Today in Labor History July 25, 1853: Joaquin Murrieta, the famous Californio bandit known as the "Robin Hood of El Dorado", was supposedly killed. However, many disputed the news of his death and people continued to claim to have seen him long after his death. According to legend, Murrieta was a 49er gold miner and a vaquero from Sonora, Mexico. White men falsely accused him and his brother of stealing a mule. They horse-whipped him, stole his mining claim, hanged his brother and raped his young wife. Swearing revenge, he hunted the men who had violated her. The state of California offered a reward of $5,000 for him, "dead or alive."
John Rollin Ridge published the novel “The Life and Adventures of Joaquín Murrieta: The Celebrated California Bandit” in 1854. In the early 20th-century, Johnston McCulley based his character Don Diego de la Vega (Zorro) on Ridge's 1854 novel about Murrieta. Pablo Neruda wrote a play about Murrietta, “The Splendor and Death of Joaquin Murrieta.” And Isabel Allende’s “Daughter of Fortune” (1999), includes a portrayal of Murrieta.
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