Exact location where Dick Holmes dug up the Dutchmans Nephew?

[PotBelly Jim]

Matthew,

Have you ever found anything on the prospector Switzer that was said in the Holmes manuscript to have also found the body? Switzer was said to have found the body without a skull, exactly as it would have been if Dick Holmes had taken the skull to Doc Jones. I had never heard the name Switzer myself, so I have always wondered if anyone had looked into him and found anything. Take care, Jim

 

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[Matthew Roberts]

Matthew,

Have you ever found anything on the prospector Switzer that was said in the Holmes manuscript to have also found the body? Switzer was said to have found the body without a skull, exactly as it would have been if Dick Holmes had taken the skull to Doc Jones. I had never heard the name Switzer myself, so I have always wondered if anyone had looked into him and found anything. Take care, Jim

Potbelly Jim,

I have heard the story of someone finding a skeleton minus the skull at agua escondido but do not recall the name Switzer. It may be true or maybe not, for me it doesn't prove or disprove anything. The Holmes story corroborated by Jones, Monroy, Coolidge is about as far as anyone can realistically go with it. At that point you either believe the story or not.

I have been to agua escondido and the bluff of soft earth is there as described. I found no bones but the area has been extensively dug up over the past 75 years.

 

[PotBelly Jim]

Thanks Matthew. Personally I dont know what to think about the body. On one hand there's corroboration, but on the other hand I think Dick Holmes was a pretty upright citizen and don't think it fits that he wouldn't have reported the body to law enforcement. For example, he went to the law when he saw his horse that had been stolen. He seems like a level headed guy. But, I doubt Kennison would have known enough on background to make the story up so accurately. It's a mystery to me.

 

[Matthew Roberts]

Thanks Matthew. Personally I dont know what to think about the body. On one hand there's corroboration, but on the other hand I think Dick Holmes was a pretty upright citizen and don't think it fits that he wouldn't have reported the body to law enforcement. For example, he went to the law when he saw his horse that had been stolen. He seems like a level headed guy. But, I doubt Kennison would have known enough on background to make the story up so accurately. It's a mystery to me.

Potbelly Jim,

You have to take into account that 1890s in Arizona there were still skeletal remains littering the landscape in remote areas. Indians, settlers, soldiers, prospectors died and lay for years where they fell. Law enforcement just would not investigate a skull or bones unless they could positively link them to a missing person or an open investigation. If the law investigated every found bone in 1892 they would have had roughly a million open investigations. I have found verified human vertebra and finger bones in the Superstitions. Obviously very old.

 

[Matthew Roberts]

Charles Kenison was a very educated man, an engineer skilled at writing technical manuals. He was a contemporary of Dick Holmes and close neighbor of both Dick and Brownie Holmes. Kenison is buried in the same mausoleum at Greenwood in Phoenix as Dick Holmes, about 3 crypts away to be exact.

Brownie gave the information for the manuscript, Kenison fleshed it out and made it adventuresome and readable. Brownie was not a writer, he was a storyteller, there's a big difference.

The story told about Brownies family seeing him typing the manuscript at the kitchen table is false.

The Holmes manuscript was written and dated 1944. Brownie did not meet and marry his wife, and her children until 1947. Prior to that Brownies only living family was his brother Jesse Roberts.

 

[PotBelly Jim]

Charles Kenison was a very educated man, an engineer skilled at writing technical manuals. He was a contemporary of Dick Holmes and close neighbor of both Dick and Brownie Holmes. Kenison is buried in the same mausoleum at Greenwood in Phoenix as Dick Holmes, about 3 crypts away to be exact.

Brownie gave the information for the manuscript, Kenison fleshed it out and made it adventuresome and readable. Brownie was not a writer, he was a storyteller, there's a big difference.

The story told about Brownies family seeing him typing the manuscript at the kitchen table is false.

The Holmes manuscript was written and dated 1944. Brownie did not meet and marry his wife, and her children until 1947. Prior to that Brownies only living family was his brother Jesse Roberts.

That is very interesting about Kennison, I had no idea he was a neighbor of Dick Holmes. So it's very possible that Kennison had already heard some of the stories that made it into the Holmes manuscript? Or do you think that Dick would have been closed-mouthed about the LDM, talking only with Brownie, and it was only after Dick passed away that Brownie related these stories?

Also, do you know approximately how many years or the time-span that Brownie worked on the Holmes manuscript with Kennison? Sorry for a million questions, but this is all new information for me. Take care, Jim

 

[Matthew Roberts]

That is very interesting about Kennison, I had no idea he was a neighbor of Dick Holmes. So it's very possible that Kennison had already heard some of the stories that made it into the Holmes manuscript? Or do you think that Dick would have been closed-mouthed about the LDM, talking only with Brownie, and it was only after Dick passed away that Brownie related these stories?

