Was The Capt. Jonathan R. Davis 1854 Gunfight A Hoax? -- Part Four

Let's Talk About Hoaxes 

First, let's talk a bit about Jonathan R. Davis. While there is no known photo of him, we know that he did serve as a Second Lieutenant with the United States Volunteers Palmetto Regiment. While not a part of the Regular U.S. Army, he did serve in the U.S. Volunteers for a little over a year and a half from December 1846 to July 1848. Yes, he served a little over a year-and-a-half, during the Mexican–American War, and he was a participant at the Battle of Churubusco.

While online websites have his rank listed as "Honorary Captain" with the United States Volunteers Palmetto Regiment, there is no record of him being an "Honorary Captain." In fact, the official records of the United States Volunteers Palmetto Regiment list his rank upon discharge as a "Second Lieutenant," the same rank that he entered the unit.  

Was Capt. Jonathan R. Davis's story of his epic battle against a gang of 11 killers a hoax? 

Looking at the news reports of the time, 1854 and 1855, we can see that within days of its first report, more and more newspapers started to proclaim the story a hoax. And yes, my friends, there is a very good reason to ask whether the Davis story was a hoax or not, a reason that had nothing to do with the story itself. It had to do with newspaper hoaxes back in the day. Yes, what we call "fake news" today was printed as common practice in the 1800s. 

Believe it or not, creating "fake news," entirely fabricated information designed to disseminate deceptive content, or grossly distort actual news reports, has been around for longer than most people today realize. Selling fake news to deliberately misinform or deceive readers to influence people’s views, push a political agenda, cause confusion, increase anxiety, create panic and chaos, or benefit someone is not new. 

Even back in the 1800s, humbug, a sell, a hoax, was a way to use fake news stories to deceive people by appearing as authentic, trusted reporting, from reputable news organizations. And by the 1850s, as was the case throughout the 1800s, false news stories, fake stories that were not true, newspaper hoaxes, news stories that seemed too far-fetched for anyone to believe, were routinely published. It was simply a common practice at the time to take some stories with a grain of salt. 

Why would the news media back in the day do such a thing? Well, like today, they can call it what they want, but it's all about making money. Friends, it wasn't surprising when the Democratic Party controlled news media, CNN, MSNBC, NBC, ABC, CBS, NPR, and a slew of Democrat-controlled newspapers like The New York Times and The Washington Post saw their viewership and readership climb when they were peddling the Trump-Russia Collusion Hoax from 2016 to 2020. They ran with it and threw gas on the fire whenever possible to keep it going, because it made them a lot of money. 

Back in the 1800s, when print media was King, in most cases, the hoaxes were started and perpetrated by competing publications that competed for readership. They used sensational stories and fabricated accounts to increase circulation, which meant making more money. Hoaxes made newspapers a lot of money because they sold more papers and got more advertisers. 

There were fake claims of local riots and lynchings that never happened, mob justice, arsonists, bandits who were caught and hanged but weren't, as well as people being shot to death who weren't. In a lot of the archived newspapers that I research, I find a lot of fake articles about fires, robberies, and more, including their retractions. 

In the San Joaquin Republican, in a small article published on September 6, 1855, they reported:

The Hoax of the Tarrengower Monster Nugget. — The Melbourne Argus, says that the rumor of the finding of the TEN-TON mammoth nugget at Tarrengower — some time ago noticed in the S. F. Chronicle — appears to be without foundation. The Castlemaine correspondent of the Argus stated that he knew nothing of such a discovery, and there was very little doubt that the whole affair was a hoax.

So why wouldn't anyone believe that Australian miners found a "ten-ton" gold nugget? It's because it was too far-fetched and easily disproved. No evidence. No one came forth with that "monster nugget," which they would have done immediately having finding such a mountain of gold. And don't kid yourself, a ten-ton gold nugget would have been huge. 

To give you an example of how outlandish that story was, think about this: the biggest gold nugget ever found in the world was discovered in Moliagul, Victoria, Australia, in 1869. That chunk of gold is known as the "Welcome Stranger." It was found by John Deason and Richard Oates while prospecting in Bulldog Gully. It was 24 inches long and weighed 172 pounds (2,520 troy ounces). It was so large that it had to be broken into pieces to fit on the scales. Even today, the "Welcome Stranger" remains the largest gold nugget ever found. 

So really, trying to sell such a hoax was pretty amazing since everyone at the time knew that claiming to have found a "ten-ton" mammoth gold nugget was an insane claim, simply too hard to swallow. Yes, just as hard as accepting the silly notion that someone's hat could be shot 17 times during a gunfight. 

Of course, there were huge hoaxes, hoaxes on a national scale, like The Great Moon Hoax of 1835 where The New York Sun published a series of articles claiming that an astronomer had discovered life on the moon, including blue goats and bat-like creatures and The Balloon Hoax of 1944, where The New York Sun ran a story about a balloon that was supposed to go from London to Paris but was blown off course and ended up in South Carolina -- which made it a successful transatlantic crossing in a balloon. As with The Great Moon Hoax, those stories were national news and had a lot of people believing them. And while the articles were revealed to be hoaxes fairly quickly, they created a lot of excitement. Of course, as with the way things are today, people have to learn that not all news stories are true. 

For me, because the news media cannot be trusted 100%, I keep that in mind all the time while researching period newspapers. It's important to keep in mind that some newspapers did, in fact, consciously print hoaxes and sell them to the public while trying to pass them off as true. Other newspapers published biased news stories that are just as bad. 

A great example of an extremely biased and totally untrustworthy newspaper is The Tombstone Epitaph. The way they reported events in the early 1880s in Tombstone, while obviously throwing their full weight of support behind Wyatt Earp and his men during what became known as the "Earp Vendetta," bordered on dishonesty. 

If you don't think so, read some of the Arizona newspapers that didn't have a vested interest in attacking Tombstone's cowboy faction while trying to justify the actions of the Earps. Then compare that to what The Tombstone Epitaph was putting out as impartial journalism, and you'll see what I'm talking about. That's why it's important to read and compare stories to ferret out the truth. 

One of my favorite 1800s hoaxes is The Calaveras Skull Hoax of 1866 because it took place here in Calaveras County near where I live. The hoax started when a couple of miners found a human skull buried inside a mine. A mining engineer who was an amateur archaeologist identified it as dating back to the Pliocene Age. 

That would have made it a huge find in the Scientific world since it would have made that skull the oldest known record of human existence in North America. But then its authenticity was challenged, and a debate dragged on. Later, the skull was determined to be a fake. As for who was responsible for the hoax? Well, it's believed the miners who found the skull also planted it. It's believed they got it from an Indian burial site and planted it to play a practical joke on that mining engineer.

Then there's The Global Warming Hoax of 1874, where in February of 1874, the Kansas City Times ran a story claiming that Scientists had discovered that the transatlantic telegraph cables were acting like enormous electromagnets. The story used the names of scientists and engineers to fool people into believing that the transatlantic telegraph cables were acting like enormous electromagnets and pulling the Earth into the Sun. Their claims were wild, baseless conjecture, all a fraud to make money, but some people believed it hook-line-and-sinker. 

Yes, people back then believed their claim that "Europe would become tropical in 12 years, that the poles were melting, and the entire earth would be uninhabitable because of Global Warming." Sound familiar? It should, since the Global Warming Hoax of 1874, like other hoaxes, it's ability to scare people senseless has been used over and over again in different ways, Yes, including doing what most bonco artists would do and give it a different name. For example, remember when Global Warming became "Climate Change" because con artists knew people are gullible enough to bite at the same hook more than once if all you use is different bait.

