Includes Index and Bibliography

I. The annals of a free citizen. 1. Pennsylvania's gift to California --
2. Bottled gold at Connelly's --
3. The panless prospector --
4. The San Francisco of Judge McGowan --
5. The high-strung scapegoats --
6. The politics of a new state --
7. A city and some private lives --
II. The saga of a fugitive. 8. The shooting of James King --
9. The huntsmen and the quarry --
10. The breaking of Broderick's wing --
11. The chase as Ned knew it --
12. The hunt goes afield --
13. Dodging the rat catchers --
14. The planned Pacific state --
15. A retreat and an advance --
III. A tale of exile and return. 16. The book and the bird --
17. A bout with the British crown --
18. Soldier and sailor, too --
19. The city of the vigilantes --
20. A wreath for a gallant man.

The battle between Judge Edward McGowan and the San Francisco Vigilantes of 1956 has generally portrayed the Vigilantes as saintly reformers, libertarian warriors and American patriots. The author argues that the Vigilantes were totalitarian. With secret courts, the unleashing of dog soldiers with unlimited powers of search and seizure, and a mob schooled by a bought press to rough up any who wouldn't support them.

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