The Battle of Ingalls from the Diary of Dr. Jacob Hiram Pickering

Dr. Jacob Hiram Pickering tended to those wounded in the September 1st, 1893, gunfight in Ingalls, Oklahoma between the Doolin-Dalton Gang and the U.S. Marshals. Dr. Pickering is mentioned in several reports dealing with the gun battle. 

The best of those reports found online is from the State of Oklahoma history website and the Oklahoma State Digital Library. The reason that I believe it's the best is that it actually contains excerpts from Dr. Pickering's personal diary. So yes, this is what he actually wrote down in regards to what he witnessed firsthand at what became known as the Battle of Ingalls.

Here are excerpts from the diary of Dr. Jacob Hiram Pickering:

In July, William Doolan, George Newcomb (alias Bitter Creek), Slaughter Kid, Tom Jones (alias Arkansas Tom), Dynamite Dick, Tulsa Jack, and Bill Dalton began to come here frequently, and in a short time they all stayed here except Dalton. He was out at Bee Dunn’s. 

As a rule, they were quiet and peaceable. They all went heavily armed and constantly on their guard, generally went 2 together. They boarded at the O.K. Hotel, stayed at Bee Dunn’s when not in town. 

The last of this month, a man by the name of Doc Roberts and Red Lucas came to town looking up a proposed railroad route. Both parties took in the haunts of the outlaws. They were both jovial fellows, and soon were drinking and playing cards with them. They left and came back in a week and said they were here to locate a booth, a place for intended settlers to register and get certificates to make a claim for land or town lots. They stayed here until the last week in August, then left. 

On the morning of Sept. 1st, there were 27 Deputy Marshals piloted into town in covered wagons. They caused no suspicion as there were hundreds of Boomers moving the same way. Two wagons stopped at Light’s Black Smith Shop, and one drove up by my house, and they all proceeded to unload in a quiet manner and took positions. 

Doolan, Bitter Creek, Dynamite Dick, Tulsa Jack, and Dalton were in Ransom & Murry's Saloon. Arkansas Tom was in bed at the hotel. Bitter Creek got his horse and was riding up to a small building where Conley stayed, and the Marshals, thinking he was known, moved to try to take him. Marshal Dick Speed from Perkins fired the first shot. 

The magazine was knocked out of Bitter Creek's gun, and he was shot in the leg. He made his escape to the southwest. Speed was shot about this time and instantly killed, also, young Simonds was mortally wounded. The fires of the Marshalls were centered on the Saloon. old man Ransom was shot in the leg. Murry in the arm and side. Walker was shot through the liver. 

By this time, the outlaws had gotten to the stable and saddled their horses. Doolan and Dynamite went out at the back door and down a draw southwest. Dalton and Tulsa made a dash from the front door. As they came out, Dalton’s horse was hit on the jaw, but he had a hard time getting him started, but finally succeeded.

He probably went 75 yards when his horse got his leg broken. He then got off of him & walked on the opposite side for a ways, then left him but came back to his saddle pockets & got his wire cutters & cut a fence, then got behind one of the other boys & rode off. A great many say he shot Shadley, but I seen Shadley run from my place to Dr. Call’s fence & in going through it he was first shot. He then got to Ransom’s house & was debating with Mrs. Ransom, she ordering him to leave when he got his last shots. He fell there and crawled to Selph’s cave. 

A great many believe that Dalton shot him. In fact, he shot so fast when I and Dr. Selph was working with him in the cave, he said Dalton shot him 3 times quicker than he could turn around. But I think I know better, taking the lay of the ground in consideration, and I stood where I saw Dalton most of the time and never saw him fire once, and Shadley was hit in the right hip, and all the balls tended downward. If Dalton had shot him, he would have been shot in front and balls of ranged up. 

The outlaws crossed the draw south of town and stopped a few minutes shooting up the street my house is on. One of these shots hit Frank Briggs in the shoulder, but a slight flesh wound. I took him to my cave and dressed his wound, then went to Walker and gave him temporary (sic) aid, from there to Murry’s and laid his wound open and removed the shattered bone. Some of the doctors wanted me to amputate, but I fought for his arm; 2 2-inch radius (and) was shot away, slight flesh wounds in the side. 

About this time, I was called aside and told to go to the hotel, that Jones was up there, either wounded or killed. I and Alva Peirce, and a boy by the name of Wendell, boys about 12 years old, went over. I went in and called but got no answer and was about to leave when he came to the top of the stairs and says, "Is that you, Doc?" 

I told him it was. I asked him if he was hurt, and he said no. He said for me to come up, and I told him if he wasn’t hurt, I would not, but he insisted. So I went up. He had his coat and vest off, also his boots. Had his Winchester in his hands and revolvers lying on the bed. 

I said, "Tom, come down and surrender." He says, "I can't do it for I won't get justice". He says, "I don't want to hurt anyone, but I won't be taken alive." He says, "Where are the boys?" (meaning the outlaws).

I told him they had gone. He said he did not think they would leave him. It hurt him bad. I never seen a man wilt so in my life. He stayed in the Hotel till after 2 o’clock and then surrendered to Mr. Mason, a preacher. They took him off right away. 

Of the wounded, Simonds died at 6 p.m. Shadley and Hueston were taken to Stillwater, both died in three or four days. Walker shot through the liver, died on the 16th. All the rest recovered. The outlaws stayed close to town as Bitter Creek was not able to travel. Dr. Bland of Cushion tended him. 

I loaned him instruments to work on the wound with, although I did not know just where he was at. A piece of a magazine was blown into his leg. It eventually worked out, and he was able to again ride. Tom was indicted for the killing of Hueston, Speed, and Shadley, and was tried on the Hueston case and convicted of manslaughter in the 1st degree with no leniency of the court. Judge Dale sentenced him to 50 years at hard labor in the Lansing Penitentiary. 

Dalton drifted away from the crowd and was killed near Ardmore. The rest stayed around Dunn’s. Dynamite ordered a big gun sent to Tulsa. The Marshals got onto it and watched for him, thinking he would come in at night to get it, but he rode in at 2 p.m. and got his gun & was getting out of town before they knew it. They started after him and had a running fight from there to the Turkey Track ranch. They killed 2 horses from under him. They thought they had him surrounded in the timber there & sent for more help, but when they got it & searched thoroughly, he was gone. He then left the territory for good. 

Bitter Creek and Tulsa still stayed here. Doolan disappeared, and no one knew where. Also, Edith Elsworth, as they probably went off together. Bitter Creek, Tulsa, Pierce & others went to Dover & held up a train. Was pushed closely & Tulsa, in trying to cover the retreat of the others, was shot and killed. Bitter Creek and Peirce came back to their old haunts, and in a short time were killed on Dall Dunn’s farm. It is the universal belief that they were betrayed by the Dunn boys, if not killed by them.

There is a break in the Diary, and it picks up here:

In March 1896, Bill Doolan was captured in Eureka Springs by Bill Tilghman of Perry. He was brought back and lodged in the Guthrie jail. I went and saw him there. In June, Dynamite Dick was caught in Texas for bootlegging, tried and sent to county jail for 60 days, and they suspected him of being one of the Doolan gang and sent Magee, the U.S. Marshal, word, and he sent a man there to identify him, and they brought him to Guthrie. They got several murder cases against him, but on Sunday night July the 5th, Doolan and a negro overpowered the guards, locked them in cells and 14 of the worst men made their escape, and I think for good. Rumor is they were helped to get out. 

Time will tell, as there is to be an investigation. Toward the last of August, Doolan and a small band were located on Mud Creek about 12 or 15 miles east of Ingalls. He was seen to go to Lawson Post Office several times, and the Marshals laid a trap for him. Between 9 and 10 o’clock Monday night, Aug. 24, he walked into it and was shot and killed dead. No particulars yet in regards to it. I will note them when I get a full account. They say Dynamite Dick and 8 others are hiding close by. 

Later, Doolan was at Lawson making arrangements to leave the country with his supposed wife. He had just left the woman and was walking down the road when he was shot from ambush. He was killed dead. He was put in a wagon and taken to Guthrie that night. The parties that killed him were Heck Thomas, Dall, Bee, George, and John Dunn, with one or two others. They had Dr. Call's No. 8 shotgun.

This did the work, for he had 16 buckshot in him and also 2 Winchester balls. His wife went to Guthrie to get his body, but failed to get it. On the morning of the 25th, the Marshals sighted the remaining outlaws a few miles from where they killed Doolan, but they were on the move heading for Turkey Track ranch. It is doubtful if they ever got them now. There were 4 in the bunch.

