13
l'4ll,.lanara =0
TOWANDA:
tricbitcsban Morninn, 3nunarg 31, 18'19
"The DillTaZiall Siege,"—" The Sunny Squib."
—Mr John C. Calhoun.
Wrote the N. Y. Sunday Atlas, January 14 ]
To-morrow, if the sun should' happen to • shine,
and the world should not.be afflicted with the mea
zles, will he Monday, the fifteenth day of the month
of January; in the year of our blessed Lord and Say.
iour, Jesus Christ, one ThAusand Fight Hundred
and Forty-nine. And if it happen to be a day at all,
it will be a "mit:ldy big one;" fur Mr. John C. Cal
houn, of South Carolina, has promised to bring
-forward, on tha: day, his report on the subject of
(hi:solving the Union. The Widow Greece regards
the advent of that day with as much awe as she
did the spectacles of the Reverend Ozias Pollygot,
when she related her Christain experiem4! To
morrow if all be ready and " a fever do not set in,"
Mr. John C. Calhoun—General Jackson, and the
Globe used to call him John Catalitte, will make his
report to the immortal committee of hheen Catoes
who are to disoive the Union: and commence a
c. Durrazian Siege" on the cold and frigid north !
In other words, Mr. C. will oiler to the committee
rit tiheen from the land of" chivalry," and the sun,
n" 'south, " a report that he has prepared, the ob
ji-et.of which will be to frighten and compel ten
millions of the people of thus Union to bow, and lick
the hand of the Moloch of negro slavery—to com
pel ten millions ofnorthmen who were born and
bred in a land of freedom, to crouch to the impotent
menace of the immaculate south. and aid it in ex,
tending the area'of human bondage to the newly
acquired and compered territories of Mexico and
California!
Mr. 'John. C. Calhoun. and all of his aiders and
abettors. we can avow, in advance : will, in all their
labors of menace, and gasconade, find themselves
most signally and sadly disappoined.
In reference to the report of Mr. Calhoun, a
Wa•liington writer, whn appears to be. well inform
ed. foresadows information which, just at this
moment. is inteteMing.
"It understood," says the writer in question,
that Mr. Calhoun and his coadjutors have finish
ed and laid before the committee of fifteen, the pro
posed
address, upon the position of the south, with
reference to thie question of slavery. It has, been
rumored that ifthe address recommended resistance
in any form to the authority of the general govern-
ment,.Mr. Clayton, at least, would dissent from it,
and make a counter report to the committee from
which the live [the sub-committee of which Mr.
Calhoun is cnatrman] derivil their power to act.
I inter that no counter report has been made, and
that whatever course Mr. Clayton concludes to
a.'9,t will be made known at the meeting of the
principal committee. if Mr Calhoun shall not
urge the coalition of southero ruembars: ir:tich he
sre.nc In hare very partially Pirated, to do soinethintr
more than issue o mere mainfin rfLrterances. 1 think
of trill be on all sides admitted Hi tt the coneb , svm of
fly :divot w most bunt and impotent. I ts has him
self been issuing these manifestos at every ses., , ion
ofCongress, since 1830, when he quarreled with
General Jackson, and got up nullification. A
parade of sou:hem wrengs, in the shape of main
le-to, is ins regular advertisement : a sort of pros
poctn.4 of hp; rrixises—which are perhaps. the most
imprtant production of Mr. Cs. native state.—
However it is pretty clear from the tone of out-door
conversation that discretion and commonsense have
entered into the declarations of the sub-commit.
tee. and that the adjourned meeting of January lath,
wilt do no harm, and at empt to do none."
We'do not care much what may be the final acs
ih tion of Mr. Calhoun, or that of the committee of fif
teen. Be it, on the one part or the other, what it
may, it will not be a matter of any especial conse
yience. It will not produce the weight of a feather
one way or the other.
The people of the north west—of all the min
-lave holding states, as well as a portion of the
`ll,.ople of the .Have-hohling regions—have firmly
and unalterably resolved on one thing; - and that
is, that they will not be accessory to the lifropaga
tido of slavery into any territory, that is not now
onled with that most tertible, of all curses. They
possess the means, and the power, that will enable
them to suppres.sthe extension of slavery : and they
rncan tc employ the one and the other, and carry
'the ends of justice and humanity into Oleo. %Vitt'
their aid and consent„ another inch ofelave territoty
will not be created. And if Mr John C. Calhoun,
or any body of gascons. and brazgarts and vaporers
that he may collect shall hazard the folly of atternp
tang to frighten the north from its propriety find
firm resolve," he, aud they, will find nothing but
public ridicule and contempt for their pains.
