Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-05-12

walter Raleigh wrote the first account of it
IN 1893, when he landed there on his voyage
IN search of the Eldorado and the land OF
tne Amazons. Humboldt gave good deal
OF study to the phenomenon, and declared
that the pitch lake is "a constantly aggre-
eating mass formed from the cosmical
gaseous fluid, which seems to settle it.
A few miles away is a mud volcano on the
Mountain of San Fernando, called 'sSalse''
"a circular pile of mud some two or three
acres In extent, bottomless and hot and evil
IDENTIFY occupying some old crater. The mud
is heaped up in piles like monstrous ant
hills. at the top of which are holes through
which the moist stuff oozes, and sometimes
flames are said to appear. The contents of
this basin are really impure aspnaltum, for
the odor is about the same as that about the
Pitch Lake and the component parts are
similar, but the greater quantity of earth in
the mixture makes it worthless for economi-
cal purposes.
AN AMERICAN PRoTECToRATE.
Citizens of the United States have under
taken the development of the Orinoco coun-
try. The Orinoco river is the third In size
in the world, and is navigable for thousands
of miles. Steamers can go within q short
distance of Bogota in Colombia, and much Of
the trade of Colombia will someday seek this
channel. 1t is not generally known that the
Amazon and the Orinoco rise at the same
source, and that were the bars, snags and
other impediments removed, light draught
boat could enter the mouth of one and sail
out Of the mouth of the other. Various
schemes have been proposed for dredging
the channel, and il will some dsv be done,
thus opening the greatest line of fresh water
navigation in the world. There are now two
steamboat companies engaged upon the Or
lnoco and its branches, both owned and opera
ted by citizens of the United States, and
it is understood that Venezuela is willing to
eoncede to our Government the exclusive
right OF navigation and the absolute control
of the Orlnoco system, its motive being to
induce immigration to that valley, which
has been hitherto retarded by the frequent
revolutions. It is not encouraging 10 farm
ers 70 have their crops seized by the army;
and if the United States will extend protec-
torate over the territory it is thought that
immigrants will go in. A very large area
Of the Orinoco country has been conceded to
colonization companies whose headquarters
are in New York, but so far they have done
nothing in the way of settling lands. One
company has an entire State, of an area
equal to Ohio. in which there are now very
few settlers and a small number of semi
civilized Indians, raising cattle on the llaHos
or ranges.
The country has never been thoroughly
explored, and nobody knows exactly what
can be found or raised there; but the most
astonishing stories have been told OF it ever
since the days of discovery. The Govern
ment of Venezuela has recently sent an ex-
ploring steamer up the various branches of
the river, but it was not able to go far be-
cause of the snags and other impediments in
the channel.
THE FABLED ELDoRADo.
There lies the Eldorado of which the
world dreamed for 200 years; that is the
country on which more ambition rested than
any man has known. 1t was discovered by
the Adelantado Gonzalez de Casada, q
treacherous knight who was sent out by Pi-
zarro on an exploring expedition after the
conquest of Peru. he went with Pizarro's
brother, but with handful of men deserted
him, stole his food and took canoes down
the river; while young Pizarro narrowly es-
capped death from starvation. To escape the
consequences of his desertion, when he re-
turned to Spain in q vessel of his own con-
strsction, CasadR told the most fabu-
lous stories of the land he had seen.
and for this reason was welcomed as hero
instead of being hung as knave. One An.
tonic GalvRno wrote q book describing
Casada's adventures, and that volume
caused more heart burning and brain fever
in Europe than all the doctors of medicine
or geography could cure. In this book
Casada described the city of EIdorado he
claimed to have found in the midst of
lake, whose meanest house surpassed in
grandeur the Inca palaces and temples
Pizarro overthrew.
"An The vessels in this house and
kitchen, wrote the merciless liar, ''are of
gold and silver studded with diamonds and
precious stones. In this house are statues
Of solid gold as large as giants, and other
figures in proportion, of the beasts. birds,
fishes. trees and herbs of his kingdom; YEA
and robes and budgets and chests and |