Here, the Doctor’s Diary gives some insight into what happened a few months later:

Friday, Nov. 6, at 4 p.m., George Dunn rode into Ingalls very fast and said his brother Bee, had been shot by Deputy U. S. Marshal Canton in Pawnee. They left for there immediately. Saturday afternoon, Mr. Cots of Stillwater & family, also Mrs. Bee Dunn arrived with the dead body of Bee. They took him to his stepfather’s house and kept the body until Sunday noon & then buried it. There was a long funeral procession. They found no bill against Canton for the killing and let him loose at once. The feeling in Pawnee is all in favor of Canton. 

Past reputation is what hurts Dunn. All kinds of reports are afloat in regard to his past life. At Ingalls, people are divided on the case. All were looking for Dunn to be killed, but expected it to come from some of the remaining outlaws. There is bound to be more killing over this. I think it's only a matter of time until more of the Dunn boys are killed or they get Canton. After Bee’s death, John, Dall, and George go on the scout. There are a number of bills against them in Pawnee for cattle stealing. 

T. Boggs and Bill Long left for Kansas to avoid the same charge. They got into trouble there and were sent to jail. As soon as their time was out, McLain wrote for his step-son, Bill Long, to come home. He thought there was not anything against him, but just as soon as he got here, they took him in. He laid in jail at Pawnee a month or 80 and gave bond for two thousand to appear at the Sept. 1897 court. 

Bob Boggs went to Texas to get away and stole down there 47 head of cattle. They caught him & sent him over the road for 4 years. Pawnee County will get him when his time is out. Bill Chappel, Tom Boggh,  A. E. Peirce, and several others left the country for good. William McElhanie (Narrow Gauge Kid) skipped his bond and is gone for good. Some think he went to Cuba. McLain, Dr. Steel & W. Wilson are his bondsmen. 

The Grand Jury found bills against John and Al McLain at our place and several others in Stillwater for perjury. They gave bonds. It was on scheduling their property for taxes.

The above is according to the State of Oklahoma history website. The above diary excerpts are "out of a very interesting book called the 'Chronicles of Oklahoma.'” 

Of the 13 Deputy U.S. Marshals who went into Ingalls to clean out the outlaws that day, because they were spotted before they could get into position and carry out their plan, three Deputy U.S. Marshals were killed during the Battle of Ingalls. Deputy Marshal Speed, Deputy Marshal Thomas Hueston, and Deputy Marshal Lafayette Shadley were shot and killed during a gunfight with a group of seven outlaws in Ingalls, Oklahoma Territory (modern-day Oklahoma). 

The marshals had gone to the town in search of the outlaws, who were wanted for the murder of Marshal Charles Connelly, of the Coffeyville, Kansas, Police Department, and encountered one of them on horseback. The first suspect, George "Bitter Creek" Newcomb, exchanged gunfire with a marshal immediately. Newcomb was wounded.  A second suspect, Arkansas Tom Jones, who was in a nearby hotel, began shooting at officers from his second-story hotel window with a Winchester rifle. 

It was a horrible shootout. One of the things that saved the Marshals was when Deputy Marshal Jim Masterson threw dynamite into the hotel where Arkansas Tom was shooting from. The Marshals were able to capture Arkansas Tom when the blast stunned him.

 

Tom Correa

Sacramento's Oriental Saloon Opened In 1851

Most folks interested in the Old West know about Tombstone's Oriental Saloon. That Oriental Saloon sits at the intersection of Fifth and Allen streets in the city of Tombstone, Arizona. It was opened by Milt Joyce in the summer of 1880. Outside the Oriental Saloon is a historic marker which reads:

The Oriental Saloon was opened in 1880 by Milton Joyce with the gaming concessions run by Lou Rickenbaugh. The Epitaph News described it as "the most elegantly furnished saloon this side of the Golden Gate". Wyatt Earp bought a share of the gaming tables. The Oriental became one of Tombstone's most notorious saloons due to several shooting deaths on the front walk. It was also the scene of confrontations, one involving gunfire, between Milt Joyce and Doc Holliday and later with Virgil Earp. 

The Oriental burned in the 1881 fire with the conflagration spreading so quickly Joyce was unable to save anything. The building owners, Vizina and Cook, rebuilt quickly and the Oriental re-opened for business as usual. Once again, the Oriental was threatened in the 1882 fire, but the fireman made a stand there and by keeping a steady stream of water on the building were able to keep the damages minor. Joyce left Tombstone in 1884. When state prohibition came to Tombstone in 1914 the Oriental became a drug store and remained so for a number of years. Since then it has had many tenants and purposes but still stands in it original historic location. Tombstone Restoration Commission, Marker Number 27.

Twenty-nine years before Arizona's Oriental Saloon was opened, Samuel Colville opened what he called "The Oriental Saloon" in Sacramento in 1851. Though his family immigrated from Ireland when he was just a boy, Samuel Colville arrived in California in 1849. Instead of digging for gold, like many other merchants during that time, he saw it easier to "mine the miners" for their gold. 

He did very well do that during the opening days of the California Gold Rush. He did so well that by 1851, he opened his Oriental Saloon on the corner of I and 7th Street in Sacramento, California. 

The saloon that he called "The Oriental" was a saloon for drinking, but it also had stage performances of women wearing "bloomers." Yes, bloomers. Which, as you can imagine, was considered fairly scandalous at the time. 

According to promotional materials, the Oriental was “fitted up with the most splendid and costly manner altogether with a view to the comfort of its patrons.” The saloon featured a cigar stand, a billiard table, four bowling alleys, and, most importantly, a stage where entertainment was provided. The Oriental under Colville became known for featuring women parading about in a radically new mode of female dress that fitted just above the waist and pantaloons that hung three or four inches below the knee, as shown here. Called “bloomers” they were controversial. 

For the lonely miners of Sacramento the chance to view female legs, even if covered in cloth, must have been enticing. Despite this unique attraction, the Oriental did not do well and was sold about a year later. The experience left Colville an important lesson: In stage productions “sex sells.” 

Of course, beings that not every venture is successful, Colville's Oriental Saloon went bust and he sold out. But, ever the showman, Colville persisted and improved his skills as an impresario in San Francisco and then in Melbourne, Australia, before taking over the National Theater in Cincinnati, left, bringing to that city America’s most noted actors and actresses. Recognizing that New York was the center of the nation’s theatre scene, about 1868 Colville moved to The Big Apple. With partner George Wood they operated “Wood’s Museum” (later, Daly’s Theatre). They scored a great commercial success by featuring Lydia Thompson, shown below, and her British Blondes, an English burlesque act that had New York theatre folk abuzz.

Thompson’s show was filled with double-entendre songs and, although no bloomers were in sight, featured artfully posed beautiful women clad in gauzy material. One critic observed that from the standpoint of talent the ladies “really had nothing to offer but their persons.” Nonetheless the show under Coville’s sponsorship toured the U.S. for six years and took in more than $1 million at the box office—equivalent to $24 million today.

Taking advantage of his growing wealth, Colville launched multiple theatrical companies. His Coville’s Folly Company traveled the nation presenting early musical comedies. The Colville Opera Company brought Americans early operettas. He also ran the Colville Burlesque Opera Company that offered travesties of popular operettas and plays. “Many of the productions staged for these companies were instrumental in the evolution of musical theater and provided experience and opportunity.”

The impresario was noted for introducing to the Broadway stage and on tour actresses and actors who would become celebrities of the times. Among them was Alice Oates, an American performer in light operas and burlesques, who made her New York debut in 1870 under Colville’s auspices. Another was British actress Julia Mathews, known for playing female leads in comic operas. While on tour, she unfortunately died of malaria in St. Louis at the age of 33.

In addition to staging these productions, Colville was writing for the theatre. Among his plays was one called “Taken from Life,” which had its debut at Wallace’s Theatre in New York. The cast included a horse named “Comet,” billed as “the great racehorse.” 

Coville’s ads called his Burlesque Opera Company: “The most complete organization on earth for the representation of light entertainment combining musical culture of the highest order of merit with mirth of the most hilarious character governed by refinement.”

Amid his multiple theatrical enterprises, Colville was having a personal life. Unfortunately, despite diligent searching, I have been unable to find any photo or illustration of him. A passport application when he was 42 provides these details: Colville was five feet, nine and one half inches tall, had black curly hair, hazel eyes and a “short & full” face. He apparently was married three times. 

 His first wife was Mary Provost with whom he had a daughter Violetta, born in 1844. His second was Elizabeth Ure Ferguson. That union produced a son, David. The record appears to be silent on the fate of these women.

This brings us to Emeline Rosenquest. Born in New York City in 1843 and married at 22 years of age to Isaac B. Reed, Emaline. Her stage name as “Eme Rosenau” and she became the star of Colville theatricals. 

Although the critics were not always kind, a musical and drama critic of the St. Louis Republican by the name of Garrett stated in a local newspaper, “M’lle Eme Roseau…as a singer is a genuine surprise to every audience. Nobody expects to hear such pure, artistic vocalism and refined manners in burlesque. Roseau comes upon the scene like a new and sweet spirit from the tone world, her voice strikes a sympathetic cord at once, and her refined presence gives the key-note to the whole performance.”

