The Big Horn Medicine Wheel

The following article was first printed in the Book Nephite North in 2013

High in the mountains of Northern Wyoming situated at one of the highest points of the mountain is an odd arrangement of stone of which one can’t help but think of Stonehenge while looking at it.

Fig. 1

When this was first brought to my attention by Allan Lowe, I had debated on whether or not to evaluate the mystery of it, although it showed promise as to being of BC origins. I had no idea as to how much promise it held.

First let me say that I do not believe that it is a “Medicine Wheel” as perceived in the usual modern day traditional ideas and uses of the many that have hypothesized and supposedly used it for their own purposes, even over the last few hundred years. It is said to have been constructed by plains Indians around 300-800 years ago, did they radio carbon date the rock? How did they arrive at this date range? Why such a broad spectrum? Who was there to see them build it? Was it documented by some unknown source in some unknown place? How many have laid claim to its construction? Of them, if they had built it, how many could explain why it was built and what its purpose was? Have they lost this knowledge? If so, how do they know that it was their ancestors who built it?

The Big Horn Wheel was first brought to my attention by a friend who sent it to me for BC analysis as he knew the subject of my research. Upon first looking at Jack Eddy’s diagram and his theory which is the most accepted, I could see it most likely had BC origins.

The article that I read had some comments that just needed questioning, and the reader needs to know the facts pertaining to this from another perspective. For the reader’s convenience, I will include a small portion of the article.

Astronomical Alignments:

In 1974, an archaeoastronomer named Jack Eddy visited this Medicine Wheel and studied its alignments, that is, its arrangements of rocks, cairns, and spokes. He found the arrangements point to the rising and setting places of the Sun at summer solstice, as well as the rising places of Aldebaran in Taurus, Rigel in Orion, and Sirius in Canis Major -- all bright, important stars associated with the Solstice. Later another astronomer, Jack Robinson, found a cairn pair that marked the bright star Fomalhaut's rising point with the Sun 28 days before solstice.

Fig. 2

Sighting from cairn E through the center hub (which may have supported a pole) marks the summer solstice sunrise. Sighting from C through the center marked the equivalent solstice sunset. Standing at cairn F, one could sight the once-yearly dawn, or heliacal, risings of the key stars Aldebaran, Rigel, and Sirius, which play symbolic roles in an ancient Cheyenne Massaum ceremony and are also important stars in the sacred Lakota circle constellation "The Animal".

The dawn or heliacal rising of a star is important because it pinpoints a date exactly. This is the day a star is first seen, just before dawn, after it has been behind the Sun for an entire season. From about 1200 AD to 1700 AD, these 4 stars would have acted as solstice markers for the Native Americans - Fomalhaut (F to D) would rise 28 days before the Summer Solstice, Aldebaran (F to A) would rise during the 2 days just before the solstice, Rigel (F to B) would rise 28 days after the solstice, and Sirius (F to C) 28 days after that, at the end of August  

Now although there are many other things I could point out in this article, I will only address the bold text points with a little deviation. I don’t know who wrote this article but it is typical of the things that seem to be among the accepted explanations.

We read about the alignments of Aldebaran in Taurus, Rigel in Orion, and Sirius, and my first question is, who cares? For us to believe that these alignments were somehow significant to pinpointing some date with constellations is ridiculous. What? You can’t do that with the alignment of the sun? Does the Sun rise in a new location every day? Would this be like trying to find the forest but can’t see it for all the trees? Why would the ancients ignore the sun’s rising positions and choose a FIRST APPEARANCE of a star instead. You don’t need some big wheel made out of stone to SEE its FIRST APEARENCE. Isn’t a FIRST APPEARENCE sufficient to pin point that day in which it FIRST APEARED? And do we need to hike to the altitude of 9600 feet to SEE its FIRST APPEARANCE, or is it just as visible in the valley? Is any one catching what I’m saying? Are we insinuating that the ancients were idiots? Let me say at this time, I do not believe that the Indians as we know them today are the ones who have constructed this wheel, and that this comment is not for the purpose of diminishing this noble people. With the exception of a few tribes such as the Lenape and Ojibwa, the various tribes had no writing system and chose to resort to oral tradition. Since none of them claim to have made the marks upon the rocks (petroglyphs) or to have been responsible for the Earthworks of the Mississippi Valley or Utah Earthworks, why would they then build this wheel? You will notice I refer to the builders as the ancients and not the Indians.

