THE DUTCHMAN WEAVES HIS WEB ... ore ... THE ORIGINAL SPIDERMAN?

"'My, my, my,' said the spider to the fly."  Rolling Stones

The Lost Dutchman Legend, like most legends, consists of a few facts, myths, and the dreams of people who believe in rags to riches stories. You might say it's like the "needle" that "weaves" into a "haystack" of a story.  Here's where DoubleTake "spins" ours.

The Dutchman, Jacob Waltz, was a German immigrant who entered the U.S. in the mid-1800's. Remember that around this time, the Civil War was being fought and Arizona wasn't even sure which side of the Mason-Dixie line it was on -- they couldn't decide whether to drink out of jars (Mason) or cups (Dixie). Waltz obviously wasn't Dutch, (although he did pay his own way) but around that time, anyone who spoke in a Germanic accent was called "Dutch".

To give you an idea of the difficulty in proving that the Legend is true, it's almost impossible even proving what was the Dutchman's real name. These names include: Walz, Walzer, Waly, Wolz, Walls, Walts, Jacob, and even Miller!  DoubleTake could spend pages and pages and pages on the different spelings (sic) of his name, but luckily for you, we won't.  DT will just use the most commonly accepted name. So Waltzing along, some say that Waltz was a cheat and a killer, some say that he was a quiet, unassuming, good man. Once more, it's difficult to prove what's the truth (or consequence?).

There are many versions of the Dutchman and his Legend. The year was approximately 1880 and all include his partner, Jacob Wiser, sometimes spelled Wizer, Weiser, or Wisner. The end of Wiser's life is also somewhat of a mystery, with variations that range from: Waltz killing him; Indians attacking him and the mortally wounded Wiser somehow making it to a ranch; to Wiser being charcoaled/burned at the "steak". His death for DoubleTake thus gave birth to the term "non the wizer".  (So tip another one (BUD) for the Dutchman's friend (WIZER).

In the first version of the Legend, Waltz was said to be living with an Apache Indian squaw (not politically correct) named Ken-tee, who supposedly knew about a fabulously wealthy mine. Although she kept refusing to reveal its location, Waltz finally persuaded her to agree to give him a map, after promising to protect her. When Waltz went to the mine, she was abducted by her tribe and then sent back into town with her tongue cut out. (Look for a few other tongue twisters scattered through these pages and in our Guidebook.)  It's unclear whether she died or Waltz abandoned her, but Needleless to say, Waltz continued to work the mine.

In other versions of the story, Waltz and his partner simply found the mine by luck. Their gold came from either the Peralta mine, the Apache massacre of the expedition, or a Jesuit stockpile. As a side variation to this version, the partners may have come across some other prospectors already working the mine, bushwhacked them, (No, they didn't whack them with a bush, turkey!) and then took over the mining operation. A movie was even made based on this variation, starring a "very, very, young" Glenn Ford (who died recently) playing the "Old" Dutchman. This movie had so many flaws and historical inconsistencies in it that the author, Barry Storm, tried to get it stopped from being distributed.

There's even a school of thought version that a mine never really existed.  The gold had simply been stolen from another mine.  Mining people call this pilferage "highgrading". (Don't confuse this with DoubleTake's "lowgrading" in school.) This certainly is possible, as Waltz had worked other gold mines in Arizona and California.  Many historians believe this version is the real story.  (But then, what do they know!)

Getting down to the nitty gritty, dirt band, man again, the last version we'll discuss has been popularized by the Don's Club, an Arizona organization dedicated to the promotion and protection of Southwest culture. The following is this more (or less) romantic version of the Legend.

Jacob Waltz and his partner, Jacob Wiser, (we like to refer to them as Double Jake) were having a few drinks in a Mexican cantina.  At the next table, a card game was going on. The players got into a heated argument and a fight broke out. One of the men pulled a gun and started to shoot one of the other players, who was unarmed. (No Fugitive jokes, please.)  But Wiser stepped in and killed the man with the gun. Supposedly, the man whose life was saved had been one of the miners who had escaped the Apache massacre of the Peralta expedition and even may have been a relative of Don Miquel Peralta.  So, feeling indebted to  Waltz and Wiser, he gave them a map to the Peralta mine.

Waltz and Wiser then went into the Superstitions and located the mine. It was richer than their wildest dreams, but both were afraid of Indian attacks and of other prospectors who might try to dry gulch their claim. After some time had passed, they needed supplies and whiskey. It was decided that Wiser would stay to work the mine and Waltz would go into town for supplies.  Upon Waltz' return, Wiser had disappeared.  Waltz was sure that the Indians had gotten him.  However, many people in the towns of Goldfield and Phoenix said that Waltz had murdered his friend, so that he could have all of the gold. (And none would be the "Wiser".)

After Wiser's death, Waltz became extremely secretive and would disappear into the mountains for a few days at a time and then return with bags of gold.  It is said that many tried to follow him, but most never returned!  This then, is pretty much the Don's Club story and one of the most publicized versions of the Legend.

No matter which version you believe, Waltz later settled down in Phoenix, bought a small home and did some farming. People were always trying to get him to reveal the location of the mine, but his usual remark was, "Gold is where you find it". It has also been documented that there were a few strange deaths around his ranch that were never fully explained.

During the historic flood of 1891, Waltz was forced to climb a tall tree and lash (not La Rue) himself to it for several days to keep from drowning. The Dutchman died about six months later at a friend's house, at the age of 81. Supposedly, on his deathbed he drew a map for his friend, Julia Thomas, but it was stolen when she went to Waltz' funeral. (Or was that a funeral Waltz?)  This missing map, and plenty of other look-a-likes, have been "found" numerous times, and as you will see later, many men and a few women have mysteriously died in the Superstition Mountains looking for the Lost Dutchman Mine.