Portage Sentinel

CALIFORNIA. Professor Shepherd, who has recently explored this land of wonders, thus writes of it: "I have now explored California for nearly two years. I can truly say it is a land of wonders. There are fresh flowers every month in the year, and winter now wears the bloom of spring. I have found water-falls three and four times as high as Niagara; natural bridges, of white marble, far surpassing in beauty that of Rockbridge, Virginia; some of thousands of gold-bearing veins, inexhaustible quantities of iron and chrome ores, lead, bismuth and quicksilver, most beautiful porcelain clay, and in short, every thing that can bless an industrious and enterprising people. In one valley I found more than forty springs over one hundred degrees Fahrenheit. In another valley sixteen geysers, like the famous one in Iceland. In this famous abode of Vulcan the rocks are so hot that you can stand upon them but a short time even with thick boots on. The silicious rocks are bleached to snowy whiteness, and brecciated and conglomerated rocks are now actually forming. The roar of geysers at times may be heard a mile or more, and the moment is one of the most intense interest as you approach them."