1888 photo of Thomas Ice Cream Parlor, Emil Thomas and Rhiney Petrasch standing behind the counter.
Jacob Waltz may be the man sitting on the second chair at the counter. (see our Waltz photo article , at the bottom of this article, for details)

by Matthew Roberts

copyright 1999

 Jacob Waltz, aka "The Dutchman", is both one of the most famous, and one of the most mysterious characters of the American west. Much has been written and speculated about his origins, but for all the research and work that has gone into tracing his history, his early life still remains a question.

Waltzs exact birth date is unknown. From the census records that he is listed on later in his life, it would appear he was born in the year 1810. This is derived from the year of the census, subtracting the age he gave the census taker. The exact month and day is unknown. Waltzs exact birthplace is also unknown. On his naturalization papers and from census information we know he was born in Germany (Prussia) and in the principality of Wurrtemberg. The exact town or community where he was born is unknown. It has been researched that he probably came from the area of Nagold-Horb-Waldorf-Oberschwandorf, which is located in the east central part of Wurrtemberg along the edges of the Black Forest. Exactly who his parents were, is also a mystery. Many individuals with the name Jacob Waltz / Walz, have been researched in that time period and region, but none can be definitively said to be the "Dutchman". Even Waltzs name is a question. We assume his correct name was WALTZ because that is how he himself spelled his name. Of course he could have changed his name from Walz-Wolz-Walzer-VonWalzer or any variation that closely resembled Waltz. Without any positive information to the contrary, we are resigned to accept that the man was in fact, Jacob Waltz, born 1810 in Wurrtemberg, Germany.

Exactly how and when Jacob Waltz came to America is speculative. Much research has been done in tracing the Waltzs who immigrated to America. It is widely accepted that the "Dutchman" came to America sometime between 1839 and 1846. There is however, no definitive proof that this is a fact. Researchers have tracked no less than 19, Jacob Waltzs who immigrated to America from Germany in that time period. While many of those are clearly not our "Dutchman", at least 7 of them are a very good possibility. If Waltz indeed changed his name from Walz-Wolz-Walzer-VonWalzer, the list of possibilities climbs into the hundreds. What is known for certain is the fact the "Dutchman" arrived in America sometime before November 12, 1848, because that is when he applied for US citizenship at Natchez, Mississippi. At one time there was speculation that the Natchez Waltz was not the "Dutchman", but his signature on that document matches his signature on later documents. Also speculated upon is the exact Port of entry that Waltz used to enter America. Some researchers say it was New York while others contend it was New Orleans. The fact remains, Waltz could have entered at any of several ports of entry : New York, Baltimore, Philadelphia, New Orleans, Charleston and Galveston, were all open to immigrants between 1839-1846. Since we know for a fact Waltz was in Natchez, Mississippi, the port of New Orleans would be a good contender for his entry as it is just a short trip up the Mississippi River.

There are many stories of the "Dutchman" working in the goldfields of North Carolina and Georgia in the early 1840s, but there is no evidence that he was ever in either State. His whereabouts prior to 1848 are at best speculation. In short, Waltz could have been anywhere in the time period between his arrival in America and the time he filed for Naturalization at Natchez in 1848.

The "Dutchman" does not appear again, officially documented, until on July 19, 1861, he applied for Citizenship at Los Angeles, California. Census records do not record Jacob Waltz for the years 1850, 1860 or the 1852 California State census. A few names on those census records are "thought" to be Waltz by some researchers, but each has a major discrepancy such as the spelling of the name, age or other notation. In the 13 year period between 1848 and 1861, his whereabouts are clouded in mystery and speculation. In the Abraham H. Peeples manuscript, he makes reference to Jacob Waltz at Grass Valley, Nevada City and the Kings River in California around the 1850 time period. Peeples was an early California /Arizona pioneer and explorer. Much speculation has been made concerning Waltzs wanderings in this 13 year period. Some say he worked a placer digging along the San Gabriel River for a man named Reuben Blackey. There may be some credibility to this unsubstantiated report because AH Peeples writes that Waltz showed up at his mining camp in late 1862 with a group of miners shortly after a disasterous flood washed away their diggings. It is a recorded fact that a flood in the San Gabriel river caused extensive damage in the late summer of 1862. In April of 1863, Peeples lists Jacob Waltz as one of about 30 men who accompanied Peeples and Pauline Weaver to the mountains of central Arizona in search of gold.

The "Dutchmans" next official recorded appearance is on September 21, 1863 at Prescott, Arizona Territory when he files a mining claim, "The Gross Lode" along with Antone Fischer, G.R. Black, Wm. Gross and R.G.Brooke.

On March 11, 1864, Waltz signs his name to a petition asking Governor Goodwin to provide protection for the miners from Indian attacks.

On September 14, 1864, Jacob Waltz files a mining claim called the "Big Rebel Lode". The mine is located in the Walnut Grove Mining District along the Hassayampa River. His partners on the claim are Joseph Smith and Peter Backens.

In October of 1864, Jacob Waltz, the "Dutchman" is listed on the 1864 Arizona Territorial census as #1008 . He is listed as 54 years old, a miner by profession and a native of Germany.

On December 27, 1865, Jacob Waltz files a mining claim at Prescott called the "General Grant Lode", the mine is located in the Walnut Grove Mining District, and the "Dutchman" Jacob Waltz, is the only name that appears on the claim.

