Connollys Lost emerald mines - Brazil

[Crow]

Hello Don Jose

That trickster character trait can get you in a lot of trouble.

In one company I once worked at I had a boss nick named"The milky bar Kid" He was a fat pompus know it all, English man with the attitude that it was his right to rule over the percived lower classes. Well after putting up with his crap we were working at a site that had a bird called a plover nesting in an open grass area. Plovers nest just by laying an egg on the ground out in the open. They are about one and half ft high with long stalk like legs

Well there was few of us on our lunch break watching the plover in the feild at a distance. The milky bar Kid turned up to see what we were up too. I said to him the plover has just layed an egg why don,t you go and have a look? The Milky bar Kid fresh from the north of England had no idea of the wildlife walked over to it to have a look. As he walked over to it. I whispered to the boys watch this with a grin.

The Milky bar kid waddled his big fat pompus ass over to the plovers egg to have a look and bent down to look at it. Big mistake, the plover might be small bird but is Ferocious when it comes to protecting its exposed egg. It pecked the livingcrap out the Milky bar kid who was yelling and flailing him arms, running about wildly as this little plover pecked him all about the head face arms and and body.

To me and the other men watching it looked so funny seeing our fat little boss run around trying to get away from this plover with his fat little arms swaying. We were doubled up with laughter and with impeckable timing his boss turned up an asked where is the Milky bar kid. I was laughing so much I could only point.

Needless to say it did not help my career prospects but it was well worth it.

Crow

 

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[Crow]

Okay where was I?

Oh yes!

You might find and interesting connection to the legend that may be the real story behind the legend. Connolly mentions a Sanchez. If we look to what was happening in Columbia prior to Connolly's arrival you will see other events that happening before Connolly came onto the scene. The famous mines at Muso in Columbia was famous for their high quality Emeralds. The Republican Colombian government leased the exclusive mining rights for a set yearly fee providing the mine took only 200000.00 English pound worth in value per year as the Columbia government did not want to devalue the price per carat for Emeralds. However there was a host of treasure hunters waiting out side of the official mine site to buy stolen Emeralds smuggled out by the poorly paid mine workers. This went on for years and Muso Emeralds illegally obtained could be bought in the streets of Bogota, the capital of Columbia.

However this was cracked down on as it was devaluing the price of Muso Emeralds per carat on the world market and the Mining company who paid for the license to mine cried foul as the well as the Colombian government who was losing money. So they made the principle licensee of the mine the soul legal provider of Muso emeralds. The following newspaper story dated Mercury 28th December 1906 tells about Sanchez being involved in a theft of $120000 English pounds worth of Emeralds. Later he was caught in New York with about $5000 pounds worth of Muso Emeralds. For 1906 that was a massive amount of money. 120000 well that was an astronomical amount worth of Emeralds stolen. And the Colombian government policed countries if the emerald showed up they would be claimed by the government. So other than authorized stones they were hard to sell. The two biggest markets at the time was London and New York. The Los Angeles Herald also reported Sanchez capture in New York.

It seems this Sanchez was stopped for a while at least? But not for long.......

To be continued....



Crow

 

[Crow]

Hello Again

In another newspaper story there was reported just 2 years before WW1 in 1912 another attempt to smuggle Emeralds into the British market. Another man Dario Castillo a sailor was caught by customs at Fishguard Wales with a parcel of stones.

From the newspaper story you can see that the Colombian government claimed those Emeralds too after a 2 year struggle. World war one broke out shortly after and the market collapsed and smuggling might not of resumed until much later after the war. When this story pops up conveniently about an alleged discovery of Emeralds found in Ecuador by Connolly. And him showing authorities in Quito Emeralds that just so happens to be the same quality of Emerald and grade as from the Muso mine. Connolly allegedly disappears into the jungle search for this alleged lost emerald mine? Leaving his romantic story on how he found and lost his emerald mine. By all means Connolly was missing to the officials in Quito Ecuador because the shipping records show he left there and re entered the United states via Seattle in 1921. Connolly is recorded traveling as a merchant seaman for several years after he supposedly vanished in the mountains and jungles of Ecuador.

However it is not to say Emeralds of some sort are not found in Ecuador just not the Emeralds Connolly claimed he had found. Connolly story had a purpose to disguise the source of where the Emeralds came from. Connolly the Merchant seaman perhaps made a nice tidy sum from his subterfuge.

Some times we have to look beyond the some of the smoke and mirrors in treasure legends.



