"March 12th.
"DEAR FRED, — I have but an instant. By all means
make your preparations to be here by the end of the month
or early in next month. The weather has been faultless,
you know. Asaph got in a dozen more men, and we have
brought up the surface farther than you could dream. The
ways are well forward, and I cannot see why, if the
freshet hold off a little, we should not launch her by
the 10th or 12th. I do not think it worth while to wait
for paint or enamel. Telegraph Brannan that he must be
here. You will be amused by our quarters. We, who were
the last outsiders, move into A and D to-morrow, for a
few weeks. It is much warmer there.
"Ever yours, G. O."
