Plumas County CA Archives History - Books .....Historical Reminiscences - Lynching Of The Negro Joshua 1882
************************************************
Copyright.  All rights reserved.
http://www.rootsweb.com/~usgenweb/copyright.htm
http://www.rootsweb.com/~usgenweb/ca/cafiles.htm
************************************************

File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by:
Joy Fisher sdgenweb@yahoo.com January 4, 2006, 7:10 pm

Book Title: Illustrated History Of Plumas, Lassen & Sierra Counties

LYNCHING OF THE NEGRO JOSHUA.

   A negro by the name of Joshua suffered the extreme penalty of Judge Lynch's
court, on Rich bar, in July, 1852. The circumstances that led to the infliction
of capital punishment are related as follows: On the trail leading from Buck's
ranch to Smith bar, and other points on the river, was a public house owned and
kept by a Mr. Bacon. He employed the negro Joshua to attend to the culinary
matters of the house. Bacon had formerly mined on the east branch, and had
accumulated quite a number of valuable specimens of gold. He made no secret of
the fact, having shown the articles to different persons, the knowledge of his
possession being held also by his cook, as was shown by subsequent events. One
morning in July a stranger made his appearance on the river coming by the trail
from Buck's ranch, and brought intelligence that was startling indeed to the
miners there. He stated that on his way thither he had stopped at Bacon's ranch
to rest and refresh himself. He had found no one in the house; the table was
prepared as though for breakfast, but the viands were untouched. Upon examining
the premises he found in the bushes near by the body of a dead man, his
description answering for that of Bacon. The stranger, being further questioned,
said that he had met, below Buck's ranch, a negro man going down the road.
Suspicion at once fastened upon Joshua, the cook, as the guilty party, and the
camp was immediately in a furore of excitement. At a miners' meeting, R. E.
Garland, Johnson Ford, and Frank Walker were selected as a committee to go in
pursuit of the murderer. This same committee also had another job on its hands.
The day before, a Mexican named Domingo had fatally stabbed a miner, Tom
Summers, at Indian bar, and fled. In those days collisions between Americans and
Mexicans were of frequent occurrence, every Saturday night that camp being the
scene of more or less shooting and stabbing. This committee was in pursuit of
Domingo, and, invested with its double mission, journeyed to the south. Joshua
was closely pursued, and finally overtaken at Sacramento. The last bell of the
San Francisco boat was ringing, and it was about leaving, when the committee
stepped aboard. A hasty search resulted in the discovery of Joshua in the cook's
room, exhibiting to the functionary of that department some very fine gold
specimens. He was hurriedly taken from the vessel, placed in a carriage, brought
to Marysville, and from there conveyed up the river to Rich bar. An immense
assembly of miners had congregated, and a more excited crowd could hardly be
imagined than that to which the fate of Joshua was about to be intrusted. During
his trip from Sacramento he had maintained a dogged silence, without evincing
the least fear or trepidation, and his courage did not desert him now as the end
of his career was fast approaching. The crowd proceeded to organize a miners'
court. Old Captain Kilcannon was selected for judge, and Rat Smith was appointed
to the temporary office of the shrievalty, and instructed to summon a jury of
twelve men, good and true. John R. Buckbee became the prosecuting attorney, and
a very talented young man, Mat Powell (a brother of the celebrated artist),
undertook the cause of the prisoner. The court was convened in a large saloon,
called the El Dorado, and the proceedings were conducted in a very orderly
manner. The jury being empanneled in due form, the counsel for the people
presented his case in a very clear and dispassionate manner, after which the
counsel for the prisoner arose and stated his inability to offer any defense,
and admitting that the evidence, though circumstantial, was so conclusive that
he felt compelled to retire from the case. The jury then retired, deliberated a
very short time, and brought in a unanimous verdict of guilty. The judge then
pronounced sentence of death by hanging upon the prisoner, to be carried out in
a few hours. Every effort on the part of the prisoner's counsel to elicit from
him a confession proved unavailing. During the trial he had shown a stoical
indifference to what was happening around him. In the afternoon he was taken to
the hill in the rear of the town, and hung to the limb of a tree. While the rope
was being adjusted around his neck, he very coolly took from his pocket a plug
of tobacco, placed a quid in his mouth, and was chewing it as he swung off. He
was allowed to hang until the next morning. During the night a new pair of boots
that were on the defunct Joshua's feet was stolen by some high-toned thief. The
next day the body was turned over to the tender mercies of Drs. Cronin and Day,
the former of whom cut off the top of the skull, cleaned it, and a few days
later invited Mr. Whiting to eat strawberries therefrom. He declined.


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/historic96nms.txt

This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.net/cafiles/

File size: 5.6 Kb