QuoteAguas Calientes, Bom Liete
Fall 1918

Baltasar Garzón and his lackeys sat around a table, "I am tired of this island, and I want to move to Europe, perhaps Madrid."

Garzón's followers had heard this many times before, most had figured that once he inherited the plantation he would settle down but he hadn't. 

Pedro spoke up, "You are a very well off man Patron, and you would have no trouble visiting there if you wish.  The Sugar and Indigo crops give you a great deal of wealth."

Garzón sighed, "Yes but not enough, not enough to live there full time in the style that I should.  No I need more money, not even if I sold the plantation.  My father should have gotten into rubber but didn't and we missed our chance to make a killing.  Now rubber is grown everywhere.  No if I where to sell the land it would have to be worth much more than it is currently."

Once again Garzón's follower nodded and soon it was time to leave and all but Miguel Cavallo, the newest of Garzón's followers.  "Patron, it occurs to me that the land more valuable if something rare like oil, diamond or the like could be found here."

Garzón's rolled his eyes as many had looked all over these islands since they were discovered hundreds of years ago for gold or the like.  "Miguel if there was anything valuable to be found here like you suggest it would have been found some time ago, many came to these islands long ago to explore for gold but all they found was farming soil.  No one on Bom Liete with any kind of wealth would buy the land, to many of our family stories tell the same thing."

Miguel nodded but wasn't deterred, "True patron but who said it had to be a local you sell out to and who said the find had to be real?"

Garzón was shocked by the suggestion but for the first time in many years found his mind starting to turn at possibilities.  "Miguel this idea would have many risks, but still why don't we talk some more about this suggestion?"

QuoteA few days later...

"This is the man you spoke of Miguel?" Garzón asked his man who nodded in reply and nudged forward the man who he brought with him.

An old man with his skin wrinkled from years of working out in the sun spoke up, "Yes, Señor I am the miner.  I have prospected in many places, The Black Hills, the Orange Republic, Alaska, Australia and even the Amazon.  I went to seek my fortune in my youth found a great deal of work and a little gold, helping my brother's family on their plot is much easier."

Garzón frowned and glanced at Miguel, "I thought you said this man knew his business?  You have been a miner for several decades and all you have to show for it is to help your brother on his plot?"

The old man shrugged, "Señor you have many that work very hard on your land all their lives.  How many of them have gotten rich?  They work all day on your land, live in shacks rented from you, buy from your store and at the end of the day they have less than they started.  The life a prospector is much the same."
 
Garzón nodded slowly, "Explain."

The old man smiled slightly, "There is the expense of getting to the place, steam ships or food to allow you to march weeks or months into the back country.  Even pan prospecting requires supplies and that is just to find a location to do real mining requires tools and explosives to dig deep into the living rock that is the source of the gold in the streams.  As miners flock to an area the prices for food go up, up a great deal.  Also if you arrive too late all the places to prospect have already been claimed and you have to work for others or buy them out but you run the risk of being cheated.   Most times when you find more gold than is needed to pay for supplies and food people will drink, gamble or whore it away.  With few exceptions Señor Garzón only the owners of supply stores, gambling houses and later the big mining companies will get rich."



"That does make sense." Garzón said and then asked, "But many still come all the same to seek for gold."

The old man nodded and then Garzón said, "Tell me of what you mean by being cheated when you say you buy land that another has claimed."

The old man eyes took on a hard edge and he didn't like the old man beaten down by years of work as he answered, "The most common trick is to salt a claim or a mine with some gold to make the strike look more profitable than it actually is.  This is easiest done with a river claim as the gold is loose in the ground having been washed down stream from the load some time ago.  So you can dig up the sand and add tinny bits of gold, especially in streams the gold is normally tiny flakes of gold no larger than the sand it's mixed in with the odd gold nugget but most times even the nuggets are small.  When dealing with inexperienced prospectors this type of scam is of course even easier."

Garzón smiled at his lackey, "Miguel you are right he has the exact type of experience we need."

The old man frowned, "Señor Garzón I have looked around Bom Liete more than a few times and there is no gold, silver or any mineral to be found here.  Just black earth and sands from the volcano's."

Garzón smiled again, "Yes we know that but outsiders would not."

After a moment the old man smiled also, looking very much younger than when he first came into the room.

QuoteRio de Janeiro
Two Months Later...

"Miguel are we to have any meetings with possible buyers today?" Garzón asked.

"Yes Patron, but both will have geologists."  Miguel replied.

Garzón sighed once again, "This isn't going to work.  I think we will have to try something different... we need to generate a little excitement to drum up interest."

Two weeks later the Headline of the Correio (Mail) in Rio de Janeiro

Gold Discovered in Iberian Chuvosa!

Garzón smiled at the news article and turned towards his lackey, "Has the old man gathered what we need?"

"Si Patron, he of course has the 'samples' we have been showing the prospective buyers be he has visited the local gold mines operations and bought nuggets and gold dust to salt the stream." Miguel answered.

Garzón nodded, "Send the message back home to let the others know to move forward as we planned.  They should have been spreading the dust we sent them a month ago around by know.  Its time for us to get back to Bom Liete before anyone else arrives."