USA > California > Contra Costa County > History of Contra Costa County, California, including its geography, geology, topography, climatography and description; together with a record of the Mexican grants also, incidents of pioneer life; and biographical sketches of early and prominent settlers and representative men > Part 39
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VII. Then down I cast me on my face, And first began to weep,
For I knew my secret then was one That earth refused to keep; Or land or sea, though he should be
Ten thousand fathoms deep.
VIIL.
So wills the fierce avenging Sprite, Till blood atones for blood !
THE PEOPLE US. WEMPETT AND WAMPETT .- On September 28, 1850, two Indians named Wempett and Wampett were found guilty of manslaughter by a jury, and sentenced to pay a fine of one dollar and two weeks' im- prisonment, but who their victim'was, or what were the circumstances of the case, the records do not divulge.
MURDER OF APARICIO MORALES .- On May 29, 1852, José Antonio, an Indian, stabbed Aparicio Morales at or near the residence of Dr. Tennent in Pinole, from the effects of which he died. He was duly tried before C. P. Hester, District Judge, found guilty July 9, 1852, and sentenced to be hanged. He was executed August 20, 1852. He was hanged from the limb of a sycamore tree, in the suburbs of the village of Martinez. A barrel was placed in an old cart, and the condemned man required to stand on that ticklish foundation while the rope was adjusted. The cart was finally driven away, and the poor fellow tumbled off the barrel and into eternity.
KILLING OF IGNACIO FLORES, alias FIGARO .- The victim in this case was killed at a place known as the " Chicken Ranch," on October 30, 1853. He came to his death by severe wounds from knife and pistol at the hands of Miguel Nabaro, his wife Antonia and Rafael Soto being apprehended as accessories to the act. On trial the accessory Antonia was discharged, but there is no record of what became of the others.
MURDER OF JAMES M. GORDON .- The particulars of this deed were com- municated to a Stockton newspaper by Dr. Marsh at the time of its occur- rence. About seven o'clock on the evening of Tuesday, October 2, 1854, three men came to the house of J. M. Gordon, near Dr. Marsh's, and desired him to give them directions about the road, saying that they had lost their way. As soon as Gordon went to his door, he was shot by one of the party ; another of them fired at him also, but missed him. One of the balls struck Gordon, inflicting a fatal wound. Gordon fled in the darkness, and with difficulty reached Dr. Marsh's house, about two miles distant. The object of the ruffians was undoubtedly robbery, as the house was found to be
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ransacked. The men were traced and ultimately arrested in San Francisco. They were named Henry H. Monroe, Andrew Hollenstein and Thomas Addison. Monroe was duly tried for the murder, convicted, and hanged November 24, 1854. While awaiting his execution Addison attempted his rescue, for which he was indicted by the grand jury, and imprisoned, but on January 20, 1855, made his escape from jail, and has never been captured. The other accomplice, Hollenstein, was handed over to the custody of the Sheriff of Solano county in the same month.
KILLING OF TERENCE H. MCDONALD .- It appears that on June 11, 1856, Rafael, an Indian, and Isabel, an Indian squaw, stabbed Terence H. Mc- Donald on the right side of the neck, from which he died instantly, the deed being committed in his own dwelling. September 5, 1856, they were con- victed of manslaughter, the man sentenced to ten years and the woman to eighteen months' imprisonment in the State Prison. There was also an accomplice, who was discharged.
MURDER OF DR. JOHN MARSH .- Perhaps no more horrible crime than the murder of this pioneer can be found on the pages of any history, and certainly no better example of justice following the guilty than which tracked one of the murderers to punishment eleven years after the commis- sion of his foul deed.
Dr. Marsh had been for many years-long before the American occupa- tion of California-the owner of the Los Meganos Rancho, of which he be- came possessed, as we have elsewhere stated, by purchase in the year 1837. Here he dwelt, surrounded by his people, flocks and herds, for full two decades. On or about the twenty-fourth day of September, 1856, business called him from his farm to Martinez, some thirty miles distant. In the grey dawn of the following morning his horse and buggy were found in the town of Martinez, but without an occupant. Then followed the search, which led to the discovery of his body in a road-side ditch, immediately upon which the pursuit of the murderers was undertaken. On the day fol- lowing José Antonio Olivas was captured ; after making confession as to certain money found in his possession, taken from the body of the murdered victim, and implicating Felipe Moreno as principal in the deed, he was tried and convicted, but escaping from jail, he eluded justice for more than ten years. In September, 1866, he was re-captured in Santa Barbara county, and brought to Contra Costa to await his trial.