In 1868, Jacob Waltz arrives in the Salt River valley at a hay camp operated by John Y.T. Smith and Jack Swilling. The area is being readied for agriculture by the cleaning out of ancient HoHoKam irrigation ditches. Waltz settles on a quarter section of farm land on the north side of the Salt River about two miles southeast of the small community of Phoenix. At the Pinal County courthouse on October 7, 1868, Waltz files his intent to homestead 160 acres known as the Northeast Quarter of Section 16, Township 1 North Range 3 East. His farm is bounded today by Buckeye Road on the North, 16th  ^{Street on the east, the North bank of the Salt River on the South and 12th Street on the West. In Waltzs day Buckeye Road was known as Henshaw Road and 16th Street and 12th Street were only cow paths following a survey line that served as the future street alignment.}

^{Waltz filed his intent at the Pinal County Courthouse because in 1868, Maricopa county had not yet come into existence and the Federal Courthouse was at Florence in Pinal County. Contrary to general belief, Waltzs quarter section was not designated as school land until after Maricopa became a county in 1871. A provision was made in which quarter sections that later became designated school sections, would be bought by the county at a later date when the homestead owner eventually sold the property.}

^{An old HoHoKam irrigation ditch, known to the locals as the "Dutch Ditch" cut across Waltzs property from the Northeast corner to the Southwest corner. Waltzs adobe home stood along the west bank of this Dutch Ditch, about 500 feet south of Henshaw (Buckeye) Road and 600 feet east of the 16th Street alignment. Today Waltzs home would have been located about where the parking lot behind the Rio Salado Postal Station sits, close to the cross alignments of 14th Street and Yuma . A small portion of that Dutch Ditch still survives today and can be seen just a few yards east of 7th Street and along the North side of the I-10 freeway frontage road.}

^{Jacob Waltz next appears documented on the August 30,1870 Federal Census for the Salt River Valley. He is found on Page 2 Name Number 1 and is listed as a farmer, age 60 and a native of Germany.}

^{Waltzs next official recording is a March 21, 1872 affidavit he filed with the Maricopa County Recorder involving a dispute over his quarter section of land with a man named James Chenowith.}

^{Waltz is next recorded on the October 1872 Arizona Territorial Census of Maricopa County. He is the 22nd name on page 27.}

^{Next, Jacob Waltz is recorded on the 1874 Arizona Territorial Census for Maricopa County. He is listed under the category : Name of Heads of Families and Single persons over 21 years of age.}

^{Jacob Waltz, the "Dutchman" is next recorded on September 8, 1877 on page 62 and 63 of the Maricopa County Probate Court records, Book A. Waltz is listed as the sole heir to the estate and will of Ferdinand Magdeberg of Phoenix. On August 5, 1878 and again on September 7, 1878, Waltz is recorded in the Maricopa County Recorders records as signing for the probated items from the Magdeberg estate.}

^{In July of 1878, Jacob Waltz is Documented in the Maricopa County Recorders book as entering into an agreement with Andrew Starrar for the latter to take care of Waltz in the event Waltz should become incapacitated. While this is commonly looked upon as an agreement between a destitute and sick old man, seeking urgent nursing care from someone, in fact, it was a common practice of the time for those alone and getting up in years to legally contract with a trusted person to provide care in the event they would be stricken with an ailment or disease. It was a reaction to the asylums and hospitals of that time period and the ease with which a person with no family or support could be committed to these hospitals for any number of physical or mental afflictions. Hospitals and asylums were death sentences themselves in those days. It was much harder to commit someone to one of these facilities if they had someone with legal recourse to care for them. Our generation today cannot possibly imagine the fear those people had for those hospitals and asylums and the lengths they went to, to keep themselves out of them.}

^{Waltzs agreement with Andrew Starrar was not an isolated case. Many similar agreements are recorded in the pages of the Maricopa County Recorders books for the years 1875-1885. Waltz was certainly not alone with this type of agreement although researchers and historians have overlooked this fact, making it seem as if Waltz was destitute and desperate when he entered into this agreement.}

^{Waltzs next documentation is on the 1880 Federal Census for Maricopa County, City of Phoenix. On that census, Waltz is listed as 70 years old and a native of Germany, occupation, farmer.}

^{His next recorded documentation is on the 1882 Arizona State Census for Maricopa County. He is again listed as a farmer, native of Germany and is 72 years old. Waltz is Number 614 on this Census.}

^{Waltzs final official recording is on May 28, 1883 when he signs his name on a Maricopa County Recorders document witnessing the transfer of a mining claim from Andrew Starrar to his brother Jacob Starrar. This document appears in the Maricopa County Recorders Deed Book Number 7 for the year 1883.}

^{Jacob Waltzs obituary from his death on October 25, 1891 (Sunday) appear in both the Arizona Republican and the Phoenix Herald of October 26 and October 27, 1891.}  

^{Numerous other published references to Waltz appear in the Great Registers of Phoenix and Maricopa County between the years 1871 and 1891, as well as in newspaper articles and on County Tax rolls. These references are too numerous to mention here.}

^{Other documents with Waltzs name have surfaced over the past 100 years but none are officially recorded or can be positively identified as "the" Jacob Waltz, the "Dutchman".}

^{Much of what is known of Jacob Waltzs life is hear say. Handed down through the generations by the people who lived in Phoenix and knew the man. Accounts of Waltz are recorded within the pages of private family manuscripts and letters including: The A.L. Henshaw family, The Slosser and Tewkesbury Families, Emil and Sylvan Ganz, the Osborn and Thomas Barnum families, the family of Alexander Steinegger, Herman and Rhinehart Petrasch, the Holmes and Roberts families, the James Lee, John Montgomery, James A. Young, James Murphy families, and many others who knew and lived beside Waltz for almost a quarter century.}

