I have written about a lot of men who have lived and camped in the Superstition Wilderness during the past half century. I have been somewhat fascinated with these interesting characters. Albert Erland Morrow was such a man also.
Late in November of 1970 I couldn’t imagine why Al Morrow was not in his camp to welcome his many friends. Surprisingly, he was gone. Later, we learned that Al Morrow had been crushed by a giant rock near his mine during a heavy downpour in Needle Canyon. This incident happened over Labor Day weekend during a storm that struck the area on September 9, 1970.
I often stopped in and visited with Morrow between 1955 and 1969. He was friendly and always willing to help someone in need. Many a tired and desperate hiker gave thanks when they came across his camp in Needle Canyon. He would always heat up the coffee and offer a friendly hand and some advice. When I stopped in Morrow’s camp we would soon be talking about the Dutchman, the Peraltas and/or many people who searched the Superstition Mountains for lost gold.
I am not sure where Al was born. I believe it was in northern California. His mother Greta always [kept] close tabs on Al and was always willing to help him. Around 1957 Al Morrow published a small manuscript in pamphlet book form with the help of his mother. The name of the manuscript was “Famous Lost Spanish Gold Mines of Arizona’s Superstition Mountains.” The booklet was nothing more than a stapled mimeograph copy of his typed manuscript. To this day it is not known with absolute certainty whether Al or his mother wrote the manuscript.
Morrow Camp was located in Needle Canyon just as you enter the canyon riding down from Terripan Pass northeast of Weaver’s Needle.
You had to walk up Needle Canyon about a quarter of a mile before you were in Al’s camp. Morrow’s camp was on the right side of Needle Canyon going upstream and his mine was located directly east of his camp across Needle Canyon. Al had worked this site for almost twenty years until he tragically lost his life in September of 1970.
Al kept a day by day journal of life in his camp. Today this journal remains as a window into the mind of [a] man who met life’s challenges in a very isolated environment. Loneliness must have been his constant companion and maybe his most important amenity. These old Dutch hunters provided psychologists with some interesting case studies. I am certain each one had his or her reason for accepting isolation as a lifestyle.
I have often wondered if these people had found the stress associated with human behavior and interaction at a social and work level too great to manage. All of these old timers appeared to be quite intelligent and well-versed in national and world events.
Survival in their isolated world required intelligence and cunning. The task of maintaining an adequate water supply for their camps was paramount for their survival. They also needed to maintain adequate shelter against the elements and at the same time provide a self-sufficient food supply. Morrow needed a good tent and a source of food to survive in this isolated canyon in the Superstition Wilderness. He also had many friends who constantly made small unsolicited donations to his dreams.
Al Morrow’s journal reflects his dedication to his dream of finding gold in the Superstition Wilderness Area. The following are direct quotes from his personal journal.
Thursday, September 12, 1963: “Did a little more cleaning up around camp. Rested mostly, went up canyon for water at sunset. Noted pinnacle shadow lay at mine site just at sunset. Will start digging ahead of the marker tomorrow and work up toward blowout.”
Friday, September 13, 1963: “Stayed around camp today to keep off devils and bad luck. Killed eight scorpions and one rattler, which I almost stepped on. Had eleven rattles and more broken off. A big one! It clouded up this P.M. and began to thunder and lightning and then rain. It came down long enough to freshen the water holes. About five P.M. today I heard three rifle shots, .22 cal. Followed by three heavy caliber shots from Black Top Cave. A short time later three men came running down from the cave spread out a little. Then came about halfway down the slope to some rocks, looked from some rocks for awhile and then returned slowly to the cave.”
Saturday, September 14, 1963: “Woke up at 5 A.M., but still very tired so slept till 6 A.M. then got up and ate some sausage, bread, coffee and prunes for breakfast. Dug until near noon. Things are looking better. I am following a stringer on surface which may lead to a mineshaft. I can’t be far from it now according to Wiser’s map. Lots of pieces with water crystals along trench I am digging in now. Around noon today there were about nine heavy caliber shots from Black Top Mountain in the vicinity of the cave. Could have been one gun or could have been more. Shots somewhere – some spaced – some rapid fire. I was planning a visit to cave this Sunday, but it might be too dangerous. Aired the sleeping bag today. Now cooking a pot of beans. Big desert turtle has spent two days traveling past my tent. He sure is old. His ancestors must have been sea turtles when this country was covered with oceans. Here and there on cliffs there are tide marks worn in the solid rock by water.”
The foregoing three days is just a sample from the journal [of] Alfred Erland Morrow. The journal is like an open window into the past. It gives us an idea what it was like living alone in these mountains for such a long period of time. Al had lived in Needle Canyon for some thirteen years by 1963. He continued the search and pursued his dreams for another seven years before his untimely death. He made daily entries in his journal leaving a written record as to what life was like in Needle Canyon.
There are many stories about a valuable coin collection Al Morrow left hidden in Needle Canyon somewhere near his camp. There are few clues that suggest this coin collection ever existed. Yes, I witnessed a quart jar full of pennies, dimes and nickels Al had. He called it his “bank.” Al made several entries in his journal referring to a collection of foreign coins containing primarily Mexican centavos. If Morrow had a collection of twenty dollar double eagles like some claim I am sure there would have been some kind of entry or clues left behind.
Albert Erland Morrow’s legacy will be his offering of hospitality to strangers lost in the Superstition Mountains during his stay in Needle Canyon.
