USA > California > San Francisco County > San Francisco > History of the San Francisco Committee of vigilance of 1851 : a study of social control on the California frontier in the days of the gold rush > Part 25
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The most significant illustration of this poliey was the action in the cases of Stuart's confederates, Adams, Jimmy from Town, and Ainsworth, and in the case of George Arthur, a burglar who was under arrest at the same time. It had cost the Com- mittee heavily both in time and money to capture these men and to bring them to the point where they acknowledged their crimes. All were confessed thieves, but no proof of murder had been obtained, although murder was strongly suspected. On July 23 the Executive Committee advised that they should be tried in the courts, where the documents obtained by the Com- mittee might serve to convict at least one other prisoner then in the hands of the authorities.3+ This recommendation was immediately adopted in regard to Jimmy, Ainsworth, and Arthur, but Adams was remanded for further examination. At the
34 Papers, 338. 345.
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On the Trail of Stuart's Companions
next general meeting, July 28, action was again deferred. On August 3 he made a more satisfactory statement, which was sub- mitted to the General Committee without recommendation.35 No minutes intimate that Adams' fate hung in the balance for several hours, but the San Francisco Herald stated that about ten o'clock on the morning of August 6 the Monumental hell tapped out the well-known call for a gathering of the General Committee, and that crowds collected about headquarters, greatly excited by a rumor that a sentence of death was under serious consideration. At last the prisoner was brought out, not on his way to the scaffold, but to the county jail, where he was handed over to the under sheriff, John Caperton, who acknowledged the delivery by a formal receipt. It is probable that Adams had a very narrow escape. The minutes show that the motion for his transfer to the authorities was made by "Mr. Malone," none other, we must think, than number 250, James R. Malony, com- monly called Rube, who was himself in bad repute as too close a friend of rowdies and ballot-box stuffers. John Arentrue, an- other colleague of Stuart, was also delivered to Sheriff Hays on the same day.
The Committee pursued its policy of "vigilance" even after placing its prisoners under legal control. In the case of Jimmy from Town it was voted to detain Hays and other important witnesses, and to produce them in court at the proper time. A committee of six was appointed to attend to this duty, and various allusions point to the existence of similar committees charged with the supervision of other trials.36 The presence in court of members of the society has been severely scored by some writers as an effort to overawe judge and juries. If such at- tempts were made, they are not reflected in the newspaper re- ports, or in the sentences pronounced, which in no case took
35 Papers, 375, 410-413, 418, 419, 424. 426.
36 Papers, 339.
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advantage of the statute allowing the penalty of death to be imposed for grand lareeny. It is, however, apparent that the trials of these men were conducted with unusual promptness. Within a week Jimmy from Town was sentenced to ten years' imprisonment, and some time later Adams received a twenty- year sentence. The charges against Arentrue were dismissed, owing to technical defects in the indictment, and the old trouble of the departure of necessary witnesses.37
These notable rogues disappear at this point from the annals of the Committee of Vigilance, but the members of that body may have learned with interest that during the improvements on the county jail Sheriff Hays employed the facile Jimmy from Town in the mixing of mortar, while Adams delved some twenty- seven feet under ground, and their old friend, Watkins, handled a plane.38 Unfortunately, honest toil did not reform their wan- dering impulses. In January of the next year Jimmy escaped again, and was again captured. In May he and Adams and Watkins attempted another sortie, but were detected, and were most unkindly flogged, Adams suffering an extra ten lashes in compliment to his leadership.39 Jimmy was later transferred to San Quentin, where the new state prison proved as frail a barrier as had his other jails. In October, 1854, he led five friends in a sueeessful dash for liberty,40 and thereafter vanished from the attention of the public.
Schenek said that the Committee had been informed that the authorities had evidence to eonviet some of the prisoners of murder,#1 and it may be inferred that their surrender was prompted by the hope of severe and legal punishment. It is
37 See the Court reports in Herald, 1851, July 29; Aug. 7; 8; 14; 26-30; Sept. 3; 23.
38 Herald, 1851, Sept. 19 %.
39 Herald, 1852, Jan. 21 34; May 21 33.
40 Herald, 1854, Oct. 26 31.
41 Schenck, MS Statement, 43.
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On the Trail of Stuart's Companions
noteworthy that the Vigilantes did not attempt to recover the criminals when milder sentences were imposed. Nevertheless, it is not unlikely that the good fortune of Adams and Jimmy from Town sealed the fate of two more dangerous felons.
