The Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1837-1867, 1848-12-16
Correspondence Of the Boston Atlas.
THE FL DORADO DISCOVERED.

WAsHINGroN, Dec. 6, 1913.
Those ofus who have read the history Of
the cnrly Spanish voygers 10 the continent Of
America, in search Of the lGl Dorado where
they were TO get "gOld for the gathering"
and to battle in springs Of living waters, the
the virtues Of which renewed life, aud give
10 old age the spirit and buoyNncy of youth,
have learned of their disasters and disdp-
pnintmcnts. True, CortGs aud lis followers
found gold in the HILLS of the MnuteZumns,
and Piznrro and his band found il in Peru,
but they wnded knee deep in human blood
TO grasp their rich plumber They decinlaied
two nations, aud become the most terrible
oftyrants, and the most bloody Of conquer
ors. The revivi6ing waters they never
found old age came upon them, az years
rolled on, and death hewed them down, n
mid the heaps oftheir i'll COTTON wealth. De
Soto, the discoyercr Of Florida and the Mis-
sisslppi, found nothing so wonderful as his
grave, which was beneath the bosom of the
mighty river which he had found.
! The discovery OF gold in California bids
fair TO revive the old days wien nyarico
prompted discovery, and cruelty was the
missionary of the religion Of Christ. The
J true I'll Dorado has been discovered on the
shores of the Pacific, in the beds ofIhc Cali
! iorniN rivers and amid the rocks aud reviucs
of the SiG.ru Nevada. The accounts which
have reached this city from the agents Of the
government, Col. Mason, Rev. Walter Cotton,
the Alculde OF Monterey, and others. speuk
even more confidently Of the golden treasure
| thnn the information heretofore received in
unofficial form, from merchants, sea captains
and traders on the coast and at San Francis
co. Cotton speaks of men running over the
country, picking gold out of the earth, MS a
thousand hogs lot loose in n forest root up
ground nuts. "One man has sixty Indians in
his employ,nu his profits ure dollar II min
ute" An ounce of gold is given for n bottle
of brandy, package of soda powders, or Il
hand of tobacco. One man got out of n ba-
sin in rock two pounds and n half of gold
in fifteen minutes. Again he says:
The whole country is now moving on the
mines, Monterey, San Francisco, Sonoma,
San Jose, and Sanln Cruz, are empicd Of
their male population. A stranger coming
here would suppose lac had arrived among n
race of women, who, 10y some anomalous pro-
vision of nature, multiplied their images with
out tie presence of the other SEX But not u
few of the women have gone too, especially
those who had got Out of tea--iur what is t,
woman without her ten-pot---a pythonGss
without her shaking tripod-nn ANGEL that
has lost lis Tyre. Every bowl, tray, warm
ing-pun and piggin, have gone to the mines.
Every thing, in short, that has a scoop in il
that will hold sand aud water All the iron
Inns been worked up into crow-bars, pick
axes, and spades. And all these roll back
upon us in the shape ofgold. We have there.
fore, plenty of gold. but liule to eat and still
less to wear. Our supplies must come from
Oregon, Chill, and the United States. Our
grain goblin exchange for coin, sells for nine
and ten dollars the ounce, though il is well
known to he worth AZ the mint in Philudel-
phla eighteen dollars the ounce at least
Such is the scarcity of coin here.
The accouhts received here put eXngger-
alton AT defiance, and the language oruuth is
that Of hypcrbolc.