Philip Burlingham Letters

Philip Burlingham to his wife Charity and son Calvin, 14-19 November 1870

[This letter talks about some problems his family in Michigan was apparently having with a man named Green; potentially leaving for home in April; possible land sales in Michigan; the extravagance of the people in California; and the work and equipment needed to start a new mine.]

Soapweed Monday night Nov 14 1870

Dear Charity¹

Your kind letter of the 5th and sixth of Oct came to hand tonight. It had been to Gorge Town and laid there in the office a long time and some one that knew me directed the Post Master to forward it to Placervill and he did so and tonight I got it.

I am sorry that you have had trouble with Green.² But try and get along with him as well as you can and when I come home I will take the kinks out of him. But if he gets to bad prosecute him for his abuse of Justin.³ Or set Stoughton⁴ after him and sue him for the damage done by his horses and then for the damage done by his hogs. And when I get home I will sue him for the rest of the old house and some other things. If you can get along with him without putting up with to much try and doo so til I get home and I will tend to his case.

Your kind and affectionate letter found me well as usual. I am at work every day. We have had some rough weather here but are now having most beautifull weather and have had since last tuesday. Nate⁵ went home about 10 days ago and said he would be gone about a week and I have seen nor heard anything from him since.

If I have good luck I will have about seventy five dollars the first of Dec and if I hold my bigness[?] I shal calculate to start for home the first day of April. But if Green don't behave himself I may come before. Tel the boys not to hallow at Green or take any notice of him more than they would of an indian when he goes by or they are whare he is. It will hurt them worse than it will him.

Tel Henry⁶ that he may sell that lot if he will pay you $78, and you can deed it to him. There was 74 or 76 dollars back on it and I have paid between 4 and 5 dollars taxes on it since he bought it. He will have to take the lot that lies by the side of the one that Phil⁷ bargained for. The lot that he bargained for is the one that I sold to Green last spring. I don't remember what the number of the lot is but you can find the number of the lot that Phil bargained for by looking on the bond and then look on the plat and find it and the lot that I design for. Henry is the one next to it either East or West and I can't tell which. If he [__?__] he can't do that tel him that I will give[?] him back what he has paid me as soon as I can. Tel him that I recv'd his kind letter of Oct 30th this night just after dark and will write him if I have time.

Give my love to all and especially to the little children. Tel them that their father is in hopes to see them in about four months and a half and he wants to hear that they have been good children when he does come home.

I have a bad place to write and have no place to write but in the sleeping room, a room partitioned off of the qartz mill about 12 feet square and ocupied by 6 to 8 of us every night and they are all talking so much that I can't think of half I want to write til they get off to bed and by that time I am so tired that I can't write much. I have been scoring and hewing timber today as usual.

Tell Addie⁸ that I thank her and Justin for their kind remembrance and try and answer their letter when I can get time. I will get some flower seeds for the girls if I can. But whare I am now I can't get any short of going 17 miles. Capers will not live there outdoors in the winter and they will not blossom in that country the climate is to cold. Tell the little girls and George⁹ and Roy¹⁰ that they may expect a big bunch of candy when I get home.

Good bye for tonight.

Nov 15th. Again it is night and I resume my pen. Last Sunday I washed 2 shirts one pair of socks 2 towels and 2 pocket handkerchiefs and 4 woolen shirts for one of the miners. He said he had to pay a shilling a piece to get his washing done and had as live[?] pay me for washing as any body else. It took me about three quarters of an hour to wash the 4 shirts and I get 50 cents for it.

I have been scoring and hewing today but have hewed less and scored more and am not as tired as common. The weather continues fine and the days are quite hot in the middle of the day. We have white frosts evry night.

I commenced the last half of my second month today and if I have good and don't loose any time I shall get 2 twenty dollar pieces the last of this month. I have a little money due me over at Placervill and some wood over there if Nate has not sold it. When he went over I told him to sell it if he could. It will amount to some 25 to 30 dollars in all. If he sels that wood I will be able to save[?] nearly ninety dollars the first of next month.

You need not feel uneasy about me for I am doing as well as could be expected under the circumstances. That is for an old gray head like me and especially when thare is hundreds of hale strong middle aged young men and middle aged men that can't get work at any price. This is a strange country and strange folks in it. But the difference between the folks here and in the is more conspicuous in their wonderfull extravagance and their equally strange improvidence. They will live at the head of the heap on the last shilling and they are equally as extravagant in clothes as in food. They will throw clothes by before they are half worn. And then if they hire they will pay big wages and if a man came along offered to work for half price they would not have him round at any price.

But I must close and write a few lines to Calvin.¹¹ Give my best respects to all inquiring friends and particularly to Mr. Richmonds¹² folks. So good by dear wife for this time. I will try and write again soon and hope that you and the rest will write as often as you conveniently can. From your loving husband.

Philip to Charity

Nov 15th 1870

Dear Calvin

I receivd Henrys letter and yours of the 30 of Oct last night and was very glad to hear from home once more. You speak in your letter of all the rest scratching but if they were writing to me I don't see why their letters did not reach me as soon as yours and Henrys did. Henrys was post marked Nov 1st. But perhaps the rest did not get their letters filled out to mail them the same day as Henrys.

We have got a new superintendant and thing begin to wear a more favorable aspect than they did last week. He seems to be a business man and a first rate good fellow and I think he will take the starch out of old Eberts,¹³ & will probably cost the company twenty thousand dollars to start this mine that is if they ever doo start it. They have a mill with 10 stamps and all the apparatus to run it by water. But they must go to the expense of striking a new shaft and putting up expensive hoisting works. The pump alone was a load[?] for 2, 4 horse team and came in from George Town sunday night. It is six inch a line[?] and 204 feet long made of heavy boiler iron and in pieces 12 feet long. The hoisting works and pump alltogether weighs fifteen tons and will cost 3 cents a pound to get it hauled. It is 18 miles and the awfulest road I ever saw. They have got to build a building 26 by 40 feet over the shaft to put the hoisting works in and then get and lay about 200 feet of iron pipe to bring the water to the water wheel to drive the pump and hoisting works. We have got timber enough out to curb the shaft about 50 feet deep and have got the timber to put up the building almost out. There has been an average of 8 hands here for the last 6 weeks and they have got the shaft down 25 feet. The hands get from 40 to [__?__] a month and board. The company sent on twelve thousand dollars in gold about 4 weeks ago and that will most likely last as long as I shal stay and if so I don't see[?] how they manage after that. Three more teams came tonight with more machinery. The teams got here about an hour after dark. They unhitched and left their loads about 3 miles back.

Eberts may start for San Francisco in the morning and if so and I don't have this ready I will loose the chance of sending it to the office. But I must hurry for it getting late and I have got a hard days work before me tomorrow. About reading your writing it don't bother me a bit neither your mothers nor yours nor Justins. Nor have I been bothered to read any letter that I have recd since I have been in California.

Nov 19th saturday night. The weeks work is ended. Phil left here the 16th for Placerville. I did not know that he was going but[?] he came whare I was hewing he said he could go home at any time and if nothing offered he would start at once for Mich so you may look out for him. If he don't come this fall he will likely to come when I come in the spring and if he does he can have the chance to furnish the grub on the journey home for I furnished all last Spring but he would think that was pretty hard. Give my best respects to all inquiring friends and try and write as often as you can and not wait for me. I shall write as often as I can and I wish all to do the same.

Calvin

P. Burlingham

 

Copyright Charles Towne. Usage of this work is licensed under Creative Commons BY-NC 4.0
Compiler: Charles Towne

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