The records of Whittaker and MeKenzie had been bared with pitiless detail by Stuart, Joseph Hetherington, and other in- formers. Mckenzie, a brutal, coarse-fibered man, tried to save himself by sullen silence, or by prevarication, but finally made a confession that fully established his guilt as a member of Stuart's gang.42
Whittaker also attempted to conceal the truth, but the accu- sations against him were too explicit. In the end he spoke freely of his past offenses. The circumstances attending his confession make it in some respects the most remarkable of all the docu- ments preserved in the files of the Committee. Stuart may have dictated his statement in the hope of securing immunity by frankness, but Whittaker, with Stuart's fate in mind, could have cherished no vision of reprieve at the expense of others. Ryckman related a touching interview when kind words broke down the prisoner's reticence, and he offered to unburden his heavy conscience in the face of the warning that even honesty would not save him from the penalty of his sins.43 Once started, he confessed crime after crime with astonishing fluency. While Stuart's narrative was a plain recital of events, Whittaker's was interspersed with reflections on the men and the occurrences that he described.4+ Like many other criminals he blamed society for his downfall : he gave instances of injustice to show that a thief had a better chance than an honest man ; he sneered
42 Papers, 463-467, 506. A brief and unimportant addendum, missing from the files, was printed in the Alta, 1851, August 27 %.
43 Ryckman, MS Statement, 10-12. He stated that Payran had been drinking, and could not conduct the examination with his usual skill. Ban- eroft gave a somewhat garbled version of the episode in Popular Tribunals, I, 342-343.
44 Papers, 468-488.
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at his own service on a jury which sentenced a prisoner to a term of imprisonment for the theft of a pistol, while greater offenders, skilfully defended, went scot-free ;45 he showed how his successful efforts to corrupt officials caused him to despise the authorities he defied ; and he boasted of his influenee as a poli- tician, and of the dozen ex-conviets whom he led to the polls when ealled upon to assist in the election of Malachi Fallon, marshal of the city.40
He characterized his eompanions with critical appraisement : Kay was ignorant, and a dandy ; others were bungling; the con- viets from Van Diemen's Land were far worse than those from Sydney ;" such a one was a convict without doubt, another might be an incendiary but the "report was rumor";48 John Darke was a thief "on his own hook"; Diek Smith, friend of convicts and of police, could be depended upon to provide straw bail.49 He described moral and physical qualities with equal facility, and little touches of personality bring these unknown rogues before our eyes with startling realism. The acme of his con- tempt he reserved for the unkempt, unelean, and physically re- pulsive. "Kitchen is a rough boatman-looking fellow; dirty, very dirty." "George" was roundshouldered, a dirty-looking fellow, a thief; one receiver of stolen goods at Sacramento was stigmatized as a "dirty looking little poek-marked Jew.''50
He did not hesitate to acknowledge his relations with Mrs. Hogan, told of lavish presents he had made her, and of her de- termination never to go back to her husband. He even repeated a rumor that she had been transported for crime, but admitted at last :"1 "To do her justice, I must say that she done all in her power to break up my associations, and to lead a different life."
45 Papers, 469. 49 Papers. 482, 483.
46 Papers, 481.
50 Papers, 480-482.
47 Papers, 478.
51 Papers, 473-476, 484.
48 Papers. 477, 480.
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On the Trail of Stuart's Companions
Mary Hogan was then recalled to headquarters, and the confession was read to her. Compelled by the man's frank avowals, she admitted the intimacy that had bound them to- gether, but indignantly repudiated the insinnation that her af- fections had been won by the value of his gifts. She insisted that she had handled his money as might a wife, returning to him on various occasions such sums as he needed.52 We read that during her ordeal the "prisoner Whittaker was brought in and confronted with Mrs. Hogan." So far as we may know, they never met again. Sam Whittaker was held to meet the punishment of his misdeeds, and Mrs. Hogan was allowed to go at large subject to the order of the Committee.53 In elosing her story it is perhaps fair to repeat the judgment of one of her own sisterhood who characterized Mrs. Hogan as "only guilty of loving a bad man."54
The examinations did not prove actual murder against either Whittaker or Mckenzie, but the Executive Committee reported that both men were self-confessed robbers who did not hesitate at any violence, that they were a menace to the community, and that it would be unsafe to hand them over to the authori- ties.55 It therefore recommended that they should suffer death at the hands of the Committee of Vigilance. These reports are in Stephen Payran's handwriting, and both contain a cau- celed paragraph which provided that execution should take place at one o'clock on the afternoon of August 18. In spite of the fact that there are no minutes and no annotations to prove that these recommendations were accepted, there is little doubt that
