The first William Swain Letter is full of optimism regarding his journeys, yet he says, " ... I would advise no man to come this way to California." List at least two details presented in his letter to explain why he would say this.

William Swain wrote this letter to his friend George on January 6th, 1850. Apparentely, William went to California to find gold, but he faced very though weather and work conditions over there; therefore he advised George not to join him.

Mr. Swain wrote in his letter:

"George, I tell you this mining among the mountains is a dog's life. A man has to make a j*ckass of himself packing loads over mountains that God never designed man to climb, a barbarian by foregoing all the comforts of civilized life, and a heathen by depriving himself of all communication with men away from his immediate circle."

He also showed some concerns when he heard that George wanted to join him there, and explained:

"There was some talk between us of your coming to this country. For God's sake think not of it. Stay at home. Tell all whom you know that are thinking of coming that they have to sacrifice everything and face danger in all its forms, for George, thousands have laid and will lay their bones along the routes to and in this country. Tell all that 'death is in the pot' if they attempt to cross the plains and hellish mountains."

That said, even though Mr. Swain was excited about his journey, he was also quite concerned and exhausted. That's why he did not recommend this life style to anybody else as he knew how difficult and dangerous that was.