The recent publishing of The Bible of the Lost Dutchman Gold Mine and Jacob Waltz by Helen Corbin, the wife of former Attorney General Robert K. Corbin, will require Superstition Mountain historians to revisit several historical points of view about the tale of the Dutchman’s Lost Gold Mine. Historians will find some of the revelations in Corbin’s book extremely thought-provoking when compared with the general thinking among contemporary Dutch hunters.
Helen has revealed the source of three important facts involving Jacob Waltz that have never been available to historians or readers before. She has uncovered new evidence and revelations about how Waltz got to America from Germany, about his travels in the American West, and, most importantly, about a large shipment of gold ore Waltz made in 1887.
Let’s examine and review these revelations and then address a few points of interest.
The first fact involves Jacob Waltz’s travels from Germany to America and how he accomplished this. Waltz, the legendary owner of a rich gold mine in the Superstition Mountain area, was born near Oberschwandorf, Wurttemburg, Germany some time between 1808 and 1810. His exact birth date cannot be verified by any actual documents. Corbin’s book states that Waltz was born in 1810 in Wurttemburg, Germany. Other accounts place Waltz’s birth near a village named Nagold in Wurttemburg.
According to Corbin’s account, Waltz came from Horb or at least that is what the Obler ship’s manifest stated. Several years ago I received information from a German police officer named Helmut Schmidtpeter who had studied the Waltz family lineage in depth. He was convinced Jacob was born in Horb or nearby, according to baptismal records he found in Germany. I must admit it doesn’t really matter where Jacob Waltz was actually born. The most important thing is to understand the path this man’s life took from Germany to America and then through the American West.
Jacob Waltz, according to the Obler ship’s manifest, crossed the Atlantic Ocean departing Bremen on October 4, 1839, and arriving in the Port of New Orleans on November 17, 1839. Waltz’s name appears s the ninety-seventh name on the ship’s manifest. It is also interesting to note a Jacob Weiss also appears on the same manifest from the town of Horb. Both Waltz and Weiss were listed as laborers. The Obler ship’s manifest appears for the first time in Corbin’s book. This document was acquired from the International Ship Transcriber’s Guild, according to Corbin’s documentation. I suspect the document possibly came from Kraig Roberts.
Historians, I am sure, would appreciate an opportunity to see the original handwritten manifest for the ship Obler and Captain Exter’s ship’s declaration. It is doubtful these documents were typed or set in type originally.
In 1997 and again in February of 2001, I wrote about Waltz entering the United States through New Orleans. I made these bold statements without documentation at the time. I based my statements on the word of Bill Cage, an old friend of my father’s who claimed he knew Jacob Waltz. I also used information provided to me by Helmut Schmidtpeter in 1991. I did state at the time there was no documentation to prove Waltz travelled across the Atlantic Ocean to New York or New Orleans, however, Helmut was convinced Waltz had entered the United States through the Port of New Orleans.
A man named Jerry Hemrick, from Baltimore, Maryland, claimed he possessed a ship’s manifest that contained Waltz’s name. He claimed the ship was the “Obler” and it had docked at the Port of New York in 1839.
Today I believe Hemrick was putting up a smoke screen and knew all the time Waltz’s port of entry was New Orleans. My father’s friend, William Cage, said Waltz told him he entered the United States through New Orleans.
[Part II – September 23, 2002]
My father’s friend, William Cage, told us Jacob Waltz had worked in Grass Valley, California, one of the richest gold mines along the Sierra Nevadas. My father had also worked at Grass Valley in the early 1920’s and was very familiar with the high-grade ore there. It was here my father often wondered if Waltz had high-graded the ore here he had under his bed at the time of his death from Grass Valley. Helen Corbin’s revelations have certainly opened our minds about this obscure character and his habits.
Helen Corbin’s second statement is certainly significant to historians who study Jacob Waltz and his travels in the West. William Cage insisted Waltz traveled to the Bradshaw Mountains with the Peeples-Weaver party in April of 1863. We just accepted Cage’s words at face value and had no reason to doubt him. He claimed to have befriended Waltz as a young man in Phoenix around 1883 when Cage worked as an apprentice blacksmith. Again, I wrote about this in an article on February 27, 2001, in [the] Apache Junction News titled “Jacob Waltz, The Old Dutchman.”
Helen Corbin’s research has definitely verified what an old man told my father more than fifty years ago. I have searched for those identical documents from the ship “Obler” and the Peeples-Weaver Party. I have never been able to uncover the documents, though I’ve always believed they existed.
Cage also talked about Waltz, Montgomery, and Binkley prospecting in the area west of Superstition Mountain and finding gold in 1864, but also being attacked by the Apaches. Prospectors did not visit the area again until 1879. The Peralta brothers from Phoenix searched the area for gold outcrops in 1879. They were successful in finding gold… and the Apaches. The Apaches killed one of the brothers and the other escaped with his life and a bag of gold ore. All the stories confirm the validity of Bill Cage’s information.
The third and most important document Helen Corbin came up with was the United States Treasury warrants where Jacob Waltz shipped fifty pounds of gold ore worth $7,000 to the National Bank of Lawrence, Kansas. This shipment of ore was allegedly sent to his sister. The date of this U.S. Warrant was August 24, 1887. The warrant, which Corbin has in her book, was No. 2250 for the amount of $7,000.00.
How much gold does this warrant really represent? It represents at least 350 troy ounces of gold if it is .999 fine. We all know that hand concentrated ore is not .999 fine. My guess is this ore may have been around .700 to .750 fine. If so, Waltz may have shipped about 500 troy ounces of gold concentrate.
Now let’s do the math. 500 troy ounces times .700 fine or 70% equals 350 troy ounces times $20.15 per ounce which would equal $7,052.00. These calculations come out quite close to the $7,000 U.S. Warrant Waltz sent to the National Bank of Lawrence, Kansas, on August 24, 1887. The warrant is quite compelling evidence that Waltz had a large cache of high-grade gold ore.
So much confusion has been associated with Jacob Waltz and the Lost Mine over the years. Much of this confusion can be associated with men like Pierpont Constable Bicknell, a freelance writer for the “San Francisco Chronicle” near the turn of the century.
Helen Corbin has done an excellent job of clearing up much of this confusion. It is certain that Corbin’s new book will change the thinking of many when it comes to Jacob Waltz and his mine. We now know how Jacob Waltz came to America and how he made his way to the Bradshaw Mountains south of Prescott. We also know he shipped rich gold ore in large sums.
Skeptics will claim it is the wrong Waltz, the gold came from California, or the documents may be frauds. All these possibilities still remain however the information is now available to further research.
Corbin’s book adds a new chapter of enlightenment in the history of the Superstition Mountains and the Lost Dutchman Mine. The story of Jacob Waltz and his lost mine come closer and closer to reality thanks to Helen Corbin and her excellent new book. If you are interested in acquiring a copy of the new book, contact the Superstition Mountain Museum at 480-983-4888.
