Arizona republican., 1909-04-06
Mesa Department %
SOME "REMINISCENCES
 OF THE LOST DUTCHMAN
The Story of Mining Excitement 0 Earlier Days.

1 D. M. LeBaron has just returned
 from d group of claims which he has
 had located for a number of years al
 a point about eight miles west of Me- i Dowell. Mir. LeBaron is of the opinion
 that the country in which he is To-
 cated is heavily mineralized and an
 exceptionally good country for pros- ! pectors. However, the country west oi
 Mcdowell brings up, naturally. a little history of the Lost Dutchman
 mine which has probably caused more
 sleepless nights and more tramping
 over hills and through canyons than
 any pot of gold that was ever buried
 at the foot of any rainbow
 The story of the Lost Dutchman l mine is legendary or at least it has come to be so, but it was of such
 recent origin eight years ago that it
 was believed to be true. At any rate
 it is supposed to be a rich treasure
 buried in the mountains some place | to the east and north of Mesa
 Eight years ago, next September,
 two prospectors were looking over the ground in the vicinity of the present location of the LeBaron claims, when they ran upon an abandoned tunnel These prospectors, by the way, were at that time citizens of this part of the country, one of them is a resident of Lehi and the other is living in Pine When they first discovered the tunnel they were of the opinion that it was the Lost Dutchman mine and as they pushed their way through, the dense underbrush at the opening and af nIr they could hardly believe their eyes
 for they were literally surrounded with what they believed to be gold. They worked throughout the night and all next day and the next, stalking out claims and packing up ore. They staked out several hundred acres and then went back to their diggings. It was about this time that D. M. Le- Baron and Frank Pomeroy, who were also suspicious that the Lost Dutch man might be in the vicinity while they were in the search, ran upon the two men who had the sure thing The men in possession of the rich mine were nearly craZed with excitement. Their clothes were torn to shreds and their arms and legs bleeding. their eyes were sunken from the loss of sleep and the lack of nourishment However. they believed themselves so rich that they offered to give a share to the new comers It was but a short time until the new corners, Mir. LeBaron and Mir. Pome- roy were greatly excited and they be- lieved that they also were part owners in the famous Lost Dutchman. The excitement spread, and in a few days the country was alive with prospect
 ors. a: evening the lights from camp fires could be seen on every hillside. It is estimated that at the end of the week no less than five hundred pros pectors were on the ground. The news spread to Tempe. Phoenix and Mesa. and the crowds increased. Then the bubble bursted and the discovery was made that the gold was nothing more than pyrites of iron or more commonly known as Fools Gold. It is a queer fact that old time pros pectors could be deceived and whirled into the excitement, but nevertheless the contagion spread and they became A part of it. For it is recent history. the finding of the Lost Dutchman mine. and still the Lost Dutchman mine has never been found.