The helicopter was an Apache helicopter. Boeing is not too far from the West of the Superstitions (Apaches are made there.) They can fly over the Wilderness Area just not supposed to land. An episode or two ago the crew themselves hired a helicopter to fly over the mountains. Goldfield used to have helicopter rides over the mountains several years ago. As far as the best books, each person has their favorites. I personally like the books by Helen Corbin and Thomas E. Glover as well as a couple by Tom Kollenborn. There are many others but these are "my" favorites.
I would think that after all of the years that have passed since Jacob Waltz has passed and "IF" he was truthful with his clues, I would think that someone would have found the mine, "IF" there is a mine. There have been many, many individuals who spent the better part of their lives living in the 'Supes looking for it... unsuccessfully. Wayne Tuttle from the show himself has been looking for quite a few years and he hasn't found it. With the technology that is available I would think someone or some group would have found it by now. There was supposedly an eathquake in the 1880's or 1890's that according to written acccounts large dust clouds could be seen coming from the Supertition Mountains. If that is true the clues, monuments, cave, pit, etc., could have been destroyed and/or buried. Since the gold would be located in the Wilderness Area if it was found, permiits would have to be filed and approved. It would become public and be a world news story. On the the other hand, maybe it has already been found and the finder/s removed the gold secretively to avoid the legalities as well as the publicity. Also, it is a big boon for Arizona tourism. If it was to be found, the lore, mystery and tourist/ book/ televion folks would lose money. But it is still fun to hope wish that the LDM Mine is still there waiting to be found. Good Hunting!
Doesn't have anything to do with whether Waltz was honest or not. Waltz didn't have any reason to lie to Rhiney or Julia during the eight months he was bedridden and was taken care of by Thomas and Petrasch. The REAL problem is that first hand conversations with Jacob Waltz are EXTREMELY RARE! Most of what we know now comes from two places:
1. What Waltz said to Rhiney and Julia that was told to Sims Ely and Jim Bark, and are included in Sims Ely's Book.
The problem with what Waltz said to Rhiney was that Rhiney was half drunk most of the time and didn't pay a ton of attention to what Waltz was telling him. His brother Hermann blamed Rhiney's drinking on them not being able to locate Waltz' Mine, and never spoke to him again.
2. What Dick Holmes said Waltz told him while on his death bed.
The only information for that is in the Holmes Manuscript. You have to believe in the authenticity of the Manuscript to believe in the story Waltz supposedly told to Dick Holmes and Frank Alkire. Dick Holmes denied he wrote that published manuscript.
So........ we have the recollections of a drunk. The recollections of a woman that knew nothing about mining. The written words of a manuscript that the person whose name is on that manuscript said he didn't write.
What is left is mostly anecdotal and circumstantial.
THAT is why the LDM has not been found since Waltz sealed it up in about 1890.
What hard facts do we have?
ORE: The ore from under Waltz Bed was assayed by Joseph Porterie, who was also the Chief Assayer at the Vulture Mine. Some people (even today) think that Waltz ore was highgraded from when he worked at the Vulture. First; there is no record of Waltz having ever worked at the Vulture. Second; Joseph Poerterie said that the ore from under Waltz' Bed was NOTHING LIKE Vulture Mine Ore (and he would know seeing as he was the Chief Assayer at the Vulture).
Jewelry: Some of the jewelry made from Waltz' Ore is still around. Likely all in one private collection. The match safe is the most famous, and Brownie Holmes notarized description and measurements of it make it unlikely that the one we know is not the original one.
The Peralta/Gonzalez Connection:
The LDM is supposed to be one of the eight or so mines of the Peralta/Gonzalez Families' that had been sealed by Apaches after they had massacred a large mining party. The problem with that is that there are ZERO records of the Peralta or Gonzalez Families' doing any mining in the Superstitions.
What supports this thought:
Peralta/Gonzalez Family Oral Histories. They both talk about a mining party of about 200 people that were massacred shortly after the US?Mexico War (1847).
We have several Spanish/Mexican Style packs found rotted in and around The Massacre Grounds. The Apache would have eaten the mules, and had no need for gold back then. When the pack mules started bucking and kicking during the fighting, several packs would have fallen off, being loaded with hand cobbled rich gold ore. Silverlocke and Malm found just such a load. They found rich float gold in a spot of the Massacre Grounds. They sold all that gold and spent all that money searching for the vein that didn't exist (because the gold they found came from the massacre). Every so often, people find rich float. Nothing underneath, and no vein anywhere. What that is, is gold from the massacre that has been sitting on the surface since that time.
............ but to me, the biggest evidence to prove the Peralta/Gonzalez Families' had hidden gold mines in and around the Superstitions are two things that I have posted about several times:
1. The "Pit Mine"
2. The Mormon Stope of the Mammoth Mine
Two mineshafts hidden, then much later accidentally found and worked for millions of dollars in rich gold ore.
There is a lot of BS surrounding the LDM. There is a ton of circumstantial and anecdotal evidence to support the story, but the reason it hasn't been found yet (that I know of), is that there is so little documented evidence. If Rhiney hadn't been a drunk, then he may have payed more attention to Waltz, and he. his brother Hermann, and Julia Thomas would have found the mine in 1892 when they went looking.
THAT is also what makes the LDM so fun (and frustrating at the same time) to look for!
Mike
