Tuolumne County, CA History

Transcribed by Kathy Sedler

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A History of Tuolumne County, California - San Francisco, B.F. Alley, 1882.
 
The Heslep Murder.
        Perhaps no more terrible tragedy ever occurred in the mines of 
California than the one which it is the duty of the writer here to describe. 
Blood-thirsty and cruel beyond all precedent, it roused the people to a state of 
almost unparalleled excitement and even frenzy. It was peculiar in the 
singularity of the mode in which the deed was committed, and doubly so in the 
suddenness with which the assassin met his reward. It would be difficult, in all 
the annals of crime, to trace its parallel.  The community beheld a man 
universally respected, trusted and loved, the guardian of the county's treasury, 
and the esteemed business associate of the intelligent and enterprising 
merchants of the day, struck down and done to death by the hand of one who owed 
his welfare, and even his daily bread, to the generosity of his victim.
        The murderer's object was money, the basest of all incentives to crime, 
but fruitless were his hopes, for eight hours from the time that last saw Joseph 
Heslep in life, his slayer too was sent by a just, though unequal punishment, to 
the bar of eternal justice.
        Mr. Heslep, in his capacity as Treasurer, had an office on Hospital 
street, in Sonora. Here were kept the books and papers relating both to the 
county's affairs and to his own private business. The office contained two 
rooms, in the outer of which the safe and a writing desk were located. In the 
inner one there were certain articles of furniture, notably a wash-stand, with 
bowl. Within the safe were a portion of the county funds, amounting to somewhat 
over seven thousand dollars in gold coin. In order to a full understanding of 
the subject, it should be said that the safe and the writing-desk stood at the 
side of the room opposite the door, and the latter was in such a position that a 
person engaged in writing would necessarily sit, or stand, with his back to the 
outer door, which opened on Hospital street, nearly opposite Mr. Bradford's 
present office, but rather nearer to Washington street.
        At 9 o'clock in the evening of January 18, 1855, Mr. McBirnie, a member 
of the firm of Bell & McBirnie, the Court House contractors, having business to 
transact, entered Mr. Heslep's office through the closed but not fastened door, 
and in the intense darkness groped his way to the mantel, over the fireplace, at 
the further side of the apartment, in search of matches wherewith to light the 
lamp or candles, presumably in their accustomed place. As he reached the mantel, 
his feet struck against an object on the floor. Hastily striking a match, he 
turned to examine the obstruction, when the flickering brimstone showed to his 
horrified gaze the form of Joseph Heslep, his blood—his very brains—oozing 
through half a score of wounds upon his head. The stoutest heart, the firmest 
nerve, could not endure more than one glance at the awful shadow, and the 
discoverer flew from the dread sight, never again to forget what that one glance 
showed him.
        No words can do justice to the extreme excitement that arose in saloons, 
in stores and in hotels, when that white-faced man, peering in, gave utterance 
to his tidings. Instantly a great commotion arose, and a swarm of men hurried to 
the scene of the catastrophe. The truth of the news being verified, the first 
impulse, the invariable one at that day, in all scenes of unusual gravity, was 
to hold a meeting. This was done in front of the office where the bloody corpse 
lay, and by the light of a bonfire burning in the street, measures were taken to 
apprehend the murderer. The body, yet warm, gave evidence that the deed was but 
recently committed, while there were men who had seen Mr. Heslep in health but a 
few short hours before. Messengers mounted on fleet horses were immediately 
dispatched to each of the ferries in the county to stop the egress of suspected 
parties.
        In the meantime the proper officials summoned a Coroner's jury to 
deliberate upon the tragedy, and a full examination of the premises and of the 
murdered man was made, the jury sitting for six hours, and eliciting the 
following facts:
        Dr. Manning, the examining surgeon, reported that the deceased had 
received eight wounds upon the head, with an axe; that the skull was crushed at 
the crown, and that some of the brains were scattered upon the floor; and blows 
had been inflicted on each of the temples, either of which was severe enough to 
have caused death. The awful disfigurement of the face of the dead was such as 
to have prevented recognition, had the remains been found in other surroundings. 
The nose was broken, and the countenance generally was horribly mangled; but 
what gave a still more brutal character to the work, was the fact that the 
mouth, the throat, and the nostrils were stuffed with paper—the very refinement 
of brutality, as it was evident that it was done during the time that the 
deceased was still living.
        Slight suspicions of McBirnie, amid the uncertainty and turmoil, 
developed into nothing. The man who did the act was as unknown to the people as 
if he had never lived, and would have so remained had it not been for the 
accidental acuteness of Constable Sam Phillips. This officer, who had attended 
the examination, had observed there the attitude and replies of one of the 
witnesses, one Griffiths, who, it appeared, had been last seen in the office, 
conversing with Mr. Heslep.         Examined and reexamined, no question had 
shaken his testimony nor disturbed his coolness. He testified coolly and 
straightforwardly as to his knowledge of the murdered man's proceedings that 
evening, and by no word had it been made to appear that the guilt of murder was 
upon his soul. During, however, his second or third examination, and while still 
sitting within the room where the jury were, Deputy Sheriff Randall and 
Constable Phillips entered the room, the latter calling the attention of the 
officers and jury to a valise which he held in his hands. As soon as Griffith 
caught sight of the valise, recognizing it, he exclaimed, " Ask me no more 
questions; I am the guilty man!" At this declaration, accompanied as it was with 
dramatic coolness, the bystanders were paralyzed with excitement. Constable 
Phillips and Deputy Randall then related how they had visited the room of the 
accused at the United States Hotel, where, concealed within the blankets of his 
bunk, they found the blood-stained garments, fresh clots of gore still remaining 
undried upon them, and these pressed into a valise, the heavy overcoat alone 
being placed under the pillow. Within the pockets of the latter garment were 
over six thousand dollars in gold coin—the greater part of the sum which the 
safe contained; it appearing that the murderer thought himself unable to carry 
away the whole—so leaving about a thousand dollars untouched.
        At this point of the proceedings, alarm bells were rung, and those of 
the citizens who had retired from the scene again assembled in front of the 
office. The situation of affairs was told to them, and resolutions were passed 
declaring that the prisoner should die at daybreak, there being not one 
dissenting voice. Remaining by the bonfire all night, with the doomed man 
pinioned in their midst, the crowd at day break made preparations to hang him. 
Sheriff Solomon made an ineffectual attempt to gain possession of him, but 
without the slightest avail, as he was alone in the midst of a vast and 
determined assemblage which had firmly resolved on the man's death. No earthly 
power could save him. Cognizant of the fact that his earthly hours were short, 
Griffiths occupied himself in writing letters to his wife, who was in San Jose, 
and in making confession of his crime to his custodians. Besides the statements 
embraced in his confession, the following facts were evolved subsequently:
        Griffiths, upon his arrival in California, found himself without money 
or friends. In this strait, he was assisted by a gentleman of San Jose, a 
brother of his victim, who supplied him with the means to get to the mines, and 
also providing him with letters of recommendation to his brother Joseph, who, 
equally openhanded and hospitable, supported this stranger until he could 
establish him, as he finally did, in placer mining; also supplying lumber, with 
which to build a cabin. These facts only make the villainy  of the crime more 
conspicuous, contrasting it with the generosity of the murdered man.
        This is the oral confession of Griffiths:
        " My name is Edward Crane Griffiths. I was born in Liverpool, England, 
in 1824. I went to Ireland when a boy, and have been at sea since I was eleven 
years of age. I first went to Callao, then to Panama, by steamer, and then came 
to San Francisco. I was in San Francisco since, until I came to Sonora, which 
was previous to New Year's day. First conceived the design of the murder last 
night. I asked Mr. Heslep to loan me some money. He had a bag of money, 
containing gold and silver, which he had taken from a partition in his desk. 
When I asked deceased to loan me the money he refused. I then placed my hand on 
the bag, with no intention of taking it; upon which he arose and struck me in 
the breast. My blood being aroused, I immediately picked up the ax and struck 
deceased with it upon the temple; then struck again with it, two or three times, 
when he was down. He continued to make a noise, and I then put the paper in his 
nostrils and mouth. I then took the bag, and key which he had in his hand, 
unlocked the safe, and took the gold out of it. I then replaced the key of the 
safe upon the table, blew out the light, and left the house. Was not occupied 
more than five minutes in the business. I went to my room, where I placed the 
money, changed my pantaloons, and walked out. I went down to the Long Tom, and 
soon returned to Mr. Heslep's office, in which time the murder had been 
discovered.
        " When I placed my hand upon the bag I had no intention to take the 
money, but did it in more of a joke than anything else. I said to Mr. Heslep, 
'You may as well lend me this.' When I saw that I had killed him, I took the 
money, for then I thought I could make the matter no worse. The paper that I put 
in his mouth I got from the table. Five minutes before doing it I had no idea of 
committing the act.
        " I acknowledge this to be the whole truth, and make this confession of 
my own free will and accord, without any fear, threats, or compulsion from any 
person. This is made before the Coroner's Jury, at fifteen minutes before two A. 
M., Friday, 19th of January, A. D. 1855.  E. C. Griffiths.”
        At daylight the last act of this dreadful tragedy came. Carried to an 
oak tree, of which the trunk is yet to be seen standing on Mr. Bemis' City Hotel 
lot, the guilty wretch was suspended and left to die without a sympathizing word 
or look from the community from which his blood-thirsty hand had removed a 
beloved and useful member.
        So ended an eventful night, the recollections of which are burnt into 
the brain of every one of the many surviving actors and spectators, never to be 
forgotten until the earth shall close over their honored heads.
        In order to show the general esteem in which the murdered man was held, 
and also the manner in which his untimely taking-off was regarded, the newspaper 
report of a citizens' meeting to " take into consideration the premature and 
violent death of Joseph Heslep, Esq.
        " On motion, G. W. Patrick (Mayor of Sonora) was appointed Chairman, and 
H. G. Worthington, Secretary.
        " On motion, L. L. Alexander, Dr. Adams, E. Linoberg, Mr. Rutherford and 
Major P. McD. Collins, were appointed a committee to draw up suitable 
resolutions.
        " On motion it was recommended to the citizens that all business be 
suspended during the passage of the corpse through the streets to the place of 
interment.
        " The committee on resolutions reported the following, which were read 
and adopted:
        " 'Truly, it has been said, 'In the midst of life we are in death.' The 
noblest work of God, an honest man, has been cut off from among us; Joseph 
Heslep, Esq., Deputy Treasurer of Tuolumne county, is dead—murdered by the man 
whom he had befriended.
        " Resolved, That in the death of our friend, the whole community has 
suffered a loss which it is impossible to repair; each of us has lost a friend, 
a neighbor, and the county an honest and faithful public servant.
        " Resolved, That we truly condole with the brothers, and the family 
relations of the deceased, in the great loss they have sustained, in a brother, 
a father and a friend.
        " Resolved, That out of respect to the deceased we recommend that the 
whole community go into mourning and attend his remains to their last resting 
place on Sunday next.
        On motion it was
        " Resolved, That the proceedings of this meeting be published in the 
various papers of this county.
        " Resolved, That the Secretary furnish the family and friends of the 
deceased, in San Francisco and elsewhere, with a copy of the proceedings of this 
meeting.
                                                                                 
