Western Letter

One letter that I found written by Mark Twain to his Mom from Carson City in the Nevada Territory. He is answering her request for him to tell her about the country, saying that he is only going to use facts and no "nonsense". He talks about a place called "Gold Hill", that is named for its abundant gold bearing and because it is the best Gold producing place in the area. He lists the various resources and types of people that are abundant there, such as marble, granite, slate, thieves, murderers, and lawyers. He mentions that it never rains and there is no green anywhere. He describes the types of plants that grow there and then describes the landscape. He talks about the town and where it is built. He then mentions a place called King's Canon, making sure to put the proper pronunciation (can-yon) in the letter, where all of the ranches and farms are because things actually grow there. He describes the houses as "framed" and "paper-covered" by flour sacks. Depending on the brand of flour sack it would show your wealth. He says there are also stone houses. After describing the city, he moves on to the other questions his mom asked. He doesn't go to church regularly, and in Carson they only have not-in-business Catholic church and a Protestant service every Sabbath in the school house. He says there are many ladies, and then calls them handsome. He says the people are generally moral and religious. Lastly, he tells her that if people ask, he is enjoying his life in Nevada. He says it's really dusty, but that he likes dust. The days are hot and the nights are cold. It doesn't rain, but he like it because he dislikes mud. There are scorpion and spiders, but he doesn't mind because he doesn't like spiders. Overall, this letter has a really descriptive narrative of Carson City, Nevada and it is really useful for finding out what the West was like back then.