In late October 1855, people from all over El Dorado County and as far away as Sacramento streamed into Coloma, filling the hotels and crowding the restaurants. The Placerville Guard marched over from Hangtown to help keep order in the crowd, estimated at over 5,000—all gathered to witness the double hanging of Mickey Free and Jeremiah Crane.

The two condemned men were as different as night and day. Free was a robber and serial killer who frequently patrolled the area between Clarksville and Coloma, making it a dangerous passage for unwary travelers; whereas Crane killed his sweetheart in a tragic attempt to unite he and his lover for eternity. 

Born in Brockford, Canada, Free entered a life of crime at the age of 10, stealing two rabbits and spending 30 days in jail. This criminal behavior continued, and he eventually found it necessary to flee to Chicago where he made a living by robbing prostitutes. When he tired of Chicago, he tried his luck at the gaming tables on the steamboats along the Mississippi River. While gambling was not always fruitful, Free found targeting the gamblers and their marks to be very lucrative.

In 1853, he and four companions arrived in Mud Springs (El Dorado) and set up a mining operation. Their success was moderate, so when a man named Dickson offered to lead Free and his companions to a rich strike high in the mountains, they jumped at the opportunity. Unfortunately, the strike didn’t pan out and Free and his associates hanged Dickson.  

Free then spent time in Sacramento, again preying on prostitutes. When he returned to Mud Springs, he brought two new partners with him. The trio soon found that robbing Chinese miners was very profitable; by his own admission, Free robbed and murdered 13 of them. He said he regretted killing the 13th “Chinaman,” as that was an unlucky number, and should have waited for another to come along to make it an even 14.

Free, however, was not arrested for killing Chinese miners, but for the murder of three traders at Slippery Ford, high in the Sierra Nevada. After his capture, he provided a detailed account of the robbery and murders—leaving no doubt that he was a ruthless killer. 

The law finally caught up with Free and his gang in Uniontown, which was located on Martinez Creek about two miles southeast of Mud Springs. Free was returned to Coloma (then the county seat of El Dorado County) to stand trial for the murder of the traders. One of his partners turned state’s evidence, helping the prosecution convict him. Free was sentenced to death and scheduled to hang alongside Jeremiah Crane. 

On the day of the hanging, Crane read a statement and sang a song of his own composition, stood by eating peanuts and, by some accounts, danced a jig on the trap door of the gallows. His reported last words were spoken to the sheriff after the hood was placed over his head. “Now, boys,” he said, “see that this is done up right.” 

 At 1:40 p.m. on October 26, 1855, it was “done up right,” and so ended the murderous rampage of Mickey Free.

—Jamie Beard