The mysterious death of Adolph Ruth

[deducer]

And two years ago, someone tried adding me to the list when they took a shot at me about an eighth of a mile up Superstition Mountain from the Peralta Trailhead on the mountain not the trail. No second shot after I sent thirty back at him. guess he wasn't expecting return fire.

Mike, welcome back. I hope you are here to stay.

 

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[EarnieP]

Yeah hello Mike!
Welcome back! We've missed your expertise and input.

(30 return rounds, you hike with an 7 pound AR, plus extra mags?)

Good to see you back, now about those Jesuits...

 

[azdave35]

earnie...when you are 6'4" and weigh 300 lbs...7 lbs isn't much to carry

 

[Matthew Roberts]

gollum,

Mike, when I said no one could seriously hike the Superstitions in June-July-August I should have prefaced that with no one but the few who thrive on that kind of environment !!!
The last we talked together I remember you telling me about your experience with being shot at and how the Superstitions were not safe if you wandered too far off the beaten trails.


deducer,

I don't know about the gold that Walter had in his backpack when he died in the Superstitions May 4, 1984. I have heard two stories, one it was sample gold from the LDM, and the other is it was gold he picked up from the mine he believed was the Lost Dutchman.
When Mike (gollum) and I were last together I showed him a piece of gold in quartz that Walter had given me. That gold came from a claim on Peters Mesa that Walter intended to file on. I would think that if Walter had gold in his backpack on his last trip into the Superstitions it came from the same place as the piece Walter gave me.
I have good reason to believe that the mine Walter was interested in was the same mine Adolph Ruth was looking for when he died, and the same mine Tex Barkley and Jeff Adams tried to locate with Ruth's map.

Matthew

 

[deducer]

I think one key to understand the Ruth mystery is to get a sense of how much he really knew. So far we've established that Adolph Ruth was anything but a greenhorn lost in the Supers.

A letter written to Erwin Ruth from an Emilio (Peralta) Drigo on May 2, 1932 gives us some insight:

Mr. Irwin Ruth,

Dear friend -
While visiting the family in Mexico last month we were descussing (sic) the story of your fathers death....

My uncle asked me write (sic) to you. He had discussed this matter with Mercedes Gonzales my distant cousin who know you when her mother give you papers of Arizona gold mine. Mercedes and my uncle think you should have that mine if you want as oweing (sic) to promise of my uncle Gonzales...... If you like my uncle to help you I will tell you where he lives. He told me about twenty five years ago he made journey to those superstitions Mountain range with my cousin and showed him the very place gold was removed. He said place had been shaken up or flooded some but he was sure he know the place. He is 86 years but was there when just growing into man hood (sic) while his father and brothers took out gold.

He was old man when he showed my cousin the place and they talked seriously then to work again for gold but give up later, they think undertaking too big and costly.

My uncle said his father never wanted American to have the old mine but now he thinkgs (sic) your family deserve it if you can afford to work it praticly (sic).

My uncle beleive (sic) that much gold still therer and can be found if you could dig for enough to reach this old mine where they worked it years ago.

Yours truly

/s/Emilio (Peralta) Drigo

P.S. My uncle say to tell you he has his fathers maps with true directions still but as he do not need directions can give you better as old ones are too correct and too mathematical.

E.D.



If the above letter is true, then Ruth did have directions to the LDM.

My question here is, did Erwin Ruth also acquire those directions from Emilio? Does anyone here know?

I would be interested in reading Ruth's responses to Emilio, I know that Erwin answered this letter because there is a reply dated August 7, 1932 from Emilio, saying that his uncle was open to meeting Erwin in Phoenix to pass on directions and maps.

Did Erwin take him up on the offer?

 

[Matthew Roberts]

deducer,

I have always been interested and intrigued by the letter written by Emilio Peralta Drigo to Adolph Ruth's son Erwin (Irwin).
It is apparent that Emilio Peralta Drigo is the distant cousin of a woman named Gonzales who is of the same Gonzales family that Erwin Ruth got the maps from and he later gave those maps to his father (Adolph).
Emilio's elderly uncle (Gonzales) apparently will give Erwin Ruth directions and instructions to the mine in the Superstition Mountains. He wants Erwin Ruth to contact his uncle.

Now it seems to me that Emilio Peralta Drigo and his uncle Gonzales are talking about the same mine that Erwin Ruth already had the maps for, the 3 maps he gave to his father Adolph Ruth.
I don't know if Erwin Ruth ever replied or tried to contact the uncle (Gonzales) but I would find it strange if he didn't. I know I surely would have even if I thought there wasn't much more he could add to the maps I already had.
Sadly there is no copy of any reply Erwin made to either Emilio or his uncle.
Maybe Erwin thought his father didn't find the mine with the maps and Barkley and Adams didn't find it so what was the use of talking to Gonzales further. (?)

This is all based on my belief that the maps Adolph Ruth carried with him and the maps-directions that Drigo-Gonzales are talking about are one and the same. It is hard for me to believe they are talking about another separate mine.

