Westerns would seem the ideal genre, but it appears few western writers are captivated by the Lost Dutchman tale. Nevertheless, here are a few, ranging from classic Zane Grey to Jake Logan's trash fiction that mention the Waltz tale or at least make superficial use of the geographic locale. See the Introduction for an explanation of bibliographic and publishing information as well as notes and comments.
- Bonner, Parker. (real name: Willis Todhunter Ballard 1903-1980).
Superstition range. New York: Popular Library, 1952. Paperback, 160 pages. From the copyright page: "Published in February, 1953 Copyright 1952, 1953, by Todhunter Ballard." Also, New York: Banner Books, 1967 (original copyright 1952, 1953). Paperback, 144 pages. "June 1967." Another formulaic western, not Ballard's best, see below. The depiction of locale is not very good, but much of the story takes place in the Superstitions. The story is Mary Thorne looking for someone to help her find her uncle's lost gold. She turns for help to the notorious outlaw Bill Drake, a bad choice, but fortunately for her Andy Drake, Bill's good-guy brother, also comes along. The gold is found but Apaches and mistrust within the gang put everyone in jeopardy. Mary and Andy make it, but no gold. - 1952 $.25/$15, $8, $6, $5, $4.
1967 $.40/$2.00. - Ballard, Willis Todhunter. 1903-1980.
Loco and the Wolf. Garden City: Doubleday, 1973. Hardcover with dust jacket, 160 pages. Also, New York: Manor Books, 1974. Paperback, 168 pages. Ballard was a prolific writer who went from writing mysteries to westerns. Also wrote under the name Parker Bonner, Jack Slade and others, see below. Two prisoners, Loco and Wolf, escape from Yuma Prison and end up helping a prospector's daughter and an undercover Wells Fargo detective look for hidden loot in the Superstitions. Lots of trouble with Apaches and they get tricked by a woman from Phoenix who arrives there first to get the money. Not bad. - Manor Books ?/$4.00.
Doubleday $4.95/$19.50, $12, $10, $9.95, $9, $7, $6.50, $5, all with dj. - Charlier, Jean-Michel and Jean "Moebius" Giraud.
Marshall Blueberry 1: the Lost Dutchman's Mine. New York: Epic Comics, 1991. Large softcover, unpaged (110 pages), profusely illustrated in color. Translated by Jean-Marc and Randy Lofficier. An "Epic Graphic Novel." Originally published in 1969, 1970 by Dargaud Editeur. There is a whole series of Marshall Blueberry stories. Very well done, if graphic novels are to your liking. Really has little relationship to the Lost Dutchman story. It is sort of about a man, a Dutchman, who has a mine, and it and he are lost. Imagine spaghetti westerns done as a comic and you get a pretty good idea of what this is like. Cover.
Moebius 9. Blueberry. Anaheim: Graphitti Designs, 1991. Large hardcover, unpaged, signed and numbered limited edition (1500 copies). Includes the first two books, as above, The Lost Dutchman's Mine and The Ghost with the Golden Bullets, as well as King of the Buffalo, and Jim Cutlass: Mississippi River. Also includes some interesting history about these Moebius works. - $14.95/$14.95, $8.95.
Hardcover. $49/$45, signed and numbered. - Colt, Clem. (real name Nelson Nye 1907-)
Triggers for six. New York: Phoenix Press, 1941. Hardcover with dust jacket, 251 pages. Publisher's blurb: "From desert to rimrock the Santa Ritas were aswirl with powdersmoke and violence when Jake Miller's S.O.S. brought Haywire Haynes back into them. Then news leaked out of old Jake's fabulous strike: the mine and all concerned with it became at once the target of every crook and outlaw from Tombstone to Nogales. Here is a tale of the lost Dutchman - a flaming page knife-slashed from the gun-grabbing West of the '70s. Curley Bill, Wyatt Earp, Esparza and a host of other frontier figures live and love and laugh again in this smashing drama of action by an expert on local color." Another one by Nye, see below. In the end the mine is accidentally blown up and buried. Lost forever. - $2.00/$39.00 with dj.
