The Kansas herald of freedom., 1859-01-08
BY G. W. BROWN & co.

cheese from milk, from the sediment and
pressure of the ocean which once rolled
over it, but has now retired.
This calcareous plain, thus forming a
unit in physical geography, embraces four
seventies of the area of our continent. It
is encompassed all round by a circuit of
primary mountains, within which it forms
an amphitheatre. These mountains are
the Alleghanies, towards the Atlantic; the
Cordilleras of the Sierra Madre and the
Andes, towards the Pacific. The mouths
of the great rivers from the doors or out
lets through them to the oceans. This
circumferent wall Of mountains is of i'm
mense breadth toward the Pacific, 1t is
the second unit in physical geograph, and
covers two-sevenths of the area of our
continent. External to the mountain for
nation is the Maritime slope, washed by
the oceans and penetrated by the tides
This external division is the third unit in
physical geography, and forms all round
one-seventh of the area of our continent.
Behold, then, the physical arrangement
of our continent; at once simple, complete
and sublime, the Calcareous Plain, four
seventies; the Mountain Formation, two
seventies; the Maritime Slope, one-sev-
enth.
The geological structure of our CONT
nent has the same order, like magnitude
of dimensions and arrangements, paral-
lei simplicity. The Calcareous Plain is
uniform secondary formation of limestone,
horizontally deposited and stratifed. The
Mountain Formation is of granite, present
ing the primeval crust of the globe rent
by volcanic forces and elevated vertically
The Maritime slope presents the external
mountain base partly revealed, and partly
covered by the washings of the sea-
Everybody is familiar with the manu-
facture of shot, This is accomplished by
pouring liquid lead, at a high elevation,
through perforated moulds Each pellet
of lead descending through the air, is
formed, as it cools, into sphere, by the
invisible force of gravity. The globe of
the earth has had similar origin-once a
liquid mass, now a solid, gravitating
sphere, such as we inhabit it. Geology
explains how the material mass of this
great sphere has arranged ITSELF in cooling
into layers enVeloping one another, like
the successive coatings of an onion. Spe-
cific gravity accounts for the relative posi-
tons of these layers, one upon the other,
and explains to US when and how to pene-
trate to their metalliferous contents. 1t
is in the primeval rocks exclusively, that
the precious metals and precious stones
} are found. The base metals are contained
in the calcareous or secondary rocks. The
same stupendous scale holds in the sbun-
dance of the metals, their purity and their
widely extended distribution.
1t is your request that speak specially
on this evening, of the gold production Of
our country, and specifically of the region
surrounding Pixies Peak and the Sierra
San Juan. Specific gravity guides us tC
e discover the rocks in which the precious
metals may be found and where they are
!, totally absent. II into a hollow pillar o
}, glass there be poured quart of quick
e silver, one of water, one of oil, and one o
r alcohol, these liquids will rest one upol
e the other, in this order-if a piece of gold
: of iron, of wood, and feather; be thrown
s in, they will sink-the gold to the bottom
f the iron to the quicksilver the wood t,
S the water; the feather to the oil. If thi
4 mass be CONCEALED to ice, this arrangement
will remain solid and permanent; the golC
9 must be sought for sedimentary to tn
| quicksilver; the iron above it, but sedi
t mentary to the water; the wood sedimen
: tary to the oil. In the great order of natur
D a similar arrangement holds in the rock
: which compose the globe of the earth
e and in their contents, once all liquid, bu
It now permanently solid, in the order O
It their relative specific GRANTEES. 1t is tn
primeval mass, then, ofthe Mountain Fol
a nation, which alone is auriferous, an
J. within it only can the precious metals, an
d especially gold, be sought for with sue
cess.
"a The Mountain Formation, which occu
II pies the western portion of our continer
= to the extent of two-sevenths of its Who'll
area, consists of the Cordillera of the Siel
4 ra Madre on the east, the Cordillera of th
q Andes on the west, and the Plateau ofth
= Table Lands embraced between them
1t is uniformly primeval and everywheI
;, auriferous. The Plateau of the tab
lands commences above Tehuantepe
where the Cordilleras begin to open frol
D. one another. 1t runs through the cont
; nent to Behring's Straits, and is one thor
u sand miles in width, in our latitude, $3.50
, The general elevation of its surface
s. 5000 feet above the sea; that of the Coz
n dilleras is 1900 feet The Plateau
" traversed across by great mountain chain
y which subdivide it into basins. Three I
% these basins contain, respectively, the gre
lt rivers, the Colombia, the Colorado, and IL
n bio Gel Norte, which gorge the Cordiller
y and escape to the seas. Three other basil
8 contain the stagnant lakes, the Great Ss
s. Lake, the Lagana, and the Lake of Il
N CITY of Mexico; these have no outlets
or drainage TO the seas. OF these mounta
D. chains the most interesting to US is Il
10 Sierra Mimbres. This divides asund
OF the basins of the Colorado and the d
Norte. which rest against it as back bon
IS. 1t leaves the western flank of the Cord
of lera of the Sierra Madre, in latitude 81
o. and trayersing the Plateau by due sout
l. ern course for !, 400 miles, joins the CO
d, dillera of the Andes in the Mexican Sta
en- of Durango, in latitude 23e. This mou
ed tain chain is volcanic, containing crat,
is, and the overflow of lava. The Cordille
be of the Andes is also volcanic. The
of mountain chains consist of the primeN
rocks, broken from their original position
.ce heavei up edgewise by the expansi
he power of the internal fires of the glo
and revealed to sight and search. Mo
,at over. the Colorado river, in escaping
he the sea, gorges the Cordillera of the AnC
res diagonally, having rent its way by q cha
Co bored through the very bowels of the G
ms dillera, athwart from base to base. I
nd chasm, four hundred miles in length
M known as the Canon Of the Colorado
les This Canon presents the unique and no
At. fact to mankind, that primary mount
zee chain, whose summit is of the aurifert
= rocks, is thus gorged to its foundatio
,ch many thousand feet in depth 1t is hs
ne upon the plateau, in the arcane of
he mountain formation, and the activity
no the stnnendous FORCES of nature, that