An occupational association eventually bloomed into romance. Sam and Emeline were married in July 1883 in a quiet ceremony conducted by a Presbyterian minister in Philadelphia, far away from the lights of Broadway. Sam was 60; Emeline was 40. Further evidence of the couples’ desire for privacy, only one of the few attendees was a show business figure.

That same year Colville, with a partner, purchased the theater shown here. Located at 107 West 14th Street, this venue had opened in 1866 as the Theatre Francais, dedicated to staging French language dramas and operas. By the mid-1880s, it had become simply known as the "14th Street Theatre."  Under Colville’s direction it became the primary site for his productions. At his death the building passed to Emeline who with her brother turned it into a profitable motion picture house. The building was demolished in 1938.

As he aged, Colville was troubled with heart problems. And yes, it's reported that his heard problems worsened in early September of 1886. For several days he had complained of feeling ill, had seen a doctor and received treatment. His business agent dropped by the Colville home in New York as he was convalescing and the two took a carriage ride in Central Park, apparently believing the fresh air would do Sam good. They had barely returned when the impresario slumped dead in a parlor chair. Colville was 63 years old.

The funeral was held at Manhattan’s "Little Church Around the Corner" where the Colville had been a friend of the pastor. The services were well attended, with many mourners from the entertainment industry. He was buried in Brooklyn’s Cemetery of the Evergreens. Emaline would join him there 28 years later. Their joint headstones are shown here.

The reading of Colville’s will indicated that the immigrant Irish boy had become a wealthy man during his lifetime. It also sprung several surprises. In addition to the 14th Street theater property, Sam left a flat $30,000 in cash to Emeline. The bulk of the estate, including real estate and personal property was left to David Colville, his son from Elizabeth Ferguson. Violetta, his eldest child from Mary Provost, received no mention. At the official reading Emeline and David both waived all rights to contest the will.

In addition to Colville’s work in theatre, he is remembered in Sacramento for having published an early city directory, dated 1853-1854. Reprinted with a facsimile of the original cover in 1997 by the California State Library Foundation, the volume contained a history of Sacramento, a map, and a list of residents, including address, occupation, and place of origin. Strangely, Colville’s name is not among those listed. An ad, shown below, appears there for the Oriental Saloon under its new ownership. 

Notes: I was brought to the story of Sam Colville by a brief mention of him in a book prepared by the staff of Special Collections at the Sacramento Public Library called “Sacramento’s Gold Rush Saloons: El Dorado in a Shot Glass,” The History Press, Charleston, 2014. From there, the Internet provided more than ample resources describing Colville’s rise from saloonkeeper to famed 19th-century American theater mogul. Imagine that.

The Two Will Wests -- Brothers Changed Criminal Identification Methods Forever

Will West and William West mugshots.

Story by Dean Jobb 

The Will and William West Case: The Identical Inmates that Showed the Need for Fingerprinting, 1903

On May 1, 1903, an African-American man named Will West entered the U.S. Penitentiary at Leavenworth. Like any other new prisoner, West was subjected to the standard admission procedure, which included a prison clerk taking photographs, a physical description, and eleven anthropometric measurements. Using West’s measurements and description, identification clerks matched him to the record of William West, who had a previous murder conviction. Not surprisingly, in the clerks’ view, West denied that he was this man.

The discovery of Will West’s past conviction must have seemed routine to the Leavenworth clerks. Once again, the world-famous Bertillon system of identification had prevented a criminal from escaping his past. Once again, science had exposed a criminal’s lies and evasions.

This incident suddenly deviated from the usual, though, especially when the clerks discovered to their amazement that this same William West was already incarcerated at Leavenworth!

According to authors Harris Hawthorne Wilder and Bert Wentworth (1918): “From the Bertillon measurements thus obtained, [the record keeper] went to the file, and returned with the card the measurements called for, properly filled out…and bearing the name, 'William West.” 

This card was shown to the prisoner, who grinned in amazement and said, “That’s my picture, but I don’t know where you got it, for I know I have never been here before.” The record clerk turned the card over and read the particulars there given, including the statements that this man was already a prisoner at the same institution, having been committed to a life sentence on September 9, 1901, for the crime of murder.

This doppelgängers case sparked the need for fingerprinting. 

The second West was summoned, and he looked startlingly like the first one. Subsequently, the fingerprints of Will West and William West were compared. The patterns bore no resemblance. The fallibility of three systems of personal identification (photographs, Bertillon measurements, and names) was demonstrated by this one case. The value of fingerprints as a means of identification was established.

The warden, R. W. McClaughry, according to the legend, declared, “This is the death of Bertillonage!” and discontinued anthropometry at Leavenworth “the very next day.”

After the Will West-William West case, most police departments began using photographs, Bertillon measurements, and fingerprints on their mugshot files. Eventually, the Bertillon system was discarded.

The William and Will West story is somewhat sensationalized and omits prison record information, uncovered by later researchers, indicating that William and Will West both corresponded with the same family members and thus were probably related.

Prison records also cite that Leavenworth inmate George Bean reported that he knew William and Will West in their home territory before prison and that they were twin brothers.

Their exact relationship is still unknown. What is factual is that the two West men were not unusual; many people have similar anthropometric measurements.

It is generally accepted that identical twins will have the same or almost the same anthropometric measurements, yet easily differentiated fingerprints. The superiority of fingerprints over anthropometry is thus clear.

Will and William West mugshots and fingerprints.

Regardless of how crucial the incident was to the adoption of fingerprinting, the men’s prison records—including their almost identical mug shots, matching Bertillon measurements, and mismatched fingerprints—survive to authenticate an amazing coincidence.

Will West, the newest of the two Leavenworth inmates, served his manslaughter sentence and left no trail after his release, thus disappearing from history. William West, the lifer, spent time in solitary confinement for fighting and creating disturbances during his early years behind bars. He was released on parole in 1919, but not before making a dash for freedom.

By 1916, West was a model prisoner and a “trusty,” an inmate entrusted to guard and discipline other prisoners on work details. One afternoon, he “succumbed to the temptation,” as he put it, and walked away. He hopped a freight train and made it as far as Topeka before he was arrested the next day and returned to Leavenworth.

The police officers who picked him up did not need fingerprints to confirm he was an escapee. A prison-issued circular bearing his mug shots and a written description had already reached Topeka. Ironically, they were enough to nab a man who had helped to modernize the identification of criminals.

Nowadays, fingerprinting remains critical for identification in the criminal justice system, useful for identifying records and maintaining criminal history.

(Photo credit: Suspect Identities. A History of Fingerprinting and Criminal Identification / Police Photography By Larry S. Miller, Norman Marin, Richard T. McEvoy Jr / The Two Will Wests By Dean Jobb).

A 49ers' Story of Mining for Gold in California

The story below is from the Overland Monthly, published in the Baltimore American on November 19, 1887: 

On the Golden Shores  –  A California Pioneer’s Story

Two of us went to Sacramento again, where we met a darky who had come out from New York with George Hyatt, and he wished us to go immediately with him to Placer County. He said he had found a place where the gold could be taken out in large pieces. He had blazed the trees on the way out and could find the place again. 

We started with him at once and came out at what is now called Todd’s Valley. Todd was then building his log cabin there for a store and tavern. From here we went up on the divide and, wandering about the woods, at last found the blazes on the trees, which finally led us into what is still known by the euphonious name of Shirt-tail Canon. 

We camped here overnight, and in the morning set to prospecting with good results, proving the truth of our guide. We hastened back to the city, and when we returned we found a few other parties there at work. We could make four to six ounces a day, and many made as high as one thousand dollars a day with their pans. 

Claims were here, as well as elsewhere, fifteen feet square. Water came in rapidly as we went down. This drove us away, and we returned for a while up to El Dorado County. This time we went high up, about fifteen miles from Johnson’s ranch on the emigrant road, intending to cross the river and go over towards Coloma after prospecting. But after we had crossed some very heavy canons and had come to the river, we found it impossible to ford it there. 

About noon, one of our party fell into the river. After getting out, he spread his wet clothes on the rocks to dry, and when he went to get them, what was his astonishment to find shining in a crevice some particles of bright gold. We were not long in breaking open the rock and found that the crevice contained about sixty dollars, which we extracted with a knife and washed out in a pan. 

We concluded to camp there; so, going up on the hill and staking our animals to good feed, we tried the bar. It was a small one, but we had to use crowbars and a hammer, a knife, and a pan—scarcely any dirt to wash; but we could get out from three to five pounds of gold in a day. 

Every two or three days, I would saddle up and go down the old emigrant trail (then traversed daily by hundreds of emigrants from the States) and, wending my way to Johnson’s ranch, would deposit with him for safe-keeping our gold. He wished to find out where I got it, so when I started back, he would send someone to track me. I always started in the evening and camped on the road, somewhere where I found emigrants already camped so that if followed, I could manage before morning to slip away without being discovered by my shadow. 

