The term _El Dorado_ is commonly considered to have reference to the
sovereignty teeming with precious metals, which had long been sought for
in vain by Spanish adventurers. Their expeditions in quest of it were
directed to the interior of the vast region lying between the Orinoco
and the Amazon, or Guiana. The rocks were represented as impregnated
with gold, the veins of which lay so near the surface as to make it
shine with a dazzling resplendency. The capital, Manoa, was said to
consist of houses covered with plates of gold, and to be built upon a
vast lake, named Parima, the sands of which were auriferous.
We abridge the following new version of this "romance of history," from
a brilliant paper on the life and works of Raleigh, in the _Edinburgh
Review_.
The term _El Dorado_ was not originally used to designate any particular
place; it signified generally 'the gilded,' or 'golden,' and was
variously applied. According to some, it was first used to denote a
religious ceremony of the natives, in covering the anointed body with
gold-dust. The whole of Guiana was, on account of the above usages,
sometimes designated _El Dorado_; but the locality of the fable varied.
The question, however, to be solved is, whence arose the belief that a
district so marvellously abundant with the precious metals existed in
the interior of Guiana; and the solution appears to have been left to
Humboldt. While exploring the countries upon the Upper Orinoco, he was
informed that the portion of Eastern Guiana, lying between the rivers
Essequibo and Branca is 'the classical soil of the Dorado of Parima.' In
the islets and rocks of mica, slate, and talc, which rise up within and
around a lake adjoining the Parima river, reflecting from their shining
surfaces the rays of an ardent sun, we have materials out of which to
form that gorgeous capital, the temples and houses of which were
overlaid with plates of beaten gold.
With such elements to work upon, heated fancies, aided by the imperfect
vision of distant and dubious objects, might easily create that fabulous
superstructure. We may judge of the brilliancy of these deceptive
appearances, from learning that the natives ascribed the lustre of the
Magellanic clouds, or nebula of the southern hemisphere, to the bright
reflections produced by them. There could not well be a more poetical
exaggeration of the lustrous effects produced by the metallic hues of
rocks of talc. These details, in which M. de Pons, a somewhat later
traveller, who long resided in an official capacity in the neighbouring
countries, fully concurs, in all probability point to the true origin of
this remarkable fable. The well-known failure of Raleigh did not
discourage other adventurers, who were found in quick succession; the
last always flattering themselves with the hope that the discovery of
_El Dorado_ would ultimately be realized.
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