Lawrence democrat. (Lawrenceburg, Tenn.) 1884-1925, 1912-05-15

lie
HZlJ found and then lost, and treasure
ships sunk In shallow waters.
Little Of It has ever been recovered; the average
man prefers to work for few dollars week
But the history Of the hundreds NJ treasures some
OF them we'll known and rich in narrative. some OF
them but vaguely chronicled is something OF absorb
ing interest to the man with the true spirit OF ad-
venture in his blood
More gold and silver was produced from the new
. ly discovered Western Hemisphere by the early
Spanish and Portuguese adventures than the world
had ever known in its history The Spanish Main
reeked with It, The Indians from Mexico to Peru,
had much that they had for 1t. Shipload
after shpload went to England, Spain and Portugal
Pirates and prYateers raded the ports and the gal
Icons Governors often Cached the treasures OF
city to save them from the raidcss; bishops and
priests hid the wonderful solid gold affairs, ratings,
vessels and forth, to keep them safe. Often the
governor CLAIM captured, perhaps removed,
and in many the cerics suffered similar fates.
Hundreds of millions have been recovered, but the
sums remaining unbound so vast as to be stag.
gering
1t is Of those unrecovered or only partially recov-
cred that write, giving all the facts that have been
able to find, hoping to start the seekers on TO the
quests Some of It seems so easily recoverable that
could go and almost lay ones hands on it; more
Of 1t would require patient effort, digging, draining
diving searching still other portions will be found
snly by the purest chance the clues too vague
There is one astounding store OF gold the history
or Whicn Is so clear ana dennJe, ana the obstacles
TO recovery slight, that will state Its claims first
On the Cundinamarca plateau in the Republic OF
Colombia is little pond a quarter or mile across
In the exact center of this pond superstitious 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 one day to save the life OF a
sick daughter and the votive process went
interruptedy for hundreds Of years 1t is easy to
see how stupendous the treasure must be and how
difficult to estimate accurately.
The bulk of the definite information concerning
the lake comes from the journal of Fray Pedro
Simon, Jesuit missionary who dwelt among the
Chibcha Indians the lake for many years and
witnessed the incident cited.
At the time OF the conquest the lake called
Guatavita, "Caretaker Of Life" The Indians be-
leved that in the lakes and springs dwet 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,
dwet the deity, who had power to save and heal.
Gold to be found everywhere Its sole
for decoration and religious supersttous
offerings.
Even today they still hide the secrets of the
deposits appearing in the towns with little leaf
baskets the bottoms of which are covered with
gold, which they to buy all the prntcloths
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 the
Indians laughed to find the white so eager
for what they deemed of 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 knowl
edge Of gold among themselves An Indian who
leads the way to Indian mine signs his own
death-warrant.
Fray Pedro Simon's account Of the lake says
that 1t was one of a chain; that It was so small
that two fiber ropes could be stretched it,
marking it into quarters. They crossed in the
exact center. Rats were moored On-shore, and
the Indians coming from afar laden with gold
would heap it on these RATS in fiber and skin
bags, use the ropes to guide the RATS to the
ter and then throw in the gold, an old and sacred
man Of the tribe family reciting invocations to
the spirit OF the lake.
What have related has been common property
among men interested in treasureseeking, and
parts Of the facts have been printed both in Amer
lea and England but this is the first time that all
the known facts have been given There is today
on the plateau a lake called Guatavita, but it does
not answer Fray Pedro Simon's description
On the 18th of April 1643, there set sail from
what is now Colon the Spanish galleon Santa
Marta commanded by master-at-arms called El
Tigre de Joasco, and bearing vice governor Her
nando Arojas Alencon, with considerable COM
pany Of wounded and fever-broken Spanish SOL
diers a scattering of priests and some business
travellers.
She was headed for Cadiz and vigo Her cargo
was almost entirely gold to the value of about
$25,000,000
It was not supposed that any aboard
aware that there anything extraordinarily
valuable aboard, except the master, Governor
Arojas and two priests of the ships company.
Some one organized a mutiny among the return
ing soldiers and sailors and, while the ship was
heavily armed to defend herself against pirates
or privateers she was very easily taken by
her own crew some time during the first week
out
Two boatloads of prisoners were abandoned on
the sandy shore Of the PALISADES off 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.
TIE murooned people were very quickly pIcked