Doc is just one of an endless stream of treasure hunters in search of the. At age 66, he went to the Superstitions alone, over the objections of his son and family. Want to read up on some other Arizona mysteries? Jesse Capen was obsessed with the legend of the lost gold, despite the lack of hard historical evidence. One of the most popular Arizona legends also happens to be one of the most deadly: the Lost Dutchman's gold mine. Mining flourished in Gila City until 1862 when a flood destroyed the town. Let me know at [emailprotected]. But Ruth did indeed find the Lost Dutchman, according to a message in a bottle. If I do believe, how can I find gold in the desert and where do I begin searching? It is possible that the mountain was the Harqua Hala. The records do not account for any gold that was sold locally or given to family or friends. Men struck out on his trail and soon found Flannigan, who would have lasted only a few hours longer. They are massacred by the Apache in 1850. The Ashleys were never able to retrace Palmers path to the ledge. The location of the mine never became known to anyone, save its discoverer. Your email address will not be published. List of Arizona Mineral & Mining Museums. But the prospector, with only his burro for companionship, was wont to dream strange dreams and, eventually, to transmute them into what he considered reality. Discovery, Inc. or its subsidiaries and affiliates. 2. 2023 Warner Bros. Additionally, there never was an army doctor named Thorne in the 1860s in Arizona. Many prospectors and historians wonder why he did not go back to the desert and search for the butte where he discovered the gold. The three, finally driven out by famine, started out and found on their trail, the bodies of all their comrades, who had been murdered by Apache Indians. Offers five-day prospecting lessons and mining excursions for small groups throughout the year. This might be the way the Peralta story became incorporated into the Lost Dutchman legend. What i, Magic hour castle walks. Apache Before the Storm, Edward S. Curtis, 1906. There have been 428,000 ounces of gold mined here, the vast majority of which comes from the Vulture Mine near Wickenburg. Within a year, Thomas and others began searching for the hidden gold and even sold maps with instructions to get to the mine. Through the years, truth and fiction about this mine have been irrevokably mixed up, producing 62 varieties of the legend. The ore was not the same as that at the Vulture Mine. The North American Deserts While the story remains essentially the same as originally published, heavy editing has occurred for spelling and grammar corrections, revisions for the modern reader, and updates to this historic tale. Love Arizona? Click here to read the original article. In fact, there is a man who claims to have found Pegleg's Lost Mine in 1952. In many versions of the story, Weaver's Needle is a prominent landmark for locating the lost mine. The trails are well marked. In the late 1800s, just after the Gold Rush, a German prospector named Jacob Waltz reportedly started showing up in Phoenix with a lot of gold ore. Like, a noteworthy amount. McKeevers daughter, Belle, was taken captive and a number of soldiers gave chase. But when his son, who worked in Mexico, found a map that might lead to an Arizona gold mine, Ruth couldn't resist. There are three Indian legends of black-coated gold in the desert that support Pegleg's legend. Gold Mining Clubs & Dig Sites Old time miners would sample gold bearing rivers following the wa. He was believed to be part of Pauline Weavers original exploration party that traveled along the Hassayampa River. 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During the robbery, they were confronted by a small contingent of Mexican soldiers and police and a battle ensued. Ruth injured his leg so severely in the process that he developed a lifelong limp. None of these maps featured any real location of the mine. However, the Lost Dutchman remains much discussed in Arizona. Keep your ears and eyes open, for you may be the lucky one who discovers the three buttes where Pegleg Smith found his black-coated gold nuggets, or a gold filled saddle bag from the Peralta Family's last mining expedition. He kept the location hidden, perhaps in hopes of one day being able to take advantage of its riches when the timing was right. Apache Trail Tours, Apache Junction: Two-hour jeep tour to the foothills of the Superstition Mountains with guided instruction on gold panning and how to tell the difference between real and fools gold. Panning equipment provided. This area is known today as the Massacre Grounds. Chapter 12 of Thunder God's Gold by Barry Storm (John Clymenson), published in 1945, tells a very interesting story about a large piece of rich gold quartz found by William (Bill) Jenkins while on a picnic in the Superstition Mountains with his family in 1937. But with the dollars decline in recent years, gold mining has experienced a sudden resurgence: From the Discovery Channels show, Gold Rush Alaska, where six men risked it all to strike it rich mining the Alaskan wilderness to a distinct rise in gold claims filed in Arizona. In 2006, all of Arizonas gold production came as a fortuitous byproduct of copper mining. Quite literally so, according to Southwestern Folklore author and researcher Byrd Granger. Nearby, was a human skeleton, bleached from long exposure. Whatever his reasoning, Waltz was never able to cash out. Waltz fell ill and died in 1891, but not before revealing the location of an alleged gold mine to Julia Thomas, the neighbour who cared for him. Join DesertUSA as we continue the search for gold in the Desert. Required fields are marked *. There is another lost mine, equally as famous as the Pegleg mine, which has crazed the minds of prospectors and treasure seekers for years. The legend continues to evolve: recent additions are versions in which the gold is really a secret treasure trove of the Knights of the Golden Circle, a Confederate secret society active during the American Civil War (1861-1864). On June 17th, ocean rower Lia Ditton set off on a 20 ft. long rowboat, alone and unsupported, in an attempt to set the fastest ever time for a solo crossing from San Francisco to Hawaii. They build files which contain details, bits and pieces of a legend so old and peculiar, they cannot rest until the mystery is solved. Taking some of the horseflesh with them, they struck northerly, seeking water in what is supposed to have been the Granite Wash range of mountains in Northern Yuma County. He had a very irritating habit of disappearing from the camp once in a while, going by night, and taking with him several burros, whose feet would be so well wrapped that trailing was impossible. She climbed upon one of three buttes to try and figure out where she was and on the ground she found black-coated gold nuggets. Asteroid Ryugu Has Dust Grains Older Than the Sun. And not just crackpots: former attorney general of Arizona Bob Corbin was one of the many mine-seekers. But will big risks lead to an even bigger pay out? You'll also get to witness an old west gun fight performed by the famous Goldfield . Skeleton Canyon Treasure: During the late 1800s, a gang of bandits conducted a raid on the city of Monterrey in the Mexican state of Nuevo Leon. One searcher claimed to have found veins of gold in a narrow canyon just south of the Mazatal Mountains (near Four Peaks on Maricopa/Gila County borders). In the early 1850s, the Colorado River crossing at Yuma became a major route for gold seekers from the East. Safford commanded the recruits from Tucson and was elected commander-in-chief of the party at the camp near Grant. Pegleg Smith was a rugged mountain man who traded furs and supplies, rustled horses and trapped beaver. Take a private tour of NYCs American Museum of Natural History from home! The Superstition Mountains to the east of Phoenix, AZ reportedly holda legendary motherlode of gold known as the Lost Dutchman Gold Mine. Legends of lost gold have long been part of Arizona history. The lost padre gold mine of Arizona. This is one of the better counties for gold mining in Arizona. Lost Dutchman Mine Found ? Learn how your comment data is processed. Better evidence was secured a few days later in the discovery of the dead horse, with the gold ore strapped to his back. Tour the historic Mammoth Gold Mine and visit the Goldfield Museum. the historic main street. As early as Sept 1, 1892, a local newspaper relates how Thomas and others were trying to locate the mine. From Grant, they marched to the Gila River, up the San Carlos and then to the Salt River. New Evidence About the Lost Dutchman Mine Water was found just in time to save their lives, for Wormley already had become delirious. #sedona #redrocks #outhiki, Oddball vending machines, #3 in the series. When Waltz died, the 29-year-old Thomas sold her bakery, got a group together, and went searching for the mine. The trio succeeded in returning safely to San Bernardino and in 1875, gathered twelve men to return to the lost bonanza. Not only is it 600 miles of mountains, lakes and rivers, but leaving late in the season means the winter may derail their plans. Of course, most of these tales were merely inventions or distorted dreams. Related Books & Gifts - Trading Post In the winter of 1879, some trouble was stirred up among confiding tenderfeet by the publication of a story in the Phoenix Herald, printed as a fake that was plainly transparent. It told of the arrival of a prospector from the depths of the Superstition Mountains, from which he had been driven out by pigmy Indians, who had swarmed