The date March 12, 1909 is an important one in the history of the folklore about the Grand Canyon. This was the date that an article came out in the Arizona Republic about a very interesting discovery by an explorer named G.E. Kinkaid . This man was born in Idaho, and came to Arizona to explore, like so many have since his time.
At the turn of the century, there were no Grand Canyon tours that made some of the journeys here more accessible, and those who came were on a more stolid mission. There was the lure of the unknown, of adventure, and a little danger. Today, the unknown and the adventure are still part of the reasons for so much attraction to the area, but for most visitors, the most threatening dangers can be surmounted with a little sunscreen. In those days, however, it was more unknown, and even unknowable to some degree.
According to the story in the Republic , Kinkaid found a secret cave, along with evidence that there was an ancient Egyptian civilization that lived here before the Native peoples settled in the area. Although there are many researchers who have tried to follow up on the story, there really isn’t enough evidence to support the claims. It does point out, however, that even in contemporary times, there is still a lot of mystery about the place, too vast to ever be fully uncovered.