September 28, 2009 © Thomas J. Kollenborn. All Rights Reserved.
The legend
and lore of Superstition Mountain has prompted a continuous search for
hidden gold or lost treasure within the towering spires and deep canyons
of this nationally known landmark for the past century. Men and women
from all walks of life come to bid their luck against the elements and
dangers of a mountain some men call “evil”.
A German immigrant named Jacob Waltz,
supposedly started this contemporary search with clues about a rich gold
mine that he allegedly hid within this mountain’s realm. These clues,
after his demise, on October 25,1891, fired the imagination of the
citizens of Phoenix and the surrounding countryside about lost gold in
these mountains. These stories are centuries old now and they still
tantalize the imagination of contemporary adventurers. A century of
searching has passed since Waltz’s death and has produced no gold.
Only one other man has created such an
interest and lust since Waltz’s death. This was Adolph Ruth. He did it
by dying in the summer of 1931, alone in the heart of the Superstitions.
Ruth’s sudden and violent death in mountains quickly replaced the
headlines of “depression” news in major newspapers across the nation.
Across this nation, coast to coast,
newspaper headlines echoed the story of Ruth’s mysterious death in the
Superstition Mountains while searching for gold. Soon after these
stories appeared authors and journalists capitalized on the story of
Superstition Mountain and the infamous Lost Dutchman’s mine. The story
caused temptation on the part of readers to pack their bags and head for
the Superstition Mountains in Arizona and begin the search for gold.
The list is endless of those men and
women who have searched and died in this barren and rugged wasteland
known as the Superstition Wilderness Area. Some threw their fortunes
away just for an opportunity to search for this hidden wealth. All of
them believed they would find that single solitary clue that would lead
them to the golden cache, riches beyond the dreams of kings.
The Lost Dutchman’s mine is one of the
most often found mines in the world, yet it is still lost. Since 1895,
the mine has been found at least 150 times by a variety of individuals
from all walks of life. The annual winter migrations of prospectors who
descend upon the Superstition Wilderness Area only prove the interest
that still exists in the mine today. This story is still America’s most
popular lost mine story and continues to captivate the imagination of
dreamers. This fanatic search for lost gold has driven some men to the
brink of insanity and some even to suicide.
Some of these individuals have even
organized complex corporations and implemented sophisticated electronic
equipment to aid in their quest for the gold they believe is contained
within the rocks of Superstition Mountain or its wilderness. Even with
the advent of modern technology and the advancement of electronic metal
detection equipment to aid in the quest for gold from the legendary Lost
Dutchman’s mine continues to elude the prospector’s pick and shovel.
Hunting lost mines, in particular the
legendary Lost Dutchman’s mine, is like chasing a rainbow, “so close yet
so far away.” The search itself is a solo avocation among the most
ethical and honest lost mine hunters.
These men and women share no information
and ask nobody for assistance. Maybe it is not the finding that is so
important to them, but the searching. It is a documented fact many an
old-timer found pay dirt, only to sell it or lose it so he could return
to his wander lust way of life. The source of gold and legends are where
you find them, “out in the hills.”
The true Dutchman aficionados are
definitely blessed with a certain amount of happiness and the rewards of
adventure in the great outdoors. They spend countless hours, days,
months and years around campfires speculating about the location of
Superstition Mountain’s hidden wealth. As long as there are those who
dream there will be Dutch Hunters and treasure hunters probing the
towering spires and deep canyons of the Superstition Wilderness Area
searching for lost gold and treasure.
Al Morrow spent nineteen years of his
life living in Needle Canyon in the heart of the Superstition Wilderness
searching for the Peralta Mines. He believed these mines and the
Dutchman were one in the same. This man knew what happiness was and he
most definitely knew the pain of loneliness among the towering
escarpments of Needle Canyon. He found success in something that we are
not able to measure, his was the simple everyday task of survival in
this remote wilderness. Morrow chose this way of life so he could deal
with nature firsthand and continue his life at this slow pace far
removed from the complexities of urbanization.
He did this with great success and integrity. And he did it in an age where everything was based on material wealth.
It is difficult to imagine the likes of
Al Morrow and other prospectors like him, who choose such a solo way of
life despite the demands of modern society. Al Morrow marched to the
”beat of a different drummer.”
Superstition Mountain is a tribute to
those people and their stories of hidden gold and the never-ending
search for it. This mountain has become a fitting monument to these men
and women who suffered the hardships of isolation, hard work and being
different just to survive.
Maintaining a camp deep in the mountains
required an enormous amount of work and the constant search for good
water. However, the beauty and adventure associated with searching the
lofty ridges and deep canyons for hidden wealth was well worth any
exerted energy.
Just maybe someday a lucky man or woman
will come forth with the gold of Superstition Mountain and forever end
the tantalizing tales of lost gold within the boundaries of the
Superstition Wilderness Area. The discovery will also vindicate all
those who have believed in the legend. Jacob Waltz undoubtedly left
behind the most lingering story ever told about lost gold in the
American Southwest.
This is strictly a romantic view of the
Superstition Wilderness Area and the life of early prospectors in the
area, but as we face the future the significance and importance of the
region will grow enormously.
Today we find hikers and joggers
wandering the trails of the Superstition Wilderness looking for
adventure, recreation, and relief from the stress of our modern urban
society. The Superstition Wilderness Area has become an important
habitat for these urbanites with their daypacks, water bottles, and
Nikes on weekends.
Today the region serves more as a park
than a true wilderness with more than 90,000 (estimated figures) people
using the system trails this past year. The future and survival of the
wilderness is totally dependent on the forest service’s management as
the Phoenix metropolitan area grows. We will probably soon see the day
access to the wilderness will be limited as more and more state trust
lands are closed or developed.
Until this gold is found, the legend of
Superstition Mountain is the stuff that dreams are made of. Dreams of
hidden gold or personal enrichment it matters not because the
opportunity to search has been worthwhile to the old timers.
While this
legendary land of the old “Dutchman’s” lost mine has become a prime
recreational resource for the Phoenix metropolitan area and old
Superstition Mountain continues to remain as a tribute to a legend.