Bandit gold, Tracy, CA

[watcher 2]

In the 1850, the bandit Joaquin Murrieta's gang is said to have used an area south of Tracy, CA, off Corral Hollow Road, as a hideout. Has anyone checked this out. And maybe you could narrow down its location. Any help requested.

 

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[lookielou]

I'd try to put myself in his shoes, legendary bandit or not, I'd need water. Of course, there are variables such as the time of year, how many people were in the crew, how many horses, how much baggage etc.

As I currently understand the history, he watered horses at an artesian well in Alameda County.

 

[aa battery]

believe it or not he has relatives on facebook but i found them kinda rude. The talk in Cantua Creek (one of his hideouts) the U.S. gov. paid him to go to Mexico and he was not killed.His story is tragic and mysterious. Some gold coins have been found but not his stash. Stories put him all over California

 

[watcher 2]

The location is on high cliffs with many caves. Right next to small river that runs year round.

 

[treasurechest]

I spent a month in Tracy, last October. It's FLAT out there, but from what I could remember, there were hills to the south and some to the west. There were a bunch of rivers or streams out there that I fished in. It would be a big area to have to try and search. Good luck! Let us know if you get lucky. If not, enjoy Tracy, it was a fun place to fish and work.

 

[pegleglooker]

Hi Gang,
I've been noticing a trend lately and maybe I could be of some small help. To most of the new people, I for one LOVE your enthusiasm and passion. we all share that to very day. But some of what you ask for is already here at Tnet and it's even in the California forum. A while back I wanted to know if anyone was able to locate the spot where he was killed. Not to find his fortune but to find any relics of the day he was killed and beheaded ( bullets and other relics ). There were some cool posts by some of the other Tnet members about the area ( even had pixs with them ). Joaquin Murrieta has ALWAYS been a fascinating tale, but the original story ( while based on a true event ) was written for the newspapers. I will try to help a little by including some links, all of which were found with Google in about 10 minutes. Study the TRUE history first and get the REAL facts, then and only then, look at the legend... I wish you luck and hope you find something....

http://forum.treasurenet.com/index.php/topic,154844.0.html

These next two are family links....

http://boards.ancestry.com/thread.aspx?mv=flat&m=1&p=surnames.murrieta

http://dbacon.igc.org/TWC/mm02_Murrieta.htm

Some background

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/california-rangers-kill-joaquin-murrieta

Enjoy
PLL

 

[pegleglooker]

As far as some of the " facts " about Joaquin life and death here is some more info:

Becoming an outlaw

Some alleged he went to California in 1849 to seek his fortune in the California Gold Rush. But instead of opportunity, he encountered racism and discrimination. While mining for gold, he and his wife supposedly were attacked by American miners jealous of his success.[2] They allegedly beat him senseless, then raped his wife. However, the source for this series of tragic events is disputed as it was a dime novel written in 1854 (The Life and Adventures of Joaquin Murrieta by John Rollin Ridge).[2] Historian Frank Latta, in his book Joaquín Murrieta and His Horse Gangs contended that the band was made up of family and friends, and that they regularly engaged in illegal horse trade with Mexico, after helping Joaquín kill at least six of his tormentors.

Orders for arrest and his supposed death

Historically, Murrieta was one of the so-called "Five Joaquins" listed on a bill passed in the California state legislature in May 1853, whereby a company of 20 rangers were hired for three months to hunt down Joaquin Botellier, Joaquin Carrillo, Joaquin Ocomorenia, Joaquin Muriata [sic] and Joaquin Valenzuela, and their banded associates.

On May 11, 1853, Governor of California John Bigler signed a legislative act creating the "California State Rangers", led by Captain Harry Love (a former Texas Ranger). The California Rangers were paid $150 a month and stood a chance to share the $1,000 governor's reward. On July 25, 1853, a group of Rangers encountered a band of armed Mexican men near Pacheco Pass in San Benito County, 50 miles (80 km) from Monterey. A confrontation took place, and two of the Mexicans were killed. One was claimed to be Murrieta, and the other was thought to be Manuel Garcia, also known as Three-Fingered Jack, one of Joaquin's most notorious associates.[4] A plaque (California Historical Landmark #344) near the intersection of State Routes 33 and 198 now marks the approximate site of the encounter.


Murrieta's head

The Rangers severed Three-Fingered Jack's hand and the alleged Murrieta's head as proof of the outlaws' deaths, and preserved them in a jar of alcohol.[2] The jar was displayed in Mariposa County, Stockton, and San Francisco, and later traveled throughout California; spectators could pay $1 to see them. Seventeen people, including a Catholic priest, signed affidavits identifying the head as Murrieta's, alias Carrillo, enabling Love and his Rangers accordingly received the reward money.

However, 25 years later, O. P. Stidger claimed that he heard Murrieta's sister say that the head was not her brother's.[5] At around the same time, numerous sightings of old man Murrieta were reported. A few people claimed that Capt. Love failed to display the head at the mining camps, which was not true.[6] It was even alleged by an anonymous Los Angeles based correspondent to the San Francisco Alta California Daily, in August 1853, that Love and his Rangers murdered some innocent Mexican mustang catcher and bribed people to swear out affidavits. The preserved head was destroyed in the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake.

Legacy

Murrieta's nephew, known as Procopio, went on to become one of California's most notorious bandits of the 1860s and 1870s, and it was said that Procopio wanted to exceed the reputation of his uncle.[citation needed]

You can find more at http://www.enotes.com/topic/Joaquin_Murrieta

Footnotes


2) 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 *Roaring Camp: The Social World of the California Gold Rush (Review). American Scholar January 1, 2000. Pg. 142 Vol. 69 No. 1 ISSN: 0003-0937.
3)Bacon, David (December 15, 2001). "Interview with Antonio Rivera Murrieta". Retrieved 2010-06-16.
4) "California State Rangers". California State Military Museum. 1940. Retrieved 2010-06-16.
5) See The Pioneer, Sat., Nov. 29, 1879. Also see History of Nevada County (Oakland : Thompson & West, 1880; rprt Berkeley: Howell-North Books, 1970), 115.
6)Democratic State Journal, Oct. 17, 1853, Calaveras Correspondence from W. C. P. of Mokelumne Hill; San Joaquin Republican, Oct. 20, 1853, correspondence from Sonora, Tuolumne Co.



PLL