154 ELDORADO 



party remained outside while he entered and demanded 

 Allen's surrender. The latter responded by leveling a 

 double-barreled shotgun and firing the whole charge 

 into the Sheriff's breast, killing him instantly. Sev- 

 eral shots were then fired at Allen, wounding him se- 

 verely, but he made his escape. The brave young 

 Sheriff was followed to his grave by the bereaved wife 

 and a large number of sympathizing friends. Upon 

 the side of what was claimed to be the party of "law 

 and order" were Lieutenant-Governor McDougal, J. R. 

 Hardenberg, Col. Kewen, Eugene P\ Gillespie and Sam 

 Brannan — names familiar in the early annals of Cali- 

 fornia. Identified with the settlers' interests were 

 Gov. John Bigler, Judge Hastings, Senator Colby and 

 John H. McKune, of the law firm of McKune & 

 Crocker. Mr. McKune was subsequently District 

 Judge of Sacramento county for eleven years. Dur- 

 ing a heated discussion with a Southern fire-eater upon 

 the question of dividing the State, making one-half 

 free and the other slave, the latter became so infuri- 

 ated that he thrust a sword cane through AIcKune"s 

 body and for several weeks his life was despaired of. 

 He was carefully nursed back to health again by his 

 friends. While I was canvassing the county for the 

 Legislature in 1852 he was my political asosciate. He 

 was one of nature's noblemen and performed an im- 

 portant part in the organization of the Republican 

 party in California in 1856. Judge Crocker was a 

 brother of Charles Crocker, one of the builders of the 

 Southern Pacific railway. Charley Crocker had a dry 

 goods store on J street, between Third and Fourth, 

 where, after my marriage and settlement on the Con- 

 sumnes I did mv trading. C. P. Huntington and 



