“I remember the first man that I ever saw hanged. He was so frightened that he could not stand up and they had to lift him to tie his arms and put the rope around his neck. The poor fellow was so scared that he was nearly dead before they hung him. There was a tremendous crowd gathered to see that hanging.
It was the first and the last hanging that I ever saw. My desire was never to witness another.”
-49er E. W. McIlhany
“Why not?” you ask, and you take a seat.
You play a few hands, not winning or losing. Finally you pull a great hand — a full house — and the betting quickly increases. You and the man with brown teeth are the only two remaining players.
There’s $30.00 (almost $1,400 today) on the table.
“Flush,” he says, showing his cards.
“Full house,” you tell him. You reach for the coins, and he reaches for his gun. You find yourself staring down the barrel of a Walker Colt.
HANGMAN'S TREE: This inn and tavern was built in 1851 over the stump of Hangman's Tree, where hundreds of men met their end in the 1840s and 1850s. Originally called "Dry Diggins", the California town is now known as Placerville.
“This man’s trying to steal my money!” the filthy prospector screams.
The saloon goes dead quiet, then erupts in a roar. You’re lifted off your feet and carried out of the saloon and into the neighboring vacant lot. There stands a tree with a long noose draped over it.
“Time for this Yankee to get some Hangtown justice!” the filthy crook hollers. A large crowd quickly materializes. You’re on the verge of panic.
“Help!” you yell. “Help, police!”
“We’re the only police in Hangtown,” someone yells from the crowd.
“Call Judge Lynch!” several people exhort.
A sack is thrown over your head, and you feel the noose tighten around your neck.
It all happens so quickly that you can’t organize your thoughts. As you feel yourself lifted off the ground, you can only manage one word; it barely escapes before your throat closes:
“Gold.”
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