One of the cherished legends in the early history of Mariposa county was built around the name of Joseph F.A. Marr, first Treasurer of Mariposa County. In all probability his would have been obscured in the long list of names of county officials had it not been for the odd circumstances surrounding his death in the storm of December, 1851. The freshet alluded to had been the most damaging in contemporary memory, hampering travel and cutting off communication and supplies entirely in some districts. It was under such extreme conditions that Joseph Marr was collecting monies for foreign miner licences and business licenses in the remote region of the San Joaquin and Fresno Rivers (in 1851 within the boundaries of Mariposa County).

During a break in the torrential rains, a party of miners residing near the junction of Agua Fria and Mariposa creeks, discovered in the latter stream the bruised and battered body of J.F.A. Marr. His remains were brought to Agua Fria, at which place a physician conducted an examination. Due to the appearance of deep contusions upon the skull of the deceased, the doctor held the belief that Marr's death had been occasioned "by violence of one or more persons." The coroner's jury, with no corroborating evidence, concurred. Picking up the story, the San Joaquin Republican newspaper wrote that "a most horrid murder was committed upon the body of J.F.A. Marr, near the junction of the Mariosa and Agua Fria streams. It appears that he was killed with a sling shot. Suspicion has not yet rested upon any party."

With the telling and retelling of the story, an elaborate legend was woven, in which Joseph Marr had staged his own death and decamped with a cache of fifty dollar hexagonal minted gold slugs (the amount varying anywhere from $10,000 to $50,000 depending on the source). Reports of lost treasure always make for tantalizing, romantic storytelling. The yarn of Marr decamping with the gold must be taken with a large grain of salt.

The Court of Sessions of Mariposa County did mention in their minutes the death of Mr. Marr, however no reference was made to the alleged loss of tens of thousands of dollars in gold. Marr was known to have had some $900 which was discovered on his body, a finding that would seem to rule out robbery as a possible motive to murder.

It would seem logical to conclude that, since "Little" Mariposa and Agua Fria creeks were impassable from the storms, the deceased had found his accustomed fording place inaccessible, and rode on supstream to scout for a suitable crossing. Marr, in underestimating the power of the raging stream, attempted to cross but was pulled violently downstream to meet his fate. [note: since this confluence of the Agua Fria and Mariposa creeks was heavily populated with miners and there were no known witnesses to this action, it was probably dark]. The violent blows Marr had sustained could easily have been received under these conditions.

If Marr was actually murdered as the coroner had concluded, a similar incident proved his case anything but unique. In June of 1855, James Cardwell and a man named Holmes visited a large encampment of fifteen or twenty Chinese miners on the Merced River, at Pleasant Valley, for the purpose of collecting fees for "foreign miner licenses." The resident miners mistook the officers for claim jumpers, and immediately moved to defend their property. An all-out shooting affray quickly followed in which Cardwell was killed outright; three Chinese also lost their lives. Mr. Holmes, though badly wounded, managed to escape a similar fate. In the aftermath, Americans in the vicinity - in the spirit of antiforeign sentiment so typical of the day - banded together some forty Chinese and marched them across the Merced River to the jail at Snelling.

Falling prey to violent assault probably more than any other ethnic group, the Chinese had come to feel justifiably singled out. In 1862, Deputy Tax Collector Steve McEwan complained of the many "roving bands of Mexicans" interfering with his collection duties by despoiling the unfortunate Chinese of their earnings. Tied hand and foot, victims were routinely tortured by having their feet pricked with bowie knives in order to wrest from them their coveted gold. A report not uncommon for these years, told of a raid upon a party of nine Chinese by six Mexicans. The victims were tied securely and robbed of several six-shooters and $200 in money.

Another story concerning the assessment of taxes, also in 1862, involved one Peter Gordon of Mariposa. In assisting the tax collector, a difficulty had arisen in which an enraged Chinese prostitute endeavored to tear the pants of Mr. Gordon. To ward off his attacker, Peter brandished a whip, and dealt the girl a violent blow upon the head. In another example of a racially-biased trial, Gordon was charged with
Assault (the defendant was a well-known stage driver and generally liked around town) but the judge had been lenient in his ruling. Apparently indignant though, Gordon unleashed his brutality upon the principal witness to his assault upon the Chinese girl - whipping the individual in the courtroom!!

Peter Gordon, for this last act was "commended again to the notice of His Honor," but the judge merely levied a nominal fine against the assistant collector to settle the case.



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mariposa creek, ghost towns, 49ers, mariposa, california history, mariposa history, legends, bandits, outlaws, lawmen, desperadoes, mariposa county, mariposa county history, mariposa legends, peace officers, historical express, gold rush history, gold rush bandits, california gold rush, california, mother lode country, mother lode legends, gold rush stories, wild west tales, the old west, bandidos, law and