On location, Storm signs copies of Thunder Gods Gold
for Gig Young and Ida Lupino (Julia Thomas). Below: Glenn Ford (Jacob Waltz). See Lust for Gold
Storm, Barry. 1913-1971. (real name John Griffith Climenson).
There have been few, if any, "Dutchman" authors as eccentric as Barry Storm, nevertheless his Thunder Gods Gold played an important role in the popularization of the Lost Dutchman tale. Storm wore many hats: lost treausre hunter, prospector, researcher, writer, and promoter. All in evidence in the works listed here. I Was Swindled by Red Movie Makers, Thunder Gods Gold, Trail of the Lost Dutchman ... it would be hard to find three more interesting titles.
A Portrait of Barry Storm
William White and Gary Swallow kindly gave permission to publish these portraits of Barry Storm.
"When I was in the Marine Corps, stationed at Camp Pendleton a group of us with treasure hunting interest would go exploring throughout the Mojave. Driving an old 53 Chevy and using old topo maps we went up an old dirt road leading into the Pinto Basin. Along the way would be glass water jugs placed about a mile apart. We followed the road up several miles and came to a hand made sign pointing to the Storm Jade Mines. We drove up to the mine, which also served as Barry's home and out came Barry. We shot the bull with him and he pitched his books and told us about the jade mine. He believed that the Aztecs traveled up here to get the jade used in their carvings. The area had a low quality jadite but nothing of high quality. We talked about the Lost Dutchman Mine in which he was very knowledgeable. He had a little area which he called his camp ground. We stayed overnight and with the aid of a few beers had a great evening talking with him. He had a laugh which on first hearing it you would be looking for a straightjacket. I don't think Barry was playing with a full deck but he was still the same an interesting character. Over the years if I was in the area I would try to make it out there. I believe that Barry died at a VA Hospital but I don't know if this is true. I met a lot of characters in the desert and Barry heads the list." -William White. May, 1999.
(Storm did die in Los Angeles in the VA hospital in 1971.)
"I spent several weeks with Barry Storm in the dessert in southern CA. As I recall it was in late 1964. At the time we were prospecting as a hobby and he had his service retirement and a little jade mine for income. He lived in an eight foot square shack made out of plywood. He had no electricity and still believed that the communists were after him. He wore a gun most of the time. I think he got his mail at Dessert Center during that period." -Gary Swallow. June, 1999.
Barry Storm in Texas.
Thanks to Bill Townsley for writing this account of Barry Storm's Texas treasure hunt.
"In 1995 and '96, David Auldridge and I conducted research in Mills County, Texas, for a magazine article that appeared in Enchanted Rock Magazine, February 1997 issue (published out of Llano, Texas). The article was centered around an ongoing search for a Spanish mission and what some people believe to be mining attempts by early Spanish explorers. Excavations have taken place 3 1/2 miles northeast of Goldthwaite, Texas, (off and on) for most of the last century. The list of persons interested in this Texas mystery include Professors of Spanish Colonial History, treasure hunters, a medical doctor, Texas Professor of Literature and author (J. Frank Dobie), sheep farmers, archeology students and BARRY STORM. In 1954 Jim Mitchell of Ft. Worth, Texas, and Storm signed a three year lease agreement with W. P. McCullough (owner of the central Texas ranch). Jim Mitchell told me, in one of many interviews, "Storm took the back seat out of his Studibaker and slept in the car, up on the hill. I had a two bedroom apartment in Ft. Worth. Barry said, he wrote better when he remained close to the land." A newspaper article from the Goldthwaite Eagle, dated August 1954, revealed additional information concerning Storm and Mitchell's search, "Together Storm and Mitchell sunk twenty odd foot test shaft upon the best electrical anomaly in the immediate vicinity with a compressor and jackhammer unit borrowed from contractor H. A. Bennett of Brownwood. They discovered that the electrical anomaly was caused by a large pocket of mud in the dry limestone which, Storm said made the location of metal highly problematical with a locator unless one had the patience to drill all such anomalies. Meanwhile, Storm found the orientation rock with a cross carved on it..." David Auldridge, Lynn Jones and I located the "cross rock" in October of 1995. The article also indicated, he (Storm) was looking for a "backtrail" to his book's title "The Golden Virgin of Texas," scheduled for 1956 publication. Mitchell gave me several photographs. Two of the photos were of Storm. One of the pictures showed Barry Storm, in shorts and no shirt, holding a metal object in his right hand. Written on the back of the photo was the following: "A sharpened steel weapon that appears to be an old Spanish lance head found in the S.E. tunnel in caverns at Dry Pond." Mitchell told the authors, "Storm wanted the artifacts we found in the caverns that we cleaned out and I let him have them." Jim Mitchell has leased the site (intermittently) for the last 46 years and is currently digging at the site. My research is ongoing concerning this subject. Readers interested in contacting me may do so at the following: Bill.Townsley@prodigy.net or by phone (1-757-877-2076)."
