Kochera's Gold
Kochera's Gold
A previous post brought up the issue of Kochera's gold and debated several issues within the issue. Peter and Anonymous sparred back and forth, both making good comments and both coming away as the gentlemen they both appear to be. Reading the exchange I saw the classic Dutchman dilema. Two men with good opinions and background, but a major disagreement. Dutch hunters tend to hear a side and sign up to it, sometime the information is right , sometime it's wrong. Kochera's Gold is a classic case of a confusing subject with a lot more than meets the eye. <br>Let me say first, I have no reason to disbelieve the Kochera's , and I feel the Kochera ore is very close to the Dutchman ore. <br>These are the verifiable facts as I know them : John Kochera was born in Arizona in 1928. At the age of 10 he and his family moved to Westville, Illinois where his father (Joe) worked as a coal miner. By the mid-1950's John was living in Milwaukee , Wisconsin. John met the Yavapai Apache <br>"Haywood" in January of 1960 in Milwaukee. Haywood told Kochera of a mine in the Superstition Mountains of Arizona and drew him a map in May of that year. Haywood and another indian, a Chippewa, were killed in a head on collision with a tractor trailer near Milwaukee in July of 1960. John and his older brother Joe went to Arizona in April 1962 to look for the mine. They found an old saddlebag filled with gold ore under a bush. The gold was 24 Lbs. of concentrate that assayed at $49,728 to the ton. <br>In a letter written to Robert S. Jacob dated April 4, 1974, John Kochera explained the detailed circumstances of his meeting Haywood and finding the ore. He also provided Jacob with a copy of Haywood's map. Kochera was living in Yuba, Wisconsin at that time. In another letter to Jacob dated May 4, 1974, he gave more information and mentioned his Flambeau family in Wisconsin. (probably a reference to the Lac du Flambeau reservation in Northern Wisconsin (Chippewa). Kochera also wrote letters and corresponded with Richard Peck and John Spangler, among others. He sent Peck a similar Haywood map, with a few things changed. By the 1980's Kochera was living in Effingham, Illinois a Chicago suburb. Kochera often spelled his name both Kochera and Cochera, a distinct reference to his indian heritage. <br>There is more to this story, a lot more, and I think Peter is holding back for various reasons. <br>Ron Feldman knew Kochera as well as anyone in Arizona. Ron, your silence is deafening. I think Ron, Peter and Anonymous all know more than they care to tell. (I'll include ES in that group also). <br>Instead of challenging each other and discrediting each others information, Dutch hunters could be a little more open minded about the stories they hear and not be so quick to judge someone elses information. Thanks.
Hello Mr Matt, <br> <br>Your post was intelligent and well thought out. At least I know I'm not as crazy as some folks think I am... lol. <br> <br>I will second the call for open - mindedness. You would be amazed (well, maybe not) at what some LDM hunters think IS and is NOT the truth, regarding all sorts of different aspects of the LDM mystery. Having a closed mind on this subject is a dangerous thing, methinks. <br> <br>As to holding back information on the Kochera subject. Well, yes I am. Some things I won't talk about and in this case I may have already said too much. <br> <br>In any event, I think the average Dutch Hunter isnt ready for the tale of Naye'-nazghane' and the G---- Horse just yet...
We tend to look at the Kochera account as a one dimentional story, beginning and ending with John Kochera. In fact there is a whole portion of the story which preceeded John. How did the ore come to be under the bush and who placed it there ? Haywood the Apache, told a story of going into the Superstitions in early 1942 and uncovering a pit (not a mine, a pit). He took out $50,000 in gold ore from that pit and covered it over again. The map he gave Kochera was a map to that pit. Peter is refering to the story that came before John Kochera and Haywood came on the scene. You see, for Haywood to have taken ore from a pit, someone had to have dug that pit and placed ore in it before Haywood came along. <br>Annonymous knew John Kochera, so he is a valuable source to the second part of the story. Peter is a valuable source to the first part. Maybe between the two, they could solve a mystery of the Superstitions. Working together that is.
I am not sure of the amount of ore that Haywood took out of his pit, but I am fairly certain that his actions angered certain folks that had an interest in this particular area. For that reason Haywood left the state. I suppose he figured it was better to leave <br>AZ then wind up as ant bait. He crossed a boundary and committed a "crime" in some peoples eyes that was simply unforgivable...and punishable in the extreme by those who adhered to the "old laws"....and he knew it. <br> <br>As to who dug the original pit and placed the ore and what the significance of this being done in that particular area was, I have a fairly good idea as to the who and why, more than this I can not say.
Ron, <br>I would like to take you up on your offer - what all can you tell us about Kochera (that you haven't already told)? <br>Both you and Matt have been very frank so far about this. Is there any more either of you can say? <br> <br>Also, this nags at the back of my mind - Walt gassler spent 30-odd years searching Peter's Mesa, and Dick and Brownie and the Petrasches spent a lot of time in the area before that. How did this saddlebag escape their notice if it was under a bush? Bushes grow and die, and the saddlebag must have spent some time in plain view. Maybe it wasn't there all the time?