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THE MYSTERY OF
THE BURIED CROSSES
HAMLIN GARLAND
THE MYSTERY OF
THE BURIED CROSSES
NARRATIVE OF
TSTCHIC EXPLORATION
By
HAMLIN GARLAND
Author of "Forty Years of Psychic Research"
"A Son of the Middle Border,"
"The Tyranny of the Dark"
etc.
"We know that clairvoyants may detect hidden
things at great distances."
DR. ALEXIS CARRELL: Man The Unknown
ILLUSTRATED WITH
PHOTOGRAPHS AND ENDPAPERS
NEW YORK
E. P. BUTTON AND COMPANY
COPYRIGHT, 1939
BY E. P. DUTTON & COMPANY, INC.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
PRINTED IN U.S.A.
First Edition
JUL 1 1945
MA 9 '39
Author's Note
WITH intent to present an impartial attitude throughout this
narrative of experiment, the author names his characters with-
out the use of quotation marks the customary signs of doubt.
The reader is left to the expression of his own judgment in
each individual case.
Table of Contents
Author's Note
INDEX OF CHAPTERS
PAGE
1. The Problem 15
2. Analyzing the Artifacts 30
3 . I Invoke Clairvoyant Aid 45
4. Mrs. Parent Promises Aid 5 8
5. Father Serra Speaks 70
6. The New Mechanism 85
7. Conversations with the Invisibles 98
8. Finding Our First Cross 1 06
9. Sanjacinto 119
i o. The Huachi Valley 1 2 5
1 1 . Testing the Psychic 1 3 3
1 2 . Fuller Takes Charge 1 4 3
13. Two More Artifacts 153
14. Oiiate and Father Martinez 163
1 5 . A Talk with Father Garces 1 7 6
1 6. Espejo and Onate 188
Table of Contents
17. Adam Smith and Mary Gar d 19?
1 8. On the Ortega Highway 209
1 9. Long- Wire Tests 2 1 9
20. The Ortega Hilltop 2 3 1
2 1 . Father Marcos 244
2 2 . Alvarado Closes the Case for Guatemala 258
2 3 . San Luis Obispo 2 7 i
24. The Otay Reservation 2 8 1
2 5 . The Question of Identity 2 9 1
2 6 . Charging the Jury 304
A Personal Afterword 3 1 3
INDEX OF APPENDICES
PAGE
1 . The Medium 3 1 7
2 . Miscellaneous Evidence 324
3 . Analysis of the Material of the Crosses 333
4. Text and Translation of Spanish Letter 3 3^
5 . List of Mrs. Parent's Discoveries of Crosses
and Money 338
6. List of Witnesses 352
Table of Plates
Hamlin Garland Frontispiece
INDEX OF ILLUSTRATIONS
1. G. C Parent 17
2. "Sacred rock" 23
3 . Three barbaric crosses 2 9
4. Amulet with monkey heads 37
5. Metal plaque 39
6. Amulet 4 1
7. Trail markers 43
8. Mrs. Sophia Williams 47
9. Mrs. Violet Parent 59
10. Metal cross 67
1 1 . Father Serra and his mother 7 1 & 7 3
1 2 . Witch doctor 7 7
1 3 . Constance Garland 8 1
14. Hamlin Garland 83
15. Mrs. Williams holding transmitter 87
j6. The author's study 89
17. Animal head and Parent and Hutchison 9i&93
1 8. The author and Mrs. Williams 1 07
19. "Man-made" rocks m
Table of Plates
20. The author and Mrs. Williams 1 1 3
2 1 . Cross found by Constance Garland 1 1 7
22. Mrs. Williams (test) 141
2 3 . Henry B. Fuller 1 47
24. Dancing Indian 1 54 & 1 5 5
2 5 . Calendar plaque 1 6 1
26. Amulet representing Monkey clan 171
2 7 . Amulet with spear head 1 8$'
28. Amulet i9>
29. Adam Smith as a child 19%
30. Adam Smith between ten and twelve 199
3 1 . Adam Smith as a young man 201
32. Trail markers and Serra's mother 203
33. Enlargement of seashore scene 206
34. Seashore scene 207
3 5 . Cross and Trail marker 2 1 1
36. Rain cross with panther heads 2 1 5
3 7 . Cross with sun rays 239
38. The track of the sloth 247
39. Monkey and panther amulet 261
40. Amulet with butterfly 267
41. The author and psychic at work 28*5
42. Map 316
THE MYSTERY OF
THE BURIED CROSSES
<J\
Chapter i
The Problem
AFTER more than half a lifetime of almost continuous consid-
eration of occult phenomena, I published in 1936 the results
of my experiments in a volume called Forty Years o] Psychic
Research, believing it to be my final contribution to this science;
but in 1937, less than a year afterward, I found myself involved
in the most amazing psychic problem I had ever confronted.
I shall begin by stating the way in which this problem took
possession of me.
Shortly after the delivery of an address to a Los Angeles
society some four years ago, I received a letter from a man
named Parent, who said, "I wish to bring to your attention
some very strange happenings in the life of my wife. She has
discovered many hidden objects and she has taken many spirit
photographs which I would like to have you see."
This statement appealed to me so strongly that I replied,
asking him to send me some of the spirit pictures. This he did,
and I was at once keenly interested in them. They were en-
tirely different from any photographs I had ever seen. Al-
though they were all small and printed on cheap paper, each
print presented a group of tiny figures several of them were
Indians standing among the chairs and tables of a cottage sit-
ting room. Others represented mission priests in long robes and
hoods. None were the usual, two-dimensional ectoplasmic
forms. They seemed solid. Their faces were well modeled and
their forms threw shadows. They were as real as the furniture
around them.
'5
The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
With increased interest I wrote at once to the owner, ask-
ing permission to examine others in his collection.
"Come to my home," he replied, "and I will show you all
I have."
Curious to learn more about the production of these singular
portraits, I went to call on him. I found him living in a two-
room apartment of threadbare aspect. He was a small man of
quiet manner and his speech, while slightly ungrammatical, was
ready and lucid. Fie was evidently a clerk or a salesman of
some kind.
He explained that his wife (who had been dead five years)
was strangely gifted from her birth. "As a child she was able
to foretell events, and as a grown woman she became a clair-
voyant and practiced in St. Louis. She came to Redlands,
California, in 1903. We were married there. It was not until
1914, just as she was recovering from a severe illness, that she
began to have what she called 'visions' you would call them
trances and in these visions the spirits of the dead came to
her and became her guides."
At this point he brought out a valise filled with notebooks
and several bundles of typewritten manuscript. "These are the
records," he said, "made at the time of those experiences. In
1915, guided, so she told us, by the spirits of the mission fathers
and several of their Indian converts, who came to her in her
sleep, she began to locate the burial places of certain treasures
which had been hidden by the Indians more than a hundred
years before. These places we found. In these books and papers
are the detailed reports which I wrote out after each of our
trips. Guided by the padres and Indians, we recovered nearly
fifteen hundred crosses which the Indians had buried when the
missions were threatened by the Mexicans."
16
The Problem
G. C. PARENT
He showed me several pictures of cases in which these
crosses lay, but I gave little attention to them at the moment.
My interest was centered upon his collection of "spirit" photo-
graphs. At his suggestion, I took several more of the photo-
graphs with me, feeling that I had happened upon something
which was at least a remarkable case of clairvoyant mediumship.
In my study, with the photographs laid out before me, I
went over them one by one with a magnifying glass, attempt-
ing to discover the method of their production. They were all
small prints, taken by a cheap camera and printed on poor
paper. Most of them were faded, and none of them gave
evidence of professional skill.
17
The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
The figures appeared to have been photographed as they
stood amid the humble furnishings of the Parent home. All
were diminutive. Some were only a few inches in height, others
were about one-quarter life size. Among them were several
snapshots of William T. Stead, whom I had known in London
and who, I am quite sure, would not have posed in the absurd
costume and with the awkward gestures of the picture. Some
of the Indian heads were so well modeled that I recognized
them as plains chieftains Ute, Sioux and Omaha.
Unable to pass judgment upon them, I returned them to
Parent, who said, "I want you to write a book about them
and about the crosses. I can't make people believe in them;
you can. I can't write, and if I did no one would read it. I
assure you that my wife took these pictures in our own home
with her own little camera."
I asked to see the crosses, but he explained that they were
stored in another part of the city. "If you will write about
them, Til take you to see them."
I explained that I was in the middle of a book for which I
had contracted and that I could not take on another book at
this time. " After I have finished this volume, I shall have some
leisure, and then I may consider the story of your explora-
tions."
I fully intended to do this, but nearly two years went by
without further word from him. His story remained in my
mind, however, and at last, with a few weeks of leisure at my
command, I went to call on him. I was too late! He had passed
into the "fourth dimension," and I could find no one who
knew what had become of his photographs and manuscripts.
With a feeling of remorse for having neglected him I set
out to discover his collection, and after several months of in-
quiry I learned that it had passed into the possession of a rela-
18
The Problem
tive a certain Mrs. Louise Stack, of Moorpark, California.
In October, 1936, 1 drove over to her home, which was about
forty miles from Los Angeles.
I found her a gray-haired woman of familiar Western pio-
neer type, and the cottage in which she lived was small and
poor. On hearing my name she exclaimed, "I know about you.
Gregory wanted you to make a book about his crosses. He
spoke of it several times just before he died."
This added to my regret. "I am sorry I did not see him again.
I cannot promise to write his story even now, but I should like
to make a closer study of his records."
"I have his books and papers here, and I will turn them all
over to you if you want them."
Thereupon she brought out several small boxes of notebooks
and photographs and handed them to me. "Take them. He
wanted you to have them. The crosses are all stored in Los
Angeles. You should have them also. If you'd like to have them
I will come over and show you where they are."
On the following day she came to luncheon with me and
afterward led me to a lot on North Main Street and to a small
carpenter shop, where I was shown seventeen glass-topped
cases filled with crosses and crucifixes, all neatly arranged. I
estimated that these boxes contained some twelve or fifteen
hundred specimens, and upon Mrs. Stack's order, I then and
there became their custodian.
Not knowing what to do with them, I asked my friend,
Dr. Hodge, of the Southwest Museum, to house them till I
could find a place for them. To this he consented, and the day
following we transported them to the basement of the Museum.
All the papers, plates and photographs I brought to my study.
I gave first attention to the photographs. With intent to
make careful inspection of them, I mounted them in a book,
19
The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
being careful to copy the dates and explanations which Parent
had written on the back of each print. In this way I was able
to trace the beginning and the end of this "phase" of his wife's
mediumship.
It began in 1916 and ended in 1918. On the earlier films the
forms were tiny and without detailed features, but week by
week they grew in size and definition, and in 1917 became
almost lifelike in expression.
On some of them Parent had written, "These were taken in
the presence of visitors." On others, "These were secured in
the home of a neighbor, with nothing before the camera but
a sheet." Two he described as "portraits of 'dead souls/ the
wives or husbands of our friends." "This is the spirit picture of
one of our neighbors a butcher," appeared on the back of
one of the prints.
Forms representing Indians came into the picture almost at
once. Some of these figures resembled Sioux or Cheyenne war-
riors with plumes and blankets; others who wore only breech-
clouts with mountain lions' tails depending from their belts
were coastal Indians. Some of these figures were only a few
inches tall, others were nearly three feet in height. Many were
absurdly grotesque of countenance.
Seeking to know more of this medium's story, I turned to
the records which had been handed over to me. On examina-
tion I found them to consist of twenty-two notebooks or
journals, closely written on both sides of each leaf in Parent's
handwriting, carefully dated and numbered. Accompanying
these notebooks were two huge bundles of typewritten manu-
script in which Parent had attempted a detailed biography of
his wife and a history of their discoveries. Part of this story
was written as if by the medium herself and part as if coming
from her biographer. It was based upon the journals and was
20
The Problem
quite as authentic in tone. It dealt with all their experiments
and discoveries, and made an almost pathetic appeal for the
reader's sympathy and belief. It ended about midway of their
campaign of exploration.
Other valuable data were contained in scattered manuscript
in which Parent had listed all the places in which "finds" had
been made, together with the number and character of the
items and running through all these records were careful
references to the notebook in which a more detailed account
could be found. Even the pages were numbered.
Parent went further. On type written sheets in another
bundle, he had set down with scrupulous candor all their fail-
ures and the promises by the "dead souls" which had never
been fulfilled. Several pages were devoted to the hasty scrib-
bles in which he had tried to record the communications of the
medium while in trance.
In short, this little grocer's clerk, in his bungling and tedious
way, had honestly tried to make a scientific statement of his
experiences as the husband of a woman who walked with spirits
and who had proven her faculty of clairvoyance not only by
locating long-buried treasure belonging to the Indians, but by
indicating the location of caches of gold coin and bundles of
currency lost or hidden by miners fifty years ago.
Obscure, illiterate ?nd poor, for nine years he persisted in his
search with tireless devotion. With him it was a sacred duty.
There was no evidence in this story that he ever tried to
market his collection, although he several times expressed a
wish that it might go to a museum and be used to spread a be-
lief in the return of the dead.
At times he complains, "No one aids us but the 'dead souls'
who lead us where we find buried money. They say, 'We do
this to help you carry on your work.' " Although he carefully
21
The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
listed these monies and tells how they were recovered from
rusty tin cans, rotted pocketbooks and other containers buried
in the beds of streams, in the gravel and among the rocks, he
puts the number of dollars into a grocer's code. In a sense,
these discoveries were more convincing than the finding of
the Indian relics, for no one could reasonably accuse him of
planting gold and silver coins or bank notes.
The process of finding the money was similar to that of
finding the crosses. The "dead souls" came to Mrs. Parent in
her "visions" and told her exactly where she would find these
caches. She was led to them by the same inexplicable power.
In this way she found thousands of dollars in cans and bottles
and oilcloth wrappers. Parent states that she found enough
money to provide for a living and to build their house. The
two activities must therefore be considered together.
According to these records, his wife began to see and con-
verse with the dead in 1914. He records this: "It was while
recovering from a severe illness that she was visited by her
dead mother, who told her that if she would look over the
doors of her apartment she would find a gold coin. We both
considered this merely a dream, for our apartment had just
been thoroughly cleaned. Nevertheless, we looked, and sure
enough, over a door leading to the porch we found a ten-dollar
gold piece."
To the Parents, who were very poor, this was a prodigious
event. It convinced them both of the reality of her vision.
"Early in 1915," Parent goes on to say, "certain 'dead souls,'
padres from San Juan Capistrano Mission, came to Violet in
a vision and said to her, 'When our mission was threatened by
hostile forces we advised our people to hide their trinkets in
balls of adobe, for these when dried would be indistinguishable
from common rocks. This they did and now they are eager to
22
The Problem
One of the small "sacred rocks'" showing
cross in place. Said to be a sacrificial offering.
have these 'sacred rocks' recovered. We will show you where
to find them.' "
He states that he had no car and that he was free from work
only on Sundays. In his need he turned to certain of his neigh-
bors, who became interested in his plan and were willing to
provide transportation. Each trip, therefore, was in the nature
of a Sunday excursion to the places indicated by the "dead
souls."
23
The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
In their search, the Parents and their fellow explorers were
especially aided by the information given by the spirit of a
chieftain who explained that in making these "sacred rocks"
they had mixed with the adobe an oil of their own discovery
which helped to harden the material. 'The smell of this oil
will enable you to pick out our rocks from the common rocks/'
he said.
Parent's journal goes on to say: "Having collected ten or
fifteen of these balls of adobe under Violet's guidance, we
brought them to my home and left them for the spirits to ex-
amine during the night. This they did, so Violet told us. They
smelled of the rocks and laid aside certain ones and on the fol-
lowing Sunday all our friends who had taken part in the gath-
ering of these rocks came to our house to witness the opening
of them.
"Bef ore doing this, however, I prepared an aff adavit declar-
ing that the rocks were in the same condition as when found.
After all had signed this, I read a detailed list of what the rocks
contained and afterward we broke the rocks one by one with
a hammer and finally all signed another paper which stated
that the contents of the rocks tallied exactly with what Violet
had foretold." (These papers are in my files and some of the
signers are alive.)
From the gathering of these balls of adobe from the hillsides
or in the beds of streams, the medium passed to the naming of
places where metal tablets and other relics could be found.
According to Parent's notes, the field of his explorations wid-
ened till it included many distant missions. Father Serra, Father
Lasuen and other priests of a century gone came to her night
after night and told her or showed her where the treasures
of their neophytes had been buried.
These spirits not only told her how to reach the burial places
24
The Problem
they led her to them. Her visions were so vivid that she was
able to take her exploring parties with unerring precision to the
exact location where the artifacts lay hidden.
The journals declare that as Violet approached the desig-
nated canyon or hill a "strange chill'' warned her to stop and
look around. "Sometimes this chill was accompanied by nausea
she was nearly always sick," her husband writes, and some
of those with whom I talked corroborated this statement.
"The crosses did not lie in a heap," they said; "on the con-
trary, they were scattered so widely that we spent long hours
digging them from the ground. Picks, hoes and even crow-bars
were called into action. Often the places Violet indicated were
steep, rocky hillsides. Sometimes she led us to the boulder-
filled bed of a narrow canyon and always she foretold ex-
actly what we would discover. She would say, 'We will find
thirty crosses here' and insisted on prolonging the search
until this precise number was recovered."
Mrs. Parent herself dug up very few of the crosses. "She left
that to us. She was not able to climb the steep hillsides and
she was afraid of rattlesnakes," several of her party explained.
In reading this chronicle, I copied out the names and ad-
dresses of those who accompanied her, in order that I might
find and interview them, realizing that without their confirma-
tion these journals were valueless.
Having finished the story, I set about confirming it. Most of
the men and women mentioned in the journals as witnesses
were residents of Redlands, a town some seventy miles from
my home, and I anticipated no trouble in locating them.
I soon found, however, that several of those who were eld-
erly at the time had died. Others had moved away and no one
knew their addresses. Nevertheless I persevered, and in the end
I met and interviewed fifteen of those whose names were most
The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
frequently mentioned in the journals. All of them confirmed
Parent's reports. They were intelligent and worthy citizens and
their testimony was most valuable.
Among the most convincing witnesses were two men who
had been lads of seventeen or eighteen at the time when they
shared the Parent trips. One of them said, "I helped to dig
those crosses from the ground. In one instance, I dug up one
which was buried two feet deep under a fallen tree." The
other said, "I helped to overturn big boulders under which we
found crosses. I picked up one of those sacred rocks myself and
saw it broken open."
Another man, a druggist and my neighbor, declared that he
had photographed these boulders before and after they were
overturned. These photographs he turned over to me.
Another citizen, a businessman, said to me, "I was inclined
to be skeptical till one day, as Mrs. Parent and I were standing
beside a big boulder, she remarked, 'Father Serra tells me that
there are crosses under this rock.' I called for help and two of
us with crowbars rolled the rock away and there lay three
crosses. I don't know how they got there but I am certain Mrs.
Parent did not put them there. It required nine years and three
thousand miles of motoring to find those crosses. To 'plant'
them would have required at least a thousand miles of travel
with horse and buggy over rough roads. As for the charge
that Mrs. Parent made those relics and carried them on her
person we assert that such concealment was impossible. We
always rode crowded together in a small car, and besides, many
of the crosses were a foot in length and had been buried a long
time so long that some of them were covered with rust or
limestone crystals."
Another witness said, "It took work to find those crosses.
After we had finished with a hillside, it looked as if a grading
26
The Problem
crew had been at work. We seldom found them lying together.
If 'planted,' they were dug in separately one by one."
Many of this man's photographs now in my possession
show the men and women of these searching parties clinging
to rocky ledges or scrambling up rugged canyons. Most of the
crosses, Violet was told, had originally been buried on the
hilltops, but heavy rains had washed them down the slopes and
covered them with soil. This explains why no bones, pottery
or utensils had been discovered in connection with them.
All this confirmatory testimony convinced me that the
"planting" had been done fifteen or twenty years earlier and
that Gregory Parent had nothing to do with it. "If Mrs. Parent
did it she must have had a confederate. She could not have
carried it out alone."
In pursuance of my inquiry, I discovered that Violet had
come to Redlands from St. Louis as Mrs. Montgomery, and
that her first husband was a metal worker who came to Califor-
nia for his health and died soon afterward of tuberculosis.
My scientific friends seized upon this fact and cried, "Aha!
There's the guilty party! That metal-working first husband is
the joker who planted those crosses for Violet to unearth ten
years later."
With this as a clue, I went to Redlands again, seeking evi-
dence, but as Montgomery's death had been thirty years earlier,
no one in Redlands remembered even his name. At last, in the
records of the city clerk, I found this line: "Samuel Montgom-
ery, came from St. Louis in 1903. Died June i, 1904. Tubercu-
losis. Aged 28 years. Lived in Redlands five months."
This statement argues against his complicity in the hoax. He
was a very sick man. He had been crushed by the fall of some
machinery in his St. Louis shop and the injury had left him
with a diseased lung. He was in Redlands less than half a year.
2?
The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
He was poor and had no means of transportation. There were
few motor cars in 1904, and almost no automobile roads.
Hence, to plant fifteen hundred crosses, each by itself, in a
region four hundred miles wide and six hundred miles long
during his residence in Redlands was incredible. He was a
dying man. To make all these objects, to carry them over
mountain passes with a horse and wagon to all these locations
hundreds of miles apart, to climb cactus-covered hills and
bury each cross individually under boulders in remote canyons
this was surely beyond his powers.
I will not say that such a planting by a fanatic was impossible,
but that Montgomery could have done it seems highly im-
probable.
What could have been the purpose of it? Did he and his
wife make and plant these crosses in desert places in order
that they might at some time in the future dig them up and
sell them as antiques?
Even my critical friends admit that the crosses must have
been in the ground more than ten years when Violet began her
campaign to recover them in 1915. It is impossible that some
of these metal objects could have taken on their look of an-
tiquity in that short time, but others could not have done so.
Furthermore, to recall where they had been "planted" was a
task beyond Violet's normal powers. Someone else must then
have recorded the places of burial.
"Nevertheless, somebody buried those crosses," my friends
insisted. "If the Montgomerys did not do it, who did? What
was the motive?"
The purpose of this book is to answer that question.
28
"S.
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"
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?>'
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5;
Chapter 2
Analyzing the Artifacts
BEFORE entering upon a detailed study of the collection of
metal artifacts, it is well to state once again the conditions
under which they were assembled.
First of all, in justice to the Parents, we must bear in mind
that according to specific and very full records the fifteen
hundred specimens were unearthed in nearly fifty widely-
separated locations hundreds of miles from the Parents' home.
The region of discovery, was approximately six hundred miles
long and three hundred miles wide.
Furthermore, according to the testimony of the eyewit-
nesses with whom I talked, these artifacts were nearly all found
separately not in groups. Each specimen had been buried or
hidden entirely apart from others and in many cases the loca-
tions in areas in which they were found were on cactus-
covered slopes, in beds of mountain torrents or on rocky, al-
most inaccessible, hillsides.
Long hours of hard work by a band of resolute men and
women were necessary to uncover them. Picks, shovels, rakes,
hoes (and in some cases crowbars) were used. In Parent's col-
lection of photographs, I find many snapshots of these loca-
tions, in which groups of explorers are standing, each man
holding a cross at the exact spot where he had discovered it.
Mrs. Parent herself unearthed but a few of the items.
This separate hiding of each item adds to the mystery. Who
had taken the pains to bury a thousand different artifacts in a
thousand different holes in fifty different locations hundreds
of miles apart?
30
Analyzing the Artifacts
That the specimens had been long in the earth was admitted
by the experts who examined them. How long so buried they
would not say; some said ten years, others said, "possibly
twenty-five." Taking fifteen years as a compromise period,
we find that this would place the date of "planting" at about
1900, before the automobile was common and when only
dirt roads led to the hills and canyons indicated by the records.
If they were "planted" by the Parents, it must have been
31
The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
done by the use of a horse-drawn carriage, over rough roads
for distances of from one hundred to eight hundred miles, for
even 1905 automobiles were still crude and uncertain mechan-
isms for long trips.
Suppose we condense a typical chapter from Gregory Par-
ent's journal. . . . "August 21. We leave with Mr. and Mrs.
A. J. Seaman, Charles Seaman and John Barrett tomorrow for
32
Analyzing the Artifacts
a location near Monterey where we are to find 85 or 86 pieces
including three sacred rocks, tablets and crosses. . . . August
24. Carmel. Taking a road which led up the Carmel River from
Monterey, we drove about twelve miles and went into camp
in a very beautiful and wild canyon. On this same night an
Indian named Two Bear appeared to Mrs. Parent and told her
that this was the spot where we are to find his treasures. She
had never been in this region before.
"This incident and others of like nature are food for much
thought. The dead do return I know they do August 26.
After breakfast, guided by Mrs. Parent, we began to search
along the base of a cliff near our camp. In quick succession our
party found twenty-nine pieces. . . . August 27. We have now
found 53 pieces in all. The crosses found had a very decided
silver ringing sound and were blackened by long burial. No
two were alike. They were ornamented with angel heads,
animals' heads, berries, etc. Again we made an early search, all
going together so that all could see what was discovered. We
soon unearthed twenty-five crosses but we still have three or
more to discover to make up the number promised us. We had
found nearly all those which had been described to us. On this
same night, Mrs. Parent was visited by Father Serra and Chief
Two Bear but they did not seem to know anything about the
missing pieces. They said, 'We may have made a mistake. Per-
haps you have them all/
"September i. We are leaving this beautiful valley, fourteen
miles out of Monterey. We have found 82 of the 85 pieces
rings, tablets and crosses which Father Serra and Two Bear
had described. The Chiefs told Mrs. Parent that many more
crosses were still to be found in these hills."
I talked with one of those who took part in this expedition.
He confirmed the Parent statement in every detail, and showed
33
The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
me one of the silver rings which were found among the crosses.
Accepting this as a true account of the expedition, we are
faced by the fact that to plant these objects the Parents must
have driven nearly a thousand miles in a primitive car, carry-
ing eighty-two pieces of heavy, singularly-ornamented metal,
to hide them in those hills, each in a separate spot. All this re-
quired devotion and labor, first of all in fabricating the crosses,
second in transporting them, third in concealing them. They
could not have been carried by Mrs. Parent on this chronicled
expedition for she rode in a small car with four other treasure
hunters. She could not have buried them while in camp. They
must have been planted many years before.
This brings us to the question of motive. Who was moved
to take all the time and trouble necessary to perpetrate such an
elaborate hoax? It is difficult to imagine the Parents doing it.
They were poor, hard-working people. They lived in a small
house, subject to the close scrutiny of their neighbors, and any
attempt at manufacturing these objects would almost certain-
ly have been detected. What could have been their reason?
What did they stand to gain by such an elaborate and costly
deception?
One of my expert friends said, "The objects were planted
by a religious fanatic."
No one religious fanatic could have done the work. He must
have had confederates. No, on its lowest phase this problem
involves clairvoyance on the part of Violet Parent. She could
not normally have recalled the fifty spots in which these ob-
jects had been buried. Furthermore, many of these places were
not accessible to her.
Counting out all her whims and delusions, those who knew
her said, "She was a marvelous clairvoyant. Her sense of direc-
tion was astoundingly precise."
34
Analyzing the Artifacts
She failed but once or twice in the nine years of her explora-
tion. It should be noted also that while she did not always in-
dicate the spot where each individual artifact was found, she
was always able to indicate the area, and that nearly all of the
unearthing was done by others, sometimes by strangers quite
skeptical of her powers. Several of these told me that their
original skepticism gave way. "We didn't believe in her visions,
but in the end she convinced us," they admitted.
Turning from this mass of testimony, direct and indirect
(which would have been valid in a law court), I entered upon
a detailed study of the collection, which consisted of seventeen
flat, glass-covered boxes, each case numbered and the places of
discovery carefully recorded. No classification other than this
had been made, and I set about the task of separating the speci-
mens into several distinct categories.
First: scattered among them were some sixty or seventy
figures of the Christ, of slightly varying size and shape (each
about three inches long), with uplifted arms, as if they had
once been supported in some way. Not one had a loop or hole
which would indicate that they had ever been suspended by
a cord. These crucifixes were of lead for the most part but a
few seemed an alloy of silver. These were obviously related to
the missionary period, and I so named them. A few small ones
had the appearance of gold.
The number and similarity of these objects argued against
their fabrication by the Parents. Why make and bury seventy
similar objects?
A letter to the curator of the National Museum of Mexico
brought this answer: "After a study of the photographs which
you sent us, we reply that these crosses were made in Mexico
and distributed by the priests to their neophytes. They are
about two hundred years old." (See appendix.)
35
The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
In this class I placed all the tablets and crosses with inscrip-
tions and dates molded upon them. They varied in length from
five to eighteen inches, and were of varying alloys. They all
related to mission characters and dates, and were undoubtedly
of that origin. The Parents said, u They were fashioned by
artisans at the Mission of San Juan Capistrano." The names of
celebrated padres appeared on them.
Many of these had been cleaned and burnished by Parent,
but others were left as they came from the ground, covered
with soil and rust, to indicate their exact appearance when
found. The dates ran from 1769 to 1800. They had no orna-
ment and the letters were block letters of varying sizes. About
half of them rang like silver or bell metal.
In the second and far larger class I grouped the pieces which
impressed me as being wholly barbaric in character and im-
mensely older than the lettered pieces. Many were rude crosses
of soft metal on which the heads of wolves, cougars, apes,
baboons and birds were molded. On others, fruits, grains and
shells were represented. Two bore the footprint of a three-toed
animal. They varied in length from two to twelves inches.
Many were crusted deep with soil, and others were scarred by
fire.
They varied greatly in their alloys. Many rang like silver,
others gave out a tone resembling copper or iron. Many were
so worn and rusted that their designs could not be discerned.
To relate the wide variety of design and the composition of
these amazing objects to the hand of a grocer's clerk in a small
California village was not easy.
Among these pieces were forty or fifty with double cross-
bars which Parent called u rain crosses" for the reason that they
had been used in prayers for rain, and I was interested to find
in my Handbook of the American Indian the picture of a
Analyzing the Artifacts
similar cross which the editor stated had been dug from a
mound in Wisconsin.
Amulet 'with ape or monkey beads. Note
varying character of the heads.
The article went on to say that the cross was known long
before the Christian era and that the early Spanish explorers
found crosses in Peru and Mexico; and it concluded with these
words, "There seems to be no reason for supposing that the
37
The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
crosses of the aborigines were derived from the crosses of the
Old World."
Third: Among the items which I placed in a third category
were mysterious plaques and crosses bearing human faces
faces which were neither Aztec nor Spanish in character, but
were distinctly Oriental. Some of these heads wore turbans
which suggested the head coverings of Moors or Arabs. Still
more puzzling were monkey heads and ape snouts. Some of
these simian heads wore crowns.
Peering dimly from the time-worn metal, these Oriental
faces gave out an impression of dignity which not even soil
and rust could conceal.
A few of the more ancient human heads bore tall war bon-
nets, like those which Aztec chieftains wore. Each of these
"idols" differed from the others. They were similar but not
exact copies. In fact, the entire collection was made up from
individual specimens and appeared to be the work of many
hands and many minds, not to say generations. They were all
individually molded and on some the modeling was astonish-
ingly clear and good.
In this third group I also placed five small tablets about four
inches in diameter, on each of which was a bell surrounded by
ten of the turbaned heads. Two of these, on being struck, rang
like silver. The others were lead alloys. Some were much more
worn than others. The hooded or turbaned faces on these
plaques resembled those on the ancient crosses.
In a separate box accompanying these cases were a dozen
broken "sacred rocks" in which trinkets beads, rings and small
crosses had been found. These boulders, had been molded out
of some sort of adobe or concrete. Some of the fragments
showed the small crosses still embedded in the rocklike sub-
stance which was so hard it could be broken only by a hammer.
38
Analyzing the Artifacts
I put all these small rude items in a class by themselves. The
crosses were not only small but clumsy, and would have been
of no interest except for their enclosure in these balls of con-
crete, and the fact that certain names were stamped on them.
Some of them bore the names of priests, stamped into the metal
by some sort of die.
Metal plaque bearing form of a bell and
ten turbaned beads said to be Arabian
in design.
According to the records, these "sacred rocks" were among
the first objects found by the exploring parties and are listed
as coming from many different fields.
Finally, in a small valise (included in the material turned over
39
The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
to me) I came upon some fifty or sixty envelopes which con-
tained minute crucifixes, beads of various kinds, golden orna-
ments and semiprecious stones. All of these, according to state-
ments written by Parent on the backs of the envelopes, had
been found inside the so-called "sacred rocks," picked up in
fifteen or twenty different places and broken apart at the spot.
These statements were supported by affidavits and by the
testimony of several men and women who saw the rocks
picked up and witnessed the breaking of them. Accompany-
ing these envelopes were other pieces of the rocks, with the
crosses and beads still imbedded in them. Some of the rocks
were of sandstone but others were like flint, so hard that a
heavy hammer was necessary to crack them open.
Some of the beads were strung on wire but most of them
were loose. Mainly they were of glass, but some looked like
turquoise. Several of the small crosses were lettered, as if with
a set of dies. Pieces of the concrete or cement contained glass
beads, like currants in a cake, and many of the loose beads
were stuffed with the same mortarlike material.
All were related to the mission period and I saw no reason
for their fabrication by the Parents. They were a mixed lot
a collection such as a child or a primitive man might value.
In his journal Parent again and again writes, "Our only aid
comes from the dead souls who lead us to where we find buried
money. They said they do this to help us carry on the work";
and one very intelligent woman told me that she went with
Violet on several trips and helped her recover buried money.
"I myself picked up two containers for her one from the
sand on the seashore and one from the bed of a stream. To say
that Violet had 'planted' these gold pieces and these wads of
bills is absurd. She never had coins to plant, and furthermore,
the rusted and rotted condition of these containers proved
40
Analyzing the Artifacts
their long situation in the ground. Finding money was just an-
other exercise of her clairvoyant power, the power which en-
abled her to uncover the crosses and medallions. She led me to
the exact spots where money was buried and left me to dig it
up for her."
This amulet, we are told, is very old and "came
from the South."
After some months of study of these astounding records I
drew up a statement of my doubts. I noted first: Engelhardt,
4 1
The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
official historian of the missions, declares that the California
Indians had no metal crosses and that the church forbade the
making of them. "The only crosses they had were of wood."
This applied, of course, to the Indians surrounding the mis-
sions and not to the many tribes of "barbarians."
Second: The inscriptions on the larger crosses and tablets
were not only English in diction but often nonsensical or
childish in character.
Third: No similar crosses had ever before been discovered.
Fourth: No adequate reason for their use or burial was
given.
Fifth: The fact that the diaries were written entirely by
Parent suggests that he may have been the dupe of his wife.
He admits that the story of these objects was dictated by her
and grants that it was worthless until corroborated by com-
petent witnesses. It was for this reason that he introduced
affirmations into his story and statements signed by those who
took part in the search.
Against these doubts, I placed the testimony of fourteen of
Violet's neighbors, all of whom declared that they saw these
objects dug from the soil a soil which manifestly had not
been disturbed for many years. Several of these witnesses had
been photographed on the ground from which they dug the
crosses. These photographs were in my files. *
Second: The astonishing number of the crosses and the
intricacy and variety of the designs upon them argued that
they were the work of many barbaric hands, and finally, the
rusty, dirt-encrusted condition of the objects argued a long-
time burial in the earth. That this condition could be produced
chemically or that it arose from a short-time contact with the
earth I could not credit.
Eight or ten of those who accompanied the Parents and
42
Analyzing the Artifacts
helped to discover the crosses testified that they were buried
deep in the ground. "Some -of them were under huge boulders
which required the use of crowbars to overturn. The digging
was often in rocky canyons or on steep hillsides, far from
highways and in some cases far from even a dirt road. Violet
nearly always foretold the number of crosses to be found and
described the character of the pieces. She told us before we
started the names which would be on the rings and other ob-
jects. She was very poor, but she never offered any of the
crosses for sale. She gave away the rings but kept the crosses.
She was a good woman and a wonderful medium."
Trail markers or monuments, and commemorative tab-
lets. Made, iue are told, by the neophytes at the missions.
To still further add to the problem, I found in the collection
of Parent's effects, a small valise filled with envelopes in which
were beads of various sizes and colors, minute lettered crosses,
golden pendants (heart-shaped and lettered) semiprecious
43
The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
stones, fragments of burned amulets and one or two medal-
lions. Each envelope stated that the contents came from the
'sacred rocks,' and the date of the discovery and the name of
the individual who had picked the rock from the earth was
given. The general effect of listing these objects was to add
to my belief in the honesty of the Parents. (For further detail
see appendix 2.)
44
Chapter 3
I Invoke Clairvoyant Aid
AT THE end of six months' study of this problem, during which
I had corresponded with five museums, including the one in
Mexico City, I found myself unable to validate the crosses
or explain the Parent photographs. All the experts to whom I
referred the metal artifacts were politely skeptical. "We have
never seen anything similar to them and we are inclined to
consider them spurious."
With the Smithsonian, the Heye Museum, the Museum of
Natural History and the Southwest Museum all against me,
I still could not believe that the Parents possessed the wit or the
means to carry out such an elaborate and costly hoax. Who
planted the crosses was still a mystery, but of Mrs. Parent's
clairvoyant powers I had abundant evidence.
Coming at last to a decision, I said to my doubting friends,
"There is only one sure way of proving the sincerity of the
Parents and the authenticity of their findings, and that is for
me to go out into the wilds and personally dig up a few similar
artifacts. Parent definitely records his belief that many others
remained undiscovered at the time of his wife's death."
"But how can you locate them? You can't just go out and
dig around anywhere. Southern California is a wide field."
"I realize that. My only hope lies in finding some devoted
man or woman with the same mysterious power which Mrs.
Parent undoubtedly possessed. Through her or him I shall try
to get into direct communication with Violet Parent herself
and by her help locate some of the remaining fields. I admit
that without such aid it is absolutely impossible to discover a
45
The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
single cross. The invisibles must guide me as they guided the
Parents."
This was not uttered lightly. From past experience I knew
that many women possess in varying degree the clairvoyant
phase of mediumship on which I must depend. I was fairly
certain that I could find such guidance.
Los Angeles was full of mediums. The personal columns of
the Sunday papers set forth the claims of astrologists, psy-
chometrists, mental scientists and clairvoyants clairvoyants
were especially numerous but practitioners with the power
to produce the "direct voice" or "independent writing" in the
light were few. I declined to consider dark seances of any char-
acter. Notwithstanding the scarcity of such mediums, I felt
that I would be able to discover among the hundreds of
psychics around me at least one who could duplicate Mrs.
Parent's outdoor performances.
In my long career as investigator, I had found few mediums
of any sort willing to cooperate with me on a purely scientific
basis, and I was loath to bring into my house one of those whose
stereotyped performances in the dark were repellent to me.
Furthermore, the psychic to whom I must confide should be
in all things trustworthy. "My proceedings must be kept secret
especially if I should succeed in gaining the assistance of
Violet and Gregory Parent," I said to my wife.
While still in search of such a medium, I received a letter
from one of my readers in Chicago (Dr. Nora Rager) which
seemed an answer to my prayer.
After a pleasant reference to my book, Forty Years of
Psychic Research, she added, "Will you permit my friend,
Mrs. Sophia Williams, to call upon you? She is a remarkable
psychic, but not a professional medium. She makes no charge
for her sittings and, as she is now in Los Angeles, I hope
I Invoke Clairvoyant Aid
Mrs. Sophia Williams
47
The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
you will see her. I am sure she would interest you. She has
given many demonstrations of her power here in my office,
in the presence of several of my fellow practitioners. She pro-
duces independent voices in the light"
It was that phrase - "independent voices in the light"
which crystallized my interest. I lost no time in asking this
young woman to call upon me.
When she came to my study a few days after, I was most
favorably impressed by her. She was young, attractive and
apparently perfectly normal in mind and body. She answered
all my questions with humorous understanding of their inner
significance. I began bluntly by asking, "Do you require a
dark room?"
"No."
"Do you demand a red light?"
"No."
"Do you request a bowl of flowers in the middle of the
floor?"
"No. I have no paraphernalia of any sort, except a trumpet."
"Must we open with a prayer and close with the Doxology? "
"I have no ritual of any kind."
"Can you sit as well in the morning as at night?"
"The time of day makes no difference to me."
"Do you require a fixed number of sitters?"
"Numbers do not seem to matter."
"Are you easily disturbed by people who cross their legs or
walk about the room? Will crying children or the ringing of
the telephone bell disturb your seance?"
"Not at all. I am not disturbed by such sounds. I can begin
or end at any time."
"You are exactly the person Fve been seeking. You are sent
4 8
I Invoke Clairvoyant Aid
from let us say the fourth dimension! I engage you at
once if I can afford your services."
"I am not a professional. I make no charge. I am here to help
you if you want me. I have read your recent books and like
your methods."
It was in this providential way that I found myself in pos-
session of a most intelligent coinvestigator, one who might
possess the clairvoyant power I needed. In order to test her,
and without a word in explanation of my perplexities, I took
from a cabinet one of the smallest of the artifacts in my collec-
tion and placed it in her hand. "Tell me what this says to you."
With but a moment's pause, she said, "This object came
from far away, from Mexico or beyond. It was found here in
California. It belonged to a woman who was either Indian or
Spanish. It has something to do with sun worship and can-
nibalism."
All this was in substantial agreement with my unexpressed
thought and also with the "readings" which I had received
from two other psychometrists, but I did not tell her so. On
the contrary, I carefully refrained from telling her anything
of my problem. I gave her a cross to take to her home and
asked her to come again the next day.
Although in the past I had often been disappointed in medi-
umistic promises, the novelty of this woman's phrase, her in-
telligence and her candor aroused my keen expectations. "She
seems too good to be true," I said to my wife and daughter.
"She appears to be just the medium I need."
On the following evening she came in at eight o'clock, an
hour that I had selected in order that I might have the aid of
a friend, Mr. Gaylord Beaman, who was able to write short-
hand and had agreed to make a verbatim record of the sitting.
49
The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
While awaiting his arrival, I showed Mrs. Williams several
other of the unlettered crosses and said to her, "If you can put
me in direct communication with Mrs. Violet Parent, the
woman who found these crosses, I shall be greatly aided in my
work. Can you do this?"
She responded, "I can try."
She had brought with her the long aluminum megaphone
which nearly all "direct voice" mediums employ, and this she
laid on a small stand in the center of my study. The room was
lighted by two electric lamps one on my desk, the other on
a long table at the opposite side of the room. Mrs. Williams
took a seat between these lights. The only other persons present
were Mrs. Garland and Mr. Beaman.
"Do you go into a trance?" I asked.
"No. I remain awake through all my sittings."
"I'm glad of that."
In a very few minutes, she smilingly said, "They are here.
Do you hear them?"
Placing the larger end of the megaphone against her breast,
she asked me to listen at the small end. This I did and I at once
heard a very faint, shrill whisper. It was high and thin, hardly
more than a squeak, but it became stronger as I spoke to it.
The conversation which followed was taken down in short-
hand by Mr. Beaman and I give it substantially as he recorded
it, supplemented by a few explanations which I feel should be
inserted.
The first word I heard was a salutation. "Hello, Garland!"
"Hello. Who is speaking?"
"Fuller. Can you hear me?"
Fuller was Henry B. Fuller, one of my oldest friends one
who had worked with me on a similar problem.
"Yes, I hear you but I cannot believe that it is really you.'*
50
I Invoke Clairvoyant Aid
"I know how you feel, but I want you to know that I am
here."
This was not surprising, for the psychic had read of my
work with Fuller, as recorded in my u Forty Years of Psychic
Research."
A few minutes later, another whisper, slightly lower in pitch,
called, "Hamlin." This announced another personality, for
Fuller, notwithstanding our thirty years of friendship, never
called me by my first name.
I asked, "Who is speaking now?"
"Lorado. I am so happy to speak to you."
This also was logical, for Lorado was the name of my wife's
brother who had died the previous October. He called me
Hamlin. The whisper now addressed my wife, "Zuhl, how are
you?"
My wife replied, "Not very well."
"Take care of yourself."
"Shall I send a message to Ada?" my wife asked.
"Yes, tell her that I am still living."
During this colloquy, Mrs. Williams, seated in an easy chair
under my desk lamp, remained perfectly normal in appearance,
and while the whispering was going on, I watched her lips
closely but could detect no slightest movement in them. At
times she repeated the messages, to make sure that I had heard
every phrase. Sometimes the whisper appeared to come from
the cone, sometimes from the air above her head. It was very
high in vibration, but the words uttered were fairly intelligible
at all times.
The entire sitting was quiet, easy, natural, with no ritual, no
prayers, no hymns, no stereotyped patter. The medium shared
our conversation, with nothing to indicate her astonishing
power. Beaman and I took turns holding the trumpet.
51
The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
I was delighted with the frankness, the fearlessness and the
humorous outlook of our psychic. During a pause in the com-
munications, she said, "I sat for two years with a committee
of doctors in Chicago, who tried in all sorts of ways to make
out where this 'squeak' came from. They even pasted surgeon's
plaster over my mouth."
"Can you feel where it comes from?"
"No. I have no more knowledge of it than you have. I can
hear it, but I have no sensation of producing it."
Just before we closed the test, a whisper addressed itself to
Gaylord Beaman.
"Gay, this is Harry."
"Hajrywho?"
"Friedlander."
In astonishment, Beaman turned to me and explained, "That
is the name of a friend who went down in that plane disaster
in San Francisco Bay." He turned to the trumpet, "Harry,
what are you doing now?"
"I am just getting acquainted with things. Isn't this a won-
derful way to telephone? Don't be sorry for me, because I
am alive."
I then asked, "Were you all killed instantly, or did some
try to swim?"
"Three were killed instantly, the others tried to swim out.
7 went instantly."
Wishing to test the theory of the cause of the accident,
Beaman and I both composed the next question.
"Was the accident caused by the jamming of the control by
the mouthpiece of the radio as it accidentally dropped?"
"I know nothing about that. The pilot didn't realize what
had happened."
I Invoke Clairvoyant Aid
As the psychic knew nothing of Beaman, this was our first
evidence of her power.
The voice calling itself Fuller returned, and I said to him,
"Fuller, I have been working for six months on the most elusive
problem I ever tackled. It is as enthralling as a great mystery
story. I have been trying to validate a collection of fifteen
hundred ancient placques and crosses, which Gregory Parent
claimed to have discovered by means of his wife's clairvoyant
power. I am in despair of ever solving the mystery of their
origin. I'd like to talk with Mrs. Parent about them. Can you
bring her?"
"I will try next time."
Although this sitting was short, it was remarkable in its
natural procedure, so that we could hardly believe it had hap-
pened, but Beaman faithfully recorded it. I said to Mrs. Wil-
liams, "You must come again on the thirteenth, when my
daughter can be here. Her ears are keener than mine, and she
is herself sensitive to psychic vibrations."
After Mrs. Williams went away, I said to Beaman, "This
woman is precisely the kind of medium I have been seeking.
You must come again, prepared to make a record of our next
sitting. Her naming of your friend Friedlander is amazing."
The second sitting, two days later, was equally full and
wholly relevant. In the full electric light, with the small end
of the megaphone to my ear, I heard someone say, "This is
Turck - Dr. Turck."
This made me laugh. "Doctor, this is most astonishing! To
have you come, after all you said about this 'humbuggery,'
is incredible!"
He replied soberly, "I know, but it is true, nevertheless."
"You told me you hated the whole subject."
53
The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
"That is the reason I am here. I wanted to tell you that I
now know what an old fool I was."
Unable to believe the testimony of my ears, I repeated his
remark, "Did you say c an old fool'?"
"That's what I said. I certainly made a mistake. I found
out that I didn't know as much as I thought I did."
I recalled to him a long talk I had made in his hearing to a
mutual friend at a luncheon, throughout which he had glow-
ered in silence. All this was evidential, for the psychic could
not have known Turck's attitude toward psychic research.
At this point the whisper suddenly changed.
Feeling, rather than hearing, another personality, I asked,
"Who is speaking now?"
"Doyle."
"Oman Doyle?"
"Yes."
"I am glad you have come; I need your help. Who is with
you?"
"Crookes."
"Not Sir William Crookes?"
Another personality now came in. "Yes, Crookes. I am
here."
"I am honored. You did a great work, Sir William."
"I am glad you feel that way about it. I want to do more.
I am here to do what I can for you."
"Is it not remarkable that I should be conversing with you
here in the full light of my study?"
"It is indeed."
"The voices are all very faint, Sir William; what can we
do to improve conditions?*'
"Time will help that. Sit twice a week, oftener if you can.
54
I Invoke Clairvoyant Aid
Keep to the voice phenomena, and later, try materialization."
"Do you think we can achieve that?"
"Yes, indeed. I shall be here to help you."
u You were our great pioneer, Sir William."
"You are one of us," he replied. "You have done your share.
We will work with you hand in hand."
He then said. "Geley is here also."
"Geley!" I exclaimed. "I am trebly honored. He is another
great authority."
A greeting in French was then spoken to me and the speaker
immediately entered upon a fluent statement also in French.
I interrupted, "Dr. Geley, I am sorry to confess it I read
French but I do not understand it when spoken."
"Then I shall speak in English," he instantly replied. "We are
interested in your problem and understand its value. We are
here to help you in every possible way."
During this dialogue I was in position to observe Mrs. Wil-
liams, whose lips and throat were also closely observed by
Beaman and my daughter. Whatever the source of the mes-
sages and greetings, the method of their production was super-
normal of that I was at the moment convinced. The psychic
further declared that she could not speak French.
A little later William James spoke, but so faintly that I got
little out of it. In fact, only Doyle and Fuller were clearly
audible. We were dependent largely on the medium's inter-
pretation. Nevertheless, the whispers came to me while I held
the trumpet in my own hands, and left a very vivid impression
of reality.
One very clear piece of evidence came just before we rose.
Mrs. Williams said to Beaman, "I see over your head the name
Carr. Does that mean anything to either of you?"
He replied, "It means a lot if it is Harry Carr."
55
The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
Whereupon a whisper came from the trumpet, "It is Harry
Carr."
After greeting him, Beaman asked, "Where are you?"
"I am here. I just wanted to let you know that I am alive,
and here."
"Have you any message for Lee Shippey?"
"Yes. Tell Lee I am here. He knows I am living."
I then said, "Is there anything I can do for you?"
"Yes. You know I traveled in the East - the Orient - for the
Times?"
"Yes. And I recall that you told me that part of the manu-
script had not been printed. Would you like me to see Chandler
and see if it can noiv be printed?"
"If you will do that, I will appreciate it. You know what I
mean. Good night, old friend."
"Before you go is Will Rogers there where you are?"
"Yes. I'll try to bring him next time."
A very faint whisper called, "Burt! This is Burt!"
"What is your full name?" I asked.
