filmmakers lost in superstition mountains

Most likely because Pedro de Peralta had been the Spanish Governor of New Mexico (in the 1600s) his family name of "Peralta" was the inspiration for a number of legends in the American Southwest. Tries to portray danger and incidentin fact nothing going on. It is easily accessible about 40 miles east of Phoenix via U.S. Highway 60, the Superstition Freeway. Fake AF. A lack of historical records leaves uncertainty as to whether a Peralta family ever had possession of land, or mines, in or near the Superstition Mountains. STSTW Media strives to deliver accurate information through careful research. There have been many stories about how to find the mine, and each year people search for the mine. Is this all just a spooky legend or id there something more to it? We arrived at Shaun's house at 7:30 am in St. George Utah. (Doug Dolde / Wikimedia Commons). Pingback: Legend of the Lost Dutchman Gold Mine Parts 2 & 3: Finally Found! Our focus is on providing visitors with an experience of the Old West. 4087 East Apache Trail And, where praytell do most folks believe said El Dorado is safely hidden Why, in the Superstition Mountains, near Apache Junction. After one hundred and twenty- five plus years incredibly, the Lost Dutchman Gold Mine has been found, proving that the legend is more than mere myth and as predicted by Jacob Waltz himself No miner will ever find my mine. They trek into the mountains. Since James Reavis, "the Baron of Arizona", was convicted of fraud when the Peralta family genealogy and other documents to support the land grant (and a barony associated with that land) were determined to be forgeries it also raises questions about the original purchase of the land grant by Dr. George M. Willing Jr. (the transaction had supposedly occurred at a primitive campsite to the southeast of Prescott without the benefit of the typical documentation; instead of a notarized deed, the conveyance was recorded on a piece of greasy camp paper bearing signature of several witnesses). Join MU Plus+ and get exclusive shows and extensions & much more! This is considered to be the starting and gathering point for most Dutch Hunters. Arcana Exploration has been there on four separate trips the first in October of 2015. Their bodies were never found but their camera was. When and where we can get a direct line of sight, we use high tech Walkie talkies, to communicate with each other. 5: Museum Administration and Membership matters, E-MAILVolunteering questions: [emailprotected]Site rentals: [emailprotected]Membership questions: [emailprotected]Retail and event issues: [emailprotected]Accounting issues: [emailprotected]Administrative and other issues: [emailprotected]FAX(480) 288-6524. Ruth ignored Barkelys help and set out for a two-week stint into cliffs. For the next 20 years, he falls in and out of consciousness, whenever he wakes its just garbled speak and horrific tales; hes enveloped in kaleidoscopic delirium, Over the years, subsequent search for the mines has only lead to heartache and death. Over the decades, this tale was gradually absorbed into the Lost Dutchman's story. This account is usually dated to about 1870. As early as September 1, 1892, The Arizona Enterprise was reporting on the efforts of Thomas and several others to locate the lost mine whose location was told to her by Waltz. Interestingly it was found that he had amassed a small fortune in a short amount of time after starting his forays into the mountains, urging suspicions that he had found the lost mine. Ive driven by this place countless times without ever checking it out. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience. Mysterious bodies turned up in the Superstition Mountains all through the 1960s and 70s, with at least five people found dead with bullet holes to the skulls, and with other bodies found minus the heads, which were never found. Superstition Mountain at night. Legend of the Lost Dutchman Gold Mine Parts 2 & 3: Finally Found! Barkely urged Ruth to abandon his search for the mine: The headless remains of prospector James A. Cravey were discovered in the mid-1940s. Reports of inexplicable sounds, sightings, and events have led to claims of supernatural beings and even aliens. Generally speaking, this mine is claimed to be situated in the Superstition Mountains, described by one source as "a collection of rough terrain that has gained the name of a single mountain" which lies to the east of Phoenix, the Arizonan capital. Some have died on the search. Their bodies were never found, but their camera was." There were also strange stories among the Apache of a magnificent, hidden cavern full of gold, said to be a vast treasure long buried within the mountains and protected by spirits, troll-like beasts called Tuar-Tums, and even their Thunder God himself. People from the town below certain that only death and demons travel across Superstition Mountain at night. They believed that the entrance to the underworld itself lay somewhere in among these peaks, and that powerful spirits roamed the withered landscape. These are rectangular, cross-shaped, and heart-shaped stones with etchings