Viking Longboat Found in California Mountains!

[Injunbro]

There's a petroglyph of a Viking ship in the cliffs above the Agua Fria River north of Phoenix also. I have no explanation of it or of the "space men" petroglyphs a couple miles south of it but in the same canyon. I can give general directions to anyone who asks by PM but getting permission to cross the private ranch to get to them is up to you. The ranch manger who I used to know died a few years ago in a helicopter crash.

 

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[aaronsm321]

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Okay. Since this is the only Viking Longboat Story I know of, I will put it here in the area for a different "Lost Ship of the Desert" Story.

Everybody has heard of the "Lost Pearl Ship" of Capt Juan Iturbide. Even more amazing (to me) is the lesser known story regarding the finding of what appeared to be a Viking Longboat in the Coyote Mountains just Southwest of Palm Springs, Ca. The story appears in several places online and in print, but I will use the following website as a reference for this, because both the author and his father had a chance to personally interview Myrtle Botts before she passed away. Both believe her story.

VIKING DESERT SHIP

The original story was told by Mrs. Myrtle Botts:



Now, that in and of itself is a good story. But that is all it is......a good story. So, are there any other references to Vikings in the Southwest US? Let's see:

I have a friend that has been studying and documenting the history of the Seri Indians for about twenty years (they call themselves Comca'ac). Part of the tribal history is that of a group of Red Haired Giants that lived on Tiburon Island in the Sea of Cortez. They were very aggressive, but the Seri (aggressive themselves) did have some exchanges with them. Unfortunately, due to the fact that the Seri (Comca'ac) were never completely pacified by the Spanish, they were hunted for bounty and almost completely eradicated. There are only about 80 or so Seri Indians left in the world.

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Okay. So we have a story that may mesh with Mrs. Botts' Longboat Story. Anything else?

Absolutely! If one were to draw a line from Tiburon Island up to Death Valley, the area near Mrs Botts' Story is right there. But, between Tiburon Island and The Coyote Mountains is a large boulder with a very interesting petroglyph:

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The petroglyph is of a single masted ship. Pearl Ship? Viking Ship?

Okay, anything else? Why yes! There is! In 1931, a Dr. F. Bruce Russell supposedly fell through the roof of a cave by Death Valley. In this cave system were the remains of several gigantic men around nine feet in height. They had red hair. This story comes several years before Myrtle Botts' Story, and long before the Seri (Comca'ac) History of Red Haired Giants was ever heard by whites.

Who has something to add here?

Mike

Mike/Gollum,
There are 3 or 4 guys here on T Net that really seem to post some high quality prolific information. It truly is appreciated and I am working my way through most of your posts. Would really love to pick your brain sometime. But I might have some relevant information on the SERI peoples in your post. I'm sitting here having kinda a slow day at work, reading through your post, and what do I have on my desk before me …the book "Giants on Record" by Jim Viera and Hugh Newman.

Here is what they have to say regarding this area near coyote mountains:
"In 1539, an expedition led by Francis Coronado was on a quest to discover the legendary seven cities of cibola...around 300 Spaniards and 800 indians.... While searching... The ran into several tribes of Indian giants near Mexico's present day border with California and Arizona. The expedition was documented by Pedro de Castaneda who accompanied Coronado....traveled through areas now called Sonora and Sinaloa"

So on the journey, Coronado sent a ship captained by Hernando de Alarcon to meet them and resupply. This ship was to follow the coastline.

The book takes up again :

"Coronado sent a team to rendezvous with the ship"... "Don Rodrigo Maldonado, who was captain of those who went in search of the ships, did not find them, but he brought back with him and Indian so large and tall that the best man in the army reached only his chest. It was said that other Indians were even taller on the coast."... they go on to state " this particular giant was later revealed to be part of the SERI tribe, inhabitants of the Tiburon Island" .... " soon after this, whilst trying to establish contact with Alarcon, Captain Melchior Diaz took a group of men... toward the north and west in search of the coast and ships"... " after searching about 150 leagues, they came to a province of exceedingly tall and strong men - like giants" " these were later found to be a YUMA tribe called the Cocopa, who were huge... able to carry three to four hundred weight on their head"

After this it seems they found the supply ship/s.

