The Sphinx of the Grand Canyon

[Shortstack]

The exact location of this large carving could very well open up an entirely different line of research in the Grand Canyon for Ancient treasures and artifacts. These photos are from the book, Lost Cities & Ancient Mysteries of the Southwest, by David Hatcher Childress.

This first photo is an enlargement of the second photo.

This second photo is a photocopy of one half of an old stereo viewer slide.

 

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[EE THr]

Is David Hatcher Childress the same guy I mentioned? He also went down the Grand Canyon in a boat. The story appeared shortly after the event, in a local newspaper somewhere near there, I think.

 

[jeff of pa]

Very Nice Pic !

More info

Ancient Egyptian Treasures
In The Grand Canyon?
Suppressed Archeological Information and Metaphysical Paradox ?

http://paranormal.about.com/gi/o.ht...ts=0&zu=http://www.rense.com/general6/egy.htm

 

[Shortstack]

Thanks, Jeff for that link. I'll read the info later.

Jeff and EE THr, i've noticed that Childress, Cerro, and other authors of books in the ancient mysteries area, are regular guests on the TV program, Ancient Aliens. I think Hoagland has passed on, but he published several books in that venue, too. I'm currently reading his book about NASA and what they REALLY found. His book, DARK MISSION, The Secret History of NASA is another one I've started to read. This is were I learned that Buzz Aldrin is a 32 nd degree Mason and not only performed a Masonic ritual on the Moon Lander before joining Armstrong on the surface; he also took the Freemasonic flag with him and later, ceremoniously presented it to the Scottish Rite Headquarters in Washington, D.C. The writing on that flag says, "Supreme Council 33o , Southern Jurisdiction, USA". I've gotten a bunch of books by these authors, NOW, I've got to actually READ them all.

 

[Ray S ECenFL]

Very interesting link. Thanks for sharing it.

Ray S ECenFL

 

[rangler]

Good post Bill,
I have found the likeness of two different images of a Sphinx - so I know that the Codemakers included in their repertoire.
here is a repost of what was stated at ALT...reprinted from a magazine.

The Aztec Treasure Cavern
by John Townley

What follows is an abridged version of the Grand Canyon stories as they appeared in “Treasure” magazine.

Three hundred and fifty years passed before any reliable information came to light regarding the lost treasure of the Aztecs. Even then, the story of a prospector who barely escaped death in the Grand Canyon was thought to be the ravings of a madman. On September 8, 1867, James White drifted to shore near the Mormon farming settlement of Rioville, where the Virgin and Colorado rivers meet. He had lashed himself to a crude raft of three cottonwood logs and on this ungainly craft had drifted through the terrible rapids and cataracts of the Grand Canyon. If true, it was the first such passage for a white man.

White was in critical condition when found by the Mormon farmers. It was several weeks before he could put his story together, and even then big gaps in his memory made most of the journey a blank page. He had been prospecting in western Colorado and decided to try some of the upper Colorado drainage patterns for possible placer deposits. Somewhere between the present-day towns of Grand Junction and Moab, White’s party was attacked by Indians and he escaped with a single companion. Since they were both unfamiliar with the country, they decided to use the river as a means of escape. Using logs taken from the banks of the Colorado, they tied them together with harness leather and cast off into the unknown. In one of the first cataracts, White’s partner was lost overboard and drowned. With him went all the gear and supplies. White was left alone in a massive canyon still beyond the frontier.

After the first week, White’s condition deteriorated into semi-consciousness. In one period of sanity, White remembered coming to shore opposite a large opening in the rocky walls of the canyon. Wanting to escape from the hellish heat, he crawled inside and promptly went to sleep. Hours or perhaps days later, he was awakened by Indian braves carrying torches. Looking around at the cavern, White found himself in a large solution cavity filled with golden artifacts. Gigantic idols of beaten gold, masks of silver and turquoise, weapons of every type and size with hilts of precious metals and gems. Long bars of metal were stacked between the larger statuary and topped with jewelry and piles of gleaming emeralds, turquoise and garnets. None of the ceremonial implements resembled anything that White had ever seen in his travels in the Southwest. Later, when his account of the journey through the Grand Canyon had been picked up by eastern newspapers, archaeologists showed him pictures of Aztec ceremonial figures and weapons. White positively identified them as similar to the materials that filled his cavern in the canyon.

