Another Dutch Hunter Crosses Over

Discuss information about the Lost Dutchman Mine
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djui5
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Re: Another Dutch Hunter Crosses Over

Post by djui5 »

So sad, he was full of information for sure. Thank goodness for the Rendezvous, many of us would have never met him.
Randy Wright
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"I don't care if it has electric windows. I don't care if the door gaps are straight, but when the driver steps on the gas I want him to piss his pants."
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Re: Another Dutch Hunter Crosses Over

Post by Joe Ribaudo »

djui5 wrote:So sad, he was full of information for sure. Thank goodness for the Rendezvous, many of us would have never met him.
Randy,

I do love it when a plan comes together. :) Ernie was trying to get some help with an old mine/treasure cache he had found in the mountains. Thought he might be able to hang on to a horse long enough for one more ride. He told me exactlly where it was, but I have made my last trip into the Supe's.

Take care,

Joe
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Mike McChesney
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Re: Another Dutch Hunter Crosses Over

Post by Mike McChesney »

Joe,

Why don't you hold onto that info until this year's rendezvous, and get some people to head in for you?

Mike
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Re: Another Dutch Hunter Crosses Over

Post by Joe Ribaudo »

Mike,

Thanks for the advice. I have already made a contact in that direction. Are you coming to this years Rendezvous? I hope so. :)

Take care,

Joe
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Re: Another Dutch Hunter Crosses Over

Post by Mike McChesney »

I have made plans to do it for the last three years, and something always comes up. I am going to try again this year.
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Re: Another Dutch Hunter Crosses Over

Post by Joe Ribaudo »

Received this message from Dr. Glover this evening. He asked me to pass it along:

"This afternoon I received a telephone call from Diane Coggin. Her mother, Janice Coggin, died Wed. Janice and her husband, Mason, founded and ran Cowboy Miner Productions. Through their good efforts much of western Americana was preserved - from cowboy poetry to the Lost Dutchman Mine story to pioneer family accounts to old ranch recipes and much more.

Those of us who appreciate and love western lore and history owe them a great deal. Those of us who knew them owe them more.

I have lost a friend and colleague for the second time as her husband Mason died some years ago. I miss them personally and professionally. The years I knew them were far too short. I was lucky -- they were both my friends and publishers. Go in peace Janice and reunite with Mason. You are missed and the world is less rich place."

I did not know these folks, but some of you may have.

Take care,

Joe Ribaudo
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Re: Another Dutch Hunter Crosses Over

Post by Joe Ribaudo »

I believe this is our Ken:

CHICHESTER, Kenneth Arnold, 71, of Scottsdale died on September 27, 2012 in Scottsdale. Angels Cremation And Burial handled arrangements. 480 962-6435

I last heard from him six days before this obituary.

Ken was one of the really good guys. Our thoughts and prayers are with Ken and his family.

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Joe & Carolyn Ribaudo
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Re: Another Dutch Hunter Crosses Over

Post by Joe Ribaudo »

It is with true sadness and regret that I write this:

Donald Peterson and I were bitter enemies when we first clashed on this Forum. A few years ago, I made the effort to end that and we became cautious friends. After inviting him to the Rendezvous for a few years, he finally showed up. We gave each other a hug and said we were sorry for our warfare of words. Donald gave me a Native American rattle at that first meeting, and later a signed copy of a book his professor from NAU had written. I know it was a treasure to him. Susan Deeds had this to say: "Donald Peterson was a Master's student in NAU's History program years ago, and I was his advisor." She added, "He was very intelligent". I know they became good friends.

Sandy called me tonight with the sad news that he had passed away in late December. She thanked me for introducing them and said they had exchanged many phone call over the last few years. It was exactly what the Rendezvous was created for. They were, I believe, kindred souls.

pippenwhitepaws was his favorite dog. And like all pups he gave his master unconditional love. That was something Donald was looking for his entire life.

I am saddened by Donald's passing, and wish him God Speed.

Joe Ribaudo
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Re: Another Dutch Hunter Crosses Over

Post by Joe Ribaudo »

Donald Peterson (pippenwhitepaws) creating new friendships at the Rendezvous:

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Donald, Ralph and Frank.

Joe Ribaudo
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Re: Another Dutch Hunter Crosses Over

Post by Mike McChesney »

DAMN! I am sorry to hear that. Donald and I got off on about the same foot as you and he. We went at it many times on a couple of forums, but after we met face to face at the rendezvous a few years ago, we never had another problem.

My prayers are with you Donald.

