Erich Von Daniken - The Gold Of The Gods

1 - The Gold Of The Gods
decorated. Perhaps they showed the underground vaults to a chosen
group and the latter fashioned in stone things they had seen and heard
and stored the results in the depths.
So far the entrance to this underground treasure-trove of human history
is known only to a few trustworthy people and it is guarded by a wild
Indian tribe. Indians lurk unseen in the undergrowth and watch every
movement made by strangers. Moricz has been accepted as a friend by
the chieftain of the cave guardians and three members of the tribe who
are occasionally in contact with civilization.
Once a year, at the beginning of spring, on March 21, the chieftain
climbs down alone to the first platform in the underworld to offer ritual
prayers. Both his cheeks bear the same signs as are marked in the rock
at the entrance to the tunnels (Fig. 11). To this day the tribe of tunnel
guardians still make masks and carvings "of the men with long noses"
(gas masks?) and they tell, as Moricz knows, of the heroic deeds of the
"flying beings" who once came from heaven. But the Indians will not
go into the tunnels for love or money.
Fig. 11. These markings are carved in the rock at the entrance to the
tunnel. The chieftain of the tribe that guards the cave has identical
markings on both cheeks. They are age-old Indian symbols.
"No, no," they said to Moricz. "Spirits live down there."