Sutter County CA Archives History - Books .....Chapter 4 Crime And Criminals 1924
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Book Title: History Of Yuba And Sutter Counties

CHAPTER IV 
CRIMES AND CRIMINALS 

    Proverbially peaceful and law-abiding, Sutter County has been the scene in
all the years of but few of the exciting incidents that have characterized the
history of surrounding counties, especially in the earlier period. A few murders
have been committed in its history, the details of which it is not necessary to
recite. Only two persons suffered the extreme penalty of the law at the hands of
the public executioner in the days when it was the custom to hang in the county
jail yard. An Italian was hanged in October, 1857, by Sheriff S. E. Kennard; and
John Wright was hanged in March, 1873, by Sheriff Samuel McClure. 

Early-Day Appeals to Mob Law 

    During the unorganized period of the early days, appeal was made to mob law
on a few occasions by otherwise law-abiding citizens. An account of these
lynchings follows here. 

    "And now comes the mob, being impatient of delay (the jury not having as yet
agreed upon their verdict), being led by one E. W. High, and seized and forcibly
took from the custody of the Sheriff the said prisoner, Washington Rideout, and
having dragged him out of the Court House, escorted him to the first convenient
tree, and hanged him by the neck until he was dead." 

    The above is from the record of the Court of Sessions of June 12, 1852, upon
which day that body met at Nicolaus to try Washington Rideout, a negro. In May,
1852, Rideout stopped at the Bellevue House, kept by Newbald & Hufius, five
miles south of Nicolaus. Discovering Hufius to be alone, the negro grew abusive
because Hufius did not have the kind of liquor he demanded. Hufius ordered him
to leave the place, whereupon the negro drew his revolver and shot him to death.
The murderer was quickly captured and conveyed to Nicolaus, then the county
seat, where a mob took possession and were about to hang Rideout, when they were
persuaded by cooler heads to permit the law to take its course. The murderer was
placed aboard a government vessel lying in the river and confined there pending
trial. A grand jury was summoned, an indictment returned, and the case proceeded
to trial within a few days of the commission of the act. The records of the
court in full follow: 

                     "Saturday, June 12, 1851, 2 p. m. 

    "The Grand Jury returns into Court and presents the following: 
State of California } 
     vs.            }   Indictment for Murder. 
Washington Rideout  } 

    "Whereupon, the defendant was brought into Court, and for trying the same,
came the following jury, to wit: Ira Bradshaw, C. S. Tessue, Joseph P. Dillon,
J. Lee, E. W. Riker, Nathaniel Eaton, John Holloway, Thomas Morrison, J. Gibson,
A. L. Chandler, H. Chandler, and James Riker, and were sworn and empanelled. The
defendant was then arraigned, and having answered to his name, as set forth in
the indictment, pleads that he is 'not guilty' of the charge alleged therein. W.
B. Johnson, G. B. Upham, S. B. Smith, and Dr. Golder were called and sworn on
the part of the State, and Hugh McDuffy was sworn on the part of the defendant.
The jury, after having heard the evidence and the arguments of the counsel,
retired to consider of their verdict. 

    "And now comes the mob, being impatient of delay (the jury not having as yet
agreed upon their verdict), being led by one E. W. High, and seized and forcibly
took from the custody of the Sheriff the said prisoner, Washington Rideout, and
having dragged him out of the Court House, escorted him to the first convenient
tree, and hanged him by the neck until he was dead." 

    It had been the watchword of the mob, "Hang him while the sun shines," and
the jury had been out so long that the sun began to decline in the west. They
went to the court room, then in the American Hotel, and High stepped up to the
prisoner as he was seated between two deputies, and told him that his time had
come. No resistance was made, and High took him by the collar and led him from
the room. Rideout was taken to a large tree in front of Jacob Vahle's residence,
a rope was thrown over a limb, one end fastened around the prisoner's neck, and
the other end seized by about fifty men, who, as the last rays of the setting
sun shed their light upon the scene, ran the murderer up and fastened him there.
The whole court, including the jury, adjourned to witness the execution. Rideout
had a Spanish wife. She was clinging to his neck when through her arms the body
of her husband was jerked aloft. Thus did they hang him "while the sun was
shining." 

    Only a few days after the murder of Hufius, and before the execution of
Rideout, a cruel murder was committed by John Jackson, a Norwegian, the victim
being Mrs. Martin Bader, who lived with her husband on the west side of Feather
River, in Sutter Township. This crime, and the hanging of Jackson by a mob, have
already been described in detail in a chapter on Crimes and Criminals, which
will be found in the section of this volume devoted to the History of Yuba County. 

