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Volume 055-2 - April 2001 (8 pages)
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Page: of 8
NCHS Bulletin April 2001
Lawlessness in Nevada and Sierra
Counties in Gold Rush Times
by Jessica Bamber
(winner of second prize in the high school speech contest)
he sun shone high in the California sky. The dry heat
beat down on the dusty street as the stage rolled to a
halt. I gathered my purse and gloves as the young man who
rode shotgun opened the door. Taking my hand, he helped
me from the stage. Taking my bag from the driver, I thanked
him for a safe trip.
“Howdy ma'am,” a rough-looking minor with tattered
trousers and a grimy shirt tipped his hat to me. “Let me
take that for you.” Handing him my bag, we began walking.
As we walked, I realized I had yet to see a lady other
than myself. Then suddenly, a Chinese man stumbled from
the bar, followed by another Chinese man and a white man.
Yelling and cursing—never such a disgrace had I heard,
and especially on Sunday. A crowd drew. In a belligerent
rage, the white man drew a pistol from his holster and fired
at the first Chinese man. Blood spattered everywhere as a
hole ripped straight through him.
In complete and utter disbelief, . watched as the slain
man’s partner turned to flee. He made it but a few feet when
he was tackled by three witnesses. To my astonishment, this
man, rather than the brute with the smoking gun, was held
captive.
“Hang him! Hang him!” roared the crowd.
Sick to my stomach, I was led to the nearest hotel, which
to my dismay was above the bar. In my rented room I stayed
for the remainder of the day while people poured in from
the surrounding towns to witness the lynching as though it
were a Fourth of July parade. Men sat on apple crates and
wooden boxes.
The partner of the slain man was forcibly led to an empty
barrel made of pine under an oak tree. He was induced to
step upon the barrel and a noose was lowered over his head
and around his neck. As the lynch mob cheered, the barrel
was kicked from under the man’s feet. There he hung, from
the tree, with the knot of thirteen coils above his broken
neck,
IN 1848 COLONEL RICHARD B. MASON, the military
governor of California, wrote to President Polk, telling him
of the gold in California and boasting of the practically
nonexistent crime rate. Word of California’s gold spread
like wildfire as men and women, mostly men, poured into
California in hopes of “striking it rich.” The joke was on
whomever flocked to California believing that he would be
greeted with “easy pickins” and a low crime rate. Tempers
ran hotter, prostitutes ran looser, and liquor ran freer, as the
“easy pickins” ran lower and disillusioned men realized that
they were not going to “strike it rich.”
4
The story of “Juanita” of Downieville illustrates the lack
of law and order in California during the gold rush. Juanita
(who is called Josefa in the book Gold Dust and Gunsmoke,
by John Boessenecker), was a strikingly beautiful Mexicar. '
woman who resided in Downieville with a man named José. ~
Downieville was a rough town, as were many gold rush
towns, so when two drunken men knocked down Juanita s
door early one morning, calling her a whore, she was more
than a bit flustered. Perhaps she was frightened that they
would do disgraceful things to her. Juanita told them to
leave, but they did not. Pulling a knife, she stabbed both
men to death. A lynch mob formed. People traveled from
nearby towns to witness the excitement. A “trial” was held,
but it was a mockery of justice, and Juanita was the only
woman hung in California during the gold rush.
Gold rush justice was full of contradictions. It was perfectly kosher in California to defend one’s honor and reputation with violence. However, Juanita was a Mexican, and
her lynching probably had more to do with prejudice than
anything else.
Rough and Ready was another rough town of rowdy independent miners. There are a few stories as to why Rough
and Ready seceded from the United States, but the book
Nuggets of Nevada County History, by Juanita Kennedy
Browne, tells that when a “slicker” as he was called, came
into town wanting to buy Joe Swiegart’s mining claim, he
first wanted to test" it. The deal was that he would work
the claim for a day, and if he pulled at least $200 from it, he
would give Swiegart the money and buy the claim. Otherwise, he would keep the money to pay for his labor. Swiegart agreed to this proposal and a contract was written up.
The slicker went to work, but as the day drew on and he
neared the $200 mark, his work slowed and eventually he
prepared to leave. Swiegart, feeling swindled, wanted to
“string *im up,” but technically the slicker had done nothing
illegal. Due to the lack of law, order and justice in the gold
fields, miners were accustomed to dealing harshly with foreigners, Mexicans and Indians, but the slicker was an
American. Somebody proposed seceding from the United
States so they could run the slicker out of town. Then he
would be a foreigner.
Rough and Ready seceded on April 7, 1850, but when the
Fourth of July rolled around, the “Great Republic of Rough
and Ready” wanted an excuse to celebrate, get a day off
work and, most importantly, drink. Since they were not part
of the United States, they could not partake in its Independence Day celebration, so they joined the Union again.
In 1851 Nevada County became a county, but prior to
that it was part of Yuba County. The county seat, along with
the jail, was all the way in Marysville. With public hangings a form of entertainment and inadequate facilities to
house prisoners for any length of time, many residents of
the soon-to-be-Nevada County would rather have hung a
criminal than taken the time to transport him to Marysville.