White fully expected the Indians to kill him on sight, instead they gave him a handful of dried meat and some pinon nuts. Again he drifted into delirium until he was found below the canyon, and nursed back to health. White never tried to capitalize from his experience. He returned to Colorado and refused to accompany the many parties that wanted to relocate the hidden cave. Most historians have dismissed his account as fanciful dreamings, but over the years White told the same story in the same way so often that he must have been sure of his facts. Today, river experts are more inclined to agree that he was the first man through the canyon.

The Grand Canyon area is still among the most remote in the country. In the late 19th century it was even less accessible. The few parties of prospectors who dared brave the dangers of the river, or tried to reach the bottom of the canyon by climbing the mile-high cliffs never succeeded in re-locating the hidden cavern. Gradually, White’s experiences were forgotten or ignored as a result of his delirium. However, in 1903, the treasure excitement blossomed again when two prospectors told of being led to the cavern by a friendly Paiute.

The story began in 1902, when Jake Johnson, a desert prospector, broke his leg while working alone in the badlands south of St. George, Utah. Johnson was near dead of exposure when he was found by an old Paiute and his squaw. In exchange for Johnson’s camping gear, the old couple nursed Johnson back to health. Then, one evening, while the brave was out hunting, a mountain lion attacked his squaw. Johnson was able to kill the cat before the animal had done more than maul the woman. After that, Johnson was almost a brother to the Indian warrior. During the rest of his convalescence, the Indian would tell legends of his people to Johnson, as they sat around the campfire in the evenings. Once he told of a great treasure cache that had been hidden generations before.

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.

Johnson later said he was doubtful of the story at first, then realized that if it were true, he had an opportunity to make a fortune through his relationship with the Indians. He bided his time and then asked the Indian to show him this cave, in return for saving the life of his wife. After considering the request for several days, he agreed to take the prospector to the cave in a year, if both men were still alive. Johnson spent the year near Kingman, Arizona, working gold placers near the Colorado river. He wrote his brother telling him of his expectations and asked the older man to come west before the date Johnson was to meet his friendly Paiute brave. In September, 1903 both brothers were at Pipe Spring in northern Arizona ready to see if the story told the year before was reality of hoax.

The Indian and his woman met the men as planned, and after some disagreement about another man being present, agreed to lead the brothers to the treasure. The Paiute forced the pair to agree that they would remove only as much gold as they could carry. Further, the men would be blindfolded and led to the cavern. One day’s ride south of Pipe Spring, the prospectors were blindfolded and four days were spent in the saddle before they were finally told that on the next day they would be taken on foot to the cave. Starting at daylight, they were led three hours or so, until a sudden drop of temperature told the prospectors that they had been led underground. After a few minutes’ walk, the blindfolds were removed and the men saw that they were in what appeared to be volcanic caves. Lighting torches, the party then proceeded through the cave, always in a descending direction, until they came to a single large room. 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.

When they reached the surface, the sun had set long ago. In the dark, they made their way back to camp. After returning to Pipe Spring, the prospectors went to Salt Lake City and sold the bullion they had collected to the smelter there. Each man received slightly over $15,000 for his bullion. Both outfitted and returned to the St. George area, certain that they could find their way back to the cave and riches that would rival the Count of Monte Cristo. The more they searched, the more the country began to look alike. They stayed until November snows, then returned the next year. With their profits from the first trip, they bought ranches in southern Utah and settled down to raising whiteface cattle between occasional trips back to the Canyon to look for their lost trail of wealth.

