John Daly (outlaw)

John Daly (1839 – February 1864) 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.

John Daly, by most accounts, was born in New York and wound up in California by way of Canada. He was said by the Esmerelda Star to be a handsome man. In late 1862, at somewhere around 23 years of age, with a string of dead men reportedly in his past (a rumored 4 to 10 in Sacramento, California alone), Daly rode into Aurora, Nevada to make his living off of the gold rush, one way or another. The Pond Mining Company hired him and associates John McDowell, alias Three Fingered Jack, Italian Jim, William Buckley, Jim Sears, and many others to protect its interests. The Pond was fighting with the Real Del Monte Mining Company over claims to Last Chance Hill. Both companies hired gunmen to intimidate the other side and to keep witnesses from testifying against their companies in court. Within three years some twenty-seven of citizens had to their death by the hand of violence.

In the fall of 1863, Daly and several of his men became deputy city marshals of Aurora. At this point one murder followed another. Honest merchants were shaken down by dishonest lawmen. In 1864 the Esmeralda Star is quoted with saying "No sooner had the Marshal been sworn in than the worst villains that ever infested a civilized community were appointed policemen, and with but few exceptions they were composed of as hard a set if criminals ever went unhung."

In April, 1863, Daly Gang member Jim Sears had seen a horse tied in front of Mayberry's, near Hoy's Station, on the banks of the West Walker; mounted the animal and rode away. The owner, a German named Louis Wedertz, was much distressed by the loss of his horse, and followed down the road to Jack Wright's Station, now Wellington, and asked assistance of W. R. Johnson, who was keeping the place. Mr. Johnson directed John A. Rogers, one of his men, to mount and pursue the robber and bring the horse back. Away flew Rogers in hot pursuit, leaving a dense trail of dust behind him. The thief was overtaken at Sweetwater, and being called upon three times to stop, and refusing to comply, was shot dead. The horse was returned to the happy German, and both Johnson and Rogers were commended for their activity in recovering the stolen property, the fate of the robber being considered a deserved one.

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