Blood Feud in the Kern River Country

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After the James Burton killing, the feud over the mine slipped into remission. Sarah Burton moved to Los Angeles with her daughters; Luther Burton went to Tonopah, Nev., where he reportedly did quite well in mining ventures. Although David Burton remained in the Kern River country, he was regarded as a good citizen, prosperous and law-abiding. He ignored the Walker boys and Allison, and they ignored him. An uneasy peace prevailed.

During this time, it became apparent to many that Ben Walker was most likely the one who had killed Fletcher Burton and wounded James Burton. As a result, Ben Walker became a fugitive from justice, but he was never apprehended. The convictions of the Gibson brothers now seemed like miscarriages of justice, and two petitions from Kern County were submitted to California Governor James H. Budd asking him to pardon the prisoners. The first petition was from the Kern River country and had 150 signatures on it. The second petition was primarily from Bakersfield. The signatures included those of prominent county officers and several attorneys, most notably J.W. Ahern, the prosecuting attorney who secured the Gibson brothers’ conviction. While none of the signatories believed the Gibson brothers to be guilty, they didn’t all agree on who had done the shootings. Their affidavits show that some of them believed that John Spratt had murdered Fletcher Burton, but more of them believed that Benjamin Walker was the killer. Others made no accusations. A few citizens wrote letters protesting a pardon.

No new evidence was provided in the petition affidavits, but the arguments presented were compelling. On December 24, 1893, Governor Budd commuted the Gibson brothers’ life sentences to time served, and they were released from prison. Instead of returning immediately to the Kern River country, they took up residence in Porterville, a small town in nearby Tulare County.

As the years passed, David Burton apparently brooded over the deaths of his brothers and could no longer ignore the Walker brothers. Perhaps he believed that Ben Walker had murdered Fletcher Burton and had attempted to kill James Burton. But Ben was long gone. David’s hatred seemed to center on Newt Walker, who had little or nothing to do with the feud or the 1892 shootings of Fletcher and James Burton. In early 1905, David Burton imported a gunman, George Bagsby, to even the score. Bagsby boasted of his mission, and the Walker family naturally became watchful.

In April of that year, Newt and his father, William, went to Bakersfield by stagecoach. On their way home on the 23rd, they stopped at the village of Havilah. Before departing the coach, they saw David Burton and George Bagsby on the street. The elder Walker wanted to leave town immediately to avoid trouble, but Newt was hungry and wanted to eat first.

Newt and his father were eating in Gus Miller’s store when Burton and Bagsby came in and began harassing them. The Walkers did not respond. William Walker continued to read a newspaper. Bagsby eventually leaned over William’s shoulder as if to read the paper. Burton and Bagsby were clearly trying to provoke Newt into making a hostile move so that they could shoot him. William didn’t have any trouble convincing his son to leave this time. The Walkers left the store and headed up the street.

Burton and Bagsby followed, taunting Newt. After the younger Walker still did not respond, Bagsby shouted, “We want you!” as he seemed to reach for the pistol he carried in his belt. As Newt whirled around to face Burton and Bagsby, he drew his .38-caliber Smith & Wesson double-action revolver from its holster and fired two shots at Bagsby. Both shots struck Bagsby in the chest. Although he didn’t fall, Bagsby was mortally wounded. Newt Walker then fired two accurate shots at David Burton, who died instantly. Newt wasn’t done; he fired two more shots at Bagsby, who was finally tumbling over. One shot grazed Bagsby’s arm and the sixth shot missed. As Newt walked away, Bagsby managed to fire two shots at him, but both missed. Newt reloaded his revolver, but did not shoot again. Bagsby died in the street.

Newt then walked up to his father, who had played no role in the shooting, and commented that Burton and Bagsby were dead. Newt said he would surrender to proper authority but not at that moment. He shook hands with William and vanished into the nearby brush. No gun was found on or near the body of David Burton, but several cartridges that fit .32- and .38-caliber pistols were in his pockets.

A manhunt was soon launched, but Newt Walker couldn’t be found that day. Kern County Sheriff John Kelly led the search for the fugitive the next day, but had no better luck. In the meantime, the county coroner conducted an inquest into the deaths of Burton and Bagsby. After taking testimony, the jury determined that the two men died from gunshot wounds inflicted by Newt Walker. The jury did not find the killings to be murder.

Newt sent word through a friend to Sheriff Kelly that he would surrender to that lawman — no one else. Kelly replied by directing the fugitive to meet him at the Isabella stagecoach depot at 8 o’clock the next evening. Newt Walker did so, and the surrender was completed without a hitch.

Kelly placed Walker in the Kern County jail to await court action. Even though Walker maintained his innocence from the moment of his arrest, District Attorney J.P.W. Laird was confident of a conviction because Newt had gunned down an unarmed man, David Burton. Laird filed two counts of murder but only prosecuted the case that involved Burton.

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