Utah Residents Rush to Cash in on Viking "Treasure"

Submitted by Milica on Fri, 2003-07-04 09:30
Salt Lake Tribune: An ad campaign for a summer festival with a Viking theme has led some Utah residents to attempt to claim the "treasure." Cedar City, a town in southern Utah, was hoping to bring tourist dollars to their city by promoting a summer festival based on the fictional "Himmeslk Papers" which claim that Cedar City was originally an island inhabited by lost Vikings. The island eventually broke away and ended up in Utah, Viking residents and all.

A treaty with President Polk in 1845 was supposed to have given the land to the United States, but the money was never paid. By today's calculations, the U.S. government now owes Cedar City billions of dollars. It's all a joke, of course, but not to some residents of St. George, a neighboring town, who have taken the tale of Himmeslk to heart and want their share.

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