The Kanzas news., 1858-12-25
From the St. Louis Democrat
The Gold Fields of the Far west.

From the ST. Louis Democrat
fhe Gold Fields of the Far West.
The dream of De Soto is at last realized
IN the gold fields of the far West. Even
the tabled waters that would give perpetui-
/ " OF youth seem disclosed in the sparkling
EeurFents whose gathered wealth can add a
bloom to the faded brow of beauty, or
ciothe with comliness the deerepilude of old
age. Multiplied narratives from the trap
per who first saw the glitter in the sands to
the latest adveBturer returning with the
yield OF summers prospecting, all attest
ehe richness and extent of the gold beds
from the washing of the eastern slope of
the Rocky Mountains. Along the banks OF
Cherry Creek. the Fontaine aui Bouilie,
the South Platte, and smaller afiuents, in
! the vicinity of Pixies Peak, surface explo-
rations have shown an abundance of the
precious metals mingled with the deposits.
amply sufficient to repay constant toll, even
with the rudest instruments. Further along,
/ faint rumors come to us of still more aIlur-
ing indications upon the western slopes in
the Three Parks, and southwark among the
huge formations that skirt the Rio Bravo
del Norte. From research so far made,
from geological evidences, from traditionary
we have no room to doubt the general au-
riferous character of the whole central ele-
vation of the continent. The Sierra San
Juan is known TO contain a greater variety
| OF precious stones, minerals, salts and
earths, than any other of the Sierras of the
interior. The partial exploration of its
treasures prepares us to hear of develop
ments among its guiches unsurpassed in
the world. A recent lecture upon physical
geography, delivered by gentleman better
informed of the resources of that region
than any other in America, assumes that
gold will be found there in solid mass, lust
as iron is found at the Pilot Knob or Shep-
pard Mountain. And we see no reason to
doubt it, but every reason to believe it
Still less should we be surprised to note
discoveries of the garnet. topaz, the anne
thyst, the emerald, and the diamond, more
abundant than those of the great mountain
chains of Europe and Asia. In Arizona,
the silver mines have already attracted
large attention, and become the object of
eager quest, and this is also part of the
same remarkable Sormation-a formation
embracing an area of ten degrees of latitude
by six degrees of longitude Here, there
fore, is a field, ripe with the harvest, and
ready for the gathering. Who shall num-
Der all its treasures? How shall we take
an inventory of all its wealth? And with
the opening new year, wien the grass grows
green. and nature, assuming there her gar
meHt of rare loveliness, sliall invite TO the
exploration, what scene of adventurous
industry will be witnessed in that silent
territory. More than twenty thousand men
will be toiling, digging, searching through
every nook of that great volcanic section
climbing the mountains, penetrating the
valleys, turning the streams, breaking the
rocks, burrowing the earths, polishing the
stones, smelling the silver. cleaning the gold
from every crevice. The throng of wagons,
and accumulation of provision, and collect
ing of herds and focks, all along the west
ern lines of present settlement, will resem-
BILE the outgoing of an army of invasion.--
The tramp of free labor, as it marches to
the conquest of the new Ophir, will be
heard above the din of politics, and the
restless eye of speculation will wander from
Government contracts and Congress lobby
ing, to watch this exodus to the center
this crusade against the mountains-this
evangel to new commerce. The West,
the far West, the great West, will loom up
IN the eye of the nation in proportions of
immeasurable grandeur. Where the deer
and the elk now frequent, cities will spring
up within the year, rivalling those of the
valley, and the buffalo paths will turn into
highways for hurrying merchandise. The
traIesman who can now scarce get to-
gether enough in his narrow home TO buy
an outfit. will return the millionaire of new
gold field, or the shrewd realizer of sue
cessive bubble town lots. The ox-driver
will merge into the proprietor of the ex-
press line; the farmers boy will boast the
possession of rancho with cattle on hun
dred hills. Nor will there be wanting dark
lines in all this gilded pageantry The
broken gambler, the youth whose bright
hope has been extinguished in crime, the
impoverished miner whose .:.bad luck'' has
become the proverb of his associates-the
husband. the father, the child, returning to
plant the willow over the graves of those
fortune-all these will mingie in the pano-
rama. And yet the good will surpass the
evil. the gladness be greater than the sor-
row, the contribution to national progress
far transcend the cases of individual suffer
ing. Altogether, it is a contemplation to
rouse the spirit and make rs proud of our
country and our time. What other land
can hold out such unspeakable inducement
to thrifty toil2 And what other age can
parallel such irruptions of people Fastening
to pioneer the wilderness Such, however,
is the coming marvel of the coming year.
COMMERCE OF THE UNITED STATEs.-kc-
cording TO the official tables for the fiscal
year ending June 3Oth, 1855, the imports
for the year amounted to SS82. .6l3. $50, |
and the exports for the same period, 1924