Meade County news. [volume] (Meade, Kan.) 1900-1918, 1912-05-09

ships sunk in shallow waters
Little of 1t has ever been recovered; the average
man prefers to work for few dollars week
But the history of the hundreds OF treasures some
of them we'll known and rich in narrative, some OF
them but vaguely chroniced is something Of absorb
ing interest to the with the true spirit OF ad-
venture in his blood.
More gold and silver was produced from the new
iy discovered Western Hemisphere by the early
Spanish and Portuguese adventures than the world
had ever known In its history. The Spanish Main
reeked with 1t. The Indians from Mexico to Peru,
had SO much that they had for 1t. Shipload
after shipload went to England Spain and Portugal.
Pirates and privateers raided the ports and the gal
Icons. Governors often cached the treasures OF
city to save them from the raiders; bishops and
priests hid the wonderful solid gold affairs, ratings,
vessels and forth, to keep them safe. Often the
governor slain captured, perhaps removed,
and in many the clerics suffered similar fates
Hundreds Of millions have been recovered, but the
sums remaining unbound are so vast as to be stag
gering
1t is of those unrecovered only partially recov-
cred that write, giving all the facts that have been
able to find, hoping to start the seekers to the
quests Some of 1t seems easily recoverable that
one could go and almost lay ones hands on it;
of 1t would require patient effort digging draining,
diving, searching still other portions will be found
only by the purest chance the clues too vague
There is astounding store of gold the history
Of which is so clear and definite and the obstacles
to recovery slight, that will state its claims first
On the Cundinamarca plateau in the Republic OF
Colombia is little pond quarter Of mile across.
In the center of this pond superstous Indians
dumped gold in fiber bags in such quantities that
the bottom lie hundreds of millions. perhaps
several billion dollars worth. One chief dropped
in $500 pounds in day to the life OF
sick daughter, and the votive process went on I'M
dnterruptedly for hundreds of years 1t is easy to
see how stupendous the treasure must be and how
difficult to estimate accurately
he hi Of ho dofn ta nfO
the lake comes from the journal of Fray Pedro
Simon Jesuit missionary who dwelt among the
Chbcha Indians the lake for many years and
witnessed the one incident cited
At the time of the conquest the lake was called
Guatavita "Caretaker of Life" The Indians be-
eved that in the lakes and springs dwelt the sub
deities and all the tribes in northern South Amer
ica believed that in this wonderful little pool,
with Its clear cold springs and beautiful shores,
dwelt the deity, who had power to save and heal.
Gold to be found everywhere. Its sole use
was for decoration and religious superstitious
offerings.
Even today they still hide the secrets OF the
deposits, appearing in the towns with little leaf
baskets the bottoms Of which covered with
gold which they to buy all the printcloths,
arms, food and baubles that make up their sim
pie needs then they go away to their huts in the
mountains When the Spaniards first came the
Indians laughed to find the white men so eager
for what they deemed Of so little value But
when they saw the white men killing and tortur-
ing their brothers, wives and children they grew
silent and ever since have hidden all their knowI
edge Of gold among themselves An Indian who
leads the way to an Indian mine signs his own
deathwarrant
Fray Pedro Smons account Of the lake says
that 1t was one of a chain that 1t so small
that two fiber ropes could be stretched across it.
marking 1t into quarters. They crossed in the
exact center. Rats were moored on-shore and
the Indians coming from afar laden with gold
would heap 1t on these RATS in fiber and skin
bags, use the ropes to guide the RATS to the CEN
ter and then throw in the gold an old and sacred
man of the tribe or family reciting invocations to
the spirit OF the lake.
What have related has been common property
among men interested in treasure-seeking, and
parts of the facts have been printed both in Amer
ica and England, but this is the first time that all
the known facts have been given There is today
on the plateau lake called Guatavita, but 1t does
not answer Fray Pedro Simon's description
On the 18th Of April 1913, there set sail from
what is now Colon the Spanish galleon Santa
Marta. commanded by a master-atarms called Eel
Tigre de Joasco and bearing vice-governor Her
nando AroJas Alencon, with a considerable CON-
pany Of wounded and fever-broken Spanish SOL
diers. a scattering of priests and some business
travellers.
She was headed for Cadiz and yigo. Her cargo
was almost entirely gold to the value of about
$4,000, 000
It was not supposed that any one aboard was
aware that there anything extraordinarily
valuable aboard, except the master, Governor
Arojas, and two priests Of the ships company
Some one organized mutiny among the return
ing soldiers and sailors and, while the ship was
heavily armed to defend herself against pirates
or privateers, she very easily taken over by
her own crew some time during the first week
out
Two boatloads of prisoners abandoned on
the sandy shore of the PALISADES on the harbor
of Kingston, Jamaica, but Ell Tigre de Joasco and
Governor Arojas were not among them. and
somewhere in the chinks of history their fate has
slipped through and been lost
The marooned people were very quickly picked