The Life and Adventures of Joaquín Murieta: The Celebrated California Bandit (1854) was published by John Rollin Ridge, writing as "Yellow Bird". It is considered to be one of the first novels written in California and the first novel to be published by a Native American., p. 33 The novel describes the life of a legendary bandit named Joaquín Murrieta who was once a dignified citizen of Mexico. The protagonist turns to a life of crime after traveling to California during the California gold rush.
Published as a fictional biography, the book was taken as truth by many historians of the time., p. 95 The novel received mass attention and was translated to various European languages, including French and Spanish., p. 107 The novel was also highly plagiarized and Ridge never received the economic gain he hoped for., p. 112
Author biography
John Rollin Ridge was born in the Cherokee Nation in New Echota in 1827 (now Georgia). He was given the Cherokee name Chees-quat-a-law-ny, or Yellow Bird. His father Major Ridge and grandfather were assassinated in 1839 after Indian Removal, for having ceded communal lands by the Treaty of Echota in 1825. In 1850, Ridge killed a man over a horse dispute, but suspected him of being involved in his father's murder. Ridge fled to Missouri and then to California in 1850, where he attempted to try his luck in the Gold Rush. His wife and daughter joined him there.
After little success in mining, Ridge turned to newspaper companies for employment, and began writing articles. He also wrote The Life and Adventures of Joaquín Murieta (1854), a fictional account of an outlaw. He continued to work as a writer and editor for the Sacramento Bee and other newspapers. He died in Grass Valley, California in 1867.
Historical context: borderland literature The dime novel, intended for the general public, is an example of the literature of sensation and an early example of "borderland literature." The genre is believed to express the struggles of a person of mixed race or ethnicity to find his or her place while stuck between two very different worlds. These writings often include themes of transition, shifting identity, and allegiance. California, acquired by the United States in 1848 after the Mexican War, was an area where Anglo American, Native American, and Mexican cultures had been intermixing for hundreds of years. The novel expresses ethnic tensions in California after the Mexican War. Many Mexicans migrated to California after hearing about the Gold Rush there, hoping to be among those who struck it rich.
American discrimination against Mexicans and Spanish-speaking people was ever-present. United States settlers passed the foreign miner's tax law in 1850, which required foreign miners to pay twenty dollars a month to mine gold; it primarily was targeted against Mexicans. (Less than one year later the law was declared to be unconstitutional and repealed.) Ridge's novel The Life and Adventures of Joaquín Murieta was the first English-language novel describing California's Mexican community after the Mexican War.
Chapter summaries
Chapter 1
Chapter one introduces Joaquín Murieta as a Mexican born in Sonora by "respectable parents", who eventually grew to disapprove of the uncertain state of Mexico at the time. He was described to have an "enthusiastic admiration of the American character"Ridge 1854, p. 9 and decided to risk his luck in the California Gold Rush when he was only 18 years old. His views of the Americans quickly began to change as he experienced racism and ridicule from the whites. A horrific scene is described by Rollin Ridge where a group of Americans, jealous of Murieta's mining success, beat him, tied him up, and then proceeded to rape his wife in front of him. Later, Ridge describes how Murieta, having recently received a horse from his half-brother whom he had just visited, was victimized by a mob that claimed the horse was stolen. Though Murieta expressed his disbelief and claimed to have no knowledge that the horse was stolen, the mob tied him to a tree, whipped him, then proceeded to his half-brother's house and hung him. At this time, Joaquín vowed that he would have his revenge on the Americans and slowly proceeded to murder the people involved in the mob. Joaquín, with the help of Manuel Garcia, Reyes Feliz, Claudio, Joaquín Valenzuela, Pedro Gonzales, and many others, began to steal horses and murder those who got in their way. Despite the various deaths and reports of theft in the area, Joaquín and his men were able to stay mostly anonymous with very few people knowing who the members of his gang and he were.
Chapter 2 Chapter 2 begins by John Rollin Ridge describing how Joaquín built up his band, known as the banditti. Though he hired Indians to help steal horses, the leaders of the gang were all Mexican. Joaquín was known to appear as a successful gambler by day, but then became the much-feared bandit by night. In fact, Rollin Ridge went so far as to say that Joaquín was “disguised the most when he showed his real features”., p. 38
Though rarely known to reveal himself, there are few accounts given where Joaquín appears to have broken this trend. One such case occurred at Mokelumne Hill, while Joaquín was visiting a local saloon. Here, he heard Americans discussing how they would kill him on the spot if they saw him. Ironically, Joaquín jumps on table and declares, "I am Joaquin! If there is any shooting to do, I am in.", p. 39 and walks out of the saloon before the villagers had time to react.
Being the infamous bandit that he was, many attempted to pursue Joaquín Murieta. Captain Harry Love was an express rider and Mexican War veteran, and had a history as infamous as Joaquín. Love followed the murders and robberies of the banditti to Rancho San Luis Gonzaga and nearly located Joaquín, who barely escapes unseen. Another man, the owner of Oris Timbers Rancho (from whom they robbed 20 horses) picks up Joaquín's trail and follows his band to Tejon Indian territory, where he makes deal with Indian chief Sapatarra in which he promises the chief half of the stolen horses if they are recovered by his tribe. Known to be a very cautious tribe, they capture Joaquín and men, bind them together, and steal back the horses. Eventually, they are tied to a tree and left with nothing.