Mike
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Re: Another Dutch Hunter Crosses Over

Post by Joe Ribaudo »

Mike,

As I have said, that's one of the main reasons why the Rendezvous was created. I know the background story of Donald's life, and it isn't a pretty picture. He turned out to be another person altogether from what he presented online. I think, for the most part, many people were surprised at what a nice guy you were, after meeting you. Hope the same can be said about me.

Take care,

Joe
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Re: Another Dutch Hunter Crosses Over

Post by Mike McChesney »

Joe Ribaudo wrote:Mike,

As I have said, that's one of the main reasons why the Rendezvous was created. I know the background story of Donald's life, and it isn't a pretty picture. He turned out to be another person altogether from what he presented online. I think, for the most part, many people were surprised at what a nice guy you were, after meeting you. Hope the same can be said about me.

Take care,

Joe
Joe,

You're just a big paranoid teddy bear! HAHAHA I have said it before, and I will repeat it as necessary, since I started seriously getting into the Arizona Subjects, you have ALWAYS been there to help any time I asked. I will always be grateful for what you have done for me (including the cooking at the rendezvous).

Take Care - Mike
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Re: Another Dutch Hunter Crosses Over

Post by Joe Ribaudo »

Blackline posted this earlier today:

"Mitchell Waite passed away on the morning of April 19, 2015, due to heart failure, in Mesa, Arizona."

Sad to hear this, and especially so late. Mitch and I formed a limited partnership a number of years ago. He only made one trip in with our team, and had a very rough night, left the next morning and never made another trip with us. You could hear his heavy, labored breathing all night. We stayed in touch over the years, but never got together again.

Mitch was a very interesting guy and wrote some good books. He led some pretty good expeditions and tours into the Supe's. When he saw my conclusions to the Stone Maps, the only thing he said was, "When do we go in."

He will be missed in the LDM Community.

Joe Ribaudo
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Re: Another Dutch Hunter Crosses Over

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Gerald “Jerry” Hamrick (1927-2019)

My guess is only a few old timers know about Gerald “Jerry” Hamrick. He has been a colleague and friend of mine for at least 25 years. My greatest regret is that I had not seen him in many weeks. I had been going by the nursing home at least once a week for a few years. Unfortunately, my wife’s and my health obviated my weekly visits for the last two months.

Now that our lives were back on track I has planed to get back to Jerry. This week going by his favorite pizza place to get him two slices of peperoni pizza. Then just this morning I received a telephone call informing me that Gerald “Jerry” Hamrick has died. My greatest regret is I am afraid Jerry may have thought I abandoned him. That at the end he had no one. It isn’t true.

For those who never knew Jerry allow me to introduce you to one of the Dutch Hunters family. Jerry was just a few years past 90. He was born in 1927. He was mostly self-educated. His working life was spent as a merchant marine—first, on the Great Lakes, then on the Mississippi and finally Open Ocean.

He was multilingual, intelligent, erasable, opinionated, stubborn — a genuine one of a kind, He could not stand a liar, and those that tried to assault him would encounter his skill with a knife. As a merchant marine he traveled the world.

I asked him once, ”What was the closest call you ever had on the sea?” I was expecting something like his experience on a freighter off northern Norway in winter. On that voyage they encountered a gale and the ocean water was splashing over the ship and freezing. This made the ship top heavy and it would roll and capsize it there was too much ice. So the crew was on the pitching deck with steam houses trying to melt and break off the ice. Hit with ice you probable go over the side, hit be a steam house and you are likely disfigured or killed — if the ice isn’t broken up the ship capsizes and everyone dies.

So I asked Jerry and he said a ship he had never mentioned. I asked him, “What happened?” He didn’t know. It just disappeared in the South Atlantic. All hands were lost. Jerry had signed on one way. When the ship reached South Africa he took his pay and had a holiday.

His life style allowed him to work when he needed money and travel and research the Dutchman from the National Archives in Washington, D. C. to the west coast. He searched records page by page. He did not rely on indices. At the National Archives he went through the Birch California Stagecoach Co. petition with 75,000 signatures, and he found Waltz. He went through bankruptcy records one by one at the California State Archives and found Waltz. He was the employee of a stagecoach company that went bankrupt. He searched the records of California counties, county by county. He did the same page-by-page research in Arizona.

It was Jerry who first found Waltz’s three mines in the Yavapai County. And it was his work at the Sharlott Hall that would turn him against the Dutch Hunting community. Jerry would live out of his truck to save money so he would have it for copies of records. He told me that one day at the old Sharlott Hall Archives he found four pages of records of which he wanted copies. This was in the days when the copier was kept behind the counter in a back room. One asked for such and such to be copied, you then paid for the copies and the copies were given to you.

