Google
This is a digital copy of a book that was preserved for generations on library shelves before it was carefully scanned by Google as part of a project
to make the world's books discoverable online.
It has survived long enough for the copyright to expire and the book to enter the public domain. A public domain book is one that was never subject
to copyright or whose legal copyright term has expired. Whether a book is in the public domain may vary country to country. Public domain books
are our gateways to the past, representing a wealth of history, culture and knowledge that's often difficult to discover.
Marks, notations and other maiginalia present in the original volume will appear in this file - a reminder of this book's long journey from the
publisher to a library and finally to you.
Usage guidelines
Google is proud to partner with libraries to digitize public domain materials and make them widely accessible. Public domain books belong to the
public and we are merely their custodians. Nevertheless, this work is expensive, so in order to keep providing tliis resource, we liave taken steps to
prevent abuse by commercial parties, including placing technical restrictions on automated querying.
We also ask that you:
+ Make non-commercial use of the files We designed Google Book Search for use by individuals, and we request that you use these files for
personal, non-commercial purposes.
+ Refrain fivm automated querying Do not send automated queries of any sort to Google's system: If you are conducting research on machine
translation, optical character recognition or other areas where access to a large amount of text is helpful, please contact us. We encourage the
use of public domain materials for these purposes and may be able to help.
+ Maintain attributionTht GoogXt "watermark" you see on each file is essential for in forming people about this project and helping them find
additional materials through Google Book Search. Please do not remove it.
+ Keep it legal Whatever your use, remember that you are responsible for ensuring that what you are doing is legal. Do not assume that just
because we believe a book is in the public domain for users in the United States, that the work is also in the public domain for users in other
countries. Whether a book is still in copyright varies from country to country, and we can't offer guidance on whether any specific use of
any specific book is allowed. Please do not assume that a book's appearance in Google Book Search means it can be used in any manner
anywhere in the world. Copyright infringement liabili^ can be quite severe.
About Google Book Search
Google's mission is to organize the world's information and to make it universally accessible and useful. Google Book Search helps readers
discover the world's books while helping authors and publishers reach new audiences. You can search through the full text of this book on the web
at |http: //books .google .com/I
fill. 9£il9ll.
HARVARD LAW LIBRARY
Committee
SENT IN 187S BY
THE
TBAKaLATBD FBOM J
y
^^^^
PREFACE TO THE TRANSLATION.
This book is a ti^anslation, ordered by the Mexican Gov-
ernment, of the reports presented by the commission which it
sent to the frontier, to investigate the depredations committed
on both sides of the Eio Grande. The President of the United
States, in compliance with a recommendation of Congress,
had previously dispatched an investigating commission to the
Texan border, to inquire in to the robberies complained of
in Texas, and alleged to have been perpetrated by Indians
and citizens of Mexico. That was the origin of the ap-
pointment in the neighboring country of a similar commis-
sion. The Mexican Government wanted to have the mat-
ter investigated on its side, and as impartially as possible,
for it felt the necessity of being prepared against the plots of
some malicious claimants and other ambitious private parties
in this country.
The result of the Mexican investigation is shown in these
reports, now published in English for the information of the
American people. It proves that the complaints of the Texans
are groundless, inasmuch as the cattle stealing done among
them is not the work of any residents in the adjoining country,
but of Indians belonging to the United States, and their own
outlaws disguised as Indians. If either of the two nations
can complain of Indian and other depredations — as it is
now demonstrated — it is Mexico, some of whose entire
States have been ruined by Indians and banditti from the
United States, who stiU depredate there to a certain extent,
robbing horses and perpetrating other outrages. The origin
of those evils on both banks of the river, it is clearly proved,
consists, in a great measure, in the encouragement given to
the Indians for plunder by the traflSc carried on with them
ever since 1835, tolerated and consented by the American au-
IV PREFACE.
thorities, and in which the Indians exchange their booty, most
jfrequently from Mexico.
Besides the lack of foundation in the Texan claims, the
absurdity of their amount, in consequence of an enormous
exaggeration, is evidenced by the official data showing the
value of all the property in the counties referred to by the
claimants. They complain of having lost much more than
they ever could possess, while they still certainly retain a good
deal.
The work of the Mexican border Commission has been
* wonderfully laborious. They visited all the towns and many
ranchos not remote from the Rio Grande, all along the river
on its right bank, as far up as La Resurreccion, a distance of
about 450 miles. Wherever public archives could be found,
they ransacked them most industriously, with a view to find
some traces of the facts under investigation. They examined
nearly 300 witnesses, whose testimonies, with other document-
ary evidence annexed to the reports^ cover 17,688 pages in
manuscript.
The official edition, from which this translation is taken,
has an appendix containing a tabular statement of the names,
domiciles, &c., of 278 witnesses examined on the principal
questions, besides other tabular and detailed notices of Indian
incursions into the Mexican frontier States (covering 42 folio
pages), and some few interesting data about the removal of the
Kickapoos from Mexico, and Indian hostilities in that country.
One of the documents inserted in that appendix is a message
sent to the Legislature of Texas, by Gov. E. J. Davis, dated
Austin, April 19, 1873, bitterly lamenting the frightful demor-
alization of the State, since, according to the Governor's cal-
culations, more murders had been committed in it, during
three months, with a population of little more than 800,000,
than in the State of New York (excluding the city of New
York), with more than three million souls. The Governor
also alludes to the culpable suppression of the cattle registry in
one county — a fact, we may say, which tends to prove* that cat-
tle stealing in that section had its protectors there, and not in
Mexico.
/
PREFACE. V
For the convenience of the reader who may want to be
informed about the fomidation of the Texan complaints against
Mexican Indians and robbers, rather than other matters in-
teresting the Mexican frontier, we beg leave to refer him to
the first report in its whole, up to page 223, and more particu-
larly to the second one, under the headings, " Indian Depre-
dations in Texas" (page 341), and ^'Eobbery of Cattle and
Horses " (page 383). As of general interest, we also would
especially recommend the portion entitled " Indian Policy of
the United States," commencing at page 427.
