A Dead Man's Hand -- The Murder of Poker Tom

(Copyright: J. Rubio)

It's widely known throughout history that many men have lost their lives around a poker table, or because of gambling. Sensational stories told over the years such as the death of Wild Bill Hickok at the hands of Jack McCall in the No. 10 Saloon of Deadwood, South Dakota, might come to mind. Even the narrative about Fred Chisholm, a young gambler who was shot to death after cheating and running out during a game at a Chinese casino in Locke, California, is another one I recall off hand.

It appears that when it comes to money and gambling, the two do not mix well, at least not when you are on the losing end. Famous poker champion Doyle Brunson was once quoted saying, "Poker is war. People pretend it's a game," and that statement appears to be right "on the money."

In the end of May, 1891, in a little town known as Bridgeport, California, two individuals would cross paths with one another, and set in motion events that would ultimately seal both of their fates. The two people in this story went by the names Ah Quong Tia and Poker Tom.  Ah Tia was a Chinese merchant who ran a business in Bridgeport, while Poker Tom was a Piute Indian who lived on the Walker River Reservation just east of Yerington, Nevada.  According to all the recorded documentation, it appears that Poker Tom came to Bridgeport to purchase some calico and ended up spending a few nights gambling with the Chinese. The first night that he was there he played in a poker game with a few people, which included Ah Tia. The night resulted with Tom winning some pretty good money. Since Ah Tia had lost, and wanting to win back his money, he offered Poker Tom to come to his store the next evening and have a private game, just the two of them.  Poker Tom accepted and the plans were set.

The next evening, Poker Tom arrived at Ah Tia's store, who quickly locked the doors behind him and began their game to settle scores. Five local Indians had passed by Ah Tia's store that night, and when they tried to enter the business they found the door to be locked. So they peeked through a hole in the window curtain and saw Ah Tia and Poker Tom playing cards. They thought nothing more of it, and went on their way. What really happened next will forever remain a mystery, since there were no eye witnesses to confirm or deny the stories. Some say that Tom won again, which infuriated Ah Tia, who in turn attacked and killed the Indian. Other versions of the story claim that Poker Tom lost the game, and in anger he attacked Ah Tia, which led to a fight, where ultimately Tom was killed. Either variation ultimately ended with the same result, Tom was dead.

So what did Ah Tia do? Did he contact the Sheriff and tell him that he acted in self-defense and that he had been attacked by the Indian? Nope. Did he try to get help from anyone? Nope. Instead, he dragged the body to the kitchen and began hacking it to pieces. First he cut off the legs, and the arms, and then the head and packed them in brine. Then he gutted the torso, carefully removing the organs and chopping them up into small pieces. The gutted trunk of his body was then thrown into the river.

He took the time to meticulously clean the front room of his store, reapplying new wall paper to the bloody walls, attempting to cover up any sign of foul play. He was seen scrubbing and re-scrubbing his floors, which according to newspaper reports were clearly blood stained. If that wasn't bad enough, he boiled up flesh he had saved from Tom's body, and prepared meals with it. To add insult to injury, several reports claim that Ah Tia went out of his way to invite some of the local Indians over to enjoy a "feast" that he had cooked up---which subsequently was his way of getting rid of the evidence. Even Tom's brined legs were cut into chops and sold that week for 6 cents a pound, under the guise that it was goat meat. No one suspected a thing, at least for the moment.

It wasn't until a few weeks later that some of the Indians from Tom's tribe began to worry about their friend after his horse came back to the reservation by itself, unsaddled and without it's bridle. It was then that they came to Bridgeport to look for him. The natives from the Walker River Reservation gathered up some of the local Mono Lake Indians and they discussed the situation, asking if they knew anything about the disappearance of Tom. Some remembered that he had been seen playing cards with Ah Tia in his store the night he disappeared, but when questioned, Ah Tia denied having seen him at all. They knew that was a lie, and so they were certain now that he had done something to their friend. They searched the area for any sign of Poker Tom, finding some of the calico he had purchased and his reservation coat at the outskirts of town.

At one point Sheriff Cody came by, at the request of the Indians, and even the Sheriff found a bullet hole in the wall, that Ah Tia had tried to cover up with new wallpaper. Ah Tia blamed "red ink" for the red stains on the walls and floors, that he seemed to be seen continuously scrubbing clean. Later on some of the natives fished the headless torso out of the river, identifying it as that of Poker Tom.

An native woman, known as the wife of Mono Lake Indian "Lundy" came forward claiming that her husband and Tom were drunk the day he disappeared and that he and his friends probably killed him. It turns out though that Lundy had left his wife, and she had been shacking up with none other than Ah Tia! It was assumed that she tried to place blame on her estranged husband and his friends to draw attention away from Ah Tia, the real murderer.  At this point the situation was getting heated. The Walker River Indians were ready to kill some of the Mono Lake Indians in retaliation, thinking that they killed one of their men. Eventually the story sorted itself out and they all turned their eyes back to the real monster, Ah Tia.

Knowing that the Indians were closing in on him, Ah Tia willingly confessed to the Sheriff that he was responsible for the death of Poker Tom, claiming that he was acting in self defense after being attacked by Tom during their card game. Of course there was no way to prove his story, but the authorities knew they had enough to charge him for the murder and so they held him in the jail, which was also at the request of Ah Tia.

It appears that perhaps the locals didn't want to deal with this issue, although legally they were supposed to. Maybe they knew that if they didn't let the Indians deal with the situation their way, they might have had to deal with hostilities later on from both tribes. To avoid any further issue, the Justice of the Peace dropped all charges. Of course this choice would come back to bite the town in the rear later, but it was what it was. And so when Ah Tia was released, the constable went out onto the street and yelled out the verdict. It was then that Ah Tia realized what waited for him outside the courthouse. He begged the authorities to protect him, he asked anyone to be his hired bodyguards and he offered compensation, but no one volunteered. As for the Sheriff, he went to his office and shut the door. Everyone knew that if Ah Tia was set free that meant a certain death for him, but given the circumstances of his previous actions, I doubt anyone felt sorry for the position Ah Tia found himself in.

