 |
| Georgetown's Jonathan Davis Historical Marker with a Fake Photo of Davis |
Photographed by Frank Gunshow Sanchez, March 15, 2020
If you've gotten this far in this saga and actually made it through Parts One and Two, then you have to be as interested in the Davis story as I've become over the years. And yes, in case you're wondering, it's occupied a bit of my time, off and on, for a few years now.
So now, where are we in this story?
Well, soon after the initial story of what supposedly happened in Rocky Canyon hit the wire, Capt. Jonathan R. Davis became an instant celebrity. This was so much the case that he was sought after as a guest at dinner engagements, he was invited to affairs, his name was thrown around to run for elected office, and he was even consulted regarding items of interest in the news. Yes indeed, being a celebrity has not changed over the years.
As an example of his being consulted regarding current events of the time, read the Sacramento Daily Union report published on April 11, 1855:
The redoubtable Capt. Jno. R. Davis, who, it will be recollected killed half a score of robbers with his own hand, is a resident in the suburbs of our city. He has taken great interest in the war in the Crimea. He is impatient at the delay in taking Sevastopol. He offers to take fifty men, learn them his art of war, and then reduce the city of Sevastopol in three days. What a pity that "John Bull " and "La belle France" cannot avail themselves of his invaluable services.
Of course, it was the lack of evidence that made people question its legitimacy. As the Georgetown News pointed out in their January 4, 1855, report when they wrote: "As it now stands, however, one cannot but look at the whole affair as an ingenious "sell" upon the part of Capt. Davis and his friends. Although that gentleman still affirms its truth, as he is not able to bring the least evidence to attest it, we are obliged for the present to place him upon the list of practical humbugs."
Of course, as is human nature, that didn't stop some folks from accepting Davis' story hook-line-and-sinker. For example, on April 18, 1855, the Daily Alta California reported a story about how a New York City magazine called The Knickerbocker (1830 to 1865), published a very long, extremely long, flowery poem titled CAPTAIN DAVIS: A CALIFORNIA BALLAD.
The Daily Alta California described the extremely lengthy poem as follows: "The object of the writer was to preserve, in the immortal Knickerbocker Magazine, a record of the 'Battle of Rocky Canon,' for fear the story might be lost in the perishable pages of the daily press." It's said that the New York City poet filled two and a half columns of newspaper space to "celebrate Davis' heroic actions against overwhelming odds in a fight against evil."
I really believe that, as with most stories about the Old West, there are people who will always believe what they believe, and that's it. And no, there's no rhyme or reason to what folks will believe -- even after handing over all sorts of evidence to prove that something or someone may be just humbug, a sell, a fraud, simply a hoax.
For my long-time readers, you know how I believe the "Hero" myth of Wyatt Earp is mostly due to Hollywood and is inflated at best. If there is one thing that the myth of Wyatt Earp has taught me, facts don't matter when you're talking about someone's hero.
Today, there are people who believe the story about how Jonathan Davis single-handedly killed 11 killers by either shooting all in the heart, the head, or cutting them to ribbons in a four-to-one knife fight. There are people out there today who have heard the story on television, or on the Internet, or read about it, and they believe it. I truly believe that there are a lot of people who believe that "Rocky Canon Tragedy" happened just as it was reported in the newspapers of the time.
Here's something else. The Historical Marker Database website lists the town of Georgetown in El Dorado County, California, as a place that, in fact, has a "Jonathan Davis" historical marker. It is listed as a "Topic List: Notable Events. A significant historical date for this entry is December 19, 1854."
The website gives the historical marker location as 38° 54.381′ N, 120° 50.353′ W. And yes, it further states that the historic marker is in Georgetown, California, in El Dorado County, on Main Street, on the left when traveling east, on the front of the building, at or near the postal address: 6271 Main Street, Georgetown CA 95634.
