I commend you....awesome story. Thanks for sharing. Donna At 01:31 PM 12/2/99 -0800, Brian & Tricia Carothers wrote: >By this time, the murderers had fled south, after a failed attempt to burn >the bodies of their victims. > PRICE and BRANCH were horrified at what they saw. Both rode south to >Santa Barbara to sound the alarm. That night a 15 man posse from Santa >Barbara rode out in search of the killers. > Meanwhile, BECKWOURTH had returned to the mission, with a posse from the >Rancho RIOS. He observed that the victims bodies had been moved, and the >killers had taken to the trail. > BECKWOURTH rode to Monterey, reporting the incident to Lt. William T. >SHERMAN, who immediately informed Governor MASON. > The governor promptly dispatched lt. Edward ORD and two men to investigate. > The day following the savage slayings, the six outlaws passed San Luis >Obispo, making camp six miles south of town. > Some talk about killing Juan, the Indian took place. Fearing for his >life, Juan rode out from camp that night while the others slept. The next >day, Dec. 9, the five rode into Rancho Los Alamos, where they purchased >four horses, before continuing south to Rancho Las Cruces, where they camped. > Sticking to the El Camino Real, the outlaws continued their journey, >arriving at Santa Barbara late that night. After riding through the center >of town, they made camp a mile south of the village. > The next morning they rode to the Rancho Ortega, arriving at 11 a.m. >After a meal, about 1 p.m. they resumed their journey. > They had traveled but a short distance when the gang first caught glimpse >of the dust cloud rising from behind...now realizing a posse was quickly >overtaking them. The killer's horses were tired and in no condition to >outrun the posse. > Don Cesario LATALLADE led the 15 man Santa Barbara posse; they were >heavily armed, their mounts fresh. Three were Anglos, the rest >Californios, many of them former soldiers. > The outlaws fled for the beach with 15 riders not far behind. Posseman >Raymon RODRIGUEZ fired the first shot, striking Sam BERNARD. Although >mortally wounded BERNARD returned fire, striking RODRIGUEZ. Both men died >where they fell. > The posse opened fire and wounded Peter QUINN. QUINN, LYNCH and RAYMOND >then dismounted and surrendered. > Mike jumped from his horse into the breaking waves and swam out to sea, >losing a sack of money in the current. The posse took firing positions on >the beach. As he desperately tried to swim beyond the range of the rifles, >the posse fired. Hit by two rifle balls, Mike attempted to swim back to >shore, but drowned before reaching the beach. His body later washed up >onto the beach, where it was left to rot. > The posse returned to Santa Barbara with their dead companion and three >prisoners. A six member committee was formed from some of the most >prominent citizens to interrogate the prisoners. Two days later RAYMOND, >QUINN and LYNCH confessed to the murders in detail, admitting the gold they >carried had been stolen from William REED. > Raymond also confessed to killing VON PFISTER at Sutter's Mill. > Their confessions, each dated Dec. 13,1848, remain in the custody of the >Santa Barbara Mission Archive Library today. > On Dec. 24, the citizens of Santa Barbara elected a jury of 12 to hear >the case. The jury was made up of six Californios and six Anglos. A >recess was called for Christmas day, but the following day, the three men >were tried. > Representing Governor MASON was Lt. ORD. The jury convicted the three >unanimously for the brutal murders at San Miguel. They were sentenced to >death by firing squad, the sentence to be carried out on Dec. 28. > RAYMOND, QUINN and LYNCH, all being Catholic, were granted last rites. > The execution took place in a ravine not far from town by a firing squad >of nine. All three were killed by first fire. > By following the El Camino Real, the murderers passed through areas of >California that had been settled for 50 years, making the posse's job of >tracking them simple. The governments only action to RAYMOND'S escape from >custody, for the VON PFISTER murder was to issue