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
• • •
•
PA OB
First Report, dated Monterey, May 15, 1873, on the depredations and
offenses committed on the Texas frontier, without particular ref-
erence to Indians, and with statistical data to prove the absurd-
ity of the claims proposed by Texans ' 3
Communications to the Secretaries of Foreign Relations, of War and
of "Fomerito," in presenting the Second Report 227
Second Report, dated Monterey, December 7, 1873, commencing 240
and containing:
Historical sketch of Indian wars on the frontier before 1848 with a
notice of the immoral trade inaugurated with Indians hy American
officers 244
Indian hostilities in Tamaulipas since 1848 253
Depredations of savages in Nuevo Leon 281
Indian depredations in Ooahuila 318
Indian depredations in Zacatecas and San Luis Potosi 337
Indian depredations in Texas. — A detailed review of them, to prove that
they ha/oe the same origin as those which ruined the Mexican frontier
States, i, e,, the criminal action of American citizens, with the con-
nivance, or complicity, of American officials. They ha^e not been
committed by m^enfrom Mexico, but by Indians of the U. 8. and Texan
outlaws disguised as Indians 341
Robbery of cattle and horses. — The former principally against Texas,
the latter against Mexico, The sufferings of Texas in this connec-
tion are chiefl/y otoing to ths immorality of its population 383
A brief sketch of the Indian tribes which have lived in Mexico. — To '
some of them, alrea>dAf extinct, depredations in the United States have
been attributed — Seminoles, Kiclcapoos and Muscogees, residing in
Mexico, They a/re not the authors of the roWeries and out/rages de-
nounced by the American Commission, The originators (if such a^xu-
sations are some criminal speculators, Th^ recent transfer of those
Indians to the territory of the United States 404
Vlll
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
An account of the Lipans 417
Invasion of Mexican territory by forces or citizens of the United States. 423
The Indian policy of the United States. — A condemnation of the one
followed by former adminisbralmm^ as most detrimental to Mexico.
A just encomium of the wise Indian 'policy inaugurated by President
Grant. Difficulties omd contradictions opposed to it by some agents
and the Am>erican frontiersmen 427
Conclusion, wUh a bri^ resume of the principal questions Preated, and
suggestions to remedy the emls on the Mexican frontier 438
INVESTIGATING COMMISSION
OF THE
NORTHERN FRONTIER.
The Commission appointed by the Executive of the Union,
in conformity with the law of 30th September, 1872, was in-
stalled in Monterey on the 14:th November of the same year,
and, agreeably to the instructions received, adjourned to Mata-
moros to commence their work.
They then traveled along the line of the Bravo to Mier,
and are satisfied that the data thus acquired are sufficient to
give an idea of the vexed questions of the frontier, with excep-
tion of that of the Indian depredations, which will require
careful study and examination, after which the Commission
will make a special report.
Desirous of hearing the complaints of the sufferers of in-
juries received, the Commission issued copies of the regula-
tions of the 21st November, and invited the citizens of
Mexico and Texas to present their claims before them. They
then set about to collect all the facts relative to cattle steal-
ing on the United States frontier, whether favorable or ad-
verse to the Mexican Republic. Besides this, and in com-
pliance with the law of Congress, their duties extended to the
hearing and investigation of the complaints of American citi-
zens, and to this end the above-named regulations were issued,
as follows :
4 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
Investigating Commission of the Northern Frontier,
* * * *
" The object of the Commission being to form a dear ludg-
ment of the question, they have resolved to be guided only by
the strictest impartiality and justice, and hence invite all per-
sons residing in territory pertaining to the United States, or
who own property there, and consider that they have the right
to complain of robberies or depredations committed by bands
organized in Mexican territory, to present their claims before
the Commission, with all the necessary proofs."
The Commission soon became convinced that the provisions
of the regulations were wholly inadequate to the requirements
of the case. They desired particularly to hear the complaints
of the citizens of Texas, but none of those who appeared up to
the present had complained of damages done to their cattle,
attributing their injuries to the criminal acts of persons resid-
ing in Mexico.
Apart from this, a conscientious investigation necessitated
vast study. The questions on the frontier are extremely com-
plex, and it would be impossible to examine all the details
under their various aspects, if the means of study and in-
vestigation were solely limited to the information obtained
in the form of complaints, from persons prompted by self-
interest.
These diverse considerations gave rise to the necessity of
compiling official ^^ expedientes^ In these documents are col-
lected all the material for the history of the relations between
the frontiers since 1848, and as a natural consequence, the facts
are free from any personalities which would have resulted from
a decision of private claims, had these been the only means by
which the Commission could arrive at a clear understanding of
the case.
In carrying out this system, the Commission was compelled
to study, investigate and classify the result of their labors.
They accepted with pleasure this position, which enabled
them to act with entire independence, and to assume the whole
responsibility of their proceedings. The Commission does not
hesitate to say that they accept this responsibility, because they
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 5
are satisfied that they have made every effort to sift the truth,,
whether favorable or otherwise to the Mexican Republic.
In taking upon themselves this immense responsibility, in
which was at stake not only the credit of Mexico, but the honor
of the members of the Commission, a system of minute investi-
gations became necessary, and the Commissioners did not shrink
from using every measure, in collecting testimony, to carefully
weigh the qualifications of the witnesses, their reputation for
veracity, and the value of their assertions and claims.
Independent of these reasons, there was one no less power-
ful motive why the Commissioners should proceed with the ut-
most circumspection. In the course of their investigations,
accusations were made against various persons, on either side
of the river, of complicity in the robberies of cattle and horses.
The Commissioners had to judge of these accusations, and their
judgment was equal to a sentence ; -and although the sentence
could inflict no physical punishment, it at least would cause
moral suffering to those who were proved guilty of connivance
in the robberies, or at least protection of the cattle thieves.
This sentence had to be passed without giving the accused the
opportunity of defending themselves, a fact which was not a
little repugnant to the consciences of the Commissioners. In
the impossibility of calling upon the accused to defend, them-
selves, the Commissioners constituted themselves into counsel
for the defendants, not for the purpose of exculpating them,
should they be guilty, but for the better opportunity of forming
an opinion of the true merits of the case. To this end, the
Commission instituted a method of private investigation, and
when at all doubtful of the testimony procured, and of the good
faith of the witnesses, they proceeded to collect testimony for
the defendants.
