Click here for Part Ten of The Lost Dutchman Mine
The story of the Lost Dutchman Mine is tangled in speculation, light on facts, and rich with conflicting legends. By the mid-twentieth century, the original searchers were gone, taking any firsthand knowledge of Waltz and his mine with them. A new generation of Dutch Hunters took up the torch, reshaping the legend as they went. With them, the mythology grew, even as the truth drifted further from reach. One of the most enduring and controversial additions to that mythology was the discovery of a curious set of engraved tablets known as the Peralta Stones.
In 1945, Barry Storm helped define the modern tone of the Dutchman legend with Thunder Gods Gold, a book filled with Spanish mines, secret trail signs, and mysterious stalkers. Just a few years later, in 1949, a man named Travis Tumlinson left his own mark on the legend when he claimed to discover an enigmatic set of carved stone tablets near Highway 60, east of Apache Junction.
According to Tumlinson, he pulled over to the side of the road for a rest stop when he noticed the corner of a stone protruding from the dirt. Over time, he reportedly recovered five pieces in total: four flat rectangular tablets carved from sandstone, each roughly 18 by 12 inches and about 2 inches thick, and a fifth, smaller heart-shaped stone that fits neatly into a recess on one of the tablets. This heart stone is said to be the key to deciphering the map.
The tablets are covered in symbols, Spanish inscriptions, and crude trail signs. One bears the date 1847 along with the names Pedro and Miguel Peralta. To true believers, the stones form a coded map leading to eighteen mines once worked by the Peralta family, now abandoned and hidden in the Superstition Mountains. Two stone crosses were also found later and are believed by some to be part of the original set.
The authenticity of the Peralta Stones has been hotly debated ever since their discovery. Skeptics point to several issues. Common Spanish words are misspelled, the heart symbol resembles a modern Valentine’s design unlikely to appear in 1847 Mexico, and the carving marks suggest the use of modern tools. These flaws have cast serious doubt on whether the stones are truly nineteenth-century relics.
Later research revealed that Tumlinson was skilled in stone carving. At his former residence, investigators found decorative engravings and symbols stylistically similar to those on the tablets. One researcher even noted comparable carvings etched into the bricks of his chimney. Handwriting analysis comparing known samples of Tumlinson’s writing to the inscriptions on the stones produced a near match. Despite this compelling evidence, debate continues. For those enthralled by the dream of buried treasure, belief often outweighs fact.
There is no denying the allure of the Peralta Stones. They present a riddle carved in stone, a physical mystery that invites obsession and endless interpretation. But are they authentic? Probably not. As compelling as they are, the evidence points to a clever and well-crafted hoax. And while they have fueled the legend for decades, they may have only served to distract from a simpler truth. The Lost Dutchman Mine was never really lost at all.