The free people of the free states are not to be
wheedled ; hoodwinked, cajoled, or intimidated, by
the "chivalry" °raw! " sunny south." They are not
to be marred by the bluster of bobaihlsL they know
their riuht and they will preserve it4ttall hamrds .
The time has gone by.when they cotild be induced
by the complaints of the spoiled children of the
" chivalry" of the " sunny south," to compromise
the dictates of duty. justice, and humanity,snd bow
down to the Baal of human bondage.
If the airy' . of the " sunny south," doult
a iy.patt ; or portion ; of this, let it make up its mind
t t!w
mull, seeks not to interfere with any right
or prero;ative of the s It does not seek or
a.k Vie einaticipation of her slayes. It is content
that 311e' shall possess Clem : but, she will not con
sem to degrade herself to tire condition•ofher bond
men• The north cannot be eus:aved.
Mr. Calhoun's " report," we are satisfied, will
be lotted to be au ultra abortion. The man is stark
staring mad, on the subject of slavery; and if be
have. any Mends in Congress, they Will put him
rte a strah4libjacliet, and send him to a lunatic
a ') hi n t; nit a, little delay as ptis,ible.
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MILY MUTANT HUM NE GOLD RE IM !
Gold found In Loop of 11 and 2 Pounds!
Extraa rf n letter from Thome 0. Larkin, Erg., /ate
Consul. and nine Nary Agent for the United Matra,
to the Secretary of Slate, doted al illmiterey, Nov
16th, 1848, and received in this ii y on Friday even
ing last.
The digging and washing of gold continues to
lucre tse on the Sacramento placer, or so far as re
Bards the number of persons engaged in the busi
ness, and the size and quantity of the metal daily
obtained.
I have bad in my hands several pieces of gold,
about twenty-three carats fine, weighing front one
to two pounds, and„ have it tram good uuthositythat
pieces have beeh found weighing sixteen pounds.
Indeed, I have heard of one specimen that weigh
ed twenty-five pounds. There are many men at
the placer, who in June last had not one hundred
dollars in possession of from five to twenty thou.
sand dollars, which they made . 'by digging and trod
ins with the Indians. Several, I believe, have
much more.
A common calico shirt, or even a silver dollar,
has been taken by an Indian for gold, without re
gard to size; and a half to one ounce of gold—say
LS to 16—is now considered the price of a shirt,
while from three to ten ounces is the "price of a
blanket..•.";loo a day, fbr several days in succes
sion was and is considered a fair remuneration for
the labor of a geld digger, though few work over a
month at a time, as the fatigue is very great. From
July to Octoberone half of the gold hunters have
been afflicted either with the agile and fever, or
thi• intermittent fever ? , and twenty days absent from
ihe placer during those months is necessary to es
cape the disease. There have not, however, Leen
many fatal cases.
The gold is now ;old, from the smallest imaL in
ary piece in size to pieces of one pound weight, at
SIG per troy- ounce for all the purposes of com
merce ; but those who are under the necessity of
raising coin to pay duties to the Government, are
obliged to accept from tilo to f.'ll per ounce. All
the coin in California is likely to be locked up in
the Custom House, as the last tariff of our Congress
is in force here in regard to the receipt of money.
"-Could you know the value of the California pla
cer as I know it, you would think you had been
instrumental M obtaining a most splendid purchase
lot. our country, to put no other construction on the
late Treaty.
" The placer is known to be two or three hun
dred miles long; and as discoveries are constantly
beinr , made, it may prove. 1.000 miles in length—
fac!, it is, not counting the intermediate miles
yet inwxploreal. From five to ten millions of gold
must be our exports this and next year. How ma
ny more years this state of things will continue : I
cannot sar."
FLAG SHIP OHIO. BAT OF MONTEREY, )
[No. 26 November
Sty :In my letter No. °J, from La Paz, I rocom:
mended the retention on the coast of all cruising.
ships of the Pacitic squadron, and pointed out how
they could be kept in repair and manned without
returning round Cape Horn to the Atlantic States.