a $500 reward for his >capture. > When the governor received news of the San Miguel massacre he sent Lt. >ORD and two others to investigate. The task of apprehending the murderers, >holding them in custody, trying their case, and executing the >sentence-death by firing squad- was carried out by civilians. > Had RAYMOND made good his escape after killing VON PFISTER, he could have >simply moved to new diggings. Most likely that would've ended the matter, >since the only men in the unsettled Mother Lode country were miners and >some of the earliest arrivals to the Gold Country. It would be another >year or two before the tempest of violence and crime would be felt here. > From his book "Gold Dust & Gunsmoke," John Boessenecker wrote: > "The San Miguel massacre was but a warning to those who flocked to the >new El Dorado. Ahead lay a decade of turbulence, violence, and bloodshed >that has not been equaled before or since in the history of peacetime >America." > Not all Gold Rush camps and towns experienced violence. Crime, however, >was a plague to them all. Georgetown during the Rush rarely saw violence, >yet Wells Fargo closed down it's office there because of the frequent >number of stage robberies in the area. > Miner Stephen WING kept a daily journal from 1852 to 1860, which gives >some insight into the life in the camps and to what extend the miners were >aware of crime and violence around them. > >Oct. 12, 1852-"Eight to ten men were sitting next to the El Dorado Saloon >having a sociable drink, when suddenly the door burst open by some gamblers >and one of the insiders was shot. Our cabin and a neighbor's was robbed >during the day. Thought to be Indians." > >March 1, 1853-"Bought out FULLER. Firm now WING, COOK and WOODBURY. Our >cabin was broken into and someone took $128 coarse gold." > >March 19, 1853-"Daguerreotype got as far as Sacramento, where Gideon LOW of >Lynn was robbed of $200, so he returned to the flat." > >July 10, 1854-"Cabin at Dutch Bar Hill was robbed." > >July 4, 1855-(Describing Fourth of July, Main St., Uniontown) "In the >meanwhile several fights took place. 'No-No Nothingism' seemed to be the >spur, combined with rot-gut whiskey and poor gin. Plenty of knives were >drawn during the melee." > > Although California received statehood in 1851, many decades would pass >before the miners' complacent attitude toward violence would change. It >was customary in those early days to bury a corpse, murdered or not, where >you found it. > In Newtown in 1861, and again in 1872 that's exactly what happened. > Two respected Newtown residents, both teachers, were murdered and robbed. >The teacher in 1872 had been beheaded. No questions asked-the miners of >Newtown tended to their dead as they always had. > Although Placerville was but a short distance away, no one raised a cry. >The Mountain Democrat didn't carry a story. > The '49ers had heard that Gold Rush town streets were paved with gold, so >they came. But only a few ever found that street, many of the rest lived >in poverty. Most were transients jumping from hole to hole, looking for >one that paid better than the last. > What gold they did lay their hands on was spent quickly in local >establishments, whorehouses, saloons and on taxes. > There wasn't a pot of gold at the end of every rainbow-for many men, hard >labor, little or no pay, harsh winters, sickness and living encamped in an >unfamiliar, hostile land, without government or law, became a way of life >in the new El Dorado. > >Sources: >"Gold Dust & Gunsmoke" by John Boessenecker, published by John Wiley and >Son's Inc., 1999; "Reminiscences of Old Newton," by John Gardella, >published by Jane Voiles; Daily Journal of Stephen Wing, published by >Phyllis Gernes, 1982; Mountain Democrat Newspaper, Gardella's >Articles-March & April 1956. > >Anthony M. Belli is an amateur historian and a former peace officer. He is >a resident of Pollock Pines. > > >==== CA-GOLDRUSH Mailing List ==== >Automatic Administrative Reminder: >Please remember to stay on topic - this list covers the Gold >Rush period in California's early history (1840s-1880s). > > >

