From: Emmental, Bessarabia
10 November 1910
All of the latter part of the year was dry. People did not sow much because of that. The small amount of seed that did grow looks bad. It is nice and warm, but the soil is dry. God only knows what the next year will bring!
Yesterday Elias Mas [Maas] married Defila Miller. We wish them the best of luck on their path through life together. Melchior Seifert and Eva Baumann are getting married next week.
During the night of October 16/17, two horses were stolen from the stable of Zachäus Fenrich. No thieves were apprehended. They were a dapple-gray and a chestnut. If a reader should see these, he may claim the reward should the horses be recovered.
A short while ago I was in Krasna, my old home. They had several epidemics there. Eighty children died of whooping cough and another throat disease took its toll on the rest of the population, regardless of age. The schools there are closed to prevent further infection.
Our vineyards are almost gone. They really suffered in this area over the past few years. The harvest is less than a quarter of what it used to be. It does not stop people from drinking; they just get more potent liquor that causes them to make pigs of themselves.
I would like to encourage our friends in America to write as well. I sent a photo of myself to friend Pius Kopp in Richardton, North Dakota. I would like to know if he received it.
A heartfelt greeting to my old mother in Maple Creek, Saskatchewan, Canada and my brother Joseph. I received the letter of October 7, but not the pictures. I answered your correspondence of October 1 and will write again soon.
Zachäus Kopp,
Son of Martin