Well, Jerry got his four copies, but he got two copies of one page, but no copy of one of the pages. His curiosity was alerted. He did some digging. He discovered that one of the people (likely a volunteer) at the Sharlott Hall was being paid by Robert Blair to make duplicate copies of certain types of records.

When Blair’s book came out it had research that Jerry had done. Research Jerry did not give Blair. Research that had taken Jerry years to find. He worked hard to dig out the information. He often lived very frugally, sleeping in his truck to save money for copies. He took it that the Dutch hunting community had betrayed him, not just Blair. He shut down, and refused to share his findings. He turned against the entre Dutch Hunting community.

It was Jerry that discovered Waltz’s three mines in the Bradshaws. It was Jerry who found the history of those mines and how they played into the Dutchman legend. It was Jerry who found the few surviving records of Waltz in California. It was Jerry who first found the ship Waltz came on. It was Jerry who found out what Waltz did when he first got to America, where he lived. He would track down the complete history of people with whom Waltz had worked with or were in any way involved with Waltz. For example, he tracked the lives, the history, of all the claimants on the Gross Lode.

When I first met him he told be to get lost! But, when he found out that I did my own research, and that I had been bale to get to some records he hadn’t – well it began a less hostile relationship. One that turned into a deep friendship. What sort of impressed him was that I had researched in Eureka, California where the Starar Brothers had lived before coming to Arizona. Eureka was one of the few places Jerry had never quite gotten to.

What endeared him to me was what happened one-day in the trailer park where he was living. I was sitting on the floor by the door. Jerry and I were talking Dutchman. A little boy came up and asked, “Mr. Hamrick, can I have a soda?” Jerry pointed to a case of Coke and told me to give the little boy one. Now Jerry was diabetic and I knew he would not drink regular Coke. So I asked him why he had it. He said that the children in the trailer park had so little, that when he went to the store he would buy a case of Coke for the children. Now Jerry lived pretty close to the bone financially, but this gruff, former merchant marine was trying to brighten the lives of these children. From then on my opinion of him changed.

Jerry would buy and sell items he found at swap meats, garage sales, etc. One day in Congress Jerry had his bus parked and tables set out with different items. He was down to his last bit of cash. So I thought I’d buy him lunch. When a Cadillac convertible pulled up. The man wanted two Indian baskets that Jerry had for sale. Jerry would sell one, but not the other. Soon Jerry had $500 in hand. He had a good eye for the value of certain items. That is how he supported himself after the merchant marine—buying and selling.

It was the merchant marine life style that allowed him the freedom for his life style. His parents’ home was close to Washington D. C. Thus, he had a base that allowed him to research in the National Archive as few of us can. That life style allowed him to leave and spend years in Mexico. He was tracking down the Gonzales family of the Adolph Ruth story.

What Jerry did was to put an advertisement in a local newspaper in a region of Mexico. He offered $100 for anyone who had information on the Gonzales family. He provided what information he had on the family. He used to tell me that when the mail bag arrived at the ship he was on that there would be two mail sacks—one for the rest of the crew and one for him. Month after month he would read the responses to his add. But, no joy. Then he would run it in another location, and the process was repeated, and repeated. Finally, he got a letter from a postmaster in Mexico who thought he knew of the family. The postmaster provided some details and when his contract was up Jerry was off to Mexico. The first thing he did was give the postmaster his reward and the postmaster pointed him (or introduced him) to the Gonzales family. It was the right family and Jerry became their guest.

The family was prominent, and they provided him with a letter of introduction that opened doors in the archives. He found maps and information concerning Mexican mining in today’s Arizona. He provided one map to Greg Davis, which is found in many books and Internet forums—the Minas del Oro map. I really enjoyed listening to Jerry tell of his Mexican adventures.

He spent five years in Mexico; Spanish was one of the five languages he spoke, so he got along quite well. He had a metal detector and one day he was approached by three Mexicans who had a map. The map pointed to a buried treasure, but only to a general area. If jerry would help them with his metal detector, Jerry would get some of the gold. Well Jerry found the gold. The only reason I know this is one day we were at his bus and Jerry was going through some thins. He handed me a letter from Erwin Ruth and said to me, “You want it? I don’t.” Then he came across a color photograph. It was of small gold objects of different shapes—diamond shapes, square shapes, round shapes, some with a cross on them. It was part of his share of the treasure.

As mentioned, Jerry could not abide a liar. Lie to him once and he would cut you off. That was another reason he avoided the Dutch hunting community. Too many tall taletellers. After he cut himself off from the Dutchmen community he would write letters to Greg Davis with historical data and the source. Then he would cut out the source(s) for the info and mail the letter. Today Greg has Jerry’s letters, with rectangle holes.

