El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1912-11-02

the lind. When she came to COcos the
island was inhabited by a castaway
who was dressed like Robinson Crusoe.
lie had nothing on but skins of beasts
and he looked crazy. At first he could
not speak, but after they had given him
some whisky he told in broken language
his story. He said he and others had
had a concession from Costa Rica to
search Tor this treasure. but that the
others had become disguised and left.
He could not say how long 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
ND in despair when the schooner arrived.
In the meantime other parties. including
some of our canal employees, have been
planning TO eNcavate COcOs, but so faI
no one has discovered either the buc-
cancer hoard or the Madonna of gold. I
am told that concessions can be got
from the Costa Rican government If
anyone cares to search.
The Hidden Gold of Central America.
There IS no doubt that there are great
treasures hidden on the island and also
on the continental part of Central Amer
lea. On Mona island 100000 worth OF
silver is buried. This Is not far from
Porto Rico.
I have myself seen here and at Pam
anna at least a half peck OF solid gold
images which have 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 thousands of years.
saw a quart of these images in the
bank of Ehrman & Co., in Panama City,
ard L am told that Minor c. Keith has
a collection OF them in New York which
Il said no IN several hundred
thousand dollars.
1 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 of them. are
quite heavy and the gold in them must
be worth several hundred dollars. Some
represent frogs. others birds and some
are women with a hawk head of HathOr,
or what looks very much like it. Indeed,
the most OF the images have an Egyp-
tian cast and thew remind one of the
treasures found in the pyramids. The
most of these came from the ChiTiqui
province in the northern part of the
Panama republic, where it joins Costa
Rica.
I an told that a large part of the
keith collection came from Costa Rica.
and that they are now finding some
about the gulf of aUua Dulce. At San
Jose there isa jeweler who has some OF
these images for sale, and down here
at Punta Arenas l have been offered
two very fine ones Tor $50 and $40
apiece. L should judge that this equals
lust about half the value of the gold in
them. DR.. Spencer Franklin, who has
hem for sale for a native, SAYS that
thev are probably one or two thousand
years old.
The workmanship on these images is
exquisite. Some of them are beautifully
carved and some are lifelike in feature.
Among the treasures of Mr.. Ehrman are
a great many breast plates of solid gold.
These are round disks with a nipple in
the center ranging in diameter from two
to SIX inches. The gold Is a thin plate
and is unallOyed. He has also a bracelet
which would fit around the biceps of a
prize fighter and which Is about four
inches wide. This IS also of solid gold.
I understand that many such images
are being discovered and that in all
cases they come from these grave
mounds OF the past.
Gold Buried in Lakes.
Some of the lakes of the Central Amer
lean highlands are said to contain treas
ures put there by the indians at the
line they were prosecuted by the Span
iards. There IS one on the top OF a
mountain in Colombia, not far from
Panama. out of which images like those
1 have described hara baar foL-au Tho