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THE UNDERGROUND EMPIRE

In March of 1980, John J. Williams, a New Mexico "Patriot" who published the anti-Communist oriented "REBEL MAGAZINE" (at the time available from: Consumertronics Co., c/o John J. Williams. Pres., 2011 Crescent Dr., P.O. Drawer 537., Alamogardo, NM 88310) revealed some incredible details on an alleged subterranean system which the Navy had been exploring below the western United States. The report appeared in issue No. 6 of his magazine, and was later reproduced in the Fall, 1985 (#164) issue of SEARCH Magazine, at the time edited by Marjorie Palmer, widow of the late Ray Palmer. The article, titled 'CALIFORNIA FLOATS ON OCEAN?', revealed the following:

Some time ago, I heard a man on a TV interview-show briefly mention that parts of California and neighboring states are floating on the Pacific Ocean! He was a high ranking Naval officer on a top-secret nuclear submarine that has been (and is) exploring and mapping these enormous caverns and passage-ways underneath the West for over 10 years now.

"A friend of mine finally tracked the man down. He is now living quietly in retirement and asked that no details pointing to him be revealed as he does not want publicity and government attention. After writing this article, I destroyed my files on him. This is his story..."

Williams explains that not "all" of the areas in question are actually "resting" or "floating" on the ocean, however there are allegedly many subterranean cavities below the western U.S., and they are not limited to California, and many of them consist of very large water-filled aqua-systems. These have been explored via nuclear submarines to several hundred miles inland, particularly in the region of southern California and the southern Oregon - northern California area. Williams continues:

...When he retired several years ago, in spite of about 10 years of intensive Naval study, the Navy had not gotten even a handle on their exacts and dimensions. Today, the story may be different.

He makes the following statements from his observations:

1. The passageways are labyrinthine with widths from a few to thousands of feet (caverns), averaging roughly about a 100 feet.

2. Much like dry caverns do, heights and depths vary a great deal and in some cases, two or more caverns or passageways pass over or under each other at different depths.

3. Most of the entrances lie just off the Continental Shelf (i.e. in the Continental Slope - Branton).

4. Most of the entrances are too small for submarine investigation; and many that are large enough lie in waters that are too deep.

5. Some of the caverns (in S. California) are topped with oil while some others are filled with gases believed to approximate our atmosphere (in very ancient times).

6. The San Joaquin Valley is essentially a portion of the original cavernous area that collapsed eons ago due to it's sheer weight.

7. What is being passed off as the 'San Andreas Fault' are large, unsupported chambers that are in the process of collapsing. When the BIG ONE finally hits, many scientists in the know believe that most of California will break off like a cold Hershey bar and slide into the ocean! (it is postulated by some that an ancient land-mass which some believe may have been connected to what is now California, broke off and sunk into the ocean during an ancient cataclysm - Branton)

8. (We are deleting this section due to the possibility of undue stress and fear which may result from it's disclosure. Also, because of recent international events which may have resulted in a solution to this problem. We will merely state that it involves a scenario similar to that which was portrayed in a James Bond movie, and which concerned underground caverns, silicon valley, nuclear weapons, and the San Andreas fault - Branton).

9. A WELL-KNOWN U.S. nuclear submarine lost its way in these passages and disappeared forever. It was reported to have been lost IN OPEN SEA ELSEWHERE to keep the American people in total ignorance and to justify an enormous pay-off to an eccentric U.S. billionaire (who died in recent years) for providing the fictitious "recovery" effort.

"I have no reason to doubt the man. I can't tell for sure whether or not these caverns and passageways exist or to their extents. The story does sound a bit fantastic but I have no reason to doubt the man. I have seen copies of documentation that at least prove that he was a high ranking Naval officer (nuclear submarine duty) and a distinguished scientist. In fact, his scientific background and reputation are impeccable. He definitely cannot be labeled as a crackpot, lunatic or publicity- seeker. I would very much like more information on this topic..."

After further inquiries to Mr. Williams on the part of 'inner earth' researchers, Williams responded with the following when asked whether or not he had received any replies to his request for more information about the alleged passageways below California:

Since publishing our article on the vast cavern network under much of California, we have received many responses and inquiries. Some of these responses appear to be knowledgeable sources. Note that the material sent to us for this article was written by someone of very high repute whose credentials I personally checked out. Due to an agreement with him, I cannot reveal his identity.

