San Francisco Chronicle newspaper of Jan. 13, 1895

The San Francisco Chronicle article published on January 13, 1895, titled something along the lines of “A Mine in the Superstition Mountains” (or variations like “A Mine in the Superstition Mountains–The Half-told Tale of an Old Miser–Afraid to Return to the Source of His Mysterious Wealth”), played a pivotal role in popularizing and shaping the modern legend of the Lost Dutchman Gold Mine.

Written by freelance writer and prospector Pierpont C. Bicknell (often abbreviated P.C. Bicknell), this piece is widely regarded by historians and researchers of the legend as one of the earliest—if not the earliest—nationally distributed accounts that crystallized many of the core elements associated with the tale today. Jacob Waltz (the German immigrant prospector nicknamed “the Dutchman,” despite not being Dutch) had died in Phoenix in October 1891, and local Arizona newspapers had mentioned his alleged rich mine and search efforts by associates like Julia Thomas and the Petrasch brothers as early as 1892 (e.g., in the Salt River Herald). However, Bicknell’s 1895 Chronicle article elevated the story from regional rumor to broader public fascination.

Key Content and Contributions from the Article

Bicknell’s piece drew heavily from accounts circulating in Arizona, likely including details from Julia Thomas (who cared for Waltz in his final days and attempted to locate the mine). It presented the mine as a real, extraordinarily rich gold deposit hidden in the Superstition Mountains east of Phoenix (then in Arizona Territory). Notable elements introduced or emphasized include:

A description of the mine’s location tied to landmarks in the Superstitions, within a roughly 5-mile radius of Weaver’s Needle (a prominent rock formation that became iconic in later tellings).
References to a hidden tunnel or shaft in a gulch, concealed by bushes, with a two-room rock house or cabin in a cave (sometimes described as “caverna con casa” or rock cabin in a cave) on the opposite slope.
Clues about accessing the site via a gulch, with the mine featuring rich gold ledges where flakes of nearly pure gold could be picked off.
The narrative framed around Waltz as an “old miser” who revealed partial details on his deathbed but was too fearful or infirm to return himself.
Broader claims of the mine’s “fabulous wealth” and consistency of witness/testimony pointing to a specific area.

These details aligned with earlier local reports but were packaged dramatically for a wider audience, making the story more compelling and clue-oriented.

Role in the Legend’s Development

The article’s significance lies in its dissemination and influence:

It is often credited as the first major national exposure of the “Lost Dutchman” story, helping transform a local Arizona prospector’s tale into a widespread American legend of hidden treasure.
Bicknell reportedly syndicated or republished elements of his work; the piece was reprinted in outlets like the Kansas City Journal (February 17, 1895), spreading it further across the U.S.
It introduced or solidified motifs that later writers and treasure hunters built upon, including connections to the Peralta family (Mexican miners allegedly massacred by Waltz or others to claim the site—though some sources note this link may have been embellished by Bicknell or absent in pre-1895 accounts), deathbed revelations, hidden cabins/tunnels, and Weaver’s Needle as a key reference point.
Historians (such as Tom Kollenborn and others studying Superstition Mountains lore) trace much of the persistent “clue” tradition directly to Bicknell’s descriptions, which influenced later searchers like Adolph Ruth (whose 1931 death in the mountains involved directions derived from this 1895 article).

While earlier mentions existed in Arizona papers (e.g., around Julia Thomas’s 1892 search), Bicknell’s Chronicle publication is seen as the catalyst that launched the legend into enduring popularity. It arrived at a time when tales of lost mines captivated the public during the waning years of the frontier era, fueling decades of expeditions, books (like Barry Storm’s Thunder God’s Gold), films, and ongoing searches—despite no verified discovery of the mine.

In summary, the January 13, 1895, San Francisco Chronicle article did not invent the story but was instrumental in standardizing its details, providing searchable “clues,” and propelling it from obscure regional folklore to one of the most famous lost-mine legends in American history.

