A day to remember... But it isn't over yet..

 November 6 2024

A Day to Remember

My dear friends and family.... This morning my heart is full of Joy... We the People have been given a second chance, apparently we have been humbled sufficiently. But make no mistake, don't drop the ball! it is time for us to band together because the left will most certainly retaliate, implementing all kinds of attacks, atrocities, catastrophes and crimes against humanity as a result of this victory, lets hope I am wrong... It is pride, slothfulness, complacency and ignorance that has put us through hell these last years, truth is... we did it to ourselves....

Always remember who your master is, bring Jesus the Christ back into your lives! teach TRUTH! teach your children of our Lord, his gospel and acknowledge him daily, even every hour and give thanks!

 Now it is time we band together as one to fight against the opposition that will most certainly follow. Understand Pride, and the dangers of it... learn to become self sufficient with Christ at the helm... Remember, this country is now full of those who want your destruction, those who believe it is their duty and calling to destroy your freedoms, and to destroy Christianity... I pray for this Nation, and the people within, even all, even those who have succumbed to the evils that has been brought upon us... there is so much to fix...

Unite People, as they did in 1776, as one under God, and may God Bless each and every one of you.

_______________________________

A Discourse on Pride

Original Post August of 2014

Behold, the pride of this nation, or the inhabitants thereof, hath proven their destruction.” Except they should repent... “Beware of pride, lest ye become as them of old.” (Paraphrased from a dusty and often misunderstood book)

After the destruction of the inhabitants...

We wonder what has happened politically in this country and how we came to this seeming demise... 

They taught us well in High school and College didn't they? PRIDE PRIDE PRIDE!

How many of you have uttered the words,

I am proud of myself,

I am proud of my children,

I am proud of of you,

I am proud to be an American...

I'm happy for you because I know what you meant... However, a very wise man once told me, “Know who you are and act accordingly” Do you know who you are? You would like to think so...

NO ONE wants to be wrong or admit they are wrong even after all this time... pride is the only thing that will prevent them from admitting it... are you one of them?

Their lips drawn near to me, but their hearts are far from me... Actions speak louder than words... but your words speak volumes... Your words are SELF incriminating... Condemnation is not of the Lord, It lies within your heart and spills from your mouth... You are your own judge... Sin, even in ignorance is still sin...

For you God fearing people, the Bible alone contains dozens of warnings against the use of pride yet it spills from our lips near daily...

What is Pride?

Webster says: 1 : the quality or state of being proud: such as. a : inordinate self-esteem : conceit. b : a reasonable or justifiable self-respect. c : delight or elation arising from some act, possession, or relationship parental pride.

Funk and Wagnalls says: To be proud ( of); have pride; exult or to glorify [oneself].

WIKI Says: Pride is positive emotional response or attitude to something with an intimate connection to oneself, due to its perceived [self] value.

Oxford says: A feeling of deep pleasure or satisfaction derived from one's own achievements, the achievements of those with whom one is closely associated, or from qualities or possessions that are widely admired.

But I don't think any of those guys are God fearing.... When I read their definition, I see them giving GOD the boot... when something is made void, it tends to fill that empty space with its opposition...

Even in my chosen place of religious practice I hear often the sheepish response as an excuse when pride is brought to the table... Wull... there is good pride and bad pride!.... BULLS#$T! I say to them... Imagine their faces.... So are we now to understand there is good sin and bad sin?

I don't give a dam what Webster and the boys think... say or do... they have their agency and so do I...

PRIDE is the act of being proud, regardless of what for... it is a materialistic related weakness of the flesh! it is an act of taking the glory unto ones self discounting and setting aside any acknowledgment of Gods hand in all that you have become. Your words should be giving glory to he whom it belongs to not taking the glory for yourself, in simple terms man couldn't wipe his own butt if it wasn't for God. It was Satan's plan to take the glory away from the Father... why is it we help him to accomplish this?

Is it said, THIS Is my beloved son, in who I am very proud? Our Father above reserves the glory even to his father... This is my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased.

Why not change the way you think with the way you speak...

I am pleased with my accomplishment...

I am pleased with my children, or I am grateful for them...

I am happy for you...

I am grateful to be an American... or pleased to be a part of America...

Choose this day whom ye will serve... and speak accordingly... In fact choose this day whom you want to be then speak accordingly.

Are you still wondering what has happened in this Nation or what is happening? If not, repent... It is the pride of this Nation that will be its demise...

Regardless of your Faith or Religious affiliation even the lack of...

I highly recommend a careful listening and study of the following video...

Beware of Pride by Ezra Taft Benson, Read by Gordon B. Hinkley

Or you can just read it...

Beware of Pride

Ezra Taft Benson

The Book of Mormon

This sacred volume was written for us—for our day. Its scriptures are to be likened unto ourselves.

The Doctrine and Covenants tells us that the Book of Mormon is the “record of a fallen people.”

Why did they fall? This is one of the major messages of the Book of Mormon. Mormon gives the answer in the closing chapters of the book in these words: “Behold, the pride of this nation, or the people of the Nephites, hath proven their destruction.” And then, lest we miss that momentous Book of Mormon message from that fallen people, the Lord warns us in the Doctrine and Covenants, “Beware of pride, lest ye become as the Nephites of old.”

I earnestly seek an interest in your faith and prayers as I strive to bring forth light on this Book of Mormon message—the sin of pride. This message has been weighing heavily on my soul for some time. I know the Lord wants this message delivered now.

