Ed an Cecil went back to the area  where they thought the mine was according to the map. They found what appeared to be a old vertical mine shaft.  But something was not right, no birds chirping no sounds. No Crickets no katydids.  In desolate areas of mountains, or woods this usually means someone else is following you or close by.  So they left in a hurry.

    Cecil went back to Mesa because he had to go to work the next morning. The next weekend when Cec Went to Ed's camp. Ed told him after he had left the sunday before. Little Foot came to his camp. Ed said he was cooking dinner over his open fire when he felt a strange feeling. Looking up he saw the Indian standing across from him. Little foot just said to him: "don't go in that area anymore".  Ed told Little Foot he wasn't going to get into the burial grounds, that him an Cec was just looking for gold. Again the Indian said: don't go there anymore.  Ed told Cec that night someone fired a shot through his tent. and showed Cec the hole in the tent.  This almost put a complete stop on going up in that area for Ed and Cec.

    Cecil met a fellow prospector named George, at Ed's camp, Cec an George became friends. One evening at Ed's camp. George an Cec heard a noise, Cec said hey George don't that sound like a pick? Yep it sure does said George, Ed said yeah I've hear it before, it happens on the week ends. Been going on for a month now.  George an Cec maid a point of being at Ed's camp the next week end. Sure enough that afternoon the picking sound started.  George said Cec lets find out who is doing the picking. Ed said not me, no sir I'm not going to that area anymore.  Cec said yeah good point but we will only go part way.  So off they headed toward the sound.  They got about a half a mile, when Cec said hey guys look at that. on a bolder sat a young man with a rifle in his lap, on another bolder not far away a girl sat with a rifle.  George said I have a better idea. I'm going to go back an find their car.  when they leave I'll follow them.  Cec said I got to get home work tomorrow early.

    George didn't have any trouble finding their car,  it was parked just outside the mountains not far from his own car.  George sat an waited.  he didn't have to wait to long. In a couple hours, three very young people showed up. They appeared to be in their teens, maybe around sixteen or so.  they put a: pick, three rifles and back backs into the car, then drove off.  George followed at a distance so as not allow them to notice him, besides on the highway headed toward Phoenix there was other cars.  The car finally pulled up to a house an dropped off the Girl.  George got the address and kept following the car. soon he had the address of all the of the teens.

    The next week end at Ed's camp George said well guys,  after I found out where they lived, I decided to go to the assay office and find out if anyone had been selling any gold. George told Ed, Cec and another young fellow I will call Joe as I can't remember his name. Well at the assay office I found out, a kid had been bringing in about four hundred dollars worth of gold in tailings every week for several weeks now.  But having the address of the kids don't help much. what am I gong to do go knock on their doors and ask where the gold is? said George.  No i got a better idea said Joe, Ill climb up high and maybe I can see the young fellow working with the pick.  So the next week end, Joe started early as to be in place when the teens showed up. Joe climbed up the rocks quite a ways, when all of a sudden someone started shooting at him.  the person doing the shooting apparently didn't want to hurt Joe, but got his point across an Joe returned to camp.  Well said George I got an idea let me try it.

    A few days later George told Cec he had went to the Girls house. George knocked on the door and when her parents answered the door, wondering who George was. He said I'm George a prospector that lives in the mountains on the week ends. I'm here to warn your daughter that going into the mountains ain't very safe.  What do you mean they asked? Well George told them about the three teens going up into the mountains on the week ends.  The parents called the Girl into the living room to find out what she had been up to.  the girl seemed pretty shook up about George knowing where she lived.  George told Cec, She told him and her parents that she and her friends had been hunting, one of the boys had wounded a  deer and had followed the animal into thick brush in a very hard to get to location.  while he was looking for the wounded animal he seen old mine tailings.  coming from a hole in the side of a canyon. not finding the deer he decided to look closer, looking at rock it appeared to have some gold specks on it.  So the next week end he took a pick with him, had his friends the girl an other teen stand watch for him, while he took a pick an broke rocks apart getting some gold out of them.  But she told George she knew, no more about where her friend found the gold than George did. All she knew was he left her and her friend to watch an a few minutes later they would hear him picking. then he would return with some broken up tailings and  the three of them would leave the mountains, till the next week end.

    At Ed's camp George told Cec he tried to approach the boy who ahd actually been doing the picking. But when George got to the boy's house a few days after he had talked to the girl, he found the kid had moved with his parent to LA. But George said he talked ot a neighbor and the neighbor said it seemed like they left in a hurry.  Cec said I don't think you scared anyone that bad. I bet Little Foot got tired of the kids and probably had a talk with the parents. Little foot probably pointed out the air in LA was much better for their health or something like that.  Cec, George, Joe an Ed laughed for a bit but knew the air in the mountains could be a big health problem for them too.  Not being able to go to the part of the mountains where the picking had been heard, the same area the maps showed one of the mines to be. Cec finally moved to Oregon.  George an Joe gave up looking and Ed stayed but never left his camp to go looking for the mine anymore. Ed finally passed away, probably knowing where the mine is, but never being able to go to it.

    Well Cec said to Everett and me, we should take a trip to Arizona. So we started getting ready for a two week trip to Arizona. Cec said: a mineral locator would come in nice.  So off to southern Oregon we went to a place that made mineral locators. In 1967 it was hard to find one we could afford, but they had one for $1400 which in those days sounded cheap, so we bought it.   It was October 1967 but still hot in the day time in Phoenix.  We Stayed with my Grand Mothers Cousin in Mesa, not far from the Superstitions.  My GrandMa Lizzie had went along with us, so it worked out good.  She could visit while we looked for the Dutchman's mine.  The first day we drove past the Mountains looking at sites. One stop we made was the old Blue Bird mine. The old mine still had gold  in it, but they had ran into water. so could go no deeper. for years they tried to pump the water out, but it came in faster than big pumps could get rid of it.  It was strange to me, that such a hot dry place could have so much water under ground and none on top.