adjourning. 

Under these circumstances, it might be supposed that the worst elements
would get the upper hand, crime become common, and anarchy result.
Precisely the opposite happened.  The de facto government was accepted as
a necessity, and under its direction "alcaldes" and "ayuntamientos" were
elected.  But the mining-camps, which were in a part of the country that
had not been settled by the Mexicans and were occupied by men who knew
nothing of their system or laws, were left to work out their own
salvation.  The preponderating element was the Anglo-Saxon, and its
genius for law and order asserted itself.  Each camp elected its own
officers, recognized the customary laws and adopted special ones, and
punished lawbreakers.  Naturally theft was considered a more serious
crime than it is in ordinary communities.  As there were no jails or
jailors, flogging and expulsion were the usual punishment, but in
aggravated cases it was death.  Even after the state government had been
organized, indeed, the law for a short while permitted a jury to
prescribe the death penalty for grand larceny, and, in fact, several
notorious thieves were legally executed.