An 1897 water rights dispute led to a killing in Riverside County
“Whiskey is for drinking and water is for fighting.” This quote, often attributed to Mark Twain, summarizes a lot of disputes throughout the old West. Riverside County was hardly immune to it, as in the murder of Samuel Jones Darrah.
Darrah was born March 18, 1842, in Leesport, Pennsylvania. He spent his early years in Pennsylvania, moving to Leavenworth, Kansas, as a teenager. He spent most of the rest of his life in Kansas and became a prominent citizen of that town, serving as the town clerk there. In approximately 1894, he left Kansas and moved to the San Gorgonio Pass, purchasing a ranch in Snow Creek from John Franklin Milner. In their agreement, Milner kept a right of way for water purposes across Darrah’s land. This water would come from Snow Creek, which at the time was being contested in many ways for its water.
On Sept. 16, 1897, Milner, according to his own testimony, noticed water was being diverted from his property. Upon investigation, he found one man in the employ of Darrah actively rerouting water. Milner chased him away, then went to get his shotgun to further investigate.
A little farther on, he noticed Darrah working to reroute water. The two men got into an argument and Darrah took a shot at Milner, and then another one. Milner crouched down and returned fire, hitting Darrah and killing him almost instantly.
A coroner’s inquiry was conducted and the decision was that Milner had no right to kill Darrah. A trial was held and Milner was convicted of murder Oct. 30 of that year. However, Milner’s attorney, John G. North, requested a new trial because there had been some legal issues. That motion was granted and a new trial occurred.
This time, Milner was found guilty of manslaughter, which many saw as merely a compromise and not a solution. Both parties were not satisfied.
An appeal was requested and in October 1898, after almost a year, the appeal was granted and the appellate court ordered a new trial for Milner. This time, Milner was acquitted and set free in spring 1899.
The many trials of John Milner received an increasing amount of publicity throughout the roughly 18 months they took place. The accused, thought initially to be a hardworking and honest victim of a hotheaded exchange, had his past brought out in a not-so-flattering light. Accusations of additional murders by him in New Mexico plagued him throughout the trial, and several character witnesses testified to threats made by him to the witnesses and many others throughout the region. The deceased, Samuel Darrah, was similarly treated, with his character and temperament being the subject of several witnesses’ testimony.
What happened to
John Milner after the trial is not known. What is for sure is that he did not stay around the area. He had a wife and a small child, and it may have simply been too much for them to stay. Regardless, he was a free man after the long ordeal, and it can be assumed that water rights were restored in Snow Creek Canyon.