Joaquin Murietta, (sometimes spelled Murieta) (d. ~1853) is also called the Mexican Robin Hood or the Robin Hood of El Dorado, and was an infamous and legendary bandit in California during the California Gold Rush in the 1850s.

The site of his birth is disputed: either Sonora, Mexico, or in Chile. He first went to California in 1850 to seek his fortune in the California Gold Rush. Instead of opportunity, he instead encountered racism and discrimination. Unable to make a living legally, like many Californios, Murietta turned to crime and became one of the leaders of the band of outlaws called The Five Joaquins, which included Joaquin Botellier, Joaquin Carrillo, Joaquin Ocomorenia, and Joaquin Valenzuela. Between 1850 and 1853 it is said that these men were responsible for the majority of cattle rustling, robberies, and murders that were committed in the Mother Lode area. They are credited with stealing more than $100,000 in gold, over 100 horses, killing 19 people (mostly Chinese mine workers), and having outrun three posses, killing three lawmen. At the time no one was certain of the name of the leader, so he was simply called Joaquin, and it was further uncertain if it was one band of outlaws or more than one. Some people even believed that the bandits were supported by Californios, who protected him for a cut of his loot.

On May 11, 1853, John Bigler, who was Governor of California at the time signed a legislative act creating the "California Rangers", lead by Captain Harry Love (a former Texas Ranger), whose purpose was to arrest The Five Joaquins. The California Rangers were paid $150 a month and stood a chance to split a $5000 for the capture of Murietta. On July 25, 1853 a group of these rangers encountered a group of Mexican males near Panoche Pass in San Benito County, about 100 miles away from the Mother Lode and 50 away from Monterey. A confrontation occurred and two of the Mexicans were killed—one thought to be Murietta and Manuel "Three-Fingered Jack" Garcia, Murietta's lieutenant.

The Rangers took Garcia's hand and Murietta's head as evidence of their death and displayed in a jar, preserved in brandy. The jar was displayed in Mariposa County, Stockton and San Francisco and traveled throughout California, where spectators could, for $1, see the remains. Seventeen people, including a priest, signed affitdavits identifying the remains as Murietta's and Love and his Rangers received the reward money. However, a young woman claiming to be his sister did not recognize the head and said that it was not his since it did not have a characteristic scar on it and many people critized Love for showing the remains in large cities far from the mining camps where his crimes were committed. It has even been claimed that Love and his Rangers made up the story of Murietta to claim the reward money. The head was lost in the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake.

Soon after his death, Murietta became the subject of story and legend. In 1854 the first fictionalized account of his life appeared in a San Francisco newspaper. It tells a story of how his wife was raped and killed, his brother hanged for a crime he did not commit and how Murietta swore to avenge them by killing all the Yankees or gringos he could find. This figure also inspired corridos depicting him as a fierce avenger of injustices against Mexicans:

Yo no soy americano

pero comprendo el inglés.

Yo lo aprendí con mi hermano

al derecho y al revés.

A cualquier americano

hago temblar a mis pies.

Por cantinas me metí

castigando americanos.

"Tú serás el capitán

que mataste a mi hermano.

Lo agarraste indefenso,

orgulloso americano."

I am not an American

but I understand English.

I learned it with my brother

forwards and backwards.

And any American

I make tremble at my feet.

Through cantinas I went

punishing Americans.

"You must be the captain

who killed my brother.

You took him defenseless,

you boastful American."

Since then, he has been a widely used romantic figure in novels, stories, films and on TV. The fictional character of Zorro is based on Murietta's life. Throughout the Mother Lode region of California, there are dozens of saloons, bars, hotels and places where Murietta is said to have robbed, slept or been. He makes a cameo appearance in the novel by Isabel Allende, Hija de Fortuna (Daughter of Fortune).

External links

• Mystery of the decapitated Joaquin