The notorious bandit, Joaquin Murieta was among the men believed to be responsible for the majority of all cattle rustling, robberies, and murders perpetrated in the Mother Lode region since 1850. He and a local bandit named Sarako frequently hunkered down at Caps Ravine as a layover waiting to prey on travelers and the prospectors on their way through the crossroads.

My relatives, George and Mary bought the 240 acre ranch on Cap's Ravine near Doty's Ravine They ran the "Ring Spring Store and Saloon" located on the flat, and beside ranching, George had a blacksmith and repair shop. At that time the crossroads ran through their property.

Murietta's gang used the road in those days, and there was another bandit named Sarako who frequented the Ring Spring Saloon.

A relative records: "My father tells about Sarako one time. My grandfather met him, and he'd (my grandfather) lost an old mare, it was a utility, that was stolen out of the barn. . There was a barn over by these fig trees on the creek. He met ole man Sarako, and said (this was a joke, see), "Sarak, you know if those guys runnin around up there got that old mare?" Sarako looked at my grandfather and said, 'George, I don't steal from a poor man like you'."

There was an article in the Lincoln Newspaper about Cap's Ravine describing its beauty:
"1855 The passengers on the Auburn-Marysville stagecoach had been traveling in a westerly direction along the north side of Doty's Ravine. About a mile or so from the thriving town of Gold Hill, the Marysville Road turned northwest and began to veer away from Doty. The coach stopped where the dusty road crossed Indian (Cap's ) Ravine and the horses drank their fill. (The Allen family were soon to build their home at this spot.) Passengers who had made the trip before knew what to expect next--a beautifully wooded landscape, low hills, and glimpses of scattered surface mining activitiy as the coach approached Webdell's Inn in the ravine just west of the future site of Mt. Pleasant Hall. Oldtimers on the coach probably informed first-timers that the mining encampment in this area was known as Hungry Hollow. Prospectors had been working the area with little success for several years."