- Compton, Ralph.
Skeleton Lode. New York: Signet, 1999. Paperback, vi, 311 pages. First printing, November 1999. His third Sundown Riders novel. From the back cover: "They're ex-cowpunchers looking to strike it rich - and not having much success... They finally get a break when they receive a message from an old friend, along with a map. It seems the grizzled prospector finally hit the mother lode in the Superstitious (sic) Mountains, only to die shortly thereafter. His last wish was for the two boys to find his beloved nieces and share the claim with them - easy money, except for a few minor problems." Contrary to the publicist's mistaken use of Superstitious Mountains, the story is really about the Superstition Mountains, as the author makes quite clear in his foreword: "In the Superstitions there were no trails, little water, and too damned many Apaches. Men rode the rocky slopes and desolate canyons seeking gold but finding only death, and those who courted Lady Luck discovered she could be - and usually was - a bitch. After more than a century, the Superstitions remain as secretive, brooding, and mysterious as ever..." - $5.99/$5.99.
- Coolidge, Dane. 1873-1940.
Hidden water. Chicago: A.C. McClurg and Co., 1910. Hardcover, 483 pages. First edition, October 29, 1910; second edition, December 3, 1910. Four color illustrations by Maynard Dixon. No dust jacket, illustration by Maynard Dixon on front and back cover. Outstanding. If it were written today, I think it would be viewed as a cautionary tale about the destruction of the environment by irresponsible cattlemen and sheepherders and the need for rational management of public lands. But it was written in another era, so the story is one of conflict between frontier entrepreneurs as they fight over federal rangeland. The main character is Rufus Hardy, the quiet and forceful son of a noted Army officer who steps in to ease the tensions on the range between the two camps. At rock bottom this is a very romantic portrayal of the character of the cowboy as well as a love story, all set in the desert just to the north of the Superstitions. Well-written, with very rich descriptions of the desert, its plants and weather. The Lost Dutchman tale even gets a mention or two. - First edition. ?/$100 inscribed; $200.00, $25.00.
- Fox. Brian. (real name: Willis Todhunter Ballard 1903-1980).
Apache Gold. London: Tandem Books, 1976. Paperback, 141 pages. Another one by Ballard. This is based on an episode of the old television series Alias Smith and Jones. From the back cover: "A newspaper editor, a law man, and a beautiful young woman -- strange companions for Heyes and Curry. The job was honest and dangerous, but it was going to pay well -- to act as escorts on a treasure trail into the Superstitions. Heyes and Curry -- alias Smith and Jones -- had to stay honest, needed the money, and were used to danger. But from what direction would the danger come -- from the Apaches in the mountains, from other gold-hunters, or from their own party?" - 40p/$10.00.
- Grey, Zane. 1872-1939.
Tappan's burro: and other stories. New York: Grosset & Dunlap, 1923. Hardcover, 252 pages with illustrations. Also, New York: Harper & Brothers, 1923. Hardcover, 253 pages, with illustrations by Charles S. Chapman and Frank Street. Many different editions over the years. A very melancholy tale about an old prospector's sacrifice for his burro, Jenet. The Superstitions are mentioned during the prospector's trip. - ?/$350.00, $250.00, $85.00, $50.00.
- Hardin, J.D. (pseudonym, could be one of several authors)
Apache Trail. New York: Berkley Books, 1985. Paperback, 186 pages. Doc and Raider, two Pinkerton agents, attempt to rescue the son of the Arizona governor from Apaches who have "kidnapped" him. The action is set, in part, near the Superstitions, but it plays no role in the story. Another cliched western with nothing to recommend it. - $2.50/$1.95, $1.25.