"On December 19, 1854 just North of Georgetown above Cherokee Bar on Ruck-a-Chuky a gunfight occurred that makes the OK Corral look weak. The Sydney Ducky Gang consisting of 5 Australians, 4 Mexicans, 2 Britons, 2 Americans and a Frenchman had been on a rampage. On Dec 17th they had murdered 6 Chinese miners then on the 18th murdered 4 American miners near Foresthill and were one of the most feared gangs in the region. It was then on the 19th that they attacked 3 miners at Ruck-a-Chucky. In the gangs initial ambush James McDonald was killed instantly. Dr. Bolivar Sparks managed to draw his revolver and fire two shots before being cut down leaving Jonathan Davis alone against 14 outlaws. Davis was a decorated veteran of the Mexican American War and drew his two revolvers. The outlaws advanced and Davis killed 7 of them before his revolvers were empty. At that point the leader of the Sydney Ducks Gang charged wielding a cavalry sword. Davis drew his Bowie knife and killed 3 more of the outlaws and cut their leader's nose and index finger off. At this point 3 fellow miners, John Webster, Issac Hart, and P.S. Robertson, who had witnessed the attack came within range to help Davis. The 4 outlaws now fled, the leader of the gang died a quarter mile away and the remaining 3 outlaws were captured the next day. Davis had 6 holes in his hat and 11 in his shirt but had only two minor flesh wounds. Jonathan Davis lived to the age 75 and died in California."
The historical marker database website states that there are also other historical markers in Georgetown, "At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Wells Fargo Building (within shouting distance of this marker); Georgetown Firehouse (within shouting distance of this marker); Georgetown (within shouting distance of this marker); Georgetown Volunteer Firemen (within shouting distance of this marker); Chief Jack Anderson (within shouting distance of this marker); Georgetown Hotel (within shouting distance of this marker); Civil War Armory (within shouting distance of this marker); Miners Club (within shouting distance of this marker)."
By Doug Noble
Jun 5, 2012
A couple of months ago a copy of the January issue of the Veterans of Foreign Wars magazine was dropped off at the newspaper. In it was a story titled, “Mexican War Vet Wages Deadliest Gun Fight in American History.” It is a story that seems a bit of a tall tale which probably bears a bit of looking into.
The story, according to the magazine, had been lost for over 125 years until discovered by a researcher named Bill Secrest in 1980, who used it in his book “Gold Dust and Gunsmoke.” The fight, we are told, took place on Dec. 19, 1854, in Rocky Canyon, which is in Placer County, but it was first reported in a special edition of the Placerville Mountain Democrat just a few days later and apparently the Diamond Springs Miners Advocate soon thereafter.
Copies of that special edition of the Mountain Democrat and Miners Advocate are not readily available, but the story was immediately retold in the Dec. 24, 1854, edition of San Francisco’s Daily Alta California and Dec. 25, 1854, edition of the Sacramento Daily Union, both of which are freely available online as a part of the California Digital Newspaper Collection at http://cdnc.ucr.edu/cdnc.
According to the magazine article, Capt. Jonathan R. Davis, along with friends James C. McDonald and Dr. Bolivar A. Sparks, were on foot along a trail through the canyon heading for a vein of gold-laden quartz some 20 or 30 miles north of there.
A group of three men saw what happened and acting as a jury, signed an affidavit stating the following as reported in the newspapers: “As they were passing at the base of a mountain, three of the undersigned, being out on a hunting excursion on its side, saw a party of 11 men who were concealed in the bushes near the trail, spring up and commence shooting at them. Mr. McDonald had fallen dead ere he fired a pistol, or was even aware of his danger. He and his party had nothing but their revolvers. Dr. Sparks, after shooting twice at the banditti, fell severely wounded. Meantime Capt. Davis kept up an incessant firing upon them with his revolvers – every ball forcing its victim to bite the dirt. The only four surviving robbers made a charge upon Capt. Davis, three with bowie knives and one with a short sword or sabre. Capt. Davis stood firmly on his ground until they rushed up abreast within about four steps of him; he then made a spring upon them with a large bowie knife, warding off their blows as fast as they were aimed at him – gave three of them wounds that soon proved fatal – and having wounded the other one (it seemed very slightly) and disarming him by throwing his knife in the air in warding off a blow, a generous impulse seemed to force him not to inflict another wound upon him and to spare his life.
“The wounds of the living were then bound up by Capt. Davis, who expressed his regrets that necessity had forced him to do what had been done.
