The Life and Adventures of Joaquín Murieta by John Rollin Ridge

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 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 --...

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...ior (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.

Ridge, John Rollin. The Life and Adventures of Joaquín Murieta, the Celebrated California Bandit. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1955.