After I had done this a few times and had several thousand dollars in Johnson’s keeping, he became resolute to find out our whereabouts. So finally, he sent a lot of Indians, thirty-two in number, to track us up. 

This they did the next day by following up the river and watching for some slight discoloration of the water, such as would be produced by washing the dirt. It so happened that upon going up this time, we had taken with us a Portuguese man who we wanted to do our cooking and packing, and as he was a good shot also for game. 

About noon, while we were at the lower end of the bar, I heard Joe sing out, “Look out—there comes the Indians!” 

And sure enough, they were approaching us from below on both sides of the river. They had no intent of harm, desiring only to find us and our whereabouts, but Portuguese Joe, without waiting for orders, opened fire. 

The shot went whizzing by my head, aimed at the nearest Indian, but at the same instant, I motioned him to jump into the river, which he lost no time in doing. 

The rest got away as fast as they came. I expostulated with Joe for his imprudence but he thought he knew what was right. I told him they would return and kill us all. He said, “No, Indian come no more.” 

I told him we should have to look out now for they would be on us before we knew it, and where we were, it was impossible to get out except in one way, and that way these Indians knew as well as we did. Sure enough, not two hours later, the Indians made their appearance, and this time where they had the advantage on the bluff above our heads. 

Our chance of getting away by the pass we had entered by was cut off, and we stood a poor showing of escaping their vengeance. Showers of arrows came down thick and fast, but by keeping up close under the hill, we managed to evade them as they overshot all the time. 

We were now in a dilemma. We could not cross the river where we were, for it was a narrow channel between the sides of the gorge and the current ran very strong. As to anyone coming to our aid, that was not to be thought of, for we were miles ahead of where any prospecting had been done at that time, and there was no possibility of anyone finding us. We kept close up under the bluff all that afternoon but were kept in anxiety by the continuous rolling down of rock and stone upon us from above, and when we tried to escape these, the arrows would be brought into play. 

Night came on, but we knew the darkness would not help us, for our only mode of egress was guarded by the Indians. One of our boys tried to clamber around at another place to get out and make known our situation, but failed to do so. The next morning, however, a little reconnoitering showed us one point where, by throwing a lasso up into a tree above, there might be a chance, but it would not do to try it in the daytime. 

So, waiting till the dusk set in, my companion went to work to make his exit. The place was about a quarter of a mile above on the river and just where a projection of the wall of rock came down to the river, cutting off all further communication up the stream at that point. While he made the attempt, we moved about on the bar to attract attention that way in case the Indians should be on the watch. This time he succeeded, got out safely, and communicated with a body of men who came to our relief the next day—making indiscriminate war at the same time upon every Indian they met. 

This was the beginning of the El Dorado Indian War in which Major McKinney and a portion of his command were killed — an incident in the history of that country that very few have ever known the cause of all — Portuguese Joe’s foolish and unprovoked shot. Many lost their lives by that Indian war. 

We had escaped the Indians, but our secret diggings were overrun with men in twenty-four hours and our time was up. Within two days after we left, one man found in a crevice on the bar we had left a single piece of pure gold, weighing nine pounds. 

Upon getting out, we found our horses were gone—probably taken by the Indians at the first. We left all our tools and baggage on the bar and never returned for them. We went down to Johnson’s and got from him our money that I had deposited with him. He explained that in sending up the Indians, it was with no other intention than that of discovering our whereabouts so as to reap some of the benefits, and that but for the indiscretion of our man, the Portuguese, no harm whatever would have come of their visit as they were entirely peaceable unless molested. 

We soon got away from this part of the country, which was now in a state of great disturbance, and we fairly launched on a regular nomadic life of unrest, wishing to be constantly on the move, ready for adventure and chance. The men in the mines of these early days were not the stereotyped miners of the present day. They were in nearly every instance young men, full of fire and ambition, most of them gentlemen, intelligent, well-educated, and well-bred, men who had means at home but had come out here from a spirit of adventure, intending only to remain a year or two, then go home and enjoy the competency that everyone believed he was sure to obtain. 

But the adage “Easy got, easy go” was verified in almost every instance, and here is just where the old Californians and their families got their prodigal habits—taking no thought for the future, living up to and beyond their incomes, however large; a habit that has become so engrafted upon even the present generation that it cannot be uprooted no matter how great the pressure of the times. 

Why, even at this late day, I know men who will spend fifty dollars to have a good time at night at the opera or a banquet and its accompaniments, and borrow fifty cents to get their breakfast the next morning. 

Now, as the mines promised such immense and speedy fortunes, almost all went to them in their endeavors to acquire sudden riches. Some, with only a pick, pan, and spoon or knife, met with fabulous success, while many others were doomed to as great disappointments. 

Rockers sold at fifty dollars to one hundred dollars each. Men made from two ounces to twenty a day and frequently picked up pieces of from five dollars to five hundred dollars each, and I am personally acquainted with one man, a Mr. Strain (still living), who picked up a piece of pure gold that was worth ten thousand dollars. This find was made at Knapp’s ranch near Columbia in Tuolumne County. 

A Frenchman, who was on the point of starving at the time, found another in Tree Pine Gulch near the same town that weighed five thousand dollars. His prosperity was too much for the temperament of the Frank, and he immediately became insane and never recovered. He died in the asylum at Stockton. 

The gold was given the French Consul for the benefit of his relations in France. It is estimated on good authority that this Columbia basin, within a space of not over three miles square, has produced in all, within twenty-five years, the enormous sum of one hundred million dollars or about one-thirteenth of the product of the whole state. The largest piece of gold extracted in the state was taken from Calaveras County. It weighed one hundred and ninety-five pounds troy, or about thirty-nine thousand dollars.

-- end of story from the Overland Monthly, published in the Baltimore American on November 19, 1887.


I hope you found that as interesting as I do.

Tom Correa

 

Democrats Are Working For Mexican Drug Cartels, MS-13, and Other Criminal Gangs

The Arizona cattle rancher in the film clip talked about how ranchers on the Mexico side of the border have it worse than the ranchers on the American side. The reason is that the Mexican ranchers have to leave home before dark or face the consequences of possibly being killed by the Cartels, MS-13, or some other criminal gangs. And no, the Mexican Government is not protecting them.

I recently talked with friends in Arizona and Texas who told me that the Cartels and the gangs controlled the border. When I asked them each if they thought the Cartels controlled the Mexican Government? Their answers were all the same. 

The consensus is that the Cartels and the gangs like MS-13 control the Mexican Government because the Mexican Government is so horribly corrupt that the criminals have a free rein down there. And what's worse is that the Mexican politicians who are not corrupt are frightened to act too boldly out of fear that their families will be killed. 

Since the Cartels, MS-13, and other criminal gangs, the drug runners and child sex traffickers, are controlling the Mexican Government by way of payoffs and threats, why isn't anyone doing something about it? My friends on the border all believed that's the case, but the corruption is too big to stop. 

So, how can the Cartels, MS-13, and other gangs exert such control on the Mexican Government? Well, the answer is by doing the same thing they are doing here in the United States, by controlling corrupt politicians. and yes, almost all of my friends asked me if I didn't think it was happening here on this side of the border? 

One of my friends on the border put it this way. He said, "Think about it? Are Democrats working for the Cartels, MS-13, and other gangs? From helping drugs pour across the border to helping child sex traffickers, it's not a stretch to ask if Democrats are working for them? I think they are.

After all, look at how Democrats fought to stop President Trump from building the wall during Trump's first term. Look at how the Democrats fought to keep the border open for four years during the Biden. Look at who the Democrats were fine with allowing into our country. Look at what Democrats are doing these days? 

We need to investigate Democrats since they must be taking huge bribes, kickbacks, or other forms of "campaign contributions" from the Cartels, MS-13, and other criminal gangs. If not, then why were  Democrats okay with the Biden administration allowing illegal aliens to simply walk in? Democrats knew about illegal alien gang members and members of the Cartels, who were being flown into cities and towns in the United States by the Biden administration. Why were they okay with that?

They did nothing about it. Democrats allowed the Drug Cartels, the child-sex traffickers, MS-13, and other criminal gangs to come here with those 'illegal immigrants.' And Democrats allowed MS-13 and other gangs to get a foothold in American cities and towns. They not only allowed it to happen, they helped MS-13 set up shop and grow more powerful. Just as they are still doing today. Nothing's changed. 

So what's the difference between corrupt American Democrats getting paid by the Mexican Drug Cartels, MS-13, and other gangs, versus corrupt Mexican Government officials? Nothing. They are both working for the Cartels and MS-13. 

