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Among the notorious
characters who contributed to the disorder in this section in the early, days,
were Bill Marshall and Juan Verdugo. It is said that Bill Marshall was from
Providence, Rhode Island, and that he came to this country in 1844, in a
whale-ship, from which he deserted. He married a daughter of an Indian
chieftain, and was instrumental in binding the tribes together for hostilities
against the whites. The trial of these men took place by court-martial, at "Old town," San Diego, in December 1851. They were convicted of inciting the Indians to an outbreak, to burning the town of Agua Caliente, and to destroying the rancho of Hon. J. J. Warner, and committing murders and outrages upon the whites. These men were executed at 2 o'clock p. m., December 11, 1851, on a scaffold erected near the Catholic burying-ground. Verdugo acknowledged his guilt, but Marshall protested his innocence. In the latter part of
December, 1851, Major Heintzleman ordered a " council of war," for the trial of
Francisco Mocate, chief of the Ysidro; Luis, Alcalde of Caliente; Jacobo or
Onisil, and Juan Bautista. The council, after a patient hearing, adjudged them
guilty, and sentenced them to be shot on the morning of Christmas day, and the
sentence was duly carried into effect. |
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