Finally one question remains is there still some of the original Emeralds that was stolen in 1906 still hidden some where?

Who knows but that's another story...

Crow

 

[lilorphanannie]

hello everyone. i guess everyone interested has read my post above as a preface to these comments. first of all ,crow has done some excellent detective work ,and approached the problem from a completely different angle than i,and a more rational angle than i. and we all know the first rule of treasure hunting is to verify that the treasure existed in the first place. it is also my view ,any treasure story written about in popular literature is not reliable ,but it can give us leads to go on .and using whatever skills we bring to the table ,follow those leads as far as our abilities will permit. in my view, whoever wrote this version, is not telling the full story, and whoever is telling ,or was the character in the story in this case connelley ,had to have had first hand knowledge because too much of the information is unique to that trip and that area,and represents a vast range of knowledge. i cannot fathom how ,even today a person ,and lesser so in that time period, put together a story with clues that represent a vast range of remote knowledge. ever who concocted this story would have had to know indegenous tribes and their migrations and settlements, words from several distinct dialects,that had only oral history .what tribe he came to first ,all of that information is right on. his description of the terrain is accurate, and his description of the geology is accurate. the little chapel in ahuano where he recovered is still there (only thing i didn't do is talk to the current priest). the key to solving this puzzle was the word numba. the name for the river of blood. numba does not exist in any amazonian dialect . which in a way gives more creedance to the story. the author obviously knew to never give us the real name for that river. but there was still enough information ,taking three peaks to the west and black cliffs three days hike to the east and the rivers on which the orejone tribe settled. the work i did on this took hundreds of hours. i lived in colombia and dealt in emeralds, i obtained generous

 

[lilorphanannie]

sorry guys looks like i lost the last half of my post.

 

[Real de Tayopa Tropical Tramp]

Yes Sir, no Sir, No excuse Sir are the only ones allowed OA, so get back to pecking away on the keyboard - my one finger style.

Seriously, love both your's and el brewmasters posts.

Don Jose de La Mancha

p.s. You still haven't been to Tayopa ! - private joke between good friends peeps.

 

[Crow]

Hello all

Lilorphannie thank you for the complement as it is the Modus operandi I use when researching these treasure legends. It was method hammered into me by a good friend of mine when we worked together in New Guinea for a few years, many years ago. If there was anyone who lives and breathes treasure hunting as much as him I would be surprised. Another friend of mine recons he was a freak of nature a walking encyclopedia on treasure legends. The type you want past him in the street and you would never know. Don,t worry about losing part of your post, Its happened to me many times...

I would not surprise me if one day another large high quality emerald discovery is made. The Connolly story for me is what it is. A story. As for the letters on detailed direction and knowledge of Indian customs? Well could of been written by Sanchez or others, other than Connolly himself only being attributed to Connolly?

Anyway still a Still a fascinating legend?

So wont you join us and that mad Mexican for a coffee?

Crow

 

[lilorphanannie]

i'll give it another try and see how much i can get posted. ////// i will try to summarize to see how much i can get in.crow ,once again i'm impressed with your investigating,it makes a lot of sense,and possibly ultimately what happened. but, what i am convinced of is that someone went into that exact area,i have no doubt . at that time ,no "white"man had ever entered . only years afterward did anthropologists document the tribal settlements he mentioned. there were no roads ,there are still no roads.it is a marathon to get there. at that time no outsiders would have known the words he used. i have the names of every river ,creek and ditch in the area. i can only say that i am convinced that someone made that trip that he described. i am also sure that someone tried to stake a claim for emeralds in that same area ,a foreigner of mines at the ministry of mines in quito. i visited the target area, the three peaks to the west ,the black cliffs to the east, all correct. and the black cliffs are typical host rock for the muzo,chivor, type deposits. i am also sure that someone received medical attention in the way ,way out out of the way village of ahuano. did he find emeralds? nothing to prove that. is there sufficient info in the story to pursue more? i think not. only if you're a geologist intent on finding an emerald deposit. there are over 200 emerald concessions in colombia,at my last count. truly only two are producing. all the other outcrops rarely produce anything but opaque green beryl. and rock shop specimens. i dabbled in emeralds for several years while living in colombia. i wanted to explore the possibility of looking outside the box to see if i could find a significant emerald deposit. and this was one of the areas i explored. the riverbeds are huge and cut into a monolith type structure ,it reminded me of fiords . the area definitely warrants prospecting. it is a lot easier to smuggle emeralds,even today. the only thing i cay say ,is that by following the information given in that unbelievable story ,it leads one to a series of limestone /shale outcrops with calcite veinlets, classical host rock to prospect for beryl . how he got that information i don't have a clue. are there hundreds and hundreds of emeralds lying on the ground there? it would take weeks of prospecting to find out.

