The treasure was allegedly stolen by a Mexican gang in Monterrey, Mexico and buried in southeastern Arizona's Skeleton Canyon in the summer or fall of 1881.
Their modus operandi was to rustle cattle and sell the stock to the mining towns which sprang up during that time.
Their victims included Mexicans, some of whom were involved in legitimate cattle drives, as well as those engaged in the illegal smuggling of various goods.
The canyons along the western side of the Pelloncillos were favored as ambush sites, and it is documented that at least four such ambush/robberies took place.
On 13 August 1881, in retaliation for one such ambush, Neuman Haynes Clanton was gunned down in the Guadalupe Canyon Massacre.