^{The life of Jacob Waltz is both officially documented and clouded in mystery at the same time. His official life is well known to all of us while his private life is known only by the small bits and pieces of information we have been able to piece together from personal accounts. And this is how one would expect it to be. All of us lead lives that include many things we accomplish that go unrecorded and undocumented, except in the memories of those who were involved with us or personally knew us. What we do know of the "Dutchman" was that he was a real life individual, a pioneer, a miner, a farmer and a neighbor in a growing community. Everyone is free to believe what they want about the man and whether or not he had a mine or a fortune in gold. It is up to each of us to research what we can, read all the documentation, accounts, stories and tall tales, and form our own opinions as to who the Dutchman was, and what his secrets may have been.}

^{The End}

^{Jacob Waltz photo ?}

^{There are no less than a dozen photographs floating around that claim to be Jacob Waltz, the "Dutchman". None of the photos can be proven conclusively that the image is indeed Jacob Waltz. The photo at the top of this page MAY be the only known authentic photo of Jacob Waltz in existance.} 

^{The photograph was taken inside the Thomas Ice Cream Parlor at 177 East Washington Street in Phoenix. The occasion was photos taken in 1888 for the Great Register of downtown Phoenix business establishments and their proprietors. The photo's would appear in publications promoting the downtown business district. This particular photo is the property of Mr. Paul Pettit. Mr Pettit is a direct relative of Rhinehart Petrasch on Rhineharts mothers side of the family (Zwiener). The interesting thing about the photo is everyone in the photo was related to the Thomas Ice Cream Parlor business.  Standing behind the counter are Emil Thomas (left) and Rhinehart Petrasch (right). The man standing on the far left is Joseph Gilmore who worked for Emil Thomas. (Gilmore was one of the men who made the first trip into the Superstitions with Herman Petrasch and his father Gottfreid). The man sitting in the first chair is James Lee, an employee of Alexander Steinegger, the man who owned the building the Thomas Ice Cream Parlor was located in. Steinneger was also married to Emil Thomas sister (Caroline). The man sitting in the last chair in the photo is Alexander Steinegger himself.  The only other person in the photo is an older man with a beard sitting in the second chair. It is this man who could possibly be Waltz.}

^{Everyone familiar with the Dutchman story has heard that Jacob Waltz supplied eggs and dairy goods to Julia Thomas Bakery and Ice Cream parlor. That is a fact but not in the way people commonly believe. Waltz did supply eggs and dairy products to the Thomas business but it was through a business arrangement with Alexander Steinegger, not Julia. Steinegger was a German speaking owner of a hotel and more than one restaurant (cafe) in Phoenix. As stated before, he owned the building the Thomas business was located in and rented the store to his brother-in-law, Emil. Waltz provided eggs, dairy good, and vegatables to all of Steineggers business interests. Steineggers daughter, Hilda, told of seeing Waltz come to her fathers hotel at 10 E. Monroe in downtown Phoenix and bring milk, eggs and goods to her father and would listen to  them talk German and occasionally read the only German newspaper in the valley.}

^{The photograph was not an impromptu snapshot. It was a staged event, purposefully taken to showcase the Thomas business for the 1888 Great Register of Phoenix Business. Everyone in that photo had some kind of tie to the Thomas Ice Cream Parlor. While the old man in the second chair can never be positively identified as Waltz, there is a better than good chance that it is indeed the "Dutchman". The age is about right, the beard, and the fact Waltz was a supplier of the Ice Cream Parlor through his association with Steinegger, is a compelling argument. With no other photo of Waltz for comparison we can only speculate. That in itself fits with the mystery that surrounded the Dutchman for the better part of his long and eventful life.}

^{The End}

Clay Worst with Four Peaks (as one) in the background. 

If all the people who claimed to have been at the Dutchman (Jacob Waltz) deathbed were assembled in one place, a Southern Pacific railway coach couldnt have accommodated them all. This is understandable, Phoenix was a small town, only about two blocks north and south by four blocks east and west, and everybody knew everybody.

Certainly when anyone died, word would spread quickly and everyone for blocks around would converge upon the home to pay their respects. Certainly any number of townspeople must have appeared at Julias home that morning. But in fact, I believe that only two people were present during the Dutchmans deathbed revelation while the rest arrived after the Dutchman was either comatose or dead. The story revealed by Waltz at that time is essentially what has been set forth here. Those two people were Dick Holmes and Gideon Roberts. Julia had gone in search of a doctor and Rhiney was fast asleep in a back room having indulged in a drinking party the previous evening. When the Dutchman had finished divulging the story to Holmes and Roberts he said to Holmes, Dick, I didnt trust banks. I made three caches of gold back in the mountains, one large cache and two small caches; but, I went back later and packed one of the small caches out. Its what I have been living on all these years. Whats left of it is in a miners candle box under my bed. Get it out and open it.

When Holmes opened the candle box, he was astonished. It contained nearly 50 pounds of the richest gold ore he had ever seen. "My God, thats rich!" Holmes blurted out. "thats got to be just a pocket." "No, it isnt," the Dutchman replied. "Theres enough left there to make millionaires out of 20 men." "Dick, take this gold as a grubstake. Try to find it, take care of my sister in Germany." In the fleeting moments remaining in the Dutchmans life, he attempted to direct Holmes and Roberts back to the mine.

