[Collection of Manuscript Letters Written by C.M. Conrad, Detailing Life in Late-19th Century Denver, Including His Work on the Union Pacific Railroad and with an Eyewitness Account of a Lynching]

[Denver, Co. and surrounding areas: July 24 to November 11, 1886. Very good.. Fifteen autograph letters, signed, written on singled folded sheets of lined paper, totaling [55]pp., and approximately 3,800 words. Minor wear, original mailing folds. An informative group of eleven letters written by Charles M. Conrad to his parents and brother in Houtzdale, Pennsylvania while settling into life in "Denver City," Colorado in the Summer and Fall of 1886. Sadly, Conrad would only survive a little over two months in Denver before suddenly dying from complications related to typhoid fever, and the final four letters here are written by A.C. Berry, a friend and (truncated) work associate who is helping Conrad's parents settle his affairs in Colorado following his death. In his earliest letter, Charley Conrad describes the farms, cowboys, and terrain he sees on his trip out west to Colorado. Once in Denver, Conrad details the city and the surrounding area, plus various activities such as horse racing, baseball games, the downtown saloons, and more. In his efforts to find work, he asks his father for funds to help start a business, but was apparently denied. Conrad's father seems to have worried that Conrad would use any loan money to buy a saloon or similar place for loafing. Interestingly, Conrad includes a manuscript temperance pledge (present here) in one of the letters back to his father. He also discusses the possibility of obtaining a teaching position, describes meeting General John Logan when the Grand Army passed through Denver on their way to San Francisco, touts the "elegant fishing" at Gunnison, and much more.

The most striking passage in any of Conrad's letters occurs in his correspondence of July 27, 1886: "This afternoon I went to see a colored man by the name of Green hung. It was public and fully 30 thousand people witnessed it. I do not care to see any more men hung. That was enough for me. The sight was terrible. He confesses his guilt before he was hung. He killed a street car driver in cold blood without any cause but robbery. I will send you papers giving full particulars of his life, crime, and hanging."

Eventually, Conrad takes a surveying course and starts working for the Union Pacific Railroad in the Engineering Corps. He describes traveling up the mountains to help construct new rail lines. He relates much information on traveling to new towns as part of the railroad crew, life on the road building rail lines and depots, details the areas he visits, the camp life of a railroad employee, and more. One of Conrad's letters emanates from the Union Pacific hospital in Denver, where Conrad was recovering from typhoid fever. Interestingly, Conrad mentions working in Leadville and Fort Collins, and an excerpt regarding the latter provides a flavor of Conrad's correspondence: "I was up at Fort Collins. Went up last Tuesday and stayed until Friday night. We had a tent and camped out alongside of a water melon patch. But we did not eat any melons - as you know I don't like them. But we did have a good time. We did our own cooking and at night wrapped ourselves up in a blanket and layed down on the soft side of the ground to sleep." Conrad died in early October 1886. The last four letters here were written by Conrad's friend and U.P.R.R. associate A.C. Berry to Conrad's parents, detailing the circumstances around Conrad's death and the settlement of his belongings and accounts in Denver. An informative collection of letters beginning with a great deal of hope in a new life in the American West that was quickly cut short and ended in tragedy two months later. (Inventory #: 4716)