About the same time Felipe Moreno was taken in Sacramento, where he was going under the alias of Don Castro. When arrested he made a desperate effort to escape, but being mastered was quickly handcuffed and incarcerated.
The third party implicated in the terrible murder, Juan Garcia, has, up to the present time, eluded justice.
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The trial of Felipe Moreno for the murder of Dr. John Marsh was com- menced on Saturday, September 23, 1867, and on the following Thursday the jury brought in a verdict of murder in the second degree against the prisoner.
The principal and only positive witness for the prosecution on this trial was José Antonio Olivas, one of the three persons indicted for the murder. Separate trials for the prisoners had been procured by District-Attorney Mills, with the purpose of using the testimony of Olivas for the State, and corroborating it, as to material points, by that of unimpeachable and disin- terested witnesses. The defense relied mainly upon being able to prove an alibi ; but notwithstanding the very able efforts of M. S. Chase, of Mar- tinez, the counsel for the prisoner, the testimony failed to convince the jury, as the verdict shows, although it was not as severe as might have been ex- pected, and this possibly because of the youth of the prisoner at the time, and the doubt remaining as to whether he may have been a chief or an auxiliary actor in the perpetration of the murder.
The story of the Doctor's death, as told by Olivas, is as follows :
On the morning of September 24, 1856, the date of the murder, José Antonio Olivas and Felipe Moreno, aged twenty-five and nineteen years respectively, in company with some females, came into the village of Mar- tinez, where, having attended church, they proceeded to Pinole, returning from thence between four and five o'clock that same evening. They almost immediately continued their journey to Pacheco alone, and when reaching the hill about a mile from Martinez paused awhile to await the arrival of Juan Garcia, who was expected to meet them. Olivas then went on ahead for about two hundred yards, when he was overtaken by his comrades, and the three urged their horses into a gallop. While so proceeding they met a man named Swanson. Not long after this circumstance Doctor Marsh was observed to be coming in his buggy. Hereupon he was accosted by Olivas, who asked him for certain money due to him for services as a vaquero, to which the Doctor replied that he would be paid on his return from San Francisco, but that he had no money with him then. The de- ceased now drove away, while the party remained behind and concocted a scheme to kill him, but finally arranged that he should only be robbed. They then followed in pursuit, and on overtaking their victim, Olivas, by Moreno's orders, seized the Doctor's horse by the head, while Moreno jumped into the buggy and Garcia stood guard alongside. The deceased at once faced his enemy and said : " Do you want to kill me ?" to which he re- ceived the reply " No " from Olivas, and " Yes " from Moreno, and notwith- standing the dissuasions of his companions, this youthful fiend slashed the unfortunate man in the face with a knife. He was then dragged out of the vehicle and fell to the ground, being before, however, wounded in the hand; Olivas having then dismounted, as he says, for the purpose of assisting
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the Doctor, who came towards and struck at him, a scuffle ensued, Olivas crying to Moreno to free him. Thereupon Moreno observed : " why should I let go this old cabron," and forthwith stabbed his prostrate vic- tim in the left side. Upon receiving this wound the Doctor cried aloud, when Moreno was prepared to repeat the operation, but was pushed away by Olivas, who parried a cut made at him. The Doctor now attempted to rise, but was only able to stagger a short distance and fell into a ditch- dead. His pockets were then rifled by Garcia and Moreno, who afterwards cut his throat, the deed being witnessed by Olivas from his saddle. This terrible crime being perpetrated, the triumvirate repaired to the top of a convenient hill and there divided the booty, whence they repaired to some houses for the night and afterwards fled, and for ten years and upwards escaped the iron hand of the law.
Moreno was sentenced to imprisonment for life in the State Prison on Friday, November 29, 1867.
MURDER OF NICHOLAS BRENZEL .- A most atrocious murder was com- mitted near the San Domingo Rancho on Saturday, May 21st, 1859. A man named John Mohr was accused of killing Nicholas Brenzel by striking him with a scythe, and was duly arrested in Martinez. From the testimony of the wife of the deceased, it would appear that Brenzel and Mohr, who were both Germans, had engaged during the year in cultivating a ranch together. The latter owed the first named several hundred dollars, borrowed money, and Brenzel asked him if he would not pay a portion of it, as he wished to purchase some grain sacks. On Mohr's refusal to let his partner have any money, Brenzel replied that he would go to San Francisco, borrow the money there, and purchase the sacks on his own account. This conversation took place in the house on the Saturday morning. A few minutes after- wards the wife of Brenzel heard a cry of distress, and on going to the door, saw Mohr with a scythe-blade in his hand, and near by was the prostrate and bleeding form of her husband. She asked Mohr why he had killed her husband ; he replied, "I did it because I wanted to," and then threw down the scythe, seized a spade and endeavored to strike the dying man again.
