When a pioneer and one of this companions are gunned down in cold blood while prospecting for silver in the great American west, the sole survivors of the attack is quick to blame a group of Native Americans for the crime…but evidence emerges that raises questions about whether the survivor and possibly more white men hungry for power and riches might have been responsible for the mysterious case of double murder.
Peter Lassen Portrait #1(Source) Fairfield’s Pioneer History of Lassen County
Peter Lassen Portrait #2 (Source) Peter Lassen, Northern California’s Trail Blazer. By Ruby Johnson Swartzlow.
Black Rock Canyon Murder Site #1 (Source) Photographer Alison Portello via Don Buck
Black Rock Canyon Murder Site #2 (Source) Black Rock Canyon Murder Site #3 (Source) Black Rock Explorer’s Society: Lassen Clapper Murder Site.
Peter Lassen’s Monument in Susanville, California (Source) Exploring Lassen County’s Past: Lassen Monument. By Tim I. Purdy.
Black Rock Desert Map (Source) Lassen County Office of Education: Peter Lassen Unsolved Mystery. By Holly Azevado, Marilyn Chapman, Heather Cluck.
Episode Source Material
- Hutchins’ California Magazine: Death of Peter Lassen. By F.N. Spaulding. (pg 566-567) via Yosemite California Library.
- San Francisco Chronicle: Peter Lassen’s Death via Newspapers.com.
- History of the State of California: Peter Lassen. By J.M. Guinn via Hathitrust.org. (1)
- History of the State of California: Peter Lassen. By J.M. Guinn via Hathitrust.org. (2)
- Grizzly Bear via Daily People’s Cause: Peter Lassen, Pioneer of ‘41. By Frances Fairchild via newspapers.com
- Fairfield’s Pioneer History of Lassen County. Description of Lassen County. (pg xxi) By Merrill Fairfield via Cornell University Library.
- Fairfield’s Pioneer History of Lassen County. Description of Lassen County. (pg xxii) By Merrill Fairfield via Cornell University Library.
- Fairfield’s Pioneer History of Lassen County. The Years 1848 to 1856. (pg 3) By Merrill Fairfield via Cornell University Library.
- Fairfield’s Pioneer History of Lassen County. The Years 1848 to 1856. (pg 6-7) By Merrill Fairfield via Cornell University Library.
- Fairfield’s Pioneer History of Lassen County. The Years 1848 to 1856. (pg 8-9By Merrill Fairfield via Cornell University Library.
- Fairfield’s Pioneer History of Lassen County. Life of Peter Lassen. (pg 166) By Merrill Fairfield via Cornell University Library.
- Fairfield’s Pioneer History of Lassen County. Life of Peter Lassen(pg 167) By Merrill Fairfield via Cornell University Library.
- Fairfield’s Pioneer History of Lassen County. Life of Peter Lassen. (pg 168-169) By Merrill Fairfield via Cornell University Library.
- Fairfield’s Pioneer History of Lassen County. Life of Peter Lassen. (pg170-171) By Merrill Fairfield via Cornell University Library.
- Fairfield’s Pioneer History of Lassen County. Life of Peter Lassen. (pg172-173) By Merrill Fairfield via Cornell University Library.
- Fairfield’s Pioneer History of Lassen County. Life of Peter Lassen. (pg174-175) By Merrill Fairfield via Cornell University Library.
- Fairfield’s Pioneer History of Lassen County. Life of Peter Lassen. (pg176-177) By Merrill Fairfield via Cornell University Library.
- Fairfield’s Pioneer History of Lassen County. Lassen’s Masonic Charter (pg178-179) By Merrill Fairfield via Cornell University Library.
- Grizzly Bear via Plumas Independent: Peter Lassen, Pioneer. By Frances Fairchild via newspapers.com.
- Peter Lassen, Northern California’s Trail Blazer. By Ruby Johnson Swartzlow. (pg 291- 309) via University of California Press purchased (hard copy, no direct link)
- Oakland Tribune: Hardin City via newspaper.com.
- Brigham Young University: Peter Lassen: Danish Pioneer of California. (pg 1-18) By Franklin D. Scott.
- Lassen County Times: Lassen’s partner at last laid to rest. By Joel Stovall via Newspapers.com. (1)
- Lassen County Times: Lassen’s partner at last laid to rest. By Joel Stovall via Newspapers.com. (2)
- SF Gate: Deadly Tourist Trap/ Lassen’s phony shortcut lured travelers into desert. By Carl Noite.
- National Park Service: Lassen Volcanic National Park Historic Resources Study. (pg 1-2, 17, 20 -25, 29-31, 37-42, 43-44) By Ann Emmons, Theodore Catton, Derek Beery and David Strohmaier via npshistory.com.
- Trail Talk: The Murder of Peter Lassen and Edward Clapper in 1859. By Don Buck. (1)
- Trail Talk: The Murder of Peter Lassen and Edward Clapper in 1859. By Don Buck. (2)
- Exploring Lassen County’s Past: Lassen Monument. By Tim I. Purdy.
- Tim Purdy Website: Peter Lassen’s Demise. By Tim Purdy.
- SusanvilleStuff.com: From the Files of the Lassen Historical Society, Happy Birthday Peter Lassen. By Jeremy and Susan Couso.
- The Nevada Appeal: The Nevada Traveler: Peter Lassen’s final resting place. By Richard Moreno.
- National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior Lassen Volcanic National Park: Lassen History Timeline. By staff via nps.gov.
- Lassen County Office of Education: Peter Lassen Unsolved Mystery. By Holly Azevado, Marilyn Chapman, Heather Cluck.
- Black Rock Explorer’s Society: Lassen Clapper Murder Site.
- (PHOTOS) Black Rock Explorer’s Society: Lassen Clapper Murder Site.