In 1907, despairing of ever relocating the entrance to the cave, the brothers wrote an article on their experiences for the Salt Lake Mining Review. The editors sent a reporter to St. George to discuss the letter with the brothers. The reporter came away convinced them en had seen the lost treasure of Montezuma. The article was published and created a sensation. Men from all over the West descended on St. George and made futile searches for the entrance to the treasure cave. It was a useless effort; the treasure was never seen again. Gradually, the excitement died, and can only be recaptured by reading the yellowing files of the newspapers of southern Utah. Today, with all the improved roads to the north rim country, the search for Jake Johnson’s lost cave might be easier. Then too, it’s possible to rent a river craft and explore the canyon from the bottom up. Who knows, you might find the same entrance that Jim White unknowingly crawled through over a century ago, and collapsed amid a jumbled heap of priceless golden antiquities. At any rate, Montezuma’s treasure has been seen by at least three men and documented in a respected mining journal. You might be the lucky man to be number four.

Quinda
Site Admin

It makes a nice campfire story..if nothing else as it follows the tried and true formula..
1. prospector gets lost or injured /indians help him recover
2. and or helps injured Indian
3. grateful person shows treasure cave.
4 prospector almost dies
5.is blind folder or..
6. can't remember how to get back to the cave.

There is however a different story about a cave with gold objects, rooms artifacts ect..
I read many years ago..similar but more grandiose in its tale.. everything from golden gods, mummy's huge rooms carved out, It may have been Penfield, but not sure, can't find it as the 60 pages of google responses are drowned by the 1000's listings of the movie, "the lost treasure of the Grand Canyon" fiction of course~!

we all enjoy a good treasure legend, no matter how far fetched.
the only saving grace for me , was the Sphinx - if it is not just a figment of Mother Nature - because like I said , I know the Sphinx is a certified Treasure Sign of the Spanish!
nice story Bill and good research in digging out the only thing that gives this story any credence at all..that awesome pic.
rangler

'the truth can be stranger than fiction'..anon

 

[Shortstack]

Very interesting "read", rangler and you are right about all of those treasure tales with the same core theme. The Aztecs are historically proven to have been as far north as Arizona and possibly even Utah and the tale of Montezuma's treasure has been connected to at least 3 states. Then, there's the "mine" with the steel door that has been seen in Oklahoma and the Sierras of California that has been tied to Jessie James and who knows who else.

With all of the humongous monuments that have been found in the U.S., particularly in the western part, are solid proof of activities in ancient history. So, now all of those stories need to be taken seriously unless proven beyond a shadow of a doubt to be wrong. Sometimes fact can sound stranger than fiction and is why I've learned to not discount anything. Some stuff can be filed away as possible and other things as "unbelievable but let's wait and see".

 

[Old Dog]

Very interesting "read", rangler and you are right about all of those treasure tales with the same core theme. The Aztecs are historically proven to have been as far north as Arizona and possibly even Utah and the tale of Montezuma's treasure has been connected to at least 3 states.

Bill,
I have posted pictures of East Canyon showing Pictographs by Aztec artists.
East Canyon is just short of Wyoming and just shy of Colorado.
There is evidence of Aztec all over the western half of the US.

 

[rangler]

Bill
I think it was Old Dog who said that a lot of the Ancient monuments were Pagan in origin
And the Pious Spanish were incensed by them as most - like the spanish monuments were trail markers, and water sources, and or mineral deposits. And some were reworked natural outcrops - simply to honor there Pagan Gods..The Spanish would destroy these or rework them to suit there own needs..

I do think with the tons of research I have seen that some of the Ancients, and I include the Templars in this as well as Phoenicians did mine precious metals including copper, and hide the results of their work , when they could not take it all with them..

A theory of mine is that the Templars were given King Solomon's Code..used it in the Americas, once disbanded, centuries later the Jesuits were the Popes replacement and were assigned to New Spain, to find, decode and raid the Templars caches..so in this scenario the Jesuits only had reminates of the Code, given to them by the Pope..but they knew enough to follow trail markers to the mines and later to the caches..breaking the code and adding to it..much to the displease of the King..ie the expulsion.

