You discover the following undated letter in a friend\'s attic. You are not sure

Question

You discover the following undated letter in a friend's attic. You are not sure if it is the original or a copy. You do not have access to carbon 14 dating, nor are you an expert on handwriting styles of different historical eras. Estimate the date of its composition, explaining what techniques you are using to make your estimate, what specific clues these techniques were applied to, and what results were yielded in each case. Dear Pa I am enjoying my stay with Uncle Ed and Aunt Sue. I get to do a lot of fishing, and it's nice not to be in school. Some days I feel like Huck Fine Uncle Ed is working now down at the territorial government in salt Lake city, so he doesn't get to come along too often. I've been keeping company with a girl named sue. I sneak over to her house and we chew the rag but her Pa thinks she's too young for counting and if he catches me with her again I'U be in the soup. Think I'LL close this letter now, as I'm plum tuckered out. Your son, Joe

Explanation / Answer

Hi, the absence of carbon dating and scientific clue makes it difficult to predict the exact date of the letter. However there is a silver lining in the question, when the writer says that his uncle works for the territorial government in salt Lake city. The territorial government in salt city was formed around 1851 and it became part of United States in 1896. So the letter must have been written somewhere between 1860s to 1890s.

There is another clue when the writer ends the letter by saying 'plum tuckered out'. This word was originated in early 20th century. So going by this clue the writer must have written it in late 1890s or early 1900s.

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