Can't wait for part two. Donna At 01:31 PM 12/2/99 -0800, Brian & Tricia Carothers wrote: >Mountain Democrat Newspaper >Friday, Nov. 26, 1999 >Pg. A-11 > >Murder at Sutter's Mill led to bigger Massacre > >Gold Rush's first killer turned into mass murderer > >By Anthony M. Belli >Special to the Democrat > > > In 1997 the homicide rate for the city of Los Angeles was 33 murders per >100,000 population, over three times the national average. > During the height of the Gold Rush, in 1855, 538 murders occurred in >California. Adjusted for today's standard this is an annual rate just over >179 per 100,000...more than 17 times the national average today. > One could easily say it was fate-for in the very place where James >Marshall discovered gold, the first murder of the Gold Rush occurred. > Only eight months after Marshall made his discovery, Peter RAYMOND, an >Irish miner, murdered John VON PFISTER at Sutter's Mill. > On the night of Oct. 1, 1848, several men lay sleeping in Sutter's Mill. >A drunken, 21 year old sailor from Dublin, Ireland, named Peter RAYMOND >pounded o the sawmill's door. Inside the men awoke, one of them being >RAYMOND'S mining partner, Peter QUINN, also a Dublin sailor and deserter >from the U.S. Navy. The two had failed to strike pay dirt along the >American River. > RAYMOND staggered into the mill drunk, volatile and demanded liquor from >the awakened men. Another miner, John VON PFISTER stood, shoved a knife >into his waistband, then approached RAYMOND. > VON PFISTER did not intend to fight. He thought he might be able to >quiet the drunk so everyone could get back to sleep. > VON PFISTER was able to calm RAYMOND and got him to sit on a bench. >Extending his hand in friendship, VON PFISTER asked "if they now were >friends?" > RAYMOND extended his hand, taking hold of VON PFISTER'S while his other >hand pulled VON PFISTER'S knife from his waistband, and then RAYMOND >plunged it into his new friend's heart. The next sound the men heard was >when VON PFISTER'S corpse hit the floor. > The men caught RAYMOND as he tried to flee. He was transported downriver >to Sutter's Fort in Sacramento, where he was held prisoner awaiting trial >before the Alcalde, a quasi-justice of the peace as California was not yet >a state. Within several days RAYMOND escaped, aided by his friend Peter >QUINN. > Colonel MASON, military governor of California, placed a $500 bounty on >the killers head. > During this period in history, California had no law enforcement to >investigate crime or pursue the outlaws responsible. The Alcalde system >left over from the Mexican regime was in effect the only law in the settled >regions of California. In the yet unsettled Mother Lode Country, there was >no law. > Many Californians had some foresight into the anarchy that would soon >infest this territory. The editor of a San Francisco newspaper, the >Californian, on Oct. 14 wrote: "This tragic event brings very forcibly to >mind the present condition of California without law, without any regular >authorized government of power for the protection of life and property, and >yet holding out unparalleled inducements to desperadoes, escaped convicts >and the scum of the Pacific to come to her shores." > RAYMOND and QUINN passed through the San Joaquin Valley, then the coast >range on foot. Following the El Camino Real, the pair arrived at the >Mission Soledad, less than two months after the murder. It was here where >they met three more outlaws, Sam BERNARD, alias Sam BARNBERRY, a seaman who >jumped ship, Joseph P. LYNCH, alias Joseph FISHER, a 28 year old German, >and an Irish sailor known only as "Mike." > The three boasted of the men they had murdered days earlier near >Sacramento for their gold and a man they'd killed by "shooting his face >off," before stealing his horses. The five desperadoes banded together, >and along with a 20 year old Indian guide named "Juan," they departed the >Mission heading south. > On the afternoon of Dec. 4 they arrived at the Mission San Miguel. Ten >people were staying at the mission, Mr. REED, his pregnant wife, Maria >Antonia VALLEJO, their 3 year old son, her younger brother, Jose Ramon >VALLEJO, and mid-wife Josefa OLIVERS, whose 15 year old daughter and 4 year >old grandson were in her charge. Live-in domestic staff were an