Well - as you might confer I can't prove a single thing in this theory as yet, but the bright side is no one can disprove it either - as both would require a lost document or code book..
as yet it has not surfaced..I am doing more research on my Land of Ophir and the Ancient Ones thread..and have found some stuff that might show migration from europe to the Americas - not the Bearing Sea land bridge! yea I know..but need more sources.

One thing we all know..the true history of the Ancients in America and places like the Grand Canyon and the Superstitions among many others is more concealed than revealed~!
Just wondering were you found that pic of the Sphinx as I have combed all my resources and never found anything,like that. good work.
rangler

 

[Shortstack]

As I wrote in the initial post, the 2 photos came from Childress's book. According to him, an acquaintance mailed him that half stereo picture (or a photocopy, I can't remember off hand). I don't recall ever hearing of this formation before getting his book and I haven't been able to find anything about it on Google or bing, but I won't take that as "final" on it. That stereo slide was taken and sold in tourists and sightseeing packages back in 1910, so the thing was real. During some of my researching the Ancient cavern in the bottom of the Grand Canyon, I was going through some photos on line and found a picture of a named trail taken from the "head" on the rim of the canyon showing a mount in the distance that MIGHT have been the Sphinx. This was before I bought Childress's book and saw the photo. It jogged my memory about that OTHER picture that I'm now trying to find. I've even tried 3 or 4 times to see that mount on Google and bing maps while "flying" the canyon. As you can see in the photos above, the mount is as tall as the rim.

 

[HOOSIERau]

Shortstack,

Check out this link :

http://listverse.com/2008/10/31/top-10-mysteries-of-ancient-or-lost-civilizations/

Could this picture and related article (even though distant) be the same thing ?

Hoosier

 

[Springfield]

...... It makes a nice campfire story..if nothing else as it follows the tried and true formula..
1. prospector gets lost or injured /indians help him recover
2. and or helps injured Indian
3. grateful person shows treasure cave.
4 prospector almost dies
5.is blind folder or..
6. can't remember how to get back to the cave.......

This framework is the source of most of the 'lost mine/hidden treasure' legends in the west. The 'Organization' uses the ruse in order to keep alive a group of innocent dupes like you and me who hear the fantastic story, then go out and locate the signs. The signs that are found (carvings, monuments, unusual landmarks, etc.) are genuine, yes, but their solution is unattainable to the dupes. The dupes, highly motivated, spend years in the hills running in circles looking for the prize, unsuccessfully, and can walk to the mysterious clues in their sleep. That's the key.

The dupes' true function is only to serve as a potential future guide to the physical location of the signs in case an 'Organization man' needs to find them. This person will know exactly how to use the signs when he sees them, but the dupe is needed to show him where to start. About every thirty to fifty years, by the time the current dupes die off, the whole process is repeated and a fresh set of motivated dupes are selected.

I have direct experience with this process, and I can tell you - it's very effective. You are not going to find the 'Spanish gold' you think you're looking for. The true prize is to try to figure out who these guys are, what they've hidden and why.

 

[Springfield]

The exact location of this large carving could very well open up an entirely different line of research in the Grand Canyon for Ancient treasures and artifacts. These photos are from the book, Lost Cities & Ancient Mysteries of the Southwest, by David Hatcher Childress.
.....

This is of course Isis Temple. I believe if you examine the thousands of photos available of the butte, you'll find that the old stereo pair photo you've posted does not show a sphinx carving on top, but only an odd play of shadows. It's interesting, yes, but only a thin strand in Childress's theory.

The odd Egyptian names found in that part of the canyon are explained by Jack Andrews at http://mysteriousarizona.com/isistemple.html . Andrews' website is a great place to get information about the 'Kincaid Expedition'. He is a serious researcher of the legend and has spent years separating the wheat from the chaff.

 

[Shortstack]

Hoosier,
Yep, that is the photo.......or at least a partner. Seems like the photo I saw was taken more from the head of the trail and had the trail name flagged, too. But, none the less, thank you for this link. I now have it bookmarked and will read that site's info.

