Gold Rush Era Collections

in hopes in one year from this time circumstances will allow me to meet my friends in Maine. However I shall set no time as it is very uncertain when I shall get ready to go home. You see I have to call Cold Maine home yet, Solomon I keep from bad company by keeping none at all. Good society is hard to find here. Sunday is used as the greatest business day, especially in trade by the best of people in the mountains. At present they suspend business on Sunday in two principal Citys

To Timothy and Moriah [Mariah],

Your father writes me that you are almost grown people. I am in hopes to find a smart young man & woman, when I return, remember now is your best time to get knowledge. Soon you will have to look out for yourselves, when you will see the need of learning to do business in an easy & ready manner. Timothy drop your wildness and tricks now & cling to book that in after life you may not reflect on your time being misspent.

Good day to you all, From your friend & relative, A. Heald

Pine Grove Feb. 6th 1859

Dear Father,

I received yours of Dec. 26th / 58 the 3rd with pleasure. I was glad to hear that you were all well, I am the same. This will not go from here until the 15th but I thought I might as well commence it now and answer some of your qestions as I can do it at present as well as by and by. and besides I have got 2 or 3 more to write. I am going to stop writing so much, I guess I shall have my hands full if have got to write to every body, because I happened to get off the door stone once — I think you would have made a first rate school teacher, if you had applied yourself to it in your younger days — Judging from the quantity of your questions,

1st Pine Grove is about North East from Marysville,

2nd Amasa was looking for me some when I came,

3rd I think he did know me, but wouldn't under other circumstances

4 I think I should known him.

5 He received your letter about a week before I arrived. It was miss carried or he would get it before he did.

6 I have received 2 letters from you and one from Ma Smithy

7 – Pine Grove is not on any large river. It is about half way between the Feather and Yuba rivers. Slate Creek is about half a mile from it and some four hundred feet or so below it.

8 – I worked for A – about a forneight when I first went to work, have not worked for him any since, but have been to work at his hill clames the past week. The name of the company (to which he belongs) is Lone Star Co.

9 I am neither finding gold or preparing, but at the Lone Star they take out about one load of pay dirt to three of gravel, (tap dirt they call it) stones and bed rock. I will give you a discription of the clames at some future day

10 I think I shall like very well if I can make money fast enough That makes people like almost anywhere you know.

11 We live first rate only we have to cook it ourselves which I don’t think much of, but guess I can get along with it.

12 My Blankets come in play every night.

13 It is not very cold here, the thermometer ranges from about 20° to 60° (above of coars) a most of the time. It was down to 9° one morning the first of the winter and they thought they were going to freeze to death there

14 Our cabin (camp you call it) is about one half mile from our work when we work at the Lone Star, but it is a mile from a clame that Am and I have taken up that we intend working in the spring. It is a surface clanun clame [claim]

15 There is no meeting in this place at present

16 The sabbath is spent by many by runing about town, It is quite a day for settling store bills &c —

17 I am at work, between 60 and 70 feet under ground

18 It is lighted with candles. Every man has one.

19 The canker in my mouth is better but not well, I hardly think it is a canker, think it is occationed by my teeth, I believe I shall have them cleaned in the spring when a good dentist comes up here any how

20 My boots fit very well and will last as long as I want to stay in Cal. [California] if I don’t ware them more than I have, I ware rubber boots most. I bought a pair of long leged ones for $8.00 to wear in Slate Creek. The legs came clear up like trowsers legs. All Gold

There I have answered your questions, but very poorly Had you not better hire a hand next summer if you can find a good one and not work so hard yourself? If you cultivate one piece of hops I hardly see how you can get along without some one to help you, though you might hire by the day I suppose if you chose, Say! have you had the line run between you and C-X R- yet? I think it’s best to hold that land any how, When people get to showing the brussles too much I believe it is best to jump on and ride and if the mule don’t "get up and dust" of carse the spurs must be used, "Them's my sentiments" I will write no more at present.

You must write often, from your son,

Timothy H. Bisbee

It has been raining all day

Pine Grove Feb. [February] 13th D. 1859

Dear Mother — Here we come upon the last pages again. You say that mother is borrowing trouble the same as ever, fear that I have not woolen clothes enough to keep me warm &c. Why mother! do you expect I am going to suffer for the want of things to keep me comfortable, in this land of gold? Comfort comes with me before money, and if I did not have clothes enough to keep me warm I should buy some, but I have enough at present so you need not borrow any more trouble. A fellow can get any thing he wants here almost. They keep about as good an assortment of things here in the mountains as they do at that great metropolis, — Buckfield village

I had no trouble in getting my trunk through only I had to pay ten cents per pound for every pound over 50 I believe it weighed 54. I had some things in a valise you know. A fellow can carry just as much as he has a mind to look after himself, in a valise or any thing else that he can conveniently carry from boat to cars and from cars to boat. Amasa has not given me the toe of his boot yet and I guess he wont at present. We got along finely.

The weather has been stormy the past week. It rained Sunday and monday and has snowed every day since though the snow has not fallen so deep this time as it has before this winter. The wind has blown some but not equal to old Maine’s winds. Winds are not as heavy here as they are at home.

I have not been doing anything the past week and don’t know when I shall go to work again but proberly before you get this. I some expect to go to work for Am at the Lone Star for before long and then go to work in his clame in Slate Creek if the late rains has washed the tailing out of it so that it will admit of working. It does not pay to wash these tailing clames when the tailings are too deep, because you have a great amount of tailings to shovel and the gold lays mostly near the bed of the stream so you will get almost as much out of two feet of tailings as out of 5 or 6.