When the Indians learned he had been acquitted, several of them charged to the courthouse and dragged Ah Tia out to the streets, binding him with a rope and riding out of town with him dragging behind their horses. According to several newspaper accounts, including this one it states, "a half mile from town, the brother of Tom cut off one arm. The Chinaman cried piteously, but the Indians cut off the other arm. Then they cut off both legs and his head. They cut his breast open with a cleaver and scattered his entrails throughout the sage brush. Two hundred armed Indians were present, and the butchery was witnessed by two white men. As the Sheriff did not protest, no one interfered with the Indians."-- Los Angeles Herald, June 15, 1891.

Bridgeport Courthouse (Wikimedia Commons)

When it came time to hold the Indians accountable for their act, no one would come forward to identify the culprits, and thus nothing could be done further. The town was shamed in newspapers across the country, including law enforcement in the County, who were berated over and over for not following through with the set forms of law and order. According to the Grand Jury investigation quoted in the San Francisco Call, dated December 1, 1891, it states that after a two week session they had completed their final report.

"After a careful and thorough investigation, twenty-eight witnesses having been called and examined, we find that the Indian was murdered and cut in pieces by Ah Quong Tia; that Ah Quong Tia was charged with the murder by the Coroner's jury and was arrested on the Coroner's warrant; that the verdict of the Coroner's jury and the testimony taken by the Coroner were no immediately field with the Clerk of the Superior Court, nor were they delivered to the commuting magistrate as required by the Penal Code. We also find that at the preliminary examination the Justice refused to commit the accused to appear before the Superior Court, but discharged him from custody. In this we are of the opinion that Justice erred, for the evidence seemed amply sufficient. We further find that the Deputy District Attorney did not interpose any objection whatever when counsel for the defense moved for a dismissal, and that the defendant's attorney's urged his dismissal contrary to his expressed request, well knowing that their client would be murdered if left unprotected."--

Of course to the outsiders looking in it was easy to judge, it was easy to complain, but they were not the ones living in Bridgeport at the time. The locals lived among the native tribes and I believe that they didn't want to deal with issues later on over this one incident. The natives wanted an "eye for an eye"-- it was their justice to do to Ah Tia what he did to Poker Tom, and once they were finished they went home. The people in charge of the town looked the other way, not only to avoid possible hostilities with the Indians but I believe they didn't want to waste tax payers money on it either.

Many journals and newspapers blamed the "White Man" for his role in this story, even trying to insinuate that they egged the Indians on to take matters into their own hands. I think that is pretty pathetic that even back then someone had to go and start blaming others for this. The bottom line was that Ah Tia murdered and covered up the murder of Poker Tom. If it really was self defense he could have went to the Sheriff and explained, but the fact he covered it up, and then fed the dead man to who knows how many people in town, even selling his leg meat as goat chops, that is reason enough for the Indians to want to get revenge. They didn't need any coaxing from the townsfolk, that's for sure.

It appears that even back then, the media and even the court systems would find bias in one group over another. In this case they took the side of the Chinese man over the Native Americans. It seemed that Poker Tom's life, or brutal death didn't mean anything to the courts, yet they made the biggest spectacle over the way Ah Tia was treated. The last time I checked Ah Tia was the one who committed an atrocious murder and an even more heinous cover up. Poker Tom didn't kill anyone and there is no way to know if he truly attacked Ah Tia in the first place. It sounds to me like he had a lucky streak gambling but that Ah Tia made sure his luck ran out that night, one way or another.

Famous author Mario Puzo once wrote, "Show me a gambler, and I'll show you a loser." As much as Poker Tom won, he ultimately lost his life. And as fate would have it, Ah Quong Tia, thinking somehow he'd win back the money he lost, he ended up with the worst hand of all...the dead man's hand, which was really his own.

~~Thank you Roland for pointing me in the direction of this story!! ~~

(Copyright 2017- J'aime Rubio, www.jaimerubiowriter.com)

Photo of gambling paraphernalia: Copyright, J'aime Rubio
Photo of Courthouse: Wikimedia Commons

Sources:

San Francisco Call, June 11, 1891  

San Francisco Call, July 25, 1891 

Los Angeles Herald  June 15, 1891  

Los Angeles Herald,  June 11, 1891  

San Francisco Call  December 1, 1891  

Sacramento Daily Union , June 11, 1891  

Los Angeles Herald  December 1, 1891

Sacramento Daily Union  June 15, 1891  

Los Angeles Herald  November 20, 1891  

Sacramento Daily Union,  November 20, 1891  

Los Angeles Herald   July 25, 1891  

Weekly Courier,  June 20, 1891  

Scientific American,  January 16, 1892

Hidden History of the Hotel Ryde- Part Two

2nd Hotel Ryde (Ad)

In the last article, I spoke about the beginning of Ryde (the community), the origins of the Hotel Ryde and how the original hotel burned down in the fire of 1911.  So what happened after the fire?

Well, after the Giusti family moved their business across the river to the Miller's Ferry Station, the remaining residents of Ryde started rebuilding their businesses.

The 2nd Hotel Ryde

Let me first state this, the Ryde Hotel that stands today is not the original hotel, nor does it sit on the original spot that the first or second hotel stood. In fact, the parking lot of the current Ryde Hotel (just south of the hotel) is where both the original and 2nd hotel's once stood.  I spoke to lifetime resident and local historian, Dennis Leary in depth about his life in Ryde and he told me that the 2nd building that was used as the Hotel Ryde was rebuilt on the same spot as the original. When he bought the property in the 1970s, the building was still there but hadn't been used as the hotel since the mid-1920s.

I could not find any documents that state exactly when the 2nd building was erected, however it was rebuilt sometime before the 1920s, because I found some really interesting stories that took place at the Ryde during that time period. From what I read in old periodicals and what Mr. Leary told me, the hotel was rebuilt and run by the Gianetti family. Some accounts state that Joe Miller had the hotel rebuilt and he then leased it to the Gianetti family, while others stated the Gianetti family rebuilt the hotel.

