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78 morning sunny glow - and the landscape beams in cuddy beauty. Such were my feelings - on our expedition to day in search of tent poles, with our neighbors Paysons. The face of the country looked beautiful. The warm sun and air - was grateful to our senses - birds caroled from the oaks. There was a light glowing on every object - inspiring ideas - quite Contrustive - to those of the few past days. How quickly - obstructions vanish - views change - and will is quickened - by those influences which affects our spirits temper. When we are gay - all our purposes, are easy of accomplishment - when we are dull - our energies are paralyzed also. Reared our new tent poles this afternoon. Now shall we defy the storm - we may sit beneath our shelter and defy the wrath without. Now are we founded upon a rock. There is a vast difference in the temperature of this 22nd from that in Albany. I felt great inconvenience from heat - while at work - there they have need of [?] to labor in. How strange it will seem to pass winter so lightly. I shall not have felt the frost of twenty six winters - thought I have of summer heats.

Monday December 24th 1849. Another pleasant day. Wind westerly. Clouds threat in a little. The high water prevents doing much on the island. The river was this time over 20 feet. Torrence lost all his tools this time. Our rocker was saved by the bank caring on it. We find this resting or lying idle several days - and then working a day or so - very disagreeable The muscles loose their strength and habit of endurance - and exertion by consequence induces great fatigue. It regains all the excitement of good success - to encourage a miner not to relax his efforts - under the circumstances. We made 22 dust of Amalgom to day. H.9.91 Friend Burling got his new cradel into operation. It is a quicksilver one and a child of his own brain. He wished us to join him in the experiment - making his cradle yield great amounts per calculation. Owing to some dissent as to his success and so on - he finally excluded us from being members of his lucky company. Senor panned out thier days work for them - and lo! it was 16 dwb of Amalgum $8.20. It is astonishing the variety of speculations entered into in this country. Mans brains are tortured to diverse means of accumulating gold.