Tiburcio Vasquez
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Tiburcio Vasquez (August 11 1839-March 19, 1875) was a Mexican bandit who was active in California from as early as 1857 to his last capture in 1874. Vasquez Rocks, the steep, sloped rocks about 40 miles north of Los Angeles, was one of his many hideouts.
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Early exploits
At the age of 17, Vasquez had run afoul of the law, indirectly involved with the 1852 slaying of Constable William Hardmount while at a local fandango. A slightly built man perhaps 130 pounds and 5 feet 7 inches in height, he seemed not the type to go terrorizing the populace. Yet he chose to learn crime from his older friend, Anastacio Garcia, and became a bandit.
His excuse for his crimes was alleged discrimination and being slighted by the gringo norteamericanos - caucasian North Americans - and held the belief that by his thievery, he could perhaps regain California for his country of origin, Mexico (as California was part of Mexico at his birth).
By 1856 Vasquez was horse rustling horses by the hundreds, and becoming seasoned in this activity. His first encounter with San Quentin occurred while making the mistake of selling his horses too soon - a sheriff's posse caught up with him near Newhall. He spent five years behind bars while at that notorious prison.
After his release, he had some half-hearted attempts to lead a law abiding life, but would return again and again to becoming a holdup man, horsethief and stage robber. As a result, he suffered more time at San Quentin in three stays.
His last years - a household name
His fame - as it was - as a lawbreaker was still not anywhere near that of Joaquin Murietta. But in 1873 Vasquez and his gang of desperados committed a sensational murder and robbery - three men were killed and $200 (USD) was taken from Tres Pinos, in San Benito County south of Hollister. Vasquez, who up to this point was only a garden variety criminal, became a household name in the northern and central parts of California. Posses were sent out and Governor Newton Booth offered a $1,000 (USD) reward - which shortly was greatly increased.
A badly wanted man, Vasquez headed south. With his two most trusted compadres - partners and friends - he made his way (acquiring a comely married woman friend and her husband along the way while moving south) over Tejon Pass through the Antelope Valley and found rest at Jim Heffner's ranch at Elizabeth Lake. This lake is at present day Lake Elizabeth around 20 miles west of present day downtown Palmdale. From that lake Vasquez traveled to Littlerock Creek. This was Vasquez's first Southern California extended hideout.
The tale gets detailed on many small moves at this point. One thing Vasquez was was a womanizer - he got the woman friend he met in the San Joaquin Valley pregnant, which bogged him down for a short while. As a result, he abandoned her in the San Gabriel Mountains alone. He returned to the San Joaquin Valley, specifically Kingston in Fresno County for another robbery on December 26, 1873, and then headed south with $2,500 (USD) in jewelry and cash ill-gotten.
News of this shocked Californians. Governor Booth was authorized by the legislature to spend $15,000 (USD) to bring Vasquez to justice. Posses in Santa Clara, Monterey, San Joaquin, Fresno, and Tulare Counties were formed to track him and his gang down. In January, 1874, the Governor offered $3,000 (USD) for his capture alive, and $2,000 (USD) if brought back dead (raised in February, 1874 to $8,000 (USD) and $6,000 (USD) respectively). Alameda County Sheriff Harry Morse, the most famous lawman in all of the Golden State, was also placed on Vasquez' tail.
First heading south towards the Bakersfield area, he and his gang made it through (probably) Walker Pass to the rock promontory now known as "Robbers Roost" - on account of Vasquez' and his gang's exploits there. This was a point on what today is California State Highway 14 - the Midland Trail just southwest of its intersection with California State Highway 178. Here Vasquez and his gang could rob stagecoaches of silver from mines near Owens Lake that were headed to Los Angeles.
This was done, and the rewards were meager: just $250 (USD) of coin, with some jewelry and gold watches thrown in. Vasquez also shot in the leg a recalcitrant man who was drunk and didn't obey orders from the bandit. Because of this, this route's stage would subsequently add a shotgun rider beside the driver.
Then it was on to Elizabeth Lake and Soledad Canyon below it, robbing a stage of $300 (USD), stealing six horses and a wagon near present day Acton and generally harassing certain travelers in the area by relieving them of watches and small sums of cash. During this period, Vasquez was believed to be hiding out in the rocks which now bear his name: Vasquez Rocks.
For the next two months after the above spree, he could not be traced by posses looking for him. He was believed to possibly be in the Chilao area of present day Angeles National Forest, but the record is not conclusive.
Vasquez' fatal error which led to his capture was to stay in the Cahuenga mountains (today's Hollywood Hills) at the place called "Greek George's" ranch, located on the San Fernando Valley side of the Cahuengas. Greek George was previously a camel driver for General Beale while in the Army. The efforts of one of the sheriffs - Alameda County's Harry Morse, who had that $8,000 reward in mind - and the weaknesses of Tiburcio Vasquez - easy access to food and to women - resulted in Vasquez' capture on May 13, 1874. The capture was at Greek George's residence, believed to be in present day West Hollywood. Morse never did get the State of California's reward money however, which was given to Los Angeles County sheriff William Rowland instead.
News of this capture excited residents of Los Angeles, and the news spread over the city. Vasquez stayed in the Los Angeles County jail for nine days while this news spread statewide. Vasquez had requests from many newspaper reporters while in this jail, but allowed only three reporters - two from the San Francisco Chronicle and one from the Los Angeles Star to interview him. He insisted that his intentions were just in seeking the return of California to Mexico, he was an honorable man, and that he had never killed anyone.
Removed to San Francisco in late May, 1874 via steamship and eventually standing trial in San Jose Vasquez became a type of celebrity and a folk hero to fellow Spanish speaking Hispanic Californians. Nevertheless, he was sentenced to hang to death in a January, 1875 jury trial presided over by judge David Belden. The trial took all of four days and the jury deliberated for two hours before declaring him guilty of two counts of murder in the Tres Pinos incident.
His fame not over yet, Vasquez' visitors to his jail cell eventually were numbered by the thousands as he awaited the day of his hanging. These were mostly women. He would sign autographs and pose for photographs, and was seen by all as a charming fellow. Clemency was denied by Governor Romualdo Pacheco.
Vasquez calmly met his fate on March 19, 1875 in San Jose, California where he was hanged.
Quotes
- "A spirit of hatred and revenge took possession of me. I had numerous fights in defense of what I believed to be my rights and those of my countrymen. I believed we were unjustly deprived of the social rights that belonged to us." (dictated before his hanging in order to explain his actions)
- "Pronto." (Quick) (the only word Vasquez spoke from the gallows)
Places named after Vasquez
- Vasquez Rocks
- Vasquez day use area in the Angeles National Forest
- Vasquez High School of the Acton Agua Dulce Unified School District - named after the Rocks, not the bandit, after much debate by district parents. The athletic teams are named the Mustangs and not the Bandits, contrary to rumor.
Sources and external links
- Tiburcio Vasquez in Southern California: The Bandit's Last Hurrah (http://www.californiahistory.com/sample.html)
- Tiburcio Vasquez, Bandit (http://www.usc.edu/isd/archives/la/scandals/vasquez.html)