KILLING OF A MAN, NAME UNKNOWN .- At an early hour on the morning of Thursday, October 13, 1859, several citizens living in the vicinity of Lafayette missed their saddles, and it was at once conjectured that horse- thieves had visited the neighborhood, several horses having been stolen from that district a week previously. The alarm was given, and in a very short time a party of some six or eight citizens started out and soon got on the trail of the supposed plunderers, those in pursuit being guided by fresh tracks of horses. The trail led across the hills in the direction of San Ramon valley, crossing it about a mile on the west side of Alamo, and from thence towards Mount Diablo. They proved to be Mexicans, who had
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picketed their horses and encamped on the ground close by, having with them saddles belonging to David Carrick and Homer Shuey. They were suddenly surprised by their pursuers and ordered to surrender, a command to which they paid no attention, but endeavored to make their escape. They were fired upon by the citizens, when one of their number fell mor- tally wounded, having been shot through the head. The other two took to the chapparal, but as soon as they became aware that the pursuing party were making demonstrations to capture them at all hazards, the rascals came out of the brush and gave themselves up. The wounded man was conveyed to the Walnut Creek House, where he died the same night. He was a Mexican, apparently about twenty-five years of age, and on his body was found a letter from the noted desperado Tiburcio Vasquez, dated from the State Prison at San Quentin, and bearing the superscription, " Sra Doña Guadalupe Cantua-By the hand of S. T. Bsa.," who the victim doubtless was.
KILLING OF EDWARD NORRIS .- This tragedy took place at Conkling's Hotel, on the road between Lafayette and Oakland, on the evening of Sun- day, December 11, 1859. The particulars as gleaned from the Contra Costa Gazette are as follows : A. H. Houston of San Francisco was the owner of some five hundred acres of the "Sobrante " claim, on the San Pablo creek. The property had been squatted on by settlers, with all of whom, save one, Mr. Houston had compromised, so as to obtain full possession. This one, a man named Edward Norris, had fenced in some seventy acres of Hous- ton's land, and refused to give up possession. On Saturday, the 10th, Houston went over to his Ranch for the purpose of making some arrangement towards a peaceable settlement of the dispute. He visited the house of Mr. Norris, on Sunday, the 11th, but not finding the latter at home, left a re- quest that he would on his return call at his (Houston's) farm-house and have a talk with him before the hour necessary for him to start to take the last boat that was to leave Oakland. Mr. Houston then returned to his house, and after waiting as long as possible, he left word with his father-in-law, W. C. Pease, who was in charge of the property, to settle the matter peace- fully, by paying Norris a reasonable sum to leave quietly. Norris, however, did not come to the house, and in the evening Pease went over to the hotel near by, kept by Conkling, for the purpose of getting supper. While eating, a crowd of men arrived at the hotel, among whom was Norris. They were in the bar-room while Pease was in the dining-room. The conversation of Norris and his friends was upon the matter in dispute between the former and Mr. Houston. Pease, hearing his name mentioned, in not very compli- mentary terms, stepped to the door of the apartment in which Norris and the others were conversing, and drawing a pistol, demanded to know who had anything to say against "Old Pease," at the same time raising his pis- tol, cocking it, and threatening to shoot the first man who raised a finger.
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Norris, who was in the act of drinking as Pease entered, put his glass down on the table. Some harsh words then passed between Pease and Norris ; the latter, who was unarmed, reached forward to seize the pistol, when Pease instantly fired, and Norris fell dead, having been shot through the heart. Pease was tried for manslaughter and, January 26, 1861', was acquitted.
KILLING OF SADELLA CATIYO .- During a drunken brawl at the house of José Silva in Rodeo valley on the night of May 10, 1860, a Chileno named Sadella Catiyo was killed by his countryman Assesso Gayarado.
MURDER OF GUADALUPE TAPIA .- Guadalupe Tapia, a Mexican, was mortally wounded with a knife, July 4, 1860, by Ramon Ruiz. They were seen together near Alamo, each having a horse, though dismounted, and just previous to the attack deceased was observed to be reclining on the ground, holding his animal by the bridle. Ruiz now suddenly rushed upon him with a knife, inflicting a terrible wound in the abdomen, from the effects of which he died in a few hours. The murderer was arrested, but at his trial which took place January 16, 1861, he was discharged, the jury disagreeing, there being eleven in favor of his conviction of murder in the first degree, and one for manslaughter.
