*    *    *    *    *    *

Myrtle Street Prison
St. Louis MO    Nove 20th (30th?) 1864

Dear Cousin,
     I received your verry kind letter this evening + hasten to reply. yours found me only tolerable well. I have been sick now for nearly two weeks but am on the mend and am so I can sit up all day. My nerves is so affected I can Scarsley write at all. I hope this will find you and all enjoying good health. I am verry thankful for kind Sympathy and hope you all may live longe and enjoying a greate deal of Satisfaction in this life if I can not enjoy Satisfaction + pleasure in this life I wish all my friends to do well and enjoy life. I also thank you for your kind advice and think I Shall try + live up to it. I hope to immerge from this Prison a great deal wiser than when I first came in. I have learned this much since my incarseration that the way of the transgressor is hard. I could write more but Prison rules forbids. I can only write the oftener and hope you will do the same. you wanted to Know Something about one David Rickman there is no such man in this Prison that I can find. It may be posiable that he is at Alton. The name seames fermiliar to me but he is not in hear now. As you Say I will try and look on the bright sid of ever thing in this life. Be sure to write again Soon So no more but remain your cousin untill death + ec.

         John S. Poindexter
Margaret J. Clark

P.S. My mother was well the other day. She is living at uncle John Bronaughs in Virden Macoupin County Illinois. She would be verry glad to receive a letter from you I know. Write to her soon and you will hear from her amediately. Please excuse this badly written Sheet for my nerves is so unstud (unstrung?) I can scarsley write at all.