In the premortal council, it was pride that felled Lucifer, “a son of the morning.” At the end of this world, when God cleanses the earth by fire, the proud will be burned as stubble and the meek shall inherit the earth.

Three times in the Doctrine and Covenants the Lord uses the phrase “beware of pride,” including a warning to the second elder of the Church, Oliver Cowdery, and to Emma Smith, the wife of the Prophet.

Pride is a very misunderstood sin, and many are sinning in ignorance. In the scriptures there is no such thing as righteous pride—it is always considered a sin. Therefore, no matter how the world uses the term, we must understand how God uses the term so we can understand the language of holy writ and profit thereby.

Most of us think of pride as self-centeredness, conceit, boastfulness, arrogance, or haughtiness. All of these are elements of the sin, but the heart, or core, is still missing.

The central feature of pride is enmity—enmity toward God and enmity toward our fellowmen. Enmity means “hatred toward, hostility to, or a state of opposition.” It is the power by which Satan wishes to reign over us.

Pride is essentially competitive in nature. We pit our will against God’s. When we direct our pride toward God, it is in the spirit of “my will and not thine be done.” As Paul said, they “seek their own, not the things which are Jesus Christ’s.”

Our will in competition to God’s will allows desires, appetites, and passions to go unbridled.

The proud cannot accept the authority of God giving direction to their lives. They pit their perceptions of truth against God’s great knowledge, their abilities versus God’s priesthood power, their accomplishments against His mighty works.

Our enmity toward God takes on many labels, such as rebellion, hard-heartedness, stiff-neckedness, unrepentant, puffed up, easily offended, and sign seekers. The proud wish God would agree with them. They aren’t interested in changing their opinions to agree with God’s.

Another major portion of this very prevalent sin of pride is enmity toward our fellowmen. We are tempted daily to elevate ourselves above others and diminish them.

The proud make every man their adversary by pitting their intellects, opinions, works, wealth, talents, or any other worldly measuring device against others. In the words of C. S. Lewis: “Pride gets no pleasure out of having something, only out of having more of it than the next man. … It is the comparison that makes you proud: the pleasure of being above the rest. Once the element of competition has gone, pride has gone.”

In the pre-earthly council, Lucifer placed his proposal in competition with the Father’s plan as advocated by Jesus Christ. He wished to be honored above all others. In short, his prideful desire was to dethrone God.

The scriptures abound with evidences of the severe consequences of the sin of pride to individuals, groups, cities, and nations. “Pride goeth before destruction.” (Prov. 16:18.) It destroyed the Nephite nation and the city of Sodom.

It was through pride that Christ was crucified. The Pharisees were wroth because Jesus claimed to be the Son of God, which was a threat to their position, and so they plotted His death.

Saul became an enemy to David through pride. He was jealous because the crowds of Israelite women were singing that “Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands.”

The proud stand more in fear of men’s judgment than of God’s judgment. “What will men think of me?” weighs heavier than “What will God think of me?”

King Noah was about to free the prophet Abinadi, but an appeal to his pride by his wicked priests sent Abinadi to the flames. Herod sorrowed at the request of his wife to behead John the Baptist. But his prideful desire to look good to “them which sat with him at meat” caused him to kill John.

Fear of men’s judgment manifests itself in competition for men’s approval. The proud love “the praise of men more than the praise of God.” Our motives for the things we do are where the sin is manifest. Jesus said He did “always those things” that pleased God.

Would we not do well to have the pleasing of God as our motive rather than to try to elevate ourselves above our brother and outdo another?

Some prideful people are not so concerned as to whether their wages meet their needs as they are that their wages are more than someone else’s. Their reward is being a cut above the rest. This is the enmity of pride.

When pride has a hold on our hearts, we lose our independence of the world and deliver our freedoms to the bondage of men’s judgment. The world shouts louder than the whisperings of the Holy Ghost. The reasoning of men overrides the revelations of God, and the proud let go of the iron rod.

Pride is a sin that can readily be seen in others but is rarely admitted in ourselves. Most of us consider pride to be a sin of those on the top, such as the rich and the learned, looking down at the rest of us. There is, however, a far more common ailment among us—and that is pride from the bottom looking up. It is manifest in so many ways, such as faultfinding, gossiping, backbiting, murmuring, living beyond our means, envying, coveting, withholding gratitude and praise that might lift another, and being unforgiving and jealous.

Disobedience is essentially a prideful power struggle against someone in authority over us. It can be a parent, a priesthood leader, a teacher, or ultimately God. A proud person hates the fact that someone is above him. He thinks this lowers his position.

Selfishness is one of the more common faces of pride. “How everything affects me” is the center of all that matters—self-conceit, self-pity, worldly self-fulfillment, self-gratification, and self-seeking.

Pride results in secret combinations which are built up to get power, gain, and glory of the world. This fruit of the sin of pride, namely secret combinations, brought down both the Jaredite and the Nephite civilizations and has been and will yet be the cause of the fall of many nations.

Another face of pride is contention. Arguments, fights, unrighteous dominion, generation gaps, divorces, spouse abuse, riots, and disturbances all fall into this category of pride.

Contention in our families drives the Spirit of the Lord away. It also drives many of our family members away. Contention ranges from a hostile spoken word to worldwide conflicts. The scriptures tell us that “only by pride cometh contention.”