At the end of the chapter, Reyes Feliz, a close companion of Joaquín's and a member of the banditti, is attacked by a grizzly bear and asks to be left to die with his lover, Carmelita.
Chapter 3 In much need of supply, Joaquín and his men meet with Mountain Jim, one of their friends, who gives them clothing, horses, and guns. Later, they both travel to where they left the wounded Reyes Feliz, and they find him much alive and able to sit up. Not soon after, Joaquín is informed that Capt. Harry Love, the same man who had been pursuing Joaquín earlier, had captured a member of his team, named Gonzalez. Joaquín goes out to rescue Gonzales, but when Love sees Joaquín following him, he shoots Gonzales and flees.
After various robberies conducted by the team of bandits, General Bean, another man in pursuit of one of Joaquín's band members named Claudio, was spotted near San Gabriel, California. Joaquín conducted a surprise attack, and a member of the team named Three-fingered Jack stabbed Bean three times in the chest. Joaquín's team then arrives in the town of Jackson, California, where he sees a friend named Joe Lake, who was from "more honest and happy days".Ridge 1854, p. 70 He promises not to kill his friend and asks him to keep quiet about his band being near Jackson. However, his friend betrays his promise and Joaquín, much to his regret, kills him.
Chapter 4 Chapter four begins with the death of Joaquín's close comrade and his lover's (Rosita's) brother, Reyes Feliz, who is pronounced dead in the newspaper. Feliz's love, Carmelita, had wandered away in sorrow and was found frozen to death.
Only a few days later, a Mexican who claimed to know a friend of Joaquín's, warned of a band of armed Americans pursuing Joaquín and his gang. Joaquín, instead of fleeing, decides to surprise the group of Americans and a bloody battle ensues between 45 of Joaquín's men and 50 Americans. The battle ends with about 20 dead on both sides (including Joaquín's dear friend Claudio) and an unspoken stalemate. While the group was resting and healing from battle, news that Mountain Jim, the man who had so graciously provided clothing and weapons to Joaquín earlier, had been hung in San Diego.
Chapter 5 In chapter five, Rollin Ridge describes how other members of Joaquín's gang were blood-thirsty killers, such as Three-fingered Jack, who chased a poor, wandering Chinaman with a knife just for fun. Joaquín, though, was often kind and noble, as was displayed when the band was traveling to Stockton, California. Arriving at a river, Joaquín demanded that a ferryman take them across the river and give them all his money. When the man was revealed to have only had $100, Murieta said, "I will not take it, you are a poor man, and you never injured me. Put us over the river, and I will pay you for your trouble.", pp. 96–97 After arriving in Stockton, Joaquín saw an advertisement offering a $5,000 reward for him, dead or alive. Joaquín is known to have added, "I will give $10,000. JOAQUÍN", in pencil in front of a dozen unknowing villagers. He then departed before anybody could stop him. Having walked around the town afterwards in disguises, Joaquín heard of several successful miners who were going to be bringing in a large sum of gold by means of a nearby river. He quickly informed his group, and they managed to gather $20,000 worth of gold after a shootout on the boat transporting the miners.
After, Joaquín Murieta and his group met up at Arroyo Cantoova, a rendezvous point. Greeting Joaquín were 1,000 horses grazing in the valley, all gathered by Valenzuela, and 100 of his men. At this rendezvous point, Joaquín made a speech of his imminent goals to arm 2,000 men and travel to the southern counties, where he will "kill the Americans 'wholesale'"., p. 110 Then, he claims, that his comrades and he will be finished with their villainous behavior, divide their earnings, and live in peace.
Chapter 6 Chapter six begins with the death of Guerra, one of Joaquín's men. Though many claim he died in his sleep due to an overconsumption of alcohol, the truth is that his wife had murdered him with a bit of hot lead dripped into his ear. Later, Joaquín decided to go to Calaveras County, one of the richest counties in California during the Gold Rush, and a highly sought-after destination for miners of the time. Ridge describes one instance where Joaquín approached 25 miners camping outside their mine. He greeted them with such good English that the miners could not tell if he were Mexican or American, and invited him down to eat with them. He declined the offer and sat on his horse to rest until a man named Jim Boyce came out and identified him as Joaquín Murieta. Furious at his men for not attacking, he yells at them to fire. They chase him to a cliff, where a very narrow miners' path along the mountain was the only escape. The fearless Joaquín, on his horse, dashed across the trail and barely escaped. Later, Joaquín forms a plan to travel several days, amounting to over 40 miles, in a circle, to trick Boyce and his miners into following a false trail. Then, Joaquín attacked them in the night and killed many of Boyce's men, while at the same time accumulating $30,000 from the dead men left behind.
Chapter 7