If you don't think so, ask yourself what other reason there could be for Democrats being so adamant about defending MS-13 gang members from being deported? Why are Democrats demanding the release of such heinous criminals? From sales and distribution of drugs, to child-sex trafficking, from home invasions, to outright murder, Democrats are defending those criminals and trying to get their sentences reduced, getting their bail reduced, getting their charges dropped, or putting pressure on the police not to charge them at all. 

Ask yourself, why would Democrats go 'Judge Shopping' to find corrupt Liberal Judges to issue orders to try to stop Donald Trump from deporting criminals? Those Democrat Party-controlled judges are also being paid off and working for the Cartels and MS-13. 

If not, explain why the Democrats are fighting for criminals who are not American citizens and are here illegally. Why would Democrats do that if they weren't as corrupt as the Mexican Politicians who do the exact same things? 

Why would Democrats do what they're doing if they weren't being paid off, getting payoffs, getting bribes and kickbacks, and taking cash from the Cartels and MS-13 and these other gangs?"

In all honesty, I think he's right. I believe Democrats are working for the Mexican Drug Cartels, the Child-Sex Traffickers, and criminal gangs like MS-13. Why else would Democrats fight for those animals as hard as they are -- if they weren't working for them? 

Yes, I agree with my friends on the border who see the problem and the corruption firsthand. I agree, Democrats must be lining their pockets with the cash payoffs they're getting. If not, then why are they refusing to be persuaded or to change their mind and join the rest of America in deporting those criminals? 

Frankly speaking, there's absolutely no other reason why anyone would be fighting to keep MS-13 members in the United States -- if it wasn't in their best financial interest to do so. No, no other reason at all.

Tom Correa

   

Gold, Arsenic, & The El Dorado Death Spring

The information that I find in old newspaper archives sometimes surprises me. It's those times, like now with the news story below from 1855, that make me shake my head in disbelief. 

I found this in the Georgetown News, Volume 1, Number 41,  July 26, 1855,

El Dorado Death Spring.

This name is given to a spring in this county by the Placerville American [newspaper]. Its waters are said to flow from a bed of arsenic. That paper says: 

“Col. Henderson, County Surveyor of El Dorado, and a resident of our city, has in his possession a specimen of auriferous ore of Arsenic, which he will show to anyone interested in the development of the mineral wealth of El Dorado County. 

This specimen has a bright silvery appearance, with particles of gold mixed; the bulk of the specimen, however, is the bright ore of Arsenic. One specimen carefully analyzed yielded eight dollars of pure gold to the single ft. of ore, while numerous specimens yielded $3.60 of gold to the pound. 

"But the most striking feature of it all is the vastness of the deposit. We are assured by Col. Henderson that it is thirty feet thick (we use no figures in this, that our readers may not mistake us) and crops out above the surface of the ground. We would not convey the impression that all of this vast deposit contains gold, but that there are veins in it, exceedingly rich. 

“Col. Henderson, like a sensible man, keeps the matter of locality entirely to himself, considering that his fortune is there, waiting only an opportunity for its development. Here, then, is a field for the capitalist; a bed of auriferous ore of Arsenic thirty feet thick, and of unknown extent. Is it surprising then, that gold miners upon the placers in that vicinity, at an early day, drinking the sweet arsenical waters, should be seized with fevers, and a burning thirst, which from day to day increased until their graves marked the spot of their sojourn?”

___________________________

Georgetown News, Volume 1, Number 41,  July 26, 1855

I was very surprised to find out that gold is frequently found with arsenic. After doing a little research, I found out that arsenic has the ability to stabilize gold within the structure of these minerals. Arsenic actually plays a crucial role in the formation of gold deposits by allowing gold to penetrate mineral structures and stabilize within them.

According to research by geochemists, gold and arsenic are often found together in gold deposits, and their bond is due to an atomic-scale attraction between the two elements. The structure of certain minerals helps facilitate this attraction, effectively concentrating gold within those minerals.

Gold is often found with iron and arsenic-containing minerals like pyrite and arsenopyrite. These minerals act like sponges, concentrating gold levels significantly higher than in other geological contexts. So, yes, it's said that the presence of arsenic can be an indicator of potential gold deposits. And yes, that means higher arsenic concentrations suggest higher gold deposits. 

Of course, while arsenic is often found in gold deposits and is a common byproduct of gold mining, especially in the 1800s, it's not directly used in the gold extraction process itself. But arsenic is a significant component of the ores and can be released into the environment during mining activities.

Imagine that! 

Tom Correa

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

Before I get into the last part of this series of stories, which is looking at the Jonathan R. Davis 1854 gunfight, I want to explain that I had to make some changes to make my material fit into my blog. So I'm sorry if it's puzzling, but I did have to delete some of what I wrote so that I'd have room to finish this. My apologies for the confusion.  

                                                             ___________________

As for the story of Jonathan Davis and his supposed epic battle, it is very obvious that I believe it was a hoax. Was it an event where a man took on 11 murderers single-handedly, first with a pistol in each hand, shooting them all in the heart or the head, and then with a Bowie knife while all four of them simultaneously attacked him with Bowie knives and a sabre. And not, there's no record of the Placer County Sheriff or the El Dorado County Sheriff ever being notified or ever looking into it. And that  makes it that much more unbelievable.

The reasons that the Davis story sounds so fishy to me are all the same reasons why the public started asking questions within a fairly short time. And yes, it was fairly quickly that the story's legitimacy came into question. Newspapers like the Georgetown News echoed the public's concerns in their report on January 4, 1855, saying: "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."

Other than what was published in The Mountain Democrat and syndicated on the wire in newspaper articles, there is no record of an attempted homicide, homicides, robberies, a gun battle, or a knife fight ever taking place with a large gang of men involved in December of 1854. And no, there is no evidence that a shooting, nevertheless multiple homicides, ever took place.

According to one source on this story, "Seven robbers lay dead, killed outright. ... Davis had the booty, which consisted of $491 in coin and several valuable watches, sent to the dead man’s family."

That source said that the $491 was all the booty they had. But how about their other valuable stolen goods? How about their guns? Two pistols apiece would have been 22 pistols. And let's not forget their ammunition, balls and caps, powder, and more. And if they had rifles or shotguns, then that would have been that many more guns. Yes, that sounds like enough guns and ammo for Davis to open up his own gun shop in the Old West. 

And there had to be more. Those outlaws had Bowie knives while at least one of them had a sabre. And yes, they had boots, canteens, packs, coats, blankets, food, maybe watches, and their own horse and pack animals? I doubt such a large gang traveled on foot. So what happened to their gear, their horses and mules, their saddles, bridles, tack, tents, and the rest of their stuff?

The Public Wanted Evidence

If there was anything that most people wanted after a few weeks of reading about the Davis story, they wanted more evidence. I believe, more than anything else, it was the lack of evidence that made people question Davis and his story. And frankly, that was even more true after he came out with his letter to the Editor of The Mountain Democrat on January 11, 1855, to recant parts of his story. 

While he was still sticking with what he called the "general facts as published," he recanted how many times his hat was shot and how many outlaws attacked him with knives. Recanting a statement means withdrawing or taking back a previously made statement, often because it's no longer believed to be accurate or because the person is no longer willing to support it. This can happen in many different situations. Of course, in a legal context, that means someone is retracting their initial statement.

Recanting a statement means the person formally or informally states that they no longer agree with, or believe, the previous statement they made. As for the consequences of recanting some of their initial statement, even if it was to a newspaper, that could mean possibly changing the impact of the story. It may change what may be seen as a crucial piece of evidence. While it doesn't automatically mean that something didn't happen, it can challenge a person's credibility. I believe it negatively affected how the public saw Davis and the whole story. 

Thankfully for Davis, he changed parts of his statement to The Mountain Democrat newspaper, and it wasn't as if he were under oath giving a statement to the County Sheriff, where changing his story could have led to legal consequences like perjury charges. Then again, if there were an actual ongoing investigation of the supposed multiple homicide, even if the original statement wasn't sworn under oath, recanting it with a false explanation could still lead to charges of making a false statement. 

Of course, in his letter to the Editor of The Mountain Democrat, in regards to the number of rounds that struck his hat, he says, "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."

And in regards to 4 men attacking me with knives and a sabre all at the same time, he tried to tamp that number down by changing the story. To do that, he said in his letter to the Mountain Democrat's Editor, "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." So all in all, his letter to the Editor changed a 4-on-1 knife-fight against healthy outlaws to a 4-on-1 knife-fight against 2 healthy and 2 wounded outlaws. Yes, it's laughable. 

Let's Talk About Those Outlaws & Davis's Hat

As for the criminals, that band of murdering bandits, who Davis said he supposed killed single-handedly, they were obviously the worst gang of outlaws ever. Think about it, those outlaws decided to sit around on a rocky trail -- just waiting around until they'd be able to surprise a few travelers and rob them for whatever they had on them -- if they had something on them worth stealing. 