Also, Remember, the current Hotel Ryde wasn't opened until 1927, so the stories you are about to read took place in the hotel that is no longer standing. If you go stand in the parking lot of the current Ryde Hotel, you will be standing in the vicinity where these next few stories took place.


Murder or Self-Defense?

Literally just days before the onset of the Prohibition Era in California, the Hotel Ryde saw a very tragic and scary incident take place in their saloon. On January 2, 1920, after two guests had one too many drinks in the bar area, the bartender Orlando Fontanini told the two patrons, Alex and Gunnar Johnson that they needed to leave. Of course, that didn't sit well with Alex and he grew angry. The bartender continued persisting that it was time for both of them to leave but that wasn't going to be the case. Instead Alex and Gunnar decided to jump over the counter at the bar and proceeded to attack the bartender, choking him. During the scuffle the bartender reached for his gun he kept under the bar and he shot Alex Johnson in self defense, killing him. Although, he adamantly stated that his life was at risk and he was only defending himself, Fontanini was charged with Alex Johnson's murder and was taken to jail. Gunnar Johnson was held as a witness.

Sausalito News (January 10, 1920)-

(See Photo)

"Sacramento--- Alex Johnston (typo), a carpenter, formerly residing in San Francisco at 3470 Twentieth Street, was shot and killed January 2 during a quarrel in the barroom of the Hotel Ryde at Ryde, Sacramento county. Orlando Fontanini, bartender at the hotel, was arrested and charged with murder. He said Alex Johnston and Gunnar Johnston, a companion had attacked him when he ordered them from the place. Fontanini said he shot in self-defense as he was being choked. Gunnar Johnston is being held as a witness.--"


Sacramento Bee (January 13, 1920)--
"The killing in Ryde January 1st of Alex JOHNSON was investigated and a verdict of death resulting from a gunshot wound inflicted by Orlando FONTANINI, was brought in. FONTANINI, who was a bartender at the Ryde Hotel, shot JOHNSON following an argument over the claring of the saloon. The bartender claimed he shot in self-defense after being attacked. He declared when he tried to close the place JOHNSON became abusive and attacked him. He said one of the men grabbed him by the throat and during the scuffle, he fired a revolver."

I looked into the story further and couldn't find whether or not Fontanini was later freed or if they convicted him of the charges.  Honestly, he shows up in the 1920 Census as being a servant for the Gianetti household, but then he drops off from any public records. The possible misspelling of the names Johnson and Johnston in various news clippings is actually quite common for the time period. However, according to the San Francisco Directory for 1920, Gunnar Johnson is listed. So now, we have the correct spelling of their Surname.


Prohibition and Scandal at the Ryde- 1923

By 1923, the Ryde Hotel was in the papers again. This time it was for violating Prohibition laws by serving alcohol to their guests. According to the Lodi Sentinel (November 13, 1923) some federal agents stopped by the Ryde to enjoy dinner in the restaurant. While they were there, they noticed that the restaurant was serving alcohol. Three men who were guests at the hotel confronted one of the three officers when they overheard them talking about the fact the restaurant was violating the law.  One of the men walked up to the officer and accused him of being law enforcement, to which Officer Charlton admitted. The guy then demanded to see his badge. When Charlton showed him the badge, the man reached over, grabbed a bottle of alcohol and broke it over the officer's head. This injury cut him severely and he was in bad need of medical attention. Officer Edmund Hemphill ran out to his car and retrieved his gun and held the men who instigated the fight at bay until back up arrived.

Warrants were issued by the U.S. Commissioner, Gerald Beatty and then federal officers along with Sheriff Eaton Blanchard then arrested the three men from the fight: Allan Eldred, Clay Locke and William Donahue. They also arrested Mrs. Gianetti (the Proprietess) and a waiter (who was serving alcohol) Nick Camicia.  They were all charged with, Conspiracy to violate Prohibition Law, Interfering with Government Officers, Destroying evidence, and Assault of Government Officers.

Mrs. Gianetti and Nick Camicia were released immediately on a $1,000 bond, while the three other men were held on a $10,000 bond. Clay Locke obtained his bail within a few hours. Clay Locke was the son of George Granville Locke. Clay's grandfather was George W. Locke, for which the town of Locke was named after. Clay's father, George Jr., was the one who allowed the town to be built on the edge of the Locke Estate and there it sits today as a reminder of an old Ghost Town that once was a bustling little city. Although the records I have found to date show the town of Locke to be a small community early on (around 1916),  by the 1930's it was full of diverse cultures including Chinese, Spanish, Russian, Portuguese, Italian, Filipino, Mexican, Swedish, German, Hawaiian, Japanese, and Caucasian Americans, As the years passed, people came and went, but that little town remained.

Photo shows 2nd structure and 3rd structure side by side (Circa 1927)

 The Hotel Moves

So sometime in the mid-1920s the newer (3rd) Ryde Hotel was built. This is the current hotel that still stands today. It is said to have been built in 1926 and opened in 1927. What happened to the 2nd Ryde Hotel? Well, after they had built a new one just yards away, north of the property, the old hotel building was then used for other various businesses including "Ryde Electric" and an insurance company.

The current hotel has seen many owners throughout the years. Many reports even claim that Hollywood's "Wolf Man", Lon Chaney, Jr. and his family owned it at one point in time.  The hotel was also said to have an underground tunnel that had stills for brewing wine, gin and whiskey during Prohibition. There was also rumors the very underground tunnel also led to the river for guests to be able escape undetected into the night, in the instance that there was a raid. The lower level of the hotel had a 'speakeasy' and offered music and booze to their guests (as long as you weren't a cop!)

Actor, Lon Chaney, Jr.

