Augustus M. Heslep

Augustus M. Heslep ( 1806 – August 19, 1885) was an American lawyer, vigilante and journalist active in California during the Gold Rush era. In 1849, he traveled overland to California via the Santa Fe Trail, producing detailed accounts of the journey. After settling in Sacramento, he practiced law and journalism, gaining a reputation for frequent, sometimes violent, public feuds and litigation which earned him the nickname "Hellslip." He became the father-in-law of Harry N. Morse after the future Alameda County sheriff eloped with his daughter.

Early life

Heslep was born around 1806 in Virginia.

Journey to California (1849)

In May 1849, Heslep left St. Louis aboard the steamer Timour, joining the Morgan County and California Rangers of Illinois, a quasi-military company of 42 men captained by his brother Joseph Heslep. He later stated that he was seeking health restoration rather than gold. The company hired James Kirker, a frontiersman and Indian fighter, as guide.

In June 1856, Sacramento attorney James H. Hardy published a lengthy attack on Heslep in the Daily Democratic State Journal, accusing him of medical and legal quackery, defrauding his Santa Fe Trail companions, mishandling the Bigelow estate, bribing a U.S. District Attorney, and attempting to sexually assault one of his daughters.

Heslep responded in the Sacramento Age, denying the charges and announcing libel suits. Within the week, his ex-wife Editha Heslep published a letter in the State Journal describing his cruelty during her illness, the installation of a young schoolteacher named Josephine Morrow in their household, and a divorce she claimed he obtained fraudulently in her absence. Their daughter Cassandra co-signed the letter.

Days after the letter appeared, the Vigilance Committee expelled Heslep. Editha submitted formal charges against him to the committee, but they were dismissed on August 15. The committee returned her papers on September 16 with a communication that they could not consider them further. A few weeks later, on September 5, 1856, Heslep married Josephine Morrow in Sacramento.

Journalism and further conflicts (1857–1858)

Heslep became editor of the San Francisco Evening Plaindealer. Journalist Caspar T. Hopkins later described Heslep as "an old sore headed, disreputable lawyer" who had promised him $150 per month as assistant editor but never paid him.

During the Vigilance period, Heslep had helped prosecute Edward "Ned" McGowan on a charge of accessory to the King killing. Although McGowan was acquitted, he bore a lasting grudge against Heslep.

Shortly afterward, Heslep approached Weber. According to one account, Heslep raised his cane and suggested Weber "compromise that matter," which Weber interpreted as blackmail. As Heslep turned to leave, Weber drew a derringer and shot him in the back. The ball perforated his left lung and exited through the chest. Heslep ran toward El Dorado Street, exclaiming "Weber has shot me," before collapsing.

Weber surrendered to the Chief of Police the following morning and posted bail. Heslep agreed but later sued Judge Pratt for $20,000 over the reduction.

Later life and death

Heslep continued practicing law in San Francisco for two decades despite chronic ill health and the lingering effects of the Weber shooting. His ex-wife and children had severed ties with him after the divorce; Virginia never forgave him for leaving her mother. He died of heart disease on August 19, 1885, alone in his law office on Kearny Street. He was seventy-eight years old. A long letter addressed to Harry Morse was found on his desk, in which he pleaded with his son-in-law to help him reconcile with his estranged children.

His obituary in the Daily Evening Bulletin acknowledged that "as a sharp critic of men and of affairs he created for himself few friends" but noted that "beneath the bristling outer crust of pessimism and what was sometimes called fault-finding, there were many traits which would have made for him friends if trouble had been taken to discover them."