02/16/2021
In 1867, James White Was Prospecting With A Small Group Of Friends Along The Colorado River. They Weren’t Having Much Success At Their Current Location So They Decided That They Would Try To Find Some Placer Deposits Further Up The River. As White And His Group Were Making Their Way Up The River, They Were Attacked By Some Natives Between The Modern Day Cities Of Grand Junction And Moab In Utah.
Only James White And One Of His Companions Had Escaped The Attack But They Absolutely Could Not Go Back The Way They Came And Felt That They Could Make Their Escape By Traveling On The River. Using Logs That They Found From The Banks Of The River, They Tied Them Together And Cast Off Into The Vast Gorge.
The River Soon Became Very Rough And White’s Partner Was Cast Off The Raft And Drowned Along With All Their Supplies. James Had Found Himself Alone Without Any Food Feeling Hopeless And Lost.
James Was Becoming Seriously Sick And I Suspect This Illness Was From The Personal Injuries He Must Have Sustained During The Attack And There Is No Doubt That The Stress Of Losing His Friends And Fearing That Death Was Coming For Him Next, That White Passed Out On The Raft While It Traveled The River.
Mr. White Was In And Out Of Consciousness When He Found Himself And The Raft Resting Along The Shore Of The River Bank. Barely Conscious White Crawled To A Large Cave Opening Where He Made His Way To Get Out Of The Blistering Heat And Find Safety Far Away From The Natives That He Believed Would Soon Have His Scalp.
James Crawled As Far As He Could Into The Cave But He Was So Exhausted And Sick That He Immediately Unconscious And After Some Unknown Amount Of Time Passed “ Which Could Have Been Hours Or Days”, Some Natives Scouts Came Into The Cave With Torches Lit And White Awoke Fearing This Was Going To Be The End Of Him But The Natives Helped Instead Of Killing Him By Giving Him Food And Water To Help Him Survive, They Would Soon Leave Him In The Cave Unharmed, But While They Were There Helping Him He Looked All Around The Illumined Cave And He Saw Golden Relics, Giant Statues, Masks Made Of Silver And Turquoise, The Room Was Literally Full Of Gold And Jewelry, Glowing Stones Of Emeralds, Turquoise, Rubys, Jade And Large Gold Bars Stacked Everywhere. James Was In Amazement As None Of These Objects Resembled Anything He Had Ever Seen In His Travels Of The Southwest. James Eventually Made An Attempt To Leave The Cave And Was Later Found Down The River Where He Was Nursed Back To Health.
Later, When James White Retold His Account Of His Journey Through The Grand Canyon, The News Was Picked Up By The Press And An Archaeologists Contacted Him Showing Him Pictures Of Aztec Ceremonial Figures And Weapons And Other Azteca Artifacts And Mr. White Said, “Yes, That Is Absolutely What I Saw Within The Cave”. James White Never Tried To Go Back And Get Any Of The Treasure For Himself And He Never Tried To Benefit From The Knowledge He Had About The Treasures Location. He Did Returned To The Area But He Refused To Help Anybody That Wanted To Find The Treasure That Was Hidden In The Caves Of The Grand Canyon.
Most People Of HIs Time Originally Dismissed His Story As Delusional, But Over The Years James Whites Story Never Changed And His Details And Knowledge Of The Canyons Geography Were Always Described The Same This Was Man Who Was Absolutely Confident In His Facts And His Intimate Knowledge And Descriptions Of The Canyon Were Accurate.
I Believe That James White Had A New Respect For The Natives And The Sacred Land And Treasures He Had Witnessed. I Am Confident He Realized That He Was Laying In A Holy Temple When The Native Scouts Found Him Passed Out And They Honored That Sacred Space And Place And Did No Harm To Mr. White. I Would Say That James White Knew That It Was That Sacred Treasure And Sacred Cave That Saved His Life That Day And He Wasn’t Going To Reveal It To Anyone, It Was A Holy Temple Of The Natives.
Today Many Experts Now Agree That White Is Probably The First Settler On Record To Travel Through The Grand Canyon Usurping John Wesley Powell’s Title .
The Grand Canyon Is One Of The Most Remote Areas In The Southwest And To This Day There Aren’t Many People Willing To Explore This Area And Even If There Was Someone Willing To Try, It Would Take Divine Intervention To Find The Cave And The Lost Treasure. To Date No One Has Ever Found Whites Cave. Could This Be One Of The Many Rumored Locations Of The Aztecs And Montezuma’s Lost Treasure ? Did White Escape The Curse Of Montezuma Only Because He Chose Not To Be Greedy, And Decided To Protect The Location Of The Treasure, Maybe He Had Some Kind Of Spiritual Experience While Laying In The Cave And Knew That His Life Had Changed Forever.
My Family And I Are Planning Several Trips In The Near Future To Explore Certain Areas Of The Grand Canyon That My Grandfather Left For Us To Investigate. I Have A Strong Feeling That The Time Is Near For This Treasure To Be Revealed To The World And It Is To Be Used For The Good Of ALL Native American Brothers And Sisters And The Entire World. I Feel The Great Spirit Is Whispering To Me To Seek Out The Blessings From The Elders And Together Bring Peace And Unity To Our Beautiful Colored Sacred Lands.
Last Updated 02/17/2021
Copyright Dan Dillman For The Dillman Family 1965-2021