TREASURE HUNT.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LXI, Issue 144198, 15 September 1913, Page 8

TREASURE HUNT.

SACRED LAKE DRAINED. MUD. INSTEAD OF .GOLD. LONDON. July 12. The raiding of the sacred Lake of in Columbia, has resulted in . . and tho treasure-hunting comy gone into liquidation. Another chnpture has, therfore, to be added to' the annals of many fruitless searches after hidden treasure. Ihe reputation of this lake as a depository of jewels and ornaments of vast wealth has persisted for centuries, and has been frequently referred to by travellers, from Father Simon to Hurabolt and Mowbray Morris. The origin of its reputed.vast wealth is tho practice attributed to tho ancient Indian tribe residing in tho locality of casting vessels and ornaments ot precious metals, and also offerings of gold dust, and precious stones, into the ■waters as a religious rite. A computation of the value of tho treasure at tho bottom of tho lake, made in the early part of the nineteenth century, put in at £I;120,000,000. Various attempts have been undertaken from time to time to recover this supposed wealth, and the Spaniards arc said to have lowered the waters to within 1-lft. of tho bottom, when the sides fell in and brought their labours to nought. The modern effort to retrieve the theasnro was begun by a native company of Columbia about twenty years ago, but progress was slow on account o.ffcho lack of proper plant and the absence of direction by a scientific engineer. After spending £1,500 the native, company invited the co-operation of more expert assistance, and, states the Daily Chronicle, the English company which is now' being wound up W'as the result. This concern which posses the very unromantic name of Contractors, was registered in 1900, with a capital of £30,000 and took over tho work of the native concern. It was arranged that if tho treasure were found the capital tho latter had expended and the capital to be laid out by the new’ undertaliing should be firstrepaid; and that then the profits remaining should go as to 50 per cent, to tho English company, and as to 41 per cent, to-the Columbian company. BIG ENGINEERING FEAT. Tho lake is, or was, 46ft. deep at the lowest point, and the plan of the engineers w’as to. drain it by means of a tunnel through tho mountains IlOOft. long and carried down 70ft. below the level of thcli surface of tho water. Tho cost was estimated at £6OOO. The drainage scheme was successfully accomplished in tho end, but instead of a clear bottom, the exploiters came on 25ft. of mud. Their work took much longer than wa. expected, and the lake was not emptied until 1903, and then kept partially refilling through very heavy rains and springs. Meanwhile a few ornaments and jewels had been found which had sufficed to whst tho appetite of the seekers. But by this time nil the available capital of £6OOO had been spent, and more tho Contractors was accordingly increased from £30,000 to £35,000 in 1904, and still further to £40,000 in 1908. When the rains had ceased and- the springs had dried up fresh difficulties arose, for the mud set hard and the water to sluice it away through the tunnel that had drained the lake was no longer available. An attempt was made to carry tho tunnel from the edge of the lake to the centre, the idea being that the mud would more expodiously be got away from that point, but there was never enough money available to finish this project. In default of the of the

prolongation of the tunnel shafts were sunk in the dried mud and chnnnc feunk in the dried mud and channesl driven through it at various spots, and more small ornaments and precious stones carao to light, but altogether the value of these discoveries was not much more than £2OOO. These modest operations have filled up the last few years, and no signs of the vast treasures reported to repose in Guntavita having been found, the company, after an outlay of some £15,000, has finally decided to abandon the,hunt, and a mooting of the creditors is being held.