When that recommendation was made, I had no
conception of the state of things in Upper Califor
nia. For the presept, and I fear for years to come,
it will be impossible for the United States to main
tain any nasal or military establishment in Califor
nia ; as at present, no hope of reward nor fear of
punishment is sufficient to make binding - any Con : .
_traCt between man and man upon the roil of Cali
ifornia. •
To send troops: out here would be needless, for
they would. immediately desert. To show what
chance there is for apprehending deserters, I en
close an advertisement which has been widely cir
culated for a fortnight, but withorit bringing in a
single deserter. Among the deserters from the
squadron
,are some of the best petty officers and
seamen. having but few mouths to serve, and large
balance due them, amounting in the aggregate to
over, ten thousand dollars. •
There' is a great deficiency of coin in the coun
try, and especially in the mines; the traders, by•
taking advantage of the pressing necessity of the
digger, not unfrequently compelling him to sell his
ounce of mood gold for a silver dollar; and it has
been bought, under like circumstances, for fifty
cents per ounce, of Indians. To this state of de
pendence !abut- ng miners are now subjected, and
mu-t be until coin is more attendant. Disease,
conges:tive and intermittent fever, is making great
haroc among the diggers, as they are almost des•
titute of -food and raiment, and for the most part,
without houses of any kind to protect them from
the inclement season now at hand.
The commerce of this coast May be said to be
entirely cut off by desertion. No sooner does a
merchant ship arrive in any of the ports of Califor
nia, than all hands leave her; in some instances,
caglain, cook, and all. At ibis moment, there are
a number of merchant ships thus abandoned at San
Francisco : and such will be the fide of all that sub-
sequently arrive.
The. master of the ship "Izaak Walton," that
brought stores for the squadron to this port, aimed,
without success, .4. 1 50 per month to Callao, and
thence—S29 per month home, to dialtnuled volunteers
cot seamen. We were obliged at least to supply
him with four men whose terms of service were
drawing to a close. This state of things is noteon-.
fined to California alone. Oregon is fast depopu
lating;/ her inhabitants pour into the gold diggings,.
and foreign residents and runaway sailors from the
Sandwich 'slouch; are arriving by every vessel that
approaches this coast.
Very respectfully, your obedient servant,
THOS. AP C. JONES,
Cornmander.in•Chief Pacific Squadron.
'lon. J. V. MAsolt,Seeretary of the Navy.
El
El
PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY, AT TOWANI)A, BRADF
OFFICIAL ACCOUNTS !
[Pmre the WltAlststoti Union; inn. !hot J
la atldkiou to theme statements; we find the fol
II
13
a
lowing It t:er in the New Yorit Herald. The editor
also says he has a confidential lener, the intelli
gence in which is too astounding for belief, and he
therefore does not publish it. The following is the
first alluded to:
Our placer, or gold rnion, now extends over 300
or 400 miles of country, embracing .nll the creeks
and branches on the east side of the river Sacra
memo, and one side of the .San Joaquin. in my
travels, I h tve, when resting under n tree and gvak
ing tity• horse, seen a few pieces of pure gold pick
.d np from the crevices of the nicks or slate where
we were stopping. O.; one occasion, nooning or
selreshitw on the side of a stream entirely unknown
to diggers or .t prnspeetor," or rather, if known,
not attended to, one of my companions, in rolling
in the sand, said, "Give me a tin pan ; why should
we not be looking in gold'sanils ?" He took a pan,
filled it with sand, washed it out, nod produced in
fit - el - ninnies *2 or f. , 3 worth of gold, merely saying
as he threw both pan and gold on the sand, " I
thoinzlit so."
Perhaps it is fail: that your readers should learn
that however plenty the Sacramento Valley may
afford gold, the obtaining of it has its disadvantages
From the let of July to the Ist of October, more or
less, one half of the people will have fever and
ague, or intermittent fever, which takes them from
the first .day of digging until they have been one
hundred miles from the "Placer," fifteen or twen
ty days. In the winter it is too cold to work in the
wale? ; but from nest April to the foll9wing July,
oae million of dollars of pure gold, or more, per
month, will be produced from this, gold region,
without digging more than three feet deep. Some
work in the sand by washing 'inn the surface in a
wooden bowl or tin ; some gouge it out from the
racks or slate; the inure lazy ones roll about and
pick up the lar4e pieces, leaving the small gold for
Cie next emigration. .
