Juanita. The Only Woman Lynched in the Gold Rush Days

Fresno, CA: Saga-West Publishing Company, 1971. Very good. Second printing; 9 x 6; pp. 3-31; stapled pictorial wraps; illustrated with photographs and a small map; small creases to corners and along spine; a few minor spots; in very good condition.In the small, Gold Rush town of Downieville, California, the legend of the lynching of Josefa (aka "Juanita" - a racist slur people in the gold-mining communities often used for any Mexican woman) lives on. One of very few females in town at the time, Josefa was said to possess "from the soft dove-like expression of a love-sick maiden, to the fierce scowl of an infuriated lioness, according to her temper, which was the only thing not well balanced about her.” On July 4th, 1951 - the first Independence Day to be celebrated in California, since it became a state - the festivities were in full swing and the alcohol was flowing freely. There were differing accounts on what exactly happened in the late hours of that day, though some stories claimed that an australian miner - Cannon - bulled his way into Josefa's home, yelling insults and creating "a riot and disturbance." She stabbed him in the heart and killed him. According to others, it was Josefa's partner (husband) Jose, who murdered Cannon. Regardless, both were taken into custody and put on trial the same day. He was found not gulty and advised to leave town and she was found guilty and ordered to die by hanging...all within two hours. Allegedly, her last words to the crowd were: "Adios, senor." According to the author of the booklet, he had assembled the current account from contemporary newspapers' articles, witness accounts, and various historical works.