Plumas County CA Archives History - Books .....Historical Reminiscences -  Hanging Of Amada Cardinez 1882
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Book Title: Illustrated History Of Plumas, Lassen & Sierra Counties

HANGING OF AMADA CARDINEZ.

   In the fall of 1860 E. H. Bush, a resident of Indian valley, started on a
trip to Virginia City, Nevada. He was accompanied as far as Taylorville by a
young man named Jones, at which place they each purchased a pair of boots of
Hosselkus, from the same case. This little circumstance furnished the key
afterwards to some important testimony. Mr. Bush made his trip to Virginia City,
and returned by way of Mohawk valley, stopping at J. P. Hill's for the night.
Shortly after his arrival two Mexicans rode up, took supper, and went on in the
direction of Jamison City, where there was a large settlement of Spaniards at
the time. In the morning Mr. Bush departed for Quincy, eight miles below. Eight
or ten days afterward Abel Jackson was passing along the road near Jackson's
ranch, when his dog discovered the body of Bush hidden a short distance to one
side. He had been shot twice, and one of the balls had entered his forehead. His
feet were bare, and lying beside him was a pair of old boots, entirely too small
for him. Horses' tracks were found leading towards Grizzly valley, and a pursuit
was made. At Red Bluff, in Tehama county, Bush's horse was found, where it had
been traded off by two Mexicans, and one of the men himself was soon caught in a
gambling-house and brought back to Quincy. The boots he wore were identified by
the young man Jones, alluded to above, as having belonged to Bush, and a mineral
specimen of his from the Comstock lode was also discovered on the prisoner's
person. On the twenty-eighth of March, 1861, Amada Cardinez was indicted by the
grand jury. His trial was begun on the twelfth of July, before Judge Robert H.
Taylor, and he was convicted on the following day. The day of his execution was
fixed for August 30, 1861. Cardinez was a Mexican of the lowest and most brutal
order. While he was incarcerated in the county jail, in the charge of Sheriff R.
C. Chambers and his deputy, Billy Webb, Cardinez made an attempt, or was about
to make one, upon the life of Webb, but was foiled by the sheriff's dog. For a
day or two before his execution he was attended by a Mexican priest from
Marysville, who remained with him to the last moment. The execution was
performed in Hangman's ravine, by Sheriff R. C. Chambers, in the presence of a
large assemblage. The old priest spoke to the felon in Spanish, with much
animation and fervor, while on the scaffold. At the first drop the rope broke,
and Cardinez cried out pitifully, "Boys, don't hang me any more," as they were
adjusting the rope for another trial. After supper the priest repaired to
Coburn's saloon, and bucked at a monte game all night.


Additional Comments:
Extracted from:

Illustrated History of Plumas, Lassen & Sierra Counties

San Francisco: Fariss & Smith
(1882)


File at: http://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/usgenweb/ca/plumas/history/1882/illustra/historic108nms.txt

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