Out in the mountains, June 25th, 1851
Dear Caroline,
Wife, it is with pleasure I Hasten to acknowledge the Receipt of 3 Letters from You Dated in Feb. & March & one I Got Yesterday Dated april 28th the first & all 2 [...?]ever had since I Have been in California & one from Addeline at the Same time I began to despair of ever Hearing from you again. Now I will Give You a Little History of Myself & what I am doing. In the first Place I am in Good Health & Have been ever since I Have been in California. I Notice by your Letter that you want to Know How I Live, what I have to Eat How I sleep &c. I will tell you 2 weeks ago Genl Green Sent up from San Francisco sythes Rakes & Pitchforks saying the Haying Business was the Best thing he Could Go into. Hay was then selling at San Francisco 80 dollars per ton and would probably be a Hundred. Mr. May, Capt. Seguin and myself took our tent & went out in the mountain valleys to cut oats. We pitched our tent in the American Canyon so Called about 5 Miles from the city of Velezo where we now are & shall Probably be here a week Longer. We are here in a Valley surrounded by Mountains, Coverd with wild Cattle, Horses, Kiotes & wolfs &c. We have a tent Sleep on the Ground. Rather a Solurtary [solitary] Life especially when some of them Go in town for provisions which is Bread & Meat. We have cut about 30 Tons 3 of us in 2 weeks. We have it yet to stock and send to Market. I sent You by Last Mail Some papers Giving account of the Great fire at San Friscoe. Yesterday While at Vallezo I Saw a Great Smoke down the Bay & remarked that San Francisco was Burnt up again & the News has just Come that it Has it is thought it was set a fire. About a week ago they Caught a Sydney Cove [?] as they Term them Stealing an Iron Safe & Called a Number of Citizens Together Tryd the fellow & Hung Him on the Same day in the plaza on the old Adabe [Adobe] Building. Capt. Simeon or the whipples can explain it to you. Yesterday they Caught a gang of them. They shot one Have one in the Flames and Burnt Him up. Tommorrow they hang 12 more by order of Judge Lynch. This is a Great Country its No place for an Honest Person so you Must not be surprized if you Hear of My Leaving it Soon as I Can make enough to Get away. I dont take any real Comfort Here & You Know I am fond of it. Here we are out in the Mountains Laying on the ground for Our pillows we have Guns Pistols & Bowe Knifes. Gangs of Horse thiefs, Grizly Bears, wild Bulls, Lyons & the Devil Knows what is Not Here. At night we Can Hardly sleep for the Dambed Bulls & Kiotes all around the Tent. We Came out here for two purposes one to Cut oats & the other to prospect for Gold as we found some in digging a well at Vellezo. The first Gold I ever saw washed I washed myself in digging this well but not enough of it to make it an object. We found it 50 feet under Ground in Consequence of that we Started Out in the Mountains to prospect after Cutting our Hay. Although we have no frost Here we Have Hay Seasons that is the same as we would Cut oats at Home before they Get dry. Oh Carrie How I Long to be with you & the Children that I Could Have You to go to the draws & Get me out a Clean Shirt. Here I am dirty as a pig Lousy and everything Else. I believe I have told you about all I Can think of at Present more than I enjoy Good Health Yet. I Notice & Cannot Help thinking about poor Perkins & Sillimon & more particularly notice about your sickness. I Can assure You that nothing would of Given me More Pleasure than to stand over watch & wait upon You & the Children. I notice also about what you say in relation to Mrs Hill. I Have never written Her Neither Have I ever recevd anything from Her. I Consider Her an old Friend & Nothing more. I should be Pleased to Get Letters from any Person in this Country only think of it I have not Heard a word from You until yesterday. Then they all Came Together. Give my Respects to Mrs. Pollack. I am afraid she will be disappointed in Golden Tea Pot & and she will Have to put up with some other Kind of a Tea Pot. You Can tell Mrs Brittel & Kirby I will write to their Husbands & my next will Give them all the news I Can about them. How is it does Capt. Simeon Come to see you often if Just tell I wish he would write and tell Me where He found His Gold for I will be Dambed if I can find any. This thing of finding Gold in California is quite an up Hill business. I have Dug and prospected all about those Parts we went out in the Mountains partly for that Purpose. I believe I Mentioned in my Last that while digging a well at Vellezo at the Dist [distance] of 60 feet we washed out Gold but not enough to make it a object &c. We thought we would try our Luck in the mountains. I Have Had about enough of it & about the Same of California. I Have just Got up from My supper Light Pipe [?] get in the Tent read over your Letters Look at You and old Ette & wish I was with you & Go to Bed. To day we Had Company to Dine with us. Amongst them was Genl. Green. He seemed to enjoy His mountain Camp Dinner. What has become of old Sam Gutterson. Enquire what Part of the Mines Laylon is &c and in Your Next Give me all the Particulars about Matters & things & what about the Rail Road Going through Como. Enquire of Mrs Pollack where abouts in Oregon Thomas lives for Mr. May Possibly take a trip up there before I Come Back. Now in Conclusion I want you write often & Direct Your Letters to Me at the Capital Vellezo Solano County Cal [California]. Give My Best Respects to all My old Friends. Tell Theodore He Must write Me all the Particulars. How Does Sarah Get a Long is She & Ira going to make a [... match?]. I think its almost Time for Her to be Looking Round Herself. Give My Respects to uncle Henry & Family & and to aunt aphia. What is Capt. Simeon about & Now Carrie Fourth of July is Near at Hand have a Good Bottle of Wine or Brandy & Drink my Health & I will return the Compliment although I am quite Temperate I see so much disapation it disgusting to me. Oh How I Long to see the Children & that Homely face of Yours. Tell old Add She must tend to Her school & Learn to write that she Can write me. Little Charley I want to see rigged out in that Little Sailor Dress. Kiss them all for Me. From Your Loving Husband James
[Next letter, January 13th, 1852]