                               G. W. PATRICK, President. 
                                                                                 
                               H. G. WORTHINGTON, Secretary.
Walker's Expedition.
        In order to bring the history of the county for the year 1854 to a 
fitting conclusion, it will be necessary to mention a few additional events of 
importance. These are the division of the county and Walker's expedition to 
Lower California.
        Of the former event there is little to say, except that at that time it 
was imagined that an inevitable imcompatibility must exist between agriculture 
and mining, to the extent that the interest of those devoted to the one must 
necessarily suffer from too intimate a connection with those pursuing the other. 
Whether this view was well founded or not, an amicable dissolution of interests 
followed, and the agricultural Eve, Stanislaus, was formed from a rib of her 
predecessor, and has remained contentedly apart ever since, having no connection 
with her other half, except as to serving, perhaps, as a convenient pasture for 
Tuolumne's lost live-stock.
        In June, 1854, these divorce proceedings were consummated, Stanislaus 
holding the first separate county election on the 10th of that month.
Additional Events of 1850.
        Not a little enthusiasm was aroused in the mines by the circumstances of 
the ill-fated expeditions of " The Gray-eyed Man of Destiny." The first of 
these, in which Walker for a time overthrew the Mexican power in the States of 
Sonora and Lower California, assuming the powers and the title of President of 
the so-called " Republic," formed from those States, drew away many of the. more 
ambitious or restless spirits from their work in the diggings, to dare fortune 
in another land. To all of these the sternest of adverse fates happened; hardly 
one ever returned to tell the story of his wanderings. Many men, once prominent 
in the mining regions of Tuolumne, thus departed. But a still deeper and most 
pathetic interest was aroused on account of the Nicaragua expeditions.   Joined 
by men of all classes and all situations in society, Walker fought and bled and 
died in their midst, his last brave end drawing a curtain over the foolish and 
impracticable attempt, shutting it in part from the rough criticism of the outer 
world. Good blood, mustered in distant regions, and coming, some of it, to its 
full brightness and strength by the banks of the Tuolumne and the Stanislaus, 
was poured out as freely as the leader's own, to be drunk up by the soil of a 
land whose sons, in their new-found strength, wielded well the sword when they 
strove for liberty. Aside from the fact that many of Tuolumne's adventurous 
inhabitants joined the raiding forces, the expeditions do not present any matter 
for the present consideration of the readers of this volume, but it is an 
unfortunate circumstance that an accurate and complete list of those who went 
from here on that tragical errand cannot now be made out.
Ditch Matters and Miners' Strike.
        In the Fall of 1854, the " Columbia and Stanislaus River Water Company " 
was formed for the object of bringing water for mining purposes into the chief 
placer diggings of Tuolumne, notably into those of the region in and about 
Columbia. The immediate causes that led to the commencement of the work was the 
insufficiency of the then existing ditches to supply the requisite quantity, and 
also the excessive prices charged by those in operation.
        At a meeting of the stockholders of the new company, held September 26, 
1854, in Columbia, the following named gentlemen were elected officers to serve 
for one year: Directors—J. W. Coffroth (President), G. W. Whitman, S. Ingersoll, 
James McLean, John Jolly, S. Knapp and Dr. Windier ; Secretary—T. N. Cazneau; 
Treasurer—W. Daegener (of Wells, Fargo & Co.'s Express); Superintendent―A. 
Fletcher; Engineer—T- L. Trask.
        At this meeting the Engineer's report of his survey of the proposed 
route of the ditch was presented, and from its pages some interesting 
particulars of the truly great work are to be gleaned.
        The route surveyed by him was twenty odd miles in length, the canal at 
various epochs since having been lengthened to the distance of sixty miles, it 
being one of the longest and most important hydraulic works of the kind ever 
constructed by man.
        Commencing at the farthest limits of the first survey, the first eight 
miles of the line passed over a deep, heavy loam, covered with a dense growth of 
pine timber. The ground was easy of excavation and in every way adapted to the 
requirements of canal building. Upon this part of the route but few portions 
required to be flumed.
        The next section, reaching downward to Rocky Bluff, passed over a broken 
country, a considerable portion of which required to be flumed.
        The remaining portion of the route, nine and a half miles in length, 
required fluming entirely. Upon this section were three high bluffs to pass 
around, but not of great length.
        Of the twenty-one miles of ditch, the lower end of which was at 
Columbia, twelve miles required to be flumed, the remaining nine miles being 
excavated.
As for timber for the construction and support of flumes, no route was ever 
better supplied. Along nearly the entire route there was abundant growth of 
pine, fir and other woods, in all respects adapted to such uses. The cedar, too, 
invaluable for its lasting qualities, grows in the upper sections.
        In regard to the cost, the Engineer expressed the opinion that it would 
not aggregate a sum over three hundred and fifty thousand dollars, for bringing 
the water of the Main Fork of the Stanislaus into Columbia or Sonora. The 
Engineer was of the opinion, hardly borne out since in practice, that there was 
an amount of water in the Main Fork equal to all demands, being in the dryest 
seasons not less than four or five hundred tom streams.
        From this source alone, concluded the Engineer, it was possible to 
obtain an adequate supply; for the only other sufficient stream was the South 
Fork of the Tuolumne, to obtain the water from which would require works almost 
rivaling the Great Canal of China, the country being almost impassable.
        Having now formed their company, the work was proceeded with. But owing 
to financial and other hindrances, little was accomplished until the next 
Spring, when certain stirring events took place, involving the interests of the 
miners, the water companies, and, in fact, of all the county.
        The high prices, heretofore alluded to, still held sway, and the whole 
mining population dependent upon the Tuolumne County Water Company, observing 
the indifference to their interests manifested by that corporation, and thinking 
themselves unfairly treated, began in March, 1855, to take measures to secure 
such a condition of things as would redound more to their own interests.
        On the 3d of that month, a meeting of the miners of Columbia and 
vicinity was held at Major Farnsworth's saloon, and organizing, a committee was 
appointed to wait upon the T. C. W. Co., and request them to reduce the price of 
water to four dollars per day for each tom stream. This done, the meeting 
adjourned for one week.
        At the adjourned meeting the committee reported that a petition had been 
circulated among the miners, to which about one thousand signatures had been 
attached, and that the same had been laid before the Trustees of the Water 
Company, and a reply received from the Board. The following was the 
correspondence:
            " To the Trustees of the Tuolumne Water Company:
            " GENTLEMEN :—The petition of the undersigned respectfully showeth: 
That they are miners within this county, and that they are now, and have been 
receiving water from your canal, and have paid large sums of money into your 
treasury for its use. The aggregate sum they have paid, they are confident, has 
been sufficient to liquidate the whole capital stock of your Company, and 
besides give a fair remuneration for the outlay of the money. During the infancy 
of your Company, and when extraordinary demands were made for repairs, and to 
put your enterprise in proper condition, they made no objections to the price of 
water, but cheerfully looked forward to a time when your finances would permit a 
reduction of tolls. Your petitioners believe that the time has arrived, and that 
the price of water should be reduced to four dollars per day for a full sluice 
stream. By an accurate calculation made, it has been ascertained that a majority 
of those using your water, from the excessiveness of the tolls, do not realize 
for their labor an average of two dollars per day, and the difference between 
this sum and the price of labor per day is paid to your Company, in opposition 
to the wisest rules of trade. The general distress throughout the community —the 
lack of paying earth as compared with former times, independent of the arguments 
given above—are forcible and cogent reasons for an alteration of your tariff of 
prices. Your petitioners, therefore, pray that the Trustees will take some 
immediate action for the reduction of the price of water to four dollars per day 
for a full sluice stream."
        To this petition, seemingly very reasonable under the circumstances, the 
following answer was returned:
            " To the Miners' Committee :
            " GENTLEMEN :—I am instructed by the Trustees of the Tuolumne County 
Water Company to make the following reply to your petition asking for a 
reduction of the price of water for mining purposes:
            " It has been, and still is, the intention of the Company, to reduce 
the rates of water from time to time, when it can be done without too great a 
sacrifice of their own interest.
            " Your petition states: That no objection was made to the price of 
water when extraordinary demands were made for repairs, etc.
            " In answer to which I am directed to say that there have never been 
more extraordinary demands for repairs and heavy outlays than at the present 
time, since the introduction of water by the Company; and the Trustees are 
confident that at the rates of water asked by your petition, the amount would 
very little exceed the cost of repairs and the expense of distributing the water 
and collecting the rents.
        " That it is their intention to bring in a much larger supply of water 
during the present season; and also, as soon as practicable, to bring the water 
of the Stanislaus River into their ditch, so as to afford a full and constant 
supply of water throughout the year, when they confidently hope they can reduce 
the water rates, without an unreasonable sacrifice of the interests of the 
Company.
        " The assumption set forth in your petition: 'That the aggregate sum 
received for water by your Company has been sufficient to liquidate the whole 
capital stock of the Company, besides giving a fair remuneration for the outlay 
of the money,' so far from being correct, the amount received for water has paid 
only about two per cent per month on the actual cost of the work.
            " All of which is most respectfully submitted.
                                                                                 