The Commissioners persisted in this system, when, by
observation, they became convinced that pecuniary interests
formed no obstacle to this mode of procedure, whilst, on
the contrary, it was not impossible that erroneous testimony
might be given under false impressions, through personal
enmity or other causes calculated to adulterate the truth,
and of this they soon had ample proof. Hardly had they
/ .
y
•6 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
commenced their work, when Mr. T. H. Hines, citizen of
the county of Cameron, Texas, and Justice of the Peace
in the 3d District, was accused before the Commission of
complicity in the robberies of horses in Mexico and of
cattle in Texas. The details of the accusation gave to the
<5ase the impress of exceptional gravity, and included acts of
public notoriety which assumed the character of proofs, and
gave to the accusation a certain air of truthfulness. From the
private investigations instituted by the Commissioners, they
discovered that Mr. Hines was a man of respectability, and
bore an excellent character ; that the witness was a man of no
character, and that the testimony had been given from a feeling
of personal enmity, with malicious intent to injure Mr. Hines.
Mr. Hines was not the only person who, in the opinion of
the Commissioners, had been falsely accused. The same witness
at that very time accused several other persons. He charged
Jose Turner with receiving hofses stolen in Mexico and col-
lecting droves on Mr. Hines' account ; Juan Thompson, admin-
istrator of the estate " Santa Anita," Texas, with conniving
with some of the inhabitants of Cuevas, from whom he received
horses stolen in Mexico, giving in exchange therefor cattle stolen
in Texas ; and J. Siebert, city marshal in Brownsville, with com-
plicity in the cattle robberies ; nor did this witness limit him-
self to accusations against these persons, but brought similar
charges against various others.
As regards Jose Turner, his good character for respectabil-
ity is well established, and as for the others, the Commissioners
refuse to accept the testimony, if for no other than for the cul-
pable perjury of the witness.
Besides this man, there was another who also made himself
notorious for his falsehoods ; and even had these not become
patent, as they did, the fact that, in refutation of these charges,
his own securities, persons of acknowledged probity, declared
the witness to be a person addicted to falsehood and of bad re-
pute, would have been quite sufficient to have caused the Com-
mission to decline his testimonv.
These cases have been mentioned, not as the only oness of
this nature, but as a sample of the most notorious, and to illi^s-
1
y
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 7
trate the system of investigation pursued in the collection of
proofs.
Wherever false charges were suspected or the slightest false-
hood noted, the Commissioners used due diligence to procure
proofs of the same, so that side by side stands the accusation
and thd evidence for the defense; and in every case where
falsity has been proved, the Commissioners have not hesitated
to admit the calumnipus nature of the first.
Added to these considerations, which arose from a sincere
desire to learn the truth, and compelled the Commission to
move leisurely in their work, was another, which strengthened
their determination to persevere in this system. They were
impressed with the belief that there were strong temptations on
the part of many 'to present before the Commission false testi-
mony, and a tendency to impose upon their good faith, hoping
that the Commissioners would rest satisfied with the evidence
given, and close their work, leaving the accused under suspicion,
and their own proceedings open to censure or enveloped in
mystery. But under the system of investigation pursued by
the Commission, it was impossible to inaugurate any such plan,
without laying themselves open to discovery.
Notwithstanding all their diligence, the Commission was
not satisfied that the testimony had been sufficiently filtered.
The result of the investigations showed the necessity of the
presence of many of those condemned by the tribunals, or ac-
cused by public opinion, of complicity with the cattle thieves,
on both frontiers; since 1848, as being the only witnesses who
could give evidence in many important details.
Practical observation convinced the Commissioners of the
nn^crupulousness of the witnesses, who, probably, in declaring
against others, were doing the utmost to conceal their own
complicity. In accepting this evidence, therefore, it was nec-
essary to do so with a certain reserve, and to this end, it was
determined to classify the witnesses coming under this head.
Another class of witnesses were totally unknown to the
Commission ; they were ignorant of their antecedents, and
doubtful of the degree of credibility with which they might be
accredited. In regard to such, it was necessary to require
8 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
securities among persons known to the Commissioners, and
many men of noted respectability appeared before the Commis-
sion and gave testimony as to the character of the witnesses,
and as to the amount of credit which their evidence deserved.
The witnesses who testified before the Commission may be
divided into the five following classes :
Ist. Persons of known respectability, whose depositions re-
quired no security.
2d. Persons of veracity, but who being unknown to the
Commission, were required to give security.
3d. Persons unknown, whose declarations could not be cer-
tified to, not having securities.
4th. Persons of bad faith, condemned by the tribunals or
accused by public opinion as accomplices of the
cattle thieves.
» 5th. Persons who were totally undeserving of credit.
The number of witnesses coming under the four last classes
is comparatively few.
Under the first four are collected all the proofs of testi-
monial evidence.
Citizens who have been in official positions have made de-
position before the Commission, the municipal and county
police, proprietors, merchants, clerks, laborers, persons accused
of complicity in the cattle robberies, criminals condemned by
the tribunals. The testimonial proofs laid before the Com-
mission, are quite sufficient to form a judgment on the case ;
nevertheless, the Commission, notwithstanding all the careful
diligence employed in collecting this evidence, determined to
give to this class of proofs a secondary importance, and were
satisfied with this resolve at every step, and determined to ad-
here to it. '
There were various reasons for coming to such a determina-
tion: testimonial evidence is extremely dangerous when not
submitted to debate and contradiction, and for this reason, that
proofs received in this manner, without official citation and
with no audience, are lacking in importance.
Ignorance on the part of the witnesses gives a well founded
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 9
motive for objecting to their evidence ; and in many instances
this ignorance reached such a point, that the witnesses had not
even the faintest idea of time, and although honest in their in-
tentions, and truthful in the main, they fell into errors which,
at least, cast a doubt upon their testimony. Lastly, although
the witnesses might not be ignorant, nevertheless, their testi-
mony was weakened, from the fact that the occurrences, through
lapse of time, or probably because they made no deep impres-
sion on their minds at th#^ time they took place, afterward
caused the witness to fall into error. Under these circum-
stances, the Commission is of opinion that testimonial evidence
in this class of investigation is of itself incomplete and unrelia-
ble, and cannot be employed as a basis on which to pass judg-
ment.
Acting from this standpoint, the Commission, although not
discarding testimonial evidence, used every effort to secure
proofs from the strongest circumstantial evidence. Legislation,
administrative measures, the judicial records, the civil and
criminal statistics and various publications ^ero to the Commis-
sion mines rich in evidence from which invaluable deductions
might be made, not only in determining the question from its
general aspect, but also in furnishing the most important details.
The Legislature, by adopting measures to correct an evil, re-
vealed clearly and minutely the nature and extent of the evil.
