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    900 <K|J$ ULt&ktX* [Saturday ,

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    Charities. — lo diffuse immediate happin...

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    The Creed Of Christendom. The Creed Of C...

    eyes , and clouds of dust enveloped us , followed byhot winds so arid and suffocating that the very inside seemed to be dried up , and the pores of the skin closed , producing heat of blood and excessive thirst . " Most of the party had water kegs and bottles , which , as joint property , they carried alterna'ely : the Muleteers had skins of water for themselves and animals ; Mac and I luckily had each an Indianrubber bag , which contained a gallon of water , sparing us much suffering and no little peril ; we drank from them very moderately , however , being uncertain when they would be again replenished .

    «• We came to no water that day , but were told that we should find some the next morning . At dusk we squatted down in the sand , covered with dust ; being without wood we could not light a fire . For the first time for months , I denied myself a pipe , lest it should increase my thirst ; taking a slight draught of water , being too exhausted to eat , I fell asleep , oppressed with fatigue ; but was continually awoke by the howling of wolves , which hovered around . I was aroused at break of day by Mac belabouring me ; and at first felt glad , but soon recoiled at the prospect of such another day ' s journey ; the day being as hot as the preceding one .

    "We hastened onward , but the water-hole on which we relied was dried up ; in vain the earth around was scooped out , it yielded nothing : never shall I forget the consternation and dejection pictured on men ' s countenances as we gazed at one another . During the night , in expectation of speedy replenishment , the water vessels of some had been emptied . I thought of the parable of the foolish virgins , as I looked on the flushed faces and glazing eyes of the unfortunates . Their case was truly pitiable : they at least expected commiseration , but the harsh summons of the muleteer cut short any considerations of humane sympathy . ' Onwards , men ! onwards I Forty miles off is the Stanislaus ! Each man for himself , I say . I've darned little to spare . ' "Onwards we went . Fain would I have

    swallowed at a draught the small remainder of our supply of water ; my vitals seemed on fire ; but the Malay boy's life and my own depended on it . Overpowered with heat , exhausted by exertion , burnt up with thirst , those without water to moisten their parched lips and throat could with difficulty keep pace with us . By degrees they divested themselves of their burdens and their clothes , which they left strewed on the plain ; each mile they became more enfeebled ; in vain they beseecbed us to halt ; our lives were at stake . Two of them actually licked the bodies of the mules for the sake of the animal exudations , to relieve their thirst ; but a thick coating

    of dust prevented their deriving any beneficial enects One man in his desperation seized hold of the waterskin hanging to the mule . 'Avast there , stranger , ' cried the muleteer , and a loaded pistol intimidated the sufferer . The poor mules with hanging ears and glazed eyes , snorted with agony and dropped continually from exhaustion ; a sharp thrust with the goad , however , roused the animal to stagger on . Young Mahomet behaved with uncommon fortitude ; hobbling between me and Mac , the poor boy feverishly lisped out for water , and piteously

    besought us not to leave him to the wolves . One of the sufferers , evidently of a drinking propensity , possessed a flask of brandy , but had poorly provided himself with water ; the brandy which he drank as a substitute , instead of alleviating his thirst had produced feverishncss ; in this extremity , with haggard looks , he came to each of us successively , offering his brandy for a gill of water ; when he saw his proffered llaBk rejected , he learned , perhaps for the first time in his life , the superiority of the necessaries over the luxuries of life .

    " In Ike afternoon , those without water , who had with difficulty kept pace with uh during the day , having become almost delirious from imbibing brandy , finding that they could not proceed further , or excite our compassion , determined , if left behind , to keep together ; four of them did so . Never shall I forget their imploring looks of despair , and the imprecations following our departure . This desertion appears cruel , but our hearts were hardened : selfpreservation , that most imperative of nature's m-HtinctH , prevailed over all other feelings . Had we btayed , we could have rendered them but temporary service , and our own lives depended on our speed . The unfortunate men in all probability hooh became insensible , and fell a prey to wolves or Indians ; both equally on the alert for helpless stragglers .