                                           " R. A. ROBINSON,
                                                                                 
                                           " Sec'y T. C. W. Co. " Columbia, 
March 10, 1855."
        Resolutions were then submitted to the Miners' meeting to the effect 
that as the T. C. W. Co: had refused to comply with their just demands, the 
claims of those miners who wished to stop work in order to avoid the consumption 
of the Company's water should have their claims protected against jumpers, up to 
the 1st of January, 1856, and all deep or wet clay claims should be so protected 
up to May 1st, 1856, even though water should be given free; and that a Recorder 
should be appointed to record the claims of those wishing to suspend work, for 
which service he should receive one dollar. Also, that those wishing to avail 
themselves of this action should post up notices on their claims to that effect. 
These resolutions were unanimously adopted, and J. A. Palmer was appointed 
Recorder. It was voted that a grand mass meeting should take place on the 
Tuesday following, and the meeting adjourned.
        At noon, on Tuesday, miners from gulch and hill-side came flocking into 
town to attend the mass meeting to be held at one o'clock in front of the 
Methodist Church South. Long before the hour of meeting had arrived the booming 
of cannon and the merry music of church bells had called together nearly three 
thousand people. About thirteen hundred of those present then formed in 
procession, and marched through the streets of the young city, preceded by the 
Stars and Stripes and a band of music, and bearing mottoes and transparencies 
having appropriate devices dispersed throughout the line.
        The procession returning, the meeting was organized by the choice of I. 
A. Stevens, President; Messrs. J. A. Palmer and Joseph Creasy as Secretaries. 
Resolutions were adopted, in substance, that the miners of the district pledged 
themselves to strike for reduction of water to four dollars a day, and that they 
would never pay more, nor suffer more to be paid by others; that the officers of 
the new Company (the Columbia and Stanislaus River Water Company) be requested 
to recommence work forth­with upon their canal, to the south fork of the 
Stanislaus, so as to give immediate employment to the miners who would be thrown 
out of employment by the strike; and that a committee of five he appointed to 
confer with them, to procure information in relation to the prosecution of the 
work.
        It was, in short, unanimously resolved to do no more work in mining 
until the then existing water rates  were satisfactorily arranged.
        To the communication of the miners, addressed to the Columbia and 
Stanislaus Water Company, respecting the all important subject, the following 
reply was returned: " Office of the Columbia and Stanislaus Water Company‑
            " GENTLEMEN: Your note of this date has been received, and we hasten 
to reply as follows:
            " First—We have decided to build the canal from Columbia to the 
south fork of the Stanislaus River, distance twenty-five miles.
            " Second—We are ready to commence the work at once. We have a 
competent corps of engineers ready to enter the field immediately, and on Monday 
next will have work sufficient to employ five hundred men upon that day.
            " Third—If two hundred men or more will find provisions and tools 
for themselves, we will begin on Monday, 19th instant.
            " Fourth—The whole work will be under contract, and parties can take 
their choice of it, either by the rod, cubic foot, yard, mile or section, and be 
paid at the prevailing rate for labor, four dollars per day, in the stock of the 
Company.
            " Fifth—As the means and provisions can be obtained, and our 
arrangements made, we will be prepared to receive those who cannot furnish 
provisions for themselves, due notice of which will be given at an early day.
            " Sixth―A book is now open at our office, wherein the names of those 
who are willing to provision themselves may be registered, where we hope that 
those desirous of engaging in the enterprise will call, that we may speedily 
make up the number of 200 men.
            " Seventh—Unless 200 persons, or more, are willing to provision 
themselves, and are ready to go to work on Monday next, we will not be able to 
commence at that period.
            " Eighth—By an accurate calculation we have made, 500 men will 
commence the work, and continue thirty-five days, we can reasonably expect the 
completion of the canal down to the head of Wood's Creek, back of Yankee Hill, 
in that time.
            "Ninth—A book is now open at our office for the registry of those 
who are willing to go to work, but are not able to provision themselves.
            " We should be most happy, gentlemen, to cooperate with the miners 
of Columbia in obtaining a full supply of water, at a cost not exceeding $4 per 
day, and in all probability at a less price.
            " Hoping that the above propositions will meet with your 
approbation, we remain
            " Respectfully yours,
                                                                                 
                               " JAMES W. COFFROTH, President,
                                                                                 
                               " For Trustees C. & S. W. Co. Office at Mr. 
Levy's fire-proof building, 
                                                                                 
                               Main street, opposite American Hotel."
        Upon receipt of the above communication, the miners immediately 
signified their acceptance of the conditions proposed, and crowding to the 
office, registered themselves in large numbers as laborers on the canal.
        Such sudden action was a complete surprise to the old company, who had 
so long held the destinies of the whole section in their hands, and who had 
supposed their lease of power to be of indefinite duration. Suddenly deprived of 
their revenues—for every consumer of their water had ceased work, and 
consequently ceased using the valuable fluid—they were brought quickly to their 
senses. It would not do to attempt to hold out against the throng—something must 
be done to pacify them. Accordingly, as a sort of feeler, or compromise measure, 
this letter was addressed to the officers of the associated miners:
            " NOTICE TO THE MINERS.—Gentlemen, the Board of Trustees of the 
Tuolumne County Water Company, under present exigencies, beg leave to submit to 
your favorable consideration the following proposition: That if the miners will 
proceed to make the necessary enlargement to their ditch for the purpose of 
procuring a larger supply of water, that they will issue scrip at the rate of $4 
per day for labor performed, which scrip shall be receivable for water at the 
rate of $4 per day, after the completion of such work; and from and after that 
time the regular charges for water shall be $4 per day. The distance of the 
enlargement and addition is about 12 miles. Should this proposition meet your 
approbation, they are ready to commence the work immediately.
                                                                                 
                                    " T. B. DRYER, President pro tem. 
                                                                                 