The scriptures testify that the proud are easily offended and hold grudges. They withhold forgiveness to keep another in their debt and to justify their injured feelings.

The proud do not receive counsel or correction easily. Defensiveness is used by them to justify and rationalize their frailties and failures.

The proud depend upon the world to tell them whether they have value or not. Their self-esteem is determined by where they are judged to be on the ladders of worldly success. They feel worthwhile as individuals if the numbers beneath them in achievement, talent, beauty, or intellect are large enough. Pride is ugly. It says, “If you succeed, I am a failure.”

If we love God, do His will, and fear His judgment more than men’s, we will have self-esteem.

Pride is a damning sin in the true sense of that word. It limits or stops progression. The proud are not easily taught. They won’t change their minds to accept truths, because to do so implies they have been wrong.

Pride adversely affects all our relationships—our relationship with God and His servants, between husband and wife, parent and child, employer and employee, teacher and student, and all mankind. Our degree of pride determines how we treat our God and our brothers and sisters. Christ wants to lift us to where He is. Do we desire to do the same for others?

Pride fades our feelings of sonship to God and brotherhood to man. It separates and divides us by “ranks,” according to our “riches” and our “chances for learning.” Unity is impossible for a proud people, and unless we are one we are not the Lord’s.

Think of what pride has cost us in the past and what it is now costing us in our own lives, our families, and the Church.

Think of the repentance that could take place with lives changed, marriages preserved, and homes strengthened, if pride did not keep us from confessing our sins and forsaking them.

Think of the many who are less active members of the Church because they were offended and their pride will not allow them to forgive or fully sup at the Lord’s table.

Think of the tens of thousands of additional young men and couples who could be on missions except for the pride that keeps them from yielding their hearts unto God.

Think how temple work would increase if the time spent in this godly service were more important than the many prideful pursuits that compete for our time.

Pride affects all of us at various times and in various degrees. Now you can see why the building in Lehi’s dream that represents the pride of the world was large and spacious and great was the multitude that did enter into it.

Pride is the universal sin, the great vice. Yes, pride is the universal sin, the great vice.

The antidote for pride is humility—meekness, submissiveness. It is the broken heart and contrite spirit. As Rudyard Kipling put it so well:

The tumult and the shouting dies;

The captains and the kings depart.

Still stands thine ancient sacrifice,

An humble and a contrite heart.

Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet,

Lest we forget, lest we forget.

God will have a humble people. Either we can choose to be humble or we can be compelled to be humble. Alma said, “Blessed are they who humble themselves without being compelled to be humble.”

Let us choose to be humble.

We can choose to humble ourselves by conquering enmity toward our brothers and sisters, esteeming them as ourselves, and lifting them as high or higher than we are.

We can choose to humble ourselves by receiving counsel and chastisement. We can choose to humble ourselves by forgiving those who have offended us.

We can choose to humble ourselves by rendering selfless service.

We can choose to humble ourselves by going on missions and preaching the word that can humble others.

We can choose to humble ourselves by getting to the temple more frequently. We can choose to humble ourselves by confessing and forsaking our sins and being born of God.

We can choose to humble ourselves by loving God, submitting our will to His, and putting Him first in our lives.

Let us choose to be humble. We can do it. I know we can.

My dear brethren and sisters, we must prepare to redeem Zion. It was essentially the sin of pride that kept us from establishing Zion in the days of the Prophet Joseph Smith. It was the same sin of pride that brought consecration to an end among the Nephites.

Pride is the great stumbling block to Zion. I repeat: Pride is the great stumbling block to Zion. We must cleanse the inner vessel by conquering pride. We must yield “to the enticings of the Holy Spirit,” put off the prideful “natural man,” become “a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord,” and become “as a child, submissive, meek, humble.”

That we may do so and go on to fulfill our divine destiny is my fervent prayer in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

The Peralta Stones Fact or Fiction

 Originally Posted August 2022

The Likely Reality

Sometimes the treasure story doesn’t end with the desired results aside from the thrill of the hunt, unless of course you just keep buying the books sucking in new theories to keep the dream alive, but knowing the truth based on the facts might just eliminate one more story.

Although I am not in the habit of chasing after published stories I must admit when I first heard of the Peralta Stones, I was intrigued, curiosity wouldn’t leave me alone. After reading the hoards of stories that had been written about them, the many theories which I don’t understand how pray tell some people come up with these things, I decided to take a look at the stones myself and give the stones some serious consideration. 

 

The Peralta Stones

Now keep in mind, I have no doubt as to the authenticity of the stones which so many are anxious to discredit rather than try to prove them. It is so much easier to dismiss that which the lazy mind can’t figure out as a hoax isn’t it… 

I believe the stones are real for many reasons which I am not going to haggle about, and the primary reason is, Common Sense, something that the lust for gold just seems to replace. Another is the Peralta story which many seem to misunderstand concerning the lawsuits and court battles regarding one of the Peralta Land Grants which of course ended with cries of hoax and deceit in an effort to cast doubt. My position? The Peralta Claims were legitimate. However the primary reasons why I believe the stones were legitimate is supporting evidence that existed long before the stones were known, a story that has yet to be told and will not be told today in its entirety, however I will give some. 

