Tiburcio Vasquez
(1835 - 1875)
In the mid 1800's a Robin Hood bandit named Tiburcio Vasquez and his gang used the caves
and rocks in the formation now named after him, as a hideaway from sheriff's posses
and vigilantes who were always on his trail. The desperadoes would rustle cattle, rob
stagecoaches, steal cattle
and the like, then lose the posses in the intricate maze. The
rocks served him well. Eventually, rather than being discovered in hiding, his weakness
for women would do him in. Vasquez had an affair with the wife of one of his lieutenants.
The angry husband had shot Vasquez and fled the area to inform the sheriff of the hideout.
Returning with two posses there was a shootout at the tallest rock. Searching the captured
and killed, it was discovered that Vasquez was not among them. But the wounded Vasquez
without his hideout couldn't escape for long. He was found in a shack in Cahenga Pass,
taken to San Jose where in March of 1875 he stood trial and was hanged.
The Highwayman
Robber's Roost, Freeman Junction - Ridgecrest, California
The banditos would hide their horses in the clefts in the formation, climb to the top, and keep a lookout- They could see for 20 miles in each direction. The stage would approach, and they would move dustlessly into a deep and shadowy arroyo, then lie in wait.
Vasquez, the ‘Gentleman’, would politely rob them all. But one man refused to give up his watch, a gift from his since departed wife. Vasquez left him with his watch, a gold piece, and his condolence. Once a rich man carried only $200 for him to steal. Vasquez sternly warned him to bring him more next time or he would be a dead rich man.
Tiburcio Vasquez, the last ‘Californio’, was eventually hanged for a murder he claimed he did not commit. He died a young man, but the legend of the Robber’s Roost remains.