                                    " R. A. ROBINSON, Secretary."
        On the following Tuesday this proposition was submitted to a miners' 
meeting, and also accepted. This was the end of the great strike which has borne 
an important place in the traditions of Tuolumne county.  That the miners action 
was provocative of good, there can be no doubt, as it was the immediate cause of 
lowering the price of water, and also of building up a great enterprise—the 
Columbia and Stanislaus Water Company—that very likely, but for the stimulus 
then and subsequently furnished, would never have resulted in anything of 
moment, but as it turned out, became one of the greatest and most important 
ditch enterprises in the California mines.
        Several hundred miners commenced immediately the excavation of the new 
ditch, and more constantly joined them, swelling the laboring army to a size 
that promised the speedy completion of the work. Meanwhile those who had 
remained in Columbia made preparations for celebrating the victory in progress 
in a manner at once unique and satisfactory.
        On Monday, March 19th, large delegations of miners from Springfield, 
Jamestown, Shaw's Flat, Wood's Crossing, and other mining camps, paid the 
Columbia boys a visit, and they were well treated indeed. Their visit must have 
been exceedingly agreeable. On Washington street tables were set nearly the 
whole length of the street, which were loaded with eatables for the visitors' 
refreshment. A subscription had been carried around the day previous, to which 
nearly every business man of the town subscribed; the merchants, the butchers, 
the bakers, and all, furnishing such things as were in their line, which could 
be made useful in the matter. All saloons, restaurants and hotels were thrown 
open to the guests of the day, and to the inhabitants of Columbia, too, that all 
might enter and partake "without money and without price." Toward evening a 
procession numbering three thousand marched to Yankee Hill to witness the 
ceremony of breaking ground upon the new ditch. Returning, the out-of-town boys 
were escorted to their several homes by the Columbians. Thus ended the 
celebration. The new ditch thus favorably inaugurated, kept up its labors until 
the promises set forth in their letter were partly realized. They had 
accomplished the task of building the ditch to the South Fork, and at a less 
expense than was anticipated; but the supply of water was found insufficient. It 
was then resolved to continue onward to the North Fork, in order to secure an 
unlimited and unfailing supply. It was not, however, until the year 1858 that 
the work was finally completed. The completion was made a day of celebration, as 
befitted the occasion. From the Tuolumne Courier of December 4th, 1858, these 
particulars relating to the ditch and to the day, have been selected. The 
account was written by J. C. Durbrow, Esq., editor of the Courier, but now of 
the Tuolumne independent:
GRAND WATER CELEBRATION!
THE COLUMBIA AND STANISLAUS WATER COMPANY'S DITCH
COMPLETED!
THE CELEBRATION OF ITS ADVENT!
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 29TH, 1858.
A GREAT REJOICING!
THE DAY.
        The eventful day had at length arrived—the 29th day of November, in the 
year of our Lord 1858, the day when the water of the North Fork of Stanislaus 
river made its first advent into Columbia. The day when the laborers, one and 
all, on the Columbia and Stanislaus Water Company's canals, threw down their 
tools and threw up their hats, shouting from one end of the vast aqueduct to the 
other,
" THE WORK IS DONE! "
        Bright Phoebus and all the other gods and goddesses who claim affinity 
to Old Sol, ushered in the morn most gloriously. It was a bright and glorious 
day for all creation generally, and a bright and glorious day for the sons and 
daughters of Columbia in particular. Scarce had Aurora lit up the chambers of 
the East before hundreds of our population were awake, alive and a-doing. 
Thousands of the denizens of the neighboring towns soon came pouring in, dressed 
in their best ' go-to-meetings.' Guns were firing and banners were flying; sweet 
and powerful tones of music, in harmonious minglings, filled the ears. Sonora 
and all the neighboring villages were soon depopulated, and everybody and 
everybody's relations and acquaintances, with their wives, their daughters and 
their daughters' daughters, were here. Fourth of July and all such common 
demonstrations was no circumstance to the displays, the crowds, the jams and 
jollifications of the day. Our streets were full, our houses were full, our 
stores were full, and our saloons were full. Everybody was at home just where he 
happened to find himself when, for a moment, he awoke to a consciousness of his 
whereabouts amid the bewildering maze all around him. Everybody was rejoicing 
and being glad to see everybody. Every one was treating and being treated. 
Everybody was drinking, everybody was eating, everybody was smoking, and the 
rest of mankind was looking on.
THE PROCESSION.
        A grand procession was formed at ten o'clock in the morning, by the 
arrangement and under the orders of Col. J. D. Potterson, Grand Marshal of the 
Day, and proceeded in the following order:
FIRST DIVISION.
Captain James McLean, Aid to the Grand Marshal 
Faxon's Sonora Band.
Saw Mill Flat Infantry, Captain Holland.
Orator and President of the Day, in a carriage.
Trustees and Officers of the Columbia and Stanislaus River Water Company, in a 
carriage.
 
        The Miners of Gold Springs, with appropriate banners and flags. (With 
this fine appearing body of miners walked Mr. Thomas Campbell, with his 
celebrated bag­pipes, discoursing the music of the " land o' cakes.)"
 
SECOND DIVISION.
R. Mullan, Aid to the Grand Marshal.
Columbia Hook and Ladder Company, No. I.
Sonora Fire Department.
Columbia Hose Company, No. 1, with their beautiful banner, presented by the 
ladies of Columbia.
 
THIRD DIVISION.
I. J. Potter, Aid to the Grand Marshal. 
Trustees of the City of Columbia.
Carriages containing distinguished visitors. 
Mounted men.
 
FOURTH DIVISION.
R. Dornan, Aid to the Grand Marshal.
Columbia Brass Band.
Springfield Artillery Company, with their big gun.
The men who built the flumes and ditches, with banners and badges.
Miners' Union, one thousand strong, headed by Col. I. A. Stevens, their 
President.
 
        Then followed a long column of miners, four abreast.
        The procession marched up the Gold Springs road to the company's high 
flume, where the water of the north fork of Stanislaus River was falling in 
three beautiful cascades, within the corporate limits of the City of Columbia, 
coming from the extreme end of the works, sixty miles distant in the mountains !
        The line of march was again taken up, and passed through the principal 
streets to the square in front of the First Presbyterian Church, where were 
assembled a large number of ladies and gentlemen.
" ORDER OF EXERCISES.
Prayer by Rev. Mr. Baker.
Music by Columbia Brass Band."
 
