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 There
has been a lot of speculation about the firearms
Jacob Waltz, the Dutchman of Superstition Mountain
fame, carried as he roamed and prospected the deep
canyons and towering spires of the Superstition
Wilderness Area. Many claimed Waltz carried a
Sharp’s 45-70 repeating rifle while others said he
carried a shotgun.
As a reader of this tale, you can have your choice
when it comes to whether or not Waltz carried a
rifle or a shotgun. Many of the early Arizona
pioneers carried shotguns loaded with double 00
buckshot. These weapons were very effective at short
distances and easily discouraged would-be attackers.
Several years ago I was visiting with Andy Synbad in
front of the Bluebird Mine and Curio Shop. We talked
about Jacob Waltz and his weapon of choice. Andy
reached into an old weathered leather valise he was
carrying and removed an ancient looking pistol. I
was amazed to find it was an old pin fire revolver.
It was silver-plated and quite unusual in several
respects. The pin fire revolvers of the mid-1850s
used a very highly specialized type of ammunition
that was very difficult to obtain in Arizona
Territory at anytime. Pin fire ammunition also had a
specialized method of powder ignition using a small
pin-shaped device that was perpendicular to the
cartridge case.
 Syndbad allowed me to examine the revolver
carefully. It was a French Lefauecheux Revolver
model 1854, 11.75 mm pin fire. Some 12,000 of these
revolvers were purchased early during the American
Civil War and used by the U.S. I now could see why
Andy thought this revolver could have belonged to
Jacob Waltz. Some aficionados of the Lost Dutchman
Mine story believed Waltz served in the Civil War.
Finally I said I didn’t believe Waltz ever carried a
revolver, much less a primitive pin fire system like
this French revolver. Old Andy was quite indignant
when I questioned the authenticity of his weapon. He
then quickly produced a “certificate of
authenticity” signed by a Globe, Arizona “Justice of
the Peace.” The JP had only witnessed somebody
stating the revolver had belonged to Jacob Waltz,
the “Dutchman”. I must admit old Andy Synbad had me
going for a few minutes. He offered the revolver to
me for $500 and I turned him down. From that day on
he never thought I was serious about the Lost
Dutchman Mine. If the gun had actually belonged to
the “Dutchman”, I doubt very much it could have led
me to his mine in the Superstition Mountains.
Just who was Andy Syndbad? Syndbad had been around
the Apache Junction area for many decades. He had
prospected around Hewitt Canyon and Carney Springs
Canyon as early as 1948. He moved to Apache Junction
permanently in 1956.
Andy was a confirmed bachelor and loner. He was born
April 27, 1903, in Needles, California to a German
immigrant family who worked for the railroad. His
father and mother returned to Germany when Andy was
one year old. Andy’s mother always told him after
they moved back to Germany he was born an American
citizen and could always claim that right. Andy
lived in Germany from 1904 until 1946.
The Nazi regime placed Syndbad in a concentration
camp in 1938. He was finally released from the
concentration camp and assigned to a work detail.
This work placed him on the docks and ships during
most of World War II. After the war and Germany’s
destruction, Andy was able to prove his American
birth right and eventually obtained permission to
return to land of his birth after more than forty
years. There was nothing in Germany for him after
the war.
 He drove through Apache Junction with a couple of
prospecting partners in 1948, but found nothing to
his liking. He returned in 1952 and met Hermann
Petrasch who lived along Queen Creek. It was
Petrasch who lead Andy to the prospects around
Carney Springs. It around this time Andy met Carl
Boderick, a pioneer metal detecting prospector. Andy
spent a lot of time prospecting in the Hewitt Canyon
area and on over into the headwaters of Randolph
Canyon near the old Woodbury Cabin.
Early in 1958 Andy Syndbad staked out the silver
claims located just south of the Gold- field
Sub-Station just west of Weeks Wash. Andy sunk a
shaft to the depth of 150 feet on his claims. He
found a low-grade vein of silver; however it never
proved to be profitable. Andy’s mining operation
produced no money to live on so he had to find a way
to generate a little survival income.
He offered odds and ends for at his famous “patio
sales”. He had a sign out on the Apache Trail to
attract tourists and anyone else who would stop by
and purchase something. The “patio sales” aggravated
a few people around Apache Junction and they tried
to stop him from having his patio sales. Their
comments eventually lead to his famous highway sign.
Syndbad stirred the ire of local citizens when he
put up a road side sign making reference to all of
the “old crabs” in Apache Junction and one other
unusual individual. Andy’s famous “Patio Sales” were
still going on in 1983.
Andy Syndbad’s health really began to decline by the
early 1980s. He had miner’s silicosis. He suffered
so much from silicosis he committed suicide on
December 4, 1986. I suppose Andy’s legacy will be
his tenacity to search for gold on a claim he
believed contained a bonanza. He chose the life he
lived and I personally doubt he was unhappy with his
place in life.
I remember him cursing those “dang” people for
building houses under the cliffs of Superstition
Mountain spoiling his view of the old Thunder God’s
mountain. He was afraid that someday rocks would
roll down from the cliffs of Superstition Mountain
and destroy their homes. Again, that was how Andy
sometimes viewed progress. I might add the last
major earthquake that dramatically altered
Superstition Mountain was in 1887, more than a
hundred and twenty years ago.
I would like to thank Eric Sundt
of Apache Junction for his
information on the old French
Lefauecheux revolver Model 1854.
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