Kamiah
July 7, 1880

My dear Mrs Perkins
As I wrote before, the Spaulding House ‘will do for one school, as long as we can have it. If the new blacksmith whom the Agent is now seeking for Kamiah should be a married man, he will need all of the house in which my sister had her school room last year, and she would be without a school room. You have (I hope) seen the letter written by Mr Deffenbaugh and me to Dr Lowrie in regard to the new house in case you have not, I will report a little.

There is no saw mill nearer to Kamiah than Mt Idaho, a small village 25 or 30 miles distant, and the road to it has only once or twice been transversed by a wagon; and there is no other way by which lumber can be obtained. Enoch and his father-in-law (Rachel & Roberts father) had begun hauling the lumber from Mt Idaho. I am to pay then for this at the rate of $10.00 per 1000 ft per load. It is a difficult road with their Indian ponies. Of course this hauling is an expense I had not anticipated, but it is either that, or no house for another year, if then.

Mr Deffenbaugh who is on a visit to Kamiah now, thinks that only one half of the funds on hand for the house should be expended on the building for my school that the other half of the funds on hand for the house should be reserved for a building for my sisters School which would include two rooms, about (10’ x 14’ each) for himself to occupy on his visits to Kamiah. In that case please send me one half of the funds on hand, as soon as possible to pay for hauling for lumber, & whatever else it will pay. I have a little reserve fund of my own in the Portland Bank which I had destined for another purpose, but I will pay from it myself whatever is needed to finish the building for my school so as to make it habitable, (I have already purchased nails, glass &c.). Of course the lumbermen and haulers will expect their pay as soon as they finish hauling

I remain etc

S.L. McBeth