Oroblanco
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Hola amigos,
It is presumption to connect the pile of ore and pack saddle found by Silverlock and Malm with the Peralta massacre, especially since it was not found at Massacre field. The ore they found, could have come from miles away, literally, perhaps tens of miles, lost by a Spaniard, Mexican or American, due to Indian attack or just because a quail spooked the mule and it took off on the owner. If you have done any horse or mule packing in the tall tules, you know exactly what I am talking about. It is tempting to connect the dots, but may not be justified.
There is a newspaper account of a massacre of a band of Pimas in the Superstitions, of which there were two survivors, a boy and a girl; the boy was taken in by a local family and raised, and the time period for the massacre would be before the finding of the skeletal remains by Army scouts. Three men viewed those remains, one of them believed it was a party of Mexicans due to the gold tooth, the other scout and the officer both concluded the victims were Indians, likely Pimas. It would be presumption to conclude that a set of skeletal remains must be Mexican due to the presence of a gold tooth, for even some of the wildest Apaches are known to have gotten "western" dental work, including none other than the Apache Kid. So, YES, there was a massacre, it is documented in an Arizona newspaper, even the name of the surviving boy. This is why the Army did not find scattered mining tools, pots, pans etc as you would expect to be left if the victims had been Mexican or Anglo, as Apaches would not take such useless things. <They might punch holes in the pans however> If we believe trooper Green, he claimed to have also found a pouch of gold and that "seals" it for the Peralta massacre for some folks, however even Apaches are known to have gathered gold to trade for guns, powder etc and Pimas definitely owned and operated mines so it would not be safe to make any conclusions on that either. <Kino wrote that one group of Indians asked how much gold and silver they would need to get from their mines in order to "buy" a padre for their tribe.>
There is also a newspaper account of two men named Peralta coming in to Phoenix; one wounded from being attacked by Apaches while they were mining - in the Goldfield hills. Of course, some folks put zero faith in anything published by a newspaper.
Most legends are based on facts, and I strongly suspect this massacre and the Peralta incident are the roots of the legend of a Peralta massacre, having been confabulated by time and treasure writers. A real massacre, and real Peraltas whom were attacked by Apaches and survived, became blended into a single much more romantic event.
Oroblanco
It is presumption to connect the pile of ore and pack saddle found by Silverlock and Malm with the Peralta massacre, especially since it was not found at Massacre field. The ore they found, could have come from miles away, literally, perhaps tens of miles, lost by a Spaniard, Mexican or American, due to Indian attack or just because a quail spooked the mule and it took off on the owner. If you have done any horse or mule packing in the tall tules, you know exactly what I am talking about. It is tempting to connect the dots, but may not be justified.
There is a newspaper account of a massacre of a band of Pimas in the Superstitions, of which there were two survivors, a boy and a girl; the boy was taken in by a local family and raised, and the time period for the massacre would be before the finding of the skeletal remains by Army scouts. Three men viewed those remains, one of them believed it was a party of Mexicans due to the gold tooth, the other scout and the officer both concluded the victims were Indians, likely Pimas. It would be presumption to conclude that a set of skeletal remains must be Mexican due to the presence of a gold tooth, for even some of the wildest Apaches are known to have gotten "western" dental work, including none other than the Apache Kid. So, YES, there was a massacre, it is documented in an Arizona newspaper, even the name of the surviving boy. This is why the Army did not find scattered mining tools, pots, pans etc as you would expect to be left if the victims had been Mexican or Anglo, as Apaches would not take such useless things. <They might punch holes in the pans however> If we believe trooper Green, he claimed to have also found a pouch of gold and that "seals" it for the Peralta massacre for some folks, however even Apaches are known to have gathered gold to trade for guns, powder etc and Pimas definitely owned and operated mines so it would not be safe to make any conclusions on that either. <Kino wrote that one group of Indians asked how much gold and silver they would need to get from their mines in order to "buy" a padre for their tribe.>
There is also a newspaper account of two men named Peralta coming in to Phoenix; one wounded from being attacked by Apaches while they were mining - in the Goldfield hills. Of course, some folks put zero faith in anything published by a newspaper.
Most legends are based on facts, and I strongly suspect this massacre and the Peralta incident are the roots of the legend of a Peralta massacre, having been confabulated by time and treasure writers. A real massacre, and real Peraltas whom were attacked by Apaches and survived, became blended into a single much more romantic event.
Oroblanco
