Transcript: Stangroomletter18551003

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Nevada, 3rd October 1855 My dearest Charly, Vive la Californie! And the Californians! to which title I consider I have full claim, as you would think if you saw me in my working costume. I had the high compliment paid me that one hour completed the transformation thoroughly, which consists in looking as rough and dirty as possible. A fortnight ago we made a 3-day excursion into the mountains to look at the country we have to go through. We were 13, all on horseback, and formed a merry cavalcade galloping for 30 miles up and down hill all the way, through forests of most beautiful large trees. We had a good look at the country, and it is well worth it. Although there are no such high mountains, the detail of the scenery is as grand or more so than the Swiss scenery. All the country is cut up by rivers, each running in steep, rocky ravines from 1000 to 2000 feet deep. All the hills are wooded with tremendous pine and cedar trees from 100 to 300 feet high and the ravines are steep, rocky, slippery, and all together most uncomfortable places to stroll about on. The sun is very hot, but up in the mountains 3000 feet above the sea there is plenty of air so as to make it very pleasant, and the nights are very cool and beautiful. We came back to Nevada for

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a few days, and I then started back again with Darcy to commence surveying the Line. We stayed up there, 30 miles off, for a week and had tough work of it, having almost to hang on by our eyelids in some places, and often to climb up 800 or 900 feet to get round impassible points. The climbing was hard work for the wind at first, but I am already getting used to it and shall probably soon be able to do it without much fatigue. We slept at a ranch or farm in a place called Bear Valley, having to sleep in our own blankets and live on salt pork, which diet had the advantage of making us appreciate the fine water of the country (especially when we could not get any). As having to walk or climb 6 or 7 miles before and after our day's work, although very fine exercise, is no variety, as we are doing it all day, and as we do not consider salt pork and hard boards a sufficient inducement for such exercise, we are going henceforth to camp out and start tomorrow with our own gridirons and turn in to our blankets under the canopy of the heavens, wherever we happen to be at sunset. We rode down here yesterday for the mail and go up again tomorrow. We all have horses coming up from San Francisco. I have left Lane to buy mine, as he is a good judge of horse flesh. Hitherto we have hired them, and I have had the good luck to have mine go down with me 3 times already, once while going very fast. I ploughed the [illegible] soil or rock with my jackboots, but taking William the Conqueror as a precedent (as I was not hurt), I could but consider it as a good omen, and a fashionable way of taking possession. Coming down yesterday I was on a brute that commenced the day's work by going down on his knees and, seeming to like it, went stumbling about every 2 minutes. After about

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20 miles I began to get tired of holding him up, so I thought I would let him have his own way for once. The first time he stumbled I let him go on his head and stuck in the saddle. It took him some time to get the dirt out of his nose, and after that, finding that I would not hold him up any longer he thought he had better do it himself. We got on better afterwards. We have taken a house together here for when we come down and in the fullness of our hearts thought that was sufficient, but when we got home last night, tired and dirty, I had to go with 2 pails to draw water from a well 200 or 300 yards off and after supper to lay my blankets on the floor and lay, like a warrior taking his rest, with my martial blanket around me. I had no idea how soft the floor [was] before. [I?] by leave to observe that our "maison de ville”" is to be furnished, but that part of the arrangement, excepting some chairs and a table, is looming in the future. Up in the mountains we have plenty of game and killed 3 rattlesnakes already. We have seen fresh bear tracks every day but have not yet seen any, though we hope to do so before long. The 2nd night, one came down into our valley and sent the mules and cattle running about our cabin like fun. As it was dark, we thought we were very comfortable inside and left him to his sport outside. Man is a creature of habit! Hem! For the first day or two, I was continually looking out for snakes and other unpleasant things, but I have already become quite indifferent to them and shall probably soon delight in them. In the morning, it seems as natural to put on my revolver as my boots, and it has the advantage of being cleaned periodically, which the latter have not. On Monday night, we left off at sunset and

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took a short (!) cut across hill and dale to get back to our hospitable roof. It soon got dark and we got into a dry ditch that we knew to run in the right direction. After 1 or 2 miles, however, we found the ditch changed into a wet one, and as it was too dark to be able to walk on the steep ravine on either side of it, we had to go along in water over our boots for more than a mile. We got in after a hard tramp of 6 miles, and, as our traveling luggage consisted of a comb and toothbrush, a luxurious Britisher might think it barely possible under the circumstances that we might catch cold. We rose superior to the circumstances, kept our wet things on – and didn't. This country is a fine school for a proud man and is indeed a land of equality. You shake hands with almost every man you meet and eat and live with your men who are even dirtier than yourselves, though many of them are tolerably well educated men. Tell Papa that from what I have seen this concern is likely to be a very profitable one, but everything is not yet quite square, as another company have commenced works on our ground and are in possession of our rights. I, however, think that they will soon be disposed of and if so satisfactorily, I shall take some more shares. I will let him know as soon as everything is safely settled. I have got no letters yet. I heard of one, I suppose from Wm. Nicholson, that has got lost between New York and here. I am looking forward to getting some with great anxiety. Be sure and write often and tell me all you are doing, how Mat is, and anything you can think of to fill a sheet. With lots of love to Papa, Mama, Grandmama when you write to her, Mat and Lucy. Believe me, Dearest Charly, Your ever affectionate brother, M. L. Stangroom