At-present, the United States receives but a small
pad of our "'placer." You may believe me, when
I say that for some time to corne, California will
export yearly, nearly or quite a half a million of
ou.iccs of; gold, twenty-two to twenty-four carats
fine : some pieces of that will weigh sixteen pounds,
very many one pound. Many men who began last
June to dig gold with a capital of $7O, can now
show r7'5,000 to f.t15,000. I saw a man, to day,
making purchases of dry goods, &c., for his family,
lay on the conoter a bag made of raw hide, well
sewed up, containing one hundred ounces. I ob
served, that is a good way to pack gold aO3l. He
innocently replied—" All the Crag. I brought down
are that way; I like the size!" Fire such bags in
New York would brio.? near 510,000. This man
left his familyTast August. Threemouthe digging
and washing,- producing four or fire bags of 100
ounces each, better than being mate of a vessel
at $4O pet month, as the man formerly was.
companion. a Mexican, who camped mid worked
with him, only had two or three cowhide bags of
In this tong,h, but tree, golden tale, you must in t
imagine that all met: are equally successful. There
are some who have done better ; even to *4030 in
a month ; many ti 1000 during the summer ; and
eshius, ho refused to join a company f gold wa-h
ers who had a cheap mule machine, and receive
one ounce per day, that returned to die settlements
with not a vest picket lull of gold. Some left with
only sufficient to purchase a horse and saddle, and
pay the physician six ounces of gold for one ounce
of quinine, calteuel and jabtp i t pmportiun. 'An
ounce of gold for advice given. six ounces a visit,
brings the lever and ague to he rather an extensive
companion. A, well man has his proportionate
heavy expenses, also, to reduce his piles or bags
of gold. Dry beef in the settlements a 4 cents per
lb , at the Placet, $1 to $:1 per lb.; salt beef and
pork, 7:7-50 to $lOO per Rd.; flour, $3O to $75 per
bbl.; mike, sugar and rice, 50 cts. to $1 per lb.—
As washing is fifty cents to a dollar a garment, ma
ny throwing away their used up clothes to paying
the washerwoman ; that is, if they intend returning
to the settlements soon, where they can purchase
more. As to shaving. I have never seen a man at
the Placer who had time to perform that operation.
They Jo not work on Sundays, only brush up the
tent, blow out the emery or fine black sand from
Vie week's work. Horses that can travel only one
day, and from that to a week, are from $lOO to
t. 1500. Freight charge by launch owners for three
three days' tun, Ea 5 per barrel. Wagoners charge
$5O to *l5O per load, twenty to fifty miles, on good
road. Corn, barley, peas and beans 3.10 a bushel.
Com Mon pis , ols, any price ; ponder and lead very
dear.
I know a physician who, in San Francisco, pur
caased a common made gold washer at t. , 20 or $3O,
made of 70 or 80 feet of boards. Ma great expense
he boated it up to the first landin,v, on the . Sacrame
nto, and there met a wagoner bound to one of the
dig ins with an empty wagon, distance about fifty
miles. The wagoner would not take up the ma
chine under MO. The doctor had' to consent, and
bided his time. June passed over rich in gold; all
on that creek did wonders, when the wagoner fell
sick, called on his friend the doctor, whose tent
was in sight; the doctor came, but would not ad
minister the first dose under the old sum of 5100,
which was agreed.to, under a proviso that the fol
lowing dose should be furnished more moderate.
When a man's time is worth $lOO a day to use a
.pale and tin pan, neither doctor's or wagoners
:can think much of a pound of gold, and you may
supposd merchant's traderi and pedlars are not slow
to mate their fortunes in these golden times.
In San Francisco there is more merchandise sold
now monthly, than before in a year. Vessels after
vessels arrive, land their cargoes, dispose of them,
and bring up the dust, and lay up die vessel, as Me
crew are soon among the missing. The cleanest
clear out is,' where the ca:stain followed the crew.