Following the death of the Dutchman, Holmes and Roberts pondered whether his revelation about the mine was factual, a delusion, or a deliberate hoax. By its every nature, almost everything the Dutchman had said was incapable of being verified. Yet two things were capable of being confirmed. The first thing Dick Holmes did was go to Hidden Water. He spent several days digging around the base of the bluffs above the spring. There he unearthed a skeleton with a short length of chain still around the neck and a bullet hole directly between the eyes. He took the skull to town where he later gave it to Dr. Jones. "Doc" Jones had the skull displayed in his office for 20 years. Holmes realized there was one other part of the Dutchmans revelation which possibly could be verified. In attempting to identify the area in which to search, Holmes had asked the Dutchman, " Isnt there anything you can tell me that will put me in the right country?"

"Yes" the Dutchman replied, "You can ride from the mine to the Board House in one day. I know it can be done because I did it. I ran out of grub once, so I rode out to the Board House and got a side of bacon and a half a sack of flour. I made it back to the mine the same day, so I know it can be done." The Board House was the old Cavaness place at the site of the present Quarter Circle U Ranch house.

Matt Cavaness was a rancher and freighter who had the freight contract for hauling ore from the nearby Silver King Mine to the mill town of Pinal. He also had the wood cutting contract, supplying both mine timber for the mine and firewood for the mill. Before the mill had been built at Pinal, Cavaness had freighted Silver King ore to Fort Yuma where it was shipped by sea around the Baja California peninsula to a mill at San Francisco. On one of his return trips to the Silver King, rather than returning home empty, he hauled back a load of east coast lumber which had been transported by ship around Cape Horn. He used this to build the first board house in that part of Arizona. During the pioneer era, when there were no sawmills, houses were built of whatever material was available; in this area it was usually stone or adobe. Being unique, the Cavaness place was commonly called the "Board House". Cavaness had sold out to Marlar, but was still in Arizona. Dick Holmes rode out to visit him. He was careful not to ask Cavaness a leading question. He simply asked, "Did you ever meet Jacob Waltz?"

"Yes", Cavaness replied, "he stopped by the ranch on a couple of occasions." "Did he ever get anything from you?" Holmes inquired. "Yes, he ran out of grub once so he rode out to the ranch and I staked him to a side of bacon and half a sack of flour."

With those two points verified, Holmes presumed that if the Dutchman told the truth on those occasions, the remainder of the story was probably true as well.

Dick Holmes kept the richest specimens of the Dutchmans ore to be made into jewelry. He sold most of the remainder to Leo and Charles Goldman who operated a mercantile store on the corner of Washington and Center in Phoenix. In those days, merchants freely accepted raw gold in payment for merchandise, or bought it for cash. Holmes received $4,800 in payment from the Goldmans.

Gideon Roberts, Holmes partner, was an older man and died some time thereafter of silicosis. For the next 17 years, Dick Holmes hunted the Lost Dutchman Mine. Regrettably, for Holmes, it was only during the Dutchmans later years in the Superstitions that place names were becoming attached to the mountains many landmarks. But the Dutchman, being secretive about his affairs, had deliberately avoided anyone he might see approaching him on the trail. Never discussing his activities in the Superstitions with strangers, Waltz had no way of learning even those few place names that were then coming into use. The best he could do on his deathbed was to describe the appearance of the country as he traveled. In one of the roughest areas of wilderness terrain on the North American continent, it simply wasnt good enough. They never found the mine.

Did the Dutchman really have such a mine, or did he perpetrate one of the cruelest hoaxes in the history of the American Southwest? From the historical perspective, it is impossible to say with certainty whether he did, in fact, have such a mine. I personally believe that the mine very probably does exist, and that it probably lies hidden today, just where the Dutchman said it was, somewhere deep within the Superstition Mountains.

My judgment is a reflection of the people who intimately knew the Dutchman. Among these, not one ever doubted that the Dutchman had a mine. This is based not on what these people said, but on what they did. Julia Thomas sold her home, sold her store, converted everything she had into cash to finance her attempt to find the mine. Rhinehart Petrasch hunted it all his life, until he committed suicide with a shotgun in Globe in 1943. His brother Hermann, and his father Gottfreid, came from Montana to help Julia and Rhiney search for the mine. Both men hunted it for the remainder of their active lives. Dick Holmes hunted it until 1908 when a leg injury prevented him from searching further. He then sent his only son, George "Brownie" Holmes into the Superstition Mountains for 40 years to hunt the Lost Dutchman Mine. Obviously, these people believed the Dutchman had a mine.

Several of these people knew the Dutchman, heard his story from his own lips, saw his gold with their own eyes, and freely spent the gold he gave them in their own time of need. Certainly these people were in the best position to judge whether the Dutchman really had a mine. Yet some modern-day authors, who never knew the man, and never heard his story, writing in another century, claim that the Dutchman had no mine. Their motives are understandable.

During the decades following the Dutchmans death, an endless procession of prospectors ventured into the Superstitions, searching for the Dutchmans gold. Though many claimed to have found it, none have produced one ounce of the Dutchmans characteristic ore. It being human to blame ones failure on something other than ones shortcomings, it became popular to claim that the Dutchman had no mine. Some even claim that he had very little gold; that he died broke.