He tried to convey it, but, while I was certain that I knew
his name, I did not speak it. I waited till he tried again. It was
apparently my old schoolmate, Burton Babcock, my com-
panion on the Klondike trail. He was hesitating and inco-
herent (which was like him), and at last he ceased to speak.
He was always shy and hesitant. The timidity of this message
gave it character.
In the midst of several other personalities, apparently crowd-
ing to reach us, I heard a voice saying, "This is Harold Ehrich,"
and from him we learned that his father, Louis Ehrich, his
mother and his brother Walter, were all present. A curious
inconsistency lies in this message for the fact is Harold was
the one we cared least about. It should have been his father,
I Invoke Clairvoyant Aid
Louis, who was our most devoted friend for many years. Why
should Harold speak, rather than Walter?
The chief value of the two sittings thus far lies in their
validation of the voices which I had heard in this same room
two years before, when Fuller and James and Burroughs
along with many others of my dead friends had thronged
about me, discussing psychic problems but in the dark! Now
they came in the light.
From this page forward, I shall simply call these manifesting
personalities Fuller, Doyle, and so on, leaving the question of
their identity for a later chapter.
57
Chapter 4
Mrs. Parent Promises Aid
FINDING it very difficult to hear these faint, high-keyed whis-
pers, I fashioned some megaphones out of parchment paper
and used them at our third sitting, which came, according to
my record, on March 17. That I had assisted the medium in
her replies was made evident by Beaman's verbatim report of
the previous sitting and I now put myself on guard against
such aid, and our test began.
On calling again for Mrs. Parent, I was surprised to hear the
words, "This is Jennings."
Not being able to recall at the moment anyone of that name,
I asked, "Were you an old neighbor?"
"No."
"What was your connection with me?"
"Indians."
"What do you mean by that? Did you meet me among the
Indians?"
"Yes."
Without any definite memory of him, I suggested, "On the
Crow reservation?"
"Yes."
"Were you a settler there a squawman?"
"No, I was a government employee."
Still without any clue, I asked, "Was my brother with me?"
"Yes. Frank."
"I cannot recall you. What brings you to me?"
"I can help you on these crosses. They are Indian Aztec. I
can bring an Aztec."
58
Mrs. Parent Promises Aid
"Can you bring the woman who found the crosses?"
"I can. An old lady. She is here."
This amazed me. I had been asking for Violet Parent, and
now here was a personality unknown to me who professed the
power to produce her. I saw no reason for this connection,
but I asked, "Is Mrs. Parent really here?"
Mrs. Violet Parent, the clairvoyant by
whose aid some fifteen hundred artifacts
were discovered. Photograph by Mr.
Raymond Hull.
59
The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
In answer came a greeting, "Hello, Mr. Garland. Yes, I am
here. I am Mrs. Parent."
Accepting this statement as indicating a change of personal-
ity, I said, "Mrs. Parent, I have been hoping to get in touch
with you. What can you tell me about these crosses?"
"They are Indian. Most of them are very old."
"Are they Aztec?"
"Yes - oh, yes."
"Where were they made?"
|"In Mexico. The priests distributed them to the Indians."
At this point I determined on a drastic test. I bluntly asked,
"Mrs. Parent, could you read or write?"
"No. I knew nothing. I was ig-ne-runt."
This was an unprecedented admission for a spirit to make,
and valuable as evidence of identity. Mrs. Williams could not
have known this. I was not sure of it myself. Some of Mrs.
Parent's friends said she could write, others told me that she
could not.
I pushed on along this line. "Then you got all your mission
history through others, not from reading?"
"Yes, mostly through the spirits of the Indians and of the
fathers."
"Now, Mrs. Parent, all the experts who have examined
these crosses think they are frauds."
"They are not."
"Did you plant them?"
Her answer was indignant. "I did not."
"Others think that your first husband planted them."
"He did not."
"How long did he live in California?"
"About a year. He arrived in Redlands a sick man. He
couldn't have planted the crosses if he had wanted to. He
60
Mrs. Parent Promises Aid
didn't and I didn't. I brought him to California for his health.
He was injured in a St. Louis factory."
"What sort of a factory?"
"An iron foundry."
"Experts say that these crosses are all part of a colossal hoax.
You must come again and tell me all you can about them. I
must prove that they are authentic."
"You will."
"I am trying to do something for your husband's sister, Mrs.
Stack. Is that your wish?"
"Yes, yes, yes!" was the earnest reply.
In my diary of March 1 8, 1 find this entry: "In looking back
on last night's sitting, I see in it a sincere attempt on the part
of Mrs. Williams to give my spirit friends access to me, but
that she has only partial control over their coming is evident.
To bring Fuller or Doyle is natural and understandable but to
be addressed by the spirit of a man I cannot recall is without
reason. There is logic in the coming of Crookes and Geley but
the entrance of John Jennings adds mystery to mysticism."
Our next sitting took place at 5 P. M. on March 19, in full
daylight. Mr. Beaman was not present and so my daughter
took notes, which we transcribed immediately after the
seance. My brother Franklin was present.
Doyle spoke, and after a few words of greeting I said,
"Doyle, I want to discuss another phase of this problem. I
have here a scrapbook filled with so-called spirit pictures, taken
by the woman who found the crosses. These photos were
made, her husband declares, with a cheap little camera in her
own cottage, under light conditions which would have made
a high-priced camera useless. Nevertheless, some of them seem
to me to tie up with those in your book, The Coming of the
Fairies"
61
The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
"I have changed my mind concerning a great deal of that
book."
"You mean that you now regard the illustrations as ecto-
plasmic ideographs and not fairies?"
"Yes, that is my present understanding."
"Could you see the photographs made by Mrs. Parent if I
were to bring the book and lay it before you?"
"Yes, I could see them through your eyes."
Taking the book from its place, I brought it to the stand in
the midst of my circle and opened it wholly out of Mrs. Wil-
liams' purview. She could not possibly discern the figures,
which were minute and upside down to her. Addressing Doyle,
I asked, "Can you see the photographs on this page?"
"I am looking at them now. They are not spirit photo-
graphs."
"Are they ectoplasmic thought forms?"
"Possibly. Is the one who took them over here?"
"Yes. Her name is Violet Parent."
"I shall talk with her about these photographs."
I turned several pages. "This book, as you see, is filled with
snapshots which she claims to have taken, and I have in my
custody a collection of crosses which she claims to have dis-
covered."
"I know about those crosses."
"Some say they came originally from Guatemala. Others
consider them frauds. Can you help me solve the problem?"
"I know very little about such matters myself, but I shall
try to bring someone who does."
Still holding the book entirely out of the psychic's range
of vision, I pointed at a small figure which appeared to be a
man dancing on a table. "What can you tell me about this?"
Doyle replied, "It looks like a man carrying on some kind
62
Mrs. Parent Promises Aid
of a ceremonial dance." (I submit that Mrs. Williams could
not normally make this reply. She had never seen the figure
before and could not see it now.)
I showed another still more singular print of a tiny figure,
a stooping Indian, photographed directly against the light from
a window. His face was black, but his feet and legs were radi-
ant even on the shadowed side. "What can you say of this
man?"
"He looks like a medicine man from Yucatan or Guatemala.
I will find out. It is probably an ectoplasmic form. Rather
strange. We will solve the problem of these pictures for you,
and of the crosses as well. The crosses are a mixed lot many
are very ancient " He stopped abruptly. "I will come again."
Later in the sitting Mrs. Parent returned, and I put to her
the question I had been eager to ask: "Are there any more
crosses to be discovered in this region? "
"Many of them," she replied.
"Hurrah!" I shouted. "That is just what I wanted to know.
Can you help us find some of them?"
"Yes, I can and I will."
"But how? In what way can you help us?"
"I will tell you just where to go and I will ask Father Serra
to direct us."
"We must have help. Without a guide we could not find
one of these small relics in this vast country in a hundred years.
Somebody must go along with our psychic and tell her ex-
actly where the crosses are hidden. How can we arrange such
guidance?"
"I myself will go with her and show her."
"Can you speak to her?"
"Yes, and she will be able to see me. I will get Father Serra
to fix everything."
63
The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
During this conversation my brother and I sat where we
could observe Mrs. Williams' lips and throat. The whispers
did not come from her body in any normal fashion, and so far
as I know she had no information concerning Mrs. Parent. As
for myself, I had not, up to this time, definitely associated the
crosses with Guatemala.
I must pause here to analyze in detail this extraordinary
situation. In the afternoon light, with the psychic perfectly
normal, I had not only received messages from several of my
dead relatives and friends, but I had entered into detailed con-
versations with Violet Parent, the clairvoyant who had made
the collection of crosses possible and who now promised to aid
us. She had gone further; she had promised the aid of Father
Serra, the most renowned and beloved of all the mission fathers.
"Things seem to be coming our way," I said to my little
circle. "My hope of enlisting the aid of the Parents was only
a hope now it is almost an expectation."
Mrs. Williams at this time knew nothing of the Parents and
very little of Father Serra and the missions he established. She
had no special interest in the church or in early California his-
tory. She said, "I have heard of Father Serra but I have never
read any books relating to him."
It may be said that she had had time to inform herself be-
tween sittings, but her only way of finding out the claims and
the character of the Parents was by listening to my questions.
She had become keenly interested in my general problem,
however, and was confident that she could locate some of the
buried objects.
Notwithstanding the disadvantage of not having my neigh-
bor Beaman as shorthand reporter, I announced that we would
6 4
Mrs. Parent Promises Aid
continue our morning meetings, and on March 25 Mrs. Wil-
liams gave us another valuable hour. Lorado Taft came again
and, after greeting us, spoke of his studio and its contents. I
said, "Are you pleased by the offer of the State University?"
He answered, "I am," and added, "I want Crunelle to finish
my group."
We didn't know exactly to what group he referred. He
said something about a horse in the group, and at the end of
his talk he said to my wife, his sister, "Papa is here." This my
wife considered evidential, for he always called his very digni-
fied father, Professor Taft, "Papa."
A whisper then addressed me. "This is Richard Hayes Gar-
land, your father," but he was not able to say more.
Fuller had much to say but his voice also was faint and his
articulation so poor that I could not interpret much of it.
On March 27 Beaman was present, and I quote his short-
hand report of our meeting, which is highly evidential of Mrs.
Williams' powers. Doyle came again, along with many friends
and relatives, and then I heard the name Winship. I said, "I
do not identify you. Can you give me your initials?"
He plainly said, "G. L."
"I think that is incorrect. I think I know who you are but
those are not the correct initials. Where are you from?"
"Boston."
"What did you do there?"
"Ethnology."
"What was your middle name?" asked Beaman.
"Parker."
"George Parker?"
"Yes."
I then asked, "What about the crosses? Can you tell me
anything about them?"
65
The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
"That is why I am here. Doyle brought me. Let me have a
look at the things."
I then brought a pasteboard box containing twenty-five or
thirty of the smaller specimens and placed them on the table.
Taking one in my hand and holding it up, I asked, "Can you
see this?"
"Yes."
"Can you see the faces on it?"
"Yes."
"How do you account for those?"
"Yucatan."
I took up one which was very old and crude. "Here is one
with coffee berries and the head of a steer on it."
"These are all from Central America and were used as
sacrifices as a sacrament -" The whisper grew so faint that
we heard only disconnected words. "Birds trees flowers
seeds " Then the whisper grew in power. "They came
from Yucatan and Guatemala. They precede Christianity.
They have nothing to do with Christianity. There are a lot in
the collection which are not genuine, but the majority are. I
don't know how they got mixed up."
"How old are they?"
"Five or six hundred years old, some of them. Others are
more recent. Some with heads of animals they sacrificed. They
sacrificed panthers and used crosses bearing heads of panthers
in sacrificial rites."
Mr. Beaman did not get all of this astonishing statement,
but I heard so much of it that I exclaimed, "You are mar-
velous!"
The whispered reply had a hint of humor in it. "Thank you."
"Where can I, myself, find objects like these?"
"I do not know whether there are others or not. I shall find
66
Mrs. Parent Promises Aid
out. Most likely in Quiche. Try sending one down to the
museum."
This metal cross was fire-scarred. It bears the
head of a steer and three coffee berries.
"I know of no such museum. Where is it?"
"In Guatemala. I will give you some help."
"I need it."
The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
"I know that you do. We will straighten it out. Some of
the crosses came from California recently."
The whispers were now so faint that I could not hear all
the words. I asked, "Can't you speak more clearly?"
"No power is waning."
What makes this conversation so valuable is the fact that
none of us had any knowledge of Quiche or Guatemala. I
did not know that Guatemala had a city large enough to pos-
sess a museum. I did not realize that a town called Guatemala
existed. I knew nothing of the relation of Quiche to Guatemala,
or Guatemala to Yucatan, and I think all the others in our
circle were equally uninformed. Of George Parker Winship
I had but a dim memory. So far as I knew, he was still alive.
As for Mrs. Williams, I had shown her on March 14 four
or five of the specimens, and she had written out her "impres-
sions" of them in these words: "Came from Guatemala
Quiche Tolpeck Indians crosses have serpents and alliga-
tors on them. Indians worshiped serpents. Crosses left in Cali-
fornia in early sixteenth century. Indians left their own coun-
try when Spaniards came to Guatemala. The flat pieces are
calendars. Where crosses were found was once a burial mound.
Temple where Tolpecks came from had altars built like a
cross."
It is possible that she may have informed herself on these
subjects in the days between March 14 and March 27 and
that she had come upon the name George Parker Winship in
her reading, but even if she had read up on the subject, her
method of communicating her information was supernormal.
Fuller said, "You could get better results by dimming the
light," but I answered, "I am reluctant to return to a dark
seance. I rejoice in these phenomena in the light. I shall find
some way to amplify the sound."
68
Mrs. Parent Promises Aid
We received many other personal messages, all of great
interest, but as they did not bear on my problem, I left them
out of my record.
I was disappointed in that the whispers failed to take on
volume. My ears ached with the strain, notwithstanding the
aid of my paper megaphone. "We must find some way to
strengthen the voices. It should be possible to make them dis-
tinctly audible to all in the room," I said to Mrs. Williams.
Chapter 5
Father Serra Speaks
IN MY DIARY I find this entry: "This was number eight of our
sittings with Mrs. Williams. The Beamans were present and
Beaman made a shorthand record of the sitting. Our psychic
said 'I have been to the library to read up on Guatemala,' and as
a result our entire sitting was given over to a discussion of the
crosses." (See appendix.)
I called on Fuller, who said, " I have brought Mrs. Parent
again." With her I held an extended conversation concerning
her guides.
All through Parent's story of his wife's visions, Father Serra
was most frequently mentioned as the one who aided, advised
or actively directed her search. According to her statements,
he came to her more often than any other spirit an incredible
claim, it seemed to me, for Junipero Serra was not only the
best known and most beloved of the priests who entered Cali-
fornia, he was the administrative head of all the missions.
He was, in truth, an austere character, noble and devout,
and when invisible Mrs. Parent lightly offered to secure his
aid in our quest, I felt that she was assuming an influence which
she did not possess. Nevertheless I asked for him, and when a
clear whisper replied, "This is Father Serra," I was astounded.
To say that I believed in the reality of this visitor is going
too far. I accepted the announcement of his name as a mysteri-
ous emanation from my own mind or that of the medium.
However, I greeted him as if I believed in him and honored
him. I explained that I was trying to validate some crosses
70
Father Serra Speaks
which Mrs. Parent had discovered and which she said had be-
longed to the Indians of the missions.
In reply, he confirmed Engelhardt and other church his-
torians who stated that the Indians had no metal crosses and
were forbidden to make them. "But," he added, "we could not
control the wild Indians."
In answer to my question, "Could you speak English?" he
said, "Yes, I spoke English," which also contradicted the
historians.
Mrs. Parent's "spirit" portrait of Father Serra and his
mother.
I asked him if he could recall any white man named "Trap-
per Joe" or "Sailor Joe" and he said "No," but he clearly re-
71
The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
membered that a white boy named Adam Smith had been
rescued from the Indians and brought to the mission. "He
grew to manhood with us," he added.
I then said, "I have here in my possession a large book con-
taining prints of many photographs of 'dead souls' taken by
Mrs. Parent in which you and many of your associates are
portrayed. She calls them 'spirit photographs,' and I should be
greatly aided if you would look at them and identify the padres
in them."
He expressed his willingness to do this, and I ventured to
bring from my desk the book in which I had pasted more than
two hundred of Violet Parent's photographs.
"I should like especially to authenticate these which she
says are portraits of you."
"Very well," he courteously replied. "I shall do what I
can to aid you."
I opened the book in such wise that Mrs. Williams could not
possibly see the prints, which were all small not more than
two inches square and faded by twenty years' exposure.
Pointing to one of two minute figures in one of these dim
prints, I said, "Father Serra, is this a true portrait of you?"
"It is."
"Who is the woman standing beside you?"
"That is my mother."
I confess that these quiet replies surprised me, for Mrs.
Williams, who had never opened this book was seated some
yards distant and the book was upside down to her vision.
"Father Serra, your replies have made a change in my esti-
mate of these portraits. Will you tell me whether there were
any existing portraits of you, either as drawings or statuettes,
from which these two photographs of you could have been
made?"
7 2
Father Serra Speaks
"Only one portrait of me was ever made, and that, a paint-
ing, is in the Museum in Mexico City."
"Are there any extant portraits of your associates Fathers
Lasuen and Palou?"
"No, they were never portrayed in any way."
"Then you would say that their portraits in this book are also
genuine?"
"Yes, they are genuine spirit likenesses."
"Father Serra, the only portrait of you known to me is the
one reproduced in a book called The Conquest of California.
I have it here and I should like to have you identify it also,"
Second exposure. Note changes in posture and texture
of clothing. The face resembles only known portrait of
the priest but the expression is not the same.
Bringing this book, I opened it at the portrait. "Is this illus-
tration a reproduction of the painting made of you in Mexico? "
73
The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
"It is."
"You look ill in this picture, Father Serra."
"I was. I had been very ill on my way to the city."
"How old were you at this time?"
"Forty-six."
"But you returned to Alta California and worked a long
time after that, did you not?"
"Yes, many years."
"When did you die?"
"When I was seventy-four."
"Let me ask you again, were there any small drawings or
statuettes of you distributed at that time or later?"
"No, none whatever."
"Then these portraits of you by Mrs. Parent must be gen-
uine mental photographs."
"They are, all genuine. You can prove it by taking similar
portraits yourself."
"Can we do that? Will you instruct our medium how to
proceed?"
"Yes. It was done once; it can be done again."
"When shall we try and at what hour of the day?"
"At any time."
"Let us go a step farther, Father Serra. Some of these in-
credible photographs by Mrs. Parent are records of outdoor
scenes which she got so she says by pointing her camera
at the bare walls of her own home. Can we obtain photographic
results similar to hers?"
"Undoubtedly. I will give you a picture of myself on the
same plate with yours."
"That will be a grand test. It would validate all these por-
traits. When shall we try it?"
"Any time soon."
74
Father Serra Speaks
"Father Serra, in several of these photographic groups of
missionaries taken by Mrs. Parent, there is one tall priest who
always stands with his head awry in a singular and unpleasing
attitude. He looks suspiciously like a wooden image. His fixed
pose has led my expert friends to say, This picture is false.
This man is a dummy made and photographed by Mrs. Parent.'
Is there any basis for this charge?"
"No," was his instant reply. "The photograph is genuine.
It is the picture of a priest who was deformed. He was not
exactly a hunchback, but his spine was twisted. His head was
always awry in just that fashion. There is no other portrait of
him."
"What was his name?"
We had some difficulty in hearing the name, and the medium
said, "Spell it for us."
This he did. "V-e-1-o-s. Velos - Father Velos."
Indicating another figure in the group, a smiling, genial
padre, I asked, "Who is this?"
"That is Father Lasuen, who followed me as head of the
missions. He was a very old man at the time."
"Father Serra, your identification of these portraits is of
great value to me. I would like you to pass on one more."
I then laid before him the photograph of a most singular
figure an Indian, whose handsome face was black against
the window but whose limbs and garments were white even
on the shadowed side an impossible effect in normal photog-
raphy, I am told. He was stooped, as if with the heavy load
heaped upon his back. "What is this man and where did he
come from?"
"Yucatan. He is a medicine man dressed for some ceremony."
"Returning to the crosses, Father Serra, I have another most
important question to ask. Some days ago a voice calling itself
75
The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
'Violet Parent' told us that many more of these ancient arti-
facts are still to be found in our hills. Is this true?"
"That is correct. There are many of them undiscovered."
"This is highly important, Father Serra. If I could find one
of these crosses myself, it would validate the whole collection."
"It would and it would prove human survival"
"Can you tell me where to look for them? Are there any
near by?"
"Yes, there are ten crosses and something that looks like
a bowl out near San Fernando Mission. I will tell you how
to find them. Go to the center of San Fernando town, then
proceed north along the Mint Canyon Road. Five miles from
the town a road turns to the right. Take that road. A half-
mile farther on, you will see an overhanging bank on the right-
hand side and a hill with large trees on it. On top of this hill
is a pointed rock. You will find the crosses buried about two
feet deep around the base of this rock."
As I had been told of a case in which mysterious voices were
heard in a motor car, I made a bold request. "Can you go with
us, Father Serra, and speak to us in the car, directing us to the
exact spot?"
"Yes, I will go with you to the hilltop and tell you just
where to dig. Take a spade with you."
"Why were all these crosses buried on hills?"
"The Indians buried them there in ceremonies to appease
their gods."
"Did they keep these crosses and these ceremonies hidden
from you? Is that the reason why they are found at a distance
from the missions?"
"Yes. We forbade these ceremonials, but of course we could
not control the wild Indians and not always our neophytes."
76
Father Serra Speaks
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77
The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
"Did you know when these savage ceremonials on the hills
were taking place? "
"No. They were carried on secretly, far from the mission
and in spite of us. We considered them barbaric survivals and
opposed them."
V
Showing him one of the large lettered crosses, I asked: u ls
it true that nearly two hundred of these large crosses were
placed along the trail as markers?"
"Yes, that is true."
"Are they there yet?"
"Some of them."
"Did not the Indians disturb them carry them away?"
"No."
"Why?"
"They marked the road to help."
This seemed to me a most remarkable concept of primitive
character.
"Where did the crosses come from?"
"The people from Quiche brought the ancient ones."
"How did these people come by boats?"
"Some of them. Others walked. They settled among the
California Indians."
"That accounts for the mixture of mission and barbaric
crosses."
"That is correct."
I thanked him for coming to us and he whispered, "Adios."
Suddenly he ceased to speak and a new personality announced
himself.
"I am Steele," he said.
"I don't place you. What is your first name?"
"Carter. Carter Steele."
78
Father Serra Speaks
After a moment's hesitation, I said, "I think I know who
you are, but "
"Of course you do," he interrupted.
"You have given me a wrong name or at least you have
not given me your first name. If you are the Steele I have in
mind, Carter was not his first name. What were you? "
"I was an artist."
"Have I any of your work?"
"Of course you have."
My daughter spoke up. "I have one of your paintings hang-
ing on my wall."
"I know you have. I sometimes come to look at it."
"Then you are Theodore C. Steele of Indiana?"
"Yes. Ted Steele - Theodore Carter Steele."
"We always called you T. C. Steele. Where did I see you
last?"
"In Chicago."
"You are wrong about that. It was in your studio. Where
was that?"
"On a hill."
"That is true."
I tried to get him to tell me the name of the county in which
this hill was situated and he said something about Ohio, and
then I recalled that the studio was close to the state line be-
tween Indiana and Ohio.
His coming was welcome but wholly irrelevant. What
brought him at this moment when I was filled with Father
Serra's advice?
Notwithstanding Mrs. Williams' recently acquired knowl-
edge of Quiche and Guatemala, there are many very curious,
79
The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
not to say inexplicable, features to this interview. The com-
ing of T. C. Steele is one of these. Another is Father Serra's
identification of portraits in a book wholly out of view of any
other than myself, and finally, his detailed instructions regard-
ing the buried idols on a hill near San Fernando.
Early on the following afternoon we started out to find the
pointed rock. Following Father Serra's instructions, we drove
to the center of San Fernando, thence north five miles. We
came to a bridge where the road to Mohave branches off. Pro-
ceeding slowly along the road, we looked for the overhang-
ing bank on the right hand side. At exactly half a mile, we
identified this bank and the hill, with the trees on it, but not
the pointed rock.
We parked beside the highway, with cars whizzing by al-
most every second, and Airs. Williams inquired of the in-
visibles, "Is this the spot?"
To my amazement, a faint but unmistakable whisper an-
swered, "Yes."
I had a hoe in the back of the car and when I took this in
my hand I pointed its handle, like the barrel of a gun, toward
the northeast. "Is this the direction?"
"No," came the whisper.
Again I pointed, this time directly cast. "Is this the direc-
tion?"
"No."
A third time I pointed a little farther to the south of east.
"Is this the direction?"
"Yes."
With this very definite information, we climbed the steep
hill my daughter, the psychic and I finding at the top a
smoothly rounded slope which seemed adapted for a barbaric
ceremony.
80
Father Serra Speaks
The author's daughter Constance Note cactus beds.
81
The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
Mrs. Williams, somewhat out of breath, took a seat on the
ground and awaited further instructions. It was a sunny day
with a gentle sea wind blowing, and I had no hope that we
would hear a whisper in such a place at such a time. Yet, when
I again demanded, "Is this the place?" I clearly heard the word,
"Yes."
With the hoe in my hand I planted it on a spot a few feet
from the medium. "Shall we dig here?"
"Yes."
The place was a grassy ridge of land which ran from a
rounded knoll toward a higher peak to the east. A ledge of
rock to the southeast had a sharp center which we took to be
the pointed rock. There was no ledge at the place where we
were told to dig.
With keen expectancy, the medium and I, aided by my
daughter Constance, dug a deep trench at the exact point in-
dicated, but with no result. The voice said, "Come again, with
a strong young man. Much digging is required."
As we drove away home, I tried to lighten Mrs. Williams'
mood of disappointment. "I do not consider our exploration a
failure. In truth, our invisible guide, whoever he was, worked
a miracle. He not only foretold the distance, but he described
the exact spot where we were to dig, and he not only spoke to
us in the car (as he had promised to do) but also on the hill in
the brilliant sunshine. This, so far as my experience goes, is un-
paralleled. To have found a cross on our first exploration would
have been too miraculous. Furthermore, we failed to do our
part. Our digging was half-hearted. He told us they were
buried nearly two feet deep."
When we returned a few days later, we brought two young
men with picks and spades. By their aid, we unearthed several
boulders which our invisible guides said were "man-made,"
82
Father Serra Speaks
Hamlin Garland climbing a steep trail.
The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
and they told us that they enclosed something which the Indians
valued. One of the most curious of these I myself cracked
open. In it was a perfectly symmetrical hollow surrounding
a perfectly round ball. This, the voices declared, was used in
games. Others contained shells and meteoric fragments. That
this hill had been used for some ceremonial purpose was evi-
dent, but we found no metal artifacts.
Father Serra said, "They are there, but earthquakes and
rains have buried them. Come again and dig deeper."
The earthquake concept may have arisen from a hill to the
north which presented the appearance of having been split in
half by such a movement.
I could not doubt Mrs. Williams' sincerity. Scrambling to
that hilltop in the hot sun was a severe test. "I am willing to
come again," she said.
At this time she knew very little about my design. She had
seen but few of the crosses, and I had carefully kept the book
of photographs out of her sight. She believed in her voices but
considered the Parents either dupes or fakers. It is well to bear
this in mind as we go on.
Chapter 6
The New Mechanism
BY APRIL 7 I was completely launched upon the task of vali-
dating my collection of crosses and securing a spirit photo-
graph. Our expedition to the hill at San Fernando, while of
great interest, remained inconclusive, and all our films taken
at the suggestion and under the direction of the invisibles were
of no value. Nevertheless, I kept a certain measure of faith in
their words.
As the whispers seemed to emanate from Airs. William's
body and not from her lips, I discovered by experiment that
I could hear most clearly while resting the larger end of a
trumpet against her chest. This led me to believe that if she
were to hold a powerful microphone in that position the whis-
pers might be projected to all parts of the room. "Such a device
might be attached by means of a wire to the loud speaker of
our radio," I suggested.
She was greatly interested in my suggestion. "We can try
it," she said.
With this plan in mind, I visited shops and tested various
types of sound instruments. In my search I was somewhat
hampered by the fact that I could not say, "I want a machine
to enlarge the whispers of a spirit," and the salesmen could
not understand my need of a mechanism "which would record
the squeak of a bat."
The need of concealing my purpose led me at last to select
a machine already built and but recently on the market. It
consisted of a small transmitting box with sixty feet of wire
connecting with another box which contained a receiver and
85
The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
an amplifier. On this larger box was a key which, when held
down, made it possible to address the medium. Unless this
was done, no slightest sound could go from me to her.
It was my hope that with this mechanism I would be able
to receive whispered messages while the psychic was at a dis-
tance perhaps in a separate room. "This instrument will pre-
vent Mrs. Williams from hearing a single word from us." I
explained to my wife and daughter. "She cannot normally an-
swer questions which she cannot hear, or describe objects
which she cannot see."
Our first trial of this mechanism was on April 9. Placing
Mrs. Williams in the adjoining chamber, I gave her the trans-
mitting box, then withdrew to the study, closed the heavy
glass door and drew a curtain over it. My wife and daughter
were in the study, seated at a table on which stood the receiv-
ing device. After turning the key which closed the wire so
that no sound from us could go to the medium, I took my
chair. Both rooms were fully lighted.
In keen expectancy, we awaited results. Almost immediately
a shrill, squeaking whisper came from the box. It called, "Gar-
land! Garland!"
"Who is it? "I asked.
"Fuller."
"Henry B. Fuller?"
"Yes. Can you hear me?"
"Yes, but only faintly."
Upon turning a knob on the receiver which amplified the
sound, I was able to hear him distinctly. For the first time in
our experiments, my wife and I were both able to take part
in the conversation. She was both startled and deeply moved
when the speaker said, "Lorado is here and will now speak to
you."
86
The New Mechanism
Mrs. Williams holding transmitter. Note curious
arch of light above her head.
The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
Thereupon another personality said quite naturally, "Zuhl,
dear, how are you today?"
"Not very well, Lorado."
"I'm sorry. Take care of yourself. It is strange that I should
be talking with you here I who never believed a word of
Hamlin's reports."
After sending another message to Ada, his wife, he went
away, and a third voice addressed me quite formally as "Mr.
Garland."
"Who is speaking?"
"Father Serra."
"Father Serra! I greet you. We need you."
"I have come to help."
His coming decided me on a new and still more convincing
test, one which would prove that the medium was not color-
ing the dialogue in any normal way Taking one of the cases
of crosses on my knee, I said, "Father Serra, I am eager to
know more of these crosses. Can you help me?"
"I will try," he replied.
From where I sat, the psychic was wholly out of view. Put-
ting my finger on one of the crosses, I said, "Can you see this?"
"Yes, quite plainly."
"Can you tell me where it came from?"
"It came from Yucatan."
Indicating another specimen, one with the bust of a woman
molded on it, I asked, "What is the meaning of the female fig-
ure on this cross?"
"It is a representation of the Goddess of the Waters a
kind of female Neptune."
"It has nothing to do with Christianity then?"
"Nothing whatever."
That this was a severe test of the medium's psychic powers
The New Mechanism
should be evident. She could neither normally see what I was
pointing out nor normally hear what I was asking.
Indicating a larger cross on which the lovely form of a child
was molded, I asked, "What is the meaning of this child?"
"That is one of the crosses carried by expectant mothers.
It embodied a prayer for a baby."
"What is the significance of the rabbit at the bottom of the
cross?"
"The rabbit was recognized as the sign of fertility."
<k
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The author's study. Dotted lines show course of 'wires.
"Father Serra, you have spoken of Guatemala and Yucatan.
I find that the Handbook of American Indians published by
the Smithsonian Institution states that certain native tribes of
Southern California, commonly known as 'Yumans,' call them-
selves 'Quicheanas.' This would seem to indicate that they are
The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
migrants from Central America. If so, they must have brought
many of their crosses with them."
To this the voice quickly replied, "That is the case exactly.
They mingled with the Indians already here, and their relics
naturally mixed with those of our own mission Indians. That
accounts for their being found together."
For half an hour, while my wife listened at the receiver, I
conversed with this invisible padre, whose mind impressed me
as that of a kindly, wise and tolerant old man. His learning
was wide and his English perfect. He seemed to know all the
tribes of red men and described in detail many of their cus-
toms and habits.
At last he paused, and in this pause a hesitant voice spoke
to me. When I asked, "Who is it?" a faint whisper replied,
"Mother." After a few sentences of dialogue, I said, "I do not
hear you very well."
Her reply was astounding. "I am trying very hard," she
whispered, "but / have to uoear a mask"
She did not say irihy she had to wear a mask, but I inferred
it was to enlarge her voice, as certain Greek masks were used,
I believe, to magnify the voices of actors; but as she was the
wife of a pioneer and knew nothing of the ancient Greek thea-
ter, I can find no explanation of this amazing and rather plain-
tive remark. She went away without further speech.
I cannot accuse the psychic of hoaxing me, for she was in
another room and the one-way wire kept her from hearing
my questions. "I heard some of the replies in my box," she
said afterward, "but I could not hear a word from you. They
are experimenting with this new mechanism. They are placing
their words in your box and not in mine."
Pleased by the success of this sitting, I resolved on a still
more drastic experiment. "I will put you in a room fifty feet
90
The New Mechanism
distant from my study, with two closed doors between. Noth-
ing will connect us but a wire which can transmit sounds only
from you to us."
This stone "animal head" was the -first ob-
ject found. It was covered with clay and
filled with adobe. In the adobe were several
small crosses.
To make the test still more complete, I went into the room
with her, closing both doors behind me, and there stood over
her, listening and watching for evidence of her participation
in what was going on in my study. I heard no sound from her
lips not the faintest whisper and yet when I rejoined my
wife and daughter in the study, they told me that Father Serra
had been talking to them, urging a return to the hill at San
Fernando.
9'
The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
With my coming the whispers grew in volume and I said,
"Father Serra, this mechanism is a success. I can hear you now
quite as if we were using a telephone."
"I am delighted to know that," he replied, "but I am making
a tremendous effort. It is a new experiment with us. We hope
you will not give up. Enter upon a regular series of tests. Sit
every morning at ten and we will be with you."
With that he gave way to a voice which said, "This is Ed-
ward MacDowell." MacDowell, the composer, was a dear
friend, dead nearly thirty years but he spoke to me as clearly,
as informally, as if we had been parted only thirty days. After
a few words of greeting, he said, "I commend your mechani-
cal device. I predict that it will greatly aid in our communi-
cation."
I spoke of the music which he had written for Henry Fuller
and me shortly before his death in 1908, and he instantly re-
plied, "I will write some new music for you," and ended by
merrily whistling an air, as if to say, "This is what I intend to
compose."
This lively and most unexpected performance nearly top-
pled my daughter Constance from her chair. How could Mrs.
Williams have heard these questions? Edward's replies were
exactly to the point in every instance.
Among the fragments of the "sacred rocks" which Parent
had preserved and passed on to me was a stone which re-
sembled the head of a sheep or calf. It was not adobe, cement
or concrete, for its substance was very hard and filled with
crystals. It resembled quartz and seemed to have been shaped
by some sharp metal instrument. The story, as told to me by
the wife of the man who picked it up, was taken; down in
shorthand. I give its substance.
"My husband was a mining man and, having heard of Mrs.
92
The New Mechanism
Parent as a clairvoyant who could locate mines, he went to
her. She told him of treasure buried near Capistrano. He took
her down there but could locate no gold. She was told to go
back that there were some sacred rocks there which the
priests wanted her to find. She was told that these rocks were
near the mission and that they the spirits would tell her
where to stop. My husband and I drove her down there. She
stopped us opposite a flat covered with mustard and told us
the rocks were on the other side of this mustard, which was
six feet tall. She was not able to go across the field and so my
husband went.
Gregory Parent and G. D. Hutchison,
'who picked up the stone head.
"When he came back he had in his hand a gray rock shaped
a little like a calf's head. He said he had been moved to pick it
93
The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
up and bring it but that he had thrown it down several times,
and each time he was moved to pick it up again. He said he
couldn't understand why. He threw it in the car as a kind of
curiosity.
"That night Mrs. Parent took it home with her. This was
on Thursday. On Sunday we got word from Mr. Parent that
his wife had had a dream in which the spirit of an Indian girl
told her to soak the rock in warm water and she would get a
clue. This she did and the adobe covering fell off and it was
found to be a petrified calf's head. The spirits told her to dig
in it and she would find something. This she did and found
several small crosses in it.
"Mr. Parent wanted us to come up, for the rock belonged
to us. We went up to their home in Redlands, and Mrs. Parent
gave us the head and said, You dig in it.' I did and I found
a small cross in the hard adobe near the ear and another just
above the eye. They were embedded in the substance which
filled the skull. The spirits told her that they had used it as a
contribution box for the church and that during the uprising
they hid their valuables in it and covered it with adobe and
threw it on the hills."
Taking this stone in my hand now, I asked, "Father Serra,
can you see this?"
"Oh, yes very clearly."
"Can you tell me what it is and where it came from?"
"It is of stone, not cement, and it came from Yucatan."
Here again is proof that Mrs. Williams could not guess what
I was holding, for she would infer that I was talking about a
cross. It is a remarkable test, for she had no intimation that I
intended to take this stone object from the cabinet, and with
two closed doors and a long hall between us, she could not
have heard my question. Furthermore, I did not name the ob-
94
The New Mechanism
ject; I simply brought it from the cabinet and held it in my
hand. I cannot say that the voice was that of Father Serra but
it undoubtedly came from the psychic. The unknown char-
acter of the object added to her mysterious perceptive power.
There may be some simple explanation of this incident, but I
am unable to find it.
On the nineteenth, while my wife and daughter sat with
me, with Mrs. Williams as usual in her corner, Father Serra
and Father Lasuen both came and talked with us. They both
urged us to go back to the hill beyond San Fernando. "The
crosses are there," they repeated.
In answer to my daughter Constance's request, Father
Lasuen told her how to pronounce his name. He spelled it out
phonetically: "Lass-wayne." He also confirmed the truth of
other portraits which Mrs. Parent had made of him.
With the book of photographs held at a distance of ten feet
from the psychic and wholly out of her normal vision, Father
Lasuen at my request identified the priest with the wry neck
as "Father Velos." The figures were minute and Mrs. Williams
could not even see the pages as I turned them, for my wife,
my daughter and I were clustered about the book.
Pointing to an obscure figure in one of the photographic
groups a short, smiling priest, with arms akimbo I said,
"Who is this?"
Father Lasuen replied, "Father Martinez." This was the first
mention of this padre.
Indicating an Indian, I said, "This looks to me like a Sioux."
"He 'was a Sioux."
"Here is one who looks like a white man."
"He was a half-blood Ute from eastern Oregon." (The
psychic could not have known this.)
"There are in this book many photographs of a boy named
95
The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
Adam Smith who lived at Capistrano, so Mrs. Parent says.
Was there such a boy?"
"Yes."
"Was there a girl named Mary Card?"
"Yes. Father Engelhardt's book will tell all about them."
(I could find no mention of these young people.)
"Are there crosses remaining in the hills near Ventura? "
"Yes, and much silver."
"You mean a mine?"
"No, lumps of silver. I will lead you to it."
Turning to the photograph of a strange Indian with bent
back and black face, I asked, "What can you tell me about
this man?"
"He is from Yucatan. He is a witch doctor dressed for some
ceremony."
"What about this good-looking Indian whom Mrs. Parent
called 'Great Goose Neck'?"
"He is from eastern Washington. His real name was Pasa-
qua." He spelled the name for us, "P-a-s-a-q-u-a."
Referring to the robe in which all the Parent photographs
represented him, Father Serra said, "This is the robe I then
wore. It is now in the museum at San Juan Capistrano."
My daughter remarked, "Scrambling around over these hills
has made us appreciate Mrs. Parent's persistency," and to this
I added, "Yes, and I admire her faith and her heroic persever-
ance. Southern California is a vast wilderness when one is try-
ing to locate a hillside on which a few minute objects are
buried."
Father Serra then said, "Having regard to the weight of
your years, I shall lead you to hills more accessible and less
steep." I thanked him for his consideration and he said,
"Adios."
96
The New Mechanism
The more closely I studied the records of these two sittings,
the more certain I became that Mrs. Williams possessed super-
normal powers of perception. She had declared that she had
read nothing about the padres before coming to me, and that
she was carefully refraining from reading about them now.
Her sincerity appeared in certain minute details, such as spell-
ing the names of the Indians and in identifying the padres on
the small photographs entirely out of her normal vision.
"It may be," I said to my wife and daughter, "that she is
able to pick some of these items out of my mind, but she didn't
get Tasaqua' from me."
Our mechanism was proving enormously helpful, for by its
use novel phenomena were being tested and recorded, but I
was not content with it. I was convinced that it could, some-
how, be attached to the loud speaker of my radio, but all the
experts whom I consulted said, "It cannot be done."
When I referred this verdict to Fuller, he said, "You would
only get distortion," and this I accepted as true.
"Let well enough alone," my wife and daughter argued.
97
Chapter 7
Conversations with the Invisibles
IN THE intervals between our exploring trips we continued to
meet in my study each morning at ten. Our invisible visitors
were now confined almost entirely to those who were con-
nected in some way with my problem of the crosses. It was
evident that my desire or that of Mrs. Williams controlled the
gates of admission and exit, for none of my relatives, not even
my father and mother, now ventured to knock at my door.
In explanation of this Fuller said, "We all know that the
success of your book depends upon your validation of the
crosses by finding others, and we are all bending our efforts
to that end."
Nevertheless, now and then unaccountable intrusions by
unknown personalities took place. One morning a voice said,
"I am Robert M. May. I met you in London. It was at a meet-
ing in a hall. Locke was presiding."
"Do you mean W. J. Locke?"
"Yes. I was a newspaper man at the time."
There was no reason for this man's coming. I did not re-
member him and I only dimly recalled the meeting. Why
should the psychic create him if she did create him?
At the beginning of another sitting in my study, a clear
whisper said to Gaylord Beaman, "This is Sarah."
"Did I know you?"
"Yes, I knew you all of you. I am Sarah Bixby."
"Did you have another name?"
"Yes, Smith."
We all exclaimed, for Sarah Bixby Smith was known to us
Conversations with the Invisibles
all as one of the distinguished native daughters of California.
She was a special friend of the Beamans.
Beaman asked, "Can you help Mr. Garland with these
crosses?"
"I will try to find out where they came from."
In answer to questions from Mr. Beaman, she said, "I am
going on with my work. I am writing."
Beaman then asked, "Children's stories?"
"No, no. History."
This was evidential, for she had been at work, in truth, on
a history of early California.
When someone said, "What is it like over there?" she re-
plied, "It is entirely different. I can't explain it."
She promised to come back, but did not keep her promise.
This appeared to prove that our psychic had no power to
bring a personality back to us, even though we all requested
it.
This was followed by another natural and in some ways
more evidential dialogue with a personality who said, "I am
Leila McKee." This was the name of a young girl, a friend of
my daughters in our Wisconsin summer home, but as she was
still alive we decided that our visitor must be the aunt after
whom she was named, a sister of her father, Samuel McKee.
As she is not mentioned in any of my chronicles, Mrs. Williams
could not have known of her. She was, in fact, only a one-time
visitor in our home.
Another speaker, a man who gave his name as "Wendell,"
I immediately recalled. "Were you an old neighbor in West
Salem, Wisconsin?" I asked.
"Yes."
"A Scotchman?"
"Yes."
99
The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
He tried to speak his family name but as I could not quite
hear it, the psychic said, "It sounds something like McDown,"
and I helped out. "Is it Mclldowney?"
"That is right. I am Wendell Mclldowney."
I do not recall mentioning Wendell in any of my Middle
Border books, but he was the son of an old pioneer named
James Mclldowney.
The reason for my leading questions lies in the fact that the
whispers were at times so faint that I was obliged to repeat the
answers in order to have them confirmed. In reality, the dia-
logues were more significant than they appear in this report.
On May 5, my daughter had a very moving experience.
First of all came one who said, "I am Candace Howard." She
addressed herself to Constance and talked happily and fluently
of Onteora, our Catskill home, where she had been a neighbor
and a companion of both my daughters. I spoke of her father,
Dr. L. O. Howard, and she entered into certain intimate de-
tails concerning the birth of a child which she had left behind
her. She had died in giving it birth. The talk was quite as ready
and as natural as it would have been over a telephone in On-
teora.
This was followed by an amazingly characteristic harangue
from a spirit who said he had been a childhood playmate of my
daughters in Chicago, and that he had often visited us in New
York City. He gave his name as "Arthur Barnhart," and he
breezed along just as he used to do when deeply concerned
over some reform. We could hardly interpolate a word or find
a terminal station for him. He was quite as argumentative and
positive as in life.
I said, "Arthur, you sound exactly like yourself."
He said good-by at last, but added, "111 come again."
One of the most unusual characteristics of this mediumship
IOO
Conversations with the Invisibles
was its readiness. At each sitting, almost before we had taken
our places, the voices came. Nothing in the room seemed seri-
ously to disturb them. Sitters would come and go while I was
recording the whispered messages, and if I said, "Wait a mo-
ment," the unseen speaker paused with unruffled temper. It
was precisely as if he were telephoning from another house.
Mystery was in it all, but it was not the mystery of the dark
seance.
"Morning, afternoon and evening are all the same to us,"
said Fuller. "Air pressure, however, is sometimes a barrier."
"Fog," he called it, and explained, "It acts like 'static' on a
radio."
We observed no ritual, offered no incantations and arranged
no settings for the performance. Mrs. Williams' face was never
contorted with pain and those who communicated with us
were always calm, and often humorous. We joked with them
or complimented them in perfectly normal manner. None of
us regarded the hour as in any way sacred. Although convinced
of the supernormal character of the utterances, we remained
skeptical of the personalities behind them.
It is worth recording, however, that Augustus Thomas called
me "Hamlin," while Henry Fuller and Edward Wheeler
called me "Garland," as they used to do in life. Thomas was
one of the few men who called me by my first name. The Par-
ents called me "Mr. Garland," and the padres, "Senor Gar-
land." These distinctions tended to make the communications
personal and authentic.
For example, during an afternoon sitting, while Stewart
Edward White and his wife were present, we heard the whis-
pered name, "Don," repeated over and over with wistful in-
sistence, for none of us could hear his full name or discover his
wishes. At our evening sitting, however, several hours later,
101
The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
he succeeded in making himself known. He said, "I am Donn
Byrne."
Although wholly unexpected, I greeted him warmly. "I
am delighted to have you here, Donn Byrne. I greatly admired
your work. You wrote beautiful English."
"So did you, Mr. Garland," he replied, with a charming
Irish accent, wholly unlike that of the medium.
In a further exchange of compliments and at White's request,
he spoke a sentence in Gaelic and then resumed his English
with a delightful Irish brogue which was assumed for our
pleasure.
White said, "It is exactly like a pleasant call from an ad-
mired fellow craftsman," and, when Byrne ceased speaking,
added, "It would be interesting if Kipling could come."
I asked, "Is Kipling within reach?"
A whisper replied, "He is here."
"Are you Rudyard Kipling?"
He replied instantly as if he had been waiting at the tele-
phone booth, "Yes, I am here."
"This is a most unexpected pleasure. Fve just been re-reading
your psychic story They/ It is a subtle and very beautiful
story one of the most beautiful and moving stories you ever
published."
"I am delighted to hear you say that," he replied. "It was
one of my earlier works."
A clear whisper now said, "This is Norris. Frank Norris."
White said, "I'm glad you came. You're the best speaker of
the lot. Can you see me?"
"I can see both of you - Garland and White. Conditions
are better now. I am still doing my work over here, Garland,
and you are continuing your job."
All of these brief conversations took place in a room adjoin-
102
Conversations with the Invisibles
ing my study, with a closed door between Mrs. Williams and
our group. She might have heard an occasional word of the
questions, but I do not think that she could have heard what
White or Mrs. White said. Furthermore, she could not nor-
mally have spoken in Gaelic or produced Byrne's humorous
Irish accent. The entire sitting came to us through heavy glass
doors and over forty feet of one-way wire.
I admit that these tests had given me such confidence in
Mrs. Williams that I permitted her to read some of Parent's
notebooks. "After all," I said to White, "the final test of her
mediumship is to be the finding of crosses similar to those in
my possession. If she does that, she will enable me to validate
the entire collection which I begin to believe was honestly
brought together by the Parents. Who made them, who buried
them, why they were buried, will still remain my ultimate
problems."
My diary shows that on April 16, we had under test condi-
tions a very full program. In the midst of other voices from
friends and relatives, a vigorous whisper interrupted, "I am
Stead."
"Not William Stead of London?"
"Yes, William Stead of London."
"I am delighted to meet you again, Air. Stead, after all these
many years. I am particularly anxious to get your judgment on
some photographs which a certain Mrs. Parent claims to have
made of you with her own camera in her home in Redlands,
California."
"Let me see them."
Bringing the large volume of prints from the table, I turned
the pages slowly. "Can you see them?"
"Perfectly."
"Are they geniune?"
103
The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
"Yes, they are all genuine. The small figures are 'thought
forms/ but the others are true spirit portraits."
After showing him the four or five snapshots which Mrs.
Parent had secured of him, I asked, "Are these portraits of
you wholly original?"
"They are. I used to wear a cloak like that."
"Were you ever photographed in exactly these attitudes
I mean during your life on this plane?"
"No, I was never photographed in the postures you find
here. My daughter got some spirit photographs of me but none
precisely like these. These are not copies, they are originals.
My daughter wrote about those she took. You will find them
in her book."
"Can you give us an ectoplasmic portrait of yourself similar
to these?"
"Certainly. I can and I will."
"That is a highly important promise and I hope you suc-
ceed."
Stead's coming naturally suggested Dr. I. K. Funk, another
publisher who was also interested in psychic research. I asked
for him and he came, but did not make himself heard. I then
said, "Dr. Funk, you ought to bring Edward Wheeler, who
was for many years the editor of your Current Literature. He
was a dear friend of my family and we have been asking for
him."
Another whisper said, "Wheeler is here."
We all called a greeting to our old friend, and my wife
asked, "Edward, why haven't you come to us before? We have
all been calling for you."
He replied, "I didn't know that. If I had known it I would
have come, although I dislike mediums who sit in the dark."
He called my wife"Mrs. Garland" as ne always used to do.
104
Conversations with the Invisibles
This touch of formality so characteristic of him, was highly
evidential, for Mrs. Williams could not have known this fact.
My daughter said to Fuller a little later, "Uncle Henry,
can't you bring Carl Akeley?"
Fuller answered, "I can and I will."
"How do you do it?" she asked. "How do you find him?"
