Kincaid's Cave of the Grand Canyon

On March 12, 1909, The Arizona Gazette published an article titled, "G. E. Kincaid Reaches Yuma." It was a short, mildly interesting announcement that Mr. "Kincaid" was only the second person to make the perilous boat trip down the entire course of the Colorado River, starting from Green River, Wyoming and eventually reaching Yuma, Arizona. A feat worthy of mention in the papers of course, but aside from stating that he took over 700 photographs and "Some interesting archaeological discoveries were unearthed," there was not much indication of the news which was to come next. Twenty four days later, on April 5, 1909, the newspaper ran a follow-up to their first article on the adventurous Mr. Kincaid, except this time it was full, front-page coverage on just what discoveries he'd unearthed previously. This article (also uncredited) reported that along with "G.E. Kinkaid" (his name now spelled with a "k") a "Professor S.A. Jordan" and a team from the Smithsonian had investigated what appeared to be a large network of tunnels and rooms, some filled with ancient mummies and artifacts that did not appear to be from the Western Hemisphere. And that was the end of the story. No further stories were printed by the newspaper, no knowledge by the Smithsonian about any such expedition, and no one knows if "Kinkaid" or "Jordan" ever existed, let alone the cave itself. That leaves us with two questions: is this story real, and if real, what would be the implications to world history?

Tonight's Quote:

"First, I would impress that the cavern is nearly inaccessible. The entrance is 1,486 feet down the sheer canyon wall. It is located on government land and no visitor will be allowed there under penalty of trespass."

"G.E. Kincaid," Explorer, referring to a cave full of anomalous artifacts he discovered in the Grand Canyon.

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THE DEVIL IN THE DINER - http://bit.ly/1T0vNNv -- An animated short by Peter Sabatino & Zeke O'Donnell and the first video on our newly launched YouTube channel as mentioned in the intro of this episode. Blog entry containing a photocopy image of the first AZ Gazette article to mention "G.E. Kincaid" http://bit.ly/1V2PzGA Text of the 1st Arizona Gazette article that mentions "Kincaid's" trip, from The Isis Journals website http://bit.ly/1JVQkkc Text of the 2nd AZ Gazette article describing "G.E. Kinkaid's" find http://bit.ly/1PiJnpk "Canyonitis: Seeing evidence of ancient Egypt in the Grand Canyon" by Philip Coppens http://bit.ly/1NgNPnc Article on io9 about Kinkaid's Cave http://bit.ly/1nuIUdH David Hatcher Childress' article on the Kinkaid Cave http://bit.ly/1JdJlTw "The Location of Kincaid's 'Cave' Revealed" by Jack Andrews http://bit.ly/1KnT70v Ancient American magazine http://bit.ly/1P1s28C "Egyptian Grand Canyon Connection" - article by CNY Artifact Recovery http://bit.ly/1Qaakig “Looks Like a Mulhatton Story” from the Grand Canyon Historical Society newsletter by Don Lago http://bit.ly/1SZozt3 Hoaxes of Joseph Mulhattan http://bit.ly/1OBATdI "Joe Mulhatton" article in The Chicago Tribune, dated April 22, 1891 http://trib.in/1PBSSR0 Larry Walters, the "Lawn Chair Pilot" http://bit.ly/23aOMt7 Reprints of the Gazette's articles and brief commentary from Jason Colavito http://bit.ly/1RQ0tBQ Jason Colavito's critical view of the legend http://bit.ly/1JdJlTw John Wesley Powell http://bit.ly/1Zx3Ht0 Brief history of the Smithsonian Institution http://s.si.edu/1OtSVBA Cataldo Mission http://bit.ly/1Kodc6M The El Tovar Hotel http://bit.ly/1OsSbvz The Mississippian Culture of North America http://bit.ly/1ZxDbzy Russell Burrrows' Cave http://bit.ly/1P1KJt3 Aztalan State Park in Wisconsin http://bit.ly/1OsSbvz Ivan Terence Sanderson, biologist and adventurer http://bit.ly/1OBN7mu Scott Wolter talks about trying to find "Burrows Cave" http://bit.ly/1Ot31lb The Missoula Floods, a.k.a. The Spokane Floods http://bit.ly/1KnF0YS "Beringia" or the Bering Land Bridge http://bit.ly/1Qa6S7j * Little Ice Age http://bit.ly/1Qa6S7j Discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb http://bit.ly/1JyH3rg Bes, Egyptian Nile Valley deity http://bit.ly/1P1sh3I "Ancient Egypt in America" by Mrs. Schuyler Van Rensselaer http://bit.ly/1Qk6Bkk "American Drugs in Egyptian Mummies" by S. A. Wells http://bit.ly/1uCZt4J Ancient Egypt and King Joseph in America? http://bit.ly/20aWfG4

Credits: Episode 030 - "Kinkaid's Cave" Produced by Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess; Ryan McCullough Sound Design; Research Assistance by Tess Pfeifle. Copyright Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess 2016, All Rights Reserved.