For a man who claimed to have the richest gold mine in the world, with $20 million in sight, the Dutchmans $4,800 estate might appear a pittance. Yet in 1891, a good shirt cost 35 cents, a pair of Levis cost 98 cents. The gold under the Dutchmans bed would have the purchasing power in todays market of about $90,000. No, the Dutchman didnt die broke. Some say he must have died broke because its a matter of public record that he was served a notice of eviction from his homestead for failure to pay the taxes. This is true. The Dutchman filed a homestead in Section 16. One could not homestead land in Section 16 as it was a school section not open to homestead entry. Naturally, when he discovered what hed done, he quit paying his taxes since he could never acquire title. And of course, the Sheriff, bound by requirements of the law, posted an eviction notice. But it was a small town, the Dutchman wasnt hurting anyone, and in fact he was allowed to occupy the premises undisturbed until he evacuated it during the flood of 1891.

Some concede that the Dutchman had gold, but claim that he had no mine. Proponents of this theory are compelled to offer an alternative explanation for the source of the Dutchmans ore. Their explanations are many. The most popular is that the Dutchman worked at the Vulture Mine at Wickenburg and high-graded (stole) the gold.

When Dick Holmes sold the Dutchmans gold to Goldmans store, due to the high quality of the ore, Goldman required a certified assay of its value. It was taken to an assayer named Joe Porterie, who had an assay office on Wall Street (an alley between Central and 1^{st Street in Phoenix). Although Holmes had kept several choice pieces of the ore, Porterie assayed the remainder at $110,000 per ton, with gold then valued at $20.67}

^{per ounce. This converts to over 5,300 ounces of gold per ton, or nearly $2 million per ton at 1991 prices. The extreme richness of the ore, and its resulting high density, or weight, would require only a relatively small volume to weigh a ton. When the rumor circulated that the Dutchman had stolen his gold from the Vulture Mine, Joe Porterie adamantly dismissed any such possibility. And he certainly should have known; for the chief assayer at the Vulture Mine had been none other than Joe Porterie.}

^{Some, particularly those who have mining interests there, say that the Dutchman mined his gold at Goldfield on the northwestern foothill slope of the Superstitions. The most often quoted locations are the Black Queen or Mammoth claims. I own and live at the old Wasp Mine adjoining the Mammoth Mine, and near the Black Queen. I first came to this area 43 years ago. I operate a small metallurgical laboratory there and have examined a substantial quantity of Goldfield ore. While there is certainly some extremely high grade ore at Goldfield, some running several thousand ounces to the ton, I have seen none with the character that is similar to what was found under the Dutchmans bed. A number of specimens of Dutchman ore still remain here in Arizona for comparison. Yet, there are far more compelling reasons to believe that the Dutchmans mine is in the Superstitions, and not at Goldfield. During the final months of the Dutchmans life, while he lived at Julia Thomas home, on several occasions she asked him, "Grandpa" - she called him Grandpa - "you know youre getting older, and not well any more. Dont you think you ought to tell Rhiney and me how to get to the mine?" On every such occasion, the Dutchman replied, " I cant tell you, I have got to show you." "Because of the way I covered it, youd have to know exactly where it is. In the spring, when the weather warms up, and theres still water in the canyons, we will get a camp outfit, a team of horses and a wagon. We will drive out to the Board House and have to leave the wagon there. Ill ride one of the horses and well pack our camp outfit on the other one. You and Rhiney will have to walk. And be sure and wear old, heavy clothing because well be going back into some terribly rough, brushy country. But if I am not well enough to travel, I will have to stay there at the Board House with the woman and the three children. I will point the way and direct you the best I can. Youll have to go over the ridge north of the Board House." The Board House was of course, the Cavaness place.}

^{Matt Cavaness and his wife Alice were divorced. In the settlement, he was awarded the freighting outfit, and she received the ranch which she operated with several Mexican and Indian cowboys. She lived there with their three sons, Albert, Aaron and Anson. Albert was the first white child born in Phoenix. The Dutchmans mention of the woman with the three children would certainly identify the Cavaness place as the Board House from which he intended to enter the mountains.}

^{Now if the Dutchmans mine had been at Goldfield, they would have already passed directly by it some 10 miles before reaching the Board House. Further, had the mine been at Goldfield on the open foothill slopes of the mountain, they could have driven up to it with the wagon. Why, then, propose leaving the wagon and packing back into some terribly rough, brushy country? Had they followed the Dutchmans instructions and gone over the ridge north of the Board House, they would have traveled up past Miners Needle and directly down into the heart of the Superstition Mountains, far removed from Goldfield.}

^{Some say the Dutchman Mine cannot possibly be in the Superstition Mountains because these mountains are part of a volcanic caldera complex, and gold does not occur in volcanic eruptives. However, in 1989, I attended a course at Mackey School of Mines, University of Nevada at Reno entirely devoted to volcanism, much of which directly addressed precious metal deposition in volcanic eruptives. Dick Sillitoe, from London England was our instructor on the portion involving economic ore deposition in volcanics. I asked Dr. Sillitoe whether it is reasonable to expect ore shoots, running several thousand ounces of gold to the ton, to occur in volcanic eruptives. He replied that the El Indio Mine in Chile, the Hishikari Mine on Kyushu Island in Japan, and several others, had ore shoots running many thousands of ounces of gold to the ton in volcanic eruptives. He also said that the largest single economic gold deposit in the entire world, in Papau New Guineas, was located in volcanic eruptives. He mentioned that, closer to home, the Capitol Mine at Cripple Creek, Colorado was located in volcanic eruptives. And that the mines at Goldfield, Nevada where he took our class on a field trip the following day, were located in a volcanic caldera. Apparently, whenever molten rock bursts forth from the bowels of the earth, under extreme heat and pressure, precious metal deposition can, and frequently does, occur. In 1895, no less a man than Dr. Charles Gardner, a geologist of world renown, refused to dismount from his horse to inspect a wind swept ridge to which he had been taken because any geologist would know that gold could not occur in that kind of pudding-stone formation. The ridge to which he had been taken was called the Witwatersrand, or simply the Rand, in the Transvaal in South Africa. Dr. Gardner was standing on the richest gold deposit on the African continent. The city of Johanesburg, built to service the Rand mines, stands there today.}