"I send out a broadcast. Would you like to hear one?"
"I would indeed."
She then heard him call "Ake! Ake!" in a strong whisper
which gradually grew fainter, suggesting illimitable distance.
My daughter was highly amused by this performance.
"Just how did you do that?" she demanded.
"It is all a matter of thought," Fuller replied. "It is a thought
world we live in."
His use of the word "Ake" in calling our friend was also
evidential. Many of Akeley 's companions called him "Ake"
but we never did. He was always "Carl Akeley" to us. Strange
to say, he made no response to Fuller's repeated broadcast
a fact which added to our confidence in Mrs. Williams.
Strangers came in, men I did not know, padres of whom I
had no knowledge. Fuller told us that many were waiting to
speak, but that they all gave way to those who could be of
service in the making of my book. I could not prove this then,
and I cannot now. I give it to the reader for whatever it is
worth.
105
Chapter 8
Finding Our First Cross
No DOUBT many of my readers are asking, "Were you justified
in trusting these whispering personalities? Did they not come
from the psychic's subconscious mind or your own?"
Suppose they did the mystery remains. What led the
psychic to say, "There are crosses at the base of a hill near
Oxnard," and when I asked, "What landmark will enable us
to find the spot?" what finally permitted her to answer, "At
the foot of a low hill which stands out on the plain toward
Oxnard you will find a rugged ledge of brown sandstone tinged
with red. You will know it when you see it. The crosses will
be in these colored rocks."
Now here was a perfectly definite statement which could
be proved or disproved. I knew Oxnard very well. It was
about sixty miles from my home, situated on a level plain
some six or eight miles this side of Ventura. It was reached by
two boulevards one along the coast from Santa Monica; the
other, called the Inland Route, ran from North Hollywood
to Camarillo. I had no definite picture in my mind of any hill
standing away from the range toward the west and Mrs. Wil-
liams declared that she had never been at Oxnard. I had no
way of knowing whether she had or not, but I had no reason
to distrust her.
"The only test is a visit to the place," I said, and on May
i o we planned to make a trial of her prevision.
In connection with this description of the ledge of rocks,
Father Lasuen had twice spoken of crosses buried on a high
plateau in the hills toward Ventura, and he now told us how
106
Finding Our First Cross
The author and Mrs. Williams in the field.
107
The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
to reach it. "Take the road to the Ventura Hills just before
you reach the plain turn to the left," he said. "The crosses
are on a high mesa. A road runs across it."
"Will you go with us and guide us?"
"Yes. Appoint a day and I will go with you."
Although I had traversed this inland highway many times,
I had never observed any road leading to the left across the
range. On reaching the point where we should have found
such a road, we could find nothing but short farm lanes. We
tried several of these but could not reach the hills, although
the whispers still insisted that a road led to the flat top where
the crosses were buried.
At last I said, "Father Lasuen, we can not find this road,
and as we are near the ledge of red rocks, let us try that."
"Very well," he replied.
At the foot of the range we entered the little village of
Camarillo, and there we found a road leading to the south
toward a group of peaks which did, in fact, overlook the
level plain toward Oxnard. With the voices again directing us,
we drove toward the south till we came to a peak standing
away from the range like a great bastion. It was about two
thousand feet in altitude and covered with clumps of cactus.
As we were slowly skirting the base of this hill, Mrs. Wil-
liams said, "There is the red ledge!"
After studying the rugged outcropping of brown rock viv-
idly tinged with red and overgrown with cactus, I asked, "Is
this the place, Father Lasuen?"
"Yes."
There were, in fact, two of these ledges a few yards apart.
"Are they in this ledge?" I asked, pointing at the one near-
est us.
108
Finding Our First Cross
"Yes in both ledges," came the answer in a highkeyed
whisper.
"Are they high up?"
"No low down just between the rocks."
Mrs. Williams then said, "Father Serra is here also. He says
a Hopi house once stood on this hill."
This was a suprising statement, for according to all author-
ities none of the Hopi people had ever built a village so far
from the Colorado River. When I stated my doubt, the an-
swer was prompt and definite. "Yes, a Hopi village once stood
here. Their farms were laid out on this level land."
As I looked to the north over the fields of beets and alfalfa,
it was easy to imagine that a primitive people had once made
use of it.
"How long ago was this village built?"
After a pause, as if reflecting, our invisible guide replied,
"Two hundred and twenty years ago."
"That would make it 1717."
"That is correct."
"If I should climb this hill, would I find remains of that
Hopi house?"
"Yes, pottery and other things."
I could not doubt the medium's sincerity. Consider these
facts: none of us had ever been within five miles of this place,
we knew nothing of this hill, nothing of this red ledge, and
yet here we stood at the foot of it a rugged, cactus-covered
wall of dark brown rocks, singularly edged with red, precisely
as the whispering voice had described it while in my study.
No sign of any habitation, ancient or modern, could be de-
tected on the hill, and all my reading was against the state-
ment that a Hopi village had once stood there.
After a moment's reflection, I said , "Mrs. Williams, if we
109
The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
could find remains of that Hopi house up there on the hill we
would have conclusive evidence of your mediumship. No one
could accuse you of planting a Hopi house."
Thick grass and clumps of weeds hid the base of the ledge,
the face of which was covered by a mat of ancient and horri-
ble cactus plants.
Alighting from the car, I pushed in toward the cliff. "Is
this the place?"
"All along there!" Mrs. Williams called to me.
A careful survey convinced me that I could not penetrate
that tangle without tools and stout leggings as a defense against
the cactus needles.
Returning to the car, I said, "Father Lasuen, to dig a cross
out of that tangle of cactus is too difficult a job for a man of my
years and quite impossible for Mrs. Williams."
"That is true," he replied. "You must come again with two
strong men."
I mention these cactus barriers and the fact that there was
no sign of recent passage in order to forestall any charge of
"planting" which might arise. Mrs. Williams did not set foot
outside the road. Her dread of the barbed grass and a fear of
snakes prevented her from approaching the ledge. The spot
was not one of her own choosing, that was evident.
"No woman ever planted crosses on that ledge," I said as we
drove away.
Two days later at our morning seance, Father Lasuen threw
out another surprising statement. He whispered, "There is an
underground chamber on the ledge where the Hopi house
stood."
"Do you mean a priest's khiva?"
"Yes. If you dig deep you will find many things belonging
to them."
no
Finding Our First Cross
"Man-made" rocks discovered under the guidance of
Father Serra.
This led me to say, "Are there any surface indications of
such a khiva?"
u Yes. On the first terrace." He then added, 'There is a natur-
al opening," a fact which the psychic could not possibly have
seen, for the cactus-covered hill was impossible for a woman's
climbing.
"Very well, Father Lasuen. I shall climb that hill myself.
There must be an old trail."
My wife tried to dissuade me. "Remember your seventy-
six years," she said warningly.
That Mrs. Williams had faith in her voices was evident
when she said, "I'll climb that hill with you."
Now that we knew the road, it was less than two hours'
ride to the ledge, and that afternoon, wearing old clothes and
stout shoes, Mrs. Williams and I were driven to the hill by my
daughter. As I left the car and started up the steep side of the
mountain, Mrs. Williams started with me but was forced to
1 1 1
The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
turn back. A faint path zigzagged up the west side but it was
so overgrown with clumps of cactus that I was compelled to
wallow through tall dead grass covered with barbs.
With no cutting tool to clear the way, my ankles and knees
were soon filled with cactus needles. The higher I went the
worse it became. By the time I reached the first terrace, I could
feel the blood running down my legs. Finding no sign of habi-
tation at this point, I dropped down to a level spot which over-
looked the plain just the kind of outlook that a Hopi priest
would choose for meditation in view of the sunset sea.
Here I discovered a depression filled with a thick tangle
of some sort of shrub, so dense that I could not see the soil in
which it was rooted. I understood why Father Serra had urged
taking some strong young men along. To disclose the entrance
of this ruined khiva would require workmen with axes and
spades. Without the presence of Mrs. Williams and the aid of
her voices I could do nothing, but to ask her to climb through
those cactus thickets would be unreasonable.
The return to the plain was more difficult and painful than
the ascent. Slipping and sliding, I arrived at the car smarting
from deep punctures by cactus spear-points, my shoes bristling
with innumerable barbs caught from the dry grass.
"The discovery of a khiva up there, with a few pieces of
broken pottery would have a very great archaeologic value,"
I said to Mrs. Williams, "and from the standpoint of a psychic
investigator, it would have still greater significance. It would
prove the truth of your clairvoyant power, for I doubt if any
woman has ever set foot on that hill. I can not ask you to do
so. If Father Lasuen in describing this ancient khiva is correct,
he must have gained his knowledge from his Indians. He never
climbed this hill and I am certain you never did."
At our next seance, I said to Fuller, "I wish you would round
I 12
Finding Our First Cross
Mrs. Williams spared herself not at all.
She overturned rocks and stfted gravel
with her bare hands.
up those Indian spooks and see if they cannot locate some of
their buried treasures in more accessible locations. Climbing
steep hills is a little too painful for an old fellow like me."
To this he made characteristic reply. "I can and I will. I
shall now take charge of the situation. I am told that there are
many crosses buried in an open valley near old Fort Tejon.
They are among a scattered grove of oaks about two miles
this side of Lebec and on the left-hand side of the road. Go
The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
there tomorrow and you'll come back with a cross in your
hand."
I knew Lebec. It was situated in a high valley about seventy-
five miles to the north and east of my home. I had driven past
it many times but had no memory of a grove of oaks. Mrs.
Williams declared that while she had once been through this
route, she remembered nothing of it in detail, and as for our
invisible advisor, Henry Fuller, he had never visited California
in the flesh. In view of all this, I will admit that I planned this
expedition with very little faith in the whispered assurance of
success. However, Lebec was less than three hours distant and
over a beautiful mountain boulevard, and so I decided to go.
Leaving at nine the following morning, we reached the
valley about eleven but saw no grove on our left or on our
right. A few oaks stood scattered about on the level floor of
the valley but they could hardly be called a grove. Parking in
a quiet place, I said, "Henry we saw no grove at all only
a few stunted oaks in a pasture."
He whispered, "That is the place. Turn back. Go two miles.
I will be there."
On turning back, we took the old road which was no longer
used, and at exactly two miles came to a fairly large oak which
threw a grateful shade over the wire fence. In the perfect still-
ness of this abandoned road, we were again able to hear our
guide clearly.
I said, "Well, Henry, here we are, two miles from Lebec.
Is this the place?"
In the familiar high, faint whistling whisper to which his
utterance was diminished by the sunlight, he replied, "This
is the place."
Looking over the wide, dry, level pasture I said, "There is
no cactus and no climbing here. Fuller has kept his promise so
114
Finding Our First Cross
far but how can we possibly locate a cross in this expanse of
dry grass?"
Crawling under the fence, Mrs. Williams, my daughter
Constance and I moved rather aimlessly toward a stony stream-
bed in the middle of the enclosure. Mrs. Williams said, "Father
Serra is here."
Observing a significant spread of small stones on a level
spot between a group of trees, I was moved to say, "Father
Serra, this looks like the site of an ancient Indian village."
Mrs. Williams repeated a whispered reply. "He says it was
once a village of Snake Indians."
"Do you mean a village of Shoshone Indians?"
"Yes."
"How many were in the village?"
"About a hundred. Their chief was called Yellow Belly."
"What became of them? Why did they leave?"
"Because of drought. Their stream failed them. It sank
ran underground."
"Where are the crosses buried?"
"Around the trees close to the root."
"Around all of the trees?"
"Yes, all of those near this spot."
"Father Serra, this is a new thought to me. Why did this
tribe bury their idols around trees?"
"They put them there as a prayer for better luck in their
new home. There are many crosses here some are in the
ground where you stand and also in the dry bed of the
stream."
Here was a novel concept. These people were not sun wor-
shippers. They were from the east and not related in any way
to the Yumans.
As we were scratching around among the lines of rock
"5
The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
which seemed to mark the spot on which the tepees had once
stood, a voice whispered, "They did their cooking here."
I could not hear these whispered words, but my daughter
caught most of them and with her aid I carried on a most
astonishing dialogue.
Here we stood in a wide, sunny valley my daughter, Mrs.
Williams and I, listening to a voice which claimed to be that of
my most intimate friend, a fellow student of psychical matters,
and to the voice of a priest who had been dead more than a cen-
tury. Both these personalities assured me that I would find the
proof of human survival in certain small pieces of metal hid-
den around the roots of a dozen gnarled and aged oak trees.
As a matter of fact, this was only another scouting expedi-
tion. We had no pick or spade and such digging as we were
able to do with the small tools in the car yielded nothing. As
we started home Fuller said, "The crosses were there, Come
back. Bring proper tools and dig."
Two days later, with Mrs. Williams and her son, a youth
of eighteen, my wife, my daughter and I returned and parked
under the same tree by the wire fence. While my wife and I
were eating luncheon, my daughter and George Williams took
spades and went out among the near-by oaks to dig, while
Mrs. Williams explored the stream-bed.
In less than half an hour Constance came running toward
me, calling, "I have one!"
As she extended her hand through the fence, I saw in it a
rusty metal cross about six inches long. That it conformed to
the general character of those in the Parent collection was
evident at a glance. It was decorated with the dim turbaned
heads which Father Serra had said were Arabian.
"Where did you find it?"
"At the foot of a big tree. I was spading the ground. It was
116
Finding Our First Cross
about a foot deep in the earth. My spade broke a piece out of
it/
Found by Constance Garland, May zj,
75)37. Observe faint heads and faces.
I confess that at the moment I was quite as jubilant as my
daughter. It seemed a veritable validation of the collection of
crosses, and though we found no more that day, I rode home
with that cross in my hand - as Fuller had said I would.
117
The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
On reflection, however, I realized that the skeptical reader
would say as they had said of Mrs. Parent, "Your psychic
abstracted this cross from your collection and between your
two trips drove out there and planted it."
Although my daughter said, "I dug it up from ground that
showed no sign of having been disturbed and while Mrs.
Williams was a long way off," I was forced to admit that I had
not been a witness to its discovery, and when, on the way
home, Fuller whispered, "Now you have it!" I replied, "Yes,
I have it but I am not satisfied. I want two or three more from
two or three different locations. I need more proof."
"Proof you shall have," he curtly replied.
118
Chapter 9
San Jacinto
THE NEED of finding another cross was immediately apparent,
for when my daughter announced to one of our friends that
she had found a cross, she was instantly met with the question,
"Who planted it?" The questioner went further, he said, "Did
"It is evident/ 7 I said, "that we must have other specimens
taken under test conditions from at least two other localities,
and that to go back to the oak grove would not do, even though
our guide assures us that more of the artifacts still remain there.
The charge of planting would certainly be made."
One morning shortly after this accusation, Mrs. Williams
as she came in smilingly announced that she had had a vision in
which she had heard the words, "San Jacinto." "I saw crosses
lying in the sand of a wash coming down from a high hill. Is
there such a place as San Jacinto?"
"Yes, there is such a mountain a high peak about one hun-
dred miles east of here and I think there is a village of that
name. We will ask about it this morning."
During our sitting I spoke of the medium's vision and Father
Serra said, "There is such a town, and there are crosses to be
found in a wash about four miles northwest of it."
With intent to make a test case of this information, I spread a
map of Southern California upon my desk, several feet distant
from the medium and upside down to her vision. As its lines
were quite invisible to her, she could not guide my pencil.
Tracing the road to Hemet and to *a point above San Jacinto,
I asked, "Father Serra, is this the place?"
lip
The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
i "Yes. The crosses are in a wash about four miles northwest
of the town." """ "~
i I placed my pencil on a line. "Is this the road?"
"Yes. Keep to the left, near the hills."
Drawing a circle at a point where a stream was indicated,
I again asked, "Is this the place?"
"Yes where the road crosses a wash."
"Very well. We will go there tomorrow."
As a matter of fact, I had little faith in this vision and not
much confidence in the whispered statement which confirmed
it, but an exploration of the San Jacinto region would undoubt-
edly prove enjoyable, and on May 6, 1937, we drove to the
little village of San Jacinto, which lies just south of the great
peak. From here we made two false starts, however. We got
on roads which led away from the mountains, and each time
our invisible guides said, "Not right. Take a road leading north
to the mountains."
At last we reached a spot the spot which my map indicat-
ed where a bridge crossed a stream, and when I asked, "Is
this the place?" the whisper definitely said, "This is the spot."
On our left was a range of high hills and from a deep canyon
a stream-bed, now dry, came down the slope and ended at the
river bank.
"This is the wash. Look about," the whispers said.
With no time to do more than survey the flat near the river
and to walk up the wash for a short distance, we planned to
return and make a careful search of the location. This we did
on May 25. My entry reads:
Today we made an early start and drove again to San Jacinto,
accompanied by the medium and her son. Reaching the lower
end of the wash, we parked our car and began a careful inspec-
tion of the shallow furrow which had been gouged out of the
120
San Jacinto
hillside by floods from the high peaks. It was filled with rocks
embedded in sand. These the whisper commanded us to over-
turn.
"Are some of the crosses visible?" I asked.
"Yes. Look around."
While Mrs. Williams and her son were spading the gravel
and overturning rocks, I stood near, closely observing the
work. George, who was using the spade, said to his mother,
"Wait a minute! There is something which looks like a piece
of metal."
Picking a small object out of the sand, he handed it to his
mother. "Take a look at that! "
After a glance at it she said, "It is nothing," and was about
to throw it away when I interposed. "Don't do that! Let me
see it."
As she handed it to me I instantly recognized it as a weather-
worn fragment of a metal cross, a piece of the bar. The stand-
ard and the top had been broken away, probably by the rocks
among which it had been carried along the wash in torrential
rains.
Small as it was, it was of enormous significance, for on it
were the prints of three claws, a mark which we had been
told represented the foot of a three-toed sloth, and it offered
testimony tending to validate the Parents' collection. I said
to Mrs. Williams and my daughter, "We may not be able to
prove our case to the public, but the finding of this fragment
is as valuable as if it were complete and six inches long."
Although we continued our search for an hour, we found
nothing more. On returning to our seats in the car, I said,
"Father Serra, where did this fragment come from?"
"It was washed down from that high hill. Do you see the
small pyramid or mound on its top?"
12 I
The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
"Yes. Who built it?"
"It was built by the Quicheanas as a place for sun worship."
"I'd like to go up there, but it's an appalling climb. I doubt
if I could reach it. I know Mrs. Williams could not."
"Nobody but the headmen and priests went to it and they
went only occasionally to make sacrifices to their gods."
"What were their sacrifices?"
"Corn and venison and animals."
"I can understand that, for I have visited places in Montana
where the Cheyennes laid out food and cloth for their spirits."
"The Quicheanas sacrificed cloth up there in the same way.
They also sacrificed panthers, foxes and other animals."
"Is that the reason why animal heads appear on the crosses?"
"Yes. Each man carried a cross in this ceremony."
"What did they do with these crosses?"
"They held them up toward the sun as they chanted their
prayer. At the close of the ceremony, each man buried his cross
where he stood. In the many years since, some of them have
been washed out and down, but there are many more up there."
"How was the mound constructed?"
"By rolling rocks together. A large rock forms the top."
"What would we find if we should tear the mound down?"
"Pottery and many crosses."
"These people came from South America, did they not?"
"Yes. They were sun worshipers."
"That is the reason why all these crosses or most of them
were found on the sides of hills or in rocky ravines?"
"Yes, but some tribes at Lebec, for instance planted
them at the roots of trees as offerings to their gods."
I realize the fantastic character of this dialogue, but my wife
and daughter will bear witness to its truth. I could not hear
all the words and my daughter could not follow every phrase,
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San Jacinto
but we all heard enough to confirm the messages which the
psychic repeated to us. The voice gave the impression of a
wise old man who knew these lives and customs of primitive
peoples. (I was never able to confirm her statement concern-
ing the mounds.)
"You say these people came from the south?" I asked.
"Yes. The Quicheanas were driven out of their homes in
Central America by the Spaniards."
"How did they come by boat?"
"No, by inland trails. It took a year to make the journey."
"Are the Yumans of these people?"
"Yes."
I showed him the broken cross. "What are the marks on
this fragment?"
"They are intended to represent the footprint of a sloth."
"What is the metal?"
"It is partly silver."
"Father Serra, I am more than seventy-six years old I can-
not climb these cactus-covered hills. Can you not send me to
places where I shall not be called upon to climb?"
"I can send you to a place in the park near your home."
"Will you do that tomorrow morning?"
"No, no! Now."
He then said, "Go along the new road leading to the north
from the planetarium the road to the right leading around
toward the San Fernando valley. You will come to a pile of
rock on the left-hand side of the road about a mile from the
summit. A small canyon comes down at this point. Go up this
canyon."
"But Father Serra, that is a park. We cannot dig there with-
out a permit."
"No digging is necessary."
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The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
The thought of this new location which was only ten min-
utes from our gate surprised and delighted me, and on our
way home we planned an immediate visit to the spot.
After we reached home, I persuaded Mrs. Williams to stay
for dinner and to sit for a short time in the hope that Father
Serra would confirm the directions which he had given to us
in the car.
In the belief that a shaded room would increase the power
of the voices, I drew the curtains to my study and carried the
receiver into my bedroom. With the doors closed between the
two rooms, my wife and I sat in the light, with the receiver on
the table before us. The psychic could neither see us nor hear
us, normally.
Almost immediately a whisper came from the receiver a
whisper which was so nearly a voice that it startled me. It
called, "Garland! Garland! Can you hear me?"
"Yes for the first time in two weeks I can hear you with-
out effort. Who is speaking?"
"Fuller."
"I'm delighted to hear you, Henry. I have found a second
cross. I begin to think that the Parents told the truth. They
were ignorant but honest."
"Of course they were, but can you make your readers be-
lieve it?"
"Not with only two crosses, although they have immense sig-
nificance to me. Critics will say this fragment was planted. I
need two or three others from other locations."
"You'll get them. I'll see that you do."
(We did not follow out Father Serra's direction concerning
crosses in the park. We found workmen building a new road
there.)
124
Chapter 10
The Huachi Valley
ON May 27, when Mrs. Williams came into my study she
said, "I have had another vision. This time I was shown a little
valley on the left-hand side of the Ridge Road, about five miles
beyond where we found the 'man-made' rocks. I am told there
are crosses in the stream-bed of this valley."
"Very well. We will drive out that way this afternoon and
see if we can locate your valley, but this morning 1 want to
talk again with Parent."
Placing her in an adjoining room, I closed the door and
seated myself at the receiver of my one-way telephone. When
Fuller came, I said, "Henry, I want to speak with Gregory
Parent."
"He is here. They are both here."
A voice then called, "Mr. Garland this is Parent. You
wanted to speak with me."
"Yes. I expect to publish an article soon, and no doubt the
editor will want to use some of your photographs to illustrate
the article. I want to know if you have any heirs who might
file a claim for damages."
"No, I have no relatives but my half-sister, Mrs. Stack."
"Did Mrs. Parent leave any heirs?"
"No, she has no relatives who can make any claim to the
crosses or the photographs."
"I am greatly obliged. That simplifies my problem."
This conversation, which was fluent and natural, confirmed
all that I had previously been told by Mrs. Stack.
The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
In the afternoon of this same day, we drove out along the
Ridge Road seeking the little valley which Mrs. Williams had
seen in her vision.
I said to her, "It amuses me to see how closely you are fol-
lowing in Mrs. Parent's footsteps. I hope your visions will
prove as fruitful as hers."
After leaving the San Fernando Hill, whereon we had found
the "sacred rocks," we passed several small valleys, all very
much alike, but as we neared the five-mile mark Mrs. Williams
spoke. "There is the valley. The hills are exactly as I saw them
in my dream."
It is important to note that this valley was on private prop-
erty and that a group of tourist cabins and a fence barred the
entrance. In order to gain admission, it was necessary to ask
permission of the proprietor. This I did by saying that I had
been told of certain Indian relics which had been discovered
in this valley. "I should like permission to go up and see if I
can find some for myself."
He replied very pleasantly that his land only went to the
mouth of the valley but that we were welcome to drive over
it. "Our boundary is a dam across the creek."
I am quite certain that Mrs. Williams had never crossed this
private lot and yet as we drove up into the valley she called at-
tention to objects she had seen in her vision. Halting under a
large tree, we both alighted and walked up the lovely dell till
we came to a wire fence and a dam left by a recent rain storm.
At this point, Mrs. Williams, who was wearing high-heeled
shoes and silk stockings, halted. She could not pass the barrier
but I went on up along the bank of the stream.
The reader should make note of this: The water was flow-
ing in the gulch, which was deep and muddy. I rejoined Mrs.
Williams at the fence and we returned to the car. "If there
126
The Huachi Valley
are any crosses in that stream bed, they are under water," I
reported to my wife.
As I took my seat beside Mrs. Williams, who was at the
wheel, I said, "Father Serra, this is a beautiful spot. It looks
to me like the site of another Indian village."
"It is," he replied. "The huts were a little farther up the
stream on that level bank."
"To what tribe did they belong the Shoshones?"
"No, they were Washees."
I had never heard of this tribe. I thought he meant "Washoes"
and I asked him to spell it. He began by spelling "H-u-a-,"
then hesitated. I helped him out. "Huachies."
"That is correct. That is the Spanish spelling of the name
for the tribe."
I said, "I shall look up the name when I get home. How long
did they live here?"
"A long time hundreds of years."
"Then there must be many relics buried here?"
"There are I shall help you find them. These were mis-
sion Indians. They came from the north."
All this was contrary to my thinking. "Thus far most of the
tribes we have studied came from the south. These people,
then, had no connection with Yucatan or Guatemala?"
"No no connection whatever."
"Father Serra, I take it that you have changed in your atti-
tude toward these primitive races."
"I have very greatly."
"Your zeal as a missionary led you to exaggerate their
faults."
"Undoubtedly."
"My own attitude is quite different," I went on to say, with
a feeling that he was weighing my words. "In common with
127
The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
my scientific friends, I consider all primitive peoples creatures
of their environment like other animals, and that they are
no more to be called 'treacherous' or 'cruel' than the wolf or
the mountain Hon. As a matter of fact, your own account of
them names many good traits."
To this he made no reply, but I had the conviction that he
agreed with me. He was the most zealous of missionaries, one
who not only flagellated himself in the sight of his congrega-
tion, but lived in almost unremitting hardship and pain all
to very small purpose, as the world views it. "I shall take
this up with him again," I said to Mrs. Williams as we started
homeward. "We must come here later, after the stream dries
up and when you are clothed for exploration."
Immediately on entering my study, I got down my ency-
clopedia and there I found these two obscure lines "Huachi,
a former Costenoan village near Santa Cruz Mission." In very
truth they had come down from the north as our invisible
guide had stated.
I had never seen this name before and I cannot believe that
Mrs. Williams had thumbed my encyclopedia and selected
from three thousand pages of fine print this two-line reference
to a small village of coast Indians. The chances of her hitting
upon this reference are about a million to one!
Realizing that the mud and water might prevent our finding
anything, we did not return to the valley for several weeks,
but I think it wise to record at this point that on June 2 1
Fuller said to me, "Go to the Huachi valley today."
The day was warm and Mrs. Williams did not welcome a
trip across the San Fernando valley, but Fuller was insistent,
and at two o'clock, driven by our young housekeeper, Phyllis
Toal, we set out for the little valley.
Parking our car, as before, under a large tree, we put on
128
The Huachi Valley
boots and leggings to protect us from barbs and possible snakes,
and descended into the stream-bed which had become dry at
this point. I called to Fuller, "Shall we look here?"
"No higher up!" he replied sharply.
As we went up the gully, it narrowed and grew deeper until
at last the abrupt banks were almost as high as our heads, and
at times we were forced to crawl under overhanging thorny
shrubs and tangled vines. We kept sharp eyes out for poison-
ous plants, and a bad-tempered bull kept close watch on us.
The psychic was troubled by his roaring and I was apprehen-
sive that her fear might hinder our search.
I mention these conditions to forestall charges of deception
on Mrs. Williams' part. That she had not penetrated to this
point on our previous search is certain. It was difficult to go
up this wash when dry. When filled with mud and water it
was quite impossible.
In a short time her stockings were filled with burrs, her
shirt waist soiled and torn, and she was almost exhausted by
the exertion and the heat. Nevertheless she persisted, for Fuller
ordered us to keep on. "Go on higher up," he whispered.
We came at last almost to the point where the spring tor-
rents, striking a high bank, had made a sharp turn. Here the
whisper said, "No higher. Look around."
At this point lay a dike of gravel mixed with large rocks.
Mrs. Williams said, "He says, 'Overturn the rocks.' "
Phyllis, our driver, a strong, country-bred girl, attacked a
rock which was deeply imbedded in the gravel, and just as I
drew near to help, she upheaved it and with an excited excla-
mation pointed out the deep bed in which the rock had lain.
"There's a cross!"
Bending over the pit, I saw a small cross lying amid a mat of
white roots just where the weight of the rock had pressed it
129
The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
into the soil. As I picked it out of this bed of roots, I noted
that its form was outlined, as if the roots had grown round it.
Phyllis afterward said (see appendix) that some of the roots
had grown across it. This I could not verify. The piece, simi-
lar to those in the Parent collection, bore the heads which
Father Serra had said were Arabian and not Hindu.
Let me pause at this moment to sum up the situation. This
cross was under a big stone in the dry bed of a stream up which
we had been guided by a whispering voice. To charge Mrs.
Williams with having placed this amulet under the stone is
absurd. She was afraid of cattle and snakes. If we say that it
was placed there by a confederate, we must grant her clair-
voyant power in finding it. There was nothing to mark its
position in this gully.
"Fuller," I said. "this cross has nine times more value as
evidence than those we found at Lebec and San Jacinto. Evi-
dential value increases in geometric ratio. You say there are
more to be found here?"
"Yes, two more."
"Are they buried like this one?"
"No, both are in rocks down the wash."
"How large are they? As large as my two fists?"
"Larger."
Slowly we made our way back, reexamining the boulders.
At last I called a halt. "I am satisfied. Let's get out of here."
Mrs. Williams was especially glad to quit, for the watchful
bull had several times come to the bank of the gully and
"growled" at her. Hot, tired, full of burrs, but triumphant, we
climbed the wire fence and sought the comfort and security
of our car.
I considered this a most convincing test of the psychic's
powers. The fact that at our first visit she did not enter the
130
The Huachi Valley
stream-bed and that the water was flowing in it at that time,
made "planting" it difficult. To do so she would have been
forced not only to brave that bull but to wade in the mud and
water of the stream-bed. I don't know who put the cross there,
but Mrs. Williams led us to the spot and told us when to over-
turn the rocks.
The reader must grant that in this exploration she in no way
resembled the traditional medium of the dark, back-parlor
seance.
"With your aid," I said to her, "I have succeeded in finding
three crosses, one at Lebec some sixty miles to the north of
my home; a second at San Jacinto eighty miles to the east;
and now here in a valley twenty-five miles to the north
at the head of a stream, under a heavy rock, half buried in the
gravel and soil, my driver, under my very eyes, uncovers a
third cross which I myself pick from its matrix. I should be
content, but I am not. I must have more in order to carry con-
viction to my readers.
"All question of 'planting' must be excluded. These speci-
mens seem to be of Indian manufacture and of Indian burial,
but the question why they were buried, remains unanswered.
That they were used in barbaric ceremonials on the hills, that
they had nothing to do with the missions, must be proved. To-
morrow morning, I shall call for the explorers, Onate and
Garces, and ask them for further information concerning the
use of crosses by the Indians before the missionaries came."
That night as I compared that rusty little "idol" with those
already in my possession, I was convinced that it w r as not only
very old but that it had come a long way perhaps from the
Old World.
(More than eight months later, on September 7, 1938, Fuller
urged us to go again to the Huachi valley, saying, "There are
The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
still one or two crosses to be found there." In my diary I find
these lines: "We found the place much changed by the recent
flood, but we got down into the stream-bed as before, my
daughter Isabel and her husband Mindret Lord, Mrs. Williams
and I, and worked our way up to a point beyond where we
had found the cross under the stone. Fuller kept repeating,
"Higher up." At last, at a point which neither of us had
reached before, Lord found a small cross of the barbaric type.
It was lying under the overhanging bank. I said to Fuller,
"This is our sixteenth find " and he tartly replied, "It is
enough."
"I don't want you to say I am "
I was about to say "insatiable," when he took the word out
of my mouth.
"Insatiable but you are. Let this end your search.")
132
Chapter 1 1
Testing the Psychic
As AN experimenter of forty-five years' experience, I am fully
aware that the value of the foregoing chapters is wholly de-
pendent upon the sincerity and proved supernormal powers of
Mrs. Williams, and I think it well at this point to pause and
state other tests which established her as a trusted coworker.
On July 20, 1937, 1 proved the supernormal character of her
voices by muffling the transmitter in a woolen blanket and by
pressing a folded handkerchief over her mouth. This was
witnessed and recorded by A. G. Beaman. At later dates, my
daughter frequently went behind her and placed a hand over
her lips all without effect. The whispers in each case went
on without apparent loss of power.
The significance of these whispers is very great. To say that
speech is possible without the use of tongue or teeth or lips, is
to state something wholly inexplicable. This 1 realized at the
outset, and from time to time I made other tests of this phe-
nomenon.
To Mrs. Williams I said, "'These whispers may seem com-
monplace to you, but to me they are of supreme importance.
What can we do to separate them from your normal organs
of speech?"
She answered with entire good humor, "You might put a
candy marble in my mouth and seal my lips with surgeon's
tape. This was done in Chicago by a committee of medical
people and I am willing to have it done again."
'33
The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
"That is a capital suggestion. No ventriloquist would sub-
mit to such a test."
One morning, sometime later, I asked my friend Beaman
and one or two others to witness this test, and I have before
me as I write his shorthand report of it.
Placing Mrs. Williams in her seat in the corner of my study,
I carried the receiver into an adjoining room and left it in
charge of Beaman, his wife, my daughter Constance and my
secretary, Miss McCoy. My wife remained with Mrs. Wil-
liams.
Returning to my study, I took from my desk a flat piece of
candy which children call an "all-day sucker." It was not only
very hard and slow to dissolve, but it had in it a stick which
served as a handle. It could neither be chewed nor swallowed,
and it was so broad that it quite filled the medium's mouth. It
covered her tongue completely.
Having placed this pleasant gag in her mouth, I took a seat
beside her. As the door was closed between me and the group
about the receiver in the adjoining chamber, I could not hear
a sound from there. I could hear no whisper from the medium's
lips.
That it was impossible for her to utter T, D or S, I myself
had proven, by placing a similar lollipop in my own mouth.
After a period of watchful waiting, I called Mr. Beaman and
my daughter into my study and asked them to report what
they had heard in the receiver.
According to Mr. Beaman's notes, the following dialogue
was carried on.
My daughter Constance began by saying, "Uncle Henry
B., are you going to show us where the crosses are, at the bar-
ren trees?"
Voice: "Yes."
134
Testing the Pyschic
Constance: "Shall we go Monday?"
Voice: "Yes."
Constance: "Will you be able to talk to us?"
Voice: "Surely."
Constance: "Perhaps you can tell us on the way."
Voice: "Yes."
Constance: "Is the medium losing her power?"
Voice: "I am afraid so."
Constance: "Will she get it back after a rest?"
Voice: "Yes."
After Beaman had reported the conversation, he took a
position on the other side of Mrs. Williams and, with the other
witnesses all standing about, recorded the following dialogue
in shorthand.
Garland: "Henry, we had a very good test."
Voice: "Yes, a fine test a perfectly fine test. Can you hear
me?"
Garland: "Everything is set for Monday?"
Voice: "Yes."
Garland: "You will be able to communicate with us in the
car?"
Voice: "Yes."
Garland: "Mr. Beaman cannot climb hills, so we are taking
Putnam along."
Voice: "All right."
Garland: "We shall drive up through Hidden Valley, as
usual, till we get to the place where the old fellow was "
Voice (interrupting): "Go beyond that."
Garland: "Down to the corner of the pasture?"
Voice: "Beyond that''
Garland: "We will then ask for you in the car if you can
talk to us "
The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
Voice (interrupting): "I'll be there."
At this point I removed the candy from Mrs. Williams'
mouth.
We were all astounded by the success of our test. Not only
were the whispers clearly enunciated, in words impossible for
the medium to utter normally but part of them had been pro-
jected to another room. Futhermore, tthey were pertinent to
my purpose.
I invite the reader to try uttering the words, "all right," or
"go beyond that," with a sucker, or a soup spoon bottom side
up, resting upon his tongue.
In dark seances I had many times, heard voices allegedly
supernormal, but they lacked evidential value, for the reason
that they came in complete blackness, where the normal speech
organs of the medium were not controlled.
The most drastic test which I had up to this time been able
to apply, was in a sitting with the famous Boston medium,
Margery Crandon. In her case, I used a voice cut-out machine
which had been provided for me. As I stood beside her, in a
light strong enough to outline her face, I put a wide, glass
mouthpiece between her lips. Notwithstanding this barrier,
Walter, her guide, had not only spoken to me in a strong,
clear voice but had whistled a tune, while Margery, by blow-
ing through a tube, was holding a pith ball at a certain point
in a glass container filled with water.
I considered this test at the time conclusive proof of the
complete separation of Walter's voice from Mrs. Crandon's
normal speech organs, but here now, in my own study, I had
applied an equally drastic test in the full light of the morning
sun. All talk of ventriloquistic skill was at an end.
To my friends I said, "We have separated the whispers
from the normal speech organs of the psychic, but we have
136
Testing the Pyschic
not separated the messages from her subconscious mind. That
is the final and most elusive problem."
In order to add still further proof of Mrs. Williams' super-
normal utterance, I include at this point a report made by the
Chicago woman physician, Dr. Nora Rager, and two associates
who, at my suggestion, not only placed a round soup spoon
over Mrs. Williams' tongue, but employed a stethoscope in an
attempt to locate the centers of vibration from which the
whispers came.
Dr. Rager wrote, "With spoons in the mouths of the psychic
and her sister, we had three voices most of the time. There
<was no vibration in the bandies of the spoons. The peculiar
thing about it was that the volume of the voices was increased
by the placing of the spoons in their mouths. We also listened
with the stethoscope. There was no vibration of the throat,
chest or over the solar plexus, although we could hear the
voices distinctly. Dr. Poundstone heard his wife's voice through
the trumpet distinctly, and carried on an extensive conversa-
tion with her."
To make the report still more definite, I wrote out a list of
questions and sent them to Dr. Rager. I quote these questions
and her penciled replies.
"Did the three voices which you heard come at the same
time while both the psychic and her sister were gagged?"
"Yes."
"Were they voices or just whispers?"
"Voices."
"Were they clear?"
"Yes."
"Did the two sisters act together?"
"They were both gagged in the same way at the same
time. One voice was in the trumpet, one between Mrs. H.
137
The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
and me, the other came from the opposite side of the room."
"Did any of my guides manifest?"
"No."
"Did any of them speak of me?"
"No."
"Were they entirely concerned with personalities in your
group? "
"Yes."
"Did the voices seem to be in the air outside the bodies of
the two psychics?"
"Yes."
"Did the voices offer any explanation of their production?"
"No. No questions pertaining to that were asked. Dr.
Poundstone had some highly evidential messages, and carried
on quite an extended conversation, which was remarkable as
it was only his second experience."
The most valuable of all the Chicago tests came a few days
later and was entirely unpremeditated. A letter to me from
a dentist who shared in their experiments gave most amazing
proof of Mrs. Williams' supernormal endowment.
He wrote: "At Dr. Rager's request, I am writing to you
regarding a remarkable experience I had this afternoon. At
two o'clock, I placed a synthetic filling in an upper bicuspid
tooth for Mrs. Williams. While I was holding the celluloid
matrix in place for the three minutes' duration required for
the material to set, my dead wife's voice came to me very dis-
tinctly and several questions were asked and answered.
"Mrs. Williams' mouth was wide open. I had one hand in
her mouth holding the matrix, her head was tipped back and
her throat was full of saliva. These facts are most convincing
evidence that the voice was not made by the medium or any-
one else, as we were alone in my office at the time."
Testing the Pyschic
Having demonstrated that the voices did not come from
the psychic's lips, I decided to carry the receiver to an upper
chamber in my daughter's house, and connect it with the
transmitter which Mrs. Williams held, while seated as usual in
my study.
So far as I knew, nothing like this test had ever before been
made. I had begun some months before by listening to whis-
pers coming from the larger end of a trumpet held against the
psychic's body, and I had gradually extended the audible area.
"I shall now ask the invisibles to project their words over a
wire a hundred and fifty feet long and into another house."
With Mrs. Williams seated as usual in a corner of my study,
with my wife beside her, I called my secretary to my daugh-
ter's house, where I had already installed the receiver. While
not at all confident of getting a direct reply to my questions, I
took my seat at the receiver.
Fuller, who came at once, whispered, "Conditions are not
good, but I will do my best." For ten or fifteen minutes his
voice was so dominated by a prolonged whistling sound from
the machine that I could catch only occasional words or
phrases, but at last I heard him say, "Go to the San Fernando
valley this afternoon the barren trees later "
"Where in the San Fernando valley?" I asked, but got no
detailed instructions.
"The medium is low in power today," he explained at last.
A few minutes later a clear, different whisper came. "Gar-
land! Garland!"
"Who is speaking?"
"Doyle. I came to tell you that Barrie is over here!"
"Barrie is there?"
"Yes. He is sleeping. He cannot speak but he is all right."
"I have just been writing of him."
139
The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
"I know you have."
He said no more, but this short dialogue contained two
direct replies enough to rule out guess work. Brief as the
sentences were, I had the impression of having taken part in
a real conversation. Word had come of Barrie's death the day
before, but I had refrained from asking for him. I started to
ask Doyle what he thought of my long-wire experiment, but
he and some other invisible seemed to be "in conference" and
no attention was paid to my question.
At last the whispering ceased, and I again said, "Fuller, this
is a very important experiment. Can you carry it out? "
"We can try," he replied, and again tried to tell me about
the place in the San Fernando valley but failed to articulate so
that I could hear him. Finally he said, "However, I'll wait and
tell you later."
My wife, who sat near Mrs. Williams, reported that during
this dialogue no sound came from her lips.
At a later date, in full morning light, I succeeded in holding
a dialogue with Fuller at a distance of forty feet and in a
separate room, while the transmitter was in a cardboard box
placed on a stand before the psychic. She did not even lay her
hand on the box.
We conversed several times with Fuller at the luncheon
table, the voices being perceptible to my wife and daugh-
ter. I could hear the whisper but could not distinguish the
words.
Mrs. Williams submitted cheerfully to my many repeated
tests, granting the importance of proving the supernormal
character of the voices. We had many complete failures when
she was especially anxious for the voices, and quite as many
unexpected successes when she was not at her physical best.
No coworker could have been more willing to heap proof
140
Testing the Pyschic
This photograph represents one of the most con-
vincing of our tests. The transmitter 'was on a
table at the left of the psychic, who did not even
touch it. Nevertheless the author, in another
room, held a brief conversation ivith an invisible.
141
The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
upon proof. She was well aware of my doubts and bent her
powers to remove them by scientific repetition.
(In the autumn of 1938, I visited Chicago and met Mrs.
Howard, Mrs. Williams' sister, and three of the doctors who
had made repeated tests of both Mrs. Williams and Mrs. How-
ard. They all confirmed what Dr. Rager had written me, and
Mrs. Howard permitted me to test her powers in the same way
I had used in the case of Mrs. Williams. In New York City, I
met Mrs. Stanley, another sister, with whom I was very fa-
vorably impressed. Needless to say, these sisters believed un-
questioningly in Mrs. Williams' powers.)
142
Chapter 12
Fuller Takes Charge
As THE plan for an article dealing with my experiments took
shape in my mind, I realized that in order to be safeguarded
in the use of the artifacts for illustration, I should have full
consent of the owner, Mrs. Stack, and on May 29, accom-
panied by Gaylord Beaman, I went to Moorpark, bearing a
bill of sale which, when signed, conveyed to me all of the
crosses, tablets, notebooks, manuscripts and photographs in
the Parent collection. Mrs. Stack said, "They are of no use
to me."
"Unless they can be authenticated, they are of no use to
anybody," I replied, and on the way home I said to Beaman,
"I believe we can validate the collection, and if we do, we will
open a wide historical vista in early California history. They
have the further value of bearing directly upon the problem
of survival after death. For these reasons, the story of these
curious relics strongly appeals to me."
At one or two points in the preceding pages I have said that
failures are often as instructive as successes, and I offer here
one of our fruitless expeditions as an argument.
Father Lasuen, who had several times spoken of a cache of
silver in the hills near Camarillo, at last definitely promised to
lead us to the place.
Let the reader imagine a series of peaks range after range
as far as the eye can reach with innumerable foothills, cactus-
'43
The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
armored and broken into ridges of rugged rock, and he will
understand the hopelessness of attempting to find a cache of
silver therein. Nevertheless, we set forth blithely.
Guided by the voices, we drove to Camarillo and turned
into a road which led to Hidden Valley. At a point on this
road the voice said, u Stop here."
Alighting from the car, I looked about me. We were in a
smooth hollow between peaks, with nothing to distinguish it
from any other high valley in the range, but by pointing with
my hoe-handle and asking, "Is it in this direction?" I at last
derived the information that the cache was a mile and a half
to the northeast. "Look for signs on dead trees."
The psychic, my daughter and I set out carrying hoes and
spades, leaving Mrs. Garland in the car. As we stumbled over
the rough ground, the voice continued to direct us, and at last
we came to a low, inconspicuous, stony knob, with nothing to
Distinguish it from other knobs, but the voice insisted, "This
is the place."
"Where shall we dig?"
"There are four caches here. Look about."
There were no trees, only shrubs and tall grass, but as we
were walking slowly around Mrs. Williams said, "An Indian
is speaking to me. He says, 'Me here Sky-tail.' "
Coming close to her, I asked, "Sky-tail, is this your coun-
try?"
The psychic replied, "He says, 'Yes. I was chief here.' He
says, 'Look for sign look for sign on rock. Man will know.' "
Making our way to a low ledge of stone, we discovered a
design like a large arrowhead on the face of a flat rock, its
point directed downward. The voices then said, "Dig here."
"How far from the arrow one step?"
"No - four."
144
Fuller Takes Charge
As we dug, the voices kept assuring us that this was right.
"Dig deeper," they said.
After we had dug down to the solid rock, I began to argue
with them. u This cannot be the place. You never buried the
silver in a solid ledge like this."
Our arguments had effect. The psychic said, "They are
conferring. I can hear them talking but I can't hear what they
say. They are not as certain as they were when we first came."
At last, exhausted by our hard work with hoes and shovels
work in which the psychic took a valorous part we turned
our faces toward the car. "We shall come again with a pick-
ax and a strong man," I said to our invisible guides.
If any of my readers have any lingering doubts of the sin-
cerity of our psychic, I can only say, "If you had seen her
walking across that rough ground, climbing a wire fence, and
digging for two hours with a spade, your doubts of her would
have been dispelled." Her efforts were as strenuous as those
of my daughter, and quite as effective as my own. That she
believed in her guides was certain, and although they had led
her to this lonely spot, she still had faith in them.
At our next sitting, on June third, Father Lasuen came again
and assured us that we had reached the right spot but that we
must "dig deeper, under the rocks." He also said, "There are
crosses at a point on the road halfway to the lake."
On the following day, with the psychic's eighteen-year-old
son to wield the pick, we returned to the same location, pre-
pared to dig deeper. It was about forty-five miles from our
home.
Minutely directed as before by Father Lasuen and "Sky-
tail," we reached the ledge and measured the ground four
paces from the triangle on the rock, and set to work. I could
hear the high-keyed whispers of our guides, and when I put
'45
The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
my hoe down on the ground and asked, u ls this the place?"
I could hear the answer, "Yes."
Another hour of hard labor brought us to solid rock and
again we lost faith. My daughter began to "josh" the voice.
"Sky-tail, I don't believe you know where the silver is your-
self."
To this he made no reply and all conferring ceased. Tired
and disheartened, we made our way down the valley to the car.
To my wife I reported, "We have failed again but I still
wonder what our guides meant by sending us to that remote
rock hill on a fool's errand," and the psychic's son added,
"Mother, if you are 'kidding' us, you have a queer sense of
humor."
In truth, she and her son had labored heroically.
On our way home we took the road to Hidden Valley, and
at a high point on this road the voices said, "Here are the
barren trees. There are crosses here."
This information cleared up a tangle. All along the voices
had told us to look for barren trees, but in the valley where we
had been digging we had found nothing but a few dead bushes,
while here stood many trees with barren branches. The whis-
pers said, "We were mistaken. This is the place where the
silver is buried. Come back and dig here."
At our sitting on June 7, only my wife, my daughter Con-
stance and I were present. Mrs. Williams was placed, as usual,
in a corner of my study, while we sat about the receiver in my
bedroom with the doors closed. The distance between the
transmitter, which the psychic held to her breast, and the re-
ceiver, which was on a stand before us, was about thirty feet.
As this was our usual arrangement, we expected an explana-
tion from Father Lasuen. Instead of that, we listened to a
caustic statement by the voice calling itself "Fuller."
146
Fuller Takes Charge
This portrait of Henry. B. Fuller, my most intimate friend for nearly
forty years, represents him at middle age.
The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
He started in at once by saying with aggressive emphasis,
"Garland, you are wasting your time and strength looking for
crosses in this vicinity under the direction of Father Serra and
Father Lasuen. Your information is misinformation."
Startled by this statement, I said, "Do you doubt the reality
of the voices which have directed us?"
"No. But these padres get their information from their
Indians who know nothing of modern roads, farms or towns.
They only vaguely remember where they buried their
treasures."
"But, Henry, how can you, who never saw California,
know any more than they?"
"I am a hundred years later and I investigate. When an
Indian tells me that these artifacts are in a certain place, I go
there and study the ground. You are wasting your time look-
ing for crosses in this vicinity where so many changes have
taken place. I know of two places where you can find what
you need crosses to prove the genuineness of the Parent
collection. These places are near the missions, San Luis Obispo
and Santa Inez. If you will go up there I will go with you and
show you exactly where to dig."
I was shocked by his dismissal of the padres. "Father Lasuen
has definitely pointed out the barren trees on the Hidden
Valley road and other places near. I intend to go to them
before going so far away."
"You will find nothing in those places. There is no use
climbing Hopi Hill again. There was once a khiva there, but
you would have to dig over half the mountain top to find it."
"Are there no more crosses at Lebec or San Jacinto?"
"There may be, but I advise you not to waste your time
looking for them. I have accurate information about San Luis
and Santa Inez. Why not follow my instructions?"
148
Fuller Takes Charge
"But, Fuller, do you realize what you have done? You have
disheartened me by discrediting the advice of Father Serra and
Father Lasuen."
"I had no intention of doing that, but they don't know
where any of these crosses are. I do. If you don't trust me, I'll
step out."