The laws enacted for this purpose point out, during a stated
period, the various phases of the evil, its increase, its nature
and the space of time it covered ; whilst the administrative acJts
in the application of the laws, as a measure of restraint and cor-
rection, illustrated the evil in detail. The judicial records in-
dicated the criminals and delinquents, from whence they had
come, and the manner in which the crime had been committed.
The statistics, civil and criminal, explained, in figures, the
amount of criminality, and by a distinct system of legislation,
determined the extent of the ills committed ; and the above
named publications, especially the newspapers, served as a
basis for procuring testimonjr, because in their columns were
found documents which could not be otherwise procured, and
10 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
as giving in detail the circumstances at the times of their occur-
rence, and expressing the popular feeling on the subject.
These diverse elements have been all applied in various
ways by the Commissioners in the course of their labors.
The archives of the towns which they visited in their inves-
tigation tour furnished the best means of information. The
indisputable figures of the statistics^ the date of authentic
official documents; the nature and result of criminal cases ; the
fact that all the circumstantial evidence collected from these
archives was, when these documents were filed, never intended
to be used as evidence in investigations of this nature, nor even
for publicity, are, of themselves overwhelming proofs of the
value of the evidence thus obtained, and of its unquestionable
strength and validity. For this reason the Commission gave
to circumstantial evidence thus procured the first consideration,
and, in spite of the obstacles, in the way of political disturb-
ances, and the destruction of property during these affrays, the
Commissioners were enabled to obtain an amount of informa-
tion which enabled them to form judgments principally based
on this class of proofs.
The employees in whose charge the archives are placed at
first authorized the copying of the documents ; but, by de-
grees, the Commissioners were given to understand that the
residents of Texas, whilst using in their defense copies of the
municipal archives of the city of Matamoros, added that por-
tions of the originals had been suppressed in the copy.
Although this accusation was wholly without foundation,
the Commission, was compelled to see that the proofs of this
kind brought before them were free from all tinge of sus-
picion, and to this end, in accordance with the provisions of
laws on this subject, they were compelled to produce the
archives in many cases, and compare the copies, so as to
prove their authenticity, and have them certified to by the
secretary.
Besides the official archives of Mexico, the Commissioners
considered necessary extracts from the archives of Texas, and,
in this connection, they would remark on the activity and
intelligence manifested by the Mexican consul in Brownsville,
liTORTHERN FBONTIER QUESTION. 11
iind the vice-consul in San Antonio, in the compilation of this
testimony. The partial results obtained have convinced the
jCommissioners that a detailed examination of these records,
particularly those of the tribunals since 1848, which have
held jurisdiction in what is known as Western Texas, would
manifest data of the most important nature, which are to-day
unknown or forgotten, and which could be made of avail in
defense of their system of investigation relative to the frontier
questions.
In the course of this work the Commissioners heard of a
pamphlet published in Washington, under the title of "Eeport
of the Cr. S. Commissioners to Texas," dated 10th December,
1872, and bearing 'on the questions relative to the frontier.
Although the Commissioners had no official knowledge of this
document, they have availed themselves of the suggestions
therein contained, and made several points in their investiga-
tions.
In this manner, and in various other ways, the Commis-
sioners believe they have reached the truth. They threw wide
the doors for evidence for or against Mexico, and any who
chose could declare as they pleased ; they noted the accusations
made by both frontiers, and used every method to investigate
the truth, concealing nothing ; and, when satisfied of the facts,
xind assured of the degree of fault on either frontier, since
1848, and of the causes of disturbance occurring in those
regions, they have endeavored to find the best measures to
suppress the evil.
II.
In the examination of the relations between the frontiers
-since 1848, the first striking point is the system of cattle
thieves. During the Texan war and afterwards, in fact up to
1848, horse and cattle stealing increased to so great an extent,
in the district north of Eio Bravo to Nueces, as to almost
depopulate the country by ridding the inhabitants of their
stock.
^ ^
12
REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
Bands of Americans, Texans, Mexicans, and Indians, in a
few years, exhausted the wealth of that region. The settlers-
were few in number, and lacked the vigilance of either the
Mexican or Texan authorities, so that they not only lost their
wealth, but gave scope to a degree of license and immorality
of itself dangerous and degrading. The early emigrants to
that part of Texas did nothing towards correcting this state of
things, but, on the contrary, aggravated the evil, for they were
not themselves noted for rectitude or sobriety. It was the
refuge for criminals flying from justice in Mexico;- adventurers
from the United States, who sought a fortune, unscrupulous of
the means of procuring it ; and vagrants from all parts of the
State of Texas, hoping, in the shadow of existing disorganiza-
tion and lawlessness, to -escape punishment for their crimes.
Under this head the Commission does not class all the early
emigrants to Southwestern Texas since 1848. Far from this ;,
it acknowledges in many of them the highest moral standard,
but, compared with the mass, they constituted but a small pro-
portion, too small to give tone to that class of people, and check
the characteristic lawlessness of the district.
The thirst for wealth had become such a strong passion, that
any means of procuring it seemed fair and legal. The district
from Eio Bravo to Nueces had been cleared of its live stock ;
only thfe land remained ; and rapacity knowing no bounds, the
lands were seized, by many through force of arms, but generally
by persons clothed with feigned legal power. This frontier dis-^
trict, extending along the Eio Bravo, abounded iu droves of
horses : the horse thieves of- Mexico commenced operations here,
which assumed from the onset alarming proportions, and the
traffic in Texas of horses stolen from Mexico became a matter
of commonplace merchandise. The facility which the horse
thieves enjoyed, since 1848, of disposing of the stolen animals
on the Texan shore of the Eio Bravo, increased the evil to an
alarming extent. This pernicious influence has injured the in-
dustrial impulses of the Mexican frontier, since the results of
horse stealing, and the evil influence of the thieves, have proven
more fatal to the country than the revolutions.
Horse stealing in Mexico may be classed under two dif-
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 13
ferent heads : one, the appropriation of roving droves, taken a
few leagues from the banks of the Eio Bravo, within Mexican
territory, transported across the river into Texas, and driven in
lots into the interior of the State ; the other is the seizure of
horses in the interior of the Mexican frontier wherever horses
can be found.
Although testimonial evidence on all these points has been
most useful and important, yet circumstantial proofs culled
from the archives have in all cases been more conclusive. In
those examined by the Commission are a series of regulations
framed by the municipal and police authorities for the suppres-
sion of horse thieves in the towns lying on the bank of the river.