There ate many vessels in San Francisco that can
not weigh anchor, even - with theissistipace *fibre*
or four neighbering vessels. Supercargoes must
land cargo on arriving, or have no crew to do it, for
them. Some vessels continue to go to scus witl
small Crews, ni 130 peg month for green
MN
^t , r
"REcaoroxso OF oviratirnoN num
El
113
I NT QUMITEN.,7/
too wilt' for them, and ire ..r dit_ging an
ounce orl two a day, and thinkinghOck and clam
tQuirepulp :it alf an Quire a bottle, andeating bad sea
bread at i per round. 1 hareem' a captain of a
vessel, ho by his odd -contract -in the port foam
whence sailed, wreigetung SW per month, [sty
his cook 05, and of zi..100 per month for a
steward„ his former crew 7 even to his Mates, hair
lag none a " prospeeting."
h axis al
UncletSam's ships-rustler a tilde -the same Ay,
although they offer from :3100 to i. , 500 for the ap
prehension of a deserter. The Ohio, however,
laid in the port of Monterey about a month, and
lost ordtl2o or 30 men.
Col. Stevenson's regiment is disbanded; ninety
nine out of an hundred of whoni have also gone
prospecting," including the Colonel, who a:rived .
in Monterey last nrroth from his last post, and was
met by his mr:n at the edge of the town to escort
and cheer him into town. The captains, &c., have
bought up country carts and oxen, turned dri-ers,
and gone to the place. Our worthy Governor, Ceti
onel of Ist cLagnons, du., having plenty of carts,
wagons, horses and mules, with a few regulars left,
has also gone, but under better advantages, fur .the
second or third time, to see the place and therram
try, and have jesrice done to his countrymen or
himself. Commodore Jones, lately arrivel at Mon
terey, supposed it to be the capital, hear'quartens,
dr.c., but found not even the Governor left! Where
headquarters is, may be uncertain—whether iu
Monterey, Sutter's Furt, or in a four mule wagon
travelling over the gold region. Now, whether
headquarters are freighted with munitions of war,
&c., to clothe the suflering Indians, for the paltry
consideration of gold, no one cares or knows. But
the principle should be, that if privates can or will
be oil making their thousanis. those who are bet
ter able should not go.roldless.
At a time when the recent wontletful discover
ies in California are attracting universal attention,
a notice of the gold deposites of Siberia, which,
from their recent discovery, great richnes, and dis
tance from the seat of civilization, oiler obvious
points of comparison with our own El Dorado,
would seem to possess unusual interest.
The matertialr for the notice of the auriferous al
lusions of Siberia, which I propose now to give,
have been principally. complied from the intalua•
ble repertory of me.allurgical knowledge, the An
ti
'airs dcs Mines, and particularly firm:to article es
te:toed from the Go .Wee do Commerce of St. Peters
burgh, inserted in the volume of Annales for 1843.
For some years previous to 1829, the aUention
of the Russian Government and private adventures
was dovoted to working the auriferous alluvions of
the western flanks of the Oural Mountains. Tha
works in this district made rapid progress, and es-.
tablishments for washing,. Cie gOld were successive
ly organized atnong, the mountains lying further
to Yards the north. But it was generally consider
ed that there was no hope of finding gold in Siber
ia; or the va4t country on the other side of the On-.
ral Mountains; and the directors of the principal
mines of that countly 'l2,ve the sanction of their
authority to these views. Notwithstanding this,
two euterpristng merchant, named Popoff and
Rex:moll, determined to explore the slopes of the
contra:finis of the Oural chain, which extended tbei
ramifications into Taoist:. In 1829 they discov
ered some indications of auriferous deposites at the
foot of the Altai Mountains, in he government of
Tomask ; but the product of the washinas was so
small as.to confirm the idea of the unproductive
tress of the sands of Siberia.
In 1830, a distinguished engineer of mineshav:
ing been made Governor of Tomsk, the auriferous
sands of this part of the Empire were methodical
ly explored by officers who had obtained experi
ence in the Ourals antra deposite quite rich in gold
was discovered. This discovery• entirely changed
the ideas which had been entertained respecting
die wealth of the soil "of Siberia, and encouraged
many private adventrires'to commence explorations
for gold. In 1831, Popoff found in the valleys of
the effluents of the Kiy many beds of auriferous
sands, but only moderate richness. In 1821, Res
snuff discovered . epon the borders of the Kondous
touysule a very rich deposite, which is yet celebra
ted for its productiveness. Upou this point the la
bors of the adventurers were concentrated for sev
eral years. In 1836, researches were extended to
wards the east, in the southern part of the govern
ment of Yenisseik. There, in a country bristling
with rocks, and almost inaccessible, a series of ex
ceedingly rich deposites was discovered upon the
shores of the Birouzka.