In this same article it is said that these stars which play symbolic roles in an ancient Cheyenne Massaum ceremony and are also important stars in the sacred Lakota circle constellation The Animal. Yet in the links provided in the article (if one should visit them) you would find nothing pertaining to these stars which are the focal points to their theory.

In the article, it is written: From about 1200 AD to 1700 AD, these 4 stars would have acted as solstice markers for the Native Americans. Why? Was the Sun missing in those days? Solstice meaning "Sun Stopped" Interesting...

But the one statement that got me more than anything else was the concluding statement, and hence marking the end of summer and time to leave the mountain. This is the most asinine statement yet. I don’t suppose the increasing cold weather and the turning of the leaves or even the early snow might have been a clue as to when to leave the mountain? What? They sat up there day after day waiting for this prophetic sign? Who was tending the sheep down below?

A friend has facetiously mentioned that this could simply be a game of duck duck goose, and is it any less ridiculous than Jack Eddy’s (the “archaeoastronomer”) theory for the alignments with stars?

What is it?

In order for anything pertaining to this geo-glyph and/or observatory to make sense, we need to understand some things pertaining to the ancients of which the Indians are in part the descendants of. What was it that they worshipped, Stars? Many of the tribes in the origin and creation legends make note of a supreme being and many of those acknowledge the Son of God (including the Aztecs). Many of the tribes, though they communicated in many ways, made it clear that they worshipped the Sun, or more definitively, that which was behind it meaning the source of it’s brilliance or the power behind it. The only logical explanation in which this circle of stones was built in such a high place is not for a game of alpine duck duck goose but because of the vantage point of being able to see the largest spectrum of the horizon.

In the Native American Petroglyphs, the symbol for sky or the horizon around it is the circle with a base meaning of Holding, in other words it is my belief that the circle itself represents the horizon as viewed from this ideal location. Each of the cairns is positioned to represent a specific location upon the horizon, its equivalent in the symbol based petroglyphs being that of a dot or something similar. Although some of the cairns appear to be built in the shape of a U, I would think that they were intended to be a circle which here again is implied by the symbol Holding. Regardless, I would have no doubt that they are positioned for viewing some point such as a sunset or sunrise to mark a point in time or even a place in the distance.

The purpose of marking some point in time would be best understood by us in our celebration of the Birth of Christ on the specific day of December 25^th (which of course is not the correct day). We also have specific means by recording and observing the shortest day, the longest day and the two times each year which mark a time when the day is equal in time with the night or the midpoint between summer and winter. We don’t need stars for this but there are many reasons why anyone (including the ancients) wanted to know these times specifically.

Also, take into consideration that regardless of the mountains around a valley, the same thing could have been accomplished in the valley below, why did they choose to construct this wheel at the highest point? Many times throughout scriptural history we read of Prophets going to the tops of mountains to speak with God. Even today, many feel more connected when praying in the mountains. The point is that it would seem quite clear: the reasons for its construction are religious in nature as I can find no other reasonable explanation which warrants its construction at the one of highest points around.

There are two things that need to be determined. (1) When was this built? I don’t think it is possible to find out exactly when it was built but perhaps it is possible to discover if it had Origins in BC times. (2) We have the need to discover if it truly has any Solstice/Equinox alignments or related perspectives as well as comparing AD times with BC Times, how can this be done?

Fig. 3

In looking at Eddy’s drawing of the wheel above, we see the alignments that he noticed. It would seem that he noticed two solar alignments, of which, both appear to be noteworthy.

Fig. 4

It has been said that Eddy’s alignments would have been more accurate for 1200 to 1700 AD. I would love to hear what this excuse for non-accuracy is based upon; let’s see how accurate it is in the above image (Fig. 4). The red lines are based upon full sun above the horizon at 5.3 degrees elevation which is the first point of Full Sun. At Eddy’s sunrise position, I must admit that the sun peeks over and casts its first light at his projected point with half sun exposed in between his projection and the red line. This is with a visual horizon at 100 feet higher at 4.3 miles away. What this means is that Eddy’s proposal of alignment is acceptable for the Summer Solstice sunrise. The red line at the sunset position is basically the same in reverse; for sunset at the red line we have full sun at 5.3 degrees elevation with a visible horizon at 1600 feet lower at over 30 miles away. If this is the case and not much adjustment is needed, this would place his sunset position nearly correct at full sun. I find, at two other points, satisfactory alignments with Winter Sunrise and Sunset, but not as acceptable as the summer positions, however, who is going to be up there in 4 to 6 feet of snow to see it? I cannot find any other solar alignment within this stone circle based on today’s North.