52 Papers, 488-490; Herald, 1851, Aug. 18 21.
53 Papers, 501.
5+ Report of a conversation with "Harriet," probably Harriet Lang- meade, in a brief paragraph in the Herald, 1851, August 4 %.
55 Papers, 462, 467. Smiley said: "The sentences of death in the cases of Whitaker and Mckenzie were passed by the Committee at large, upon the cases coming before them" (MS Statement, 4).
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they were, although with a postponement of the execution for forty-eight hours. On the nineteenth there are two unsigned orders, one in Payran's handwriting instructing the chief of police to remove the prisoners to a place of greater security, and another written by Bluxome, directing that the execution should take place on a vessel in the harbor in view of the crowds on shore.56
The plans of the Committee were not destined to be carried out, as the removal of the prisoners was not accomplished in time to frustrate a delivery executed under the personal super- vision of the governor of the state. His proclamation of July 21 had concluded with the words: "It is my sworn duty to see that the laws are executed, and I feel assured that all good citizens will cordially cooperate with me in its discharge." For nearly a month Governor MeDougal had rested content with this inner assurance of restored tranquility, and then his eon- fidence in the good citizens of San Francisco was rudely shat- tered. On August 18 the papers published the full text of the examinations in the case of Whittaker and Mckenzie. On August 19 the governor learned that the Committee of Vigilance intended to hang both prisoners on the following day. He at once hastened to San Francisco and about midnight he ob- tained confirmation of the rumor from two members (or former members) of the Committee whose names he never divulged. Summoning Mayor Brenham to his assistance, he searched the
56 Papers, 522, 523, 536. The following undated fragment may refer to some plan connected with the execution. The writing does not identify the author, and it was reserved for publication in this volume as an illus- tration of the problems that arose in arranging a portion of the archives: "The prisoners will be moved this night with guard of ten- At 8 o'clock a person will be sent to room for special detail of 25 who will come to such spot as may be designated-
When Comt. meets-report & let the bells toll-then form & pro- ceed under direction of me without previous statement & he who leads will wave his handkf-when the prisoners will run-" Bancroft interpreted the concluding phrase as referring to the moment when the prisoners should be run up to the yard arm (Popular Tribunals, I, 359).
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On the Trail of Stuart's Companions
city for a judge who could issue a warrant for immediate seizure. Having produced this from Judge Myron Norton, he aroused the sheriff and directed him to serve it without delay.57
Colonel Hays had no relish for the commission. As has been said, he sustained the most cordial relations with the volunteer police headquarters on Battery Street; he had invited members of the Committee to visit his own jail; they had commended his efforts to complete the building, and had promised substantial financial assistance towards defraying the expenses he had as- sumed. More than once they had delivered important prisoners into his keeping, and more than once they had frustrated his efforts to take from them men whom they were unwilling to relinquish. At first he thought it was not his duty, "and rather roughly declined,"58 but the obligation could not well be evaded, and he reluctantly called his deputy, John Caperton, and accom- panied the governor and the mayor to the rooms of the Com- mittee.
