The events surrounding Peter Lassen and his mining companion Edward Clapper deaths has always been a bit sketchy. For starters, W.N.Davis, Jr. wrote an interesting piece, and somewhat abridged than other versions. This is what Davis wrote:

”On April 25, 1859, Peter Lassen and his two prospecting companions made their evening camp near Clapper Creek, about twenty miles northwest of Black Rock and some 125 miles northeast of Susanville, expecting that on the next day they would join William Weatherlow and the three other miners of the party and commence examining the area for silver. On the morning of the 26th, Lassen rose with the dawn and was sitting placidly smoking his pipe as was his habit when the stillness was shattered by gunfire. Edward Clapper, one of the miners, was killed where he lay sleeping. Lassen leaped to his feet and shielding his eyes from the sun was endeavoring to locate the assailant when he too received a bullet. The old pioneer fell mortally wounded. The third member of the group, Lemercius Wyatt, seeing the fate of his partners, ran for the horses, only to find that they had pulled their picket ropes and were fast disappearing across the plain. The sixty year old Wyatt had never been in a tougher spot. Then one of the animals stopped, turned about, and galloped to the desperate man. Wyatt mounted in haste, and after a painful four day ride bareback gained the safety of Susanville. A search party went out to examine the site of the attack and Chief Winnemucca was questioned for information as to the culprit, but the assassin was never identified. All that was ever learned from the circumstances of the murders was that the perpetrator was almost certainly an Indian.”

Notice that Davis wrote “almost” but not conclusive. He has not been the only person that leaves some doubt. When one delves into the documentation, there are a lot of points to ponder, a good defense attorney representing a defendant in the matter could have a field day.

Donate