Fake News and the Grand Canyon
What's going on there?
Fake news is a treacherous thing. It’s nothing new, either. Before the modern era of media protocol, publications with little integrity didn’t worry about details such as spelling or facts. Usually no one called them out on errors.
Here’s an example of what many people think is fake news – or is it?
On March 12 and April 5th 1909, a small weekly paper called the Arizona Sun published articles about the discovery of a hoard of “Egyptian” treasure in a huge complex of caves in the Grand Canyon at the confluence of the Colorado and Little Colorado Rivers. The discovery was supposed to have been made by Professor S.A. Jordan (or Jordon) and archeologist G.E. Kinkaid (or Kincaid) after they travelled down the Colorado River from the town of Green River. The team was said to have been sent out by the Smithsonian Institute. This hidden complex was apparently full of Egyptian artifacts, some of which were taken back to the Smithsonian. There were also 700 photographs which no one has ever seen. Since the site was remote and very difficult to reach, there was no immediate hue and cry of treasure hunters to get there, but the story did create a lot of interest including a front page article in the Phoenix Gazette. Most people thought it was a hoax perpetrated by Joe Mulhatton known locally as the American Baron Munchausen or the Liar Laureate of the World.
It sounds like great Indiana Jones type of story but it could be true. The Grand Canyon had been explored in 1869, 1870, 1871 and 1872 by Major John Wesley Powell under the direction of the secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. It is plausible that they might have wanted further exploration in 1898. The problem was that the Smithsonian denied any knowledge of the event, and claimed no knowledge of Jordan or Kincaid. Nevertheless, one report did say that artifacts had been taken from the caves to the museum. “What happened to them?” the Smithsonian was supposedly asked. “We threw them in the ocean” was the reply. That does sound like fake news, not like the preservation policy of a famous, trustworthy institution, does it? Especially since artifacts in question that would have been immensely valuable and of great interest to the whole world.
The caves are so difficult to reach, that no one has actually gone to check them out, or at least as far as we know. There are many caves in the Grand Canyon, but they are monitored by the National Parks service. Most are inaccessible. Only one is ever open to the public.
Yet, one wonders. There was David Starr Jordan, ichthyologist who did some explorations, with students and colleagues in the Midwest for the Smithsonian. Under “External Links” in his extensive Wikipedia biography, there is the grudging link to “Biography. Smithsonian website”. Yet when I clicked on it, there was nothing there. Why was he given so little acknowledgement for this part of his professional career? Jordan wrote extensively, but mostly about fish. Not one word about the Grand Canyon. One source says that he did explore the Grand Canyon in 1898. Surely he could not have resisted writing about the Egyptian treasure if he had found it. Unless, of course, he was under threat to keep quiet.
Here’s another perspective on the issue. In 2012, David Childress who often appears on History 2 Channel on television, made a trip with several colleagues to the rim of the Grand Canyon just above the site of the cave. Presumably they were scouting the area to see if it would be possible to reach the cave. I watched a one-hour video of their expedition. What amazed them (and me) was the sight of helicopters ferrying something down into the area of the opening to the cave, and across the Colorado River on the opposite bank in a teotally desolalte area, a large piece of earth-moving equipment. What was going on? This is supposed to be a “forbidden no-fly zone” in the Canyon. There was word that a group of investors, supported by Albert A. Hale, senator for Arizona and a member of the Navajo Nation, wanted to build a luxury resort and casino down in that location, with a tramline connecting it to the surface. This seems like a strange location for a resort and casino, although it might be an excuse to visit this isolated area. Furthermore, the Zuni and Hopi tribes were violently against the proposed project, as the mouth of the cave is Sipapu, the portal where their people came up out of the underworld. In fact, It is very sacred to all indigenous people of North America including the Navajo, Senator Hale’s own people. The cave is said to be guarded by an armed soldier. Is a casino really the purpose of this activity? Why the need for an armed guard? Are artifacts being removed from the cave discovered by Jordan and Kincaid in 1898 or 1908?
It’s all very strange. What at first glance seems like fake news, may turn out to be something truly amazing. Or it may be just a casino for the indolently wealthy, although as far as I can tell, no tramline or resort has been built there since 2012. Perhaps Sipapu will be left in peace, but if the 2012 activiy is continuing, that seems unlikely.
The thing is, whatever happens, will we ever know about it?