One response was from a retired (conventional submarine duty? - Branton) submarine commander, who according to him, spent many years in the waters off California. He stated that the caverns do NOT exist.

Another response was from an anonymous person who cited unpublished oil company seismographic data, and stated, 'Although most of the caverns you depict in your drawing are smaller, larger or located somewhat differently than the actual caverns, you are essentially correct... My information is more up-to-date than what you apparently relied upon.' He (or she) did not supply any maps to pin down our differences, just some written descriptions. However, some knowledgeable person could probably deduce his (or her) overall 'map' from the voluminous seismographic data sent. I am in the process of looking for this input; it's been several years now and it may have all been thrown out... Incidentally, the oil company seismic data had much data around the Fresno area if that helps any.

One incident which tends to confirm the fact that California is in fact floating on the ocean was a story which made the headlines in recent years. This incident involved an oil discovery beneath Long Beach, California. When oil companies began pumping oil out of the ground beneath Long Beach it was soon learned that the entire city BEGAN SINKING INTO THE OCEAN!

It sank up to 26 feet and dikes had to be built to keep out the water. The problem is (temporarily) being rectified by 'water injection'--i.e. pumping an equivalent amount of WATER into the ground to the amount of oil and water taken out, in order to keep the city AFLOAT!

One thing which may be of interest in connection with Mr. Williams' account was a statement which was made by a prominent California Bigfoot investigator by the name of Virginia Louise Swanson, who has done a good deal of study on caves and their connections to the Bigfoot phenomena. She refers to these caverns in the following words:

"...Somewhere I got the idea that a big portion of Death Valley is located on a shelf of FALSE bedrock. A certain type of earthquake would collapse all of it down to an enormous series of caverns that would open up into another Grand Canyon."

According to our knowledge, the only nuclear submarines ever to disappear under mysterious circumstances were the U.S.S. THRESHER and the U.S.S. SCORPION. It is uncertain whether the retired Navy Officer who John J. Williams spoke of was referring to the THRESHER or the SCORPION, although the disappearance of the Thresher probably caused more publicity. The Thresher was the LEAD SHIP or 'Flag' ship in the world's most advanced class of nuclear attack submarines. She was designed to operate deeper and more silently than any of her predecessors and was also endowed with significant advances in sonar equipment, in noise reduction, and in fire-control. All in all, she was the most advanced international submarine in the world at the time of her disappearance and would have been an ideal choice for a top- secret mission such as the exploration of the caverns mentioned by John Williams' source.

On April 10, 1963 (according to official reports) the Thresher, under the command of Lt. Commander John W. Harvey, USN, with a total of 129 men (comprised of the crew, civilian technicians, and observers) disappeared without explanation. NOT A SINGLE TRACE or clue as to the fate of the craft, or it's occupants, were ever recovered: no oil slicks, radiation, floating debris, or similar signs of wreckage were ever seen. It is interesting to note that almost all of the reports at the time stated the ship had "disappeared," or was "lost," not "sunk!" One woman whose husband was on the ill-fated ship reported her belief that her husband was still alive. Theologically speaking, the possibility of a long-distance connection or "communion" on a deep, emotional level between a husband and a wife should not necessarily be consigned to the realm of the occult or "psychic" phenomena. Many religions believe that the very spiritual natures of a husband and a wife are united upon the consummation of a marriage, and thus they become, as Christian teachings say, "one flesh". The actual words of this woman, who was interviewed by Will Carson and Jeannie Joy--two writers devoted to pursuing strange events--shortly after the Thresher incident, were as follows:

"My husband was on the submarine Thresher when it disappeared. I don't consider myself a widow. I don't believe my husband is dead. No, it's not a matter of just not being able to believe it, to accept reality; I just can't get over the conviction that he's still alive somewhere. I love my husband very much. I know he loved--loves me. We were very close. We could always tell when something was wrong with each other. Intuition, I guess. I should have felt something the instant there was trouble, if he was really in serious trouble and knew it--a matter of life and death--but I didn't."

"What do you believe really happened?" Carson and Joy asked the attractive young woman.

"Most people think I'm crazy when I say this, but I believe the Thresher was captured."

"By whom?"

"I can't say for sure, but there WAS a Russian submarine spotted near there that day (that is, near where it REPORTEDLY vanished 220 miles off Boston harbor)--only I can't imagine how even the Russians could CAPTURE a vessel like the Thresher without leaving the slightest evidence!"