If each of them had 2 pistols, the same way that Davis supposedly carried 2 pistols, then that's a lot of rounds being rained on Davis and his party. Two pistols for one man is 12 shots if the pistol is loaded with 6 rounds each -- which is what one would load in a pistol if you know you're going into a fight. If you are just carrying a revolver of the time, like say a Colt 1851 Navy, you only load 5 and keep the hammer down on an empty chamber as a safety. 

So, thinking that killers would load each of their pistols with 6 each for action instead of being loaded with 5 each for carry, that means those 11 murderers had 132 rounds to Davis's 10 rounds. And yes, that's just thinking that those outlaws were only carrying 2 pistols each -- when it was not unusual for bandits to carry more than that at one time.

Because, according to Davis's story, we know James McDonald was shot once and killed, Dr. Sparks was shot once and died later, there were supposedly 11 bullet holes found in his coat, and 17 bullet holes in his hat. That means the bandits expended 30 rounds, shooting 1 for McDonald, 1 for Sparks, 11 into Davis's coat, and 17 shot into Davis's hat. That means those bandits, if they were armed like Davis and had 2 guns each, had almost 100 rounds left after shooting McDonald, Sparks, and Davis's coat and hat.

And, again, according to Davis's story, we know the killers ran out of bullets after not hitting Davis with all of those rounds before resorting to simultaneously charging Davis with their knives and a saber. That means those bandits couldn't shoot straight. While that is a presumption on my part, I'd say I'm justified in looking at this like that since the bandits didn't hit and kill Davis with their pistols.

Now, before I talk about the great 4 to 1 knife fight, let's talk about Davis's shot-up hat. Those outlaws must have been the worst ever assembled. Besides not being able to hit Davis with a lot of rounds, especially since he is said to have stood his ground during incoming fire, the only thing those pitiful bandits did was shoot his coat and hat. They shot his hat. Some reports on this says they shot his hat 17 times, other reports say they shot his hat 28 times. 

Yes, those lousy bandits, supposed killers, supposedly missed hitting him completely -- or blowing the top of his head off -- while they instead shot his hat with 17 to 28 rounds! If you believe this, I have a bridge for sale! 

Well, since I have a small shooting range on the side of my home on my property, I tried to recreate that scene. With the help of my father-in-law, using his replica Colt 1851 Navy Revolver, .36 caliber, six-round cap and ball revolver, we tried to shoot a few different hats to see if it was even possible to shoot a hat 17 times, or just 8 times, without hitting the Styrofoam head inside of it. And no, contrary to popular belief, I wasn't going to ask anyone to put a hat on their head and let me try shooting at it to see if this could be done 17 times without shooting someone in the head.  

For our test, my father-in-law and I used white Styrofoam heads to hold the hats in place. And yes, we both tried to only shoot the hat and not the foam heads. By the way, the replica 1851 Navy Revolver matches the design by Samuel Colt. The original Navy Revolvers were in production between 1847 and 1850. Replica Colt Navy revolvers, particularly the 1851 Colt Navy, are popular among black-powder shooters like my father-in-law. As I said before, the replica that we used belonged to my father-in-law and was made by Uberti. 

According to the newspapers, Davis is said to have been carrying two Colt Navy revolvers. Frankly, that makes sense because it would have been the optimum weapon of choice for pistols at the time of the supposed battle. 

For my test, we shot a modern fur-felt "cowboy hat," a straw "cowboy hat," a replica of a California Gold Rush miner's slouch hat with a round low crown, a replica of a Mexican-American War wheel hat that looks a lot like a policeman's service cap, and a taller "Dickens Christmas" type of top hat to try to match the bogus picture of Jonathan R. Davis that's being circulated on the Internet.

We shot the standard .36 caliber ball round at different speeds. What I mean by different speeds is that we tried to move faster as if in a gunfight. We tried to draw and fire and hit the hats as fast as we could. 

And yes, at the time of these test, my father-in-law helped me do these tests. Frankly, we tried this about 3 years ago. Yes, about a year before my father-in-law became ill, and about 2 years before he passed away. The reason that I bring this up has to do with the fact that Tom Prickett, aka SASS alias "Nickle Jim," my father-in-law, was a much better shot than I am. He was faster than I am. And he was much more proficient at using a cap-and-ball black-powder pistol than I am. He was perfect for helping with this test. 

Our tests took about 6 hours, and his pistol was great. It truly mimicked the feel and function of the original Colt 1851 Navy Revolver. Yes, including having a loose cap that jammed the pistol on four separate occasions -- as was known to happen back in the day with that technology.

As for the hats? The results varied, but it wasn't good for the Styrofoam heads. Our tests found that we missed the hats altogether if we drew the pistol from a holster and shot too fast. It was very hard to just hit the hats if we were moving at a combat action pace. 

Of course, we had to slow down so that we could hit the hats, and that's when we found out that the Styrofoam heads were hit every time we shot. My worn-out old modern style fur-felt "cowboy hat" with a 4 and half inch crown, the straw "cowboy hat" with about a 4 and a half inch crown, the replica California Gold Rush miner's slouch hat with a round bowl style 3 and half inch crown, had a very small window of open space above the Styrofoam head where a bullet wouldn't hit the Styrofoam head. 

As for the replica of a Mexican-American War wheel hat, the area about the foam head was reduced to about half an inch to an inch. So if Davis were wearing such a hat as many veterans of the Mexican-American War did wear when they came West for the California Gold Rush, he wouldn't have survived being shot in the hat. As for the Dickens Christmas top hat, that was hit and miss. We found that there was more room between the Styrofoam head and the top of the hat, but we had to reduce our speed to fire very slowly to miss the Styrofoam head.   

For all of the hats, to intentionally miss even gracing a Styrofoam head inside a hat, we found that we needed to purposely aim high at the hats and shoot very slowly to deliberately try to hit the very top of the hats. Even at that, it was tough to get a round to miss hitting a foam head. We also needed to shoot slower to hit any of the hats and miss a Styrofoam head. We found it easier to shoot the hats without the Styrofoam heads in the hats -- especially if the hats were not moving at all. 

Now, as for the gang being lousy shots? They might not have been if they were trying to deliberately shoot Davis's hat without hitting him in the head. Our tests showed that they must have been aiming high and intentionally trying to miss hitting him in the head, or they must have all shot his hat when it was on the ground. 

That brings me to this point. There is something that is very important to note. It is something that took place time and time again during our tests. It took us a long time to reset the hats for their next shot, since in almost every case, the hats would get knocked off the Styrofoam head when they were shot. That was especially true for how long it took us to deliberately put 17 rounds in that Charles Dickens top hat. Remember, this is the type of hat that most bogus pictures of Jonathan R. Davis on the Internet depict him wearing.

To hit it 17 times took a long time. As a moving target, shooting those hats was not easy. To make it easier for us to shoot them, we put them on a wooden post to shoot them. And to simulate it being shot by several assailants at once, I asked a couple of friends to help us shoot the top hat with 17 rounds. It was not easy to hit those hats in a way that wouldn't have blown the top of someone's head off. 

The bottom line from my hat test was simply this: 

• One, if Davis was wearing that hat when it was shot, he must have been standing absolutely still the whole time to let them hit it. 
• Two, Davis must have spent a lot of time putting back on his head every time one of the outlaws shot it off his noggin. 
• Three, there is no way a hat could have been shot 8 to 17 or 28 times, without hitting the wearer in the head. 
• And four, Davis's hat was probably shot when he wasn't wearing it to perpetrate the hoax.

So now, let's talk about Knife Fighting 101.

Now, besides being lousy shots, let's talk about how that gang was made up of a bunch of lousy knife fighters. Let's talk about those outlaws and their inability to kill someone using a knife -- when the odds were completely in their favor. 

According to the Davis story, there were three gang members with knives and one gang member with a sabre. The four of them attacked him "abreast of each other," all at once. Those bad guys should have been able to swarm and take one man with a knife, especially if they came at him all at once. No matter if he was an "expert fencer" as he was portrayed by The Mountain Democrat, the bad guys should have killed him. How? By simply overwhelming him.

The supposed knife-fight between Davis and 4 killers is a real point of interest to me. While in the Marine Corps, and just a young Marine PFC, I remember going through knife-fighting training at Infantry Training School. During the training sessions, it was almost always a 1-on-1 scenario meant to get your form and stance down pat. But I do remember how, after one training session, I asked my Instructor, "What do we do if there is more than one at a time or even more who come at you all at once and try to overwhelm us? What do we do then?"

Though over 50 years ago, allow me to paraphrase what my Close Combat Instructor, Staff Sgt Weathers, said, "No amount of training will get you ready for Armageddon. You have to take it as it comes, move away, and try to line them up behind each other to take on one at a time. By keeping moving back, you let them come to you."

