This letter, written by ninety-three-year-old Lucas, Kansas resident Gertrude Von Stiers, is a memoir of her Mudge family's emigration from Iowa to Furnas County, Nebraska in 1879. She details their experiences as sodbusters, living in a dugout, and includes her recollections of Rayville residents in nearby Norton County, Kansas. Included is an accompanying letter from her married daughter Louise, recounting her own memories of Furnas County, Rayville, and of Rodenbaugh family members.