My daughter exclaimed, "Oh, don't do that, Uncle Henry!"
I did not protest against his going, but I said, "You have
weakened my faith in them. Nevertheless, why should they
not know? They lived here, they knew these Indians. They
have no motive for deceiving us. I cannot believe that you
possess more definite knowledge than they. Furthermore, how
do I know that you are Henry Fuller? These whispers all
sound alike to me. You have not identified yourself to me."
This started him on another line. "It is impossible for a man
to characterize himself in a whisper. Tone is what character-
izes a man's speech I can only depend upon your recognition
of my 'way of speaking, my thought."
Altogether this was a discouraging statement. Cutting the
connection, I moved the machine back into my study. "Did
you hear what went on?" I asked of the psychic.
"Not a word," she replied, and I was inclined to believe that
she had not, for she seemed entirely undisturbed and besides,
Fuller's advice was contrary to all that she had been saying
and doing.
"I am glad you did not hear and I hardly know whether to
report it to you or not."
She insisted on knowing and, softening it so far as I could,
I told her that Fuller called our information thus far "mis-
information" and said that we had been wasting our time
looking for crosses in this vicinity.
Fuller's words were quite as disturbing to her as they had
149
The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
been to me. It appeared that they were not a product of her
brain for they were in direct opposition to her action as well as
to her thought.
After some very plain talk concerning this situation, I sug-
gested that we connect up the receiver again and see what
Fuller would now say.
This we did, and he in caustic mood began, "I heard what
you said, but you are wrong. I had no intention of discrediting
the mission fathers, but I repeat my statement. If you don't
want my help, I'll step out. I have offered you definite in-
formation and promised aid. Take it or leave it. Good-by!"
His going was like that of a man who dashes out and slams
the door behind him. We tried to call him back but he re-
fused to answer, and to add to our psychic's confusion and dis-
may, our appeals to Serra and Lasuen remained unanswered.
Our receiver, which had been so vibrant with life, was as dead
as a disconnected telephone.
"I am afraid the padres heard what Uncle Henry said,"
my daughter remarked, "and resented it."
"I can not blame them if they did," I replied. "But I hope
they have not deserted us altogether. If they have spoken their
last word to us we are lost! Our only chance to find another
cross would be to reexamine the places we have already
'marked down.' "
Carefully studied, this whole episode is of high evidential
value, for Fuller's harangue was entirely in opposition to us
all. That he was a distinct and powerful personality seemed
evident. His mood at the end was entirely characteristic of the
man whom I had known for half a lifetime.
Mrs. Williams appeared saddened by this invalidation of the
information which she had been receiving. She felt, as I did,
150
Fuller Takes Charge
that if we accepted Fuller's resignation all search in this region
must be abandoned.
"However, I am hoping that his resentment will soften and
that he will come back tomorrow and lead us on to victory."
After the psychic had gone, I continued to discuss with my
wife and daughter this most disturbing episode. "The more I
reflect upon Henry's outburst, the more significant it becomes.
His assumption that he knows more about these amulets than
Serra or Lasuen - and can do more to help us - is in character
with what we know of him, but that he knows more about
these 'idols' than the Indians who made them is fantastic."
My daughter remarked, "Perhaps they have been 'kidding'
us all along the way."
"Why? What interest have they in doing that? They are
as eager apparently, to uncover these treasures as we are I
don't know why they should be, but they are. As for the
fathers they have been very patient with us. I am not con-
tent to have this spirit calling itself 'Fuller' crowd Lasuen and
Serra off the scene. He may not be our old friend. He may be
just a figment of my subconscious mind, for I confess that
I was disheartened by our experience at Camarillo. His criti-
cism certainly did not rise out of my conscious mind. I welcome
his aid but we can't afford to let him discredit our kindly old
padres. We'll wait until tomorrow and see what happens."
I came to our sitting the following morning not at all sure of
further cooperation from Fuller or from the mission fathers.
Placing the receiver in the same room with the medium (I
wished her to hear whatever came to me) I plugged in the
wire and anxiously awaited results. Almost immediately a
strong whisper spoke my name.
"Who is this?" I inquired hopefully.
"Fuller."
The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
"Fuller!" I exclaimed, "I'm glad to have you back. You said
good-by so definitely last night that I was scared. I thought
you had deserted us."
"No, I am still with you and willing to aid."
"I am enormously relieved, Henry. You and I have worked
together for more than forty years we can't afford to quarrel
now. I am depending on you more than ever. It may be that
the mission fathers will not come back. It would not be strange
if they resented your criticism."
He repeated his explanation. "I do not criticize them I
question the sources of their information. These Indians are
so vague and so changeable in their guidance that I felt it
necessary to warn you. If you will follow my instructions
hereafter you'll get just what you need."
"All right, Fuller. We put ourselves in your hands. The
Stewart Whites are coming this afternoon."
"I know that."
"And you must be prepared to give us the most convincing
program possible."
"Depend on me to do that."
Our sitting thus ended in a glow of restored confidence and
good cheer, but the attitude of Fathers Serra and Lasuen re-
mained unknown. They would not speak to us not one word!
Chapter 13
Two More Artifacts
WE ENTERED upon a most interesting and successful day on
June 24. At about 9: 30 in the morning the psychic arrived, and
took her usual chair in the corner of my study. With the re-
ceiver in hand, I withdrew to an adjoining room, closing the
door tightly behind me. Mrs. Garland and my secretary joined
me at the table, on which I had placed the book in which I had
pasted Mrs. Parent's photographs, together with a basket of
Indian beads and one or two of the most notable of the barbaric
crosses.
Fuller came promptly. "Are you going on a trip today?" he
asked.
"Yes. We have planned to go up to the Hopi cliff near
Camarillo and scratch about among the rocks. On our way
back we shall stop at the barren trees and try for that silver.
Before we start, however, there are two or three questions I
want to ask about these beads which the Parents found among
their crosses."
"Just a minute I'll get Father Martinez."
A Spanish greeting followed. "Buenas dias."
"Buenas dias" I responded. "Is this Father Martinez?"
"It is."
"Father Martinez, I have my doubts about the age of these
beads. I'd like to ask some questions about them. In reading
the reports of the earliest evangelical explorers, I find frequent
mention of beads. I should like to have you look at these I
have in my hand and tell me if they are like those which were
given out to the Indians."
153
The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
"They are not. They are too recent. The ones the mis-
sionaries carried were very crude. Those which are colored on
the inside are quite recent. We could not make them that way."
"Nevertheless, I think some of the beads are genuinely old,
but have been restrung."
"I do not believe any of them are very old. Not more than
a hundred years. I believe they are about that age."
"Very well. I will now show you this book of Violet Parent's
photographs. I want to call attention to her pictures of you."
I pointed to one. "Can you identify this? Does this figure in
this group of missionary priests represent you?" (The reader
should note that the medium was in another room, unable to
see me or hear what I said.)
Figure of dancing Indian.
154
Two More Artifacts
Figure of dancmg Indian.
"Yes. The figure next to Velos represents me."
"This man or the left with the wry neck is Velos?"
u Yes, and the one in the middle is Father Lasuen."
"Here is another group. You are the figure on the right?
"Yes, that is correct."
"Here is still another photograph, of a still larger group.
Can you name them? I recognize Father Lasuen and yourself,
but who is this thin-faced man seated on the ground?"
"That is Palou, I believe."
"Who is this above him this tall man?"
"I cannot see him clearly."
155
The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
Placing a reading glass, over the picture, I asked, "Does this
help?"
"No, it does not."
"Who is this slender, elderly man?"
"He is one of the fathers, but I do not remember him."
"Who is this tall man next to you?"
"That is a French priest. His name was Narteau, I believe."
"We do not get that name. Will you kindly spell it?"
"N-a-r-t-e-a-u. Noteau" (The r was slurred over, making
the first syllable sound like not.}
"Here is a fourth group a still larger one. Who is this man
who seems to be laughing, with his hand covering his smile?"
"I believe that is Father Baptiste."
"Then comes Father Velos again?"
"That is correct."
"In the front row are five or six very small figures. I am not
sure that you can make them out. On the left is a very bald,
stooping figure. Who is he?"
"Is it not Father Serra? I believe it is."
"It may be a representation of him in his last days. There
are two figures in the middle, one immediately behind the
other; one is seated, and the other with his hands apparently on
the shoulders of the man in front "
"I do not recognize him."
"Now, Father Martinez, in many of these pictures you ap-
pear on the same negative with a handsome Indian whom
Parent called 'Goose Neck.' Was there such a man?"
"I believe there was. There were so many Indians, though,
that I cannot remember them. I think he was a half-breed, half-
white and half -red. I do not know much of him. I think he
lived around the mission at San Juan Capistrano."
"I need your aid, Father Martinez, for I am going to have
Two More Artifacts
more difficulty validating these photographs than the crosses
and yet it must be done."
"Yes, you will have more difficulty in that, but we are trying
to help."
"Can you tell me what dress Father Serra wore while ex-
ploring the wilderness? What leads me to ask is this picture of
a man whom I have called Father Serra."
"It looks like him."
"But he appears to be wearing a soldier's jacket and high
boots."
"I cannot think that it is intended for Father Serra. I have
never seen him in anything but robes. I can't help you there."
"Can it be that these pictures are thought-forms produced
by the medium?"
"I do not know. I have looked at them much. I think that
many of them are false."
"What about this dancing figure?"
"That looks real to me very genuine. It looks very much
like the Indians I have seen."
"Could Father Garces and Espejo help me in such matters?"
"I do not know. I shall bring them tomorrow."
"I wish you would. Will you permit a general question?
How could this woman fabricate the portrait of a man of whom
no portrait existed? Were there any existing pictures of you
at that time?"
"There was one painting of me."
"But not in the attitude in which you were caught by Mrs.
Parent's camera."
"I believe this woman got many genuine photographs. I do
not know. Many look false."
"We must, if possible, absolve her of fraud, not for her sake
but for the sake of the evidence. I need to get a photograph of
157
The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
you or Father Serra on the same plate with me. Do you think
it can be done?"
"I have no way of knowing."
"Let me call your attention to this spirit photograph of
Father Serra. It looks ectoplasmic to me. Observe that while
the hands and body are distorted, the face, though out of pro-
portion, is fine, quite handsome in fact."
"That looks genuine."
"I am sending this on to my Eastern publisher. I cannot see
how it could have been fabricated. Here is another one with
the hands in a wholly different position. I have many other
questions to ask you and I hope you will enable me to talk with
Espejo and Garces. They could tell me just what I want to
know about the habits of the Indians before the missions were
established."
"I shall be very happy to help you."
"I am grateful. Before you go, I want you to take a look at
this cross, which seems to represent a pagan chief in an enor-
mous headdress. What does it mean?"
"It is a representation of Quetzalcoatl."
"Did you ever see anything like it?"
"Oh yes, many times. Such crosses were very common in
Quiche, in Cordoba and all along the central part of America.
That cross is old. It was made by the use of a clay model. The
pictures vary on different crosses."
"Yes, that is true. I have others with somewhat similar faces.
I am eager to ask Espejo if he found crosses like that on his
long journeys through the region which is now called Arizona.
Onate, for example, told us that the Indians wore small crosses
in their hair and larger ones around their waists. As the men
were naked, it must be that the women wore them."
"Oh, no! They were worn by both men and women. When
158
Two More Artifacts
something was desired of the gods, they tied their idols around
their waists to invoke their gods' favor or mercy."
"And when not in use, they were kept in their huts?"
"Yes, with their other treasures. Sometimes they were buried.
Sometimes they were wrapped in bark and stowed away."
"Do you mean that they were buried temporarily, for safe-
keeping?"
"Yes, that is what I mean. These objects were very precious
to them. They were in the nature of amulets."
"Thank you, Father Martinez. I am going out to look for
more crosses this afternoon, but I hope we can meet again
tomorrow."
At the close of my talk with Father Martinez, Fuller said,
"You are going to the barren trees this afternoon?"
"Yes, but we are going first to the ledge of red rock."
With a note of resignation, he said, "Very well. I'll be with
you," and so, about half -past ten, my wife, Mrs. Williams,
our driver Phyllis and I left the house with a picnic lunch and
a collection of hoes, spades and rakes in the car, grimly re-
solved on making a careful examination of the lower stratum
of the cliff.
Reaching the spot a little before noon, we laid out our
lunch. While we were eating, Fuller warned us against the
cactus which guarded the ledge. "You'll have to hew your
way," he said, and as I studied the situation I replied, "Yes, this
is the hardest job we have had."
To those of my readers who do not know the cactus plant,
I will explain that it is a most formidable growth. Its lobes are
armed with needles an inch long, and the sides of the leaves
are defended by myriads of almost invisible barbs which enter
your flesh at the slightest touch and can be plucked out only
with tweezers. The face of the ledge was covered by clumps
1 59
The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
of this sayage plant, and looked as if it had not been disturbed
for fifty years.
My first task was to chop my way up to the base, through
these sinister barriers. I could not explore the ledge until after
I had cut a place to lay my hands. I used a sharp hoe, but I
needed an ax, so old and stubborn were some of the snakey
branches.
"On this side, Fuller?" I asked.
"Both sides," he replied.
I took the south and most difficult side, while the psychic,
wearing stout shoes and canvas leggings, was chopping her
way into the north side of the same wall. No woman could
have climbed that ledge without chopping her way. There
was no sign of such an advance.
This answers the question, "Did the ledge look undis-
turbed?" It looked as if it had not been touched by man.
To the psychic I said, "If there are any crosses here, they
must have come down from above. No hand put them here."
She replied, "Mr. Fuller says there are two here. He says
there is one just about where you are."
With this to encourage me, I returned to my chopping. As
I rose, I discovered a horizontal cleft in the ledge. It was about
a foot wide and ran to the left. I painfully went up one more
step so that I could see into it. Its floor was covered with leaves
and dirt which the rains had brought down, and as I peered
into it I was astounded by the sight of a small cross, lying far
back in the crevice and partly covered with dust. For a moment
I stared at it as if it were a snake. I had not expected to find any-
thing. It was preposterous that it should be lying there.
It is important to state that it was out of my reach, but by
using my hoe I carefully scraped it toward me. With a shout,
I announced my find. "Fuller, Fve got it!" I held it up. "It is
160
Two More Artifacts
one of the barbaric ones, the most ancient kind, and I found it
myself. How many more are there, Fuller?"
"One more."
Calendar plaque found by Hamlm Garland's
party , June 24., 1937. Note dimly outlined
heads.
At this moment the psychic announced that she had
chopped another out of the cactus. It was a metal tablet, exact-
ly like the five which the Parents had found at Capistrano. It
was about four inches across, with a bell in low relief, sur-
rounded by ten of those mysterious Oriental faces. Serra called
these tablets "calendars." This one was worn and rusted with
exposure.
161
The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
"Are there any more, Fuller? "
"Not here," he replied. "More higher up."
"They can stay there," I replied. "I am bleeding with cac-
tus wounds. I refuse to climb this hill again."
That night I said to my wife, "I regard this as an almost per-
fect test of our Voices' and a complete exoneration of our
psychic. No woman could have placed the cross in that cleft.
She could not have thrown it through that screen of cactus,
for it lay far back in the crevice, and I could reach it only with
my hoe. It must have been brought down from the heights by
water."
We now had five of these artifacts, drawn from four wide-
ly separated burial places. One came from Lebec, eighty miles
north of our home; one from San Jacinto, ninety miles to the
east; the third from a stream bed thirty miles northwest. The
charge of planting might lie against the finding of the other
crosses, but not against this one. I myself had dug it from the
soil in a cleft behind a screen of cactus, on which no sign of
man's foot or hand could be seen. How they got there and who
made them are equally mysterious, but the one I found on this
ledge was a powerful argument for the validity of the Parent
collection and for the honesty of my psychic.
162
Chapter 14
Onate and Father Martinez
WHEN in March, 1937, I began this series of experiments, I
knew very little of the missionary period of early California.
The only book on the subject I had read was The Conquest o]
California, by an old acquaintance, William Gross. This ac-
count, cast in the form of a story, gave a very clear and ac-
curate picture of the coming of Father Serra and the founding
of the missions. I had read it with care, partly because of my
acquaintance with the author, and partly because it presented
an authentic portrait of Serra.
In my reading of Parent's records, I had come upon incidents
and statements of which I knew nothing, but which I was quite
certain had been gleaned from a history of Southern California,
for Parent w r as a studious little man. From time to time, names
of other padres came into his record, along with the names of
their Indians, but he remained mainly concerned with Fathers
Serra and Lasucn. Military and other explorers did not figure in
his journals.
Although my interest in Mrs. Parent's abnormal psychology
grew and confidence in the supernormal powers of my as-
sistant, Mrs. Williams, increased, I carefully refrained for
several months from reading any chronicles of the mission
period. I waited to see what the invisibles would convey to
me, but as more and more of them priests and explorers (of
whom I knew nothing, and of whom the Parents told me
163
The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
little) came to my circle, I decided to inform myself concern-
ing the official records of the missions in Arizona and Southern
California. The works of Engelhardt, himself a padre, enabled
me to check up on some of the statements to which I had been
listening. I found his four or five huge volumes tedious with
matters which did not concern me, but they contained the
facts I needed to know. A handbook and index presented a list
of all the priests who had been connected with the establish-
ment of the missions of Arizona and California.
In addition to these many-paged volumes, I read several of
the "relations," or journals, which the leading padres had writ-
ten and sent back to Rome. Engelhardt quotes these fathers,
Palou, Crespi, Garces and many others, along with the reports
of civil and military explorers. In short, his volumes formed a
compendium of the essential facts and all of the most important
personalities of the period. I used them as reference books.
If we grant that Mrs. Williams was wholly uninformed
concerning these men and movements which she declared
she was then it may be said that the whispered conversations
of the padres rose out of my own subconscious mind, for each
day new characters announced themselves and told their
stories to me over my one-way wire.
For example, Engelhardt mentions Francisco Garces as one
of the most intrepid of the missionary explorers, and this led
me to read of him. His solitary explorations among the tribes
below the Colorado River suggested that he might be able to
tell me about the barbaric ceremonies which he did not men-
tion in his report. I was emboldened to do this by the com-
pliance of those whom Parent mentions, all of whom had ex-
pressed keen interest in what I was doing. Fuller reported that
I was now surrounded by a throng of padres and that they
were eager to help me solve the mystery of the crosses.
164
Onate and Father Martinez
This very significant change in their attitude led me to dig
deeper into this submerged history. If these priests knew of the
crosses, why did they not mention them? Why did Engelhardt
ignore them altogether?
At last, in an edition of Francisco Garces' journal, edited
by Dr. Elliott Coues, I came upon a footnote whose significance
was so far-reaching that it started me on a long series of other
investigations. He quoted the words of Juan Onate, an ex-
plorer of New Spain in 1 604, who reported that in what is now
called Arizona, he had come upon a tribe called Cruzados, for
the reason that they 'wore crosses in their hair.
As this report was made one hundred and fifty years before
the establishment of the first mission in Arizona, it gave proof
that the natives possessed metal crosses which they wore as
amulets or as decorations, and that they could not have been
distributed by the padres, for this was less than eighty years
after Cortez.
"Here is the key to our problem," I said to my wife and
daughter. "There is only one thing to be done. It is preposter-
ous but I am going to ask Fuller to bring this explorer, and re-
quest him to confirm his statement. If Father Scrra and Father
Lasuen can speak to me, why not Onate?"
I put this question to Fuller at our next sitting. He at once
said, "I shall bring Onate. He and any of the padres will gladly
come at your call."
Father Martinez, who had identified himself as the stout,
heavy-jowled, smiling figure in one of the group photographs
secured by Mrs. Parent, definitely promised to bring Sefior
Onate. His whispers were especially clear and strong.
On June 23, at ten o'clock of a sunny morning, Mrs. Wil-
liams took her accustomed seat in my study, while I and my
The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
secretary went into an adjoining room, closing the door be-
hind us. My wife remained with the psychic to listen and
observe what went on about her.
No sooner had we plugged in the connecting cord than a
vigorous whisper came. u Hello, Garland!"
"Is it Fuller?"
"Yes, it is Henry B. Fuller. Father Martinez is also here, ac-
cording to promise."
"Greetings, Father Martinez! Have you brought Senor
Onate? Are we to have a talk with him today?"
"Yes, Onate is here but cannot speak. I will speak for him."
"Thank you, Father Martinez. I want to talk to him about
a very significant statement which he made in his report con-
cerning certain tribes of Indians. He said that they were called
Cmzados for the reason that they wore crosses in their hair.
This statement is quoted by Elliott Coues. Is it correct?"
"Yes, that is quite right. The Indians wore crosses in the
hair on their foreheads."
Placing my finger on a small piece in a case containing forty
or more, I asked, "Senor Onate, can you see this cross?"
Father Martinez answered, "He says yes. It is one of those
worn by the Indians he described in 1604."
"Here is one similar to it except that it bears the figure of
Christ. What can you tell me of that?"
"That particular one is from one of the missions, but there
are many others in your case which have nothing to do with
the missions."
"Were these" I placed my fingers on two others "also
worn on their heads by the Indians you call Cruzados?"
"Yes, but the larger ones in your case are like those which
the Indians wore tied about their waists."
"This was before any contact with missionaries?"
166
Ofiate and Father Martinez
"Yes."
"That is highly important. This specimen on which I now
place my finger is ornamented by designs taken from sea-shells
what of them?"
"They have reference to the sea and were worn in cere-
monies relating to their food supply."
"The people who made this cross must have had a pleasant
memory of the sea."
"They did. They belonged to the coast people. They came
from the south."
"Were the Quicheanas boatmen? Did they come up along
the shore?"
"Some of them, perhaps, but most of them moved along in-
land trails, away from the hostile tribes of the coast."
"Returning to the contents of my case, here are some with
interesting flower designs on them. Is that design symbolic of
a certain tribe?"
"Yes. These floral designs were made by different peoples
in the south, but I cannot tell you the particular tribe to which
they belonged."
"Let us consider these double crosses which some people
call 'rain-crosses.' They had to do with prayers for rain, did
they not?"
"That is right. Some Indians used them in prayers to invoke
rain."
"Father Martinez, did Ofiate find these crosses worn by the
Indians all along his journey through New Mexico and
Arizona?"
"Yes, and he says the various designs are symbols of the
different tribal gods."
"Here are some with lovely cherub faces and forms. What
do they mean?"
The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
"They were used as prayers for fertility. They were worn
by the women who desired children. They wore them the
larger ones around their waists. The smaller ones they wore
on their heads."
"How were they suspended?"
"By means of fibers from leaves or bark. They had no
strings or wire, of course."
"So far as I have read, Father Martinez, there is no mention
of these crosses by the padres, and Onate mentions them only
once. Was that because he thought them unimportant?"
"Yes. He mentioned them only because by so doing he was
identifying a people."
"He must have seen many other tribes. I want him to tell
me in detail about other customs which he observed as he
went along. The fact that he was the first white man to go
among these people and the only one to make a report of
their barbaric crosses makes his testimony highly important."
"It is important that he found any crosses at all," was the
concise remark of Father Martinez.
"Here is a cross bearing the figure of a cherub where did
the Indians get that design? Was it from Italy? It resembles the
cherubs in Italian paintings."
"These cherubs of the middle ages in Italy are copies of
other older ones, carved in wood probably and brought over
from European shores. Old World people came here far earlier
than Onate and Espejo. They came to Central America from
many shores."
"As early as the twelfth century?"
"Probably before that. Sailors had been going back and
forth for many centuries."
"Father Serra said something like that. You spoke yesterday
of Moors and Arabs being substantially the same people at
168
Oiiate and Father Martinez
that time, and of their coming together to these shores. Is that
true?"
"Yes. They were like one people. They lived together in
the same land. When they came over many centuries ago, they
did not go inland. They landed on the Eastern coast and did
not penetrate the country."
"They were lured by tales of gold, I suppose?"
"Perhaps. I am not sure what brought them. Some of them
may have come to the West coast, but not many."
"What kind of vessels did they use? Were they large or
small?"
"I do not know."
"Father Martinez, I want Sefior Onate to know that I have
come into possession of a collection of crossesfifteen hundred
or more which I am trying to validate. Some of them seem
to me to be of the period before the Spaniards came, others
are barbaric and much older. Many show Christian influence
and are distinctly of the missions made at the request of
the Indians."
"Your analysis is correct."
"Father Martinez, it is highly necessary for me to authenti-
cate these crosses, and the only way I can do that is to find
similar ones myself."
His curt reply was instant. "Which you have already done."
This made me smile. "Yes but three are not enough. I
think I should have more to convince the skeptical."
"If you found many, many more, there would still be readers
who would not believe."
"That is true. But I feel the need of at least two more from
different places."
"There are others to be discovered. Many more."
"I am glad to be assured of that. If you or Father Palou or
169
The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
anyone else can point to where I can gain two more, I will be
grateful."
, "We shall do that."
"Father Martinez, will you tell Onate that I am writing on
this subject and that I intend to put down the messages which
he and other explorers bring to me, because they reveal un-
recorded history? I intend to make the last part of my book
rich with this direct testimony. Many will not believe, of
course."
"There are others who 'will believe, however."
"I hope so, but we must discover more artifacts and we must
secure some photographs similar to those in my collection.
There are some photographs of you, Father Martinez, in Mrs.
Parent's collection, are there not?"
"Yes."
"I hope you will come again and that you will help me
secure a photograph of you."
"I shall do so."
"Wait just a minute. I now hold in my hand a cross, with
monkey faces on it can you see them?"
"Yes. They are monkey heads."
"This one appears to wear a crown. What is the meaning
of that?"
"I do not know about the crown, but several tribes wor-
shiped animals. Some worshiped monkeys."
"Did Onate find such crosses as this when he went through
the tribes?"
"Many. Some of them were worn. The larger ones w r ere kept
in their houses."
"They must have been carefully treasured in order to come
down the centuries to the Indians of California."
"They were carefully preserved."
170
Onate and Father Martinez
Another amulet representing the
Monkey Clan.
"But why did they bury them after guarding them so long?"
"To invoke their gods."
"You mean that they sacrificed them as something that they
valued something precious?"
"Yes. They also buried food at times."
"That bears out something which Father Serra told us. When
we were at San Jacinto, he pointed out to us a mound on top
of a hill, saying that it was built by the Indians and used for
sacrificial purposes. The Indians, he said, each held a cross in
171
The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
his hand and chanted in worship of the sun and then buried
their idols where they stood."
"That is correct."
"Then most of them were buried on hills?"
"I believe all were."
"Could we find some of those in their original burial places? "
"You might find some still on the tops of hills, but through
the centuries rains have washed them down into the valleys.
The one you found in the Washee valley came from the top
of the hill."
"Father Palou told us to go to San Juan Capistrano, and he
would help us. Do you know anything of what is buried
there?"
"No, I know nothing of that."
"Father Martinez, as I talk with you and Onate, I feel that
I am discovering new facts in American history."
"You are. You are discovering many facts which no other
living person knows. No one else on your plane knows what
we are telling you."
"Please convey to Senor Onate my sincere gratitude for the
information he has given, and ask him to come again."
"I shall. He will come and will himself speak to you another
time. Espejo will also come. He spoke with you yesterday, but
you could not hear him. He will come tomorrow if you wish
it."
"I shall welcome him. He must have made many interesting
observations while roaming through the country, things which
he did not put into his writings much that he did not dare to
record at that time."
"We have all changed our opinions about many things
not only about the Indians, but about religion. We learn the
truth on this side."
172
Ofiate and Father Martinez
"Father Serra was an austere character, was he not?"
"Yes, very. He would cut himself and bruise his breast with
stones."
"I consider him a noble spirit, but it shocked me when I
learned of his self-torture in the pulpit."
"Well, he believed that by displaying himself as a martyr he
was proving himself the right hand of God."
"While talking with him I said to him in speaking of the
Indians, 'These people the Indians were adapted to their
environment like wolves or foxes or mountain lions.' To this
he agreed."
"Yes. They were a natural people. We were wrong in many
ways. We have found now that there is no difference in creed."
"I am glad to know that you have softened in your attitude
toward the primitives and that Father Serra is also less austere."
"Yes, I too am happy in that."
"I am obliged to you, Father Martinez. I hope you will come
again. I shall make good report of you when I write."
"Thank you."
"I shall be glad to state that your austerity has softened
through the ages."
"It has. Hasta manana"
"Adios."
Feeling that Father Martinez had gone, I spoke to Fuller,
"I've just had a most valuable talk with Ofiate and Father
Martinez."
"Yes, I know. I was standing by."
"Fuller, I have at the moment the sense of entering upon a
vast unknown chapter of American history."
"You have no idea how vast it is."
"I shall pursue it in my book. I am deeply interested in the
change of attitude which these missionary spirits admit."
173
The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
"Yes, that is important. We all change on entering the fourth
dimension."
"It is astounding! Think of calling up Ofiate who died three
centuries ago! It is incredible."
"Yes, it is, but it happened and you have it recorded."
In presenting this singular dialogue for the consideration of
the reader, I must repeat that Mrs. Williams was seated in an
adjoining room holding the transmitter to her bosom, that the
doors were tightly closed and that my wife, who was seated
near the psychic, declared that she had heard only the mur-
mur of my voice. "I heard nothing at all of the whispered
replies."
Granting that the psychic had heard my questions, the
answers to my questions remain amazingly fluent and cogent.
Not only did they come without the slightest hesitation, but
the tone of each answer was firm and authoritative, as if the
speaker had very full and definite knowledge of the matters
under discussion matters of which I had only a meagre
knowledge and of which Mrs. Williams declared she knew
nothing. On this we could only take her word.
I cannot say positively that Onate and Martinez were mani-
festing. All the whispers may have come from the mind of the
psychic, but the method of having Martinez speak for Ofiate,
who was present, I regarded as very curious and wholly in-
explicable.
(At a sitting eight months later, Onate said in answer to my
question, "I wrote a report which was printed in Spanish but
which, so far as I know, has not been translated into English."
He said that other references to the crosses in his report were
omitted. "I don't know how that paragraph regarding the
Cruzados slipped through."
Even at this later interview, I did not know exactly what
'74
Onate and Father Martinez
his mission was, but I had learned that it was only partly relig-
ious, and to have him end his interview with that remark
about escaping the censor was amusing. I knew nothing of his
civil rank or social station, and so I continued to call him
Sefior.)
175
Chapter 15
A Talk with Father Garces
NOTWITHSTANDING the tests I had already made, I could not
forbear asking for others which would clearly separate the
whispers from the speech organs of the psychic. My talks with
the Spanish padres and early explorers were so amazingly fluent
and real that I said to Mrs. Williams, as she came into my study
on May 20, "I would like your permission to place my hand
over your mouth while the voices are speaking to me."
She cheerfully consented. "You may make any test you
please."
It was a sunny morning and my study was filled with light.
Taking a folded handkerchief from a drawer, I stepped be-
hind her and pressed the handkerchief tightly against her lips.
The whispers went on without apparent change. My daughter
made the same test while I listened. The voices went serenely
on.
Mrs. Williams smiled at out amazement. "I have read aloud
while the voices were going on," she said.
Though convinced of the supernormal character of the
whispers, I was unable to determine how much of the informa-
tion they conveyed came out of my mind or that of Mrs. Wil-
liams. At times, the thought expressed seemed wholly outside
any mind in the circle, at others I noticed that the psychic not
only colored the communication but seemed to command it.
At one moment the invisibles worked in accordance with her
will, at other times they directly opposed it.
"If the coming of these visitors is subject to the psychic's
will," I said to Beaman, "then much of what the voices tell us
A Talk with Father Garces
perhaps all of it can be referred back to the activities of
her subconscious mind or to ours. It is of no value to say,
'Seeing the door open, the spirits come in,' or 'Many are
thronging around the gates, eager to enter.' Such expressions
confuse or falsify the situation. How can they speak or rap
or bar the door? I do not know. It is all incomprehensible
and absorbing. I shall go on with my research."
On the morning of June 28, as soon as we were in our usual
places, with the one-way telephone connected with the wall-
socket and the door closed between us and the psychic, Fuller
came and I said, u Henry, do you read Spanish?"
"Yes, but not very well. Why?"
"I have here a letter written by the curator of the National
Museum in Mexico City. I cannot read it and have not yet had
an entirely audible translation of it. The psychic has never
even seen it no one has seen it but Gaylord Beaman. Will
you look at it and translate it? It will be a grand test of our
psychic's powers if you can read it."
He replied, "Hold it up and I will see what I can do."
We were seated, as usual, wholly out of sight and hearing of
the psychic, and I held the letter to the light. It should be made
clear that while I could not read a single paragraph of it, there
were certain words and even phrases which I recognized. In ac-
cordance with Fuller's previous instructions I fixed my eyes
upon the first paragraph in order to convey it to him. I said,
"proceed."
His use of Spanish was indeed lame, but he began briskly.
"With reference to the photograph from Senor Hamlin Gar-
land, we have studied it very carefully and we are returning it
to you."
It may be said that the medium might have inferred this
courteous beginning but in the second paragraph stood a line
177
The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
which I could identify; "During the final evangelical conquest
of New Spain, the missions wishing to promulgate a knowl-
edge of the true Cross among the Indians, made and distrib-
uted __" The utterance of those words in that specific order
could not have come from the psychic's mind but it might
have come from mine, for I was able to translate them. No one
but myself and Beaman had even glanced at this sentence.
That I was partly responsible was borne out by the fact that
Fuller failed on the next paragraph. There was something
about the churches inheriting the crosses from the missions and
then giving them out to their converts, but I got only a general
sense of it. Later on, when we came to the lines describing the
molding of the crosses from the bullets provided for the
soldiers, the going was easier, for I could read these lines. In
short, I observed that my own knowledge of certain words
made it easier for my invisible translator.
I explained to him, "The reason why I have not had this let-
ter translated by a Spanish scholar is just because I wanted to
use it as a test. I hoped to get you or Father Serra to translate it
for me under test conditions at the end of a forty-foot one-
way wire, such a test as had never before been made."
"I understand. Well, I can tell you that the general effect of
this letter is favorable to the authenticity of your collection.
It does not discredit it in any way."
The critic may call this a case of telepathy or any other name
he chooses, but the essential fact is that the psychic, who had
never seen the letter, could not have normally inferred the
words actually whispered to me.
Thanking Fuller, I said, "And now I'd like to talk to Father
Garces. He was a wonderful old chap."
"He is here," was the reply, and a moment later I heard the
words, "Padre Garces is here."
178
A Talk with Father Garces
"Is this Father Garces?"
"It is." (I cannot affirm that the psychic did not know that
I was to have the letter read and that I hoped to talk with
Garces, but she could not have known which interview would
come first.)
"Father Garces, I have been reading your diary. As you
came before the missions, I want to begin by asking a question
which is most important to me. Did any of the tribes you
visited in our region wear small crosses in their hair?"
"Yes, many of them."
"That is exactly the answer I sought. Were larger ones worn
around the waist by the men?"
"Yes. They were hung on belts made of the fibers of trees
or plants."
Taking up one of the small plaques, which have been
called calendars, I asked, "Can you see what I have in my
hand?"
"Yes. I have seen many objects like that."
"In my collection I have several of these, each of which
bears ten faces, faces which are Arabian or Hindu in appear-
ance. What can you tell me about them?"
"They are Oriental. They were brought in from the Old
World in some way and given to the Indians in trade, just
as beads were given to the North American Indians. They
were used as money."
"Like the wampum which the eastern Indians used?"
"Yes."
"Some say they were calendars, used to calculate the change
of the moon."
"Perhaps they were. A dial seems to be on them. Some had
bells on them."
"I didn't know the Orientals used bells."
179
The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
"Oh, yes, they used bells. They may have had some special
significance. In reading you will come across this informa-
tion. . . . But these were used for exchange, as you use dollars
now."
"This calendar is very old, is it not?"
"Oh, yes, indeed. It was here before the Spaniards came."
"Did the Moors and the Arabs come to this continent be-
fore the Spaniards?"
"Yes, they came before the Spanish had even heard of this
country."
"About what time would you say?"
"I do not know. I believe about the tenth century."
"Father Garces, I want to ask you about this lead Christ
which I hold. Were such figures plentiful in your day?"
"No, I have not seen them. I do not know of them."
This was another wholly unexpected answer. I then took
up two larger rude crosses. "You saw these? They certainly
were older than your missions?"
"Yes, much older."
"Were these the crosses which the Indians wore around
their waists?"
"Yes, as amulets, 'to ward off evil spirits.' "
"Do you suppose they got their idea of a cross from those
tenth century voyagers? Or did they develop it natively?"
"That is hard to answer. I cannot say."
"The cross is said to be an almost universal symbol."
"Yes, I believe it is a natural concept."
"It might have risen from a consideration of the four corners
of the earth. . . . Tell me, did Espejo come before you?"
"Yes, many years. He was of 1583."
"Is he with you today? Can I speak with him?"
"I do not know."
1 80
A Talk with Father Garces
Note beads wearing turbans. This amulet
is wholly barbaric in design.
"Two days ago, Father Martinez spoke to me but Ofiate
himself did not speak. I do not understand why. Can you tell
me why?"
"Onate was not present, but he and Father Martinez were
communicating as you do on the telephone. Just like that.
Martinez was conveying Onate's words to you. I believe he
can come again; I shall see."
181
The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
"I think you and Father Espejo are of more value to me in
discussing these early crosses than any later explorer. Here am
I in possession of a huge collection of artifacts which I am
anxious to validate. Some of them may be fraudulent. This
cross with the marks of a thimble on it, for instance." Here I
lifted a cross which looked new and was ornamented with the
pattern of a thimble.
"That is modern. It was made, perhaps, by some Indian who
saw a thimble for the first time and considered it beautiful.
It is quite modern not more than a hundred years old. It was
made by some one who owned a thimble and valued it."
I presented another. "Now here is one which in my judg-
ment is genuine."
"Yes, that is old, very old. All those with animals' heads on
them are old."
"What am I to think about these crosses with monkey heads
on them, each wearing a hood, a turban or a crown? Why did
certain Indians put monkey heads on their crosses?"
"Some tribes worshiped monkeys. Others worshiped fishes,
wolves, panthers or birds."
"Still other tribes worshiped the sun, did they not?"
"They were all sun worshipers, but each tribe had different
gods."
"Did these monkey worshipers get as far north as California? "
"Oh, no!"
"These crosses with the monkey faces on them came up
with those who had got them in trade?"
"Yes. After the Spanish invaded Central America, the na-
tives were driven out. They ran away to the north and brought
their treasures with them."
"You found that the Yumans were from Quiche, did you
not?"
182
A Talk with Father Garces
"Yes, the Quicheanas, the Toltecs and others came up from
the south and many settled here in what is now California and
Arizona."
"Historians do not seem to recognize this fact."
"No, they do not."
"It is interesting to get this inside history. Did you find the
Yumans a superior type?"
"Yes, they were a fine people. They were artisans. They
mined their own metals and worked in them. They molded
them into rings and bracelets, chains and many other things
crosses, of course."
"You state in your diary that you were well received by
them."
"Some of them were hostile, but I fared very well. They
were kind to me. I was alone and they were not afraid of me.
They had never seen a white man before I came."
"And yet ultimately they did kill you?"
"Yes."
"No white man witnessed that?"
"No. I was alone among them."
"Could you tell me about it? I suppose no one knows exactly
what happened."
"No one."
"You were among them nine months, while they were plan-
ning this revolt?"
"Yes, I was there at the very time they were making their
plans, but unfortunately I could do nothing about it."
"How did they kill you? Some say they used stones and
clubs."
"They used stone hatchets. They tied me and burned me."
"And yet they had been friendly with you?"
"Some were and some were not. Some considered me an
The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
intruder. They were a childlike people, and did not welcome
intruders. They considered me an enemy, a spy, I suppose."
"Can you remember anything in detail about your death
the actual scene?"
"No, it was so long ago and those things we wipe from
memory here."
"You were insensible, I trust, so that you could not remem-
ber what happened?"
"Yes, after they struck me, I became unconscious and I do
not remember any pain. Of course such experiences of the
body are soon forgotten in the spirit world. We wipe them
out."
"Is it known in Christian history that you were tied and
burned?"
"I do not know. Yes, I think so. I was tied my hands be-
hind me, and my feet were also tied. I was then struck down
and burned. I was taken from the fire after I was dead so that
my body was not burned beyond recognition."
"I have read that when on these entradas you were very
like an Indian in appearance."
"I was very much in the open. I walked many leagues across
desert spaces. I lived as the Indians did. I found it a sensible
way to do while under their conditions."
"What clothing did you wear? You couldn't have worn
your priestly robe."
"I wore a breechcloth; and upon my head I wore a mantle
which I threw across my shoulders to keep off the sun."
"What did you have on your feet?"
"Sandals made from skins."
"I infer that you made these yourself?"
"That is correct."
"In fact, you were what we would now call a 'good trailer.' "
184
A Talk with Father Garces
"Yes, I had to be. You see, the Indians were a very natural
people. Like the animals, they had adjusted themselves to
their conditions and I thought it best to do likewise. I followed
the Indians in my way of living."
"I read that you shared their food and liked it."
"I did. It was made from corn, the flesh of animals and fish.
It was very palatable."
"And you had a good appetite?"
"Yes. I walked much."
"We can eat almost anything when we are hungry."
"You understand! You have traveled very much as I did,
only you did it by horseback."
"Yes. I was a trailer in my youth. You can eat anything on
the trail." Here he laughed; I could hear his chuckle. I went
on, "Yes, I have had many toilsome experiences, but nothing
like yours. Your journey across this wild country was marvel-
ous. In these days you would be called a chief Boy Scout."
Here again I heard him chuckle a soft, rustling sound
and he said, "I suppose I could be called that."
"Father Garces, I am greatly obliged to you for your courte-
ous answers to my questions. There are others I would like to
ask. I hope you will come again."
"I shall do so. Good day."
I may be entirely wrong in my feeling that this is an un-
paralleled experience. To talk with a man who was killed by
the Indians over a century and a half ago, to get from him a
vivid and candid account of his life, while the medium was
shut in a separate room is incredible, nevertheless I ask the
reader's careful reading of my report. It is not verbatim, but
its essentials were recorded at the moment and supplemented
by my own hand within an hour.
After Father Garces had withdrawn, I said to Fuller, "That
The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
was a most interesting talk with Father Garces. Now I want
to talk with Espejo and also with Adam Smith."
"I shall locate them for you."
"Henry, here is a searching question. Have you thought that
some of these pieces might be apports? After I had cut my way
through that cactus tangle and saw that cross lying where no
human hand could have planted it without first chopping his
way through as I had done, I decided to ask, 'Did you put
that object there, just so that I would not be disappointed?' "
His reply was instant and almost indignant. "No, no! I had
nothing to do with it."
"Well, anyhow, I now have five crosses which we ourselves
have discovered."
"That is sufficient. There can be no benefit to you in climb-
ing other cactus-covered cliffs, getting yourself full of needles."
"If you will find one or two more on a nice easy hill I'll
take another chance."
"Very well. I shall see what can be done."
It remains to say that this story of Garces' murder differed
in several particulars from the report made by a soldier who
visited the scene several months after the massacre and re-
covered the bodies of the two padres, but these differences
argue that the psychic had not read the report, for if she had,
she would not have ventured to differ from it. It is interesting
to note also that the report made to the church authorities
contains certain miraculous incidents, touches which Father
Garces wholly ignored.
Suppose we say that the psychic, either by phenomenal
acuteness of hearing, or by some occult power, was able to
hear all my questions and to read by some clairvoyant power
my Spanish letter there still remains the amazingly fluent
and highly personalized dialogue which Father Garces and I
186
A Talk with Father Garces
carried on. Even if she had read the Garces' diary, she could
not have known exactly what line my questions would take.
She could not normally hear more than the rumble of my voice,
and yet the whispered replies to my questions were prompt,
relevant and admirably concise.
I leave this puzzle in the hands of the reader.
187
Chapter 16
Espejo and Onate
IN MY journal I find this significant entry: "June 23, 1937. I
heard the word 'Espejo' spoken this morning for the first time
but did not recognize that it had anything to do with my
problem."
A few days later, in reading the report of an early explorer,
I came upon this name in print: Espejo was named as one who
came to Arizona and New Mexico in 1583, more than twenty
years before Onate, and, like Garces, went among the Indians
almost alone. This led me to say to Fuller, "The testimony of
this man Espejo would be exceedingly valuable to me, for he
saw the natives before any of the missions were founded."
Fuller replied, "I shall try to bring him."
Having already conversed with Garces, Onate and Martin-
ez, I was not even suprised when, on July i, Fuller announced,
"Espejo is here."
I calmly asked, "Is this Father Espejo?"
"S*, si, senor" was the reply. He then added, "Yes, I am
here."
In preparation for this morning's interview, I had placed
the receiver on a table on the far side of my wife's room, in the
full light of her window, while Mrs. Williams remained in my
study 'with t<wo closed doors and a fifteen-foot hall between.
I considered it quite impossible for her to hear even the rumble
of my voice.
On the table and on the floor, within easy reach, I had laid
several of the ancient "idols," including the ones which I my-
self had found. I had also at hand some spirit photographs
188
Espejo and Ofiate
which Mrs. Parent had taken of the fathers, and in my pocket
was the letter which had been written to me by the curator of
the Museum Nacional of Mexico City. My secretary was ab-
sent. No one but my wife was in the room with me. She had
never seen the letter and cannot read Spanish. I ask the reader
to note all these conditions.
I began by saying, "Father Espejo, I am happy to greet you
and I desire to ask you many questions. You came into New
Mexico before Onate did you not?"
"Yes, twenty-two or twenty-three years before."
"That is what the books say but I cannot find any material
relating to you."
"No," he answered, rather sadly, "they did not much men-
tion me after my death."
This very human remark could not have come from my
mind, and if it came from Mrs. Williams it was a fine, fictional
stroke. I continued, "You are mentioned as having made your
first exploration in 1583."
"That is true. I came to Mexico before any padre long
before any missions were established." He pronounced the
word "Mehico," which is right.
"That is what makes your testimony so valuable to me," I
replied, and then started to tell him of my collection of crosses,
but he checked me. "I know of them," he said.
"Well, then, let us go directly to my purpose. Did you find
the Indians of New Mexico wearing small metal crosses in
their hair?"
"Oh, yes, many of them and about their waists also this
was the custom among various tribes."
"The crosses they wore were small crosses, were they not?"
"No, some were several inches long."
"How did they fasten them in their hair did they tie them
189
The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
to their locks with fiber?" I asked this to see if he would be in-
fluenced by my suggestion.
u No. They wore bands around their heads and the crosses
were thrust inside this band. They wore the larger ones inside
their waistbands."
I took up one of the ancient pieces. "Were they like this?"
"Yes, that is one of the same kind."
"They were old you thought them very old at that time,
did you not?"
"Yes, they seemed centuries old. They came from the south,
the Indians said."
"Now, here is one that has puzzled me all along." I took it
in my hand and held it up to the vivid light. "Can you see it?"
"Through your eyes I see it plainly."
"Very well. Now, on it you will see handsome faces faces
which are neither Indian nor Spanish, all wearing turbans. Did
you see crosses similarly decorated in your travels?"
"Yes, indeed, many of them. They are Oriental. They were
brought into Mexico and Central America by the Moors and
Arabs, centuries before the Spaniards came. As the tribes mi-
grated, driven out by others, they carried these idols with them
to ward off evil spirits or to invoke the good will of their gods."
"That is what others have told me, but as you were an earlier
pioneer, antedating all the missions, your testimony is of far
greater value. I am a man of no religious prejudices, Father
Espejo, and I hope you will be quite candid with me. I find
no mention of these crosses in any of the 'relations' or diaries
of the missionary fathers. There is only one mention of the
wearing of crosses in the hair and that was by Onate, who
stated it in order to identify a certain tribe. Tell me, what was
the reason for this failure of the fathers to report so singular a
custom?"
190
Espejo and Ofiate
Observe dimly -seen tur boned heads. This appears
to be very old and fire-scarred.
"It is quite simple the missionary padres did not report these
crosses because the church did not want its European members
to know that the cross was widely carried and worshiped in
the New World, centuries before the True Cross was carried
there by its missionaries. They all knew of these crosses but re-
mained silent about them."
191
The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
"Ethnologists are inclined to believe that the cross is a nat-
ural symbol and arose many centuries ago out of a considera-
tion of the world directions, north, south, east and west."
"That is probably correct."
"Could the crosses you saw have been made in accordance
with a dim remembrance of the True Cross brought in by
traders?"
"It may be, but many of them had three branches. They
were shaped like the letter T."
"Were they used in ceremonies?"
"Yes, in all their ceremonies."
"Where did they take place? Did they have a special house
or shelter for them?"
"No. They took place on the tops of high hills chosen
because they wished to be away from the padres and because
it carried them nearer the sun. They were all sun worshipers."
"What exactly was the ceremony? Did they dance?"
"Yes. They danced in a circle, each man holding a cross in
his hand, which he raised to the sun as he chanted."
"That is the reason why we now find these crosses in the
sides of hills or in stream-beds they were buried there on the
ceremonial ground, but have been washed down the hillside
by the many torrents of rain."
"That is the true explanation. These places of meeting were
always at a distance from the missions. The fathers abhorred
all these barbaric objects and customs. I have no such preju-
dices now. Such prejudices do not exist here. Here a man is a
man no matter what his race. Even his color does not count
against him."
I can give only the substance of this remarkably able and
eloquent plea for tolerance, which led my wife to ask, "What
do you do over there?"
192
Espejo and Oiiate
He replied, "We work for universal brotherhood and peace."
I showed him one of the spirit photographs of a dancing
figure. u ls this a soldier or an Indian?"
After some hesitation, he replied, "It is a ceremonial dancer
probably an Indian."
I showed him several other specimens and he made this gen-
eral statement. "All crosses with heads of animals, flowers, de-
signs of any kind, are Indian and come from the south. The
Christian cross has nothing on it but the figure of Christ."
"Some of these objects appear to have been through fire.
Was this a part of the ceremony? Did they cast them into the
fire?"
"No. The huts in which they lived were built of grass or
reeds, and often burned. The crosses which were kept in their
huts were burned but were afterward recovered from the ashes
and treasured. Some may have been through the flames several
times."
"Is it not a marvelous fact, Father Espejo, that we sit here
talking you a man of ancient explorations and I a man of
modern America, with nothing connecting us but a wire?"
He replied, "I am not from afar I am here. I am not of the
sixteenth century, I am nonjo. Time does not count with us
neither does space. Nevertheless, this is the first opportunity
1 have had to talk with a man of your dimension and I wel-
come it."
I told him of the book I was writing and of the difficulties
I met in my attempt to solve this problem. I spoke of the letters
I had written to Quiche, to Guatemala and to Mexico. "The
only reply I have received is from Mexico. Can you read
modern Spanish?"
"Yes through your eyes."