of a horse, a priest, a dagger, a trail, topographic features, and Spanish inscriptions. Since Ruth's death, there have been several other deaths or disappearances in the Superstition Mountains. Barkely urged Ruth to abandon his search for the mine: the area and the mines cursed and full of devils.. Children 10 and under The Lost Dutchman State Park, which opened in 1977 and has the Peralta Trail, is also a nod at the legend. Superstition Mountain hasan elevation of 5,024 feet. The Lost Dutchmans Mine is featured in Season 1, Episode 21 of the television series Unsolved Mysteries. The episode first aired on April 12, 1989. All Rights Reserved. Willing died in 1874 before there had been a thorough investigation of the documents or opportunity to cross examine him on the stand as was later done with Reavis. Treasure hunting at Superstition Mountains Arizona - The Lost Dutchman's Mine. Everything is well-maintained, and the staff are without exception friendly and helpful. There were other weird clues found about the body, such as the presence of two bullet holes to the skull from shots fired at point blank range, and it was speculated that he had perhaps been killed for his secret knowledge or committed suicide, but there was no weapon found. Some people believe they indicate the location of the famed Lost Dutchman's Gold Mine, in Arizona, United States. Combine these with the legends of the indigenous Pima Indians and the mountains live up to their name. [12] Thorne related his claims to three U.S. soldiers in about 1858. [25] Blair noted that the conclusion of the Arizona authorities was rejected by many, including Ruth's family, and "those who held onto the more romantic murdered-for-the-map story". For instance, about six of the maps are relevant, others may be relevant, but for now do not appear to be. [17] Note that tombstone pictured shows birth year as 1808. Named after the fabled lost gold mine, Lost Dutchman State Park is located in the Sonoran Desert, at the base of the Superstition Mountains, only 40 miles east of Phoenix. Hardie agrees to join a father searching for his son who is seeking a lost gold mine in Arizona's Superstition Mountains. The Supers are east - northeast of Phoenix. Eight months later their camera and cell phones were recovered along the western edge of LaBarge Canyon. A group of modern day treasure hunters search for the Lost Dutchman mine in the Superstition mountain range of Arizona. Jacob Waltz took to returning to the mountains only when he needed the gold. (St. Johns, Apache County, Arizona Territory [Ariz.]) 18851903, September 8, 1892, Image 2", Dunning, B. Legend of the Superstition Mountains: With Keenan Johnston, Mark Dodson, Frank Augustine, Wayne Tuttle. George Johnston, who first tried to find the treasure in the 1950s, was still working for the Superstition Mountain Lost Dutchman Museum up until his August 30, 2017, death at age 97. Since the turn of the twentieth century, thousands of people have scoured the mountains in search of it, hundreds have lost their lives in the process, but not one has returned with an ounce of gold. (2004). At the time he had ventured out into the Tonto National Forest in search of the legendary treasure, having looked for it on several occasions in the past and accumulating hundreds of books and hundreds of pages of research on the matter. Cursed, blighted, tainted, whatever you want to call it. Today along route 88 is a pull off gravel road, that leads out behind the Lost Dutchman Museum, you follow it to a designated area, here you will find marked trail signs with trails simply marked as the Massacre Grounds.. Blair suggested that "fragments of this legend have perhaps become attached to the mythical mine of Jacob Waltz".[6]. Many people took the landmark to be the Weavers Needle but had no luck finding any gold nuggets in its vicinity. Yep, more footage has been found, kids. Blair suggested that this Waltz could be the same Waltz who later came to be regarded as the legendary Dutchman, and that he Americanized the spelling of his family name. Arcana has had the luxury of having had the site location for over three years, and for this reason we have been able to reverse engineer, historical information and put many of the pieces together. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. The breathable air on some surfaces actually gets even hotter; this is the biggest killer in the Superstition Mountains and dont forget the rattle snakes, scorpions, tarantula spiders, Gila monsters plus huge mountain lions and dozens of other things that will take your life. OH, I almost forgot there is no cell phone service absolutely none. We are a non-profit corporation under Section 501 (c) 3, organized to collect and preserve the history and legends of Arizonas Superstition Mountains, and to support research, education and publications involving the region. If you get it hurt you better have your own team. "The Lost Dutchman Gold Mine." Tales of these other Lost Dutchman's mines can be traced to at least the 1870s. Hunting for the Lost Dutchman is typically a one-man journey, but lifelong Dutch Hunter Wayne Tuttle is breaking with