The daily Minnesota pioneer. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1854-1855, 1854-07-01
The Ophir of King Solomon:

The SGUdnS of this nlnetcenth century nave
given it as their mature opinion that Calitor- !
MIA must have been the original Ophir from
which Solomon obtained his treasure for the
adornment of the Temple. Many singular cir
cun,stances have transpired to render this i'm
preston particularly prevalent; and yet all
these things are Characteristic of the true Yam
kec character, and smack stronghold guessing
where reason is at fault.
Since the discovery of gold mines in AUS
ITALIA, these philosophers have locked simple.
and somewhat in doubt, after the fashion of
the rat whose appetite was equally divided be-
tween the cheese'and the cracker. They do
not like to abandon the cherished locality of
California, Tor yet to slight the growing i'm
portcrce Of Australia. They can't both be the
Ophir, and yet they must be duplicates. The
largest nuggets ought to weigh in the scale
and whichever has produced the most astcrish-
ing specimens Of the filthy lucre" we claim
its precedence as "Ophir.'
In the first establishment Gttcndant upon the
wealth discovered in California, it was oppor-
tuney asccrtaincd that the ships Of Solomon
were nccessitatcd to be gone three long years
upon their voyages to the Ell Dorado--that
this was the Only place where such long 10Y
ages were nccessary-that fossils, and old land
marks betrayed the presence of the ancient
joint consideration, fixed the Impeachment I'M
deniably there, and in no other place.
But in Australia, these things have found
Duplicates counterfeit presentments :earlulll
alike, to the great Inconvenience of this mod
ern philosophy. What has been found appli-
cable in California, is equally applicable in
Australia. They both are the same distance
in point Of voyage, from the Holy Land
Alas, for this uncertain philosophy -this Iris
cradle similitudc
Gold is now being found il the States of
North Carolina, Georgia, and Maine. They
are all ophirs; : perhaps not the identical
Ophir-neverthelcSs, they bear the Impress
The progressive talents of Americans have yet
to develop the mines of Peru. which were her
metically closed by the South American mon
archs to csadc the rapacity of P.zarfo and 9TH
crs Of the same lk Maybe another "Ophir'
will "turn up in that locality to the addition
al discomfit,rc CT these WiscacrcS who are con-
tinually allowing their fertile imagination tco
wide play to accccl with consistency.
| Now, we hold Minnesota is the FL Dorado
! fbo n,b;r ,rtl,,,+ C
baseness. There is nothing spufio,tIs here
But the gold must be reached b. a different
process. No quartz washing machines no
cradles, no wash-bows, Or trench diggings
The process is still simpler, and of practical
force We might get patcrt ect the knowl-
edge we possess, but as matter Of pure gen
crosby will make this secret known.
The plough, the seed, the harvest. the Sc
cure contcntmcnt of farmers life comprise
the modus operandt Of the 'Oplir" cf Mime
sofa. The steady strides to afflucncc are not
impcdcd with the mire-ho!es of despair, and
the tumbling ruts of fortune. There are nc
qnagmrcs wherein prostration stands ready to
sink us. We can build the counterpart of
SOLOMON temple in a much more permanent
form. The wars of worlds cannot cast the
structure to the earth, so that zone stone shall
not stand upon the other, and the Trim and
"Thumnsim" shall cast their wings over us in
symbolic protection even as the temple dome
Of SOLOMON was adorned.
We would calmly invite the ir,,isitvc,
phlosophic researches of all those befogged
spectators upon the identity of "Ophr, in
this direction There might he some difficulty
to be sure in the lack of fossils and landmarks
but when they see the lovely fields, the rpcn-
ing grain, and budding blossoms, they might
be induced to compromise bctwccn California
and Australia, and mediate upon Minnesota