Jerubial Gideon Dorman

Weber's Creak Weber Creek New Years day 1850

Dieane Brother

I availe [avail] My Selfe [myself] of this rainy day to imforme [inform] you that I am Well at presant [present] and hope you all Enjoy the Same blessing. I have been in the mines Since the 1st of Aug Aparte [a part] of the time I have been Sick and A prospecting but the Most of the time hard at Work I am Now cituated [situated] near the mouth of this Creak [creek] in a log cabin five rounds high the Logs is of young pine and Such as 2 men can pack with a cotton Tent for the roof We are Serounded [surrounded] by high and red hills or Mts With Some pine or oak Growing upon them and others is covered with Green wood Some of brush which is about the hith [height] of a mans head this the Creake [creek] is roaling [rolling] its niley waters within ten yards of our doore [door] and afording [affording] about as Much as Eagel in a Corner on stage last Summer it was Entirley [entirely] dry the rainey [rainy] Season Set in the 1^st of Nov and We have had it wet and Muddy ever Since ocasionley [occasionally] we have a weake [weak] of Clear Weather from the cill [chill] of our humbel [humble] littel domicel [domicile] commences ascending a Mountain from the top of of Which we Can See the Smord Caped [snowcapped] Sara Noveda [Sierra Nevada] and the Cost [Coast] rainge [Range] to the west all So [also] the Sacramento Valley which formes [forms] the Most beautiful Cean [scene] that you could immagen [imagine] We have had No Snow heare [here] and the Grass is Growing finley [finely] but about 15 miles East they have Snow a plenty the Weather heare [here] is regulated by the Mts [mountains]

Now for boald [bold] Stories When we firse [first] Commenced Mining we averaged about an oz per day but Soon went in Serch [search] of better Diggens but failed to fiend [find] them on an average I have often worked harde [hard] and Not Made $3.00 Per day and I on one day Made over one hundred I knew of one man taken on $16,000 dollars from one Crivis [crevice] and I See one man Get a Lump that he Sold for $1150 Dollars This was in the neare [near] George Town [Georgetown] Neare [near] the Same place My Self [myself] and partner worked 2 Months during Which time we Made 1,000 dollars and Eight hundred of Which we Made in 10 days and within one Mile of the Same place thar [there] is More than 1000 Men half of them is Not Making there [their] Board We Get Goald [gold] by the hardest in the Gulches or What is called the dry diggins We have lead the water of in troves [troughs] or diches [ditches] then dig through Mud and Water pry and roal [roll] at the Big Stoans [stones] untill [until] we Get to the Bed rock in which the Gold is Loged [lodged] the Bar or river diggens is Simmeler [similar] to the Bar at the Swift rippel [ripple] but rocks larger the Gold is fien [fine] and Settled all through the dirt through The Slate rainges [ranges] Gold is found in all of the rivers through the Granite ranges it is only found on the rivers

Through the rainey [rainy] Season Miners will do well To Make there Board they have to pay from 75 cts [cents] $300.00 pr pound for flower [flour] porke [pork] $100 and 125 and as high as $300 Dried Appels [apples] $125 pr Lb in Shorte [short] We Eate [eat] Nothing that costs Less than

than one Dollar pr Lb only we hill a Dieane ocasionely [occasionally] The gold will Never all be taken from this country but has all ready past for a man to be Sure of a fortune and close at hand when five Dollars pr [per] day will be Good wages Thousands of men and Sadley Disapointed [disappointed] and returning home While others are doing well

Dieare Brother I want you with out faile [fail] to have a ceane of out parents if they are a living knowing there is ability to Get a long I want you to Lay in Shugar [sugar] Coffee Rice and Such Groceries and Clothing as they Nead See that they have a plenty lay in a Suply [supply] for 3 months at a time and Send an order to Brother Archa for the amount if you advance any Money I will pay interest on it until you Get it which you by Sending an order to A B if you onley [only] See that they are provided for it will be a pleaure to me to pay the Expence [expense] have them to Send Little Mathew to School all they can at my Expence [expense] So I request this of you I know you have time to do it I know all So [also] that Samuel does not See to his one Affares [affairs] properley Write to me Either to Coloma or Sacramento City I have onley [only] recd [received] 2 Letters Sence I have been inthe Country Give My Respects to Father & Mother and all of the familey [family] all so [also] to all Enquiering [enquiring] friends if any and recieve the Same to your Self [yourself] and familey [family] I Remain your as Ever

J. G. Dorman

NB Remember me to Baf and Walker if Marred [married]

I have two partners at presant [present] both By the Name of Rogers but to Kind [kin] one of them is an old Steam Boatman the other is A Lawyer the foure Noon we all Spent in patching our cloths [clothes] we had a Smoking Pot Ry Made of venison and Quails for diner [dinner] We all observe the Sabeth [Sabath] by Washing our Cloths [clothes] or hunting

We will not be abel [able] to make any thing this winter for When it is not Raining the water is two high and Such days as we can Worke [work] we have to put up with Congressmans wagers I have a World of Stories to tell When I comb but what I Write you may never get J. G. D.

Peter Dorman Esq Warsaw Gallatin Co KY