The story of Hangtown
The following acount is taken from 'Hangtown' By Mary Crosley-Griffin
In January 1849, a Mexican gambler named Lopez had a lucky night at the gambling tables and retired to his room nearby. He was carrying enough gold dust to have attracted attention in the saloon where he had been playing. Not long after he had retired, five men entered his room and attempted to overpower him, intending to make off with his valuables. He fought back, and the noise of the struggle brought men rushing to his assistance. They managed to capture the robbers.
Theodore H Hittell wrote this version of what happened next.
“Since there was no court as yet, the miners organized into a sort of committee of vigilance, tried their prisoners, convicted them and sentenced each of the five to 39 lashes. The next day, which proved to be Sunday, was fixed as the time of punishment….Men came from all directions to witness the flogging. A large crowd collected around an oak tree, where each man was tied in turn. A guard of a dozen men pointed loaded rifles at the prisoners.”
After the flogging, which was applied with vigor, the men lay exhausted on the ground. Then someone stepped forward and shouted that three of the men – Garcia, Bissi, and Manual – were wanted for a robbery and attempted murder committed in a gold camp on the Stanislaus River some months before. With no more evidence than this angry accusation, nothing would satisfy the assembled men but that another “trial” should be held immediately on the new charges. The trial lasted thirty minutes and the guilty verdict seemed to be unanimous. Many of the men in the crowd had been drinking, and when the cries went up of “Hang ‘em! Hang ‘em!” there was little doubt that the fate of the three men was sealed.