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played at the Sanpete County fair,
held annually at Manti. While discussing his finds with friends
at a local cafe, he was approached by a now elderly negro, George
Keller, who told Brewer about a secret cave where many more arrowheads
were to be found.
s Brewer recorded in his personal journal for May 10, "I
went and looked for the place but I couldn't find it so I went
and asked him (Keller) again where it was but all that I could
get was a laugh from him. I thought that he was pulling a fast
one on me so I let it go at that." Nine days later, "I
went out to the Keller place and offered him some wine with the
promise that he would show me the place he had told me about
a while back. He said that he would not only show me the place
but that we would go in! |
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"No wonder I couldn't find
it; I was on the wrong hill. I went into the cave and found 30
arrowheads right off. I went back to the truck and thanked the
man. I then asked how he came to know of the cave and he said
that he and an Indian boy played there as an old hideaway."
Nearly twenty years later, I was personally introduced to John
Brewer, and he told me about his discovery of the Manti cave
in an area behind Temple Hill. We met at Provo, Utah, in the
company of Dr. Paul R. Cheesman, head of Book of Mormon Studies
in the Department of Religion at Brigham Young University. Brewer
impressed me as a soft spoken, kindly man, but without much worldly
experience. He told us about his encounter with old George Keller
and the difficulties he experienced while locating the secluded
cave. In his search for more |
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arrowheads at the site, he was surprised
to find a set of stone steps carved into the cave floor. Clearing
away some debris, he claimed the steps led to an entrance of
a "tomb." Entering this chamber, he saw ten stone boxes.
He opened five of them; they all contained small, metal plates
inscribed with an unknown script. Nearby lay two large stone
coffins. Opening them both, he found they contained mummified
human remains. One body allegedly had red hair with skin still
attached to its bones, while the other was blond. The mummies
were |
Secret Chambers... Page
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