SPOILER ALERT! For those of you who haven't read The Baetylus Stone, please know this section comes from the occurrences within the first chapter. Though it shouldn't detract from the overall story, I wanted to make you full aware. If you prefer to read the book ahead of time, I have enclosed a link.
The legend of the Lost Dutchman's Gold Mine has multiple versions. They each have their own spin on bloodshed and backstabbing, but the version I am going to share is the most common and widely accepted of the tale.
The story all starts with the Apache. This Indian group were the natives of the Gila River near the Superstition Mountains in Arizona. They were said to be savages when it came to the "white man" for they would disgrace their land and their beliefs. One major belief was that of gold. Gold was considered sacred and meant only for the gods or the pure.
Legend says, in 1845, a party of Mexican miners were ambushed and massacred by a set of Apache warriors because they were transporting gold from a deeply rich mine in the Superstition Mountains. A man, Don Miguel Peralta, was the lone survivor. Peralta vowed to never return to the mine again.
That is, until many years later when Peralta got into a scuffle in a cantina of a Mexican village. Two German prospectors, Jacob Waltz and Jacob Weiser came to his aid. Thus, a relationship was born and Peralta decided to show them a map that led to his dead family’s rich mine.
The Germans, or Dutchmen as Americans would commonly call them back then, set out and began mining the gold. Weeks passed with no issues until the men noticed local Apache watching them from a distance.
There are two stories about what happens next.
One legend says, Jacob Waltz returned from getting supplies from the local town, Mesa, to discover Weiser had been killed, assumingly by Indians. The other legend depicts Waltz as a jealous man who turned on Weiser, shooting and burying him close to the mine. Regardless of what truly happened, Waltz continued to periodically return to the mine to replenish his income…until 1891.
Now in his 80s, Waltz contracted pneumonia in an attempt to make another run to his mine and couldn’t recover. An African-American woman, Julia Thomas, cared for him as he laid on his deathbed. Knowing he was nearing his end, The Dutchman supposedly told Ms. Thomas the secret of his mine with a map and clues on how to get there.
After Waltz died, Ms. Thomas and others set out to search for the mine, but came back empty-handed. Failed attempt after failed attempt, Ms. Thomas saw a business opportunity. She started to reproduce the map and clues and sold them to fortune seekers. News spread and more prospects and adventurers came.
120+ years later and treasure seekers have still been following Ms. Thomas’ information to no avail. Instead, there have been numerous deaths and disappearances. The legend still lives on.
Do you have any theories to add? Please share them in the comments below!