    " The prospect of speedy rehoi made uh almost disregard our . sufferings , and walking fast , we halted ttt dark about twenty milcH from the river . No wood was to be had , ho we camped without a lire ; chewing tobacco for the moisture it excited wuh resorted to by Home ; and the majority having Unified their water at nupper , the probability of an attack boing made on thoHO wfio had any loft , was hinted at by the muleteers We were too fatigued to . watch , but to guard against an attack we hlept together rolled up in our blankets , with ]> i « tol in hand and the water bags attached to uh . During the night vigils the wolves u niii viHitcd ue ; but the imploring cms , irritated exclamations , and angry discontent of those Without water , were fur more distressing than the howling of

    wild beasts . As we could find little repose , some of us started before daybreak ; those who remained behind proposing to follow us at leisure . " Walking at a terrrific pace we soon sighted the woodland . Oh ! how refreshing to the eye is the sight of verdure after being nearly blinded by the glare and heat of glittering sand ! As we neared the Oasia , even the very mules , though their eyes were bandaged , seemed conscious of its vicinity , and snuffed the breeze impatiently ; one of them , an old traveller on the road , pricking up his ears neighed loudly , with a sound like the flourish of a trumpet . Revivified by the sight of verdure , we pressed onward , and soon entered the cooling shade ; the river presently appeared in sight . The mules were disenburden

    cumbered , and throwing down our s , we ran to the banks , and without doffing our clothes , eagerly rushed into the cooling stream , mules and men indiscriminately , up to the neck . Never in my life had I experienced anything more refreshing than this bath : the dust seemed to have penetrated our vitals—every pore of our skins was choked . The river was about a quarter of a mile in width , with a shelving bank , the utmost depth about eight feet ; the water was perfectly clear to the bottom , and salmon leaped about in every direction . The sun ' s rays struck fiercely down , but shady trees protected us from its heat , and shed ' their refreshing influence around . When we had sufficiently cooled ourselves , we took off our clothes , and laid them on the rocks , to be washed bv the action of the current .

    " Having refreshed ourselves , it would have been humane to have hastened to the relief of our deserted companions ; but no such charitable feelings prevail amongst gold hunters : all pity and sympathy was deadened ; those who had remained behind were given up for lost , and onwards we went . "

    THE REVERSE SIDE OF THE MEDAL . " In the morning I took a stroll around the tents ; a most ominous silence prevailed : of the busy crowds not one was to be seen at work : all was as still as an hospital : we had not been the only sufferers ; sickness universally prevailed ; seeming as infectious as the plague . In every tent lay sufferers in various stages uf disease ; out of two hundred at least twenty had died , and not more than sixty were able to move ; those convalescent would * be seen gathered together in the stores .

    " One end of these tents is in general a refreshment-room , in which are gambling-tables ; idleness is the root of all evil , and the few fortunate diggers would there be seen staking their gold dust on cards ; gambling more deeply as they became excited , and invariably losing their all , if they continued playing . Others , seated on rough benches , might be seen breaking off the necks of champagne bottles ; for if they had been fortunate , they took care to show it by ordering the most expensive beverages . Sardines , turtle-soup , lobsters , fruits , and other luxuries , preserved in tins , were to be had in these stores ; but the consumers paid very dearly for such ,

    epicu-. " I have frequently observed in Californians an absurd extravagance in their expenditure , aa if the easy possession of gold tempted them to lavish it in luxuries ; their selection of choice viands and wines did not proceed from refinement of taste ( for I have heard these spendthrifts disparage the very delicacies they ordered ) , but from a proneness to parade their easily gotten wealth , imagining that it raised them in the estimation of others . Such ostentatious prodigality soon beggars them , and I believe that the majority wished themselves again in the backwoods , preferring beef broth and spruce beer there , to champagne and turtle in the diggings .

    •? Those who were too ill to frequent scenes of dissipation , excited my compassion ; they lay huddled together in tents , moaning and cursing , many of them dying , with no one to attend to their spiritual or bodily wants : and I cannot but think that many died from sheer starvation , or mere want of attendance . The most prevalent complaints were dysentery , fever , and ague , terminating in many discs in delirium ; these unfortunate and dangerous lunatics would sometimes rush forth from the tents in a frantic state ; and one , as if to revenge himself for the doctor ' s neglect , clutched the little inna by the throat , and almost suifocated him . " A I'l . KAHANT NIC ! JIT .

    " Camping that night on the verge of the plain , I luxuriated over the fire , not knowing when 1 nhould have another , and . cooked the best supper my means w < ould admit . About midnight the howling of wolves awoke me ; never had they been ho clamorous before ; they seemed actually hounding on each other to an attack , a « if thinking to inspire me with fear by their hideous serenade : from rock to rock their dismal howls were echoed , and responded to in the distance by the fiendish laugh of u jackall . ( Justing a look mound , a huge nhuggy wolf stood within live yards , his eyes glaring at me like burning coals ; snatching up a fire-brand , 1 hurled it at him , which made him turn tail , and boat a rapid retreat : my pistols were damp , or J would havu made use of them ; but lire is the ' -wolf ' s detestation , and the brand did aa well . Making Up the fire , and priming

    my pistols afresh , I again fell asleep , overcome ^ , my day s exertion . WXT * CALIFORNIA !* POLITICIANS . " The winter having set in , thousands were turning sick and impoverished from the mines «?* arrival of so many labourers soon affected the rate f wages , and the points were daily crowded with m unable to get work . eix " As this influx of labour caused a great diminu tion of wages , the price of provisions remaining the same , discontent and indignation prevailed amonesf the lower orders , and nightly meetings took place attended by crowds of the rabble ripe for pillage o * notdue witnouc leaders