Superstition Mountain and Desert. To see some more---
The back reads: "The mighty sentinel rises abruptly from the purple haze of desert surroundings, and with its weird outlines and ghostly shadows, impresses one that it is justly named. As history goes, the early white settlers, composed largely of Mormons, were continually being attacked by the wildest and most treacherous of the Southwestern Indians, "The Apaches". After numerous raids, leaving death and destruction behind, the government sent a detachment of cavalry to subdue these renegades. The Apaches were surprised and surrounded, and sought refuge in the above mentioned mountain. It was impossible to route them from their stronghold, so they were held at bay. Facing starvation, and rather than give themselves up, the Apaches, one by one hurled themselves from the towering cliffs."- Kelland, Clarence Budington. 1881-1964.
Valley of the Sun. New York: Grosset & Dunlap ("by arrangement with Harper & Brothers"), 1939, 1940. Hardcover, 297 pages. Also: New York: Hillman Publishers (Novel Selections, Inc.), 1939, 1940. Softcover, 128 pages. "Published in agreement with Harper & Brothers." "An Adventure Novel Classic." Paperback is an abridged version. An entertaining and well-written story about the first settlers in the Valley of the Sun and the founding of Phoenix. It follows the exploits of a fictional character as he falls in love, helps dig the canals that gave rebirth to the Valley, and finally prospers. Historical figures Darrell Duppa and Jack Swilling are important characters in the tale. The climax of the book takes place in the Superstitions, interweaving the massacre at Skull Cave with the plot of the tale. Pretty good - Paperback $.25/$6.00.
Paperback. $.85/?
Hardcover. $2.50CBI/$45.00, signed. - Kelley, Leo Patrick. 1928-
Luke Sutton: Outrider. Garden City: Doubleday, 1984. Hardcover, 182 pages. Also, New York: Signet, 1985 (1984). Paperback, 191 pages. "First Signet Printing, March, 1985." - Hardcover $11.50/$13.00.
Paperback $2.50/$1.25. - Thunder gods' gold. New York: M. Evans and Company, Inc., 1988. Hardcover with dust jacket, 162 pages. "An Evans novel of the west." Kelley has written many books. Started as a science fiction writer then turned to westerns. This one is not a distinguished effort. Basically, this is an embellished version of the Dr. Thorne tale retold with new names, now Dr. Barclay, woven into the tale of a young doctor and his wife rekindling their love for one another as they survive Apaches and thieves, ultimately finding their love more important than the gold they leave behind in the Superstitions. Just as boring as it sounds.
- $14.95/$14.95 dj, $12.59 dj.
- Lewis, John E. 1931-
The Lost Mine. New York: Avalon Books, 1983. Hardcover, 185 pages. The story mentions the Lost Dutchman Mine, but the events take place around Benson and Tombstone. Boring. - ?/$5.00.
- Logan, Jake. (this one by William Cecil Knott, Jr. 1927-.)
Slocum and the Lost Dutchman mine. New York: Berkeley, 1984. Paperback, 182 pages. Number 61 in the Slocum series. On the cover: "Slocum Settles A Score With The Help Of A Beautiful Apache." On the back Cover: "Slocum Knew Where To Find His Man! Somewhere, deep in the canyons of the Superstition Mountains, lay the treasure of the Lost Dutchman Mine, and every outlaw west of the Mississippi was after it -- including Tate Rawson, the fugitive bank robber and mad killer. Topaz, the beautiful Apache, had the secret map, but the gold meant nothing to John Slocum. Even the sensuous Topaz could not keep him from tracking down Rawson. He had a score to settle, and for that he needed lead, not gold." Well, just about what one expects. Slocum gets in a jam, the mine is found, the Apache girl is willing, murdered, the bad guys die. Pulp fiction. - $2.50/$1.95.
- Mills, Robert E.