By the way, what became known as "The Balloon Hoax of 1944" was written by Edgar Allan Poe. Later, Mark Twain would do the same thing during his 21-month career as a reporter for the Virginia City, Nevada, Territorial Enterprise (1862-64), where he produced a series of hoaxes. Of course, neither Poe nor Twain can hold a candle to the late 1800s hoaxer Joseph Mulhattan who was notorious for repeatedly succeeding in having his far-fetched tales reported in newspapers. 

Joseph Mulhattan was so good at what he did, that reporters would often assume it was Mulhattan whenever they heard someone had reported an outrageous or faked story. While some newspapers called him "Munchausen Mulhattan," other newspapers of the time are known to have called him a "Professional liar," and "The author of more hoaxes than any other man living."  At least one newspaper called him "The liar-laureate of the world."

From what I can tell, most newspapers in 1854 and 1855 had overwhelmingly decided that Jonathan R. Davis was a fraud. Most newspapers didn't have a vested interest in the now-famous epic battle. They just reported what was on the wire and attached their disclaimers in the preface or at the end of their reports. 

I think that was the case for The Mountain Democrat. Because they ran with it, their credibility was on the line. Though they seemed to have almost doubled down on their support for Davis, they did call him "Baron Munch" in the end. So while no one knows for sure, I don't know if the Editor for The Mountain Democrat saw himself as an unwitting accomplice in the hoax -- and didn't want to admit to that for the sake of credibility, or if he was a part of it. 

Some of you have voiced your opinion, saying that The Mountain Democrat's Editor may have realized that people were seeing his newspaper as being easily taken in by hoaxers. Some of you have put it a lot more bluntly and have told me, "The Mountain Democrat knowingly published the Davis hoax to increase circulation." Whatever the case, I believe it was a no-win situation for The Mountain Democrat. 

And yes, besides other newspapers starting to call The Mountain Democrat's credibility into question, the public was also asking if The Mountain Democrat had something to do with promoting what they were perceiving as a hoax by then. Remember, by the end of April 1855, the story of such an epic battle more or less died for lack of interest and believability.  

So yes, even back in the 1800s, there were reasons why Americans had to be suspicious of stories that sounded too much like fake news. And let's be frank, the Davis 11 on 1 gun battle that turned into a 4 on 1 knife fight was way over the top for most people in the West. And really, to dispel all of the criticism and disbelief, all Davis had to do was take County Sheriff Sam Astin and County Coroner John Harper up there to see those graves. But he didn't. Most speculate because there weren't any. 

As for the Davis story? It might have seemed completely reasonable to someone back East at the time who was reading Dime Novels of heroes accomplishing all sorts of incredible deeds against 100 to 1 odds. But for the people who lived in the West, people who lived in the frontier-towns and the mining camps, to the people who were part of the local Citizens Committee, those were people who knew what it was to be shot at or be the victim of armed robbery, they knew of the bandits and the badmen and the lynchings to stop such vermin. To those people, to the people who understood how dumb it would be for anyone to say that his hat was shot 17 times in such a fight for his life, the Davis story had too many holes in it to be believable.  

Why would the public think the Davis story was a hoax? Basically, they thought it was a hoax for all of the same reasons that many of you have written to me to say that you believe the Davis story is just a hoax. For all the same reasons that most of you think Davis was a fraud.  The whole story has more holes in it than Davis's supposedly shot-up hat.

Coming up -- Part Five

Was The Capt. Jonathan R. Davis 1854 Gunfight A Hoax? -- Part One

Was The Capt. Jonathan R. Davis 1854 Gunfight A Hoax? -- Part Two

Was The Capt. Jonathan R. Davis 1854 Gunfight A Hoax? -- Part Three

Was The Capt. Jonathan R. Davis 1854 Gunfight A Hoax? -- Part Four

Was The Capt. Jonathan R. Davis 1854 Gunfight A Hoax? -- Part Five

Was The Capt. Jonathan R. Davis 1854 Gunfight A Hoax? -- Part Six

Tom Correa

Was The Capt. Jonathan R. Davis 1854 Gunfight A Hoax? -- Part Three

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. 

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."

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)."

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:

Deadliest gunfight of 1854 recalled

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." 

More to come in Part Four

Was The Capt. Jonathan R. Davis 1854 Gunfight A Hoax? -- Part One

Was The Capt. Jonathan R. Davis 1854 Gunfight A Hoax? -- Part Two

Was The Capt. Jonathan R. Davis 1854 Gunfight A Hoax? -- Part Three

Was The Capt. Jonathan R. Davis 1854 Gunfight A Hoax? -- Part Four

Was The Capt. Jonathan R. Davis 1854 Gunfight A Hoax? -- Part Five

Was The Capt. Jonathan R. Davis 1854 Gunfight A Hoax? -- Part Six

Tom Correa

 

Was The Capt. Jonathan R. Davis 1854 Gunfight A Hoax? -- Part Two

A group of California miners, or laborers, in the 1850s

The Jonathan R. Davis news story, also known as "The Rocky Canon Tragedy," is a matter of "Public Record" and can be found in various newspaper archives from 1854 to 1855. But, before we go on, please understand that the word "Canyon" in most newspapers back in the day is spelled in Spanish as "Cañón" for some reason -- possibly as a holdover from the years previous to California statehood in 1850 when it was still Spanish California. That's why the more you read about this, you will see it spelled both ways. 

Davis's supposed battle against a band of 11 killers was first published in newspapers and was taken as being a factual account of an incredible 11 to 1 gun battle that turned into a huge 4 on 1 knife fight. It was taken as factual until people started questioning it when too many inconsistencies in his story couldn't be proven. A total lack of evidence had people questioning it and asking if the story was a hoax or not.  

Because the story is so unbelievable, the Sacramento Daily Union, Volume 8, Number 1172, published on December 25, 1854, reported the same details of the story as every other paper -- but prefaced their report with the following caution for its readers:

Sanguinary Rumor

On Saturday afternoon our enterprising up-street contemporary came out with a flaming extra, containing a shocking account of murder, confessions, inquests, & the whole affair being quite as vividly portrayed as the bogus prize fight at Nevada, or the terrible disaster by which the New World had "a hole stove in her forward starboard quarter." The Mountain Democrat, extra, and The Miner's Advocate, also have versions of the story, which may all be true, but at present, they savor strongly of Manchausenism.

_________________________

What is Manchausenism? Well, the term "Munchausenism" is derived from Baron von Münchhausen. The famous Baron von Munchausen's full name was Karl Friedrich Hieronymus von Münchhausen (1720 - 1797). Baron Munchausen was, in fact, a German aristocrat who became famous for telling extremely tall tales. He told extremely detailed and totally unbelievable stories about his supposed adventures as a soldier and big game hunter. He became known for telling preposterous stories. His stories were utterly absurd and so ridiculous that he was taken as someone who was purposely trying to insult someone's intelligence as well as insult someone's common sense.

Today, as was the case in the 1800s, Munchausen's legacy is his name. His name describes someone who tries to get others to accept exaggerated and completely fabricated stories as factual just to gain attention and notoriety. Also, today, "Munchausenism" or "Munchausen Syndrome," also known as "factitious disorder imposed on self," is seen as a mental health condition where someone intentionally fabricates physical or psychological symptoms to gain attention or sympathy. The goal is to elicit attention. 

Some folks actually believed Davis's story of close-combat with 11 murderers and killing them all, some people took his story as the truth, and swallowed it hook-line-and-sinker. But, within a few days of Davis' story being reported, there were a lot of people who were quick to question such a fantastic yarn. 