elderly >Indian shepherd, his 5 year old grandson, and a black youth who worked as >the cook. > That evening, REED invited the six strangers in for supper. After the >meal Mike and LYNCH sold the gold, taken from the miners they had murdered >some days before. REED boasted of his own rich strike, then paid his >guests in silver coin. > The following morning the six left the mission, continuing their journey >along the El Camino Real. It didn't take long for the conversation to get >around to REED'S gold, or for them to decide to go back for it. Upon >returning to the mission the men confessed they'd like to rest up one more >night before resuming their journey. > REED welcomed them, and in exchange for their keep the men fell two trees >and chopped them into firewood. After supper they sat around the fire as >Reed entertained his guests in conversation. The women and children >retired for the evening. > Around 8 p.m. Sam BERNARD got up from a bench to stoke the fire. He >passed behind REED'S chair, stooped over, picked up an axe, then split his >host's skull open. As REED fell to the floor, the Indian guide, Juan, >thrust a knife into him. > What occurred next was a massacre. Peter RAYMOND entered the kitchen, >killed the cook with an axe, then led the men to the sleeping quarters. >Mike entered first, armed with shotgun and sabre, as the other desperadoes >passed quietly through the door. The room was dark...silent as they began >hacking away at the women and children with their knives and axes. > REED'S 3 year old son hid under a bed with the Indian boy. Mike pulled >the toddler from the bed and ended his life. Meanwhile, the 5 year old >Indian boy was dragged from under the bed by Peter QUINN, who sunk an axe >into the boy's head. > One woman ran screaming for her life as Mike slashed her with his sword, >killing her. Mrs. REED, her unborn child, along with Josefa OLIVERS, her >teenage daughter and grandson were then most brutally murdered. > The old Indian was asleep in the carpenter's shop. RAYMOND kicked the >door in as Sam BERNARD, armed with REED'S shotgun fired the first shot. >Slightly wounded, the Indian rose to his feet, when LYNCH fired the second >shot into the old man's head. RAYMOND then walked over to the fallen man >and buried a hatchet into his skull. > The killers return to the house where they dragged their victims bodies >out to the carpenter shop. BERNARD found young, Jose Ramon VALLEJO hiding >inside. He forced the boy out to the carpenter shop, where Juan killed the >youngster. > In the house, the six butchers begin to drink wine and ransack every >room. REED'S money chest was broken open, the gold and silver seized. > From out of a silent, still winter night, the hoofbeats of a rider >approaching startled them. They hid in a back room as Jim BECKWOURTH, a >noted mountain man, tied his horse in front of the mission. He entered the >mission, and later described what he saw: > "I walked about a little to attract attention, and no one coming to me, I >stepped into the kitchen to look for some of the inmates. On the floor I >saw someone lying down, asleep, as I supposed...This seemed strange, and my >apprehensions became excited; for the Indians were numerous about, and I >was afraid some mischief had been done. I returned to my horse for my >pistols, then, lighting a candle I commenced a search. In going along a >passage, I stumbled over the body of a woman; I entered a room, and found >another, a murdered Indian woman who had been a domestic. I was about to >enter another room, but was arrested by some sudden thought which urged me >to search no further. It was an opportune admonition, for that very room >contained the murderers of the family, who had heard my steps and were >sitting at that moment with their pistols pointing at the door." > BECKWOURTH secured his mount and galloped five miles to the nearest >rancho of Petronilo RIOS. As BECKWOURTH gathered a posse of vaqueros and >Indians, two prominent citizens, John M. PRICE and Francis Z. BRANCH, >stopped in at the mission. > >[part II coming next] > > > >==== CA-GOLDRUSH Mailing List ==== >Automatic Administrative Reminder: >We cannot post copyrighted materials to the Rootsweb lists >without written & signed permission from the author(s) >and/or publisher(s). > > >