"they made it to the mouth of the colorado river... dropped anchor... took two smaller boats to fight against the powerful current".... "Alarcon and his men made it as far as the southern edge of the Grand Canyon"

 

[traveller777]

So, some Vikings sailed in a Longboat around Cape Horn or the Cape of Good Hope to the west coast of North America? That would be one heck of a journey in what amounts to no more than a large life boat. I would have to see physical evidence. Possible but begs to question why they would do that.

 

[bobinsd]

um i think they do occur just as a rare event. weather reports from the area only go back about 100 years. in a way weather reports do not go back even that far as there was really no one in the area consistently making reports on the weather until the newspapers started. You live in an area for many years and you start to think that because the weather has always been the way you experienced it that is the way it always is and was. But that just is not true. As an example experts in historical weather tell us that there was a little ice age event between the 1400s and the 1800s that caused a drought in the area. Presumably the area could have been wetter in the Viking era.
there was a desert tornado in 2015 admittedly not in the shadow of that side of the mountain range but still not all that far away as storms go.
[Pics and Video] A Tornado Hit Desert Center Tuesday!! - Cactus Hugs

So, some Vikings sailed in a Longboat around Cape Horn or the Cape of Good Hope to the west coast of North America? That would be one heck of a journey in what amounts to no more than a large life boat. I would have to see physical evidence. Possible but begs to question why they would do that.

If you look thru the thread you will find evidence showing the Vikings could have come by way of the NW.passage.
Re the Botts story I believed it all until I checked the elevation at Agua Caliente Springs, 1350 feet above SL. The highest.level Lake Cahuilla.reached was 42 feet ASL.
No.way the boat reached that height even by portage. My guess.is Laguna Salada.

 

[bobinsd]

um i think they do occur just as a rare event. weather reports from the area only go back about 100 years. in a way weather reports do not go back even that far as there was really no one in the area consistently making reports on the weather until the newspapers started. You live in an area for many years and you start to think that because the weather has always been the way you experienced it that is the way it always is and was. But that just is not true. As an example experts in historical weather tell us that there was a little ice age event between the 1400s and the 1800s that caused a drought in the area. Presumably the area could have been wetter in the Viking era.
there was a desert tornado in 2015 admittedly not in the shadow of that side of the mountain range but still not all that far away as storms go.
[Pics and Video] A Tornado Hit Desert Center Tuesday!! - Cactus Hugs

I must respectfully disagree on that point pard, the gulf of California gets some wicked tidal bores, and the Colorado river has periodically broken out of its channel, flooding the Salton basin even in historic period. A ship could be carried up by a powerful tidal bore, or simply sailed up the river during one of those periods when it was flooding the Salton sink, and ended up trapped there. But technically you are right, the sea has not been directly connected to the sink for a very long time.

the water level in that area is above 1300/feet Real is.correct!

 

[gollum]

Okay, YES I KNOW THIS IS OLD, but some things needed to be added.

The story told by the Seri Indians is as follows: Tiburon Island is the ancestral home of the Seri. Before they settled down, ANY intruder on Tiburon was killed, then their hands were chopped off and placed on tall spikes near the water so others could see them.One day a group of red-haired-giants showed up on the island. The Seri fought them for about nine months, and then they came to terms. Everything was good for a while, then one day (just like they came) they were gone with several of the tribe's women.

I think its possible they sailed through the NW Passage and down the West Coast. They sailed up through the Sea of Cortez, Laguna Salada, and into The Widney Sea. They got landlocked and thought the ocean wasn't much further North, so they carried the longboat until they got to the ridge in the Coyotes. When they saw it wasn't the ocean they came on, they took everything and left the boat there. That is why we have stories about Red-Haired-Giants in a nice line from the Sea of Cortez to Lovelocke Cave, Nevada.

AARONSM321:

Nice story. Could have a real tie-in with my friends Seri History of them. I'll ask her if they have any idea of the dates.

Mike