Very few of these measures looked to the prevention of the
traffic in stolen cattle from Texas, from which it would seem
that this evil did not exist to the same extent ; whilst on the
contrary, the laws had in view the damages resulting from
horse stealing in Mexico, and the transportation of the horses
into Texas, proving that this was the greater traffic, and the
one that needed greater legislation. Measures for the preven-
tion of this crime have been issued in every town along the
river, from which it may be deduced that like injuries were ex-
perienced in every village on the Mexican line ; and as these
preventive measures were constant and frequently repeated, it
would seem that the injuries were constant and frequently re-
curring.
It is useless for the Commission to go into a detailed ac-
count of the various measures adopted by Mexican authorities
to suppress this evil, but, considering these documents of in-
trinsic value as bearing on the characteristic relations of both
frontiers, the Commission took especial care in the selection of
extracts from all of these regulations, arranging them in chron-
ological order, and at times copying them entirely, when they
oflFered any particular interest.
The great weight of these proofs cannot be estimated from
A few isolated measures of this kind, but must be judged as a
whole ; for whilst instituting a repressive system of horse steal-
ing on the Mexican frontier for the Texan market, since 1848,
they also indicate the robberies organized on the Texan shore
of the Eio Bravo, in injury to Mexican proprietors.
14 * REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
The judicial record is another element for illustrating the
frontier question, since 1848, as regards horse stealing in Mexico.
In the majority of criminal prosecutions against the cattle
thieves, the evidence produced went to show that the stolen
animals had been conducted by the thieves to the United States
frontier, and then sold to dealers. The Commission has made
chronological extracts from all criminal cases relative to cattle
thieves tried before the judicial court of each of the towns they
visited, and the entire number of these different extracts cor-
roborates the deductions made from the preventive measures
adopted by the executive authorities. The number of horses
stolen in Mexico for the Texan market may be judged by the
following :
1st. From the testimony of those whose horses were stolen,
and who had proofs of their having been carried into Texas. The
horses, having on several occasions been pursued, were found
by their masters, who instituted criminal proceedings against
the thieves, the result of which sometimes proved favorable,
but generally the costs were so heavy that they often amounted
to as much, and at times to more, than the value of the prop-
erty recovered.
2d. From that of persons who were eye-witnesses to the
acts of the robbers, some of them men who had charge of the
horses, others who had seen the horses driven across the river
to the Texan border, and still others who had aided in the
pursuit from the bank of the river into the interior of Texas.
3d. By testimony of members of the police force who, in
pursuit of the thieves, noticed that their depredations extended
to Jimenez, Marina, and Tamaulipas, sixty leagues south of the
Eio Bravo, after the continued robberies had exhausted the
horses of the districts of Matamoros and San Fernando, thirty
leagues south of the river.
4:th. From evidence of those competent to judge of horse-
flesh, and familiar with their pasturage since 1848, who have
remarked the diminution or total disappearance of them in cer-
tain districts where horses had previously abounded, from rob-
beries and entirely independent of their destruction from rev-
olutions.
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 15
5th. From that of merchants who, having driven horses into
Texas, found difficulty in disposing of them, by reason of the
low prices at which stolen horses could be bought, and which
was far below their market value. Stolen horses are generally
sold in Texas at prices below what the proprietors charge for
them in Mexico. Competition is constant when it is remem-
bered that robberies are continued. . The nearer you approach
the Eio Bravo the greater the competition, and for this reason
the dealers in horses honestly procured drive thefai into the
northern part of Texas when possible, so as to secure better
sales, and escape the competition with dealers of stolen horses
who assemble in the neighborhood of the Kio Bravo.
Notwithstanding all these convincing and varied proofs,
w^ich the minutest scrutiny only served to corroborate, and
despite the previous testimony given by persons, the majority
of whom bear the most unimpeachable reputations, the Com-
mission, in its research for the true facts of the case through
the medium of official documents, did not fail to make use of
the slightest written proof that could be made of avail.
The repeated measures taken by the administrative author-
ities doubtless indicate the increase of horse stealing in Mexico
for the Texan market, for it is not natural that regulations of
such a stringent nature could, through a long series of years,
have been enacted by different persons and in different districts,
and so tenaciously adhered to, had pot the interest at stake
been one of great importance ; on the contrary, all the data
collected from this source point to the general evil, but the
Commission needed something still more definite than legal
enactments, pointing only to generalities. Statistics are in
their infancy in this country, and unable to furnish the Com-
mission with the exact figures, and they were in consequence
compelled to be satisfied with the best information they could
procure, from scarce and isolated sources.
The robberies at length assumed such proportions that the
Town Council of Eeynosa, on the 11th of March, 1852, ad-
dressed the Mexican consul at Brownsville, informing him of
the injuries suffered by the proprietors; and also stating that a
band of Americans under Frederick Mathews had established
16 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
themselves in Las Salinas, and collected a drove of horses
amounting to four hundred, stolen from the pasturage on the
bank of the river ; the corporation also added that this was
Bot the first time that Mathews had engaged in such traflSc, and
asked the consul to inform the authorities of Brownsville, and
request that something be done to stay the evil.
The consul replied that he had conferred witli the collector
of customs, and that that officer had ordered the horses so in-
troduced by Mathews to be seized as contraband ; that the last
heard of Mathews he was near Nueces on his way to San Patri-
cfo, and that they hoped to overtake him. The consul added
that he had induced the collector of cnstonas, to publish a no-
tice threatening the importers of horses with the penalty of the
law, if any were found guilty of making contraband importa-
tions.
This notice was accordingly published in the "Bandera
Americana," a periodical issued in Brownsville, a copy of
which dated April 17th, 1863, has been filed with the " esapen
dienUr In this notice, John S. Rhea, collector of customs
at Point Isabel, declares that having received information
that a large number of horses had been stolen from Mexican
evtizens of Eeynosa, and had been illegally introduced intq the
States, and taken to the interior of Texas to be sold, the inhab-
itants are warned of the penalties of law incured by any whd
knowingly and willingly take part in these fraudulent proceed-
ings. ^ --
They were not successful in recovering all the horses stolen
by Mathews ; a part only were taken on their way to San An-
tonio de Bejar, of which seizure the consul gave notice to the
authorities of that town ; but such was the insecure and dis-
organized condition of affairs in Texas, that the owners of the
stolen animals were attacked by bands of American highway-
men, attempting to regain the stolen property by main force.
