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Tiburcio Vasquez by John Bergstrom
Tiburcio Vasquez was born in 1830 in Mexican
Alta California . His teenage years saw the events that led to Statehood for
California . He became the last and longest lived of the famous
California Banditos.
V.I
Tiburcio Vasquez was raised in the days
When the Yankees took over with their Gringo ways.
The Mexican War and the Gold Rush’s strife
Led him to take up the bandito life.
Chorus
Some called him hero
Some called him thief
Guess it depends upon who had the grief.
He rode the trails of the Californios
From Santa Clarita to
San Benito .
V.II
He stole some horses up in
Monterey .
Five years in prison the sentence did say.
When from San Quentin he finally got out,
Tiburcio gathered himself and went south.
[Chorus]
V.III
In Santa Clarita’s canyons and rocks
The hills around Chatsworth, sly as a fox,
His gang robbed the coaches and raided the towns.
He flirted with women in tatters and gowns.
[Chorus]
V.IV
Up in Tres Pinos three men were dead.
Vasquez was blamed with a price on his head.
His capture would come near
Cahuenga
Pass
His bandito trail was over at last.
[Chorus]
V. V[Spoken]
His last trial was held back in old
Monterrey .
For the raid on Tres Pinos with his life he would pay.
The rocks and the canyon named for him go on,
But the tale of Tiburcio Vasquez in done.
[Chorus] and repeat the last two lines.
Throw Down the Box/ the Saga of Black Bart… J. Bergstrom
V. 1
They saw guns on the hillside, or so they’d agree,
A band of vicious outlaws, but only one was seen.
He had a cloth sack on his head, a shot gun in his hands
He didn’t fire a single shot when making his demands.
Chorus:
“Throw down the box!” he ordered from the road.
“Throw down the box! It’ll lighten up your load.
I only want the money from the Wells and Fargo line.
You can go on your way. Thank you for your time.”
V.2
The law came out to hunt, lookin’ for clues.
There wasn’t much for them to find ‘cept for a track or two.
They found the strong box with a note and on it was a rhyme.
Black Bart had signed it—just one of many times.
Chorus:
V.3
Time to time from Santa Rosa down to Livermore,
Coaches taking winding roads had better watch for sure;
Stepping from behind a rock this gentleman might come,
And Wells and Fargo once again would lose a pretty sum.
Chorus
V. 4
In nearly thirty robberies he never shot a soul.
His gang was made of dummies, armed with wooden poles.
He seldom took anything besides the Fargo box.
The mark on his handkerchief was how Charles Boles got caught.
V. 5
In the end the hunt would come to San Francisco town.
Armed with the hanky, they hunted Charlie down.
Sentenced to San Quentin, he served just four years there.
When released, he headed out; no one knew just where.
Chorus:
V. 6
For many years rumors told of ghostly apparitions
Who appeared on winding roads in foggy conditions.
A duster and a white cloth hood, a bit of poet’s art…
They didn’t know, but many said it looked like Black Bart.
Chorus:
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