Since we live in age of conspiracy theories, one reader was curious about the circumstances of Peter Lassen’s death.

In the fall of 1858, news circulated of the silver discovery in the Black Rock Desert, Nevada. In the spring of 1859, Lassen organized a prospecting party. It was divided into two groups, one led by Captain William Weatherlow and the other by Lassen—that group consisted of Lassen, Edward Clapper and Lemericus Wyatt. The two groups were to meet at the Black Rock Canyon. Lassen and Company arrived first and remained to wait for Weatherlow’s party—a fatal mistake. On the morning on April 26, 1859, Lassen’s camp was awakened by a gunshot, a fatal one, striking the head of Clapper. Lassen was killed by the second shot. Wyatt escaped and rode horseback 124 miles to Susanville to safety and to relay the tragic event. Who murdered Clapper and Lassen is a question still pondered to this day. Wyatt stated that they had been attacked by Indians. However, many historians are skeptical about Wyatt’s story and speculate that he murdered his comrades.

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