Uh-oh, did I blow it by sending this newspaper article on Sutters Mill? I didn't realize that newspapers fell under the copyright laws. I apologize profusely for my mistake! So sorry... Tricia Carothers bcaroth@jps.net

By this time, the murderers had fled south, after a failed attempt to burn the bodies of their victims. PRICE and BRANCH were horrified at what they saw. Both rode south to Santa Barbara to sound the alarm. That night a 15 man posse from Santa Barbara rode out in search of the killers. Meanwhile, BECKWOURTH had returned to the mission, with a posse from the Rancho RIOS. He observed that the victims bodies had been moved, and the killers had taken to the trail. BECKWOURTH rode to Monterey, reporting the incident to Lt. William T. SHERMAN, who immediately informed Governor MASON. The governor promptly dispatched lt. Edward ORD and two men to investigate. The day following the savage slayings, the six outlaws passed San Luis Obispo, making camp six miles south of town. Some talk about killing Juan, the Indian took place. Fearing for his life, Juan rode out from camp that night while the others slept. The next day, Dec. 9, the five rode into Rancho Los Alamos, where they purchased four horses, before continuing south to Rancho Las Cruces, where they camped. Sticking to the El Camino Real, the outlaws continued their journey, arriving at Santa Barbara late that night. After riding through the center of town, they made camp a mile south of the village. The next morning they rode to the Rancho Ortega, arriving at 11 a.m. After a meal, about 1 p.m. they resumed their journey. They had traveled but a short distance when the gang first caught glimpse of the dust cloud rising from behind...now realizing a posse was quickly overtaking them. The killer's horses were tired and in no condition to outrun the posse. Don Cesario LATALLADE led the 15 man Santa Barbara posse; they were heavily armed, their mounts fresh. Three were Anglos, the rest Californios, many of them former soldiers. The outlaws fled for the beach with 15 riders not far behind. Posseman Raymon RODRIGUEZ fired the first shot, striking Sam BERNARD. Although mortally wounded BERNARD returned fire, striking RODRIGUEZ. Both men died where they fell. The posse opened fire and wounded Peter QUINN. QUINN, LYNCH and RAYMOND then dismounted and surrendered. Mike jumped from his horse into the breaking waves and swam out to sea, losing a sack of money in the current. The posse took firing positions on the beach. As he desperately tried to swim beyond the range of the rifles, the posse fired. Hit by two rifle balls, Mike attempted to swim back to shore, but drowned before reaching the beach. His body later washed up onto the beach, where it was left to rot. The posse returned to Santa Barbara with their dead companion and three prisoners. A six member committee was formed from some of the most prominent citizens to interrogate the prisoners. Two days later RAYMOND, QUINN and LYNCH confessed to the murders in detail, admitting the gold they carried had been stolen from William REED. Raymond also confessed to killing VON PFISTER at Sutter's Mill. Their confessions, each dated Dec. 13,1848, remain in the custody of the Santa Barbara Mission Archive Library today. On Dec. 24, the citizens of Santa Barbara elected a jury of 12 to hear the case. The jury was made up of six Californios and six Anglos. A recess was called for Christmas day, but the following day, the three men were tried. Representing Governor MASON was Lt. ORD. The jury convicted the three unanimously for the brutal murders at San Miguel. They were sentenced to death by firing squad, the sentence to be carried out on Dec. 28. RAYMOND, QUINN and LYNCH, all being Catholic, were granted last rites. The execution took place in a ravine not far from town by a firing squad of nine. All three were killed by first fire. By following the El Camino Real, the murderers passed through areas of California that had been settled for 50 years, making the posse's job of tracking them simple. The governments only action to RAYMOND'S escape from custody, for the VON PFISTER murder was to issue a $500 reward for his capture. When the governor received news of the San Miguel massacre he sent Lt. ORD and two others to investigate. The task of apprehending the murderers, holding them in custody, trying their case, and executing the sentence-death by firing squad- was carried out by civilians. Had RAYMOND made good his escape after killing VON PFISTER, he could have simply moved to new diggings. Most likely that would've ended the matter, since the only men in the unsettled Mother Lode country were miners and some of the earliest arrivals to the Gold Country. It would be another year or two before the tempest of violence and crime would be felt here. From his book "Gold Dust & Gunsmoke," John Boessenecker wrote: "The San Miguel massacre was but a warning to those who flocked to the new El Dorado. Ahead lay a decade of turbulence, violence, and bloodshed that has not been equaled before or since in the history of peacetime America." Not all Gold Rush camps and towns experienced violence. Crime, however, was a plague to them all. Georgetown during the Rush rarely saw violence, yet Wells Fargo closed down it's office there because of the frequent number of stage robberies in the area. Miner Stephen WING kept a daily journal from 1852 to 1860, which gives some insight into the life in the camps and to what extend the miners were aware of crime and violence around them. Oct. 12, 1852-"Eight to ten men were sitting next to the El Dorado Saloon having a sociable drink, when suddenly the door burst open by some gamblers and one of the insiders was shot. Our cabin and a neighbor's was robbed during the day. Thought to be Indians." March 1, 1853-"Bought out FULLER. Firm now WING, COOK and WOODBURY. Our cabin was broken into and someone took $128 coarse gold." March 19, 1853-"Daguerreotype got as far as Sacramento, where Gideon LOW of Lynn was robbed of $200, so he returned to the flat." July 10, 1854-"Cabin at Dutch Bar Hill was robbed." July 4, 1855-(Describing Fourth of July, Main St., Uniontown) "In the meanwhile several fights took place. 'No-No Nothingism' seemed to be the spur, combined with rot-gut whiskey and poor gin. Plenty of knives were drawn during the melee." Although California received statehood in 1851, many decades would pass before the miners' complacent attitude toward violence would change. It was customary in those early days to bury a corpse, murdered or not, where you found it. In Newtown in 1861, and again in 1872 that's exactly what happened. Two respected Newtown residents, both teachers, were murdered and robbed. The teacher in 1872 had been beheaded. No questions asked-the miners of Newtown tended to their dead as they always had. Although Placerville was but a short distance away, no one raised a cry. The Mountain Democrat didn't carry a story. The '49ers had heard that Gold Rush town streets were paved with gold, so they came. But only a few ever found that street, many of the rest lived in poverty. Most were transients jumping from hole to hole, looking for one that paid better than the last. What gold they did lay their hands on was spent quickly in local establishments, whorehouses, saloons and on taxes. There wasn't a pot of gold at the end of every rainbow-for many men, hard labor, little or no pay, harsh winters, sickness and living encamped in an unfamiliar, hostile land, without government or law, became a way of life in the new El Dorado. Sources: "Gold Dust & Gunsmoke" by John Boessenecker, published by John Wiley and Son's Inc., 1999; "Reminiscences of Old Newton," by John Gardella, published by Jane Voiles; Daily Journal of Stephen Wing, published by Phyllis Gernes, 1982; Mountain Democrat Newspaper, Gardella's Articles-March & April 1956. Anthony M. Belli is an amateur historian and a former peace officer. He is a resident of Pollock Pines.