I may also make note at this point that I have not the slightest idea where in anyone can tie the Lost Dutchman story to the Peralta stones or why it ever was? Do we suppose that because the stones were found at the foot of the mountains that the Dutchman supposedly came out of that this somehow makes the two synonymous? If some wish to go chase the Lost Dutchman mine based on the few details that were actually given, I am sure I won’t be the first to step aside and let them have at it. With this said also keep in mind that my take on this is also just a theory, and by the way, I can’t understand why or how treasure has ever been associated with the stones, I see no indication of treasure… Implications maybe. As I recall, and I don’ know how one comes up with this, but one story even places the location of the Peralta Stones Map in Johnson’s canyon east of Kanab? Is the Stone map Treasure specific? Not likely, but directions to a substantial Silver mine? Yes.

The point in mentioning this, although I don’t see it, is we should not suppose the stone map as relating to the area they were found, for all we know; the two obvious drainages on the stone map could be two drainages in Mexico, but it isn’t. 

However…Let’s look at the Peralta stones and keep it as simple as it really needs to be.  The Stone were reportedly found between Gold Canyon and Gold Camp along the Highway to Florence Junction to Apache Junction, I have no problem with this whatsoever or the claims made by the finder. I have heard and read many reasons as to why the stones were found where they were, personally, I couldn’t care less, the point is, they were found, anything is possible as to how they ended up there… 

The first thing I am going to prove or disprove TO MYSELF is the obvious drainages on the map with the assumption that the stones were actually found in the area it applies to. Although I have had a hard time wondering how anyone assumes the upper river shown on the Horse Stone and the Heart map is the Salt River, I guess I can slightly see the possibility?..  no wait… I’m sorry, I can’t. 

The top drainage shown on the maps is in my mind, clearly Queens Creek NOT the Salt River, if one would take the time to highlight the 3 rivers in question on Google Earth or even a 30 minute USGS map it becomes very apparent as to which two rivers were intended. The visual evidence weighs heavily in favor of the hypothesis. If the following is true, the whole story has been misapplied and the focus is in the wrong mountains!

 

 

The 3 possible drainage’s of the Peralta Stones 

Now like I said, I have no idea how the stones got to where they were found, but regardless of how they got there it would seem plausible to me that they were no longer needed and discarded. The Peralta Stone Map was not a map to a Treasure, it was documentation of one of the Peralta family Mines Likely a Kings Mine dedicated to Queen Isabella II. The next image should sum it up and I will leave it to the reader to weigh the common sense, and I could be easily mistaken.

 

Overlay of Peralta stone map

 

Lets dive into this just a bit further…

I will not say what my conclusions regarding the Reavis Peralta Land Grant trials is, but I will say I smell a rat, although Reavis may have been a rat, there was a whole lot of deceiving, slandering, forging and a lot of fabrication of evidence going on by the opposing party whom we might refer to but wrongfully, as our wonderful trustworthy Government. 

Just a few years after Reavis’s claims, and unknown to most and never was there a connection made regarding the Peralta's, a man shows up on the scene in Arizona with what might appear as just dumb luck.

James DeNoon Reymert a Nordic born man who later moved to Scotland where his mother was born as Jeanette Sinclair, interesting name… After a life of Law, Politics and other ventures none of which was mining, Reymert ended up in New York but supposedly due to health issues, I suspect otherwise, it is said he moved to a ranch located in the Biobio River area near Mulchen Chili for 3 years, I wonder whose ranch it was?...   Now most would just read on past this, but not us! Oh no no no… The Peralta family name has been in Mulchen Chili in the Biobio Providence since 1650 and is STILL today a prominent name in Mulchen. 

Example of 5 of two dozen names found in Biobio

My question is, did Mr. DeNoon know where and why he was going before he went?... I’m sure it is all coincident as much as the following. Now after his 3 year sabbatical in Chili, DeNoon returns to America, but surprisingly not to New York or Wisconsin where he frequented previously. No no, he lands in San Francisco and heads straight to Arizona, perhaps due to health issues… right.... and according to WIKI, with no mention of a miraculous discovery, he simply organizes the Reymert Mining Company… Why?... what a strange thing for someone to do with no mining experience or interests… What? He just got lucky by traveling out to the hills one day and said to himself, hmm, by God, I think I will organize a mining company… But it gets better, Mr. DeNoon just happens to organize this mining company at a location that turns out to be one of the larger silver strikes in Arizona, and it just happens to be at the Exact spot indicated on the Peralta stone map if you interpret the map correctly according to using the correct intended drainages…

My guess would be… The Peralta stones if found at the claimed location of “near Apache Junction” were not where some poor Spanish soul lost the stone maps, but where DeNoon cast them away no longer needing them after receiving them from the Peralta family personally and after coming to a business arrangement with them and re-locating the mines.. I would love to see DeNoon’s financial records of the day.

A partial point to this article is to show you that there is always another perspective, whether right or wrong remains to be seen but that is for you to decide, whether you have done your homework or not. Reason every little detail, question all things, and remember these words, It is what it is. Knowing when to accept defeat however, is knowing never to accept it. 