Red Apache Sun. New York: Leisure Books, 1981. Paperback, 192 pages. On the title page: "Kansan #3." On the cover: "His mind was on the gold, but his eye was on a hot-blooded Mexican beauty!" On the back cover: "Davy Watson and Soaring Hawk were in Arizona when they met up with some prospectors who told the young Kansan about veins of unclaimed gold in Superstition Mountain. Only trouble was, it happened to be the holy land of the Apaches." - $1.95/$4.50, $4.49, $3, $1.25, $1.00.
- Mitchum, Hank. (pseudonym, could be one of several authors)
Stagecoach Station #43: Apache Junction. New York: Bantam, 1989. Paperback, 184 pages, with a map. "September, 1989." On the back cover: "Death rode the trail to Apache Junction as the embittered warrior Chago led renegade raids against the white-eyes stage line. From nearby Fort McDowell soldiers scoured the countryside for Chago, but the army post was undermanned and riven with dissension and intrigue. When Chago ambushed and massacred an entire Army patrol, Lt. Greg Hammond vowed personal vengeance. But first he had to battle the weakness of his commanding officer, the hatred of a fellow lieutenant, and his own love for the commanding officer's daughter. And then he has to survive the most dangerous assignment of his career. While out on the hot Arizona desert Chago made plans of his own for Hammond -- a cruel and savage Apache death." The Stagecoach series is one of the most popular western paperback series. Several writers have written as Hank Mitchum. This is well written and actually enjoyable. The story takes place at Fort McDowell and vicinity. Of course, there was no Apache Junction in 1876, as is noted in the Author's Notes at the end of the book. - $2.95/$4.49, $3.00, $1.50.
- Nye, Nelson C. (Nelson Coral). 1907-
Salt River Ranny. New York: Stamford House, 1946, c1941. Paperback, viii, 214 pages. 1946 copyright page: "Pony Books Edition published 1946 by Stamford House." Cover. Also, New York: Macmillan, 1942. Hardcover, viii, 254 pages. Was reprinted in 1955, 1958 as Gunshot Trail by Berkley Books. A very loose connection to the Salt River, Four Peaks area. - 1941. ?/?
1942. $2.00CBI/$18.00.
1946 $.25/$8.00, $6.00.
1955. ?/$14.00.
1958. $.35/$1.75. - A lost mine named Salvation. New York: Ace Books, 1968. Paperback, 159 pages. Also, New York: Leisure Books (Dorchester), 1968. Paperback, 192 pages. Oberbit Johnston is hired on by a shady lawyer and his client, the heir to the Peralta family fortune, to locate a lost mine. Following a map, they travel from Tombstone by way of Superstition Mountain to the Verde River. To make a very long convoluted plot short, the lawyer is running a scam promoting a worthless mine to sell shares, claims, and property to suckers. There are other bad guys too, but Oberbit and Ms. Peralta, who turns out to be a dance hall girl in the employ of the lawyer, end up with all the loot and a clean getaway. Entertaining.
- Ace. $.50/$4.00.
Ace. $.95/$3.00, $.50.
Dorchester-Leisure. $2.25 /? - The white chip: a western story. Thorndike, Me.: Five Star Western, 1996. Hardcover with dust jacket, 216 pages. From the copyright page: "February 1996 First Edition." Well known western writer is still turning them out. This is the story of six men and a woman setting out to find the Dutchman's (Walzer Nye spells it!) gold. In the Foreword Nye says, "Long before Jacob Walzer was heard of, rumors of gold in the Superstitions had lured many others into those dreadful mountains. Not all who braved this rugged desolation returned to tell of it. I've been there myself, on one occasion in the company of Walzer's niece." Well, this is a work of fiction. From the dust jacket blurb: "The Lost Dutchman was the most fabled gold mine of the 19th century. Jacob Walzer struck gold in the Superstition Mountains of southwestern Arizona and hundreds of hopefuls have combed the mountains to find it. The White Chip tells of an unlikely caravan consisting of a banker, a seasoned miner, two merchants, a butcher and a smuggler, who find the exhausted mine, as well as a cleverly sealed-off entrance to its rich lode. The dizzying wealth is there for the taking -- smack dab in the middle of an active volcano that smokes and rattles at will..." Barry Storm makes a cameo appearance in the book, telling them not to worry about the volcano erupting, but of course, Barry was no geologist.
