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History's Hinge - 'Ain Jalut

[Tayopa]

Hi: I am posting a series of posts of mine from another site.  Since I have never relinquished my copyrights, I still own it / them and can legally do so.  I have requested them to delete any posts of mine that were not mine by copyright law. nor are superceded by any implied aggrement. They were specifically "not" to publish / post anything of mine  unless I retained complete copyrights.

Since they have posted my stories,  I can legally assume that I am correct.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Morgans Loot of Panama

It was in the Autumn of 68 I believe, when I first heard of Morgan's loot of Panama.

I was lying in my hammock in the back patio lazily watching the humming  birds feeding on the nectar of the flowers in the garden, and the fruit trees , completely relaxed and at peace with the world.

My nature study was interrupted by the slithering plop of huaraches, Luchi, our cute maid was approaching.  I managed to roll around enough to give her interesting figure a typical male  going over while wondering what was the reason behind the worried look on her face.

Sitting up, I asked her "Que pasa Luchi"?  (what is the matter Luchi"?) She replied , "senor, there is a man, a  very dirty, low type of man, an Indio at the door . He insists upon seeing you. I told him that you were not receiving visitors", He replied " I have come on a long three days journey to speak with  Don Jose, and I will not leave until I have seen him".

Naturally I told Luchi "if our friend has come on such a long journey just to see me,  it would be very impolite to not at least talk to him.   Please send him in and set another plate of fruit & sweet rolls with a cold drink."

She tossed her pretty head and said "as you wish senor, but --", turned and disappeared.  Shortly she returned leading a small Mayan Indian that was wearing  clothes that showed three days travel on a third class bus.  He himself smelled of chuchupatie, an aromatic herb from the north used by the Indians to repel snakes  and body odor and copal..  He stood in front of me nervously twisting his palm hat between his hands, obviously ill at ease.

I said  "buenas tardes senor, how may I serve you"?  Please sit down and have some refreshments. Mi casa es suyo -  my house is yours".

Luchi turned and left, but not before wrinkling her pretty nose in obvious displeasure with our guest.  I am sure that he caught it also.

He hesitantly commenced on the food then quickly became ravenous. He noticed my watching him and nervously replied "Senor  forgive me, but I haven't eaten for 3 days, I only had enough money for the bus fare".

"It is of no importance my friend, enjoy yourself, later, if you wish,  you will have  a bath with warm water and soap,  the maid (not my Luci  hehe) will  wash your clothes".  "Gracias" he said and continued eating with both hands.   I kept a respectful silence letting him eat.

Soon he leaned back and looked intently at me for a while, then said " yes you are senor Curry, I remember you when you were exploring in my country looking for ruins of my ancestors."  My family were the ones that gave you the information that allowed you to find that pyramid, remember?"

It instantly  registered, yes, he had been a young boy then, and his families information had helped me to find it.  This was the key to my being voted into the Exclusive Explorers club. I embraced him as was the custom, we talked about  the time that I had backpacked into his jungles, living off of them for 6 months and meeting his family. 

I then asked him, "to what do I owe the honor of this visit"?  he replied "Don Jose, I come on a very confidential journey, I need your help".   "my friend, naturally I will if I can" I replied.

He  seemed  a bit uneasy, then appeared to have made up his mind and blurted "have you ever heard of a pirate called MORGAN"?

"Of course I have  my friend , what about  him?"�@
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

next section in the morning or there abouts, if interested

[Wopper]

Jose,

Come now, I believe it is morning across the pond.

    

Wopper

[Administration]

You have my attention 

[Shirley]

Wow Don Jose.  The Godfather has returned.   Waiting with baited breath for more more. 

regards Shirley

[Tayopa]

He then seemed a bit reluctant to continue, but obviously wanted to, so, having lived with different Indian groups for a long while, and knowing their reluctance to talk to outsiders, even trusted ones, I suggested, "you appear tired, why don't you go to your room, take a warm bath and rest.  We can talk of this later".

He appeared relieved and quickly agreed.  I called Luchi, she promptly appeared, too quickly to have been in the kitchen - eaves dropping no doubt, this was partially confirmed as she was now looking at my friend in a semi-calculating manner, and her nose was normal. hmmmm.