        The account then proceeds with a synopsis of the address of Hon. J. W. 
Coffroth, the Orator of the Day. The gentleman commenced his speech thus:
" In the name of the Great Jehovah, who made us, where did you all come from, 
and what did you all come for ? Why is this assembly of bright-eyed beauty 
here?—and why this discoursing of sweet music ? It is to recognize, and to do 
honor to feats of toil and perseverance carried out to their end, in the 
execution of a work that does honor, not only to our own locality, but to our 
county and the State. The completion of ditches and flumes, to supply the miners 
of this vicinity with water for mining uses. We are assembled here to-day to 
proclaim their completion.
        " And have we not just and good cause to be thus jubilant ? for who can 
calculate the benefits to accrue to us by being thus supplied with an abundant 
and constant supply of that element, which is the primary cause of our 
prosperity. I can well remember when this fair city of Columbia consisted of but 
a few log cabins. What do we see before us to-day ? Dwellings and stores, of 
brick and stone, that would be no discredit to cities of much older date ! And 
permit me to ask to what are we indebted for this proud position ?  To the 
enterprise and indomitable will of  our citizens, who expended their capital who 
have exerted their skill to supply the miners with cheap water.
        " It should not be out of place for the speaker to give a brief outline 
of the organization and the operators. Some four years ago, the miners of this 
place finding the supply of water altogether inadequate to the demand, and the 
cost of that they did get more than they could pay, called a general meeting to 
devise a remedy. They resolved to try the effect of a petition to the officers 
of the Tuolumne County Water Company, stating their grievances, and asking for a 
reduction in prices. For some cause best known to themselves, the Trustees of 
that Company refused to accede to their wishes, and the evil being of such an 
oppressive character, the opposition to it soon became general. The consequence 
was the memorable Water Strike —an event long to be remembered in Columbia—and 
we are here to celebrate the consequences of that strike.
        " Well, some few of us had put our heads together to devise some plan to 
attain our object—cheap, abundant and constant water. We said to ourselves that 
if we could bring the water of the main river here, we should have all we could 
desire. At first we were almost afraid to let our project be known—merely 
whispering it to a few—fearing lest it should be considered the crude idea of 
some school­boy. To many, indeed, it would have seemed but an idle vaunt—the 
tale of an idiot— 'full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.' The propagators 
were jeered and taunted, and even he (the speaker) was told that his efforts 
were intended but for the foundation of political success, and the basis of 
political ambition—the wild dreamings of a wayward discontent. Notwithstanding 
these depressions, we toiled on—we consulted those whom we considered qualified 
to give advice about such an important subject; and found that it could be 
done—and we resolved to do it! In the year 1854 we elected our first officers, 
the speaker being the first president, and General T. N. Cazneau the first 
Secretary. We were but a handful, as it were, at first, but soon, when people 
saw that we were in earnest, our forces augmented not only by miners, but 
merchants and store-keepers, and, in fact, every class of citizens aided us, 
either with labor or materials, until we were extemporized into a huge community 
of toilers. It will be four years on the 19th of next March since we struck the 
first blow and removed the first sod, since which time we have completed ditches 
and flumes to the extent of sixty miles, before they reach any locality in which 
mining is carried on, and twenty miles through the various mining districts, the 
cost of which has been over a MILLION OF DOLLARS
        " Talk about the Pacific Railroad costing so much that it will be 
impossible to construct it! Why, here are a few mountain towns expending over a 
million on a work of merely local importance! Here is an example to the world of 
what a small portion of the American people can do when they work in earnest! 
Nor could he forget to mention the tunnel of three thousand one hundred feet in 
length, through a huge mountain. 
        " Although we are to-day in such high spirits, and full of satisfaction 
at the completion of our task, it has not been so pleasant and agreeable to us 
at all times; for we can well remember when cold and hunger were our almost 
constant companions; when even food of the coarsest description was impossible 
to get; when our supply of provisions was often exhausted before another 
arrived; when we were fearful of being unable to obtain provisions at all for 
those engaged in the work.          *          *          *        *
        "It might be interesting to know what our bill of fare generally 
contained. First, we had beans—just plain beans; next came bean soup; then, 
boiled beans; then, by way of change, baked beans; for entremets, we had beans, 
also. Then we had beans ' a la mode.' For dessert we had cold beans! In fact, 
beans were the alpha and omega of our cuisine."   *          *          *        
    *          *          *
        In conclusion, the speaker urged upon the miners the necessity of 
jealously guarding their rights. They all had an important part to perform in 
the drama of life, and should follow the poet's injunction:
" In the world's wide field of battle, 
In the bivouac of life,
Be not like dumb driven cattle;
But all be heroes in the strife.' "
        After the conclusion of Mr. Coffroth's remarks a benediction was 
pronounced by the Rev. Mr. Hamilton, and the procession formed again and 
proceeded to State street, at the upper end of which a public dinner, free to 
all comers, was spread.
        The evening closed with a display of fireworks on a scale unprecedented 
in the mines, while the whole town was brilliantly illuminated with candles and 
appropriate transparencies, huge bonfires burning upon the surrounding hills. A 
ball was in progress at the theater, and the streets were thronged throughout 
the livelong night with thousands of citizens and visitors, in the best possible 
humor, and all was peaceful and harmonious rejoicing.
The Kittering-Worth Homicide.
        One of the more noticeable events of 1855, was the murder of Kittering 
at Algerine Camp. Previous to the account of this case it will be essential to 
introduce the story of another affair, notorious at the time, and which is 
intimately connected with the above murder. This was the bold murder of Judge 
Brunton at Yorktown, which occurred in the night of June 30, when a band of 
burglars, four in number, entered the sleeping apartment of that gentleman and 
abstracted twelve thousand dollars from a safe in the room, where most of the 
family were asleep, and accomplishing their object without awaking anyone but 
the Judge. The account given by the latter was to the effect that upon his 
waking he saw a man standing over him with an axe in his hands, remarking to him 
to lie still, as money was all they wanted. Accordingly the Judge lay quiet 
until the burglars had left the room, when he arose, and taking a pistol, 
followed them into another room, where he had an encounter with the rearmost 
one, who knocked him senseless, besides inflicting a severe knife wound upon his 
neck. He was discovered the next morning by the family, who raised an alarm.
        Connected with this affair, and with the subsequent assassination of the 
old gentleman, was a painful mystery that time has not yet cleared up. Many 
hypotheses have been advanced to account for these outrages, but no clue has 
ever been found that would lead to the discovery of the villains who, for years, 
as well known, made Judge Brunton's life a period of continual dread. And it is 
highly improbable that the secret of these daring and extraordinary outrages 
ever will be known.      Several years elapsed between the first and last acts 
of this chain of events, the first, described above, being in June, 1855, while 
the final act, the death of the victim, took place in December, 1860. In the 
interim, a succession of lesser outrages against the gentleman's person and 
property took place, evidently instigated by the same herd of thieves and 
cut-throats, or political enemies, who inspired and executed the others.
        Growing out of this robbery, and immediately following it, came the 
murder spoken of at the head of this section.
        The trial of this case, being conducted by eminent lawyers on either 
side, has caused the affair to assume an importance and a notoriety perhaps 
greater than would rightfully attach to it if the standing of the principal 
actors alone was considered. William H. Worth was brought up for his trial on 
the 6th of March, 1856, Judge Creaner presiding, with District Attorney Caleb 
Dorsey and H. P. Barber appearing for the People, while Calhoun Benham, Colonel 
Della Torre, Colonel B. F. Moore and Charles M. Scott appeared for the defense. 
Certainly an imposing array of the best legal talent that the State could 
furnish. Nearly every one of these six men have left their mark as eminent 
lawyers, and their conduct on this occasion did their talents no disgrace. The 
peculiarities of each were impressed upon the minds of the spectators, and the 
forensic triumph gained by the defense against the high legal acumen displayed 
by the opposition was and is regarded as of the very first importance in the 
Court annals of this county.
        The particulars of the shooting came out as follows:  Kittering, a 
blacksmith and gunsmith, who pursued his trades at Algerine Camp, indiscreetly 
charged W. H. Worth, Justice of the Peace at the same place, with being a party 
to the Brunton robbery, then the exciting topic of conversation throughout the 
county. These hasty words, perhaps with no foundation in fact, and probably 
uttered through the common impulse that some men have to appear wise in such 
matters, came to Worth's ears, and the latter, excusably enough, sought an 
explanation. Both parties retired to Kittering's house to discuss the matter, 
but what occurred between them could not be ascertained; as within a few minutes 
shots were heard within, and hasty words uttered, indicating that the two were 
in mortal combat. Cries of murder were heard from Kittering, and Worth 
immediately came out, leaving his antagonist dead upon the floor.
        After the conclusion of the testimony, the District Attorney summed up 
the case for the prosecution. He reviewed the testimony, and maintained that 
through the evidence of several neighbors of the deceased, who heard the 
conflict and were witnesses to the state of feelings between the accused and 
Captain Kittering, the facts had been clearly proven. He admitted that deceased 
had entertained suspicions of the prisoner being concerned in the Brunton 
robbery, and claimed that the prisoner had not shown that he should have been 
free from such suspicions. He remarked that the defendant, if entirely innocent 
of such a charge, or free from such a suspicion, had no right to seek the life 
of the deceased; it was his duty to bear the accusation, and seek legal modes of 
redress. The Attorney brought to the especial notice of the jury, the points of 
the testimony, as he viewed them, and recapitulated all the facts established, 
which went to show that the prisoner had premeditated the murder of the 
deceased, and went to his house to consummate it. He counseled the jury to 
discharge their duty fearlessly, and to maintain the supremacy of the laws. The 
gentleman's arguments were very able and earnest, he discharging his duties 
creditably, as became one who was regarded as the peer of the best criminal 
lawyers of the State.
        Following Mr. Dorsey came the renowned attorneys, Benham and Moore; both 
of the pronounced " fire-eater " type, and both upon their highest mettle to 
redeem a cause that seemed so clearly lost.