I still remember how he tried to instill in us the belief that when fighting with a knife, you fight like your very soul depends on it. Your attack should be with viciousness and veracity. And if there is more than one enemy with a knife, you slash everywhere of your attacker at once. Slashes are designed to keep an enemy off balance and allow Marines to come in close. Once you close the distance, you can then stab your attackers. Stabs do more damage and are more lethal. You probably won't have time to parry or thrust with more than one coming at you at the same time. And yes, more of them makes it that much more likely that they will try to overwhelm you. If you can get them to come to you, keep your balance, stay on your feet, keep slashing, punching, grabbing, and maybe throw them off balance if you can, then maybe you'd survive. The whole idea of surviving such a last line of defense fight for your life is all about keeping moving, cutting them up and bleeding them out. 

The Marine Corps teaches viciousness on the battlefield. Viciousness refers to the fierce fighting spirit and determination needed for Marines to succeed in combat. We Marines are trained to be relentless and aggressive in combat, employing any and all available resources and tactics to achieve victory. Because you have to have toughness and a strong sense of determination, if you strike with your left hand and move forward with a knife to stab your attacker, you have to be prepared mentally to do it over and over again until your attacker is neutralized. That's close combat. Of course, if you're fighting multiple attackers, and you're lucky, and they don't swarm all over you, or overwhelm you, or kill you, your viciousness might send them packing. 

To paraphrase what the Marine Corps teaches in regards to knife-fighting: "The primary objective when fighting with a knife is to insert the blade into an aggressor to cause massive damage and trauma. This is done with a thrusting technique. Thrusting techniques are more effective than slashing techniques because of the damage they can cause. But, slashing techniques distract the aggressor or cause enough damage so that you can close with him and apply more damaging techniques. Primary target areas are usually the limbs or any portion of the body that is presented."

Remember, what the Davis story said, "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!"

When I read how Davis supposedly waited until the 4 attackers were about four paces away before he launched himself into the group, into a gang of 4 knife-wielding assailants standing abreast of each other, I remember thinking that someone charging forward against 4 men with knives is asking to be swarmed and stabbed from all sorts of directions. Instead of moving and fighting it out to maintain some sort of control on who is coming at you from the side and the back, he jumped in the middle of four others with knives,  taking away any sort of advantage he would have had if he kept moving and let them come to him. Besides the silly claim that his hat was shot 17 times, this is one of the reasons that I see this story as pure fabrication.  

Even if Davis were a trained martial arts fighter, which he wasn't, even if he was a professional soldier and not merely a volunteer who spent a mere a year and a half in the South Carolina Volunteer unit, even if he was actually trained in close combat which most Mexican-American War volunteers were not, launching yourself into four attackers with knives is a dumb move. And yes, it's way too hard to believe that it would be successful without getting yourself killed. So really, if you can take away anything from this hoax, it should be this: allowing yourself to be swarmed in a knife fight would not work in a real-world fight for your life. 

And really, think about how dumb this sounds? "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."  

Frankly, that's as believable as a fake sped-up Chinese martial arts action film with all sorts of special effects where the hero moves with super-human speed and never gets touched -- nevertheless, stabbed to death from all sides. And yes, I really believe it would be perfect for Hollywood and people who don't know better. 

In fact, while we all know that Julius Caesar was stabbed to death when he was swarmed by about 40 Roman senators on the "Ides of March," according to Davis's story, Caesar would have survived if he were Jonathan R. Davis. He would have killed them all.

As for this hoax, the question isn't if the story is a hoax -- simply because there's too much evidence pointing to how it was a hoax. The question really is, why would Davis and the others, including the folks at The Mountain Democrat back in 1854 commit fraud? And yes, as you can tell, I really believe that it was all a poorly made-up news story. 

The Georgetown News newspaper called the story a "sheer fabrication" and "an unmitigated hoax." And yes, I truly believe they were right. I believe it was concocted between Davis, his friends, and folks at The Mountain Democrat newspaper for the same reason that all hoaxes are tried. 

It was all about attempting to deceive the public and gain fame, celebrity status, increase circulation, and make money. No one ever heard of Jonathan R. Davis before his tale hit The Mountain Democrat. But his tall tale had folks instantly treating him as an important man. Such attention can be intoxicating to some folks. That's why hoaxes are still pulled today. That's why I believe the whole Capt. Jonathan R. Davis gunfight story of 1854 was a hoax.

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 Five

As I mentioned in Part Three, the Mountain Democrat website posted the story, Deadliest gunfight of 1854 recalled, on June 5, 2012. That story concluded by stating, "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." 

Saying "although it appears to be more than a bit improbable" is an understatement. But after reading that they "have the affidavit from men who observed it," I couldn't help but wonder why they don't show everyone those affidavits? Why not show everyone who witnessed and signed them? Why not tell us why they have such documentation when they should be in the El Dorado County Archives? 

Well, checking both El Dorado County and Placer County records, I can't find any proof of the shooting ever taking place. As for the Mountain Democrat having the "affidavit from men who observed it," why weren't those affidavits ever turned over to the County Sheriff to be part of an official record in 1855? The Mountain Democrat website should tell us why those depositions were kept at a newspaper instead of being turned over to the Sheriff's Office in 1855, as they should have.

If you're wondering what affidavits the Mountain Democrat website story is talking about? I believe they are talking about the depositions that were supposedly taken from Davis and three eyewitnesses on March 20, 1855, at the office of The Mountain Democrat newspaper. 

The story goes that Davis and his three eyewitnesses supposedly appeared in the office of The Mountain Democrat before a local El Dorado County Judge by the name of "R.M. Anderson and a delegation of prominent citizens." 

From what I can tell, that "delegation of prominent citizens" did not include El Dorado County Sheriff James B. Hume, El Dorado County Coroner John M. C. Townsend, Placer County Sheriff Sam Astin, or Placer Coroner John Harper. If they had been present when Davis and the others supposedly gave a deposition before a judge, then they could have asked their own questions, and there would be records of what those county officials asked and witnessed. 

There Are No Records Of The Davis Story Ever Taking Place Other Than In The Mountain Democrat 1854 Newspaper Story.

Of course, while I've been looking into this for a few years, I haven't been able to find a news story or any sort of documentation that says that the supposedly meeting with a judge really happened -- which in itself is strange if he truly gave a deposition before a judge. As we all know, depositions are legal documents and possible evidence in a case. 

As for The Mountain Democrat keeping those supposed depositions and not turning them over to the county, why would they have done that? Why didn't that newspaper turn it over to the County Sheriff or the County Coroner's Office? What was The Mountain Democrat's reason for withholding such important evidence if there had indeed been an incident with multiple homicides? It could have helped the authorities legitimize a story that people were questioning.  

And by the way, I know I'm using the word "supposedly" a lot in this whole story, but I can't help it. You see, there's a huge problem with stories like this. That problem is that there is absolutely no evidence to prove what Davis claimed actually happened, just as there's no evidence that a meeting with a Judge by the name of R.M. Anderson ever took place. 

In fact, as for someone in 1855 by the name of R.M. Anderson? Other than the law firm of Hall & Anderson located in Placerville at the Empire Building on Main Street in 1855, with an R.M. Anderson listed as a law partner, I can't find an "Judge R.M. Anderson" mentioned in El Dorado County records. 

Of course, more important than finding out if there was or wasn't some local lawyer acting as a local judge or justice of the peace, I'd like to know why Davis and his witnesses decided to meet with a judge at the office of The Mountain Democrat. Why did they do that? If it really took place, why did Davis and his three witnesses meet with a judge at the office of The Mountain Democrat instead of meeting with county law enforcement? 

Instead of being forthright and meeting with law enforcement and the coroner's office, going out to the supposed graves, allowing the coroner to do his job and examine the bodies to find out if they were shot in the front or the back, Davis and his friends weren't honest and instead went to the newspaper that helped to create the hoax. To many, it may have appeared as if they were colluding on a story to deceive the public. 

Why put themselves in the position of looking like they are colluding with The Mountain Democrat by going to the office of The Mountain Democrat? Why meet at the newspaper office of the newspaper that had a vested interest in making a hoax appear real -- after all, other newspapers were already questioning the credibility of The Mountain Democrat just days after they reported Davis's story? 

So, yes, that newspaper had its credibility at stake. And frankly, the story of Davis avoiding talking to the authorities and instead going to the newspaper that first reported the story made it look more like a conspiracy to pull something over on the public.

And really, why did Davis and the others meet at the office of The Mountain Democrat instead of another newspaper in Placerville, there were others? And also, why meet at the office of The Mountain Democrat with the very people who were responsible for making Davis a celebrity and circulating his story? Then again, I think that answers why they met there. 

So, instead of appearing at either County Sheriff's Office, or specifically in front of authorities in Placer County which would have made more sense since the supposed battle took place in Placer County (according to the Mountain Democrat website's story), Davis and his three eyewitnesses arrived at the office of The Mountain Democrat. 