-Bill Townsley. April, 2000.
This is the text of Barry Storm's ad that ran in the Los Angeles Times classifieds under Business Opportunities for three days: December 30-31, 1937 and January 1, 1938.
NA. OFFERS ADVENTURE, FAME,
CHANCE AT FORTUNE UNDER LEAD-
ERSHIP NOTED WRITER-ADVENTUR-
ER BASED UPON RIGID 3-YEAR IN-
VESTIGATION. RICH ORE, AUTHENTIC
CLUES, SHARE BASIS. BARRY STORM,
HOTEL EMBASSY. 851 S. GRAND.
- Trail of the Lost Dutchman. Phoenix: Goldwaters, 1939. First edition. Small softcover, 115 pages, with 17 pages of photographs, several maps, and a diagram of Spanish miner's symbols. The cover and sketches are by Bob King. The preface is written by The Dons. Eight blank pages at the end of the work are entitled "Notes on My Trek to Superstition." From the title page: "An authentic history of the fabulous Lost Dutchman and of other originally Spanish mines in the Superstition Mountains of Arizona, including the maps, photographs and clues obtained by the writer's expedition. May Fortune Travel With Its Follower!" Dedicated: "To The Dons whose cooperation made this book possible." There do exist at least two signed and numbered copies given to Dons members Barry Goldwater and Art Weber (GD). Notes and comments.
- ?/$155, $140, $80, $75, $45, $27.50, $23, $15.
- Gold of the Superstitions. Phoenix: Sims Printing Co., 1940. Pamphlet, 44 pages, with photographs and maps. On the cover: "Gold of the Superstitions / Photos Clues Maps / The amazing true story of America's most famous lost mines! - The fabulous Lost Dutchman and seven other originally Spanish bonanzas in frontier Arizona." From the title page: "The Amazing True Story Of America's Most Famous Lost Gold Mines - The Fabulous Lost Dutchman And Seven Other Originally Spanish Bonanzas In Arizona's Mysterious Superstition Mountains -- Proven True By The Fantastic Rediscovery Of a Mine, And By The Actual Evidence, Maps And Clues First Obtained By The Author's Treasure Hunting Expeditions." From the title page: "To These Men members of the author's expeditions true adventurers all -- whose matchless courage alone made possible the finding of the hidden treasure trails herein presented SALUD!" Notes and comments.
- $.50/$80, $67, $53, $50, $15, $10.
$3.00/SMHS. - Thunder gods gold. Tortilla Flat: Southwest Publishing Co., 1945. Hardcover, dust jacket, 166 pages, with illustrations, maps, and photographs. From the title page: "Thunder Gods Gold by Barry Storm / The Amazing True Story Of America's Most Famed Lost Gold Mines, Epitome Of Western Tradition." On the copyright page: "Treasure Trial Edition 1st printing: June, 1945." Same page, dedication: "To the prospector whose daring enterprise on lonely trails has built and will forever sustain the destiny of a metallic civilization, Thunder Gods Gold, his timeless dream, is dedicated."