Also, do you know approximately how many years or the time-span that Brownie worked on the Holmes manuscript with Kennison? Sorry for a million questions, but this is all new information for me. Take care, Jim

Potbelly Jim,

First of all everyone should understand the Holmes manuscript is not just the story of the dutchman mine, it is the story and history of the Holmes family.

Brownies father died in 1931 and his mother was sick and dying all thru 1943, dying that November. Brownie was the only Holmes heir, his half brother was Jesse Roberts.

It was Brownies mother's illness and death in 1943 that spurred the writing of the Holmes manuscript. It was written approx between early 1943 and I believe June 1944. The original manuscript at the AZ archives donated by Higham has the date 1944 on the cover. Brownies last remembrance of seeing the manuscript or a copy of it was at the QCU ranch roundup in the spring of 1945. Someone took that manuscript and it eventually ended up with Higham. Brownie believed it was Betty Barkley who took it and gave it to Higham.

 

[Matthew Roberts]

Potbelly Jim,

Kenison arrived in Phoenix shortly after WWI, he was a veteran of that war and may have been in Brownie Holmes unit. I doubt if Dick Holmes talked much to outsiders about Waltz and the mine. Kenison most likely heard the stories from Brownie. One person who was close to Dick Holmes and knew the whole Waltz story was Frank McFall.

 

[PotBelly Jim]

Potbelly Jim,

First of all everyone should understand the Holmes manuscript is not just the story of the dutchman mine, it is the story and history of the Holmes family.

Brownies father died in 1931 and his mother was sick and dying all thru 1943, dying that November. Brownie was the only Holmes heir, his half brother was Jesse Roberts.

It was Brownies mother's illness and death in 1943 that spurred the writing of the Holmes manuscript. It was written approx between early 1943 and I believe June 1944. The original manuscript at the AZ archives donated by Higham has the date 1944 on the cover. Brownies last remembrance of seeing the manuscript or a copy of it was at the QCU ranch roundup in the spring of 1945. Someone took that manuscript and it eventually ended up with Higham. Brownie believed it was Betty Barkley who took it and gave it to Higham.

Thank you for fleshing that out. I was under the impression Brownie worked on it for years. So basically it was only about 2 years before Higham got it. What did the lady at the tavern get, was it work that Brownie did after the first manuscript was taken and given to Higham in 1945?

 

[Matthew Roberts]

Thank you for fleshing that out. I was under the impression Brownie worked on it for years. So basically it was only about 2 years before Higham got it. What did the lady at the tavern get, was it work that Brownie did after the first manuscript was taken and given to Higham in 1945?

Potbelly Jim,

Tina Murdock that ran Tina's tiny tavern on Washington in downtown Phoenix had all of Kenison and Brownies drafts of the original 1944 manuscript. I've read all of them and you can see the progression of the manuscript leading up to the final 1944 copy. Tina's daughter, Celia Paz, ended up with the drafts and some photos that were intended to be part of the final manuscript.

 

[Matthew Roberts]

It should be noted by everyone that Brownie Holmes was a regular customer of Tina's Tiny Tavern and a long time friend of Tina Murdock. Some of the photos of Brownie during his search for Adolph Ruth hung on the walls of Tina's tavern for many years.

 

[Matthew Roberts]

Matthew,

Have you ever found anything on the prospector Switzer that was said in the Holmes manuscript to have also found the body? Switzer was said to have found the body without a skull, exactly as it would have been if Dick Holmes had taken the skull to Doc Jones. I had never heard the name Switzer myself, so I have always wondered if anyone had looked into him and found anything. Take care, Jim

Potbelly Jim,

I read thru my copy of the Holmes manuscript and found the part where Brownie mentions an old prospector named Switzer who found a headless skeleton at hidden water.

I'm not familiar with who Brownie was talking about but do have in my notes a man named A.P. Switzer who was a prospector and miner around the Globe area. Born sometime around 1850 he was known to the mining community and had lived along the Salt River for many years. My notes show he died in Phoenix at about age 80.

Interesting thing is he was living on E. VanBuren st. in Phoenix and so was Brownie at the time of Switzers death. I have no idea if this is the man Brownie mentioned but it is a possibility.

 

[PotBelly Jim]

Potbelly Jim,

I read thru my copy of the Holmes manuscript and found the part where Brownie mentions an old prospectors named Switzer who found a headless skeleton at hidden water.

I'm not familiar with who Brownie was talking about but do have in my notes a man named A.P. Switzer who was a prospectors and miner around the Globe area. Born sometime around 1850 he was known to the mining community and had lived along the Salt River for many years. My notes show he died in Phoenix at about age 80.

Interesting thing is he was living on E. VanBuren st. in Phoenix and so was Brownie at the time of Switzers death. I have no idea if this is the man Brownie mentioned but it is a possibility.

Matthew, that's an impressive piece of work. I agree this guy is a very good candidate!

The only thing I had thought of is "Switzer" used to be slang for a gent from Switzerland. Not very much to go on there. Thanks for the heads up and for taking the time for all the detailed posts on this subject. Take care, Jim