Hey there! So, last we left off our legendary Dutchman had passed away at a ripe age after catching a serious bout of pneumonia thanks to a freak flood in the valley. But, like all good tales, that turned out to only be the beginning. During his life, Waltz was said to boast of his hidden gold in the desert, so much so that he was often followed by would-be thieves. Well, he took the secret of the location to his grave…or did he?
Waltz had one confidant at the end–well, technically two. Julia Thomas was an innkeeper at an establishment Waltz frequented and was with him in his final days. It is said that it was to her and Dr. Walker, who attended him during his illness. He did this in the form of a crude map and cryptic clues (which we’ll delve into later). Turns out Julia and the doctor could not make sense of the clues and map and ultimately sold the artifacts for $7 and let the matter become lost to the pages of history.
And then there’s the soldier’s story. Depending on the source, this story could be dated before the time of Waltz’s death or after. But the story goes two army troopers came into town proclaiming they’d found a wealthy vein of gold in the desert. When their story was challenged they ventured out into the desert to relocate the gold and return with proof. However, they missed the mark on the returning part and were never heard from again. This is one of the earliest accounts of people gone missing in the hunt for gold, accounts that will only get stranger and stranger as time goes on, I assure you. Now, Morgan has sent me notes and insisted I include her own little tidbit below…
The story of the two soldiers is another account stolen from other parts of the southwest. I know it’s super tempting to think of this story as true, wanting to believe in the spooky aspects, but it should be noted stories like this were common elsewhere. In fact, the story of the soldiers is actually related to the true story of Dr. Thorne I talked about before. Like a lot of rumors, it got twisted and morphed to match the narrative and is now taken as fact. I hate to sound blunt about it, but it didn’t happen. But, as we’ve said, Rose probably believed it did. So it’s important.
…Anyway. There’s something of a gap in history after this. Without Waltz there to tell people all about his mine, and with the clues passed around and followed to no avail, the mysterious gold in the desert became a relic. And with the end of the American gold rush, diehard interest in getting rich quick off gold began to die off. In my next post we’ll examine the very cryptic and crazy clues a bit more closely since they’ll require some serious explanation (if there is any truly to give).
But, that’s the bulk of the original story of Jacob Waltz, our Lost Dutchman. From this point on, things only become stranger and stranger, so check back for more guidance down this crazy rabbit hole.