The tragedy of Jerry’s original research is most of it was destroyed. He had one of those fold over suitcases crammed with copies of original documents. For a reason I don’t recall Jerry had to go back home to Maryland. He trusted a friend of his who was illiterate to keep the suitcase for a specified time. His friend agreed and took charge of the suitcase. Well Jerry was gone longer that he had said he would be. Why I don’t know. In any case, his friend in Arizona gave up on Jerry and started using the paper copies of records to start his stove or fireplace. Yes, he burned Jerry’s records. Jerry’s life’s work.

Fortunately, some records were misplaced and they have survived, e.g., a letter to Jerry from the Gonzales family, a copy of a Jacob Weiss document in California, etc. His raw notes are a jumble. If you knew Jerry much of it can be deciphered. He wrote a manuscript, and much of that has survived.

I miss him. An honest, no BSing Dutchman researcher. If he told you something as fact, you could pretty much take it to the bank.

Good by my friend. I miss you!!

Your friend,

Thomas
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Re: Another Dutch Hunter Crosses Over

Post by novice »

Thomas,

Thanks for documenting the Hamrick story. We were in Prescott visiting with you on March 30 and you shared many of Jerry's stories. Little did we know that he would pass away the next day. We wish you could have seen Jerry one last time before his passing. We could tell that you held him in very high regard.

We stopped in Mayer several years ago and I was somewhat familiar with Jerry through Greg Davis. We asked the gentleman at the post office if he knew Jerry and where he lived. He did but insinuated that Jerry might be hard to approach. We chickened out! He might have told us worse than "get lost". :)

Godspeed, Jerry

Thinking of you today,

Garry and Carol
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Re: Another Dutch Hunter Crosses Over

Post by Oroblanco »

Sorry for your loss Thomas. Thank you for sharing the story.
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Re: Another Dutch Hunter Crosses Over

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Tom Burnett.

As some may know, my first introduction to the Superstitions was a trip with Tom Burnett and Len Killen. That one trip turned into two life long friend ships. As I posted a while back I lost Len a few years ago. Tom and I would visit by phone every month to every few months. Tom lived on the Big Island of Hawaii. He was as nearly as one can be to self sufficient — solar energy, catchment water system, and so forth. He was one of most intelligent men I have known.

His father was in the Army in WW II, and he became the commandant (for lack of a better word) of a district in Germany. Tom idolized his father and he took him seriously, which is how he came to kill a man when he was only 5 years old. His father had to be gone on business. He told little Tommy to take care of his mother. That night someone tried to break into the house and Tommy Burnett got his father’s 22 rifle and fired. The sounds of the man trying to break in ceased. Later the man was found by the police, dead. It turned out the man was an escaped prisoner.

When he enlisted in the Marine Corp, they tested him, as they do. Tom’s IQ was well north of 140. The Corps put him in a non-combat assignment. Tom wanted to be like his father. So he got his name on a list of Marines going to Viet Nam. There, like so many others, he got drenched (at lest two times, maybe three) with agent orange. His exposure to agent orange was slowly robbing him of his self-sufficiency, and it is likely what killed him.

After his discharge he became a deputy sheriff with the Los Angeles County Sherriff. One day, he and his partner were called to a disturbed young woman wielding a butcher knife. She came at Tom and Tom tried to control her without hurting her. It cost him. She knifed him in the abdomen. My understanding was he nearly died. The wound terminated his career as an L. A. County Sheriff.

I meant him almost by accident. He and Len Killen (another former Marine) were Dutch Hunters. They were certain that they had figured where the mine was and they wanted some one to write a book about them discovering the mine. Well they didn’t find the mine. But, I found two life long friends.

In Hawaii Tom finished his education with a Ph.D. He and his professor, made a highly significant discovery on insect vision. Unfortunately, someone else had made the same discovery and they published first.

He wrote an online blog – Journal of Bad Tidings, The Anthrogenic extinction event: 2017-2034(http://badtidings.info/), which as of this writing is still available on the Internet. He was a rare person in that he was: always asking questions, looking at things with a rare intelligence and often thinking out side the box.

My first book on the Dutchman – The Lost Dutchman Mine of Jacob Waltz, The Golden Dream – has accounts of Tom and Len in the mountains, Such as, when Chuck Crawford and two of his men tried to bully Len and a friend in the Sups. When Burnett rose up from behind some brush and dropped the safety on his Uzi. It seems Crawford may have had to change his underwear.

