Chandler writes that he washed his gold last week and "got about 50 dollars" in four days. He recounts the story of a man named Brenan [spelled Brannan in the letter], who committed suicide by poison on 21 February 1858 in Grass Valley with his wife and three children. Notations in pencil on the first page at the top read: “Brannan Tragedy.” Pencil marks highlight certain parts of the text pertaining to the title. This letter does not indicate the year. Based on Chandler’s references to his daughter Liss, it is earlier than 1860, when Liss died. Further, it is unlikely that Chandler wrote twice in March of 1857 or 1859, which leaves 1858. Lastly, the location of this letter places it within this time frame, in addition to the Brenan suicide correlation.
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