One of Arizona’s Lost El Dorados

A Mine in the Superstition Mountains

The Half-told Tale of an Old Miser

Afraid to Return to the Source of His Mysterious Wealth.

Phoenix (A.T.), Jan. 9–That there exists an undiscovered gold mine of fabulous wealth near a point in the Superstition Mountains not more than fifty miles from Phoenix has long been an article of faith among a number of mining men in a position to sift the mass of evidence accumulated during the past twenty years. The facts and individual statements, although emanating from widely diverse sources and furnished by persons who could have had no possible communication with one other, all agree in a remarkable manner as to the description of the mine, and, what is still more convincing, are unanimous in indicating a particular quarter of the mountains in question as the place of its location. In a gulch in the Superstition mountains, the location of which is described by certain landmarks, there is a two-room house in the mouth of a cave on the left side of the slope near the gulch. Just across gulch, about two hundred yards, is a tunnel, covered up and concealed in the bushes. Here is the mine, the richest in the world, according to Dutch Jacob. Some distance above the tunnel on the side of the mountain is a shaft or incline that is not so steep but can climb down. The shaft goes right down in the midst of a rich gold ledge, where it can be picked off in big flakes of almost pure gold

San Francisco Chronicle newspaper of Jan. 13, 1895

The Kansas City Journal, Sunday February 17, 1895 outlines the initial legend of the Lost Dutchman Gold Mine of Jacob Waltz. This version of the origin story has Jacob Waltz purchasing the mine from the Peralta Family. Allegedly, he concealed the mine for fears of retaliation after he killed six Mexican miners on his initial journey to the mine.

A LOST EL DORADO.

A MINE IN THE SUPERSTITION MOUNTAINS OF COLORADO

The Half-told Tale of an Old Miser Afraid to Return to the Source of His Mysteriously Gotten Wealth

That there exists an undiscovered gold mine of fabulous wealth near a point In the Superstition mountains not more than fifty miles from Phoenix: has long been an article faith among a number of mining men In a position to rift the mass of accumulated during the put (unity jean. The fact and individual statements, although emanating from widely diverse sources and furnished by persons who could hao had no possible communication with one another, all agree In n remarkable in inner as to the description of the mine, and, what Is still more convincing, are unanimous In Indicating in particular quarter of the mountains In question as the place of Its location.

Years ago Indians boasted to the early settlers – notably to the discoverers of the celebrated Antelope diggings – of the wonderful wealth of this deposit, and even pointed out vaguely the direction In which It lay Plmas, Marlcopas, Apaches- all claim a knowledge of it, though nothing can even tempt one of them to disclose Its exact whereabouts. Mexicans- even Mexicans of mean equipped with elaborate maps of the mysterious region, had more than once made journeys from Sonora in the hope of enriching themselves at this storied Ophlr. They even name fortunate countrymen of theirs who in former years, running the gauntlet of Gringo and Apache, have surreptitiously worked the mine for a few weeks at a time and returned to the land of Mannna with gold laden burros. Lacking citizenship to enable them to claim the mine, they meretly helped themselves hurriedly to what they could get and departed, after covering all traces of their work.

The district designated Is not extensive. It lies within an Imaginary circle whoso diameter Is not more than five miles and whose center Is marked by the Weaver’s Needle, a prominent and fantastic pinnacle of volcanic tufa that rises to a height of 2,500 feet among a confusion of lesser peaks and mountainous mases of basaltic rock Ono can reach Its base only after struggling through a network of bowlder choked canyons and well nigh Impregnable thickets. In Its weird loneliness it scorns an Index finger marking the location of some hidden my story. Owing to Its resemblance, from one point of view, to a pointed sombrero, says a Phoenix correspondent of the San Francisco Chronicle, the Mexicans and Indians call It Sombrero butte, or rather El Sombrero, and It Is the landmark around which cluster all the tales of treasure referred to, whether Indian, Mexican or frontiersman. Americans have given It the name of Weaver’s Needle, in memory of old Paullne Weaver, the well known trapper and pioneer of the Southwest.