out of the cliff dwellings. Several trails through the Superstition wilderness reference the mythical mine: there's Treasure Loop trail, Peralta Trail, and Dutchman's trail. Many were willing to tell me where I could buy my own panning tools and I also learned that gold is easiest to find after a hard rain. Vekols Buried Silver Ingots: Just a few miles north of the old ghost town of Vekol, near Casa Grande in Pinal County, lies a legendary cache of 300 silver ingots, each weighing 25 pounds. Flannigan made several unsuccessful attempts to return to the find, but he dreaded the desert and never went very far from the river. The Indian legends of sacred gold caches, and the correlating stories of many others who have, in some way, encountered black-coated gold nuggets and other supporting data of these two lost mines, provide strong evidence that they do indeed exist. Southwest Treasure Hunters Gem & Mineral Guide: Where & How to Dig, Pan and Mine Your Own Gems & Minerals, GemStone Press, 2008. It is called the Lost Dutchman Mine and is said to be located in the Superstition Mountains of Arizona. All rights reserved. He said there was a black man in the party, who the other miners called Ni**er Ben, and described him as a good man, who was the only one of the party who dared to prospect alone. After he had conquered the epidemic, he was placed upon a horse and taken to a deep rock-walled canyon laced with a high ledge of quartz that glittered with flecks of gold. Share A Map to the Lost Dutchman Gold Mine on Facebook, Share A Map to the Lost Dutchman Gold Mine on Twitter, Share A Map to the Lost Dutchman Gold Mine on LinkedIn. 928.443.8000 For more than a century, adventurous souls have sought the Lost Dutchman Mine, and since 1891, more than a hundred people have claimed to find it. Most stories place the gold in the vicinity of Weaver's Needle, a well known landmark. Neither she nor dozens of other seekers in the years that followed were able to find the "Lost Dutchman's Mine." The ore in the heaps was about the same character as that which had been brought into Wickenburg in the early days by the Lost Dutchman, but it didnt agree at all with the ore in the shallow prospect hole, which was not considered worthy of further development. This story was based on the adventures of a young surgeon named Thorne, who, having cured the eye troubles of a couple of Apache Indians where he was stationed, was induced to visit the Indian village where there was an epidemic of the same disorder. - arizona gold mine stock pictures, royalty-free photos & images 8302 Lost Mine Rd. The butte was one of three, thus entering the significant landmark of three buttes in most versions of his story. You'll receive your first newsletter soon! Since there is more than one version of the story, there are many contradicting facts. Peck, discoverer of the famous Peck Mine at Alexandria. 16 Lost Treasures of Arizona Lost Dutchman's Gold Mine Herman Wolf's Treasure Trove Legend of the Lost Opata Mine The Smiling Bandits Lost Loot Red Jack Almer Gangs Lost Loot $72,000 in Gold Coins: Stolen Army Payroll Buried Cans of Gold Coins at Ashurst Ranch Lost Gold at Granite Dells Blacksmith's Lost Booty Hidden Indian Gold Near Lynx Creek The Vulture Mining Company was born. Lost Cities & Ancient Mysteries of the Southwest by David Hatcher Childress, Adventures Unlimited Press, 2009. Have found the lost Dutchman. He argued that each of these three legends contains some truth, but have become badly distorted through time. Tiffany Owens is a freelance travel writer and the. Before we get into those, here are some genuine facts about the Lost Dutchman Gold Mine: There really was a Lost Dutchman, although he wasnt Dutch. The secret route to the lost Dutchman goldmine in Arizona was very simple and common sense. Lynx Lake Mineral Withdrawal Area & Gold Panning Trail, Prescott. He found some. Then in 1868, Wickenburg used his gold proceeds to fund a new project that would change Arizona history forever: The Swilling Irrigation Canal Company, conceived by ex-Confederate soldier Jack Swilling of Prescott. This post card is a humourous version of the many serious treasure maps that undoubtedly circulated in Arizona and environs at the height of gold mine fever, at the end of the 19th century. They failed to return and nine more, driven by impending hunger, took the same trail, leaving in camp only Adams and two others. As you probably guessed, they were fakes. Since its early Gold Rush days, Arizona has produced in excess of 498 tons or 16 million troy ounces (ozt.) Said to be located in the vicinity of Weaver 's Needle, a local newspaper relates how Thomas and began. Truth, but have become badly distorted through time, a local newspaper relates how Thomas and others searching! 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