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no one ever asked Mitchell-Hedges whether he knew how Bierce _a third time the priest touched the wall and a huge stone rolled had disappeared, but perhaps the obvious reason why not lies in aside. Then in the dim light of the lantern the White Tiger saw his autobiography, written late in life, which may have stopped that he was in an immense vault cut out of the living rock. most readers from putting two and two together before he died. "Before him, piled in endless confusion, lay the treasure of the The possibility that Mitchell-Hedges acquired the skull in Aztecs. Mexico is the most logical conclusion—if only because it fits in "Gold chalices, bowls, jars and other vessels of every size and with a period about which he lied and with his reluctance to reveal shape; immense plaques and strange ornaments all glittered dully. the circumstances of its acquisition. The likely scenario would Of precious stones there were none, but many rare chalchihuitl thus be that as Villa's troops often ransacked villages and large (jadeite pendants) [sic]. Masks of obsidian and shells beautifully farms and traded with local people, someone might have sold or inlaid were all heaped together with heads carved from solid given it to Villa and his troops—and/or to Mitchell-Hedges. blocks of crystal. Legend had not exaggerated the treasure of the This scenario would tally well with why Mitchell-Hedges Aztecs. Almost boundless wealth lay at the disposal of the White would never reveal the truth and realised he needed the 1943 Tiger. auction scenario to establish ownership, as well as with Morrill's "Bloodshed, rape and sickening torture, that the wretched information from Mexican officials Aztecs had undergone at the hands of as to the origin of the skull. But, the Spanish Conquistadores, had again, the most logical scenario failed to wring from them this secret seems to have been surpassed by an Indeed, within the novel, hiding-place. True to the oath which even more spectacular truth. we find a motive as to why had they had sworn to their gods they . had died rather than that their hated Clues in The White Tiger Anna Mitchell-Hedges conguerors should benefit [sic]. "With this vast fortune a man could rise to any height, indulge in any The Da Vinci Code is a novel that might have found it prudent to many people have taken as fact; but sometimes authors use (or have had move the location of the luxury, purchase any title, and to use) fiction to convey material i become one of the exalted of the they know they could not reveal in a discovery of the skull from earth. But the Indians judged, and non-fictional format. What is little Mexico to British Honduras... known is that Mitchell-Hedges wrote rightly, that to the White Lord these things were of no account, and that anovel, The White Tiger, published only for their regeneration would this in 1931, which tackles the subject of treasure be used." crystal skulls. Within this one passage, we find a set of circumstances— The novel is about "White Tiger", the leader of the Mexican almost corresponding scene by scene to the opening sequence of Indians, who turns out to be an Englishman who was unhappy the film Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark—that with his existence in England and left for Mexico. Early on in the provide a reasonable framework as to how Mitchell-Hedges found novel, the main character maintains that he met White Tiger when (or was given) the crystal skull, and why he would never speak he had discussions with the Mexican President, at which time the about the circumstances in which he had found it. chief left him his diary which he then published as this novel, Indeed, within the novel, we find a motive as to why Anna though changing certain locations mentioned in the diary. Mitchell-Hedges might have found it prudent to move the location The most interesting part of the book is when White Tiger of the discovery of the skull from Mexico to British Honduras: recounts how he was elected leader of the Indians—a position that the main character of The White Tiger also changed certain required an initiation which involved being shown the lost treasure of the Aztecs in a lost city of pyramids. White Tiger, now their king, is shown the treasure, which includes "crystal heads"—plural—hidden in an underground cave complex: "The climax however was yet to come. As they passed into the temple, the priest impressively led him to one of the massive walls, placing his hand in a certain manner upon what appeared to be a solid block of stone. At his touch it rolled slowly back, disclosing a flight of steps down which they passed. A lamp which the priest carried flung weird patches of light into the darkness. On and on down countless steps—into the very bowels of the earth until again the priest pressed the apparently solid rock barring their progress. With scarcely a sound the stone block turned as easily as if on oiled hinges and before them yawned a long tunnel. Passing through this they descended another flight of steps. For Indeed, within the novel, we find a motive as to why A BAT Anna Mitchell-Hedges ° might have found it prudent to move the location of the discovery of the skull from Mexico to British Honduras... JUNE — JULY 2008 NEXUS = 59 Frederick A. "Mike" Mitchell-Hedges www.nexusmagazine.com