fingered Jack were real life bandits in Northern California at  the time of the 1849 Gold Rush. Joaquin Murieta was a Mexican born  in Sonora who moved to California to find his fortune. But after  being beaten and robbed by American gold miners, he swore that he  would avenge his dishonor. He was the lead in a group of bandits in  the California wilderness, killing anyone who stood in their way.  His life was the stuff of legend, used by Mexicans as a source of  patriotism and by Americans as reason enough to hang anyone who  spoke Spanish. Three