What if this were constructed in BC times? What solar alignments would we find?

According to my compiled research, I have established a BC North Pole and with this pole in mind let’s see what we can come up with. How did I do this? This would take a book to explain at least, (SEE: Nephite North)  but this North Pole point which existed between ABOUT 2700 BC until the events of the crucifixion 2018 years ago, was approximately 600 Miles S/W of Anchorage Alaska.

In the following image, Fig. 5 using Eddy’s cairn letters, you can see a red line extending from Eddy’s C Cairn to F which would represent BC north (F) and south (C), Notice the line does not intersect with the center. I would almost think this was intentional as if to say, it was not meant to align with the horizon. In similar stone geo-glyphs with solar alignments, I have noticed that there is a North reference. I would suspect that if the outer circle correlates with the meaning of horizon then is it possible that the center cairn represents the Sun being held and that the outer dots are showing different locations on the horizon?

The Yellow line extending from D through the middle points to the BC Summer Solstice Sunrise. This position is calculated at 47 degrees azimuth and 4 degrees elevation of the sun (5.3 degrees being FULL Sunrise with a 0 degree horizon). The actual visible horizon is located some 15 miles away and is 1600 feet lower than the wheel, which means at 4 degrees you would have full sunrise. At cairn D, we have a perfect alignment.

Fig. 5

At the sun’s position with the line at cairn B extending through the center based on 324 degrees azimuth at a 0 degree elevation, if the visible horizon were not 70 miles away and 1000 feet lower we would have a ½ sunrise, but it is 1000 feet lower and 70 miles away, so this means that at approximately 324 degrees azimuth we have full sun, another perfect alignment. Keep in mind that at 60 degrees Latitude, the sun moves laterally more than it does vertically. 60 degrees was the latitude in BC times, today it is located at a Latitude of 44.83 N.

What about an equinox sunset or sunrise for that matter? In Fig. 6, from the position of cairn A, a line extending though the center in BC times would be about 260 degrees. The visible horizon is some 150 miles away and 3000 feet higher. Not taking this into consideration and based on an equal elevation; full sun (at a 5.3 degree elevation) would be at 162 degrees. However, considering the horizon is 3000 feet higher and 150 miles away, if an additional 1 degree was added in elevation (which seems reasonable), full sun prior to sunset based on this information would be at 260 degrees azimuth, which is a perfect alignment for the equinox sunset. However, this is one that I would have to see for myself.

Fig. 6

The equinox sunrise, in order to fit into the same alignment opposite of the line in the previous picture would require 79 degrees, but the sun at this point would have just have peeked over the visible horizon which is a little over 7 miles away and 300 feet lower. Although this could prove to be an accurate alignment, I’m just not satisfied with it.

At full sun, the alignment would look something like this.

Fig. 7

I would think that the equinox sunrise would be considered an important alignment and one that the ancients would be most concerned with, however I must say that although it is good enough, I was slightly disappointed. I guess I’ll just have to go see for myself that is unless there is another possibility. How about this? SEE Fig. 8

Fig. 8

The only thing that puzzles me about this is, why not set up a cairn in such a way that if a line were drawn on it, it would pass through the center? I don’t know why this is important to me, it just is. Perhaps I am being too meticulous. Now the fall and the spring equinox sunrises occur at 98 degrees azimuth, both alignments in the above picture are at 98 degrees. Is this just a coincidence? If so, it’s a pretty good one.

Winter Solstice

Now although I really don’t think anyone would be there to witness it, and can’t think for the life of me why anyone would indicate a winter solstice sunrise at such an elevation, it would appear that it is present, See Fig 9. Considering that the visible horizon is about 300 feet lower and a quarter mile short of 7 miles away at 141 degrees, if a line were drawn from the center cairn through cairn B (Opposite Summer Sunset); this would mark the exact placement of 141 degrees azimuth at near full sun.

Strangely enough, if we allowed the sun to continue to a full sunrise, we would be at approximately 159 degrees. Keep in mind that the sun at this point during the winter is traversing the sky in more of a horizontal path than a vertical one. If a line were drawn from Eddy’s cairn D to cairn E and beyond this also would point directly at full winter solstice sunrise.