Of course, most newspapers took the story right off the news wire, "as is," and published it without adding commentary. They ran the original story put out by the Placerville Mountain Democrat, which used the banner The Mountain Democrat. That's important to note because just a few days after it hit the news wire, newspapers were starting to have their suspicions that they'd been taken in. It wasn't long before The Mountain Democrat was being looked at as falling for and subsequently publishing a hoax.

The Sacramento Daily Union, Volume 8, Number 1174, on December 27, 1854, published the following: 

The El Dorado Slaughter. — The Alta in speculating upon the truthfulness of the rumor regarding the heroic exploit of Capt. Davis at Rocky Canon says, "The Sacramento papers give the story credence." Now, if the Alta includes this journal in the number, we respectfully inform it that abundant evidence to the contrary is furnished in our prefatory remarks to the detailed particulars of the transaction. It is not the first time that the Sacramento papers have indiscriminately been obliged to bear the onus of misstatements or erroneous opinions, which properly attach to a single journal.

__________________________

So, while some newspapers ran with it for all it was worth, not everyone believed such a tall tale. The editors at the Georgetown News, a paper located not too many miles from Placerville in Georgetown, reported the story and gave their opinion of its legitimacy. They were the first newspaper to label the Jonathan R. Davis "Rocky Canon Tragedy" story a "hoax."

The Georgetown News, Volume 1, Number 11, on December 28, 1854, repeated the wire story and clarified a few points. It did fail to mention Davis's "white hat" or the 17 to 28 bullet holes in Davis's hat and clothes, 17 to 19 rounds shot through his hat, and 11 rounds shot through his coat and shirt, as stated in other newspapers. 

Of course, the Georgetown News went one step forward and called Davis's supposedly heroic tale "a sheer fabrication — an unmitigated hoax." Here is their report: 

From the Mountain Democrat, Extra; 

Desperate Fight.

Three Miners attacked by Eleven Robbers — Death of the Assassins—Confession of the Robbers—Four Americans and Six Chinese Robbed and Murdered—Heroic Conduct of Captain Davis—Destruction of the Gang — Coroner’s Inquest.

The following extraordinary news was furnished to the Mountain Democrat [newspaper], on last Saturday [December 23, 1854].

In consequence of the unprecedented good fortune of Capt. Davis, at the time we received the extra, through the politeness of the Democrat, we were disposed to doubt the correctness of the information received by that paper, but we have since received corroborating accounts through sources that we cannot reasonably question.

We therefore publish the extra of the Democrat, either as a truthful statement of the incidents therein related; or, if not true, as one of the most infamous "sells” ever perpetrated on the press: We received the following startling intelligence last night, after our paper had been worked off.

The first letter was addressed to us, the second to Mr. Henderson, our County Surveyor. Capt. Davis, whose cool intrepidity was put to such a severe test and whose aim did such fatal execution, formerly lived near this place, and is well-known to some of our citizens. He is a man of iron resolution and undaunted courage, and familiar with mountain life. Rocky Canon, the place of the tragedy, is a deep and almost inaccessible Canon, about forty miles north of this place, near Todd’s Valley, and uninhabited.

Rocky Canon, Dec. 20th, 1854. Editor Mountain Democrat — No officer having been within a convenient distance to attend to a case of emergency that has just happened near our isolated camp in the mountains here, the undersigned constituted themselves a coroner's jury and held an inquest over the deceased bodies of twelve men that were killed within a mile of our camp, on the 19th inst., a full account of which we deem it our duty to publish. Three of the undersigned were eye-witnesses to the whole scene; though too far off to give aid in any way, and the rest of us can readily vouch for their veracity.

On yesterday, the 19th inst., three men who afterwards proved to be a Mr. James C. McDonald, of Alabama, (now deceased), a Dr. Bolivar A. Sparks, of Mississippi, and a Capt. Jonathan R. Davis, of South Carolina, were traveling on foot, on a trail within a mile of our camp, to prospect a vein of gold-bearing quartz, some twenty or thirty miles north of this.

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 eleven 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, lie and his party had nothing but their revolvers. Dr. Sparks shot twice at the banditti, and then fell severely wounded. In the meantime, Capt. Davis, (who was the first to commence shooting m defense of himself and party in an instant after the first volley from the sobbers,) being still unhurt, kept up an incessant firing upon them with his revolvers — every ball forcing its victim to "bite the dust"— until all the loads of both parties seemed to have been discharged.

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 on them with a large bowie knife, warded 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 disarmed him by throwing his knife in the air in warding off a bow, a generous impulse seemed to force him not to inflict another wound upon him and to spare his life.

As this last man expressed in a tone of gratitude before his death, Capt. Davis went to work at once, tearing up his own shirt, and binding up all the wounds of the living — of both his friends and his enemies — to stop their bleeding!

The three of the undersigned above alluded to, having reached the spot just after the close of the tragedy, Capt. Davis gave them an account of the affair, ere he was aware that they, or any one had seen it all from beginning to end, and having learned that no coroner or other officer was convenient, said that he would be better satisfied if all our party would come down and attend immediately to the wounded, examine all the deceased, himself and companions as well as their enemies, for evidence of guilt or innocence, ere one of them was touched; he came up with the three alluded to, and accompanied all of us down.

He remarked that, "though his own conscience justified him in all that he had done, he deeply regretted that necessity had forced it upon him, and that he would prefer at least for the sake of his wounded companion and the friends of the deceased one, if not for himself, that we would make a thorough investigation of the matter, and give the public a true and full account of the whole affair as far as we knew."

In our examination of the persons of the deceased, of those that commenced the attack upon Capt. D. and his party, we discovered papers carefully concealed in their pockets, purporting to be a copy of laws 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.

In conclusion, we deem it due to state that from all the evidence before us, Capt. Davis and his party acted solely in self-defense — were perfectly justifiable in killing these robbers — and that too much praise cannot be bestowed upon them for having so gallantly stopped the wild career of these lawless ruffians. We send this communication to your paper, because the bearer having a very sick family below, will travel posthaste all night to Placerville. W. C. Thompson, 0. B. Wingate, Joseph Hampton, W. A. Newman, P. S. Robertson, James C. Lewis, G. W. Hendricks, S. 0. Marshall, John E. Morris, T. C. Wallace, Isaac A. Hart, A. Hughes, T. J. Galligus, John Webster, N. B. Porter, Oliver E. Clark, J. K. Trist.

One of the three men who partially witnessed the above scene from a distance, says of this hero, that he is known in that portion of the mines as "a most industrious and excellent man, but a particularly unsuccessful miner."

We learn from Mr. Harris, Expressman from this place to Todd’s Valley, that Capt. J. R. Davis is from South Carolina, that he distinguished himself in the late war with Mexico, and that he was one of a few that escaped death in his ill-fated regiment at Palo Alto. The names attached to the article above are many of them known to citizens of this place, and therefore they inform us that the above statement and names are either a villainous forgery, or, from their knowledge of the men, the statement is undoubtedly correct. In our next issue, we shall have more light thrown on this affair, as responsible men have gone to the place where these scenes are said to have transpired in order to ascertain the whole truth in regard to it.

P. S. Later. —Through Harris’ Express, which arrived last night, we learn that interested persons in the vicinity where the above tragedy is reported to have taken place, have been investigating the truth of the matter, and report the whole a sheer fabrication—an unmitigated hoax. The exact locality of Rocky Canon is probably near Placerville — not a thousand miles from the office of the Mountain Democrat.