    ; lucKiiy , ax these agita . tions I was sometimes present ; violent speeches were made , secret leagues were ^ formed in every quarter and had an O'Connell arisen from amongst them ' order might have been subverted , and terms dictated ' by the mob to the storekeepers and householders as it was , these meetings ended in furious tirades , forbidding foreigners to seek employment or people to hire them ; accusing the foreigners of being the cause of a fall in wages , and holding out a deadly threat to all who dared labour under the fixed rate of payment , ten dollars a day .

    *• These nocturnal assemblies had in them something appalling , being composed of between three hundred to one thousand cut-throats , armed with bowie-knives and firearms , often intoxicated . The stump orators and leading demagogues were usually notorious characters , celebrated not for mental superiority , but for their extreme democratic principles and physical powers . Their rostrum was any elevation or moveable convertible to their purpose ; naming brands usually lighted up the scene . The spokesman was generally able to enforce order , either by eloquence or prowess ; on one occasion an orator , being interrupted in his harangue by certain remarks derogatory to his person , leaped off his tub into the midst of the crowd and seized the offender ; fierce

    was the struggle , a ring was formed , when , throwing his antagonist down , the orator jumped on him with his heavy boots ! In vain were the victim ' s shrieks of agony , no one ventured to interpose ; the demagogue ' s rage being satiated , he remounted the tub and continued his oration . Such brutal atrocity as stamping upon a prostrate foe , would have drawn forth the execrations and interference of the lowest rabble in England . If such sanguinary treatment followed a personal affront , what would have been the fate of an unhappy dissentient from the doctrines propounded—especially had he been a stranger ?''

    900 <K|J$ Ult&Ktx* [Saturday ,

    900 < K | J $ ULt & ktX * [ Saturday ,

    Charities. — Lo Diffuse Immediate Happin...

    Charities . — lo diffuse immediate happiness upon those near at hand , without reference to future and more permanent good , is the short-sighted object of the uncultivated feeling of benevolence . When cultivated , but with a wrong direction , its operation is still of the same kind , but more misc hievous as it is exerted through a wider sphere . Many of the widespread charities of the present day furnish examples of this . They seek to remedy a present evil , to relieve a present suffering , by means which multiply for the future these pains and sufferings many-fold . A late writer on the principles of charitable institutions remarks , that they are more numerous , that more exertions are made for the relief of the poor now

    than at any former period—yet poverty and crime are on the increase . What is the reason of this ? lne writer alluded to goes on to prove that it is to be found in the fact , that remedies are often applied without discriminating between the different causes which produce these evils , and therefore perpetuate and increase them , or at best only palliate them . Hut the real cause of this want of discrimination ana consequent failure is the fact that it is not real benevolence at work , but a something between tne seeming of love of approbation and a bargain to get le wish to stand

    as cheaply as possible to heaven . Peop well in the opinion of their neighbour , and they have likewise heard that "he that giveth to the P <><> lendeth to the Lord , " and they npprove of the security and invest a small sum , but never more than they cm conveniently spare ; to do that would be imprudence They do their charities , that is , give annual guineas , the press generally blowing n trumpet before them , but they neither watch the spending of the m ( > ney ° caro much what becomes of it , — consequentl y , tn more remote the sphere of operation—if to bullc , church at . TeruKiilem for converted Jews , or to hiuko

    Christians of Caribs—the more liberal the donation . Children ahould be early taught to distinguish n « - tween seeming and real be nevolence—between tf' " " rosity that costs nothing , that is , involves no »« i - sacrifice , or even self-denial , and that which proceeds from love and duty . When the higher classes arc reaiiy in earnest about raising the condition of tho low « i when they cease to consider them us mere objects i perform their charities upon , an convenient stopp » "gstonos to heaven , us so much raw material ollC which they are to work their own salvation , m ^ poor , " whom we are always to have with uh , ftl therefore are to be kept poor , or at least m t"ci present position , —then there will be found little aimculty and certainly no natural barriers to their fluccess . —Education of tho I ' etlinoa , by CharUt * Bray .

• Citation
  • Leader (1850-1860), Sept. 20, 1851, page 16, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_20091851/page/16/