The party first attacked a silver mine near the present-day town of Cooney, in the Mogollon Mountains on April 28, 1880.
Following the initial attack, the Apaches went on to kill another thirty-five people in the area, mainly sheepherders and their families.
The Weekly New Mexican reported on May 10 that "one hundred thousand head of sheep...were scattered or killed.
"[1] Victorio and his men left the region when U.S. Army troopers from Fort Bayard arrived.
erected a monument in the Gila Wilderness to honor Victorio's defense of the mountains, crediting the memorial to the non-existent "New Mexico Patriotic Heritage Society.