312 THE MAGIC OF JEWELS AND CHARMS
Santa
Fé, in United States of Colombia, who obtained a Spanish concession. In
or about 1823 we have record of another unsuccessful venture on the
part of José Ignacio Paris, in an account of Colombia written in 1824
by Captain Charles Stuart Cochrane, of the Boyal Navy, who aided Paris
in his efforts. The report that at the time of the Spanish Conquest,
the Cacique of Guatavita caused gold-dust constituting the burdens of
fifty men to be cast into the lake, greatly contributed to the zeal of
the treasure-seekers in the vicinity. One of the early attempts at
least resulted in the recovery of so much treasure that the
Government's 3 per cent, share is said to have amounted to $170,000.
In
none of these essays, however, was the lake really and effectually
drained off, and that of Paris in 1823 or 1824 failed in the same way,
because of inadequate capital. He had succeeded in persuading sixteen
shareholders to club together, each one contributing $500 to a common
fund, but after not only this $8,000, but $12,000 more supplied by
himself had been expended, there still remained 33 feet of water in the
lake.
Eecently
an English company has recognized that the treasure must be sought at
or even beneath the true bottom, as this existed at the time of the
Spanish Conquest, and thus at levels considerably lower than those of
the bottom at the present time. The project is, after 30 feet of the
present bottom has been removed, to set up a steam shovel and sink down
40 or 50 feet in search of the gold-dust, golden ornaments and
emeralds believed to exist here.
