Letter from Robert Stephenson to his stepmother

A letter from Robert Stephenson, Mariquita, Colombia, dated 28th April 1825 addressed to his stepmother, Mrs George Stephenson, Newcastle upon Tyne, England. In the letter he states that he is grateful for the letters he has received from home but that he does not have time to reply to all of them. He goes onto describe the house in which he is living and complains about the state of the furniture. He also states he has been collecting seeds which hopes his parents could grow in their greenhouse. As well as this he describes the local wildlife, mostly parrots one of which he hopes to catch and bring back home. There are also rabbits, deer, turkeys and monkeys, which along with the parrots and 'a bird very like an English pheasant', he has eaten.