November 16, 2009 © Thomas J. Kollenborn. All Rights Reserved.
The
Superstition Mountain has served as a beacon to treasure hunters and the
curious around the world. Fortunes have been made and lost in the
search for the Lost Dutchman Mine, however the mine has never been
found. Many claim the majestic beauty and tranquility of the region are
the only treasures man will find in the Superstition Wilderness Area.
The Lost Dutchman Mine was name after
Jacob Waltz, an old German prospector mistakenly called the “Old
Dutchman.” He allegedly discovered a rich gold vein in the Superstition
Mountain region east of Phoenix, A man named Hermann Petrasch was
probably one of the most persistent seekers of Waltz’s mine. You might
say Hermann was the “father of all modern Dutch hunters.” Hermann, and
his brother Rhinehart, began their search for the mine with Julia Thomas
in the summer of 1892.
Carl Gottfried Hermann Petrasch was born
in Hennersdorf, Germany on the 24th day of April, 1864. Hermann arrived
at the Port of Entry, New York, New York in the spring of 1869. He had
left Germany with his father Gottfried when he was only five years old.
Herman accompanied his father to the town of Whatcom, Washington.
Herman’s father traveled widely throughout the West, first Washington,
Montana, Colorado, and finally to Arizona. Hermann lived in Arizona
almost sixty years and most of those years were spent in and around the
Superstition Mountain area. Petrasch did not apply for United States
citizenship until October 1938.
Hermann arrived in Arizona shortly after
the death of Jacob Waltz in October of 1891. He came to Arizona at the
request of his brother, Rhinehart. Rhinehart wanted Hermann to assist
him and Julia Thomas in the search for Waltz’s gold mine in the
Superstition Mountains. Rhinehart claimed that he and Julia had the
clues to locate Waltz’s rich gold mine.
Rhinehart Petrasch had been residing in
Phoenix for some time and helped Julia Thomas with her business. Some
historians believe Rhinehart became a close associate of Jacob Waltz in
his final days at Julia’s residence on West Jackson Street in Phoenix.
Rhinehart learned a few meager clues during this period some believe,
but not enough to find the mine. Waltz may or may not have mumbled out
any clues in the final days of his life. If any clues were given out,
surely Waltz would have given them to Julia as his caregiver during his
long illness.
As the end became apparent for the “Old
Dutchman” he called Julia and Rhinehart to his side, some say, and gave
them the final clues to his rich gold mine in the Superstitions. This
would have been fine, but Julia and Rhinehart had been celebrating a bit
too much and their minds were a little foggy. This they would regret
when they wandered aimlessly in the mountains searching for Waltz’s
mine. Julia and Rhinehart tried to put the pieces together after old
“Jake’s” death. Their first decision was to find another partner they
could trust. Julia accepted the idea of inviting Rhinehart’s brother
Hermann to join them in the search for Waltz’s mine. Hermann was living
in Colorado at the time.
Early in August of 1892, shortly after
Herman Petrash’s arrival in Phoenix, Julia Thomas, Rhinehart and Hermann
Petrasch began to organize their expedition to search for the Lost
Dutchman Mine. Julia Thomas had purchased a team, wagon, and camping
gear for their expedition into the Superstition Mountains. The group
departed Phoenix before sunrise on August 11, 1892, with little fanfare.
The party moved slowly along the old Tempe- Lehi Road. They spent their
first night a Marysville Crossing. The next morning they turned
southeastward toward Superstition Mountain and the desert flatland west
of the mountains. The second day of travel eastward across the desert
toward the western face of Superstition Mountain proved difficult until
they found some wagons tracks. These wagon tracks lead northeast toward
Superstition Mountain and the Goldfield mining area; however crossing
washes became very difficult for their overloaded wagon.
Somewhere along this route the group
realized they had to abandon the wagon. They spent their next night
under the cliffs of Superstition Mountain, some say near the entrance of
Monument Canyon. At sunrise the next morning they were packing up their
two horses and decided to walk toward the northwestern end of
Superstition Mountain. Julia was searching for La Sombrero, the pointed
peak she said Jacob Waltz had told her about. The heat and humidity was
stifling, but the three adventurers continued walking and leading their
pack animals.
According to Hermann Petrasch they
camped the next evening in Needle Canyon, at least he thought it was.
Years later Hermann said, “We might have camped in East Boulder Canyon
on the western side of Black Top Mountain that third night. The next
morning we were up at sunrise again and climbed a steep ridge to a pass
and walked down into a deep canyon. We could see the pointed peak old
Jacob had talked about. It was here they set camp for the next three
weeks as they used their clues to search the area.
Next week, Part 2