Friday, November 6, 2015

Old West Lawman Saw Deputized Citizens As An Asset


It wasn't too long ago that I sort of stepped into a conversation regarding posses and how much law enforcement depended on the citizenry. The person who said it didn't take place decided to up his bet and said, "Other than in Hollywood movies, name one incident when that took place?"

So I started thinking of the times which really stuck in my head that weren't a matter of vigilantes just taking over and doing what needed to be done. As many of you know, where there was a breakdown in the law, whether it was through corruption or simply the law being out numbered, often citizens formed vigilante groups to step forward and right a local crime situation that may be getting out of hand.

We forget that aside from the vigilante groups, which popped up all over the West, it is a fact that the history of the West has all sorts of examples of everyday citizens being deputized to assist with the administration of justice.

Using the Posse Comitatus law, Old West lawman saw citizens aa an asset. Fact is, whether forming a posse or simply deputizing a couple of citizens on the spot, a lawman would use the Common Law of Posse Comitatus to call on all males over the age of fifteen for assistance in preventing any type of civil disorder and maintaining order.

A posse is defined as a group of civilians called upon by a sheriff or other law enforcement official to assist temporarily in preserving the peace or pursuing and arresting a fugitive. A group of citizens summoned by a sheriff to help in maintaining law and order.

After the person who I was talking with challenged me to name once when deputizing a couple of citizens on the spot actually took place, I have to admit that I shot for the obvious. I told him that before going down to the lot adjacent to the OK Corral to confront those in violation of Tombstone's city ordinance against wearing guns in town, City Marshal Virgil Earp deputized two citizens on the spot. One citizen was his brother Wyatt Earp who was in reality employed as a bartender. The other was a citizen by the name of Doc Holliday who made his living as a gambler. 

Later of course, Judge Spicer would say that his choices may have been a little unwise. But all in all, Virgil Earp did deputize two citizens who he knew that he could depend on.  

As for other lawmen back in the day, they were known to do the exact same thing as what Virgil Earp did in that they would deputize citizens that they knew they could depend on to back them up. And hopefully, the men they picked would stick and not turn tail if shooting started. 

Below, I have listed a few times when citizens stepped forward in what was known back then as the "Far West" of California. In some cases the citizens carried out the law even after the lawman which they were there supporting was already shot dead.

 September 2nd, 1854 

California bandido Tiburcio Vasquez killed Monterey Constable William Hardmount by shooting him during a fight at a fandango.

A fandango is a lively couples-dance which originated in Portugal and Spain, traditionally accompanied by guitars and castanets or hand-clapping. Fandango can both be sung and danced. Fandango is still one of the main folk dances in Portugal today.

Constable Hardmount was shot and killed when he attempted to break up a fight between several men -- some from the East Coast, Mexico and Ireland. It is said that bandit Tiburcio Vasquez and others were fighting over rum and women when Vasquez shot and killed Constable Hardmount when he attempted to stop the fight.

Vasquez's accomplice was wounded by return fire. Vasquez escaped, but the citizenry stepped up and captured his accomplice who they hanged in the town square the following day.


November 10th, 1855 

California's Monterey County saw three of its Sheriff Deputies killed in one afternoon when Deputy De La Torre, Deputy Jim Beckwith and Deputy Charles Layton were all shot and killed while attempting to arrest a suspect wanted for murdering two other people.

The killer fled, but soon he was captured by citizens. They angry citizens took him to a nearby tree and hanged him. It is said they held his trail on the way to that hanging tree.

November 26th, 1858

In the California Gold Country, the town of Columbia saw one of its Police Officers and a Constable murdered within 3 days of one another. Yes, that's what happened to Columbia Policeman Joel McDonald and Constable John Leary when they were shot and killed during an operation to arrest three professional thieves.

The officers had noticed the three suspicious men loitering around the town and came up with a plan to determine their motives. Policeman McDonald approached the men out of uniform and began talking with them. 

After he earned the men's trust, it was suggested that Policeman McDonald and the three thieves would rob a house together and then go back to Policeman McDonald's saloon to divide the loot. McDonald informed Constable Leary of the plan, and the two agreed that Leary would hide at the saloon during the robbery so that the suspects could be taken by surprise.

The robbery went as planned, but the robbers grew suspicious as they approached the saloon because they noticed a light was on. They asked Policeman McDonald what the light meant. Because they were unsatisfied with his answer, they drew a gun and shot him in the head, killing him instantly. 

They then fled the scene. But three days later, on November 29th, 1858, Constable Leary located the suspects and was attempting to arrest one of them when the suspect pulled out a gun and fatally shot him.

