The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1912-05-03

N hidden by pirates and buccaneers,
4 II wonderful mines of gold or silver
MN found and then lost and treasure
ships sunk in shallow waters
Little of it has ever been recovered; the average
IN prefers to work for few dollars a week
But the history of the hundreds of treasures some
them well known and rich in narrative, some oil
IN but vaguely chronicled, is something Of absorb
interest to the man with the true spirit OF adj
lture in his blood.
dore gold and silver produced from the new
discovered Western Hemisphere by the early
Anish and Portuguese adventures than the world
4 ever known in its history. The Spanish Nam
ked with it, The Indians. from Mexico TO Peru
! so much that they had no use for it. Shipoad
ir shipload went to England Spain and Portugal
ates and privateers raded the ports and the gal
as Governors often cached the treasures OF
, to save them from the raiders; bishops and
+ ,sts hid the wonderful solid gold affairs ratings,
> sells and so forth, to keep them safe Often the
Sermon was slain captured, perhaps removed,
in many cases the cercs suffered similar fates.
Hundreds of millions have been recovered, but the
s remaining unbound vast as to be stag
Ems
~ is Of those unrecovered or only partially
~ that l write, giving all the facts that have been
to find, hoping to start the seekers on to the
uCbts. Some OF it seems so easily recoverable that
could go and almost lay ones hands on it; more
III would require patient effort, digging, draining,
~ by the purest chance the clues too vague.
ere is one astounding store of gold the history
o'hich is so clear and definite and the obstacles
.covery so slight that viii state its claims first.
av the Cundinamarca plateau in the Republic OF
mbia is a little pond quarter OF a mile across.
lele exact center Of this pond supersttous Indians
/ S)ed gold in fiber bags in such quantities that
tJehe bottom lie hundreds of millions perhaps
tai billion dollars worth. One chief dropped
roll6O0 pounds in one day TO save the life of
daughter and the votive process went on un-
Rh,ruptedly for hundreds Of years, 1t is easy to
GLOW stupendous the treasure must be and how
*l3cplt to estimate accurately.
e bulk Of the definite information concerning
AXE comes from the journal OF Fray Pedro
n. a Jesuit missionary who dwelt among the
S.ha Indians the lake for many years and
efssed the one incident cited
the time of the conquest the lake called
INVITA-, "Caretaker of Life" The Indians be-
sit that in the lakes and springs dwelt the sub
Ms. and all the tribes in northern South Amer
r. elieved that in this wonderful little pool,
wits clear cold springs and beautiful shores,
NJ the deity, who had power to save and heal
owas to be found everywhere. Its sole use
ngor decoration and religious or superstitious
,1ngs.
V'n today they still hide the secrets of the
Its appearing in the towns with little leaf
Ar Is the bottoms Of which covered with
IL; which they to buy all the printcloths,
in, 1000 ana DauDleS tnat make up their SIM
"A eds then they go away to their huts in the
Uains When the Spaniards first came the
rs laughed to find the white men so eager
that they deemed OF so little value. But
f%they the white killing and tortur-
cir brothers wives and children they grew
and ever since have hidden all their knowl-
If gold among themselves. An Indian who
erthe way to an Indian mine signs his own
llr@arrant.
~ Pedro Simon's account Of the lake says
lr. was one of a chain that it was so small
s,yo fiber ropes could be stretched across it,
Nag 1t into quarters. They crossed in the
center. Rats we're moored on.shore and
- dams coming from afar laden with gold
II heap it on these RATS in fiber and skin
use the ropes to guide the RATS to the cen
= then throw in the gold an old and sacred
the tribe or family reciting invocations to
Irit OF the lake.
ct have related has been common property
Il men interested in treasureseeking, and
,sl5f the facts have been printed both in Amer
! England, but this is the first time that all
sorown facts have been given. There is today
plateau lake called Guatavita, but It does
beswer Fray Pedro Simon's description.
abe 10Th of April. 1913, there set sail from
lis now Colon the Spanish gaeon Santa
! commanded by a master-at-arms called El
n de Joasco and bearing vice-governor Her
ev,Arojas y Alencon, with considerable com
lf wounded and fever broken Spanish sol
"A Scattering OF priests and some business
mrs
Twas headed for Cadiz and Vigo Her cargo
Iemost entirely gold to the value OF about
wi 600.
mas not supposed that any one aboard was
that there was anything extraordinarily
e aboard, except the master Governor
and two priests Of the ships company.
3ne organized mutiny among the return
+ diers and sailors and, while the ship was
s. armed to defend herself against pirates
iateers, she was very easily taken over by
1e n crew some time during the first week
5rs boatloads Of prisoners were abandoned on
Cndy shore of the PALISADES off tie harbor
2 yston, Jamaica, but Ell Tigre de Joasco and
ouor Arojas were not among them, and
"a. mere in the chinks Of history their fate has
los through and been lost.
e narooned people were very quickly picked