John Daly (outlaw)
Encyclopedia
John Daly was an American Old West
outlaw
and leader of the "Daly Gang". Daly and his gang were known for terrorizing townspeople with the violent treatment of those who resisted their thievery. A citizen posse would catch and hang Daly near Aurora, Nevada
after a brutal murder.
from California
in the early 1860s, as a hired gun. Using scare tactics known as "criminal vigilantism", in which Daly advocated lynching townspeople and others who resisted, the gang operated without interference, terrorizing the Nevada gold fields between Aurora
and Carson City for over two years.
However, on February 1, 1864 the gang murder
ed William R. Johnson, who had killed gang member Jim Sears while the latter was attempting to steal a horse the previous year. The gang members caught Johnson, slit his throat and set him on fire. Johnson's brutal murder soon caused local citizens of Nevada to establish the "Citizens' Protective Association", and within a week John Daly and members Johnny McDowell, William Buckley, and "Massey" Masterson were caught and hanged outside Armory Hall in Aurora. Gang member and gunman Pliney Gardner
was also captured, along with "Irish Tom" Carberry and others, but deemed to have played no part in the murder, and was banished from the territory.
American Old West
The American Old West, or the Wild West, comprises the history, geography, people, lore, and cultural expression of life in the Western United States, most often referring to the latter half of the 19th century, between the American Civil War and the end of the century...
outlaw
Outlaw
In historical legal systems, an outlaw is declared as outside the protection of the law. In pre-modern societies, this takes the burden of active prosecution of a criminal from the authorities. Instead, the criminal is withdrawn all legal protection, so that anyone is legally empowered to persecute...
and leader of the "Daly Gang". Daly and his gang were known for terrorizing townspeople with the violent treatment of those who resisted their thievery. A citizen posse would catch and hang Daly near Aurora, Nevada
Aurora, Nevada
Aurora is a ghost town in Mineral County in the western central part of the U.S. state of Nevada, approximately southwest of the town of Hawthorne and three miles from the California border....
after a brutal murder.
Outlaw life, hanging
Little is known of Johnson's early life. He is thought to have been from the Eastern part of the U.S., but that has never been confirmed. John Daly arrived in NevadaNevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
from California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
in the early 1860s, as a hired gun. Using scare tactics known as "criminal vigilantism", in which Daly advocated lynching townspeople and others who resisted, the gang operated without interference, terrorizing the Nevada gold fields between Aurora
Aurora, Nevada
Aurora is a ghost town in Mineral County in the western central part of the U.S. state of Nevada, approximately southwest of the town of Hawthorne and three miles from the California border....
and Carson City for over two years.
However, on February 1, 1864 the gang murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
ed William R. Johnson, who had killed gang member Jim Sears while the latter was attempting to steal a horse the previous year. The gang members caught Johnson, slit his throat and set him on fire. Johnson's brutal murder soon caused local citizens of Nevada to establish the "Citizens' Protective Association", and within a week John Daly and members Johnny McDowell, William Buckley, and "Massey" Masterson were caught and hanged outside Armory Hall in Aurora. Gang member and gunman Pliney Gardner
Pliney Gardner
Pliney Fisk Gardner was an Old West gunfighter and outlaw. Gardner was born during the 1830s and migrated to California during the 1850s where he made his living as a gambler, earning a reputation as a hard character. He shot a man to death in 1859 at Sonora, California and was indicted with a...
was also captured, along with "Irish Tom" Carberry and others, but deemed to have played no part in the murder, and was banished from the territory.
Resources
- Sifakis, Carl. Encyclopedia of American Crime, New York, Facts on File Inc., 1982