Not only do these various documents exhibit the exactness
of the judgment formed by the Commission, but they also show
how the illicit traffic had increased, mentioning one lot of stolen
horses amounting to over four hundred in number. The grav-
ity of the question is revealed by the steps taken by the town
NORTHERN FROimER QUESTION. IT
eonnoil in the appeal to the Mexican consnl at Brownsville,
and in the prompt measures taken by the custom-honse offi-
cials, especially those at Point Isabel, who not only took the
matter np, but sought through the application of the laws, the
remedy of the ills complained of and endured on the Mexican
frontier, probably because they were well aware of the
extent of the injuries done to the inhabitants along the whole
length of t!)e Mexican line.
Horse stealing on so vast a scale from the pastures along the
river has greatly diminished in the last few years. The Com-
mission is of opinion that this diminution may be attributed
to the scarcity of animals, owing to robberies and revolutions ;
but although horse stealing lessened in the river pasturage, it
continued with some energy in the districts somewhat distant
from the river, where the interests of the country were greater.
Laying aside all the corroborative evidence by the various
witnesses on this point, there is one document well worthy of
special attention. Don Trinidad Garza y Melo, a lawyer,
made some notes for the criminal statistics of Nuevo Leon, on
the 4th of February, 1870, and these were published long
before any one dreamed that they would serve as an index for
these investigations. Seiior Garza Melo was Judge of the Su-
preme Court of the State in the years 1868 and 1869, and he
affirms that the data from which his work was compiled were
selected from ^^ expedientes^^ issued by him. Out of three
hundred and eighty-six cases tried before him in those two
years, one hundred and thirty-three, that is, the third part,
were for horse stealing. He attributes the frequency of this
crime to the three following causes : the disorders growing out
of a common pasturage; the extent and loneliness of the
plains ; and finally, the proximity of the Rio Bravo, to the lefl
shore of which the stolen animals could be so easily and quickly
transported, with the certainty of disposing of them without
delay in foreign territory, and with the still more positive cer-
tainty of not being pursued or molested.
By the frequency of the crime the number of animals stolen
may be fairly estimated ; by the number of cases tried we can
judge of the evil ; by the condemnation of the delinquents in
13 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
0Orne CHSC6, and by the accndations, even where there was no
eyidcncc to point to the true criminai, it will be conclnsive that
a- wrong exists, and that its' destructive results may still be per-
ceived ; that it has only changed its vantage ground; that as
soon as the animals in one district had been captured and the
interests of the country damaged, it had passed to another,
where its evil influence was experienced by not only the pro-
prietors, but also the laboring classes of society.
III.
A careful study of the origin and subsequent development
of hoinse stealing in Mexico for the Texan market, affords abund-
ant information of the different persons who have been ad-
dicted to this class of. crime. A distinction should be made
between those serving as emissaries and the originators and
actual instigators of the crime. To determine this question as
regards the first, and the inducements held out to them by the
Texan frontiersmen in the robberies committed in Mexico, it
will be necessary to distinguish the actual residents of the
eonntry from those considered by the Commission as simply
instruments, and to this end the following classification was
decided upon :
Under the head of those serving as instruments of others in
the depredations in Mexico, whose residence is supposed to be
in that country, may be mentioned the following classes :
Ist. Those who reside in Mexico.
2d. Those who have no fixed place of residence, and wan-
der from place to place, and who, when pursued on the Mexi-
can frontier, flee to Texas, and return to Mexico after a period
of years, when persuaded that they have been forgotten, or that
it would be impossible to prove their crimes.
3d. Those who reside in Texas.
These latter may be divided into two classes. 1st. Texan
citizens who have always, resided in Texas, both American and
Mexican. 2d. Emigrants from Mexico who take up their
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 19
abode in Texas after becoming citizens, or at all eyents exercise
that riglit, althongh abusively.
The emigrants from Mexico to Texas may bo subdivided
into three categories ; but before naming them it is necessary
to explain that the greater portion of Mexican emigrants to
Texas are honest, hard-working people, fleeing the revolutions
in their own country, and giving their labor, and not unfre*
quently capital, to tlie State. These are not the emigrants to
whom we allude, but there are others who lend themselves as
instruments of the horse thieves, and who may be classed as
follows: 1. Criminals escaping from the course of the law and
seeking refuge on the Texan shore, or who without having been
prosecuted take up their nominal abode there, so as to commit
their criminal depredations on the Mexican frontier with im-
punity ; and it has been observed that the majority of those
who are engaged in horse stealing in Mcxieo reside in Texas.
2. Deserters from the soldieiy on guard on the Mexican fron-
tier. 3. Laborers who, on account of the scarcity of hands in
Texas and the rate of wages in the States, with, great anticipa-
tions of acquiring a fortune, and at the same time fleeing from
their obligations at home, and who are apt to commit robberies
before leaving.
It is absolutely necessary to comprehend those distinctions
80 as to appreciate the question of thjfrontier ; but whilst they
serve as one of the elements by which to resolve: it, they are
not the only, and perhaps are the least important features in
the case.
It is expedient to investigate where the robberies were or-
ganized, where the combinations were funned, that led to the
depredations in our country ; it is probable that where these
combinations were made, a number of criminals must have been
united, perhaps aecidently, who resided in Mexico or who as
vagabonds were domicile I in Texas.
The question. of habitation becomes secondary in thiiSicase,
.and disappears altogether when the place' .where the. crime
originated, is fairly located. W,e must next :examine where
the stolen goods were transported; where the? traffic in them
was established ; for if the crime had reached such au extent
20 BEPORT OP COBIMrTTEE.
&B to have a market for the disposal of stolen aTiimals, we have
already made an elementary principle, the abode of the delin-
quents being a matter of little importance as their names. It
is very certain that horse stealing would never Iiave reached
such an extent had there not been a safe place where the crime
could be planned, and after commission, the criminal conld feel
assured not only of safety but of prompt dispdsal of the stolen
property by advantageons sales.
The principal idea in this question, is to locate the place
where the robberies originated, and were encon raged, and made
of avail ; the secondary consideration, is the place of abode of
those who were employed as instruments for the commission of
the crime ; but although this latter is of lesser moment, it does
not lack importance, since it shows that the greater number of
cattle and horse theives, as well as the most audacious of them,
reside principally on the opposite shore, and have crossed from
thence to perpetrate depredations in Mexico.
A great many of thedocuments examined by the Commission
enumerate the robbers who have crossed the river to steal horses.
