Sierra County CA Archives History - Books .....Hanging Of The Indian Pijo 1882
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File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by:
Joy Fisher sdgenweb@gmail.com January 20, 2006, 11:00 pm

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

HANGING OF THE INDIAN PIJO.

   The first legal hanging in Sierra county occurred on the sixteenth of
September, 1853, and an Indian named Pijo has the honor of being the candidate
on that occasion. On the thirtieth of May three Chinamen were at work on Canon
creek, in Indian valley, when they were surprised by a band of Indians from the
Middle Yuba, consisting of twenty or more, and two of the foreigners were
slaughtered, the third making good his escape. Some time after, Chung Chong, the
survivor, came to the ranch of S. H. Cook and told him about the occurrence.
Cook immediately went to the spot, in company with several Americans and
Chinamen, but failed to find the bodies. Chung said he saw an Indian, who had an
ugly scar on his lip, kill the two Chinamen on the road, and was certain he
could identify him. Charles Stanwood, justice of the peace at Goodyear's bar,
issued a warrant for the arrest of the murderer on the eighteenth of June, and
three days after a party went in pursuit of him. With the help of a friendly
savage, Pijo was caught at Cold Spring ranch, his own chief pointing him out as
the man, forty Indians being present. Pijo was dragged to the house, tied to a
post, and by threats of hanging was induced to disclose the burial place of his
victims. His knife was taken away, and he led his captors to the scene of the
murder, where he pointed them out. One was lying above the other on the side of
the hill. Both were pierced with arrows, and on the skull of the lower one were
two stones weighing twenty pounds apiece. The remains were in such an advanced
state of decomposition that they could not touch them with their hands. A purse
of gold had been taken from one body, which was found on the person of Pijo. The
inquest was held in Indian valley by S. H; Cook, M. S. Thurber, Jr., William H.
Post, William A. McLaughlin, Lewis W. Howell, and Jacob Miller.

   Upon their return to Cook's house, the Chinamen took Pijo, and would have
hung him, "Melikee fashion," to a neighboring oak, had he not been rescued from
their hands. In the night the crafty savage, realizing the fate in store for
him, feigned to be asleep, and succeeded in getting his wrists untied before his
motions were discovered.

   Pijo was brought to Downieville, and the grand jury found an indictment for
murder against him, July 20, 1853. The case was transferred from the court of
sessions to the district court, and was tried at the August term, Judge W. T.
Barbour sitting on the bench. The Indian's counsel were A. Smith and E. T.
Hogan, while the prosecution was conducted by Thaddeus Purdy, then district
attorney. The jury found a verdict of guilty, and on the ninth of August Judge
Barbour pronounced sentence of death, fixing the day of execution at September
16, 1853. William J. Ford was at that time sheriff of the county. Not being a
man of very strong nerves, he dreaded the performance of his official duty, and
as the day approached he shrunk from it. However, he found no difficulty in
shirking the work, for a man with an itching palm volunteered to hang Pijo for
fifty dollars. His offer was accepted; and amidst a considerable crowd of
spectators, who came from far and near, the Indian paid the penalty of his
crimes on the scaffold which had been erected a short distance up the South
Fork. The volunteer executioner, to escape the opprobrium which he was aware
would attach to his conduct, appeared in a disguise. But his incognito was
readily discovered; and when he that evening frequented a gambling-saloon,
staked his fifty dollars on a game of chance and lost it, even the gamblers
themselves refused to take the price of human life. Their anger towards the man
became so great that later in the night several of their number gave him a sound
drubbing, and banished him from the place.


Additional Comments:
Extracted from:

Illustrated History of Plumas, Lassen & Sierra Counties

San Francisco: Fariss & Smith
(1882)

File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/ca/sierra/history/1882/illustra/hangingo301ms.txt

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