The legend of Zorro has its own prototype. Joaquin Murieta, the famed Mexican Robin Hood, dedicated his life to revenge against the white Americans who invaded California during the gold rush. Until now, historians are endlessly debating whether Murieta was a patriot of his people or was simply trying to fill his pockets tighter.
A new beginning
Like many other Mexicans, Joaquin Murieta went to California in search of happiness. After all, it was the time of the gold rush, and thousands of settlers moved west in search of their own piece of happiness. A trio of emigrants (Joaquin's young wife, Rosita and his brother, Carlos) built a small farm and set to work: at twenty, Joaquin was on the full road to happiness and prosperity.
Racism
Unfortunately for the Murieta family, California soon passed the famous foreign gold prospector tax law. The local population accepted this law with enthusiasm: now it was possible to treat any non-white person with impunity. Joaquin tried to resist the threats. But what could one person oppose to the entire state?
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Attack
One afternoon, white settlers broke into Muriet's house, abused Rosalita, and beat the miner himself with a whip. Joaquin miraculously survived and tried to get justice through the courts. Here he was politely informed that a foreigner has no right to bring charges against a white person.
Five Joaquins
Naturally, the enraged settler could not forgive his wife's killers. Murieta assembled a gang called the Five Joaquins (all of the members were namesakes: Joaquin Botellier, Joaquin Carrillo, Joaquin Okomorenia and Joaquin Valenzuela) and in a few months tracked down and killed the five attackers.
Life of a criminal
After this, Joaquin had no choice but the life of a criminal. In the era of the gold rush, the Sierra Nevada mountains became a safe haven for dozens of gangs. Murieta began robbing banks, stopping trains and hunting all lawyers that came across them on the way.
Head hunter
When the gang made life in the mines impossible, the governor of California assembled a special squad of the best sheriffs in the county. The detachment was named "California Rangers", commanded by a certain Harry Love, the Texas Ranger famous for his cruelty. These soldiers received $ 150 a month, while the reward for Murieta himself amounted to an impressive amount of $ 5,000.
Gunfight
In July 1853, a group of Harry Love attacked a Mexican gang. The skirmish took place near the Coastal Mountains, on the Tulare plains. In the shootout, three bandidos were killed: the rangers presented evidence to the court that one of them was Murieta himself, and the other with his right hand - Manuel Garcia, nicknamed "Three-Fingered Jack".
Bloody money
The sheriff and his team continued to make money from Murieta's death. Touring all over California was a good profit for Love and company: people paid a dollar for the right to see the remains of the poor bandit. But in San Francisco there was an unfortunate mistake. Murieta's sister came to the show and loudly announced that the corpse belonged to an unknown person.
People's hero
Whether that woman said the truth or lied, it doesn't matter. At that time, Murieta was considered almost a folk hero for the Mexicans: his gang often sheltered fugitive miners and provided money to those who could no longer earn themselves. For many years, Joaquin Murieta was known as "Robin Hood of El Dorado" and symbolized Mexican resistance to white domination in California. His severed head was displayed in the back room of the Golden Nugget saloon and remained there until the famous San Francisco earthquake in 1906.