Principles of Posse Management by Chris Enss

Author:Chris Enss [Enss, Chris]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: TwoDot
Published: 2018-02-19T16:00:00+00:00

Tiburcio Vasquez.

Courtesy of the California History Room, California State Library, Sacramento, California

Undeterred by the swarm of lawmen and bounty hunters on their trail, Vasquez and his ever-growing number of cohorts continued their crime spree, holding up a number of stores and stages in the San Joaquin Valley. One of the most ruthless of those robberies occurred in the town of Kingston. Vasquez attacked the hamlet in the dead of night and ordered his gang to tie up all the male citizens. One by one he stripped them of their personal possessions and money and then cleaned out the stores and hotels.22

California citizens were furious over the outlaw’s violent raids and at the inability of law enforcement officers to stop him. Governor Newton Booth responded to his constituents’ cry for justice and appointed the tough, respected, Alameda County sheriff Harry Morse to recruit a band of deputies to bring down Vasquez. Booth appropriated $5,000 to get the job done.23

Governor Booth initially instructed Sheriff Morse to lead a band of thirty men to track Vasquez. The sheriff, who had a reputation for being a relentless and resourceful man hunter, refused, arguing that a posse that size could neither ride fast enough or go undetected. The sheriff wanted a posse of eight men only.

Among the men he selected for the mission was San Joaquin County sheriff Tom Cunningham. Cunningham was recognized as being the best bandit hunter in the West, as well as a master of disguise. He could change his looks and mannerisms to gain access into criminals’ hideouts and arrest outlaw ringleaders. The sheriff’s eighteen-year-old son, George, an excellent shot and superior horseman, and two of his closest friends were selected as part of the posse, too. One, Ralph Faville of Pleasonton, Alameda County, was for many years a deputy under Sheriff Harry Morse. Faville was noted for his success in hunting cattle thieves and desperadoes. The second of George’s friends chosen to ride with the group was A. J. McDavid of Sunol, a veteran hunter, wagon driver, and splendid shot. Rounding out the rest of the posse were Fresno County deputy sheriff Harry Thomas; Ambrose Calderwood; A. B. “Boyd” Henderson, an expert rifleman and a reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle; and ex-convict Ramon Romero, an exceptional traveler who was well liked by law enforcement agents and an expert cowboy who had reportedly been a member of Joaquin Murrieta’s gang. Imprisoned for murder, Romero was good with a knife and knew all the secret trails outlaws used in El Camino Viejo, La Verde del Monte, San Joaquin Valley, and the Coast Range. Sheriff Morse trusted the men in his posse with his life.24

The posse after Tiburcio Vasquez and his gang spent weeks planning the manhunt. They calculated the best time of the year to set out to find the bandit and hired Mexican spies to keep them informed of Vasquez’s activities. Sheriff Morse and the posse began their search on March 14, 1871, at Firebaugh’s Ferry in Fresno County, California.

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