Hysterical Journey to Historic Places

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JOAQUIN MURRIETA

As a kid growing up in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada near Sacramento in the 1950s a favored family outing was an annual visit to the State Fair. I was fond of the tacos served there and of the snow cones. One year I saw something at the fair that had a profound impact on a lad of my tender years. It was a human head preserved in alcohol and contained in a glass jar. In a smaller jar beside it was a human hand that was also preserved in alcohol. The hand was remarkable because it had only three fingers. They were the mortal remains of a couple of sassy bandits named Joaquin Murrieta and Three Fingered Jack. They were killed by a posse of California Rangers in 1853. There was a reward out on both of them so the head and the hand were taken to establish a valid claim to the money.

Joaquin was born in 1829 at a little place called Murrieta down near Hermosillo in Sonora, Mexico. When news of the California gold strike reached him in 1849 he decided to take his little bride Rosa Felix, gather in a dozen or so of his cousins, and head off to grab a few bushels of loose nuggets. All you had to do was pick them up off the ground like Easter eggs. He had a half-brother named Joaquin Carrillo who was already there. Soon after they arrived the half- brother was caught in possession of a stolen mule and lynched. Joaquin was horse whipped as an accomplice, and Rosa died. The family sought retribution against all gringos and Chinamen. Soon each cousin was leading a different bandit gang. When they were not merrily plundering gringos or Chinamen they were stealing horses taken in California and selling them in Mexico. Atrocities credited to the Joaquin Murrieta Gang took place all over California. To other Mexicans living in California he became a hero. His legend continued to grow for decades after his death and he eventually became known as the Robin Hood of El Dorado; even among the gringos.

By 1852 banditry had become a such a problem that the Governor of California appealed to the General Assembly for funds to establish a force of crime fighters known as the California Rangers. They were headed by a fellow named Harry Love, who was a former Texas Ranger. He had them up and running by the Spring of 1853. In the latter part of July the Rangers caught a break with the arrest of a Mexican horse thief up near San Juan Bautista. After spitting out a few of his teeth during an Interrogation by Love the suspected thief consented to divulge the location of his gang. They were breaking wild horses on the Arroyo de Cantua. The camp was located and attacked. Three Mexican were killed. One of them had only three fingers, and was presumed to have been Three Fingered Jack, although reata accidents back then were common and many vaqueros were missing fingers. The third victim simply broke and ran and was gunned down as he fled down the arroyo. He was presumed to have been Joaquin Murrieta because he ran away, but no positive identification was ever made. The Rangers did not know Joaquin from the Apostle Paul.

The reward was paid based on the report filed by Love which was supported by the decapitated head and amputated hand. The Rangers were disbanded, but the banditry continued, of course, until such time as both the gold nuggets and the wild horses had disappeared.

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Photos

JOAQUN MURIETA SIGN
The historical plaque can be found on the east side of Hwy 33 at the intersection of Hwy 198. It is maybe 8 miles north of Coalinga. Steam locomotives used to pass through Coalinga and the railroad made a stop there for water and more coal. They called that stop Coaling Station A. The settlement was soon shortened to just Coalinga.

JOAQUIN MURIETA KILLED HERE
Proceed north on I-5 to exit 359, known locally as Kamm Road. Joaquin was killed at the base of the bluff about 50 yards east of the offramp.
Was he really Joaquin? Or was he just some guy who made a break for his freedom and got shot down for his trouble? The only thing that is certain is that racism has always been part of the landscape of California.