Lyon County times. [volume] (Silver City, Nev.) 1874-1907, 1875-09-07

called Gel Dorado" literally 'tht
gilded,' from the savage splendoI
of his costume, his naked body being
anointed with costly gums, and then
heaped with gold dust, until be pre-.
sented the appearance of golden
statue. But" Oviedo sagely re.
marks, "as this kind of garment
would be uneasy to him while he
slept, the prince washes himself
every evening, and he is gilded anew
in the morning, which proves thai
the empire of El Dorado, is infinitely
rich in mines" This fable had its
origin in the peculiar rites intro.
duced by the worship Of Bochica, as
the high priest Of this sect was ac-
customed, every morning, to anoini
his hands and face with grease, and
then heap them with gold dust
Another custom, spoken Of by Hum
boldt, may have given rise to the ro-
nance. This eminent traveller says
tlat in the wilder parts of Guiana,
where painting the body is used in
st ,ad Of the practice of tattooing, the
Indians smear their bodies with the
fat Of turtles, and then cover them
with pieces of mica of metallic
lustre, brilliantly white as silver, and
red as copper, so that they appear
robed in garments covered with gold
and silver embroidery, when seen
from little distance.
Although productive of much
mischief, the expeditions under
taken in the hope of discovering
Ell Dorado did considerable service
to the cause of science; and thus,
by the agency of fiction, many i'm
portant truths were brought to
light. OF the different expeditions
fitted out in search of Ell Dorado,
the last, incredible as it may seem,
was set on foot as lately as the year
1775. From this we may Judge
how firm was the belief in the ex-
istence of this fairy land. The
earliest enterprises of this nature
attempted to reach the realm of the
Great Moxo somewhere in the
direction of the eastern back of the
Andes of New Grenada. The cap
tains Anasco and Ampudia were
dispatched by Sebastian de Belal-
cazar, III 1885, to discover the val
ley of Dorado, in consequence OF
the flaming descriptions which an
Indian of Tacumga had given OF
the riches and spleudor of the
Zaque, or the King of Cundina-
marca. Diaz de Pineda lin 1886
gave rise to the idea that there
were, to the eastward of the Neva-
dos of Tunguragua, Cayalnbe, and
Popayan, immense plains. where
the precious metals were found in
abundance, and where gold. in par
ticular, was so plentiful that the
inhabitants converted massy plates
OF it into armor.
Ia 1889, Gonzalez Pizarro, in
famed by the account Of these treas
ures, set forth in search of them, and
by chance made the discovery of the
American cinnamon trees. Francis
co de Orellana set forth to reach the
river of Amazons by the Napo. Ex-
petitions were fitted out simultane-
ously from Venezuela, New Grenada,
Quito, Peru, Brazil, and the Rio de
la Plata, having for their sole object
the conquest of Dorado. The incur
sions to the south of Guavaire, the
Rio Fragua, and the Caqueta, were
declared to have procured proof not
only of the existence of the city of
Ell Dorado, but of the immense riches
of the Manoas, the Omaguas, and
the Guaypos. We discover proofs of
accurate knowledge and careful re-
search in the narratives of the voyages
Of Orellana, George Won Specier,
Herman Perez de Quesada, and Philip
yon Huten, undertaken in 1886, 1542,
and 1915, although there is no lack
of exaggeration and fable likewise.
Those who sought the town of the
Gilded Monarch directed their steps
to two points situated on the north
east and southwest of the Rio Negro
viz: to Parma, the early abode of
the Manoas, who dwelt upon the
banks of the Jerubesh. There exists
now very little doubt that the whole
Of the country lying between the
Amazon and Orinoco, was compre.
hended under the general name OF
the provinces Of the gilded king.
The first voyage of Sir Walter
Raleigh was undertaken in 1895
That enterprising and romantic
man, who was then in high favor
with Queen Elizabeth, was tired
with the dull realities of the old
world, and thirsted for adventure
He embraced the idea of Ell Dora
do with ardor, as holding out
something worthy of his attention
1t is true that he had no definite
ideas about the situation of the
tabled kingdom, but he rushed
into the adventure with the enthu
siasm and ardor which distinguish
ed him. He was, of course, disap
pointed, and probably found the
affair, gilded king, lake, city, pal
ace, lions, gold mountains, and all
what we, in these commonplace
and degenerate days, should tern
q bubble or a hoax. Sir Walter
Raleigh was a courtier, we'll versed
in the ways of the world, and hi
cared not to endure the mortifca
ton, on his return, Of ridicule OF
pity for the failure of the expedi
tion. He was determined to sacri
fee truth to what he considered ex
pediency. Besides, he had formed
the project Of colonizing Guiana
which he saw would produce tn,
happiest results, and he though