The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1859-09-01

resented at the entree of the troops.
Sille is to be made the headquarters of a
grand military command, with Marshal of
France as the head.
The accounts from the vineyards are unfavor-
able.
LATER FROM CENTRAL AMERICA AND
CALIFORNIA.
OUer Tioo Millions IN Treasure - Interesting
from the Chiriqui Gold Diggings.
The United States mail steamship Moses
Taylor which left Aspinwall on the 10Th inst,
with 495 passengers, $2,l26,333 in treasure,
and the Pacific mails, arrived at New York on
Saturday morning. Among her passengers is
Flag officer Long, late in command of the Pa
cifc squadron, who, with his secretary and
Flag -lieutenant Winslow, returns to the United
States also, the commander, officers, and crew,
of the sloop of war Decatur, who arrived at
Panama in the United States sloop Warren.
The United States ships Merrimae, Vandalia,
and Warren, were all in Panama, and the Roam
oke, Sabine, and Preble, were at Aspinwall.
The mails and passengers from New York,
July 9Th, arrived in San Francisco on the 18th,
many hours ahead of the opposition steamer
direct, Notwithstanding delay of nineteen
hours at Acapulco, waiting for the Tehuantepec
mail.
From Cdlifornia-The California news is
no later than that brought by the Tehuantepec
steamer at New Orleans. The dates are to the
5th inst.
The San Francisco papers are full of politics.
The excitement is at fever heat.
Miss Avonia Jones was playing at the Amer
lean Theatre.
Greeley arrived at Sacramento on the lst
He made a speech.
Central Anaerica-From the Chiriq,n Dig
gings.-The Chiriqui excitement still continues,
and several vessels had left Panama for the
region of new discoveries. Mr.. John Power,
one of the editors of the Panama Star and
Herald, is among those who have left, for the
purpose of making personal inspection of the
state of affairs, and reporting the result in his
paper.
The latest news from the region is given in
the Star of the 18th inst, as follows:
"The schooner Josefa arrived in port on the
night of the 10th instant, bringing news from
Davfd to the 18th inst. The reports continue
20 bS.Uf highly favorable character and large
quantities of gold continue to be taken out of
the graves. The party who went up to Chirqui
in the Josefa on the 10th July, for the purpose
of digging are so well satisfied that they have
concluded to remain, Notwithstanding the heavy
rains which prevail at this season, and they are
now successfully engaged at the diggings
"Mr. Halves, who has returned for the pur-
pose of taking up another stock of goods, has
brought down a quantity of very splendid speci-
mems. He calculates, after careful investiga-
ton, that he has seen at least two hundred and
fay thousand dollars worth of these gold i'm
ages in the houses of poor people in David, but
he thinks there must be great deal more he
did not see, rs they are very shy about exhibit
ing them to strangers.
" 1t is strange, that among all the variety of
figures which have been found, there is not one
which represents either horse, cow, pig, dog,
cat, or any other domestic animal--strong proof
that they were made by race who existed
prior to the introduction of these animals to
this continent.
"The country appears in many places to be
covered with graves for miles, and it is thought
that there will be plenty of occupation for thou
sands of people when the dry season sets in,
which will be in the end of December.
CAT present it would be unwise for foreign
ers to 60 there, as they would in all probability
get fever from exposure to the rains, and they
could make little progress in prospecting, owing
to the swollen state of the streams. We would
therefore recommend persons in the United
States, who contemplate seeking fortune in
or early in January, when they will have sever
al months of dry weather before they can be
traversed without any difficulty. We learn that
the Project extended every hospitality to the
foreigners visiting David, and has allowed them
free use of his lands to dig on.
"The province of Chiriqui is one Of the most
heakhy and beautiful districts of New Granada
and the temperature is so cool that blankets are
required at nights and, now that we have re-
ceived satisfactory confirmation of the reports
already published, it will be by no means as
tonishing to see rush there as soon as the
rains cease.
provisions are reported as being both cheap
and abundant, without any prospect of rise
as the country abounds in rice, corn, cattle, &C.
"Since the foregoing was put in print, we
have seen a quantity of the earthenware curl
osities brought from Chiriqui by Mr.. Halves.
@They consist of water jars, cooking pots,
images of men and women, &C., all of beauti
full workmanship, and many of them painted
with strange devices. Among the rest is
large stone for grinding maize; it is carved in
the shape of a tiger, and is rare specimen
The entire lot would be highly priced either
in the States or Europe, and it is to be hoped
that before long some light may be thrown on
the history of the strange race of people to
whom these antiquities belonged, for as yet
even the age in which they lived appears to be
yelled in mystery"
Annexed in an extract from letter from
Mr.. j. Halves, one of the adventures. 1t is
dated at David, on the I'd instant
Nearly every grave has more or less gold
in it, and as there are many thousands of these
graves or huacas all over the country, nothing
is wanting but labor to bring the gold out.
The images are found from TIVE to four feet be-
low the pottery, and the latter is found some
four feet below the surface. No bones are
found in the graves, and only small traces of
human hair. / have purchased some very Gu
rious articles of pottery and gold. l think the
aborigines valued copper more than gold, as all
the copper images are much finer wrought than
those Of gold. Many of them bear unmistakable
signs of Chinese figures. One gold image has
the almond eyes peculiar to the Asatic race.
One Indian, who brought in some six pounds
of gold images, says that there is Sierra de
los Muertos in the interior, where the gold is
as plenty as rocks, and where the Indian Kings
are all buried but that no white man can 90
there, as the Indians are very brave, and hate
the pale-faces. For tin cup, one of the In
dams promised to show me place where gold
was in the rock plenty as the rock itself