“The jury further state that in their examination of the persons of the deceased, of those that commenced the attack upon Capt. D, and his party, they discovered papers carefully concealed in their pockets, purporting to be a copy of law and bylaws by which they were governed – communications that seemed to have passed from one to the other of them, and other papers, all proving without the least shadow of a doubt, that they were a regularly organized band of robbers. The last of this band has just died. His wound, he thought himself, but slight, and seemed in a fair way to recover until within the last hour, and corroborated all the evidence proven by the papers found in their pockets.”
“A correspondent who signs himself John Webster, writing from Rocky Canon, Dec. 20th, says:
“Three of the wounded robbers having died last night, we had 10 of them to bury this morning, so that only one survives, who will likely recover. He is marked, however for life – having lost his nose, in toto, and the forefinger of his right hand. Seven of the deceased robbers were shot through the heart.
The surviving one, who seems to be but little hurt, says that their band was composed of two Americans, one Frenchman, five Sydney men, four Mexicans, and two men just arrived from London, and that none of them knew the right names of the others. He says, also, that they had just commenced operations – having killed six Chinamen three days ago, and four Americans, on the day before yesterday.
“Though we counted 28 bullet-holes through Capt Davis’ hat and clothes – 17 through his hat, and 11 through his coat and shirt – he received but two very slight flesh wounds.”
The story was immediately questioned, especially by the editor of the Sacramento Daily Union, who wrote: “SANGUINARY RUMOR.– On Saturday afternoon our enterprising up-street contemporary [Alta California] came out with a flaming extra, containing a shocking account of murder, confessions, inquests, and etc., the whole affair being quite as vividly portrayed as the bogus prize fight at Nevada, or the terrible disaster by which the [ship] New World had ‘a hole stove in her forward starboard quarter.’ The Mountain Democrat, extra, and the Miners Advocate, also, have versions of the story, which may all be true, but at present they savor strongly of Munchausenism [Baron Von Münchausen was well known for creating tall stories and even has a mental condition named after him].”
Note: The Alta California, on Dec. 11, 1854, reported the steamer “New World” to have struck a snag and sunk. On Dec. 13, the Sacramento Daily Union gleefully printed a letter that corrected this, stating that the New World had not sunk, but was tied up to a dock. No stories could be found regarding the “bogus prize fight in Nevada.”
One of the major difficulties in reporting or writing early California history is finding enough information to determine what really happened. In this case at least two newspapers reported on the story, a story that appears to have been closely repeated by at least two more. But, that doesn’t often happen.
More often a different interpretation of an event that happened has shown up in a number of publications and 100 years later someone finds one of these stories and it becomes the “truth,” when in fact it may not be.
In the case of this story we have readily accessible two almost identical reports, both based on the Mountain Democrat story and, if we are lucky, copies of the original stories in the California State Archives could be obtained if really needed. The only real difficulty, which brought some concern regarding the accuracy of the story, was not the story itself, but confusing dates.
The Alta and Union stories were published on Sunday, Dec. 24, and Monday, Dec. 25, 1854, respectively, only five and six days after the fight, which occurred on the previous Tuesday. The Mountain Democrat was, at that time a Saturday newspaper, which would mean its regular edition would publish on Dec. 23, too late for the Alta to receive and reprint it for the next day. Therefore the extra edition probably came out earlier in the week in order to “scoop” the larger newspapers in San Francisco and Sacramento.
The magazine story states that the “jury” of men showed up at the Mountain Democrat on March 20, 1855, with their affidavit, which has to be wrong, since it appears to have been printed in all the papers about three months earlier. Perhaps they showed up at the Mountain Democrat on Dec. 20, 1854, which caused the editor to rush it to print in a special edition. That would work.
As to the authenticity of the story itself, although it appears to be more than a bit improbable, we do have the affidavit from men who observed it and nothing but opinion to contradict it.
Do I think the Davis story is "more than a bit improbable"? Yes, but what I think is not important when I'm trying to figure out if it was a hoax or not. In Part Four, I will talk about why I think it was "more than a bit improbable."
The website gives the historical marker location as 38° 54.381′ N, 120° 50.353′ W. And yes, it further states that the historic marker is in Georgetown, California, in El Dorado County, on Main Street, on the left when traveling east, on the front of the building, at or near the postal address: 6271 Main Street, Georgetown CA 95634.