Matthew

 

[Shortfinger]

Hey Matthew,

I take issue with your statement that "No one can seriously hike the Superstitions in June-July-August". I have been in Az since the beginning of June, and have been all over Southern Superstition Mountain, Peters Mesa, and Tortilla. I am currently up near Prescott in the Bradshaws. I have been pack tent living since the beginning of May. I spent a few days camping at Davis Wash by Apache Lake, and sleeping by The Upper Dons Camp for the rest. Frank Augustine calls me crazy and Wayne Tuttle Stupid for going into the mountains this time of year. Hahaha I will be back down there in about a week. We've been digging up stream beds for panning in 106 degrees.

I suppose I would have to go with crazy, I know you are not stupid.

JB

 

[Shortfinger]

Excellent thread, thank you, Matthew, for all of the information and posts. Also, thank you to all who have contributed. Very interesting, and there is a lot to think about here.

JB

 

[gollum]

gollum,

Mike, when I said no one could seriously hike the Superstitions in June-July-August I should have prefaced that with no one but the few who thrive on that kind of environment !!!
The last we talked together I remember you telling me about your experience with being shot at and how the Superstitions were not safe if you wandered too far off the beaten trails.


deducer,

I don't know about the gold that Walter had in his backpack when he died in the Superstitions May 4, 1984. I have heard two stories, one it was sample gold from the LDM, and the other is it was gold he picked up from the mine he believed was the Lost Dutchman.
When Mike (gollum) and I were last together I showed him a piece of gold in quartz that Walter had given me. That gold came from a claim on Peters Mesa that Walter intended to file on. I would think that if Walter had gold in his backpack on his last trip into the Superstitions it came from the same place as the piece Walter gave me.
I have good reason to believe that the mine Walter was interested in was the same mine Adolph Ruth was looking for when he died, and the same mine Tex Barkley and Jeff Adams tried to locate with Ruth's map.

Matthew

Hey Matthew,

Thats what happens when you wait till the nice weather! Every time I come out when it's blazing, no incidents. The time I get here, and the weather is okay, I get shot at. I think there's a correlation there.

So now since you mentioned it, I can publicly mention the specimen you showed me at Buffalo Wild Wings.

 

[gollum]

I suppose I would have to go with crazy, I know you are not stupid.

JB

i guess that would all depend on who you asked. Hahaha

 

[gollum]

Yeah hello Mike!
Welcome back! We've missed your expertise and input.

(30 return rounds, you hike with an 7 pound AR, plus extra mags?)

Good to see you back, now about those Jesuits...

Hey Joe,

Not an AR. A Ruger P89 (9mm pistol), with an extended vented barrel. I was shooting at a target about 300 yards uphill. The aim was easy, but I had to walk the first five rounds up to the ridge of get the right aim for distance, and rapid fired the rest. I always carry one ten round mag in the pistol, two on my belt, and three more in my ruck.


Hey Dave,

Not 320 pounds any more. Still 6'4", but my gross tonnage has dropped to 240 pounds.

Mike

 

[azdave35]

Hey Joe,

Not an AR. A Ruger P89 (9mm pistol), with an extended vented barrel. I was shooting at a target about 300 yards uphill. The aim was easy, but I had to walk the first five rounds up to the ridge of get the right aim for distance, and rapid fired the rest. I always carry one ten round mag in the pistol, two on my belt, and three more in my ruck.


Hey Dave,

Not 320 pounds any more. Still 6'4", but my gross tonnage has dropped to 240 pounds.

Mike

good job on the weight loss.....it isn't easy losing that much weight

 

[Gregory E. Davis]

Good evening Matthew; The posts seem to be drifting off course a bit so here is a question for you and thoughts for the readers of this thread. Since you had the opportunity to read the Sheriff's report, did the Maricopa County Sheriff have a suspect or suspects who they believed murdered Ruth? Cordially, Gregory E. Davis

 

[Ryano]

Hey Gollum, you must be a real desert rat to be out there in this heat. The temps are pushing up 110F according to my weather channel. People are dropping like flies in this heat wave. How much water you got out there dude ?

 

[deducer]

deducer,

I have always been interested and intrigued by the letter written by Emilio Peralta Drigo to Adolph Ruth's son Erwin (Irwin).
It is apparent that Emilio Peralta Drigo is the distant cousin of a woman named Gonzales who is of the same Gonzales family that Erwin Ruth got the maps from and he later gave those maps to his father (Adolph).
Emilio's elderly uncle (Gonzales) apparently will give Erwin Ruth directions and instructions to the mine in the Superstition Mountains. He wants Erwin Ruth to contact his uncle.

Now it seems to me that Emilio Peralta Drigo and his uncle Gonzales are talking about the same mine that Erwin Ruth already had the maps for, the 3 maps he gave to his father Adolph Ruth.
I don't know if Erwin Ruth ever replied or tried to contact the uncle (Gonzales) but I would find it strange if he didn't. I know I surely would have even if I thought there wasn't much more he could add to the maps I already had.
Sadly there is no copy of any reply Erwin made to either Emilio or his uncle.
Maybe Erwin thought his father didn't find the mine with the maps and Barkley and Adams didn't find it so what was the use of talking to Gonzales further. (?)

