This letter, written by Theodore Hyatt of New York, was sent to his brother, Thaddeus, president of the National Kansas Committee, to keep Thaddeus informed about business dealings in Atchison, Kansas Territory. He reported that S.C. Pomeroy and Benjamin Stringfellow were attempting to attract the freighting business to Atchison through "inducements" in the form of town lots. Theodore also discussed Thaddeus' imprisonment in Washington, D.C., for aiding John Brown and collecting funds to support the Brown family after Brown's death in 1859. Theodore wrote that he was "laying low" on that issue until he could collect all the funds obtained and pay them to Thaddeus.