Welcome to Mysteries of Superstition Mountain I'm Larry Hedrick where we bring the past into
the present for our future viewers today we have another great story by Hank Sheffer
well there have been a lot of people ask me over the years about telling more stories about men who
lost their heads over the superstition mountains and the lost Dutchman mine so we're gonna tell you
another one right now about a feller who lost his head of course he's dead but he lost his head well
Wayne Ellsworth Bernard is best known as Barney was a storyteller an adventurer who had been in
the Apache Junction Superstition Mountain area very early on in development of Apache Junction
Barney was born on august 8th of 1886. and was yet another transplant from his native
Manchester Iowa in the midwest to the wild and woolly west of the Arizona territory around 1906
Barney arrived in Mesa Arizona territory looking for a job with one of the several cattle outfits
where he might find work he threw himself into the western lifestyle of the vengeance he created
the famous B and B guest ranch his adventures in and around the Superstitions were perfect for his
storytelling whether singing a song or telling a tale he wrote about the lost Dutchman mine just
like everybody else of the time however he was especially interested in the murders and missing
person stories that occurred in those days he even numbered the occasions of death and mayhem
everybody had a number if they lost their head or got killed or died up in the mountain they got a
number this particular story I'm about to tell you from all the murders on Barney's ever-growing list
was that of James a Cravey or Cavey depending on whose expert opinion you want to go by was number
20 but it was the most puzzling and perhaps the most revealing depending on your point of view
and here's how that story goes on July 16 1947 James a Cravey entered the mountain looking for
the elusive lost Dutchman gold he had told friends that he had a vision that revealed
exactly where the phenomenally rich gold mine was located apparently he had tried reaching
the area with pack animals in his dream or whatever it was but was unsuccessful
in fact one of his friends Mr C.W. Vanderflute tried to convince Cravey he was not able to go
into the superstition mountains he shouldn't even be there after all he was 62 years old
and crippled one arm was almost useless and he had a leg that troubled him from an affliction
that forced him to retire early from his career as a photographer for all intents and purposes
he had no business venturing into the superstition mountain
for any reason and certainly not on his own at any rate so anyway that spring in 1947 Cravy contacted
and later contracted of Mr Edwin W Montgomery who was the president of the southern Arizona airways
it was a small company which operated helicopters out of Tucson and Phoenix and he wanted him to
haul him and two weeks supply of grub and water into the designated spot that he'd had in his
vision this was the very spot where his vision had told him to go a sandbar in the bars canyon
Mr Montgomery and his wife related that they enjoyed a small but steady source of income to
their helicopter company from flying people in all the time to the superstition mountains to look for
the lost Dutchman mine now I have to tell you a story that I've related to folks a couple times
that going into Blacktop Mesa in the bluff springs area so many people have been into Blacktop Mesa
digging holes and rooting around in caves that it got to the point where the the rangers in the
superstition wilderness would tell you don't go over to that place or go into any of those caverns
because it's been weakened so much by people digging holes in the mountain that it's actually
lowered itself it's ready to cave in the whole mountain's going to fall down right within itself
so don't go over there it's really a dangerous place to go
what's really bad is i have people who really believe that so don't go to Blacktop Mesa whether
it's going to fall in on you or not don't go over there in every case each of the passengers
using the helicopter the the pilot was sworn to secrecy but they all wanted to be landed
in approximately the same place then of course the the contract would say that
he would come back after a week or 10 days or so pick them up and fly them out usually disappointed
James Cravey's arrangement was pretty much the same as everybody else's it was no different pilot
Montgomery flew Cravey to that point in la barge canyon ironically it was only a few miles from the
spot where Adolf Ruth had camped yeah we know what happened to him don't we if you don't you
can go up and watch it on one of our other stories they unloaded Cravey's equipment in that same area
well the 10 days passed quickly and the helicopter returned to Cravey's camp
unfortunately Cravey was nowhere to be found in camp the pilot flew up and down all the
