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.