 

[Crow]

Hello Lilophanannie

My expertise was supervisor drill rig teams, Mostly in New Guinea but also I worked a bit for a South African company under contract to drill mining at exploration leases. We were at the beck and call from the geologists. We worked under a geologist called Stewart Murphy. He was Chain smoking Texan who drank and swore like the best of us. They told us where and we drilled the holes. Mostly we worked in Peru, Bolivia and southern Ecuador looking for gold silver copper and various other metal deposits via core sampling at various sites. Mainly along the eastern Altiplano and slopes of the eastern Andes range.Never got to look around the Columbia Ecuadorian border areas. So you knowledge and geological expertise in Emeralds are appreciated. I did get to Leticia once on my way down the Colombian Peruvian border further east. That was closest I got to Columbia sadly. So your local knowledge is most appreciated.

One thing I agree whole hardheartedly is the local languages it seemed every tribe had there own separate languages.There must be hundreds if not thousands of dialects So yes I can see your point about detailed information. Clearly who ever wrote the story had detailed knowledge but as Connolly a merchant Seaman and the time frame he was there?

Crow

 

[lilorphanannie]

hi, sounds like yove been around and had a lot of experiences. im just a prospector, somewhat of a loner. after my military i moved to south america and made my living dredging for gold,nugget hunting, diamonds and emeralds. my home was in colombia for 17 years ,where i dredged under waterfalls and dug emeralds. i now live in mexico. those emeralds you see,i never took many photos were my last effort. if i explained the rational and points i was able to prove up based on information given in this story it would take several pages. anyway ,i hope you like the photos.

 

[Crow]

Hello Lilorphanannie

Some nice stones you have there. It seems you have been around a bit also my friend. No wonder Don Jose holds you in such high esteam. You would of been of great help with your expertise on my ill fated Sacambaya trip in about 1998. I got sick and left behind in La Paz

Crow

 

[Real de Tayopa Tropical Tramp]

G'evening 80% ole crow: I was told about that episode, it appears that they tried to pass it off as Malaria, when it actually was a combination of buggies picked up in various happy houses around the world. No wonder the officials were afraid to even touch you. Still, have a cuppa coffee my friend, but err ah, please sit over there?

Don Jose de La Mancha

 

[Crow]

Morning Don Amigo....I have one eye open this morning. Hmm So those devils misfits have been tattling on me again?

I only have vague recollections of that night. I remember partying with some senoritas somewhere in La Paz. It get all a little hazy after that. One thing I recommend never ever try to out drink a Bolivian.

This New Zealand nurse took care of me for a week or so. Hardluck arranged for a doctor to call in and put me up in one of the better hotels in La Paz. It was the one I think across the square from the presidential palace?. I eventually went to Brazil where I found a good doctor. How I got there is very vague.

So my mad Mexican friend I have had all my shots, I don;t bite so coffee will do nicely.

Crow

 

[Crow]

Hello Again

That big Kanacka friend of mine has done more research into the Sacambaya. He even got in contact with descendants of some of the explorers from the Sanders 1928 expedition.

Crow

 

[Real de Tayopa Tropical Tramp]

OK Crow, since I also have had my rabies shots, you can sit next to me. this should make UK'r and Annie feel more comfortable. Any other wish to join us? I feel that a big story is about to come from our friends.

Don Jose de La Mancha

p.s. "Wheren'll were you when I was active ?? We coulda have been super rich by now? Or at least had a helluva good and fascinating time.

 

[lilorphanannie]

another point perhaps to consider, this story has been written about in popular print 6 times from the 1930s up to present. connelleys name is spelled differently three different ways. only one, the orginal version shows a birth record for dec 9th 1899 in illinois.

 

[Salvor6]

Hey Crow, I noticed the picture of emeralds you posted. They are cut and polished. Is this how you found them? I worked on the Atocha shipwreck in Key West. We were dredging for emeralds. They came from the Muzo mines. Here is a picture of some of my raw, uncut emeralds:

 

[Interested Party in UK]

OK Crow, since I also have had my rabies shots, you can sit next to me. this should make UK'r and Annie feel more comfortable. Any other wish to join us? I feel that a big story is about to come from our friends.