Enormous Cave of the Aztecs Fact or Fiction

Originally Posted December of 2022

Rumors and the writings of those who sell books have conjured stories for treasure books for a long time, one such version of a story which is to follow, seems to have an agenda of convincing the reader of a fallacy story of Moctezuma instructing his people to haul hordes of silver and gold back to their ancient homeland… and it just didn’t happen. However the truth of what happened to me is even more exciting and compelling than the embellishments… Was there a caravan in the time of Moctezuma II which brought hoards of silver and gold back to the home of their ancestors? No... Was there in the time of Moctezuma I in which a great wealth was brought to their ancient homeland intended as a gift to those whom they left behind? Yes. However in all probability it never made it to its intended destination. As it would seem according to the Aztec record many priests were entrusted with the shipment, when they returned with their made up story claiming to have delivered it, 9 of the priests did not return, when Moctezuma asked what happened to them they claimed that the God required their soul in exchange for turning them into animals in order to transport them more quickly to their ancient home. Moctezuma did not question it. What happened to them 9 priest and why wasn’t any of them talking? I think you can figure it out. 

Another incident took place at the time the Spaniards invaded Mexico, when the Aztec saw the Spanish priests burning their history and records of their linage, something that was most important to them, they gathered their remaining records and sent them north to their ancient depositories. There was one other item that may have been returned to their ancient home, it may have occurred in its own separate time, or possibly accompanied the previous mentioned incidents, this item was more important to them than any other substance they had, and is of ancient origin, the War Box, or their God, Huitzilopochitli. What was so important about this God of theirs that four men  with two poles carried it before themselves when ever they went to war and each time found themselves victorious.

 

The War Box

The following sent to me by a friend is a copy of the actual text article about the adventures of Jake Johnsons which was publish in 1903, years before the embellished (Abridged) version written for a treasure magazine was published.

 

Jake Johnson with a well-earned reputation as an experienced prospector, but not so much of a miner as he preferred to roam the hills rather than work underground, in a way he was a pocket hunter and with his two burros with pick shovel gold pan and a few primitive mining tools a sack of flour and a couple of slabs of side bacon would start for the hills and would be gone for months to return eventually with a buckskin sack well filled with placer gold or with a few fine gold nuggets wherewith to purchase a new grubstake for a new start which generally occurred as soon as he had been on a spree for a few days which left him penniless before he took to the mountains again.

On one of these trips, while in the Grand Canyon of the Colorado, near the Utah-Arizona line, he had the misfortune to fall from a precipitous cliff into a box canyon, which in this region are numerous. The fall resulted in a broken leg, and for a day after the accident he was unable to stir. The next morning, with slow movement and painful exertion, he was able to crawl a hundred yards to the bank of a little stream which wound its way to its confluence with the main river. Here he was able to quench his feverish thirst, but, being without provision of any kind, he was almost on the verge of starvation when he was found by an old Indian, who, with his squaw, was wandering around in this mighty wilderness, subsisting on rabbits and other game, and upon fish from the river. His wickiup was near at hand, and with great difficulty Jake was helped by the Indian to his humble abode. Here he was carefully nursed by the Indian and his squaw, and, within a month was able to hobble around on improvised crutches, and was soon able to resume his prospecting; his burros, in the meanwhile having been found by the kindly Indian and brought, with considerable difficulty, to the little stretch of grass-grown land bordering on the stream, and the sky-towering cliff near which Rabbit Tail, for this was the Indians name, had his temporary lodge.

Rabbit Tail in his younger years

During his convalescence Jake won his way to the heart of Rabbit Tail and his squaw, and many were the weird tales told by the old redman of exciting adventure, of privations endured, of hunts, battles, victories and defeats, and once, when in a more communicative mood, he told of finding nuggets of gold, and hinted of the existence of an old mine, on the dump of which great trees grew, and in the ancient and abandoned workings of which there were still left standing great bodies of ore in which native gold sparkled in the glare of a pitch-pine torch. 

Jake, upon hearing this, was all excitement, and begged the Indian for more information concerning this old treasure vault, but without avail, as the wily savage became as mum as an oyster upon seeing the interest the white man had taken in his narrative.

It happened shortly after this, that Jake was able to rescue Rabbit Tails squaw from the attack of a mountain lion, which so softened the Indian that he told him that if he would meet him at that place within a year that he would show him the old mine, but that he could take no more of the gold than he could carry away with him and that he would be led blindfolded to and from the old bonanza, which, he said, was located in an almost inaccessible spot ,near the brink of a yawning precipice, and above which were towering cliffs which rose perpendicular until their summits were lost in the blue of the sky.

Jake then started on his way to civilization, but, before leaving the canyon, had the good fortune to find a rich placer deposit in one of its tributaries, from which he took about $1500 in the yellow metal. Marking well the spot, he pulled out for Dandy Crossing, and finally reached Marysvale, from which point, after putting his burros into pasture, he came to Salt Lake City on the train. Soon after he left for his old Missouri home, where he soon had his cousin, Mike Smith, in a fever heat over his placer find and the story told by the Indian of the existence of the old gold mine. After a week or so of rest, Jake could stand the monotony of civilization no longer, and started for the west again, but not before he had drawn a crude map of the Grand Canyon of the Colorado, and indicated the spot where Mike was to meet him within the next six months, when they would both work the placer, and meet with the old Indian, provided the redskin was true to his Word. 

This was what brought Mike Smith to Salt Lake City within the next three months, and this was why he informed all who questioned him that he was a prospector. Having been enjoined to silence and secrecy by Johnson, he avoided all intercourse, as much as possible, with everyone, and one day, with a modest outfit, he left for Marysvale, where he purchased two burros and started on his lonely and solitary trip for the Colorado River. It was then that his real troubles began. Unacquainted with the ways west and totally without experience, he was often without water, and many times he lost his way. At last, however, ragged and worn, haggard and thin, he reached the Colorado, and after many days, reached the little camp prepared by Johnson, where he was heartily welcomed by this grim old prospector, who enjoyed life in the wilds, alone with nature, more than he did in the busy haunts of men. 