^{No gold in the Superstitions? Well, maybe there isnt, And again, maybe there is. I have addressed several of the more popular theories that have been set forth to discredit the existence of the Lost Dutchman Mine. There are many more. Yet every one which has come to my attention has been seriously flawed from the historical perspective. To date, the most logical explanation for the origin of the Dutchmans gold is that given by the Dutchman himself. Ive told of several reasons why I believe the Lost Dutchman Mine very probably exists. I havent told my most compelling reason.}

^{I mentioned George "Brownie" Holmes, the son of Dick Holmes, to whom the Dutchman made his deathbed revelation. Dick sent his son, Brownie, into the Superstitions for 40 years, to hunt the Lost Dutchman Mine. Brownie Holmes was one of the dearest friends I ever had. For many years, Brownie shared with me everything he hadd learned about the Superstitions while I hunted the mine. Every Easter, Thanksgiving Christmas and New years, he and his wife Thelma, were guests at our dinner table. On Easter Sunday in 1980, after dinner, Brownie and I sat on our back patio - I live in the foothill slopes of Superstition Mountain - and watched the fading light of the setting sun play across the face of the mountain. In silence, Brownie pondered the mountain a good long time. He finally said, "Clay, I will  never know if the Dutchman lied to my father. But there are two things I do know. My father never lied to me, and I have never lied to you." The old gentleman had tears in his eyes when he said it. Four days later, on his 88th birthday, Brownie Holmes died in his sleep.}

^{Brownie was cremated. I took his remains back to a lonely spot in the mountains that he had dearly loved. There, with only God and the blue sky as witness, I held a final service for Brownie Holmes. I then committed him to become part of the mountains that, for so many years, had been his only home.}

^{Of course, Id like to find the Lost Dutchman Mine. The gold? Having searched for 43 years, the gold doesnt really matter to me anymore. But Id like to find the mine to vindicate the faith of a half dozen men I knew, who spent their lives - should I say wasted their lives - in a fruitless search for the Dutchmans gold.}

^{As a young man Superstition Mountain swallowed up five years of my life, most of it spent camping alone, deep in the heart of the mountains, seeking the Dutchmans gold. And, unlike many of the others, I found gold. Rich, pure gold. No, it wasnt gold that you can mine and carry out and spend. It was simply the golden adventure of the search.}

^{My advice to you who read this story? Go look back of Superstition Mountain. Go look for that gold. Youll find it.}

 ^{The End}

Clay Worst on Peters Mesa 

The Lost Dutchman gold mine in the Superstition Mountains of Arizona is probably Americas best known and most sought after lost treasure. For this reason, writers, addressing the lore of Superstition Mountain in general, may casually refer to the Lost Dutchman legend under the assumption that the reader is already familiar with the story. This may not be so, and may justify its presentation again. Yet other readers, having read numerous accounts of the Dutchman legend , realize that there are about as many different versions of the Lost Dutchman story as there are authors. It might be said that the Lost Dutchman stories are like snake stories and bear stories; the first liar doesnt stand a chance !

Early-day writers, realizing the almost universal appeal of the subject material, but knowing that not one reader in a thousand would know the difference between fact and fiction,
simply did not let the truth stand in the way of a good story.
Latter-day writers, not knowing the facts either, simply read what had been written before them, and wrote their own stories. So error fed upon error, until, by the 1930s, the Dutchman story had deteriorated until it amounted to little more than gratuitous speculation. But I was fortunate to have come to Arizona at a time when there were still men living who either knew the Dutchman, Jacob Waltz, or knew someone who had. It was my privilege to have known several of these pioneer families.
What I offer here, then, is not my version of the story. It is not based on research, mine or anybody elses, nor has it been checked against the historic record for accuracy. It is offered with little explanation and no apology. It is simply, their story.

Jacob Waltz, the Dutchman, was born in Germany in 1810, and emigrated to the United States in 1839. On the western frontier, any German was frequently called a Dutchman. He was a Deutschlander, Deutsch, Dutch, - a Dutchman. And this Dutchman lived with a dream of one day being the sole proprietor of a gold mine, rich beyond all imagination. So every time he heard of a gold strike, he followed it. First, they say to North Carolina, then to Georgia, then to California with the 49ers. Finally in 1862, to Arizona, first to LaPaz, then to Prescott.

But with the Dutchman, the story was always the same. By the time he heard of a gold rush, followed it, and arrived there, all the good ground had been taken. Jacob Waltz, a day late and a dollar short. That was the story of his life. And so it was in Prescott in 1868, that he gave it up and moved down to Phoenix. Phoenix at that time was little more than a camp where they put up hay in the river bottom, partly to supply the cavalry horses at nearby Fort McDowell. The Dutchman homesteaded on a quarter-section of land on the north bank of the Salt River, and built himself a small adobe home. He planted a large garden, even planting a small field of wheat got himself a flock of chickens, and when the census taker came by, he declared himself a farmer. However, he didnt stay a farmer very long.

