The Washington times., 1921-05-01
Historical Gem, 100 Years Old,
Uncovered by Chance During
Venezuelan Visit.

A letter from General Bolivar to
General Lafayette. wherein the South
American liberator thanks the great
Frenchman for sending him q lock OF
George Washington,s hair and other
relics from Mt. Vernon, has been dis
covered in the dusty archives Of
Georgetown University.
This remarkable find came about
In Q novel way, ana was actually dis
covered by Venezuelan officials who
are here incident. to the Bolivar 1els-
bration In Washington and New York.
There Is little doubt, that the letter
Is authentic, aand that It ii q distinct
contribution to the literature which
has been collected about the George
Washington of South America" 1t
becomes doubly Interesting when 1t
shows. In what high regard-almost
Observation-Disclosures held George WASH
ipgton. A third angle Of human in
terest colors the history of the letter
by it's address to Lafayette, athlete
Of - liberty" SO Bolivar calls the
French youth who followed the
genius Of Washington through the
bitterness of Valley Forge when even
the own compatriots of the Continen-
tai commander were in tagging spir-
its.
HIDDEN FOR YEARS.
The letter had lain in the vaults of
the local university for heaven knows
how many years. UP to last Tuesday
night. Then Dr. Gil Borges, minister
of foreign relations Of Venezuela, was
honored by the university with the
degree of doctor Of laws, on the &C.
casion OF his visit to America. When
the exercises had been concluded. the
Venezuelan minister was escorted to
the underground vault where the ar
chives are kept, in order that he
might. according to traditional Gus
tom. sign the great book Of the uni
versity.
AS feature of the visit the
Georgetown officials displayed q vol
luminous sheaf of letters Of historical
America Among them was q letter
dated Lima .(Peru), March 20, 1926.
and signed sBolivar."
FERvID EXCITEMENT.
Instantly an exclamation Of wonder
and delight came from the Vene-
zuelan guests. There was perfervid
excitement in the vault for some time
after that, when they declared with
enthusiasm that the document was
long lost letter of the liberator
Of their country to General Lafay-
ette-a letter we'll known in the his
tory Of their country, but the orig
inal of which had never been To-
Gated. In IT Bolivar thanks tho
Frenchman for bringing him lock
Of Washington's hair a medallion
head Of the famous George. and other
relics of the great American.
DR.. Manuel Segundo Sanchez, d.
rector Of the national library of
Venezuela and a scholar OF first rank.
submitted the document to a severe
scrutiny the following day, and de-
clared it was the most authentic rec
ord of the famous espisode yet discov-
cred. There are some discrepancies
between the Georgetown version and
that published In the edition Of Boil
vars letters venezuela, 1880. but
there is weighty evidence to estab-
lish the belief that this recent md Is
genuine.
AN HISTORICAL GEM.
DR.. Sanchez declares that tho let
ter is Of utmost Importance to the
historians of his country. who have
preserved the documents of Bolivar
with the same fidelity exercised by
Americans in collecting Washington's
correspondence.
TEXT OF THE LETTER.
A full text, translated from the or