For the first few days after the arrival of Mike, the two worked the placer, and with most satisfactory results. In the evenings, before rolling up in their blankets for the night, they would smoke their pipes and wonder if Rabbit Tail would keep his tryst and show them the gold-laden caverns which had evidently been discovered and worked soon after the subjugation of the Montezumas. While thus engaged, one evening, the Indian stood before them, coming as silently as the rising of the morning sun. He was welcomed, but was surprised that Johnson had brought a companion with him, and seemed disinclined to fulfill his engagements. After much discussion, however, and taking a liking to Mike, he expressed his willingness to make him one of the party, and warned the two white-men to be ready to start at early dawn. 

Almost before it was light enough to see their way, the three were up and afoot. The way was difficult. Sometimes thick brush hindered their progress. Occasionally a blank wall confronted them, and it was necessary to climb upon each other’s shoulders to overcome these obstacles; and creeping, climbing, clinging, to roots and bushes growing in the crevices of the rocks, they at last reached a point where they were blindfolded by the Indian. From here they traveled in single file, clinging to a rope held by their guide. For an hour or more they followed, skinning their shins against rocks and boulders, and sometimes falling to their knees because of inequalities in the ground. After what seemed an age, and when tired and exhausted almost beyond belief, the bandages were removed and they stood in almost midnight darkness. At a word from Rabbit Tail a light was struck and a torch lighted. Upon looking around, the two prospectors and fortune-seekers found that they were in an enormous cavern, the sides of which gave no trace of mineral. At their feet, however, were masses of rock, which, upon examination, were found to be rich in native gold, but their source was not apparent. Elated, and yet disappointed, Mike and Jake turned to the Indian, who motioned them to a small drift in the cavern that they had not noticed before.

Following the redskin, they got down on their hands and knees and crawled for a hundred feet or more through a small passage, coming at last to a narrow shelf of shale which bordered a chasm about five feet in width. This must have been very deep, for when rocks were dropped down it the sound coming from the bottom seemed but an echo. The Indian lightly leaped the gulf and Mike and Jake followed, but not without apprehension, and found themselves, breathing hard and trembling, on the other side, with but a narrow shelf for a foothold. Almost creeping along a torturous path, hardly able to keep their balance at times, they at length arrived at the entrance to a wide passage, which seemed to cut the chasm at almost right angles. Penetrating this for several yards and then climbing up an incline upraise for twenty or thirty feet, they were ushered into a great chamber. The sight that met their gaze in this chamber rendered the two prospectors speechless. Under the glare of the torches bottom, sides and top were resplendent with bright, glittering gold. 

 

In front was a great body of honey-combed quartz, in which were nuggets of the pure metal as large as walnuts. These were bound to the quartz by wire gold. The roof of the stope presented a perfect fretwork of wire and native gold, which seemed to be woven into festoons. On the sides the gold occurred in hard, white quartz such as beautiful jewelry is made from. On the floor great chunks of the gold-bearing ore were laying around and, among them were to be seen mining tools of ancient make, while, in one corner, could dimly be discerned the skeleton of a man, evidently that of a white miner. 

Recovering from their astonishment, Smith and Johnson fell into each other’s arms, but the Indian stood silent and stolid. A few minutes later he said, Come, we go out. Then it was that the white men came to their senses. They plead with Rabbit Tail for an hour, for half an hour in which to explore, to investigate this place of more than Monte Cristo wealth. But Rabbit Tail was obdurate and would not yield, and obeying his commands, they filled their pockets with the biggest nuggets, the finest specimens of wire gold, and the richest pieces of gold-filled quartz that they could find. Retracing their steps, but with greater difficulty than when they entered the treasure vault of the ancients, for they were heavily loaded with gold, they at last reached the cavern where their eyes had first been uncovered. Here the bandages were replaced by the Indian, and, led by him as before, they set out on their journey to their camp, which they reached just as the sun was setting in the west. 

Tired and worn, they devoured the food that had been left from their morning repast, and were soon in deep slumber. It was long after daylight before they awoke, and when their eyes were fairly opened they discovered that during the night their Indian friend had left as quietly and as suddenly as he had arrived. For two or three days Jake and Mike rested, gloating over their store of gold. Then they spent several days in an effort to rediscover the wonderful mine. Time after time they climbed to the spot where Rabbit Tail had put on the blindfolds, but from there on all was a blank, and no trace was left of their previous passage. At last they left for Utah’s metropolis, packing their gold on their burros. Arriving at Salt Lake, they sold their wealth of gold, and for several days the papers were full of accounts of the small lot of fabulously rich rock that had been put through the sampling works, but no one ever found from whence it came, although Smith and Johnson were shadowed day and night until they left for their Missouri home. 

Ever since then, year after year, two prospectors, with four burros, have been seen haunting the beautiful yet desolate regions of the Grand Canyon. Smith comes to the city once in a while, and to all inquiries he says, I am only a prospector. And yet he does not know the difference between lime and quartzite, slate and shale, nor is he posted on country rock; but, if he would tell the truth, he does know something about honey-combed and white quartz. Best of all, down on Shell Creek, in old Missouri, he has one of the finest arms in Caldwell County, which he purchased with a portion of the wealth gained by him in the old mine in the Grand Canyon of the Colorado which was found and lost under the guidance of Rabbit Tail the redskin.

