Scope and Contents The letter was written by Mathias Slaten while he was at Gregory's Diggins, Colorado, and is addressed to his wife, Bethena Elizabeth Adams, who was at the family home in Georgia. The letter reports Mathias' attempt to earn money in mining or other work near what later became Denver, Colorado. The location where Mathias wrote from was named for John H. Gregory of Georgia, who discovered gold in Colorado on May 6, 1859.In his letter, Mathias mentions William Green Russell, Mer...