Here is what The San Joaquin Republican, Volume 3, Number 67, 30 July 1853, reported:
One of the most cold-blooded atrocities that ever came under our observation was the murder of Mr. Beckman of Volcano. How any man, in human shape, could have committed such a foul crime is inconceivable. The circumstances connected with the affair are horrible and revolting.
The Murder of Mr. Beckman at Volcano.
One of the most cold-blooded atrocities that ever came under our observation was the murder of Mr. Beckman of Volcano. How any man, in human shape, could have committed such a foul crime is inconceivable. The circumstances connected with the affair are horrible and revolting.
A correspondent of the Times & Transcript thus details the particulars: "Sometime between the hours of 12 o’clock at night and 5 o’clock in the morning of the 25th inst., the storeroom of the firm of Beckman & Klebitz, at Volcano, which was used by Mr. Beckman, both as a store and sleeping apartment, was the scene of the following deed of violence:
Permit me, however, first to remark that Mr. Beckman was in the habit of sleeping in the store alone. It was with some surprise, then, that the writer of this heard Mr. Beckman on the night of 23rd inst., invite a person to stay with him that night.
Mr.,Beckman, however, was about his business next day, but on the night of the 25th another individual heard him invite the same individual to which he accordingly did. On the morning of the 25th, Mr. Beckman was found in bed, with three gashes recently inflicted with an axe. He was breathing, but as he was entirely senseless and his brains oozing wounds, he cannot live through the day.
The man who slept with him was not to be found about the town, and suspicion has fallen upon that person. The following is of the man: In height, he is 5 feet 6 or 7 inches; age about 35; sandy complexion; light sandy hair; whiskers somewhat darker; of the same hue. He has the picture of a vessel on his breast, made with India Ink and other marks made with the same material on other parts of his body and arms. He has the letters H S and F S on one of his arms (the H S being above the F S). He is a German, and a sailor by occupation, his language is broken. The above person is supposed, will make for someplace on the coast; his name is Harry Stevens.
Mr. Beckman’s store was robbed of a considerable quantity of gold dust, but the exact amount is not known. We trust that the scoundrel will be arrested and shot immediately.
A short article in The San Joaquin Republican, Volume 3, Number 96, on 6 October 1853, reported:
Apprehension Of Murderers on Board the Brother Jonathan.
We have received from our San Juan correspondent a detailed account of the arrest of two men who went down the last trip of the [schooner] Brother Jonathan, for the murder and robbery of Mr. Beckwith of Volcano. One was known as Harry, or Dutch Harry, a sailor on board, another, name unknown, was a passenger.
Their guilt was clearly proven, and they were placed in irons to be brought backto San Francisco for trial. They had a large amount of money about them.
The particulars of the murder, robbery, how the murders were found, and their arrest was reported in The Sacramento Daily Union, Volume 6, Number 791, on 6 October 1853:
Arrest of Murderer
Volcano — An account of the murder and robbery at Volcano of Mr. Beckwhh was published in this journal on the day following that on which the tragedy occurred. It was therein stated that the perpetrators of the crime had escaped.
On the last downward passage of the [schooner] Brother Jonathan, two persons were arrested on suspicion of being the guilty parties, when the following examination was held by a committee of the passengers:
[Special Despatch to the San Francisco Herald.] A man by the name of John Mace, a steerage passenger on board of the Brother Jonathan, stated to one of the cabin passengers that he considered his life in danger, as a man by the name of Harry, or Dutch Harry, the sailor, was on board of the ship, together with an accomplice, who he (Mace) was confident were the murderers of Mr. Beckwith ofVolcano, he being well acquainted with the circumstances of the case, and with Harry, the sailor.
A committee of inquiry, of the following gentlemen were selected to report upon the case, viz: Washington, Bates, George F. Sharp, Asa Hull, Toney Oakes, Robbe French, and Charles F. Hamilton.
The following is substantially the deposition of Mr. Mace, taken before the committee:
"I, John Mace, the undersigned, came into Volcano diggings on the 9th of August; 1852; I came across the plains into the State of California, from Missouri; I am 42 years of age. I left Volcano on the 29th of August last, to come to Sacramonto, thence to San Francisco.
During my stay in California, 1 was partially engaged in mining and cutting hay; I had two partners with me while mining, Wm. and Howard Bledsoe; they were acquaintances of Mr. Beckwith, the murdered man. Mr. Beckwith was murdered on Sunday night; I was in the store late in the evening myself; it was sometime in the month of July last; on that day I paid him some money I owed him for goods which I had purchased. Two men went into the store to deep with him on the night he was murdered.
On the next morning, Mr. Hartman, the tavern keeper at Volcano, was waiting for Mr. Beckwith to come to breakfast, but not making his appearance, Mr. Hartman went to the door to call him, but, of course, received no answer; on entering, Mr. Beckwith was found in bed, his head being cut in three places with an axe; Mr. Beckwith was speechless, but not quite dead; he died about noon.
The two men who had gone into the store to sleep with Mr. Beckwith were not to be found, and with the exception of about $2 in the drawer, all the money was gone; it was generally supposed that a large quantity of money was in the store; the axe with which the murder was committed was lying on the floor with blood on it.