Georgetown's Jonathan Davis historical marker has an inscription that reads:
"On December 19, 1854 just North of Georgetown above Cherokee Bar on Ruck-a-Chuky a gunfight occurred that makes the OK Corral look weak. The Sydney Ducky Gang consisting of 5 Australians, 4 Mexicans, 2 Britons, 2 Americans and a Frenchman had been on a rampage. On Dec 17th they had murdered 6 Chinese miners then on the 18th murdered 4 American miners near Foresthill and were one of the most feared gangs in the region. It was then on the 19th that they attacked 3 miners at Ruck-a-Chucky. In the gangs initial ambush James McDonald was killed instantly. Dr. Bolivar Sparks managed to draw his revolver and fire two shots before being cut down leaving Jonathan Davis alone against 14 outlaws. Davis was a decorated veteran of the Mexican American War and drew his two revolvers. The outlaws advanced and Davis killed 7 of them before his revolvers were empty. At that point the leader of the Sydney Ducks Gang charged wielding a cavalry sword. Davis drew his Bowie knife and killed 3 more of the outlaws and cut their leader's nose and index finger off. At this point 3 fellow miners, John Webster, Issac Hart, and P.S. Robertson, who had witnessed the attack came within range to help Davis. The 4 outlaws now fled, the leader of the gang died a quarter mile away and the remaining 3 outlaws were captured the next day. Davis had 6 holes in his hat and 11 in his shirt but had only two minor flesh wounds. Jonathan Davis lived to the age 75 and died in California."
To me, this shows that someone must believe the story is historically accurate and true. After all, someone had to go through the trouble of writing the inscription and raising the funds to put up the marker. And while whoever did it used a picture of a fictitious person off the Internet, someone who is not Jonathan Davis, to depict Jonathan Davis, the story inscribed on the marker is not what took place is we go by what was in the newspapers in 1854 and 1855.
Of course, there is a great deal of irony in having a "Jonathan Davis" historical marker in Georgetown when one considers it was the Georgetown News back in 1854 that called the story a hoax.
As for the The Mountain Democrat which initially ran with the Jonathan Davis gunfight/knifefight story in 1854, The Mountain Democrat (website) published the following story about the Davis tale on June 5, 2012:
Jun 5, 2012
A couple of months ago a copy of the January issue of the Veterans of Foreign Wars magazine was dropped off at the newspaper. In it was a story titled, “Mexican War Vet Wages Deadliest Gun Fight in American History.” It is a story that seems a bit of a tall tale which probably bears a bit of looking into.
The story, according to the magazine, had been lost for over 125 years until discovered by a researcher named Bill Secrest in 1980, who used it in his book “Gold Dust and Gunsmoke.” The fight, we are told, took place on Dec. 19, 1854, in Rocky Canyon, which is in Placer County, but it was first reported in a special edition of the Placerville Mountain Democrat just a few days later and apparently the Diamond Springs Miners Advocate soon thereafter.
Copies of that special edition of the Mountain Democrat and Miners Advocate are not readily available, but the story was immediately retold in the Dec. 24, 1854, edition of San Francisco’s Daily Alta California and Dec. 25, 1854, edition of the Sacramento Daily Union, both of which are freely available online as a part of the California Digital Newspaper Collection at http://cdnc.ucr.edu/cdnc.
According to the magazine article, Capt. Jonathan R. Davis, along with friends James C. McDonald and Dr. Bolivar A. Sparks, were on foot along a trail through the canyon heading for a vein of gold-laden quartz some 20 or 30 miles north of there.
A group of three men saw what happened and acting as a jury, signed an affidavit stating the following as reported in the newspapers: “As they were passing at the base of a mountain, three of the undersigned, being out on a hunting excursion on its side, saw a party of 11 men who were concealed in the bushes near the trail, spring up and commence shooting at them. Mr. McDonald had fallen dead ere he fired a pistol, or was even aware of his danger. He and his party had nothing but their revolvers. Dr. Sparks, after shooting twice at the banditti, fell severely wounded. Meantime Capt. Davis kept up an incessant firing upon them with his revolvers – every ball forcing its victim to bite the dirt. The only four surviving robbers made a charge upon Capt. Davis, three with bowie knives and one with a short sword or sabre. Capt. Davis stood firmly on his ground until they rushed up abreast within about four steps of him; he then made a spring upon them with a large bowie knife, warding off their blows as fast as they were aimed at him – gave three of them wounds that soon proved fatal – and having wounded the other one (it seemed very slightly) and disarming him by throwing his knife in the air in warding off a blow, a generous impulse seemed to force him not to inflict another wound upon him and to spare his life.