        Mr. Benham's address occupied four and a half hours, and commanded the 
closest attention of the Court and spectators. It was said to have been 
characterized by the loftiest eloquence, and the most soul-stirring appeals for 
the safety of his client. This gentleman's speech, though able, did not possess 
the interest that attached to that of Col. Moore, which followed it. The latter 
gentleman had, since the earliest times, been a pronounced figure in the legal 
circles of the State. In his own home, in Tuolumne, there were few competing 
characters. Among all his contemporaries no more remarkable man stands forth. 
Eminent in the Courts as a practitioner, he was no less prominent in political 
and social affairs. No history, no notice even, of the earlier times of this 
region, could be considered complete unless including his name. Now, as counsel 
in the defense in this famous trial, and occupying as important and. prominent a 
position as it ever was the fortune of any Californian of that day to fill, he 
rose to his utmost elevation. The Colonel was in many ways worthy of remark, 
both on account of his mental qualifications, and his personal eccentricities. 
Tall, several inches over six feet, with erect, straight figure, though very 
spare and excessively narrow-chested, clear-cut, strongly marked features, gray 
hair, once black, and a very proud and haughty carriage, said to correspond with 
his extreme self-esteem, made up the more noticeable points of the man's 
personal appearance, which, from all accounts, was most imposing. A fact that, 
in some measure, helps to account for his remarkable success as a criminal 
lawyer, doubtless aided by his high reputation for fearlessness and 
eccentricity. As might be supposed, these qualities had made him an object of 
interest in the highest degree to the rougher inhabitants of that epoch.
        Colonel Moore owed nothing of his phenomenal success to his learning, 
for even upon legal points that was of the slimmest possible character; and in 
general matters his illiteracy was profound. Neither did he make any attempt to 
conceal his want of knowledge. He rather gloried in it. And the want of 
erudition which would now, were he alive, subject him to ridicule before a 
Court, then often­times proved a powerful aid before a jury, who felt 
themselves, as it were, "in the same boat," and allowed their feelings to be won 
by sloppy eloquence, rather than by the more polished and learned efforts of 
rival attorneys.
        It was a maxim with the Colonel never to be on the side of the 
prosecution. Defense was with him a principle; and by the judicious selection of 
a jury—Southerners, all—he usually managed to win his cases. A goodly portion of 
his stock in trade was extracts from the speeches of such men as Clay, Calhoun 
and Randolph. These extracts, whether bearing or not on the merits of the case, 
he would repeat to the wondering and admiring jurymen until, like the rustic 
villagers in Goldsmith's poem, " Still the wonder grew that one small head could 
carry all he knew."
        Railing against books and book-learning, sneering when other forms of 
attack were impossible, domineering over Judge (excepting always Judge Creaner), 
deriding Northern men and the principles commonly supposed to have been theirs, 
upholding the superiority of the chivalrous people of the South, bursting into 
furious eloquence at any and all times, and taking the lead when more modest and 
perhaps abler men would have hesitated, the Colonel lived throughout the lively 
"flush times " without a peer or a dangerous rival in his peculiar province.
        There is in circulation a story of Moore's conflict with Judge Tuttle, 
of the Court of Sessions, in which the former, taking violent offense at the 
Judge's proceedings, drew a pistol upon him. The origin of this, and its only 
foundation, was a difficulty between Moore and. J. M. Huntington, a rival 
lawyer, in which Moore, having drawn his revolver upon his adversary, was 
knocked senseless by George Work, in order, as the latter said, to save his life 
from Huntington, who, otherwise, would certainly have killed him. This affray 
took place in the building now occupied by S. Thomas as a saloon. This version 
is given by Dr. Walker, an eyewitness, who further relates that Work picked up 
his friend Moore, and with tears streaming from his eyes carried him in his arms 
to his own room and waited upon him until his recovery.
        It is a current tradition in Tuolumne that Judge Creaner and Colonel 
Moore were warm personal friends, but that once their friendship was in imminent 
danger of rupture. It is told in this connection that the Judge had a habit, 
when his temper was ruffled, of showing the degree of his anger by raising the 
extremity of his nose, and watchful attorneys had learned by experience to 
forbear at this dangerous sign of wrath. On a certain occasion Moore was engaged 
in defending a client who was accused of robbery. In the course of his remarks 
he attempted to introduce certain evidence, which the Judge ruled out as 
inadmissible. Dissatisfied with this, Moore addressed the jury thus:  "Gentlemen 
of the jury: We of the defense have introduced evidence to prove that my client 
was absent from town on the night of the robbery, and therefore innocent, but 
His Honor has ruled it out; and, gentlemen, an old cow would have had more sense 
than to make such a ruling!"
        Thus far the Colonel had proceeded with his address, when the Judge's 
nose went up. " Mr. Moore !" he said; but, unheeding the interruption, Ben 
proceeded. "Mr. Moore!" called the Judge, a little louder. Still Mr. Moore 
refused to listen. The Judge's self-command, although powerfully exerted, was 
almost gone. "Mr. Moore!" he shouted, bringing his fist down on the desk before 
him, "did I understand you to say that an old cow would have more sense than 
this Court?" Ben paused and took in the situation. "so, sir," he replied, "I did 
not say it." "Ah, then I was mistaken. Proceed, Mr. Moore." And the case went 
on. After the adjournment of Court, Mr. Dorsey took the chivalrous Moore aside, 
and jokingly accused him of telling a falsehood. "Lie," said Ben, "of course I 
lied. Why, I had to lie, or kill old Creaner; and I'd lie a thousand times 
before I'd do that! You'd play -- making apologies to that old nose, wouldn't 
you ?"
        Although, as previously remarked, he was wholly without education in the 
common acceptation of the term, and was obliged to depend on others to perform a 
great part of his duties, such as drawing up legal documents and the like, yet 
in addressing an assemblage of ordinary men, Moore's natural talents shone 
conspicuous. With a great insight into human nature and the deeper springs of 
human action, his judgment in the selection and subsequent management of a jury 
was unerring. On one occasion he was reproved by another well known lawyer for 
his address to a jury, which had just retired to deliberate. In fine, he was 
told that his remarks were ridiculous. "You think," he said, "that I was 
addressing twelve learned judges, but I knew I was talking to a dozen ―  ― . I 
am going to WIN this case." And he did win it.
        When submitting the case of Worth to the jury, he made perhaps the most 
effective speech that he ever delivered. According to the reports (overdrawn, of 
course) of that trial, he brought home to the hearts of the jury a mass of proof 
in a manner to command from them the acquittal of his client. His style, it was 
said, was peculiar, the voice and action coming home upon the listener, while 
the earnest and impassioned degree with which he seemed to throw his whole soul 
and heart into his remarks, riveted the entire mind and feeling of the listener. 
He depicted the bitter hate of the deceased towards the prisoner—the long 
cherished, malignant hate which he had nursed towards him—and the exulting 
cruelty with which he spread the damaging report of the Brunton robbery; the hot 
haste with which he flew to the scene of the robbery, and the eager earnestness 
with which he endeavored to impress on Brunton that it was the object of his 
deep hatred who had perpetrated the crime; his deep disappointment that Brunton 
would not believe it; his wicked determination to cling to the belief, and his 
industry in spreading it about; his active preparation for the spilling of 
blood; the borrowing of arms on the highway, even; his formidable preparation in 
the dark back room; his oft expressed wish and hope that he might have his 
victim in his toils, get him in that room and "give him no show :" "the eloquent 
counsellor's description of a man who would give another 'no show,' was 
perfectly electrifying; and his winding up with the expression, 'My God, lives 
there a man claiming the attributes of manhood who would not give his fellow-man 
a show,' " made the blood jump and tingle in one's veins. A witness (Johns) who 
fled at the report of the firearms was completely riddled, and the precipitate 
flight of that individual, as he fled from under his hat and jumped out of his 
boots with the speed of a quarter-horse, or the whole-souled and earnest 
locomotion of a dog with a tin kettle tied to his tail, was strongly contrasted 
with his ability to hear and understand while still under such furious headway. 
"The whole testimony, although so thoroughly handled by Mr. Benham, still 
received new light through. the masterly review given it by Colonel Moore; and 
the fixed looks of the jury and breathless attention of the auditory, told how 
deep an impression he was making."
        Equally characteristic was Judge Creaner's charge to the jury: " The 
indictment charges the defendant with the crime of murder, which is the unlawful 
killing of a human being with malice aforethought, either express or implied. 
Express malice is that deliberate intention unlawfully to take the life of 
another, which is manifested by external circumstances capable of proof—such as 
lying in wait, antecedent menaces, threats, etc. Implied malice is where no 
considerable provocation appears, or when all the circumstances of the killing 
show an abandoned and malignant heart. You, gents, are the sole judges of the 
facts; the oath that you have taken as jurors is, that you will try this case, 
and render a true verdict, according to the evidence.
        " It is your duty, therefore, to take into consideration all the facts 
and circumstances that have been related to you in evidence, and if you shall 
believe that the defendant is guilty, you will, without any hesitancy, find a 
verdict to that effect. But if you believe from the evidence that the defendant 
is not guilty as charged, you should acquit him of the charge of murder, and 
inquire whether he is guilty of the lesser crime of manslaughter, which is 
defined by our statutes to be the unlawful killing of a human being without 
malice expressed or implied, and without any mixture of deliberation.
        " If you shall believe from the evidence that the homicide was committed 
in a sudden heat of passion, caused by provocation, apparently such as to make 
the passion irresistible, then you should find him guilty of manslaughter, 
unless you shall think that the homicide was justifiable. Justifiable homicide 
is the killing of a human being in necessary self-defense, or in defending 
habitation, property or person against one who manifestly intends or endeavors 
by violence or surprise to commit a felony. If you should think the homicide 
justifiable, you should find a verdict of not guilty."
        The jury found a verdict of not guilty, and W. H. Worth was set free, 
soon to shake the dust of Tuolumne from his feet. His subsequent history is 
unknown, but there is good evidence for believing that he became an Episcopal 
clergyman at a later period, and that he made his habitation in Virginia during 
the great Civil War.
Execution of Escobar and Sebada.
        On August 3, 1855, two Chilenos, Escobar and Sebada, were executed by 
due process of law for the murder of John Sheldon, a constable of Sonora. This 
murder, which caused one of the sensations of the times, was committed in May 
previous. To enter fully into the details of this noted case, with its causes, 
