Bibliography: p. 476-518 pt. 1. The California frontier, 1846-1851 -- 1. The Spanish inheritance and the American conquest -- 2. Colonel Richard B. Mason, Military Governor -- 3. EL Dorado -- 4. Vox Populi in the mines of California -- 5. The struggle for organization -- 6. The fabrication of the commonwealth -- 7. The failure to establish social control -- pt. 2. The San Francisco committee of vigilance of 1851 -- 8. The prelude to the committe of vigilance -- 9. The organization of the committe of vigilance -- 10. The committee at work -- 11. The records for June -- 12. James Stuart, outlaw -- 13. On the trail of Stuart's companions -- 14. Adventures in crime -- 15. Politics and reorganization -- 16. The closing months -- 17. A summary of methods -- 18. '51 to '77 -- 19. Lynch law as a national problem -- 20. In retrospect 16