By Rick Holben, East Mountain Historical Society
In late December 1941, the Albuquerque Journal reported that three men – F.C. McDoughall, John Goostree and Jimmy Galvanado, all from the Tijeras Canyon area – were exploring old mines south of Linda Vista, in Coyote Canyon, when something caught their eyes at the bottom of one particular vertical shaft.
But, with no way to climb to the bottom, they were unable to explore further that day. Returning the next day with some rope, the trio lowered McDoughall to the bottom of the pit. And when he was pulled back to the surface, he carried with him two human torsos that lacked arms and legs – with tops of the skulls sawed off. Their first thought was that their find might be the remains of a tourist party that had vanished several years earlier. A weeks-long search in Tijeras Canyon, at the time, had turned up no remains.
The three notified law enforcement of their grisly discovery and also alerted Mayor Clyde Tingley, who had directed the search for the missing tourist party when he was governor of New Mexico. Tingley and the police department arranged for a tow truck to help retrieve the rest of the remains. Once all had been pulled from the bottom of the mine, the result was four complete skeletons– all but one of which had been dismembered– plus one extra human hand. Upon closer inspection, it was determined that the dismemberments had been executed with surgical precision– leading investigators to surmise that the bodies had likely been subjects of medical study.
A conversation with a superintendent at the University of New Mexico revealed that, in years past, bodies used in medical classes were disposed of in Tijeras Canyon; but he noted that this had not been the practice for some years. A former employee of UNM, who was then living in Carlsbad, confirmed that, when he was employed at the university, he had driven at least ten loads of human remains out to the canyon for disposal. The question did remain as to why one body had been only partially dismembered and another was not dismembered at all. The Albuquerque Police Chief put forth the argument that perhaps the bodies were victims of a murderer with surgical skills, adding that medical students he had talked to claimed that bodies were never cut in two. It is unknown if any further investigations were done on this case.
A 1901 article from the Albuquerque Daily Citizen recorded a strange story of a young girl who lived in the canyon east of Albuquerque, near Carnuel. She had recently been married, but was in poor health and suffered from consumption. Residents of her village noted that one day, she spent many hours in what they called a trance and had all appearances of being dead. Preparations were made for a funeral, and her body was dressed in new clothes made by the family. Suddenly, to everyone’s surprise, the eyes of the supposed corpse opened, and she began breathing. Within moments, she was talking and was greatly surprised and puzzled as to why she was dressed in fine and elaborate clothes. She appeared to have made a complete recovery– for at least two or three days– before being overcome again and being confined to her bed. Not long after she was again in a comatose condition, it was announced again to family and friends that she was dead. She was buried in a cemetery near Carnuel. The article noted that, “Mystery appears to still surround the entire neighborhood in the matter, and some of the residents are yet undecided whether or not to believe the lady was dead when the burial was made.”
During the year of 1916, stories were carried– not only in Albuquerque newspapers but across the U.S.– concerning the appearance of a mysterious spirit or apparition near the mouth of Tijeras Canyon. The first account appeared in May 1916 and was reported by “a prominent Albuquerque citizen who does not wish to have his name mentioned.” His account was that– at dusk, he and his companions were returning to Albuquerque from the Sandia Mountains when, about four miles from the mouth of the canyon, they spotted an old man with flowing whiskers wearing a strange flowing garb and carrying a staff. He emerged from behind a rock, followed by a burro, and seemed unaware of the approaching motorists. As the party drew closer, the apparition paused and “regarded them gravely” before making some odd hand signs. Then, taking only a few steps to the right, he and his burro vanished into solid rock.
In the days that followed, similar accounts from other people were being reported– all describing the apparition of a man bearing great age who, along with his burro, would appear momentarily and then vanish. After the publicity of these sightings began circulating, it was reported that one of the oldest Indians at Santo Domingo Pueblo traveled to Albuquerque to explain that these sightings were most likely the appearance of Sa-Id-Nas, a Wizard who, according to Indian legend, had been the protector of the Sandia Mountains, centuries before. Sa-Id-Nas was described as always being old but never grew older, and would appear to the Pueblos in the Rio Grande Valley in times of need. The elder explained that it had been many years since the Wizard had made an appearance– due to one incident when a “young hot-headed chief” spurned the advice of the protector; the young chief mysteriously disappeared not long after. News accounts began concluding that someone familiar with this legend was skillfully impersonating Sa-Id-Nas, amongst the boulders of Tijeras Canyon. However, there were those who maintained that the ghostly appearances of an elderly man were indeed Sa-Id-Nas – returning to visit after so many years. For more information on the East Mountain Historical Society, visit eastmountainhistory.org/