"It seems to me it would be a noble test of survival if you,
193
The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
a Spanish explorer of the sixteenth century, could translate
this letter to me. The medium, who sits in a distant room, can-
not read Spanish and has never even seen this letter. She does
not know that I have it. It has been partly read by only one
living man, who could decipher but a few of the lines. I will
hold it up so that you may read it for me."
This I did, and he gave me the substance of each paragraph,
just as Serra and Martinez had done, and as Fuller and I had
worked it out. I submit this as a remarkable test. To have a
letter in modern Spanish read to me by an invisible who died
nearly four hundred years ago is, to put it mildly, a miracle.
At the points where my visitor hesitated, I placed my finger
on the paper and traced the lines which 1 wanted him to trans-
late. He did not give the letter word for word, but he gave it
so clearly that I could sense its meaning. That he was reading
it seemed certain at the moment.
We had been conversing in this fluent and natural way for
nearly an hour, when I said, "Father Espejo, this has been a
most valuable interview and I thank you sincerely for it. I
hope you will come again."
"I shall do so," he replied. "Adios!"
Immediately after the close of this amazing dialogue, I wrote
out the substance of it, checking up its details with my wife,
who was deeply interested and whose memory is remarkably
keen. I am certain that I have given all the thought and many
of the exact phrases of Espejo's replies. It is essential to bear
constantly in mind the fact that a hall with two closed doors
and fifty feet of wire one-way telephone wire rendered
it impossible for the psychic to participate in the conversation,
and also, that / kneiv nothing of this explorer. I am quite cer-
tain that my wife was equally ignorant and that my questions
were inaudible to Mrs. Williams' normal perception.
194
Espejo and Onate
Except for a marked Spanish accent, there was nothing in
Espejo's whisper to distinguish it from that of Fuller, but my
wife was especially pleased by the nobility of tone which ran
through all his utterances. It was impossible for either of us to
relate the phrasing of his replies to our medium, although we
knew her to be unusually intelligent. Certainly I could not
have spoken Espejo's part in our conversation.
I ask the reader to take into account this most important
fact, which not only proves the sincerity of Mrs. Williams,
but separates my mind from the words uttered. I called him
"Father Espejo," not knowing that he was a soldier and not a
priest. According to the authorities which I consulted a few
days later, he commanded a company of soldiers sent in to res-
cue Father Rodriguez. If I had known this at the time of our
first interview - or if Mrs. Williams had known it - we would
not have called him "Father." Later still, when he came again,
I asked, "Why did you not correct my mistake?"
"I hesitated about interrupting you," he courteously replied.
"August 10, 1938. I have just read two of Onate's reports of
his expeditions and I find that he mentions these barbaric
crosses several times - once as 'crosses,' other times as 'idols,'
which in truth they were."
In my reading of Father Palou's report, I found an answer
to the question; why did the Indians go to the hills for their
ceremonials? He tells of finding, by a military expedition,
on a mountain top, of the well-executed bust of a woman,
called by the natives Ca-bwn - "Mother of the Sun." This
was on the San Saba River, in what is now Texas. "The sculp-
ture was in charge of an old Indian who acted as priest," the
notes read. "As soon as the missionaries had entered upon the
'95
The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
conquest, the old Indian hid away the image. The captain of
the soldiers sent out a squad of men to burn all the huts of the
Indians, in order that the people might move into the new
town."
This was a way of forcing the natives to come to the mission.
No doubt other commanders used the same means. As a result,
the Indians sought the high hills as places of worship.
196
Chapter 17
Adam Smith and Mary Card
ALL THROUGH Gregory Parent's records of his wife's medi-
umship runs the story of a boy named Adam Smith who, at
the age of eight, was rescued from the Indians by the padres
and brought to the Mission of San Juan Capistrano. This boy
appears many times in the "spirit" photographs which witnes-
ses claim were taken in Mrs. Parent's home. In these snapshots,
he first appears as a child alone, later as a lad of fourteen, some-
times associated with another refugee a girl named Mary
Card. Both of these children, the Parent records declare, grew
up at the mission and for several years were its only English-
speaking citizens.
According to Parent's story, Adam as a youth developed a
mechanical turn of mind and was given a room to use as a
workshop and encouraged to do what he could in the way of
metal and carpenter work. He it was, Mrs. Parent stated, who
made many of the tablets and crosses which were given to the
Indians, and when the kindly captain of a trading vessel pre-
sented him with a set of dies he was able to print on some of
the leaden crosses records of certain events and deeds which
were considered important enough to be put down for future
reference.
In attempting to confirm these statements by the Parents,
I had not only searched the writings of the padres but I had
run through the indexes of several authoritative historians
all to no result. No mention of either Adam Smith or Mary
Card could be found, and I came to regard them as imaginary
characters, born of Violet Parent's whimsical mind.
197
The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
Nevertheless, I had seized the opportunity, as the reader has
already learned, of inquiring from Fathers Serra, Lasuen and
Martinez, whether they remembered these children. Serra re-
membered only Adam, but Martinez and Lasuen recalled them
both. Not content with their testimony, I decided to call the
boy himself from the vasty deep and ask him to identify the
crosses he had made.
On Thursday, July i, I made the trial. With the medium in
my study, with my secretary seated beside me in the adjoining
room and the door closed between the psychic and ourselves,
I said to our guide, "Fuller, I have a new idea. I want to reach
Adam Smith the man who came to the mission as a little boy
and who is said to have made many of these crosses."
"Yes, you were talking of him the other day. I shall try to
get him. Just a moment I'll broadcast him." Here I could
hear him call, "Mr. Smith! Mr. Smith! Mr. Smith!" Then, after
a pause, "Garland, here is Adam Smith."
A whisper greeted me.
"Are you Adam Smith?" I asked.
"Yes."
"I am delighted to hear you speak. I want to talk with you
about life at the mission during the years when you lived there,
but first of all, I want you to identify yourself in some photo-
graphs I have here." Opening the book at a page where the
little Adam Smith was shown, I asked, "Is this you?"
"Yes," he replied. "That is me. That is the way I looked
when I was a little boy."
"There are several other pictures of you, in all of which you
are shown wearing a funny little round hat."
"Yes. I wore that hat when my mother and father were
burned and I was rescued by the padres."
"How old were you then?"
198
Adam Smith and Mary Gard
Adam Smith as a
child in skirts.
Adam Smith as a lad
of ten or twelve.
The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
"I was about eight."
"In the early pictures you are wearing a girl's skirt."
"Yes. They had no trousers for me so they gave me a skirt.
I didn't like that."
"Now concerning the problem of the crosses you made
many of them, did you not?"
"I did."
I took one up in my hand. "Did you make this one?"
"Yes. My name is on it, I believe. My name is on many of
them scratched on." (His name was not on this one.)
"Did you make this one with the monkey heads on it?"
"Oh, no, I did not make that kind. They are much older
than the ones I made. Mine usually had letters on them."
"Did this one with the monkey faces come from the south?"
"Oh, no doubt of it."
"Here is one which I consider older yet. As you see, it is
very crude and ancient. Did you ever see any objects like it?"
"Oh, yes, I saw many like it."
"Did you ever see the wild Indians wearing small crosses in
their hair?"
"No, I did not, but I heard of them doing so. Many tribes
did that, but none around the mission ever did. The padres
were quite surprised to learn that the tribes had crosses long
before the missionaries came."
"Scientists say that they were here before the Spaniards
.... Now look at this strange plaque which I hold in my hand.
Did you make that?"
"No. That is not my work."
"It is covered with large letters which spell out in English
these words: 'Serra, Joe, When 1 bid Joe a cheerful farewell
the boy's eyes told of love for me? What might be the meaning
of that message?"
2OO
Adam Smith and Mary Card
Adam Smith as a
young man.
"It probably had to do with Trapper Joe, a man around the
mission. I have never seen it before. Someone must have made
it in commemoration of Trapper Joe, perhaps for Father Serra,
or perhaps Joe himself made it."
"Have you seen any of these tall crosses covered with large
letters?" '
"Yes, many of them."
"They seem to be made by one person, for the o's are all
made the same way not o's after all, but a kind of medallion."
"I can explain that. You see, our letters were all carved out
of wood. One man might have carved that o and the others
borrowed it and used it."
"But you did not?"
"No."
"Can you see this big cross?"
201
The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
"Yes. It says something about Serra on it, doesn't it?"
"I am told that it was used as a trail marker."
"It was. There were many such put up to mark the trails for
the padres."
"Were they planted in the ground?"
"Yes, they were stuck in the earth, but they were first fast-
ened to a wooden base." (Palou said they had no base.)
"You knew a great many of the priests, I suppose?"
"Oh, yes. I knew many of them."
"Very well. Now here is a photograph of a group of padres.
Can you tell me the name of this man?" As I said this, I pointed
out a short, stout priest and Smith replied.
"I believe that is Martinez." (I am quite sure the psychic
could not see or hear me at this moment.)
"Who is this padre with a wry neck?"
"That is Velos V-e-1-o-s. He had a deformity on his
back." (This is significant, for Serra and others had said he
was not a hunchback.)
"Who is this man this tall one who appears to be smiling
behind his hand?"
"That is Baptiste, a French padre who came with Father
Palou." (I did not know this, and I don't believe the psychic
did.)
"Look closely at this seated figure this man with a cadav-
erous face, who is wearing a mantle."
"His name was Montez, I believe, a Spanish priest. I am not
sure." (This was the first time Montez was named.)
"Very good. Now, this one this genial old man I know is
Lasuen." At this point I took up another photograph of a larg-
er group. "Here again is Martinez, and here also is Velos
and this man in the cloak is the one you called Montez."
"Yes, that is Montez."
202
Adam Smith and Mary Card
Trail markers, from a photograph by Violet Parent.
Small figure said to be Serrtfs mother. Compare this
'with portrait on Pages 77 and 73 note absence of
cross and change of dress.
"I suppose these figures in front are too small for you to
recognize?"
"Yes. I cannot see them."
"Now, Adam Smith, these photographs called spirit photo-
graphs were taken twenty years ago by a woman named Vio-
let Parent in her own home. Are they true spirit pictures?"
"They are. The pictures of me are spirit pictures. Of course,
they are not actual photographs. They are astral projections.
I produced them as I remembered myself at that time."
"I understand what you mean. Now, Adam, we come to a
series of absolutely incredible photographs. Mrs. Parent insists
203
The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
that she took them in her sitting room with nothing but a sheet
for a background and yet here is, as you see, a rocky shore,
with naked Indians carrying bundles of hides. You should
know all about this for here you are, perched on a rock in one
picture and down on the shore in another."
u Yes, that is my figure in the canoe." (This the psychic
could not have known.)
"That reminds me where are the dies which the captain
of a vessel gave you, the dies with which you used to make
the letters on the crosses? Having become the owner of the
Parents' entire collection, I have listed everything, but I do
not find your dies among the items. What were they like?
Were they made of steel?"
"They were made of wood with letters fastened on the end
of them. I used them by pressing down on them. I knew noth-
ing about printing. Like a boy, I just played with them. It is
true they were given to me by the captain of a sailing vessel
who came down the coast. They were made in England, I
was told. Later they were given to an Indian in exchange for
something, I believe." (See Appendix)
"You gave a tap on each die when you printed?"
"Yes."
"You are pictured here with an Indian girl named Atilda,
whose named you printed on crosses. Was there a girl of that
name?"
"Yes, there was a girl of that name."
"Here is a picture of the good ship Washington and here
you are greeting the captain."
"That is correct. I was about thirteen, I think. I was never
very large." (An evidential touch.)
"Here you are again in the canoe. The canoe is about the
same size as the ship which always causes skeptics to laugh.
204
Adam Smith and Mary Gard
They think Mrs. Parent made them both out of paper but
they may be what we moderns call ectoplasmic thought-
forms. 7 '
"They were projections created by me."
"I am greatly indebted to you, Mr. Smith. One more general
question. Were the most of these crosses distributed from your
mission, or did they come from the south? "
"The ones with faces and animals on them were probably
brought from the south by the Indians. The crosses seen around
Capistrano were perfectly plain and very crude. They were
made at the mission and distributed from there."
"Did you make some of the better ones and distribute them
to your Indian friends?"
"Yes. I made some of the better ones. I made some with the
figures of Jesus on them."
"Is it not a fact that the fathers failed to remark upon these
barbaric crosses?"
"They were very much surprised to learn of them. I don't
think they ever reported them to the Mother Church."
"Did you know that the Indians used crosses in their own
ceremonies on the hills?"
"No, I was sheltered and kept close to the mission. Ceremo-
nies were held on distant hills where the fathers could not see
them."
"Now, Mr. Smith, this is my problem: The Parents collected
fifteen hundred of these crosses. To validate these I must dis-
cover more. I have already found five one of these pieces is
a small plaque like this. As you see, there are ten faces on it
and a bell. These faces are turbaned either Hindu or Arabic.
What were these pieces used for?"
"I believe they were used as money. I have heard that said of
them. They are very old centuries old."
205
The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
"Father Palou tells me that there are still some pieces near
Capistrano."
"There were many, many taken from there, I do not know
where. Father Palou may know, I do not."
"Parent states that your dies were found in a ball of adobe.
How do you account for that?"
"They had been given to the Indians given by one of the
fathers in exchange for something, I believe, and the Indian
who owned them, put the dies in a ball and hid it in the ground,
to prevent their destruction/ 7
"Did you know Sergeant Ortega?"
"Yes, indeed. I have been on many journeys with him. I
shall try to find him and bring him next time."
"I wish you would. I'd like to talk with him."
This curious picture is an enlargement of a
detail in the seashore scene (page 207)
206
Adam Smith and Mary Card
Seashore scene.
As this is a record of experience and not a story, I must again
remind the reader that this dialogue was carried on with the
medium sitting alone in another room with a closed door be-
tween the transmitter and our receiver. She could not see me
and she afterward said that she could not hear me. She declared
she could not hear the voices in the box which she held to her
breast. As a purely scientific report, I must call attention to
the fact that she could not possibly have seen the pictures
which I was exhibiting, for the prints were wholly out of her
sight and the figures were minute and indistinct.
If the personality, Adam Smith, was a projection of her
mind, my method of control absolves her from having any nor-
mal part in this very curious and fluent interview, which con-
207
The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
firmed much of what had gone before. Adam Smith drew the
line very clearly between Christian symbols and barbaric arti-
facts, and furnished the identification of one or two of the
padres hitherto entirely unknown to us all. He explained the
use of the wooden type and verified many of the Parent photo-
graphs in which he was represented at several stages of his
growth, from a child of eight in a girl's dress, to his appearance
as a bearded man of forty.
Admitting that Mrs. Williams had seen these photographs
in the book, and granting that she might have heard some of
the questions, she could not have seen the figures which I in-
dicated by silently pointing at them. With all deductions
made, this remains one of the most remarkable of my conver-
sations with my invisible visitors.
208
Chapter 18
On the Ortega Highway
MY FRIEND Stewart White's bantering question, "Why not
consider these strange objects apports?" set me thinking along
those lines.
After all, why not call them apports? That would exonerate
our medium and placate the archaeologists. There is abundant
evidence in print that such phenomena occur. The literature
of psychic research is filled with well authenticated reports of
curious coins, vases of flowers and even cannon balls dropping
from the ceilings. Only yesterday a charming little Mexican
girl told me with shy and troubled air that showers of dirt and
stones had once fallen about her in her home, and the journal
of the English Society for Psychical Research (May, i93 8 )
contains a long and detailed report by its research officer con-
cerning similar doings in an English home.
Materials objects suddenly appeared in locked rooms and in
the open street. The report states: "On March the pth, the
psychic was undressed completely and given new clothes. We
still had apports. On an open road with no one in sight a glass
crashed behind her. We found a dump heap near by and be-
lieve that the glass came from there We committed psy-
chic shoplifting. We took her to a shop in a near-by town and
allowed her to handle small objects of almost no value. When we
left, I handed her a tiny cardboard box to hold between her
hands. We had hardly proceeded four hundred yards before
something rattled in the box. There was the object chosen
We made conditions tighter and tighter, always sitting in day-
light or in full electric light. The phenomena did not dimm-
209
The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
ish On March 28th, we had our first living apport - a white
mouse. At our suggestion, a live goldfish was brought. A glass
was taken from the bathroom through three closed doors
and smashed on the walk outside the house. . . . How did the
glass penetrate three doors?"
Ail these happened under test conditions while a committee
headed by Dr. Fodor closely studied the medium. The report
gave a score or more of such phenomena.
Now in the face of such a report, White's banter about our
crosses being apports is not entirely without support. Parent
states that his wife was nearly always "sick" at the moment of
finding the crosses. Some of the witnesses intimated that she
was nauseated to the point of vomiting. Dr. Fodor's experi-
ences might lead him to suggest that the invisibles "manif ested"
our crosses, or brought them from Quiche or Peru. Perhaps
they will drop one from the ceiling of my study, but if they do
it is probable that I shall still wonder and doubt!
At our next sitting on July 3, 1938, where the test con-
ditions were precisely the same, except that my secretary was
present to make notes of our dialogue, Fuller came almost at
once and when I asked, "What orders have you for us this
morning?" he replied briskly, "Go to Capistrano. There are
some crosses about five miles north of the mission on the Orte-
ga Highway."
Although I had tested his directions five or six rimes, I was
again filled with doubt. The Ortega Highway, which was
sixty miles away, ran from the mission of San Juan Capistrano
over a high range of hills to Elsinore.
"That's a big country, Fuller," I said. "How shall we know
the exact spot?"
He replied, "I will be in the car and tell you just when to
stop and where to search."
210
On the Ortega Highway
Trail-Marker
"Will there be any climbing?"
"Very little."
"Shall we take spades and hoes?"
"Yes, you'll need them to scrape around with. There are
two or three crosses on the surface or near the surface. Two
or three more are all you need, don't you think?"
"Yes, two will be sufficient."
Early on July 6, after another brief interview with Fuller,
we set out for San Juan Capistrano my wife and I, with the
medium driving the car. We were familiar with the road to
the mission, but neither of us knew where the Ortega Highway
led out of it. Fuller had said, "Five miles north of the mission,"
and we took a road which seemed to lead north, but as he had
211
The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
spoken of low, rolling hills, we soon began to question. At my
suggestion, the psychic stopped the car and I said, "Fuller, are
we on the right road?"
"No," came the definite answer. "Go back to the mission.
Take the road to the right. It leads to the hills."
On returning to the town, we discovered that the highway
started from the back of the mission, and when I asked, "Is
this right?" the whisper said, "Go about five or five and a half
miles."
Watching our speedometer, we drove on. As we neared the
five-mile mark we found ourselves skirting the base of a wood-
ed hill, with a pleasant valley on the left and while driving
slowly along this road I heard Fuller say, "Stop. This is the
place."
I looked about incredulously. There was nothing distinc-
tive about the spot. On our right hand a steep, narrow, grassy
ravine came down to the roadway.
"Is this the spot?"
"Yes. On the right."
"Do we climb up this ravine?"
"Yes, but not far."
It was not easy going for the psychic. A deep ditch and a
wire fence intervened, and we were forced to crawl under
the wires. As we clambered up the slippery grass, Fuller kept
saying, "A little higher. They were not buried here. They
were brought down by the rains. Look close. They are scat-
tered."
As I was scraping half-heartedly among the leaves and
grasses, the psychic called to me, "Mr. Fuller says you are
standing on one!"
Looking down at the ground, I saw near my right heel the
deep print which a horse's hoof had made some weeks before
212
On the Ortega Highway
when the ground was soft. It was hardened now, and crushed
into its edge lay a small cross.
On picking it out of the soil, I found it to be of barbaric
character, like the others we had found. It could not have been
dropped there by the psychic for it had been trodden into the
mud by a horse.
Holding it in my hand I said, "Fuller, this one little item is
as good as a dozen "
He interrupted, "As proof."
"Yes, as proof and yet I cannot believe in it. You led me
to see it, but the whole experience is incredible. It does not fit
in with the material world around rne. How did you locate
it? How did you lead us to this inconspicuous little ravine?
Are there others here?"
"Yes, twenty-three were buried on the hilltop."
It was late and the sun was warm and as I looked up that
steep ravine I said, "I can't ask the psychic to climb up there
today."
Here again the doubter must shift his accusation from the
Parents to Mrs. Williams. Why should she select this obscure
ravine which was exactly like scores of others along the road
for the planting of a cross? Granting that the motive for de-
ception was strong, it seems almost equally incredible that she
had surreptitiously driven down here at a time when the ground
was still soft, and that she had crawled under this fence arid
dropped this cross among the leaves, with intent to lead me to
it later. That the horse had trodden upon it while the ground
was soft was evident. This must have been in May, for no rain
had fallen for two months.
Fuller, amused by my desire for another test, agreed to go
back with us at some further date and locate the other speci-
mens.
213
The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
On July 7, I had my second conversation with Ofiate, and
I began it by saying, "Adelantado, I confess to an almost
complete ignorance of you and your activities. All I know of
you is the date of your exploration in 1604. I wish you would
tell me under what kind of commission you explored. Who
sent you into New Mexico, and why?"
"I was sent there by the Mexican government."
"On a military expedition?"
"Yes. That was in 1602."
"How long did you stay there?"
"Twelve years."
"You made this expedition to Arizona and California in
1604, did you not?"
"Yes in the latter part of 1603, to be exact."
"What kind of an establishment did you have in New Mex-
ico and where were you located in reference to Santa Fe?"
"I cannot tell the location now. We were in the mountain-
ous part of New Mexico. I am not sure, but I think it was not
far from where the city of Santa Fe was afterward built. There
was a small settlement where we were. It was not a town. The
people were spread out in many locations. There was no settle-
ment at what is now Santa Fe."
"Your testimony concerning these crosses will be especially
valuable to me for the reason that you were a layman ob-
server."
"It is true I was not connected with the church at all."
"Senor Onate, so far as my reading goes, you are the only
man who reported the fact that the Indians of New Mexico
and Arizona wore crosses. That is so important that I should
like to show you some specimens and get your opinion of
them."
"Very well."
214
On the Ortega Highway
CROSS OF THE PANTHER CLAN
This "rain cross" contains eight per cent
of silver. Note snarling panther heads.
"To begin with, this one which I am holding up has on it
the bust of a woman who wears a crown. Where did this come
from?"
"It was brought from the south. The figure represents the
215
The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
goddess of water. I am pretty certain that it was made down
there in the south."
"It could not have been imported from Europe?"
"Oh, no."
"This large one with many heads of wolves or bears on it
is a very remarkable one, for the heads are well modeled."
"They are the heads of panthers. They were worshiped by
some tribes in the south. They used these animal crosses when
praying to their gods."
"Did the Indians or the south work their own metal?"
"Yes, they had much metal down there. Their weapons were
trimmed with metal and their houses also."
"I have many specimens, all bearing faces. Where do they
come from?"
"Possibly from the south. Very probably the originals were
brought to America by Europeans and were copied in the
south by the Indians."
"The one I hold now is a large one with an arrowhead in
the center and four heads on the arms. Each head bears a
crown or turban. It is a ruder design than the one with the
wolves."
"I believe those heads represent the heads of Indians in the
south. Some of them wore coverings on their heads to protect
them from the sun."
"Then you do not agree with Father Serra that they are
Oriental?"
"I do not know, but I have seen Indians wearing cloth on
their heads in that way to protect themselves from the sun."
"Why would they put the heads on crosses?"
"Tribal artisans made the crosses and each had ideas of his
own in worshiping his gods."
"Here is one with monkey heads on it, each monkey wear-
216
On the Ortega Highway
ing a crown. Why did they put monkey heads on their crosses?"
"Certain southern tribes worshiped monkeys. There are
many monkeys in Yucatan and in South America. They put
crowns on the monkey head in a manner suitable to represent
their god."
"On this very ornate one a rabbit is represented feeding."
"The rabbit stood for fertility. Women wore them, tied
around their waist or carried in their hands."
"Did they use them in ceremonial dances?"
"No, women did not dance; only the men danced. Women
only said prayers to the gods. These fertility crosses came from
the south also. I never saw metal workers in New Mexico and
Arizona. Many Indians came up from the south, bringing these
metal objects with them."
"When was the first mission established?"
"Do you mean in this country or in Mexico?"
"I mean in this country Arizona and California."
"There were no missions here when I came. The Indians
had never seen a white man at that time. They had their own
religion."
"Senor Onate, no one seems to know of these crosses. Ethnol-
ogists do not write of them."
"They are known in Mexico. They were not important to
the historians, and the missionaries would, of course, not men-
tion them because they were barbaric."
"Having no religious prejudice, Sefior Onate, I want to find
out and state the facts. I shall tell only the truth. I am to speak
with Espejo again on this matter."
"I am glad. He came twenty-two or twenty-three years be-
fore me. He was, in truth, the first missionary to go through
your country." ' :j~"~
"Did you know him?"
217
The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
"Oh, yes. I have seen and spoken with him."
"He must have been a powerful young man."
"He was in his early thirties not tall but very strong phys-
ically."
"He must have been an indomitable soul. His testimony and
yours is exceedingly important and valuable to me. I shall quote
what you have said in one chapter of my book."
"I am honored. It is an honor for me to be mentioned by
you."
"I am in your debt. . . Did you have a military guard when
out on your entradas you called them 'entradas,' did you
not?"
"Yes. 'Entrada* means trail. I was a trailmaker. Many times
I went alone, but sometimes I took two or three men with me.
We could not carry enough supplies for many."
"You were young, also, were you not and strong?"
"I was in my late twenties. Yes, I was a strong young man
larger than Espejo."
"What did you eat on your explorations?"
"We lived on wild game and food which the Indians gave
us. They were very kind to us. Many times we did find inhos-
pitable tribes, but few of them were hostile."
"Sefior Ofiate, I thank you most sincerely for this talk. I
want you to come again. I shall have more questions to ask
you."
"I shall be glad to answer. Good-by."
218
Chapter 19
Long- Wire Tests
THE reader will recall that in the beginning of my tests of
Mrs. Williams' powers we sat in full daylight, listening to
faint whispers which appeared to come from a trumpet held
near her body. Sometimes these voices seemed to come from
behind her head, sometimes from the air above her, but mainly
they appeared to come from her solar plexus. I could detect
no movement in her throat or lips.
My first test of her supernormal power was to place my
hand over her mouth. This I did several times, with no effect.
The whispers proceeded without interruption. My next test
was made with a one-way telephone. Placing her in an ad-
joining room, I connected the transmitter, which she held to
her breast, with an amplifier which I set upon a table in my
study.
This mechanism not only augmented the whispers but pro-
jected them over a forty-foot wire. A closed door did not
prove a barrier. Not content with this test, I then removed
my receiver across a hall into a distant room, with two closed
doors between. Sixty feet of wire connected the transmitter
in Mrs. Williams' hands with the amplifier on my table.
Anticipating that my critics would still charge her with de-
ception, I asked Fuller if he thought she could project her
"squeaks" over a wire leading across the patio to the amplifier
placed in my daughter's house. To this he had quietly replied,
"Distance should be no barrier."
Having obtained what seemed like answers to two direct
questions in my daughter's house, I decided to go farther. I
219
The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
ran a wire down to my daughter's studio at the bottom of her
garden. The larger part of the collection of crosses was stored
there. "It may be that the padres and their Indians would like
to see them," I said to Mrs. Williams. "And I'd like to try
talking with you over three hundred feet of wire."
She replied, "That will be all right with me. It is a long way
for my squeaks to go, but if Mr. Fuller approves, I am willing
to try."
Thereupon, I doubled the length of the wire. After tying it
to the railing of my balcony, I carried it through an olive tree
in my garden and across the wall to another tree, just in front
of my daughter's studio. Winding it twice about one of the
branches of the tree, I led it in over the door and along the
wall, connecting it with the amplifier on a center table.
On Thursday morning, July 8, 1937, with everything in
readiness, Mrs. Williams took her accustomed chair in a corner
of my study, and after giving her the suggestion to doze if
possible, and leaving my wife to remain beside her during the
test, I hurried across the yard to plug in on the studio current.
With my secretary opposite me, ready with pad and pencil,
I turned the amplifying knob. The humming at once began,
and I called out, "Fuller, are you there?"
His answer came instantly, brisk, definite, "Yes, I am." (It
may be that the psychic anticipated this question.)
"Fuller, I want to reach Capitan Ortega this morning. He
was that herioc scout who led the way for the Portola expedi-
tion to San Francisco in 1769. Father Serra spoke of him in the
highest terms, and I should like to talk with him. See if you
can get him."
At this point, while I was waiting for an answer, someone
remarked, as if he had been looking about him, "You have
many crosses here that I have not seen before."
22O
Long- Wire Tests
"Who is speaking? Is it Capitan Ortega?" I asked.
Receiving no reply, I addressed my invisible visitor, "Shall
I walk around the studio and show you the crosses?"
The reply was so faint that I could not catch the words, but
another personality called to me in a clear whisper, "Senor
Garland."
"Yes. Who is speaking?"
"Senor Ortega."
"Is it really you, Capitan Ortega, the scout who led For-
tola?"
"That is I." (This must be counted a direct reply.)
"I have here photographs of certain padres which I wish
you to identify. Can you see this one which I hold?"
"Yes."
I then held up a group photograph and asked him to name
one of the padres which I pointed out. He replied but I could
not distinguish his words.
A great deal of tinkering now took place in the receiver,
and then someone said very distinctly, "Can you hear me?"
"I can, but who is speaking now?"
"Sefior Ortega." This was not the Ortega whom Fuller had
said I should call "Capitan."
I again asked about the photograph. He replied, but failed
to make his words heard. Fuller then struck in. "Garland, I
have Albert Paine with me. Do you wish to speak with him?"
This was another surprise, for my thought was set on the
identification of the photographs. Paine was not in my mind,
but I answered quickly, "I w T ant very much to talk with him.
Albert, are you here?"
"Yes, and I am very glad to be here."
The very slight emphasis on the word be is important. Mrs.
Williams could not possibly have heard my question and she
221
The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
could not, at a venture, reply with the emphasis so placed.
Albert's reply indicated that he had heard my question and had
matched it unmistakably by that stress.
He then went off into a long speech which I could not hear
and neither could my secretary.
At last I said, "Albert, weVe been talking of having Joan of
Arc come. She would find Mrs. Williams possessed of voices
like her own."
He replied but I failed to catch his words.
Again a voice addressed me as "Sefior Garland" and said,
"It is Sefior Ortega speaking. Can you hear me?"
I heard this very plainly, but beyond a feeling that this was
not the scout, "Capitan Ortega," I found myself at a loss.
Up to this point, the experiment had been only partially suc-
cessful but now came a decisive test. A clear whisper an-
nounced another visitor.
"Senor Garland, this is Father Rodriguez."
I had no remembrance then of such a padre, but I greeted
him. "I am pleased to have you come, Father Rodriguez."
After a buzzing, blurring period on the wire, he spoke again
in what I took to be Spanish, ending on the word manana. As
if aware of the interruption, he repeated, "This is Padre Rodri-
guez."
"I am glad you are still here, Father Rodriguez. I want your
help." I saw in the coming of this priest, totally unknown to
me, an opportunity to prove the psychic's powers. Taking up
one of Mrs. Parent's photographs in which some ten or twelve
missionary fathers were represented in three rows, I asked,
"Father Rodriguez, are you portrayed in this group?"
"Yes."
"In which row?"
"In the intermediate row."
222
Long- Wire Tests
I cannot believe that this was merely a lucky shot, and I must
again ask the reader to bear in mind that no word of what I
said could go to Mrs. Williams at the other end of my three-
hundred-foot wire, and that my wife was on guard to testify
to this fact. It will not do to call it merely coincidence.
To make the test still more convincing, I pointed to one of
the figures. "Is this you?"
"Yes, that is I."
"Who is the man in front of you?"
He did not reply, and as the figure was small and dim, I in-
ferred that he could not see it clearly. I placed a reading glass
over the photograph.
"Does this help?"
"Yes."
Here again was an action which the psychic could not pos-
sibly have inferred, yet the answer was to the point.
I asked him other questions and he replied fluently, but his
words so ran together that his meaning could not be secured.
Nevertheless, I considered the experiment partially successful.
The psychic could not anticipate my tests.
Furthermore, though some force noisily scraped and ham-
mered in the amplifier, my wife testified that she heard noth-
ing of this disturbance while she sat with the psychic not a
sound of any kind.
The buzzing and crackling in the amplifier prevented me
from hearing any further word, and so ended our sitting. It
was irritating and unsatisfactory but it was not a complete
failure.
The following day, at two-thirty in the afternoon, we tried
again for voices in the studio, over three hundred feet of wire,
and almost immediately after hooking up I heard the word,
"Espejo."
223
The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
"Is this Father Espejo?"
"That is right."
"Have you anything to add to the story you told us some
days ago?"
He answered, but I failed to catch a complete sentence of
his reply.
When he ceased to speak, another whisper was heard. "This
is Father Rodriguez. Can you hear me?"
u Yes, I can hear you, Father Rodriquez. Did you indicate
yesterday that this photo contained a portrait of you this
one in the middle of the group?" 1 asked this question for the
reason that I felt he had made a mistake.
His reply was indistinct, but Father Garces then announced
himself clearly and asked, "Have you some crosses you wished
to point out to me?"
"Yes, I have." Taking down one of the cases which con-
tained about fifty specimens, I brought it to the amplifier.
Holding the case on my knees, I asked, "Can you see these
crosses, Father Garces?"
He tapped his reply on the box, "Yes."
"Did you see anything like them on your trip?"
"Yes."
I pointed to one especially interesting specimen. "I am puz-
zled by this cross, Father Garces. The heads on this cross seem
to be those of young men with their hair parted in the middle,
quite modern in style. Is this an old cross?"
His answer was clearly definite. "Yes, Seiior Garland. It is."
Here again was a direct answer, but his voice faded and Fuller
spoke. "It is a little difficult today. Better try tomorrow. Ask
for Father Zephyrin. He can talk with you and tell you many
things."
"Father Zephyrin" was the religious name of Engelhardt,
224
Long- Wire Tests
the official historian of the missions in Mexico, Arizona and
California, but I had the impression that he was still alive. I
replied cautiously, "He would be very prejudiced, I fear."
u That is true," replied Fuller, "he would be." He did not
say whether he meant that I should call upon Father Zephyrin
in Santa Maria or confer with him over our one-way telephone.
I asked a noncommittal question. "What mission were you con-
nected with, Father Zephyrin?"
His reply was short and indistinct, and I had the feeling that
he resented my ignorance of him and his work.
At our next test of the long wire a few days later, a person-
ality entirely new to us all announced himself shortly after we
took our places about the receiver in the studio.
"Padre Asuncion is speaking."
"Padre Asuncion? What was the date of your entrada?"
His answer was indistinct. After a silence he again announced
himself. "Padre Asuncion speaking."
"What was the date of your entrada, Father Asuncion?"
He did not answer my question but remarked instead, "It is
very interesting to come into this place and see so many things
I have seen before."
"Do you mean these crosses?"
"Yes."
"Did you call them crosses or idols?" There was no answer.
"You didn't like to call them crosses, did you?"
"No."
There were several moments of silence and then Fuller
spoke up, "Father Asuncion and Father Nadal and a strange
new father were here. They will come back tomorrow."
That there was a marked, very human rivalry for the honor
of being the first to explore the wilderness of New Mexico
was evident, and toward the end of our investigations of these
22 5
The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
claims, a new personality manifested under long-wire and sep-
arate room test conditions.
On August 9 at half-past ten, while we were seated at the
receiver in our guest-room at the end of a fifty-foot wire with
a hall and two closed doors between us and the medium, I
heard a salutation in English but with a marked Spanish accent.
"Seiior Garland!"
"This is Senor Garland. Who is speaking?"
"Padre Prospero."
"Father Prospero, your name is not known to me. Were you
an early explorer?"
"Yes, I preceded Father Marcos in exploring New Mexico."
"What was the date of your entrada? Who commissioned
you?"
"In 1525 I came up from Mexico."
At this point another noisy tinkering interrupted us. Later
I heard the same voice. "Father Prospero is speaking." There-
upon the following conversation ensued with an occasional
"Yes" or "No" rapped out instead of spoken.
"What further do you wish to say, Father Prospero? Were
you the first padre to explore this southwestern section?"
"Yes."
"Was Cortez agreeable to that? Did he want you to do it?"
"Yes."
"Who authorized you? The Franciscan brotherhood in
Spain?"
"Yes."
"How long were you on this entrada?"
"Two years."
"Where did you go?"
"I came to the Colorado River."
"What did you call it?"
226
Long- Wire Tests
"It had no name. The Indians called it 'Great Water.' "
"Did you travel alone?"
"I had one person with me."
"What was his name?"
"Jaco. J-a-c-o." (He pronounced it Haco.)
"Was he a friar or a padre?"
"A friar."
"Then you two came alone? You lived with the Indians, I
suppose."
"Yes."
"They fed you and were kind to you?"
"Yes."
"Did you find crosses in this country already? Barbaric
crosses?"
"Yes, we found them."
"Were the Indians using them as idols?"
"Yes."
"Were some of them decorated with animals?"
"Yes."
"You didn't dare report them to the home church?"
"I did report them."
"Did you call them idols or crosses?"
"Idols."
"Well, I suppose they were idols. Did they wear them in the
hair on their foreheads?"
"Yes." (Taps)
"And on their wrists?"
"Yes." (Taps)
"And around the waist?"
"Yes." (Taps)
"Did you ever see any of their ceremonies?"
"No.". (Tap)
227
The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
"Did any white man ever see them?"
"No." (Tap)
"These things are what I wanted you to tell me. I have one
more question. Is there anything about your entrada in print?"
"Si."
"Engelhardt doesn't give it."
"No."
"Is there any part of your report in English?"
"I do not know, but I shall find out for you."
"Will you do that tomorrow?"
"Yes."
A day or two later, I discovered that the mere twisting of
wires together to form a joint was not complete enough to per-
mit an unobstructed flow of electricity and that I had not used
the proper insulating tape, hence the "joints" leaked power.
After eliminating two of these joints in my wire I made the
three-hundred-foot test again.
There is no explanation for the utterance of these supernor-
mal voices, but that they ride on a current of electricity is
certain. Fuller had said, "Distance is no barrier." but neither
he nor I anticipated what would happen when I substituted a
new wire without joints, a solid wire from transmitter to re-
ceiver. I was astounded (and irritated) to find that it acted as
an antenna for three neighborhood radios. Nevertheless, in
the midst of this din, Father Marcos again announced himself
and said, "I have come to help you classify your crosses."
Fragmentary, almost painfully disappointing as my dia-
logues in the studio had been, they were evidential in that they
proceeded without normal connection with the medium, and
(so far as I could tell) distinct from myself. Several unexpected
padres Gandiago, Tapia, Asuncion, Nadal of whom I
knew nothing, greeted me and professed an eagerness to aid
228
Long- Wire Tests
in my task of validating the very same "idols" of which they
had made no report while in the flesh. The curious contradic-
tion between their earth life and theii fourth-dimensional life
requires an explanation which I cannot furnish.
As a matter of fact, one or two of the messages which I had
obtained while in my daughter's house, at the end of a wire
one hundred and fifty feet long, were quite as evidential as
those I received over the longer wire, but I cannot call them
conclusive. Those in my study, with the psychic fifty feet dis-
tant and a hall and two closed doors between, should also come
into this chapter. They, too, were long-wire tests, and the
translation of the Spanish letter, (which no one of us had been
able to read) took place under these long-wire conditions.
(At a later date 1 obtained those voices while Mrs. Williams
sat without touching the transmitter.)
One morning, while making another long-distance test, a
new visitor whispered, announcing himself as an old acquain-
tance in Boston. lie gave the name of a man whom I had sup-
posed to be still in the body, and discussed in detail the prob-
lems on which I was engaged. He spoke as fluently and as
familiarly as Fuller.
At my request, he also translated the letter from the Mexico
Museum (which I had used as a test with Serra, Garces, Mar-
tinez, Espejo and Fuller, with two doors and a long hall separ-
ating the psychic from me, and when I said, "Is it not a marvel-
ous experience that we should sit here talking over a one-way
wire as easily as over a telephone?" he replied, "It is. I would
not have believed it."
Whoever he was, he could read Spanish, and he was wise in
all matters relating to the Indians of the Southwest. The psy-
chic could not have heard normally one syllable of our dia-
logue.
229
The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
Another long-wire test of the medium's powers belongs in
this chapter but has no bearing on my problem. It had the
effect however, of confirming my belief in the supernormal
character of the voices. At several of our sittings during May,
1937, 1 had called upon one of my pioneer uncles whose play-
ing of the fiddle had been my boyish admiration. I had said,
"Uncle David, I want you to come and play 'Maggie' for me,"
but it was not until in July that my request was answered.
While sitting in my wife's room with both doors closed,
listening at the amplifier, I heard what I took to be some one
feebly whistling a tune, but as it grew in volume and clarity
I said to my wife: "It is a violin! It is Uncle David playing for
me." Slowly, hesitatingly and yet certainly, the whistle took
up the melody of "When You and I Were Young, Maggie."
After listening a few moments I said, "That is not the 'Mag-
gie' I meant, Uncle David. Play the other one."
My interruption, my demand, seemed to shatter the power
of the player. He stopped and would not go on. In order to
make the test more complete, I did not name the other song
which he used to play so beautifully. He made no reply as I
said, "Come again, Uncle David, I want you to play the other
one."
What shall we say of a test like this? Can ventriloquism pro-
duce such an effect over a one-way wire and through two
closed doors? Furthermore, the tune moved in opposition to
my thought. I had asked for a certain melody, and he played
another, hence it did not come from my mind. It may be re-
lated in some way to the mind of the psychic, for she had heard
me speak of sometime making the test but that does not ex-
plain how the sound was produced. It baffled me then, and I
am still unable to comprehend it.
230
Chapter 20
The Ortega Hilltop
ALTHOUGH my wife and daughter and those of my friends
who were in the secret considered the finding of six amulets
amply sufficient for the validation of the Parent collection, I
was still minded to secure a few more.
On Monday morning, July 1 2, ig#8, our medium came in at
ten o'clock and during our brief session Fuller again gave us
our marching orders. Our dialogue was short and to the point.
With the usual arrangement of the psychic and the trans-
mitter in one room, and I, with the receiver and my secretary,
in an adjoining room, I connected up the wall socket and im-
mediately heard a whisper. "Hello, Garland."
"Hello, Henry. Your voice is a bit thin this morning, but I
can hear you."
"Very well. You are ready to start?"
* /
"Yes, we are ready to go again to that hill at Capistrano.
You said there was not much digging,"
"You had better take a spade."
"I have a spade and two hoes in the car."
"That is plenty. The crosses are not buried deeply."
"Is the hilltop sharp and rocky?"
"No, it is rounded. Look under the rocks and around them."
"You must meet us there and tell us where to dig or we
would never find them. We are going by way of Elsinore this
time. Don't you get lost on the way."
"I'll be right with you in the car. Put the medium in the
front seat. I can talk to her there. I'll rap for you on the seat
231
The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
back of her. I can talk to her easily through ectoplasmic mat-
ter coming from her shoulder blades."
The morning was glorious, and as we rode we discussed the
unbelievable task to which we had set ourselves. Somewhere
in that range of mountains, on a hill indistinguishable from
scores of other hills, certain small pieces of metal had been
buried, and our only chance of finding them was by way of
rappings on the metal rod at the back of our front seat, or as
directed by faint whispers which appeared to issue from our
psychic's body in some way.
Coming at the hill from the opposite direction we failed to
recognize it. We drove beyond it for nearly a mile before we
halted for instructions. Fuller told us to go back, and under
his direction we arrived at the ravine in which we had found
the cross.
To climb up that steep gully was too difficult and I led the
way round to the western side of the hill where cattle paths
made climbing easier. It was a stiff climb, however, through
barbed grass and thorny bushes. We each carried a hoe which
served to steady us on the steep banks and to chop away cactus
and poison oak. The medium stood the exertion pretty well but
was fairly winded when she reached the top. I could not be-
lieve that she had ever been here before.
The summit was a gently rounded ridge in size about fifty
by one hundred feet, and from it the entire valley and the
shore of the sea could be seen. I thought of what Espejo had
said: "The Indians chose these hilltops to escape prying eyes
and because they carried them nearer the sun."
I turned to Mrs. Williams. "Fuller, is this the place?"
I could hear his whisper but I could not distinguish his
words. The psychic repeated them to me. "He says this is the
place."
232
The Ortega Hilltop
As she recovered her breath, the whispers became stronger.
They told us just where several of the crosses lay in their orig-
inal burial places, but Fuller said, "You'll need a spade. They
are fairly deep. Better look for those which have been washed
out and down the hill."
The ravine, which began at our feet, was steep and grassy,
but as we started down it, Fuller directed us to "rake the
leaves." The grass was dry and slippery and the shrubs were
so thick and overhanging that their branches rested like mats
on the ground. It was necessary to lift them or chop them away
before we could examine the ground under them. Fuller was
at our elbows. "To your right. Look closely. Keep in the water
course," he said. "Remember they were washed out and car-
ried down by rains."
After some twenty minutes of slipping and sliding and peer-
ing under every clump of shrubbery, I sat down to rake out
the banks of leaves and twigs which the spring rains had built
up. While we were both at work on a dike around a bunch of
bushes, Mrs. Williams called, "Wait a minute! I see one!"
As I watched her, she raked out from beneath this covert the
fragment of a cross. It was small and badly broken, but I con-
sidered it of the greatest value as evidence. Almost immediately
I caught sight of another one deep under the mass of drooping
shrubs.
On examination, this proved to be one of those on which
monkey heads were molded one of the most ancient of them
all.
"Fuller," I said, "these make our seventh and eighth crosses."
"All you need," Mrs. Williams reported as his reply. "There
are more here but you do not need them," he added.
"No, and yet now that we're here I'd like to find a few
more."
233
The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
For another half hour, with these two treasures carefully
pouched, I slid down the ravine. It was hot on that side of the
hill, and Mrs. Williams, who had injured her leg with the hoe,
was disposed to quit but I kept on. "It's like fishing, Fuller -"
I called out. "I expect any minute to get a bite."
"Better stop," he said. "I don't want you scrambling around
here in the heat."
At last I yielded and climbed back to the rounded summit.
A beautiful wind was blowing from the sea and the outlook
was wide and colorful. I could well understand that the In-
dians loved these high places.
Walking to the center of the grassy knoll, I said, "Fuller,
was this spot cleared and used for ceremonial dances in those
days?"
The psychic listened and replied, "He says it was."
"So that at last I am on the very soil where the sun-worship-
ing ceremony took place?"
"He says, 'You are.' "
The ravine was so steep that we decided to go back the way
we came. Notwithstanding the psychic's wounded leg, we
made a rapid descent and soon reached our car.
As I put the hoes in the car, I said to Mrs. Williams, "I shall
not ask you to take such a climb again."
For the first time she voiced resentment. "No, I shall do no
more such work."
"This ends all such expeditions for me. Without your aid I
couldn't find another cross in a hundred years. With it, I am
certain I could collect a thousand. But, as Fuller says, I have a
sufficiency. 1 have accomplished my purpose."
On the following morning Tuesday, July 1 3 with the
psychic sitting as usual in my study and while my wife, my
2 34
The Ortega Hilltop
secretary and I were gathered about the receiver in the adjoin-
ing room, I said, "Fuller, the story you conveyed to the psychic
on that hilltop is so valuable that I want you to repeat it here
so that I can hear it and my secretary can make record of it.
First of all, was that hill chosen and cleared for a ceremonial
meeting?"
"Yes, it was prepared for a sacrificial dance."
"How many took part in it?"
"I have been told that twenty-three took part in it."
"Were they the chief men of the tribe?"
"Yes, yes! The big men of the tribe warriors and medi-
cine men."
"Did they have a fire built in the center?"
"Yes, and they danced around it chanting their prayers."
"Did they hold this ceremony in the daytime or at night?"
"In the daytime. They were sun worshipers, and at night
there was no sun."
"So I assumed. Did each man, as Father Serra said, hold a
cross in his hand?"
"Yes, each man carried a cross or some other treasured ob-
ject to invoke the aid of his god. He held it toward the sun
while chanting his prayer."
"Could we reconstruct that chant?"
"I'll try to get it for you."
"I have heard the chants of other tribes the Sioux and
Cheyenne, for instance, and the chant of these sun worshipers
must have been similar. It must have run like this: 'O, father
sun, have pity on us. Give us good crops. Keep us fro7t? hunger.
We are 'weak we are poor pity us! No doubt they repeat-
ed this over and over. Did they call the sun Great Spirit?"
"Yes, Great Spirit. At the close of the dance each man
buried his cross as an offering."
235
The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
"Did they do this separately?"
"Yes, separately. There were no caches. Each man with-
drew from the circle and buried his cross apart from the others.
He picked out his place and buried his token where he wished
but not too far from the others. Animal heads on the crosses
signified that they invoked the Great Spirit to help them cap-
ture these animals."
"Just how did the Indians dig the holes in which to bury
crosses? They couldn't have had spades in those days."
"They used stone hatchets and sticks."
"Did they have more than one dance in any one spot?"
I asked this question on impulse and the answer, 'wholly
unexpected, opened up an entirely new concept of the prob-
lem I had been seeking to solve.
Fuller (or the Indian he was representing) replied, "No.
They cleared off a new spot on another hill each time they
held one of these sacrificial dances."
" Fuller, that is a totally new idea. If they never met twice
in the same place it follows that there are hundreds of hilltops
here in Southern California which were once used as dancing
places, and that hundreds of 'idols' remain to be discovered."
"That is the fact. There are many such hills with many un-
discovered crosses."
"My critical friends say, 'Is it not strange that no one else
reported to the museums the discovery of these artifacts?' "
"That is accounted for by the fact that these crosses were
buried on isolated, inaccessible hills covered with cactus and
far from roads of any kind."
"I begin to see it! Only by rare accident would any white
man stumble upon one of these inconspicuous objects even
after it had been washed down into a ravine or stream bed."
I had in mind the difficulty we had experienced in seeing
236
The Ortega Hilltop
those we had discovered the day before. No one not minutely
directed as we had been could have detected among the leaves
those small rusty pieces of lead.
Up to this moment I had thought of those dancing places
as habitual meeting places, abandoned only when the tribe mi-
grated to some other hunting ground. Another question was
suggested. "Did the medicine men ever return and dig up their
offerings?"
"Sometimes. After the rains they had prayed for had come,
or their plea for game had been granted, some of them would
return and recover their offerings for future use. If all crops
and game failed, they migrated, leaving their tokens behind."
"As these objects were sacred in their thought, I suppose
they considered it sacrilegious to dig them up."
"In some cases, yes, in other cases, no. I do not quite under-
stand their thought about that."
I now took up another line of thought. "Why are they so
eager to have us dig them up?"
"I believe that is simply out of a regard for their history.
