Lois Miner Huey - The Search for El Dorado

A legend is a powerful story. It is a tale about important people and their adventures. Each one has a little bit of truth, but also a little bit of make-believe. Some are known by only a small group. Some are known by many people. The legend of El Dorado spread around the world, and it changed many lives. But it all started with a story like this.

Long ago, a young man stood in the morning sun next to a large lake. He had strong muscles in his chest, arms, and legs. This was a body fit for a chief.

So why were men smearing mud all over it?

The old chief of the Muisca tribe had died. The men sprinkled gold dust on the young mans body from the bottom of his feet to the top of his head. The gold stuck to the mud and glowed in the sun. Now he was the Golden Man.

Would the great god of the lake accept this young man as the next leader?

The Golden Man sat on a raft made of reeds as he was rowed across the smooth surface of the water. People standing onshore and on the hills cheered. The sound echoed all around. The god of the lake surely would hear it.

The Golden Man threw jewels into the middle of the lake. These sank. They were gifts to the god.

The Golden Man took a deep breath. Then he dove into the cold water. He went down, down, down to where the god lived. The gold dust on his body spread across the water in a shiny cloud. It slowly sank, too. Would the god be pleased?

The man came back up. He swam to shore. He pulled himself out of the water. The mud and gold were gone. The god had accepted him!

The crowds cheered even louder. The young man smiled at them all.

The Golden Man was now chief.

This was the story of El Dorado, the Golden Man. The tale was told again and again, and it became a legend. Some of it may have happenedbut maybe not all of it!

Legends can come from anywhere, and the legend of El Dorado began in South America. South America is a large continent with many different climates. It can be a beautiful and dangerous place. On the west coast, the tall Andes Mountains are very difficult to climb. Below the mountains, the jungles are hot and steamy. The plants here are thick and tough, and it is almost impossible to find a path. The Amazon River flows through this rain forest. It starts in the Andes Mountains and goes all the way to the Atlantic Ocean. It is one of the longest rivers in the world. It is so wide that in some places you cant see across it. This can make it hard to travel along the river.