I’m writing today especially because of what day it is, Emma’s birthday.  How I hold her in my heart and can’t wait to see her again.  I will never forget that day and night and day.  I laugh and cry thinking about it, how cold it was, how I put on the gold ear drops to make myself feel older, how many times I thanked God that Chace and Ellis were there to help me.  I hope if my time ever comes, I would be as strong and brave as you were.

We are fine.  It has been exciting, as you can imagine.  As much as I wish to be there, I would wish even more for you both to be here if that were in any way possible, to see it all.  I hold in my hands a first copy of the book and still can’t believe that this is all real, that it’s actually happening.  It’s called, it couldn’t be called anything else, The People Touched By The River.  The dedication on the second page reads: For Emma White Flower.  Every time I look at it, I cry all over again!  Kiss her for me.

Jenkins’ book will be published at the same time.  They are very clever, almost too much so, these literary people.  His is called, it couldn’t be anything else either, Mountain Man: A Life.  We are apparently quite the curious couple in the eyes of Easterners who have no acquaintance with the West and frankly don’t seem to know what to make of it, or us.  But it’s my feeling, very strongly, that none of this is for them anyway, it’s for the future, so that, as Chace says, no one ever forgets.

Jenkins has been approached several times on our tour with the idea of publishing a second book, made up of all the beautiful letters he wrote to me in Oregon Territory.  I don’t know how I feel about it yet, though being very much ahead of things, they already have a name for it too.  It would be called: Dear Ada.

I must go.  We have so many appearances to make and talks to give.  So far, we’re told, they’ve been a great success.  As you know, Jenkins loves nothing better than to talk.  I want you to know that I wear my wedding presents always, Grandmother’s locket and Chace’s silver bracelet.  The eagle feather is in my luggage no matter where we go.  These gifts are my life, who I am, a part of me because they are a part of you.