(The Salt Lake Mining Review in 1903)

 

There is an abridged version on the internet but would be better described as the “Embellished Version” or exaggerated, it also has an inserted paragraph designed to sell stories… SEE Following paragraph inserted into the original story...

According to Indian tradition, an expedition of well-organized and warlike men had come from the south escorting a long line of slaves, dragging boxlike containers shrouded by skins. The party went directly to the Grand Canyon and descended down from the south rim. The treasure was placed in a cavern that evidently had been chosen earlier. The slaves were killed on the spot, while half of the men remained as a guard and the others returned to the south. It was probably planned by the Aztecs that they would recover the cargo once the Spaniards had been driven into the sea, however, months and years went by without word for the garrison at the cavern. Eventually, they intermarried with the local Paiutes and told them tales about a great Indian empire in the south with their emperor, who would return in the future with an army to bring prosperity to the Paiute tribe. Until then, the treasure must be guarded from discovery by anyone. It was a responsibility that meant annihilation for the Paiutes should they permit the hidden cache to be stolen.

To Date, I have not been able to verify the validity of the above paragraph added to the treasure book tales, it is likely an embellishment to attract sales. The following description is included in the embellished version as well.

The glare from the four torches suddenly magnified several times the magnitude of golden idols, shields, and other objects reflecting the light in the eerie flickering flashes. Neither of the men had time to inspect the cave at length, as the Paiutes continually urged them to take what they could carry and retrace their steps to the surface. It was clear that they were at the base of the Grand Canyon, since an opening could be seen in the distance that led onto a sand beach. However, the men were never sure whether they had come down through the cave from the rim of the canyon or whether they had been led at some point along the sheer walls when they had entered the cave. 

The part about an opening could be seen in the distance that led onto a sand beach was no doubt added to tie the story to the embellish James White story. The original publication of the James White story, made no mention of a cave with untold riches. Do your research people, it isn’t worth it chasing after fallacy. 

However… the following story which has never been published but in which I have written about in parts from time to time… has been verified in many ways and will be given again in a small part, but I assure you it is original information as received and experienced several years ago. 

The original document and story came from a Mexican man by the name of Reuben Morales who came from a small town on the inland side of the Gulf of California. It is believed he may still be alive and living in Texas and I am still trying to locate him however it is like trying to find a John Smith in the whole of America

Sometime in the 1970’s if I recall, Reuben came north in search of his ancestors mine, cave and cache with the document and verbal information handed down to him from his presumed possible grandfather Jose Pedro Salazar. Sylvetre Prado who was the author of the hand written document and which is the topic here in, may also be an ancestor to Rueben. It is believed Prado’s initials have been found in the suspect area.

 

It is believed that Jose Pedro Salazar was occupying the area in question in the early 1800’s to mid 1800’s, he was according to the document  “an Indian” and it is believed he catered to the Spanish while they mined in the area or he spied upon them when they were there. Reuben spent near 10 years searching for his ancestor’s cache. 

Not many years ago we had an encounter with one of the earliest original well-known name land owner in the area, and after he decided we were not worthy of being shot we talked for some time and the situation became friendly, we asked him how his family came by the property, and he told us that when they first entered the land (around 1850’s) with intent to homestead they encountered an old Mexican Indian who was the owner or possessor of the land, we can only surmise this was by a Spanish land grant, or that by right of being there for so long he simply considered it as his territory. He told us that they became friends and eventually he carved out a substantial piece of land and gave it to them. Was this Perdo Salazar? 

After Reuben had exhausted his efforts to find what his ancestor left behind, he contacted a known treasure hunter in the area and asked if he could help him, upon an agreement he shared a copy of the document and showed him a map and shared the verbal information needed to find the right location. This treasure hunter eventually in years to come became a friend of mine, and after sitting in his files for quite a number of years and having only made a few trips in an effort to find any evidence of truth, he decided to pass the information to me. At the time I was spending a lot of time in the general area documenting what I now call, the Aztec Navigation Glyphs, which by the way, have nothing to do with finding water as supposed by others.

 

One of near 200 known glyphs

You can read more about these at Aztec Navigation Glyphs

 

The document was in pretty bad shape when it was copied but the writing was discernable but very difficult to read due to its condition and old Spanish words not common today, great effort was taken to first transcribe the document of which I owe a great deal to my friend Adam, after which much effort was put into getting a correct translation which can be very difficult due to the old Spanish and there is still a few words we just cannot make out, someone experienced in not only Spanish but old Spanish may be able to recognize the words

 

A small piece of the old cloth document

 

The following is some of the excerpts of the more interesting things found within the document and will clearly show why I have spent near 18 years working on this project. Our first trip down to the area resulted in discovery of several things mentioned in the document and today, we feel we have found the location of the Indian Salazar’s cave, or mine, the entrance of which has been filled, yet the slide rock from it abounds in ½ inch chisel marks. 

….Enter said (Salazar’s smaller) cave and on the east side (floor) in the lower part of  which is two large flat stones marked (with a 1 and 2) and below them you will find some oak planks cultivated to the rafter with pins of the same wood and some cowhides.  These pieces are covering a chest which stores a large quantity of pieces of bars of silver.  Further to the bottom is a cross with wide edges.  Under it is the cover of the same material that contains gold & silver and a small black ebony box.