would require that the narrative should extend back to the year 1850, when 
Sheldon, the victim of the homicide, in the pursuance of his sworn duty, killed 
a man, and finally, after more than three years of waiting and watching, the 
friends of that man wreaked their bloody revenge—a fact that well illustrates 
one of the less admirable phases of the Spanish and South American character.
        The incidents of the shooting affray that gave rise to this homicide and 
subsequent hanging, composed what has been known as the " Riot in the Tigre," 
between the Spanish speaking inhabitants of that quarter and the Americans. But 
if the newspaper accounts of the affray may be trusted (and why should they not 
be, written, as they are, at the precise time of the occurrence ?) then the 
affair has been most grossly exaggerated, and does not, and never did, deserve a 
place in the important recollections of Tuolumne. The facts are simply these: 
Marshal J. F. McFarland, in endeavoring to convey a drunken Spaniard from the 
Tigre to the jail, was beset by several of the prisoner's friends, who tried to 
rescue him. Calling for assistance, several Americans responded, and in the 
brief combat that ensued, a Chilean, name not given, was shot with three 
bullets, any one of which was sufficient to have let out his life. The man died, 
but the officer was not forgotten by his friends, and for years thereafter the 
footsteps of John Sheldon (who was believed to have fired the shots) were dogged 
by the unforgiving former intimates of the dead Chilean, until at last a fitting 
opportunity came, and accounts were squared by another violent death. Sheldon, 
who was night watchman, was perfectly aware that his enemies had determined to 
kill him; but, undaunted, he continued his accustomed duties, and in time became 
more and more careless, until his only precautions consisted in providing 
himself with suitable weapons, and in the selection of the middle of the street 
in which to perform his regular nightly beat. On one excessively dark night in 
May, 1855, three men sprang upon him from behind some obstructions, and seizing 
him, muffled as he was in his cloak, stabbed him fatally, and after making sure 
of their work, ran off in the darkness, leaving no trace to aid in their 
discovery, save a hat which one of them dropped. The wounded man staggered to 
the United States Hotel, and within a few minutes expired. Fleeing to 
Tuttletown, two of the murderers were there taken on the very next day, the lost 
hat furnishing the sole clew by which they were identified. Proofs of their 
guilt being forthcoming at their trial, a verdict of guilty of murder in the 
first degree was rendered, and being sentenced, August 3 was set as the day of 
execution, and they were on that day hanged in presence of a crowd of three 
thousand spectators.
        Between the hours of eleven and twelve o'clock the Columbia Fusileers 
and the Sonora Greys, two splendid looking, well equipped and strictly 
disciplined companies of volunteer troops, marched to the County Jail to act as 
escort for the prisoners, who were then placed in a carriage, their Catholic 
priest between, and driven to the gallows, accompanied by a dense mass of human 
beings, consisting of men, women and children. The place of execution was well 
selected for purposes of exhibition, for the gallows was erected on a small flat 
surrounded on every side by gently rising bills, and none who felt desirous of 
witnessing a human being writhing in his last death agonies could retire 
disappointed, for the view was full and complete.
        On arriving at the place of execution, the military opened a way through 
the crowd, the prisoners were taken from the carriage, and unaided, with light 
and elastic step, ascended the platform; no two men knowing that their last 
hours had come, could have appeared more indifferent and regardless of their 
fate than did these two prisoners. A spectator not knowing that they were then 
about to suffer the penalty of death for violating the laws of God and humanity, 
would have inferred from their appearance that they had ascended the stand as 
public declaimers—political speakers. After the death sentence had been read to 
them, they both addressed the spectators in their native tongue, Spanish, and 
one, particularly, used violent and denunciatory language toward the Americans. 
Upon concluding their remarks they knelt, and, crucifix in hand, performed such 
religious ceremonies as their religion required, and then they paid the dread 
penalty. 
        Thus from the simple circumstance of a Chileno getting drunk in the low 
resorts of the " Tigre," grew a train of events that brought death to four 
persons and attending grief and misery to, doubtless, many more.
Murder of Smith and Lynching of Barclay.
        The year 1855 was prolific of exciting events, as these pages show; but 
among them all, perhaps, nothing more exciting took place during the year (with 
the possible exception of the Heslep murder) than the murder in Columbia of J. 
H. Smith, of Knickerbocker Flat, and the summary lynching of his slayer, John S. 
Barclay.
        At about half-past four o'clock on the afternoon of Wednesday, October 
10, 1855, John H. Smith was shot dead by John S. Barclay, in the house on the 
corner of Main and Jackson streets, known as " Martha's Saloon." The house was 
of ill-fame, and Martha, the proprietress, of easy virtue. A few weeks before 
the murder occurred, she had, while on a business visit to Chinese Camp, there 
met and become enamored of young Barclay, and the sentiment being returned by 
him, marriage followed. Then returning to Columbia, the saloon was reopened by 
the pair. Smith, a well-regarded sort of man, said to have been affianced to a 
young lady resident of Columbia, having been drinking on that fateful day, 
though usually a rather temperate man, became embroiled in a quarrel with 
Martha, in consequence of having broken a pitcher. High words following, Barclay 
came to the rescue of his wife and shot Smith dead in the melee. Almost 
instantly the man was arrested, taken to the town lock-up and there placed in 
confinement.
        Soon the people gathered, and in a very short time a large and excited 
mob surrounded the jail. J. W. Coffroth, Esq., addressed the assemblage, stating 
that ordinarily he was in favor of sustaining the laws, but that the occurrence 
was of a character to demand the speediest vengeance, and to warrant the people 
in taking the execution of the law into their own hands, and to mete out justice 
upon the spot; that the deceased held him as a very near and dear friend. He 
then passed an encomium upon the departed, and expressed a hope that the people 
would move, and that promptly. He had been elected, he said, to make laws, but 
upon this occasion he advised to lay them aside.
        Upon his conclusion a rush was made upon the jail, then held by Town 
Marshal Carder and a few police officers, who attempted to keep the mob back, 
but were speedily disarmed and hurried aside by their assailants. At this 
juncture , Mr. Heckendorn, the editor (so-called) of the Columbia Clipper, was, 
by acclamation, appointed Judge; another person was made Marshal, and a jury of 
twelve men was nominated. These preliminaries being concluded, a second rush was 
made upon the jail, and a keg of powder was placed in position to blow the iron 
doors open, but fortunately it was not used. Crowbars, sledge-hammers and axes 
were applied instead, and the doors gave way. Simultaneously with their opening, 
the prisoner sprang out as if to make his escape by running; but he was 
instantly borne down by numbers and carried by the excited mass up-town, amidst 
cries, oaths and imprecations.
        Finally, after one or two brief halts, the crowd arrived at the flume of 
the Tuolumne County Water Company, on the road to Gold Springs. A ring was 
formed and " Judge " Heckendorn took charge of the proceedings. Mr. Coffroth was 
appointed prosecuting attorney, and John Oxley (Assemblyman from Tuolumne) 
counsel for the prisoner, and a jury was called, consisting of James McLean, 
Charles Williams, George Woodbury, Daniel Willcombe, A. H. Leavitt, John 
Douglas, John Bostwick, G. Lumsdell, T. Walls, Joseph Hussey and J. B. Plank. 
After much discussion, the question was put, " Shall the jury be sworn ? " and 
it was decided in the affirmative, and hearing the evidence began. Marshal, 
Briggs, Alexander and Keyes, witnesses for " The People," testified in substance 
that Smith, slightly drunk, was making preparations for starting homeward, he 
residing at Knickerbocker Flat; that while making a farewell round of visits to 
the saloons, he entered Martha's place along with the four witnesses mentioned, 
and accidentally or intentionally knocked a pitcher off the counter, or bar, 
when the mistress of the place appeared and demanded to know who did it. Little 
was evolved save that, getting in a dispute with her, Smith seized and threw her 
into a chair. At this juncture Barclay appeared from the next room, and seeing 
the situation of affairs, drew his revolver and instantly fired, with fatal 
effect.
        As the examination progressed it was not hard to see that the prisoner's 
fate was determined on, and that he was beyond human help. Witnesses who it was 
supposed would testify in his behalf, were not allowed within the ring, and even 
his advocate was interrupted and his voice drowned. Mr. Coffroth, on the 
contrary, was allowed full swing for his denunciatory speeches, and seemed to 
have everything his own way from the first; naturally, too, for at this time he 
was the political idol of the ruling party.  His remarks to the jury were about 
in this style: " Gentlemen, I have but little to say. You all knew the deceased, 
and knew that he was honest, good and high-minded. You have all heard the 
testimony and know the witnesses; they have lived long among you. The prisoner, 
I have testified, had a good character; but I am not here to plead his 
character. The only question to ask is, Who is the murdered man, who the 
murderer ? If you are satisfied that the prisoner shot Smith, then it is your 
duty to declare it, and it is your duty to declare the penalty. *    *   *  
There is a higher Court to ask for mercy. This man should fulfill the Divine Law 
of 'An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a life for a life.' Whosoever 
sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed.' [Applause.] Gentlemen 
will please avoid any applause for the poor remarks I may offer. Consider the 
feelings of the prisoner. Who can estimate his anguish when he thinks upon the 
ignominious death that now awaits him ? "
        The prisoner, who had been sitting upon the ground with his hands over 
his face, now looked up and besought Mr. Coffroth to request of the jury a 
little time in which he might arrange his private affairs.
        Mr. Oxley, appearing for the prisoner, said: "I shall be brief. Consider 
well, gentlemen, what you are about to do. Let to-morrow bear favorably upon the 
acts of this night. [Confusion, and much noise; cries of " Enough! " Enough!"] 
Will you not sustain the laws? Will it not be better that the just laws of our 
land should take their course? [Cries of "No!" "No!" "Up with him!" "Damn the 
laws !] Let him be confined in jail. Consider your course, and the great 
responsibility that you assume. Give time for reflection. Let calmness have time 
to come in. Do not, after you have taken this man's life, find that it is too 
late to do justice. I do not say that the prisoner is entirely innocent, but 
that there are many extenuating circumstances. [Cries of "Short!" "Short!" 
"Enough!"] I expect to be short. I ask that the law may take its course. Let the 
prisoner have time, and let a proper investigation be had. Let time be granted. 
Let daylight be had for a fair trial. [Cries of "No!" "No!" "Hang him!" etc.]
        JUDGE. —"Hear Mr. Oxley." ["Enough ! "Enough!" "Drag him up!" "Damn him; 
he gave Smith no time!" "Hell shall not save him!"]
        OXLEY.—"I shall not stop. I shall do my duty as becomes a man. If the 
jury tell me to stop, I will, but not otherwise. Act calmly, gentlemen."
        Here, loud cries stopped the speaker. Mr. Oxley pleaded earnestly and 
