Burlington hawk-eye. [volume] (Burlington, Iowa) 1845-185?, 1850-11-21
California Correspondence.

DEAR SIR: take the liberty Of addressing a few
lines to you, hoping will not intrude in SO doing.
In the first place would say that am well; which
! assure you is blessing in this place, for it is
very sick!y and great many die for want of atten
ton. hope this will find you AMI family well. /
have heard from Burlington through your paper
winch brought very sad ,ilings to friends in this
country. Mr. Edwards, neither you or any one can
imagine the suffering that is and has been expert
enced on the plains. You viii hear some say-.I
went over the Plains. did not suffer- Some
few did not suffer. A great many were deprived
Of their teams and we're left with their families to
perish that barren desert. Their teams were
stolen by whites; yes, white men. Some have been
caught; others roaming, yet their time will
come sooner later, and awful willie their doom.
camped in Carson Valley, some hundred and
fifty miles from Sacramento City, and while there
saw such scenes as hope never to witness again.
Men with their wives and children walking through
the hot sand, would come up to the stations and
say-.sWill you give my wife small piece of bread,
sir, we have not eat one mouthfui fo~ two days?'
Oh it was hard to see little children to,ing thro'
the heavy sand, their teams dead on the big desert.
Men, women and children were left TO suffer. Men
were sick and leid out .hs sand. Some were
found and brought over the desert, but soon died.
This horrid work was done by trains from MisSou
ri. Many lone grave now dots these plains
Their friends will never hear from them. Foul
work has been done with passengers in the passen-
ger trains. Men and women had to cut pieces out
Of dead cattie-starved cattle-and mules, and ate
it to keep from erishing. This you will in
the California Times. have seen where pieces
were cut out Of cattle by migrants. What is all
this suffering for9 oh! tina, is the query Of many
poor man who has los, his dear friend. Oh, all this
is for gold. sWhat good will it do me. now am
dying,'' exclaimed poor in the agony OF death.
soh, my poor wife aud children! what will they
do? These hardships have endured, and all for
gold" This is an every day scene.
Eight or ten carried to their graves daily
Some, aud in fact mos, all, have to be buried by
subscription. WAS in Placer,illc a few weeks,
| and do not remember one day in which there did
not come in subscriptions To bury the dead. lsaw
young man and wife who came over this season.
| They came to Placer, lille we'll. They opened shop
and did very well for few weeks-his wife was
taken sick, and in a short time saw her breathe
her last smai! mat. iass a board. No female
friend, or even male friend, to close her eyes, and
! the poor broken-hearted young man--I thought it
would kill him-blamed himself for bringing her
over the miserab plains, and considered himself
the cause Of her DEATH and her friends were all in
| the states. 1t was hard. A beautiful young wife,
only married few months before they started.
! In Placerville gambling and drinking are the
! principal business. Men of respectable stations
/ in the states. become erunkards and gamblers
! Here band Of music is saiu,ing the ears every day
in gambling saloons. Ministers Of the gospel have
turned Monte dealers, and the worst Of gamblers,
! believe me. Very few return home with money
they have mined. Many get nothing but their
hoard. have seen great many offer to work for
their hoard. great many will never have money
enough to get back home with
! will say that Humboldt or st Mary's river is or
| has been wrongly described. was described as
beautiful river; instead of which 1t is the most
| horrid river, from the heal TO the mouth ever
saw. is strongly imprc grated with alkai; horses
and cattle die the river; for three hundred miles
there is no pure water. This is one great impede
ment to overland emigran.s. There is no grass
| that is good for stock on this liver. Cattle and
horses that live. get poor that when they get to
the desert they have To be left. The wagons that
have been thrown away on the desert, would make
bridge over this desert.
would say to all, never come to California
Some say they will write encouraging letters to get
an emigration next spring. SO that they can take
provisions to the desert.
This city has done great deal for the starving
| emgrants, in sendin: relief trains.
Isend small specimen OF California gold.
Yours, &C., HENRY c. TERRELL.