The “New” West

In his book, The Life and Adventures of Joaquín Murieta, author John Rollin Ridge introduces readers to a fictional character, who is a larger-than-life bandit. According to the story, Murieta set out on a path of revenge and organized a large band of outlaws to terrorize Californians. Murieta and his men committed terrible and bloody crimes (including robbery and murder). This pattern of criminal behavior continued until the band was pursued by mountain rangers, ending the story in a dramatic climax for the protagonist. However, this story is not an accurate depiction of the important elements of the “New” West according to author Patricia Nelson Limerick, in The Legacy of Conquest: The Unbroken Past of the American West. Instead, the character Murieta exemplifies many of the myths and outlandish film characters of the American West and the idea of innocence.

In her book, Limerick describes the “idea of innocence” that permeated the American West (36). According to the author, the underlying motive for every action was pure (even when it really was not). According to Western American folklore, early settlers did intend to victimize Indians and trespass on their land, but instead came to America to pursue new opportunities and improve their lives (Limerick 36). The same ideological theory may be applied to the motivations of the sensationalized outlaws from the time. For example, in her book Limerick details the life of John Wesley Hardin, an outlaw, who began his violent life of crime at the age of fifteen (36). According to the story, Hardin shot and killed a black man (Limerick 36). However, idolized as the son of a preacher, Hardin hid his crimes behind the veils of “bravery” and “honor” (Limerick 36). He claimed that he actually shot the man -- a bully -- in self-defense (Limerick 36). Hardin held himself out to be an innocent victim of social injustice, as opposed to a blood-thirsty killer of twenty plus men (Limerick 37). Even in jail, Hardin reportedly read scripture and lead a bible study group (Limerick 36). His defended his crimes because they were committed against those who he viewed as “[subjugators] of the South (Limerick 37). This characterization of the Western outlaw is strikingly similar to Ridge’s fictional outlaw, Joaquín Murieta.

Much like Hardin, Murieta was celebrated for being a model citizen, well-versed in the bible and theology. Also like Hardin, Murieta was the son of “respectable” parents and was well-educated (Ridge 8). According to Ridge, he was noble, generous and well-liked by everyone (8). The author also describes Murieta as being physically attractive, increasing his overall appeal to the reader (Ridge 9). Further paralleling Hardin, Murieta’s life of crime resulted from an oppression, after being victimized by a group of “lawless men” (Ridge 10). Murieta was beaten, tied up, his mistress was raped, his half-brother was framed and then killed, and Murieta was tied to a tree and beaten again (Ridge 10-12). Following the series of assaults, Murieta was driven into a life of crime, which is different and far more sympathetic than his turning to life of crime motivated by revenge.

Another myth introduced in Limerick’s book is the myth of an innocent victim. In the text, Limerick describes how this concept is actually a fallacy, and there is no such thing as an “innocent victim” (Limerick 37). Instead, she posits that many of the crimes committed against apparently “innocent victims” were actually imbedded in the “complex dynamics of race relations” (Limerick 37). In her text, Limerick describes Narcissa Prentiss Whitman, an American missionary and wife of a pioneer (Limerick 37). Whitman was reportedly in failing health and had eleven children (many of which were rescued orphans), but unwavering in her missionary work for the church (Limerick 38). She continued her service, despite multiple tragedies in her life at the time, including the death of a child (Limerick 38-39). Unfortunately, Whitman was killed by Cayuse Indians after a measles outbreak that killed several members of the tribe (Limerick 40). Also unfortunate for Whitman, the Indians traced the outbreak back to missionaries (Limerick 40-41). While at first blush Whitman’s service to God and desire to minister to the Cayuse Indians made her seem like an “innocent victim,” she was in fact a victim of racial tension following an inadvertent, but undesired, intrusion into the lives of these Indians.

The character of Joaquín Murieta also plays on Limerick’s myth of an innocent victim. When the audience is first introduced to Murieta, he is described as a young and honest miner, who came to America because for new opportunities, and to distance himself from revolutionary Mexico (Ridge 8). Nothing about this character’s description would make him undesirable to the reader in any way. He is neither too tall, nor too short (medium height) (Ridge 8). His complexion is neither too light, nor too dark (Ridge 8). However, the overall picture of Murieta is exudingly positive – his complexion is “clear and brilliant” (Ridge 8). He is “exceedingly handsome” with a “silvery voice,” and portrayed in a light that is usually only reserved for heroes (Ridge 8). However, Murieta’s plight began when fell victim to a band of American men, who were prejudice against Mexicans and felt that they were inferior (Ridge 9-10). It is for this reason, and not simply “inexplicably,” that they attacked Murieta in the first place.

The character of Joaquín Murieta has been described as a Western Robin Hood. Even following a string of bloody crimes, he was glorified by the author, much like other traditional western outlaws. However, while Murieta’s crimes would have certainly “[left] his name impressed upon the early history of this State,” he was not extraordinary in mind or in heart (Ridge 158). Instead, Murieta is another classic example of Limerick’s myth of innocence often found in period literature.

Works Cited

Limerick, Patricia Nelson. The legacy of conquest: the unbroken past of the American West. New York: Norton, 1987. Print.

Ridge, John Rollin. The life and adventures of Joaquín Murieta, the celebrated California bandit. New ed. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1955. Print.