MUST SEE, MUST READ
THE MAN FROM THE RIO GRANDE: A BIOGRAPHY OF HARRY LOVE, LEADER OF THE CALIFORNIA RANGERS WHO TRACKED DOWN JOAQUIN MURRIETA
(2005, by William B. Secrest): The best extant account of a gold rush lawman, Secrest’s book starts with Love’s early life, from his service in the Mexican War to scouting and exploring expeditions along the Rio Grande. The narrative centers on his leadership of the California Rangers during their epic 1853 manhunt for bandit Murrieta and cohorts and ends with Love’s own 1868 death in the wake of a gunfight.
The Legend of Joaquín Murrieta: California’s Gold Rush Bandit (1995, by James F. Varley): This well-researched book contains a trove of previously unpublished information about America’s most infamous Hispanic outlaw. Unlike many authors, dating back to the 1930s, Varley avoids myths and unreliable oral history and sticks to the facts he uncovered through exhaustive research into primary sources on Murrieta.
Let Justice Be Done: Crime and Politics in Early San Francisco (1989, by Kevin J. Mullen): This is the most comprehensive history of vigilantism in gold rush–era San Francisco. Author Mullen was a former deputy police chief of San Francisco. He and Bill Secrest (see review at left) were the foremost historians of crime, law enforcement and vigilantism in frontier California.
Devil on Horseback: A Biography of the Notorious Jack Powers (1975, by Dudley T. Ross): This well-researched book relates the life of one of the most notable outlaws of the gold rush era. Author and former Associated Press reporter Ross, the father of Western actress Katherine Ross, produced the only biography of gambler, horseman, bandit and murderer Powers.
Gold Dust & Gunsmoke: Tales of Gold Rush Outlaws, Gunfighters, Lawmen and Vigilantes (1999, by John Boessenecker): This is my contribution. It remains the only published general history of violence during the California Gold Rush, dealing with everything from Joaquín Murrieta to lynchings to bull-and-bear fighting, the most popular—and most violent—gold rush sport. “Boessenecker has done as much as anyone to change and illuminate California’s Wild West image,” wrote Leon Metz in a review of the book for Wild West (see historynet.com).
MOVIES
(1935, on DVD): Titled after San Francisco’s red-light district, this romantic adventure set during the gold rush stars Joel Mc-Crea, Miriam Hopkins and Edward G. Robinson. Directed by Howard Hawks, the film was based on a bestselling 1933 book of the same (1927). Though Asbury wrote fiction, his books are remarkably accurate relative to the loose standards of the era in which he wrote.