In regard to the mine, It cannot be doubted, in the face of the conclusive evidence adduced, that It really has an existence; though in view of the numerous and unavailing efforts to discover It, made during a period of years. It seems more than likely that It has been forever hidden by some landslide or cloudburst, or perhaps by the earthquake that gave thl3 range a severe shaking up In 1887.

During the past year all the old stories have been revived and a new impetus has been given to the search, which has been
conducted spasmodically ever since the settlement of the territory, by reason of the deathbed disclosures of an old Ger-mi- n, who, In his last hours, confided to the woman nursing him how he and a partner worked that very mine In 18933,
until the latter was killed by Apaches.

Jacob Waltz, for thus he signed his name, though he was better known as ‘ Old Dutch Yoccub” to the few with whom he came In contact, had taken a fancy to the woman, who had, in fact, taken care of him during the last few 5 years of his helpless life, and had given her gold nuggets on several occasions. He had been a resident of the territory for thirty years and had lived for twenty
years of this time on a little ranch near Phoenix, where ho had a small ‘vineyard and orchard He was morose, miserly and uncommunicative, avoiding contact with men, and was always suspected of having a burled treasure, for he was known to have sold gold nuggets at different times, though he never went out In the mountains. It was only when he was convinced that he had to let go of life that he endeavored to inform the woman his only friend how to go to the mine, and also. It appears, to divulge the hiding place of his burled treasure. But he had cultivated the habit of reluctance and secretiveness too long, and death overtook him, even while he was struggling to make himself Intelligible.

Of course, his beneficiary lost no time after the funeral in turning over with the shovel every foot of the old man’s little piece of property which, by the way, he left to her by will but there are those who have shrewd suspicions that the treasure was found by another. The only gold found on the place was a few particles remaining in the seams of four buckskin sacks unearthed from the bottom of “Old Yoccup’s” trunk. His directions, too, in regard to finding the mine were at fault, or else (which Is probable, his hearer being a woman and relying entirely on her memory ) she got them mixed. She made several trips to the supposed locality, taking with her experienced prospectors, but all to no purpose, finally the made the story public, and since then scores of prospectors have scoured the “suspected district” In vain.

Hero Is a short outline of “Old Yoccup’s” story as told by himself and repeated by his only hearer: At the beginning of the civil war, being at that time in Arizona, he went over Into Sonora to avoid military duty, and there made the acquaintance of the Peralta family, with whom he became quite Intimate. Speaking of Arizona, they told him that they owned a largo grant in that country, which, however, being nothing but a desert, was valueless, except for a rich gold mine from which they had drawn “poll wealth. They had worked It in the forties, sending up a band of trusty peons, who always returned, in a few months’ time, their burrows loaded with the precious yellow metal, which was obtained without mill or machinery of any kind. All that was needed was a hammer to break It out of the quartz. ,

Believing that they had lost the title to their grant, as a result of the Mexican war, the Peralta’s sold to “Old Yoccup” for a trifle the Information necessary to enable him to And the mine, and their description of Its glittering wealth was sufficient to start him at or back to Arizona. At Tucson he picked up a partner in the shape of another German, also named Jacob, and together they set out for the Superstition mountains, which, even at that early day, enjoyed the uncanny reputation indicated by their name. Arriving at the Initial point mentioned in Peralta’s Instructions “the first gorge on the south side, from the west end of the range” they found, as he had told them, a monumented trail which led them “northward over a lofty ridge; thence downward past Sombrero butte Into a long canyon running north, and finally to a tributary canyon very “deep and rocky, and densely wooded with a continuous thicket of scrub oak.”

