July 6, 2009 © Thomas J. Kollenborn. All Rights Reserved.
The topic of
the Peralta Stone maps have been one of the most interesting subjects
associated with the Superstition Mountain area. These four stone maps
maps continue to mystify and confuse those who try to interpret them.
The greatest amount confusion involving these maps is associated with
their origin and whether they are genuine or not.
The origin of these stone maps is
dubious at best and still causes heated discussions among historians and
treasure hunters. Stories about the stone maps vary from storyteller to
storyteller as to their authenticity. Many periodicals have been
written about the Peralta Stone Maps over the past three decades without
any conclusive or sound evidence pointing to their origin or meaning.
Old “Doc” Ludwig G. Roscrans told me he
saw the stone maps about three weeks after they were discovered near
Florence Junction in 1949. He said he talked to the Mexican bracero
(migrant worker) who had discovered the maps originally and then sold
them to a tourist from Oregon.
Today there are many versions of this
story. Bob Ward took me to a location east of Black Point, pointed to a
hole and said that was were the stone maps were recovered. Bob arrived
in the area about 1958. The strongest oral evidence suggests the maps
were discovered near Black Point. However, all of this information is
based on subjective testimony.
The stone maps are an excellent piece of
art in many respects. It is obvious whoever carved the stone maps was
familiar with carving in stone. There are those who claim the stone maps
are made of material that can not be found in this area. The stone
maps, according to some, are made out of soft sandstone more conducive
to the Colorado Plateau region in northeastern Arizona than the desert
areas around the Superstition Wilderness Area. However, there are some
very soft pseudo-sandstone rock near Oak Flats between Superior and
Miami that might have yielded the material for these maps.
Robert G. Garman knew the Mexican
bracero who was working for John Hart building a fence near the north
bank of Queen Creek east of the highway (U.S. Highway 60-70), who made
the original discovery. The fence was aligned east to west near Black
Point. The bracero, while setting post for this fence, noticed an
unusually large flat stone in the side of his post hole. He worked the
stone lose and found it had cryptic writing on it. He also recognized a
Spanish word. He also noticed the rock was covered with Indian
petroglyphs and some Spanish markings. Not understanding the
significance of his discovery the Bracero hauled the stone to Florence
Junction, a few miles away. He planned on selling the stone to a passing
tourist for a few dollars.
He arrived at Florence Junction after
walking and lugging the flat stone some three miles. He borrowed a water
hose at the service station and washed the stone off, carefully
preparing it for a curious tourist. He found such a person in Robert G.
Tummilson of Portland, Oregon. Tummilson, a retired police officer,
examined the rock and decided a fair price would be $10.00. This was
almost a week’s wages for the Mexican laborer. Tummilson was now the
proud owner of a stone with some cryptic writing on it. After this
interesting purchase Tummilson continued his journey on to Phoenix to
visit his brother. Once at his brother’s house Tummilson decided to wash
the rock thoroughly and re-examine it. Tummilson and his brother
immediately recognized this was no ordinary petroglyph of Native
American origin, but some kind of coded map in Spanish.
The two brothers were convinced this
stone slab was Spanish or Mexican in origin. The so-called Peralta Stone
Maps have changed hands several times over the past fifty years. These
mysterious slabs of rock have been called frauds by historians.
There are claims the stone maps were
found on the Gila River near Dos Lomas. If indeed these stone maps were
found by the Tummilson brothers as they claimed and if a Mexican bracero
actually found them, why wasn’t the discovery better documented with
more photographs, notes and field sketches? Tummilson was a retired
police officer trained in accurate note taking and crime scene
preservation. The lack of evidential commitment at the discovery site of
the stone slabs seriously damages the authenticity of the discovery.
There is a counter argument to evidential commitment at the site. It
could be, according to Garman and others, Tummilson wanted to control
all information disseminated about the stone maps. This is not a sound
argument in itself because Tummilson had no idea what he had discovered.
He did not know if they were authentic or fraudulent.
Not all of the foregoing information was
supplied by Robert L. Garman. Some of the information came from Ludwig
G. Rosecrans and others interested in the stone maps. Doc Rosecrans had a
copy of the photograph of the maps on Tummilson’s car given to him by
Tummilson himself. Tummilson died and the stone maps eventually ally
changed hands. The stones emerged again in the early 1960s. There were
very few people who knew about the stone maps existence prior to1962.
Clarence O. Mitchell met Tumilson’s
widow and was able to convince her he could decipher the stone maps.
Once Mitchell had the stone maps in his possession he decided from
Kollenborn, A-4 to form a stock investment corporation based on solving
this mystery. Mitchell and his wife organized the M.O.E.L. Corp. in
Nevada and began a stock selling campaign among their friends and close
associates.
The M.O.E.L. Corp. soon flourished when
Mitchell convinced investors he needed money to search for the treasure
indicated by the stone maps. According to documents Mitchell and his
wife raised more than $70,000 over a two-year period. They were so
successful in Nevada they decided to branch out into Arizona.
Next week, Part 2.
Be sure to
visit the Superstition Mountain Museum and see the Peralta Stones for
yourself at 4087 N. Apache Trail State Rt. 88, Apache Junction. For more
information call (480) 983-4888
