Gold Rush Era Letters

American River California Dec 23 1850

Dear Sister

I now take my pen in hand to write a few lines hopeing [hoping] they will find you as they have me in good health I can make no excuse for being so Dillatory [Dilatory] in writing to you excepting that I have been expting [expecting] a letter from home but I have now given all hope of receiveing [receiving] one as I expecting the letters I sent From Fort Larrimie [Laramie] I sent a letter to Ann about 2 or three weeks ago which I hope she will receive it before you receive this. I must now give a discription [description] of the country as near as I can. I arrived in this country on the 8th of September in good health and spirsits [spirits]. I went to work on Weaver Creek and worked hard for three Shillings which is rather poor wages for this country. the next day we packed up and went to hunt for better diggins we went to the Village of Cold Spring [Cold Springs] and hired as a miner to a man who was mining on a large scale for which I received five dollars per day. I worked Eeighteen [Eighteen] days. I then went to Sacremento [Sacramento] city and tried get work at my trade in this I was unsucsesfull [unsuccessful] so, I returned to the mines to hunt diggins for myself. I went to Diamond Springs where I found pretty good dig– diggins but after digging a short time my money ran out, and there being no water and no prospects of rain I had to abandon the place to find a place that I could find gold enough for present purposes when I packed up