Erich Von Daniken - The Gold Of The Gods

1 - The Gold Of The Gods
that is essential.
He knows perfectly well that he could immediately get the help of
speculators, Wild West type gold-diggers; he would only have to show
them a fraction of the alluring gold treasures in the tunnels below
Ecuador. He does not want that kind of assistance. It would degenerate
into plundering and would not benefit mankind. That is why it is
difficult to organize' a disinterested expedition that would be
exclusively devoted to research. Even in 1969 when Moricz invited
guests to visit the site, he had the group accompanied by armed guards.
Moricz and Pena said that the further the group penetrated into the
labyrinth, the tenser and more febrile grew the atmosphere, until
finally the guests were afraid of the guards, who had caught-gold
fever. They all had to turn back.
Why does Ecuador do nothing to encourage a scientific expedition that
would bring fame to the country?
Ecuador, with its five million inhabitants, is one of the poorest
countries in South America. The plantations of cocoa, bananas,
tobacco, rice and sugar-cane do not bring in enough foreign exchange
for the purchase of modern technical equipment. Indian agriculture on
the plateau produces potatoes and corn, and there is some sheep and
lama breeding. The wild rubber obtained from the eastern forests is no
longer in demand. Perhaps government-aided exploitation of mineral
wealth (gold, silver, copper, lead and manganese) may bring in some
income in the years to come, as may the petroleum found offshore. But
even then all the surplus will be used in the first place to alleviate the
wretched poverty; as yet the government shows no interest in projects
that do not directly help to overcome the problem of hunger.
Juan Moricz estimates that inspection of the tunnel system alone,
without detailed research, would cost more than one million Swiss
francs. An electricity station would have to be set up, security
measures would have to be taken and some form of mining machinery