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 Several
years ago an old friend of mine, Dan Hopper, told me
a story about a white stallion he and his father
often observed in the Superstition Mountains during
the 1960’s. Dan talked about one particular trip he
and his father had made down into Second Water
Canyon. As they hiked through Black Gap at the
northeast end of Garden Valley they saw a beautiful
white stallion on the skyline to the south. Dan’s
father took a picture of the stallion as it stood
cautiously and watched them pass by.
Dan quizzed me as to the origin of this beautiful
stallion. I found his story extremely difficult to
believe for several reasons, however I knew Dan did
not just make up stories. I respected his opinion
and story about the white stallion in the
Superstition Wilderness Area.
I decided to investigate the story by talking to
several people I knew who had spent a lot of time in
the Superstition Mountains between 1965-1995, a
period of thirty years. On a cool December morning I
rode into Needle Canyon to visit with Edwin Buckwitz.
I asked Edwin if he had ever observed a white horse
in the Superstition Mountains. He looked at me in an
inquisitive manner and said, “Of course I have seen
that great white stallion.”
 Edwin had searched for the Peralta gold off and on
since 1965. He was a very honest individual and
never really lied to me about anything over the
years. If he said he saw the white stallion, I could
believe him. I continued to pursue the story of the
white stallion.
I worked for the Barkley Cattle Company in the late
1950’s and I knew Barkley would have never allowed
wild horses on his range. Any livestock other than
the units allotted on his grazing permit cost him
money. Barkley may have allowed a few of his own
horses on his range, but never a stallion. Most of
the horses owned by Barkley were geldings and I
don’t recall him owning a mare. Gelding’s are less
problems on a cattle ranch.
Another possible source of the white stallion was
the Indian Reservation across the Salt River. Indian
horses were known to cross the Salt River near the
confluence of the Verde and then make their way up
the Salt then into the Goldfield Mountains and
across the Apache Trail into the Superstition
Wilderness Area. The Indians had a lot of broomtail
stallions on the reservation, and this could explain
a white stallion in the Superstition Wilderness
Area.
As I continued to search for possible answers, Dan
finally produced a picture of his father had taken
the white stallion standing on a ridge near Garden
Valley. There was no question the horse was a
stallion. I had not doubted Dan’s story, but I did
want to collaborate it. I talked to another old
friend of Chuck Aylor. He had also observed the
stallion in the Second Water-Garden Valley area. Al
Reser, an old timer prospector, also told me about
seeing the stallion on several occasions. I was now
convinced the white stallion existed.
I worked for the Barkley Cattle Company until June
of 1959, and did not know of any horses that had
been turned out on to the Barkley range. When
William Thomas Barkley was no longer capable of
managing the ranch because of health problems, I
wondered if he might have turned his old horse out
on the ranch. “Champ” wasn’t a true white, but a
gray. Monte Edwards, a prospector and airline pilot,
told me he saw the horse several times the winter of
1966-67. I must confess I had never observed the
white stallion of Superstition Mountain, but I had
seen signs of him.
Several years ago I found out the truth about the
White stallion near Second Water. This beautiful
animal had belonged to an old cowboy who lived in
eastern part of the Salt River Valley. He was
diagnosed with a terminal disease and decided to
release his horse in the wild. I just can’t imagine
an old cowboy releasing a horse in the Superstition
Wilderness Area knowing the rules and regulations
the forest service has pertaining to unassigned
livestock on Taylor graze. Secondly, it is difficult
to believe the horse survived for almost two decades
and evaded capture. The man who told me this story
would not reveal the name of the man who released
the horse.
From what I have been told the horse roamed the
Superstition Wilderness Area for almost two decades.
The white stallion had been observed from one end of
the wilderness to the other. I was told the horse
died of natural cause near the Tortilla Ranch in
1984. This wild, white stallion could be the source
of the name Whispering Horse Canyon near the Apache
Trail about three miles east of Tortilla Flat.
The spirit of that white stallion still roams the
rugged Superstition Wilderness Area in the minds of
those who love to wander this endless and pristine
region thinking about its’ legend and lore. |
