Helen Gold Rush Letter

Don Pedro's Bar March 20^th / 53 [1853]

Dear Sister Mary

I think I will endeavor to reply to your letter which ought to have been answered by the last mail but was delayed like others as I was particularly busy at that time cooking and doing other work which I will speak more fully of by & by. Today I have been writing home or to Wareham I might say; I have recd [received] a letter from Hannah Mary & Julia since I had written them and I began to think it was time to reply to some of them. – I will commence by telling you I fear I shall send you a dull letter this time as I have been writing all the morning and somewhat exhausted my ideas and beside have the headache having taken some cold in my head some way which causes me to feel rather dull – but I am determined another mail shall not leave and your letter remain unanswered as I know I like to have mine answered promptly and in letter writing as in other things it is necessary to follow the Golden rule "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you" I have some paper as you will perceive which is not rulled [ruled] and I can never write straight without rules so my letter will be a crooked one too as it is all the paper we have at present – under all these circumstances I trust you will excuse all errors and I will make no further apologies – Your last letter was very interesting to me as it contained quite a number of items which were news to me and Betsey also. I was happy to at last get a few lines in her own handwriting it seems more like hearing from one than to receive messages by others. I shall answer Bs [B's] letter by the next mail I think. I at first thought I would now but concluded I should have more to write as feel more like it then. Do not take any offence if I seem to intimate that it no matter what my letter is to you I did not mean so but it is rather more of a circumstance to be writing her than you as it is an unusual one – – Your letter confirms the news of Capt Eldridges [Eldridge's] death I was very sorry to find it was indeed true. I suppose you learned all the particulars (and probably have written me of them) by his brother O. Eldridge I am anxious to hear of his safe arrival home in good health it will be such a gratification to himself and family to meet once more. I heard Capt E. died at the "Castello Rapids" a place

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March 21^st

I will close this morning and send by the present opportunity lest I may have no other in season _ I expect Aunt Julia's letter did not get to Stockton in time for the mail I intended I was fearful when I sent it These teamsters you can never tell when they will get any where [anywhere]. I recd [received] your letter previous to sending hers I sent it off in such a hurry I believe I never stopped to finish it – please excuse it when you see her _

My love to you all tell Sarah as yet the prospect for a dressmaker here is rather slim but I expect soon there will be a grand chance as our place is growing fast and a number of women are soon expected here _ Tell Betsey if she is still with you I think I will write her the next mail should she have left F– by that time you can read the letter as there will be nothing private and then forward to her. –

Much love to her & Mother and all the other friends I am contended here but sometimes when I think of you all I long so to see you as Sarah says. I hope we may all live to meet once more Write soon yours in love Helen

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George wishes me to give his love to you all –

where we stopped one night and where he could hav [have] comfortable quarters and good attendance I should Judge. _ Poor Mrs Eldridge I do pity her very much often think of her, it seems that her miserable health & present condition was as much as she could endure and to have added to it the still greater trouble the loss of her husband, her cup of sorrow must indeed be ful [full] – it seems as if afflictions had followed her since she left her home to join her husband – she seemed to anticipate and did appear very happy after she met her husband and remarked she had no desire to returne [return] to Falmouth,Massachusetts – by Capt Es [E's] letter to G. I judge she was not very well contented after the novelty wore off although ill health is enough to destroy happiness any where [anywhere] – Capt E. did not leav [leave] to take charge of a Steamer on the Lake as people seemed to understand in F. but on the San Juan River as he wrote G, a Steamer on the Lake would have furnished Mrs E. with comfortable accomodations [accommodations] I should judge, as they are quite large and well built boats but the River boats are miserable little things – Capt E. remarked in his letter that Capt Baldwin gave him the situation he should try and make what he could out of it hoping it would lead to something better he said the 3^1/2 years past had been a blank in his life he hoped to do better now at least to make enough to pay his debts, that, that Whittier affair would about use up what he had in F. _ I thought he wrote as if he regretted leaving Cal. [California] and rather downspirited I could not wonder considering all circumstances poor man he has got through with this world and all its troubles – It will doubtless be some satisfaction to Mrs E. that she has seen & passed some time with her husband previous to his death although it seems to be attended with so many unpleasant circumstances it must detract much from it.

______ I suppose you will like to hear what news with us now. I can say as usual we are well G. is busy about these times Mr Riley being below – expect him up today – Today is another Sabbath and I imagine you are at church or have been by this time you are about lighting your lamps and drawing round the table or fire for evening –

It is a lovely day with us and more quiet than usual I should judge as I do not think there have been so many people in to trade – I think you spoke in one of your letters of doing business on the sabbath I was thinking the other day I would say something of it in my letter I think the Sabbath should be set apart as a day of rest and departure from business but as the state of things are in Cal [California] particularly at the mines it would seem impossible to do it that is for the trader if others would it would be easy enough – but the customers are miners who work

every day in the week except Sunday which they take to do their trading in many of them come a long ways to trade – if there were any place of Public worship or meetings which they would attend or if they would spend the day in any better way it would seem still a greater evil but the majority of them would be doing worse than travelling back and forth to purchase goods as a general thing they would be playing cards or gambling – although there are many men who come in here to trade on the Sabbath who would not touch a card on the Sabbath as do anything of the Kind but that is so common to make purchases on that day that the most moral scruple not to do it, it has become a custom – which it will take time to do away with – I confess I look upon it rather differently than before I came here and saw just the state of things – I will tell you as it is quite an occurrence that I have just paused in my letter for an hour or more to entertain two gentlemen callers some friends of Mr Rileys who came to see him from Montezuma Montezuma, California about 16 miles from here a Mr Judd & Capt Washburn – George was acquainted with them also and asked them in to see me I found them very social & pleasant. Mr Judd reminds me so of some one I am troubled to think who it is –

