Sailaway wrote
yet here on T-net there are people who died in the Superstitions, one example is John V. Kemm. who claimed to find the Lost Dutchman Mine, yet I have looked at his website and he found one of the noses of the horse where it meets the map stone. Yes there will be gold there but does not make it the Lost Dutchman Mine. Not all the clues are there such as the "house" Waltz described. Yet he died there.
http://www.unexplained-mysteries.com....php?id=169267
John V. Kemm, aka SantaFeNewMexican did not die in the Superstitions amigo, he owns a smoke shop in Albuqurque and is still very much alive or was the last time I went through that city a year ago. Adolph Ruth died in the Superstitions, almost certainly murdered by one of the two men he had hired to pack him in, but in
1931. Mr. Kemm seems to have lost interest in the Lost Dutchman, perhaps from not being able to convince people that he found it by the use of satellite photos without actually checking his location in person.
Somero has correctly found the source of that figure of 240 deaths per year, it is the illegal immigrants crossing or trying to cross the desert into America, which has nothing to do with the Superstitions mountains, Tumacacori, lost mines or LUE treasure. If that many people died or were murdered in the Superstitions each year, it would not be very long before the government would step in and make it illegal to enter those mountains at all.
Sailaway also wrote
When I was there it was 120 degrees in Phoenix yet in the mountains it was only 90 degrees. I was out there last summer in mid august and when we woke up it was cold. It takes being prepared for High and low temps up there, so saying not to go in the summer may be bad advice, as early or late in the year you would have to be prepared for snow conditions. I have seen the mountains covered with snow when it was hot in town.
I believe that MOST of the people who DO get into serious trouble in the Superstition mountains
happens in the summer months. There is very little shade in the mountains as you know, and when the temperatures rise above body heat, your body requires up to a quart an hour of water to stay alive. As you can not feel your body dehydrating to the point of danger, people can die without realizing they are in serious trouble. I will stick by that advice to NOT go exploring in the Superstitions in summer time,
especially for someone new to the area. Why take that additional risk when it can be most pleasant during the spring and fall months with FAR less danger of dehydration and heat stroke?
Somero wrote
If I remember correctly Lat and Long was off just a bit, not just which prime meridian was used but due to the problems they were having with the Apache. So unfortunately we have to re-calculate from specific landmarks using today's lat and long, compare to older coordinates given, attempt to triangulate and convert older measurements just to get a general area.
Correct - in fact the longitude figures in particular are often off notably, up to two degree in some cases, in part due to the fact there was no good way to find longitude prior to John Harrison's discovery and chronometer, (1773?) anyway even then the use of accurate chronometers did not become widespread until the end of the 1700s and maps prior to 1800 often have longitude errors on them. So what Somero says about these OLD longitude figures being only good for getting a GENERAL IDEA of location is completely right. Conversely, the Latitude figures from the 1700s and even older, are often fairly accurate.
Good luck and good hunting amigos, I hope you find the treasures that you seek.
Oroblanco
