Contra Costa County CA Archives History - Books .....Homicide Of George Muth 1882
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Book Title: History Of Contra Costa County, California

   HOMICIDE OF GEORGE MUTH.—The village of San Pablo was the scene of another
bloody murder; the date was August 10, 1873. The victim in this case was George
Muth, a young German, who had lived some years in the vicinity, and was
generally liked and respected. He was killed by Henry Ploeger, also a German,
who lived usually in San Francisco, but for some years, during part of each
season, had been engaged in hay-pressing, and had been so employed in San Pablo
at the time of the slaying. He had, some time back, it is said, sold a hay press
to Muth, and was displeased with him because he had engaged in business rivalry
with him. On Sunday, August 10th, both parties were at the village, and both had
been drinking, though it was a very unusual thing for Muth to do so. Ploeger had
made threats against Muth, and the latter, just as Ploeger was about to mount
his horse, crossed from the opposite side of the road and laid his hand on his,
Ploeger's, shoulder, asking him: "what he was threatening him for?" or, "what
had he against him?" or some question of such purport. Ploeger instantly drew
his pistol and shot him through the heart, killing him almost instantly. Ploeger
claimed that he anticipated an attack with a pistol when he drew his, and that
the shooting was unintentional. The by-standers, though, did not seem to have
been impressed with such a belief, and were inclined to execute summary justice
on the spot, regarding it as an act of unprovoked and wanton murder. The
prisoner was, however, held by the officers and safely taken to the jail at
Martinez, November 27, 1873; he was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to
six years imprisonment in the State Prison.

Additional Comments:
Extracted from:

HISTORY OF CONTRA COSTA COUNTY,
CALIFORNIA,
INCLUDING ITS GEOGRAPHY, GEOLOGY, TOPOGRAPHY, CLIMATOGRAPHY AND DESCRIPTION;
TOGETHER WITH A RECORD OF THE MEXICAN GRANTS; THE BEAR FLAG WAR; THE MOUNT
DIABLO COAL FIELDS; THE EARLY HISTORY AND SETTLEMENT, COMPILED FROM THE MOST
AUTHENTIC SOURCES; THE NAMES OF ORIGINAL SPANISH AND MEXICAN PIONEERS; FULL
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF THE COUNTY; SEPARATE HISTORY OF EACH TOWNSHIP, SHOWING
THE ADVANCE IN POPULATION AND AGRICULTURE;
ALSO,
Incidents of Pioneer Life; and Biographical Sketches
OF EARLY AND PROMINENT SETTLERS AND REPRESENTATIVE MEN;
AMD OF ITS TOWNS, VILLAGES, CHURCHES, SECRET SOCIETIES, ETC.
ILLUSTRATED.
SAN FRANCISCO: W. A. SLOCUM & CO., PUBLISHERS
1882.


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