Pliney Gardner
Encyclopedia
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 charge of murder, but released from custody. Gardner then made his living as a hired gun for a mining company being a member of a notorious Daly Gang that terrorized the goldfields between Aurora, Nevada
and Carson City
during the 1860s in the Nevada Territory.
After numerous shootings and a brutal murder, local citizens of Nevada established the "Citizens' Protective Association", and within a week gang leader John Daly
and members Johnny McDowell, William Buckley, and "Massey" Masterson were caught and hanged outside Armory Hall in Aurora. Gardner was also arrested for murder, but was deemed to have not played a part in the murder. Gardner and other gang members were banished from the Aurora area and Gardner then migrated back to California where he lived off his reputation as a feared gunfighter.
In the 1880s he owned a saloon called the Oasis on the banks of the San Joaquin River
at Hills Ferry, California
, in Stanislaus County
and it was said that "many men disappeared after having entered this joint". This place contained as many as fifty women during its heyday and was the favorite dance hall of the town. Gardner was said to have frequently "shot up the town", and it was often said that the constables were conveniently absent from the town when this would happen.
He was always single, never having married nor having fathered any children like many gunmen. Pliny Gardner was a saloon keeper during the 1880s and a liquor dealer in the 1890s until he died in his sixties from a stomach complication, in 1893, at Newman, California
. He was buried at the Hills Ferry Cemetery.
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 Instead, the criminal is withdrawn all legal protection, so that anyone is legally empowered to persecute...
. Gardner was born during the 1830s and migrated to 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...
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
Sonora, California
Sonora is the county seat of Tuolumne County, California. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 4,903, up from 4,423 at the 2000 census. Sonora is the only incorporated community in Tuolumne County.-Geography:...
and was indicted with a charge of murder, but released from custody. Gardner then made his living as a hired gun for a mining company being a member of a notorious Daly Gang that terrorized the goldfields between 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....
and Carson City
Carson City, Nevada
The Consolidated Municipality of Carson City is the capital of the state of Nevada. The words Consolidated Municipality refer to a series of changes in 1969 which abolished Ormsby County and merged all the settlements contained within its borders into Carson City. Since that time Carson City has...
during the 1860s in the Nevada Territory.
After numerous shootings and a brutal murder, local citizens of Nevada established the "Citizens' Protective Association", and within a week gang leader John Daly
John Daly (outlaw)
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.-Outlaw life,...
and members Johnny McDowell, William Buckley, and "Massey" Masterson were caught and hanged outside Armory Hall in Aurora. Gardner was also arrested for murder, but was deemed to have not played a part in the murder. Gardner and other gang members were banished from the Aurora area and Gardner then migrated back to California where he lived off his reputation as a feared gunfighter.
In the 1880s he owned a saloon called the Oasis on the banks of the San Joaquin River
San Joaquin River
The San Joaquin River is the largest river of Central California in the United States. At over long, the river starts in the high Sierra Nevada, and flows through a rich agricultural region known as the San Joaquin Valley before reaching Suisun Bay, San Francisco Bay, and the Pacific Ocean...
at Hills Ferry, California
Hills Ferry, California
Hills Ferry is a small unincorporated town in Stanislaus County. It is on the border of Stanislaus County and Merced County and is 3 miles northeast of Newman, California....
, in Stanislaus County
Stanislaus County, California
Stanislaus County is a county located in the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California. As the price of housing has increased in the San Francisco Bay Area, many people who work in the southern reaches of the Bay Area have opted for the longer commute and moved to Stanislaus County for the...
and it was said that "many men disappeared after having entered this joint". This place contained as many as fifty women during its heyday and was the favorite dance hall of the town. Gardner was said to have frequently "shot up the town", and it was often said that the constables were conveniently absent from the town when this would happen.
He was always single, never having married nor having fathered any children like many gunmen. Pliny Gardner was a saloon keeper during the 1880s and a liquor dealer in the 1890s until he died in his sixties from a stomach complication, in 1893, at Newman, California
Newman, California
Newman is a city in Stanislaus County, California, United States. The population was 10,224 at the 2010 census, up from 7,093 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Modesto Metropolitan Statistical Area. Founded by Simon Newman in 1888, the City of Newman is part of the West Side of California's...
. He was buried at the Hills Ferry Cemetery.