True Tales of the Sacramento Delta

by Philip Pezzaglia

Overview

May 13, 1817, marked the first recorded exploration of the Sacramento River. The expedition changed the Delta region forever. A flood of explorers from all over the world poured into the Lower Sacramento River Delta, and soon towns were settled on the banks of the river. As settlement flourished, each new community gave birth to stories of early pioneers, shipwrecks, murder, robbery, vigilante justice, bootleggers and more. Here for the first time in this remarkable collection, local historian and author Philip Pezzaglia reveals the true stories behind some of the tales that have passed through generations, becoming legends of the Delta.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781626196056
Publisher:	Arcadia Publishing SC
Publication date:	02/09/2015
Series:	American Chronicles
Pages:	144
Sales rank:	1,095,398
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

Phil Pezzaglia published his first article on Delta history in May 2001. He is the author of numerous newspaper and magazine articles on the communities of the Lower Sacramento River Delta and the author of two other books on the Delta, Images of America-Rio Vista (2005) and Images of America-Towns of the Sacramento River Delta (2013). He is the Curator of the Rio Vista Museum and a member of the board of directors of the Sacramento River Delta Historical Society.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements 7

Introduction 9

1 Lansford Hastings and the Montezuma House 11

"Lansford Hastings 11

The Arrival of the Marshalls 16

The Parting of the Ways 17

The Marshall Era 17

The Stratton Era 18

New Ownership and the National Register 20

2 The Explosion of the Yosemite and Legend of the Chinese Park 21

The Urban Legend 21

Early Steamships on the Sacramento River 23

The Choice of Routes 24

The Steamship Yosemite 25

California Steam Navigation Company 26

Arrival at Rio Vista 26

The Explosion 28

Crime and Punishment 32

Bury and Exhume 32

The Inquest 33

The Fate of the Yosemite 34

Pleasant Hills and the Bruna Vista Park: 1962 36

The Urban Legend Answered 38

3 Murder And Mayhem 39

The Murder of John Thompson: 1878 40

The Tullis Murder: 1878 45

The Night Frisco Slim Murdered John Howard: 1892 55

The Marshal and the Safe Blower: 1914 58

Murder at the Ryde Hotel: 1920 64

The Jeweler's Murder: 1927 67

4 News Travels Fast: The First Newspapers in the Delia 72

Weekly Rio Vista Gleaner 73

Rio Vista Enterprise 78

5 Cops and Robbers 82

The Egbert Store Robbery: 1890 82

The Night J.H. Gardiner Was Robbed: 1902 84

The Daring Robbery of the Peter Cook House: 1920 86

The Attempt on Jess Jessen's life: 1946 92

6 Vigilante Justice 95

Tar and Feathering as a Form of Punishment 95

The Fight 96

Ambush at the Wharf 98

Law-Abiding Citizen 99

Vigilantes Hand Out Justice 100

The Trial 101

Epilogue 102

7 Jack London: America's Favorite Author 103

London's Early Life 104

London Vacations in the Delta 105

Two Books Instead of One 109

8 Cecil B. DeMille Brings Russia to Wood Island 112

Early History 112

California Transportation Company 114

Rio Vista School District 115

Tod Browning and Jim Bludso 115

Cecil B. DeMille and The Volga Boatman 117

Lauritzen Transportation Company 125

Wood Island Vanishes 125

9 Bootlegging and Bartending 128

The Early Years 129

Henry Snow Inspires William "Bill" Frates 129

Bill the Bootlegger 129

Bill Foster Arrives in Rio Vista 130

The Origins of Fosters Bighorn 132

Earl Warren Conies Back as Governor 133

The Collection Goes on Display 133

The Death of William "Bill" Foster and the legacy Thai Endures 134

Selected Bibliography 137

About the Author 143