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People started questioning Davis' story. They were not accepting Davis' story and wanted proof, evidence, something more than what they suspected was a contrived hoax. The problem for Davis is that he could not furnish any evidence of it taking place, no bodies, no graves, nothing other than a hat that "he said" was shot full of holes by killers who couldn't shoot straight.

So, imagine how fast things were moving? In less than 10 days since the purported battle took place, and Davis was being called a "hero," the Georgetown News newspaper called the story a "sheer fabrication" and "an unmitigated hoax." Of course, the Georgetown News was just the first of many to follow suit fairly quickly. In fact, the Davis story ended up being debunked within a few weeks of it being first reported. 

The Columbia Gazette, Volume 3, Number 8, on December 30, 1854, published the report but included the word "Doubted" at the end of their report. Here it is:

Murderous Attack 

An Extra from the "Mountain Democrat" gives an account of a murderous attack made near “Rocky Canon,” on the 19th last, upon James C. McDonald of Alabama, Dr. Bolivar A. Sparks of Mississippi, and Capt. Jonathan R. Davis of S. C., by a band of robbers. Mr. McDonald was killed, A. Sparks severely wounded, and Capt. Davis was slightly wounded in two places. 

This small party was prospecting for quartz leads when they were attacked. The fight was a desperate one, and Capt. D. bore his share of it manfully. Seven of the robbers were killed in the fight, and three died of their wounds that same night. One survives, who will probably recover. He is well marked, having lost his nose and a forefinger. Seven of them were shot through the head. On one of the robbers was found a copy of bylaws by which they were governed. The survivor says, their band was composed of two Americans, Frenchmen, five Sidney men, and four Mexicans —that they had just commenced operations, and had two days before, killed four Americans and six Chinamen. Capt Davis had 28 bullet holes made through his hat and clothes during the fight. Doubted.

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The Weekly Butte Record, Volume 2, Number 8, on December 30, 1854, reported the entire Davis story but used the following cautionary preface:

"The following account of a desperate fight with a band of robbers, we find in the down river papers, is taken from an extra of the "Mountain Democrat." We cannot but entertain the belief that it is either a hoax or some mistake in the account of the battle. We however give it to our readers as an important item of interesting news."

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The Shasta Courier, Volume 3, Number 43, on December 30, 1854, reported the same story. But, they mocked the story's legitimacy and reported that Davis's hat was only struck by 17 rounds instead of 19 rounds. The Shasta Courier reported the story, getting all of the facts correct, then summed up the yarn by saying: 

"If the above account is true, —and that it is true we are the more disposed to believe for the reason that he was, at the time of the attack, in the continuation of a bad streak of luck which commenced two years back, and of course was in a most ferocious mood, —and we, therefore, avail ourselves of this, the earliest opportunity, to suggest him as a candidate for Governor."

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The Empire County Argus, Volume 2, Number 7, on December 30, 1854, reported the story and closed their report by calling the story a "sell" and "an unadulterated hoax". Here is their report:

Great Speed. —The electric telegraph has been cut down by the swift messenger who traveled post haste from Rocky Canon to Placerville, a distance of forty miles, in the unprecedented short time of forty-eight hours, bringing intelligence of the "desperate fight" said to have occurred near Todd's Valley, and of the heroic conduct of Capt. Jonathan R. Davis, of South Carolina, who is reported to have killed all of a hand of robbers, ten of the number, outright, dead as a door-nail, and wounding one slightly in the nose from the effects of which he died also, making eleven in all. 

The affair appears to have been quite miraculous. Captain Jonathan R. Davis and his party had nothing but their revolvers, yet subsequently, Capt. Davis springs upon his assailants “with a large bowie knife,” cuts down three of the robbers and wounds one in the nose, thus destroying the whole gang of eleven, “composed of two Americans, one Frenchman, five Sidneymen, four Mexicans and two men just arrived from London," making thirteen. Three robbers having been suddenly transmogrified into one for the occasion. 

A gentleman from Todd's Valley, Tuesday last, one week after the heroic affair, was surprised to hear of it in Coloma for the first time. The account of the “desperate fight” is no doubt a “sell” of the most bungling description. An unadulterated hoax.

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The Sacramento Daily Union, Volume 8, Number 1178, on January 1, 1855, reported:

Coloma Items. — The Empire Argus [newspaper] pronounces the desperate fight at Rocky Canon, a "sell" of the most bungling description.

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The Georgetown News, Volume 1, Number 12, on January 4,1855, published the follows:

The Rocky Canon Humbug

ln our last issue, in relation to the report of the destruction of a band of robbers by Capt. Davis, our devil in a postscript correcting the statement of the above affair, made rather unfair allusions to the Mountain Democrat as regards its credulity in giving publicity to the report. We are aware that from the manner in which the Democrat received the report, it could not well do otherwise than put confidence in it. 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.

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What is meant by a "sell" and a "humbug"? Well, in the 19th and early 20th century, the word "sell" meant "to trick or deceive" someone. The word "sell" can still be used as a noun to mean a "deliberate deception" or a "hoax." The word "sell" can be used as an idiom to mean "to deceive someone or tell them something that is not true." 

As for using the word "humbug," in the 19th and early 20th century, it was a way to describe a scam. The word "humbug" was used to describe "a person or thing that is deceptive or dishonest," often as a hoax or in jest. It can also be used as a verb to mean to deceive or hoax. Some synonyms of "humbug" include counterfeit, fake, fraud, imposture, and sham. 

As for calling Davis's story a "sell," "humbug," a "sheer fabrication," and "an unmitigated hoax," several newspapers felt that this story that Captain Jonathan R. Davis had told was all that. Just a "sell," a yarn to deceive people. And no, it didn't take it long for a newspaper to call Davis' story an out-and-out lie.

It's true. The Shasta Courier, Volume 3, Number 44, on January 6, 1855, ran a small article calling the Davis story a lie. Here it is:

The Rocky Canon Tragedy, "as we predicted," (only we didn’t, but like many others were grievously sold and likewise taken in,) turns out to be an unmitigated humbug. Capt. Jonathan Davis didn't slaughter eleven fierce brigands, nor has his hat been rendered "shocking bad" by being pierced with seventeen balls. "Lord, Lord, how this world’s given to lying."

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While this was taking place, Jonathan Davis was being treated as a "hero" and a celebrity. And as for his critics who weren't buying what Davis was selling, Jonathan R. Davis wrote to the editor of The Mountain Democrat to plead his case to get people to believe his story. But, by then, even the editors at The Mountain Democrat were referring to Davis as "Baron Munch" -- as in Baron Munchausen, who, as we covered above, became famous for telling totally unbelievable stories that he tried passing along as being factual when they weren't.

Jonathan R. Davis's letter to The Mountain Democrat hit the wire, and everyone was talking about it because it sounded like Davis was changing his story. Many saw his letter as him backpedaling from his earlier claims.

The San Joaquin Republican, Volume 5, Number 8, on January 11, 1855, printed the gist of Davis' letter:

The Rocky Canon Tragedy. — The Mountain Democrat publishes a letter from Capt. Davis, the hero of twenty-seven bullets, in which he sticks to his first assertion, and says he is prepared to show the graves of the robbers, together with those of his unfortunate companions. He says, however, that the party who published the first account erred in the number of bullets that passed through the hat; that they must have counted all the holes where the balls came out of it, in their passage through the crown and him, as well as where they entered. He does not think that half the reported number touched it.

