There is one other thing that I can't go into a ton of detail about due to it being an ongoing project.
It is the story of Gordon Smith formerly of Hurricane, Utah. Smith was a very well known adventurer in Southern Utah and Northern Arizona. He packed many people into the North Rim Grand Canyon Area to show little known and some never before seen Native Pictograph Panels. When he wasn't working, he spent untold hours roaming the countryside North of the Grand Canyon looking for new panels. He also hunted native pots and arrowheads in his spare time.
One of the panels he found is absolutely amazing. Better known as either Gordon's panel or Shaman's Panel. Twenty foot tall paintings all along a cliff overhang. He did the right thing and reported the panel to the proper authorities. "Professionals" went to the site and claimed credit for the find. When he first reported the find to the National Park Service, the Superintendent called him a liar and accused him of sending in pictures from Australia. They absolutely screwed him on the whole deal. This soured him completely on dealing with the government (it plays a big part on the story to come). Here are some pics of the panel that were on a website of his before it disappeared:
To give proper credit, these pictures were taken by Gordon Smith.
At this point I will say that there are some finds and facts that I am leaving out. Some of this information is sensitive and like I said, it is an ongoing project.
Jump to the late 1980s. Somewhere in the Mt. Logan-Mt. Trumbull Area he is riding his horse looking for pots and arrowheads. It was the middle of the day and temps were in the 80s-90s. He got off his horse to smoke a cigarette. He lit up after sitting on a big rock. While sitting there smoking his cigarette he felt a cold breeze. This was unusual due to the high temps. He followed the breeze to its' source and found a mostly filled passage. The breeze was so cold at the entrance he knew it had to be an ice cave. after removing some of the fill, he got into the cave. This room was about ten foot square and had nothing in it. Using his lighter, he saw that at the back of the cave the wall didn't go to the floor and there was about a ten inch gap in one place. The cold air was coming from this gap.
He crawled through the gap and found himself in a much larger chamber. Lined up were twenty-six mummies wrapped in something like canvas/burlap. Most of their faces were covered in wooden masks, while some were of turquoise and some of jade. Each one had a gold chain around it's neck with a hammered gold medallion depicting different animals. There were several animal skins lined up along one wall that were sewn closed. He opened one and found precious and semi precious stones. There were also some dark stones on the floor of the cave that he couldn't make out with his lighter that he picked up and put in his pockets. When he got outside, he found that those dark stones were uncut emeralds.
There is now a section of the story that I have to leave empty. I say this because if I didn't, the part after would make no sense. LOL Sorry
In doing something, he was apprehended by government employees. I won't say what type. He went to jail for a few months. While in jail, he was repeatedly questioned by ......................... people from the LDS (Mormons). Long story short, he was released and told never to be caught in that area again (persona non grata). Even after being released he was harassed by government types until he could stand it no more. He left the United States and moved to Costa Rica. He spent many years there, only occasionally visiting the States. I don't know for certain if he has moved back to the US or not, but that is where this story ends.
One thing I know for certain is that Gordon regrets ever getting off his horse that day and wants nothing to do with the area and wants to put this whole episode far into his past. I know a couple of people that have contacted him through his family and he is not very pleasant when this story comes up. One day when all the details can be made public I hope everyone will understand just how badly this guy was screwed for finding something of great importance.
When I first heard the story, I didn't put too much stock in it. Part of the story I left out included some facts that would be easy enough to check out. I was taken to the area and everything that was possible to check was verified and 100% accurate. This is (to me) one of those yarns that that I have a lot of faith in. I can't say for certain what it applies to; the Mayan disappearance or Montezuma's Gold, but there is absolutely a South of Border connection.
Best Mike
