194103-DesertMagazin.. - Desert Magazine of the Southwest

GhVlt •>t the field where Hilton's party jound specimens of quartz crystal.
ble a yarn as many others that have been
told of the "Lost Dutchman."
According to Ed's informant, Walz was
not a miner at all. The old-timer claimed
to have known the German personally, and
to have positive knowledge that Walz was
merely a "fence" for a gang of high-pratlr'rs
who were stealing _rich ore from mines
being worked in Arizona at that time.
It was only natural that Walz and his
fellow-conspirators should select the Superstition
mountains for their operations.
Every old-timer in the Southwest has
heard tales of the lost "Mina Sombrera"
which Don Miguel Peralta was reported
to have discovered in the Superstitions.
What would be more logical then than for
Jacob Walz and his accomplices to carry
on their criminal operations under the
guise of having relocated the old Peralta
workings?
The Superstition range with its deep
canyons and precipitous cliffs and hidden
recesses is a perfect hide-out for law-breakers.
Many men are reported to have gone
into this rugged country in quest of the
old Peralta mine, and later in search of
Walz workings, and never returned. It is
said that Walz himself, on his deathbed,
confessed to the killing of three Mexicans
who invaded his domain.
Whether or not there is any truth in this
there is definite record of a more recent
version of the "Lost Dutchman" mine,
attempt to use the old mine as a smokescreen
for illegal traffic in gold.
This tale is about a prospector who announced
that he was going into the Supersjitions
to search for the "Lost Dutchman."
When he failed to return on schedule,
searching parties were sent out. One night
the lost man stumbled into their camp
tattered and apparently near exhaustion.
He had cut off one sleeve of his heavy
shirt and tied one end to form a crude sack.
In this was an astounding collection of
large gold nuggets.
Immediately there was a flurry of excitement.
It appeared to be the biggest
gold strike of the decade. Of course the
gold was sent off to the mint—and then
the bubble broke. The mint assayed the
metal and notified the "lost prospector"
and his associates that it was too pure for
native gold—it was dental gold. The experts
in the federal assay office had no
difficulty detecting the true character of
the metal. They paid for it, but at the rate
for old gold instead of newly mined metal
—and quietly warned the "miners" to be
more accurate in classifying their nuggets
in the future. Needless to say, the gold
rush never developed, and the "prospector"
dropped from sight.
Harlow and Max and Ed and I decided
to leave the "Lost Dutchman" for others.
We would be satisfied if we could find
some nice quartz crystals which Matteson
told us were to be found near the Superstitions.
The sky was overcast when we left
Phoenix the next morning. Harlow was
looking glum. It is hard to take good pictures
in the rain. But by the time we reached
Apache junction the clouds were breaking,
as they often do on the desert without
dispersing a drop of moisture.
Great patches of sunlight spotlighted
the floor of the desert, and as the billowy
clouds sailed overhead they were trailed
on the ground by monster blue shadows of
ever-changing patterns. It became a perfect
day for photographs and I wished I
had brought along my sketching outfit.
We stopped at Apache junction and
saw the zoo and other attractions, including
an impressive monument erected by
the Dons of Phoenix to the memory of the
"Dutchman." This monument with its
bronze prospector and burro mounted on
a pedestal of native rock is a conspicuous
landmark and creates much interest on the
part of Arizona visitors.
We took the road to Roosevelt dam, but
had gone only a few miles when we reached
an area where Ed Matteson had camped
and seen quartz crystals scattered over the
floor of the desert. We took a side road and
soon were finding small crystals and fragments
of quartz scattered about. We
thought they may have come from the
range ahead and we followed the road as
16 The DESERT MAGAZINE