Paradox: Journals of the Sweet Water Kid (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9781975892784)

On a hot August day in 1958, a collection of writings were discovered during an archaeological excavation undertaken by the Wetherhill Mesa Archaeological Project in the area now known as the Mesa Verde World Heritage Site in Southwest Colorado. Although most of the intact historical artifacts had been removed years earlier, either by museum curators or looters, the wooden crate of journals, notes and letters had been overlooked, hidden behind an adobe kiva at the entrance of a tunnel. It would prove to be one of the most controversial historical finds of the 20th century; one that could rewrite history and flip the roles of the infamous villains and heroes of our past. The crate and its contents were sent by train to the Smithsonian Institute in Washington D.C.. According to the transit bill it never arrived and due to the museum's focus being on the donation of the Hope Diamond by Harry Winston at the same time, the crate was forgotten. In 2011, during the renovation of Union Station in Denver, Colorado, the sealed crate was discovered but never opened. A dump truck driver by the name of Carl Kirby found the old dynamite box interesting and took it home. Although Mr. Kirby opened the box and looked over some of its contents, the historical importance of what he had found was never realized. Mr. Kirby died in 2012 and a transient named August Wheats was hired to clean out his garage and storage shed. There was little of value and in the end it required two full dumpsters to haul away the collection of junk, old Playboys, useless implements and engine parts. At first the cardboard box full of loose papers and leather bound journals appeared as all the others - bank statements, old insurance papers, receipts, more magazines. But several books wrapped in worn brown suede caught Mr. Wheats' eye. When he opened the first and began to read, he knew he had found something special. Mr. Wheats turned the collection over to me in 2013. He disappeared shortly thereafter. I spent the next three years studying and researching what had been found, eventually piecing together the life and times of a man you have never heard of - a reluctant outlaw who changed the course of American history. A heroic bandit long forgotten. My research took me to the crowded cities of Baltimore, Denver, Havana and Tampico; as well as dozens of small Native villages across the Southwest United States. Countless hours were spent translating long forgotten tales of the Navajo and Ute and sifting through fragments of oral history offered by their Elders. My final year of research was spent alone in a small cabin atop Sew-Em-Up Mesa outside of Paradox, Colorado. It was only then that I fully understood the impact that Leonard "Dusty" McCoy had on the history of America and by extension, the World. I also became aware of how controversial my findings would be. This is Leonard's story taken from his own written word, with "Paradox" covering 1864. It is the unknown legend of the Sweet Water Kid.

Author: Albert C. Heirich
ISBN-10: 197589278X
ISBN-13: 9781975892784
Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
Language: English
Published: 03/08/2021
Pages: 324
Format: Paperback
Weight: 0.96lbs
Size: 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.68d