Mountain Democrat Newspaper Friday, Nov. 26, 1999 Pg. A-11 Murder at Sutter's Mill led to bigger Massacre Gold Rush's first killer turned into mass murderer By Anthony M. Belli Special to the Democrat In 1997 the homicide rate for the city of Los Angeles was 33 murders per 100,000 population, over three times the national average. During the height of the Gold Rush, in 1855, 538 murders occurred in California. Adjusted for today's standard this is an annual rate just over 179 per 100,000...more than 17 times the national average today. One could easily say it was fate-for in the very place where James Marshall discovered gold, the first murder of the Gold Rush occurred. Only eight months after Marshall made his discovery, Peter RAYMOND, an Irish miner, murdered John VON PFISTER at Sutter's Mill. On the night of Oct. 1, 1848, several men lay sleeping in Sutter's Mill. A drunken, 21 year old sailor from Dublin, Ireland, named Peter RAYMOND pounded o the sawmill's door. Inside the men awoke, one of them being RAYMOND'S mining partner, Peter QUINN, also a Dublin sailor and deserter from the U.S. Navy. The two had failed to strike pay dirt along the American River. RAYMOND staggered into the mill drunk, volatile and demanded liquor from the awakened men. Another miner, John VON PFISTER stood, shoved a knife into his waistband, then approached RAYMOND. VON PFISTER did not intend to fight. He thought he might be able to quiet the drunk so everyone could get back to sleep. VON PFISTER was able to calm RAYMOND and got him to sit on a bench. Extending his hand in friendship, VON PFISTER asked "if they now were friends?" RAYMOND extended his hand, taking hold of VON PFISTER'S while his other hand pulled VON PFISTER'S knife from his waistband, and then RAYMOND plunged it into his new friend's heart. The next sound the men heard was when VON PFISTER'S corpse hit the floor. The men caught RAYMOND as he tried to flee. He was transported downriver to Sutter's Fort in Sacramento, where he was held prisoner awaiting trial before the Alcalde, a quasi-justice of the peace as California was not yet a state. Within several days RAYMOND escaped, aided by his friend Peter QUINN. Colonel MASON, military governor of California, placed a $500 bounty on the killers head. During this period in history, California had no law enforcement to investigate crime or pursue the outlaws responsible. The Alcalde system left over from the Mexican regime was in effect the only law in the settled regions of California. In the yet unsettled Mother Lode Country, there was no law. Many Californians had some foresight into the anarchy that would soon infest this territory. The editor of a San Francisco newspaper, the Californian, on Oct. 14 wrote: "This tragic event brings very forcibly to mind the present condition of California without law, without any regular authorized government of power for the protection of life and property, and yet holding out unparalleled inducements to desperadoes, escaped convicts and the scum of the Pacific to come to her shores." RAYMOND and QUINN passed through the San Joaquin Valley, then the coast range on foot. Following the El Camino Real, the pair arrived at the Mission Soledad, less than two months after the murder. It was here where they met three more outlaws, Sam BERNARD, alias Sam BARNBERRY, a seaman who jumped ship, Joseph P. LYNCH, alias Joseph FISHER, a 28 year old German, and an Irish sailor known only as "Mike." The three boasted of the men they had murdered days earlier near Sacramento for their gold and a man they'd killed by "shooting his face off," before stealing his horses. The five desperadoes banded together, and along with a 20 year old Indian guide named "Juan," they departed the Mission heading south. On the afternoon of Dec. 4 they arrived at the Mission San Miguel. Ten people were staying at the mission, Mr. REED, his pregnant wife, Maria Antonia VALLEJO, their 3 year old son, her younger brother, Jose Ramon VALLEJO, and mid-wife Josefa OLIVERS, whose 15 year old daughter and 4 year old grandson were in her charge. Live-in domestic staff were an elderly Indian shepherd, his 5 year old grandson, and a black youth who worked as the cook. That evening, REED invited the six strangers in for supper. After the meal Mike and LYNCH sold the gold, taken from the miners they had murdered some days before. REED boasted of his own rich strike, then paid his guests in silver coin. The following morning the six left the mission, continuing their journey along the El Camino Real. It didn't take long for the conversation to get around to REED'S gold, or for them to decide to go back for it. Upon returning to the mission the men confessed they'd like to rest up one more night before resuming their journey. REED welcomed them, and in exchange for their keep the men fell two trees and chopped them into firewood. After supper they sat around the fire as Reed entertained his guests in conversation. The women and children retired for the evening. Around 8 p.m. Sam BERNARD got up from a bench to stoke the fire. He passed behind REED'S chair, stooped over, picked up an axe, then split his host's skull open. As REED fell to the floor, the Indian guide, Juan, thrust a knife into him. What occurred next was a massacre. Peter RAYMOND entered the kitchen, killed the cook with an axe, then led the men to the sleeping quarters. Mike entered first, armed with shotgun and sabre, as the other desperadoes passed quietly through the door. The room was dark...silent as they began hacking away at the women and children with their knives and axes. REED'S 3 year old son hid under a bed with the Indian boy. Mike pulled the toddler from the bed and ended his life. Meanwhile, the 5 year old Indian boy was dragged from under the bed by Peter QUINN, who sunk an axe into the boy's head. One woman ran screaming for her life as Mike slashed her with his sword, killing her. Mrs. REED, her unborn child, along with Josefa OLIVERS, her teenage daughter and grandson were then most brutally murdered. The old Indian was asleep in the carpenter's shop. RAYMOND kicked the door in as Sam BERNARD, armed with REED'S shotgun fired the first shot. Slightly wounded, the Indian rose to his feet, when LYNCH fired the second shot into the old man's head. RAYMOND then walked over to the fallen man and buried a hatchet into his skull. The killers return to the house where they dragged their victims bodies out to the carpenter shop. BERNARD found young, Jose Ramon VALLEJO hiding inside. He forced the boy out to the carpenter shop, where Juan killed the youngster. In the house, the six butchers begin to drink wine and ransack every room. REED'S money chest was broken open, the gold and silver seized. From out of a silent, still winter night, the hoofbeats of a rider approaching startled them. They hid in a back room as Jim BECKWOURTH, a noted mountain man, tied his horse in front of the mission. He entered the mission, and later described what he saw: "I walked about a little to attract attention, and no one coming to me, I stepped into the kitchen to look for some of the inmates. On the floor I saw someone lying down, asleep, as I supposed...This seemed strange, and my apprehensions became excited; for the Indians were numerous about, and I was afraid some mischief had been done. I returned to my horse for my pistols, then, lighting a candle I commenced a search. In going along a passage, I stumbled over the body of a woman; I entered a room, and found another, a murdered Indian woman who had been a domestic. I was about to enter another room, but was arrested by some sudden thought which urged me to search no further. It was an opportune admonition, for that very room contained the murderers of the family, who had heard my steps and were sitting at that moment with their pistols pointing at the door." BECKWOURTH secured his mount and galloped five miles to the nearest rancho of Petronilo RIOS. As BECKWOURTH gathered a posse of vaqueros and Indians, two prominent citizens, John M. PRICE and Francis Z. BRANCH, stopped in at the mission. [part II coming next]

