John Cornock, Gold Rush Letters, 1850-1855

St Louis April 20th 1850

Dear Sister I take this oppurtunity [opportunity] to write to you as it will be the last for some time. I arrived here this morning at 2 O clock [O'clock] and shall leave at 5 O clock [O'clock] for the City of St. Joseph five hundred miles from here on the Misouri [Missouri] river from there I shall probably go to the Lake Superior Copper mines in Minesota [Minnesota] or to the Mormon Settlement on Salt lake. I have enjoyed first- rate health since I left home. I arrived in Buffalo the next morning at 6 O clock [O'clock] I took the Lake Steamer Niagara and arrived in Chicago on last monday [Monday] at 10 O clock [O'clock] we encountered very severe Storms on the lakes and in the midst of the most severe part of it our boat took fire and was put out after a great deal of labour [labor] and to no little damage to the boat this made the third time our boat was on fire. our first Stopping place was detroit [Detroit] on the detroit [detroit] river we staid [stayed] here all night and I had a first rate Chance to see the place which I like very much and I would have staid [stayed] there if I Could have sold my ticket which I offered to sell for one half it cost me but Could get no purchaser so I Concluded to Come to Chicago myself. business was dull at Chicago and I Come on to this place. I make a mistake Cleaveland Ohio [Cleveland] was our first landing which we made on the morning of the 10th and detroit [Detroit] on the same evening on the next morning went down detroit [Detroit] river into lake St. Clair from there down the river St Clair to lake Huron thenee [then] down Macinac [Mackinac] Straits to Mackinaw where we landed

on the evening of the 12th it snowed and blowed [blew] so that we were obliged to stay here all night about 10 o Clock [o'clock] this day we were almost destroyed by fire on the 13th we started and only made 80 miles all day and at night was obliged to put into the Island of Mantau [Mantua] and and stay all night on account of the Storm. we started about 10 o clock [o'clock] on the 14th and arrived at Shebovgen Sheboygan at 11 o clock [o'clock] the same night the next morning we arrived at Milwaukie Milwaukee at 5 O clock [O'clock] and at Racine at 8 arrived at Chicago 10 o clock [o'clock] and left for La Salle at 3 arrived at La Salle at 2 o clock [o'clock] on the afternoon of the on 16th we started from thence at 7 the next morning landing at Peru at 9 and Peoria the same Evening. We started from here on the 18th at daylight landing at Pekin and Bardstown on the 19. We landed at Naples and at 11 last night Came to the mouth of the Misissippi [Mississippi] and arrived here at 2 o clock [o'clock]. on this morning about 9 o clock [o'clock] I went to the court house and seen the two brothers Montesquiou that have been tried for Murder and about Whom there was so much talk last fall they are two fine looking fellows and the last men that would generally be suspected of any crime. I must now close as i have told you all I know. My love to father Mother and all the folks tell ann [Ann] this letter by rights belongs to her but as I have forgotten her number She must read this one twice and that will do as well as if i had wrote another letter tell Matilda and Caroline to be good girls and Elizabeth she is not forgotten

from your affectionate Brother

John Cornock

P S it Snowed 7 inches Dep [Deep] in this city last Sunday

Miss Mary Cornock 164 Orange St Albany NY

Nebraska Territory June 12 1850

Dear Sister I take this opportunity to write to you it is the first and will probably be the last before my arrival in California in consequence of a misunderstanding I altered my my mind about going to Santa Fe and I met a man named Taylor who Wished me to go with him to California and nothing Could have pleased me better as I have been wishing to go for the last two years so I Joined in and concluded to go. the reason I have not written before is that in the hurry and confusion of getting started I had no time to write as we left Independence on the 11 of may [May]. my health so far has been better than the last six months if possible I was home if possible and I have really enjoyed myself on the trip so far. the scenery so far has been sublime and a man gets paid for his trouble as he passes along we have just crossed the South fork of the platte river [Platte River]. Which I can assure you was no easy matter when you consider that the river is about a mile across. in the way we crossed it the water came nearly to the top of the waggon [wagon] boxes and the current is very strong nearly as strong as the Hudson in the time of a freshet. I cannot give you a detailed account of my journey but if you will get a book named What I Saw in California by Bryant you can see a full description of our journey for so far his Descriptions are correct to a letter but the future I cannot vouch for. as I said we left Independence on the 11th of may [May] before we got five miles we broke our waggon [wagon] tongue which detained us until the morning of the 13th at 11 o clock [o'clock] our course was across a beautiful prarie [prairie] late in the afternoon we crossed the big blue river the next day we crossed the line and came into the Indian territory the first tribe we came to were the Shawnees. on the 16th we crossed a large stream called Bulls Creek when we came in the Kansas tribe of Indians. on 19th we crossed the Kansas river there is a ferry on this river. We then came to the tribe of the potawatamies [Potawatomi]. on the 20th we came to a large creek with steep banks so steep the waggons [wagons] down with ropes