Our household matters remain about as usual. We have now 4 men who are regular boarders being employed in working on the new road they are about to open for a few miles back of us – We still have our French cook Florentino he left about two weeks ago in a kind of a sulky fit pretending to be sick without giving us any warning as it happened he did not go far staid [stayed] round – for a week I had the whole of the work to do I was not very well that week and felt so much exercise the more I found it more than I cared to do as it Kept me on my feet all the time; in the first place you have to do more than at home as in a private family have a greater variety – certainly two different dishes of meat or hearty food if not 3, beside whatever else you may have – Tea & Coffee every meal – and then you must always calculate for extra company if you do not they are sure to come, and just as you get a meal ready for 6 or 7 as many more will come in to eat or what is quite as bad just as you get dinner or supper cleared away two or three men will come and call for a meal and often time they are through as may [many] now will come and so Keep you about all the P.M. or evening you can never know any meal how many you may have breakfast you can come nearer to it but then two or more may stop over night [overnight] & you think of course they will be here to breakfast but just as likely to get off before – George declared I grew poor in the time fretting myself so much about it, several times when I had prepared for just what was here and rang the bell in would walk 3 or 4 more and I would think there would not be enough of something and work myself into a perfect fever about it – G. tried to help me what he could and actually went so far as to wash the dishes once but I find being in Cal has not made him acquainted much with house work [housework] I guess whoever has been with him has had the cooking to do – Florentino after some persuasion concluded to come back if we had

known of any one else I should not wished to see him enter the Kitchen again as I found it in such a dirty state hardly a dish clean and evry [every] Kettle & pot dirty you need never talk of dirt at your house it seems to me I never saw any before – When Scippio left I went in and scoured and cleaned all out & put evrything [everything] up and now it is worse than before as this man is so dirty and careless – he gets things on the table in good style and there is no appearance of dirt there and I hope there is not much in the victuals. We have evry thing [everything] nice to cook with as at home and as great a variety we get all Kinds of vegetables here from Stockton even Sweet potatoes we hav [have] had of late – Green apples we do not hav [have] – We now can get plenty of eggs milk one man has brought it in to us twice a week at 35 cts [cents] per quart usual price 30 cts [cents] but there are a number of cows nearer as now one family lately come [comes] in with 3 or 6. I suppose they will sell at the same – We have a good many hens and plenty of eggs, some little chickens and expecting a good many more in a few weeks – The Country around us looks fine & Spring like the earth is carpeted with grass & flowers which spring up evry where [everywhere] the hillsides look like flower beds – I hav [have] had boquets [bouquets] on my table for a month past – they are of great variety and verry [very] pretty – One circumstance I must not fail to write you a call I recd [received] about a fortnight since from two German ladies you Know I wrote you of some Dutch families who had moved in here Dutch I heard, they call themselves Germans, however Dutch or German, they seem like very pleasant well disposed persons – previous to their call I recd [received] several messages through G & others relative to a child belonging to one of the families which they wanted to Know if I would teack [teach] English – so they came to see about it Mr & Mrs Pickley hav [have] charge of her she is a niece of theirs I think they hav [have] adopted her Mr P. is a Frenchman a very gentlemanly sort of a man he is verry [very] anxious she should receive some education and in English he speaks English verry [very] well his wife tolerably so I can understand most of what she says, the child is 10 years old large as most of 12 she seems like a pleasant goodnatured girl and I think would learn readily she can understand most of what is said but speak but little English – I told them I would think of it and let them Know after a week G & myself concluded to go and to tell them we would take her for a while – they wish her to board with us go home occasionally as she will learn much more where she is obliged to hear & speak Eng. [English] at home generally they talk Ger. [German] – We shall charge $5. per week for her board half price that however is no matter of mine as that is paid to the firm of "Riley & Ly" but the tuition bill will be my legal earning G. thinks I ought to charge $5 per week for my trouble it seems too much to me her Aunt is to hav [have] all the care of her clothes washing & &c. [etc. etc.] – they did not demur at the price of board and I presume would not at the price of tuition Mr P. said I must charge whatever I thought proper I told him I did not Know what to say as I did not Know the prices of tuition here of common schools even of course she will be some trouble to me but if we get paid for it I am willing to take charge of her – I suppose She will come this week – I shall hav [have] to commence like learning the alphabet to any little child – she has been to a German school – her name is Sophia they call her Sophy quite familiar to me – Well when I commenced writing I had no idea of filling the sheet but find I hav [have] with such as it is I think my callers revived me a little as I feel brighter –