tradition and partnering with a team of experts to follow a newly revealed clue that could finally solve the 500-year-old mystery of Americas most famous and deadliest buried treasure. Director Earl Bellamy Writer Sam Peckinpah (teleplay and story) Stars Dale Robertson John Litel Myron Healey These cookies do not store any personal information. Ruths response? Thorne is said to be either unwilling or unable to relocate the mine. July 3, 1947 James A Cravey, age 62, a retired photographer, was reported missing after he had chartered a helicopter June 19, 1947 to drop him off in the Superstition Mountains to look for the Lost Dutchmans Mine. Back in those days, the American term for German was , Members of the Apache tribe were said to have a truly valuable gold mine located in the Superstition Mountains. Some carved stones in the area are referred to as "Peralta Stones" and Spanish text and crude maps on them are considered by some to be clues to the location of a Peralta family gold mine in the Superstition Mountains, although others believe the stones to be modern fakes. He pursued mining and prospecting, but seems to have had little luck with either. "Dutchman's Gold" was the season 4, episode 19 of, This page was last edited on 5 February 2023, at 00:14. In this case the body was found first, with the rest of the body following a full 6 months later. Lots to see on site from a barn, trains, petting zoo on Saturdays, little gift shop, and a labyrinth and even a chapel dedicated to Elvis. Several trails lead from the park into the Superstition Mountain Wilderness and surrounding Tonto National Forest. From this base he easily could have worked a gold mine in the Superstition Mountains. In March of 2011, three filmmakers disappeared in the Superstition Mountains of Arizona while documenting their search for the Lost Dutchman mine. The story differs but heres the most common take, mind you there are over 100 different versions of the Story. Along with the body was found a mysterious note ensconced within a bottle, which said that he had broken his leg and needed help, but which also stated that he had had managed to find the legendary Lost Dutchmans Mine. The large wooden structure overlooking the museum is a 100-year-old Cossak 20-stamp ore mill, a state-of-the-art piece of mining equipment that was used around the turn of the century in the West. Students 11-17 $4.00 The roofs of the cave are blackened from centuries of Native Ameri Go Wildcats! The multi-acre museum site soon saw the addition of a historic Cossack 20-Stamp . The gift store was absolutely fantastic and was filled with high-quality books about Arizona and southwest history, folklore, Native Americans, and the Wild West. He had acquired maps that he was sure would lead him straight to the gold. Learn how and when to remove this template message, "The St. Johns herald. A corpse is later found and IDed as Weiser; coroners unable to state whether the wounds were caused by Apache weapons or American-made knives. These steep, jagged volcanic mountains were formed over 29 million years ago and they cover an area of 160,000 acres. Cursed, blighted, tainted, whatever you want to call it. A raspberry into the face of common sense. We miss it. Many people have dismissed them as a hoax. We are currently in the process of planning for a return trip to further document our findings. Anyway, the great west after Grant decided to Manifest Destiny and promote those great plains maybe theyll forget all that Civil War squabble if they start to settle into lands without so much emotional baggage tended to promote El Dorado like tales. On July 11, 2010, Utah hikers Curtis Merworth, Ardean Charles, and Malcolm Meeks went missing in the Superstition Mountains while looking for the mine. Padre Kino founded many missions including Mission San Xavier del Bac near Tucson. The scenery is stunningly beautiful and never gets old. The Pima Indians famously feared the mountain that they knew as Ain-we-gophon (Superstition Mountain). Starring Sage Howard, Andrew Simpson, and Shelby. Supposedly one of their 18 mines was very rich and they considered it their alfa mine. , The Waterbury Democrat. For more macabre tales check out our Top Ten list of haunted spots in Phoenix. Back in those days, the American term for German was Deutsh one misspelling here, an illiterate vagrant telling tall tales over there, a shoddy reporter, and Deutsh suddenly transformed into Dutch. A TwinTygr Film. Arizona place-name expert Byrd Granger wrote, as of 1977, the Lost Dutchman's story had been printed or cited at least six times more often than two other fairly well-known tales, the story of Captain Kidd's lost treasure, and the story of the Lost Pegleg mine in California. Capens corpse was found three years later in November 2012 by a local search and rescue organization, stuffed into a crevice. Hiking and camping are popular activities. The mans campsite would be found to hold many books on the lost mine, and this would join a further three more mysterious deaths in 2010 and 2011 in the same area, all of whom had been seeking the legendary Dutchmans Mine. There are several paths that go through