“Sheriff Burns returned to this city, bringing with him Buckskin’s left foot, on which one of the toes was known to be malformed.”

A story of frontier justice was published in the July 28, 1871 Brooklyn Daily Eagle. An excerpt:

“The Los Angeles Star gives this subjoined account of the killing of noted desperado and murderer, Buckskin Joe:

‘Yesterday morning Sheriff Burns returned to this city, bringing with him Buckskin’s left foot, on which one of the toes was known to be malformed, and twisted above the others in such a manner as to enable the foot to be readily identified; his rifle, an old-fashioned muzzle-loader, with which he was wont to do deadly execution on bear, deer, and sometimes men; his buckskin cap and purse, and an old almanac, found on his body, and used by him as a memorandum book.

During the first part of the month the Sheriff received a letter from the San Rafael mines, Lower California, arriving at San Rafael on the 14th.  Upon receipt of the warrants, the Governor, Don Manuel C. Roja, dispatched Justo Chavis, his chief executive officer, with a party of five men to make the arrest. After eight days of searching, during which no trace of any party, except Buckskin could be found, the camp of the gentleman was discovered by Indians at a spring situated about a mile from the tops of the Sierra Madre range, on the side of the mountain nearest Colorado desert. When first seen by Mexican officers, Buckskin, alone, was leaving his camp. Making a cut-off, the party soon overtook him on the mountain ridge, and surrounded him, Justo Chavis in front, who summoned him to surrender. At the same time Quirrino Endelacio, who was in the rear, rode his horse against him. Buckskin dropped his own rifle, and seizing Quirrino’s Spencer, attempted to wrest it from him. In the struggle, the gun went off accidentally while Buckskin had hold of the muzzle, the ball passing through his hand, entering his left side below the heart, and breaking his backbone. He fell immediately, and died about two hours after making a lengthy confessions of the murder with which he was charged.”