From these documents the Oommission has made chronological
extracts, and sometimes entire copies of the preventive regula-
tions, issued by the bordering towns. In all these series of
laws, it may be noticed that great stress was laid by the au-
thorities of the Mexican frontier, on the robbers crossing the
river from Texas to Mexico, and on the organized band of
theives who arranged their plans on the Texan shore, and
crossed over into Mexico to execute them.
These measures plainly indicate that although some of the
resideints of Mexico have contributed to the number of horse
thierefii, that the greater danger and damage are experienced by
the robbers from Texas, whose onlv intention was to steal and
to return to the United States after accomplishing their object.
'The 'Crimixial cases confirm the deductions made from these
documentfii. In many of these there are allusions to larcenies
perpetrated qb the Mexican frontier by persons residing in
Texa$, and as these are not isolated cases, but on the contrary,
are of frequent recurrence, and to be found in all the docu-
onents in criminal eases of this nature, and as they do not refer
1
NOETHEBN FRONTIEft QUESTION. 81
to a certain period of time, bat simply to that transpired since
1848, it is to be concluded that the majoritj of criminals who
for years have pillaged our frontier, reside on the Texan line.
Cionclusive as all these facts appear, the Commission con-
siders the question to have a still mo^e important aspect, and
that apart from the nationality or place of residence of the
thieves, the point to be determined is the responsibility attach-
ing to the Texan frontier, where the criminal bands are organ-
ized, and where the benefit is derived from the depredations
of the robbers.
The associations formed in Texas for the purpose of stealing
in Mexico have taken various forms. * Sometimes the organiza-
tions were temporary for a special object or for a stipulated pe-
riod, and at others the organization of thieves took a perma-
nent form. A great number of documents ascribe the constant,
thi*eatening attitude of the population on the shore of the
Bravo to be owing to the bands of thieves organized in Texas.
One of the most scandalous occurrences of the period was
the alliance of a band of nine thieves in United States territory,
who, in April, 1865, went to Burgos, forty miles south of Rio
Bravo, and assaulted Manuel and Esteban dcla Garza, robbing
them of two thousand dollars, and murdering the former ; after
this they fled across to the left bank of the river for safety and
protection. The secret investigations instituted by the Judge
of Camargo, in Davis (Rio Grande City), showed the gang to
be composed of Jose Maria Oort6s and eight others, whose
names also appear in the official documents. The communica-
tions which passed between the Judge of Reynosa and the chief
of police of the district indicate the complaints made upon
this subject, and the decisions arrived at in regard to it, i. ^.,
that the invaders had been organized on the left bank of the
Bravo, whither they bad immediately returned after the attack.
In former years there had also been transitory organiza-
tions, some composed of notorious criniin*kls, whose advent on
the Miexican shore was always marked by pillage, although
they pretended to have political principles to defend, and who
always returned after a short time to the United States with
the products of their depredations. To this class belonged the
22 REPORT OP COMMITTEE.
bands organized three times by Jose Maria Sanchez XTresti, ia
Texas, in the last three years, and whom he led into Mexico.
These gangs were composed of thieves famous in the history of
plunder and distinguished for kidnapping and other crimes.
They entered Mexico as regularly organized bands, their
coming was expected and announced, and was known by every
one on the Texan shore. They selected a point on the Bravo
river from whence they could most easily and suddenly attack
the inoffensive proprietors or secure hoi-ses. Some of the stolen
animals were recognized in Brownsville. Amongst the compan-
ions of Uresti in these expeditions the witnesses recollect San-
tiago Nunez, Julian Boeha, Zcferino Garcia, Macario Trcvifio,
Santiago Sanchez, Pedro Cortes, Geronimo Perez, and the two
Lugos, Pedro and Lunginos, as criminals and accomplices in the
robberies of cattle and horses on either shore.
. The last time that Sanchez Uresti passed to the Mexican
line, he did so with a gang of thieves whom tlie Lugos had had
in reserve in a place called " Trasquilas," Texas, about two
leagues east of Brownsville. This will be a subject for exam-
ination by the Commission when they come to investigate the
question of cattle robberies in Texas ; but for the present, they
will limit themselves to saying that the Lugos were notorious
robbers, designated as such l)y the newspapers of Brownsville,
which accused them of stealing cattle in Texas. Mention is
made of this circumstance so as to give to the Lugos and their
accomplices their true position, and to show that because they
chose to give to their robberies the semblance of a revolution,
it did not alter the fact of theft nor change the actual character
of the men.
These temporary confederations of thieves on the Texan
shore were doubtless great evils, but although serious enough,
they were but fleeting. The crime once committed for which
the band had been organized, or a certain period having passed,
they disbanded. Tlie gravest question of all, however, and the
state of things which has been ruining the Mexican frontier,
is not the existence of these fleeting bands, but the organized
system developed since 184:8, for the protection of horse steal-
ing in Mexico.
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. ,23
The grefitest cnlprits have assuredly not been those who
served as instruments, but those who availed themselves of the
spoils by purchasing the animals at reduced prices. These
dialers may be divided into three classes.
1. Those who dwell in the interior of Texas, buying all the
animals they can secure so long as the prices are low, utterly
disregarding the manner in which the animals are procured .by
the venders.
2. Those who come from the interior of Texas to the shore
of the river to collect droves of horses, forming contracts with
the cattle thieves to go into Mexico and procure them horses at
so much a head.
3. Those who reside on the Texan sliore, and have in their
employ gangs of thieves with a view to horse stealing in
Mexico.
These two last are not often seen in person with their em-
ployees, but they send them into Mexico with the object of
stealing, wlulst they dedicate themsel^^es with all security to the
criminal traffic.
As regards the first, it is a notorious fact that the purchas-
ers take very little pains to find out how the horses are pro-
cured ; but, on the contrary, they buy the animals, never inquir-
ing for any document, proving ownership or importation ac-
cording to law; for generally, when the regular price is charged,
the purchaser requires all security possible from future claim-
ants.
Indeed so little scruple is exhibited upon this point, that
amongst the various cases examined by the commission, from
which its documentary evidence is selected, there appear two
oases in which officers of the United States and Texas were im-
plicated in this illegal traffic.
In a case entered on the 2Sd February, 1850, by the Judge
of Camargo, against Cayetano Garza, Dario Juarez, and Ne-
pomuceno Sais as horse thieves, charged with stealing siic
mules from Jos6 Maria Perez, some of which were taken to Rio
Grande City, Texas, in which place one of the stolen animals
was discovered in the possession of the quarter-master of the
United States* troops, to whom it had been sold.