I'd love to see it, as I'm still looking for death and grave information on John Christopher HILL, who died about 1853 in this neighborhood. Nancy in OR ----- Original Message ----- From: Brian & Tricia Carothers To: CA-GOLDRUSH-L@rootsweb.com Sent: Thursday, December 02, 1999 1:04 PM Subject: [GOLDRUSH] Murder at Sutter's Mill article Hi all, I am posting this to both the NORCAL and CA-GOLDRUSH lists. There was recently an interesting article in the Mountain Democrat Newspaper (El Dorado County) which was entitled "Murder at Sutter's Mill". It also mentions Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo and other places. I've retyped this article and was wondering if it would be all right for me to post it to the lists, so others might see it. It's really fascinating! I'll await your reply. Tricia Carothers bcaroth@jps.net ==== CA-GOLDRUSH Mailing List ==== Automatic Administrative Reminder: "Most Wanted of our Lost in Early California Ancestors" is a web page for members of this list to post queries. <http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/8861/goldrush98.htm>

Hi all, I am posting this to both the NORCAL and CA-GOLDRUSH lists. There was recently an interesting article in the Mountain Democrat Newspaper (El Dorado County) which was entitled "Murder at Sutter's Mill". It also mentions Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo and other places. I've retyped this article and was wondering if it would be all right for me to post it to the lists, so others might see it. It's really fascinating! I'll await your reply. Tricia Carothers bcaroth@jps.net

The Tunison diaries certainly brought list members back to life. Here is another vote to see some excerpts. Ralph Anderson Boulder, CO rkaboulder@bwn.net

Really appreciated you posting this article. Sure gives you a good idea of how "things were" in those days, doesn't it? Sad, but true. dt

This would be fascinating -- but I urge you to get permission from the newspaper first, because of copyright. Thanks. ------------ On Thu, 02 Dec 1999 13:04:26 -0800 Brian & Tricia Carothers <bcaroth@jps.net> writes: <snip> There was recently an interesting article in the Mountain Democrat Newspaper (El Dorado County) which was entitled "Murder at Sutter's Mill" <snip>

Cathy I assume that you are inquiring about Sutter Co. deed records? If so, the Sutter Co. Hall of Records (Data Processing Center) at 463 Second Street in Yuba City, CA 95991, (916)822-7130) should be able to respond to your questions. For the most part, I have had to physically go there for the information I wanted. As for the newspapers, I found much information in the newspapers of California Room of the California State Library, at 914 Capital Mall, Sacramento, CA 95814, (916) 654-0261. There is also a good history room at the Marysville Library. Deane Coats dcoats@jps.net

Tim, the diary sounds really interesting to get a taste of what our forefathers went through. I am searching more info. on my gr.grandfather, Dr. J. W. (Jesse Walker) Steely who had a mine near Grizzly Flats in El Dorado Co. and was later a doctor at the Pacific House in Suisun City. That is where I have lost him, as he did not return to MO to his family and we don't know where he died and was buried. I would appreciate it if you could look for his name. I know he went out the first time with his wife and 3 children, had 4 out there (2 died), another on the way home and one just after he left to go back to CA, never to return. Thanks! Nadine in MO P.S. If anyone knows about the history of the Pacific House Hotel or where I could search for him in the area, I will appreciate hearing from you.