Thunder gods gold. Phoenix: Southwest Publishing Co., 1946. Hardcover, dust jacket, 167 pages, with illustrations, maps, and photographs. From the title page: "Thunder Gods Gold by Barry Storm / The Amazing True Story Of America's Lost Gold Mines, Epitome Of Western Tradition / Treasure Trial Edition." On the copyright page: "Treasure Trail Edition / 1st Printing: July, 1945, 5,000 copies / 2nd Printing, Oct., 1946, 5,500 copies." Notes and comments. - Thunder gods gold, the amazing true story of America's lost gold mines, epitome of western traditions. Tortilla Flat: Southwest Publishing Company, 1946. Pamphlet, 80 pages, with illustrations and photographs. The dust jacket from the 1945 trade edition is used as the cover. "Abridged Arizona newsstand edition." See above record, May 1946, abridged edition. This is an abridged version that Storm used to promote the sale of the second printing. Notes and comments.
- Publishing data in brackets is taken from the Revised, Enlarged Edition (1953), which is not totally accurate. There really are just two printings (5,000 and 5,500 copies) and the abridged version. However, there are two versions of the first printing; one a numbered and signed edition, the other the trade edition. So, the fourth printing Storm lists below, is really the second printing (GD).
- [1st printing, Autographed Edition, July 1945]
First printing; signed and numbered: (CBI:$3.75 autographed Treasure Trail edition)/$50 dj., $45 dj. - [2nd printing, Trade Edition, August, 1945] (Really June 1945, was in fact part of the first printing; Treasure Trail edition - but not signed and numbered).
First printing. Trade edition: $2.75/$32.50 signed; $75, $45, $40; no dj $50, $45, $38, $30, $24, $23, $15, $10. - [4th printing, Trade Edition, November, 1946] (The true second printing, actually October 1946).
Second printing. Trade edition: $2.75/$65, $17 dj; no dj $45, $30, $25, $20. - [3rd printing, Abridged Edition, May 1946]
Third printing. Abridged: $1.00/$10.00. - Reprint edition. 2012. CreateSpace print-on-demand. Publisher unknown. Softcover, 166 page. Uses Google's digital file to print a reproduction of the 1945 Trade Edition. All that's missing is a reproduction of the dust jacket. As can be seen, the volume scanned was from the UC Berkeley libraries.
$16.99. - Thunder gods' gold! Revised, enlarged edition. Quincy, Ill.: Storm-Mollet, 1953. Hardcover with dust jacket, 167 pages, with illustrations and photographs. From the title page: "The Amazing Story of America's Most Famed Lost Gold Mines, Traditional Epitome of Western Treasure Trails with Treasure Hunter's Guide, Gold and War Minerals Geology, and Ore-Finder Charts. Copyright 1945, 1946, 1947, 1953 by Barry Storm." On the copyright page: "This book embodies two books: first, the accumulation of lost mine lore from a composite of local research and treasure hunting dating back to 1937 and first fully published in 1945 as Thunder Gods' Gold, serialized in Desert Magazine, Science and Mechanics, Adventure, abridged in Frontier Stories and adapted to motion pictures as Lust for Gold and, second, the field manual Practical Prospecting first published in 1946 and serialized in The Mining Journal." Storm used three different abridged versions of this work to promote sale of the full version, see the following three records. Notes and comments.
Publishing history taken from this work and CBI: - Trade Edition. 10/1953. $3.75CBI/$45, $35, $25, $18; $25 signed.
Autographed Edition. 10/1953. $4.95CBI/? deluxe autographed edition,
(were also numbered).
Three abridged paperback editions. $1.00CBI/? (See below.) - Thunder gods' gold! Quincey, Ill.: Storm-Mollet Publishing Associates, 1953. Pamphlet. One of Storm's abridged promotional booklets for Thunder Gods' Gold. Notes and comments.
- $1.00CBI/?
- Lost Arizona gold: the exciting story of a treasure hunter on trail in Arizona's famed Superstition Mountains, of the story behind the story of the Lost Peralta and Lost Dutchman Gold Mines, and tales of other alluring traditions of lost gold free to the first finder. Quincy, Ill.: Storm-Mollet Publishing Associates, 1953. Pamphlet, not paged (54 pages), with photographs and illustrations. "Abridged Booklet Edition of a portion of Barry Storm's Thunder Gods' Gold, reprinted from the plates of the famed revised, enlarged Treasure Trail Edition." Notes and comments.
