READERS WRITE

Referring to Vasquez’s escape from the sheriff, Mike Lawler wrote that they headed into Big Tujunga Canyon.

“Vasquez’s horse stumbled into a deep gully and broke its leg, but the outlaw managed to leap off. Vasquez continued on foot, carrying his saddle and two guns. At some point, he left the saddle and one gun behind.”

Many years later, Lawler added, Crescenta Valley resident Phil Begue found the abandoned saddle and gun.

Fred Koegler of La Crescenta recommends reading “Six Gun Sound: The Early History of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department,” by Sven Crongeyer.

“There’s a whole chapter on Vasquez,” said Koegler, a reserve deputy with the Sheriff’s Department. “I do a scout trip to Vasquez Rocks and one of the guys does a story on Vasquez, so I gave him the information.”

Marilyn Nadeau Chrisman, cousin of author Remi A. Nadeau, said Vasquez would very likely have used Verdugo Canyon.

“It would have been one of the quickest ways to reach Crescenta Valley and up Tujunga Canyon or Beale’s Cut (Fremont Pass) and from there to Soledad Canyon and the Mojave,” she said.

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