The one who finds said small box will be happy, because inside of it, are the directions/map to the treasures of the Indian Pedro Jose Salazar who for a long time was the owner of these mountains.

These papers are written in a language that I do not recognize.  They are written with mules blood.  Whomever it is that comes to have this cloth in his hands will come to find out that if he breaks said box that it contains jewels of gold and silver and paper made from a berry tree where it is explained where the place is found where the great treasure of said tribe exists an enormous cave that holds the highest amounts ever known to man…

 

Another piece of the old cloth document

 

The previous is directly from the source. I have been involved in this project has gone on for near 18 years. It would appear that Salazar and possibly Prado, knew the location of the enormous cave that the old Piute Indian, Rabbit Tale, the Redskin knew of. 

RECENT UPDATES:

Many years ago, I and my wife took a trip to Southern Utah and Arizona with our friends Bonnie and Steve. I recall Steve telling me as we drove between Kanab and Fredonia, We had been talking about the map rock that was found by Jacob Hamblin in 1852, Steve pointed at one of the hills off the side of the road and said, a Navajo told me that on top of one of these hills is a flat stone and when you turn it over it has a map carved on it. This is very near where Jacob Hamblin in 1852 found a black slate stone with a map carved on it.

 

Sketch of the Jacob Hamblin Black Slate Map

 

But what does this have to do with the story at hand? I suspect the same Navajo which Steve had talked to was the same in which I met just a few years later and he told me that there was a map with many petroglyphs not far from Kanab, he told me he would take me there.  I doubt this map has anything to do with the Salazar document but maybe it hold clues, My friends Glen and JoDee spent about 4 hours with me documenting the site meticulously, the objective was to recreate the image in black and white. 11 years later I finally finished the project, some of you may see implications.

 

 

The area of the subject of this article is in the lower left of the largest rock, if you see it you will also see the 3 lakes site north of Kanab and even Johnson’s canyon not the mention the location of the famed underground BUDDHIST/HINDU city of the Grand Canyon [NOT EGYPTIAN] Why does this matter? 

Now for the shocker…. A friend of mine called me one day to get instruction on how to find a certain petroglyph panel, having given him instruction and sending him on his way, I went about my day… later he called me and was pretty excited and said you are not going to believe what I just found… well he sent me a picture of which first glance nearly removed me from my sitting position to the floor. He said while hiking the pertinent location, he noticed a large flat rock very much out of place, because it was not native to any rock formations in the area…

With permission to share the photo this is what he had found face down in sand and gravel.

 

Confused and excited at the same time, I thought, “What the hell? This is the same map as was found on the Jacob Hamblin slate stone found 170 years prior and in the same general area. My friend was in doubt because of the condition of the writing, I reminded him that it has been face down in sand and gravel for near 220 years, I had no problem with its condition. I do wish however we could find the corner piece broken off.

Reading the text provided another near encounter with the floor… Although I have not had it translated by someone other than me, not only does it provide us a clue in the subject story as to what it is and why it exists, It was written by Antonio Raul PRADO! And it is concerning Pedro Jose Salzar! How could this be I thought? The date on the stone is from 1804, 96 years prior to the cloth document and it was found about 50 miles away from the subject site! Why was it here? 

The stone map reads loosely as :

(His) Majesty Carlos Antonio Diego this ____missing____ Order Filming (?) Pedro Jose Salzar Guadalupe (of the) Zuni by the even leaders of the Yubicaris (tribe) hidden ___missing___ -llados (decreed?) by the king under death penalty November 14, 1804 sealed this day by Antonio Raul Prado

 

The original text on the stone map…. 

Majestad Carlos Antonio Diego este  <missing word[s]>  diezmo ordenido filmente llevado pedro jose Salazar Gudalupe de zuni por la hasta lidedas de las Yubicaris escondidos   <missing word[s]>    [dego?]-llados por el rey bajo pena de muerte 14 Noviembre 1804 este dia selado Antonio Raul Prado

 

I would really like someone who is very good with Spanish to look at the original text… perhaps through common sense and reasoning we can discover the words missing from the stone…

Perhaps a little bit of light was shed in doing a bit a research on Carlos Antonio Diego or better known as King Charles IV. 

It would seem not only was King Charles trying to undermine the power of the Church and the aristocracy, he was attempting to steal the land away from all the nobles who invested in the new world. 

From WIKI the Great

“As the situation with immediate revenue became more fraught, the crown in 1804 imposed measures in its overseas empire forcing the church to call in immediately the mortgages it had extended on a long-term by the Catholic Church. Although aimed at undermining the wealth and power of the church, for the wealthy landowning elites, they were faced with financial ruin, since they had no way to make full payment on their mortgaged properties. This ill-considered royal decree has been seen as a major factor in the independence movement in New Spain (Mexico). The decree was in abeyance once Charles and Ferdinand abdicated, but it undermined elite support while in force.”

 

This map rock was found along the old trail heading for the crossing of the Fathers. I wonder if Pedro Jose Salazar was able to make his payment?

I want so much to bring the many untold histories to public awareness but until we have subdued the foreign enemy who has come upon this land and currently makes the rules… my memory is fading… ;-)

 

It is a balmy 27 degrees today, but there is peace and serenity around the fire, I wish I had a friend or two here today to enjoy it with… Making the best of the situation… Merry Christmas to all.