The New York herald., 1872-08-02

doubtful contest before him In November, even
though North Carolina, through Its solid negro
vote, should be yet made to give him ma
jority.
Golconda OF tho West.
And now we learn that among the inex-
haustible wonders of the West o new Col
conda has been brought to light, district in
the Territory of Arizona, abounding in dia-
monds, rubies, sapphires and emeralds; and
this is what we have from San Francisco on
the subject: A company has been formed in
that city with capital of ten millions to work
these recently discovered Arizonian diamond
fields near the head waters of the Rio Colorado
Chiquito; and it appears that the company has
been very secret about its operations hitherto;
that they have in the Bank Of California one
hundred thousand dollars worth of large dia-
monds, dozen of which have been cut; that
they have rough diamond of one hundred
and two carats "a regular Koh-i-noor) and a
quart of small diamonds they measure them
by the quartz, and rubies and sapphires and
are told how the Aztecs, away down in
Mexico, before the time of Cortez, were,
according to tradition, supplied with these
precious stones from the north Of tho Gila
River, meaning these diamond fields Of
Arizona; and lastly, that quite OH excitement
exhibition of these aforesaid large diamonds,
an excitement which is perfectly natural and
does not surprise us at all.
What are we to think of this wonderful
storyP 1t may be hoax; but 1t may be true.
Everything else in the mineral world having
been found in our new Western States and
Territories, except fields Of diamonds and
washings of rubies, sapphires and emeralds,
why should they not also be found in those
wonderful regions? We have out there mines
of boundless wealth in coal, iron, copper, lead,
silver, gold, sulphur, salt, saltpetre soda,
borax, bitumon and what not; and why not,
therefore, diamonds rubies, sapphires and
emeralds? We say that such have been the
tremendous volcanic upheavals and aqueous
abrasions and chemical tran sformations in all
those wonderful regions west OF the Rocky
Mountains that we are strongly inclined to be-
lieve that the precious stones Of all descriptions
exist in the western divisions Of Colorado and
New Mexico, and in the eastern sections Of
Utah and Arizona; and we are the more in
clined to this belief because the vast region in
dicated within these limits is comparatively
unknown.
We know from the official reports of the ex-
plorations of Fremont, Gunnison, Sitgreaves
and other government explorers, and from the
reports of mountain trap pers that within this
indicated region, embracing considerable por-
tions of Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Ari-
zona, there are beautiful elevated plains,
gently rolling and fertile, with fresh water
lakes and timber; that there are boundless
fields of grasses, including wild wheat and oats,
within this extensive district, and the most
wonderful mountain buttes, ranges, cliffs and
canyons in oil the world; and we know from
Captain Sitgreaves that for miles and
miles down the valley and in the wild
canyons of the Colorado Chiquito "a branch of
the great Colorado), there are numerous Aztec
ruins, including the excavations in the cliffs in
which those semi-civilized people lived, and
that those cliff houses are wonderfully pre-
served We know, too, from the soil, climate
and means Of irrigation that this valley of
the Colorado Chiquito can even now be made
to sustain large population; but we have as
yet no official or specific reports of these al
leced discoveries of diamonds rubies san
phires and emeralds in said valley or basin of
the Colorado Chiquito. We shall not be at
all surprised, however, if this San Francisco
report shall turn out to be substantially true
bill; and if SO, then we may expect crush"
to the new diamond fields very soon which
will eclipse the rush 10 the gold fields Of Cali
fornia or Australia, and reduce to mere
bagatelle the rush to the diamond fields Of
South Africa.