Evening Republican, Volume 14, Number 178, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 28 July 1910 — TREASURE IS MYTH [ARTICLE]

TREASURE IS MYTH

Stories of Hidden Gold of Aztecs Inventions of Historians. Greatest Store of Precious MetaJ Was Found in Imperial Palace and Promptly Shipped to Spain by Cortez—Amount Is Small. San Antonio, Tex.—According to Jose Ramon Palafox, a Mexican journalist, who recently passed through this city on his way to Washington, there are no hidden Montezuma treasures. -; -• "No doubt the stories circulated about the hidden treasures of the Aztec emperors have their origin in the sadly exaggerated accounts of old Spanish historians—men who swallowed the yarns of the conquerors of Mexico and whose judgment had been upset by the few shipments of gold and silver made to Spain'shortly after the taking of the Aztec capital,” said Senor Palafox. "The amount of gold and silver in the possesion of the Aztecs at any time was comparatively small and in the case of the people consisting of little more than a few personal ornaments. The greatest store of these precious metals was found by the Spaniards in the imperial palace and this was promptly shipped to Spain by Cort6z. Compared with the wealth of today even this was a mere drop In the bucket. The statement made by historians that Hernando Cortez sent ship loads of gold and silver to his king should not be taken literally, for in all probability it means no more than that heavy shipments of these took place. . "The accounts of the Montezuma treasure is merely a counterpart of similar extravagances found on many pages of history. We read of the fabulous wealth of the people of the Euphrates valley, of the ancient Egyptians, of India and other parts and so far have never found a trace of It. In their day, no doubt, these people had a certain amount of gold and silver, but they never had enough to cause us moderns to call them rich. Dispersed among them in the form of currency, as is the case today, their wealth In precious metals would have made a very poor showing. Gold and silver, then, as in the case of the Aztecs, were not used at all as mediums of exchange or were used only in a very limited way.— Rulers paid and received tributes in the form of gold and ns a rule coverted It Into articles of practical value or objects of art. The old records show this down .to a very late date. The tribute collected by the kings of Egypt, for example, were gold and silver vases, statuettes and the like. We see Rameses reward the services of his generals by hanging a golden chain aronnd their necks and so on. “Conditions In Mexico when the conquistadores got there were the same. Metals did not figure to any extent as money or its equivalent. In the palace of the emperor gold and silver were found In the shape of cooking utensHs, toilet articles and wall coverings. Perhaps a small store of gold and silver Ingots was also discovered and so, no doubt, was a small quantity of precious stones. “The so-called Aztec codices telling of the whereabouts of hidden treasure are all spurious and ar6 sold to unsuspecting foreigners for fancy prices. It Is an Industry somewhat analogous to the making of antique furniture and Jewels. Of course only the moat credulous are taken In and usually one experience suffices to tell

the purchaser of a codex that he has been humbugged. However, sometimes a great deal of harm is done by an unscrupulous man getting possession of a so-called codex. He Is enterprising enough to turn his purchase to good account as far as he is concerned, but those who have been foolish enough to believe his plausible stories will find that the Montezuma treasure is no more than a fable —is, In fact, a swindle. Probably no one knows Mexico better than do its natives and. nowhere are traditions and the like better preserved. In view of these facts it would be more than strange that the Mexican should sell information as to treasures when he could lift the hoard himself.” Asked what he thought of the codex now said to be in the possession of an American by the name of T. A. Kenyon. Mr. Palafox expressed himself to the effect that In all probability it was no better than other documents of that kind, and that quite often a so-called codex was well enough executed to even deceive those familiar with the subject. “A great deal of harm has been done to Mexican investment opportunities by ancient mine and hidden treasure swindles,” said Mr. Palafox. “No sane man should take any stock in either. Mexico Is well stocked with Americans who do nothing else but exploit their countrymen on the other side of the Rio Grande. This also applies to some of the rubber land and colonization propositions. Americans ready to Invest money in the republic should first put themselves in touch with the Mexican government.** Doing this will save them money and disappointment.”