Fig. 9

With the winter solstice sunset, we have remarkably the opposite. A line drawn from the center through D which is at 224 degrees azimuth is exactly the opposite of the summer solstice sunrise with the visible horizon only a mile away at the same elevation. At 224 degrees the sun has gone down with only about 1/4 of it exposed. If we come back to full sun prior to solstice sunset, the sun is at 195 degrees azimuth. With careful positioning of our lines, we can get two alignments that meet at a measurement of 195 degrees. What I mean by careful is for you to notice where the line leaves cairn F and passes through D and where it leaves cairn A and passes through B, it is not perfect. Maybe I’m just being too meticulous again.

Fig. 10                                                          Fig. 11

What about other alignments? In looking at cairn E naturally I wanted to see if this aligns with something significant.  Why is it removed from the outer circle as if to imply that it has some other meaning?

In Fig. 12, If a line were drawn from the center of the medicine wheel to cairn E it marks a place on the horizon some 77 miles away and 100 feet higher than that of the wheel. The dates we have a sunset with full sun at this location in BC times would have been the Evening of May 11^th and the evening of July 30^th which is at 297 degrees azimuth. What is interesting about this is that from the sunset of the 11^th of May to the Summer Solstice sunset is 40 days, the 11^th of May and the 21^st of June (not inclusive). The return trip of the sun from the 21^st to the 30^th of July (inclusive) is also 40 days.

Fig. 12

What about the sunrise direction? Is it also present there? Well guess what. Yes, it is and without a stretch of the imagination or the facts, a line drawn from cairn D through the center is Summer Solstice Sunrise. In Fig. 13 a line drawn from cairn D through cairn A will give us a 62 degree azimuth for the Mornings of May 11^th and July 30^th. It is a repeat of the previous two forty day periods except that it is for sunrise instead of sunset.

Fig. 13

But wait a minute, haven’t we heard this before? But it would be unheard of to believe that Jewish people were ever on this continent right? It would seem that the same dates are two consecutive 40 day periods, which are also present at the Milford Earthworks. For the very curious read more of the life of Moses.

The Plains Indians didn’t build the Milford Earthworks. Some people called the Allegwi did. You know, those people who were run off and went south and eventually became the Aztecs?

Yes, the Aztecs who in part came from the North who also have two consecutive 40 day periods of Fasting, like Moses when he received the first tablets for the Israelites and after breaking them had to return to the mountain and fast another 40 days? Where did the Allegwi, where in the mtDNA haplogroup X has been found in abundance, learn this? Oh well, no matter. I’m sure it is all a coincidence.

mtDNA Haplogroup X distribution

All of the above information is exact and true to the best of my knowledge without any stretching of the truth or the imagination. Visual horizons were considered in each case and determined accordingly. Anyone who would like to see the full details of how I arrived at each location is more than welcome and I will be happy to explain it further. But the best way to verify all of this is to go to the site and set up wooden stakes at the adjusted locations according to BC North, we could implement a pole change back to where it was, but history shows this can be catastrophic and besides, it won’t be long before it will be happening again. I hope you are all prepared.

However, you MUST understand, that just as I have shown in Jack Eddy’s theory and his presumptions that the sun has not at any time changed its course, and that North has always been where it is today or near, and that the sky, as in stars, have never changed, you must also realize that even though I am very certain of my BC North position, we have no way of knowing if the sun rose in the same positions it does today or that it did not rise in the west and set in the east... Just to be fair…

Mining Operations of the Spanish in Central Utah

Now I wish to share what I can now call a family story... but I did not learn this until just a few years ago...

The high Uintas is not the only hot spot for Spanish lore in Utah, several other places have their stories as well, and some places you never knew… One such place in which I became familiar with... However 150 years before I had been there I discovered my G G Grandfather had already walked this trail...

Borrowed from the Salt Lake Herald 1896-08-15

In 1854 Brigham Young sent out an expedition party of six men, one of those men was Daniel Buckly Funk, one of the pioneers of Millard county Utah.

Daniel Buckley Funk of Manti Utah

My G G Grand Pappy

The party of scouts made a careful examination of Millard County, and in the mountain about 20 miles South of where present day Scipio now stands they found a fresh and well used trail leading from the canyon up the mountain. The discovery of the trail was not surprising to these hardy men, but excitement ran high when it was found that the trail had been made by horses that had been shod, and the scouts had good reason to wonder at this discovery, as the Indians, then numerous in that portion of the country, never shod their horses or ponies.