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The Los Angeles Star, Volume 4, Number 37, on January 25, 1855, carried a letter to the Editor of The Mountain Democrat that Davis sent to that paper on January 11, 1855, reporting:

The Rocky Canon Tragedy Once More.

The Mountain Democrat (Placerville) publishes the following letter from Capt. Davis, the hero of the twenty-seven-bullet-and-eleven-men-slain story. If the whole affair be a "humbug" — a " sell,"' as fast people would call it, or a "lie," as slow folk would name it— the redoubtable Captain is pleased to persist in his statements. There is nothing like sticking to a thing, Right or wrong—stick to it.

Thus consistency and the admiration of others are gained, The Democrat says that the Baron Munch — Capt. Davis, we mean, has requested it to state that, if there be any persons still skeptical, he, the Captain, stands prepared to take them to the spot where the fight took place, and show them the graves of the robbers, as well as those of his unfortunate companions, Dr. Sparks and M. McDonald. His letter is as follows:

PLACERVILLE, January 4,1855. Editor Democrat: — Though scarcely able to leave a bed of sickness, it may not be amiss that I should say a word or two relative to our fight with the robbers the other day. Hitherto I have said as little of the matter as possible, lest my veracity should be doubted; and besides it is a matter of indifference to me whether the world is inclined to believe it or not. Your paper of last Saturday has just been shown to me; and I see your remark that I "still persist in saying that every word of it is true."

Of course; I meant the general facts as published. Since then the ''white hat" has been sent down to me; and, after a more minute examination. I find that the party who published an account of it, have erred in the number of bullets that passed through it. They must have counted all the holes where the balls came out of it, in their passage through the crown and brim of it. as well as where they entered.

The miners have disfigured it very much by poking their lingers through the holes, and tearing it. so that it is somewhat difficult to decide upon the number. I do not believe that over one-half of that number touched it.

Having been in a fever of excitement at the time I did not examine it carefully, and took it for granted that they were right. Mr. Lyles is perhaps correct in his assertion that two of the four who made the charge upon me were unable to fight on account of their old wounds.

They came up with the rest, making warlike demonstrations by raising their knives in a striking posture; and I acted accordingly. I noticed that they handled them with very bad grace, but attributed it altogether to fright or natural awkwardness. 1 did only what hundreds of others might have done under similar circumstances, and attach no particular credit to myself for it.

Yours, respectfully, J. R. Davis.

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The Sacramento Daily Union, Volume 9, Number 1249, on March 26, 1855, reported that three unnamed supporters of Davis stepped forward:

" Late in the Day." — The Mountain Democrat publishes the Statement of three individuals who corroborate the statement of Captain Davis, the hero of the Rocky Canon Tragedy. Their long silence is owing to the fact that they were living far up in the mountains and "didn't take the papers.''

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The Daily Alta California, Volume 6, Number 80, on March 26, 1855, published a report that seemed to end the Davis story, a story that by then very few believed:

The Rocky Canon Tragedy Again. — The Mountain Democrat still sticks to the Rocky Canon affair, in which Capt. Davis performed such wondrous deeds last December. Three of the signers of the first published statement, have subscribed to a card which concludes as follows: In a word, we assert that every word we published in oar statement of the fight, in your extra of the 23d of December last, and the private letter published with it, written to Mr. Henderson by one of the undersigned is strictly true. Our sole object then, was to state nothing but the simple truth, and we will ever be ready to verify it, even on our death beds.

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As for Davis, it didn't take long before people started to forget and even ridicule his unbelievable story. And while in January of 1855 it was said that "If there be any persons still skeptical, he, the Captain, stands prepared to take them to the spot where the fight took place, and show them the graves of the robbers, as well as those of his unfortunate companions, Dr. Sparks and M. McDonald," the fact is that Davis didn't take anyone to the spot of where it had supposedly happened. No, not even the County Sheriff. 

End of Part Two -- and Part Three is coming soon! 

Was The Capt. Jonathan R. Davis 1854 Gunfight A Hoax? -- Part One

Was The Capt. Jonathan R. Davis 1854 Gunfight A Hoax? -- Part Two

Was The Capt. Jonathan R. Davis 1854 Gunfight A Hoax? -- Part Three

Was The Capt. Jonathan R. Davis 1854 Gunfight A Hoax? -- Part Four

Was The Capt. Jonathan R. Davis 1854 Gunfight A Hoax? -- Part Five

Was The Capt. Jonathan R. Davis 1854 Gunfight A Hoax? -- Part Six

Tom Correa

Hanging A Horse Thief In Jackson 1854

According to many Old West historians, the popular image of the Old West that depicts horse thieves being hanged is not accurate. Most historians tell us that it's a lot more accurate to say that while horse theft was a serious crime, it was rarely punishable by death when in front of a jury. They tell us that most hangings of horse thieves were the result of Vigilante Justice and not legal executions.

From what I've learned of the Old West, I just have a hard time believing that. Yes, a very hard time accepting that, especially since juries back in the day were made up of citizens who were usually very well known in the communities. And yes, many of the same men who sat on juries back in the day were also members of the local Citizens Committee. That was especially true in towns in the West that had not yet established a town constable or marshal's office. 

Let's remember, Citizens Committees, also known as Vigilante Committees, were the folks who were the law for many years before towns ever got around to establishing local law enforcement offices with constables or town marshals. Most counties established sheriff's offices, and most sheriffs were also the county's tax collector. 

With some counties in the West being larger than some states in the East, a county sheriff was someone who responded just about everywhere when he got there. Because of that, Citizens Committees acted on behalf of the law and, in some ways, supplemented county sheriffs by handling things locally until the county sheriff got there. 

In some mining camps, Citizens Committees may have held a prisoner for the county sheriff. A lot of places in the Old West, especially those places that may have been a little more than mining camps, but one would really call a "town," didn't even have jails. Some used cold sellers, woodshed, barns, while other places may have simply shackled their prisoners to trees. 

Of course, there are folks who will tell you that the American Criminal Justice System doesn't use "Capital punishment" for property crimes -- which is what horse theft really is. Back East, they saw it as uncivilized to hang a thief for stealing a horse. Out West, horse theft was seen as a much more serious crime. Horses were essential for transportation, work, and one's basic survival. That's why horse theft was seen as a significant criminal act. Stealing a person's horse could have meant the difference between life and death for the person who had his horse stolen. 

Because of the fact that Citizens Committees were common throughout the West, and the fact that law enforcement in the form of a county sheriff was often fairly scarce and stretched thin, situations were such that people took matters into their own hands. So, no, it wasn't unheard of for Vigilantes to take it upon themselves to shoot or hang horse thieves. 

So while hanging was not seen as a common legal punishment for what is seen simply as a "property crime" by some, when caught and convicted by the law, horse thieves would face imprisonment or other penalties. But rarely did a horse thief get the death penalty. 

So, all in all, it appears that if a criminal spends time behind bars for stealing horses, that means he or she was fortunate enough to be arrested by the county sheriff. If his or her luck ran out and they were instead arrested by citizens who tracked them down, then it appears all bets are off and they could end up on the end of a rope before ever making it back to be tried by a jury. And of course, there's that other thing, what happens if the citizens get the horse thief back to face a jury -- but other citizens don't trust the law to do what they think needs to be done. 

Below is a story of Christopher Bennett. He was 30 years old when he stole a horse in Jackson, California, in March of 1854. Later that year, the town of Jackson would become the county seat of newly formed Amador County. At the time of the horse theft, Jackson was the county seat of Calaveras County.

