Gold Rush Era Letters

among our mules, they having been standing idle for several days with plenty of grass & corn they are full of Satan and almost anything will make them start. there was some eight or ten pulled up their pickets and scampered off over the Prairie. we succeeded however in recovering all of them. I think it will be of some advantage to us as it will cause us to be more on our guard for such occurences [occurrences] and prevent them in future. I think we shall get off tomorrow by 10 oclock [o'clock] and go about nine miles to wolf river and wait there untill [until] we organize into a "train". I shall continue my dear to write to you Every Sunday and send my letters by such opportunities as may present themselves. I expect to be able to send you one lat by some traders which we shall probably meet in the course of three or four weeks, and another from "Fort Larrimie" [Laramie] which shall reach about five weeks hence another by some of the Mormons whome [whom] we Expect to meet between here and the "Salt Lake" but do not be dis appointed [disappointed] if these should fail as there is no selience [salience] to be placed in their coming to hand. I want you to continue to write me your dear letters. I shall be able to receive them once a month I suppose at Sanfrancisco [San Francisco]. You must write me every week and mail your letters once a month as that is as often as the mail is carried between New Orleans & Panama. My dear I must again call to your mind How much I desire that you should continue to live with my father. I am so solicitous upon this subject solely on account of our dear boy, no not entirely so rather I think if you are near your father often, he will Keep your mind in a constant state of uneasiness from his penchant that he has for prophesying Evil, and you know my dear it will not do for you in your present condition to be too much Excited about anything. Oh how I should like to see you in about two months you will look so Handsome but it cannot be and I must content myself with imagining how charming you will look. I forgot to mention that I had received your dear letter in which you told me that it was a fact but my dearest my paper is drawing to a close yet it seems to me that I could spend spend the night in writing to my love but I must close. Give my love to all the family. Tell Hetty that Billson is in fine Health and spirits he has gained 13 lb. in weight since he left Home but I must close by assuring you of the undying affection which I fills my Heart for the angel of my life oh how I love you my dear sweet wife, my Angel my Hope for Happiness in this world

Your affectionate Husband B. A. Watson

Millspoint Ky [Mill Point, Kentucky] Feb 25th D 51

Friend Watson

Your favour [favor] of the second is at hand. I am pleased to learn that you reached home safe and found all well. I found my friends all well and shall I say there was joy in the Camp when I reached home. I may say with the fact the joy of meeting pay the pangs of absence and those only who have been to California can realise [realize] it. I had been home only a few days when my business called me to New Orleans. I had a pleasant trip & had the pleasure of hearing Jenny linn such an excitement as she created in the City has rarely ever been seen before her tickets sold for some twenty thousand $. I called at Newmadrid [New Madrid, Missouri] as I came up to see my acquaintencis [acquaintances] there and had a very pleasant time indeed John H. showed me a letter he had from you which was before I recd [received] yours. I told him to direct you to send our verdent [verdant] friends receipt to Millspoint [Mill Point] directed to me as the matters in my hands now if you could have seen his manoevres [manoeuvres] when he foun [found] that he had left his receipt you would have been perfectly satisfyed [satisfied] without seeing Jenny. I sayd [said] nothing for some time until I thought his cup was full and running over then I told him it would be all right so he left for home perfectly satisfyed [satisfied]. I was sorry to hear of Brinleys loss of $700.00 he returned to newmadrid [New Madrid, Missouri] a few days after we passed to weight the return of the

9 1/2 [centered]

A number of schooners, and other small craft were plying on the river before the discovery of gold, and these rapidly increased in number subsequent to that event. The first square-rigged vessel, the Enridora, that ever ascended the river arrived at the city in March 1849 – the Natulia [Natalia], a foreign craft, arrived soon after. It was not till the 1^st of May that the bark, Whiton, Capt. Gelston, arrived with the first Cargo of merchandize [merchandise], direct from New York. In July a small steamer, built just above, appeared on the river. In August, another, built by the Ed. Everett Company. In September the Yuba Company's scow was afloat. In October came the Mint, from San Francisco – the Mc Kim from New Orleans, and in November, the Senator, from New York.

Sacremento Sacramento City Apr 4, 1850

Dear Sister I think most time to answer soome [some] of your letters I received one this morning from you and one from Ellen Feb 13 and Dec 31 and was happy to here [hear] you were all well, and I suppose you will wish to know how I am, my health is tolerable good at this time yet I have sceen [seen] soom [some] hard times the past winter the scurvy and rumitism [rhumatism] come very near doing me up brown I left the mines two weeks ago and traveled down to this place with my blankets on my back distance 75 miles it is the first time I have left the mines since I went into them last Aug I shall go back into the saim [same] in a few days and stop until I leave for home if I can tell where that is I have not don [done] so well the past as I did last fall but I going to give it one more trial Gold is hard to be obtained in California the face of things is changing fast in this Cuntry [Country] crimes are on the increse [increase] the men that were killed last winter wer [were] from New Orleans they were at woork [work] just below me we went after them and the law brought them back before they got to Stoctown Stockton two were shot down the rest had one hundred lashes a piece and thare [their] heads shaved and ears cut off and ordered to leave the Cuntry [Country] the Indians are getting soome [some] what bad of late the miners have killed a few and will soon finish the rest when they are over at it, thare [there] is considerable sickness at present and as the warm weather increses [increases] quit [quite] a number of the Everetts Co are dead

our way through a patch of raspberry bushes, (which I did not find very agreeable) useing [using] my gun for a cane, like the rest, when the hamer [hammer] caught in a small vine, no larger than a needle, and caught at the half-cock: had the vine broke a second sooner, I should have been shot in the heart and killed instantly, for my gun carried an half ounce ball; I have had death stare me in the face, many a time, but I never felt that danger was so near, as it was at that time. My life hung on a vine, you may say.

Now I will give you a few accounts of my hairbreadth escapés at sea. When I was in a schooner riding out a heavy gale in the Gulf of Mexico, the mute came to me and asked me if I thought I could go aloft and secure one of the topsails that had got adrift: I told him I could: he said he would not send a man aloft, when the vessel was rearing and pitching in the heavy seas, for it was as much as a man's life was worth, to go aloft in such a time. I found it necessary to climb up the top-mast shrouds and I no sooner let go of them they snapped in two like two pieces of thread although they were large ropes: had they broke while I was on them, I should have been hurled at the distance of ninety feet, either on deck or overboard: if I fell overboard they possibly might have saved me by throwing me a line, if the shock of falling from such a height, did not kill or prevent me from catching the line: if I had fell on deck,I should have been killed instantly.

At another time when we were bound from New Orleans to New York, just as we got clear of the West Indies, we took fire and had great trouble to keep the fire from catching the riging [rigging] and going aloft: had it caught in the riging [rigging], all hopes of saving