his
entreaties disregarded, he swore a most solemn oath, that he would
murder every American that he should chance to meet alone, and as he is
a man of the most dauntless courage, and rendered desperate by a
burning sense of disgrace which will cease only with his life, he will
doubtless keep his word.

Although, in my very humble opinion, and in that of others more
competent to judge of such matters than myself, these sentences were
unnecessarily severe, yet so great was the rage and excitement of the
crowd that the vigilance committee could do no less. The mass of the
mob demanded fiercely the death of the prisoners, and it was evident
that many of the committee took side with the people. I shall never
forget how horror-struck I was (bombastic as it _now_ sounds) at
hearing no less a personage than the Whig candidate for representative
say that the condemned had better fly for their lives, for the "Avenger
of Blood" was on their tracks! I am happy to say that said very worthy
but sanguinary individual, the Avenger of Blood, represented in this
case by some half-dozen gambling rowdies, either changed his mind or
lost scent of his prey, for the intended victims slept about two miles
up the hill quite peacefully until morning.

The following facts, elicited upon the trial, throw light upon this
unhappy affair. Seven miners from Old Spain, enraged at the cruel
treatment which their countrymen had received on the Fourth, and at the
illiberal cry of "Down with the Spaniards," had united for the purpose
of taking revenge on seven Americans, whom they believed to be the
originators of their insults. All well armed, they came from The
Junction, where they were residing at the time, intending to challenge
each one his man, and in fair fight compel their insolent aggressors to
answer for the arrogance which they had exhibited more than once
towards the Spanish race. Their first move, on arriving at Indian Bar,
was to go and dine at the Humboldt, where they drank a most enormous
quantity of champagne and claret. Afterwards they proceeded to the
house of the Englishman whose brutal carelessness caused the accident
which wounded Pizarro and Oxley, when one of them commenced a playful
conversation with one of his countrywomen. This enraged the Englishman,
who instantly struck the Spaniard a violent blow and ejected him from
the shanty. Thereupon ensued a spirited fight, which, through the
exertion of a gentleman from Chile, a fav