Bennett wasn't fortunate enough to be arrested by the sheriff. He was arrested by a citizens' posse who intended to hand him over to the county sheriff. His luck ran out when the citizens' posse returned him to Jackson, where he stole the horse. He soon found out how the people there were tired of prisoners living long enough to escape from a county jail. 

As reported in the Sacramento Daily Union on March 25, 1854: 

Lynching at Jackson — Horse-Thief Hung.— We have received the following particulars relative to the hanging of a horse-thief at Jackson, Calaveras County, by the people. On Thursday last, from a correspondent at that point. We are also indebted to the agent of Wells, Fargo & Co. at Mokelumne Hill, for a less extended account: 

"Last week, a very valuable horse was stolen from Evans & Askey, merchants in Jackson, Calaveras County.  Messrs Askey & Campbell got on the track of the thief, and after following him three or four days, finally overtook and arrested him, and recovered the horse at his ranch on the Yuba, near Nevada. 

The name by which the person went who stole the horse was Christopher Bennett, but he has several other names. He had been loafing about the village several days before the horse was stolen, without any ostensible business, and was immediately suspected. 

The party arrived here early on Thursday morning, and the culprit was immediately taken charge of by Judge Lynch, and before 7 o'clock a.m., was hung on the Old Oak Tree on Main Street, making the seventh victim of lynch law, who has expiated his crimes on that same tree! 

Bennett was a Dutchman, about 30 years of age. "There was no excitement, everyone being satisfied of the guilt of the prisoner, and the justice of his punishment, though a number were opposed to the hasty manner in which he was sent into another world. The recent escape of Fox, one of the Volcano murderers, from the County Jail, had exasperated the people so much that they were afraid to trust him with the legal authorities."

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So, while I've read here and there how Bennett had a "bill of sale" on him when he was caught, I have no idea where that information came from since I've checked quite a few newspapers looking for that information. Of course, all in all, it doesn't matter because he was still hanged as a horse thief. And in the Old West, that was how it was done. 

Hangings like this were seen as a way of keeping the peace and maintaining order in the Old West. Justice was, in most cases, even in such cases as this, swift. For me, I've always sort of marveled at how fast someone was dealt with between the time they committed a crime, were apprehended, tried in court or by a mob, convicted, and had their sentence carried out. From what I can see, even if the criminal had his day in court, we're talking about the process only taking months at best. No, not years before justice is served in some way. 

That's obviously not the case today. Today, a criminal may die of old age before the people he hurt see justice. Unlike today, where people see very little consequence to their heinous acts and thievery, people knew that justice would be swift back in the Old West. 

And yes, I really believe that was probably the main reason why crime was actually as low as it was in the Old West. It's true. While entertainment like Dime Novels and the Police Gazette sensationalized criminals, and later Hollywood helped grow the myth of the Old West being a very violent place, in comparison to today, especially if we look at the crime in our inner cities, overall, crime was actually very low in the Old West. 

As for the town of Jackson, like many towns that grew out of the California Gold Rush, it saw its share of lawlessness. But it also saw its share of efforts to stop such lawlessness. If someone wants proof of that fact of life in the Old West, all they have to do is look at how busy that town's "Hanging Tree" was between 1850 and 1862. 

In 1937, a plaque was put up on a building on Main Street telling visitors where their "Hanging Tree" once stood. The oak tree that was the town's hanging tree is said to have been conveniently located next to a town saloon across from the Astor House and right in front of Dunham's Butcher Shop. Long before that, back in 1854, the county fathers made sure a likeness of the "Hangman's Tree" was incorporated into Amador County's first official seal.

The tree was cut down after it burned down as a result of the 1862 fire that hit Jackson pretty hard. According to that plaque, that tree saw the people of Jackson hang ten men there between 1850 and the time it came down in 1862. As for those ten men, who knows if they were hanged on the merits of their cases -- or as examples to others.

Either way, if someone were dumb enough to try to get away with doing the same things that got ten others hanged, then it should have come as no surprise to him if he were caught and hanged by citizens who had little faith in the county sheriff to do what was needed. 

Tom Correa   

The Lynching Affair At lowa Hill 1854

At an elevation of 2861 feet, Iowa Hill is located in Placer County, California. The unincorporated community is located about 7 miles northwest of Foresthill, about 9 miles east of Colfax, and about 58 miles northeast of Sacramento. 

Gold was discovered there in 1853. According to a State of California website, by 1856, the weekly gold production in Iowa Hill was estimated at one hundred thousand dollars. By 1880, the area produced twenty million dollars in gold. 

While today, its population is said to be around 50 people, that wasn't the case back in its heyday. Back then, there were enough folks in Iowa Hill to support a post office, stores, breweries, saloons, a fraternal lodge, a church, a school, and it had its own baseball team. Sadly, its luck ran bad when the town was destroyed by a fire in 1857 and another fire in 1862. Of course, as most folks will do each time their community burns down, they rebuilt it. At least, that was the case until their last big fire hit the area in 1922. It's said that fire virtually wiped out most of the rest of the town.

Here's an interesting news story out of Iowa Hill reported by the Empire County Argus on July 1, 1854:

Shot. —We learn that on Monday last, at Iowa Hill, a man by the name of James Ryan, while intoxicated, assaulted another person by the name of Patrick Pence, by striking him with a pistol. Pence wrenched the pistol from his hands and shot him, from the effects of which he died in a short time. The act was considered justifiable by those present.

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Here's another interesting news story out of Iowa Hill reported by the San Joaquin Republican on December 25, 1854: 

Affray at Iowa Hill — We were informed last evening that an affray occurred at the above place, yesterday morning, between a man named Thomas Montgomery and a notorious gambler called "Long Johnson." Montgomery was severely wounded with a knife. Johnson was arrested, and will probably be committed to jail for the deed. 

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Here's one follow-up report of the lynching from the Sacramento Daily Union published on December 27, 1854:

The Lynching Affair at Iowa Hill.

Iowa Hill, Dec. 23, 1854. — Gentlemen: At the request of Mr. Wm. M. Johnson, who was executed today by the hands of an assembled mob, I will make a fair and unprejudiced statement of facts — when his friends and foes will have an opportunity of judging of the guilt or innocence of the deceased. 

On the night of the 21st of December, there was a ball given by the Hook and Ladder Company of Iowa Hill. Between the hours of one and a half past two o'clock a.m., a scuffle took place between the deceased and Mr. Thomas Montgomery, which was quieted by the interference of friends of the parties. 

The parties met again, between the hours of four and six o'clock a. m., and it appears from the evidence given before the jury, during the trial, that the deceased asked Montgomery if he thought that he (Johnson) had struck him with a slung shot, upon which Montgomery replied, no— some fewwords, which could not be understood by the crowd, followed, whereupon Johnson knocked Montgomery down. 

The deceased requested Montgomery to go and get a pistol and make himself equal to his adversary. Montgomery procured a pistol, and in a short time, the parties met for the last time, nearly in front of the Queen City Hotel, upon which Montgomery commenced an attack upon Johnson, with a revolver— after firing twice at the deceased, Johnson retreated into the bar room of the Queen City Hotel, and upon being pursued by Montgomery who was in the act of falling, as he followed him into the house, turned and stabbed him severely, four or live times. 

Johnson was arrested by the citizens present and retained in custody of the Hook and Ladder Company until within a few moments of his execution today. On the afternoon of the same day, the Iowa Hill Hook and Ladder Company called a meeting to dispose of the deceased, and selected 32 citizens and of that number 12 officiated as jurors, and after a most careful investigation of the testimony, they returned a verdict this morning, 23rd inst., of an assault and battery with intent to kill. 