manfully, and in a way to win the lasting respect of even those men, who were so 
impatient to imbrue their hands in a fellow creature's blood; but uselessly, 
for, forced down by the multitude, he retired amid oaths and imprecations.
        The case was now given to the jury, and they were asked to retire and 
consult. At this moment Sheriff Stuart arrived. Reaching the ground, he 
dismounted quietly, and walked around the outside of the ring to the vicinity of 
the prisoner, and, laying his hand upon him, demanded him in the name of the law 
and for the law. Some one immediately seized Stuart by the throat, while others 
rudely laid hold of him, throwing him back violently. With shouts of "The 
Sheriff!" "The Sheriff!" the crowd rushed forward, bearing Barclay and the 
officer far apart. The latter demanded to be released, and to be supported in 
the discharge of his duty; but at first in vain. Getting free some minutes 
after, he rushed towards the prisoner, who was then under the flume with a rope 
around his neck. Calling for a knife, and securing one, he made ineffectual 
endeavors to cut the rope, but while so engaged he received a heavy blow on the 
head from the butt of a pistol, while others laid violent hands upon him, 
tearing his clothes, bruising his face, and disarming him. Barely was his life 
preserved, and that only through the presence of mind of a solitary friend, who, 
at the risk of his own safety, clutched a bowie-knife aimed at the Sheriff's 
body.
        The miserable prisoner, haltered by the rope suspended from the flume 
above, was drawn up by his executioners overhead, ascending with a savage yell 
from the multitude. No precautions had been taken to pinion the victim, and he, 
reaching upward, seized with desperate grip the rope, above his head, and held 
on with the force given by the fear of death. To break his hold, those above 
drew him up and let him down suddenly, several times, but still his powerful 
grasp held good. One of the executioners, leaning over the flume, called out, 
"Let go, you ― fool, let go!" Finally his strength gave out; the hands fell to 
his sides. Drawing up his legs, he gave a few convulsive movements, and then 
hung straight. All was over, for body and soul had parted.
        The spectacle was well said to be truly horrifying: a human form, 
hanging by the neck, in mid air; a vast throng of men, shouting, yelling and 
jumping; while the red and lurid glare of torches and bonfires sent a horrid 
flash upon the terrible scene.
        Of the two individuals who lost their lives so tragically on that day, 
John H. Smith was said to have come from New York, but whose parents resided in 
Philadelphia, where they were highly respectable people. He was an open-hearted, 
generous man, much esteemed by his acquaintances, and when free from liquor, was 
a quiet, peaceable and friendly citizen.
        John S. Barclay was also from New York, where his mother and sisters 
resided. He had lived at Chinese Camp from the year 1850, and was highly 
regarded there. He was possessed of some means, and owned a good claim there. 
But in an evil hour he met the frail Martha, and, falling in love with her, 
married her, upon her promises of leading a new and better life. He justified 
himself for the killing of Smith, upon the grounds that he had a right to defend 
his wife from his attacks. Nor does this seem an extraordinary assumption at 
all.
        To arrive at an understanding of how this matter was regarded at the 
time, the following quotations from the Gazette are reproduced, written as they 
were by one who certainly manifested no fear of mobs, on this or any other 
occasion :
        "We are not, we never have been, and never will be, the advocates of mob 
law, under any form, or for any end whatever. We live in a community of law; we 
have courts, law officers, and all the well established appliances of justice. 
We sustain them; all good men should do so, or there is no safety for any one. 
We ask any man who looked on calmly (if any could do so), what chance any one 
stood for justice with the throng of Wednesday? No reply is needed from us. The 
particulars that we give, speak for themselves. The District Court, under a good 
Judge, opens next Monday; the Sheriff was on the ground; the witnesses all live 
in Columbia; and justice was not ten days off; but the mob could not wait. We 
deeply, sincerely regret to give these details; it pains us to record these 
occurrences as having taken place in Columbia, and we would gladly omit them; 
but our duty as journalists compels us to publish them; they are a blot upon our 
town. We trust in heaven that this may be the last time we shall have to perform 
so disagreeable a task; and we congratulate all those who have had no 
participation in these lamentable occurrences."
        These are earnest, manly words—words uttered in defiance of the will and 
power of a mob whose numbers included a whole city; words that do not sound like 
the truckling, lickspittle froth that at similar times has disgraced the mouths 
of speakers and the pages of journalism.
The Hunter-Drake Shooting Affray.
        Later in the year 1855 came the murder of Isgrigg by Bessey, and that of 
Sam. Poole by McCarthy, two cases, both of which grew out of low quarrels in 
ginmills, or deadfalls, and which do not possess sufficient interest to warrant 
a narration in these pages. Their mention is only casual, being intended to give 
point to the remark that the year of their occurrence was an exceptional one in 
the matter of man-killings.
        A case which occurred in October of this year, although not resulting in 
the death of any party, had, from the well-known character of the principals, 
enough of notoriety attached to it to be worthy of mention. This case was the 
shooting of Drake by Hunter in the streets of Sonora.
        This occurrence originated in the difficulties that arose between the 
miners of Shaw's Flat and the different companies tunneling into Table Mountain, 
particularly that portion who were drifting into ground thought to belong to 
Shaw's Flat Mining District. The operations of the "Lager Beer " Company 
infringing upon the " Virginia" Company, brought about this state of things, 
which ultimately grew in portentousness until the greatest animosity prevailed 
between the rival parties. Shaw's Flat was convulsed; Table Mountain was 
(metaphorically) shaken to its center. No occurrence bringing the miners into 
opposition to each other had ever so largely and so generally absorbed the 
feelings of the parties contending. The individuals immediately concerned in the 
dispute exerted their utmost energies to secure success, nothing being spared 
that might reasonably be supposed to influence victory. The most eminent legal 
counsel were engaged, as well those who resided within the county, as others of 
eminence abroad. An array of these gentlemen, three upon each side, fiercely 
combated (after the manner of attorneys) with each other. Therefore, it was 
hardly a wonder that in such unquiet times blood was shed before the matter was 
adjusted.
        Mr. Hunter was a well-known attorney something of the browbeating, 
swaggering stamp, or, at least, whose reputation partook hugely of that order. 
He was a little, fussy man, doubtless disagreeable in private life, and who, 
without doubt, took advantage of the large latitude allowed attorneys in their 
behavior toward witnesses. On the occasion of the hearing of the mining case, as 
counsel for the Table Mountain side, he took occasion to severely score Eugene 
B. Drake, a well-known and influential miner of the Shaw's Flat party. It would 
seem that though the legal fraternity of Tuolumne county in that time contained 
men who by intellect and general worth would have done credit to any bar, men in 
whom the community at large might feel the greatest pride as citizens and 
associates, yet no doubt some of them frequently allowed themselves to overstep 
the bounds which moderation had planted and which gentlemanliness had dictated, 
in a variety of ways. The utmost freedom seems, in some cases, to have been 
indulged in, and disinterested persons were, as is still not uncommon, 
frequently made victims of in the progress of a suit.
        After the examination, which was so offensive to Drake, the parties met 
in the " Palace " saloon (then standing where Mr. Livingston's shoe shop now 
is), and came into personal collision, resulting in Hunter's being thrown by 
Drake, who was much the larger of the two. Following this came another hostile 
meeting, in front of the Placer Hotel (Turn-Verein Hall corner), when Drake 
seized Hunter, and pushed or threw him from the sidewalk. What occurred is well 
narrated in the testimony of W. T. Gilkey, a miner, of Shaw's Flat:
        " I was present at the difficulty between Drake and Hunter. *   *   *  
George Michael came to me and said there was going to be a big row. Saw Drake in 
front of the Placer Hotel, talking with others. Hunter came up, and some one 
asked him what he thought of Shaw's Flat. He said, all right. Hunter passed 
behind me, crowding me from the hotel wall. He was moving toward Drake. Drake 
shoved Hunter from the sidewalk. Hunter turned and said: ' You have done what no 
other man ever did, and what no man can do and live.' with others, separated 
them. Drake said: ' Don't touch me; let me alone!' Hunter said: ' Gentlemen, 
keep away from me!' Hunter placed his right hand under his coat tail, on his 
right hip, then raised his hand, in which he held a pistol, which he cocked as 
he raised it. Saw the cocked pistol in his hand myself. Drake was slower; at 
first his pistol caught in his clothes, and he had to use both hands. A man had 
called out: 'He is drawing on you, Hunter!' I said: Don't you draw that pistol, 
Hunter! ' I said it two or three times. All this time I had been holding Drake 
back, telling him to keep cool. Hunter was backing all the while. As he brought 
his pistol up I jumped out of the way. When he fired, Drake said: 'Oh, Lord!' 
and partly doubled up. Then he straightened up, and tried to run behind me to 
protect himself from the shots. Hunter fired again, and Drake fired twice in 
quick succession. Then Hunter fired again. I ran and got behind a pile of 
bricks. Hunter was all the time going back. People opposite called out: 'Hold 
your shots; hold your fire!' Hunter replied: 'I am all right; I have a shot 
left.' Drake had got to the opposite side of the street [Yaney's building] 
during the firing, and above the hotel. He said: 'Get a doctor; I am bleeding to 
death! ' I ran to him, and assisted him to Dr. Kendall's office."
        Although the testimony given by the remainder of the witnesses at the 
examination before Justice Wm. H. Ford is on record, the stories of all do not 
differ in any essential point from that copied, so the above may be considered a 
pretty accurate account of the affray.
        It was found that three of the four shots discharged by Hunter had taken 
effect—one in Drake's left arm below the elbow, glancing up and cutting the main 
artery; the other two in the right thigh, about half way above the knee ; one 
shot passing through, the other remaining. He was taken to the Placer Hotel and 
attended by Drs. Kendall and Brown, who did all in their power is save him, but 
it was only by resorting to amputation of the arm that they were able to do so. 
Several days later a second amputation of the injured member was made, and the 
patient slowly but steadily recovered.
        Hunter was unhurt by his antagonist's bullets, but he was immediately 
arrested, and, after the examination, was held by Justice Ford to answer to a 
complaint of " assault to commit great bodily harm " before the Court of 
Sessions. Later, when Drake's condition was thought to be nearly hopeless, he 
was rearrested, and his bail was fixed at three thousand dollars. Eventually he 
escaped punishment, as perhaps he deserved to.
        In a subsequent page of this volume mention will be made of Mr. Hunter, 
as connected with a very celebrated homicide, which occurred at the time of the 
war, closing with this, his first prominent appearance before the public, the 
record of important events of 1855.