KILLING OF N. NATHAN .- The Gazette of February 15, 1862, says that : " The body of N. Nathan was found near. Pinole a few days since, much decayed." The verdict of the inquest held was that he had been robbed and murdered. His license as a peddler bore date about the middle of December, 1861. He was aged about twenty-one years, and had no relatives in California.
KILLING OF PATRICK FINNEGAN .- On the evening of Sunday, Novem- ber 30, 1862, Patrick Finnegan was shot at Clayton, under the following circumstances : It would appear that a troupe of minstrels gave a per- formance at the Clayton House, in the evening, to a rather noisy audience. At its conclusion one of the company was somewhat roughly handled by certain parties present, and R. L. Bradley handed him a pistol, telling him to protect himself. He did not use it but returned it soon after. One account of the affair had it, that in passing the pistol back it was accident- ally discharged ; while other eye-witnesses stated positively that on receiving it Bradley wilfully shot Finnegan. The ball struck deceased on the left side of his nose, passing into the head and killing him instantly. Bradley mounted a horse and made his escape.
KILLING OF JAMES MAGEE .- On Monday, December 1, 1862, James Magee was shot by James Tice. There had been a difficulty between the parties, and, on the afternoon in question, Tice, who had been drinking, went to the ranch of deceased, and some hard words passed between them.
red.
Grid . Staff ,
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Homicides of Contra Costa County.
Tice at length wished to shake hands, to which Magee objected, telling him he was drunk, and ordering him off the premises. Magee had a shot-gun in his hand at the time which he had gone into the house for. He turned as if to leave the spot, when Tice presented his pistol and shot him in the left side. He exclaimed, " Oh ! I'm a dead man, sure !" and almost im- mediately expired. Tice mounted his horse, rode to Martinez and put himself in custody of the Sheriff. Deceased owned a valuable ranch in the Moraga valley, and had accumulated a handsome property. Tice was duly tried before Hon. S. F. Reynolds, District Judge, May 30, 1863, when the jury returned a verdict of Not Guilty.
MURDER OF LOUIS D'ALENCON .- On the night of Thursday, or the morn- ing of Friday, March 12-13, 1863, Louis D'Alençon, the keeper of the Valley House, near Martinez, was murdered by some person or persons unknown. The last that was seen of the deceased alive was on Thursday night by the hired man, an old friend and fellow-countryman who lodged with him, when, having shut up the house, they partook of a drink together before retiring for the night, the man then going to bed leaving D'Alençon in the bar-room, where he was in the frequent habit of sitting up all night engaged in writing, he being one of the most accomplished regular corres- pondents of one of the French newspapers in San Francisco. The companion soon fell asleep and was not disturbed by any unusual noise, but thought that had there been such, he would have noticed it, as he was used to D'Alençon's habit of being up and moving about all night. At a very early hour on the morning of Friday, the 13th, Pancho Flores, passing by the Valley House on his way to a rodeo, noticed the door ajar, and saw the body of D'Alençon lying on the floor between it and the bar. Pancho tried to enter, but was unable to open the door wide enough on account of the position in which the inanimate form lay. He therefore went round to the back of the house, awoke the hired man and asked him what drunken man was asleep in the bar. The two then went to ascertain, and were horrified to find D'Alençon stretched on his back on the floor, weltering in his blood, and dead.
MURDER OF A MAN, NAME UNKNOWN .- A stranger, dressed in working clothes, arrived at San Pablo on the night of Tuesday, August 4, 1863, and after eating supper at the hotel, took his blanket and proceeded a short distance up the road, when he turned off into a wheat-field, spread his bed- ding and lay down. On the following morning he was found there quite dead, with a wound in the temple, apparently caused by a blow from a heavy instrument. The body was yet warm when discovered.
KILLING OF JOHN PETE .- On Monday, January 11, 1864, one Frank McCann killed John Pete in a quarrel over a game of cards at San Pablo, but what the particulars of the outrage were we have been unable to gather.
