Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1906-05-18
SEEK LEGENDARY PLACES.
Lives and Treasure Wasted on FL
Dorado.

Dorado.
It Is fascinating work discovering
places around which romance and
mystery, in the passing Of time. have
woven legends and countless organ
lied expeditions from the early ages
upward, have been despatched to
find them, says Pearson's Weekly.
Ell Dorado, the Golden Land"
now believed to be a legendary place
which existed only in the imagina-
ton Of the natives of Mexico and
Peru, who sought to get rid of their
avaricious Spanish conquerors by
telling them Of land OF greater
wealth and luxury than their own,
has been the grave of scores Of brave
soldiers Of fortune and troops Of ad-
venturers.
Manoa, the natives said, was the
name of the golden city, and 1t was
ruled by a king robed entirely In gold
the annual custom Of smearing
their priests with oil and rolling them
in gold dust, as practised by a GER
tain Indian tribe, doubtless supplying
the inspiration to the Mexican ma
tives.
And so many expeditions penetra-
ted into the heart Of South America,
down the Amazon or Orinoco, and to
the vast lake Of Parime, but few came
back, and even those were greatly
reduced in numbers, and finding only
arid deserts and starvation Instead
of a land overlooking with milk and
honey" Philip Won Hutter and Sir
Walter Raleigh, in 1886 and 1917,
and Antonio Santos. in1780, are some
of those who made world famous
expeditions to discover this land Of
gold. During the last century other
bold adventures, loath to believe
that Ell Dorado never existed, have
wasted their fortunes and risked
their lives in searching for it.
Less than a year ago, DR.. Carl Pc
ters returned to England from his
third expedition to the region Of
King Solomon's mines. To most peo-
pie these mines have a legendary Or
igin. but DR.. Peters claims to have
set his foot therein. The Biblical
Ophir, the land from which the an
clients obtained their gold. ivory and
other precious goods, was situated,
according to the German explorer.
between the Lower Zambesi and the
Limpopo river.
East of the Lupata Gorge. oppo-
site Lake Lufumbo," writes DR.. Pc
ters in his book, I'VE found the old
half-fabulous district Of Fura again,
with its ancient ruins which still
showed plainly that they formed part
of the old Semitic sphere Of civiliza-
ton. Around these ancient ruins,
from which the figure Of Baai looks
down on us across thousands OF years,
lives the Makalanga nation. which.
In its worship Of the Kabulu Kagoro,
has preserved the old Semitic natur-
al religion until today. Here, as
thousands of years since. sacrifices
are still made to Baal on the hills
and heights, and fire worship Is still
practised. simultaneously the min
ing Of the precious metal has gone on
here, from the time Of the ancient
pioneers, and still continues"
No explorer nowadays thinks OF
searching for Atlantis. the vast Is
land supposed to be somewhere In
the Atlantic ocean. but many expe-
ditions in ancient times set out to dis
cover it. Some have thought that
the Canary islands are the remains
of the sunken continent. An Egyp-
tan priest is said to have told Solon
of it's existence, lying Off the Pillars
of Hercules in the ocean, and larger
than Sibya and Asia Minor together.
The, legend Of Atlantis runs that 1t
was engulfed by the waves through
| an earthquake at the close Of long
contest which its inhabitants main
tanned against the Athenians.
For more than six centuries the
Home of Gold" the land Of Aztecs
of Mexico, was as much a mystery
as lost Atlantis, but that such place
actually existed was proved In 1900.
Somewhere-so ran the story
among the Businesses Of the Sierra
Madre Is a wonderful valley, small,
inclosed in high rocky walls; 1t can
be reached by but single subterra-
mean passage, the entrance to which
has often been sought, but never
found. It is watered by broad riv-
er, and in it are thousands Of birds
of the most beautiful plumage, ex-
quisite flowers, stately trees.
A ledge of pure gold, thirty feet
wide, crosses it and glistens In the
sun like a great golden belt. The
stream runs over this ledge, swirling
over and murmuring around blocks
of the precious yellow metal as 9TH
ers do among pebbles.
All this was long believed to be
an Indian legend pure and simple.
In the summer of 1900. however,
party Of gold seekers stumbled acci-
dentally upon the valley in question.
There could be no doubt about 1t.
sage, the lofty precipices, the river
and the broad ledge CT glistening
metal, only unfortunately for the
adventurer. the latter proved not
to be gold at all. but iron pyrites.
Even the Garden Of Eden has been
discovered The location Of the
Cradle Of the Human Race" as 1t
has been called, had been a standing
puzzle with geographers for ages
past, until 1t was accidentally dis
covered by Sir II. w. Seton-Karr, the
well known traveller and big game
hunter.
It was on his fifth expedition to
Somaliland, while engaged one day
I'm tracking lions, that the explorer