Ah amigo I agree it seems all believable and that is magic spell they weave upon us. Its all too easy to get carried away with these treasure legends. I will put my hand up guilty as charged. I love all treasure tales amigo. I have traveled all over the glob invigilating them long before all the you tube heroes came along. Yet I learned a thing or two over the last few decades.
Just because some knew some one means crap. Amigo. Every one claims they knew Mel fisher it means nothing. He is just a another hanger on.
There are a hell of a lot of those in the treasure hunting game. I have no vested interest in this. other than telling you that story was scam. My conscious is clear.
Glitter and Dust
I found documents that confirmed that is claimed in the of article. You can still see the actual documents in village Tarata where the following two people grew up.
The only person to have ever profited from the Sacambaya gold was a wily gentleman named Saavedra, who persuaded Bolivian dictator Mariano Melgarejo that he knew the location of the gold.
Saavedra and Melgarejo went to school together growing up they was both from the same village Tarata . Meljarejo was virtually illiterate thug and Saavedra was smart.
Melgarejo was said to have given an immense amount of land to Brazil in exchange for what he described as a "magnificent white horse"
Translate the name of hill where this alleged treasure was buried you get the joke. 'Horses vagina.' Saavedra The source of the Jesuit treasure story, family had lost thousands of acres from irrational decisions of Melgarejo
Melgarejo, who ruled from 1864 until his overthrow in 1871, was a corrupt tyrant nick named the "scourge of God" by his enemies. He was not a man to be trifled with, let alone cheated.
One historian marveled that Saavedra"must have been a great liar." Stimulated by Saavedra's Jesuit treasure tale, Melgarejo provided him with eight thousand pesos and a squad of soldiers to dig up the gold.
A day after arriving in Sacambaya,near Cochabamba, Saavedra disappeared along with the eight thousand pesos. It was the ultimate F You.
But the treasure scam lingered for a new generation to be broken by it. Corina San Roman who grew up also in Tarata found the parchment and had recently became a widow. She tried to sell it to Prodgers around 1909. either for him to pay for information or go shares in it. Prodgers said he would honor a share.
So thus started the modern line of english and American gringos such as Sanders who promoted it in 1930's connected to it.
There are books will all the names of Jesuits in south America we they came from where was trained and ordained. None of priests names connected to this scam existed. longer even before any such expulsion in 1767.
If there was any real treasure there I would be the first one to encourage and support you in the spirit adventure.
Your are free too believe in what you want to also. Don't even take my word for it. Do your own research, its called Due diligence! Don't come crying when ya get fingers burnt.
I have no doubt you will have great adventure digging in the horses Vagina. But you will no treasure amigo, only lessons hard learned.
It is your life your delusion.
Crow