One treasure tale that is often told is that of a massacre that occurred at Almo Creek. Though the site is depicted by a historical marker, this tale is now thought by many to be untrue. As the legend goes, an emigrant caravan of about 60 wagons took the Sublette Cutoff for the California Road and was attacked by Indians. Allegedly, the 300 some pioneers held off the attack for days, but in the end all were massacred with the exception of five who escaped. Massacre sites are often found to contain numerous relics and hidden caches. However, historians today believe the massacre is nothing more than campfire folklore. Because there are no military records, nor newspaper reports that even briefly mention what would have been the second largest Indian massacre in the 19th century, it is now believed the historical marker, erected in 1938, was done so purely to attract tourists to the area.

However, numerous other treasures are said to be hidden here, primarily along the roadways and trails that led from the gold camps of northern Idaho and Montana to Salt Lake City.

Gold was first discovered on the Clearwater River in northern Idaho in 1860, then the Salmon River in 1861, the Boise River in 1862 and, both silver and gold, near the Owyhee River in 1863. In nearby Montana Territory, richer veins were found along Grasshopper Creek in 1860 and still richer placers at Alder Gulch in 1861. Before long, word spread and prospectors flooded the area as the boomtowns of Idaho City, Silver City, and Florence, Idaho, as well as Virginia City, Nevada City, and Bannack, Montana sprang up to accommodate the many men.

However, the gold strikes brought not only miners and businessmen to the area; it also attracted numerous outlaws, with their minds set upon making an easier living than those toiling in the mines. In no time, the boomtown cities that were built during these strikes were known to have been rough and lawless places where gold dust was the primary monetary exchange. By 1863, a substantial number of outlaws had arrived and organized themselves in groups for the sole purpose of robbing stages, freight wagons and individuals. Leader of one of these notorious bands was said to have been non other than Henry Plumber, duly elected sheriff of Virginia City and Bannack, Montana in 1863. Though Plumber was hanged by vigilantes in January, 1864, he claimed to have hidden more than $100,000 in stolen loot somewhere along the trail from Virginia City through Idaho.