There's been talk over the years about it being a bordello, a place where many unsavory characters and even mobsters would frequent to enjoy gambling, women and booze. I could not find anything in any archive to substantiate these claims, although it is a pretty exciting tale to tell. I think that it is safe to say that the Ryde Hotel did, at times, involve itself in "prohibited" acts according to the laws of the time, whether it be related to Prohibition or what not. Anything else is just pure speculation.

The hotel pride's itself as being the place many of Hollywoodland's elite would come for a weekend stay in the old days. Photos fill the walls with stars that are said to have stayed there.  In 1928, Herbert Hoover came to visit the Ryde Hotel and it is reported that at a political rally he held there, he announced his candidacy for President. During the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s newspaper archives note that it was a pleasant place for couples to celebrate their anniversary along the beautiful Delta.

During the 1960s and 1970s the crowd it attracted had changed and at one point had even changed it's name to the Grand Island Inn for awhile. The Ryde Hotel's website even states that at one point the hotel turned into a boarding house when the levee's were built.  The hotel has been bought and sold so many times over the years. During the 1970s, when the building that housed the 2nd Ryde Hotel was demolished, Dennis Leary (the owner of that property) allowed the Ryde Hotel access to pave a new driveway down the side of the hotel. Originally the Ryde's driveway was the one on the north side of the building, but after having issues with delivery trucks for so many years due to the fact it was so steep, Leary was nice enough to let them pave a second driveway on the southside of the hotel for easier access. Later, Mr. Leary sold the land on the south, to the hotel where they eventually used it for the parking lot they have today.

Hotel California?

The Ryde Hotel's water tower.

I found some sites claiming adamantly that the Ryde Hotel was the "inspiration" for the Eagle's song "Hotel California". This is absolutely incorrect. First off, my step father was a huge Eagles fan, and that song was his favorite. I have heard every idea that has been thrown out there about possible meanings and inspirations for that song over the years, none of which ever mentioned the Ryde Hotel.

If any hotel would be mentioned for the inspiration for that song, it would be the Chateau Marmont in Los Angeles. The Eagle's themselves were quoted stating the song is about the "interpretation of the high life in Los Angeles", plus the Chateau Marmont was the "spot" for everyone in the entertainment world to party at, so that one makes more sense to me.

Secondly, over the years there's been so many ideas about the true meanings of the song, some people have gone so far as to state it was about a hotel in San Francisco that was purchased by Anton LaVey and turned into a Satanic church. Others have even tried to say the song is about the Camarillo State Mental Hospital, in Camarillo, CA. So for the theory that the Ryde Hotel was the inspiration for that classic song, it just doesn't add up. Sorry.


Deaths, Murders, Mystery

In all the searching I have done on the original Ryde, the 2nd Ryde and the final Ryde Hotel that stands today, I haven't found any other deaths besides Alex Johnson's death in 1920. Not to say that no one else died there, maybe I just haven't found it yet. I read on a 'less than credible' website, that a local artist committed suicide there and that he haunts the place. I see no real proof of this, nor to I believe this. I did find that this artist sadly took his life in 2006, however there was no mention that he took his life at the Ryde Hotel.

The newspaper article that I read, stated that he had suffered from depression and mental illness and that he took his life at his home on Grand Island. Honestly, whether he killed himself there or not, I find it in poor taste and given the fact this tragedy was so recent, that for someone to be putting his death on a website to claim a place is haunted or not, is just plain wrong!

I write about historical facts and stories that took place a long time ago. I do this to pay tribute and honor those who can no longer speak for themselves, therefore I will not go any further into this man's life or death, nor will I even mention his name out of respect for him and also to his family. Again, I could find NO EVIDENCE that he took his life at the Ryde Hotel so other websites should NOT be posting this information if they do not have the facts.


In Conclusion

In the time I have spent looking into the vast history of the Hotel Ryde and the community of Ryde itself, I have become even more fascinated with this beautiful piece of heaven. I always enjoyed taking drives out here on weekends and just enjoying the peace and serenity that this little Delta town has to offer, but now even more so it holds a special place in my heart now, and forever.

I am glad to have been able to research and document this history that had been forgotten for so long. It makes me happy that others out there who really want to know the real history of this place can now know what I know. If you are ever in the area of the California Delta, (just about 30 miles northwest of Stockton or 30 miles southwest of Sacramento), I suggest you take a little drive down to Walnut Grove and visit Ryde. It's worth the trip!!

(Copyright 2013- J'aime Rubio. Republished 3/28/2018)

www.jaimerubiowriter.com


Sources:
Sausalito News (January 10, 1920)
Sacramento Bee (January 13, 1920)
Lodi Sentinel (November 13, 1923)
Interview with Dennis Leary
Ryde Hotel Website (www.rydehotel.com) 
Free Lance Star 8/5/1977
Sacramento River Delta Historical Society- periodicals
various websites, census records, archives and newspaper clippings


Photo Sources:
All photos of the Ryde Hotel are copyright protected and property of J'aime Rubio
photo of Lon Chaney, Jr. from public domain
Prohibition photo public domain

First Recorded Hanging Of A Woman In California History

Yesterday I read an article online regarding a very atrocious event that took place recently in Brazil. From what I read, during a soccer game (or football as they call it) a fight between a referee and a player ensued after an argument. For whatever reasons, the referee pulled out a knife and stabbed the player. The player was removed from the field and taken to the hospital where he died in transport.

It gets worse! Meanwhile, as the player was being transported to the hospital, friends, family and spectators watching the game came down to the field, attacked the referee, stoned him to death, quartered his body, severed his head and placed it on a pole of some sort and stuck it in the middle of the field.

As I read this, my stomach began to feel ill. We are human beings with a brain and the capability to know right from wrong, and yet so many times when in a fit of rage people can so easily resort to being no different than wild animals. It sickens me to no end. Well, as I was doing some research on another story that I am working on, I stumbled upon the story of the very first recorded lynching and murder of a female in California history. The small mining town of Downieville, is the backdrop for this story I am about to tell you. First off, let me tell you a little bit about the history of the town before we begin.

