|
|
|
 
The
Story of Deputy "Big Dip" Dependener,
|
Big Dip and Shorty Nunes
|
"His prowess and strength was the by-word of the crooks and yeggs throughout the length and breadth of the land. In the loss of "Big Dip" the county loses a valuable police officer."
So was mourned the passing of Frank "Big
Dip" Dependener, a veritable Paul Bunyan of law enforcement
in Placer County, a mountain of a man who was both respected
and feared in Auburn and throughout the Foothills. Dead now
for 75 years, Big Dip was not only a lawman, he was also a
bar keeper, a partner in Yocum & Dip's, formerly the Union
Saloon and now home to Carpe Vino, a wine shop and wine bar
in Old Town Auburn.
At six-feet, seven-inches, Big Dip was the tallest man in
the county, and his imposing size and sheer strength were
qualifications enough for being appointed a deputy sheriff
in 1891 when he was just 21. He stayed on as a deputy for
the next 37 years, through the administrations of four elected
sheriffs.
Frank
Tsuda, 90, operator of Tsuda's Grocery and Old Town Auburn's
oldest active merchant, has vivid memories of Big Dip. Frank
was just 15 when Dependener was killed. "He used to live
up around the corner on Brewery Lane, and I remember seeing
him walk by often on his way to the courthouse," recalled
Frank. "He was a big man."
Tsuda's sister, Dorothy, also was impressed
by Big Dip's frame. "He wore a huge hat, and whenever
he came into our store, he had to bend over to get through
the door."
Though she never met her grandfather, Auburn resident Muff
Azevedo heard plenty of stories about Big Dip. "He was
a very gentle person," she said, "But if you committed
a crime, he'd grab you by the neck and carry you up to the
courthouse."
Born in 1869 in Rock Creek, he married Virginia Lee Barrett,
who bore him two daughters, Beatrice and Mignon. Though there
is no record of her malady, Virginia became seriously ill
and underwent four operations in three years before finally
succumbing on June 6, 1904.
Her
death came just as her husband was deeply embroiled in helping
investigate a bold, daylight robbery of the Placer County
Bank, whose original building survives on Commercial Street
in Old Town Auburn. At about 3 p.m. on May 26, a man in an
amateurish disguise entered the bank with a .22 caliber six-shooter
and stole $5,000 in cash after vaulting over a four-foot-high
counter when the clerk was slow to respond to his demands.
Before leaving, he fired a shot at a bank official in an adjacent
office and then stole a horse and rancher's cart tied at the
street to make his escape.
Even as his wife hovered near death, Big
Dip was no doubt part of the posse that spent the evening
searching the surrounding area for the bank robber whose weapon,
clothing and cart were found a short distance from town. It
would not be until early November 1904, however, that the
bank robber would be caught after the commission of the most
heinous crime ever committed in Auburn. And, again, Big Dip
would be involved.
At 7:30 on the evening of November 10, hundreds of Auburn
residents responded when fire raged through the stately home
of Julius Weber, a wealthy businessman and former owner of
the Auburn Brewery. By the time the flames were extinguished,
the bodies of Weber, his wife and two of their three children
were removed. Julius, his wife and daughter had been shot
to death; his youngest son was beaten badly and died shortly
after being rescued. Several of the bodies had been burned
in an attempt to mask the crime.
Almost immediately, Weber's 20-year-old son and only surviving
family member, Adolph, was arrested for the murder of his
mother, and he was quickly connected to the robbery of Placer
County Bank, some five months earlier. Big Dip, now a widower,
was assigned to help collect the evidence used to convict
Adolph who, through a series of appeals, was able to delay
his inevitable execution. When he was eventually taken to
Folsom Prison for his date with the hangman in November 1906,
Big Dip rode shotgun on the carriage used to transport the
condemned man.
Though violence was not uncommon in turn-of-the-century Auburn,
executions were. In fact, just a few months before Adolph
Weber robbed Placer County Bank, a man named William Glover
was hung on January 11 for murdering the father of his 14-year
old girl friend. This was the first Auburn-connected hanging
since Stephen Bowdon Richards was hung on January 12, 1884,
in the jail yard at Auburn.
This is of note because the morning after Richards lost a
large sum in a card game ten months earlier at the Auburn
Hotel, he confronted one of the other players, a "Mr.
F. Dependener," according to a report in the Placer Herald.
This was Big Dip's father, and Frank was 15 at the time. Richards'
attempt to lure the elder Dependener into a brawl failed,
so he turned on another guest who tried to intervene and shot
him dead.
It seems Big Dip was never far from the action himself, and
never afraid to wade into trouble. After his death, the Auburn
Journal reported, "Dependener was said to have been wounded
at least seven times by bullets, and to have borne about thirty
marks inflicted by hostile criminals with weapons of various
kinds."
His
most notable encounter was April 9, 1916, when he was seriously
wounded in a spectacular gun fight with Albert and Jim Cox
on the steps of the Placer County Courthouse in Auburn. Big
Dip, who was an excellent marksman, arrested a third brother,
Arthur, in the early afternoon after the group had torn up
a Japanese grocery store during a drunken spree.
The Cox brothers drove to Newcastle to raise $10 in bail money,
and then stopped in Ophir on the return to trip and picked
up their pistols. They tracked down Big Dip at Kenison's Cigar
store and pleaded for their brother's release. Big Dip agreed,
but only if they left town immediately.
