A Letter home from the west

                                                                                                                                              Cole Conlon
                                                                                                                                       12 California St.
                                                                                                                                  Gold rush city, 3901
                                                                                                                                            May 10, 1848


Dear mom and dad,
     California has been quite crazy. I came here in hopes of striking it rich, but the gold rush is no longer the reason I am still here. I met a girl here and I hope to settle down with her. However myself alone has panned four ounces of gold in just the last week. I plan to send back a portion of the gold collected to you guys. Be sure to tell everyone else I said hi.  I bet yall are wondering about my journey here, now let me tell you it was as wild as the west.
     Along my journey I met so many knew people and learned so many new things. My wagon train broke down but lucky for me I met a wagon mechanic. It was only a minor fix. Anyways as he was fixing my wagon, he told me a story about George Donner. Aperantly this guy George Donner's wagon broke down in the middle of the Sierra Nevada Nevada during the winter. People eventually found him but when they did, they discovered he ate his family to survive. Hearing that gave me the chills down my back, and made me that much more thankful for meeting someone who could fix my wagon as fast as Dave.
     Life here is hard and much more expensive. I personally feel that salesmen are taking advantage of the vulnerable workers. They are selling shovels for eight dollars, back home I could one for four dollars; here the cost of living is doubled. There must be five fights a day just in my community alone, tensions are rising as the gold rush begins to slow. Living here isn't all that bad though, it does have it perks, it almost never gets below sixty-five degrees. You should see the beaches, there nothing like the ones back in Massachusetts.
     I plan to head back home to you guys and settle down with my soon to be wife. Once the gold rush is no longer productive ill be coming home with all my earnings. So far I have made twelve-thousand dollars. That's enough to buy you guys a new home, who knows, maybe we'll all settle down out here. I miss you guys so much, I hope to so you soon. For now farewell I love you all, see you soon.

                                                                                       Love,
                                                                                            Cole


The pass that I traveled going threw the Sierra Nevada


My broken wagon wheel


Where I pan for gold