Tiburcio Vásquez (April 11, 1835 – March 19, 1875) was a Californio bandido who was active in California from 1854 to 1874. The Vasquez Rocks, north of Los Angeles, were one of his many hideouts and are named after him.
Early life
Tiburcio Vásquez was born in Monterey, Alta California, Mexico (present-day California, United States) on April 11, 1835 to José Hermenegildo Vásquez and María Guadalupe Cantúa. In accordance with Spanish tradition, Vásquez's birth was celebrated on the saint’s feast day of his namesake, St. Tiburtius; thus, he always referred to his birthday as August 11, 1835. His great-grandfather came to Alta California with the De Anza Expedition of 1776. He grew up in a moderately well-off, middle-class family who owned land, granted to them by the Mexican government, due to his father’s military service as a Spanish soldier. He spent plenty of time on his father’s and his Uncle Felipe Vásquez’s ranchos, learning the skills of ranching. He was noted as excellent in marksmanship and horsemanship from a young age. Vásquez was slightly built, and about . He flourished in Monterey’s early social scene, and he loved to attend the balls and dances that were popular in town. His family had sent him to a public school established by the government where he became proficient in both English and Spanish, an uncommon skill for the times.
By 1852, Vásquez had become a protégé of Anastacio García, one of California's most dangerous bandits. In 1854, Vásquez was present at the slaying of Monterey Constable William Hardmount, during a fight with García at a fandango. Vásquez denied any involvement in the murder, yet still fled, becoming an outlaw. With Alta California ceasing to exist (once becoming the U.S. state of California), and no longer under Mexican governance, thousands of settlers from states and territories further east arrived to claim land in California. This left many Mexicans feeling slighted and forgotten; Vásquez would later claim that his (eventual) crimes were retribution for discrimination by the settlers and white norteamericanos (‘North Americans’), insisting that he was a defender of Mexican-American rights. For the next 20 years, Vásquez and García played leading roles in Monterey County's murderous Roach-Belcher feud, ending when García was executed by hanging in 1875.
Northern California
In 1856, a sheriff's posse caught up with Vásquez while he was rustling horses near Newhall, and he spent the next five years behind bars in San Quentin prison. There, Vásquez helped organize, and participated in, four bloody prison breaks which left twenty convicts dead. By 1866, he had committed numerous burglaries, cattle thefts, and highway robberies in Sonoma County. He was captured after a store burglary in Petaluma and sent to prison again for three years. His "trademark" was "binding [his victims'] hands behind their back and leaving them face down in the dust."
In 1870, Vásquez organized a bandit gang, which included the notorious Juan Soto and, later, Procopio Bustamante. After numerous bandit raids, Vásquez was shot and badly wounded in a gunfight with Santa Cruz police officer Robert Liddell. Vásquez managed to escape, and his sisters nursed him back to health.
In 1873, he gained statewide, and then nationwide, notoriety. Vásquez and his gang stole $2,200 from Snyder's Store in Tres Pinos, now called Paicines, in San Benito County. Three were killed, but not by Vásquez. Posses began searching for Vásquez, and Governor Newton Booth placed a $1,000 reward on his head. Sheriff John H. Adams from San Jose pursued the band to Southern California; Vásquez escaped after a gunfight.
Southern California
Vásquez hid for a while in Southern California, where he was less well known. With his two most trusted men, he rode over the old Tejon Pass, through the Antelope Valley, and rested at Jim Hefner's ranch at Elizabeth Lake. Vásquez's brother, Francisco, lived nearby. After resting, Vásquez rode on to Littlerock Creek, which became his first Southern California hideout.
Vásquez was popular in the Mexican-American community, and had many friends and family members from Santa Rosa in Northern California to Los Angeles in the south. He was handsome, literate and charming, played guitar, and was a skillful dancer. Women were attracted to him, and he had many love affairs. He enjoyed reading romantic novels and writing poetry for his female admirers. He had several affairs with married women, one of which eventually led to his downfall.