Gold Rush Era Letters

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home with them, this with an occassional fandango comprises their amusement – They are strong advocates of Fanny Wrightism & the beauties of socialism are beautifully exemplified here they marry & divorce themselves when where & as often as they please without the benefit of either clergy or legislature – the consequence of this is that a family of several children the last names of all are different these matters do not last long, this is the case with ⁹⁄₁₀ of the population here.

Monday Morning May 21. – The Oregon sails tomorrow & I must bring this to a close as I have to write to sister & Lucy Breck. – when you have waded thro' this long epistle since it to Murray as I shall refer then to it – I enquired for W^m McHraine when I got here but he with some 50 others had gone to Callao to get a vessel from there, there are more vessels here than passengers to fill them – I wish I had J Paul along with me he is a young man I have a high opinion of I think his fortune would be made, the boys & Mr. Hutchison had better wait until they hear from me in California in five months from the time you receive this I can give you this practical experience of one month in the country- we stop a Mazatlan & I will write from there if possible – I send my love to all the family – kiss those dear children for me your husband W^m R Olden

Sacramento City Septr 20"/49I am almost ashamed to write after my long silence, but you will remember that I said in my San Francisco letter, that I would not write again until I had seen the mines & could speak definitely; since then I have traveled, mined & prospected, this country a little - my machine was perfectly useless, like all the machines from the States - the Rocker originally in use here is the only machine that answers the purpose. The diggings here instead of being Sand Bars are Rock Bars - accompanied by a small portion of diet containing the gold to get which is much harder work, than to wash it - There has been no exageration about the richness of the mines. but the washings have been exhausted much sooner than was expected. the most of the River bar banks & the easy points for turning the River will be exhausted by the time the rainy season sets in - For about 2 years the mining will be in the dry diggings which in the bottoms of the Ravines Galches and beds of small streams in the mountains these have already furnished a large am't of gold - they are not so certain in their returns as the Rivers but generally pay much better in the long

profits are made here in this every of trade it has been a much more certain mode of making money than mining if we make an ordinary profit our load will pay us 1500$ a piece I confidently expect to make something in the next two months- I will remit as soon as I can I invested what funds I had in our ventureMiller & I are going down the Bay of San Francisco to go with a truck farm to raise vegetables for the mar -ket- anything of that kind brings an enormous price this business I expect will be permanent-as soon as I can fix things a little I shall send for you & the little darlins & settle down at home once more- The climate here is the finest I have ever seen, the air is clean dry & from the weather is always fine the grass on the plains is dried & parched up but the trees are as green & fresh as in the states- where ever there is any moisture at all , all kinds of vegetation is most luxuriant- I have not been in the cultivated portion but all acets describe it as very fine.-no man can get along in this county unless he will work- in some kind of business money is easily made- but cannot be got without exer= =tion - which many men are too lazy to makelarge numbers of two legged animals came out here who expected to pick up 50 or 100 thousand dollars in a few weeks are very glad to get enough to pay their way home- Droves are of no use here,

I have read no letter fron you since I left Panama our Post Office at Sanbn Francisco is full of an assorted letters the government pays a high price to get the mail here but cannot afford to get it assorted after it gets here- I read one letter from Lester announcing the death of poor dear Adie-I was never more shocked in my life- poor mother four of her noble boys have gone before her, but while I live she will never want for one. we must all endeavor to supply his place- I would give worlds to be able to see you- but I work hard in the expectation of soon being settled with my family around meI saw Wm Mcilvaine a day or so since he is going home in a month or six weeks - he has traveled all through the county & taken immense number of sketches-Most of the Pettsb'grs who crossed the plains are in- Budd Murray are hereI have said nothing about my health but I have worked hard & am somewhat then only weighing 180 lbs I think that I may do better before longI must close as it is late in the even'g & I am tired give me best loveto mother & the family tell them I consider California to be a great country & hope to see them all settled out here before long- I don't advise any oneto come they might not like it, (but I do!) I will write regularly by the steamers after this both to Pittsbg & Flusking- good night yours truly William-

San Francisco Jany 13/50 Dear Sister I have just returned from taking a stroll out to the entrance from harbour, and enjoyed the green grass and finer ground excedingly after wading all the week in this our excessively muddy city, for the past three weeks. I have been engaged in this business with my tall Irish friend who was my fellow passenger from new york to panama. business is pretty dull at present which is not surprising considering that bad roads prevent any supplies being hauled to the mines, which of cours presents purchases for that purchases for that purpose. in about a month or six weeks business here will commense in good earnest and every thing will go it with a rush for the over ten months buisness here is different from about any other place there is nothing like stability of prices every thing is either scarce or in excess last summer pork rose from $12 to $60 in two weeks, a cautious operator who watches the market closely can make a great deal

