'Gold
is the most exquisite of all things . . .' wrote Christopher
Columbus. 'Whoever possesses gold can acquire all that he
desires in the world. Truly, for with gold he can gain
entrance for his soul into paradise.' Such was the view that,
after 1492 when Columbus first crossed the Atlantic, launched
the Spanish conquest of She New World. Within 50 years the Aztecs of Mexico and the Incas of Peru had succumbed to the
conquistadors' voracious appetite for gold. In the high Andes
of Colombia, there had been expeditions inland to loot the
rich tombs of the Sinu Indians, and in 1539 Europeans first
entered the territory of the Muisca people and founded the
city of Bogota.
Among the Muiscas the Spaniards first heard of a ceremony that took place a little to the north of Bogota at Lake Guatavita. Indians were still alive who had seen the last of these ceremonies acknowledging a new king. The following is an eyewitness account recorded in 1636 by a Spanish chronicler:
'The first journey he had to make was to go to the great lagoon of Guatavita, to make offerings and Sacrifices to the demon which they worshipped as their god and lord. During the ceremony which took place at the lagoon, they made a raft of rushes, embellishing and decorating it with the most attractive things they had. They put on it four lighted braziers in which they burned much moque, which is the incense of these natives, and also resin and many other perfumes. The lagoon was large and deep, so that a ship with high sides could sail on it, all loaded with an infinity of men and women dressed in fine plumes, golden plaques and crowns . . . 'At this time they stripped the heir to his skin, and anointed him with a sticky earth on which they placed gold dust so that he was completely covered with this metal. They placed him on the raft on which he remained motionless, and at his feet they placed a great heap of gold and emeralds for him to offer to his god. On the raft with him went four principal subject chiefs, decked in plumes, crowns, bracelets, pendants and earrings all of gold. They, too, were naked and each one carried his offering. As the raft left the shore the music began, with trumpets, futes and other instruments, and with singing which shook the mountains and valleys, until, when the raft reached the centre of the lagoon, they raised a banner as a signal for silence. 'The gilded Indian then made his offering, throwing out all the pile of gold into the middle of the lake and the chiefs who had accompanied him did the same on their own accounts. With this ceremony the new ruler was received, and was recognized as lord and king.'
The ceremony of El Dorado, the Golden Man, was the beginning of the legend. The conquistadors, although they had managed to loot many hundreds of pounds of gold from the Muisca and their neighbours, were convinced that the best was yet to come. This was the vast treasure which they thought lay at the bottom of Lake Guatavita.
The first attempt to dredge the lake was in 1545, but the most serious of the early ventures was that of a merchant from Bogota, Antonio de Sepulveda, who began drainage operations in the 1580s. Using a labour force of 8,000 Indians he cut a great notch in the rim of the lace through which the water flowed, reducing the level by 20m (61 ft) before the cut collapsed killing many workmen. The scheme was abandoned,even though gold had been found: the share sent back to Spain to King Philip II included a gold breastplate, a staff covered with gold plaques and an emerald the size of a hens egg.
(Source: The Atlas Of Mysterious Places)