They want you to know about their migrations and their life
here in this region. They also want it known that the white
man was here long before historians believe that he was."
"Even before Columbus?"
"Oh, yes many centuries before Columbus."
"Fuller, this information is deeply significant. The speci-
mens which you and the Indians helped me to find yesterday
bear the same Oriental heads which are on many others in the
collection."
"They all declare that they were brought here long before
the Europeans came and that they were originally used for
trade in Central America, as the North American Indians ac-
cepted beads. There's another angle, Garland, to your ques-
237
The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
tion, 'Why do they want us to find these crosses?' They want
you to know that they had their own crosses long before any
Christian crosses came."
"Did they create those earlier forms or did the original con-
cept come from the Old World?"
"I believe that many of them originated here and were used
as a symbol long before the explorers came, and that the
Europeans found them here when they arrived."
"Let us take up the matter of costume. What did the Indians
wear in these ceremonials? I read that they wore little cloth-
ing ordinarily, but they must have dressed up for these dances."
"They did. Like all primitive people, they had a traditional
ceremonial dress. They wore tails of animals dangling from
their belts, and skins of animals over their shoulders. Their faces
were painted. The big men of the tribe who took part in the
ceremonies wore tall headdresses of feathers."
"Did they wear those feathers like the Sioux or Cheyenne in
a bonnet? Or were the feathers attached to a band around their
heads?"
"In a band made of skin in which the feathers were held
sticking upright. According to their standing in the tribe, the
headdresses carried differing numbers of feathers. The chief
wore more than the other warriors. All were decorated accord-
ing to their rank. The medicine men not only selected the spot
for the ceremonial but chose the men who were to share it.
All came in their official robes."
"Did these especial ceremonials attending the burial of the
crosses extend farther north than San Luis Obispo?"
"I think so possibly into Northern California. Migrations
of the tribes were going on all the time in order to protect and
feed the people. There were many of these crosses in the
north."
238
The Ortega Hilltop
Cross representing sun rays. Said to
have been used in sun 'worship.
"All of which our ethnologists will deny, I suppose. Did the
Indians know where their ancestors got these crosses? "
"No, I think not."
"Did any white man ever see these sun dances?"
"No! No!" His tone was emphatic.
'*
239
The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
"Not even Garces?"
"No. No one at all. No one but chiefs and medicine men
were allowed to see them, not even the women of the tribe.
They selected hilltops for their meetings so that they could
see far away on all sides and easily detect the approach of in-
truders. Their gods were worshiped in secrecy."
"Did some of the mission neophytes occasionally take part
in the ceremony?"
"Possibly, but not with the knowledge of the padres."
"Of course not. Is there a possibility of getting a sidelight
on these ceremonies from publications of the Indian Bureau?"
"Perhaps, and in records of the mission. I do not know. The
only way that a white man could have found out about them
would have been from some Indian friend. A friend of Garces,
for instance, might have confided in him. You may find a record
of such a ceremony in some obscure book."
"There is not a line about it in any of the books by the
padres. Father Serra told me that he knew of the dances but
had never seen them."
"I believe, Garland, that if you search official records you
will find a description, somewhere, of this dance. Try books
on Indian ceremonials. There are a number dealing with that
subject."
"The museums know nothing of them. They don't believe
in my collection. I doubt if any of them will display it. But
no matter; I have it safely in my study."
"I am quite convinced that you will somewhere find records
of these ceremonial dances. I'll try to get information as to
which books might contain accounts."
"I'll be greatly obliged if you will. Now, Fuller, I have a
personal question to ask. I wish you would explain to me the
process by which you discovered these things and how you
240
The Ortega Hilltop
were able to lead us to the exact spot where they were buried."
This I intended to be something of a poser, but he did not
hesitate a moment.
"Having received the needed information from the Indians
who buried them, I myself went to the ground to investigate,
to see that the soil has not been disturbed."
"You mean you go there in thought?"
"Yes."
"It is difficult for me to understand that. I can't understand
how you could go to a certain spot in thought and tell the
number of idols to be found there."
"I shall try to explain. I have told you that I cannot see the
crosses except through your eyes, but I can tell if the soil is
undisturbed or if the Indians are telling the truth. The Indians
are always quite certain of the number of their amulets and
where they buried them."
I put another puzzling question.
"You say you cannot see except through our eyes, and yet
before we had even neared the spot you directed us to it. Take,
for example, that inconspicuous ravine to which you directed
us, indicating the exact spot in which to search. How could
you give us that information before we saw it? If you could
see it only through our eyes, how could you tell me that I was
standing on a cross?"
He quite patiently continued. "The Indian remembers only
approximately where he buried his idol, but as you draw close
to the spot and begin looking about you, he sees through your
eyes just as I see through your eyes. He then recalls the pre-
cise spot and tells me where it is."
"All this is tremendously interesting, Fuller. The cloud of
mystery is lifting, but I must carry the test a little farther. I
shall use it to enrich the last chapter of my book. I must round
241
The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
out this section of exploration before passing on to the question
of identity. Could you tell me the date of this particular dance?
Was the mission already established at Capistrano?"
u Yes. The dance and burial of the crosses on this particular
hill took place, I should say, about 1830. That would be about
one hundred years ago."
"Were there any metal workers at this time among the Cali-
fornia tribes anyone who could have made these objects?"
"There may have been. I don't think so. I don't know."
"I shall be glad if you can suggest any reading I might do
to confirm the information gained in these sittings. I valued
Onate and Espejo especially for the reason that their testimony
was not prejudiced by religious creeds, but neither of them
ever saw one of these dances."
Thus ended a conversation which, had it taken place in the
dark or in the presence of the psychic, could be put aside as
something fraudulent or imagined, but the fact that the
medium, sitting at a distance in an adjoining room at ten in the
morning, had no part in it, presents a new complication.
Suppose she heard my questions, where did she get her
information? The answers were fluent, definite and logical.
I cannot swear that the whispers came from Fuller, but I
talked as easily with this invisible personality as I would have
done had I called up a scientific friend on the telephone to
discuss a similar subject. Whoever my informant was, his re-
plies were clear and unhesitating, and I heard every word of
them. The above report embodies almost exactly his wording,
for notes were taken at the moment and the secretary typed
her notes immediately; and I was able within an hour to fill in
from memory whatever had escaped her. Nothing essential
was left out.
The only barrier to the freedom of this dialogue was a
242
The Ortega Hilltop
feeling of haste on my part, a desire to make the most of every
moment. It was precisely the feeling I experienced when using
a long distance telephone. I could arrange the course of my
interrogation, but had no time to follow out the suggestions
contained in the answers.
It will be noted that Fuller's information agrees in substance
with that given in less detail by Fathers Serra, Garces, Marcos,
Lasuen and Martinez. They all drew a broad line between the
decorated barbaric "idols," and the simple cross form of the
missions. Fuller agreed also with Espejo in giving reasons for
the choice of hilltops and for the burial of the artifacts, and
finally he suggested an explanation for the fact that no one,
previous to the Parents, had ever reported the finding of these
objects. Being buried on high, cactus-covered hills, inaccessible
for all but the strongest men, hills which had no interest for
the white man, they had never come under the eye of a herder
or huntsman.
No doubt, all these agreements will be taken by the critic
as proof that only one mind was involved the medium's
or that I and my small circle contributed the information. I
leave that problem with the reader.
In my diary that night I set down this comment: "This in-
credible sequence of events, beginning with my visit to Parent
in 1933, and ending four years later in a series of dialogues
with a Spanish explorer of 1 540, has convinced me that these
'relics,' so patiently and laboriously brought together by Violet
and Gregory Parent are real.
"Of no value in themselves, they deserve, as indexes of
ancient customs to be placed among other primitive records
of tribal migrations. Will any museum accept my method of
authentication?"
Chapter 21
Father Marcos
OUR sitting on July 2 3 was one of the most convincing tests
of our series, for I had again removed the receiver to a room
in the east end of the house, thus putting seventy feet, a hall
and two closed doors between Mrs. Williams and us. She could
not possibly hear even the murmur of my voice, as Mrs. Gar-
land, who remained with her, was able to testify.
Fuller at once spoke. "Garland, I have with me this morning
someone very important. It is Father Marcos, who accom-
panied Coronado in 1540."
All I knew of Father Marcos at this point was that he was
one of the earliest of the missionary explorers of New Mexico,
and as he was reported to have preceded Espejo, I welcomed
him. His testimony was especially valuable.
After greeting him and thanking him for coming, I put my
essential question: "Father Marcos, I wish you would tell me
something about the objects which are displayed on this table."
I took one up. "Did you see crosses like this in your ex-
plorations?"
"Yes, indeed."
"They were in the possession of the Arizona Indians?"
"Yes, that is correct."
"What was the date of your first expedition?"
"That was in 1539. 1 preceded Espejo."
"By how many years?"
"I should say about fifty. I am not sure - time is so vague
now."
244
Father Marcos
"Were you surprised to find the Indians of that region in
possession of crosses?"
"Yes indeed."
"Do you think that these crosses or their idea, came from
Europe, brought by sailors long before Cortez?"
His reply was wholly unexpected in content. "/ think they
'were a memory of the dim past. Their form represented the
four quarters of the earth, probably."
"Some of them, as you see, are decorated with turbaned
heads. What can you tell me of them?"
"They are Oriental heads. The faces resemble certain Orien-
tals. They came from the Old World. At one time there was a
land bridge between Asia and the Americas."
"Would you say that such a bridge existed in comparatively
recent times, say within the last two thousand years?"
"I think so. Of course, these crosses do not go back that far,
but Oriental peoples with dark skin invaded these coun-
tries many centuries ago. I believe the Orientals mixed with
the American Indians but retained a memory of their own
peoples."
"I see. Some of these faces are essentially Aryan Anglo-
Saxon, in fact and for that reason are viewed with suspicion
by my ethnological friends, mainly because the faces are
neither Spanish nor Indian. If we could prove them to be from
Arabia we would have a point in their favor."
"I cannot tell you about that. I can only say that I have
seen the Indians of this region wearing many like them. That
was fifty years before Espejo came."
"Father Marcos, I am holding in my hand a cross which has
on it a handsome woman's face. It is certainly not Indian in
character. Can you see it? "
"Yes. It probably represents a goddess."
245
The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
"Who among those Indians would put a goddess on a cross?
Not an ordinary Indian? "
"Probably an artisan of the temple."
"To me the most inexplicable of all the decorations is the
recurrence of these turbaned heads. All of you invisibles agree
in your explanations, but I can find nothing in print to tell
me whence they came or who brought them here."
"They go back so very far that it is difficult to find a record
of them."
"I grant that. Now, here is a very strange cross. On it a rab-
bit appears to be feeding and here in the middle of it is a
butterfly. Did you see decorations like that among the Indians
of New Mexico?"
"No, not like that. I was surprised to find crosses among the
Indians, but I cannot now recognize individual crosses in
detail."
"Did you see the Indians wearing them?"
"Yes, on the forehead, tied on with bark or fiber from plants.
Some were worn on the forearm and others around the waist."
I laid one of the smaller ones on my forehead. "Did they
wear them flat on the forehead like this, held on by a fillet? "
"Yes, but not everyone wore them; only certain men of
the tribe wore them for some mystic reason. Some of the
plaques were kept in their houses."
"Their houses were flimsy, were they not?"
"Yes, they were just shacks made of leaves and branches of
trees, but they kept their treasures in some secret places in
their houses."
"They must have had a deep regard for these objects. They
were, I suppose, the only nonperishable objects in their pos-
session."
Thus far this dialogue had proceeded fluently, but at this
246
Father Marcos
These are said to be representations of
the track of the sloth.
moment a commotion in the receiver indicated trouble of some
kind at Mrs. Williams' end of the line. No word came through
for several minutes, and when the whispering voice returned
I was surprised to hear it say, "Garland, this is Albert Bigelow
Paine."
Paine was an old friend who had died but a short time be-
247
The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
fore. His best-known work was a four-volume biography of
Mark Twain, and it was natural for him to say, "I have Mark
Twain with me."
After greeting Albert I said, "I am immensely pleased to
have Mark Twain come. Can he speak?"
"He can and he will."
After a short pause I heard these words, u Mr. Garland, this
is Mark Twain."
I had never heard him allude to himself in this way and it
would have seemed more natural if he had said, "This is Sam
Clemens."
"I am delighted to hear you speak, Mr. Clemens. I want to
congratulate you on the very fine production they have made
of your Prince and the Pauper"
He made no reply to this, but remarked with characteristic
deliberation, "I am very honored to be here."
"You should not put it that way, Mr. Clemens. To have
you in my house is a great honor to me. Have you ever spoken
to anyone in this way before?"
"No, I have not. I should like to speak to my daughter."
"I should be happy to send her a message. Shall I do so?"
"Yes."
Again a commotion in the box prevented Clemens from go-
ing on, and Fuller said, "We'll have to stop."
Up to this moment the sitting was an almost perfect test of
Mrs. Williams' supernormal powers. She knew nothing of
Father Marcos and she was too far away from me to be aware
of my questions, and yet this dialogue ran its fluent way with-
out hesitation. This report is not verbatim but its essentials are
recorded. So far as a long hall and two closed doors can war-
rant, Mrs. Williams had not heard a syllable of my questions.
At this point we all went down to lunch, and I mentioned
248
Father Marcos
briefly that I had been talking with Father Marcos, and also
with Mark Twain.
At two o'clock we returned to our seats and, under the
same conditions, resumed our sitting. Fuller at once said, "Gar-
land, Father Marcos is still here."
Again I heard his strong, clear whisper, "Senor Garland,
have you any more questions you would like to ask?"
"Yes. I am a little confused about the date of your coming.
Father Espejo made his trip in 1583. Your date was earlier?"
"Yes, I was with Coronado in 1 540, but I came back alone
thirteen years later."
"How long were you on that last trip?"
"About eighteen months."
"Were you sent for the same purpose as Espejo? to look
for mission sites? "
"Yes."
"Did you know Melchior Diaz?"
"Yes. Melchior Diaz.
"What was his date? Was he before or after you?"
"About the same time. He also came with Coronado. He
was not one of the fathers he was just an explorer. He came
back into the Colorado River region after Coronado."
"What did you mean this morning, Father Marcos, by a
land bridge'?"
"There must have been such a bridge between the Asiatic
countries and North America."
"Do you refer to the, bridge of islands west of Alaska or
across the South Seas?"
"It is hard to say. There must have been a land bridge some-
where between Asia and America. There were many dark-
skinned peoples who came down the coast of North America."
249
The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
"Father Marcos, referring back to these turbaned peoples
did they come down our coast?"
"No doubt of it. They came long before the others."
"Do you mean to say that the American Indians wearing
these crosses retained a memory of their Oriental, dark-
skinned ancestors?"
"Yes. They soon mixed with the races already here, but they
brought with them and preserved many costumes and symbols
of their own race."
"Did ships touch Central America in the ninth and tenth
centuries?"
"Oh, yes. Many people came to Central America in boats.
They came by way of the Atlantic."
"Father Marcos, I have here a cross on which are charming,
youthful heads with hair parted in the middle. Some of them
look like modern college boys. Can you explain the presence
of such heads?"
"Yes. There were such people among the tribes in Colombia
and Peru. I have seen many of them. I have seen many blonde,
fair, Indian women with long hair reaching to their waists in
Yucatan and also in Bogota. I made many trips to South
America. I explored many places there."
"This interview has been extremely interesting and valuable,
Father Marcos. I am much obliged to you. Have you any ob-
jection to my quoting you in my book?"
"I shall be pleased to have you do so."
"The information which you give you who go so far back
in the history of this continent is of the greatest value to me."
"I shall be pleased to help you at any time. Good-by."
Although he spoke with a marked accent, his whisper was
clear, almost a tone, and I heard him perfectly. There were
250
Father Marcos
touches of poetry in what he said and his words conveyed the
picture of a very serious and scholarly man.
On referring to Engelhardt's history, The Franciscans in
Arizona, I found that all of Father Marcos' personal history
which had come to me over my one-way wire was correct.
There was some question, however, as to the names of those
who companioned him on his first trip, and to have that point
cleared up, I asked for him again a few days later.
Since my first interview with him, I had learned that he ex-
plored Arizona in 1539, a year earlier than Coronado, and I
understood Fuller's estimate of him he <was an important
witness. On July 26, Fuller again announced him. "Father
Marcos is here."
Again a whisper with a pleasing Spanish accent said, "Senor
Garland, this is Father Marcos."
"Father Marcos, since talking with you a few days ago, I
have learned that you were not only a great explorer in your
day but a learned man, the author of several books on Quito
and Peru. I desire to read them. Can you tell me if they have
been translated into English?"
"I think so."
"What titles would they bear? Can you tell me the translated
titles?"
There was a pause as if he were searching his memory. "I
think it is The Missionary Point of View in Peru. I believe
you will find that book in the library of your town. There are
three of my books in all." (I did not know this and I am quite
sure that the psychic was equally ignorant.)
I decided to apply my most convincing test. "Father Marcos,
I have in my hand a letter from the museum in Mexico City.
I should like to have you translate it for me, as a supreme test
of the powers of the medium."
25*
The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
"Very well. You read it with me and I shall try to translate."
I laid the letter on the table and pointed with my finger.
He said, "The first few lines are not difficult: 'With reference
to your letter, it has been directed to the department to which
it belongs ' "
"That is correct. Now for the second paragraph."
" In the religious conquest of Southern California and
Mexico, there were many of these so-called crosses dis-
tributed.' "
"Are you in the third paragraph?"
"Yes. 'With regard to the crosses represented in the photo-
graph, we have none in the museum.' The writer then goes on
to say, 'They were known to be made of lead because there
were many wars and it was easy to obtain lead from the
soldiers' bullets, and lead was easily worked."
It was again evident that the invisible was reading the letter.
"Father Marcos, this last paragraph is especially important.
Can you read it?"
"Just a minute," he whispered and then proceeded. " 'The
crosses were held by the missions and distributed among the
natives or Indians.' "
"What is the meaning of the words, Tudiendo suceder?' "
(See appendix.)
"I cannot put that into English. The writer goes on to say,
'They were abandoned by the natives when they left their
places of abode. Then the churches inherited them.' Ecclesias
means churches, of course. 'The Indians' or 'The churches' . . .
I cannot translate this paragraph into English very well."
"You have made the test most satisfactorily. Father Marcos,
I would like to have you tell me why the crosses were never
spoken of in any printed reporteither by the church or repre-
sentatives of the museums?"
252
Father Marcos
"The reason is simple. The Roman Catholic Church did not
wish to have it known that the natives possessed crosses which
had nothing to do with Christianity. The museums would not
accept them because they were so common."
"You said the other day that the idea of the cross very likely
developed natively in the New World, and that its crude form
probably originated from the idea of the four quarters of the
earth."
"Yes, that is correct."
"Some authorities say that it may have arisen from a dim
memory of a cross brought here centuries before from
Europe."
"That is possible. The use of the cross undoubtedly sprang
up thousands of years ago. It is very easy to make just cross
two pieces of wood. It is so simple a form that it would natur-
ally be adopted by different peoples as a symbol."
"I am told that there are altars in the southern countries in
the form of a black cross. Did you see altars like that?"
"Yes, the peoples had many such altars. I believe many such
are still standing."
"The Indians of the south were all sun worshipers?"
"Oh, yes."
"Father Marcos, when I spoke to you the other morning
of a small metal cross with very charming faces on it, I did
not have it before me. I have it now, and I wish you to examine
it. Did you see natives of that type wearing their hair in that
way?"
"Yes, I have seen young people like those fair-skinned
Nordic in appearance."
"Why would they put such lovely, youthful faces on their
crosses? You will observe that here are six on each of these
crosses."
253
The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
"To represent some god, I should think."
"Here is one face which is especially lovely. Can you see it
this one at the bottom? It is quite beautiful a girlish face?"
"Yes, it is a very fine face."
"It might be the head of an Anglo-Saxon girl."
"Yes, it is Nordic."
"Why would a cross like this be so decorated? Was it out
of regard for youth?"
"It would seem so."
"It looks so modern that all my ethnological friends declare
it to be a fraud, something of the present day."
"The present-day people do not realize that there were
many fair, beautiful peoples in those hot countries."
"Father Marcos, there is some discussion as to the names of
the men who went with you on your 1539 entrada. Can you
name them for me?"
"Just a minute. I do not remember right now."
He paused so long that I made a suggestion: "Was one of
them a man named Daniel?"
"No, no."
"Was it something like Santa Maria?"
"That is correct! It was De Santas Maria."
"I find in Engelhardt a question as to who these men were.
Can you tell me their given names?"
"No, I cannot, but I shall bring one of the men from my
expedition to help on this matter."
"Thank you, Father Marcos. I should like to have you come
again."
"I shall be glad to help in any way that I can. Adios."
"Adios."
On the following day, I again asked for Father Marcos.
Fuller said, "Just a minute I don't know if he's here." We
254
Father Marcos
then heard him call, "Father Marcos! Father Marcos! Father
Marcos!"
A minute later came a whisper, "Sefior Garland, this is
Father Marcos."
"Thank you for coming. Father Marcos, you said yesterday
that you would find out the names of the two men who went
with you on your entrada"
"I have done so. You were right: one of them 'was named
Daniel."
"And the other?"
"Martin."
"What was the last name? Were they brothers?"
"Yes, they were brothers and Santas Maria was their last
name."
"Were they from a city of that name?"
"Yes, they were from such a city."
"That is important. Engelhardt says there is only one writer
who recorded this information. To get it directly from you
is very important to me."
Later still, Father Marcos corrected the second name saying,
"He was called Tony," which agrees with Bishop Salpointe's
notation the only confirmation Engelhardt was able to find.
This, it seems to me, is an excellent bit of evidence for those
who argue for the survival of the individual and of his per-
sistent memory of life on this plane.
"Father Marcos, did you know Padre Nadal, who is said to
have entered New Mexico in 1538?"
"I did not know him, but I have heard of him."
"There is still another early explorer I wish to ask about:
Juan Asuncion."
"I have heard of him also."
The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
"Did he make a report?"
"Oh, yes. Everyone of the padres who explored had to make
a report to the church."
"Father Marcos, I would not detract from you the honor of
being the first to enter Arizona, but Engelhardt says these
men came before you."
"No, I came before Padres Asuncion and Nadal. One padre
did precede me, coming in 1 520 a padre from the Franciscan
order."
"What was his name?"
"I shall find out for you and tell you tomorrow."
"Thank you. Here is my query: Might not the man who
came in 1 520 have carried the idea of the cross to the Indians?"
"No, no! The crosses were here centuries before any white
man came. / have spoken 'with the Indians and I knoiv. I shall,
however, try to bring the padre who preceded me."
"Father Marcos, as a scholar as well as an explorer you will
understand that these crosses in themselves are not important,
but they may give evidence of survival after death. In securing
your testimony and that of other explorers unknown to me,
I shall present very valuable material to the reading world. Be-
fore you go, here is a minor matter in which I should like to be
instructed. I find that you were called 'Fray Marcos de Nitza.'
What is the difference between 'father' and 'fray'?"
"The fray was a brother a beginner. He had certain duties
in the mission which would prepare him to become a padre."
"I see, and the lay brother had no official standing in the
church?"
"That is right."
"There were then among these explorers three ranks of
men: father, friar and lay brother."
"That is correct."
256
Father Marcos
"Thank you. Tomorrow I hope to talk with Nadal and the
padre who preceded you."
"Good-by."
What can I say to emphasize the astounding character of
this interview? This genial, scholarly and intrepid explorer
could not have been a creation of my mind, for I knew noth-
ing about him. He could not have been a creation of the psy-
chic's mind, for she had no means of knowing what my ques-
tions were, and there was no information in our library
concerning Father Marcos as an author. I secured that later
from the Library of Congress. At the time of our interview,
he seemed as real as any of my friends. His very human desire
to be known as the earliest explorer of New Mexico added to
my sense of his identity.
257
Chapter 22
Alvarado Closes the Case for Guatemala
As MY plan from the beginning had been to find the place of
origin of these artifacts, and to discover a reason for their mak-
ing and their burial, I had turned first of all to the history of
California's missions. I called the padres from their long silence
and requested their aid in my research. Their testimony had
all been to the effect that the barbaric "idols" had come from
Central America.
To supplement this information, I had pushed my inquiries
back to those heroic priests who explored the wilderness of
New Spain before the missions were established. I called upon
Father Garces of 1771, devoted pioneer of the church. From
him, I passed naturally to Ofiate, 1604, and Espejo, 1583, lead-
ers of military expeditions into New Mexico. In Onate's printed
records, I had found the first official testimony concerning the
use of metal crosses and amulets by the Indians of Arizona
more than three centuries ago. Father Marcos confirmed this
report.
My success in summoning these explorers, emboldened me
to push my investigation still deeper into Mexican history.
"All the testimony pointed to Central America as the place
where these artifacts were made and from whence they came,"
I said to Fuller. "I should now speak to Coronado, whose ex-
pedition in 1540 led him deep into New Mexico. He was a
soldier and entirely free from the control of the church, and
can tell me what I most need to know. I should also speak with
258
Alvarado Closes the Case for Guatemala
Alvarado. It was from his stern rule in Guatemala that the
natives of Quiche and Yucatan fled to the north, bringing their
treasures with them. His testimony should be conclusive."
Fuller listened to my request and blithely said, "I shall round
up these world-famous men tomorrow."
If I had really believed in his power to do this, I might have
hesitated, but I did not. I was amused by his audacity and the
bland confidence of his reply.
"Why not Cortez?" I asked.
I must confess my ignorance of these Spanish conquerors.
I knew very little of Coronado and nothing of Alvarado (ex-
cept that he commanded the Spanish army during the absence
of Cortez) and I purposely refrained from informing myself
concerning them. I wished to get the stories of these two ad-
venturers from their own voices in my telephone.
On the nineteenth of July, Fuller's round-up took place.
No sooner was Mrs. Williams shut away in my study, with
my wife, while my secretary and I were seated about our re-
ceiver in an adjoining room, than Fuller spoke curtly, "Coro-
nado is here."
This interview is so important that I must repeat that the
door was tightly closed between my study and the room where
we sat and I am quite certain that the psychic could not, nor-
mally, hear a connected sentence of my questioning. She might
have distinguished an occasional word.
A strong whisper said, "This is Francisco Vasquez de Coro-
nado,"
"Shall I address you as Senor Coronado or Capitan Coro-
nado?"
"Call me nothing but Coronado," he replied with quiet dig-
nity.
I went straight to my purpose. "Coronado, this is my prob-
259
The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
lem. I have before me specimens from a collection of some
fifteen hundred artifacts which were recently discovered here
in Southern California and whose authenticity has been called
in question by several archaeologists."
"May I see them?"
"Most certainly. I am eager to show them to you and I should
like to have you tell me if you saw objects of like nature among
the Indians of Arizona and California in 1540."
Here I laid a handful of the crosses upon the table and await-
ed his reply.
His words were few and to the point. "I have seen many
like them. They were very common. The Indians made many
such crosses of various sizes and kinds."
"Did you say the Indians made them?"
"Yes, the Indians of the south. I saw many of them in Central
America."
"Did you actually see the southern Indians making them?"
"No, but I did see them wearing them in Mexico and in
Guatemala and Yucatan."
"Were they mostly made in Yucatan?"
"They were made all over the southern part of this conti-
nent."
Taking up a bright silver specimen I held it above the table.
"Here is an especially handsome item. It is unusually large and
has on it six or eight heads of wolves, and in the middle is a
sculptured design which looks like the head of a ram."
"It is a ram's head. The Indians put many animal heads on
their crosses in order to designate the tribe to which they be-
longed. They did not exactly worship animals, but they held
them in high esteem. The wolf tribe, for instance, held the
wolf in especial esteem."
"I understand that, Coronado, for among certain North
260
Alvarado Closes the Case for Guatemala
The Monkey and Panther clans arc
symbolized on this amulet.
American Indians I found a curious regard for the coyote, the
bear or the owl."
"Yes, that is true. All these crosses and their tribal orna-
ments were handed down from one generation to another and
261
The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
from one tribe to another. They go back hundreds of years."
"That is what I have been told and that is what I wanted
you to confirm. I particularly value your testimony, for you
were early in Arizona. Some think it possible that the natives
got the concept of the cross from some Christian explorer long
before the coming of Cortez."
"No. On the contrary, the cross concept probably arose
from a consideration of the four corners of the earth. It was not
especially the symbol of Christianity. It preceded the Chris-
tian church."
"That is what I have read in books on ethnology. Now here
is a very striking specimen. I have only one like it. To me its
lines seem to signify the sun the rays, as you see, stream out
from several circles. The Indians were all sun worshipers, were
they not?"
" Yes, they worshiped the sun as the creator of light."
"They used the heads of animals as symbols of sacrifice, not
as an object of worship."
"Yes, and also as a sign of their tribe or clan."
"I come now to another singular fact, Coronado, and I hope
you will be quite candid about it. All the mission fathers and
the books concerning the missions, so far as I have read, fail
to mention the fact that these heathen tribes already possessed
crosses when the first Christian cross was brought into New
Spain."
"That is true and quite natural. The missionaries shrank
from letting the Mother Church in Spain know that they had
found these barbaric peoples already making use of the cross,
and for that reason they carefully ignored it in their reports."
"In the books of Engelhardt I found no mention of it. Onate
gave me the first clue when he stated that in 1604 he saw In-
dians wearing metal crosses in their hair."
262
Alvarado Closes the Case for Guatemala
"That was true. I myself in 1 540 saw the Indians wearing
crosses in that manner."
"Do you mean they were stuck in a band or fillet?"
"No, they were laid on the forehead. That is, the smaller
ones were so worn."
I presented a larger specimen. "Did they wear larger ones
like this?"
"No, the larger ones were kept in their houses and used in
different ceremonials."
"Returning to this long one, apparently of silver, would
such a cross be carried in the dances by the medicine man?"
"Probably, or by one of the chief men of the tribe."
"Here is a very strange one on which are heads wearing tall
headdresses. What would these heads represent?"
"Probably they are faces of the gods they worshiped."
"Its shape certainly has nothing to do with the Christian
cross."
"None of them had. The faces on this one probably repre-
sented Quetzalcoatl."
Taking up one of the small plaques I held it to the light.
"Here is an object which has puzzled all of those who have ex-
amined it. Have you seen anything like it? It has on it, you
perceive, a bell surrounded by ten Oriental heads, each wear-
ing a turban or crown."
"No, I have not seen anything like it before except in stone.
It might have been used as a symbol in the market place. It
was the custom for someone to ring a bell to call the people to
the market place for trading or conference. The bell on the
plaque might be a symbol of that bell."
"All the heads surrounding the bell are wearing Hindu tur-
bans. What is the meaning of that?"
"Possibly the plaques are Moorish. The Moors and Spanish
263
The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
were near neighbors in those days. They may have brought
them and used them in trade with the Indians."
"That was long before your time."
"Oh, yes, centuries before the conquest. Many different
explorers came to Mexico before Cortez."
"In what century would you say?"
"I have heard that in the tenth and eleventh centuries many
came and never went back."
"Someone has told me that these plaques were used in trade
as we use dollars today."
"That is possible, and therefore the bell."
"Can you tell me why there are always ten faces surround-
ing the bell? Do they represent the phases of the moon?"
"I do not know. I cannot see them."
"They are very dim, I will admit. Here is a cross which
looks old. Do you think that it might go back to the twelfth
century?"
"I think it might."
"Coronado, I am tremendously obliged to you. Your testi-
mony is most conclusive because you went among these Indians
before the missions were established. My skeptical friends can-
not accuse you of any connection with the missions."
"No, I had nothing to do with the missions. I was here in
1540 searching for Quivira. After me came Melchior Diaz,
who found and crossed what is now the Colorado River."
"I wonder if I could get in touch with him."
"I have spoken with him. His testimony would be the same
as mine."
"I am deeply grateful to you and will not detain you longer.
I shall quote you, if you do not object, in the book I am about
to publish."
"I shall be delighted to have a place in it."
264
Alvarado Closes the Case for Guatemala
"Thank you, and good-by."
"Good-by."
After a moment of silence Fuller spoke, "Garland, I have
Alvarado here. He preceded Coronado. He was the lieutenant
of Cortez. Would you like to speak with him?"
"Yes, indeed!"
A strong whisper with a touch of Spanish in its accent an-
nounced, "Pedro de Alvarado."
"Alvarado, I greet you. I am especially eager to talk with
you, for you knew the people of Yucatan and Guatemala. Per-
haps you heard my talk with Coronado. Here are some crosses
from my collection. Have you seen crosses like these in Gua-
temala?"
"Yes, I saw many like them. They were common in Guate-
mala during my stay there in 1524. The people of that region
made them and carried them and used them in their ceremoni-
als."
I held up one with two heads on it, each head adorned with
a tall headdress. "Here is a most ancient one. Is it from
Quiche?"
"Yes. That is Quetzalcoatl, the god of the humming bird."
"Did you see the natives wearing similar crosses in their
hair?"
"Yes, and also on their arms the forearm. The large ones
they wore around the waist. Others were kept in their houses
and used to appease the gods."
"I have been told that they buried them on high hills as
sacrifices to their gods. Did they worship the animals which
they put on their crosses?"
"No, they 'were merely the sign of the tribe. When the mon-
key or wolf was sacrificed, he was asked in the ceremony to
invoke the good will of the sun god. The sun god was supreme.
265
The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
When the Indians held their ceremonials and said their prayers,
they asked the monkey (if it was the monkey tribe) to go to
the god of the sun and beseech aid. They believed the animals
could do that."
"I am told that they went to the top of high hills not only
to escape prying eyes but also because it brought them nearer
the sun."
"That is true. I was called by Guatemalans 'Child-of-the-
Sun' Donatiuh. Did you know that?"
"No, but I find it most interesting. I am told that the people
of Guatemala and Quiche migrated up along the coast."
"That is right. They did."
"Was that before you became governor or after?"
"Before. At different times they migrated. The Indians
were a nomadic people. They moved north or south in small
groups. When Cortez came many were driven out. They did
not wish to become Christians or be under the white man's
dominance. So they migrated, some going north, some south."
"Does that account for their presence in Southern Califor-
nia?"
"Yes. They went even farther. Many kept on to northern
countries even to cold climates. Some went as far as Alaska.
Their crosses have been overlooked so far, but tribes in the
North had them." (This was a totally new concept to me.)
"Alvarado, I have myself discovered eight of these crosses
in this region, and I am now seeking the places where they
originated. Were they made in Guatemala?"
"The Quiche people made many. You see I was viceroy
of Guatemala, sent out by Spain. You know about my expedi-
tion, do you not? I was fitted out with an expedition to come
to California in 1539, but I was killed before I started. I was
crushed by rocks many falling rocks. So I never led the ex-
266
Alvarado Closes the Case for Guatemala
Amulet with butterfly in center.
pedition. Cabrillo took it after my death." (I knew nothing
of this event.)
"I greatly value your testimony, Alvarado. You alone of
all my informants go back to the source of these objects. I feel
267
The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
that in you I have what is called a final and competent witness."
"I shall be happy to come again."
"I shall call for you at need and, if you do not object, I will
put your testimony in my book."
"I shall be delighted. Adios."
This account of his death by "falling rocks, many rocks"
was so unexpected and so surprising that I turned to the his-
torians for verification. One authority said, "He was killed in
an affray with the Indians near Guadalajara"; another stated
that he was crushed by his own horse which slipped and fell
upon him. Five widely differing dates were given of his birth,
but all agreed that he died in 1541. Cabrillo's expedition to
California followed in 1542. These discrepancies led me to
"call him up" again.
On September 14, Fuller again succeeded in bringing him,
and I took up the discussion of these various disagreements.
"Alvarado, what was the date of your birth?"
After some hesitation he replied, "1486."
"How old were you when you came to Mexico?"
"I was a young man twenty-six."
"In our former talk you said you were killed by falling
rocks. Did the Indians tumble these rocks down upon you?"
"I do not know if it was Indians or a landslide. In the biog-
raphy of me, Bancroft and Engelhardt both mention that it
was due to the Indians."
"Yes, they say in an affray with Indians."
"It may have been. I did not see any Indians. I was going
along the road."
"In the daytime?"
"No, in early dusk. Suddenly rocks came tumbling down
upon me."
"Were you alone?"
268
Alvarado Closes the Case for Guatemala
"There was a soldier riding back of me. He was not hurt."
"Then he could have made a report."
"He did. I believe it has been translated into English. Does
not Bancroft mention that?"
"No. His account is very brief."
"It may be that this soldier saw the Indians. It was all over
before I knew what had happened."
This statement is curiously at variance with the stories re-
corded by the early historians, who were also entirely wrong.
In a definitive biography written by John E. Kelly, and
published by the Princeton Press in 1922, I found much hith-
erto unused and authoritative material. This book, evidently
a carefully studied thesis, presents the only complete and au-
thentic story in English of Alvarado's incredible career and
tragic death.
According to documents quoted by this writer, Alvarado
was crushed by a horse ridden by his aide. He was on foot at
this moment, and Montoya, the aide, in whirling his mount
too suddenly, caused him to rear and fall upon his commander.
Alvarado did not die at once. He lived long enough to dic-
tate and sign his will. This testament and his signature are
given in Kelly's book. The question with me is this: "If I had
read this book before my last interview with Alvarado, what
would the story of his death have been?"
At a still later test sitting I asked Alvarado these questions:
"Did you wear a beard?"
"Yes."
"Was it red?"
"No, yellow."
"Did you have abundant hair?"
"No."
"Did your hair stand out from your head?"
269
The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
"Yes, like wire."
"Why did they call you 'Child of the Sun'?"
"It may be that it was because I was like a sun god having
much strength and power."
At this point the whispering grew faint and finally ceased.
Since then I have been unable to recall him for further ques-
tioning.
At the close of this interview Fuller jestingly whispered,
"Why not Columbus?"
"No. So far as I am concerned, this closes the argument for
the artisans of Quiche and Guatemala. Alvarado was their
ruler, he saw them wearing these amulets in 1 524. 1 see no point
in going beyond his testimony."
270
Chapter 23
San Luis Obispo
As A scrupulously candid historian, I must record the fact
that my invisible guides were not infallible. On the contrary,
their information was often confused and contradictory. They
talked like human beings, and like human beings they made
mistakes or were sadly misinformed. Considered as expressions
of the psychic's mind (or of the minds in our circle), they may
be excused for occasional errors.
From the beginning, they delivered messages which could
not be verified. They ascribed to one man experiences which
belonged to another. They foretold events which did not
come to pass. They definitely and positively promised to
give us their ectoplasmic portraits, confidently declaring that
their forms would be found upon our films, but development
revealed no "extras." They told us that a pointed mound on
a San Jacinto hill had been made by the Indians, but my fellow
investigator, Major Lewis, who climbed to the mound, report-
ed it to be a natural formation.
Similarly, we failed to find signs of an underground house
or khiva on the Camarillo hill, but that the psychic trusted in
the statements of the voices was evidenced by the fact that
she twice climbed that cactus-covered slope. She was equally
confident that by following the guidance of the voice calling
itself Father Lasuen we would find the silver caches. In short,
while I had been able to disassociate the voices from her nor-
mal speech organs, I could not disprove the charge that the in-
271
The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
formation conveyed by the whispers was the product of her
subconscious mind, influenced by my own reading and experi-
ence.
Fuller, for all his characteristic bluntness of statement, failed
in many of his predictions, and I observed that he forecast
events which the psychic and I both wished might come true.
He changed his mind frequently, excusing himself by saying,
"I was misinformed."
Over against these many mistakes and failures, however, I
shall now set the story of an expedition which presents appar-
ently the most definite proof of occult foreknowledge and in-
visible guidance.
For several weeks the voice calling itself Fuller had occa-
sionally referred to his discovery that there were some crosses
buried near the mission of San Luis Obispo, but as this meant
a round-trip drive of over four hundred miles, we had hesitated
about making it. At last, on August 16, I said to him "Henry,
we have planned a trip to San Francisco and the Redwood
Highway, and we shall spend one night in San Luis Obispo.
Have you any further knowledge concerning the crosses which
you said are buried there?"
"Yes, I have. I can tell you exactly what to do. Go to the
mission, turn to the left, drive a mile or a little more to the west
and you will see on your right a flat-topped hill. It is not very
high and it has a little vegetation on it. There are two crosses
on that hill."
"Are they on private ground?"
"Yes in a pasture, but no one will molest you."
"Will you be there to guide us to the spot?"
"Yes, I shall be with you and direct you."
We left for San Luis Obispo early on the morning of Au-
gust 17, 1937, my wife, Mrs. Williams and I. As Mrs. Williams
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San Luis Obispo
drove the car, I sat beside her, in order to be able to converse
with Fuller, who made his presence known soon after we left
the city.
He had said, "There are other crosses on the way to San
Luis Obispo," and so, as we were climbing the crooked road
which leads up through the hills from Pismo Beach, I inquired,
"Is this the point where the other crosses are?"
"Yes on the right but inaccessible. Don't attempt to
find them."
At one point near Pismo Beach, the view up the coast was
so magnificent that I said, "Fuller, I wish you could see this
combination of sea and mountains."
"I can and I do," he whispered.
"Does it remind you of Italy?"
"Yes."
"Of some special spot?"
"Yes, San Marco."
"I don't know San Marco. Is it on the west coast?"
"No. On the east coast."
While I knew the western coast of Italy, I knew nothing of
the east coast. (Later I looked it up and found San Marco is on
the east coast.)
On arrival at the mission, we looked about for a road lead-
ing west, and after one false start finally found it. It was not
a thoroughfare but a farm road, and we soon discovered our-
selves in a lane fenced with barbed wire, with a high rocky
ridge on our right. It was a mile long, sparse of vegetation and
flat-topped.
"Is this the hill?" I asked and heard the whispered answer,
"It is."
"That's a big hill," I said to Mrs. Williams. "I wonder how
we are to locate the crosses on it."
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The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
"Mr. Fuller says, 'Walk directly toward that black rock on
the skyline.' "
Looking where she pointed, I plainly perceived a dark mass
on the crest of the ridge. "It looks more like a dwarf cedar
than a rock," I said. "However, you're the pilot. Shall I take
a spade?"
Mrs. Williams replied, "He says 'Yes, better take a spade.
There is not much digging, however."
"Are they buried around that rock?"
"No - not so far."
Giving Mrs. Williams a hoe to use as a staff, I took the spade
and held the barbed wires while she crawled under them and
together we set off up the rugged slope.
The farther we went, the more impossible of success our
adventure seemed. The mountainside had no soil and offered
no distinguishing features. There were no trees, no bushes, no
well-marked swales, nothing but a series of bulbous ledges one
above another.
Fully expecting to climb to the top, I was surprised when
Fuller whispered, "Not much farther. A little to the right
in a shallow wash."
Hundreds of these washes, each hardly more than a six-inch
gutter in the rocks, came down the slope and were wholly
undistinguishable one from another.
When our guide whispered, "Right here. In this wash. Over-
turn the stones. Smooth away the gravel," I studied the situa-
tion closely.
The spot indicated was the lower end of a shallow wrinkle
which came down the mountain from the big black rock. As
a gully it was hardly more than ten inches deep, but it present-
ed small dams of sand and gravel. The loose stones were all
small and the gully narrow as well as shallow, precisely like
2 74
San Luis Obispo
hundreds of other channels which the rains had cut into the
mountainside; but Fuller said, "Right here," and so I set to
work overturning the small boulders and leveling down the
dikes of sand.
A few minutes later Fuller whispered, "A little higher up,"
and slowly, foot by foot, we worked our way along.
I was down on one knee, clawing at the ground when Mrs.
Williams said, "He says, 'near your feet.' "
A mound of gravel filled the wash just below me, and as I
was leveling this down I caught a glint of blue metal. On dig-
ging it out I found it to be a small lead cross, crumpled into
right angles by the boulders with which it had come tumbling
down. No piece shaped like that was in my collection. It was
as if it had been bent to prove that it had not been taken from
my collection. It showed no sign of age, however.
Allow me to recapitulate: Directed by an invisible guide,
we had driven over two hundred miles, located a described
ridge, crawled under a barbed-wire fence, climbed a rocky
slope to a minute water course, and in less than half an hour
of seeking had uncovered our ninth cross! Without the whis-
pers of our invisible guide, even had the place of burial been
described to us, we could not have found it in weeks of pain-
ful search.
"Fuller," I said, "you're a trump! You have done it again.
You have led us straight to our quarry."
"There is still another one," he replied.
For nearly an hour we overturned rocks and sifted gravel
under the direction of the whispers. At last he said, "Try it
a little lower down."
Yard by yard I moved down the shallow wash, sifting the
gravel with my fingers, and a few minutes later uncovered
the stem of an ancient cross. The top part had been broken off
2 75
The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
and the silver-white metal indicated a recent break. "Here it
is, Fuller. It is only a fragment, but quite as evidential as a
whole cross would have been."
It is well to state that the psychic was twelve or fifteen feet
above me, and that she had not been below me at any time.
She now spoke, "Mr. Fuller says the other part of the cross
is above us."
Thereupon we both went back to a spot near that where I
had found the first cross, and within ten minutes the psychic
said, "I have it."
On examination, I found it to be the top part of the frag-
ment I had found. There was no doubt about it. The tnjoo pieces
fitted together exactly.
"Fuller," I said, "you are the wonder of the Fourth Dimen-
sion!" Then I added, "That ought to make you laugh."
"It does," the psychic reported to me.
"Who buried these crosses here, and why?"
"They were buried by two neophytes of the mission."
" You mean to tell me that in time of trouble two of the In-
dians, having lost faith in the padres and their teachings, re-
verted to their ancestral faith?"
"Yes."
"That they sneaked away from the mission, came up here
to chant a prayer to the Great Light the sun and that they
buried their poor little artifacts to regain the favor of their
gods?"
"That is the case precisely."
"Are they here? Did they tell you where the crosses were?"
"Yes, they showed me the exact spot."
Here now I am moved to restate the preposterous story. In
my study, two hundred miles away, a whisper issuing from a
one-way telephone in a closed room had instructed me to go
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San Luis Obispo
to the mission of San Luis Obispo, take a road to the west,
drive a mile, climb the side of a flat-topped mountain, where
I would be met by an invisible guide who would direct us to
the exact spot where two crosses were buried.
This incredible chain of events predicted had come true.
One after the other they had been experienced exactly as I
have described them. I cannot explain this experience. I merely
state it. To say Mrs. Williams had planted them is to endow
her with an astounding degree of memory.
With these poor little amulets in our car, we resumed our
drive toward the north, and the night following, in a small
town three hundred miles north of San Luis Obispo, we took
lodgings in a hotel. In my room, after dinner, I unlimbered
my one-way telephone which I had brought along with me in
the hope of getting further instruction from Fuller. After put-
ting Mrs. Williams, with the transmitter, in an adjoining room
(with a bathroom and closed door between) I attached the
cord to the electric light socket and my wife and I bent our
ears to the receiver, confident of a talk with Fuller.
Almost at once he whispered, "Jack London is here and
wishes to speak with you."
"I never met London on this plane but I shall be delighted
to have him speak to me."
Almost instantly I heard another clear whisper, "Garland,
you came right through my home town today."
"Did I? What was your town?"
"Glen Ellyn, a suburb of Sonoma."
"I didn't know that. Sonoma was John Muir's town, wasn't
it?"
"No, he lived down near San Jose."
"Burbank's home was near Muir's place, wasn't it?"
"Yes."
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The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
"Was it north of San Jose?"
"No, I believe it was west."
"Didn't Frank Norris live near you at one time?"
"No, I believe he lived for a time south of the city some-
where."
I was asking about the Robert Louis Stevenson cabin when
Fuller broke in rather brusquely. "Garland, I want to tell you
that I have just learned from an Indian that there is a third
cross buried near where you found the ones you have. It is in
the same wash but a little lower down. You will not need a
spade this time. Just overturn the rocks. I'll be there and will
again direct you. Let this end your search for crosses. You have
all the crosses you need. Good night."
When I opened the door into the psychic's room, I found
her reading a magazine while holding the transmitter to her
bosom. She said she had been reading an exciting story and had
heard nothing of my talk with London and Fuller.
"I could not catch a single word of the whispers which came
in my box," she declared and when I said, "To find that third
cross would be a grand climax of our trip," she confidently
replied, "We will find it. Mr. Fuller has never failed us yet."
Two days later Saturday, August 2 1 after a gorgeous
ride over the new coast highway from Carmel, we found our-
selves at San Luis, too tired to visit the hill on which the third
cross was buried. After our dinner, however, I again got out
the one-way telephone and put it into commission, hoping for
further assurance from Fuller. The medium was very tired
after a drive of three hundred miles, and the voice was very
faint. I could hear these words, however: "I'll be with you in
the morning. The cross is a little below where the others were.
Don't tire the medium. Good night."
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San Luis Obispo
Early the following morning we left the hotel with all our
baggage, confident that we would find the cross. "We'll stay
all day if necessary," I said, but Mrs. Williams replied, "It
won't be necessary. You'll find the cross in a few minutes."
Again we drove along the pasture fence to the point from
which we could see the black rock against the sky.
As I was getting out our hoes, a herd of cattle began to
stream along the pasture. They so intimidated my psychic,
who was not bred on a farm, that she asked me to wait until
the cows had passed to their feeding ground. It was Sunday
morning and I was concerned about the attitude of the farmer,
who might become curious and come out to ask, "What are
you doing on my land?" However, it was early and no one
appeared to notice us.
As we walked up that parched slope, I felt more keenly
than ever before our dependence on our "voice," so monot-
onous was that immense hillside. In fact, we could not have
found our way back to the spot without the whisper, so incon-
spicuous was the little gully in which we had worked three
days before.
At last we identified it by slight signs of digging, and set to
work in the narrow limits which Fuller had marked out for
us. It was a spot about six feet wide and nine feet long, and I
was busily overturning the rocks and raking the gravel with
my fingers when I saw the psychic heaving at a big boulder.
As I bent to lend my aid, she pried it out of its bed, disclosing
a small cross. As she picked it up I studied its print in the soil
where it had lain for many months, perhaps for many years.
The ground around the stone showed no sign of having been
disturbed since the spring rains. It was about half submerged
in the hard soil.
"Fuller, we have it!"
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The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
"There are no more," he said.
Here again is mystery. In a hotel three hundred miles north
of San Luis Obispo, Fuller had told me that a third cross was
lying near the others and that the Indian who buried it was
eager to have it recovered. Guided by his whispers, we had
left our hotel, again climbed the hill to the shallow wash in
which we had previously worked, and in less than fifteen min-
utes had found a third cross.
"This is our eleventh cross and our eighth location," I said
to my wife. "I am certain that in less than a year we could
find a hundred of these 'idols' but, as Fuller has said, ten is as
good as fifty, so why give time and strength to the pursuit?
They are all in distant places, among rocks and cactus plants
and I am disposed to let Fuller close the argument for the
crosses right here."
