The Cheyenne daily leader. [volume] (Cheyenne, Wyo.) 1870-1884, 1878-06-28
"A elittsziag Mystery.

IT,
"what become q the precious metalsf'
asks an Eastern journal and then proceeds
to consider the question and succeeds in
throwing much doubt upon it. Or rather
leaving It in just as much doubt as before.
The question. What becomes Of all the
pinsS" has been often asked. perhaps. and
has been answered with about the same
Illumination. Ferd. Ever. many years ago..
in this city, was hugely amused at q ques-
ton asked in the Sacramento Union. namely.
Where docs all the water gor' To which
interrogation the questioner proceeded, with
the philosophical sobriety Of an owl to re-
ply through n long column article. WHOM y
might have been answered in two wordsE
the ocean. But It Is not so easy to answer
satisfactorily the question as to what be-
comes of the precious metals That . vast
amount has been extracted from the earth.
according to an English writer who. Of
course. must depend to q great degree upon
guess work, not less taan $s,0o0,OO0. 900,
since the days Of Noah. in gold and silver,
there can be no doubt. OF this amount he
thinks that $s.200.000.000 have been pro.
dueed since the discovery Of America The
Christian world is credited with having had
s2.o00.Ooo,000 most Of which has been dis
posed Of by shipwrecks. gliding. Are and
various other ways. rs effectually. we might
suggest, as many Of our citizens have dis
posed Of theirs by investing in stocks. He
thinks this loss proceeds at the rate Of SIG
100000 annually. while the production he
puts at s40.O00.000. which is undoubtedly
too low. One-half of the balance. $350.oo0.
900. he thinks is held in the form Of plate
and ornaments. OF the balance in the anti
Christian world. waste and losses omitted.
he thinks that over q thousand billions ave
been hidden in Asiatic lands in different
ages Of the world. and he continues that Is
well known that q thousand millions were
thus hidden in India and China in the six
years succeeding 1851 that is during the
time when wholesale murder and slaughter
and Wholesale robbery and despoliation were
the business Of ~thenatives andtheir enemies-
One would think that CHM must be car
peted with gold leaf. paved with silver dol
lars. glittering with the precious metals.
did he think only Of the vast sums sent there
for hundreds Of years past. little or none Of
which ever comes back. But somehow those
metals have a fate there, as they have else
where-they disappear. Like many other
commodities. they serve their purpose and
disappear. What became Of all the gold with
which Solomon covered his grand tompls
What became Of all the Spanish spells b
South America and in Mexicof One NIGH
ask such questions forever and be no wiser
therefore. Gold and silver serve their pur
poses and disappear. ms do tho human
race and old boots and all other material
things. and there is none 90 wise % can tell
us accurately what has become Of them.
When the fawcet is turned. where has the
gaslight gone ? n might ask. and question
would be rs reasonable and perhaps a. di@-
cult to answer. We know pretty well where
our little portion Of gold and silver has
gone, but that knowledge does not give vi
and particular gratifc at,on.-Alta California