Four letters by Pollock to a brother in Scotland; the first from Lake Mills, Wisconsin including instructions on how to prepare for emigration, advice as to costs, prices, clothing, household utensils, and other matters, and advice as to the exact procedures to be followed on the trip from New York, Albany, Buffalo, and the West in order to escape "runners," and to avoid the dangers facing uninformed immigrants; the second letter from Cambridge, Wisconsin describing his failure as a grain merchant, his trip overland to California to retrieve his fortunes, life in the gold field and his minor success, his return trip by sea and his purchase of a farm from his savings; the third letter commenting on hard times and the difficulties in farming; the fourth letter describing his return from a visit to Scotland and his fears of the customs, and listing the goods and money brought back by him.