    These exhibitions of mob law, coming so closely together, were very severely
commented upon by the newspapers at the time; but although it would have been
better to have the law take its course, yet there is no doubt that the two
wretches richly deserved their fate. 

    An early historian, in explaining the necessity for occasional activities by
the mob in an effort to discourage crime while it was gaining foothold in the
early days, had this to say: 

    "The natural tendency of society, when left uncurbed by legal regulations,
is towards lawlessness. So it was in the early days of California. The
population in the year 1848 and the greater part of 1849 was composed of a fine
set of men, comprised of the honest and intelligent element of the Eastern
cities and States. But the next tide that flowed in threw upon our shores the
refuse material from the larger cities on the Atlantic side of the continent,
and a horde of discharged convicts from the Australian colonies. The change in
society was apparent immediately; murder, robberies, highway robberies and
crimes of every description became every-day occurrences. Before this, the miner
placed no protection over his earnings, and could walk through the dark streets,
or over the lonely plains and hills, feeling perfectly safe in his solitude; now
his gold dust must be hidden or placed in some secure retreat, and his
pilgrimage must be made in the light of day, or in the company of others. Legal
proceedings were carried on under the old Mexican laws, and with the
insufficient force of officers it was difficult to apprehend and convict a man
of crime. The miners, realizing that fact, and knowing the consequences of
leniency toward the criminal class, took the law into their own hands." 

Joaquin Murietta and Tom Bell 

    The two most noted highwaymen that infested this region were Joaquin
Murietta and Tom Bell. We have already referred to the depredations and final
disposal of Bell in a chapter similar to this in the section devoted to Yuba
County's history. 

    Joaquin Murietta, who for a long time was the terror of travelers, and
lonely settlers, never operated to any extent in this vicinity. He had a sister
living in Marysville, whom he frequently visited. He was there for a
considerable time, in 1850 and 1851, and was known as a notorious character.
After the killing of Joaquin, considerable doubt existed as to the identity of
the dead robber. His head was amputated and, with the hand of "Three-fingered
Jack," was exhibited throughout the State. While in Marysville, Joaquin's sister
visited the exhibition and, after gazing upon the head, remarked in Spanish to a
gentleman, within the hearing of Judge O. P. Stidger, "That's not my brother."
When asked who it was, she smilingly replied, "It is Joaquin Gonzales." This
would seem to lend some credence to the rumor that the real Joaquin Murietta had
escaped. 

William Wells 

    On the night of July 26, 1860, three men escorting an escaped murderer from
Nicolaus to Sacramento were killed in cold blood by their prisoner in an unusual
manner. One of the victims was William C. Stoddard, farmer of the Nicolaus
section and father of W. S. Stoddard, now employed in a Red Bluff bank. The
other two were officers, one a friend of Stoddard. 

    Stoddard had started on horseback from his farm near Nicolaus for
Sacramento, on the morning of July 26, 1860. Having to proceed by way of
Nicolaus in order to cross the river, he met Tim Wharton, deputy sheriff of
Sutter County, and his personal friend. 

    Here is where the story of William Wells, the desperado, comes in. Wells had
murdered a man in Sacramento, and was apprehended in Virginia City, Nev., and
brought in the stage as far as Nicolaus, where rumor said a mob had gathered
outside Sacramento to lynch him. In order to thwart the plan, William Armstrong,
who had Wells in custody, hired a spring wagon at Nicolaus, with which he and
Wharton were to take the murderer into Sacramento under cover. Stoddard, riding
into Nicolaus about the time they were to start on the trip, was invited by
Wharton to join the party. When the party arrived at the American River
crossing, late in the night, all three were murdered by Wells, who was never
apprehended. 

    As to how Wells did the deed, different theories were advanced. The
prevailing one was that Armstrong, being worn out by travel, fell asleep while
in the back portion of the wagon guarding Wells, and that in some manner Wells
secured his pistol and shot all three in a flash. Another theory was that Wells
was given help by outsiders. 

    Stoddard had practiced law as a young man at Yreka, Siskiyou County. He
later served as district attorney in that county and also in Sutter County.
Still later he returned to Ogle County, Ill., where he was made sheriff. At the
expiration of his term in that office he returned to his ranch five miles below
Nicolaus, crossing the plains as captain of a wagon train. 


Additional Comments:

Extracted from:

HISTORY OF YUBA and SUTTER COUNTIES 
CALIFORNIA 
WITH 
Biographical Sketches OF 
The Leading Men and Women of the Counties Who Have Been Identified with Their
Growth and Development from the Early Days to the Present 

HISTORY BY 
PETER J. DELAY 

ILLUSTRATED 
COMPLETE IN ONE VOLUME 

HISTORIC RECORD COMPANY 
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA
1924



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