But the treasures of this rich basin were not suffi
cient for the activity of the explorers, whose num
bers constantly • increased. In 1839,' Reseed!,
with many others, penetrated the northern country,
to the vast regions watered by the rivers Upper,
Lower, and Rocky Toungouska. In 1841, between
the last two rivers, they found a great number of
beds of anriferous sands, remarkable both for th e ' i' r
extent and richneen, and which, in. the immensity
of treasures which they contaiueti, surpassed all
others before discoverer'.
We have no detailed account of researches since
1842; but at that period expler_tis•were pushing
still further math and east, and the reports which
we have of the enormous - increase of the products
of the auriferous sands of Russia in 1846, show
that the explorations were crowned 'with success.
It is a matter of scientific interest, and it may be
a matter of practical importance, as indicating the
proper districts for reseamh in California, to notice
the nature of the mountains 11M0117, which the Fin,
cipal auriferous depositea in Siberia have been
found.
The middle of Siberia is forro
uninterrupted series of r
titath dependent u
designated • -
the , r -
r
of the Altai, Sayan., Ihtourie t &o. TaS
important beds of auriferous outdating never blik
found upon the declivities of the 'principal &NAT' s.
b COUNTY, PA., BY E. O'MEARA. GOODRICH.
Gold Deposites of Siberia.
ly an almost
I." chain* of moon
_
jignie of Central, Asia, and
ively from *tat to east, under
even in the high mountains, w itth hare [ - win es
&well 'whit ill? mUM care•, as in the /Hank.% of the
mines of Nolyvani which abontri in copper and
silver, no.aurifernos beds have been timid; eseeps
some which were too poorto tub washed with toroth.
Alt the beds of aurikrons scouts liver:ant for their
extent or richness, as' yet , discovered in Siberia,
have been found upon the decliviti.o of the - . mitre
forts of the principal ranges, or the lesser
which defend iu numerous ramilicaticris froin die
principal nurm, The dei ceitescontaininglhegokl
are found scattered between the -sunttniti- of the
tklferent systems-of lesser mountains, and- in -the
valleys which are sometimes parallell twthe
lion of the chain, or traversal to them. They are
mom often found upon the bunters or in the beds
of streams of water, or in marshes. Auriferous de
posites are never found upon the treats of the lee-
eer heights; and lithe)! are discovered - on the de
clivities, it is always at the hot.
The beds of auriferous sands repoee in part upon
the underlying rock, sometimes separated from it
by a bed of earth composed of gravel and rounded
stones, or a fat clay. Among the gravel are . Sound
fragments of rock of the nature of the !formations
which compose the summniling heightr—a proof
that the rands have not been formed far (rum the lo
calities where they are now found.
The mountable are composed principally of phy
lade, (a foliated rock.) chloride and ialttose slates,
alternating a ith a calcareous rock witheut petrifac
dons. These rocks are pierced by numerous veins
of quartz and protruded masses of diorite. The
presence o hhef latter, nn igneous rock, appears • try
indicate the points near which the gold may be
found. It would occupy to much time to give a de
leted enumeration of the different attrifemes beds
which are worked in Siberia. One of the Most
celebrated deposites is one called Vosskrenessky,
in the basin of .he Kiy, owned by the merchants
Palatine and Rezanoff—the latter one of the first
adventurers. This bed for several years produced
5 zolalotiks for too poenuls, or one part of the gold in
seventy-erg!, it thousand of wind A deposi'e which
Contains zolotniks to 100 pounds, is waited with
great, profit. This immense bed, whose thickness
is at no point leas than five Ertglish feet, and in
many places twenty-seven feet, lies at a depth of
over thirty feet ander sedimentary beds, in such a
manner that the working cannot be-carried on un
der the open sky, and the bed is consequently
worked by subterranean galleries. This deposite,
in 1842, ba,J produced 330 ponds, equal to 14,520
pounds Tmy of gold. The bed called Sensky, up
on the borders of the Great Pekin which flows into_
the Ondeira, one of the latest discovered - is yet
more remarkable. The yield of this bed for one
year has been 9 zolotniks for 100 , prrunds,.. or on
part of the gold in 43,000 of sand; and it has yield
ed in that time 4,400 ponds Tmy of geld. Al
though there are doubtless beds which, having a
large extent, contain upon the *hole greater dr hes,
this depie-ite, by its relative richness, the quantity
of metal which it contains, and the facility with
which itis worked, is the most productive in Sibe
ria. It belongs to a single individual, a merchant
named Miasnikolf, who has, by his good fortune
and enterprise, ia a short time become one of the
wealthiest men it" Russia.
