Imperial Valley press., 1937-04-11
Who Will Find
Fam ed Wealth
of FL Dorado?

"A /HERE lies the gold of tabled El Dorado?
Wv Is 1t more than a legend come down
through centuries to fill the dreams of men
more than twice told tale from the cramped
pen of Diego de Ordaz whose friend Martinez
claimed to have visited this city of gold-or is
it, at last, only town in Colorado county in
California?
FL Dorado and its still undiscovered treasure
paints picture of fantastic fact, of fabulous
gold vessels and ornaments tossed into holy
e-Guatavita-high on the tabeland of Bo-
gotta, Colombia. "El hombre dorado himself
was an Indian chief gilded by gold dust
who annually performed a religious ceremony
worshiping the wife of ancestral chief
who had dramatically drowned herself in Guat-
avita. II was important seasonal ritual, pro-
pitiating the heather gods who had fond
ness for the yellow metal, a native kowtow to
water sprtes inhabiting the blue-green pool.
Bogotas mountains are spotted by holy lakes,
but none so sacred, or concealing such wealth
as the stretch of water which each springtime
awaited Eel hombre dorado and his royal escort.
To a balsa, raft woven of rushes stepped the
gilded ruler-and padded slowly to the center
of his lake. Here he dove from the improvised
float, washed gold dust from his body. Behind
him, in doubled ranks stood priests and wor-
shippers, each bearing some golden object-and
at signal these hundreds of dark skinned peo-
To the depths sank unestimated treasure-to
make an incredible storehouse protected by
water and gold-fiaked sand.
Frenchmen, Englishmen, and Spaniards spend
thousands, forming expeditions to seek the holy
lake, drain 1t and recover the gold De Ordaz
failed, though his lieutenant was entertained by
"El Dorado" Sir Walter Raleigh believed the
lake to be in Guiana. and for two centuries maps
tod ha frao l~,,.
Walter found nothing
Americans, in 1908, began a modern expedi-
ton. fitted out with latest equipment they fol-
lowed an ancient parchment chart, discovered
the true lake, deep pool some 1000 feet wide
Promised a portion of the loot, the Colombian
government granted them a concession to
search for holy treasure in the holy lake" En-
gineers built village nearby, drilling tools came
in by pack mule, to be set up beside the rusted
remains OF machinery deserted by the Span
iards. narrow tunnel tapped the lake bottom
drawing water through a hillside-and as the
water lowered, northern adventures and native
workers stood in awe. Greater treasure than
the world had ever witnessed. soon would be
revealed
The water drained gstening surface of the
Ike went down inch by inch, foot by foot
There lay the trouble-it was exposed to sun
and air, open at last to the terrific heat of day
equatorial winds that dried and caked this mud
into tough cement-like substance Virtually
impossible to penetrate without new tools. more
money and more patience than those adven-
turers possessed.
Beneath this suddenly hardened surface Law
treasure, gold tossed by generations of wor-
shippers. How many feet below no man knew
Equipment wore out, funds ran short, fever de.
scended on the lake shore, and operations
ceased
Hundreds of lives, millions of dollars have
been poured into the water-then into the mud
of holy Guatavta. There the gold lies hidden
today, guarded, they say, by Eel hombre do
rado," worlds first gilded man