Major Horace Bell (1830-1918)

Joaquin Murrieta's Talking Head

From On the Old West Coast: Being Further Reminiscences of a Ranger-Major Horace Bell, 1930

Major Horace Bell declares that a truthful historian must "honor his enemies and spare not his friends."

One such enemy of Bell's and of frontier California's was the legendary bandit Joaquin Murrieta. The legends of the deeds of Murrietta and his band are classic and the characters even more cliche. In his tender youth Bell himself was a ranger in pursuit of Murrieta and his gang. Eventually, it would be the gruesome task of Billy Henderson, a member of the party that killed Murrieta, who would decapitate the notorious bandit.

Billy Henderson was haunted by Joaquin Murrieta. No question about that. He used to tell me that there was not a day, or more usually a night, that Joaquin did not come to him personally, headless, and speak--- for his voice was recognizable even though his head was missing. He was always demanding his head. Billy said that the first time the apparition made this demand he, Billy, was riding from Los Angeles down to his ranch. It was just daylight when a horseman appeared at his side. "Who are you and what do you want?" demanded Billy, hardly yet aware of the gruesome nature of the rider in the faint light. "I am Joaquin Murrieta," replied the strange horseman, in a voice so uncanny and yet so natural that its effect was absolutely startling. "You cut my head off, and I want you to restore it to me. No rest can ever come to me until I get my head back." Henderson, who was a brave and rational person, replied honestly, as man to man: "Joaquin, it is true that it was I who cut off your head, but I am powerless to restore it. All I can say is that I have always been sorry that I did cut it off."

Bell's retelling of such a fantastic California bandit tale is at once captivating and hilarious. As a historian Bell's work was tainted with his inability to separate what was recognized as a very strong personal opinion from the unbiased facts of events. This great ghost tale is no doubt a tribute to Bell's ability to paint a portrait of the California bandit history he helped create.

–Contributed by Meghan Bass