Downieville, CA-

Downieville was established in 1849 during the Gold Rush days of California, but had been earlier known as "The Forks" due to its geographical location between the North Fork of the Yuba River and the "Downie" River as they named it. The town took on the name "Downieville" after Major William Downie, who led the expedition up to the town and became the first mayor there.  During it's peak (which was around 1851) Downieville had about 5,000 residents. At one point Downieville had even applied to be the State Capitol, although Benicia won that vote and later on Sacramento came to be the permanent Capitol of the State.

Downieville Map (http://www.fohbc.org)

The Lynching of Josefa (or Juanita)

So, I have been doing research on this story, and I am going to tell you the various versions of the story I have discovered. Then I am going to let you decide what you think really happened and if you think this lynching was a heinous act or quite possibly justified after all.

In the book "Days of 49" by Gordon Young, he mentions this incident and quotes Popular Tribunals, Volume I, page 557 and Royce's California, page 368, when he states that on July 5, 1851 the young Mexican girl, he calls "Juanita" was "put on a pavilion in the center of the town and twelve men responded eagerly to the call for a jury." It states that  she was put on trial for the murder of a man known as "Joe Cannon," a respected miner who, while drunk, broke into the her house and Josefa stabbed him.

It goes on to state that a "humane physician," Dr. Cyrus D. Aiken,  took the stand and testified that the girl was in no condition to be hanged. Of course he was booted out of town. Another witness, a Mr. Thayer of Nevada allegedly attempted to make a speech on her behalf and he was also kicked (literally) out of town. Some claimed she said "Adios Senores" just before they hung her. Before dying she did remark that if given the chance she would not hesitate to do it again.

I started looking around and finding other websites and  recent books by authors that offer their take on "Juanita's" story. I also searched as many archived newspaper articles and recorded documentation that would shed light on this story further.

As far as the majority of all stories goes, all claim that Cannon, (whose name is recorded as Joe and also as Frederick Alexander Augustus Cannon, aka "Jock"), was a miner in the town. Archived records show him as being either Scottish, English or some even mention him being Australian. He was over 6'4 and nearly 240 lbs.  The 1850 Census reports a J.H. Cannon of Ohio, living in Yuba County, (which Downieville was a part of at that time prior to becoming part of Sierra County in April of 1852). It is quite possible his name was actually Joe Cannon as the earlier recorded documents stated from the beginning. He was described as a "cheerful, easy-going giant" of a man.

The woman in the story who is often referred to as Juanita, is also written as being called Josefa. She was stated to stand at barely 5 feet tall with a petite frame. Many records state that people in the town didn't think too highly of her, although all records state her as being beautiful or pretty. Almost every account mentions her being hot-tempered and easily angered.

Some recent books mention Juanita (or Josefa) as being the wife of Jose, although no newspapers I have located as of yet, from that time show her as being his wife at all. Townspeople of Downieville claimed she only lived with a man named Jose. Both she and Jose worked at the Craycrofts Saloon in town.

I find it quite interesting that in so many recently written books, the authors portray Juanita (or Josefa) as this innocent woman who was just defending herself from a vicious miner who attacked her. That seems a bit one sided if you ask me. The townspeople regarded Juanita as a very hot-tempered and ill-mannered woman, who worked in the Saloon. Some spoke of her as a bar maid or dancer while other miner's accounts were that she was a prostitute. Some people try to claim Cannon was racist and hated Mexicans and Chinese, however his friends claimed he was a happy guy who was always singing and laughing. He even sang songs in Chinese and even prior to him being stabbed, the townsfolk heard him trying to speak Spanish to Jose. Someone who hates a certain race more than likely isn't going to be willing to speak (or sing) the language of the people he hates, now would he? Think about that for a second. I am sure he was not an angel and perhaps after being screamed at by Josefa it had got on his last nerve and maybe that was why he started saying disrespectful things to Josefa.

He Called Her a "Whore"

Now you have to stop and also think about this for a minute, to call a woman a whore back then was not the same as calling a woman a whore nowadays. Prostitution was a very popular profession back then, especially in areas like that.   Let's face it, back then a woman couldn't move out to a rowdy area, surrounded by rugged, tough men and expect that life was going to be romance and roses, especially if that same woman was employed in that mining town at the local Saloon.

The Gold Rush mining towns of that time period were not often a place for self respecting women. In fact, women were scarce in those types of places. Yes, occasionally a wife came out west but it was mostly the wives of store owners who came to work with their husbands to run a family business but that was rare. Most women of that time kept towards the bigger cities and communities and not so much in the "one-horse towns."  During that time period, most of the women in those towns were saloon girls or prostitutes. That is a fact.  It was a known fact Josefa worked in the local Saloon in town, Craycrofts Gambling Palace, not a place for a self respecting lady. Do you think the men of that mining town in 1851 even knew about or gave a damn what was "politically correct" back then? I truly doubt it.


Who Was Josefa?

Why don't we know Josefa's surname? One genealogy site I found said her name was Josefa Segovia, although the 1850 Census doesn't show her name in the database at all.  As far as her boyfriend, some stories say Jose was a gambler, while others specify that he was a professional Monte Card Dealer. Whatever the profession or hobby of gambling, he was Josefa's boyfriend.

Historian, Rodolfo F. Acuña claimed to have established her name to actually be Juana Loaiza, and that it was documented in the 1877 Schedule of Mexican Claims against the United States when Jose Maria Loaiza filed a suit against the U.S. requesting damages for “the lynching of his wife and the banishment of himself by a mob.” Jose Loaiza's claim for damages was denied.

What I find interesting is the fact that the 1850 Census does not show any listing for Jose or Josefa Loaiza, Juana Loaiza or Josefa Segovia in Yuba County or any part of California at all. Also, it is quite possible Jose claimed Josefa was his wife for legal purposes in order to file the lawsuit from Mexico. Perhaps they were married, but to date I have found no documented record establishing them as being man and wife while in California.