It was then left to the I what disposition should be made of the prisoner, they put it to vote and the majority were in favor of hanging him immediately. The rope was procured, and it once took him to the tree where the execution was performed, after allowing him a short correspondence with his friends. 

The friends of Mr. Montgomery seem to think that his chances for recovery are better today than on yesterday. I send you the above statement in compliance with the wish of Mr. Johnson, expressed at the gallows; the notes enclosed are the evidence taken by Mr. Johnson during his trial heard by the citizen jury. 

The dying sentiments of Mr. Johnson were expressed in a very cool and quiet manner, he protested in strong terms against mob law, and all he desired was a fair trial by law, before a jury of his countrymen and abide by the consequence. The deceased is a native of New York City, about 24 years old — has parents in New York, and has lived in California for years. Yours, respectfully, J. M. Jack.

___________________________

Here's another follow-up report of what took place from the Trinity Journal published on December 30, 1854. While the basic story is the same, this report seems to have more information about what took place:

A Dreadful Tragedy.

On Friday morning, the 22d inst., a man by the name of Johnson, commonly known as "Long Johnson" stabbed another person by the name of Montgomery at Iowa Hill and was hung the next day by a mob, although his victim was yet alive. 

We gather the following particulars from the Auburn Whig Extra. We are not informed of the cause of the quarrel, and only that it occurred on the morning after the Fireman's Ball, and that Johnson knocked Montgomery down, and that the latter subsequently procured a pistol, which, upon the two again meeting, he fired at the former. The pistol hung fire, and Johnson avoided the shot by dodging, and immediately drawing a knife, he stabbed and cut Montgomery in a terrible manner in several places. 

It seems that after the affray resulting in the mortally wounding of Montgomery, Johnson fled, but was pursued, overtaken, and placed in the hands of Deputy Sheriff Sinclair, in whose custody he remained until about 10 o'clock in the evening. 

At this time, a large crowd of people had assembled and a call was made for a jury, whereupon thirty-two men were selected by vote, and out of this number, twelve persons were chosen to try the prisoner. The jury thus empannelled, retired to the Queen City Hall, where they remained until about sunrise yesterday morning, when they brought in a verdict of "guilty." 

Upon rendition of the verdict, the crowd proceeded to choose officers for the occasion, and about noon the prisoner was taken a short distance from town, to a convenient tree, (having been informed of the fate that awaited him,) whereupon a rope was produced, and also a couple kegs –– one placed upon the top of the other –– for the prisoner to stand upon, and after the cord was adjusted to his neck, an opportunity was given for whatever remarks he might desire to make. 

Our informant was too far distant to distinctly hear all that was said, but states that at this time Johnson called for writing material, but his hands being confined, a gentleman present noted form him the remarks which he made for the purpose. The prisoner then stated that some person present owed him $20, which he wished paid to someone to whom he (prisoner) was indebted. He also wished a ring to be taken from his finger and sent to his mother and sister, but his hand was found to be so much swollen from being bound as to render it impossible to remove it. 

Several remarks were made by him to different persons present about this time, which our informant was unable to hear. — The prisoner then requested that the rope should be properly fixed, and that he be permitted to climb to the limb of the tree and jump off. 

This being denied him, he asked permission to give the word himself, which was granted, whereupon he was placed upon the kegs, and the rope being tightened, he distinctly counted one, two, three, and jumped, thus partially becoming his own executioner. 

During the whole of the proceedings, he appeared perfectly cool and entirely indifferent to his fate. There were about two thousand people present, but no rowdyism or drunkenness was manifested during the entire day. 

This Johnson once before in ’51, we think, came near meeting the same fate at Coloma, that by reason of his entreaties, was released, upon condition that he should leave the place immediately, which he did. 

According to our latest information. Montgomery was still alive, but no hopes were entertained of his recovery, the knife with which he was stabbed having penetrated the lungs. We understand that he was a clerk of the last Legislature of this State. 

We look upon the above instance of mob law as one of the greatest outrages on law, order, and justice ever committed in any civilized community. Rife as California has heretofore been with its barbarous enforcements of these infamous outrages, we cannot call to mind an instance in the annals of our history, so revolting to all feelings of humanity and justice. 

Here has been a private quarrel in which one party seems it have been about as much to blame the the other — and one of them falls in the rencounter, before the physicians could have had time to form a correct opinion as to even the probable effect of the injury received, those admirable citizens, these worthy protectors of public rights, and rectifiers of private wrongs — snatch the poor wretch from guardianship of the constituted authorities — hurry him through a mock trial — rush with him to the nearest tree, and there with a brutality that chills the blood to think of, they terminate the existence of a fellow creature, without a thought of the weight of moral responsibility that rests upon themselves –– thus closes the scene. By papers received since writing the above, we see that Montgomery is likely to recover.

____________________________

The following report is from the Sacramento Daily Union also from December 30, 1854.

Lynching. — A case of brutal murder by a drunken mob occurred at Iowa Hill on the 24th ult. A man named Montgomery endeavored to shoot one Johnson, who had knocked him down on the occasion of a previous difficulty, but was prevented by the pistol hanging fired. Johnson then drew his knife and cut Montgomery severely, for which a mob tried, condemned, and hanged him after the manner of so many fiends. Montgomery was still living when Johnson was executed.

____________________________

While the news report mentioned that Montgomery would recover, that didn't seem to matter to his friends who lynched Johnson. Then again, that was the way justice worked in the Old West when tried by a mob.

 

Tom Correa

Was The Capt. Jonathan R. Davis 1854 Gunfight A Hoax? -- Part One

That's the question: Was the story of Capt. Jonathan R. Davis' 1854 battle against 11 murderers really just a hoax? In this series, I'm going to take a look at this story to see if it was just that. And while we're at it, let's answer a question about why this story didn't have legs and was soon forgotten. 

Why am I interested in this? Well, there are a couple of reasons why this story interests me. 

First, a few years ago, I posted a story that was sent to me by a young man who said he had a story that was a good fit for my website. The story that he sent me was the story about the now-famous epic battle of Jonathan R. Davis, where Davis supposedly took on 11 murderers single-handed in December of 1854 and killed them all in close-combat. 

At the time, I had no idea where he got the story -- or if it was just a tall tale that he read somewhere. To me, the story sounded far-fetched at best. Yes, far-fetched on so many levels. But, since I was busy with other things and felt that such a story was probably a work of fiction, I simply published it on my website. And for those who might not know, I hadn't heard of the Davis story before that. 

So, I published it on my website. And yes, I even did as the person submitting the story to me had asked and helped him by writing a very short paragraph conclusion to it for him. If I remember right, I think I talked about what the power of one man can do -- that sort of thing. 

Well, I can't remember exactly how long it was posted on my website. But I do remember that it received very little interest from my readers. In fact, I think it was only read on my site by a handful of people. 

Later, I was contacted by a man who said he was the real author of the story. I posted it thinking it was written by someone else. He said it was his story word for word, and he asked me to take it down from my website. Over the years, I've only had that happen twice. Each time it was when I posted something from someone else. My immediate reaction was to take it down, let the author who said it's his know that I had taken it down, and then try to contact the writer who sent it to me to let him know what happened. In that case, I also wanted to know if the first writer didn't research it -- then where did it come from?    

After unsuccessfully trying to contact the writer who sent it to me, I completely deleted it from my website. I apologized to the author and again let him know that I had taken it down. I also informed him of where I believed it came from. Just going by memory, I told him that I thought it, or part of it, came from an online history chat room. While I have not read his book's version of the Jonathan Davis story, I respected the author enough to take his word for it -- that it was his story. It was an embarrassing situation. But I apologized, and I deleted the story from my blog. 

