The Silver Madonna and Other Tales of America's Greatest Lost Treasures by W.C. Jameson Page B
Authors: W.C. Jameson
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expected such a thing to happen and he devised a number of ways to elude his trackers. It has been said that several men who set out on the trail of the Dutchman were never seen again. Many were convinced that Walz hid in ambush and killed them. Such tales added to the growing mystery about the Curse of the Superstition Mountains.
For twenty years Walz extracted gold from the mines and panned it from the streams. As he aged, his health began to fail and a variety of infirmities began taking a toll. During his last few years in the range, Walz dropped a few hints relative to the locations of some of his mines, but he shared precise directions with only one person, a woman he had befriended years earlier.
Julia Thomas owned a Phoenix ice cream parlor and was one of the few black women in the area. Most believe that the directions Walz provided Thomas were accurate because he would have no reason to deceive her. Paraphrased, the directions are as follows:
Follow the Salt River from Phoenix until arriving at a junction with a well-traveled trail. Take the trail to Sombrero Peak, and from this point continue to the eye of the Needle. From the eye, the mines lie almost due north. Continue to Blacktop Hill, thence to Blacktop Mesa. On the mesa can be seen an old stone corral left by the Spaniards. Cross the mesa and continue down the opposite side where a spring can be seen. Follow the trail northward until coming to another spring. Beyond this spring lies a canyon, and the mines are located at the head of it.
Walz also provided Thomas other information: that placer gold could be found at various locations in the dry stream bed that ran along the canyon floor; that the entrance to one important shaft was on the north-facing slope near the head of the canyon. Walz explained that one could stand as close as ten feet to the opening of the mine and still not see it. Inside, he said, was an eighteen-inch-thick vein of almost pure gold. Standing in front of the opening, one could look out across the small valley and see the ruins of an old rock house originally constructed by the Spaniards. At the top of the slope beyond the rock house was another shaft, this one vertical and also containing a thick seam of gold.
Other directions to Walz’s gold exist, many of them cobbled together from the hints he left during his trips to town. Many of them contradict one another, and most are believed to be hoaxes.
Jacob Walz passed away in 1891 in the home of Thomas. With his death came the growing and often exaggerated tales of his gold. As a result, numerous expeditions entered the Superstition Mountains in search of what came to be called the Lost Dutchman Mine, the name by which it is best known today. Instead of a single mine, however, Walz’s holdings included several shafts, a number of placer deposits, and numerous caches.
From that time until today, hundreds of expeditions have been launched into the Superstition Mountains in search of the Lost Dutchman Mine. Dozens of men have lost their lives. During the early years, some were victims of Indian attack. Others perished from thirst, snakebite, exposure, or falls from cliffs. Those who died were believed by many to be victims of the fabled curse.
Today there exist dozens of books and thousands of articles about the Lost Dutchman Mine and several movies have been made, all of which add to the legend. Despite all of the attention given to the tale, and despite the endless quests to find the gold, the sources of the ore have remained lost. Many contend Walz covered and camouflaged the mine shafts before he died. Others suggest they were covered by landslides generated by an earthquake in 1877. Still others will argue that the gold in the mines was simply depleted as a result of the mining activities by the Spaniards, Peralta, and Walz. And there are even some who claim the gold never existed at all.
That the Spaniards found gold in the Superstition Mountains cannot be denied; it is a
For twenty years Walz extracted gold from the mines and panned it from the streams. As he aged, his health began to fail and a variety of infirmities began taking a toll. During his last few years in the range, Walz dropped a few hints relative to the locations of some of his mines, but he shared precise directions with only one person, a woman he had befriended years earlier.
Julia Thomas owned a Phoenix ice cream parlor and was one of the few black women in the area. Most believe that the directions Walz provided Thomas were accurate because he would have no reason to deceive her. Paraphrased, the directions are as follows:
Follow the Salt River from Phoenix until arriving at a junction with a well-traveled trail. Take the trail to Sombrero Peak, and from this point continue to the eye of the Needle. From the eye, the mines lie almost due north. Continue to Blacktop Hill, thence to Blacktop Mesa. On the mesa can be seen an old stone corral left by the Spaniards. Cross the mesa and continue down the opposite side where a spring can be seen. Follow the trail northward until coming to another spring. Beyond this spring lies a canyon, and the mines are located at the head of it.
Walz also provided Thomas other information: that placer gold could be found at various locations in the dry stream bed that ran along the canyon floor; that the entrance to one important shaft was on the north-facing slope near the head of the canyon. Walz explained that one could stand as close as ten feet to the opening of the mine and still not see it. Inside, he said, was an eighteen-inch-thick vein of almost pure gold. Standing in front of the opening, one could look out across the small valley and see the ruins of an old rock house originally constructed by the Spaniards. At the top of the slope beyond the rock house was another shaft, this one vertical and also containing a thick seam of gold.
Other directions to Walz’s gold exist, many of them cobbled together from the hints he left during his trips to town. Many of them contradict one another, and most are believed to be hoaxes.
Jacob Walz passed away in 1891 in the home of Thomas. With his death came the growing and often exaggerated tales of his gold. As a result, numerous expeditions entered the Superstition Mountains in search of what came to be called the Lost Dutchman Mine, the name by which it is best known today. Instead of a single mine, however, Walz’s holdings included several shafts, a number of placer deposits, and numerous caches.
From that time until today, hundreds of expeditions have been launched into the Superstition Mountains in search of the Lost Dutchman Mine. Dozens of men have lost their lives. During the early years, some were victims of Indian attack. Others perished from thirst, snakebite, exposure, or falls from cliffs. Those who died were believed by many to be victims of the fabled curse.
Today there exist dozens of books and thousands of articles about the Lost Dutchman Mine and several movies have been made, all of which add to the legend. Despite all of the attention given to the tale, and despite the endless quests to find the gold, the sources of the ore have remained lost. Many contend Walz covered and camouflaged the mine shafts before he died. Others suggest they were covered by landslides generated by an earthquake in 1877. Still others will argue that the gold in the mines was simply depleted as a result of the mining activities by the Spaniards, Peralta, and Walz. And there are even some who claim the gold never existed at all.
That the Spaniards found gold in the Superstition Mountains cannot be denied; it is a
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