Who then could have made the trail? Not white men certainly, for there were none in the country excepting themselves, and the Indians they knew could not have made it.

With curiosity arouse a to the highest pitch they followed the well-worn path for several miles until at last they came to the bottom of a steep hill, and at this point they rested, being fearful of ascending, not knowing but that further on they might meet with a force that was larger than their own; and whether it would be friend or foe, they did not know.

Considering that “discretion was the better part of valor,” they began to retrace their steps, and on the way down the canyon they met an Indian, and as one of the party could converse in the Indian language, inquiries were made as to who had made the trail, and for what purpose.

The Indian who was well acquainted with that locality, informed the scouting party that the trail had been made by Spaniards, who were working a very rich gold mine just over the hill from where they were, and the red skin volunteered the further information that a few miles down the trail there could be found the spring where the Spanish miners crushed and washed the ore.

Acting on this knowledge the party followed the trail down the canyon and found the spring in the locality as described by the Indian, and also some pieces of quartz ore that was fairly lousy with the yellow metal.

The scouting party, upon their return home, described what they had found in their report to Brigham Young, who forbade them or anyone going their again, as trouble would surely ensue if they did, and so the discovery rested until it began to take the form of legend in the minds of the people of Utah.

In 1888 however Daniel Funk took his son young Dan, into the mountains told him the story of the Spanish mine and pointed out the mountain in which this long-lost bonanza was located.

The elder Funk has since passed into the great beyond, but his son, imbued with the idea of finding immense treasure in the deserted mine, has devoted nearly eight years in the endeavor to find it. He has prospected these mountains thoroughly but found nothing of value. This spring however he is determined to go over nearly every foot of the ground, and began to prospect the hill as closely as a field could be plowed.

( the Salt Lake Herald 1896-08-15)

Some 73 years later....

Just days ago I discovered the previous story and found that I have walked the same trail many times that my G G Grandfather walked, Daniel Buckley Funk.

The trail mentioned in the following story is the same trail mentioned in the previous story. Could the cave mentioned within be the same site the Spaniards were working that Daniel Funk almost came upon? The following story was first posted here in April of 2014.

The year was 1927 in central Utah when two cattle ranchers were making their last trip for the season to gather in their cattle which had been grazing in the mountains through the summer. The two men had rode their horses from their camp located lower in the mountains to the base of a well-known peak in the area where their cattle were last known to have grazed. They had gathered in all they could find and were making their last trip down the mountain to their base camp.

The weather was looking like a storm was coming and sure enough, when the cattle men were just a couple miles from base camp and turning into the main canyon from the north and heading west, the storm hit them with full force. The storm was quite heavy and the snow was hitting them in the face with a strong force which made it difficult to see. Even the horses were having troubles staying on the trail. The ranchers decided to let go of the reigns and let the horses instinctively seek cover. Immediately the horses turned around and proceeded back up the trail and turned north, where they had just came from. Not far past the turn northward the horses took off the main trail and began to climb an old steep trail heading towards a what appeared to be a thicket of trees. The trail began to level out as they entered the stand of trees. They rode further into the grove and supposedly rode into a place where there was an overhanging ledge in a conglomerate rock formation.

The cave like overhang was said to be large enough the horses to walk in with the riders still mounted. Once inside the cattlemen dismounted and began to gather whatever they could to start a fire. One of the cattlemen noticed in the back of this cave like overhang was a small hole large enough for a man to enter. Upon closer examination it was found to be a cave and large enough to further get away from the storm. The two men entered and began to build a fire. As the fire blazed they noticed a tunnel and making a make shift torch they decided to explore a little. One of the men making his way through the tunnel stumbled over something in the center of the tunnel, holding his torch closer it revealed a pyramid stack of what turned out to be ten pound gold bars. Further exploring, two more stacks were found.

In every case it seems when a story comes about such as this, it always seems that some one finds something and for whatever reasons they do not take anything and then cannot find it again. Well this story is a little different.

The two men hardly believing their luck and what they had found, gathered up as much as they could carry out. One man shoved a bar down his pants of which it slid down pant leg and broke his foot. Still the men managed to get out of there with enough to take care of their families for some years. When the storm lifted the men took careful notes of observations so they could return.

It wasn't a few years later and the great depression hit and anti-gold hoarding laws came into play. During these years of the depression it is recalled by some of the locals I have spoken to, that there was certain families in the area where the men lived, and being cattlemen none the less, it seemed they got through these depression years without want or need. It was 15 years later before the men attempted to return to their found cache site. It would seem even though they felt they had good reference points and the map, all they could do was argue about which hill they were on. The two men as far as the story goes, never found the right place again.