The following account, concerning an area just east of BISHOP (OWENS VALLEY), CALIFORNIA, was related by Val Valerian in his 'LEADING EDGE' Newsletter, Dec. 1989 - Jan. 1990 issue. The article, titled: 'DEEP SPRING'S, CALIFORNIA', stated:

"Deep Springs, California is an area that is becoming known as the site for very strange events. According to the information released both on the air on KVEG-AM and from other sources, the area is full of strange people wandering around in black suits. There have also been rumors that there is an underground facility in the area. Checking with gravity anomaly maps proved that there are large cavities under the ground in that area. The wildest claims relative to the area have stated that alien lifeforms are being released there... Deep Springs Lake has been probed and it appears bottomless. Divers have traveled along an underground river 27 miles toward the Las Vegas area before having to turn around." (This 'river' would probably have been a 'partially' water-filled cave with a large stream or river flowing through it, rather than an entirely underwater passage, since 27 miles would undoubtedly be entirely out of the question if it were all underwater travel, with present diving technology - Branton).

In the April, 1963 issue of SEARCH Magazine, Will Carson and Jeannie Joy, in their regular column 'PRYING INTO THE UNKNOWN', related the following incredible story:

"It has always been a mystery to us in the first place how Mr. and Mrs. P.E. can find and afford the time to do the sort of things most of us only dream of doing. After knowing them for more than fifteen years, it is inconceivable to suspect their integrity or sanity - and yet they impose the following excise upon our credulity...

While exploring for petroglyphs in the Casa Diablo vicinity of BISHOP, CALIFORNIA, Mr. & Mrs. P.E. came upon a circular hole in the ground, about nine feet in diameter, which exuded a sulfurous steam and seemed recently to have been filled with hot water. A few feet from the surface the shaft took a tangent course which looked easily accessible and, upon an impulse with which we cannot sympathize, the dauntless E.'s, armed only with a flashlight, forthwith crawled down into that hole.

At a depth we've failed to record the oblique tunnel opened into a horizontal corridor whose dripping walls, now encrusted with minerals, could only have been carved by human hands, countless ages ago - of this the E.'s felt certain. The end of the short passage was blocked by what seemed to be a huge doorway of solid rock which, however, wouldn't yield. The light of their flash was turned to a corner where water dripped from a protuberance - which proved to be a delicately carved face, distorted now by the crystallized minerals, and from whose gaping mouth water issued.

As Mr. and Mrs. E. stood there in silent awe - wondering what lay behind that immovable door - the strangest thing of all happened...but our chronology will not be incorrect if we wait till they return to the surface before revealing this, for now the water began gushing from the carved mouth and from other unseen ducts elsewhere in that cave and rising at an alarming rate!

They hurried to the surface, and in less than half an hour there was only a quite ordinary appearing pool of warm mineral water on the desert floor.

"'Do you know,' Mrs. E. said to her husband, 'while I stood down there I heard music - the strangest, most weird music I'd ever heard. But it seemed to come from everywhere at once, or inside my own head. I guess it was just my imagination.'

"Mr. E. turned pale. 'My God,' he said; I thought it was MY imagination, but I heard it, too - like music from some other world!'

"Why do they call that rock formation near where the E's had their strange experience Casa Diablo - the Devil's house? And why did the Indians name that area Inyo - dwelling place of the great spirit?"

Erich A. Aggen, Jr., in his article 'TOP SECRET: ALIEN UFO BASES' (SEARCH Magazine, Summer 1991 issue), presented the following revelations concerning the UFO-Subterranean connection:

...A great deal of UFO research has also led to the conclusion that various...species of aliens have set up secret underground bases in the United States and other countries. It is logical to assume that such bases have also been established elsewhere in the solar system. If such bases exist, where would we find them? Existing information allows us to make a few educated guesses.

EARTH BASES: UNDERGROUND

The dark, cavernous world beneath out feet is the source of many baffling mysteries. Clandestine UFO bases may be hidden deep within the earth in natural and/or artificial caverns. As a former member of the National Speleological Society (NSS), I am well aware of the vast extent of cave systems within the United States. In my own native state of Missouri, for example, there are over 2,500 known caves and dozens of new ones being discovered every year. Many of these caves are intricately linked together by numerous passageways and interconnecting chambers.