Here there had been all through the night an atmosphere of suppressed excitement ; members came and went, intent upon the stern work of the morrow, sometimes so absorbed and hurried that they passed the guard without the customary countersign. Payran, who had been indisposed during the day,59 had retired for sleep after a final consultation with Van Bokkelen. The latter had nearly completed arrangements for transferring the condemned to the vessel selected as the place of execution and had stepped outside for a moment, when Hays and Caperton, taking advantage of their knowledge of the rooms and of the enstoms of admission, mounted the stairs and pushed past the guard at the door. Caperton rushed directly to the prisoner's room, crying: "Whittaker and Mckenzie, I am an officer; I
57 The affidavit and the warrant are printed infra, pp. 469-470.
55 Papers. 530.
59 Papers, 520.
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Vigilance Committee of 1851
come to save yon !" The three locked arms and dashed back to the exit, where Hays held open the door in spite of all that the surprised guard eould do to dislodge him. During this dramatic resene there was great confusion, but no concerted resistance, and no resort to violence or firearms on either side. The whole thing occurred so quickly that Payran was not awakened until the scuffle was over. When Van Bokkelen returned he found his charges in the hands of the officers. He made such a feeble effort to regain them that he was severely censured by the Committee for negleet of duty, and temporarily relieved of his office as chief of the Vigilanee police.
The General Committee met at eight o'clock the next morning to diseuss the circumstances of the resene.60 Some of the mem- bers favored immediate retaliation. Payran's habitual deliber- ation gave way before his indignation, and in a fiery resolution he called upon the Committee to decide whether it should rouse the city to action and show who had the supremacy, or should acknowledge defeat by releasing all prisoners still in custody. "Why detain them here?" he asked. "Why expend our time and money on them, when we, the People, are afraid of the puny and insignifieant powers whom we have placed in office ?" His resolution was laid on the table, as was another that proposed an attempt at immediate recapture. Five men were appointed to investigate the events of the night; the chief of police was suspended from duty pending their report, and the meeting ad- journed until the afternoon. At four o'eloek the subeommittee was ready with its report, which was introduced by the following preamble :
The Committee having invited his Excellency the Governor of the State, his Honor the Mayor, Sheriff Hays, and Deputy Sheriff Caperton to meet them in the Executive Chambers, those gentlemen cordially as- sented, and being informed that the object of the Committee was to
60 Papers, 523-526.
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On the Trail of Stuart's Companions
ascertain if their action in seizing and rescuing the prisoners was aided and abetted by any members of the Vigilance Committee they have pro- vided the Committee with the statements as follows severally.''61
This investigation illustrated more vividly than any other incident in the history of the Vigilance Committee the strange position in which it stood with the general public and with the constitutional representatives of the people. At midnight the Committee held two men as prisoners under sentence of death; before morning these men were seized in a raid conducted by the three highest officers of the state, city, and county ; and a few hours later all concerned (except the prisoners) sat around a council table in the very headquarters of the Vigilantes and discussed the event with the decorum befitting a court of law !
The committee of investigation found no evidence of cor- ruption or of internal connivance in the escape,62 but it blamed the chief of police for want of necessary cantion and energy, and censured those members "who were so derelict in duty as to inform the Governor of the intended action of the Committee, which rendered it imperative upon him to adopt the course he did." The report was accepted and Van Bokkelen was restored to his former position. It was resolved that the sentences of exe- cution should be carried out as soon as Whittaker and Mckenzie could be recaptured, and that in future any member guilty of divulging transactions of the Committee should be ignominiously expelled.63
On the very day after the rescue Hays allowed Ryckman to interview the prisoners. "Mr. Ryckman," said Whittaker, "I
$1 Papers, 528. The evidence follows. It contains many allusions show- ing the arrangements of headquarters, and the customs of the Committee. The account in Popular Tribunals, I, 353-356, ineluded other details sup- plied by the members.
62 Payran always attributed the rescue to treachery on the part of the guards (Carpenter's letter in Oakland Transcript, 1874, March 29, p. 1). 63 Papers, 524-523.
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Vigilance Committee of 1851
hope you are not sorry that we made our escape." "You have not made your escape," was the inexorable reply. "You have been convicted, and you will be executed beyond a shadow of doubt. There is no power on earth that can save you."64 Gov- ernor MeDougal, however, was somewhat complacent over his easy victory, and he took occasion to issue another proclamation, which is reproduced upon the opposite page. This communi- cation appeared in the city papers, even in those most friendly to the Committee, although its force was somewhat impaired by the close juxtaposition of the following :
A Card
San Francisco, August 20, 1851.
We, the undersigned, do hereby aver, that the present Governor, Me- Dougal, asked to be introduced to the Executive Committee of the Com- mittee of Vigilance which was allowed, and an hour fixed. The Governor, upon being introduced, stated that he approved the acts of the Committee, and that much good had taken place.65 He hoped that they would go on, and endeavor to act in concert with the authorities, and in case any Judge should be guilty of mal-administration, to hang him, and he would appoint others, &c.
