Dum Tacet Clamat

In the land of gold prospecting and bad men, you will always find a cemetery.  A few more miles up into the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, you will find this little almost abandoned gem.  This is what remains of Hornitas, the name being changed to Hornitos in 1877, meaning little ovens in Spanish.

Why little ovens?  Because that was the shape of the headstones in the ever increasing cemetery on the hill above town.  As you wind your way up the hill, this is the first thing you see.  It's Saint Catherine's Church, built in the 1860's.  Although funerals are held here, I've never actually been IN the church.  Notice the rock supports on the sides, keeping her steady in the event of an earthquake.

It's very eerie up here and seems to go on forever.  Many of the graves have disappeared into the dirt, so walk lightly.  Sadly, the little oven headstones no longer exist.  

This was a diversified lot of men from Italy, Germany, France and even farther away places, all looking for that pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.  

There are entire families with multiple generations buried here.  When the gold mining didn't work out, many worked as lumberjacks, cutting and hauling the big trees from the mountains down to Merced Falls to the saw mill.  It was dangerous work.

Joaquin Murietta, controversial Robin Hood of the West, hung out here in Hornitos, robbing people and banks.  Although there is little REAL information, it is said he and his brother were accused of stealing a mule.  His brother was killed and he was horsewhipped.  It is said his young wife was raped and possibly killed, whereupon he hunted them down and killed every one.

As time went on, Joaquin organized several gangs who worked in the stolen horse industry, running them to Mexico.  When not actively pursuing their business, they robbed gold miners, supposedly killing about 40 people in this area.  

In 1853, he had done enough damage that the legislature hired a company of 20 California Rangers to hunt him down, paying them $150 a month with rewards up to $1,000.  Needless to say, that was a lot of money that had the rangers fired up.  There's so much more to this story, but I'll write about it later in the week.

It is interesting to note that in 1919, Johnston McCulley supposedly got his inspiration from this story to write ZORRO.

So what is Dum Tacet Clamat?  It's what is carved on this tree trunk headstone.  Way back in 1890, a not for profit fraternal benefit society was founded in Omaha Nebraska to (among other things) create headstones for it's members so they would not be forgotten.  It's Latin for "though silent, he speaks".  Mr. Adams buried here, speaks loudly with this most unusual headstone.

Many remain completely silent, as their headstones no longer exist.  The little town has tried to keep up the cemetery, but sadly, it falls into disrepair, not helped along by their yearly Day of the Dead celebration.  It is held at night, with candles left burning everywhere.  

Amazingly, there are not that many graves of children, which is not the usual case in a tiny mountain gold town like this.  This baby died at two years of age in 1821.  

There is a lot more history, but I'll share it tomorrow to keep this from getting too long.  I know you'll be interested in the story of Three Fingered Jack!!