John Daly (outlaw)

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For other people of the same name, see John Daly.

John Daly (1839-February 1864) was a western outlaw and leader of the Daly Gang.

John Daly arrived from California in the early 1860s as a hired gun. Using scare tactics known as "criminal vigilantism", in which Daly advocated lynching townspeople and others who resisted, the gang operated without interference terrorizing the Nevada gold fields between Aurora to Carson City for over two years. However on February 1, 1864 the gang murdered William R. Johnson, who had killed gang member Jim Sears attempting to steal a horse the previous year, slitting his throat and setting him on fire. William's brutal murder soon caused local citizens of Nevada to establish the Citizens' Protective Association and within a week John Daly and members Johnny McDowell, William Buckley, and Jim Masterson were caught and hanged outside Armory Hall in Aurora.

[edit] Resources

• Sifakis, Carl. Encyclopedia of American Crime, New York, Facts on File Inc., 1982