- $16.95/$22.75 dj.
- Patten, Lewis Byford. 1915-1981.
The trial at Apache Junction. New York: New American Library, 1977. Paperback, 140 pages. "March, 1977." On the back cover: "Sheriff Owen Buck has Johnny McGrath in jail, waiting to hang for killing a man hired to evict him form his homestead. And to make matters worse for McGrath, he's accused of raping the judge's wife. Sheriff Buck is caught between the demands of the cattlemen, who long to see McGrath hanged, and the settlers, who want him to go free. As Buck tries to keep the peace, Apache Junction seethes with violence simmering beneath the surface, waiting for it to erupt!" Patten was a very busy writer of westerns. A cliched story; an embattled sheriff caught between rival factions with no one to turn to for help other than his girlfriend. Has nothing to do with the real Apache Junction or Arizona, for that matter, offers no sense of place or descriptions of the terrain. Very thin tale. - $1.15/$1.25, $1.50, $4.
- Rocca, Simon and Thierry Girod..
Wanted. Book 5: Superstition Mountains. Toulon, France: Soleil Productions, 2000. Hardcover, 46 pages. Written by Simon Rocca, illustrated by Thierry Girod, color by Jocelyne Charrance. The fifth in this series of colorful graphic western comics published in France. A very attractive publication with wonderfull illustrations. It's a violent and bloody tale clearly set in the American Southwest, but it doesn't look particulary like the Superstitions. From the back cover: "Faut-il être impitoyable pour exercer le métier de "chasseur de primes !". A cet exercice, l'homme solitaire, visage ravagé par une cicatrice en forme de W. que tout le monde connaît sous le sobriquet de WANTED, est sans nul doute le plus redoutable. Pourtant, son coeur de pierre ne s'émeut-il pas en sauvant la vie, en soignant puis en aidant le jeu métis Yaqui Jed, que d'odieux chasseurs de scalps. "Les Frères Bull", ont laissé pour mort après décimé et scalpé tous les siens?" - EUR 8.98.
- Roberts, J. R. (real name Robert Joseph Randisi 1951-)
Grand Canyon Gold: The gunsmith #111. New York: Jove, 1991. Paperback, 184 pages. "March 1991." Randisi is a well-known mystery writer and a prolific author of westerns under the name J.R. Roberts. - $2.95/$1.50.
- Slade, Jack. (pseudonym, could be one of several authors)
Lassiter #19: Apache Junction. New York: Belmont Tower Books, 1975. Paperback, 186 pages. On the cover: "It was the worst hell town in Arizona and Lassiter's job was to clean it up any way he could." On the back cover: "Lassiter told the people who hired him to clean up Apache Junction that once he took on a job he stuck with it to the end. He made the town fathers sign a contract but reminded them that the only way they could break it was to kill him. He would run out the troublemakers who were ready to have it that way -- and he would kill the others. Anybody, honest citizen or dirty shirt bully, who got in his way would get stepped on. Those were Lassiter's rules -- the only way to get the job done." Ballard wrote the first Lassiter book in 1967, see above, I do not know who wrote this one. - $.95/$1.50.
- Vaughan, Robert.
Savages. New York: Dell, 1983. Paperback, 302 pages. First printing, June, 1983. From the back cover: "In 1862, near Superstition Mountain in Arizona, a young prospector named Ryan Flynn was shot, robbed of his gold and left to die by a white man - a preacher named Jones. He was saved by a supple young Apache Indian girl, Enata. From that time forward, Ryan Flynn's life was totally involved with the fate of Enata, her tribe of Chiricahua Apaches, and her brother, whom some call the greatest of all Indian leaders. His name was Geronimo." - $3.95/$7.00.
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Doug Stewart. © 1994-2006.