Chronicle of an expedition into the Llanganati Mountains of Ecuador in search of 750 tons of worked gold, which the Incas hid from the Spanish conquistadors after Pizarro executed the Sun King, Atahualpa.

Chronicle of an expedition into the Llanganati Mountains of Ecuador in search of 750 tons of worked gold, which the Incas hid from the Spanish conquistadors after Pizarro executed the Sun King, Atahualpa.

The mysterious loss of a large portion of the treasure of the Incas has never been completely cleared up. By torturing the natives to whom the secret had been entrusted, the Spaniards made two or three discoveries, but there can be little doubt that these finds were only a small proportion of the total amount of the missing hoards, although for years after their occupation of the country the Spaniards spared no pains and hesitated at no cruelty to bring to light the hidden wealth. The story of the boat which put to sea laden with treasure is historical, and it was generally supposed that she was lost in a storm that took place soon after she sailed. It was also morally certain that the Peruvians who left the country when the Spaniards became masters carried off with them a very large amount of treasure into that part of South America lying east of Peru. Legends are current that they founded a great city there, and that their descendants occupy it at the present time. But the forests are so thick, and the Indian tribes so hostile, that the country has never yet been explored, and it may be reserved for some future traveller, possessing the determination of my two heroes, to clear up the mystery of this city as they penetrated that of the lost treasure-ship. It need hardly be said that the state of confusion, misrule, and incessant civil wars which I have described as prevailing in Peru presents a true picture of the country at the period in which this story is laid.

This funny, action-filled series is perfect for adventure-loving fans of Indiana Jones and James Patterson's Treasure Hunters! Twelve-year-old Addison Cooke just wishes something exciting would happen to him. His aunt and uncle, both world-famous researchers, travel to the ends of the earth searching for hidden treasure, dodging dangerous robbers along the way, while Addison is stuck in school all day. Luckily for Addison, adventure has a way of finding the Cookes. After his uncle unearths the first ancient Incan clue needed to find a vast trove of lost treasure, he is kidnapped by members of a shadowy organization intent on stealing the riches. Addison’s uncle is the bandits’ key to deciphering the ancient clues and looting the treasure . . . unless Addison and his friends can outsmart the kidnappers and crack the code first! Full of laugh-out-loud moments, danger, excitement, and nonstop action, Addison Cooke and the Treasure of the Incas is sure to strike gold with kid readers. "What to give the kid who's read all the Harry Potter and Percy Jackson books? Try Addison Cooke and the Treasure of the Incas." —Parents Magazine "An exciting Indiana Jones-style tale of a seventh-grade boy trying to save his kidnapped aunt and uncle—museum curators who are linked to an ancient key that unlocks riches.” —Good Housekeeping "An exciting, adventurous new read…the first book in a new series that promises laugh-out-loud moments and nonstop action." —Boys’ Life

A Dirk Pitt adventure.

Eight billion dollars? worth of Inca gold and silver are rumored to be hidden in an unmapped region of the Andes. This is the captivating story of that fabled treasure and the centuries-old spell it has cast on many, including a young American student, Peter Lourie. While completing anthropological fieldwork in Ecuador, Lourie heard the legend of Atahualpa?s ransom. The Incas gathered seven-hundred tons of gold (Sweat of the Sun) and silver (Tears of the Moon) to purchase the freedom of their king, Atahualpa, from Pizarro and his conquistadors. After the Inca ruler?s murder, the treasure vanished into the forsaken Llanganati range of the Andes. Lourie abandoned his graduate school ambitions to search for Atahualpa?s ransom. His quest for clues and his journey into the heart of the Andes is an absorbing and exciting detective story. Lourie?s account is also unforgettable for its revelations about the lives and characters of seasoned treasure hunters, the obsessed few lured by the siren song of legendary gold.

This is the story of how gold can intoxicate even the most mild mannered of historians, about how characters - both real and fictional - become seized with the desire to claim lost treasure from even the most inhospitable areas of the world.