Criminals & Outlaws Codexery

Joaquin Murrieta

Mexican figure of disputed historicity, legend of the California Gold Rush.

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Joaquin Murrieta is a legendary figure from the California Gold Rush era, though evidence for a historical outlaw of that name is scarce.[1] Contemporary documents from 1852 record testimony about a minor horse thief named Murrieta, and newspapers reported a bandido named Joaquin who robbed and killed several people.[1] The historian Frank Latta spent 60 years researching Murrieta and wrote a book titled "Joaquin Murrieta and His Horse Gangs".[2]

Key facts and history

The legislature authorized a company of 20 California Rangers to hunt down these men, led by Captain Harry Love.[3] The location of Murrieta's birth is given as Hermosillo, in Sonora, Mexico, by most biographical sources.[4] A journey to California in 1849, motivated by the Gold Rush, is attributed to Murrieta in reports.[4] Latta documented that Murrieta created a gang composed of well-organized groups, with Murrieta himself leading one and his Sonoran relatives leading the others.[5]

A band of armed Mexican men was encountered by the rangers on July 25, 1853, close to Arroyo de Cantua.[6] The rangers asserted that Murrieta was among the dead, and they severed his head to serve as evidence.[7][2] The head was kept in a jar filled with alcohol and was put on public display in Mariposa County, Stockton, and San Francisco.[7]

What the cited sources add

The association began in 1987 to form a social movement, and in 1988 started to openly fight to clear Murrieta's name.[8] A 2009 Desert Magazine article notes that the legendary movie bandito Zorro was based on the California legend of Joaquin Murrieta.[9] According to the "Association of Descendants of Joaquin Murrieta", he was not a "gringo eater"; instead, his goal was to reclaim the portion of Mexico lost through the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.[10][8] The pulp writer Johnston McCulley first created Zorro in 1919.[9]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Joaquin Murrieta" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Daily Alta California 18 December 1852 – California Digital Newspaper Collection", cdnc.ucr.edu (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Ron Erskine, "Joaquin Murrieta slept here", Morgan Hill Times, March 5, 2004. facts only, no text reused. morganhilltimes.com
  3. Wikipedia, "Joaquin Murrieta" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: The Statutes of California passed at the Fourth Session of the Legislature, George Kerr, State Printer, 1853, p. 194 An Act to Create a Company of Rangers (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "Joaquin Murrieta" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Review: Roaring Camp: The Social World of the California Gold Rush", American Scholar, January 1, 2000, p. 142 Vol. 69 No. 1 . (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "Joaquin Murrieta" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Frank F. Latta, Joaquin Murrueta and His Horse Gangs, Santa Cruz, California: Bear State Books,1980. xv, 685 pages. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "Joaquin Murrieta" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Ron Erskine, "Joaquin Murrieta slept here", Morgan Hill Times, March 5, 2004; "California State Rangers", California State Military Museum, 1940 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  7. Wikipedia, "Joaquin Murrieta" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Review: Roaring Camp: The Social World of the California Gold Rush", American Scholar, January 1, 2000, p. 142 Vol. 69 No. 1 .; Ron Erskine, "Joaquin Murrieta slept here", Morgan Hill Times, March 5, 2004 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  8. Bacon, "Interview with Antonio Rivera Murrieta", December 15, 2001. facts only, no text reused. dbacon.igc.org
  9. "El Bandito Joaquin Murrieta", Desert Magazine, December 30, 2009. facts only, no text reused. federicodecalifornia.wordpress.com
  10. Wikipedia, "Joaquin Murrieta" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Bacon, "Interview with Antonio Rivera Murrieta", December 15, 2001 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Joaquin Murrieta (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

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Sources

Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.

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