In a message dated 12/1/99 9:38:15 PM, KaUzGr@aol.com writes: << Please don't withdraw your offer to share the diaries >> I agree! Stephanie

Tim - I agree. There are so many people who want to just ruin it for everyone else. Don't let them get away with it. Once, I forwarded to the list the nasty comments sent privately, I got in trouble from list mom, but the private jerk never sent anot her one believe me. Gail -----Original Message----- From: djtaylor@puc.edu <djtaylor@puc.edu> To: CA-GOLDRUSH-L@rootsweb.com <CA-GOLDRUSH-L@rootsweb.com> Date: Wednesday, December 01, 1999 9:35 PM Subject: [GOLDRUSH] Re: Tunison Diaries >Tim, I for one would love this. I find that sort of reading fascinating! >Diane Biggar-Taylor > > >> I have A. L. Tunison's diaries of the early 1860s, in which a portion >> the time he was a teamster hauling freight from Northern California to >> mines of Northern Nevada (Humboldt, Unionville, etc) If there are >> people interested in this I can always start posting sections of it. > > >==== CA-GOLDRUSH Mailing List ==== >Automatic Administrative Reminder: >Please DO NOT post to multiple lists with one email; this can cause >bounced-mail problems for Rootsweb and for us; and those looking for >answers but are not subscribed to this list will not get replies. This >also occurs when non-lister's messages are forwarded to the list. > >

Good grief, Tim, the information about taking an oath during the Civil War is precisely the kind of genealgy-related material that SHOULD be included. Genealogy-related material is names and dates and places, yes, but it is also anything that helps us understand the times and conditions in which our ancestors lived. I thought my reply to Carolyn would make that clear. Chaff? Hardly! Jim

Many people came to California by ship, either around the horn or via Panama (yes, I know the canal wasn't there then--they took two ships, one on either side). There are a good many records of those folks. But many also went back home by ship, having made thir fortune or given up, or for other reasons. I know some who did and wonder about others. Are there records of passengers leaving San Francisco, particularly from 1855 to 1860? Thanks, Jim

Looking for info on the following people: Horace Yoeman Fitch: Born Dec. 12 1827 in NY. died Jan. 24, 1910 in Stillwater, Ok. First wife Cornelia Elizabeth Reynolds died in San Francisco April 21, 1871..He next married Sarah Shirley. Think he met and married her in Redwood City Area of Ca. He left Ca. abt. 1872. Orin Fitch...may have died young. Oscar Fitch..Died Dec. 12, 1920 Placerville, Ca. George Medbury Fitch, Died Nov. 21, 1916, Placerville, Ca. These men were all brothers. Am also looking for info on Horace Frederick Fitch, son of Horace Yoeman..He went by the name of Fred, married to a woman named Maggie in Eureka, Ca. He raised the family in Eureka, and they are listed in the 1900 census of Humbolt Co, Ca. Also said to have lived in Carlotta, Ca. There are other children of Horace and Cornelia. Will gladly exchange info..thanks in advance for any help offer, and all help greatly appreciated. Karren

I was really looking forward to your posts, Tim. I hope you will change your mind. Laura (snip) > I withdraw my offer, guess I had the wrong > interpertation of what this list was about. > > Tim Purdy >

Tim: Please ignore the bah humbugs and educate us. My great grandfather left Ukiah twice went back to Nevada (Washoe and Reese River) chasing gold. It got in his veins after his immediate cousins struck it rick in Plymouth. Anything that would shed light on this is helpful. Lewis M. Ruddick

Post to NORCAL then Tim - we want you to share, please... Colleen -----Original Message----- From: Tim I. Purdy <tpurdy@thegrid.net> To: CA-GOLDRUSH-L@rootsweb.com <CA-GOLDRUSH-L@rootsweb.com> Date: Wednesday, December 01, 1999 7:18 PM Subject: [GOLDRUSH] Tunison diaries >Jim, > I only spent twenty years reseaching to find these diaries, because of >their historical content, due to a citation in a 1916 history. The >search was worth it. I have read numerous diaries over the years, and >this is only one that has ever mentioned having to take the oath of >allegiance crossing the state line from California to Nevada in regards >to the Civil War. Rather than offend you with this chaff of >non-genealogical material, I withdraw my offer, guess I had the wrong >interpertation of what this list was about. > >Tim Purdy > > >==== CA-GOLDRUSH Mailing List ==== >Automatic Administrative Reminder: >If you suddenly have a problem with list messages, PLEASE >check first with Tech Support of your ISP (Internet Service >Provider) before you ask the Rootsweb staff to look at the >problem. >