Two brothers writing home to their family in Delaware County back in 1850 provide a sense of daily life on the frontier in the California town of Humboldt Bay, writes Ann Roberts for the Lost Coast Outpost.

The two brothers, ages 26 and 19, came to Humboldt Bay on the Laura Virginia, the first ship of white settlers to enter the bay.

The expedition hoped to turn Humboldt into a gateway to the Trinity gold mines.

The family back in Delaware County was bankrolling Robert and Harry La Motte’s California adventure by shipping clothing, denim, eggs, preserves, gingerbread, and paper.

Fashion options in Humboldt were “truly dismal,” according to the brothers.

They reported their clothes were often wet, dirty, and about to fall apart from the rain and the rivers, from outdoor living, and from hard usage.

They hoped to make a profit by creating clothing for their fellow pioneers.

“This place is death on pants — on account of the bushes that we have to go into to kill game, but I guess I will foot shine before shortly; for I am tanning an Elk skin, Indian fashion, to make a pair,” Harry wrote to his mother on July 28, 1850.

Read more about the La Motte brothers’ experience in Humboldt Bay in the Lost Coast Outpost.