Mohave County miner., 1895-02-23
GHded Man Myth.

How many readers OF the Express
know the story Of FL Hombre Dorado, or
the Gilded Man, about which Brandelier
and Chss. F Lummis have written 90 en-.
tertsiningly, and which forms one Of the
many fascinating incidents in the con-
quest Of Spanish America, a subject
which will be spIendidly illustrated in the
pageants Of the Fiesta de Los Angeles in
April.
No history Of that eventful period is
complete without the Myth Of D,rAdo,
which evinced such potent influence in
the exploration Of the new world discov-
ered and conquered by the Spsnisrds,
and the rese arch OF writer's Of recent years
has not only separated fact from fiction
bat shows how the giliei m IN led to
wonderiul explorations that might not
have taken place Tor years had il not been
for the spell exercised by that allurinx
fable.
such . tumult - that golden myth ere.
ated; such q fitting ont Of costly expidI-
tions under the projecting wing Of the
Spanish court. What . sacrifice Of hn
man lives and dreadful j,urn ,ys thro ixh
sandy deserts, tropical forests, Of hopeful
companies Of gay sdventurers whose
ranks faded away in hopeless pIrsnit Of
IN ever.vsnishins pot Of gold. Ell H,mbre
Dorado Vas &C ;ountAbls for. He WAS
always . little j,urney ahead, and fitting
from mountain to valley, frcm continent
TO continent. What strange race he led
the eager gold hunters, who fsced dresry
vAstes and impenstrAble jnngles and
oftentimes went fesrlessly to certain
dea.h In the mad scramble.
Il was . simple little fact that led TO tho
much waste o. lives and treAsurs
Long before the Spsniards came to
America, and before Columbus. there vas
. little village in GAutsvits, in New Ora
NADIA, where the Indians had discovered
gold and where II Sss in use by them
Th9re grew uD peculiar custom in that
tnbe which was in the nature Of sscri.
fee TO the gods with which they peopled
their little world, and 1t Was Connected
with the precious metal which the,
prised very highly. Near the village
was lake, and at certain time Of the
year, designated by their medicine men,
the natives f,cked to its shores and per
formed . ceremony which amounted to
very little In itself and The far reaching
consequences Of which they little dreamed.
Upon . particular day one Of the chisfs
Of the Guatsvitsns, chosen to officiate on
the occssion prepared for the sacrifice by
smearng his naked body with sticky
gum. Then he Was sprinkled from head
TO foot with gold dust, until his appear.
snce was undoubtedly striking, and
would have excited the cupidity Of many
other races besides the gold hunters Of
Spain. When he had been literally
gilded with pure gold the chief was taken
upon . raft to the middle Of the lake
where in sight Of the assem- bled tribesmen
he pluosed into It's waters. There he
washed of his golden covering, which
sank to the bottom. sacnfcisl offering
10 bring good luck TO the village and its
people.
This sacrifice was much more harmless
than prevailed among m any Of the native
tribes Of Mexico and South America. and
did not involve the shedding Of blood.
II vas . gentle fancy, and no doubt pre-.
vailed in . very remote past with the
obscure tribe OF Indians, where II has
been historically ests ,lished that it &C.
iualIy occurred.
But 1t had been abolished for gen.
Grafton before the S2anisrds in Vene
suela IN 1927 first heard Of II, the vii
lsgs 70 having been nearly exterminsted
by . warliks tribe from Bogota, the
Muysscs, who conquered and despoiled
them.
The Spanisrd conqnistsdores heard
rumors Of silded man, Of Ell Hombre
Dorado, and 20 il has become . colo
quial phrase to this day to speak Of IN
colorado, which linguists tell rs is very
bad corruption, but which still 10 used.
The story was told in many fantastic
shapes and a. IL passed from mouth to
mouth IN that strange, new world, the
simple little atom Of the Guata vitsns,
grew to mammoth proportions, and
Travelled 70 the Spanish court In dazzling
colors. The Gilded Man became syn.
onomous with golden cities and fsbu.