How It All Started

One of the many accounts I found claims that the beginning of the trouble between Josefa and Cannon started when Cannon allegedly disrespected Josefa at Jack Craycroft's Gambling Palace. That was when Cannon, being overly giddy from drinking attempted to touch Josefa's shoulder while she was in the saloon at a card table. According to reports, in anger Josefa lifted her skirt up to pull a knife from her garter belt and threatened Cannon, and that was the start of their animosity. Did this actually happen? Well, if it did, it certainly makes you think twice about Josefa's temper now doesn't it?

Another account states that Cannon had made sexual advances at Josefa in the past and she refused. That in anger for being turned down before, he came to her home in the night, broke in and in fear of her life she stabbed him, making his death justified. But that isn't how it happened.


What Really Happened vs What People Claim

According to reports, the story was that Cannon, Charley Getzler and another man named Lawson were enjoying the festivities of the first actual Fourth of July Celebration well into the early morning hours of July 5th. They were singing and laughing and walking down the streets making fools of themselves, in a drunken stupor. As newspaper reports stated the men were "drunk and jovial."

As they strolled (or stumbled) through town, they began knocking on various doors of homes on the street, obnoxiously loud and unruly, when they came upon Josefa's door. Cannon leaned on it and the leather hinges holding the door up broke. This caused Cannon and the door to literally fall down inside the house. Cannon found his drunk self on the ground laughing. His friends helped him get up, picked up the door and tried to put it back on and then continued on down the street with his friends. Other witness accounts confirm this story. Even by Josefa's own account, the men left and Cannon did not attack her.

Later that day Josefa forced Jose to confront Cannon to ask about being reimbursed for the broken door.  It was then that Josefa became involved in the conversation between Jose and Cannon.
Now, ask yourself this question, if Josefa was really being physically threatened or attacked by Cannon during this time as she later claimed, why didn't Jose defend her honor and stand up to Cannon? Probably because she wasn't being physically attacked at all. More than likely Cannon may have said rude things to her, maybe he even did call her a "whore" as many accounts claim, but did that mean he deserved being stabbed to death? I think not.

Yes, Cannon probably wasn't an angel by any means, but in no account do I find evidence of  him coming into the home to rape her, nor did I find any evidence of him physically assaulting her either. According to witness accounts, Jose approached Cannon to speak about the door that he had broken the night prior. Cannon had gone to purchase medicine, (more than likely for a hangover from partying the night before), from the doctor who lived literally next door to Jose and Josefa. That was when Jose confronted Cannon. Some accounts say Cannon offered an apology and even shook hands with Jose, while Josefa was still angry and literally got in between the two men to yell at Cannon herself.

Some other accounts claim Cannon apologized but offered no reimbursement for the door. One book I found claimed that he laughed at the absurdity of even being asked since the door would have fallen if anyone "coughed" near it (meaning their home was dilapidated to begin with). Other stories say that Cannon argued with Jose about the door and that he didn't have time to be bothered with their request and was actually leaving when Josefa got in his face, but never did he threaten or strike anyone in the household.

It was when Josefa began yelling and getting in Cannon's face that Cannon told Jose to basically get control of his woman, (some accounts say he said "bitch" or "whore") and it was then that Josefa went and retrieved the knife from either a table or under her pillow on her bed and stabbed Cannon in the chest. I read a few accounts that said it pierced his heart, another that says it sheered through his clavicle and into his lung.  (note: if she did stab him in that manner, either way, she had to have lunged at him with her arm in the air and stabbed him with her arm moving from above in a downwards motion. That is not the norm for an act of self defense.)

Now remember this, she was a small, petite woman. She probably weighed no more than 100-120 lbs the most. Then you take Cannon, who was 6'4 and about 240 lbs. Newspapers claimed that the bowie knife had been used with such force that it must have taken a strong fit of rage for someone her size to really pound the knife that deep in his well built chest in order to kill him.  After the murder, she ran off for awhile until the people of the town found her hiding in Craycroft's Saloon and ordered that she be tried for the murder of Cannon.


"There was a stoical, almost a cynical calm in the manner she faced the situation, that added a touch of horror to the grisly performance."-  (the event mentioned in a 1909 Newspaper Archive.)

Newspapers over time, reported that during the trial that Josefa was seen smiling at the Judge and Jury, unaffected by the event that had just taken place, while some books (recently written) claim she was distraught, crying and emotional. People who were present at the trial claimed that she didn't seem remorseful of the act, and we will never truly know if she felt any sense of guilt at all. Josefa was about to finally face the last consequences of her actions. The make-shift trial was arranged within hours of the incident and a Jury was formed by 12 men of the town. Judge Rose appointed William Spear as prosecutor, while for Josefa's defense, Attorney's Pickett and Brocklebank were called.

Two witnesses came forward in Josefa's defense besides Dr. Aiken who as I stated above, claimed Josefa was pregnant in order to stall her execution. (Although three other doctors were called to verify her pregnancy who upon examining Josefa, claimed there were no such signs of pregnancy).

Josefa claimed that because a boy had told her some "men" in the town wanted to break into her house and sleep with her, out of fear she defended herself from Cannon. That was her justification for stabbing Cannon in broad daylight in front of her boyfriend and Cannon's friend. By her own admission she stated that she stabbed him after telling him he had no right to call her bad names.

"I told the deceased that was no place to call me bad names, come in and call me so and as he was coming in I stabbed him."-

Another witness said they heard Cannon say a foul word in Spanish but they had no idea if it was meant for Jose or Josefa just before the stabbing. Mr. McMurray heard Cannon call Josefa a "whore," while other reports claim McMurray admitted to seeing Josefa attack Cannon with the bowie knife in a fit of rage.

No matter how you slice it, all accounts point to the fact that Josefa committed murder. Even if Cannon was going to step one foot in her door and call her a bad name doesn't mean he intended to hurt her physically. There is no way for us to know.  In nearly every account I have found it shows that Cannon was either already inside the house or in the doorway to begin with.  No matter what the case, Josefa had to have walked up to him because she walked away to get the knife and walked back up to Cannon in order to stab him in his chest.

