PRESCOTT, Ariz. (AP) – The Lost Dutchman Gold Mine is thought to be somewhere in the Superstition Mountains near Phoenix – if it even exists at all.
Many have sought the riches long rumored buried there. Many have gone missing and even died in their efforts. And that gold mine has never been found.
Phoenix author Pat Parish, who signed copies of her latest book at Hastings in Prescott recently, said she believes there may be a very good reason why that mine has never been found. It’s quite simply not there, she believes. At least not in the Superstitions.
Quite possibly, she said, the mine is much closer to Prescott – in the Bradshaw Mountains, to be exact.
“People still look for the Dutchman Mine. A lot of people died out there looking for it,” Parish said. “I’ve done a couple of very short hikes out there in the Superstition Mountains. It’s an amazing place. If you take one of the trails, an amazing thing happens. It becomes hard to tell where you are.”
The book tells the tale of prospector Jacob Waltz and the legacy of the Dutchman Mine.
“I’ve heard about the legend of the Dutchman since I was a kid,” she said. “Waltz was basically a prospector. He came over from Germany when he was 30 years old to get ahead. He and his partner started out in South Carolina and then they worked their way west and ended up in Arizona.”
Parish got interested in pursuing a book on the topic 10 years ago. The idea first came to her in New York while taking classes for illustrating. Parish herself illustrated her Dutchman book.
“The books that I found interesting had all been done by great illustrators,” she said. “My instructor suggested that I write a book and said, ‘You’ve got a great topic in Arizona where you live. You have the granddaddy of all great mysteries.”’
While the book focuses on Waltz and where his epic gold mine may be found, Parish said she also focused on telling a good story for readers.
“When I started writing the book, I decided right from the start that everyone was looking in the wrong mountains,” Parish said.
“Waltz was a crafty old man and he knew that people were following him to find his gold, because his gold was unlike any other. It was richer. And he wouldn’t tell anyone where he got it.”
Waltz would lose his followers in the mountains, then travel to the Bradshaws.
“It fits his personality,” she added.