"Luchi, our guest would like to go to his room , will you also see that his clothes are washed"?   "He can use my spare ones in the meantime".  She quickly gathered her new potential conquest and left, he, of course, eyeing her with interest.  I must admit I felt a bit of jealousy, but then snifff.

After they had left I tried to remember all that I could of Henry Morgan's rape of Panama and of his fellow pirates.  I then checked the library and found that I had a collection of semi-paper back pirate books, including one on Him alone.

IT seems that our Morgan not only was guilty of murdering and torturing thousands of victims for money, but also robbed his own pirates of the fruits of the rape.  He later showed up in Jamaica with quite a bit of money, but this enormous amount of loot from Panama has never been found nor  accounted for. 

I kept thinking of the loot from Panama, which to this day has  never been  accounted for.  After a few hours of deep solitary thinking, I called Luchi to bring me a pot of coffee.  While it helped, it still left me with many many unanswered questions.  Was it barely possible that my Indian friend actually had some information about this loot, or was he just going to tell me another story to be added to the infamous legend of Morgan?

About dusk the friendly little bats started their nightly task of eliminating the mosquitoes in the garden, they were actually unafraid of me, but tonight I was too preoccupied to notice.  Morgan's loot  kept  me absorbed, did it exist, and did my friend have any knowledge of it, if so HOW could a Lancadon Indian know of this?

I was deeply immersed in speculation when I heard a  slight cough, it was my friend. He appeared to be a different person in clean clothes and rested.   Luchi appeared out of nowhere to ask if he needed anything.   He eyed my empty coffee cup and asked in a quiet voice if by any chance any coffee remained.  Luchi brightly said "Of course SENOR, en seguida"  (of course senor, right away) Hmm senor?

He hesitantly sat down at the table, still a bit uneasy, but relaxed now.  "It is a beautiful night Senor " he said.  "Yes " I replied, "Isn't the Lord wonderful to us" ?
"Yes" he replied, "it is so".  This type of small talk went on for an hour, while inwardly I was almost bursting at the seams with impatience to talk of Morgan.  I have learned not to pressure an Indian, when he wishes to talk, he will.

He finally leaned forward and asked me "What do you know of this pirate Morgan"?  Having just read all of the data available on him, I proceeded to speak of his life and evil career.  He listened intently, then sat back absorbed in deep thought.  I left him alone with his thoughts watching my little friendly bats fluttering around.

Finally he stirred and looking intently at me said " I know  where this Morgan's loot is hidden".  sheehs he now had my full attention.   I asked him "how do you know this"?  He replied, "a long long time ago a small boat landed near my family's camp near Honduras on the beach where they were gathering fish and clams. The leader was dressed in finery and asked my family if they knew of  ------.  My ancestors relpied that they did.  He asked them to show the spot to him, which they did.  His men then proceeded to carry  boatloads of heavy objects to the spot and hid them there.

My ancestors were afraid that he would kill them to keep the location a secret, but he claimed that this was Church property and that he was saving it for them.  They  believed him since many Church objects were in the materiel hidden there.  He  knew that we would never betray the church.  Later he made two maps on some kind of animal skin, and gave one to my ancestor to guard.

This map has been in my family for generations now. We never knew what it said until a trusted friend that could read and write examined it.  He became very excited and said that the man that had made the map was Morgan and that it was to a huge treasure from Panama.

We immediately made plans to go there and recover it.  We formed a party of seven men and proceeded to cut and hack our way across the jungles of Quintan Roo to the coast near  Honduras.----------�

next post tomorrow or thereabouts.  Incidentally this is a true story !

Don Jose de La Mancha

[Baja Bush Pilot]

And???

[Bart]

Awaiting the next chapter with baited breath. Personally I use sardines to bait my breath, all the cats just love me.

Bart

[Wopper]

Don Jose,

The leader was dressed in finery and asked my family if they knew of  ------. 

Although you sir are my friend, and I highly respect you. In fact I'm on my knees performing self flagellation, for I am not yet worthy of your respect. But at your stage in life, you should be ashamed at yourself for leaving out the particulars!

