The daily national Whig. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1847-1849, 1849-06-19
WALTER Q l. MS IL ID &c nj
CHRONICLES.

W. ihu tho iohoWihS Soiueh ShohiSie
from the pen Of WALTER CoLToN in the
Philadelphia North american. 1t is graft
flying to know, that more chronicles of gold
are in store for the reader from the same re.
liable source.
California.
We are indebted for the following account
Of return voyage from California, to dis
tinguished gentleman who has Just arrived
at his home in Philadelphia from the land OF
gold.
The United States mail steamer Oregon,
in which came passenger to Panama, lefl
San Francisco, April 18th. Her crew, on
their arrival at that port, had refused duty,
intending to 60 to the gold mines. Commo-
dore Jones, on being applied to by the Cap
tain, ordered file Of marines on board the
steamer, who marched the crew over hel
|side, to the deck of the United States ship,
Warren, where they were put inirons. Here
they remained while the passengers and their
baggage were discharged and the steamer
got ready for sea. They were then offered
one hundred dollars month, if they would
60 quietly on board and resume their duties,
| but they refused they were then marched
on board in irons, while few fresh hands
were procurcd-hardly sufficient to get the
steamer to sea.
On the second day out the refractory
crew were informed that the steamer was
bound to Panama, and that there she would
go, whether they aided in getting her there
Tor not The proposition Of one hundred
dollars a month to each Of the crew, and one
hundred and twelve to each Of the fremen,
was renewed, with the assurance that they
should be discharged on their return to San
Francisco To this proposition, all save
two, acceded and resumed their duties-the
two recreants held our through the entire
passage.
Some may be surprised at this compromise,
seemingly SO prejudicial to discipline and the
obligations of good faith But it was neces-
Isary, and Capt. Pierson deserves great
|praise for his tact and discreet conduct in the
|aiair. You cannot enforce contracts be-
tween sailors and masters OF vessels at San
Francisco-there is no means Of enforcing
them either through legal penalties or phys
cal compulsion. The service must, for the
present at least, be voluntary, and the enor-
nous prices demanded paid. AS the great
mania subsidies these wages will decline. In
less than one year, sailors can be procured
in California for one quarter Of what they
now demand
We reached San Bias in nine days from
San Francisco, during three of which we
were reduced entirely to our sails--our coal
having given out We were detained FIVE
4 days at San Bias taking in coal. No launch,
except that belonging to the company, ex
Icept for one day, could be procured, and the
coal had to be brought through long stretch
of shallow water. Il is poor place for a
depot. We found Acapulco much better.
Here the harbor is landlocked, and the shore
bold, and three-quarters the trouble and ex-
pense incurred at San Bias might be avoid
ed. Acapulco, by the way,is very pretty
place 1t stands at the head of the bay,
within the circling range of wild picturesque
elevations, which are crowned with a swing
ing mass of evergreen shade. The white
cottages Of the inhabitants CLEAN from the
|verdant hooks with romantic effect. 1t has
Ia population of some three thousand, who
|subsist mostly on fruits, which reel from their
native trees in tropical profusion. The peo-
|ple are Of small, delicate stature, and are full
|of vivacity and fun. The,f greet you as
cordially as if they had known you forty
Years. They are mixture of Spanish and
Indian blood, and are endowed with many
|amlable and attractive qualities. Acapulco
was once place Of considerable trade. A
portion Of the commerce of the city of Mexi-
leo found an outlet here but of late it has
declined, like all other towns in that Inflated
republic.
We arrived at Panama on the 9Th Of
| May-twenty- three days from San Francis
co. On the following day the mail steamer
Panama-much to the joy of the gold Dig
gers-came steaming up to her anchorage,
and a coal ship followed close on her track.
We found some fifteen hundred Americans at
Panama, bound to California, waiting for a
passage, Of these, the three steamers and
the vessels in the harbor have, before This,
taken away the greater part The coast is
now nearly clear. We left the California
at San Francisco;-she had supplied herself
with coal from an English vessel, by paying
forty dollars per ton, and had shipped a new
crew by paying hundred dollars per month;
and yet, with all these enormous charges,
she will yield a handsome profit to her own
ers. Everything connected with California
moves on grand scale. The result is an
ocean, in which your little tributary stream,
with all its bubbling importance, is swallow
ed up and lost. California is the Chalcis of
our day; its golden fleece is no fable though
not in reality so large as it figures in the
frantic dreams Of men. 1t will not cothe
nations, though considerable communities
may there invest themselves in yellow pomp.
Bat more of this anon.
We remained in Panama two days, where
we were unableto procure bed, and where
we nibbled for meals like hali-starved grass
hoppers on barren heath. We had ten in
our company, and having procured twenty
mules, we started for Chagres. Our pace
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