Weird Tales 3: The Pioneer's Lost Trunk (2009)

This documentary looks at two journeys; the first being a group of pioneers who set out from the settlement at Salt Lake, Utah in 1849 on their way to California. They were a mix of gold-seekers, Mormon missionaries, and those simply looking for a better life. Some of them made the unwise choice to take a "shortcut" through a place they subsequently named Death Valley. They escaped with just the clothes on their back, leaving behind a trail of animal bones, wagon remains and all their earthly possessions. In December of 1998, a small group of Death Valley enthusiasts decided to retrace the route of those lost pioneers. In a cave along the trail they made an unexpected discovery: a trunk containing valuables and a letter seemingly signed by one of the 1849 pioneers. For days, national and international media were drawn to this Death Valley discovery, but then doubt began to grow about the authenticity of the trunk. Not to mention the fact that it was removed illegally from National Park lands! Filmmaker Ted Faye's documentary recreates interviews with the survivors of the 1849 pioneers in their own words from their journals and memoirs, as well as interviewing the man who filmed the trunk discovery and the skeptical historians who now doubt its authenticity. The viewer is left to decide by him or herself if the trunk is indeed "bunk," or a legitimate artifact now languishing in storage.