The Lost Dutchman Mine

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Hiding in the Superstition Mountains and located about 35 miles southeast of Phoenix, is Arizona’s mysterious Lost Dutchman gold mine.  For more than a century, this wonder has been attracting those who believe in the stories of riches and are looking for the mine. Many have met with tragedy having their lives claimed by the barren desert.  

The Dutchman himself was actually a German miner named Jacob Waltz.  Born in Germany in 1808, he set out for America in 1839 looking to strike it rich.  In 1848 he became a US citizen while in Mississippi.  After not having much luck there, he decided to head west to California.  He ended up in the Bradshaw Mountains, a mountain range in the Sonoran Desert in central Arizona, and was determined to find gold.  In 1968, having made a homestead claim of 160 acres near the Salt River, Waltz would mine the nearby Superstition Mountains.  For about 20 years he would head out every winter searching for gold.  The story goes that on one of his excursion he found the notorious mine and left only a few clues on its whereabouts.  In 1891, Waltz died in Phoenix and the mysterious location died with him.

As the famous story is told, these are the clues Waltz left on the mines location:

 "From my mine you can see the military trail, but from the military trail you can not see my mine. The rays of the setting sun shine into the entrance of my mine. There is a trick in the trail to my mine. My mine is located in a north-trending canyon. There is a rock face on the trail to my mine."






The stories were told from generation to generation having many believe that the treasure is still there even though no one has had any luck in finding it.  The Superstition Mountains were named for all the tragedy that the gold seekers came across while searching for the gold mine.  Many met their demise either from the Apaches, the extreme heat or the elements or the harsh desert.  One of the rock shapes that people come across while searching for the mine in the mountains, is Weaver’s Needle.  This tall mass stands as a symbol for all of those who searched, and possibly died, never finding the Lost Dutchman Mine.

Comments

  1. Vivienne MossSeptember 20, 2011 at 9:57 AM

    This makes me want to go on a treasure hunt Indiana Jones style. Only, I'm afraid of spiders not snakes.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Julie FergusonSeptember 20, 2011 at 1:44 PM

    Vivienne--I am afraid of spiders too. It would be fun to go on a treasure hunt with little clues like in National Treasure.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Sharon DaySeptember 20, 2011 at 1:57 PM

    I'd be curious to take my dowsing rods, my metal detector, and my psychic skills and see what I could turn up.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Monkey ManSeptember 20, 2011 at 3:33 PM

    Classic old tale. I have never read the hints to the location. Very interesting. No wonder it drove people crazy.

    ps - check your dates.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Julie FergusonSeptember 20, 2011 at 4:34 PM

    Sis--if we are going to go exploring the Superstition Mountains, it will have to be in the winter. (No heat, no critters) If you can find the mine, that would be awesome.

    MM--hum, it looked like he died before he was born, haha! Thanks, I made the corrections. This is what I get posting something late in the evening when I am half asleep.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Jessica PenotSeptember 21, 2011 at 6:18 PM

    This looks like a fun place for a treasure hunt. It is beautiful and maybe a metal detector would help in the hunt.

    ReplyDelete

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