Jonathan Bassett

Downouville Downieville, California November the 10 1852

Dear frinds [friends] i [I] feel rather sick & down cast [downcast] to day [today] i [I] am not able to work & am driv [driven] out of imployment [employment] & no [know] not whare [where] to look on the account of a hevey [heavy] rane [rain] that has tore up over flown [overflown] & fild [filled] ouer [our] digins with water it has ben [been] raning [raining] seven days & is still raning [raining] & how much longer it will rane [rain] no body [nobody] can tell we ar [are] laying two in ouer [our] cabin wating [waiting] for fare [fair] wether [weather] & whare [where] we shall go i [I] can not tell for thare [there] is so meney [many] miners runing [running] tue [to] & fro for digins that the chance is rather poor to make a strike whare [where] a man can make much som [some] strikes it & some dos [does] not thare [there] is two [too] meney [many] men in this contarey [country] to mak [make] it prfatable [profitable] mining altho [although] thare [there] apears [appears] to be meney [many] places in this contarey [country] that hant [haven't] ben [been] prospected yet & i [I] am in hope to strike a place whare [where] i [I] can nake alitle [a little] for i [I] hant [haven't] mad [made] enithing [anything] yet ouer [our] clame [claim] proved poor gut [got] out but litle more then [than] enough to pay for ouer [our] clame [claim] & floom [flume] & tools it costs agood [a good] deal to floom [flume] in this place for every thing is so by thare [there] has ben [been] a gret [great] palner on floomes [flumes] on the riber [river] this year & agreat [a great] meney [many] lost thare [there] somers [summer's] work & fell in debt these ar [are] hard times rather descurraging [discouraging] thare [there] ar [are] meney [many] wild men in this contarey [country] & still groing [growing] wilder no mestak [mistake] tell the plane [plain] truth iam [I am] sick of this contarey [country] and i [I] dont [don't] no [know] that ever i [I] shall git [get] muney [money]

to git [get] home with som [some] men som times [sometimes] make a grate [great] strike while others make nothing & when these men makes this strike then it is [?] about all over the world & nothing sed [said] about them that makes nothing at the same time about those that makes nothing this looks strange dont [don't] it is so no mestake [mistake] i [I] hav [have] wished my self [myself] to home & still wish so ithink [I think] that i [I] hav [have] mised [missed] it coming to this contarey [country] for it is a great cry like the devell [devil] shearing the hog & giting [getting] hinselv [himself] in room of wool & litle [little] at that i [I] hav [have] wrot [written] to you a bout [about] the contary [country] & the folks &c [etc.]

Moses has gon [gone] south whare [where] Chansey is 200 hundred miles south of this to manif[?] in the sothern [southern] digans [diggins] whare [where] he & Chansey is going to mine this winter we ar [are] wating [waiting] for aleter [a letter] from him we dont [don't] no [know] but we shall go whare [where] they ar [are] this winter we ar [are] at a stand to no [know] what to do and whare [where] to go or what to do and we hant [haven't] done thousans [thousands] in the same situation what will you think of this it is true without eney [any] mestake [mistake] flower [flour] is skarse [scarce] & hy 34 1/2 cents per pound & still rising but litle [little] now in town plenty of Beaf [beef] at 25 & 30 cents per pound Buter [butter] [?] per pound so that you can see that a man has to mak [make] two or three piles to save one in his pocket one ax [axe] 4 dollars one shovel 4 dollars pick 5 dollars handels [handles]

1 dollar it tacks [takes] a good deal of money to liv [live] hear [here] & not liv [live] verey [very] well at that 1 dollar will go as far in mane [Maine] as twenty will hear [here] We hav [have] had six feet of sno [snow] on the mountains last weak [week] Sinos ses [says] that he has sene [seen] it 10 feet deap [deep] on the landon the mountains The best of the rane [rain] is in march [March] then every thing [everything] is over floe [overflow] sno [snow] laes [lays] on the mountains hear [here] the year round is our sno [snow] in September we hav [have] had som [some] frost & cold wether [weather] & som [som] ice but it is warm & raney [rainy] heare [here] now it looks like fall to home the leavs [leaves] felling [falling] from the trease [trees] & the lone her it is rather hard to kepe [keep] a good fire heare [here] for we hav [have] no hard wood imiss [I miss] the wood pile & te [the] pies & the eggs & the mills & the aples [apples] & the corn but other things we hav [have] flower [flour] potatoes pork beaf [beef] onions molases [molasses] cofey [coffee] tea shugar [sugar] rice beans buter [butter] the most at the time but the other fixens [fixins] we let go but we can git [get] every thng [everything] that we want in town for 1 dollar per meal bord [board] & logins [lodgings] in town cost 18 doll per weak [week] for a single man it has cost us from 5 to 9 dollars pr weak [week] apeas [apiece] to bord [board] ouer selves [ourselves] this somer [summer] & it will cost about the same this winter i [I] think & we havent [haven't] had eney [any] green frutes [fruits] this sumer [summer] of of eney [any] kind plenty of provisions but it takes money to by [buy] it tell Ezra to do the best he can for me & him self [himself] & the famly [family] & kep [keep] things strate [strsight] & think

nothing about this contarey [country] for he is doing beter [better] than i [I] am at presant [present] & prehaps it will be so till ireturn [I return] if i [I] liv [live] no one can tell what his luck will be in this contarey [country] he may do well and he may not if he is sick he cant [can't] do eney thing [anything] for his expenses is so grate [great] it will cost agood [a good] edle [deal] of money if he haint sick atall [at all] to liv [live] heare [here] Egnue & jon [Jon] & my self [myself] room to gether [together] yet & well hoping to git [get] somthing [something] bi [by] & bi [by] but no one can tell the old miners cant [can't] tell whare [where] to strike eney [any] beter [better] then [than] a green horn [greenhorn] tell the folks i [I] think it is beter [better] for them to stay whare [where] they are iwrite [I write] gest [just] as i [I] think & find it i [I] ceap [keep] nothing back [I write] gest [just] as i [I] feel & the truth to [too] & if eney [any] one come heare [here] he will find it so no mestake [mistake]

We arived hear [here] the 26 of may [May] in good health pade [paid] out three hundred & thurty [thirty] dollars a pease [apiece] we was detaned [detained] at Newyork New York 15 dayes [days] on the ismas [isthmus] two [to] panama [Panama] eight sundeys [Sundays] 15 days so youse [you see] that we was detaned [detianed] on owr [our] way over a mounth [month] that cost me more for we had th [to] pay over one expence [expense] My helth [health] has ben [been] rather pore [poor] this somer [summer] & it is rather pore [poor] now Johns [John's] health has ben [been] very good the climet [climate] agrees with him beter [better] then [than] it doth with me iam [I am] in hope that my health will be beter [better] this winter rember [remember] me for ithink [I think] of you all ofton [often] & wish i [I] cold [could] sea [see] you all tell mother to be content & worey [worry] not for us for it will do no good

Yourns [Yours] with respect

Jonathan Bassett