Eastern times. [volume] (Bath, Me.) 1846-1857, 1851-02-06

desert, all paid their homage at the shrine 0
this grasping goddess. And what has been
the result! A few have made fortunes, bu,
the many have become victims of inflated bub-
bles that have from time to time been present
ed to the public gaze.
One would suppose that the dear-bought
experience arising from SO many ruinous pro-
jects would check any further movements Of
this nature. But like the hydra-headed mon
ster, one swindle no sooner explodes, than an
other succeeds, as bold in pretenson and as
hattering in appearance as its predecessor
Phantom follows phantom, like so many will
o the wisps, each shedding around its false
glare, and all tending to plunge credulous
dupes who run after them, i.toq quagmires from
which it is impossible to be extricated."
That writer talks like man, and fears not
to call things by their right names, albeit his
sayings hit slap in the faces of men in power,
and can tend only to recall people once more
to their senses. By the way, the particular
'.swjnde'' which the above writer had in
mind is the project of Gen. Vallejo to remove
the seat Of government from San Jose, We ~
healthy locality on the southern end of San
Francisco bay, in one Of the most fertile re-
gons of the State, to desolate, uninhabited
spot on the northern shore of San Pablo bay,
or rather the strait connecting San Pablo and
Suisan bays-near the point to which the read
er has been conducted on the way from San
Francisco towards Sacramento. Gen. Veleio,
if recollect Alright, rendered himself some
what conspicuous in the late struggle with
Mexico, previous to which time, he resided in
| Sonora, few hours sail from San Francisco.
After peace was re-establshed and Alta Cali
fornia became ceded to our government, Gen.
V. was one of the number who preferred be-
coming free citizen of the conquering nation,
TO remaining under allegiance to Mexico; so
that instead of sacrificing his property and re-
moving farther south, he continued to remain
at his old post, and took the necessary steps to
become loyal American citizen. The Gen.
still lives with his family in Sonora, but he
has taken up claim not far distant from Be-
nicia, on shore perfectly barren of all trees,
and to it he has given his own name, and there
he proposes to have established the Capital of
the great State of California. He is lauded
by not few for his munifcence and public
| spirit, inasmuch as he has offered to donate
| some Sl25, 900, towards erecting State
House, and the other appendages of the State
/ Capital. But this show of munifcence sens-
bly, melts away when it is considered that the
proposed city is now but naked rocks or bar
rem sand hills, for all practical purposes, not
worth copper, and the only hope of making
it valuable, depends upon the other hope of
persuading the people to adopt it as the seat
of government. The donation is to be raised
by disposing Of city lots, whose sole impor-
tance and value are to be impaired by the gov
ernment ITSELF so that the whele matter re-
solves itself into simply this: if the State will
create a fortune for Gen. Nelejo by adopting
his place as its Capital, thus throwing an in
terest around it and making the lots saleable,
he, in the exercise of his great liberality, will
make present TO the State of a small portion
of the fortune thus created And for this he
is "ailolced to be''-as Missourians have it
exceedingly public-spirited. Such is the pub
lie spirit-the liberality of this whole country.
Gen. Nelejo knows thing or two, and | shall
not be surprised to learn by the next mail that
his ''swindle" has succeeded, and that the peo-
| pie have bitten at his naked hook. At the
| late election the question of the location of the
seat of government, was before the people !;
| and the few returns which have come to hand, -,
seem TO lean strongly in favor of Vallejo, with
all its nakedness, and all the elements of repul-
sion so thickly scattered about. Well, it is all
a game of Bragg and Poker" and the one
that can brag the loudest, cheat the most, and
''svirdle'' the keenest, seems to be looked up
to as the best fellow. Such is my opinion of
California standards of moral honesty. OF
course, all general rules have their exceptions,
and doubt not California can furnish exam
Piles of honorable motive, fair dealing and
moral honesty, even as Sodom of uld could
! iuruisn ner Lot and his family.
But here goes for the Sacramento, that
stream of crystal waters of which you have
heard so much said in the States, where the
pebbles are all diamonds of the first water,
and the sands are all sparkling with gold
Before leaving home had heard the opinion
expressed by even scientific men, that the bot
tom of this stream, even as low down as San
Francisco bay, would be found upon close i'll
spection, to be filled with minute particles OF
gold, and that the 'ganck SlUer" process
would bring it forth even as spirits are called
from the ''vasty deep" If have been right
ly informed an eminent mineralogist in your
neighborhood participated in this opinion, and
| know of more than one who left his happy
New England home with strong belief, that
with his mercury and retort, he should be able
to distil fortune in almost 10 time One Of
your own citizens had curious apparatus
gotten up with which to dredge the bottom Of
the r1rer, that he might thus take in a cargo of
the precious sand and ship it home to wash Out
at his leisure but Oh, scissors what an idea
and how supremely ridiculous to the mind o.
one who ''has been there and stopped al
night" The Sacramento is Just one of the
most turbid, sluggish, muddy streams of wate1
that ever beheld. From its mouth to tht
junction of the American river at Sacramento
city, 1t presents almost uniform appearance
the banks low and uninviting, covered in some
places with tule, in other places overrun witt
vines. and nowhere rising IN a sufficient bo;ob