Don Jose de La Mancha

p.s. "Wheren'll were you when I was active ?? We coulda have been super rich by now? Or at least had a helluva good and fascinating time.

Mr LM

Perhaps there is another expedition you might want to arrange with your crew - new and old - as a last "hurrah" before you fully focus on Tayopa ?!?

 

[Interested Party in UK]

I remember reading a really interesting story about how a group in Florida (I think it was FL) tried to pull off a daring scam involving bushels of emeralds on the seabed allegedly from the Muzo mines. They had some divers "recover" some specimens from an unidentified location that was supposedly from a Spanish fleet galleon and that they needed to raise serious finances to get at the whole treasure. Some "experts" apparently confirmed their "authenticity" and moves were made to get a share option going. They were also uncut specimens of a very high "quality".

Racking my brain to try and recall where I read the story - it was quite lengthy and interesting.

 

[Salvor6]

Here is the story about the Key West emeralds:

154 lbs. of uncut emeralds for sale online
Estimates of gems' worth vary greatly
BY ADAM LINHARDT Citizen Staff
[email protected]
A cache of controversial emeralds puportedly discovered off Key West more than three years ago can be yours for $10 million to $40 million.
Former Pennsylvania real estate investor and volunteer firefighter turned amateur treasure salvor Jay Miscovich is working with a website builder in an effort to sell the roughly 154 pounds of green emeralds and stones he claims to have found scattered across the Gulf of Mexico seafloor some 30 miles off Key West in January 2010.
"The emeralds are for sale," Miscovich said Monday during a phone interview from Latrobe, Pa. "We have several interested parties who are possibly making offers."
Micovich added several different groups of potential buyers from as far away as Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Japan and Canada have expressed interest in the emeralds with a price tag of as much as $40 million.
A web site headlined "Treasure Reef Collection" shows a necklace with a $500,000 price tag as well as various gem lots ranging in price from $2,495 to $9,999.
"There's going to be pieces worth $1 million on there," Miscovich said, referring to the website, a tentative version of which can be viewed at www.store.orrvweb.com.
"It's (the website) still in development, but there's still a whole lot of changes that need to be made," Miscovich said, adding that the synopsis that tells the story of the discovery needs to be removed.
He went on to say, "There's facts that are wrong on the site that need to be taken down and changed. We don't want people to think these are treasure emeralds."
The website states the emeralds are from the "world famous" Muzo mines in Colombia, which contain what many consider to be the finest such gems in the world.
One page on the website about their discovery dated Jan. 24, 2011 states that Miscovich found the stones "at an undisclosed location in international waters off the coast of the United States."
"The vast array of precious stones is comprised exclusively of raw, uncut emeralds," the website states. "The green, hexagonal shaped crystals range in all sizes from less than a carat to hundreds of carats in size. One unique specimen is almost as wide as a baseball bat and estimated to weigh over 3,000 carats."
The gems have not come without their headaches as Miscovich is currently at legal loggerheads with Kim Fisher, son of storied Key West salvor Kim Fisher, with whom Miscovich was once an investor.
Fisher accused Miscovich of fraud and took him to court. In January, U.S. District Judge James Lawrence King ruled that Jay Miscovich and his company, JTR Enterprises -- as well as his business partner, Steve Elchlepp -- failed to prove that they found the gemstones scattered across seafloor 30 miles off Key West as he testified in court.
Although JTR can keep the gemstones, King's ruling means neither Miscovich nor Elchlepp can legally claim the gemstones are "court-validated" sunken treasure, and that significantly hurts their value, said lawyer Gene Lewis, who was then representing Fisher.
What that means to Miscovich's attempts to sell the emeralds is not clear. Hugh Morgan, Fisher's current attorney, declined to comment Monday for this story.
Duval Street-based Emeralds International owner Manuel Marcial, who is also Fisher's gem expert, testified at trial earlier this year that the lot was worth only $50,000 and not the millions Miscovich claims.
Miscovich testified in court that he bought a treasure map from a man named Mike Cunningham at the Bull & Whistle Bar, 224 Duval St., and later bought Cunningham off for $50,000 when he discovered emeralds at the site.
King wrote that the emeralds appeared "seemingly out of thin air," and that Miscovich failed to prove their origin or that they were ever abandoned.
A tentative trial date has been set for July 29 in Key West as Fisher wants Miscovich to pay his legal fees from the previous trial, called sanctions in legal parlance.
Miscovich vowed on Monday a continued legal fight against Fisher and an appeal of King's January ruling.
"Absolutely," Miscovich said.