Men
shudder at the name of Joaquin Murieta.
Valois sees that the robber chief's permanent haunt is somewhere
in the Sierras. This must be found. The sheriffs of Placer, Nevada,
Sierra, El Dorado, Tuolumne, Calaveras, and Mariposa counties
are in the field with posses. Skirmish after skirmish occurs. All
doubtful men are arrested. Yet the red record continues. Doubling
on the pursuers, hiding, the bandit whirls from Shasta to Tehama,
from Oroville to Sacramento, from Marysville to Placerville.
Stockton, San Andreas, Sonora, and Mariposa are terrorized. Plundered
pack-trains, murdered men, and robbed wayfarers prove that Joaquin
Murieta is ever at work. His swoop is unerring. The yellow serape,
black banded, the dark scowling face, and the battery of four
revolvers, two on his body, two on his saddle, soon make him known
to all the State.
The Governor offers five thousand dollars State reward for Joaquin's
head. County rewards are also published. Valois watches all the
leading Mexican families. Some wild son or member must be unaccounted
for. No criminal has yet appeared of good blood, save Tomas Maria
Carrillo. But he has been dead a year, shot in his tracks by a brave
man. The bandits hover around Stockton.
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