One particular species of blind white (albino) cave fish, the TYPHLICHTHYS, has been found in many widely separated cave systems over several states. It has been found in caves that make a great arc through Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois and UNDER the Mississippi River extending into Missouri, Arkansas, and Oklahoma! A VAST SECTION OF THE CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN UNITED STATES MUST LIE ABOVE ONE IMMENSE CAVERN SYSTEM!

Many caves possess rooms hundreds of feet in length, width, and height. In most cases, these huge natural caverns can only be reached and explored with the utmost skill and perseverance. There are only a few thousand NSS members in the United States and only a few hundred of this number are active spelunkers. With so few spelunkers spread over such a large area, only a very small fraction of the tens of thousands of known caves in this country have been carefully mapped and explored. Thousands of other caves remain undiscovered and unexplored.

Extensive evidence indicates that caves in the United States may be connected with caves in other parts of the world. In Mexico, the cave known as 'Sotano de las Golondrinas', (or) basement of the swallows, in the Municipio de Aquismo, S.L.P., reaches a depth of 1100 feet (334 meters). The cave is actually a giant 'sinkhole' or 'hole' in the ground with a nearly circular opening at the top, hundreds of feet in diameter. It is impossible to climb down the sides of Golondrinas because the walls of the opening are too smooth and "belled-out". To reach the bottom of the cave, a special rope over 1100 feet long must be secured at the top of the opening and dropped into the sinkhole. Explorers must then descend into the yawning hole one at a time using special cave repelling gear and climbing techniques. At the bottom of Sotano de las Golondrinas are numerous 'leads' or openings to a multiplicity of different crevices, passages, crawlways, and rooms which have never been mapped or investigated.

The entrance to Golondrinas is located in one of the most primitive and uncivilized areas of Mexico and local inhabitants are afraid to approach the cave because they believe it is full of 'evil spirits' which lure people to their deaths. They tell stories of people mysteriously disappearing never to be heard from again while passing near the cave entrance. These stories may be based more on fact than fiction: they are similar in some respects to UFO abduction reports. Because of its huge size, remote location, and unique geological structure, Golondrinas would be an ideal UFO base. Naturally camouflaged caves in other parts of the world may serve as excellent natural bases, way stations, and 'depots' for UFOs.

An underground nuclear test called the 'Schooner Experiment' conducted in December, 1968, substantiates the theory that caves in North and South America are intimately linked. In this test, a 35-kiloton nuclear bomb was exploded under the desert of Nevada. Five days after the test, the radiation level rose from 10 to 20 times in Canada, 1000 miles away from the Nevada test site! The only way the radioactive dust could have traveled that far is through an interconnected system of caves extending all the way from Nevada to Canada!

Bourke Lee, in his book 'DEATH VALLEY MEN' (MacMillan Co., N.Y. 1932), chapter: "Old Gold", describes a conversation which he had several years ago with a small group of Death valley residents. The conversation had eventually turned to the subject of Paihute Indian legends. At one point two of the men, Jack and Bill, described their experience with an 'underground city' which they claimed to have discovered after one of them had fallen through the bottom of an old mine shaft near Wingate Pass. They found themselves in a natural underground cavern which they claimed to have followed about 20 miles north into the heart of the Panamint Mountains. To their amazement, they allegedly found themselves in an huge, ancient, underground cavern city. They claimed that they discovered within the city several perfectly preserved 'mummies', which wore thick arm bands, wielded gold spears, etc. The city had apparently been abandoned for ages, except for the mummies, and the entire underground system looked very ancient. It was formerly lit, they found out by accident, by an ingenious system of lights fed by subterranean gases. They claimed to have seen a large, polished "round table" which looked as if it may have been part of an ancient council chamber, giant statues of solid gold, stone vaults and "drawers" full of gold bars and gemstones of all kinds, heavy stone "wheelbarrows" which were perfectly balanced and scientifically-constructed so that a child could use them, huge stone doors which were almost perfectly balanced by counter-weights, and other incredible sights.