Springfield,
That website sure looks interesting. Thank you for posting it and it, too, is now in my bookmarks folder. There looks like a lot of interesting links to similar information. Will take a while, but I plan to read as much as I can. That one photo of the mount looks like it might have been taken from the "back" side. That top knob doesn't look like the stereo shot.

 

[HOOSIERau]

I'm so glad that I could finally help somebody !!!

 

[Shortstack]

I'm posting a comparison pair of the photo from Hoosier's link and the original stereo pic. I changed the link photo to black and white then adjusted the contrast to cut through the haze.






Looking at these together, I'm beginning to doubt that they are the same mesas.

 

[jeff of pa]

I'm posting a comparison pair of the photo from Hoosier's link and the original stereo pic. I changed the link photo to black and white then adjusted the contrast to cut through the haze.






Looking at these together, I'm beginning to doubt that they are the same mesas.

If it is,
they are Taken From Different Sides,
Or Deconstruction was done to Destroy certain Features.

If you Look at the Bottom Left side,
Isis has a step like feature





The Sphinxis more Pyramid angle

 

[EE THr]

And---none of the features of the Isis Temple, as seen in the photo, appear anywhere in the Sphinx photo. So the only possible way they could be the same is if the pictures were taken from directly opposite sides.

That would put the hill, which is seen in front of the Sphinx, directly behind the Isis Temple in it's photograph. But the slope angle of the hill in front of the Sphinx is not seen anywhere behind the Isis Temple.

So, judging from the photos, I'd have to say they aren't the same monument.

 

[Springfield]

And---none of the features of the Isis Temple, as seen in the photo, appear anywhere in the Sphinx photo. So the only possible way they could be the same is if the pictures were taken from directly opposite sides.

That would put the hill, which is seen in front of the Sphinx, directly behind the Isis Temple in it's photograph. But the slope angle of the hill in front of the Sphinx is not seen anywhere behind the Isis Temple.

So, judging from the photos, I'd have to say they aren't the same monument.

I guess it all depends on the equipment (probably one of those old 4x4 view cameras for the stereo pair shot) and the vantage point (unclear, but apparently from inside the canyon and not from the rim). Of course the stereo negative may have been reversed too - we don't know. If you can provide a modern photo of another canyon butte that better matches the old photo, you might have a point of contention. Until then, I'll defer to Andrews, a very thorough and open-minded individual:

"At the time most people interested in this story had erroneously (in my researched opinion) attributed the location of the cave to a butte in the central part of the Grand Canyon, named "Isis Temple". Many people still attribute the location to Isis Temple. The "cave" location as described by G. E. Kincaid in 1909 cannot possibly be located at "Isis". Some people have suggested that another entrance to either the same tunnel/cave system or an entirely different but similar system is present at Isis. I am very skeptical of those claims. In plain language, the claims I have seen floating around the Internet, in regard to Isis Temple are not supported by substantial evidence."

By the way, here's another link: http://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/esp_orionzone_8.htm#inicio

 

[EE THr]

Springfield---

That's a much better Isis picture.

I see four outside corners and one inside corner visible, plus a couple peninsulas sticking out on the third layer down. There's nothing like this is in the Sphinx photo, so all this would have to be hidden behind it, for this to be the Sphinx.

So the camera for the Sphinx photo would have to be off to the right of this large picture (if it were directly behind the Isis, we would see that large flat peninsula jutting out on the left if this photo, sticking way out on the right of the Sphinx picture), and some distance back. And it looks like, a little higher than the top of the head---maybe the on the rim of the canyon. The background is misty on this one, so that doesn't help to say what's there or not.

The main thing I notice is that the headdress rests on a small flat area, on top of a nearly vertical column, in the Sphinx picture; but in the Isis photo, it starts tapering immediately below the headdress. And the pointed steps on the right of the Isis, are not seen at all in the Sphinx picture, when they should be seen on it's left.

I just really don't think the two monuments match up, from any angle.

Even the headdresses are shaped differently. The one on the Isis has vertical sides that start tapering in near the top, and end up making a pointy feature at the top. While the Sphinx has a slow arc for the entire headdress. I don't know how those two very different features can be reconciled by camera angle alone.