Once there, they are supposedly questioned by a judge regarding what took place. And yes, supposedly, Davis and the others repeat the facts in the story just as it was printed in The Mountain Democrat to the satisfaction of the judge. After that, with everyone satisfied, everyone went on their way.

Of course, I can't find anything that resembles a deposition given before an El Dorado County Judge in 1854 or 1855 by Davis and his friends. Frankly, that's a huge red flag since El Dorado County Historical Records are available online at El Dorado County (Calif.) Archives for anyone to research. That website has everything that transpired in that county from 1851 onward.

The El Dorado County (Calif.) Archive has 183 volumes of county records from government agencies such as the County Clerk’s Office, Sheriff’s Office, Coroner's Office, Auditor’s Office, Assessor’s Office, the Courts, and many others. Records include court dispositions, cash transactions in the treasurer’s office, tax rolls, property descriptions, land sales, lawsuits, tax levies, and a lot more.

To give you an idea of what the El Dorado County archives has -- they have records of receipts signed by attorneys for case files checked out from the County Clerk's Office; Notices of motions filed by attorneys in various legal actions in local courts; Payments of fees for legal actions as registered by the clerk of the court; Invoices of goods shipped from eastern merchants to San Francisco, including the name of the ship and date, and the port of departure. They have records of plaintiffs, defendants, nature of action, subsequent legal measures, and final disposition, signed by a justice of the peace; Lists of plaintiffs and defendants, the nature of actions, subsequent legal measures, and final disposition; Listings by the name of the former possessor of the property. And yes, they have all of the legal processes that were conducted by a local justice of the peace.

They have registers of sales, accompanied by clipped newspaper announcements of date and place. Special school tax assessment; public school registers and registers of attendance, as well as evaluation of scholarship and deportment of each student; Records listing Chinese residents and also for Mexicans, Chileans, and Europeans having no property and paying poll tax; Listings of land transfers, especially relating to the activities of hydraulic mining companies, which may have been extracted from the County; Town lot auction records and land transactions; Various road construction surveys; School funds ledgers; Listings of state, county, and school district funds for the county's schools; Register of land transactions; all of the registered mining claims in that county, and much more that I didn't list here.

As for the El Dorado County Sheriff's Office records available on that website, the archives have Jail registers with names of prisoners, date of confinement, and date of discharge; Sheriff's expenses for such activities as service of legal documents and fees received as payment; Registers of fees for such expenses as mileage and transportation; Listings of drafts issued upon county funds; The county's tax assessment rolls; Daily expenses, including costs for service of writs and subpoenas, boarding of prisoners, and other attendance at court sessions; and registers listing county warrants. Those volumes even include the details of the Vigilante episode in April 1852. And yes, they even have copies of telegrams sent to and from the El Dorado County Sheriff.

So, yes, to me, it smells fishy that I can't locate a deposition, or any sort of court records, telegrams between Placer County Sheriff and El Dorado County Sheriff, notification of the Placer County Coroner, or anything else in the way of records about what would have surely been the biggest multiple homicide in Northern California in 1854. 

And here's something else on this. The Mountain Democrat initially reported the following:

"On December 19, 1854, while trekking on a miner's trail along the North Fork of the American River, Dr. Bolivar Sparks, James McDonald, and Captain Jonathan Davis were bushwhacked by an international band of bandits. The bandits, a Frenchman, two Americans, two Britons, four Mexicans, and four Australians, had robbed and killed four American miners on the previous day and six Chinese miners on the day before that."

This demonstrates the problem with this story, there is no evidence to prove that an international band of bandits and killers made up of a Frenchman, two Americans, two Britons, four Mexicans, and four Australians, had robbed and killed 4 American miners on the previous day and 6 Chinese miners on the day before that. One account says a few days before those killers supposedly encountered Davis and his two friends. 

No, there are no records in the Placer County History, the El Dorado County Archives, or newspaper archives of the time to prove that a gang of killers described like what The Mountain Democrat describes robbed and killed 4 American miners on the previous day and 6 Chinese miners in either November or December of 1854. 

I've combed through newspaper archives and I can say that there are all sorts of other news stories about Indians killing "Chinamen," others killing "Chinamen," and even "Chinamen" killing others. In fact, I'll be writing more about that soon. But, there are no news stories about 4 Americans and 6 Chinese miners being murdered in December of 1854. 

By the way, I did find an entry in the archive from July 10th, 1853, a year and a half before the Davis story took place, that said, "An Indian was hanged on Bear River, northeast of Auburn, by order of a lynch court, for killing a Chinaman. Previous to his execution he confessed to the murder of five Chinamen and one American."

And yes, that makes me ask if this is where Davis and The Mountain Democrat got the idea to say that gang killed 4 Americans and 6 Chinese miners? Was that event of a year and a half earlier used to make the Davis story sound more plausible? 

And since we're talking about records, or the lack of records, why aren't there records of a James McDonald and a Dr. Sparks being murdered? Other than what was printed in The Mountain Democrat, there aren't any county records, in either county, of Davis's two companions being murdered. Why is that?

Here are a few examples of things that I did find in the archives. This might give you an idea of what's in there, and why it bothers me that I can't find any records of Davis's supposed epic battle or anything on his companions being murdered, or anything on those 4 Americans and 6 Chinese miners that The Mountain Democrat talks about. All of the events below can be found in the county archives:   

June 26th, 1854 — James Ryan was killed in an affray at Iowa Hill by Patrick Vance.

December 30th, 1854   — A mob lynched Thomas Johnson for shooting a man named Montgomery at Iowa Hill on the 24th ult.

May 12th, 1855 — The Indians in the neighborhood of Gold Hill were performing the funeral rites upon a deceased member of their tribe, when a quarrel ensued between a squaw and one of the males, which resulted in a brutal murder. The man took the woman's child and deliberately cut its head off throwing the body on the tire which was consuming the body of the dead squaw. The woman in revenge took the child of her opponent and threw it on the fire, but it was rescued from the flames by some of the spectators. The Indian was arrested, but subsequently discharged on a nolle prosequi.

March 19th, 1855 — M. J. Van was stabbed and killed by John Roberts, at Iowa Hill. They were proprietors of the Crescent City Hotel. The trouble grew out of a settlement. Roberts was convicted of murder and sentenced to be hanged, but the sentence was commuted by the Governor to imprisonment for life.

March 20th, 1855 — I. P. Beatty was killed at Rector's Bar by E. Lockwood, who was convicted of manslaughter for the crime, and sentenced to two years in State Prison, and fined $1.00.

April 10th, 1855 — Wm. Durham was shot and killed, at Auburn, by Hank Marsh. Durham was supposed to be insane, and attacked Marsh.

April 11th, 1855 — Smith was shot and killed by Woodward, in a negro dance-house in Dutch Ravine. Both men were gamblers, and the trouble grew out of the favors shown Smith by one of the negro women.

September 22nd, 1855 — A Chinaman was killed by an Illinoistown Indian, called Tubbs, on the trail leading from Christian Valley to the North Fork of the American River. The citizens of Christian Valley secured Tubbs and hung him to the limb of a tree. [Illinoistown (all one word) was a mining camp in Placer County destroyed by fire in the late 1850s]. 

So, Why No Records?

Why aren't there records about Davis's story in the county archives? Is it the same reason why an official investigation never took place? Is it the same reason that the Sheriff and the Coroner's Offices were not notified? Is it the same reason that The Mountain Democrat allowed Davis to supposedly meet a judge at their office instead of having him meet with the County Sheriff? Is it because Capt. Jonathan R. Davis's 1854 gunfight story was a hoax perpetrated by Davis and The Mountain Democrat?

I believe the reason is simple. It's the same reason records can't be found, or why historians failed to write about it at the time, and why newspapers of the time called it a hoax. There aren't any records because the story is totally unbelievable when you really examine what was claimed. Sure, there are people gullible enough to believe anything. And frankly, we'll never know if the County Sheriffs did hear about it. But if they did, they probably saw the whole story as ridiculously amusing.

While some folks have asked if the Sheriff and his Deputies would have looked into it if it were that remote, I believe the Sheriff and his Deputies would have certainly done their duty and checked it out -- if it had been reported to them. 

And yes, there would be a record of what they found, including their exact location, how they were buried if they really were, their cause of death, number of assailants, how they were armed, if they were shot in the back or the front, and maybe even get a few identified, and much more. They would have documented the scene, collected and preserved evidence, and analyzed it to reconstruct the events and possibly identify the perpetrators. 

The parts of this story that are lacking have to do with the public's need to find out exactly what took place, and the public's need to see evidence proving what really took place. If there were an official investigation by the County Sheriff, the public would have found out what transpired and would have reported it.  Of course, that didn't happen. The Sheriffs of Placer County and El Dorado County weren't called upon to investigate and document what took place. And yes, that should be a red flag -- to tell us this was a hoax. 

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