The mountain Democrat., 1863-03-07
AnE DeraGs IN Central Asia.

- - UOk3AO II O0ABKAI A0NAa
The work Of Father Hue, O priest Of
the LaEarite Order in France, on his trav.
els In Mongolia, TartaFy, Thibes, etc, In
lS44-6-0, is one Of the most valuable On
those countries. The countries through
~ASda this sealOOs PRIEST Travelled, nc
companied By his brother Padre, Gabok
and few servants. have not been visited
by any European traveller since the time Of
the famous Marco Polo, some 600 years
age. And the account which Hue gives
Of these countries (ths names Of which
heretofore have been entirely unknown
to the rest Of the wOrld) is exceedingly
interchangeable most Of it entirely new,
and IN every part highly curious. The
description is chiefly confined to the ele.
Vated lands Of Central Asia, which are
..iA;sNisiEr in almost eSeay particular TO
California and the countries between the
Sierra Nevada and the headwaters Of the
rivers flowing into the Gulf Of California
and the Gulf of Mexico. They have
their boundless plains, called 1.-THE Land
Of Grass :" kind of buffalo (ths Yak,
wild horses, asses, camels, goats, sheep |;
wild men, thievish as Blackfeet and Paw
nees; mines Of silver, gold, coal, copper,
lead; immense salt lakes having no out.
let to the ocean, with their own systems
OF rivers, some as large as the Missouri !;
snow-capped mountains, the highest 10
the world, and 4 population unknown to
fOreignerA Their nearest neighbors un.
der settled governments are the Russians,
Chinese and English.
The extracts we insert below will show
what sort Of q country this California Of
Asia Is, which 10 now for the first tinis
made known to uS. From these Asiatic
Steppes and Alturas have issued hordes
who have overun the rest Of Asia and
the East and South Of Europe from tune
immemOrial:
'Thibet, poor in agricultural and man.
ufactured productions, is Iich in metals |;
and gold and silver are 20 easily obtained
that the humblest shepherds are &C.
quainted with the art of purifying the
precious metals. They may be seen
sometimes at the bottoms Of the ravines
or in the assures of the mountains,
crouched over a FIRE Of goats dung, puri.
flying in crucibles the gold dust gathered
while leading their fOcks to pasture.
The result Of this abundance of metals is,
that specie is Of little value, and in con.
sequence all commodities remain at high
price. The gold and silver collected by
the people are absorbed by the great, and
especially by the Llama Colleges, in i'm
nense reservoirs, into which flow, by q
thousand channels, all the riches of these
vast countries. The result Of this accu-
mutation Of money in the Golfers Of the
privileged classes, and the high price oI
the necessaries Of life, is, that larger
part Of the population is. continually
plunged in frightfu; poverty. ...
1.-THE Kingdom of Gechekten is aston
ishingly rich in gold and silver. but these
very treasures have been the cause of its
calamities. Though there exists severe
prohibition against working the mines, il
often happens that great troops Of Chi
nese banditti come and search for gold
and it is said they have remarkable ca.
pacity from the shape of the mountains
and the kind Of plants produced on them.
But such discovery does but bring des-
OlatiOn on the country where it is made,
for it attracts toward it thousands Of vag-
abOOds, some of whom employ them.
selves in rohbing the inhabitants, while
the rest dig for gold and silver. In 1871
the Kingdom of Ouinot became the prey
Of multitude of these rutfians, who con.
tinued in occupation Of it for two years,
and were not reduced till the king had
assembled all his banners and marched
against them. Being in such numbers,
they made desperate resistance; but n,
length great number Of them retreated
into the mine. and the MonsolS perceiving
it, stopped up the entrance with great
stones, where every one of them peri: b.
ed Alexander S. Taylor.