This is all based on my belief that the maps Adolph Ruth carried with him and the maps-directions that Drigo-Gonzales are talking about are one and the same. It is hard for me to believe they are talking about another separate mine.

Matthew

Did you ever try to track down Emilio Drigo or his descendants? I believe he was from St. Louis? In the Gassler Manuscript, page 29:

Ruth was in contact with a Manuel Peralta (?) living in St. Louis who claimed he visited the mine in 1891, that would have been after the flood which was the cause of the death of Jacob Waltz and claimed the place was terribly broken up and almost impassible..

Another avenue to try is to track down the bulk of Adolph Ruth's research materials- most of which was left behind at his house in Washington D.C., he brought only the most essential stuff with him- directions, maps, and the rest were in his head. After he died, they ended up with his daughter, Stella Hawkins. However, as Glenn Reynolds pointed out, Stella had said that "I have a niece that's very greedy, she takes whatever she wants out of my house and it makes me so mad!" This niece as you know is Eleanor Clark. I wonder if anyone has tried to track her down, as she presumably has the bulk of Ruth's research material, including the alleged PERALTA book? She would also have all of Erwin's letters. She should still be alive.

 

[cactusjumper]

Did you ever try to track down Emilio Drigo or his descendants? I believe he was from St. Louis? In the Gassler Manuscript, page 29:

Ruth was in contact with a Manuel Peralta (?) living in St. Louis who claimed he visited the mine in 1891, that would have been after the flood which was the cause of the death of Jacob Waltz and claimed the place was terribly broken up and almost impassible..

Another avenue to try is to track down the bulk of Adolph Ruth's research materials- most of which was left behind at his house in Washington D.C., he brought only the most essential stuff with him- directions, maps, and the rest were in his head. After he died, they ended up with his daughter, Stella Hawkins. However, as Glenn Reynolds pointed out, Stella had said that "I have a niece that's very greedy, she takes whatever she wants out of my house and it makes me so mad!" This niece as you know is Eleanor Clark. I wonder if anyone has tried to track her down, as she presumably has the bulk of Ruth's research material, including the alleged PERALTA book? She would also have all of Erwin's letters. She should still be alive.

deducer,

I'm a little surprised that you don't know that we found Eleanor Clark a number of years ago. She gave Garry all of the letters she had and there was no Peralta book. All of this can be found on Garry's site: The Adolph Ruth Story

Good luck

Joe

 

[cactusjumper]

Good evening Matthew; The posts seem to be drifting off course a bit so here is a question for you and thoughts for the readers of this thread. Since you had the opportunity to read the Sheriff's report, did the Maricopa County Sheriff have a suspect or suspects who they believed murdered Ruth? Cordially, Gregory E. Davis

Gregory,

Every one I have talked to about a Sheriff's report, claims it no longer exists. Hard to believe that you have not seen such a report, if it exists.

Take care,

Joe

 

[Gregory E. Davis]

Some people has the foresight to copy the file before it was deposed of by the County. Greg

 

[azdave35]

Some people has the foresight to copy the file before it was deposed of by the County. Greg

greg..i think there is alot of info on ruth that people haven't come forth with yet....every time a new tv show comes out more people let go of some lost info after seeing the show...maybe in the next year or two more people will come forward

 

[Matthew Roberts]

deducer wrote:.......... Did you ever try to track down Emilio Drigo or his descendants? I believe he was from St. Louis? In the Gassler Manuscript, page 29:

Ruth was in contact with a Manuel Peralta (?) living in St. Louis who claimed he visited the mine in 1891, that would have been after the flood which was the cause of the death of Jacob Waltz and claimed the place was terribly broken up and almost impassible..

Another avenue to try is to track down the bulk of Adolph Ruth's research materials- most of which was left behind at his house in Washington D.C., he brought only the most essential stuff with him- directions, maps, and the rest were in his head. After he died, they ended up with his daughter, Stella Hawkins. However, as Glenn Reynolds pointed out, Stella had said that "I have a niece that's very greedy, she takes whatever she wants out of my house and it makes me so mad!" This niece as you know is Eleanor Clark. I wonder if anyone has tried to track her down, as she presumably has the bulk of Ruth's research material, including the alleged PERALTA book? She would also have all of Erwin's letters. She should still be alive.


The Eleanor Ruth-Clark papers are mostly correspondence with people after the fact who were following up with Erwin Ruth or offering their own opinions and ideas about the mine.
John Reed, Sims and Northcutt Ely, Barry Storm, Glenn MaGill and Clay Worst make up 99% of the material.
The only real letters that seem to be of any help are the Emilio Peralta Drigo ones that you already have.

Walter Gassler identified a Peralta in his manuscript and this Peralta can be linked to Juan Pablo Peralta (Pablo Peralta) who was at Prescott in 1864 along with Miguel Lauro Peralta and his father. Pablo Peralta was the leader of that mining expedition in 1864.

I believe Adolph Ruth brought with him to Arizona more information that just a map or two.

Matthew