Mrs. Williams and my wife both laughed. "You say that
now, but tomorrow you'll be wanting ten more to prove your
case."
280
Chapter 24
The Otay Reservation
AT THIS point, November 17, 1937, my psychic, Mrs .Williams,
was called away by her sister in Chicago and all our field work
was ended for the winter. We had discovered, by her powers,
twelve artifacts in nine different locations some hundreds of
miles apart, and we had been told where to look for others,
but without Fuller's directing whispers we were helpless. We
might be within three feet of a buried cross without finding
it.
At the beginning, I had said, u To discover a single specimen
in the field would validate the entire collection made by the
Parents," but having found twelve, I asked for more. "The
implications of these crosses and the methods by which they
were discovered are so significant, so far-reaching, that we
must be prepared to meet the criticism of those who will be
quick to transfer the charge of deception from Mrs. Parent
to Mrs. Williams," and so we had kept on, month after month,
making each discovery more evidential, and my tests more
severe.
As the New Year began, I urged Mrs. Williams to return
and finish the work. "I am in need of one or two other still
more carefully guarded discoveries," I wrote to her. "If Fuller
or Father Serra could name, while you are two thousand miles
away, other grounds in which these amulets still lie undis-
turbed, our case would be enormously strengthened."
She replied early in April, saying, "Mr. Fuller has named
two places, one near a village called Callista, and another near
Otay, but I cannot find either Otay or Callista on any map."
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The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
With these names in mind, I searched the maps of the state.
Otay I found to be a village just below San Diego, but Callista
was not listed among the post offices of the state and the ex-
press company had no such village on its list.
It was not until July, 1938, after eight months absence, that
Mrs. Williams was able to come back and resume her work
with us. In order that we might make the fullest use of her
mediumistic powers, we made her a guest in our home.
In my diary I find this entry: "Mrs. Williams arrived at eight
this morning. She told us immediately that Fuller or one of
the padres had told her while in Chicago that there was a large
cross, called a trail marker, four or five miles from the town of
Santa Maria. 'He told me to park our car at a point where the
old trail crosses the road and to walk half a mile each way on
this trail.' She said that Fuller had told her that Callista was in
Baja California and that about four miles from the town were
many crosses."
I said to her, "To find crosses in either of these places would
be incontrovertible evidence of your supernormal powers."
She then handed me a card on which I found these words
penciled, "Otay. Go to town take road east by north to Old
Well." On the same card were two other suggestions "Mission
Santa Maria. Go nor. by E. 5$ miles. Find overgrown path E.
of road. Walk i mile road-marker."
She explained that these directions had come to her while in
bed in her Chicago home. "The invisibles waked me out of a
sound sleep. I reached for a pencil, found this card and used
it in the dark to jot down an outline of my impressions."
On the back of this card was a third suggestion. "Callista.
Town plaza. Road east. When it turns park car and go east to
hill and three mounds."
As soon as she was rested from her journey, I got out our
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The Otay Reservation
one-way telephone and almost instantly Fuller announced
himself by means of raps in the receiver. I said, "Fuller, I can-
not find Callista. Is it in Mexico?"
He rapped out, "Yes."
"Is it near San Diego?"
"No."
"Is it near Calexico?"
"Yes."
On July 28, as I took my place at the receiver, I could hear
a faint whisper, "This is Fuller." I expressed my pleasure at
his return to speech, and asked, "Are the padres here?" He
said they were and that we would soon be able to hear them,
and that they would guide us in the car.
"What are we to think of this persistent voice?" I said to
Beaman. "If after eight months silence, it can direct us to an
obscure Mexican village where certain artifacts are buried,
shall we grant the persistence of personality after death?"
Two days later Fuller's whisper was so much clearer that I
conversed freely with him, under the usual daylight test con-
ditions. He said, "Callista is about eighty miles below Mexica-
li. A good road goes part way. It is near a lake. It has three
roads leading out of it. Take the road going east, drive till
it turns south. Continue east on foot. Four crosses are buried
on a low hill. I will go with you and show you the place." The
whispers were faint but normal in tone. My daughter Con-
stance was with me and said, "I heard them distinctly."
I then said to Fuller, "We can't test out this information
about Callista until November the heat on the way to the
border is very great during August and September but to
find these roads, these mounds and even one idol buried there,
would be conclusive."
He said, "I realize that. Meanwhile, go to Santa Maria, above
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The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
Santa Barbara. It is the site of an old mission. Drive north
about three miles and when you reach a fork in the road, take
the one to the right, which will lead toward the hills. Go about
five and a half miles on this road. At this point, park your car
and walk east till you come to an overgrown trail. Explore
this trail half a mile each way from this point. The marker is
buried in leaves and dirt. No digging will be necessary."
In answer to my question, u \Vho planted it?" he replied,
"Father Chasle." He then spelled the name for us. I had no
knowledge of this padre but I had enough faith in Fuller's
directions to be willing to make the trip.
On August 2, we drove to Santa Maria (a small city about
one hundred and sixty miles up the coast), and took rooms at
the hotel. We found no records of an old mission and no square
such as Fuller had led us to expect, but we found the roads
almost as he had indicated.
Early next morning we took the road to the north for three
miles. Here we turned on the road to the east. At a point about
twelve miles from the town, he whispered, "Stop! Park your
car and cross the river. The trail is on the other side."
Leaving Mrs. Garland in the car, we descended to the
stream, which we were forced to wade. On finding the trail,
we paused and I asked for Father Chasle, the padre who had
planted the cross. He whispered, "I am here."
"Where did you serve?" I asked and the psychic replied for
him.
"In San Luis Obispo."
"When did you plant the marker?"
"In 1817."
Speaking through Mrs. Williams, he told us that he had set
it up on the ground beneath a great oak tree, close to the trail
so that the Indians could see it. He said, "In those days the
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The Otay Reservation
A photograph taken ivhile at work 'with
pick and shovel.
current was closer to this bank and the trail ran along the
water's edge. The cross was on a level bank a little above the
trail."
"Was there a mission where Santa Maria now stands?"
"No, but there was a substation."
"Had it any buildings?"
"No, nothing but huts."
"Did you preach there?"
"Yes, once each month."
"Is the Indian who was chief of this village here with you?"
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The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
"Yes, he is here. His name is Shaniha."
"Of what tribe?"
Mrs. Williams translated it, "It sounds like Washo, but I am
not certain."
Father Chasle said, "I put the marker near a great oak which
stood alone. I remember the two hills opposite and a grove of
oaks on the opposite side of the river. You will find it between
the two bends in the river."
After exploring the trail for half a mile, we finally settled
upon a huge oak, one of three standing in a row on a low, level
bank.
Father Chasle said, "This seems to be the tree," and his In-
dian friend declared positively, "It is the tree. I marked it with
an arrow."
"Did you use an ax?"
"No, a knife."
A mark on the tree resembled an arrowhead and as I traced
it with my fingers, he said, "That is the mark."
"Father Chasle, is there an inscription on the marker?"
"Yes, in Latin."
Fuller interrupted. "There is considerable digging to do.
Come again and bring someone to help you."
Realizing that it might take several hours and that my wife
was waiting in the car, I gave orders to return.
On the following morning I attached my telephone and
asked for Father Chasle. He came and the following dialogue
took place.
"Father Chasle, what was your first name?"
"Pierre."
"What was your native town?"
We had some difficulty in getting this name but finally it
came out quite clearly, "Damfreville."
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The Otay Reservation
"How old were you when you planted the cross?"
"Thirty-two."
"Did you end your days here?"
"No, I went back to France."
"Can you give me the exact words of the inscription on the
marker?"
"Yes. 'In faith. To the honor of the Franciscan padres.' I
can give it in Latin."
"Please do so."
As nearly as I could get it, the words were, "Ad omnes
fideles patres."
On the following morning, Mrs. Williams said, "I have a
new prospect for you. Mr. Fuller came to me last night and
said, 'Drive south through San Diego and toward the Mexican
border. At a point about a hundred and forty-one miles from
your home you will find a road leading to the left. Follow
this till it forks. Take the right-hand fork. This road will lead
you to a big rock with a deep fissure. Dig at the base of this
fissure.' I got up and wrote the directions down."
She gave me a slip of paper with these instructions written
upon it, and Fuller confirmed them.
"Will you be at that corner of the highway, at the 141-
mile point, to direct us?" I asked.
"I'll be there."
I knew this region only as I had driven through it on my
way to Tia Juana, and Mrs. Williams declared that she was
wholly ignorant of it. Nevertheless, on August 5, we drove to
San Diego and below it. At the end of the one hundred forty-
first mile, we came to a road leading to the left, toward the
hills.
"Is this the road, Fuller?" I asked.
His high, whistling whisper replied, "Yes."
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The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
After thirteen miles on this road, we came to the fork he
had predicted. "To the right," he said.
This led us to a farmyard. Here I hesitated. "Go on," said
Fuller.
We came at last to a wire gate leading into a pasture.
"Through the gate," was the whispered command.
I opened the gate, and we drove on around two low hills.
"Stop!" ordered Fuller. "Park your car. Walk up the hill.
Look for huge rocks."
This we did, and soon came to a clump of granite rocks
with deep fissures in them. Brush and weeds concealed their
bases.
We set to work heaving aside great fragments and digging
in the soil. There was no sign that it had ever been visited by
anyone. After searching for half an hour, I myself uncovered
a fragment of metal which was quite evidently part of a cross.
Fuller said, "The other piece of it is near," but I did not
succeed in finding it.
I considered this fragment of a cross quite as evidential as
if it had been complete, but Fuller said, "There are others here.
Come again and bring a pick. Overturn the rocks."
On August 9, accompanied by my brother Franklin, we
returned with a heavy pick, and under the minute directions
of the whispering voices, I dug from the soil, under a heavy
rock, a most interesting specimen ornamented by three horse-
heads. This was especially evidential, for no specimen so deco-
rated had been in my collection. Furthermore, I myself dug it
from under a stone. Half an hour later I found a second speci-
men at the bottom of a cleft in a huge rock which I split with
my pick.
"No more," said Fuller. "Go home."
From the purely clairvoyant standpoint, this discovery is a
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The Otay Reservation
miracle for Mrs. Williams had obtained her previsional knowl-
edge in a dream or vision, a communication which I had
checked and confirmed on the telephone a few hours later.
Guided by Fuller, we had entered a private road, passed
through a pasture gate, driven around the shoulders of two
hills. While in our car we were directed to a clump of rocks
which were invisible to us. Among these rocks, minutely
guided by the invisibles, we had dug from their burial places
two artifacts, one of which as in the case of the crumpled
cross at San Luis Obispo was a specimen which I am certain
was not in the Parent collection.
With these concrete arguments in hand, I said, "Fuller, it
is almost impossible for me at the moment to deny the presence
of an unseen guide. How can I doubt your reality after such
an experience as this? But I need still more proof. I want you
to find for me an object which no one can accuse Mrs. Wil-
liams of planting. I want a trail marker a big one."
"You shall have it," he confidently replied.
This promise he was unable to fulfill. We dug at the roots
of the oak on the Santa Maria trail, with no result. He then
told us of another prospect near the Pala Mission, and led us
to the exact spot where he told us a marker had been set, but
it was not there. He then reported that the Indians had named
another site in the desert toward Barstow, minutely describing
the roads and distances. Three trips failed to find this marker.
Led by the voice of an Indian who said his name was Red
Horse, Mrs. Williams and I scrambled about in a canyon in
the Verdugo Hills on four different quests, working our way
among briars, poisonous vines, stony washes, to dig long and
valiantly in four different spots where Red Horse declared
the marker had been.
Mrs. Williams' persistence and willingness to dig convinced
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The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
us all that she believed in her voices. What was to be gained
in thus exposing herself day after day to the toil and discom-
fort of such a search?
We did not find the marker in the fourth attempt and yet
she professed a willingness to go again. "Red Horse says he
was confused. The valley is so changed,' he explains. 'When
I hid the marker, the valley was peaceful, with a little stream
flowing through it.' All these washes and dams of huge boul-
ders confuse him."
Fuller said, "We are sorry. We know how important such
a marker would be to you. You must remember they were
conspicuous, nearly two feet in height, and that the Mexicans
valued them for the lead in them. The only chance of finding
one now is in some bushy spot or deep among rocks. We'll
find one for you. Don't be discouraged."
In this promise I am resting as I close this chapter.
290
Chapter 25
The Question of Identity
WE COME now to the fundamental question toward which we
have all along been tending are these invisible guides and ad-
visors to whose voices we have been listening discarnate per-
sonalities or are they but pale products of our own minds?
The collection of metal objects which Mr. Parent turned
over to me are of no value in themselves, but the finding of
them in the way recorded by him and which I have myself
verified becomes of great significance when considered as evi-
dence of a supernormal human faculty, and of supreme impor-
tance when taken to prove the identity of our invisible visitors.
I propose in this chapter to recapitulate and discuss some of
the communications which bear upon the problem.
The reader will recall that in our very first sitting, (taken
down in shorthand) Mrs. Williams, a complete stranger to us,
won our confidence by bringing to us in the light voices claim-
ing to be those of our dead friends persons whom the psychic,
but recently arrived from Chicago, could not possibly have
known. Some of these speakers I could not identify, but others
were so characteristic in their replies to my questions that I
had the impression (at the moment) of their identity. Some of
them I had forgotten, but they recalled themselves to my
memory.
All through the two years of our experiment, others came,
persons who had no part in our investigation, young friends
of my daughter who talked as intimately and clearly as if over
a telephone. It was, of course, natural that pioneers in psychic
research like Crookes, Geley, James and Doyle should be in
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The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
my thought, but it is difficult to account for visitors whom I
had met only once or twice, of whose personality I had but a
faint memory and whose names could not have been known
to the psychic.
Jack London I never knew, Donn Byrne I had never met,
and yet they seemed as vital (when they spoke) as Frank
Norris and Rudyard Kipling. There was no reason why young
Barnhart should come to me, while Carl Akeley, for whom I
called, failed to manifest. My good friend, Dr. Turck, came
early and characteristically, but he, as well as many of my
literary friends named in my autobiography, was probably
known to the psychic. Young McEldowney, Leila McKee,
Steele the painter, and many others are not in my published
record. Harriet Monroe's anxiety concerning her beloved mag-
azine was logical, and all that my friend Fuller said was equal-
ly in character.
Consider the case of two miners who told us where to
find their mine in the San Gabriel Mountains and who not
only led us to the spot where they mined but to the place
where their cabin had stood. They showed us where one of
them who died in that lonely spot was buried. Speaking to us
in the car and in the open air, they told us their names and the
date of their coming to California. One of them named the
town from which he came, and by writing to the postmaster
of the town I confirmed his information information which
the psychic could not possibly have known, for the town had
long since been incorporated into a larger city.
Many times these invisibles spoke of things wholly outside
the psychic's knowledge, but I do not include them. Psychic
literature is filled with proof of this kind. At last we moved
out into a larger and more novel field, the wide expanse of
Southern California over which the missionary fathers and
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The Question of Identity
their Indians led us again and again in an effort to convince
us that they were still sentient and of keen memory. "We in-
tend to prove to you and your readers that we still exist by
leading you to the hilltops where our Indians buried their
offerings to their gods."
The Parents also patiently labored to convince us that they
were alive as alive as ever they were. The psychic did not
know that Mrs. Parent could not read or write, and neither
did I. I had heard that she could not but I did not know it.
Nevertheless, when I bluntly asked, "Mrs. Parent, could you
read or write?" she answered "No, I was ignerunt." So far as
I know this is the first time a so-called spirit has made such an
admission.
As we went on, Mrs. Parent answered other questions with
equal candor, eager to prove that she was as vital as any of
my neighbors in Redlands or Riverside. Others of our com-
municants were less reliable; they not only misled us, they
misinformed us. They told us of buried gold and silver which
could not be found. They took us on fruitless journeys into
distant desert places. They induced us to climb high hills and
wallow through cactus and poison oak. In short, they were
seemingly confused and hesitant, as they would naturally be
on a return to trails which they had not seen for a century.
They said, "We are sorry, but all is so changed we cannot
find the place where we danced and buried our treasures."
This fallibility was almost as convincing as their successes in
other expeditions.
At last we swung out into the unknown spaces of early
"New Spain." Here we had no predecessors.
Mrs. Williams told us in the beginning that she knew noth-
ing of the missionary fathers, and I confess that I was almost
equally uninformed on early California history. I had seen
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The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
the play based on Junipero Serra's founding of the missions
in California, and I had read one pleasant book based upon his
life, but I did not know how to pronounce his name or the
names of his associates until they spelled them phonetically
for me. I took care not to inform myself till after I had se-
cured the vital facts from the padres themselves, and even
then I read merely to confirm names and dates.
In all the communications from Garces, Ofiate, Coronado
and Marcos de Nitza, certain curious, small items of expression
bore out their claim as when, in answer to my question ad-
dressed to the great explorer Coronado, "Shall I call you
Senor or Capitan?" he quietly replied, "Call me simply Coro-
nado." Or when I said to Alvarado, "Did your hair stand up
on your head?" he answered, "Yes, like wire."
I had never read a book dealing with either Coronado or
Alvarado, and that Mrs. Williams was no better informed I
was fairly convinced, but I could not prove it.
In the coming of obscure, almost unknown padres like
Chasle, Prospero, Jaco, Nadal, I find mystery. Only by search-
ing in Engelhardt's history or in Bancroft's huge tomes could I
find mention of them, yet they told me the names of the towns
from which they came, the time of their service and the dates
of their return to France or Spain or of their death.
I cannot believe that Mrs. Williams furtively informed her-
self of these obscure priests, for the convincing phrases and
incidents were so slight that the utmost skill in choosing them
must have been employed.
In discussing this problem of identification with the voice
calling itself Fuller, I said, "Henry, it is impossible for me to
identify you by means of a whisper. Even if you used a full
tone, I could not be sure. I frequently fail to recognize a
friend's voice over the telephone."
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The Question of Identity
He admitted that this was true, but insisted that I ought to
be able to identify him by the way in which he put words to-
gether. He also agreed that as he was minutely described in
my autobiography it would be difficult to separate the psy-
chic's knowledge of him gained from reading my books, from
that obtained supernormally.
There were, however, several incidental remarks which
were evidential. In speaking with him one morning, I said,
"That man who is at work on your biography wants me to
help him find more of your letters. 1 have sent him all I had
in my file and named several others who might have some -
Johnson of the Century, Harriet Monroe of Poetry Magazine,
and the Ponds of Chicago."
To these he added, "Freddie Richardson has many, and
Clarkson may have some.' 7
This is evidential, for Mrs. Williams could have known
nothing either of Richardson or of Clarkson.
Following up this lead, I said, "Henry, you must have had
more than a hundred of my letters, for I had been correspond-
ing with you for forty years. Did you destroy them?"
"No, I kept all that were significant."
"Where are they?"
"They are in the possession of my niece, Miss Ranney, in
Chicago."
"In what kind of a container - a wooden box?"
"No, a cardboard box, about fifteen inches long by twelve
broad. It is among the goods in her basement. She has lately
moved into a smaller apartment and was obliged to store a part
of her furniture. The box is there. I saw it as it was being
moved."
"What kind of a label has it?"
"It has a label which reads, 'Essays, Letters and Manuscripts'
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The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
and following the word 'Letters' are your initials H. G."
I wrote Miss Ranney at once and while waiting to hear
from her, I resolved to call on Mrs. Parent again and ask her
to point out for me the most convincing of her portraits. She
came promptly, saying, "Mr. Garland, this is Violet Parent."
After greeting her, I said, "Mrs. Parent, the time approaches
when I shall want to use some of these photographs which
your husband has labeled 'spirit pictures,' and I want you to
tell me exactly how you made them."
"I'll gladly do that," she replied. "I don't want you to get
into trouble by publishing any that are not real."
"All right. I want to ask at the outset did you focus your
camera and use a time exposure?"
"No. I couldn't use a time exposure on my little camera and
I could never see any faces or forms. I saw nothing but spots."
"Do you mean white, misty spots?"
"No, I mean dark spots. I never knew what they were until
my films were printed."
"Very well. Now, some of the pictures show hanging drap-
ery as in the case of William Stead. Did you put these up?"
"Yes. I put them up under directions from Mr. Stead, but
later he told me to take them down and he would stand on
the floor. They told me to put up drapery in other cases and
said that they would materialize in the folds of the cloth."
"Some of the Indian figures appear to be cut-outs."
"A few of them were. I used a few cut-outs when my power
began to fail."
"Mrs. Parent, it is important that I should know just which
are genuine and which are not. I'm going to lay before you a
book in which I have pasted all your prints, and I want you to
go over them with me."
"I'll do the best I can," she replied.
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The Question of Identity
Thereupon I told Mrs. Williams to put aside the machine
and to report Mrs. Parent's replies which I could not hear
without the machine, and so from this point on the reader
should understand that I was dependent on the psychic's in-
terpretation of the whispers. Meanwhile the book remained
upside down to her and she made no attempt to see the prints.
As I turned the first few pages, Mrs. Parent said, "Those are
all real. Nothing was before my camera but some small rocks
and a sheet. All the pictures of the padres and of living people,
are real."
"You mean true spirit pictures?"
"Yes, that is what I mean."
"I don't understand how that can be, for these Indian pro-
files taken on a table before your husband and Mr. Hutchi-
son appear later in exactly the same attitudes among groups
which I am certain are cut-outs."
This led to a most unexpected admission. "I cut out the gen-
uine spirit figures from my own early prints and pasted them
on a sheet of cardboard among the portraits of noted men and
women which I had obtained from magazines. They were all
real in the first place, but I cut them out and used them to help
me bring others"
During all our months of experiment, Mrs. Williams had
never opened this book of photographs, and I now called her
to my side of the desk and while we both studied the collection
page by page, she reported Mrs. Parent's comment. For nearly
two hours I questioned, recording on each page her valuation,
and at the end we reckoned that she had confessed to faking
about twenty out of nearly two hundred. "And even these,"
she declared, "have spirit forms mixed with them." At times
she put in a word of excuse or stated a favorable fact.
It is important to bear in mind that Mrs. Williams remained
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The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
critical of these photographs, but my wife was so moved by
my relentless questioning that she said, "I feel sorry for Mrs.
Parent."
"I intend to get to the bottom of this," I said to them all. "I
can't use any of these pictures till I know just how they were
produced."
Mrs. Parent remained on the witness stand for another hour,
answering my questions heroically and submissively, but she
appeared to grow weary and forgetful toward the last. Finally
she said, "Call up some of my witnesses call up the men and
women who went on my exploring trips and who also wit-
nessed the photographing of my invisible guides."
Accepting her suggestion, I called for Mr. Hutchison, a
businessman in Los Angeles, whose name appears frequently
in her records. He was the man who picked up the ball of dried
mud (on a hillside at San Juan Capistrano) which afterward
proved to be a rock shaped like the skull of a calf filled with
hardened adobe. Out of this filling, Hutchison and his wife
so Parent records dug six or eight small metal crosses.
These facts, and the further claim that several of the photo-
graphs of Indians now in spirit land had been made in his home,
made Hutchison a valuable witness.
Putting Mrs. Williams back in her accustomed chair, I took
the receiver across the hall to my wife's room and closed the
doors between. It was quite impossible for the psychic (nor-
mally) to hear my questions, and she had no notion which one
of the witnesses I would call first to the stand.
Fuller announced himself and said, "Hutchison is present
and ready to talk."
I said, "Mr. Hutchison, you discovered the stone animal's
head, did you not?"
"I did."
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The Question of Identity
"Did you see your wife dig some small crosses from the
dried mud which filled it?"
"I did."
u You also helped to dig many crosses from the ground in
various places?"
"I did. I can tell you that the Parents are okay. They did
just what they claimed to do."
(This could not have come from Mrs. Williams. She did
not hold that opinion.)
"Now, Mr. Hutchison, I find a photograph of you and
Mr. Parent seated behind a table on which are some small rocks.
Two Indian heads are before you. Is that a genuine spirit pho-
tograph?"
"It is. Her crosses are genuine and so are her spirit photo-
graphs."
"Parent records that you had for companion on many of
these trips a man named Fox. I'd like to talk with him."
"All right. He is here and will talk with you."
A moment of silence and then another whisper called, "Mr.
Garland."
"Is this Mr. Fox?"
"Yep, I'm Fox," he briskly replied. "I saw a lot of Mrs.
Parent. She is all right. She discovered those crosses just the
way Parent says she did. I helped to dig them out myself."
He was a bit slangy, as Hutchison had been, and occasion-
ally ungrammatical. When I asked, "Did the ground look un-
disturbed?" he replied, "It sure did. Some of them crosses were
buried deep."
My success in reaching these two valuable witnesses led me
to ask for Mr. and Mrs. Eustis, who had been even closer in their
relationship to the Parents. Mrs. Eustis did not speak, but Eus-
tis did, confirming all that Hutchison and Fox had said about
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The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
the work in the field. In answer to my question about the
spirit photographs, he firmly replied, "They are genuine. Mrs.
Parent took some of them in my house with my own camera.
I put the film in the camera myself."
All this testimony came, I must remind the reader, over
sixty feet of one-way wire and could not have been heard by
the psychic, who sat reading a book in my study. She could
not have known which witness I would call up, and she could
not possibly have guessed what questions I intended to ask.
Furthermore, her mind was in opposition to all this testimony.
I am quoting it here for its bearing on the problem of iden-
tity. These three witnesses impressed me as individuals. They
spoke in character, identifying themselves as three friends and
neighbors who had accompanied the Parents on their trips. I
cannot say that they were not the product of my mind or that
of the medium, but I did not (at the time) believe that they
came out of her brain or mine. Fox's use of "yep" for yes
amused me.
With regard to the identification of the padres, they said,
"It was our intention all along to prove to you our survival
and our identity by leading you to our buried treasures," and
I must grant that no way could be more convincing, provided
the guidance could be proven to be theirs.
One of the fullest and most evidential of all the identifica-
tion tests of the padres will be found in the various explanations
given by them concerning Father Velos and his wry neck.
Father Serra said, "He was not exactly a hunchback but he had
a twist in his spine."
Others of the fathers who identified him gave slightly dif-
fering explanations of his deformity one spoke of him as a
hunchback but it was not until Velos himself spoke to me
that I finally got definite explanation of his deformity. "It was
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The Question of Identity
not a twist in my spine," he said, "but a stiffening in one of
the cords of my neck which put my head awry." His whispers
did not individualize him, but this explanation of his distorted
neck did and yet, so far as I could find, no official roster of
the California priests contains his name.
When we came to the task of identifying the Spanish mili-
tary explorers of three centuries ago, we had no pictures to
help us. No portraits of Onate, Espejo, Coronado or Alvarado
were accessible. Proofs of their identity were abstract in na-
ture. Speaking from their own centers, they corrected and
simplified the complicated concepts of certain historians, as,
for example, Alvarado, who, when I asked him the cause of
the migration of Guatemala tribes, replied with notable sim-
plicity and directness, "When Cortez came, many Indians
were driven out. They did not wish to become Christian or to
be under the dominance of the white man, so they migrated."
Historians designate his rule in Guatemala as cruel and
bloody, but in his talk he gave no hint of savage qualities. He
said, "They called me Tonatiub 'Child of the Sun' did
you know that?"
I did not know this, but some weeks afterward, upon refer-
ence to his biography, a rare book, I found it to be the fact.
The word was spelled Donatiuh, however.
I asked him why the Indians called him by this name, and
he replied, "It may be because to them I was like the sun god,
a child of the sun, with much strength and power."
Later still, I found that certain historians speak of his blond
hair and beard as reasons for calling him "Child of the Sun."
Knowing nothing about the personal life of Engelhardt, the
official historian of the missions in California, I one day (Au-
gust 19) asked for him, and when he came I said, "Are you a
native of America?" He replied "No. I was born in Belshau-
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The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
sen, Germany, in 1851, but my parents brought me to Ameri-
ca when I was one year old."
"When did you enter the priesthood?"
"In 1886."
"When did you come to California?"
"In 1900. I served in Yuma before that. My first California
church was in Banning."
At this point he changed his tone. "Mr. Garland, I served
in your state."
"Do you mean Wisconsin?"
"Yes, in West Superior. I have been often in your town
La Crosse."
"How could I prove your service in West Superior?"
"Write to the head of the diocese. He will confirm my state-
ment."
"Did you know Father Chasle, or Father Velos?"
"No but that does not mean they were not in service here.
Many priests came and went. I listed only the more important
ones."
This answer was not what I expected. If it had come from
the mind of the medium, it would have been decidedly affirm-
ative.
I laid out some of the crosses for him to see and he said, "I
have never seen any such objects as these you have on the
table, but I have no doubt of their verity. They are undoubt-
edly old."
In answer to a question, he replied clearly and strongly,
"The padres were horrified to find the cross here when they
came crosses decorated with the heads of apes and panthers.
As historian, I had no knowledge of these crosses, for the
priests all mentioned them as 'idols.' The military explorers
could mention them and some of them did."
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The Question of Identity
He ended by saying, "Your friend Fuller has explained
your purpose and I am glad to aid in any way."
It may be that I had sometime and somehow gained this in-
formation, but I had no conscious knowledge of it.
Of Prospero Jaco, Asuncion, and several others of my in-
visible visitors, I could find no mention. That such individuals
once existed, I have no doubt. Of their continuing existence,
I am less sure. Their whispered messages are but a slender base
on which to rear so vast a concept. As a matter of fact, I was
not greatly interested in the details concerning the life histo-
ries of these obscure padres, and I saw no way of definitely
proving their identity. Their words may all have come from
the same mind but whose mind? Certainly not mine. If from
the psychic's mind, the method of communication was super-
normal. She may have imagined the characters, but the words
spoken did not come from her lips.
Without question, the most convincing test of Serra's iden-
tity would be for me to secure his face on the same photograph-
ic film with mine. This I have not yet been able to do.
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Chapter 26
Charging the Jury
IN CLOSING this story of the buried crosses, the author now as-
sumes the character of a judge reviewing the evidence for the
instruction of a jury.
"Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I shall ask you to bear
in mind, at the outset, the fact that Mrs. Williams, the psychic,
was entirely unknown to the author when he began his experi-
ments with her, and that he made no attempt to learn her his-
tory. He said, 1 was not concerned with what she had been,
but with what she could do.' As a matter of fact, she came to
him highly recommended by a group of doctors in Chicago.
At a later date, the author met these physicians and confirmed
their reports. (See appendix)
"You should also note that the phenomena recorded took
place mainly in the author's own study, in the light, most of
them in full daylight. The communications, however, were all
made in whispers which were often so high in key that the
author, during the early sittings, was largely dependent upon
a repetition of the words by the medium. Later, by the use of
an amplifier, he heard at times very distinctly. The voices
were, at first, a mere squeak, like the cry of a mouse or a bat.
"You will recall that the dialogues with the padres were
mainly in English (although one or two of them spoke to him
in Spanish), whereas historians of the missions state that very
few of the missionaries could speak English. The author admits
that he cannot explain this discrepancy. The padres said, 'We
have but one language over here.'
"Although the psychic declared that she knew little con-
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Charging the Jury
cerning Father Serra and nothing whatever of Onate, Coro-
nado. and other explorers of early New Spain, the author ad-
mits that she had abundant opportunity between sittings to in-
form herself in detail concerning these personalities. Her dec-
laration that she had no knowledge of missionary history or
the Spanish language is not susceptible of proof.
"Of the supernormal character of her voices, the author
offers evidence, but you will recall that his long-wire tests
were only partly successful. He got few direct answers to
questions when conditions shut the psychic entirely away from
hearing any of his enquiries. Tor the most part, the answers
over the long wire were inaudible and irrelevant,' he says.
'Nevertheless, I did succeed in getting several direct replies.'
u He admits to many other failures and discrepancies. 'The
voices often misled me. They made confused or contradictory
statements of historical facts. They led us on fruitless explora-
tions, and their comment, at times, was wholly imaginary, but
it may be argued that if the psychic had been using knowledge
gained from books, she would naturally have kept close to the
text. Her misinformation may be reckoned as proof of her trust
in her voices.
"These voices were of chief importance not only as the
means of communication between the author and the invisible
guides but as incredible physical phenomena. As you reread
the testimony of the author, you will find that the voices varied
in clarity from day to day. At times, they were almost a tone,
at others, when conditions seemed equally favorable, they
were so blurred and faint as to be wholly unintelligible. For
several weeks during the summer of 1937, they were silent,
and the psychic appeared to be in despair of their return. She
related their disappearance to a decline in her physical health.
With every wish to continue her work with the author, she
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The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
sat day after day without result. You may consider this a pre-
tense on the part of a very clever woman, a device to convince
the author of her mediumship but she said, *I have no control
over the voices and no sensation of producing them.'
"During these periods of silence, the search for the buried
crosses halted. We could do nothing without the minute gui-
dance of these whispers.'
"As you examine the sixteen crosses which the author and
his associates found in widely separated locations, you will
find them all small, and the author admitted on cross examina-
tion that critics might say that they had been taken from his
collection and 'planted/ He said, 'I cannot believe that this was
done by Mrs. Williams, for to do so would have required
thousands of miles of motoring and the climbing of cactus-
covered hills.'
"You will come upon many fruitless expeditions. Notwith-
standing the confident predictions of the voices, the author
was unable to locate the cache of silver or the khiva. Twice,
Mrs. Williams climbed a formidable mountain to locate an
underground chamber which the author could not uncover.
This and other painful enterprises may be considered devices
to prove her sincerity. 'That she believed in her voices was
evident,' the author states. 'Under their guidance, she led the
way up canons, through thickets of poison oak and groves of
cactus. She not only used the pick and shovel but her bare
hands in digging out rocks and sifting gravel. She shrank from
no hardship. She not only drove the car, she toiled as few men
would have been willing to do.'
"This will lead you to ask, "What was her motive? What
sustained her in these months of effort?'
"This vital question is answered by the author himself.
'After some ten or twelve sittings with Mrs. Williams, I felt
306
Charging the Jury
so deeply obligated to her that I said, 1 cannot go on using your
rime and your strength without at least the promise of com-
pensation. If you will continue to work with me on this prob-
lem, I will agree to pay you from whatever royalties the story
of these crosses may earn. I realize that without your aid, I can-
not complete my book.' "
"In this agreement you may find sufficient motive for Mrs.
Williams' activities, for by it she stood to share not only the
money returns of the book, but to win wide recognition as the
writer's trusted medium and co-worker. Thereafter, she was,
naturally, doubly eager to furnish new and startling features.
"In taking up the affirmative side of the case, you must give
due weight to the evidence of witnesses who state that the
voice phenomena were not only heard and recorded in the full
daylight, but that the writer and his daughter repeatedly test-
ed the supernormal character of the whispers by holding a
folded handkerchief against the psychic's lips. 'We did this
in the presence of four or five witnesses,' he declares. Realiz-
ing that much depended upon the separation of these whispers
from Mrs. Williams' normal speech organs, he went so far on
a later date as to put in her mouth a flat piece of hard candy, so
large that it covered her tongue and protruded from her lips.
It was what the children call a 'sucker,' and contained a stick.
It could not be chewed or swallowed.
"While the psychic was thus prevented from the use of her
tongue, the author received ten direct answers to questions,
and his friend Beaman took the evidence down in shorthand.
'We both regarded this, at the time, as conclusive evidence of
the supernormal character of the whispers.'
"This drastic test of the psychic's powers should be given
full consideration, and, by referring back to the author's de-
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The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
positions, you will find that, according to Mr. Beaman's short-
hand report, the answers by the psychic contained sounds im-
possible of utterance without the use of the tongue.
"In an adjoining room, with a closed door between, one of
the witnesses asked of the invisibles, ' Are you going to show us
where the crosses are hidden at the buried trees?' and the an-
swer was, 'Yes.'
" 'Will you be able to talk to us?'
"The voice replied, 'Surely.'
" 'Is the medium losing her power?'
"The answer was, 'I am afraid so.'
"Later, the author addressed the invisible called Fuller, say-
ing, 'We had a very good test,' and the voice replied, 'A fine
test, a perfectly fine test. Can you hear me?'
"As a further test, the author said, 'If you are with us, Fuller,
we will drive up through Hidden Valley as usual, to the place
where the old fellow was digging '
"The whisper interrupted, 'Go beyond that.'
" 'Down beyond the corner of the fenced land?'
" 'Beyond that,' replied the voice.
" 'When we reach that point, we will talk to you from the
car.'
"Again the voice interrupted, Til be there.'
"Mr. Garland then said to those who had witnessed this
ordeal, 'This test is quite as good as if Mrs. Williams' mouth
had been plastered with surgeon's tape.'
"You must admit, ladies and gentlemen of the jury, that if
this test of the psychic's supernormal powers had been offered
in a court of law, it would have been considered conclusive,
but it leaves the problem of the manifesting intelligence un-
solved.
"You should now go back over the evidence and follow care-
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Charging the Jury
fully step by step, the author's persistent attempts to separate
the mind of the psychic from the content of her communica-
tions.
"Beginning by listening to these whispers with a megaphone
which Mrs. Williams held against her body, the author at
last, by mechanical means, succeeded in separating her from
the circle of listeners till, in a distant room with a hall and two
closed doors between, he carried on long conversations with
the whispering voices.
"You are confronted here by evidence which seems to es-
tablish two basic claims first, that the whispers were super-
normal in their production, and second, that the psychic pos-
sessed powers clairvoyant and clairaudient.
"By means of his one-way telephone, consisting of a highly
sensitive microphone with an amplifying receiver, the author
affirms that he was able to discuss with these spectral voices
objects held in his hand in a separate room, a distance of more
than seventy feet from the psychic. 'On several instances, I
secured the reading of a letter in Spanish, a letter which the
psychic had never seen.'
"Unless you put these replies and the reading of the letter
down to fortunate guessing, you must admit that some sort of
supernormal perception is involved.
"But, ladies and gentlemen of the jury, if you discard all this
evidence of supernormal utterance and supernormal percep-
tion, so carefully adduced by the writer, you must still grapple
with the most important problem of all who made these
'idols' and why were they buried? You must move on to a care-
ful consideration of the evidence which indicates their verity
and the verity of the characters who buried them.
"The author states, 'At our very first sitting, Mrs. Williams,
who was lately from Chicago and knew nothing of the pur-
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The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
pose of my experiment, produced whispers which announced
the presence of the Parents, the original discoverers of these
strange artifacts.'
"At this time, the psychic knew nothing of the author's in-
vestigation and nothing of the character of Mrs. Parent, but
she heard the author ask, 'Are there more of these crosses to be
discovered?' and the answer, 'Yes, many of them.'
"The author then announced his purpose to Mrs. Williams.
'If I can find, under your clairvoyant guidance, a single cross
of similar character, the entire collection made by the Parents
will be validated.' With this design, he called upon Father
Serra, who had guided the Parents in their search, and also
upon his friend Fuller, who had at other times communicated
with him, and with their united guidance, Mrs. Williams was
at once able to locate several of the buried 'idols,' as the padres
called them.
"The author says, 'After many hundreds of miles of motor-
ing, we located and unearthed sixteen artifacts, similar in sub-
stance and design to those collected by the Parents. Some were
in deep gullies, buried under heavy rocks, others were high on
cactus-covered hills. One that I discovered was hidden in a
ledge of sandstone behind a wall of cactus plants which I was
forced to chop away before I could reach the cleft in which
the cross lay, wholly out of reach. To say that Mrs. Williams
planted that cross will not do. It was in a spot inaccessible even
for a man, without a cutting tool.'
"If you consider that these objects were hidden by a con-
federate, you must admit supernormal powers of perception
in the psychic. Such powers were especially in evidence on
the mountainside near San Luis Obispo.
"According to the direct testimony of the author, the psy-
chic said with clear particularity, 'Fuller tells us to go to the
310
Charging the Jury
mission, take a road leading west, and drive one mile. You
will come to a flat-topped mountain on the right-hand side. It
is in a pasture, but no one will molest you. He says he will be
with us and tell us where to dig.'
"This the author did. He drove to the mission, over two
hundred miles distant. The whispering voice calling itself
Fuller directed him on the right road and told them where to
stop. He instructed them to crawl through the fence and
walk toward a certain big rock on top of the ridge. 'We did
as directed. In less than an hour, we found two crosses, one
curiously crumpled, as if to meet the objection that it had been
abstracted from my collection.'
This is but one example of the minute directions given by
the voices.
"In this connection, you must consider the probabilities as
well as the possibilities of the case. It was possible for the psy-
chic to drive four hundred and ten miles, climb that mountain
and bury those crosses, but the author finds such an expedi-
tion improbable. 'If they were planted by a confederate,' he
says, 'the task of locating them without detailed guidance
would have been very difficult.'
"If you grant the directing personality calling itself 'Fuller,'
you are confronted by the question, 'How could he direct the
psychic to this remote spot?' His answer to this involved an-
other mystery. He said, 'I got my information from the Indian
who buried the cross.' All this may be born of the medium's
subconscious mind. It may be just a part of her supernormal
physical endowment, or, if you wish, you may consider Fuller
a discarnate intelligence, intent on serving his friend Garland.
"The author says, 'If I could prove that Mrs. Williams knew
nothing of early California history, the case for human sur-
vival would be strong, but I have no way of proving that she
3"
The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
did not read lives of Coronado, Espejo and Marcos de Nitza.
I can only take her word for it/
"As a jury, you must grant that the writer, by reason of
more than forty-five years of study and experiment, is a com-
petent witness. His experiences with this psychic do not stand
alone, they are merely supplemental to many others recorded
in his previous volume, Forty Years of Psychic Research.
"Now, finally, with the writer's testimony and Mrs. Wil-
liams' declaration in mind, you must weigh fairly and justly
all the evidence pointing to the psychic's sincerity. Whether
her manifestations offer a mixture of the false with the true (as
those of many mediums have been proven to be) must be de-
cided by the weight of evidence. It may be that she is as the
writer states like a clerk in a wireless receiving station, un-
able to pass upon the character of the messages she receives.
"The author asks you to put aside (so far as you are able)
all prejudice, and to return a verdict based on his testimony
derived from experiments in the sunlight nd in the open air."
312
A Personal Afterword
As i CLOSE the presentation of my evidence at the end of two
years of study and exploration, I find myself not very far ad-
vanced beyond the point from which I set out. Nevertheless,
I make claim to definite progress. I think my readers will agree
that by the aid of Sophia Williams and her voices, I have as-
sembled a valuable mass of evidence, testimony which points
to a solution of the problem involved, although beneath every
mystery a still more insoluble mystery remains.
I have keenly enjoyed the experience of these years of sunlit
experiment and open-air exploration, and I trust my readers
will find a like pleasure in the reading of my chronicle.
The good old Earth, notwithstanding all its storms, floods,
and wars, seems as solid as when I began my study of the In-
visible World forty-seven years ago. I still find it difficult to
believe in an intangible universe, a fourth-dimensional plane
from which these inexplicable voices appear to come, and yet
when Henry Fuller and Father Serra speak to me, I am con-
vinced momentarily of their reality. When they tell me
that I am surrounded by scores of mission padres, eager to
prove their possession of continuing life and memory, I reply
in good faith, but as I break the connecting current and go out
upon the street, swarming with businessmen and pleasure-
seekers, I lose that faith. I find myself still the doubter, still the
investigator, demanding proof and still more proof. I return to
my desk each morning, resolved upon further experiment and
exploration.
I close with a word of warning IF this spirit world exists,
consideration of it should be left to elderly folk and experi-
313
The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
mentalists like myself. After all, the normal man is properly
concerned with commerce, sport and mechanical progress. To
foster in the young an overwhelming interest in a fourth-
dimensional universe will not do. The only life we definitely
know is here. As one of my invisible friends said of his life on
earth, "I had a hope but no expectancy of life on another
plane," and perhaps that is the best that we who are scientif-
ically-minded can achieve.
As I ride among the cactus-covered hills, it is easy for me
to visualize the time when primitive men climbed to the moun-
tain tops to worship the sun. The earth is no longer common-
place to me. It suggests the faith of the millions who have dis-
solved into its dust. "We are not dead, we are not far, we are
here," one of the padres said to me.
I do not pretend to have solved the problems involved in the
discovery of these barbaric buried amulets; I merely present
them. I am nearing my final entrada, but I do not expect death
to explain life. If it does, I shall certainly attempt to share my
wisdom with those I leave on this side of the dark river, just
as these heroic priests have tried to do with me.
Psychic mysteries still allure me, as distant mountain ranges
allured me in my youth. As a mental pioneer, I am still moved
to cultivate unknown valleys and tunnel unnamed ranges.
Unlike the true frontiersman, few of us who seek the bor-
derlands of human life are able to overtake the forms which
flee, or touch the hands which beckon. Perhaps it is better so
the never-ending joy of the seeking remains.
THE END
APPENDICES
^Oakland
f'fes
I Modesto
San Jose
NEVADA
\
Bishop
iFresno
\
O R N 1
Lone Pine
I A
) Little Lake
\
Scale in Miles
10 20 30 40 50
Circles show where crosses and tokens were found.
Appendix i
The Medium
AFFIRMATION BY SOPHIA WILLIAMS
REALIZING that the value of Hamlin Garland's book The Mys-
tery of the Buried Crosses depends very largely on the verity
of my psychic powers, I here solemnly affirm that I had noth-
ing to do with the distribution of the artifacts which he and his
aides discovered, and that I was led to the places where they lay
by voices over which I had no control and which had no con-
nection, so far as I could discern, with my own speech organs.
I have no knowledge of how these whispers are produced and
I have no sensation of producing them. I believe them to be
the voices of discarnate beings.
I further declare and affirm that I had no previous knowledge
of the Spanish priests and explorers with whom Mr. Garland
conversed. I had never heard of Onate, Espejo, Lasuen, Palou
or Peyri. I had heard of Father Serra but knew nothing of
his mission in California. I had read of Coronado in my school
books but I had no recollection of his explorations. I made no
effort to inform myself concerning these characters. I did not
read Mr. Garland's manuscript then or later and I have only
a scattering knowledge of what it contains. For the most part
his talks with the padres and explorers took place beyond my
range of hearing and vision. In most of the sittings I could not
hear a word even at my end of the line.
Early in our sittings Mr. Garland and I went to the library
to read something about Guatemala, but thereafter we both
studiously refrained from reading previous to the communica-
tions. We then read only to confirm dates and names. The
names Onate and Espejo meant nothing to me when they first
came.
With regard to the supernormal character of my voices I
welcomed all tests made by Mr. Garland's friends in their at-
tempts to separate them from my vocal cords, lips and tongue.
317
The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
I have no control over these whispers and for weeks at a time
I was unable to produce them. I do not know why they come
nor why they fail. My sense of mediumship between this
world and that which Mr. Garland calls "the Fourth-
Dimensional World" is very real and vital to me. I felt it my
duty to aid Mr. Garland in his attempt to validate the collec-
tion of crosses; for by so doing he would prove the survival of
memory and personality after death.
Signed: Sophia Williams
SUBSCRIBED AND SWORN TO BEFORE ME THIS 15 DAY OF
DECEMBER 1938. Marcus E. Dooley
NOTARY PUBLIC
The following letter from Airs. Williams is in effect an
affadavit.
Chicago, Illinois.
November 15, 1938
Dear Mr. Garland,
Before working with you, I had done noth-
ing in the way of finding treasures nor in psychornetry, and
when you showed me several of the crosses and a few of the
spirit photographs and I heard parts of Mrs. Parent's story, I
was quite sure that the whole thing was a hoax and that it
would be useless to try to validate these artifacts. I was advised,
however, by my spirit teachers that the crosses could be vali-
dated, and they at once began to give me information about
them.
I have never been particularly interested in the American
Indian. I have seen many so-called spirit mediums whose con-
trols were Indians who gave such a ridiculous performance
that I hoped never to come in contact with their like.
I have complete confidence in the information I get from
the other side, but I was surprised and excited over each cross
we found. I still feel that the failures we had were due to some
mistakes on our part and possibly lack of memory on the part
of those imparting the information at the time.
Appendices
I have never at any time desired to commercialize on the
psychic power I possess, but rather to develop it as far as pos-
sible and to allow others to analyze it from a scientific stand-
point, hoping that some worthwhile knowledge may be gained
from it. Although I have read many books on diversified sub-
jects, I had read little or nothing on either the Indians or Cali-
fornia history, since neither held any particular interest for me.
The past year and a half has held many thrilling experiences,
and I have enjoyed the trips and the explorations we have
made, though many were not easy or pleasant at the time. I
carry a few scars as the result.
I have no desire to profit by the publication of the book, nor
do I care for publicity along these lines. It has given me a great
satisfaction, however, to prove in this way the continuity of
personality and of memory. Sincerely,
Sophia Williams
Poundstone's original letter with signature.
DR. LEON H. POUNDSTONE
1 08 N. STATE ST.
CHICAGO, ILL. Jan., 7, 1938.
Dear Mr. Garland;
At Dr. Rager's request I am writing you
regarding a remarkable experience I had this afternoon. At two
o'clock I placed a synthetic filling in an upper right biscuspid
tooth for Mrs. Sophia Williams.
While I was holding the celluloid matrix in place for the
three minutes duration required for the material to set my dead
wife's voice came in very distinctly and several questions were
asked and answered.
Mrs. William's mouth was wide open, I had one hand in her
mouth holding the matrix, her head was tipped back and her
throat was full of saliva.
This was most convincing evidence that the voice was not
made by the medium or any one else as we were alone in my
office at the time. Very truly yours,
Leon H. Poundstone, D.D.S.
319
The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
Following up this most valuable report concerning the phe-
nomena witnessed in Dr. Poundstone's office while treating
Mrs. Sophia Williams, I wrote to him on January 14, 1938, ask-
ing him to note down the answers to the following questions.
Q. You speak of hearing your dead wife's voice was it a
voice or a whisper?
A. It was a clear voice and was audible above the outside
street noise.
Q. Did it have a recognizable quality?
A. The quality of tone was the same as I had heard before.
Q. Did it come from Mrs. Williams or from the air?
A. It appeared to come from the three-minute timing sand-
glass on the bracket table in front of us.
Q. Were the questions such as would identify your wife?
A. Yes.
A CASE OF CLAIRVOYANT GUIDANCE
A STATEMENT BY SOPHIA WILLIAMS
Early in the summer of 1937, while I was assisting Mr.
Hamlin Garland, author of Forty Years of Psychic Research,
in some experiments for a new book dealing with clairaudience
and clairvoyance, I had a very strange experience, one which
was entirely new to me. One night after I had been with Mr.
Garland on an exploring expedition in search of certain buried
Indian relics, a very clear vision of an Indian came to me. He
seemed entirely of flesh and blood, entirely natural in form
and costume.
He said to me, "Go back over that road which you took
when you went for the first time to the bridge a few miles
north of the Mission of San Fernando, and when you come to
the fork of the road take the one leading to the left the one
which leads to the northwest. Go about four miles from the
bridge and you will come to a narrow valley on the west side
of the road. In this valley are three of our amulets. They are in
the bed of the stream. I will go with you and show you where
they are hidden."