the brush and cacti. How he knew all of this no one knows, but one rumor has it that he learned the secret location of this massive stash of gold from the sole surviving Peralta family member. The Superstition Mountain Museum collects, preserves and displays the artifacts, history and folklore of the Superstition Mountain region and the Apache Junction area. Animals like deer coyotes, pumas and bobcats live here, existing alongside birds, rodents, snakes, and other reptiles. The staff is extremely friendly and knowledgeable and I am looking forward to returning with my kids. The stones are named for an obscure "Peralta family", said to be an old and powerful Mexican family. We provide an historical context that includes the region's Native American people, the life of early western settlers, local geology and industry as well as the legends promoted through film and media. Web. Like all great legends and Indiana Jones-like ventures, the search for the Lost Dutchmans Gold Mine is littered with betrayal, spirits, backstabbing desperados, unexplained disappearances, and death. The men must deal with a lack of water and the fact that the map leads him into lands held sacred by the Apaches. Yet there are still all of these mysterious disappearances and death, these enigmatic decapitated corpses and their bullet-ridden heads. But Blair suggested that this core story was distorted in subsequent retellings, comparing the many variants of the Lost Dutchman's story to the game of Chinese whispers, where the original account is distorted in multiple retellings of the tale.[15]. This website uses cookies to improve your experience. The story of the Lost Dutchmans Mine would go on to become a persistent legend and obsession for many would-be treasure hunters over the years. The man is barely alive. Up on the mountain, if someone breaks a leg; it will take at least two on the team to get you down; it is dangerous for three healthy climbers, much less one with broken body parts. Gone. 2: Cashiers for questions about whats happening at the museum and local area Without doubt the most controversial but easily the most studied, researched and written about of all the historical documentation involving the Superstition Mountains, are the famous Peralta Stones. There are a few walking trails that are great for beginners and still enjoyable for more experienced walkers as well. [29][clarification needed]. Museum Members are FREE. To begin with, there was never any real Dutchman involved with the lost gold mine. Wasnt it Dutch? Want to reenact that James Franco film with the rusted and dull pocket knife? There have been tales ofU.S. Armysoldiers that are said to have stumbled onto a river of almost pure gold in or near the Superstition Mountains. Some searchers for the mine have disappeared in likely wilderness accidents. Later on came a long list of early and newly appointed Dons of Spain who also made forays into the Prima Alta looking for riches. There have been other mysterious and ominous disappearances as well, including an abandoned campsite found in the mountains in 1958 complete with blood-soaked blankets, but no bodies and no suspect. Out in the remote badlands of the U.S. state of Arizona, just to the east of the Phoenix metropolitan area lies a sun scorched, dried up, arid moonscape of twisted peaks and sprawling expanse of badlands called the Superstition Mountains, at one time called the Sierra de la Espuma . Granger wrote that "fact and fiction blend in the tales",[3] but that there are three main elements to the story: In 1977, Granger identified 62 variants of the Lost Dutchman's story some of the variations are minor, but others are substantial, casting the story in a very different light from the other versions. In later years, in 1945, a would-be treasure hunter named Barry Storm would claim that as he had been out looking for the treasure he had been fired upon by a mysterious sniper who he called Mr. [4], Robert Blair wrote "[t]here have been at least four legendary Lost Dutchman's gold mines in the American West, including the famed Superstition mine of Jacob Waltz". There was a catastrophic flood in Phoenix in 1891, and Waltz's farm was one of many that was devastated. You came for the yellow rag gossip. In appreciation, Gonzales told Erwin about the Peralta mine in the Superstition Mountains and an antique map of the site. Finally The Lost Dutchman Gold Mine Is Found! This is only speculation, what I do know is that, people who have dismissed the information on the stones, no matter who carved the stones, those non believers have been badly mistaken. The soldiers have stalked back to town, fistfuls of gold but their sanity shot, only to die a day later or in one case, murdered while rambling on and on about the albinos in their hospital room. It does not matter if Tomlinson engraved them or someone else did, exactly when they were made is not important, what matters is what is on them. This was our first stop for the day. But they're even better known for something else: the legendary Lost Dutchman's Mine, a much-ballyhooed secret stash of wealth sought by daring adventurers known as "Dutch hunters."