The Mission San Miguel Murders 
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2 pages -- Sources: "1883 History of San Luis Obispo County" by Myron Angel;  "1917 History of San Luis Obispo County" by Mrs. Annie L. Morrison and John H. Haydon; "Our Violent Past", New Times magazine, Sept. 9, 2004 issue. Written by Manny Silva, 2004.  All rights reserved.

Submitted 15 Dec. 2008 by Russ Taylor rwtjmt [at} sbcglobal d o t net.
Russ Taylor said "Pretty Interesting about the Reed murders but inaccurate as well. Even Myron Angel had it wrong. "Old mountain man Jim Beckworth discovered the eleven murders at san miguel mission December 1848 while he was working for lieutenant William T. Sherman at Monterey on the first regular California US mail route. Jim's portion of the mail route was Monterey to Dana's (Nipomo). Jim notified Price and Branch and anybody else he found on his route. General William T Sherman (yes, that Sherman) later retold the exact circumstances in his written history. It was the US Army lead by Lieutenant Ord (as in Fort Ord) who tracked down the murderers and turned them over to the Santa Barbara Alcalde. They were shot. Ref. Jim Beckworth by Elinor Wilson. isbn0-8061-1555-6. Chapter X. pg 115-121."   For a complete history of this fascinating story, acquire the book The Lands of Mission San Miguel by Wallace V. Ohles, Copyright © 1997 The Friends of the Adobes, Inc. All rights Reserved. A copy of this book may be obtained from the Mission Gift Shop (805) 467-3256. Or, you can read much more online at http://www.missionsanmiguel.org/ to http://www.missionsanmiguel.org/about.html to http://www.missionsanmiguel.org/history/reedfamily.html which says, In his history of San Miguel, “The Lands of Mission San Miguel“ author Wally Ohles lays out the historical facts of the brutal Reed Family murders at The Old Mission... As you might expect, the murders and stories of buried gold at the Old Mission have given rise to some colorful local legends, one of which is recounted at the end of this history... read it if you dare! The Murders in the Old Mission by Wally Ohles, Author and Historian. On the afternoon of December 4, 1848,...

16 Dec. 2008. Author Manny Silva replies " Yes, there are two versions of this story.  One is that Jim Beckworth made the discovery and went north to Monterey and reported the incident to Sherman.  The other is that Price and Branch discovered it, went south and sent word on to Santa Barbara officials.  I think it is entirely possible both versions are accurate.  But I also think that some people want Jim Beckworth to receive sole credit for the discovery and subsequent apprehension.  As to my re-telling of the tale, I have tried to present an abbreviated version to whet readers appetites and encourage them to research on their own if they find this topic of interest. For my brief narrative I interpreted the facts in this way: The murderers were traveling south, so I went with the Price/Branch connection.  It seemed more likely to me that they [the murderers] could be overtaken more switfly by a posse from Santa Barbara on fresh mounts than by Dragoons mustered from Monterey."