Looking back: ‘Mysterious cave’ full of skeletons discovered and blindfolded man carries his wife across edge of Rigby Hotel roof

The photo above was taken during a reception at the opening of an exhibit of the works of Clyde Robison, a young artist who spent his boyhood on a farm in Lorenzo. In the picture, ‘Robie’ is seen explaining a painting to an interested visitor. This show, consisting of well over 100 paintings and sketches, covering 12 years of the artist’s work, will be on display at Bonneville Hall, I.S.C. campus, Pocatello, until April 17. After this showing a collection of Robison’s works will be on display at Staker’s Studio, Rigby. Caption dated April 16, 1953. | Courtesy The Rigby Star IDAHO FALLS — EastIdahoNews.com is looking back at what life was like during the week of April 21 to April 27 in east Idaho history. 1900-1925 IDAHO FALLS — A group of local men went to explore a “mysterious cave” full of skeletons located about 40 miles west of Idaho Falls, The Blackfoot Optimist reported on April 24, 1913. A. Empey discovered the cave on Dec. 31, 1912. He apparently entered the cave, found several skeletons, and took four skulls. At some point, he brought the skulls to Idaho Falls, and that caught the attention of a couple of men who wanted to explore the cave. Those people were Bert, Gus and John Roos, Ed Winn, Bert Robinson and K.P. Brown. The group, with Empey as the guide, went to the cave and found 11 human skulls, three arrows with the feathers on them, one arrow head, part of a bow, buffalo horns, one petrified buffalo hoof, and the complete carcass of a mountain lion. The paper said it wasn’t clear who the people were or how they got there in the first place. “No signs of clothing was to be found, not even a button,” the paper reads. “Bones were strewn all around the mouth of the cave and scattered over the hill side. … It is estimated that in the neighborhood of 150 people had met their death together in this mysterious hole.” The party returned to Idaho Falls and brought with them 11 skulls, among other items, and they were put on display at Ed Winn’s Drug Store in Idaho Falls. Doctors examined the bones but wouldn’t give their opinion on how long they had been in the cave. 1926-1950 RIGBY — A man known as the “human fly” stopped in Rigby to entertain community members, The Rigby Star reported on April 25, 1935. D.D. Roland, of Pittsburg, visited Rigby where he put on a show for spectators. He climbed the front of the Rigby Hotel, balanced himself on two chairs on the top of the building and carried his wife, while he was blind-folded, across the edge of the roof of the building. The article mentioned that during his years of climbing, Roland has had only one fall. His fall was off a courthouse in Bloomfield, Iowa, where a pigeon flew in his face, causing him to fall 55 feet. That accident put him out for a year-and-a-half. Roland’s tallest climb was 74 stories on the 102-story Chrysler building in New York in 1934. 1951-1975 RIGBY — The second break-in of hangars at the Rigby Airport was under investigation, The Rigby Star reported on April 27, 1961. The Tanner hangar, which houses the plane of Max Fullmer, F.F.A. official in Idaho Falls, was damaged. The lock on the outside of the hangar was twisted off, the lock on the door of the plane had been broken and the seats inside of the plane were slashed with a knife. The break-in was being investigated by the sheriff’s office as well as the government because Fullmer was a government employee. A $100 reward was being offered for information leading to the arrest of anyone connected with the break-in of the Tanner hangar or the A.B. Eckersell hangar, broken into the week prior. 1976-2000 POCATELLO — A 19-year-old man escaped with only cuts and bruises after flipping his car over, the Idaho State Journal reported on April 23, 1976. Roy Newsom, the teenager involved in the crash, told officers his gas pedal stuck as he was merging onto Garrett Way from Gould Street. He said this caused his car to hit a curb, turn on its side and slide about 40 feet before rolling over onto its top. The car was extensively damaged. The article mentioned there was no report of Newsom being taken to a hospital. The post Looking back: ‘Mysterious cave’ full of skeletons discovered and blindfolded man carries his wife across edge of Rigby Hotel roof appeared first on East Idaho News.
Source: eastidahonews.com