Jiménez
de Quesada was a friend of Pizarro. In 1536 he went looking
for “El Dorado”—the golden
man. El Dorado was supposed to be an Indian ruler who was
believed to dust himself
every day with gold after taking a bath. In 1536 Quesada took
600 infantry, 100 horses, and six ships to conquer the Chibcha (people
of El Dorado). By 1538 he conquered them and built the city
of Bogotá, Colombia. He found some gold, and
emeralds, but not El Dorado. Just recently (I believe 1998) a
lake was discovered that may have been source of the legend.
Indians used to make offerings of gold there.