Lost Dutchman Goldmine

A concern was raised about where the Indian background of Kochera originated. Haywood was the Indian and not Kochera. (From an e-mail) I sometimes get too close to the story and make the assumption that people are thinking along the same line I am. About the only firsthand account I have from Kocher...

When this topic was being discussed on the forum several years ago, Joe Ribaudo pointed out the Social Security Death Index entry for John B. Kochera. The birth was in 1928 and it seemed likely that John along with his parents and his older brother Joe could be found in the 1930 Census. Sure enough ...

Moving beyond the firsthand accounts, we have the information that Ron Feldman received directly from John Kochera. The information was taken from both from Ron’s book, “Zigzag Canyon: The Legend of Gold Gulch” and his posts that can be found in the archive section of this forum. Ron packed Kochera ...

The Kochera Story is well worn ground and one thing that makes it interesting, for treasure hunters, is the physical gold ore associated with the story. I only recently took an interest in the story and Larry Hannah, Roger Newkirk and Greg Davis have provided numerous documents and invaluable suppor...

Somehiker, I did get as far as your instructions took me and I could not locate the “Heart” either. Doc wrote: “I have been on the Jeep road from the Reavis Ranch road on several occasions. But it is no longer kept up. So we prefer to walk to the heart (about a mile) from windy point just around the...

Should I be able to see the “Heart” that Doc Rosecrans described by using Google Earth? Doc said the heart was 140 feet across (Half of a football field). I know almost nothing about Google Earth and any help will be appreciated. From the McGee-Rosecrans Correspondence I have transcribed several ref...

Somehiker, I have never spent any time trying to figure out what the stone maps are trying to show but having said that, it does seem to me that the map maker did invest considerable effort in fabricating them and you would like to think he had put some thought into their message. It’s easy for me t...

Guys, I was thinking along different lines that the tax deduction angle but I will add my 2 cents there also. Any tax deduction for donating the maps would have been for MOEL Inc. only. They were the owners of the stone maps. If MOEL had income and filed a tax return, they might have used the donati...

Mike, You Wrote: “I can't imagine that the story about a forced donation came out of nowhere at the museum.” I CAN!!! Lee Hammons was the primary person involved in the transfer. We have his story from Ray. That’s pretty good. Lee is 86 and everyone else is probably gone. I don’t believe he has an a...

Mike, Just a bit of jousting. :wink: You wrote: You have to keep up with the times! That whole tax deduction thing is sooooooo last week! As with any good scholar of history, as new information comes to light, I compare it to my own opinions to see how it fits. I can understand how you would reach t...

Notice the donation was from the SHAREHOLDERS of MOEL Inc. By: Boyd Cochrane. Clarence Mitchell had nothing to do with the contribution. Mike Mike, I see this is some more of the bait (Mitchell Made the Donation) you have spit out. :D What about the "income tax deduction" Mitchell recieve...

Fascinating material,Gary,and a big thanks for your research efforts. It's all sorta like snugging up the laces of a dance hall girl's corset.A few strings might be drawn a bit tighter here and there by further documentation but overall,the story is beginning to take on a pleasing shape. The timeli...

Mike, At the present time I am strongly inclined to dismiss the Dana connection (also Stout and Chance) as just another “Tall Tale”. I sense you have had your eyebrows raised more than once in your odyssey researching Mitchell’s story of a letter from an unnamed geologist. I suspect that if you go b...

Joe, I suspect this may be the post of which you are speaking. We now fast forward to 2010. Mike posted the following on July 20, 2010 on Treasurenet. “I got off the phone (literally five minutes ago) with Steven Dana's wife. She is 89 years old and VERY SWEET. While she remembers the stones vaguely...

I want to pick up the provenance of the Clarence Mitchell geologist story and how it all changed in 2006. If this version of the story was around before this date I was unaware of it and I hope someone can fill me in. On September 12, 2006 we have a post on Treasurenet. Aurum writes; “When Alleen Tu...

The age of the Peralta Stone Maps had always been a robustly debated topic. Some suggest they are a relatively modern day hoax while others date them back to the middle 1800s or even earlier. For those who lean toward the belief that they are an antiquity, there are two primary stories that are cite...

I just realized I erred in a previous post. I wrote; "Anyway, right now, I have Travis coming to the Suprestitions about 1954 and remaining permanently in 1956. He was also aware of the stone maps at that time, 1956, and he and Kriewald were already working on them. I have Mitchell receiving th...

Garry, Good questions all. The documents you shared and others point to a story not necessarily like the one commonly told. The only questions of yours that I believe I can answer with some degree of certainty are: When and Why did Mitchell obtain the Stone Maps? I am almost certain that he did not...

Wayne, To tell you the truth, I’m beginning to back away from Garman as a solid source. At least I’m becoming very cautious. Travis Tumlinson was born in 1910 and the Korean War service sounds like way too much of a stretch. We have been to Hood River, Oregon and I have a copy of a deed dated Februa...

Wayne, I also believe Garman may be the best “early” source we have. I have his book (Published in 1975) and also an article that was published in the Superstition Mountain Journal written by Garman (Published in 1984). The story you have told appears to be a slightly different version. Can you shar...

Mike, I tend to agree that Mitchell did believe the stone maps were legitimate and I think he had invested a lot of time in them, hence his hostility toward the Johnny-Come-Lately, Peck. I also think Mitchell may have killed the goose that “might” have laid a golden egg! I suspect much of the modern...

One of the items I have had to rethink in light of the Peck material is the ownership of the maps. From the MOEL litigation documents, I had concluded that Clarence Mitchell had purchased the Stone Maps from Alleen Tumlinson using money from MOEL and the maps were always the property of the corporat...

Zen, Thanks for sharing your thoughts on the recent photo shoot of the Stone Maps. What little I had read seemed to indicate a real love fest of Stone Maps aficionados. A little “Fair and Balanced” reporting? I do have a couple of questions. There are “two” Waynes in this thread? You are not posting...

I have completed the up-loading of the Richard Peck and Stone Maps related material that Roger Newkirk copied. There are a couple of items that I need to get back with Roger on but this includes the meat of the subject. Peck’s involvement with MOEL appears to have lasted about a year and a half. It ...

Well, so much for piece-meal. Since I had already scanned the second agreement between MOEL and Peck, I went ahead and posted that document. (March 8, 1965) This is an unsigned document and I don’t know whether the signed contract is in Greg's Peck file or not. This contract superseded the July 26 c...