It is interestin to see how insignificant the tirst
tempts at working the sands of Siberia were, and
how rapid the progr e ss of the works has been - . The
following in round numbers are the products ofsev
eral years after the first explorations.
Li 1830 5 pouds; equal to 431. lbs. Troy.
'ln 1831 10 "
In 1832 22 "
In 1833 36 "
In 1834 65 "
In 1835 93 " .
In 11136 105 " -
In 1837 132 " - -
•••In 1838 193 "
In 1839 183 "
In 1840 255 " .
In 1841 358 "
In 1842 631 "
In the year 1842 th 3 auriferous deposites of the
Oural Mountains produced 310 ponds. The whole
product in Russia, iu Siberia, mid the :thirsts, fur
that year, was 40,557 pounds Troy. The prodoe
-1 tion, since that period, increased in nearly the same
ratio. Liplay, professorAof metallurgy, 'at the
schools of mines in Paris, estimates, from reliable
sources, that the value of gold produced -in Russia,
frcm the auriferous sands, in 1846, would be equal
to ninety millions of francs, which would make
the weight of the metal equal to '78,000 pounds
Troy, (thirty-nine tons.) He states that at first time
many of the alluvions, worked with profit, contain
ed only one part of gold in two millions of earthy
material worked. Residues, worked at a former
period, have been reworked, which contained only
one part in four millions. Some idea may be form
ed of the labor required to produce this immense
mass of treasure, when it is understood that this
workings of that single year would cause the ex
traction, manipulation, and transportation of over
fifty million tons of materials, which is more than
the to weight of all the materials extracted and
elaborsted by the coliieriesana iron establishments
in Great Britain. The increase of the gold work
ings in Siberia has demanded so II uch . iron for
tools, steam engines. &c.. sate have had an impor
tant effect upon the exportation of the Russian iron.
More extraordinary single masses• of gold have
been found in The Oural Mountains than in Siberia
The largest mass (pepite) of gold inthe world was
discovered at Minsk in 1842. It was found in a
bed of auriferous sands, alit depth - of about twelve
feet from the surface of the soil, under the founda
tions of the establishment for washing. Its weight
was 36,020 kilogramts—over ninety-six pounds
Troy. Near this, filly-two mato* were found,
weighing from one to seven punctilio, sc . cording to
Humboldt The hugest pepite •of gold ,before
kooky': was found in Anson-coo:di, Nertti canaiva;
the tight To about aftY 4 iB l P MOP. ' ,
Before concluding this notice, I must glance at
the administrative dispositions tphiol h are Made for
!Meting and ragehuing as Moto of..:adventaxere
is Se gold districts of Siberia. . - •
ME
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,4 4tetki •
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An Onto -lanai who vyisties to vieigre the woo
tains of Sjberii tnustiiiite:4illl4,limit. divot
from the mini.cer of firsauctiag. After Iwo has: *and
a Oepikiiie—.-aati it ay :be neuark t a4 that; suiair
seartit in vain Antl.lone . all the etttetres ut
ex pi ofut i o 4 6 —,a tract of land calked a parcel* eon-
ceded to him
.by the Gurennuesit. 1t ia. protrided
th a t a parcel aladl. not ,excerd certain • limits, and
that the •sate individual shall-notilits•sessiwo coos
tiitiotts petrels. Thettuty. claimed: by ilsoCorent- •
mein is from L 5 to 25 per cent., " accortlir to the
richness of the siepolits,
.and the explorers are
bound to pay four rubles kw one pound of gold ex
tracted; fin the expense of a: -, itarreilhattee of the
mine*. Officers are appointed tolay oat the puce*,
ands° see that all the gold obtainixl ii'registered et
lattoke prorated fior that purpose The gold is first'i
sent to the administration of The mines t or' Akai.
Aber baring been first assayed there, it is senflin
tier eharge of officers to the mint at St, heersbareth.
There, a definite assay Is made, which fixes the
fir 24 value of gold, and the duty which the • Gerem
tnent shall retain. This, with the expensed( coin
nue, is deducted, and the remainder is sent to the
proprietor in pieces of five gold rubies;
The washing of the gold is effected ryon inclined
plane-of different constructions, wtiich are set in.
movement by horses, - hyamolie Wheels, of steam
power. The machines and processes have been
carried to a high degree of perfection, as may be
seen by the small per center of gold in sands
which are now worked with profit. The laborers ,
belong principally to the class of merles; best as
the country is traversed by detachments of erkisacks,_
and all the laborers are under the surveillance of
ollieers of the Government, perfect order and sys
rem prevail in the estableihreents. •
The importance of this enterprise te Ralik is in
calculable Developing. national industry in a deo.
olate country, which would otherwise 'have been
almost unknown and holly unimproved : and erea,
ting an immense capital, which, taking another
direction is enjoyed and improved throughout the
whole Empire, perpetually supplying a currency,
and tilling the treasury, of the Empire without im
poverishing its subjects, it has been to Russia one
of the greatest mores of its national prosperity, and
has tended materialy to the permanance of the most
powerful Empire on the continent of Europe, whip t
so many other governments have tottered and fal
len around. it. •
The view \ of this great enterprise which we
have now taken is peculiarly interesting to UP,
when a similar awl almost panillel enterprise is '
presented to us on the shores of the Pacific. It
shows us, if, Siberia can be any example ; that the
sands of California are not to be .exhausted in a few
months but that afield for systematic and well or
ganized labor is thefe opened, whose products may
be doubled for years to come. It has been said,
that he who finds a mine finds a workshop; the
history of the Siberian mines shows that the richest
deposites of gold are no exception to this rote ,
which would not be forgotten by the Californian
adventures. It is singular, that such - wonderful
natural resources should, about the same ime, be
opened to two people of rliflerent.racee, ant-occupy-
tig the extremesof geographical position and poli-
heal relations. The influence of our race and in
stitutions will be seen in the improvement which
we shall make of the resources..
A GREEK Fox ERIL.—I remember when they be-
ried that bright eyed Greek maiden, snatched sod
denly from earth, when her young heart was as
light as her face was lair, they arrayed her, so
rig
id and motionless, in the gay dress she had never
worn except fur some great fete or gala, as though
this, more than any, were a day of rejoicing for
her : and thus attired, with her long hair spread (M
over her still' bosom, all decketi with flowers, they
laid her uncoffined in the grave.. At'her feet they
placed a tennil flask of wine and a basket of corn,.
in aceontance with art ancient Greek superteition,
which supposes_ that forthree days and nightsthe
disembodied spirit lingers mournfully round listen
enient of clay, the garmer.t of its mortality, where
to, as a pilgrim - and a stranger on the earth, it lived
and loved, it sinned and suffered. As' soon as the
first symptoms of decay ..announce that the curse of
corruption is atwork, they believe that the purer
essence departs to purer realms. Before the grave
was climed, whilSt for the-last time the railway of
the sunset cast a ,glow, like the mockery of
over the marble face of the poor young girl, her
friends as a last irecaution;took measures to ascer
tain that she was actually stead, and not in a swoon.
The means they itlways•take in. such instanees-to
ascertain a Ewt which elsewhere would-he in4nred
by a doctor's - certificate, is teucbitrgiethe extreme :
the person whom, whilst alive. it was knOwit the
deceased loved best, the mother, or it may be •the
young • betrothed who had hoped to placeoaher
head the gay and bridal crown,instead of the green
laurel garland of ile,atb, advances and calls her by
name, repeating after it the word "ells" (come)
several times; in a tene of the most passionate.ea
treaty ; if she is mute to this appeal; if she ts deaf
to the voice dearest to her on earth, then they no
longer doubt . that she is dead indeed ; they mover
up the grave, lift their eyes to heaven where they
believe her be—far the Greeks do not bold - thaw
doctrine of purgatory, and having made the sign at
the cross, they depart in' silence. to their horentt- 7 -
Brit a year after, on the' anniversary of the firth,
they return to the grave, and kneeling down,*
their lips to the sod and whisper to .theilinegit Witte
thAthey love her still, and she is ,y eA - Mneritherell
and regretted
A Spdran youth coloptatiopd that kis ift wyrwas
too short. " Ltingthen istoitted - his fsnoisig
,matter, " by going a step_nesier roc stitairo*.”`
Mrs. Partingtoa says that her adiditar oa thaehs
gi•in; day, preached Widths u parody of the pro
bable soa."
For one man who aincomly pia our misfortuime,
themes* bonfire& who aincomly bots -ua for eat ,
•••
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