Manuscripts
In this letter to unidentified individuals who appear to live in Sheffield, England, Eli Fay writes of his arrival to California from England. He arrived in New York and "took the cars" to Chicago, a journey that he reports took 26 1/2 hours. He is amazed at the growth of Chicago. Leaving Chicago, again "on the cars," Fay continued west, describing the landscape in general detail. Once arriving in Los Angeles, he describes the city and its inhabitants in greater detail. Of southern California, he writes that "as a whole is but little more than a vast Sanitorium," a refuge for "people who suffer from throat and lung troubles." Fay himself is ill, and has come to California for relief, for his doctors have told him that "my only chance of recovery was in a total suspension for the time being of my pulpit labor." He reports his health has improved, and his daily horseback rides in the open country have been of vital help. He laments that he left England "before I had finished the work that I had laid out for myself" and hopes to return once he has fully recovered. He asks for details of the church he has left, and hopes all is well.
mssHM 16550