 

Humbly yours,

Wopper

[Shirley]

But then Don Jose aren't all your stories true!!!!!!

regards Shirley

[Tayopa]

HOLA SHIRLEY mi luv, they are, they are!    Would you expect anything less from  History Hunters?

Unlike some others in here,  such as ----&---&-- & ---&,   I expect to be called on any of my posts.

As the old cliche' goes   "always tell the truth, then you don't have to remember anything"

Don Jose de La Mancha

[diveguide]

any more info?   

[Tayopa]

HI bk after a period of intermitant computer and out of town on business.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As he spoke he became very agitated,   he described  the problems that they had in traveling through that type of jungle.

As he talked, I suddenly found myself back some 12 years when I was also traveling through that same jungle.   I was backpacking with a friend looking for lost Mayan ruins.

I distinctly remembered the fun of cutting a trail where needed, it wasn't anything like the movies.  I would cut a vertical slash to the left, then one to  the right.  Then, useing a forked stick to keep the vegetation away from me,  I made a horizntal cut as high as I could reach . The vines etc., fell to the ground in front of you.  I then stepped on top of it for the next cut.  I quickly found out that the saying "a man is as sharp as his machete" had  a very real basis.

 I remember the first time that I made the overhead cut, sheesh, I was suddenly covered with dirt, old leaves and hundreds of irritated insects, all landing with their defensive apparatus and stingers in position.  I probably spent an hour gettng the dirt  etc out of my eyes, and getting rid of angry insects that were biting and stinging wth a vengence. 

It seems that  my machete wasn't very sharp and instead of cutting throuh the vines,  it merely shook then violently.  I also remember  a certain hollow vine that contained a co-exisitng  colony of agressive ants.  You simply did not cut that vine or pay the consequences.

This would go on for days, then suddenly one would hit a spot that was almost open dry scrub.   When it came time to make a camp in the late aftenoon, I had to clear out a circle large enough for both of our Mosquito net bed combinations.  We slept on the ground.  My Indian friend and his companions did not have such luxury so simply slept (?) rolled up on the ground trying to hide from the hungry mosquitos.

At times they were so thick that one would inhale some each breath if you didn't have a net. The hot humid jungle air was soo miserable, especially wrapped up, that it was a toss up which you would endure.  With my self designed  net/bed combination, we could crawl inside, then strip down to try to cool off enough to sleep.  Most of the tme I was simply covered with sweat and only half asleep-sheesh, the untalked of joys of exploring.

I also discovered why the people that live there always go around with their pants legs rolled up half way.  I made a fool of myself by suggesting that they were crazy to do this since the insects could easily find dinner, They just politly smiled. 

I quickly found that when I stepped on the vines etc, I soon became covered with ticks  of all sizes and meanness.  I remember the first night at camp, I was sitting by the fire when I noticed that my levis were somehow moving.   A closer look showed that they were swarming with ticks of all sizes.  I almost had a screechng fit since they are my pet phobia.

I pulled them off and proceeded to run a burning stick over them and eventully  removed MOST of them.  I do not have to go into an explanation how I felt the next morning when I had to put them on again. sigh.

We then proceeded to cut the legs of our levis halfway to the knee.  Then on the trail we would every so often take a handful of leaves  and just wipe our legs down.  This eliminated most of the buggies.  "MOST 

I remembered that one of the biggest problems was simply water.  I hate to think of the many insects or unnamed wriggly things that I had to strain out with my teeth to get a drink from a small pool or plant.

Yes, I was reliving with my friend as he talked of his problems and trip.

My reverie was interrupted when I heard him say, "  Pobre Don Hugo was the first to  be bitten by the green tree snakes"   We couldn't bury him so we just left him after deviding up his things". 

I had heard off these green tree snakes, but had never encountered them. "where were they and why did they attack you"?   "They were in the vines" " he replied, "when we would cut the vines they became angry and tried to bite us"

"Before we reached the bay we lost two more men to them". 

"When we finally reached the bay, we then looked for the ----. After a week we finally found it.  It was filled with many things, such as a small statue of the Virgin and a Cross of gold"

"We were now running out of food,  so we decided that two would go to Belize to buy more":

"As a precaution against the British, we covered up the spot, then moved our camp a few kilometers  towards the Mexican border"

"A week passed by without our friends appearing, when a terrific hurrican hit us.  After it had calmed down, we were getting desperate from almost no food,  so tried hunting and fishing in spite of the British patrols.