I didn't see any evidence of Jose claiming that Cannon attempted to physically assault either him or Josefa. No matter what names or awful things Cannon may have said or not said to Josefa, she had no right whatsoever stabbing him to death, period.  Now if he had physically hit her or attempted to rape or assault her I would say that she would have had every right to defend herself. But, sorry folks, evidence is lacking in her favor here.

And remember, she wasn't alone there at the house. Her boyfriend Jose was there, and he was the one who initially started the conversation with Cannon. If Cannon was being so dangerous and abusive to Josefa then why didn't Jose step in and defend her? Why hadn't there been a physical altercation between the two men prior to the stabbing?

Most people aren't even aware that Josefa had reportedly stabbed and injured two men prior to this incident and that may have been the 'straw that broke the camels back' when it came to the town's view on her. Well, the story didn't end well. As you can imagine, Josefa was found guilty of murder and ordered to be hanged until dead. Jose was found innocent but ordered to leave town. From the many witnesses who watched the trial and her hanging, all said that she calmly and without trepidation, accepted her fate and willingly took her sentence when the time came.  All accounts state that Josefa admitted that if she had to do it over again, she would if provoked.

Let's analyze that statement shall we? The definition of the word "provoke" means to :

1. Stimulate or give rise to (a reaction or emotion, typically a strong or unwelcome one) in someone.
2. Stimulate or incite (someone) to do or feel something, esp. by arousing anger in them.

 Downieville Hanging (Milwaukee Sentinel 1939)

Now by her own admission, Cannon "provoked" her. When you are acting in self defense you aren't provoked, you are the victim who acts in "defense." The fact she said that Cannon provoked her, proves that he pissed her off to the point she acted out. To date there are no records of her saying he raped her, assaulted her, nothing. But almost all reports mention that he "insulted her."  Her ego was bruised because he may have used some foul language about her, calling her a "whore" or whatever words he may have used...but her bruised ego and fiery temper was what more than likely made her walk over and pick up that knife and stab him with such force into his chest.


The townspeople were quoted saying that "woman or no woman, someone is hanging" for what happened to Cannon.  Prior to her hanging, she objected to her arms being tied to her body but willingly put the cover over her eyes and adjusted the rope around her neck. She asked to be given a proper burial as a final request, and then she was hung on the Jersey Bridge.

The Blame Game

Many people have screamed "racism" because she was Hispanic, or the fact she was a woman, and that it wasn't fair what happened to her. You have to step back from all that for a minute and think about that logically.

• So does it mean it's okay for anyone non-white to commit a crime? 

No. A crime is a crime, whether you are Caucasian, African-American, Asian, Hispanic, Native-American, Middle Eastern, etc.  When you start looking at things by color things get messed up.

Let's pretend that Josefa wasn't a woman for a minute, let's pretend she wasn't even Hispanic either. Let's say she was a white male.

•  Do you think that in a different scenario the outcome would have been the same?

You can bet your bottom dollar that whoever it was would have been strung up for walking up to Cannon and stabbing him in the chest, too. I can tell you based on the research and stories I have written about history, that men have been strung up for less things than that, including the attempted stealing of another mans horse or even cattle.

When we get down to brass tacks here the fact of the matter is murder is murder. Stabbing a man during an argument when there haven't been any blows thrown by either side is not justified.  The fact she was a woman and Hispanic has no relevance. It has only wrongfully made Josefa as an innocent martyr based on the classic idea that all whites were racist and that she was only hanged for the color of her skin. No, that is not why, it was because she murdered someone. Let us not forget the crime committed.

• Do you really think Josefa had a right to stab a man who called her a whore but did not physically attack her? 

• Do you really think that her life was truly in danger, when even her own boyfriend did not get in a physical altercation with Cannon?

When looking into history, one should look at the story from all sides before making a judgment call. When I first looked into this story I believed that this was more than likely a story of an innocent woman being wrongfully hanged and it bothered me. I wanted to tell her story, but I wanted to tell the truth- no matter what "truth" it was that I found. The more I researched the more my gut started telling me that she was probably not the innocent woman that people have made her out to be.

You see, the job of a historian is not to tell history in order to fit into a certain agenda. When you start doing that you ruin history and re-write it. No one can ever say there have never been any women criminals in history. No one can sit here and say that there have never been any Hispanic murderers in history. Just like we cannot say that there has never been any White murderers in history or male criminals for that matter. It's just not possible. Josefa was hanged for a crime she committed, but so many want to blame it on racism or chauvinism when that is illogical thinking.  Just because Josefa was a woman who happened to be Hispanic didn't mean she didn't commit a crime. She did, and the evidence proves it.

Even years later the townspeople of Downieville still wrote the newspapers and tried to explain that her death was justified based on what she did to Cannon.  Yes, there have been many accounts of innocent people being killed or hanged based on their race and not by facts, I agree. But that doesn't mean everytime someone was strung up and killed that they were innocent either. Again, common sense has to come into play here. Why not look at the facts in this story too?

Just like that story I mentioned in the beginning about the man in Brazil who was stoned to death and his head severed and placed on a pole, I mentioned it to remind you that the world is brutal. History proves that it has always been brutal, from all races. Josefa stabbed a man over an argument. She killed him without a second thought. Now that is brutal, too. One may imagine the lynching of her as being inhumane, but remember back then anyone who was caught even stealing horses were hanged back then, no matter who you were. That was the "Wild West" and that was justice back then.

Just think, all these 162 years Cannon has been made out to be the "bad guy" while Josefa was put on the pedestal as the innocent lady hanged. What if he wasn't the bad guy at all? How do we know for a fact that Josefa was the innocent one?

If that is the case, that means Cannon's memory has been tarnished all these years because the story wasn't told correctly. And that my friends, is not okay.  Look at the evidence, look at the facts. You have to think about all of the information before making your judgment. There are always two sides to every story.