I guess I will not write much more this time but come to a close by wishing you health and happiness. I notice in closing your letter you say from your unworthy mother. I wish to ask what sort of great or good act I have done that you are not worthy to be my mother? Give my respects to grandmother and tell her that my shirts hang together first rate.

From your Son Timothy H. Bisbee

[Sideways on left side] Amasa sends his love to you all Says you must excuse his writing now I am here

Pine Grove, Sierra County, California May 13th 1860

Dear Father; Yours of March 25th was duly received. It appears that you have had a long winter which has – as is too often the case with Eastern farmers– caused you to be short of that material which is so closely connected with their prosperity – hay. It is bad to be thus situated, for it hardly pays to buy, and it hardly pays to starve. The first takes all the profits out of the pocket, and the latter allows them never to enter it from the fact that it takes them so long after they go to grass to recruit and get to the point they should be when first turned out that young cattle do not get so large a groth and old cattle do not get as fat as they otherwise would and conqencely do not bring so large a price.

By this I presume your feeding is over, except working cattle and you and Mr. Morrell (must Mr. all married men) are making “buisness ache.”

I am yet at work in the tunnel. The air is good now. You think it best to take down a bucket of water — he? When the air was poorest I had all the water I wanted without taking any down. It came down itself, right onto a fellow too. It isn’t wet now over head though there is a strates near the bed-rock that is very wet but it hurts nothing as the tunnel stakes it all out. We are working two shifts in the tunnel now. I work the afternoon shift commencing between 12 and 1 o’clock and working until about 9 o’clock P.M.

[Sideways on the left] Barrows wants me to ask you if you know of another place where a man and woman can hire out.

We have come to the conclution to run it back as quick as we can covieniently, and then commence work like men and see if can’t make something. Eight men have been working in the claims now nearly a year, and have taken out only about ten thousand (10,000) dollars. We commenced washing our tailings two weeks ago, but owing to the storm, have not finished. The prspect is that they will pay very well, proberly $1000. Perhaps you do not understand about our washing tailings. We wash our dirt twice. The first time we wash it into a corell ie. a dam built round a hollow like on a side hill, that will hold all the dirt we take out in 4 or 5 months after it has been once washed. The dirt being in the carell slackens and conquencely pays well for washing the second time. We have had two snow storms this month. Yesterday morning there was a foot of new snow. Last night water froze one half inch.

I have not drawn a map of our digings yet for you but guess I will sometime though I don’t know as you would be able to form a very correct idea from one of my drawing.

Perhaps what I wrote Maria about Amasa caused you to feel uneasy about him. The affair I presume is now for ever settled. Cosker has been to his woman and confessed that he was wrong &c and she has gon to live with him again. You must say nothing about this for if Am should find out that I had written anything about it he might not like it. Hoping that you and and your hired hand may get along pleasantly and well with your work

I close, and write a few lines to mother,

From your son Timothy H. Bisbee

Sunday May 13th /Co

Kind Mother

I will now try and write a few lines to you to let you know that I well and hope this may find you and my friends in the East enjoying the same blessing. You say that our folks think that you are not in earnest about my coming home Well I suppose they have a better chance to know whether you are or not than I do. Consequentially I shall be obliged to allow them their opinion whether it be right or wrong. Well mother, the way I put up is that you have taken that coarse to ascertain my view of subject whether it be so or not I give it in part. As far as I am individually concerned or in other words for my own financial benifit I hardly think I have any particular desire to live at home but should it become actual necessary for the comfort and happiness of my parents I might do so, but let us reason the matter a little. What are you going to do with Lewis? I should think he would be the one to live at home Hope he has a better disposition than I have. It is true that he is not old enough to go a great deal yet but he is growing every year and will almost before we know it be able to do a man's work Perhaps you may say that he will want to go away to that I would say I am already away and have seen enough of the world to believe there is a better place than Maine though I think I could live there better contented.

[Sideways on left side] How is grandmother. Give my respects to her. I was somewhat surprised to learn that she had been to Paris while it was cold weather. T. H. B.

than I could before went away from home If I could been placed back about six months after I left I presume I should been very quiet for a while You say hired help wants some one to pick up the ends I don’t know as my coming home would lighten your work much for I don’t know as I should be so unspeakable happy as to be able to take any one along with me to work even two days in a week for their board

Barsons has a pan of dough, he thinks he make two and a half bushels of doughnuts he says he is cooking for the army. You ought to see him pitch in and roll them out with a bottle.

I suppose you would like to know what I think of the mines. I think there are about nine chances against a fellow and one for him. There is one thing about it when one gets anything it is in cash, but take the miners as a class they would do better on a long run I think farming than they do in the mines but as long as now and then one can make money fast and nearly all make something there will be plenty willing to take the chances

The mines of California are not as many suppose nearly exausted neither will they be in the next fifty years Quartz mining is destined to become one of the greatest sources of welth in the country.

The silver ore at Washo East of the Sierra Nevada is eciting considerable attention They are supposed to be the richest silver mines in the world Claims are selling as high as one thousand (1000) dollars per foot and even higher. There is a Quartz lead bearing Gold in Southern Oregon which is called the richest in the world In fact the mineral wealth of the Pacific coast is not yet one half prespected etc.

My respects to all Write often

Timothy H. Bisbee

Pine Grove Jan^y [January] 11^th 1862

Dear Sister,

Your letter was duly received, which I am right glad to acknowledge, For my correspondants in that direction are getting rather sparse. Although (as you have hinted) I have no reason to complain, I am inclined to think however that if I did not send our w— card to you direct that I at least gave John Orders to hand you one. My short experience of a weded life gives me no reason to complain, but how it is enjoyed by the other party – she is at liberty to explain but you must consider there might be a chance for a little delicacy on that point. It seems Julia has anticipated me for whilst I have been writing this she has voluntarily answered the question.