Over the years since that happened, I've had readers write to ask me about the Jonathan Davis 1854 story that sounds too incredible to believe. And yes, I've dug into a lot of newspaper archives looking for anything that mentions Jonathan R. Davis and what became known as the Rocky Canyon Tragedy.

So, while I still have not yet read that author's book, or what he has to say about the validity of Jonathan Davis's supposed epic battle, I've been digging into this ever since I was asked to delete the story from my website years ago. So now, allow me to report to you what I've found. 

First, let's make it clear that the Jonathan R. Davis news story about how he single-handedly killed 11 murderers, how he did so by shooting almost all of his attackers in the heart, how they had some sort of criminal by-laws on them, how those killers were able to kill quite a few men in previous days but for some reason they only kept shooting Davis's hat, his hat was shot "17" times or more, was widely distributed by syndication all over the United States and overseas by telegraph in 1854 and 1855. So, yes, without any problem at all, I've been able to find the original news story of what supposedly took place that was reported in several newspapers from 1854 and 1855. In fact, I've found large and small articles about it in newspaper archives online.  

Since all of the news stories were syndicated and similar, with only a copy of newspapers questioning the story's validity, here's how the original story was carried by the San Joaquin Republican in its report that it published on December 25, 1854: 

[From the Sacramento Statesman Not. 25th.]

Desperate Fight! 

Three Miners Attacked By Eleven Robbers

 — Confession of the Robbers — Death of the Assassins — Heroic Conduct of Capt. Davis —Destruction of the Gang.

The following interesting and startling news is from a copy of the Mountain Democrat Extra, of Placerville [California]: 

We received the following startling intelligence last night after our paper had been worked off. Rocky Canon, the place of the tragedy in a deep and almost inaccessible canyon, about 40 miles north of this place, [Placerville, California], near Todd’s Valley, and is uninhabited. 

Rocky Canon, Dec. 20, 1854. 

No officer having been within a convenient distance to attend to a case of emergency that has just happened near our isolated camp in the mountains here, the undersigned constituted themselves a coroner’s jury and held an inquest over the deceased bodies of twelve men that were killed within a mile of our camp, on the 19th inst,, a full account of which we deem it our duty to publish. 

Three of the undersigned were eye witnesses to the whole scene, though too far off to give aid in any way, and the rest of us can readily vouch for their veracity. 

On yesterday, 19th inst., three men, who afterwards proved to be a Mr. James C. McDonald, of Alabama, now deceased; a Dr. Deliver A. Sparks, of Mississippi, and Capt. Jonathan R. Davis, of South Carolina, were traveling on foot on a trail within a mile of our camp to prospect a vein of gold bearing quartz, some twenty or thirty miles north of this place. As they were passing at the base of a mountain, three of the undersigned being on a hunting expedition on its side, saw a party of eleven men who were concealed in the bushes near the trail spring up and commence firing at them.

Mr. McDonald fell dead ere he fired a pistol or was even aware of his danger. He and his party had nothing but their revolvers: Dr. Sparks shot twice at the banditti, and then fell, severely wounded. In the meantime, Capt. Davis, who was the first to commence shooting, in defence of himself and party, in an instant after the first volley from the robbers, being still unhurt, kept up an incessant firing upon them with his revolvers, every ball forcing its victim to bite the dust, until all the loads of both parties seemed to have been discharged. 

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, warded off their blows as fast as they were aimed at him, and gave three of them wounds that soon proved fatal! 

Having wounded the other one very slightly, and disarmed him by throwing his knife in the air in warding off a blow, as this last man expressed in a tone of gratitude before his death, Capt. D. went to work at once tearing up his own shirt and binding up all the wounds of the living, of both his friends and enemies. 

In our examination of the persons of those that commenced the attack on Capt. D. and party, we discovered papers carefully concealed in their pockets, purporting to be a copy of laws and by-laws by which they were governed. 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; corroborated all the evidence proven by the papers in their pockets. 

If Dr. Sparks is well enough to travel, Capt. Davis speaks of moving down to his friends’ to-morrow. In conclusion, we deem it due to state that from all the evidence before us, Captain Davis and his party acted solely in self-defense. We send this communication to your paper because the bearer, having a very sick family below, will travel post-haste all night to Plarcerville. 

(Signed,) 

W. C. Thompson,    Joseph Hampton, 

  P. S. Robertson,       G. VV. Hendricks,

J. E. Morris,     I. A. Hart,

T. S. Gallibus,      A. B. Porter, 

O. B. Wingate,      W. A. Newman, 

J. C. Lewis,    S. C. Marshall,

 T. 0. Wallace,    A. Hughes, 

J. Webster,       O. E. Clark, 

S. K. Trist. 

Rocky Canon, Dec. 20,1854. 

To Win. Henderson, Esq., Placerville.,

Yesterday we had quite an exciting scene to happen within a mile of our tent. Whilst two of my partners and myself were taking a hunt over the hills, we heard the report of guns below us and saw two small parties shooting at each other. Convinced that they were all strangers, we hesitated for a moment before we ventured down to them. 

A feeling of duty, however, soon prompted us to hasten down. On approaching, we saw two of a little party of three, whom we had noticed following the trail unmolested some half-hour previous, fall in the fight, and the surviving one, a man somewhat above the medium height, whom we could readily distinguish from all the rest by his white hat, fighting bravely for his life. 

Approaching still nearer we were surprised at the sight of eleven men lying stretched upon the ground, seven of them dead, belonging, as they afterwards proved, to a party of robbers, and one only of the party of three so suddenly fired upon from the bushes by robbers. 

Three of the wounded robbers having died last night, we had ten of them to bury this morning. 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 that they had just commenced operations, having killed six Chinamen, three days ago, and four Americans the day before yesterday. 

Although we counted twenty-eight bullet holes through Capt. Davis’s hat and clothes, (17 through his hat and eleven through his coat and shirt,) he received but two very slight flesh wounds. 

[Signed:] Yours truly, JOHN WEBSTER. 

To Wm. Henderson, Esq., County Surveyor at Placerville. 

Second Dispatch 

Placerville, Dec. 23, P. M. 

Another Expressman has just arrived; all circumstances confirmed.

-- end of The San Joaquin Republican report Volume 4, Number 234, published on December 25, 1854.

So now, we know what took place according to Davis and his supposed eyewitnesses. But was it true? Was Capt. Jonathan R. Davis' 1854 battle against 11 murderers a hoax? Did it really happen? Did people accept it as readily as people today accept it?

And really, if it was seen as a hoax, as seen as just "humbug," is that the reason the story didn't have legs, faded away, and was forgotten for so long? Could the answer to that question simply be that people back in 1854 and 1855 saw it for what it was -- just the hoax that it was? 

Well, I'll talk about that more in Part Two. 

Was The Capt. Jonathan R. Davis 1854 Gunfight A Hoax? -- Part One

Was The Capt. Jonathan R. Davis 1854 Gunfight A Hoax? -- Part Two

Was The Capt. Jonathan R. Davis 1854 Gunfight A Hoax? -- Part Three

Was The Capt. Jonathan R. Davis 1854 Gunfight A Hoax? -- Part Four

Was The Capt. Jonathan R. Davis 1854 Gunfight A Hoax? -- Part Five

Was The Capt. Jonathan R. Davis 1854 Gunfight A Hoax? -- Part Six

Tom Correa