money, very little has been made by persons who have shipped goods here cargoes are general sold at auction in large lots and at low prices rather than incur the expence of lightening & storage which are extremely heavy most of the money that had been made by men here in buisness has been on goods bought here the profits on wholesaling vary from vary from 10 to 100 per cent on retailing from 100. 400. this is rendered nessesary by the excessively high rents. a store one any of the principal streets 20 ft front by 30 deep onestory will rent for $1000 per month payable in advance, some of hotels rent for 4-5,000 for month and pay well at these are strange things and this is a strange place in most respects it suposes any thing that the world ever saw before Gambling goes ahead of any thing that I ever saw before and I have seem some from the places here I now sit I can see 10 large Hotels filled with tables for mente faro roulette vington Rondo & with from a 2 to 5 thousand Bank on every table which are constantly surrounded by eager betters from ten in the morning until ten at night (some don't go home till morning) I have often seen there hand at is often I got up of course the gambling fraternity make large fortunes quite a number have gone home with from 20 to 50,000 made in two or three months

a very large proportion of this money is left by miners who are down here spending the winter and who after fooling away their hard earnings will go back and toil for more I have known one loose in one night all that he had made last season in a single night Has money got over his attack of the fever I in my last letter to Sara I wrote to Mr Hatchism to come and bring three or four thousand dollars with him but not to come without. If Murray could bring that out with him there are nine chances out of ten that he would make twenty or thirty by winter a man who wanted me to stay with him last spring and go on partnership and whose capital at that time did not excede $130.00 is now worth $20 000 but I must go to the mines along with the ballance of the fools I have seen my mistake however and intend to make up for it this season I have managed to save three or four hundreds in spite of expences and bad luck on my trading trips I have made a little start already what with Brokering and buying & selling on my own all I am making more than my expenses and am making business aquaintances & aquiring a knowledge of business & the market which will be usefull to me in the summer, If any of murrays friends in Phila maut to send any thing to this country the only

the only articles that are safe and seen to pay a proffit are butter lard & pork the two formers in small Kegs in ? with brine & the pork in 1/2 Bbls this are almost the only articles that have paid any proffit to the skipper butter has not been with less than $1.00 laard 60 at wholesale and there is no probability of their falling below that of any such articles are consigned to me I will sell them for the fall market price and take care that the profits are not eaten up by useless expenses as is too often the case with our large horses shippers have been swindled awfully by merchants in this place.

But a truce to business all my letters have come safely to hand your first are come to me in the mines the other I got here I was glad to see that the Elnidlie farn has been successfully managed by Benny it must relieve murray from great anxiety the cholera as before touchedrightly in the neibour hood of old Flushing God Bless the old place how the sight of it had all it contained would delight my eyes your little buffers are learing about the house making all racket that they conveniently can finally bringing up when tired by the side of their dear Aunt Acke who makes as great petes of them as she did of ourselves God Bless her she was a mother to me Give me my love & the same to dear Ruan tell her to remember me to will she she writes next Tell Murray not to think of coming here without money Kiss the infants for me the young elephant among the nest

Your Brother

Wm R Olden

San Francisco May 1850

Dear Sister

Sunday is a day of leisure with working men here as well as at home work almost universally ceased stores close and every one seems to show or sort of respect for the day it is generally a good day with the gamblers as there are plenty of loafers about their saloons and almost every one has some loose change on a saturday ?

I have been taking a ramble over to the sea beach about six miles from here the view from there is magnificient the california coast is one of the kind called Iron Bound and consists of a lefty range of hills which rise abruptly from the sea a more dangerous coast can not well be concieved as the wind blows agale right on shore eight months of the year, in the night of this range occurs a gap about 3 miles ride this gap is the entrance of our harbour is gradually narrows the shores still retaining their bluff character until we came to the real entrance which is about 3/4 of a mile wide and can be effectually comanded

by a rocky beiut which dame nature seems to have intended for the purpose there is an old spanish fort there now in which our government have placed a number of guns with their carriages but they are not mounted nor any other preparation made for defense from these dry details one mile turn to something more agreeable the walk is a favoriate one of mine for I loved to view the broad ocean and the long line of breakers below but to bid adieu to the celestials and come down to earth again I had another reason your will remember that I loved strawberries as a boy. Will I still, astonishing to relate, am fond of them well over here near the sea beach on a sand barren grows the finest patch of large rosy ripe straw berries that I ever eating the was so fine that the idea occurred that Aunt Rachel was very fond of gar= dening and would like to have some strawberries past like these so I picked out some nice ripe ones and sweet some seed which I will send in the letter it is handy and bears a large quantity for a considerable length of time is delights in a loose sandy soil.

I recd your letter last dated Feb 28 I am glad to see that the Elruslie place is sold it will place your affaits in an easier position and relieve Murray of a great deal of anxiety with regard to his coming out here not to think of coming without money and plenty of consignments very ? have made any money here who did not bring some with them there is a great deal of money made here now although the chance is not so good as at first

I am glad to see that Wm McOlvaine has reserved his health & that he is getting on well with his positing an idea struck me the other day who has he got to go before the audience and explain the pictures