LIFE SKETCHES OF A JAYHAWKER 39 



road. We passed along the road, but didn't see anybody. The next day 

 there was a teamster going to San Juan Capistrano with a load of goods. 

 a four-horse team, and these robbers came out and commenced shooting. As 

 quicltly as he could he got one of his leaders loose from the wagon and made 

 his escape. I saw him when he came in and he had a bullet hole through 

 his shirt. As soon as the robbery was reported, the sheriff, Jim Barton, 

 from Los Angeles, raised a posse of men and started for the place. Five 

 of them being in the party. They found the robbers without any trouble 

 and there was but one that came back alive, the sheriff and the three others 

 being killed. 



Before I go any further I will say that we three had twenty-one thous- 

 and dollars with us and how we came to escape without being molested was 

 a mystery to everyone. It was barely possible that they thought we were 

 too heavily armed as each of us had our Navy in the bolster on our sad- 

 dles. There was two things that may have saved us, one was that they 

 didn't know we had any money, and the other and greater reason, was that 

 they knew if they attacked us some of them would very likely get pretty 

 badly hurt, at all events I was pretty well satisfied that the affair turned 

 out just as it did. The funeral of the members of the posse was largely 

 attended as the men were quite prominent and especially the sheriff, Jim 

 Barton. He was buried by the Masons. Immediately after the funeral the 

 w^hole country turned out to capture this band of outlaws. Andrus Pico, 

 brother of Ex-Governor Pio Pico, raised a company of one hundred native 

 Californians and started in pursuit. They overtook the robbers and shot 

 them down just as the notion took them, until the whole band was exterm- 

 inated; all but two; one of whom was the leader of the band, named Rosero. 

 These two made their escape into Mexico. Pico said his men had made a 

 pretty good killing anyway. They had gotten forty-three out of forty-five. 

 The whole outfit were Spanish on both sides, so the country was rid of the 

 worst band of desperadoes that had ever infested that part of the country 

 and no fuss made about it either. Soon after things had quieted down a 

 little my partner and myself started out to meet a band of sheep that were 

 being driven into New Mexico and we wanted to meet them just out on the 

 edge of the desert. On our second day's travel night came on and we were 

 still far from any house. Finally we reached a house where we saw a light 

 and rode up to the door. The light went out and we tried for some time to 

 get an answer to our calls. Finally a man appeared at the door and gave 

 answer and we told him we would like to stay there for the night. "Oh!" 

 says he, "it is impossible as we have no provisions and nothing for your 

 horses to eat, but go on a little further where they have plenty." So the 

 only thing to do was to proceed. We travelled for miles and miles as it 

 appeared to us, because our horses were getting pretty tired and people at 

 the house we came to said the same thing, for us to go to the next place. 



The next place we came to was all dark, as it was now about midnight 

 We hailed them as we had done at the other places, but not a sound could 

 we get, so I told Sam, that was the man who was with me, that we would 

 stay there anyway. I dismounted and went and tried the door, but it was 

 bolted good and solid. I told Sam that it looked as if they did not intend 

 to entertain us at this place so we went down on the flat below the house 

 where there were some willows and tried to make a fire, as it was a cold. 