Citizens got involved and captured the killers. While one of the suspects was shot and killed during a citizen's arrest attempt, the other two suspects were captured within days of the incident. They were lynched by an angry citizenry.

July 26th, 1860 

California's Amador County Constable Miles Huntsman was shot and killed as he attempted to serve a warrant on a Native American Indian who had been accused of stealing a horse. 

The suspect opened fire on Constable Huntsman as he served the warrant, his shots killing the Constable almost instantly.

A citizen who was accompanying Constable Huntsman returned fire, and killed the suspect and another man who was with him who drew his pistol. Though deputized, that meant nothing to the crowd of Indians. Soon they gathered around that citizen, and then slowly beat him to death.

September 23rd, 1871

California's Mono County, Sheriff's Posse Member Robert Morrison and Posse Member Mono Jim were both shot and killed during a shootout with several men who had escaped from the Nevada State Penitentiary in Carson City, Nevada.

The convicts fled south and murdered three citizens they encountered. They were tracked into California by a posse from Esmeralda County, Nevada. Once in California, a new posse was formed by a Mono County deputy who took over the pursuit.

The Mono County Posse located the convicts camped out near Monte Diablo Creek in Taylor Canyon and waited for daybreak to confront them. A shootout ensued in which Posse Members Mono Jim and Robert Morrison were both shot and killed.

All of the escapees were apprehended in the following days. While a couple of the escapees were returned to jail, two of them were tried in a makeshift court in a remote cabin and executed the following day.

Soon afterwards, Monte Diable Creek was renamed Convict Creek in commemoration of the shootout. And yes, two nearby peaks were renamed Mount Morrison and Mono Jim Peak in honor of the fallen citizens.

March 20th, 1889 

After being with Los Angeles County Constable's Office for only one year, 39 year old Constable Anton Harnischfeger succumbed to a gunshot wound sustained in Garvanza three days earlier while he and a posse attempted to arrest a man wanted for assaulting a child.

The man who would turn killer was a hermit who lived in a hut along the Arroyo Seco. He was collecting driftwood that washed onto his property as the result of heavy rain when a woman and her daughter who lived above him also starting collecting the wood.


The man became irate and confronted the woman and child telling them to stop. When the woman went into her house, the man attacked the girl by punching her and clubbing her.

A warrant was issued for the man's arrest and Constable Harnischfeger went to the man's home to serve it along with several citizens. When the door opened, the man immediately shot Constable Harnischfeger in the forehead with a .38 caliber revolver.

The would-be killer tried to flee the scene through a backdoor. He was chased, cornered, and killed in an exchange of gunfire with the pursuing citizens. 


As you can see, in most of the situations, citizens did not stop the enforcement of law just because the person that deputized them was killed. Fact is, citizens who swore an oath to uphold the law -- even if it was on a temporary basis -- truly understood exactly what that meant. 

While these are just a few instances where citizens rose to the occasion, citizens stepping forward when needed was essential to maintain some sort of civilized world back then. When people talk about the Old West, they usually only talk about the now famous gunfights like that of the OK Corral. Sadly, they hardly ever mention how everyday citizens supported law enforcement. 

Let's not forget citizen O.M. Aldrich who jumped into action and caught Tom Horn as he tried to escape jail.

On Sunday, August 9th, 1903, at 8:00am, Tom Horn and the prisoner in the next cell, a man by the name of McCloud, decided to make their break. County Under-Sheriff Dick Proctor was tied up with a window cord to affect their escape and they proceeded into the Sheriff’s office in search of weapons. As fate would have it, it's said they overlooked a cabinet containing five lever action .30-30 Winchesters rifles. 

McCloud ran out a side door leaving Horn to wrestle the Under-Sheriff alone. Horn snatched a pistol from Under-Sheriff Proctor, and beat the officer in the head and face before running out the side door as well. According to historian Lee A. Silva, the handgun Tom Horn tried to use during his escape attempt was a John Browning designed, Fabrique Nationale (FN) manufactured, semi-automatic pistol. Tom had never used a semi-auto before and luckily for Officer Protor that Horn didn't know how to use it.

Horn ran out the same door used by McCloud, but when hearing the Cheyenne police shooting at his old roommate, Horn decided to run south then East towards Capitol Avenue. That's where he ran into big problems with the Merry-Go-Round operator.

Beware of the Merry-Go-Round Operator!

Believe it or not, a Merry-Go-Round Operator by the name of O.M. Aldrich spotted legendary killer Tom Horn running from the jail. In response, Aldrich grabbed his own .38 caliber Iver Johnson pistol and took a shot at Horn. Sadly, Aldrich missed. But the shot is said to have made Horn turn and attempt to return fire. Since Horn didn't know how to operate the semi-automatic pistol, he wasn't able to shoot and kill Aldrich.