My cousin and several others were acquainted with these two men; one of the men was called Fox; the other man was called Sailor Harry; I was not acquainted with Fox; Harry, I was tolerably well acquainted with.
On the morning after the murder, Fox and the sailor Harry were gone, and suspicion rested immediately on them; they were pursued, but could not be found. A reward of $500 was offered by Mr. Beckwith's partner for the arrest of Fox and Harry."
In the testimony of Mr. Mace, he stated that he had no doubt but a steerage passenger was one of those who murdered Mr. Beckwith; but to place his identity beyond doubt, Mr. Mace stated that Harry had a ship tattooed on his breast, besides other marks on his person, which he described; and on examination of Harry the sailor, if these marks could be found, it would prove conclusively that he was one of the individuals for whom the reward of $500 was offered by Mr. Beekwith's partner.
The above is the condensed testimony of John Mace — at the conclusion of which, several of the committee went forward into the steerage, and found the man Harry, the sailor, crouched down underneath the bar, and evidently in great terror, having had some suspicion of what was going on.
A police officer who happened to be on board, was directed by the committee to arrest him, which was done, and he was pushed forward, in spite of some resistance; and on being examined by the committee, in a room in the lower cabin, the marks were found on his person, exactly as described by Mr. Mace.
On being questioned by Mr. Sharpe, he stated that he been in California about four years, that he came in a whale ship, and afterwards left, and returned about eighteen months ago; that he had been at Volcano, and knew Beckwith — he was a storekeeper.
On Mr. Mace, whose testimony we gave, being brought in, he stated that he knew him (Mr. Mace) at Volcano. The prisoner was then informed that Mr. Mace had charged him and his associate with being the murderers of Mr. Beckwith.
He at first denied all knowledge of the murder and robbery. He stated that he had frequently slept in the store of Mr. Beckwith, and at the time he left, he was living. He said that after leaving Volcano, he went with his companion, Fox, to Hangtown [Placerville, California], where they took horses, with the intention of crossing the plains; and after proceeding on their journey on the other side of the Sierra Nevada, they made up their minds to return, and did return to Sacramento.
From Sacramento they came to San Francisco, where they remained eleven days before the sailing of the steamer, in a house at Clark's Point; that he and his partner had been unsuccessful in mining, and they had made scarcely anything; that he had only about $100, but that his partner might have more — he could not say how much.
The prisoner was then searched, and after some resistance, a large buckskin belt was taken from around his body, containing a large amount of gold dust, not less than $l,000. He then said that he had no more, but on searching his pockets a small buckskin bag was discovered, containing $300 or $400 more. He was then asked why he stated that he had not over $100, when he had so much gold dust.
He answered, that in asking for money, he supposed they meant coin. He was then removed to the firemen's room, and the other prisoner was brought in. He was asked his name. He said his name was —. He was asked in what capacity he was on board the vessel. He said he was a passenger, and produced a passenger ticket. He said he bad been in California about two years, and had been most of the time engaged in mining. He was asked if he knew Harry, the sailor. He said he did; that they had been partners for the last eighteen months; and had been mining at Mokelumne Hill.
He was then asked if he knew Mr. Beckwith. He said he did; that he was a trader at Volcano, about three months since; that Harry, the sailor, had frequently slept in the store; but he never did. He was then informed that he and his partner were charged with the murder and robbery of Beckwith.
He stated that he had no knowledge of the death of Mr. Beckwith; that after leaving Volcano, Harry and himself went to Hangtown, where they purchased horses with the intention of crossing the plains; that after proceeding on their journey a few days, they concluded to return, and went to San Francisco; he had made $200 or $300 mining— the whole would not amount to $500. He was then searched without resistance, and gold dust and coin to the amount of $1,410 was found on his person.
He then became frightened and said that the gold dust did not belong to him, but that it was stolen from Beckwith; that Harry, the sailor, committed the robbery, and came to him in the night, without informing him that any murder had been committed, but merely stated that he had robbed Mr. Beckwith and that he would give him one-half to assist him in escaping, and that they had proceeded together as he had stated; that had he known that the murder had been committed, he would not have had anything to do with it; he was willing to return and wished them to send him back and give him a trial.
The Committee then proceeded to the Captain, and informed him of all the facts of the case, who stated that the prisoners should be brought before him, and he would hear their statements. Fox was then brought into the Captain's room, and repeated all the facts before stated— charging the murder on Harry the sailor. Immediately after, Harry the sailor was brought into the Captain's room, he stated that he was not guilty of the murder, but that Fox was the man who struck the blow; but he confessed to the robbery.
The Captain then placed them both in irons, with the intention of taking them back to San Francisco on the Brother Jonathan.
Friday, 8th.— I visited the prisoners last night.— Fox is confined in the baggage room; he stood up nearly all night, reading a novel, and seemed to be utterly indifferent to his fate. The other man (Harry) was lying in his berth. Both were strictly watched.
For me, I might make a trip over to Volcano to see if I can find a local historian who can tell me which name is correct. And as for those of you who visit the very quaint town of Volcano today, they should know that the store where the murder was committed is supposedly located in the center of the town of Volcano. And really, since the town of Volcano is only two blocks long with a population of 101, it shouldn't be too hard to find.
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