And again... some 70 plus years later....

Over 70 Years later the story would find its way to me by a friend who had contact with and acquainted the original family. It would seem that after another 15 years of searching and then another dozen years or so the descendants of one of the two men tried their hand at looking for it. But to no success the story was passed along. Upon receiving the story in 2003, my wife and I decided that beings we had some good vantage points or things given as line of sight from the opening of the cave like overhang, that we could bring ourselves to a place between the two and for the most part backwards analyze it. This seemed to work quite well and knowing the other things used to triangulate the site we were able to find a target area. We scheduled a trip into the area which isn't to terribly difficult to get into but takes a little hiking, the Actor Clint Walker spent time searching for this one which is in a way how the story came to me.... Clint Walker resident of Johnson Canyon near Kanab has since passed away.

May 30th 1927 - May 21st 2018

We had chosen what is supposed as being a forest service trail to make our way into this place, as we traveled along the wide and well defined trail we began to find things along the trail that made it very clear, this was no forest trail regardless of whether they claimed it or not. The first thing we found was a tree carving we never expected but well known from many years of being in the Uinta Mountains and actually dating the trees and the carvings where possible. This one was found carved on Mountain Mahogany.

When we found this right next to the trail it was clear that a likely employee of the Forest Service had attempted to carve over the trail marker in an effort to mask it from what it actually is or just better define what he thought was an old Forest Service trail marker. The glyph used to mark a forest service trail is the same as the glyph used by the Spaniard to lead to their mines and such. Many do not realize that the Forest service long ago adopted this glyph to hide the fact that someone such as Spaniards were coming here long ago. It is said by some that the way the glyph works is, that the dot above the line means the trail going in and the dot below the line means the trail going out, and that may be according to the Forest Service. But if the glyph proves to have been carved hundreds of years prior, who from the Forest Service was here to carve it? The true meaning of an authentic Spanish Trail Marker is, the dot being above the line means the intended mine it is leading to is ahead or up. If the dot is below the line as you face the tree, the mine is behind you and if you are traveling in the direction facing the tree, you are traveling away from the mine. This Glyph is identical in base meaning as the Native American Glyph.

Although we have never core sampled this tree nor the carving itself, knowing the Mountain Mahogany is a very slow grower, I called my Biologist friend and sent him photos for verification of the variety of the tree. He told me that it was more of a bush like a Juniper but that it was a slow grower like scrub oak and asked the depth of the over growth since it was marked of which is about 3 inches, astonished he asked what the diameter of the tree was and I told him 18 inches, again surprised he said you have a very old tree and a very old carving.

Continuing along the now very apparent old trail we found a fallen monument and not to much further up the trail we found another still standing but somewhat hidden in some Junipers.

Further up the trail are even more trees with the appropriate mark showing the mine is still ahead. This one is a Juniper.

An old Juniper with about 4 inches of overgrowth since it was cut.

In the same general area but further up the trail we found evidence of a silver vein crossing the trail, near anyone could see silver is present by the samples of stained rock crossing the old trail, If the image does not show it very well, there is a heavy blue-ish silver stained layer of rock crossing the old trail, a clear indication of silver. By this time we knew we were in the right area and we were certainly near to an old Spanish Mine and likely near the cache site.

Silver dark blue stained rock found crossing the old trail,

shining due to sunlight.

As the excitement built up due to the things we were finding, we just couldn't wait to continue. Rounding a corner further up the trail we find an unusual monument and past this point about 1/3 of a mile, we find no more trees with marks. The monument is built in an unusual fashion with an overhang built into it as if to say this is what you are looking for and from here you can see it. At the point of the monument however we could not see any conglomerate as was indicated in the story or so we thought. However a closer look and we found the conglomerate.

Author examining the Lichen Growth

This monument has since been destroyed and I have a theory on who it may have been and why, and this is one of the many reason why documentation is very important. To this day I can show you exactly where it sat, and this is important. Not far from this monument is the conglomerate we had hoped to find, whether we have the right deposit of conglomerate or not is not known. In sight from this monument is conglomerate ledges of which still to this day needs to be searched, but I suspect a lower location in order to fit the story. We have returned a few times since, but nothing has been done to locate the overhanging ledge. The forest service has added a sign early in the trail which says no motorized vehicles past this point, at a point we use to be able to access long past this on four wheelers. It is a good thing our 4 wheelers don't have motors and instead have engines. ;-) It is now a much longer walk but not to much more difficulty. I’m not a miner, but I sure would like to get a geologist in there to find this silver vein.

