o was at work in the camps. Robbers were there, bold
characters, dark-browed men, who would not hesitate to steal, and
kill, if need be, in their nefarious work. The miners had their perils
to encounter in these bandits. The robbers had their dens in the
mountains in lonely places, beside a trail sometimes, and in the
depths of the forests. The dens had generally two rooms on the ground
floor and a loft which was reached by a ladder. If a belated miner
sought shelter or food here he was given a lodging in the loft. If he
drank with his "host" it would most likely be some liquor that was
drugged, and in his heavy sleep he was sure to be robbed. In the
morning he had no redress, and he might consider himself fortunate if
he escaped with his life. Sometimes however the robber was brought
to quick justice by the miners. Robbery was not countenanced in the
camps. If one should steal, his fellows would rise up, try him in a
hastily convened court, and condemn him to death, and hang him on
the nearest tree. It was a rule that the body should be exposed for
twenty-four hours as a warning to others. All this may seem harsh, but
under the circumstances it was the only way in which justice could
be dealt out to offenders. The camps were in consequence orderly and
safe. We must not think, because the Vigilance Committees of the
mining camps and of the city took the administration of law into their
own hands that therefore they were lawless and that their rule was
that of the mob. No, this was the only way in which peaceable citizens
could be protected from the violence and crimes perpetrated by the
turbulent and disorderly and vicious elements of society. In the years
1851 and 1852 there was great lawlessness in San Francisco. Bad men,
who had served terms in prisons for their misdeeds, and men who
wished to disorganise society, who had the spirit of anarchy in their
breasts, organised themselves into bands for the purpose of stealing
and killing, and good citizens stood in mortal fear of them. Buildings
were burned at pleasure, houses were broken open and robberies
committed, and even murder was resorted to when the wrongdoers found
it necessary in the accomplishment of their hellish purposes. The
officials of the city were careless in punishing offenders, indeed
they were powerless to do so, and the lawbreakers knew this. It is
said that over a hundred persons were murdered during the period
of six months; and the blood of these v