Big Dip walked up to the courthouse and met the Cox boys who
had driven. According to a report in the Placer Herald, the
men became rowdy again, and Big Dip "admonished them
to keep quiet."
As Big Dip turned to start up the steps, Albert drew his pistol
and fired, barely missing his head. Jim Cox followed suit,
and the pair fired a volley and dropped him to the ground
with bullets in his right lung, leg and hand. The Herald described
the heinous deed: "It was a most cowardly act, as Dip
was shot from behind and without warning."
Though gravely injured, Big Dip drew his own pistol and fired
four shots, hitting Albert twice. A later newspaper report
embellished the tale a bit: "His right arm disabled by
a bullet, Dependener switched his gun to his left hand and
battled with them until he crumpled, but not before wounding
one of the brothers."
A
posse was formed immediately and set out in an unsuccessful
hunt for the assailants. None-the-less, Big Dip's attackers
were quickly in custody, one captured by Sheriff Elmer Gum
in a train yard in Winnemucca, Nevada; the other surrendered
and both were held on $5,000 bond, a tremendous sum in those
days. At least Jim Cox was repentant for his crime, saying
he hoped Big Dip got well and "If we had not been drinking
we wouldn't have done it."
Local lore says that when Big Dip was hospitalized after being
wounded, there was no bed long enough to contain his huge
frame. The problem was solved when his personal bed from home
was delivered to the hospital.Placer County Sheriff Elmer
Gum
As soon as word got out, well-wishing telegrams poured in
from law enforcement organizations all over the state. His
already legendary status was heightened by the attack. Again
from the Placer Herald: "While being recognized as a
very brave officer, one who has never yet showed the 'yellow
streak' during his long service, he is kind and has a big
heart, and would not harm a flea unless it was his duty to
do so."
He recovered and returned to his job, though he carried two
bullets for the rest of his life as a reminder of his encounter
with the Cox boys. They had plenty of time to think about
their crime since they were both sentenced to 20 years in
San Quentin.
Big Dip had another close call that added to his celebrity,
as reported by the local press: "In one encounter when
he and Sheriff Conroy were after stage robbers and near the
wire bridge, Dip stood out in the open and several shots were
fired at him from ambush but he was not hit."
After Big Dip's wife died in 1904, it appears that he was
not able to deal with the day-to-day demands of being the
single parent of two children, though it was said that he
lived for "his two little orphan daughters." As
a result, Beatrice and Mignon were sent to live with Mrs.
E. Richenmacher, though their father provided for their support
and education. Both girls were tall in maturity, with
Beatrice growing to be six feet, one inch. Frank Tsuda has
memories of seeing the sisters walking in Old Town. "They
were easy to spot on the street," he recalled.
Big
Dip's luck as a lawman finally ran out on February 22, 1928,
after he had assisted Sheriff Elmer H. Gum in arresting a
bootlegger near Roseville in what was described as "Allen's
Precinct." It was by all accounts a routine raid on an
illegal liquor operation that netted two casks of wine and
a 68-year-old watchman.
Two other law officers participated in the raid, so the car
Sheriff Gum was driving back to Auburn was heavily laden with
five people and the casks of wine strapped to the back. Gum
drove a Studebaker, and it could have been an open coupe called
a Big Six Sheriff that was popular with law enforcement officials
of the day.
Some 500 feet from Wise Power House on the
state road between Auburn and Newcastle, Gum collided with
a Reo sedan driven by an orchard owner from Newcastle. The
Studebaker glanced off the oncoming vehicle and rolled 25
feet down an embankment, landing upside-down when it finally
came to rest.
Big Dip's neck was broken on impact and he died instantly.
Sheriff Gum broke several ribs and was hospitalized. The prisoner,
Joe Poeta, suffered a broken leg and one ear was nearly severed.
All of the others had minor injuries.
The news of Big Dip's death stunned Auburn, and, according
to a newspaper report, "Lodge meetings and other gatherings
were dispersed, that they might get the correct news."
His funeral ". . .was one of the largest ever held in
Placer County, and was a fitting tribute to one of the best
known Officers in the State of California. Visitors from all
over the state attended the services."
The irony in Big Dip's death was even though he was a deputy
sheriff, he steadfastly refused to learn how to drive an automobile.
His explanation of why was related in his Auburn Journal obituary,
"You never can tell what's going to happen on one of
these automobile trips."
In the end, Big Dip was a super-sized contradiction. Sacramento
Police Captain Ed Brown described him as, ". . .one of
the best known, best liked and most feared men in public service."
In fact, he was no doubt an uncomplicated man who enjoyed
the simple pleasures of life, such as sitting out in front
of his saloon on East Street, propped back in a chair, enjoying
the warmth of the sun on his face.
|
He cut a dapper figure in his later years,
often seen in his bowler hat, with a cheroot in one hand and
a cane in the other. He lived in a small frame cottage that
still stands on Nevada St., adjacent to the Crystal Dairy.The
home of "Big Dip" as it still stands today on Nevada
Street near Old Town Auburn
And though his exploits are legend, he probably spent most
of his time with routine police work, handling domestic disputes,
investigating petty theft, and rousting drunks from the honky-tonks
of Old Town--including his own Yocum & Dip's.
 |
|||||
 |
© Copyright 2010 Carpe Vino Auburn. All rights reserved Worldwide. Website development by suburbeon |
||||