They also claimed to have followed the caverns upwards to a higher level which ultimately opened out onto the face of the Panamints, about half-way up the eastern slope, in the form of a few ancient tunnel-like quays. They realized that the valley below was once under water and they eventually came to the conclusion that the arched openings were ancient 'docks' for sea vessels. They could allegedly see Furnace Creek Ranch and Wash far below them. They told Bourke Lee that they had brought some of the treasure out of the caverns and tried to set up a deal with certain people, including scientists associated with the Smithsonian Institute, in order to gain help to explore and publicize the city as one of the 'wonders of the world'. These efforts ended in disappointment however when a 'friend' of theirs stole the treasure (which was also the evidence) and they were scoffed at and rejected by the scientists when they went to show them the 'mine' entrance and could not find it. A recent cloud- burst they claimed, had altered and rearranged the entire countryside and the landscape did not look like it had been before. When Lee last heard from the two men, Bill and Jack, they were preparing to climb the east face of the Panamints to locate the ancient tunnel openings or quays high up the side of the steep slope. Bourke Lee never did see or hear from his friends ever again.

During the lengthy conversation wherein they first revealed the secret of the underground city to Lee and others, the discussion turned to the topic of a Paihute Indian legend that they had heard which was remarkably similar to an ancient Grecian myth. The Paihute legend concerned a tribal chief whose wife had died, and who according to the tradition took a spiritual journey to the underworld to find her, and upon returning with her he 'looked back' and as this was forbidden he was not allowed to bring his wife back with him from the dead. This would not be the same as the more tangible story related in an earlier file, as told by the Navaho Oga-Make, concerning a Paihute chief who was allegedly PHYSICALLY taken into the underground cities of the Hav-musuvs deep below the Panamints. After this legend was referred to, the conversation turned to a discussion of an alleged subterranean race, who were believed to inhabit very deep caverns far below the Death Valley area. Paihute legends of the "Hav-musuvs" indicate that these ancient dwellers of the Panamints abandoned the ancient city within the mountain itself and migrated to deeper and larger caverns below. Could the following story tie-in with the Paihute legends of the Hav-musuvs? We will enter the conversation with the following discourse from Bourke Lee:

...The professor and Jack and Bill sat in the little canvas house in Emigrant Canyon and heard the legend all the way through. The professor said, 'That story, in its essentials, is the story of Orpheus and Eurydice.'

'Yes,' I said. 'It's also a Paiute legend. Some Indians told that legend to John Wesley Powell in the sixties.'

'That's very interesting,' said the professor. 'It's so close a parallel to Orpheus and Eurydice that the story might well have been lifted bodily from the Greeks.'

Jack said, 'I wouldn't be surprised. I knew a Greek. I forgot his name, but he ran a restaurant in almost every mining town I ever was in. He was an extensive wanderer. The Greeks are great travelers.'

Bill said, 'They don't mean restaurant Greeks. The Greeks they're talked about have been dead for thousands of years.'

'What of it?' asked Jack, 'maybe the early Greeks was great travelers, too.'

The professor said, 'It's very interesting.'

'Now! About that tunnel,' said Bill, with his forehead wrapped in a frown. 'You said this Indian went through a tunnel into a strange country, didn't you?'

'Yes,' I said. 'I think I called it a cave or a cavern, but I suppose a miner would call it a tunnel. Why?'

'Here's a funny thing,' said Bill. 'This Indian trapper livin' right across the canyon has a story about a tunnel, an it's not a thousand years old either. Tom Wilson told me that his grandfather went through this tunnel and disappeared. He was gone three years, and when he came back he said he'd been in a strange country livin' among strange people. That tunnel is supposed to be somewhere in the Panamints not awful far from where we're sittin'. Now! What do you make of that?'

Jack said, 'I think Tom's grandfather was an awful liar.'

I said, 'Tom's grandfather lived when the Paiutes were keeping their tribal lore alive. He probably knew the old legend. Powell heard it in Nevada only sixty-five years ago.'

'It's very interesting,' said the professor.

'I got an idea about it,' said Bill, thoughtfully. 'Tom's grandfather might have wandered into some tunnel all goofy from chewin' jimson weed and then come out an found some early whites and stayed with them. Tom told me that the people spoke a queer language and ate food that was new to his grandfather an wore leather clothes. They had horses and they had gold. It might have been a party in Panamint Valley, or even early explorers or early settlers in Owens Valley. How about that?'

Jack said, 'Yeah. The Spaniards was in here, too. So it might have been Spaniards or the early Greeks. And, where is this tunnel? And why did Tom's grandfather have trouble speaking the language? This is an entirely different story than the one Buck told. We are arriving at no place at all with these Indians and Greeks... To return for a moment to our discussion of geology, professor; have you been in Nevada much?'"

From here the conversation took off in an entirely new direction...

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