canyons around the area but Cravey was nowhere to be found days before taking off and having
already sworn the pilot to secrecy Cravey was dismayed to hear an announcement on the radio
and read an account in the daily papers of exactly what he was going to do where he
was going what he was doing unfortunately James had already paid the the agreed amount up front
for the helicopter services he decided to take the risk anyway and head into the mountains
once in the appointed area the pilot made his set down assisted in packing the grub and water up to
high ground where it was completely covered with a tarp Cravey this retired commercial photographer
secured a two gallon canteen of water and enough food for two days
and off he headed for the superstition he didn't even do anything about setting up camp he just had
all the stuff piled there and off he went the pilot took off and came back to pennies well
on august 2nd as per agreement Montgomery returned and he found Cravey's catch of food still intact
just as it was when he left Cravey had apparently never returned to it
well the pilot left and he returned to phoenix and he went over to the Sheriffs of Maricopa and
Pinal county to notify them and then Montgomery their people took off and they came back to the
area to hunt some more they set the helicopter down by the site of Cravey's camp or what would
have been his camp it was intact no more than two days supply of food and water had been used
according to one account other accounts say that nothing had been used
missing were Cravey's mining pick his rifle his canteen and a shovel
they again flew up and down the nearby canyons at a low level but found no trace of James gravy
from the air nor did either of the sheriff's ground parties find anything or any sign
of James Cravey on august 6 now Barney Bernard that fellow we talked about earlier
guided the new posse with bloodhounds into the cache the dogs easily picked up Cravey's trail
Barney's bunch followed the track for about three hours that is when they hit upon their
first real evidence in descending a slope they found where Cravey had thrown his bed roll away
the next thing that came off was his rut sack his grub sack that was thrown off and then finally
of all things his canteen that was nearly full of water now bear in mind we're in another situation
where it's July and the one singular thing you don't want to lose is your water and here is old
Cravey he threw his away well 50 feet further on the hounds started to mill around in circles
they had completely lost the trail they couldn't find the scent anywhere
and aside from some broken buck brush there was no further evidence at hand at all to even show
that crazy had been there the searchers were pretty close to the dawn's trail at that point
so they re they radioed the truck to come around and pick them up
they just about had enough of the searching for one day so they were ready to come home
but while waiting for the truck they decided to follow a ridge downward a little bit further
and barney would tell you that his dying day he swore up and down and on the august 6th
there was absolutely nothing that gave a hint to Cravey ever having been there on that ridge
at that point though the search was struck they loaded up everybody and headed for the barn
well the Cravey puzzle stood in that posture for some nine months or so
but then the Arizona Republic published the following dispatch and I'll read it to you
mesa February 21 1948 discovery of James a Cravey 62 year old retired photographer
from Polk Street Phoenix who disappeared in the rugged superstition mountains last
July while seeking the legendary lost Dutchman mine was reported tonight by two Arizona visitors
well that's one sentence they are Captain r.f Perrin U.S. Army retired and Lieutenant
Commander William f Clements of Chicago guests of the sunset trail ranch 11 miles east of here
the two men reported finding the skeleton of a man minus the skull late this afternoon two and a half
miles south of weaver's natal while they were on a one-day hike in the area because of the hour they
did not search for the skull but brought the man's wallet back to sunset trail ranch identification
was made through papers in the wallet sheriff cal Boles was notified in phoenix boles said
Sheriff Lynn Earley of Pinal County will organize a party to pick up the skeleton tomorrow morning
Cravey is the 20th person known to have lost his life while looking for the fabled
lost mind in the Superstitions number 20. that's what barney said so it must be true
the Pinal county sheriff and the two men who had found Cravey's body
went into the mountains the next day and found that skull it was found at the head
of a canyon directly due east of weaver's needle no one has ever been discovered who had killed
Mr Cravey or why his body like that of Ruth and Yahez Clap was beheaded
I guess that's just another mystery of the superstition now
thank you for watching this episode of Mysteries of the Superstition Mountains