I realize this is old news, however it illustrates that ‘closer to the source’ is not necessarily better, more accurate information – but then again, maybe it is and Old Herman is the only one telling the truth.
For the moment, I’m filing this one as “interesting” and debating whether dismissing Herman’s entire account because he has some inaccuracies (to say the least) would be throwing the baby out with the bathwater. As always, your comments are encouraged.
In Herman’s own words, “You have the facts as they were given to me by my brother - and Reinhardt learned them from Jacob Walzer himself.” Read on…
“Jacob Walzer was a native of Germany,” Herman recalled, “and a sober man of good character, contrary to many legends. Although he did keep wine in his cellar and offered it to friends when they visited him, he refused to drink himself.
“Almost immediately after arriving in the United States, Waltzer had come to Arizona. A business man, he spent his spare time prospecting for gold. He and a friend, Jacob Weiser went on frequent journeys together into the Superstitions. However, no one knew they had found a mine until he told my brother and Mrs. Julia Thomas, Waltzer’s octoroon housekeeper, a short time before his death.
“The mine, which Walzer called the ‘Placer’ was discovered in 1869. On one of their trips, he and Weiser had camped near a good spring not far from the base of what is now called Weaver’s Needle, a sharp isolated peak in this range of mountains. From their camp they could walk to the Placer and to the ‘Quartz’, a second mine about a mile farther.
“The Placer was discovered as they walked through the canyon along the bed of a creek where soil erosion had exposed a ledge of almost pure gold about 20 inches wide.
“This rare and spectacular find they mined by making an excavation on a gradual incline, four inches wider on each side than the deposit of ore. It was just wide enough to work in and not too hard to conceal when they made a trip into Phoenix, Florence or Globe to dispose of a small amount of ore. Walzer was afraid to carry too much gold on anyone trip, and, as he never craved wealth, his wants were simple and easily satisfied.
“The Quartz was discovered later. While working on the Placer one day, the two men heard sounds of rocks being broken. They investigated and found two Spaniards working an old mine which prove equal in richness to the Placer. From that Spaniards they learned that there were eight Spanish mines in the near vicinity. Later the Spaniards were found slain and Weiser and Walzer buried them at the murder site.
"This occurred in 1882. Walzer and his partner did not work the Quartz, as its hidden entrance afforded no look-out opportunity and was therefore dangerously vulnerable to surprise attack. They carefully concealed its location and returned to work the Placer.
“Sometime during their many trips into the mountains, the partners built a native wood and adobe hut near the spring. It undoubtedly fell into ruin long ago, but its pile of rubble probably provides a good landmark to the lost mine area.”
Source:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/2403647/19540 ... 54-January
) of the search area right off the bat. If you understand what Herman is saying, it also eliminates 90% of the stream-bed area. If you’re a hot-shot stream shooter, it means the LDM can be tracked using conventional methods. In other words, anyone who’s ever operated a river dredge will know where to search. This is a game changer.