The Superstition Mountains of Central Arizona have fascinated men and women for more than a century. Is it the beauty of these mountains or is it the tales of lost gold?
Many people enjoy the scenic and rugged mountains of the wilderness for a variety of reasons. Artist[s] and photographers have come from all over the world to paint and photograph the Superstitions, and there are those who believe gold can be found within the environs of these mountains.
It is the stories of gold that continue to build on the legacy of Superstition Mountain. The legend of lost gold in the Superstition Wilderness Area began to emerge long before the first Europeans ever heard of them.
The stories began when the first Conquistadors landed on the Mexican gulf coast near Vera Cruz in 1519. Cortez and his expedition moved inland and soon found the Aztec capital of Tenoctitlan, a city of gold. The Conquistadors took Montezuma II and held him for ransom. Cortez demanded the Aztecs fill a huge room with gold to ransom their king.
The year 1535 found the Spanish hunting further north of Mexico City for the golden caches the Aztecs supposedly buried. Then there were rumors of another city of gold to the far north. The Spanish also believed the Aztecs had hidden enormous caches of gold north of Tenoctitlan in the land they called “Tierra Incognito.” Legend tells of the Aztecs trekking all the way from Tenoctitlan to the Superstition Mountains to hide gold from the Spanish after the invasion. There are many stories about Aztec gold hidden in the Superstition Wilderness, but they are total fantasy according to contemporary historians.
The Conquistadors explored the Southwest in 1540 under the leadership of Coronado, and were followed by Jesuit priests who primarily converted souls to Catholicism rather than hiding gold and silver in the Superstition Mountains. The Jesuits appeared to have done a little silver mining along the Santa Cruz River prior to being expelled from the New World by the Spanish King in 1767. Again, these stories are divided between legend and myth, and there is little documentation to support any of these stories about the Aztecs or the Jesuits hiding gold in the Superstition Mountains.
The expulsion of the Jesuits was followed by a variety of Mexican prospecting and mining ventures of the Peralta family in Sonora. The Peraltas allegedly had eight rich gold mines in the Superstition Wilderness Area somewhere. The Peraltas or Apaches, depending on the storyteller, covered these mines.
The Peraltas returned to work these mines in 1847, and were massacred by the Apaches who probably buried the mines again. At least, most storytellers will agree with this basic scenario although there is no documentation to support it.
The Mexicans, Spanish and Indians allegedly hid all their gold and silver mines when the Americans arrived on the scene after the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848. According to legend, the Apaches protected their “Thunder God” mountain from the American prospector[s] by killing them when they entered the mountains.
Then Jacob Waltz arrived on the scene. He was a stubborn old prospector, set on finding a rich Arizona gold vein. Waltz penetrated this rugged mountain wilderness and ignored the danger from the Apaches. He evaded the Apaches and supposedly found a very rich gold mine or cache. When Waltz died on October 25, 1891, in Phoenix, Arizona Territory, a small quantity of rich, high-grade gold ore was found under his deathbed in a candle box. This information fueled the imaginations of those who saw the rich ore. They told stories of a rich mine the “Dutchman” must have had somewhere in the Superstition Mountains.
Without this event the stories told by Julia Thomas, the Petrasch brothers, Guidon Roberts, Richard J. Holmes, P.C. Bicknell and Alfred Franklin Banta would have had little or no credence. These individuals are the ones directly responsible for the story of the Lost Dutchman Mine.
Yes, Superstition Mountain and its history are a legend of gold kept alive by more and more tales, sometimes the fabrication of those intrigued by the story. The mountain and its history stands as tribute to those who spent much of their lives in search of this legendary mine. But, there is more to this story of the Superstitions than just the lost gold. There is the history of the cattlemen, prospectors, aviators, miners, photographers, newspapermen, outfitters and others that became part of this legacy. Superstition Mountain is blessed with some of the most colorful history in all of Arizona.
The future of the Superstition Wilderness Area undoubtedly is destined to be part of a recreational facility for the rapidly growing population of the Salt River Valley. The unprecedented growth of the Salt River Valley has led to trailhead parking fees, controlled parking and other restrictive control measures brought on by uncontrolled urban sprawl. The wilderness is not an unlimited resource in our backyard. It is a precious resource we must protect and care for.
The wilderness has gone from a wild cattle range, filled with strange and unusual prospectors, to thousands of hikers, horsemen and weekenders looking for a thrill. I would rather meet a cow than ten hikers or ten horsemen. It won’t be long before the wilderness will be like Squaw Peak trail in Phoenix.
The Superstition Wilderness Area is a great asset for Apache Junction, even though Apache Junction has no control of the region. The dream of finding a lost mine still attracts people to the area. The closure of the area to mineral entry at the close of 1983 has not discouraged many die hard Dutch hunters. Just recently, long time treasure hunter and Apache Junction resident Ron Feldman received a Trove Treasure Permit from the Tonto National Forest to search for treasure in the Superstition Wilderness.
The legend of gold is far more powerful than the reality itself. Dutch hunter and former Arizona Attorney General Bob Corbin once said, “You can’t legislate dreams.” The dreams of young men become the imagination of old men, still dreaming.