The Merry-Go-Round Operator Aldrich caught up with Horn, and pulled the trigger again. This time his shot is said to have creased Horn's head. This stunning the killer. Believe it or not, it's said that Horn actually fainted when shot at. He is said to have went face first down into the ground.

As Horn tried to regain his feet and get back up, he again attempted to fire at Aldrich. Again he didn't know why the FN semi-automatic pistol wouldn't fire. By this time Officer Robert LaFontaine showed up to help Aldrich who had tackled Horn and was beating the crap out of the famous gunman.

After being clubbed several times on the head by the Merry-Go-Round Operator Aldrich with his little Iver Johnson .38 caliber pocket pistol, the famed Tom Horn stopped resisting and surrendered to Aldrich. Yes, the Merry-Go-Round Operator whopped the hell out of Tom Horn!

Horn was lead back to jail by a large group of townsfolk, city policemen Otto Aherns, and two other officers. Robert LaFontaine said later that he spent most of his time pulling Aldrich off Horn for fear the Merry-Go-Round Operator was going to kill the killer. Imagine that! 

A Crowd Escorted Horn Back To Jail

So now when people ask me about carrying a concealed weapon, after all there are those against guns rights who will inevitably ask, "Do you want our society to become like the Old West?" 

My answer is always, "Yes! Absolutely!"

I usually go on to inform them that the Old West was not as violent a place as people think, or as Hollywood makes it out to be.  For many reasons such as social norms, Christian beliefs, a dependence on one another, and the fact that citizens were armed, it was actually a fairly polite society. In contrast, back East where it was demanded that citizens remain unarmed, where cities had organized law enforcement, some ripe with corruption, society was a very violent place.

As for having a populace that's armed, an armed citizenry was an asset for law enforcement throughout the West. Today it's really no different, a citizenry that is armed is an asset to local lawmen simply by provided security for themselves without having to burden an overall local police or sheriff's departments.

In rural area, such as where I live, our Sheriff's Department is all in favor of citizens being armed simply because our county is huge and the response time for an officer is estimated at anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour in the best of conditions. This fact means that folks up here have to understand the need to provide our own security. Yes, just like the Old West in that respect.

Whether its getting involved by letting the law know about genuinely suspicious activity, or stepping forward as a witness to what transpired during a crime, or being involved in a neighborhood watch, or backing an officer in trouble, citizens play an integral role in keeping our communities safer today just as they did in the Old West. That's a good thing to have happen, especially with town's and counties facing limited funding and resources.

Asides from taking bad guys and lynching them on the spot, I truly believe that having a society become like the Old West where citizens took more ownership of what was going on in the towns and communities would not be a bad thing at all. That's just the way I see it.

Tom Correa

2 comments:

  1. A good example of citizen lawmen is the Anti-Horse Thief Association. It was formed in the Civil War era in north east Missouri, by Major David McKee, in an attempt to curb the theft of horses and equipment by ruffians and militia members. Lawmen were stretched thin and the AHTA was a fairly well organized vigilance organization. It grew gradually to about 8,000 members, until about 1900 when a group from southeast Kansas gained influence during the reign of Fielding Scott who served several terms as National vice president and president. Under Scott, they conceived the Idea of an association newspaper that was published by W.W. Graves of St. Paul, Kansas. Under the leadership of Scott, Graves and others the association grew to about 40-50,000 members across about 7 or 8 states. Graves wrote many of their operating procedures and training manuals in the form of pocket handbooks. The "Anti" charged a nominal membership fee and protected the property of their members with a vengeance—but a legally executed vengeance. It was said that a Anti posse, chasing a person unfortunate enough to mess with a member, would chase the thief to the gates of hell - and go on in if they had to. AHTA posses were called to service on a few occasions by the likes of Brinks and some historians said they were more effective than Brinks. The reason was they had a very personal interest in apprehending a thief who stole from their own. The growth and decline of the association is a fascinating story.

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  2. I like that story about the Merry-Go-Round Operator, O.M. Aldrich. And it's interesting how he almost got Tom Horn. I can just imagine that moment. A young lady walks up to him and asks, "Excuse me, sir, who are you?" And then he says, "Why little lady, I'm the Merry-Go-Round-Operator." Then she says, "Why do they call you the Merry-Go-Round Operator?" Then he says, "Because I don't just care, I carousel." Haha. Sounds cheesy, but you know what I mean. Nice article as always, Tom. Your amigo, Benny.

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