Plumas-Placer County CA Archives History - Books .....Historical Reminiscences -  A Plucky Chinaman 1882
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Book Title: Illustrated History Of Plumas, Lassen & Sierra Counties

A PLUCKY CHINAMAN.

   Some time in the fall of 1877 a horrible tragedy was enacted near Rocklin,
Placer county, in which a man named Oder, his wife, and another man named
Sargent, lost their lives. A Chinaman known as Ah Sam, working on the place,
murdered the three in order to secure money he knew his employer to be possessed
of. The perpetrator of the deed fled, while the people rose and drove every
Celestial from that section of the county. Ah Sam took refuge in Plumas county,
and engaged himself as cook on Wolf creek. Early in the following February an
officer from Placer county, who had received word of the whereabouts of the
fugitive, came up with a warrant for his arrest. Imprudently making known the
nature of his business, the Chinese of Quincy heard of it, and hastily
dispatched a messenger to warn the unsuspecting cook; so that when the officer
arrived at Wolf creek he found only the tracks of Ah Sam's snow-shoes leading up
into the deep snow of the mountains. Word was sent in all directions to be on
the watch for the fugitive, who had been tracked as far as 12-mile bar, and
there lost. On Thursday morning, the fourteenth of February, 1878, a miner named
Ira Wentworth, living a mile and a half above Rich bar, while going to his claim
near the mouth of Mill creek, came upon a Chinaman lying by a camp-fire, who
stated that he had started from 12-mile bar to go to Silver creek, and had lost
his way. He was in a bad condition, his feet being frozen, and his boots almost
falling from them. Wentworth had heard nothing of the murderer or his escape,
and believing his story, gave him the lunch he was taking to the claim for
dinner, directed him to go down to Rich bar, where he would find Chinamen who
would take care of him? Wentworth went to work, but in the evening when he
returned he found the Chinaman still at the camp. He followed Wentworth home,
got his supper and some bread, inquired particularly the route to Silver creek,
and left. In the morning Wentworth found that he had gone back to his camp of
the night before, and had evidently stopped there during the night, and started
out in the morning, the trail leading up the mountain towards the Mountain
House. During the day he went to Rich bar, and related the incident. It was at
once supposed that this was the fugitive murderer, and Alexander Buvinghausen
and Thomas Stentz started out in pursuit. They followed his trail up the
mountain for two miles, and finally overtook him at a point where there were two
cliffs of barren rocks, separated by a little ravine full of snow-covered brush,
over which it was impossible to pass at a rapid rate. The Celestial was armed
with a Colt's revolver, and intrenching himself behind the rocks on one side of
the ravine, opened fire upon his pursuers, who were compelled to get behind the
rocks on the opposite side for protection. In this position the battle was
maintained for some time, the heavy storm that prevailed preventing accurate
shooting. It being impossible to rush upon him across the treacherous snow, it
was decided that Buvinghausen should return to Rich bar for reinforcements, in
order to surround the stronghold, while Stentz remained to guard the prize.
Before help arrived, the Chinaman resorted to several strategems to overcome the
single adversary who remained. He tried the old game of putting his hat on a
stick and holding it above the rocks to draw fire; but that being unsuccessful,
he resorted to another expedient. Hailing Stentz, he stated that he was going to
shoot himself, and immediately the discharge of a pistol was heard, following
which came groans as of a man in his last death struggles. Stentz failed to bite
at this bait, also, and soon the rascal was up and on the watch again. Soon
Richard Livingstone and Peter McDougall arrived, followed a little later by
Buvinghausen and a number of others. It was supposed that he would now
surrender, but he had evidently made up his mind not to be taken alive, and
treated their proposals for him to hold up his hands with derision and contempt.
When they found he would not come out, an attempt was made to surround him, and
on seeing this, he called out that he would kill himself. Standing out in full
view, he placed the pistol against his abdomen and fired, falling on his face.
When his captors reached him, they found that the ball had entered about an inch
from the navel, passing through and lodging against the skin on his side. He was
taken down to Rich bar, and everything possible done for him, but he died on
Monday morning at six o'clock. He was out eleven days, most of the time in a
heavy storm, and must have been possessed of a wonderful amount of fortitude, or
he would have succumbed to the difficulties of the situation. Starved and
frozen, he fought it out to the last, and "died game." The body was tied upon a
hand-sled, and drawn twelve miles through the deep snow to Spanish Ranch, the
journey occupying from daylight till nine o'clock at night. It was then brought
to Quincy, and taken on the stage to Reno, and by rail to Rocklin, where it was
fully identified. The reward of $800 which had been offered was claimed, but
only $450 were received by the captors, the Placer county officials claiming the
remainder.


Additional Comments:
Extracted from:

Illustrated History of Plumas, Lassen & Sierra Counties

San Francisco: Fariss & Smith
(1882)


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