The Legend: In 1903, Jake Johnson and his brother were taken to a cave, by a Paiute Indian.
The cave contained a large quantity of gold and silver, located somewhere along the south rim of
the Grand Canyon.  One day’s ride south of Pipe Spring, the brothers were blindfolded and rode
for four additional days.  At the base of the Grand Canyon they entered a cavern, where their
blindfolds were removed.  The two men were allowed to take all the gold and silver they could
carry, in return for Jake’s saving the life of the Indian's wife.  They returned to the canyon many
times and searched for years, but never found the cavern.
Behind the Legend: On September 8, 1867, James White drifted to shore near the Mormon
settlement of Rioville, where the Virgin and Colorado rivers meet. More dead than alive, he had
tied himself to a log raft and ran the white water rapids of the Grand Canyon.
It was several weeks before he could put his story together, with big gaps in his memory, and
most of the journey a blank. White’s prospecting party was attacked by Indians. He escaped with
a single companion. Using logs along the bank of the Colorado, they tied them together with
harness leather and set off downstream. White’s partner was thrown overboard and drowned
along with losing all the gear and supplies.
White drifted in and out of consciousness, once, remembering coming to shore opposite a large
opening in the walls of the canyon. Wanting to escape from the brutal heat, he crawled inside a
cave and promptly went to sleep. Hours, perhaps days later, he was awakened by Indians
carrying torches. Looking around White saw the cavern filled with golden artifacts. Gigantic
idols of gold, masks of silver and turquoise, weapons of various types and sizes with hilts of
precious metals and gems, and piles of gleaming emeralds, turquoise, and garnets. White
expected the Indians to kill him, instead they gave him a handful of dried meat and some pinon
nuts. Again, he drifted in and out of consciousness until he was found below the canyon, and
nursed back to health. He returned to Colorado, but refused to accompany the many parties that
wanted to locate the hidden cave. Later, his journey through the Grand Canyon was picked up by
eastern newspapers. When archaeologists showed him pictures of Aztec ceremonial figures and
weapons, White identified them as being similar to what he saw in the cavern.
In 1902, Jake Johnson, a desert prospector, broke his leg while working in the badlands south of
St. George, Utah. Jake was near dead when he was found by an old Paiute and his squaw. The
couple nursed Jake back to health. One evening, while the brave was out hunting, a cougar
attacked the squaw. Jake kill the cat before the animal had done no more than maul the woman.
After that, Jake was like a brother to the Indian warrior.
According the Indian, long ago, an expedition of well-organized and warlike men had come from
the south with a long line of slaves, dragging boxlike containers covered by skins. The party
went directly to the Grand Canyon and descended from the south rim. Something was placed in a
cavern that had been chosen earlier. The slaves were killed on the spot, while half of the men
remained as a guard, the others went south. Months and years went by without word for those
remaining at the cavern. Eventually, they intermarried with the local Paiutes and told stories
about a great Indian empire to the south and of their emperor, who would bring prosperity to the
Paiute tribe, but the treasure must be guarded from discovery at all costs.
Jake said he was doubtful of the story at first, then realized, if true, he had an opportunity to
make a fortune. He asked the Indian to show him the cave, in return for saving the life of his

wife. After considering the request for several days, the Indian agreed to take Jake to the cave in
one year, if both men were still alive. Jake wrote his brother and asked him to come west before
the date Jake was to meet the Indian. In September, 1903 the brothers were at Pipe Spring.
The Paiute, unhappy with the appearance of the brother, forced the pair to agree that they would
take only as much gold as they could carry. One day’s ride south of Pipe Spring, the brothers
were blindfolded and four days were spent in the saddle before they were finally told that the
next day they would be taken on foot to the cave. Starting at daylight, blindfolded again, they
walked for three hours until a sudden drop of temperature indicated they were in a cave. After a
few more minutes, the blindfolds were removed and the men saw that they were in what
appeared to be a volcanic cave. Lighting torches, the party then proceeded further into the cave,
always descending, until they came to another large room. The men had no time to inspect the
cave, as the Paiute constantly urged them to take what they could carry. When they returned to
the surface, the sun having set, they made their way back to camp in the dark. Returning to Pipe
Spring, the brothers went to Salt Lake City and sold the gold they had collected. Each man
received roughly $15,000. Both purchased outfits and returned to the St. George area, certain that
they could find their way back to the cave and riches there in, but the more they searched, the
more the country began to look alike. They stayed until the first November snows, left and
returned the next year. With their profits from the first trip, they bought ranches in southern Utah
and settled down to raising whiteface cattle between occasional trips back to the Canyon to look
for the lost trail to wealth.
My Notes: In 1907, the brothers wrote a letter of their experiences to the Salt Lake Mining
Review. The editors sent a reporter to discuss the letter with the brothers and was convinced they
had seen the lost treasure of Montezuma. The published article created a sensation and men from
all over descended on St. George to search for the cave. These efforts proved useless, as no one
found the cave. The excitement died down over time, but today, with all the improved roads to
the rim country, the search for Jake Johnson’s lost cave might be easier. If you’re lucky, you
might find the entrance that Jim White crawled through so long ago. Remember, at least three
men have seen the treasure and it’s been documented in a respected mining journal. You could
be lucky number four.
Many historians have dismissed White’s account as ravings of the nearly dead, but for years
White told the same story in the same way so often that it’s reasonable to believe he must have
been sure of his facts.
A couple of items to keep in mind as you start your research, Rioville, was originally known as
Junction City a settlement founded by Latter-day Saints in Utah Territory in 1869, it’s now under
Lake Mead. The Virgin River, originally named Adams River, after then President John Q.
Adams, was also known as the Rio Virgin.
On a side note, today’s river experts are inclined to agree that White was the first man to run the
white water rapids of the canyon. Good Luck and Happy Hunting!!!