cam_EdwinFitzgerald_B017_F011_003A

Contracosta [Contra Costa] Co [County] June 12 1859

Well Frank I sepose [suppose] you will be looking
for aletter [a letter] and as I em [am] not in so mutch [nuch] of
of a herrey [hurry] now as I was be fore [before] I will try
and hav [have] a talk with you I wish I wish
could hav [have] acup [a cup] of tea with you and we
would talk the matter over. this is agrate [a great]
ould [old] country and it was well for me that
I arived [arrived] as [iebrel?] for it is the best time
of the year the harvest is cuming [coming] on
and the re [there] will be aplenty of work for
too [two] or three months at from forty to saxty [sixty]
per month I told you that I was going
to pick strawberys [strawberries] I worked three days
at that and quit it spent one day looking
for work got agob [a job] on arantch [a ranch] for forty
aolars [dollars] per month shell [shall] work aspell [a spell] at that
there are plenty of men here that hav [have]
bien [been] here for years that hav [have] not got
one ded red but the folt [fault] is not in
the country in most caises [cases] it is with
them selves [themselves] if aman [a man] comes here he
he must work hard foar [for] hard and be
saving ceep [keep] to work if he can
if not he is in abad [a bad] place I hav [have]
found that out all ready [already] when
I landed I had too [two] dolars [dollars] and fifty
cts paid 75 cts for bed 50 for supper and 50
for breakfast I looked over the City
for work but could git [get] none untill [until]
after noon [afternoon] wen [when] the strawbery [strawberry] man came