[p.1]Georgetown May 25th 1851
My Dear Wife
You must excuse me for being so negligent
in writing to you[.] I received your letter dated Dec. 31st
which is the last that I have received from you. I have writen [written]
one since previous to this. I am verry [very] anxious to hear from
you before I leave here to go further up in the mountains
as I don't expect that we will have any conveniance [convenience] of
receiving our letters after we leave here. We expect our
express man will be here today with the mail and
if he brings me a letter from you then I shall leave here
the first of June and if I get none I will wait untill [until]
we receive the mail of the first of June as I am anxious
to know whether you have received the $200 that I
sent you in January last. I sent five hundred dollars
to the city by our express man the last time that he
went down to buy a draft on Adams & Co. of New
York. When he comes I shall enclose it in this letter
and then give you directions what to do with it.
My health is exceedingly good [.] I never felt better for work.[.]
I think the country agrees with me well. I hope this letter may
find you and the children in good health also the ballance [balance]
of my friends and acquaintenses [acquaintances].
When I wrote to you in March I had then made since
January 20th $796.00 and now I have swelled it up
to $1221.10 [.] of that sum I have saved $1050.00 the ballance [balance]
being consumed in my expenses necessary to get along with [.]
We had the but end of our winter in March and
April [.] the last two weeks of March and first two of April
it rained or snowed at least half of the time.
Consequently it rendered mining verry [very] disagreeable on account
of mud and high water.
I still work with Elder [C?]rain yet the baptist minister
that I informed you of in my last letter. We are a going
in the mountains together[.] I took a trip thirty miles to the
Northe [North] East of here two weeks ago to find beter [better] digings [diggings]
[p.2] but the water being to high to work there at present
I made us a claim of two hundred feet of ground on a
canion [canyon] or large creek that is said to be rich and left it in care
of a young man that I was acquainted with here.
We shall go there first when we leave here and if
we find nothing there then we will move along further
and still keep moving on untill [until] we find some place
where it has not been all tore to peices [pieces] like it is in
this vicinity[.] We have been working over old digings [diggings] all
winter and I want to find some new place where I can
have the first chance at it as I want to make one
thousand dollars more between this and the first of Nov [November]
for that is the time that I have fixed upon to start for
home if I am spared untill [until] then. I never expect to make
a verry [very] big pile in Calafornia [California] for I see that it is only one
in five hundred that makes them big strikes that
you see published in the papers. Dear Emeline be patient
as you can for you may expect me home by the
first of January if I live and have my health[.]
I long once more to see and enjoy the society
of my family. I have received Georges leter [letter]of
the 14th of Jan. Tell him that I will comply
with his request when I get in good digings [diggings]
where I think a man hired as he spoke of can make
something more than expences [expenses] so that there will
be something left for him. Tell one armed
Robbinson that his son John was here last Sunday
at our cabbin [cabin]. He works four miles from here.
He said that he made one hundred and fifty
dollars the week before [.] that makes about $350 that
he has in all [.] he was well. Alonzo Burroughs
left here to take the first of May boat for home [.]
The ballance [balance] of the boys have gone North. I heard from
Osro [?] three weeks ago [.] he had then made about
one hundred dollars Since he left here in February [.]
A roling [rolling] stone gathers no moss. Vegitation [vegetation] bears a
much diferent [different] aspect from what it did when we
[p.3] came in last August [.] every thing then in the
shape of vegitation [vegetation] was all dryed [dried] up with the
drough [drought], and every thing on these old hills and
vallies [valleys] looks as green and luxurant [luxuriant] as if thoug [though] it
was a civilized and Christain [Christian] country especially
white and red clover that is now in full bloom
and resembles our tame clover at home verry [very] much [.]
the seenery [scenery] is verry [very] beautiful here [.] there is a high hill
a mile from our cabbin [cabin.] when on the top of it we can
look off to the North East and see mountains of snow one
range of hills rising above another untill [until] they seem to be lost
in the skye [sky] and then turn around and look to the South
West and you can see Sacramento valley and the American
Fork valley and numerous other smaller valleys and can see
the smoke of the Steam Boats that are wafting there [their] way
up and down the Sacramento river [.] it almost makes one think
that they would like to spend the ballance [balance] of there [their] days
among these old hills. but then to look at the society
that he is placed in here he soon changes his mind and wants
to get out of the country as quick as possible [.] if men hapen [happen]
to disagree in the least here about any little trifling matter
they will out with there [their] revolvers and blow one another into
eternity in the twinkling of an eye or let there [their] bowels
out with a boey [bowie] knife which at least three fourths of the
men here carry with them even when at there [their] daily
labour [labor]. Such is almost every day acurrances [occurrances.] but give
your self no uneasyness [uneasiness] about me [.] I keep out of such company
and mind my own business [.] there is some men here that
has not forgot what belongs to human decency [.] I
assosiate [associate] with such [.] the time seems long to wait untill [until]
next winter before I can See you and my little children but
if I have good health I think I can get home with enough
money to make us comfortable the ballance [balance] of our lives with
a reasonable share of health and luck.. We had a verry [very] hard
rain storm here last Sunday and also another on Tuesday [.]
we had a months fair weather previous [.] The Mr. Vanhorn [VanHorn]
of racine [Racine, Wis.] that you saw in Nov [November] last is back here.
[p.4] If the season is dry enough I want you to get some one
to finish the ditch in the prairie from Ellises fence South
as far as the stakes are set [.] I mean the whole of my west
line where the sod has been cut. When you need any money
call on Docter [Doctor] Foster for it as I have already sent him
two hundred dollars for safe keeping and I intend to send him
more for I don't think that it is safe to keep much money on
hand here. San Francisco was at least three fourths
burned up two weeks ago [.] Several lives lost [.] it was
supposed to be the work of an incendiary. Stockton another
fine city, is burned also. I saw about fifty Indians a week
ago today mostly Squaws and young ones [.] They were the
first that I have saw since I have been in Calafornia [California].
When I leave here I may not have any chance of sending
letters to the post office so you must not be alarmed
if you don't receive your letters regular.
I saw green peas here two weeks ago raised in
Sacramento Valley also green corn and new potatoes.
It is now super [supper] time and I must go to work and get supper [.]
we are to have pan cakes and malasses [molasses] for supper[.] I almost wish
you was here to help eat them they are so good.
Monday evening May 26th our express man has
just arrived [.] he has brought me two letters one from Docter [Doctor]
Foster and one from George of March 11th [.] I was glad to hear
that you had received the receipt for the money that I sent you.
I enclose a draft on Adams & Co. of New York in this letter
for five hundred dollars [.] When you receive the money give
your father $30 and your mother $10 and give Bill $20 and give
George $10 and Mariah your sister $5 to pay for that $15 breast
pin that she duns me for and keep $5 your self to buy you
a new dress with. And the ballance [balance] $420 I want you to
let John [H?] Foster have and take his note for the same
payable one day after date. Tell him that it is not likely thie money
will be caled [called] for untill [until] I come home. I made $20 today
just as easy as diging [digging] a well. I was disapointed [disappointed] in not receiving a letter
from you this mail for I wanted to leave here but I will wait two weeks longer [.]
Dear wife I still remain your affectionate husband untill [until] death. A. McDaniel
