Southern sentinel. [volume] (Plaquemine, Parish of Iberville [La.]) 1848-1858, 1848-12-07
More Geld,

The following, from the Houston Tex
as) Telegraph, may be interesting to the.
gold hunters they may reach the Ell Do
RADIO before the Pacific
"GoLD REGION OF TExAs.-The pub
lie mind has been lately greatly excited
with the accounts of the wonderful pro-
auctions ofthe gold region of California !;
but if we may credit the traditions Of the
Indians and the historical records of the
Spaniards, the gold region of Texas, on
the Rio Puerco, is as rich in the precious
metals as the now celebrated mines of
Feather river and Alta California. 1t is
notthe vague traditions ofthe Indians only,
nor the records ofthe Spaniards hat attest
the value of the mines of Puerco. The
ruins OF an extensive city, reared in an
cient days, like the famous Tadmor of the
desert, rise in lonely grandeur in this wild
region, 'andbear silent but positive testimo-
ny that something more than agriculture
was the basis of its prosperity. In the
midst of a wild and almost sterile region,
the turrets, spires, and domes of this once
popuIous city still remain, but destitute of
every thing that betokens civilized life.
The wild deer: antelope and mustang
brouse the heritage which grows luxu-
riantIy in its deserted streets, and the sa-
wage Camanche and hioway pitches his
rude lodge beneath its now dismantled
lamparts. This city is the Grand Qui-
vira of the Spaniards, and was founded
soon after the conquest of Mexico by Cor
tez. 1t is a well established fact that the
Spaniards penetrated into this region and
established fourishing settlements at a
very early day, and almost Immediately
after the city of Mexico and adjoining pro-
vinces were organized into a Spanish vice
royalty. The Spaniards of that day were
not stipulated by a desire to acquire agri-
cultural wealth, and they made few set
Elements in districts that were destitute
of valuable mines ofthe precious metals.
Their conquests all had one object-min-
eral treasure. Gold and silver were
sought for in all parts of the New World
where their arms could penetrate. The
country around Grand Quivira is an arid,
woodless plain, and there is no spring of
or stream within ten miles of the
city. There are no traces of cultivated
fields. For what object then were these
huge structures erected -? The answer
must be found in the character ofthe Span
ish conquerors and their history. They
were erected for mining purposes. There
is still a tradition current among the Mex
leans, that there were several millions of
pounds of gold and silver collected at this
city, when the terrible instruction of the
Indians broke out in the month of August,
1850. The city was surrounded by an
immense army ofIndians, and after a long
all the inhabitants were murdered
except two, who escaped to tell that the
inhabitants had been slaughtered, and
that the immense treasures of gold and sill
yer were buried in the ruins. An account
of this event was lately published in the
Matamoros Flag, and we need not make
any further comments respecting it. Our
object here is to show, that there are posi-
tive evidences that there is a rich mining
on the Puerco, and we hope by
the attention of our enterprising
fellow-citizens to the subject, to induce
some of them to explore this region, and
possibly they may be rewarded with as
full success as that which has attended the
explorations in California. The chain Of
granite mountains that stretches south
ward from Taos to the Puerco, resembles
in its geological features the chain of An
abuac mountains that coutain the richest
gold mines in Mexico. Several Plocers
have long been worked in these noun
tains below Santa Fe, apd large quanti-
lies of gold in small grains have been
washed from the anriferous sands in the
that traverse them"
iF=The. Pittsburg Journal names Ma