At this point, we must turn the clock back to 1865 to the story of Dr. Abraham Thorne. As one version of the tale goes, Dr. Thorne, beloved by the Indians who he cared for along the Verde Valley near Fort McDowell, was blindfolded, and taken on horseback deep into the heart of the Superstition Mountains. There the blindfold was removed and he was shown gold, rich beyond anything he had ever dreamed of . He was told he could take away all he could carry, and here he played a prank on the Indians. They thought he would fill his pockets, but it was cold weather and he was wearing long underwear which he removed. He tied a knot in each of the ankles, filled both legs up with gold ore, knotted it off at the waistband, and threw it back of the cantle of his saddle. The blindfold was replaced and Dr. Thorne, minus his underwear, shivered all the way back to Fort McDowell.

The Indians laughed, and took the doctor's prank good naturedly. They said it looked like half a man riding along behind a man on Dr. Thornes horse. When they arrived at Fort McDowell, the blindfold was removed and the Indians wished Dr. Thorne well with his new-found wealth. Dr. Thorne bankrupted himself and nearly bankrupted his family financing several expeditions to relocate the source of his mysterious gold. Failing, he moved to Lemitar, a small town near Socorro, New Mexico, where he established a small family practice. And there, in 1869, he met Corydon Cooley.

Cooley heard Dr. Thornes story, believed him, and decided to organize his own expedition to find the Lost Doc Thorne Mine. He went first to Prescott, where he organized what he called the Prescott detachments. When the groups assembled at Phoenix they rode out toward Fort McDowell and into the Superstitions; Cooley had a small army of 267 men. And one of the members of the detachment was  guess who , our farmer friend, Jacob Waltz, the Dutchman.

Cooleys expedition was also unsuccessful. They returned through Fort McDowell where the party divided. The Prescott detachment traveled up the Verde River to return to their homes. The Phoenix and Wickenberg detachments went down the Salt River to return to theirs. When the expedition departed, the Dutchman remained behind at Fort McDowell. He then re-outfitted himself, and headed back into the Superstitions alone.

This might seem to be a foolhardy thing to have done at that time during Arizonas Indian campaigns. Perhaps the Dutchman believed that one man traveling quietly alone would be less apt to stir up and hostile Apaches than Cooleys small army. Or perhaps he felt some sort of impending destiny calling him back, back to the Superstition Mountains. If that were the case, he certainly was right.

The Dutchman prospected eastward through the Superstitions nearly to the present site of Globe. He found nothing. He was on his way back, several days into the Superstitions, when he was attacked by Indians. He lost his animals and his entire outfit. He said he spent several days hiding in those caves, high up in that rough country until he believed the Indians were gone. He then began to make his way to Fort McDowell on foot. He traveled a short distance when he came upon the vestiges of an old trail which had seen recent use. He followed it into a camp. There was no one there, but there was food on the back of the fire, so he ate and he waited. About dusk, three Mexicans came into camp. They were afraid of him but he reassured them in Spanish that his intentions were of a friendly nature. They said they were operating a small gold mine nearby which had belonged to their family when this territory was still a part of old Mexico. They were afraid of the Indians. They had only two old muzzle-loading escopetas (muskets) while the Dutchman had a modern breech loading shotgun loaded with buckshot. They struck a bargain, the Dutchman agreed to stay, to help them work the mine, and help defend the party against the Indians. In return, he was promised generous compensation.

The next morning the Mexicans took the Dutchman to see the mine. He could scarcely believe his eyes. The working was a small inclined shaft which went down on a quartz vein that was about one-fourth pure gold. That evening the men returned to the camp. The Dutchman lay awake all that night. He was 60 years old and nearly destitute. All his life he had searched for gold, but had found very little. He provided nothing for his old age; he couldnt even go to the county poor farm because there wasnt any. He had just been shown what he believed to be the richest gold mine in the world in the hands of three Mexicans who had no legal title to it. Why, they couldnt even file a claim on it as the mine lay in what was now the United States, and they werent U.S. citizens. He began to believe that even if the Mexicans hadnt been there, surely he would have discovered this mine by himself, that this mine rightfully ought to have been his by virtue of a lifetime spent in its search. He began to feel that this whole thing simply wasnt fair. By daybreak he had decided what he would do.

The next day the four men held a discussion. They were running low on provisions and decided to make a trip to Fort McDowell to buy supplies from the Post Sutler. One Mexican was sent up to the mine which was located some distance from their camp at permanent water. He was to put away their tools and place some brush over the entrance to conceal the portal in the rare event that some stranger might happen through the area.

After the Mexican had been gone a couple of hours, the Dutchman seized his opportunity. When the other two Mexicans had their backs turned attending to their burros, the Dutchman shoved the muzzle of his shotgun into his bedroll to muffle the sound and shot the first Mexican in the back. The second Mexican had barely whirled in wide-eyed astonishment when he took the second charge of buckshot in the chest. They both dropped to the ground without a whimper. The Dutchman calmly reloaded the shotgun, concealed himself behind some boulder along the trail, and waited.