I feel this story which began 160 years ago has been kept alive with witnesses for a reason... some 15 years ago I was all over this, a lot has happened since... Is there anyone with interest?

The Vanishing Gold shipment

Sometimes we hear stories of vast treasures, often times the story lacks the evidences to show the possibility that it ever happened, often times some of these stories are held as a false story or hoax usually due to poor research or just plain the inability to believe. If the story in question is in fact a hoax, and the research is thorough, the chance of finding a good solid clue will most likely never come about. I am going to tell you a story that is not well known, and the evidences to validate its likelihood were not easy to find, it is too early in the research to say definitively as to whether is in fact true, but the alternative leaves me wondering what was the motive if in fact not true, disproving a story is actually easier than proving one. I will say at this point, I have plenty of evidence to convince even skeptical me of its authenticity.

From the historic view, gold was discovered in Colorado as early as 1700’s Gold held its value for many years at about $20 per ounce until about 1862 when gold prices began to rise. In 1864 gold having more than doubled its value at $47 per ounce brought many new ventures to the Colorado Mountains. Those who were able to find this precious commodity during those year were quite fortunate. Over the next 5 years gold began to drop and settled again, but not more than about 21$ per ounce where it held close to this for another 60+ years. Sometime between 1864 and 1866, a major discovery was made in the Colorado Mountains, it is difficult to find any information regarding this as it was kept very quiet due to the Civil war and the unrest afterwards of many who had come out of the war with no lively hood and of the Confederate underground who remained active for many years to come. Reports of large gold heist were kept quite for several reason, but mainly because it posed as an embarrassment to those who financed and planned the shipment.

From 1859 and for the next 60 years, 500 million in Gold (43 Billion today) from just 4 key counties, would go “Reported, Over one Billion in the wealth of those days was shipped according to the records.

By August of 1869, a vast hoard of gold dust and nuggets accumulated and was getting far too large for shipment and too risky to transport the entire hoard to Denver, however it was decided with secrecy, the right people and armed guards it could be done without detection. It was decided an alternative route would be made rather than the usual shipping route. Whether the entire accumulation was shipped or part held back, over 66 tons was sent heavily guarded on its way. However doing so without detection, they were wrong. Somewhere along the route, many oxen and an unknown number of  freight wagons and many guards and teamsters many of which were Frenchman, and over 66 tons of Gold just seemed to disappear. The total shipment was valued in the day it left its origin of $39,600,000, that would be valued today at just a hair under 2,700,000,000.

What happened to it? 

Well... in the mid to late summer in 1869 William Cole was laying low under his current alias in Pleasantview Idaho on a ranch some 5 miles or so south west of Malad Idaho having married a local girl by the name of Susan Palmer. The dust of the overthrow of our free Republic by world Banker elites, (Civil War) was not quite settled nor would it be for many years to come. Being still very much activated William Cole, better known as Colonel Jesse Woodson James, received a dispatch requiring him to leave immediately for Fairplay Colorado and leaving behind a pregnant wife who would later give birth in May 19th of 1870 to Alice Susan Cole, a daughter he would never know of. Jesse's first priority and loyalty in this life was to the Confederacy, Confederate underground through the division known as the KGC. When duty called Jesse responded.

"Jesse W. James rode all the way from Malad City, Idaho, to lead ex-Confederate raiders in the capture of a wagon train hauling 66 tons of gold dust and nuggets, known as placer gold. All horses, mules and oxen vanished. The treasure was buried 22 feet deep under a big slab of rock at an elevation of 13,000 feet. The wagon train was in route from Granite to Denver, Colorado, when overtaken by Jesse and his Golden Circle agents."

To this date I have not been able to find in the old newspapers that this event even occurred. But I am not surprised. I have however gathered facts as to where it occurred, who was responsible and where its resting place likely is.

This is just one of the many projects I hope to get to one day, should I find my way out of this ironic situation I am in. Many have raised their hands in interest when I have sought a partner in the past, to date, I have yet to find one that is adventurous and serious enough, and one who has what it takes to see it through to the end, If only, I could push back the hands of time, about 20 years would do it. I wonder how old JC was back then….