JESUIT TREASURE.

King Country Chronicle, Volume XXII, Issue 2613, 11 August 1928, Page 6

JESUIT TREASURE.

BRITISH ADVENTURERS IN BOLIVIA. DOME OF CHAMBER UNEARTHED. London, Junt 27. At the beginning of this year a party of 20 men set out from Liverpool to go in search of treasure supposed to have been hidden by the Jesuits from 1767 to 1778 on the banks of the Sacanxbaya River, Bolivia, A New Zealander* Mr* J. F. St. B. Barclay, who had not long finished his studies at Emmanuel College, Cambridge, was a member of the expedition. 4t the time of their departure the full istory of tht £12,000,000 worth of treasure was told. It will be remembered that the Spanish Crown in those early days demanded a royalty from the Jesuits who were working the rich mines in Bolivia. The Jesuits refused, and they were prevented from sending gold out of the country. For 11 years they are supposed to have stored their treasures in some secret place. Eventually they were deported. The legal right to seek for this treasure has now devolved on Dr Edgar Sanders, a mining engineer, who is now in command of th party. During previous excavations he found a tunnel which he was convinced led to the hidden chamber. He also found a parchment on which was written in Spanish a warning and a curse upon anyone who should enter the place.

“A dolorous death awaits him in this world,” it was written, rt and eternal condemnation in the world he goes to.” AN EXCITING DISCOVERY.

The London Star has now received a cablegram from its correspondent who says;—

After dynamiting and carrying out hydraulic operations at “Square Stone Heap” we made an exciting discovery to-day Beneath the 20 tons of rock which we had moved we found a wellbuilt wall. We believe it must be the dome of the treasure chamber. Each day our blasting and cutting operations have brought to light interesting finds. There have been discoveries of an underground fortress, complete with staircases and rooms, and we have also found bones and ornaments.

During the excitement of the work, there was a mysterious collapse of

three of our cranes. It was a miracle that there were no casualties. We are now busy reassembling the cranes. Work has started on the excavation of the tunnel, and our Indians are apparently impressed by the solidity of the expedition. a I have to report several minor accidents and cases of sandfly fever amongst the whites and malaria amongst the Indians. However, despite the death-breeding atmosphere of this place, the expedition is keeping comparatively fit. Everyone is cheerfully working 10 hours a day under the most exacting conditions, operating the pneumatic drills and spades and the hydraulic machinery. We mount guard at night, for we are taking no risks. Incidentally, wo had our first mustard and cress of our own grown seeds from England today.