The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1912-11-12
Ancient Grave Mounds
OF Central America
How They Are Being Dug Over for Golden Gods-Large
Quantities Have Been Found in Costa Rica and
Panama-Lakes in Which Gold Is Buried-Some
Remarkable Finds

Of men, including sailors and diggers.
They came around through Strait
of Magellan and made the island all
right. In looking for the treasure
however, they used dynamite, and in
the explosion which followed the earl
and the admiral were 80 badly injured
by rocks that, to make a long story
short, they went back to Panama with
nothing but disgust for their pains.
Another party started out to look
for this treasure was headed by a New
Foundland woman. the widow OF a
ship chandler. She went over TO the
Pacific and QUILTED a ship from Vic
toria. Her captain was a mar named
Fred Hackett, and she had with her a
transfer from Hartford Of his permits
sion from the Costa Rican government
to search for treasure on Cocos, the
understanding being that the latter
was to have half the ind When she
came to Cocos the island was inhab-
tied by a castaway VINO was dressed
like Robinson Crusoe. He had moth
ing on but skins Of beasts, and he
looked crazy. At first he could no
speak. but after they had given him
some whiskey he told in broken lam
euage his story. He said he and 9TH
ers had had a concession from Costa
Isica to search for this treasure. but
that the others had become HsguSted
OAAN Ao1A. ~ toulu AoO ody III" OAS
he had been On the island. At first he
had kept tally OF the days by notching
a stick, but he lost the stick and he
had about given up IN despair when
the schooner arrived.
In the meantime other parties, in
Guiding some Of our canal employees,
have been planning to excavate Cocos,
but so far no one has discovered
either the buccaneer hoard or the
Madonna nf gold ~ Told that CON
cessions can be gotten from the Costa
Itican government if any one cares to
search.
The Hidden Gold of Central America.
There is no doubt hat there are
great treasures hidden on the islands
and also on the continental part Of
Central America. On Mona Island
This is not far from Porto Rica.
I have myself seen here and at Pan
anna at least a half peck of solid gold
images which AVE been taken from
the old grave mounds Of Central
America. No one knows who buried
them and some suppose that they date
back FOR hundreds and even thous-
ands Of years. [ saw a quart Of these
images in the bank OF 1Ihrman & CO.
in Panama City and 7 am told that
Minor G. Keith has a collection OF
them in New York which is said to be
worth several hundred thousand dol
! lars.
took a photograph of the images
in the Panama bank. They are OF all
sizes from that of a mans thumb nail
to the palm Of your hand. Some are
; quite heavy n the gold in them
NUS be worth several hundred dol
lars. Some represent frogs. others
birds and some are women with d
hawk head Of Hathor, or what looks
very much like it. Indeed, the most
of the images have an Egyptian cast
and they remind one of the treasures
found in the pyramids. The most OF
these came from the ChiriQui prov
ince in the northern part of the Pan
m republic, where it joins Costa
Rica.
l am told that a large part of the
|. Keith collection came from Costa
t Rica, n that they are now finding
| some about the gulf of Aqua Dulce
; At San Jose there is q jeweler who
p has some Of these images for sale, and
: down here at Punta Arenas 1 have
l been offered two very fine ones fol
t $40 and $40 apiece. I should judge
that this equals just about half the
value of the gold in them. DR.. Spen.
t Ger Franklin, who has them for sale
for a native, says that they are prebo.
c bly, II or two thousand years Did.
8 The workmanship on these image:
t is exquisite. Some Of them are beau
t tifully carved and some are lifelike IL
r feature. Among the treasures OF Mr.
Ehrman are a great many breast
s plates OF solid gold. These are rount
disks with a nipple in the cente'
e ranging in diameter from two to ST,
inches. The gold is a thin plate ant
is unalloyed. He a ALSO a bracele
e which would fit around the biceps o
n a prize fighter and which is about fou
n inches wide. This is also Of solid gold
I understand that many such i'm
ages are being discovered and that il
e all cases they come from these gray
hounds Of the list
IL Gold Buried In Lakes,
l. SoEao OF the Ike Of the Centra
e American highlands are said to con
i, ain treasures put there by the Indian
n at the time they were prosecuted b
the Spaniards. There is one on tn
,e top Of q mountain in Colombia, no
lie far from Panama, out OF which i'm