A few days later our missing friends arrived, they were hungry, tired, and had brought no food".    �@

Don Jose de La Mancha

p.s. the pictures are of my partner, except for the middle one
 
 
 

[Wopper]

Howdy Senor Don Jose,

I have to ask, "just how does lizard tail soup taste?"

Please don't take so long for the next post.

Sincerely,

Wopper

[Tayopa]

Morning W_ OPPER;     Actually  the Iguana is a fine food.  It has a whitish meat and tastes similar to chicken.   However, the birds were our mainstay.

 Contrary to popular opinion, a jungle is not the best place for  obtaining food, one can quickly clean out an area of available food, you need a semipermanent camp where you can plant.

I estimate that we spent 2 - 3 hrs daily just looking for food, water, and a camping site.   I came to appreciate our ancestors  that were hunters and gatherers and why simple planting would revolutionized their life style.

However, all in all, I would not exchange the experience for another.  It resides in a hallowed place in my memory  banks.  It was partially responsible for my being elected into the elite "Explorers Club".

www.explorers.org

Don Jose de La Mancha       alias (Till Eulenspiegle)

[Tayopa]

HIO:

As he spoke he became very agitated,   he described  the problems that they had in traveling through that type of jungle.

As he talked, I suddenly found myself back some 12 years when I was also traveling through that same jungle.   I was backpacking with a friend looking for lost Mayan ruins.

I distinctly remembered the fun of cutting a trail where needed, it wasn't anything like the movies.  I would cut a vertical slash to the left, then one to  the right.  Then, using a forked stick to keep the vegetation away from me,  I made a horizontal cut as high as I could reach . The vines etc., fell to the ground in front of you.  I then stepped on top of it for the next cut.  I quickly found out that the saying "a man is as sharp as his machete" had  a very real basis.

 I remember the first time that I made the overhead cut, shush, I was suddenly covered with dirt, old leaves and hundreds of irritated insects, all landing with their defensive apparatus and stingers in position.  I probably spent an hour getting the dirt  etc out of my eyes, and getting rid of angry insects that were biting and stinging with a vengeance. 

It seems that  my machete wasn't very sharp and instead of cutting through the vines,  it merely shook then violently.  I also remember  a certain hollow vine that contained a co-exisitng  colony of aggressive ants.  You simply did not cut that vine or pay the consequences.

This would go on for days, then suddenly one would hit a spot that was almost open dry scrub.   When it came time to make a camp in the late afternoon, I had to clear out a circle large enough for both of our Mosquito net bed combinations.  We slept on the ground.  My Indian friend and his companions did not have such luxury so simply slept (?) rolled up on the ground trying to hide from the hungry mosquito's.

At times they were so thick that one would inhale some each breath if you didn't have a net. The hot humid jungle air was soo miserable, especially wrapped up, that it was a toss up which you would endure.  With my self designed  net/bed combination, we could crawl inside, then strip down to try to cool off enough to sleep.  Most of the tome I was simply covered with sweat and only half asleep-sheesh, the untalked of joys of exploring.

I also discovered why the people that live there always go around with their pants legs rolled up half way.  I made a fool of myself by suggesting that they were crazy to do this since the insects could easily find dinner, They just politely smiled. 

I quickly found that when I stepped on the vines etc, I soon became covered with ticks  of all sizes and meanness.  I remember the first night at camp, I was sitting by the fire when I noticed that my Levis were somehow moving.   A closer look showed that they were swarming with ticks of all sizes.  I almost had a screechng fit since they are my pet phobia.

I pulled them off and proceeded to run a burning stick over them and eventually  removed MOST of them.  I do not have to go into an explanation how I felt the next morning when I had to put them on again. sigh.

We then proceeded to cut the legs of our Levis halfway to the knee.  Then on the trail we would every so often take a handful of leaves  and just wipe our legs down.  This eliminated most of the buggies.  "MOST 

I remembered that one of the biggest problems was simply water.  I hate to think of the many insects or unnamed wriggly things that I had to strain out with my teeth to get a drink from a small pool or plant.