J'aime Rubio (Copyright 7/8/2013)
Republished on "Stories of the Forgotten" blog: 3/28/2018

The Location Of The Sleepy Lagoon- Los Angeles

What it may have looked like....

Many websites claim to know the exact location of the old swimming hole or reservoir made famous by the murder of Jose Diaz in August of 1942. The press dubbed it the "Sleepy Lagoon Murder" because the body of Jose Diaz was found on the property where the popular swimming hole was located.

It was named "Sleepy Lagoon" after a popular song by the same name made famous by Glenn Miller and also Harry James' Orchestras.  I have written about the Sleepy Lagoon murder and the discrimination that the Los Angeles Police Department and the Courts had unlawfully and brutally assaulted these young men who were obviously innocent of the crime.

They railroaded hundreds of boys, rounding them up in a city wide dragnet, brought on by the District Attorney and L.A.P.D. Although eventually the majority of the boys were set free, there were several who were interrogated, booked and charged with murder. Although there wasn't sufficient evidence to convict, they were treated like animals and the jury found them guilty. If you read my blog,  "The Sleepy Lagoon, A Precursor to the Zoot Suit Riots" you can read more about the story for yourself.

This blog is about the whereabouts and actual location of the Sleepy Lagoon reservoir. You see, long ago the area was a ranch, full of hills and trees and nothing like it is today. Over the countless decades the area has significantly changed making it very difficult for one searching for the exact location of this "lagoon" to find it.  I will upfront say that if you google "Sleepy Lagoon address" or "Sleepy Lagoon Location" you will find countless blogs and websites claiming that it was at 5500 Slauson Avenue. You have to be careful when searching because there is more than one 5500 Slauson in Los Angeles County.  So you would need to search in the vicinity of Maywood, which now is a part of Bell, Calfornia. However, that address is incorrect, and I am here today to show you why it's incorrect and what the
real location was.



We can thank Eduardo Obregón Pagán, author of acclaimed book "Murder at the Sleepy Lagoon: Zoot Suits, Race, and Riot in Wartime L.A." and host of PBS' History's Detectives, for his awesome detective work after speaking to Lino Diaz, the brother of deceased Jose Diaz. He was able to create a diagram (map) based on Lino's memory of the Williams Ranch. According to the map, as seen below, the lagoon was just south of the cornfields and just mildly southeast of Atlantic Blvd. Go ahead and look on the map below and see that Bandini dead ended into Atlantic Blvd. You can also see that  26th st ran parallel to the railroad tracks.

Courtesy: "Murder at the Sleepy Lagoon: Zoot Suits, Race, and Riot in Wartime L.A."

Now if you know Los Angeles like I do, then you would know that the part of 26th Street that ran parallel to the railroad tracks doesn't exist anymore. Therefore, anyone could be confused when trying to find the location of the Williams Ranch or the lagoon especially when there are websites like wikimapia that states the location was in Commerce, California and if you click on the map it takes to you Slauson in Bell, but it's still not the location of Sleepy Lagoon.

If that were the case, then 5500 Slauson would be exactly where it shows Heliotrope High School (above in map). That wasn't the lagoon now was it? You can clearly see by the map that the lagoon was south of 26th street, southeast of Atlantic, north of Slauson Ave and west of Eastern Ave.

Present day area of Sleepy Lagoon

In 1975 the Federal Service Center sold off land in that general area as "Surplus Acreage" plus the city created the expansion of Bandini Blvd to cross from Atlantic to Eastern Avenue, thus literally making a road through the Williams Ranch. If you drive down Bandini Road today from Atlantic to Eastern you are driving on top of the old ranch. You are literally driving over the old cornfield, the spot where the Delgadillo's home stood among other homes, and the spot where Jose Diaz was murdered. The exact location where the lagoon was, could be where Bandini is now, or basically just a spot south of Bandini, more than likely at the end of the cul-de-sac on Lindbergh Lane, (where the arrow is pointing in the photo above).


Honestly, I was tired of all these websites claiming to know the exact location of the Sleepy Lagoon reservoir site. A fellow history lover showed me Eduardo Pagan's map from his book and I emailed Mr. Pagan regarding it. He was kind enough to provide me with insight regarding the location and how he obtained that information. I am most grateful to him for all of his help.

One note,  Heliotrope High no longer exists, and the Ford Motor Company wasn't built until 1947, however the memory of Lino Diaz was the only window into the geography of the area. Chrysler had a Company across the street from the Ford Motor Company location on Slauson and Eastern, so I am guessing in his old age he may have forgotten that some things out of current memory hadn't been built back in 1942. However, his memory of the general area was on spot if you look at the map above. All the streets that remained still show the exact area of where the Williams Ranch stood.

So in ending, with most of history as the world changes many times history is erased to build newer more modern things or places. The buildings, the streets and even the plush areas of terrain that once stood were bulldozed to fill the need of business and economic growth. For the tale of the Sleepy Lagoon, it is one that cannot be revisited. We cannot go to a park or stroll along a dirt road to bask in the idea that long ago stood a place, a getaway of sorts, for the youth to go and enjoy a casual swim or even a lover's lane.  Just as in the Black Dahlia case, many of the buildings and businesses do not exist anymore. History lover's such as myself are left to wonder with our imagination, what it was like back then.

If you go back to that area in the future I suggest you take a cruise around the entire area, especially Bandini Blvd. Remind yourself that once there was a lagoon, a ranch and a significant part of Mexican-American history took place at that very location.

J'aime Rubio © 2012
Google Maps
Sources: "Murder at the Sleepy Lagoon: Zoot Suits, Race, and Riot in Wartime L.A."

A big "THANK YOU" to Eduardo Obregón Pagán, author of "Murder at the Sleepy Lagoon: Zoot Suits, Race, and Riot in Wartime L.A." 

Don't forget to go out and get your copy of this book!!!

Click Here To Order His Book On AMAZON