Perth Amboy evening news., 1923-11-14
BOG0TA, ANCIENT CITY,
Is RICH IN EMERALDS
Wonderful Mine Said to Be
Swallowed Up in Jungle

The Princess Snow White of
worlds mines awaits prince-or will
make a prince. Nearly everyone
knows the fairy story of the unfort-
innate princess who pricked her fin
ger and submerged her castle in
sleep for n hundred years. Then
came the Prince. He hewed down
the brambles, walked the sleeping
Snow White, and they were married
and lived happy ever after.
Down in South America lies the
Princess Snow White of mines
sleeping" says a bulletin from the
Washington, D.. c., headquarters of
the National Geographic Society.
Years and years ago, when the
Spanish c%onquerors still were in the
land, the west coast of South Amer
lea was combed for gold, silver and
precious stones. The state of New
Granada, now Colombia, they found,
was the single source of the jewel
most priced by man-the emerald.
These Spanish masters compelled
Indians to work the mines and bring
gems to Bogota, the capital.
"Bogota still is the emerald city
OF the world and practically all the
spanish mines still are being work.
ed. All except one. the Princess
0llON NliIlG VI tllIltSt 1dllNG S say
Years ago the CoScuez mine, as it is
called, was swallowed up by the jun
gle. Now awaits the prince to cut
away the brambles. The rich So
mondoco ledge was a Snow White
mine, lost for more than Il hundred
years, until it's r~ediseoverey 16 years
ago. Beside this adventure shovel
ing sand for pirate gold is as prosaic
as dish washing. But there is one
condition-no fairy story is complete
without a condition-the mine be-
longs to the government. The dis
coverer can lease it and work it, but
mining emeralds and salt on Colon
bia are government monopolies.
"Colombia's capital city can Dor.
row u phrase from American adver-
isers and truly say If it's an emer-
aid, it's from Bogota.' Many mines
are near the caIatal, but even the
operators in outlying districts. trade
through that city. Bogota is de.
scribeG by travellers. as coo miles
from anywhere. Bit as long as thu
world demands emeralds, it cannot
forget Bogota, because 80 per cen.
Of the annual supply m from
this single source.
'Emeralds are a type of beryl
Crystals of translucent beryl have
been found in New Hampshire weigh
ing as much as two tons, but the
emerald the purer form, is mover
large though it is three times IA
cost" as diamonds. Like the dia-
mond, emeralds are found in ole
volcanic crater mouths. Natives
slice away lodges of rock on the
mountain side and crush it to gel
the stones. Operations in Colombis
though primitive, produce emerald'
valued at $1,000, 900 every year 4
few emeralds are found in India
Austria and Egypt but none in Ire.
land. In Egypt the mine at Jabe
Zabara that produced emeralds 70.
Cleopatra is producing some fol
New York today, but the Colombian
monopoly, like the Kimberley com
bination, is unchallenged.
Saint Augustine, Florida, il
proud of being the first city estab.
lshed in North America by virtue o
its founding in 1865. But Bogota
the emerald city, was twenty-nin'
years old when Saint Augustine tool
, its place on the map, having beer
founded in 1886 by General Que
sada, whose residence is still pointed
out to visitors. Though Bogota il
almost on the Equator, it has a com
Portable climate because it is perch
cd up on a mountain plateau a mil,
and a half above the sea. Behind /
are two mountain peaks, crowned
with snow part of the year ant
crowned also with two monasteries
Colombia has 5000, 900 inhabit
ants but its capital has a population
of only $4,000. This is because 30
gotta is 500 miles from anywhere
No railroad as yet connects the cap
ital with a port on the Atlantic, 81
n tourist must travel alternately b.
boat and railroad for sever to tel
days to get to Bogota. Once ther'
he will find a quaint quiet old city
whose restful atmosphere is not eve
disturbed by the noise of a trolle,
car. A visitors first impression i
that Bogota is a city of churches
However, he will find that many o
the large churches are headquarter
of government departments variou
ministers have Communicated Their
for office buildings. The city is bull
on the mountain slope, so the citi
zens make stream beds of thei
street cutters. Swift mountain
I creeks are diverted into the streeti
which run down hill.
Mystery stories, romances ant
tragedies have been written aroun'
! famous diamonds. Emeralds Cal
tell strange stories too. Princes o.