Dear Carrie
You must Know that I Let alone writing until the Last thing in Hopes of Hearing from you, Had Closed it & taken to the office, when a Jentleman Came up from from the with four Letters three from Addeline and one from Your own Dear Self. Oh How I want to see You. Your Letter was Dated 15 of June & we Have another Mail Due. I notice what you say About My Coming Home. I think you are unreasonable, in some things, My whole Dependence for Our future Comfort Depends upon this winters work when the Rains Come. As we Have Made us a League & what we Consider a Good Claim. Besides we Have quite a quantity of Rich Dirt Hove up Ready for washing & furthermore it would Not be Prudent for Me to Come this fall as the Cholera is verry Bad on the Isthmus, & You Say you will not put up with it any Longer. I Hope You are Not Suffering bad. I notice by your Letters that you Have a Plenty of Company. I Guess you will Live through it. I hope so at any rate, & when I do Come I will Give you [...?] what is the Trouble, that you want to see me so Bad. You are Not agoing to Have a baby are You. As it is Fashionable for California widows to whom thier Husbands write as often as I do. Come Carrie, I dont want you to get down Hearted. Keep up Good Spirits everything will Come round. Right yet I am the one to Complain if any, Living such an Old Batchelore Life. Do all my own wasting & Mending Cooking, & the worst of all is Sleep alone, although we Live verry Comfortable & Have improvd upon our Sleeping apartment. Instead of Laying on Boards I Bought Me Some Canvas & Made Me a Ticking Bottom with it I Get along verry well. If You was only Here to Share it with Me, but Never Mind You are better off than I am, & I am well enough Except I Get a Little Homesick at Times. I want to see you & the Little Girls & that Beautiful Little Boy you speak so Much about. Poor Richardson How sorry I felt when you mentiond that in Your Letter. Where are the Whipple Boys & Capt. Simeon. Here they all Got enough of California. Give My Best Respects to Neighbor Hopkins and all My Good Friends. Kiss Them Little Girls & Give them Each a Big apple for me. Tell old Add & Theodore & Dorah to write often. The first thing you know you will find old Papa Coming Home with a Pocket full of Rock. I am going to send you my profile. Direct your Letters to Coloma Eldorado.
[Next letter, March 13th, 1853]