The conquest and settlement of New Granada (now the Republic of Colombia), the discovery of the Amazon and Orinoco rivers, of the great forests of the Andes, and of the mountainous regions of Venezuela, were all due to the quest for El Dorado.

This king, according to the tradition, dwelt in a city called Manoa, built on a lake called Parima.  This city was supposed to be somewhere in the northern part of South America, and it was confidently asserted that its streets were paved with gold.

As the story has it, the wealth of this country was so great that the people wore gold for clothes, it being their custom to smear their bodies with oil of balsam, and then sprinkle themselves with gold-dust, till they looked like gilded statues.

To the people of the Old World it seemed that a country which could afford to dress its inhabitants in this fashion must be well worth finding, and so the old navigators were always trying to find it.

Of course they never did, but the source of the legend of El Dorado has been traced to the yearly ceremony of an Indian tribe near Bogota, in the Republic of Colombia.

The Spaniards declared that it was part of the religious duty of this tribe to have their chief bathed once a year in a certain lake which was sacred to them.

Great preparations were made for this ceremony.  The body of the chief was first smeared with gold-dust and oil of balsam, and, a handful of gold and precious stones was given to him.  He then advanced to the shores of the lake, and amid the prayers and chants of his tribe, first cast the gold and jewels into the water, and then plunged in himself.

This ceremony was supposed to bring his people good luck for the coming year.

The Spaniards who conquered New Granada, or the Republic of Colombia, declared this story to be strictly true, but as none of them had ever witnessed the ceremony, it is supposed to be merely another form of the El Dorado legend.

* * * * *

In British India there is a fresh uprising which appears to be of a very serious character.

A body of tribesmen attacked a camp in the Chitral District, killing some of the British soldiers, and severely wounding others.

Chitral is on the northeast border of India, where it joins Afghanistan.

The tribes in this portion of the Empire have always given the English a great deal of trouble.  They are very bold, and good fighters.

The country they inhabit is very mountainous, and they have one mode of warfare which makes them a very ugly foe to attack.  They throw down rocks on an invading force, and long practice has made them so expert in this art that they are most formidable.  When once they have taken to their mountain fastnesses, soldiers do not like the task of pursuing and punishing them.

The present outbreak was totally unexpected.  The Swats, as the people of this region are called, appeared to be perfectly contented under British rule.  Industry had been encouraged among them, trade developed, and they seemed a very peaceful and prosperous people.