Fed up with Wilson, Plame, Fitzgerald, Earle and all other Rat Scum, I am giving up and moving now to Robinson Crusoe Island , one of my Scottish ancestors has left me a claim to land there.
Posted on 10/21/2005 5:28:45 PM PDT by Candor7
SANTIAGO (AFP) - The claimed discovery of a 10 billion dollar 18th century treasure trove on Chile's Robinson Crusoe island has touched off an epidemic of gold fever among treasure hunters, residents and officials.
The modern-day gold rush began Monday when Chilean security firm Wagner announced that its ground-scanning robot had located a legendary pirate hideaway containing a lost bounty of jewels and gold coins.
Robinson Crusoe lies 600 kilometers (372 miles) west of Chile's central ADVERTISEMENT
coast in the Pacific, and was a refuge for corsairs crossing the ocean as well as the home of Scottish castaway Alexander Selkirk, the Crusoe of Daniel Defoe's famous adventure story.
According to legend, Spanish navigator Juan Esteban Ubilla y Echeverria stashed the fortune, amassed over centuries by pirates on the island in 1715. It was then found by a British sailor, Cornelius Webb, and taken to another area of the island to be reburied.
Legend has it the booty, weighing 800 tonnes, includes two papal rings and a storied jewel known as the "Rose of the Winds".
Members of an expedition organized by Wagner salvage believe they have pinpointed the site, according to attorney Fernando Uribe Echeverria, who is advising the team.
"It is the greatest treasure in history," Echeverria told reporters, adding that searchers would start digging in a matter of days once permits had been granted. He claimed the treasure was worth 10 billion dollars.
The island of 600 people is part of the Juan Fernandez archipelago administered by Chile's National Forestry Corporation as a national park and biosphere reserve.
In 1998, an expedition led by Dutchman Bernard Kaiser with US and Chilean colleagues failed in their bid to track down the same treasure, but Wagner's expedition has earned extra credibility due to the reputation of its sophisticated robot, which has already solved several crime mysteries in Chile.
But even though the treasure seekers have yet to unearth a single gold coin, the lure of hidden fortune has inflamed passions among the island's 600 inhabitants, mainly fishermen.
"People here are talking about nothing but the discovery of the treasure and what they could do with the money," the island's director of tourism, Calos Satto, told AFP.
Mayor Leopoldo Gonzalez has called for calm.
"The exact location (of the treasure) is not yet known, only the zone. It's too early to dream," he said, recalling the failure of previous expeditions.
"For the moment it's better that we don't know, otherwise everyone would be digging holes with picks and shovels."
Wagner has kept the exact location of its "discovery" a closely guarded secret, pending authorisation from the government to commence excavation. The company has said only that "tonnes of jewels and gold" have been found by the robot in the region of the "three points".
Inevitably, everyone is already arguing about who has the rights to the treasure.
According to two articles in Chilean law, the loot is either to be split evenly between the finders and the state, or handed over entirely to the tax office.
Education Minister Sergio Bitar has stated publicly that the government should get the cash. Wagner insists that it can keep half of what it digs up. The company says it will donate its part of the treasure to charity, insisting that its only interest is publicity for its robot design.
Mayor Gonzalez, for his part, has demanded that half the proceeds from the treasure be handed out to the islanders, with each one receiving more than eight million dollars.
Fed up with Wilson, Plame, Fitzgerald, Earle and all other Rat Scum, I am giving up and moving now to Robinson Crusoe Island , one of my Scottish ancestors has left me a claim to land there.
Why on earth did you post this in the Activism topic?
Lots of treasure ping!
Activism: The last thread a couple of weeks ago dealt with the argument between the Chilean Government and the expropriation of treasure found alledgedly by a Wagner, a private hi tech security company based in Chile. Apparently the government and Wagner have worked out a deal at the federal level and now the local politicians want to have a share.
There was so much interest in the first story thread a few weeks ago, I thought folks would enjoy seeing how things are going with the story.
Expropriation was part of the the former topic
They shouldnt have opened their big mouths about their find. Rather, just dig it up and leave the country.
But the topic is reserved for "Activism, protests, news and business of Free Republic Chapters."
You can see a description of the topics if you click on Topics on the upper right hand corner of your screen.
Beautiful paintings by N. C. Wyeth!
Arr, thanks for the ping!
I am pretty sure I am a direct descendant of Alexander Selkirk but just to be generous, I will split it with you 50-50.
Very exciting story, thanks for posting. However... since Latin America is so hopelessly corrupt, I would be surprised if Wagner will ever possess a dime of the treasure.
And the envelope please........Tax Office.
"Why on earth did you post this in the Activism topic?"
Because lots of people are active there I suppose.
Good stuff... the Dallas Museum of Art has Andy Wyeth's That Gentleman. When one views it it appears sun light is really illuminating the composition.
Brilliant.
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Certainly a lot of arguing for an alledged treasure that has not been discovered yet.
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