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MURDER OF MARTINE BERRYESSA .- On Monday, February 8, 1864, at the town of Old Pinole, Martine Berryessa was stabbed with a knife by a man who was known by the solitary name of Francisco. Death was almost instan- taneous. The facts of the case are these : Some two or three weeks before, hard words had passed between the parties, and the charge of horse-steal- ing was bandied from one to the other. Thereupon a scuffle ensued, in which a cut was received in the leg by Francisco. They then separated, after threats were thrown at Berryessa by Francisco, and they did not cross each other again until the day of the fatal meeting, when Francisco and two men with him, were, for some hours, at Pinole. Just as they were about leaving, they saw Berryessa, and, going up to him, Francisco observed that somebody wanted him at a place near by. Berryessa refused to go with them, whereupon he was told he should be made to go, when Francisco drew a pistol upon him. He held up his hands as if to ward off the shot, or to seize the weapon, and then, instead of firing the pistol, Fran- cisco unsheathed a knife and stabbed him under the arm, it entering his back immediately below the shoulder, penetrating the lungs, and causing him to fall dead. The murderer and his two companions then fled. Fran- cisco being caught by the bystanders, after a short chase, was lodged in the jail at Martinez.
MURDER OF - ARAVENA .- On Friday, June 17, 1864, a Chileno named Aravena was killed under the following circumstances : It seems, for some unexplained reason, he attacked a man named Humblot, a resident of Oakland, Alameda county, who, in self-defense, turned on the deceased and slew him.
MURDER OF A MAN NAMED "Jo."-In the month of June, 1874, but on what day we cannot ascertain, a man called "Jo" was stabbed by Juan Alvarez, at Pinole. The cause was liquor and jealousy. Alvarez delivered himself up to the authorities, but was discharged.
MURDER OF JESUS DIANA .- The following detailed murder was com- mitted November 12, 1864, under the most revengeful and brutal circum- stances. It appears that a Mexican by the name of Luis Romero had been living in a family of the same nationality, a few miles from Pinole. In that household was included a young woman about sixteen years old, the sister of the mistress of the house. This young girl's name was Jesus Diana. Romero was courting her and was very anxious to marry her. She, how- ever, refused all his solicitations, whereat he was very much incensed. Immediately after breakfast, on the morning of the fatal day, he took his gun and started off, as he said, on a hunting trip. Only a few moments passed, however, before he came back to the house, and found the married sister outside at a well near by. The murdered girl was within, washing dishes. He then went in and stabbed her in the back with a common
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butcher-knife. Her screams quickly brought the absent sister to the door. Upon the latter crying out to Romero to desist, he turned upon her, too, with the same knife, when she ran away. He called to her not to be afraid, for he should kill himself also. He then went back, took the gun, which was double-barreled, put it to his own throat, holding it under the chin so that the charge should pass into his brain, and thus killed himself. Before doing this, however, he had stabbed the girl in several places, one of the wounds going entirely through the body.
MURDER OF - VALENCIA .- On Saturday, August 25, 1866, a Mexican or native Californian, named Valencia, died at Martinez from the effects of a wound received at the hands of Jesus Garcia on the previous Tuesday. It is said there was no provocation for the assault, although some quarrel had occurred between the parties. The attack was made with a stick or club of oak wood, with which the deceased was severely beaten upon the head and other portions of the body. Garcia was arrested, tried, and on December 27th sentenced by District Judge Dwinelle to imprisonment for two years in the State Prison.
MURDER OF MRS. ELIZABETH ROBINSON .- The following most brutal murder was committed at Martinez on the night of December 26, 1866, on the person of Mrs. Elizabeth Robinson, an aged woman who dwelt in the vicinity of the Roman Catholic Church, in that village. The facts of the case are these : The body of the deceased was discovered lying upon the floor by the child of a neighbor sometime during the forenoon of Thursday, the 27th, and upon this information a number of persons immediately re- paired to the premises and found the body in a night-dress, upon the floor of a rear room, with the head, face, arms and hands fearfully cut and gashed, and several stabs in the breast and throat-one of the latter being entirely through the neck, from front to back. Near the body was a piece of candle and a candlestick, and from the appearances led to the belief that the de- ceased, aroused by the noise made in entering the house, had arisen from her bed, lighted the candle, and, on entering the rear room from which the noise proceeded, received a severe blow upon the forehead, followed up by assaults with a knife, against which the gashes upon the arms and hands show she had made a protracted but unavailing struggle. The floor of the house displayed blood tracks, and upon one of the partitions was the full print of a bloody hand, made by the murderer, probably, on groping his way through the dark. There were, also, the marks of bloody fingers upon the sliding window, showing that he had carefully closed it on his retreat from the premises. The object of the murderer was undoubtedly plunder, as the deceased, who was about seventy-five years of age, by a long life of toil had accumulated some property, and may have been supposed to have money with her in the house, which had all the appearances of having been
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