over his face and he had great difficulty
in breathing we sent instantly for Dr B and I asked him if he did
not wish Mc Grady sent for, after a considerable exertion to speak,
he drew me down to him and told me it was two late, that he was
going—that he shold not live 24 hours, tell dear Stephen that it is
his dieing fathers last request to prosecute the enterprise he had
Commenced, that he had set his heart two much on it but for some wise
purpose, god had prevented his travelling the rode he had planed
out, he had opened and prepared the way for you and your brothers
and that he felt a conviction you would be successful and
independant in a few years, he begged me not to greive that he was
going to make a happy exchange and that I should soon follow him,
he said he had done all he could for his family, he saw his errows
when it was two late, it had ever been the first wish of his heart to
see his family happy and Independant, he had lost them a fortune
and fully expected he would be permitted to mack another for them
the all wise god had in his infinite wisdom thought proper to call
him from the scean of action and he submitted to his will— he con-
tinued in his senses and though his sufferings was greater then I ever
saw any human being he never murmured or complained, but left
this troublesome world with an assurance of never ending felicity in
the kingdom of heaven where he should sooner or later meet his dear
famaly to part no more, I can say no more at present if you
receive my other letters together with this hasty communication it will
satisfy my dr son that his father died like a man and Christian, I
have remained in this place three weeks longer that I intended, in
the hope of seeing dear Brown I sent on 30 dollars to bare his
Expenses—and wrote to Mr. Walker to send on his account by B
and he should be paid as soon as money could be raised, I expect him
daly and shall attend to your wishes in regard to his studying the
Spanish my page is nearly full and I wish to say something to you
of J B. I fear my dear Stephen something has been represented in
a rong light to you, I never knew what the difficulty was between
you till about six weeks ago he was here on business and took your
first letter out of the office and feeling anxious to know if you had
heard of his fathers death and whether you intended [to] go on to
St Antone, he opened the letter, when he gave it to me at Hazel run
he appeared hurt and agitated in his feelings when I read your
letter it explained the caus, he has wrote several times and I trust
when you meet everything will be explained and you will find J B
is not the man his Enimys paint him to be and that he is still worthy
of your confidence and friendship to me he is an affectionate kind
son and tender husband and father, he is greatly embarast and the
times is so hard he can sell nothing for money, you may be assured
your Brother would not have been this long in Ky if he could have
raised the money by selling flower or whisky at half price no money
in the state, the Missouri bank has failed and the notes dont pass
The Edwardsville [bank] has stopped pament and there is nothing
talked of but failures and hard times, sickness also prevails
everywhere, I have wrote you this long but very incorrect scrawl while
sitting up with the sick— I was invited to spend a few days with
Mrs. W. Bates he and the two children are ill with the fever and a
niece of Mr B Anne Nash are very ill indeed E B hous is like a
hospital in short every family in town has the fever more or less,
if B[rown] does not come next week I shall return to hazel run
where theay enjoy perfect health if not happyness, farewell my
dearest son, may guardien angels watch and protect you by day and
by night and hasten the period that will restore you to the anxious
arms of your affectionate mother
Maria Austin
twelve oclock at night
[Addressed:] Mr Stephen F. Austin to the care of Doct J Sibley
Nachitoches Mail.