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Goss, Helen Rocca : The California White Cap Murders : An Episode in Vigilantism

Lawton Kennedy, Santa Barbara, California, 1969

As new. Designed and printed by Lawton Kennedy. Illustration on front cover. Gilt lettering on spine. Page sides uncut. Unopened pages. Illustrations. From the Introduction: "About the year 1880, groups of lawless bands which had as their purpose the regulation of the manners and morals of the residents of the area, sprang up in the southern part of the State of Indiana. During the next ten or fifteen years these White Cap bands, as they were called, spread." "The Lake County White Cap episode is more than an absorbing story -- it is an important event in California history. The raid itself is an excellent example of latter-day vigilantism.". Book. Book Condition: Collectible-As New. Binding: Cloth

Goss, Helen Rocca : The California White Cap Murders: An Episode in Vigilantism

Lawton and Alfred Kennedy, Santa Barbara, CA, 1969

Printed by brothers Lawton and Alfred Kennedy. Front colophon on copyright page: "Designed and Printed by Lawton and Alfred Kennedy." Original publisher's red cloth binding with gilt lettering on spine. Deckled fore-edge. Illustration of a hanged, hooded man on front cover. 7 1/4" x 10 1/2." 132 pages, complete. Black-and-white plates, complete. Foreword and Introduction in front. Notes and Index in back. A few leaves are unopened. Pages and covers are virtually pristine and intact except for a few minuscule spots of rubbing on back cover. Binding is tight. An As New copy. A captivating read about a sordid episode of California history involving the infamous White Caps. The White Caps (also, Whitecaps or Whitecappers) organized in southern Indiana around 1837. Named for their white hoods, White Caps used violent and nonviolent intimidation tactics, often at night, to carry out extrajudicial punishment on those they deemed unfit or undesirable. The infamous reputation of the White Caps was cemented in the years leading up to, during, and after the Civil War when they shifted their central targets to ethnic minorities, especially African Americans. The whitecapping movement spread to surrounding states and then farther west and to the south. The White Caps inspired similar groups to form such as the Ku Klux Klan. This particular history involving the White Caps took place in a quiet roadside saloon called Campers' Retreat just a few miles south of a small mining town, Middletown, in Lake County, California. While there was not a racial component in this case, the murders that took place there on October 10, 1890 shook the entirety of Lake County and received national attention. The saloon had no guests that night because residents were at the annual gala in Middletown. The only people at the saloon were the owner, J. W. Riche, his wife Helen Riche, and bartender (and bouncer) Fred Bennett. The peace was broken when a group of armed hooded men came inside and fired warning shots. The ensuing scuffle and commotion resulted in the fatal shootings of Helen and one of the White Caps' ring leaders, who was latter discovered on the saloon's front porch. Sadly, J. W. passed away soon after; it was thought by locals that he had succumbed to a gunshot wound that had only partially healed and the grief from losing his wife. Ten men were brought to trial. During the trial, it was revealed that the White Caps were all local miners and had originally come for Bennett in retaliation for the way he treated them as bouncer when they had visited the saloon and for other personal disagreements. Four of the men served time in San Quentin. Charges were either dropped for the remaining men or they posted bail. Notably, author Helen Rocca Goss was the daughter of the assistant district attorney in the case, Andrew Rocca, who helped prosecute the men during the trial.. Book. Book Condition: As New. Binding: Hardcover

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