320
Appendices
He seemed to show me this valley. I could see the color of
the hills on either side of it. When I spoke of this to Mr. Gar-
land, he did not seem to give it much thought, but a few days
later as we were driving along this road on our way to Lebec,
I stopped the car and said, "There is the valley I saw in my
vision." We looked at our speedometer and found that it had
registered just four miles. Mr. Garland said, "We will drive
in and verify your vision."
After getting permission to do this, we found our way across
a pasture up to a dam in the stream and a wire fence which
closed the valley. A narrow gulch or wash came down to this
fence. "This is exactly the scene of my vision," I said, "and the
Indian told me that we should get into the bed of this stream
and look carefully for the idols shaped like a cross, which were
buried on these hills but which have been washed down by
the rains."
I was wearing high-heeled slippers and silk stockings at the
time and could not walk up the wash. A few days later, guided
by the Indian, we got down into this ditch and walked care-
fully up it. A young girl who was acting as driver for our car
went with us.
As we worked our way up this winding gulch, its walls rose
so that we were hidden from sight by overhanging vines. My
invisible guide indicated that we should keep in the stream bed.
He seemed to say to me, "Overturn the rocks."
This we all did for nearly an hour. At last, as Mr. Garland
and his helper lifted a heavy rock out of its bed in the sand and
gravel, they discovered deeply embedded in the mud a barbaric
metal amulet shaped like a cross. This was the precise object
which my guide had said we would find. My vision or clair-
voyant prophecy had been true.
In this connection the following statement has value.
"This is to certify that I, Phyllis Toal, was with Mr. Garland
and Mrs. Williams when they were in search of crosses in the
bed of a stream in a valley near San Fernando, and that I up-
321
The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
heaved a rock under the supervision of Mr. Garland, disclosing
a cross embedded in a mass of fine white roots. After Mr.
Garland picked up the cross, I noticed that its print remained
in the roots. The stone showed no evidence of having been
recently disturbed and fine white roots were growing across
the cross as if it had been there several months."
SIGNED: Phyllis Toal
Statement from Professor Arturo B. L. Fallico
Chicago, December 6th, 1938
I have known Mrs. Williams as a friend for nearly four
years, and during that time I have had occasion to confirm the
personal integrity and high sense of honor which, in the estima-
tion of all who know her, she possesses. I have also carried on
a series of psychological tests, both with and without her
knowledge, relating to some of the baffling phenomena she
produces. These tests have led me to conclude that the usual
hypotheses set up to explain manifestations such as these are of
little importance in view of the facts. Although, therefore, I
would hesitate to offer, at the present moment, any explanation
whatsoever, I do not hesitate in the least to say that we have,
in her work and especially in certain portions of it, some
principle operating which is not included in the orthodox
categories of natural facts. I have been especially impressed by
Mrs. W.'s psychic visions in which temporal and spatial lim-
itations are or seem to be no barrier whatsoever. I am inclined
to think that in these visions is a psychological fact of prime
importance in our further understanding of the nature of the
psyche.
I shall be more than happy to discuss my observations and
studies in this connection with anyone interested in the work
of Mrs. Williams.
Arturo B. L. Fallico , M. A.
322
Appendices
Testimony of Mr. A. Gay lord Beaman
I was present when Mr. Garland filled the mouth of the
psychic, Mrs. Sophia Williams, with candy, on Sept. 25, 1937,
and I took down in shorthand the questions and answers which
made up the test.
I made my record while standing almost directly over the
psychic and closely observing her.
No sound came from her lips. There was not the slightest
movement of the lips or throat.
The voices appeared to come from the air to the left of the
psychic's head and somewhat to the rear; and not from her
body.
Mr. Garland sat beside the psychic as he questioned the in-
visible entity calling itself Fuller.
Ten questions were put and answered while the psychic was
thus gagged, of which five were asked and answered while
Mr. Garland and I were beside her, and five while Mr. Garland
and I were in another room with a closed door between, the
responses coming from the one-way telephone machine.
The psychic was apparently in an entirely normal state.
A. G. Beaman
BEAMAN INSURANCE
AGENCY LIMITED
SO. SPRING STREET
LOS ANGELES
Los Angeles,
December 5, 1938.
Appendix 2
Miscellaneous Evidence
AMONG the persons mentioned by Parent as taking part in his
explorations were two young people named Hull. In my search
for witnesses, I discovered them living near me in Los Angeles.
They are intelligent and trustworthy. Hull is a druggist. After
I had shown them the collection left by Parent they quite
willingly testified to the truth of Mrs. Parent's mysterious
faculty.
Mr. Hull said, "I was a drug clerk in Redlands in 1916. I
used to sell Mrs. Parent film for her camera. She didn't know
how to put the film in, so I did it for her. She had no skill with
a camera. Everett, the man who developed her film, was an
old man, no longer active in the business of photography. She
went to him because she didn't want anyone to know what she
was doing. She avoided any use of the photographs she ob-
tained."
Mrs. Hull testified to the amazing particularization with
which Mrs. Parent foretold what they would find. u Once she
said to me, 'I am going out to locate some money. I don't see
as well as you do, so I want you to go with me.' When we
reached a certain road, she said, 'Keep watch for a big rock
on the right-hand side of the road, and a little farther along
look for a tall purple flower standing all by itself. The place
where the money is will be marked by a little pile of stones. It
will be in the bed of a stream opposite the flower.'
"I located the stone and the purple flower, just as she foretold,
and we found the little pile of stones in the water. We removed
the stones and found under them an old can containing money.
"I went with her on other trips when she found crosses. Mr.
Hull and I both helped to dig crosses from ground which was
covered with tall grass, rocks and bushes. We took photo-
graphs of the places where they were found. The ground had
3*4
Appendices
not been disturbed for many years. Toward the end of her life,
when she was sick and unable to go any more, Mrs. Parent said,
'There are many more crosses to be discovered.' She never
picked up the crosses herself. She was afraid of rattlesnakes
and she couldn't climb the steep hills. She seldom pointed out
the exact spot. She just indicated a hillside or a canyon. She
usually told us all before we started just what we would find.
She foretold the number of crosses and she kept us looking till
we found them all. She never gave away a cross but she gave
away rings, when told to do so by the fathers."
Mrs. Hull spoke of finding one of the "sacred rocks" and of
seeing it broken in the field near where it was found. This dis-
poses of the charge that the Parents manipulated the rocks in
their home.
Mrs. Hull said, "One morning Violet said to me, 'There is
money to be found at Santa Monica, if w r e hurry. The tide is
coming in and the rocks where the money lies will soon be
covered.' She pointed at a little group of rocks. 'Hurry!' she
said. I went into the edge of the water where the rocks were
and began feeling around among them. I could find nothing.
The waves came in so fast I had to go back. I took off my shoes
and stockings and waded out to the rocks again. I felt some-
thing soft among them. It was a purse and in it I found a con-
siderable sum of money. Mrs. Parent did not touch the purse till
after I had dug it up and handed it out to her. She found many
thousands of dollars in this way enough to buy a home. No
one can say she planted those cans and purses and bottles with
hundreds of dollars in them."
Affirmation of A. J. Seamans
In the autumn of 1937, 1 visited Mr. Seamans in Moor Park
and talked with him of the Parents' most amazing trip to Mon-
terey. He was a reputable citizen and, though a man past
seventy years of age, his memory was keen. At my request, he
wrote me a letter the pertinent parts of which follow:
3 2 5
The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
Dear Sir
In Reguards as to my connection with the work with Mrs.
G. C. Parent will say that for about eight years I went on the
trips in which she found and gathered all the crosses rings as
per Mr. Parents Records which are absolutely correct and we
dug them from different parts of the country there. Lots of
silver crosses and some that the metal I do not know and of
many different designs also tablets and I can asure you that
they was not planted by Mrs. Parent. . . .
In closing will say the Records of Mr. and Mrs. Parent are
absolutely correct and can be corrobrated by many now
living
Yours Resptt
A. J. Seamans
Signed testimony by Paul Sivisher, Redlands, Calif.
The first trip I made with Mr. and Mrs. Gregory Parent,
was to a place a little outside of Ventura, California. We made
camp, and Mrs. Parent said we would find some crosses and
would find some rocks, which we would open and find Indian
ring etc.
Skeptical as I was, I proceeded in the search and picked up
several crosses, as did the others in the party. I also picked up
a rock and brought it to camp, where we opened it and found
just what Mrs. Parent said would be in it.
On another trip we made, we went to a place near Fort
Tejon on the Ridge Route. There we had to dig at least two
feet under a tree that was lying on the ground. At the same
place I, alone, went back in the hills and found some crosses
hidden in cracks in the rock ledge, which were hard to reach.
Paul L. Stvisher
326
Appendices
Statement of Mr. J. B. Kingham, a well-known Manufacturer
of Ontario, California, concerning the Dies belonging to the
Boy, Adam Smith:
"I am not a spiritualist and when I went with the Parents it
was as the owner of a car which they hired. I had only a mild
interest in what they were doing. I don't know what induced
me to pick up that rock. It looked just like hundreds of others
lying about. Mrs. Parent did not indicate the rock. I picked it
up myself. I saw it opened. The dies were in a buckskin bag
so old and rotten that it fell to pieces. There was a page from a
Bible along with the dies and it was so changed by time that it
was like ashes. It could not be handled. The dies were less than
an inch long. There were more than thirty of them. They were
in a hole which had been made in the rock and pasted up with
some kind of cement which had a peculiar odor. I went on
several other expeditions and found crosses and picked up other
rocks without Mrs. Parent pointing them out. We always
found what she predicted we would find."
A Letter recently received from Mr. Kingham corroborating
and confirming his original Statement:
Jan. 21, 1939
Dear Sir: Replying to yours of the i8th Inst.; will say that I
went on six or eight trips with the Parents from Redlands, back
in 15, 1 6 and 17. We always found just what Madam Parent
told us we would find before we left home.
I well recall the time I personally picked up the rock which
contained the small steel stamps which the Madam told us be-
longed to Adam Smith and were used in stamping the numer-
ous solid silver crosses Etc. which we found in widely scattered
localities of the different counties we visited.
/. B. Kingham
327
The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
Two of the most valuable witnesses in support of Parent
mediumship, are two businessmen in Pasadena, who prefer not
to be named in print. In a letter to me, one of these men puts
himself on record as follows:
"Based on the information which we have, we know that it
would have been both physically and financially impossible
for Mrs. Parent or any of her family to have planted these
things. . . ."
Witnesses to the Opening of the "Sacred Rocks"
It was the custom of Mr. and Mrs. Parent to call in their
friends to witness the opening of the mud balls which they
called "sacred rocks." Below is the original of a statement made
on March 23, 1915.
We the undersigned Witnesses were present on Fri. March
the 23rd at 330^ Orange Str. Redlands Calif, to witness
a most remarkable incident. The incident in question being
the opening of a rock found near the Mission of San Juan
Capistrano by Mr. G. D. Hutchison of 2129 Norwood Str.
Los Angeles. Mr. Hutchison being one of a party investigating
the claims of Mrs. G. C. Parent, these claims being that in
visions from the dead indians and Padres of the old mission,
that there would be rocks found near the mission, and in these
rocks, filled with dobe and preserved with a strong smelling
oil, we would find the keepsakes and crosses of those that
were at the Old Mission at a time of indian uprising and
and the strenuous times around 1806-12. According to these
visions and the rocks in question, the little Indian- (Rock in
question found Sunday March 14 near Capistrano) The under-
signed are witnesses to the events set forth from Pages i to 9
and also to the opening of the rocks. We all testify that the
foregoing is the absolute truth
328
Appendices
-R. A. Higginbotham Miss Minnie Ohmstede
7155. HOPE ST., 937 6xH ST.,
LOS ANGELES, CAL. REDLANDS
Emil Suess Mrs. Emil Suess
525 ORANGE ST., 525 ORANGE ST.,
REDLANDS REDLANDS
G. D. Hutchison Miss Gladys Suess
LOS ANGELES 525 ORANGE ST.,
r u /-. i REDLANDS
Frances McCauley
CALIF - Lillian B. Tritton
Mrs. C. L. Adams ' ' 8 EAST CLIVE AVE -
LOS ANGELES, CAL. REDLANDS, CALIF.
Mrs. G. D. Hutchison A. S. Fox
LOS ANGELES, CAL. 3 2O W. OLIO AVE.,
Mrs. C. L. Garver Geo. Parent
BARSTOW, CALIF. 330^ ORANGE STR.
One morning I laid out on my desk a number of the adobe
balls which Mrs. Parent called "sacred rocks" and asked Fuller
to discuss them with me. He began by saying, "They were
made not to conceal rings and amulets from robbers, but as
sacrificial offerings to their gods. They were made of clay with
a mixture of oil made from a nut and from the juice of certain
grasses. The nuts were heated and the oil pressed from them.
This oil hardened the clay, as certain Oriental gums from trees
are used to form enamel or lacquer. In some cases, as Mrs.
Parent said, snake oil was added. The plain stones with noth-
ing in them were also offerings to the gods by those who had
nothing to put in them.
"As for the large, lettered crosses, they were not trail
markers but commemorative tablets. They were like totem
poles. They have long since vanished from all but obscure
trails."
329
The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
I asked, "What kind of a tree bore the nuts you describe?"
"The tree from which these green-covered nuts came had
leaves resembling the holly. The nuts resembled beech nuts.
The Indians brought these nuts from the south and planted
them. They did not thrive, however. The climate was not
warm enough. They used this oil in the south to make bricks
for fireplaces."
"Does any white man know of this oil?"
"No, no one now living knows of it."
"What did this oil look like?"
"In its solid state it resembled resin."
Statement by Violet Parent
Recorded by Gregory Parent and Signed by Witnesses
Here follows another statement made by Violet Parent and
read by her husband before the opening of several "sacred
rocks." The reader should note the serious nature of Mrs.
Parent's affirmation.
"We are assembled here tonight to witness the breaking and
the opening to the light of day the contents of six sacred rocks
which you see before you. These rocks were sealed principally
by the hands of the civilized Indians of the Mission of Capis-
trano, over a hundred years ago.
"In a most remarkable manner I have had thrust upon me
by a most supreme power, the art of conversing in my dreams
with these same people who it was sealed these rocks which
you see before you and which we are about to open.
"The world may believe the facts and contents of these pages
or they may disbelieve them. But / say they are actual facts
it is the truth and 1 will swear to it, resting my hand on the
most sacred work of the Lord Jesus.
33
Appendices
"We are now about to open these six rocks, and before we
do so, I want you all, as witnesses, to testify to the following
facts: That each rock has a very strong, peculiar odor similar
to others we have found and broken on former occasions. Also
that these six rocks are in the same condition as when you
found them, and that in order to break them it takes several
strong blows of a hammer.
"I shall ask you to testify that this story has been read aloud
to you, and that you each and all are conversant with the find-
ing of the rocks on our four different trips. Those who dis-
believe or have any doubt of the proceeding, will please not
sign their names." (All signed.)
Redlands, Cal.
Sunday, May the 23rd, 1915.
We, the undersigned, do testify and swear that we were wit-
nesses to the above proceedings, and that we saw taken from
the rocks the following articles as mentioned below.
WITNESSES' NAMES
Mr. and Mrs. Emil Suess Robert S. Higginbotham
Mr. E. D. Higgmbotham Mrs. Floda B. Hutchison
Miss Gladys Suess G. D. Hutchison
Mr. and Mrs. C. E. Garver Mrs. C. L. Adams
Francis S. McCauley A. R. Schultz
Lillian B. Tritton A. S. Fox
A. C. Parent. Mr. and Mrs. T. A. Gaume
Mr. and Mrs. A. R. Boiven
33'
The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
The test of the Scaled Sack
A Statement made by G. C. Parent
The sack in which we had sealed certain rocks found at the
Capistrano holy ground was examined by the witnesses some
of whom had helped to seal it. These witnesses, when the seals
were broken, wrote their names on a paper and compared their
signatures, with their signatures which sealed the sack, so as to
make sure they were exactly alike. We found in the sack six
sacred rocks, just as these strange people from the beyond had
told me. After breaking these six sacred rocks, we found their
contents to be exactly as these dead souls had told me in my
vision except for in one instance as already related.
During the reading of the above story the following ques-
tions were asked of those who were with me on the trip when
these sacred articles were found and sealed in the sack. In each
case I received an affirmative answer as the other witnesses
will testify.
QUESTION Did any of you see any other rocks besides
those which you picked up?
ANSWER We saw thousands.
QUESTION Were any of you told before we found the
sacred crosses just what names and dates there would be
found on them?
ANSWER Some of us were told of this days before we went
on the trip.
QUESTION Those of you who helped to seal the sack at
Capistrano do you feel that the sack has in any way been
tampered with?
ANSWER We positively do not.
332
Appendix 3
Analysis of the Material of the Crosses
THE crosses and other artifacts were quite evidently of vary-
ing alloys of lead, copper, aluminum and possibly of silver.
They were of varying weight and density. Some rang clear as
bells, others were unquestionably lead. Seeking expert analysis,
I sent four to Dr. Donald Clark, Consulting Physical Metallur-
gist, Pasadena, California, and two to Dr. Maas. A seventh was
analyzed by an assayer. I give here the reports.
June 1 1, 1937
I have had analyses made of four crosses. None of these
showed any trace of silver. A complete test was made so that
any other elements would be indicated. Analyses of these are
as follows:
Cross from Mint Canyon marked No. 2
- Lead 98%; Tin, trace.
Cross from Lone Pine marked No. 3
-Tin 95%; Antimony 4%; Lead i%; Copper, trace.
Cross from Palmdale marked No. 4
- Tin 90%; Antimony 5%; Lead 2%; Copper i%
Cross from Bishop marked No. 5
Tin 90%; Antimony 6%; Copper 3%.
I am rather thoroughly convinced that these crosses took on
their present appearance, that is, of being coated with oxide
or earthy material, from being buried for a long period of time.
I think it is practically impossible to definitely determine how
long these may have been in the ground. So far as I know, the
principal source of tin around this part of the country, is near
San Diego, where there have been tin mines for some period of
time, although on a small scale. I am sending you the crosses
under separate cover. Sincerely yours,
Donald S. Clark
333
The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
Report made to Mr. Garland by
ARTHUR R. MAAS CHEMICAL LABORATORIES
Analysis No. 21390
Large Metal Cross
Tin
Aluminum
Copper
Lead
Iron
Present (Heavy)
Present (Heavy)
Present (Medium)
Present (Light)
Present (Trace)
Small Metal Cross
Tin
Aluminum
Copper
Lead
Iron
Present (Heavy)
Present (Heavy)
Present (Medium)
Present (Light)
Present (Trace)
ARTHUR R. MAAS LABORATORIES
By: Arthur R. Maas.
Other crosses tested by another assayer yielded from 5 to g
per cent silver.
334
Appendix 4
Text and Translation of Spanish Letter
THIS letter from Mexico City, never seen by the psychic, was
translated for me by Fuller, Father Serra, Father Martinez,
and Espejo with a closed door between the psychic and my-
self. In the case of Espejo, tivo closed doors and a long hall
intervened.
MUSEO NACIONAL DE ARQUEOLOGIA,
HISTORIA Y ETNOGRAFIA
Mexico, D. F., a 5 de Junio de 1937.
Al C. Director de este Museo.
Presente.
Con ref erencia a la carta del senor Hamlin Garland, que esa
Direccion giro a este Departamento, manifiesto a usted lo
siguiente:
En toda la Conquista Evangelica de la Nueva Espafia, se
procuro ante todo y desde el primer rnomento dar a conocer la
cruz; fue el primer monumento cristiano que fabricaron los
conquistadores con tal objeto.
For lo tanto, es de inferirse que, los francisca nos que
hicieran la catequizacion de las Calif ornias, ha cia la mitad del
siglo xvn, debieron dar a conocer a los naturales de ellas la
cruz y procurar se perpetuase suconocimiento y devocion, a
cuyo fin las hicieron y fundieron ellos mismos. Las cruces
representadas en las fotografias que acompana a su carta el
Sr. Hamlin Garland y la original que el mismo envio a este
Museo. Las cuales fueron seguramente para que las trajesen
consigo los catequizados y otras para estar guardadas y con-
sagradas en sus habitaciones y chozas.
335
The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
Para su duracion las procuraron de plomo que les era f acil,
ya que este metal, es de muy f acil f undicion, y por otra parte
el que lo tenian a la mano, en el parque (balas de plomo) de los
soldados a quienes acompanaban los frailes en sus conquistas
y descubrimientos.
Cruces que en cantidad se han de haber conservado en las
"Misiones" que se establecieron, para distribuirlas entre los
indigenas, Pudiendo suceder que al ser aban donados los pueblos
en donde tales misiones o primeras iglesias se fundaron; por
esta o aquella causa, como era frecuente en aquellos tiempos,
las mas veces violentas, no fueron recogidas estas cruces y
con el tiempo quedaron enterradas.
Cruces de esta naturaleza y especie no las posee el Museo en
sus colecciones.
Atentamente.
EL JEFE DEL DEPARTAMENTO.
Antonio Cortes.
This translation 'was not made till more than a year after it had
been read to me by Fuller and Father Sena.
DEPARTMENT OF COLONIAL AND
MODERN ETHNOGRAPHY
Mexico City,
June 5, 1937
To the Director of this Museum,
Dear Sir:
With reference to Mr. Hamlin Garland's letter, which your
office sent to this department:
In the whole Evangelical conquest of New Spain, they
strove above all and from the first moment to make known
the cross; it was the first Christian monument made by the
conquerors with that object.
336
Appendices
Therefore, one infers that the Franciscans who taught the
Christian doctrine in the Calif ornias, toward the middle of the
seventeenth century, must have acquainted the natives with
the cross and perpetuated the knowledge of and devotion [to
the cross], to which end they themselves made and cast the
crosses represented in the photographs which Mr. Hamlin Gar-
land sent with his letter and the original one which he himself
sent to this Museum. These were undoubtedly for the neo-
phytes to carry with them, and others to be kept and rever-
enced in their habitations and huts.
For durability, they made them of lead, which was easy for
them, since this metal is very easily cast, and moreover, since
they had it always at hand in the armory (lead bullets) of the
soldiers whom the friars accompanied in their conquests and
discoveries.
In the "Missions" which were established, quantities of
crosses must have been kept in order to distribute them among
the natives. It frequently happened in those times that the
towns where such missions or first churches were founded had
to be abandoned for one reason or another, most frequently a
violent one, and these crosses were overlooked (not gathered
up) and in time became buried.
The Museum had no crosses of this nature and kind in its
collection.
Very truly yours,
Antonio Cortes
HEAD OF THE DEPARTMENT
337
Appendix 5
List of Mrs. Parent's Discoveries of
Crosses and Money
Record of findings by G. C. Parent
IN THE following list, which I found among Parent's records,
the reader will note not only a review of the trips taken, the
dates of the explorations and the number of pieces found, but
also an exact report of the various sums of money found by
Mrs. Parent. Surely no one could accuse her of "planting" cans
filled with gold pieces.
It should be noticed that in all the entries from April 1923
onwards the sums of money are written in a code, of which I
have not the key.
I 1914 July. Over a transom in our house Ten Dollars gold.
1914 Sept. Beginning of the work for the Fathers and the
Indians. First rock found (head rock) near Capistrano, eight
pieces.
1915 March. Sun. the i5th. Second rock found near Capis-
trano containing six pieces.
1915 Sun. April the i8th. Capistrano third trip, four rocks.
1915 Sun. May the i6th. Fourth trip Capistrano, six rocks.
1915 Mon. June the yth. Ten miles north of Barstow, Calif.
Ten rocks, three crosses, two Indian pipes. White Feathers
hills.
1915 Sun. June the 20th. Capistrano fifth trip. One ring, 4
crosses.
, 1915 Thur. July the 8th. Mt. Rubidoux, Riverside, ten
dollars.
1915 Sun. July the nth. Mt. Rubidoux, fourteen dollars
silver.
1915 Sun. July the i8th. San Gabriel hills, six miles from
338
Appendices
Mission, twenty-two sacred rocks and fifteen dollars gold.
1915 Sun. July the 25th. Green Spot, Morton Canyon, near
Redlands, Calif. Seven sacred rocks.
1915 Sun. Aug. the i5th. Morton Canyon three crosses.
1915 Sun. Aug. the 29th. San Luis Rey hills, so-called, many
miles this side of San Luis Rey Mission. Ten dollars, 3 crosses,
4 rocks.
1915 Sun. Sept. the 5th. Little Tejunga Canyon, about six
miles from San Fernando Mission, 5 crosses, 19 sacred rocks.
1915 Sun. Oct. the roth. Capistrano, sixth trip. One tablet,
one rosary, four crosses, and six sacred rocks.
1915 Sun. Oct. the loth. San Luis Rey hills, second trip in
connection with above trip to Capistrano. Thirteen crosses or
rocks?
1915 Sat. Oct. the i6th. Redlands Mission, four rocks.
1915 Dec. the 25th. Morton Canyon, two crosses three
rocks. Approximate number of small pieces in each rock are
four pieces.
1916 Sun. Feb. the 6th. One sacred rock with one crucifix,
found on Bowens Ranch near Crafton, Calif.
1916 Sat. Feb. the 1 2th. Redlands Mission. 2 small crucifixes.
1916 March the i6th. At home find ten dollars in a secret
pocket of an envelop in which was a letter come to us from
friend.
1916 Sun. April the 2nd. Yorba, Calif, first trip we find
thirteen crosses and four sacred rocks. Chief High Horse hills.
1916 Sun. April the 1 6th. San Luis Rey hills, for Chief Red
Cloud, five sacred rocks. Third trip here.
1916 Sun. April the i6th. Capistrano, seventh trip in con-
nection with above trip. Two crosses, three sacred rocks.
1916 Sun. April the 30th. Little Tejunga canyon, second
trip, finding thirteen sacred rocks.
1916 Sun. April the 3oth. San Gabriel hills, second trip in
connection with above. Five crosses and 24 sacred rocks.
1916 Sun. May the yth. Colton hills near Colton, Calif. First
trip. Five sacred rocks.
1916 Sun. May the 2ist. Ventura hills, two miles the other
339
The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
side of Mission. Nine crosses and four sacred rocks. First trip.
y 1916 Sun. Aug. the 6th. San Fernando Mission 5.50 money.
1916 Sun. Aug. the 25th. Ventura hills on summer trip of
two weeks, first trip of this length. Finding 29 crosses and
crucifixes and three sacred rocks in three days' time. 4.^5
money at Santa B., where we spent balance of time. Red Eagle
hills, second trip.
1916 Sun. Sept. the 24th. Old Fort Tejon forty miles this
side of Bakersfield, and near Lebec. This trip of a week's dura-
tion. Finding 47 crosses and Crucifixes, three sacred rocks.
Finding the last three pieces on the morning that we left. Buck
Skin Bear Chief.
1916 Sun. Oct. the i5th. Yorba hills, near Richfield, Calif.
Second trip, five sacred rocks all containing rings and crosses.
1916 Sun. Oct. the 29th. Pacoima hills about five miles from
San Fernando Mission. First trip, Sugerts hills. Nine crosses
and three sacred rocks.
1916 Sun. Nov. the 1 9th. Pacoima hills second trip. Twenty-
two crosses and crucifixes, many of silver.
1916 Sun. Dec. the loth. Third trip. Twenty crosses and
crucifixes.
1916 Mon. Dec. the i8th. Fourth trip. Two crosses.
1917 Sun. Jan. the 7th. Cucamonga hills. This is the first
and only trip on which we ever went on which Mrs. Parent
could not get her locations, and we did not find a thing, but
on further direction during the week following we returned
the following Sunday.
1917 Sun. Jan. the i4th. Day Canyon, Cucamonga hills, we
find twenty-two crosses and crucifixes, some buried tnjoo feet
deep.
1917 Sun. Jan. the 28th. Cajon Pass, near Devore, first trip
we find two crosses only.
1917 Sun. Feb. the 4th. Cajon Pass, second trip but further
up the pass than former trip, also two crosses.
1917 Sun. Feb. the i ith. Day Canyon, second trip, 2 crosses.
1917 Sun. March the 1 8th. San Antonio Canyon, above Up-
land, Calif. First trip. We find two tablets.
340
Appendices
1917 Sun. April the ist. Little Tejunga Canyon, third trip,
six miles from San Fernando. Three tablets and a cross.
1917 Sun. April the 22nd. Little Tejunga Canyon, fourth
trip. Two tablets and two rocks (in which were three rings)
opened on ground.
1917 Sun. May the 2 7th. Second trip of weeks' duration,
ten miles north of Barstow, Calif, three tablets, one ring found
in ledge.
1917 Wed. May the 30th. Daggett, Calif. First trip in con-
nection with the above trip to Barstow. Two tablets, mile from
Daggett.
1917 Sun. Aug. the 6th. Ventura hills, about a mile from
Ventura on state highway. Third trip. Six large crosses, eleven
small crosses and two tablets. Summer trip of two weeks'
duration.
1917 Sun. Sept. the 2nd. Capistrano hills, eighth trip. We
find two sacred rocks. Contents Silver Skins ring, two small
crosses and in the other four small crosses. J. B. Kingham given
ring. The rocks, crosses and contents of handbag and forty-
five dollars all lost on way home but Fathers said they would
be returned and they were on June the 23rd, 1919.
1917 Wed. Nov. the i4th. Los Angeles. Old cemetery on
North Broadway. Trip made from Redlands. Twenty dollars
found in tobacco can.
1917 Sun. Dec. the 2nd. Los Feliz hills, Elysian Park, Los
Angeles. Twenty-eight dollars, old leather sack. One cross and
three tiny crosses.
1917 Sun. Nov. the i8th. Colton hills, second trip. Two
sacred rocks in which we find two silver rings.
1918 Sun. Jan. the 1 3th. Second trip, six crosses, eight cruci-
fixes and two tablets.
1918 Sun. Jan. 2 7th. Eagle Rock near Pasadena. Twenty-two
crosses, one tablet.
1918 Sun. Feb. the 24th. Elsinore, over the ridge. First trip
we find ten crosses. One rock, Sitting Bear ring, two small
crosses.
34 1
The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
1918 Fri. Mar. the 8th. West Lake Park, Los Angeles.
Twenty -five dollars currency.
1918 Wed. June the i9th. San Fernando, second trip, one
small crucifix, and ten dollars found on the road in old hand-
kerchief.
1918 Tue. July the 2nd. Los Angeles. Mrs. Parent alone,
woman hands her ten dollars on street, by Chief Sugerts'
instructions.
1918 Sat. Aug. the 3rd and 4th. Santa Ynez hills, several
miles from Santa Ynez Mission. Summer trip of two weeks.
Four large crosses and seven small crosses. Sun. 4th. Under
instructions while fishing in the Santa Ynez river, hook catches
black stocking with five dollars silver. This being the last trip
made from Redlands. Monday Sept. the 23rd move from Red-
lands to Los Angeles.
1918 Fri. Nov. the ist. Ventura hills, fourth trip, six crosses.
1918 Sat. Nov. the znd. Happy camp, Simi Valley, Ven-
tura county, four crosses, in connection with above trip, but
thirty-five miles apart.
1918 Sat. Nov. the 23rd. Griffith Park entrance thirty dol-
lars money.
1918 Thur. Nov. 28th. Pacoima hills, sixth trip, six crosses.
1918 Wed. Dec. the roth. Moorpark cliff. First trip. Six
dollars in tin can.
1918 Tue. Dec. the iyth. Elysian Park entrance, instruc-
tions of Sugert. One package containing cap, velvet and
stamps. And so completes the year of 1 9 1 8, and many wonder-
ous things taking place besides the making of these very inter-
esting trips under the instruction of the dead, and by their
guiding hand.
1919 Wed. Jan. the 22nd. West Washington Street at Junc-
tion. T*wo dollars.
1919 Sun. Feb. the i6th. Verdugo Canyon picnic ground.
I find folded in small bit of a piece of Redlands paper, ten-
dollar bill.
1919 Sun. Feb. the i6th. At home I find five-dollar bill in
342
Appendices
sack of Gold Medal flour, as told me by Sugert yet he did
not mention flour.
1919 Sun. April the 6th. Placerita Canyon, near Newhall. I
find ten-dollar bill in road, and a one-dollar bill in envelope.
I find these as Sugert tells me that I would in his vision to me.
1919 Wed. April the 9th. Pacoima Canyon, $1.50 silver,
yet I might state that I was not told of this, nor of the trip, for
we were just out for the day's drive in the hills.
1919 Thur. April the loth. On a visit to Redlands I find a
five-dollar bill on street corner. Yet again I was not in Red-
lands on a trip for the dead, nor was I told of the find I made,
yet I was told by Sugert on the night before that he would be
with me on my trip.
1919 Sun. April the i3th. In the hills near San Feliciano
Canyon while on a day's outing, one dollar silver found in an
old shirt at a cabin. This also I was not told about by the dead
Indians, yet seemingly they must be with me in a manner to
guide my movements.
1919 Thur. April the lyth. At home I find five-dollar bill
in a package of Mermaid washing powder. Told of this by
Sugert.
1919 Sun. April the 20th. Little Tejunga Canyon, fourth
trip, find a small medallion and an early date Spanish half dol-
lar in the crack of a big black rock as told by Sugert.
1919 Sun. April the zyth. One mile from Ontario, Calif. I
find a small sack containing $30 assorted money as told me in
a vision during the week, yet I was not told of exact amount
nor location.
1919 Thur. May the 8th. Foot Hill Boulevard near Azuza,
Calif. According to vision of Chief Black Horse, I find a small
sack which contained small purse and others items, $50 in
money.
1919 Sun. May the nth. Yorba near Richfield, under in-
struction of Chief High Horse. We find one sacred rock in
which we find the ring of Chief High Horse as he had told me
in vision.
1919 Sun. July the 2 7th. State highway beyond Universal
343
The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
City. Found in swamp, small sack containing $45 assorted
money.
1919 Tue. Aug. 1 9th. Casitas Pass on summer trip I find
what the Indians told me in my vision to be a coffin. Contents,
one quart of whiskey, one pint of the same, box of ten cigars,
i pound of tobacco, carton of i o packages of Camel cigarettes,
tobacco can full of tobacco and a small pearl-handled revolver.
1919 Wed. Aug. the ioth, and two days following. Facing
in all fifteen crosses on Casitas Pass, trip as above.
1919 Sun. Aug. the 24th. Same trip as above, finding under
tree near our camp, $4.25 in money.
1919 Tue. Aug. the 26th. Moorpark hills near clift. Second
trip, six crosses, on our return home from above summer trip.
1919 Sun. Aug. the 3ist. Hollywood, Orange Drive, ten
dollars money.
1919 Sun. Oct. the 5th. Elsinore mountains, old mine, three
crosses.
1919 Sun. Nov. the 2nd. Elsinore hills, this side of ridge.
Second trip. Sitting Bear, nine small and one large crosses.
1919 Thur. Dec. the 28th. Elsinore, third trip. At the big
split rock, five silver dollars, thirteen crosses, of which five
come out of crack in rock.
1920 for the months of Jan. Feb. and March I do not make
any trips in the interests of the dead, yet I had many little
things told to me by them of an interesting nature.
1920 Sun. April the 4th. Twenty dollars found in old hat
bought at auction.
1920 Sun. April the 4th. Elsinore, fourth trip, this for Big
Gray Eagle Acorn. Twelve crosses, one rock containing Big
Gray Eagle's ring.
1920 Sun. June the 2oth. Moorpark hills at clift, for Red
Eagle, seven crosses, and $10.75 money wrapped in newspaper.
Third trip.
1920 Thur. June the 2 3rd. Return of the bag by mail
which I lost on way home from Capistrano on Sun. Sept 2nd,
1917. Contents still intact except small rock and crosses. Forty-
five dollars in money still in sack as when I lost it. This the
344
Appendices
Fathers told me all the time would be returned to me. And I
had been kept in touch of its return for some time before it
arrived but did not know just what it was until I received it.
1920 Sun. June 26th. Laguna clifts. First trip for Silver
Skin for this place, we find six crosses, and on the same day
about four miles beyond, near Serra Station, we find $100
money in little sack along with other items, no identification,
but found as told to me in a vision, and later I get its history
from beyond.
1920 Sun. July the 4th. Casitas Pass, Ventura county second
trip, twelve crosses and a sum of money. Red Eagle Gold Eye.
1920 Sun. July the nth. Placerita Canyon. Second trip.
Twenty dollars money.
1920 Sun. July the i8th. Laguna clifts. Second trip, for
Gold Eye we find $95 in money which he lost there before
he died.
1920 Sun. July the 25th. While at Aioorpark, twenty cents
in park.
1920 Sat. Aug. the 2ist. Leave Los Angeles for our trip to
near Monterey, 400 miles. Tue. 24th, arrive Monterey 3 P.M.,
drive out mountain road and get in camp at 5.16 p. M. I am
told on this night that we will not have to break camp as we
are not far from where we will find the sacred crosses. On
Thur. Fri. and Sat. Aug. 26, 27 and 28, at these hills we find
some 74 crosses, two tablets, three sacred rocks containing
six Indian silver rings 85 pieces in all.
1926 Tue. Sept. the 2ist. In a near-by canyon a sum of
money which I was sent to get by Chief Black Horse. No
identity.
1920 Wed. Sept. the 23rd. The Fathers and their Indians in
the world from beyond make it possible for me to buy with
money furnished me through their effort the home in which I
live, and they tell me that although not paid for in full that
they will see to it that it is paid, and all come through them.
1921 Sun. Jan. 6th. Temescal Canyon near Glen Ivy
Springs. Two locations. Find at first location, two small tablets
and three crosses. At second location, mile further on, we find
345
The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
seven crosses and one sacred rock in which were three silver
rings given away on ground.
1921 Thur. Feb. the loth. Foot Hill Boulevard, eight miles
this side of Rialto, Calif. Finding pocketbook containing
$36.50.
1921 Sun. Feb. 20th. Temescal Canyon near Glen Ivy, find
one sacred rock with two rings and eight small crosses.
1921 Fri. Feb. 26th. Baseline road few miles west of San
Bernardino. Small pocketbook containing $19.00 money.
1921 Sat. March the 5th. Laguna Beach road in a ravine I
find as told me in a vision $ joy in a tin can.
1921 Sun. March the 20th. Temescal Canyon, fourth trip.
Near Glen Ivy Springs Road, twenty-two pieces found
twelve silver rings, nine silver bracelets and one small cross.
1921 Tue. March the 29th. Temescal Canyon, fifth trip.
Near Glen Ivy Springs Road, find four silver rings in sand of
riverbed.
1921 Sun. April the loth. Temescal Canyon, sixth trip.
Near Glen Ivy. Having thirty-seven pieces to find, we find
thirty-three pieces up to 5. P.M. Then on account of the late
hour we had to give up our search. All crosses.
1921 Sun. April the i7th. Laguna Beach Road, three miles
this side of Serra Station, half-mile off highway in canyon, Mrs.
Parent finds small can in which we find $13.75
1921 Sun. May the 8th. Cajon Pass, not far from Devore
Station we find four tablets and seven crosses. Also Mrs. Parent
finds small can in which we find $144.40
1921 Sun. May the ijth. Temescal Canyon, seventh trip.
Twelve crosses small.
1921 Wed. June the 22nd. Long Beach in sand near Vir-
ginia Hotel, $20.00 currency, also later Coytes Theater, ladies
hand purse containing $45.00 currency. No marks of identifi-
cation in either.
1921 Thur. July the 28th. Santa Monica ocean road three
miles above the Topanga Canyon entrance, I find in the rocks
pocketbook containing $120 currency.
1921 Sun. Aug. the jth. At a point about nineteen miles
346
Appendices
below San Juan Capistrano, we find three tablets, nine crosses
and six rings, all found loose in sand.
1921 Sun. Aug. the 2ist. As above nineteen miles below
Capistrano, we find thirteen crosses and seven rings, leaving
one ring and one cross which we could not find.
1921 Thur. Aug. the 25th. At Clifton by the sea along the
ocean shore small package containing $3$ currency.
192 1 Sun. Aug. the 28th. Found just off Wilshire Boulevard
near Mercury and Rodgers flying field, $70.
1921 Sun. Sept. the i8th. At summit of the Santa Susana
grade we find seven dollars money.
1921 Sun. Oct. the 9th. In the Epworth hills near Moor-
park, Calif., we find one silver ring. Also same day on road to
Moorpark, two miles east of Santa Susana in road, small purse
$18 in currency.
1921 Wed. Dec. the i4th. We find in Placerita Canyon near
Newhall, $$o gold money and one dollar currency.
1922 Wed. Jan the 25th. Placerita Canyon, about four miles
from Newhall, Calif., we find in gold money, loose in the sand
and the wall of clift, $90.
1922 Sun. April the loth. Foot of Hill Boulevard near
Arcadia, just off highway in pile of dumped oranges I find
purse containing $65 currency.
1922 Sun. April the i6th. Foot of Santa Susana grade, Ven-
tura side, I find purse with $43.25, with other items. Later I
find it advertised and return it but parties give me back purse
excepting two lucky pieces and five dollars besides, making
1922 Sun. April the 23rd. In San Francisquito Canyon
about eight miles from Saugus, I find tin tobacco box wrapped
in gunney, containing $105 money, along with other small
items.
1922 Sun. May the i4th. In the hills near Palmdale, Calif.,
we find 1 5 crosses, and also near same place I find, as told me
in a vision, a can containing $125 gold and currency. Also two
small pictures, and slips of paper with dates.
347
The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
1922 Sun. June the 4th. Near Palmdale we find 39 crosses
out of a possible 44 to find.
1922 Sun. July the 2nd. About seven miles or so below
San Juan Capistrano, we find 39 crosses.
1922 Sun. July the 9th. I found on a street in Ocean Park
a twenty -dollar gold piece. Although told of this in a vision, it
proved that I was guided to it, and the accounts of this gold
piece are very interesting.
1922 Sun. July the 1 6th. We find in Bouquet Canyon, about
seven miles this side of Palmdale, 50 crosses.
1922 Sun. Aug. the 6th. In the hills about seven or eight
miles below Capistrano we find 47 crosses, and same day re-
turning we find about a mile and a half north of Capistrano a
purse in which is $3$ in money.
1922 Sun. Aug. the 2yth. About seven miles below Capis-
trano near same location as Aug. 6th, we find five small tablets
and 28 crosses.
1922 Sun. Sept. the 3rd. San Fernando road just a little way
south of Tropico, now South or West Glendale Mrs. P. finds
$35 in currency.
1922 Mon. Sept. the 4th. Near Playa Del Ray, Mrs. P. finds
in a woman's handkerchief tied in knot, gold silver currency
to the amount of $54. No identification.
1922 Tue. Sept. the 26th. In dark canyon a few miles from
Burbank I find in small envelope $40 currency.
1922 Sun. Oct. the ist we find at junction point of Mint
Canyon and Bouquet Canyon road, a few miles beyond Saugus,
thirteen crosses. Also on return trip I find in front of Wm. S.
Hart ranch, $60 currency.
1922 Fri. Oct. the 6th. I find in gutter opposite the Ventura
Mission, Ventura, Calif., a handkerchief containing $40 cur-
rency.
1922 Wed. Oct. the nth. On San Fernando Road, about
2i miles south of Burbank, at old road house, I find small in-
side purse containing $35 currency.
1922 Fri. Oct. the 1 3th. In rear of old San Gabriel Mission I
find in long envelope $44 currency.
34 8
Appendices
1922 Wed. Oct. the 25th. I find near Valley Blvd. but on
Del Mar Ave. San Gabriel Valley, $/ 5 currency.
1922 Mon. Nov. the 2oth. On ridge road about six miles
from Saugus, Calif., I find currency to amount of $25. Return-
ing to Fillmore and Ventura road and about seven miles from
Saugus, we find $60 currency. Returning home same road and
about a mile out of Saugus, I find three dollars currency and
silver.
1922 Wed. Nov. the 22nd. I find in the San Gabriel river
bed or wash, some miles north of Elmonte, Calif., at end of
road called Monrovia Road, a purse containing $^j currency.
1922 Sun. Dec. the 24th. I find in store at San Fernando,
Calif., $if currency, as told me in a vision. Also same day I
find under tree about four miles east of Moorpark, a ten-dollar
bill as was also told me in a vision.
1923 Thur. Feb. the 22nd. Found in the San Francisquito
Canyon about nine miles from Saugus sum of fifteen dollar
currency^ as told to me in a vision.
1923 Wed. Feb. the 28th. Found in the San Francisquito
Canyon $32, but not told of this in a vision.
1923 Wed. Mar. the 28th. Found after crossing bridge be-
tween Duarte and Azusa, about midway in dump ground, small
purse containing thirteen dollars. Also same day find at the
gates of San Bernard orange show $12 currency.
1923 Sun. April the 1 5th. Found in Eucalyptus grove about
| mile out of Camerillo small package holding AKE.EE
1923 Mon. April the i6th. Found about three miles east of
Glendora in camp ground $20 currency.
1923 Tue. April the 24th. Found in small package tied in
Bouquet Canyon sum of HCE.EE.
1923 Thur. May the loth. Not found, but a legacy left to
me, but I was told of it in my vision beforehand.
1923 Sun. May the i3th. Found about two miles or so east
of Palmdale in low hills, twenty-two sacred crosses and five
silver rings loose in sand. Hard hunt and two left not found.
1923 Sun. May the 27th. Found on Ridge Road beyond
summit in small canyon, can in which was the sum of HBK.EE.
349
The Mystery of the Buried Crosses
1923 Sun. June the i oth. Found in San Francisquito Canyon
near power house in rather large purse, sum of AAK.hY .
1923 Sun. July the ist. Found in hankerchief half mile be-
low Capistrano, sum of CKEAE.
1923 Tue. July the i yth. Found in river bed to rear of A. E.
Crow's at Redlands, sum of $40 in silk pocket cloth. Also found
package on way home as also told in vision.
1923 Tue. Aug. the i4th. Find in can in Red Rock Canyon
as per vision, a sum of money, LOX.EE.
1923 Sat. Aug. the i8th. We find 39 crosses in sandhills
four and a half miles northwest of Bishop, Calif. And also Tue.
Aug. 2ist, return and find two more, making 41 in all.
1923 Sun. Aug. the 1 9th. Bishop trip as above. While picnic-
ing on banks of Owens river, Mrs. Parent finds $1.50 or $2.25,
but not told of this in a vision.
1923 Thur. Aug. the 23rd. Bishop trip as above. Find on
chalk bluff road under big tree on banks of Owens river, $60
in currency as per vision. Money found loose.
1923 Sat. Aug. the 25th. On way home from Bishop, find
in purse near our camp near Lone Pine as per vision of the
night, $120.
1923 Sun. Aug. the 26th. On way home from Bishop trip,
while in Red Rock Canyon, find as per vision of night before,
BKE.XX, also LE.XX and 50 cents. All found loose.
1923 Mon. Sept. the iyth. Find in sand hills 4-! miles north-
west of Bishop, second trip, three silver rings as per vision.
1923 Wed. Sept. the i9th. As above, second trip to Bishop,
find as per vision, eight or nine miles north and east of Bishop
in purse, the sum of HLX.EE in old apple orchard.
1923 Fri. Sept. the 2ist. At Lone Pine on return from
Bishop, second trip, find in bill fold near Lovers' Lane, sum of
CEK.XX as per vision days before.
1923 Sat. Sept. the 22nd. Find in Red Rock Canyon on way
home from Lone Pine and Bishop, two five-dollar Indian face
bills.
1923 Tue. Oct. the 23rd. Find in canyon near Lone Pine,
third trip, 19 sacred crosses.
350
Appendices
1923 Wed. Oct. the 24th. Find at fair grounds at Bishop,
third trip, in purse, sum of KEX.EE.
1923 Fri. Oct. the 26th. In Red Rock Canyon on way home
from Bishop, third trip, find one five-dollar Indian head bill
as per vision long since.
1923 Mon. Nov. the i2th. We find on Foot Hill Blvd. near
Upland desert, small purse in crack of rock. Contents BRK.EE.
1924 Mon. June the i6th. Find in sand at Long Beach pier,
bill fold, contents BC.KE.
1924 Fri. Aug. the 22nd. Placerita Canyon, in dump, we
find C.EE loose.
1924 Thur. Aug. the 28th. We find loose, LE.XX in Bou-
quet Canyon near big rocks twelve miles from Saugus.
1924 Mon. Sept. the ist. Find at fruitstand somewhere near
Bassett, loose on ground, BK.XX.
1924 Mon. Sept. the 8th. Ventura Blvd. near Canejo ranch,
in two places we find loose LS.E.
1924 Thur. Sept. the 1 8th. We find loose on Capistrano road
eight miles this side Capistrano. H.XX.
1924 Sun. Sept. the 2 ist. We find at grounds of Flint Ridge
Country Club, loose, one K.EE bill.
1924 Sun. Sept. the 28th. We find in bean straw, side of
road near El Rio, Ventura Blvd., small cigarette case, contents
RE.XX. Also road home on Santa Susana grade LE.XX.
1924 Sun. Oct. the 1 2th. We find at bridge near Simi, Calif.,
in wood lowlands, loose AE.XX.
1924 Mon. Nov. the loth. Find on floor at 5th Street store,
loose, one BE.XX.
1924 Wed. Nov. the i9th. We find near Flint Ridge Coun-
try Club in small comb case LR.EX at ranch gate.
1924 Thur. Nov. the 27th. We find at John Barrett's ranch
two silver rings, also one he lost year ago.
1924 Thur. Dec. the 4th. We find on Whittier Blvd. near
Santa Fe Bldg., rolled in paper at camp ground, sum of RE.XX.
Also road home one dollar.
Parent with unflinching courage lists an almost equal num-
ber of failures.
351
Appendix 6
List of Witnesses
Mrs. Louise Stack (and her niece)
Mr. A. J. Seaman
Mrs. G. D. Hutchison
Mr. Ernil Suess
Mr. and Mrs. A. E. Grow
Mr, Paul Grow
Mr. Paul Swisher
Mr. J. B. Kingham
Mr. and Mrs. Raymond Hull
Mr. and Mrs. A. R. Bowen
Mr. C. Clemm
Moor Park, Cal.
Moor Park, Cal.
Los Angeles, Cal.
Redlands, Cal.
Pasadena, Cal.
Pasadena, Cal.
Redlands, Cal.
Ontario, Cal.
Los Angeles, Cal.
Redlands, Cal.
The author personally met and interviewed all of the above
named men and women. All told the same story:
"We made many trips with the Parents and had the pleasure
of discovering rings, crosses, tablets and 'sacred rocks.' We
saw them dug out of the ground and opened on the spot. We
dug many out of the earth ourselves."
S. A. JACOBS, THE GOLDEN EAGLE PRESS, MOUNT VERNON, N. Y.
120826