G. E. SCHENCK, GEORGE J. OAKES, ISAAC BLUXOME, JR., S. PAYRAN.
64 Ryckman. MS Statement. 13.
65 " The Governor of the State, hearing of the condition of affairs [atter the execution of Jenkins], issued, as was proper for him to do, a proclama- tion, warning all good citizens to desist from unlawful acts and from unlaw- ful combinations. But upon examination of affairs, he was satisfied the work proposed by the Committee would really be beneficial to the public interests, and that an active opposition would be harmful instead of useful, and decidedly agreed with the Executive that their work should go on, and that he would interpose no active opposition on the part of the state, so long as the operations of the Committee were confined to the sphere indicated, unless something then not foreseen should compel him to take a different position, of which he would give them due notice. Accordingly, throughout the existence or active operations of that Committee, the Governor properly maintained his attitude of nominal opposition, and the dignity of the state, but found no occasion to take any active measures against us" (Coleman, MS Statement, 23-241.
PROCLAMATION! BY THE GOVERNOR.
WHEREAS. ao armed and organized body of the citizens of San Francisco County. bas, in defiance of the Constitution and Laws of this State, assumed to exercise the powers of the Courts of Criminal Jurisdiction, and to pase and carry into effect extra-judicial sentences of death-and whereas a spirit of opposition to the Officers of the Law, while engaged to the execution of their duty, has been openly and pubhely manifested ; wod there is reason to believe that further attemos may be made to interfere with the regular administration of justice iu said County : and especially to take from the custody ofthe Nheriff certain Prisoners now confined in the Gool of said Coop
Now therefore. I. JOHN MCDOUGAL, Governor of the State of California, do hereby call upon all gond citizens of said County to unite for the purpose of sustaining public law and tranquillity, to aid the poble officers in the discharge of their duty, and by all lawful means tu discountenance any and every attempt which may be unade to substitute the despotie control of a self-constituted association unknown and ecting in defiance uf the laws, in the place of the regularly organized government of the County. And [ hereby call upon all public officer. to be setive, vigilant, and faithful in the performance of their trusts, and to resist to the utmost of their power, all efforts which may be made te subvert the Jaws and trample on the Constitution.
And I hereby warn those who are disposed to resist the legal authorities, that they can- aut do no, without involving the community of which they are members to all the horrore of Civil War, subjecting life, liberty and property to the most fearful sacrifices.
The Government is determined, ot oll hazards. to sustain the Constitution and Laws. public peace can only be secured, and public liberty can only be maintained, by a strict adherence to that feeling of subor- dynation to the law, and respect for its ministers, which have heretofore characterized the American People.
The attention of all citizens is requested to Sections 86 to 50, of " Ao Act to regu- late proceedings in Cruuital cases."
It is earnestly hoped that ao necessity will arise colliog for the execution of those provisions, and that the good sense and calm refection of all good citizens will iodure them to refrain from committing any sets calculated to destroy the peace and order of the community, and to bring the authorities into conflict with any portion of the People.
JNO. MCDOUGAL, Governor of California.
San Francisco, August 20th, 1851.
Proclamation by Governor Johu MeDougal relative to the Committee of Vigilance, August 20, 1551. From the Bancroft Library.
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On the Trail of Stuart's Companions
The records of the Committee contain but one more paper bearing on this case-the following curt order, to which is ap- pended an equally curt report :66
Capt. Cartwright:
You are hereby authorized to detail a guard such as you think proper, and arrest two Prisoners to-wit-Sam Whittaker & R. Mackensie and bring them, into custody of the Committee of Vigilence.
Done by order of Executive Committee August 22, A D 1851. [Signed] JAMES B HUIE Chairman.
Attest S. PAYRAN Secty.
Executive Come of Vigilance Come S. Francisco Aug. 24./51
Agreeably to your orders above I detailed (30) Thirty meu who pro- ceeded in Three Divisons under the respective orders of Col G. W. White, Capt Calhoun & Mr Oscar Smith & in the short spaces of 5 minutes from the first charge the Prisoners above named were on their way to your Head Quarters-
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