Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1913-08-29
LOSS OF A LAKE.
How Misguided Greed for Gold Brought
It About


How Misguided Greed for Gold Brought
It About.
Money and romance have but little. If
anything, in common. Not infrequently
they come into antagonism, and then ro-
nance takes flight before monetary pres
lsure, whether this be in the form of
| plethora or of paucity. The mysterious.
| too. in physical affairs, has to retire and
disappear when money pushes inyestiga-
ton for the discovery of fact. Thus it
/ is that mystery and romance have fed
from the sacred lake of Guatavita. This
lake was beloved Of the Muyscas, the
original inhabitants Of the Colombian
plateau OF Bogota, who in their time
ranked among the nations Of the New
] World only second to the Aztecs and the
Incas. On that fertile tableland, ayerag-
ing a height of some 5000 feet above
| the sea, they had their seat of empire,
their religion, their civilization; and ira
/ dition says that Guatavita, which is
about forty miles from the present
lcapital Of Colombia, had for them re-
iligious significance that caused it to be
made the depository of offerings to their
| deity, believed to be the sun. According
| to travellers tales, beginning as far back
as the middle of the Sixteenth century,
the so-called Indians practiced as a rite
the casting Of precious stones, gold dust,
and gold and silver vessels and orna-
ments into the sacred lake. which re-
Hected the shining face Of their god.
This early tradition is crowned by the
later enc to the effect that when the
| Spaniards broke the power Of the Muy-
scan empire in 1886, the conquered pao-
pie threw all their treasures into Guata-
vita. 1t has therefore long been sup
posed to contain enormous wealth. An
/ estimate-which could only have been
wild guess-made about a hundred years
ago, put the value at no less than $5,-
I0OO,OOO,OO0. And it waited for heirs.
| An English company bearing the brief
name of Contractors has this month de-
cided to wind up its affairs, and for that
purpose has called q meeting OF its credit
+ ors in London. The old romance and
mystery, the very lake itself, have been
brought to an end by that company.
! 1t is not in human nature to refrain
from trying to uncover and secure so
vast a treasure as that which Guatavita
was repured to hold. A number OF at
tempts have been made The Spaniards
are said to have succeeded at one time
in lowering the water to depth of only
fourteen feet when the sides of the lake
fell In, causing the abandonment OF the
work. Twenty years ago a Colombian
company was organized to find the preci-
GUS things Of the ancient people. but If
was deficient both in engineering skill
and the requisite plant for such an I'M
/ dertaking, and after spending S.. 300 If
/ went outside the country to invite ex-
pert aid. Thus it came about that the
English company, Contractors was
formed IN the year 1900, with non1i
nal capital of 100000, and took over the
work. The anticipated reward was Sc
per cent Of the fabulous wealth to be
Won-enough to attract any number of
treasure hunters.
| There is nothing to saw against tba
work Of the company. 1t was apparent.
| " well done. by means Of scientific en-
gineering. In three years the lake.
found to be forty-six feet at It's deepest,
was entirely drained away, by means of
a tunnel LOO feet long, carried seventy
! feet below the surface level; and then
the workers gazed not upon gold and
! silver and precious tones, but upon TWEEN
Ly-nye feet OF mud. What might that
hold? Specifically it offered them few
Jewels and ornaments as an encourage
ment to seek its secret proving at least
THAT tradition was not absolutely with
iout foundation. But Contractors had by
i this time spent its cash capital OF 10000
and therefore in 1904 it increased its
capital to EDS, 900, and four years later
had to increase it further to 100000
Meanwhile the mud had dried to some
thing like half-baked brick, there being
no water to soften it; and the only thing
| to do was to bore shafts and channels
! into it, and break up the excavated ma
lterial. The net result is the recovery Of
small ornaments and jewels valued at
mot much more than $4,000, in return
for the company's expenditure of about
f15,0O0. 1t is a poor result, in more
than one respect The world OF magma
ton is poorer by the loss of golden
ldream, dwarfed almost to nothingness.
Colombia is poorer by the loss of all
that made a sacred place on the plateau
of her capital There Is now no lovely
lake round which romance may linger,
no hidden depth to guard a treasure, no
ripping water to be veil of mystery
nothing is left but an ugly scar on the
face OF Nature, dry and thirsty cavity
with bottom Of sunbaked mud So per
! ishes Lake GuataYita, victim OF blum
Idering cupidity. Transcript.