“The wounds of the living were then bound up by Capt. Davis, who expressed his regrets that necessity had forced him to do what had been done.
“The jury further state that in their examination of the persons of the deceased, of those that commenced the attack upon Capt. D, and his party, they discovered papers carefully concealed in their pockets, purporting to be a copy of law and bylaws by which they were governed – communications that seemed to have passed from one to the other of them, and other papers, all proving without the least shadow of a doubt, that they were a regularly organized band of robbers. The last of this band has just died. His wound, he thought himself, but slight, and seemed in a fair way to recover until within the last hour, and corroborated all the evidence proven by the papers found in their pockets.”
“A correspondent who signs himself John Webster, writing from Rocky Canon, Dec. 20th, says:
“Three of the wounded robbers having died last night, we had 10 of them to bury this morning, so that only one survives, who will likely recover. He is marked, however for life – having lost his nose, in toto, and the forefinger of his right hand. Seven of the deceased robbers were shot through the heart.
The surviving one, who seems to be but little hurt, says that their band was composed of two Americans, one Frenchman, five Sydney men, four Mexicans, and two men just arrived from London, and that none of them knew the right names of the others. He says, also, that they had just commenced operations – having killed six Chinamen three days ago, and four Americans, on the day before yesterday.
“Though we counted 28 bullet-holes through Capt Davis’ hat and clothes – 17 through his hat, and 11 through his coat and shirt – he received but two very slight flesh wounds.”
The story was immediately questioned, especially by the editor of the Sacramento Daily Union, who wrote: “SANGUINARY RUMOR.– On Saturday afternoon our enterprising up-street contemporary [Alta California] came out with a flaming extra, containing a shocking account of murder, confessions, inquests, and etc., the whole affair being quite as vividly portrayed as the bogus prize fight at Nevada, or the terrible disaster by which the [ship] New World had ‘a hole stove in her forward starboard quarter.’ The Mountain Democrat, extra, and the Miners Advocate, also, have versions of the story, which may all be true, but at present they savor strongly of Munchausenism [Baron Von Münchausen was well known for creating tall stories and even has a mental condition named after him].”
Note: The Alta California, on Dec. 11, 1854, reported the steamer “New World” to have struck a snag and sunk. On Dec. 13, the Sacramento Daily Union gleefully printed a letter that corrected this, stating that the New World had not sunk, but was tied up to a dock. No stories could be found regarding the “bogus prize fight in Nevada.”
One of the major difficulties in reporting or writing early California history is finding enough information to determine what really happened. In this case at least two newspapers reported on the story, a story that appears to have been closely repeated by at least two more. But, that doesn’t often happen.
More often a different interpretation of an event that happened has shown up in a number of publications and 100 years later someone finds one of these stories and it becomes the “truth,” when in fact it may not be.
In the case of this story we have readily accessible two almost identical reports, both based on the Mountain Democrat story and, if we are lucky, copies of the original stories in the California State Archives could be obtained if really needed. The only real difficulty, which brought some concern regarding the accuracy of the story, was not the story itself, but confusing dates.
The Alta and Union stories were published on Sunday, Dec. 24, and Monday, Dec. 25, 1854, respectively, only five and six days after the fight, which occurred on the previous Tuesday. The Mountain Democrat was, at that time a Saturday newspaper, which would mean its regular edition would publish on Dec. 23, too late for the Alta to receive and reprint it for the next day. Therefore the extra edition probably came out earlier in the week in order to “scoop” the larger newspapers in San Francisco and Sacramento.
The magazine story states that the “jury” of men showed up at the Mountain Democrat on March 20, 1855, with their affidavit, which has to be wrong, since it appears to have been printed in all the papers about three months earlier. Perhaps they showed up at the Mountain Democrat on Dec. 20, 1854, which caused the editor to rush it to print in a special edition. That would work.
As to the authenticity of the story itself, although it appears to be more than a bit improbable, we do have the affidavit from men who observed it and nothing but opinion to contradict it.
______________________
More to come in Part Four
Tom Correa
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thank you for your comment.