Toward evening, the third Mexican returned from the mine. The Dutchman allowed him to pass, then stepped out and shot him in the back. He dumped their bodies into a deep ravine, burned their outfit and turned their burros loose. The next morning the Dutchman struck out for Fort McDowell alone, on foot. In one day, Jacob Waltz, the Dutchman, had achieved the dream of his lifetime. He was the sole proprietor of what he believed had to be the richest gold mine in the world. But his dream was to become a nightmare.

The Dutchman didnt return to the mine that winter. He was afraid that the Mexicans could have friends or relatives who might come looking for them, find them missing, and find the Dutchman in possession of their family mine. Then they might become suspicious and decide that the Dutchman ought to be the guest of honor at a lynching. The Dutchman did return to the mine the second winter. He said he worked the mine in the winters when there was water in those canyons. On one of those trips to the mine however, the Dutchman found that things were not as he had left them; someone else had been working his mine. He met an old prospector on the trail, killed him, and burned his outfit. But again, the next winter, someone else had been working the mine. He met two soldiers on the trail, killed them and burned their outfit. Again, the next winter someone had been working the mine. Hed killed the wrong men. The man who actually was working the mine was named John
Pipps, but Pipps died at Round Valley before he could divulge its location.

During a cattle roundup, Pipps was digging out a well, or spring, in quicksand when it caved in and trapped him up to his waist. While the cowboys ran to get some ropes it caved again, trapping him up to his armpits. When they returned, Pipps was screaming, Get me out of here and I will take you to the richest gold mine in the world. They thought he was delirious. Near the end, one of the cowboys tied a tin can to a stick and was reaching down into the hole trying to throw the water away from Pipps face, when it came up over his head and he drowned. Since it was dangerous to attempt removing Pipps from his grave, they simply filled in the hole and left him buried there. They searched through Pipps' personal effects, hoping to find names of relatives whom they could notify of his death. What they found was a one pound baking powder can half filled with pure, hand cobbed, wire gold.

In the meantime, the Dutchman sent for his nephew in Germany, the son of his sister, to help work the mine. The two got along badly; they argued constantly. The nephew wanted to file a proper claim on the mine and work it openly. The Dutchman, fearful that the manner in which hed acquired the mine might be discovered, wanted to work the mine secretly. He told his nephew that he couldnt file a claim on the mine because neither of them were citizens. This wasnt true; the Dutchman had become a naturalized citizen in Los Angeles, California in 1861.

On the return from their first trip together, the two men crossed over the Salt River and camped one night at Agua Escondidia (Hidden Water). There the nephew announced that when theyd returned to Phoenix, he intended to recruit some citizens and return to the mine, and have them file on the claim. There, at Hidden Water, the Dutchman killed his nephew. He said he shot him right between the eyes, put a short length of chain around his neck , and dragged him up under the cliffs where the digging was soft and easy. There he buried him in a shallow grave. Presumably, the Dutchman shot him in his sleep. In a confrontation, one doesnt shoot his victim between the eyes, he belt-buckles him to put him down, then finishes him off.

The Dutchman made his last trip to the mine in 1884. By then he had taken out enough gold to last a lifetime in any lifestyle that he might wish on the western frontier. He covered the mine by bulk heading it at a depth of six feet with two solid layers of Juniper logs. He then backfilled the shaft with dirt and stones from the adjacent ground so the terrain would all match. When Waltz had finished, he said that you could drive a pack train across the shaft and never know it was there.

The Dutchman lived out most of his remaining life in his adobe home in Phoenix. People who knew him said he seemed to be a man haunted, haunted by something in his past. Evidently his later years were filled with remorse over what he had done to acquire the mine. He had few friends but became closely attached with two people. One was Julia Thomas, a young black woman, the other, a young German lad named Rhinehart Petrasch, whom he called Rhiney. Rhineys mother had died while Julia and the Petraschs were living in Denver. Julia had unofficially adopted Rhiney and brought him with her when she moved to Phoenix and opened a bakery. Julia had been raised in a German speaking household where her parents had been employed. Both she and Rhiney spoke fluent German, this was the common bond that matured into a deep friendship with the Dutchman.

In the spring of 1891, the Salt River flooded and the Dutchmans adobe washed away. He spent two days and two nights up a Cottonwood tree in a bone chilling rain storm. Rhiney got the Sheriff and a boat and they rescued the Dutchman and took him to Julias home. As a result of ordeal, the Dutchman contracted pneumonia and other complications from which he never fully recovered. He lived with Julia and Rhiney until October of that year, when he died.

Rhiney went to Ryders lumber yard where he bought lumber and built a coffin for his old friend. They buried him in the cemetery on Madison Street. The original grave marker rotted away decades ago. A modern replacement has been erected recently, although perhaps in the wrong place. During his lifetime the Dutchman was habitually uncommunicative about his personal affairs. Only his most intimate friends knew that he had been secretly operating a hidden gold mine in the Superstition Mountains. It was not until 1895, four years after his death, that the story of the Lost Dutchman gold mine began to appear newspapers and other publications. At that time, it often became very profitable for a person to claim he had been present at the Dutchmans deathbed revelation concerning his hidden mine. Oh yes, I was there when he died. Did he draw you a map to the location of his mine ?  Why certainly. I still have a copy of that map.... May I see it ? ...Well yes, but I do charge seven dollars for a copy of it.....OK, heres your seven dollars....Thank you, and heres your copy of the map.

And so for years following the death of the Dutchman, these maps circulated from bar stool to bar stool. There they circulate today. In truth, the Dutchman almost certainly never made a map.

Next Month, PART II
 

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