Joaquin Murieta

Joaquin Murieta was born in Sonora, Mexico. His real last name was Carillo. As a young man, he moved to California with his sweetheart, Rosita Feliz. They settled in the Calaveras foothills, where he worked in the mines. He changed his name to Murieta. However, Americans did not like Mexicans working in the mine and beat him as a warning. The couple moved to a remote area and took up farming. They were warned there too. They moved again to Murphy’s Diggings, where he worked in a mine and a gambling hall. Things seemed to going okay when his brother joined them there.

Murieta’s outlaw career began about 1850, when his brother was beaten and killed for a crime he did not commit. He swore vengeance against those who killed him. Soon after the killing, members of the lynch mob started during up dead. Within a month, fifteen men were killed. The last five left the country to escape death.

Murieta rode north with his wife to Marysville, where he recruited an outlaw gang to take vengeance on all Americans. Soon he had 50men. Some of them were Manuel Garcia (a.k.a. Three-Fingered Jack), Joaquin Valenzuela, Pedro Gonzalez, Luis Vulvia, and Claudio. Even Rosita rode with them on occasion.

They began a reign of terror in which they robbed villagers, stole animals, burned houses, and killed people. And he always got away since other villagers had sworn loyalty and held him hide out, gave him supplies, or gave false information.

About 1852, he turned his attention to robbing stagecoaches. With all the gold coming out of the hills, it should be very profitable. He began hitting stages in the Mokelumne Hill area. He never robbed the California Stage Company because the driver, Joe Bryan, occasionally supplied him with provisions. They also killed and robbed several Chinese prospectors. He killed a Los Angeles sheriff named Wilson, who had threatened to bring him in.

Finally Major General Joshua H. Bean, from the state militia, set out after the bandit. He sent men out over a wide area. But Murieta found out about it and ambushed the general and killed him near the San Gabriel mission. Texan captain Harry Love took over and actually captured and killed one of the leaders named Gonzales. They also captured and killed Reyes Feliz, Rosita’s brother, for the death of the general. Shortly after that a gun battle followed and 20 more bandits lie dead.

It did not discourage Murieta however. Shortly afterward he and his men robbed a schooner near Stockton. There was a short gun battle in which he lost two of his men. But he got away with $20,000 in gold.

In May 1853, Love was authorized by the state government to take 20 men and kill the bandit. On July 18, 1853, he was able to catch him off-guard, cut off from most of his compadres in a canyon. He tried to escape, but they shot his horse. Then a few seconds later, he was shot dead too, at just 22 years of age. They were also able to kill Three-Fingered Jack. The rest of the band broke up. Love took Murieta’s head and Jack’s hand back tot own as evidence they were dead.

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Copyright 2000 by Beth Gibson

Source: Great Stagecoach Robbers of the West by Eugene B. Block

Last updated: 5/29/00