- $1.00/$20, $14, $11.50.
$1.00/$5.95 contemporary reprint copy. - Practical Prospecting: a manual of electronic prospecting techniques. Quincy, Ill.: Storm-Mollet Publishing Associates, 1953. Pamphlet, 42 pages, 8 pages of photographs as well as illustrations. Cover title. On the cover: "with Treasure Hunter's Guide, Gold and War Minerals Geology, and Ore-Finder Charts." Back endpaper: "Abridged Booklet Edition of a portion of Barry Storm's Thunder Gods' Gold, reprinted from the plates of the famed revised, enlarged Treasure Trail Edition." Notes and comments.
- $1.00/$18.
- Tales of the Southwest. Inyokern: Storm Publishing Associates, 1958. Softcover, 225 pages, with photographs. On the title page: "A Western Story Bonanza / Tales of the Southwest." It is possible a cloth cover version exists (GD). From an ad for this work: "216 pages, 16 photographs and maps. Large library size. $2.95 at all book stores." The ad in this volume lists the cost for the paper cover copy as $2.50, $3.95 for cloth. On the cover: "Three books in one / Western Vignettes / The Mountains that were God / California Gold." Also from the cover: "A panoramic sweep across the wild southwest from Texas to California." "Here is the West that all readers love, with the story twists that would put O'Henry to shame -- a permanent addition to any library." From the title page: "From long forgotten Spanish frontiers to modern wild west sanguine people struggled against raw environments, the irony of fate and themselves. Some were heroes, some scoundrels. But history has given them stature in the turbulent backwash of centuries. Here are their stories in exciting fiction and amazing fact -- a panoramic sweep across the wild southwest from Texas to California." From a letter tucked into a review copy: "Saddle up now, Pardner! Enjoy your ride through our "TALES OF THE SOUTHWEST." And we'd certainly appreciate a clip or tear sheet of your review." Notes and comments.
- Hardcover. $3.95/?
Softcover. $2.50/$55, $54, $43, $20, $19, $15. - Thunder gods' gold: the mountains that were god. Chiriaco Summit: Stormjade Books, 1967. Softcover, 85 pages, with many pages of photographs, also maps and illustrations. On the title page: "Revised, Enlarged Edition." On the cover: "Thunder Gods Gold / The Mountains That Were God." Also on the cover: "In Arizona's Superstition Mountain Fortunes In Lost Gold And Silver Still Await Lucky Adventurers Along The Lost Dutchman Highway / Fantastic True Story Of The Peralta Land Grant Lost Mines and Treasures And The Lost Dutchman Gold Mine With Treasure Trial Photographs & Maps." From the title page: "From The West Of Centuries Ago Or From Still Wild Regions Just This Year Come Fabulous Tales Of Treasure Trove, More Fantastic Than Any Fiction. Epitome Of Such Unorthodox Histories Common To Every Western Frontier Is Arizona's Sinister Superstition Mountain Mining District Where Adventurers Still Search For The Famed Lost Dutchman, Itself One Of The Lost Peralta Mines, In The Mountains That Were God." Notes and comments.
- ?/$108, $40 incribed, $35, $27, $15, $12.50.
- Thunder god's gold. Apache Junction: Robert Schoose, 1986. (Scottsdale: Quality Impressions, 1986). Softcover, 52 pages, with illustrations and photographs. On the title page: "Thunder God's Gold By Barry Storm / Final Chapter by Robert Schoose." On the copyright page: "This book appeared originally as Thunder Gods Gold by Barry Storm copyright 1945 and was reprinted as The Mountains That Were God by Barry Storm copyright 1967." On the cover: "with Dedication, Introduction and Final Chapter by Robert Schoose." Notes and comments.
- $5.95/$52, $15, $5.95, $3.