Here the woman Is at fault, She has forgotten whether the canyon enters from the east or west. Proceeding up this canyon with difficulty, they were startled by a repeated knocking a short distance ahead, as of some ono breaking rock, and with rifles ready for instant use they advanced with caution. Presently, on the steep slope about 100 feet above them they spled two Indians busy breaking rock. This was evidently the much desired mine; and If so, it was no time, for trifling. They did not propose to be balked of a fortune now almost In their hands by a naked Indlan or two. Each picked his man, and, taking careful aim, they dropped the interlopers in their tracks. The smoke had hardly cleared away when they were horrified see two more Indians, who appeared to come out of the earth. They began to fear that they had got Into a hornet’s nest, but they were In It for It now, and without more ado they dispatched these two by the same road as the others. Then two more jumped up and began running up the hill, endeavoring to hide themselves in the brush. By good luck they dropped these also, and as no more of them appeared after they remained concealed a reasonable time the Germans climbed up the dump of the shaft for such they found It to be congratulating themselves that the golden treasure was theirs at last.

On examination of the bodies of the supposed Indians their exultation changed to horror. The men were Mexican- naked, it Is true, but that Is the way the Mexican miners prefer to work underground They had murdered six men In cold blood! The unfortunates were doubtless some of the Peralta peons, who had been working the mine on their own account, They probably
had friends, who, on their failure to return, would come In search of them, and the matter would end In the arrest and conviction of the two Germans.

At any rale, this Is what “Old Yoccup” and his partner thought, and on that account they feared it would not be safe to
claim the mine and work it openly. They planned, therefore, to get what gold they could in week or two of work, and then, after covering the mine, leave the country to return at some future time.

Their first care was to go back along the trail and throw down all the monuments that had made It so easy for them to reach
the spot. The bodies they threw Into the shaft, for they had found a rich cropping of the auriferous quartz lower down the bank where there was more gold than quartz.

The shaft, It appears is about sevens-five feet deep, and made in Mexican style, with flaring wall, rendering ladders unnecessary. After two weeks of work “Old Yoccob” had to make a trip to Florence for supplies. It was a three days’ journey. On his return he found his partner lying dead killed by Apaches. After that he was afraid to stay there alone, but before leaving the spot he
dragged his partner’s body Into the tunnel they had made, which he then walled up and covered over. The shaft, he
thought, was not likely to be discovered, as It was high above the gulch and pretty well concealed by the brush.

There arc those that believe that “Old Yoccup” murdered his partner after they had worked together covering up the
mine, as they had planned. However this may be, certain it Is that the old man never profiled by his gold. His superstitious fears always prevented him from returning to the spot. No doubt he believed it to be haunted, and it was so, for him. For the remainder of his life he was a morbid, fearful and broken-down old man, afraid to look his fellow man in the eye, and not even daring to enjoy his wealth. It was believed by his neighbors that he saw ghosts, and persons passing his cabin frequently heard his voice in tones of fear and supplication as though he were addressing some menacing presence. He never told the woman who cared for him toward the last gold he had brought away from the mine, but whether it was $10,000, or $50,OOO, as some suppose, the amount must be still nearly Intact, as he was never known to spend any money. He gave her at one time $5,000 to raise a mortgage, and at other times nuggets amounting in all to about $15,000. But that there Is more of it somewhere is proved by the
fact that he was In the act of telling her where to find It when death overtook him.

It Is a curious fact that the Indians describe just such a mine, with a tunnel and shaft. In that same vicinity, with Sombrero butte ni a landmark; and they also say that the tunnel has been walled up and covered over. This Is also the description of It given by the Mexicans, who have come In search of It at different times. The great clue from which all the search Is now being made Is a rock cabin In a cave, which, according to “Old Yoccup’- story, lay directly across the canyon from the mine, and not more than 200 feet from It. It was here that the two Germans lived while they worked the mine.

It Is a coincidence that the writer succeeded In finding a rock cabin in a cave, very near the region referred to; but It
was the work of the cliff dwellers, and, besides, there was no mine on the opposite side of the canyon.

References

Kansas City daily journal. [volume] (Kansas City, Mo.), 17 Feb. 1895. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress.