Keeping in mind the end result is the infamous adventures of Joaquin Murrieta, I am attempting to answer the question: How does a man of such promise end up with his head in a jar? In so doing I am on a trail that includes not only his last moments on earth but his pillage of the California goldfields, and to understand this, the history of the Anglo conquest of the state. One pivotal character was John Fremont, who, by all accounts, cut a dashing figure, trumpeting the Bear Flag around and raising the banner of Manifest Destiny. Known as ‘the Pathfinder,’ Fremont’s commission was as a cartographer and explorer in the US Army, and he was one of the more adventurous personalities of his time. He also played a vital role in the ‘acquisition’ of California. Married to the beautiful, trilingual daughter of Senator Benton from Tennessee, who, with her father helped commandeer the ethos of Manifest Destiny into Fremont’s expeditions, as well as write up the reports that made him a celebrity, was about as fairy-tale a wife as one could imagine. The financial backing to fund his 25 or so hand picked Yankee buckaroos, who, along with the famed explorer and injun’ scout, Kit Carson, would have been considerable. The army sponsored the expedition, but the diverse and skilled hand-picked crew, suggests arrangements outside of normal government channels. Manifest Destiny had a hefty following at this time, fueled by the notion that god wills it so, and all the fervor this blood drenched incentive includes. So when he entered the state from the north in 1846 and raised the stars and stripes over the Presidio at San Francisco, there was a lot of ballyhooing, and saber rattling, and just as quickly Fremont vanished in the San Francisco fog, or more accurately back to Sutter’s Fort. In addition to Kit Carson’s fee, things like camping out at Sutter’, with his endorsement, was not quartered, but included at minimum a quid pro quo – to have a hand in the spoils of a liberated California. Sutter was a Swiss Anglo, who built a traditional medieval fort with impregnable walls and gun emplacements, out in the middle of, then, nowhere, now, Sacramento, in some sort of flight of aristocratic fancy, fashioning himself as the new royalty, complete with surrounding serfdom, (some call slavery) from the local population of disenfranchised Native Americans, and of course Mexicans. Sutter’s greatest hold on history is the gold that was first discovered at his saw mill. He was working on a saw that could harness the power of water to cut boards, instead of the manual intensive two man saw, then used exclusively, when the first nugget was spied in the diverted creek. But I’m getting ahead of myself. At Sutter’s Fort, Fremont then proceeded to play a cat and mouse game with Californio governor Pio Pico, (taunting the Mexican alcalde governor from the edge civilization meant that some kind of military campaign had to be launched, and Pico neither had the heart nor the money) Within months, Fremont meets Archibald Gillespie – Lieutenant in the American Navy, who had just sailed in from Hawaii – to shore up the coup. Gillespie, of course, under orders from the US government, no doubt to seize the state at all costs, but do so surreptitiously, was a critical piece of the puzzle. Keep in mind, the US had not yet declared war on Mexico.

First meeting Thomas Larkin in Monterey, before engaging Fremont off the coast of Oregon, he was charged with delivering his dispatch; a couple of years earlier, in 1844, Larkin was appointed American Council – whatever that means, and was the first American born Californio in the state. That is to say, the first born to an American family in California – ie: White Anglo decent. Larkin was a colorful dude in his own right, a builder who designed the Monterey Colonial, which in architecture embodies the blend of cultures colliding at this time – adobe with the second story porch, in a style found in Virginia, or North Carolina. To cut to the chase, Larkin, Fremont, Sutter, and company, were up to their teeth. Fremont ends up boarding ship in Monterey Bay, sailing into Los Angeles and taking over the town, more or less, without much of a fight. After the battle of San Pasqual, in San Diego, Pio Pico, a true Califonrnio, and legally appointed governor, was banished to Baja for a time, and will play a role in the legend of Joaquin when the dust settles over who owns the state. The gold dust that is. Keep in mind Murrieta is roughly 16 at this time, and would have known of, or come to know, Pico, Fremont and certainly Sutter.

Sonora, Mexico, where Murrieta was born, was initially under the oversight of the Jesuits, who, in their mission ethos, integrated the native peoples rather than dominated them. One of the practices was to use the vaquero, indigenous cowboys, who had, by the time of Murrieta's day, learned to work the Spanish horse over generations. The mission culture and the church would have shaped his character at a young age, both as a horseman and in his education. This introduces the theme of racism from an angle that is nuanced, but significant. Racism is said to play a large role in understanding Murrieta's actions as a thief and killer; it is a major aspect of California history at this time, the 'gold bug' culture, the Vigilance Committee, the lynchings of Mexicans, are examples, the slaughter of the grizzly, might be another - and he would not have seen himself as openly defying the church - or at least been able to make some justification for his murderous spree. Junipero Serra was a Franciscan; a fervent missionary who 'relished physical suffering and self mortification', and not the liberal ideals of the Jesuits. The church may have had little or no influence on Murrieta, but he may have been able to maintain at least some identity with the Catholic Church through the Jesuits, And if we - and this is pure speculation - add this to his other well known indictments of racism, we can get an idea of how one might develop a desperado's psychology. A further complexity lies in his ethnic identity, Murrieta would have seen himself as white, but also native to Mexico, able to trace his roots through Spanish blood, and also connected to the earth, as only an indigenous people can be. It is this lineage, the lineage of the Spanish vaquero, that would have given him a right of passage in California; a rite that would have led him to the Panoche Pass through the San Benito Mountains and along a road very near to the one I'm on now. We're above the turn off to Clear Creek, and I have passed by, stopped, inspected, or scaled almost every gate that looks like it goes anywhere. All are locked, none have signs except: No Trespassing  - no trail head, no opportunity no way, and it seems my quest to reach the ridge has been thwarted - but only for a time. I'm done for the day, I have to teach a zoom class tomorrow, and there is no wi fi out here, so it's back to LA. I will reconnoiter and return as soon as I can, for another day. 

I was hesitant to jump the fence in this neck of the woods, everyone out here has a rifle. But two things motivate me, the light and the oaks.As I walk under the branches I am reminded of a poem about a mountain that holds you in its spell so completely that you forget everything you have ever been. The mountain, the trail, the tree remain, but nothing of your past.

Once you have had a thing and then lost it
is it like you never had it
or is the story that remains
like a shadow of a dream you can’t quite remember?

April 12, 2021 – Modified trail – Joaquin Rocks almost adjacent to Cantua Creek, not listed on this map, but to the right, a quick drop to the valley and less than a hour on a good horse. The running gun battle with Harry Love could have started here, The outcrop at Joaquin Rocks is the most formidable in the area, the perfect bandit hideout. This is BLM land, old mining country, open face scars and slag piles, if I dont find Joaquin’s treasure, a concho, or at least a bullet casing, I am sure to get a photo or two. I’ll know more about it, end of the week.