Lost Dutchman's Gold Mine

The Lost Dutchman's Gold Mine (also known by similar names) is, according to legend, a rich gold mine hidden in the southwestern United States. The location is generally believed to be in the Superstition Mountains, near Apache Junction, east of Phoenix, Arizona. There have been many stories about how to find the mine, and each year people search for the mine. Some have died on the search.  The mine is named after German immigrant Jacob Waltz (c. 1810–1891), who purportedly discovered it in the 19th century and kept its location a secret. ("Dutchman" was a common American term for a "German" (or "Deutsch"), since for many English speaking Americans the words "Dutch" and "Deutsch" have a similar pronunciation, for example Pennsylvania Dutch; "Dutch" is the English cognate to the German demonym, "Deutsch".)  The Lost Dutchman's is perhaps the most famous lost mine in American history. Arizona place-name expert Byrd Granger wrote, as of 1977, the Lost Dutchman's story had been printed or cited at least six times more often than two other fairly well-known tales, the story of Captain Kidd's lost treasure, and the story of the Lost Pegleg mine in California. People have been seeking the Lost Dutchman's mine since at least 1892, while according to one estimate, 8,000 people annually made some effort to locate the Lost Dutchman's mine. Former Arizona Attorney General Bob Corbin is among those who have looked for the mine. Some argue that there is little or no evidence for the mine's existence, but others[who?] say that the main components of the story have at least some basis in fact. wrote: