There are many variations of the story, but they generally include these details: During the 1840s, the Peralta family of northern Mexico supposedly developed rich gold mine(s) in the Superstition Mountains.
In 1848, during a routine expedition to carry gold back to Mexico, the large party was ambushed by Apaches, and all were killed except for a few Peralta family members who escaped.
Glover in his book, The Lost Dutchman Mine of Jacob Waltz,[citation needed] wrote of a U.S. Cavalry trooper named William Edwards who was present for the discovery of the deceaseds' remains.
But trooper Edwards noticed that at least one of the skulls had a gold filling, common to Mexican (Spanish) aristocracy.
The Peralta massacre is depicted in a flashback in the 1949 film Lust for Gold, starring Glenn Ford and Ida Lupino.