- Bonanza of the Lost Dutchman. Photocopy. A reprint of Storm's Desert Magazine articles from 1945 (January to July of that year). They form the core of Thunder Gods Gold, also published in 1945.
- $3.00/SMHS.
- I was swindled by red movie makers. Quincy Ill.: Storm-Mollet Pub. Associates, 1954. Pamphlet, 48 pages, 18 are text, the rest present documents, news clippings and photographs. On the cover: "An expose of an enemy conspiracy to destroy the United States, and its movie communism, by a citizen-investigator who was himself victimized by red movie makers. It should be thoughtfully studied by every red-blooded American who values his own security and that of his country." This is an amazing publication. Take a look at the two different covers, versions one and two. Notes and comments.
- $2.00/$26, version one; $125, $25 inscribed, version two.
- Practical Pistoleering: a manual of practical revolver shooting techniques. Aguila: Southwestern Press, 1943. Small pamphlet, vi, 41 pages, with photographs. Very rare. I've seen a number of copies and they all have Storm's signature printed on the first page. From the Preface: "When we asked Barry Storm to write this small manual we knew that he would write from experience. We knew that in many years as a writer-adventurer and exploration engineer he had mastered practical pistoleering thoroughly through sheer necessity. For on the frontiers where he has lived and is still living an exciting life his ability to get meat for the pot, to beat a gunman to the draw was the only sort of life insurance - and shooting - that counted... We told him to give you the basic secrets, the tricks - in short the how-to of practical pistoleering. Handgunners, here it is!"
In one copy I found a printed form postcard that Storm had sent the buyer reading: "Dear Sir: We wish to thank you for your order for Barry Storm's new manual, PRACTICAL PISTOLEERING. There will be considerable delay due to Draft Board procedure which suddenly interrupted our publication schedule, by calling Mr. Storm to the service of his country without allowing him a temporary deferment to finish his work for us. This left us the embarassing alernative of either cancelling pubication and becoming defunct to your loss or of completing pubication considerably behind schedule with the limited spare time which Mr. Storm can now give. In fairness to you we have chosen the latter course and know you will be sportsman enough to bear with us while we gradually get the job done under these difficult circumstances beyond our control. Box 92, Aguila Arizona. SOUTHWESTERN PRESS." The postcard is dated Oct. 1, 1943, mailed at Tortilla Flat, Ariz. And when the buyer finally got his copy it came with a small slip of paper tucked inside with the following message: "Dear Pistoleero: We regret the delay that has been necessary on this publication, due to Mr. Storm being called to the armed forces. And, we wish to thank you for your patience while waiting for your copy of "Practical Pistoleering". We hope it will be all you expected, and more. Southwestern Press." - ?/$20.00.
- Practical Prospecting: a manual of electronic prospecting techniques. Tortilla Flat: Southwest Publishing Co., 1946 and 1947. Small pamphlet, 32 pages in 1946, 35 pages in 1947, with illustrations. The second printing states it was printed April 1947, but the publishing history taken from the revised and enlarged 1953 edition of Thunder Gods' Gold says June 1947.
-
1st printing, April 1946. No drawing on the cover. $1.00/CBI/$18.
2nd printing, April 1947. Drawing on the cover. $1.00/$55, $3. - Practical Prospecting: a manual of geological prospecting, electronic ore and treasure finding, and universal identification techniques. Inyokern: Storm Publishing Associates, 1957. Revised, enlarged field edition. Pamphlet, 59 pages, with charts and photographs. CM: "Originally published in 1946, this edition reflects added or revised text. Deals with prospecting, mineral identification, and treasure signs." Also, Chiriaco Summit: Stormjade Books, 1968, c1957. Revised, enlarged field edition. Pamphlet, 59 pages, with charts and photographs. The 1957 and 1968 editions have the same content.
- 1957 edition. $2.00/$7.50.
1968 edition. $2.95, $2.50/?
The three abridged paperback edtions of TGG 1953:
Several interesting works by Barry Storm with no relationship to the Lost Dutchman theme.
Doug Stewart © 1994-2018