ShreyaThe Superstition Mountains in Arizona have attracted adventurers and treasure hunters for centuries. Many have been lost in the Mountains while looking for the gold. A miner named Jacob Waltz (Dutchman) found the Mountains in the 17th century. He did not give up when others did. What kept him going? Given him hope to travel in the blazing sun? The treasure. Huge gold bars and nuggets of gold. According to the Dutchman, a mine was full of it. He was old and could not go back there again and the secret of the treasure left with him.
Since then, a lot of adventurers have tried their luck but they have failed for different reasons. This treasure hunter tried his luck too.
The Apache Thunder God
The Apache Thunder God is supposed to have cursed the Superstition Mountains. This is because of the unspeakable things that have happened to men here. Some people are skeptical that the gold is a myth and there are those who have spent their whole lives looking for this hidden treasure. Charmed by the stories of gold, this one adventurer ventured these supposedly cursed territories.
The Centre Of A Magic Circle
The Weaver’s Needle is where the search for the gold zones commences. It is believed to be the magic circle that has the enormous wealth of a civilization that is now lost to time. Magic powers are thought to be operational in this area. In the history of America, the Lost Dutchman Goldmine probably ranks on the top as an unsolved mystery. The search for the mines has been going on for a long time, as long as the 19th century. It is reported that 8000 people go looking for these mines annually, they, however, do not succeed.
The Lure And The Curse
Gold’s luster has attracted and hypnotized mankind since, forever. It has driven them to become greedy and do selfish things. The gold mine is hidden very deep within Arizona’s Superstition Mountains and obviously, it has attracted a lot of people and a lot of these people ended up losing their sanity or worse.
This is the story of one such man, Ron Feldman, an ambitious explorer. Before him had been a streak of men who had failed repeatedly but he was still determined to explore the uncharted territories.
Caves Guarded By Spells And Snakes
The Apache Indians are the first known settlers of the place and they have different perceptions of the superstitions. They believe that the mountains have a sacred and secret cave guarded by snakes and secured by numerous spells and curses. One version of the story about the Dutchman is that he acquired the gold he had by tearing it down from the walls in the Apache cave. The natives were not allowed to stay in peace, there was gold so there were invaders.
Hungry Spaniards
Invaders from Spain came to the mountain to find the kingdom of Cibola. The legend was that Cibola was made of 7 cities of pure gold. The Spaniards did unspeakable things to the natives and Indians after that had to reveal to them that the mountain indeed had raw gold bars but they did not assist them to look for the cave. They were scared of the Thunder God. Even the Spaniards later admitted to the place being under supernatural protection.
Result Of Invasion
For over a century the Spanish explorers tried to find the treasure hidden in the mines but all in vain. There was a lot of disturbance and no one knew who caused it. Could it really be the Thunder God or was it the Apache people? Don Miguel Peralta, thought that he could be an exception and he wanted to prove to his countrymen that the gold existed. Things did not go down as expected.