Being in the mountains with Tom and Len was rare treat. Two very smart guys coupled to Len’s wonderfully twisted sense of humor.

I had not talked with Tom for some weeks. So I called him, no answer. Well he did not take his phone when he worked outside on his self-sufficiency garden. So I tried again a few days later, and then again. I emailed him as he always answered my emails. No reply. I tried email again a couple of days later. Then I called the sheriff’s office on the Big Island. I explained that I had been trying to contact a friend for some days, but repeatedly failed to get through. I requested a wellness check. The call back came and I learned Tom had died in hospice care about two plus weeks before.
I had two Toms in my life … Tom B. and Tom K.

I am getting tired of loosing friends, of writing these memories.

God Bless you Tom. You and Len so enriched my life, Thank You!!

Thomas
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Re: Another Dutch Hunter Crosses Over

Post by ThomasG »

Once again I am where I do not want to be. Writing about the loss of a respected colleague, and good friend, Joe Ribaudo . Joe was a most valued and respected member of our community. To me he was a good friend – not a phrase I use lightly. He was honest to the bone. As many know from the forums, he abhorred lies, falsehoods.

He was a true friend, a valued colleague, a generous host – he leaves a void that for me cannot be filled. I have been blessed with some wonderful friends, unfortunately too many of whom have passed on. Joe is one of these! For me I would like to think that Joe, and Len, and Tom (Burnett), and Tom K. are having a rendezvous – swapping tales, adventures, and finally learning answers to the mysteries.

It was Joe who started the Dutchman Rendezvous. Without Joe there never would have been a Rendezvous. For years he and his wife Carolyn came from across the state with a trailer. They set up a basecamp with a covering, and chairs at their camp. All were welcome and in the evening they provided a hot meal to all. Joe and Carolyn did not just talk the walk, they lived it.

He was one of the only persons I know whose family had seen a gold bar that was said to come from the Superstitions. Joe hunted the cave of gold bars and the Dutchman. Several years ago Joe found physical information that convinced him that yes there had been a cave of gold bars, and it had been found and emptied.

Like Tom Burnett, Joe was a combat veteran from Vietnam. And like Burnett he died from Agent Orange exposure. In his case it turned out the drinking water at his firebase was contaminated with Agent Orange. As far as I am concerned I hope there is a place in Hell for the people who said, swore up and down that Agent Orange was “Okay”, not harmful, not a poison. As any toxicologist will tell you, everything is a toxin, it just depends on the dosage. Too much water, too quickly and you are in trouble.

My last visit with Joe he was in good spirits. He told me the medicine was helping with the pain. He was in continuous pain for years. I hope Joe was telling me the truth about not being in pain – but, I have my doubts. I think Joe was trying to make me less anxious about him.

I remember when we, Carol, my wife and I, first visited Joe and Carolyn at their home. We stayed over night. That evening Carol and I took Joe and Carolyn out for dinner. As an aside, there is a very good restaurant in Havasu City. We had a very good meal, then the check came – and the fun began. It turned out that Joe and I came from different ‘cultures’.

I was raised that when I was a guest it was customary to take your hosts out for dinner. It was a sign of respect and it meant that the one’s host did not have to feed all of us. It made it easier of one’s hosts.

Joe had, apparently, been raised that when one had guests you took complete care of them. Well Joe and I “discussed” the bill as to whom would pay. The check came and the fun began. Joe and I dived for the check. I do not remember who won, but I do remember the mess we made … water glasses sloshed over, articles rearranged, etc.

Like Tom Burnett, Joe could not abide untruthfulness. He called them like he saw ‘em. He could not abide a liar. A straight arrow and true friend.

Joe, I am glad you are now out of pain – but I miss you. You, Tom Burnett’s and so many others should have their names on “The Wall”. I do not know if such is done, but it should be. Good by my friend, God Bless you and yours.


“The loss of a friend is like that of a limb; time may heal the anguish of the wound, but the loss cannot be repaired.” —Robert Southey,
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Re: Another Dutch Hunter Crosses Over

Post by Oroblanco »

Thank you Thomas for the great tribute to Joe. I miss him terribly already.






















thank
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Re: Another Dutch Hunter Crosses Over

Post by don »

so sorry to hear this news..its a pity that he had to suffer such abuse here over a particular period in time ,by some folk who wernt fit to tie his bootlaces. his knowledge served this forum well ,he could be informative,humorous and certainly had a way with words . my sympathies to his family and its come as a bit of a shock ..and yes ,to me, he came across as a straight and honest guy ,and in todays world those kind of people seem to be a rarity ...rip joe
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