sun under
the direction of the shrewdest engineers of the age in the attempt to
drain the lake. An outlet was finally made and the lake sunk foot by
foot while the trusting folk below made their prayers and waited. The
answer came. One day when Quesada saw the treasure almost within his
grasp, there was a mighty rumbling, a crash of falling stone, and
behold! an avalanche of granite raged down, killing many of the
soldiers, routing the rest, and filled in the man-made channel.
Quesada ordered with fierce oath, but not a man would return to the
work. He was forced to retreat, and died in poverty and shame.

The years rolled on and still the tributes sank beneath the waves. Now
and then some hardy traveler returned with a tale of the unlimited
wealth that was going to waste. One such, driven over the seas, came
to Raleigh and reported that he had seen, in a single procession
forming to climb the hill, treasure packed upon mules to the value of
one hundred thousand English pounds.

"There were diamonds," so ran the chronicle, "larger than a man's
thumb and of a clearness surpassing anything even among the crown
jewels. I saw also topaz, sapphires, garnets, turquoises, and
opals--all of a beauty greater than any I ever before saw. As for
gold, it seems of no value whatever, so generously did they heave it
into the lake."

Leigh sought three years and came back empty handed, but more
convinced than ever that the treasure existed. Many of the Spaniards
who swooped down upon the Chibcas did not return empty handed,
although they failed to find the source of the El Dorado. They saw
many strange customs which proved that gold in abundance was located
somewhere within this small area. They saw the chiefs of the tribes
cover themselves each morning with resin and then sprinkle powdered
gold over their bodies until they looked as though in golden armor.
This was washed off at sunset, after the evening prayer to the burning
planet which they believed to be the source of all their wealth. At
their death their graves were lined with jewels. The Spanish governors
who later looted these tombs recovered enormous amounts; one grave
yielding $18,000, another $20,000 in gold strips, and still another
$65,000 in emeralds, gold chains, arrows, and other implements of
beaten gold.

But the greatest incentive to the search had always been the detailed
account left by Fray Pedro Simon, who for twenty years lived among
these tribes as missi