Yes, I was reliving with my friend as he talked of his problems and trip.

My reverie was interrupted when I heard him say, "  Pobre Don Hugo was the first to  be bitten by the green tree snakes"   We couldn't bury him so we just left him after dividing up his things". 

I had heard off these green tree snakes, but had never encountered them. "where were they and why did they attack you"?   "They were in the vines" " he replied, "when we would cut the vines they became angry and tried to bite us"

"Before we reached the bay we lost two more men to them". 

"When we finally reached the bay, we then looked for the ----. After a week we finally found it.  It was filled with many things, such as a small statue of the Virgin and a Cross of gold"

"We were now running out of food,  so we decided that two would go to Belize to buy more":

"As a precaution against the British, we covered up the spot, then moved our camp a few kilometers  towards the Mexican border"

"A week passed by without our friends appearing, when a terrific hurricane hit us.  After it had calmed down, we were getting desperate from almost no food,  so tried hunting and fishing in spite of the British patrols.

A few days later our missing friends arrived, they were hungry, tired, and had brought no food".    �@

He appeared  a bit agitated from his memories, so, to break the tension,  I asked Luchi to bring us some fresh coffee and sweet rolls - I had seen her shadow on the wall through the open door,  so I knew that she was snooping as usual. hehe..  She quickly came bouncing in her usual fresh breezy way with the refreshments.  I thanked her and suggested that she had work to do elsewhere , she looked at me in obvious disappointment, wrinkled her cute nose, pouted, then left.   

My friend slowly drank his black Mexican coffee while eating a sweet roll, he was obviously lost in his memory of that time. I patiently waited for him to continue, trying to appear not too interested by watching the humming birds.
After nursing his empty cup for a while he commenced to talk again.

"when my Amigos / friends appeared, I was very mad at them, they had brought no supplies.  However they soon explained this.  They had arrived at Belize with no problems.  They had stayed at a small hotel, complete with chinchis / bedbugs, and the next morning, after eating breakfast, commenced to buy the supplies.   All was going well, when someone reported to the Migra ( British immigration)  that they were using Mexican money, which while legal, was suspicious since they were obviously Mexican.. 

The Migra picked them up for not having any legal papers and put them in the big prison in Belize.  A few days later the Hurricane hit Belize.  It destroyed one of the walls of the prison and they managed to escape along with many other prisoners and returned to the camp site.

It was decided to return to Mexico since we could not do anything more.  It was on the return trip that we lost Don Xavier to those green snakes two days later.  Don Miguel went a day later, we never knew why other than he was foaming at the mouth?

The return took a day longer because the hurricane had downed many trees and flooded the area.

After we has returned home we discussed how we would handle the return trip.  However,  as usual, we did nothing for months, then years.   I finally decided that the time had come, but  I could not find my former partner?  He had disappeared".

He leaned back, sighed,  and looked pointedly at the still hot and partially filled coffee pot.  I took the hint and asked him if perhaps he would like another cup of coffee. He brightened and politely agreed..

I then asked him, " and just how may I help with your problem"?

"Well Don Jose, I need some advice and perhaps a bit of help from you, if you are so inclined"    "How may I serve you" I replied.  He said "Do know the country between Belize and Quintanna Roo, Mexico"?  "Of course "I replied. "As you know there is only one entrance into the bay, since it is in Belize water, it is patrolled by the British".  We had come to the conclusion that the treasure could only be moved by boat, but we would lose everything if we were boarded by a British Patrol boat. since all treasure belongs to the Queen".  "Just how would you handle this  Don Jose"?

It was now my turn to nurse my coffee cup while I thought of how.  After a bit I suddenly had an idea which I explained to him.  He listened intently then after a bit of thought,  agreed,

"Don Jose, I can take you almost to the exact spot by a small boat".  From there we can load the larger boat and hide it".  We discussed just how we would try to smuggle it out of British waters for the next two days, then I suggested that he return home, try once more to locate his surviving partner, then contact me.. 

I gave him sufficient money for this, then waited patiently for a few weeks while watching  Luchi bouncing around out of the corner of my eye.  Then suddenly all communication was stopped.  �@

Don Jose de La Mancha   -   Till Eulenspiegel