24 REPORT OF OOMMrrrBB.
In Maj, J 872, a drove of sixty-six animals, consisting of
horses, mares, mules, and colts, was stolen from the rancho
" de las Estacas," in the jurisdiction of Matamoros, from Leon-
ides Guerra. Pursued by their owner, a number of these ani-
mals were found in the possession of Thomas Marsden, sheriff
of the county of Beeville, Texas, who had bought them at the
rate of eleven dollars a head.
The price alone is quite sufficient to prove tliat Marsden
had a perfect knowledge of the manner in which the animals
were procured ; because, not only in Texas, but in Mexico, horses
have always brought a much higher sum when purchased from
their legal owners ; and the low price at which these were
offered was strong presumptive proof that they were stolen.
Tliis charge was fully proven against him by the sentence
passed by Judge Adkins, who ordered the return of the stolen
animals to Guerra.
The dealers of the second class, that is, they who come to
the shore of the Kiver Bravo, to organize bands of robbers, are
still more culpable. The first lend a tacit alliance to the
thieves, affording them a safe market for the stolen animals ;
whilst the latter are the direct agents, contracting with the
thieves with the understanding that they were to supply them
with stolen animals. The habitual periodical visits of these
dealers are generally in the months of February or March to
October; their arrival is well known, for no sooner do these
men arrive, than the horses, mares, and mules begin to disap-
pear from the Mexican coast.
The Commission has not inquired into the manner in which
these droves are collected along the Texan frontier, not consid-
ering it expedient to do so, but has limited its investigations to
the occurrences in the places near Brownsville, because an es-
timate of the state of affairs in all the counties along the fron-
tier may be easily arrived at, when a decision is formed in re-
gard to the proceedings in more important places, where the
population is more dense, and where cultivation and morality
are at a higher standard, and the authorities of the law more
powerful.
To the surroundings of Brownsville to the Colorado (iver,
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 26
that is to say, about ten or twelve leagues north of Bio Bravo,
nature offers wonderful facilities for the concealment of stolen
animals. There are dense woods in which are spots easily
reached by narrow pathways, and so hedged in by branches as
to form secure and perfect enclos*nres ; water is plentiful in the
ravines, the pasture is abundant, and everything offers con-
veniences to the dealers in stolen horses to conceal the fruit of
their crime.
Tlie droves of stolen horses collected here never amount to
a great number, for as they are often pursued by their owners,
the robbers drive them as soon as possible to the interior of the
country to avoid their capture. The droves formed on the
banks of the Bio Bravo are composed of animals stolen during
the night from tlie breeding farms, enclosures or pastures lying
along the banks of the river ; these are taken across the same
night. The animals that one thief can secure in a single night
do not amount to many ; the evil consists in the number of
thieves and their continued depredations. Thus the drove is
increased until the number agreed upon has been procured to
fill the dealer's order, and as there are many dealers who carry
on this illicit traffic during the course of the year, the horse
thieves have almost entirely exhausted the resources of the pro-
prietors along the river margin.
One of the means by which the animals were recognized
was the great diversity of marks and brands in a drove, prov-
ing bcj'ond a doubt that a great many persons had been robbed.
Persons in searcli of their own property, or by some lucky
chance, have had the opportunity of seeing these droves and
identifying the animals by their nfbrks and brands. These
opportunities have been rare, however, only obtained through
superior force or by accident, for as a general rule the drivers
of such droves never consent to allow them to be examined.
As horse stealing is generally followed by contraband im-
portations, in Texas, the necessity for concealment becomes
imperative, both before and after crossing the river, and first
the thieves and afterwards the dealers are compelled to proceed
in an underhand manner.
This is one of the forms of robbery organized in Texas since
26 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
I
1848 in injury to the frontier, and although more Bcrions than
the first, it is less so than the last case, which embraces the
residents on the river bank who have in their employ a gang
of thieves which, on some occasions, they have accompanied in
person, but who have limitai themselves, especially in later
years, to direct the proceeding of these bands for their own
benefits These arc without doubt the most culpable, because
they not only contribute to the development of demoralization,
but they are in constant and active conspiracy against the
breeders on the Mexican frontier. In the official documents
referred to may be found the mention of a great many persons
engaged in this commerce, and charges and evidence against
them, which the Commission did not care to investigate too
deeply, as the work would have been laborious, and the names
and number of the instigators of horse stealing in Mexico since
1848 was not so important as the collection of facts. A few
special instances have been cited, and even in the selection of
these the Commission has been particular so far as persons
were concerned, not only because these were unable to defend
themselves, but because it is unwilling to expose the names of
any save the most notorious, and even this is only resorted to
because of the necessity to mention some special cases so as to
form a correct idea of the condition of the frontier at this time.
In the years immediately following 1848, there were houses
established in Brownsville for the traffic in stolen animals;
amongst others was a Spaniard named Kamon Larrosquito, and
a guerrilla chief of the war of 1846 who bore the title of Col.
Dominguez. Both of these and the others who were dedicated
to this traffic had each an enclosure, the walls of which were
so high as to impede the view of what was inside; in this were
kept the horses or mules until the opportunity oflfered for con-
veying them to some of the hiding places in the woods, on the
outskirts of Brownsville, where the droves were formed that
were to be carried into the interior of Texas.
As regards Dominguez, the documentary evidence is cor-
roborated by the depositions of the witnesses. In a case
entered in 1852 against a Spaniard by the name of Pedro
Ugarte, various crimes were proved against Dominguez, by
NORTHERN FRONTISR QUESTION. 37
whom Ugarte was employed in the capacity of clerk. Thesp
two liad imported six mnles stolen from Easebio Gomez, of
Beynosa. The proof brought bjr Deputy Collector P. S.
Shannon, of the custom house at Brownsville, did not leave the
sliglitest doubt upon this subject.
Besides, Domingucz was not only a dealer in stolen ani-
mals. He was chief of a band of robbers who habitually com-
m
mitted depredations in Mexico. Three of these were appre-
hended in 185:^, and executed in Matamoros.
There were other individuals, who although they had no
regular commercial house, engaged in the traffic, and went
into Mexico to steal. Several Americans and Mexicans are
accused of accompanying these expeditions, but it will suffice
to mention the names of William D. Thomas, commonly called
Bed Thomas, and a Spaniard, Juan Lopez Arenas. The former
committed horse stealing in this form at first, but of late years
he has confined himselt^ to forming the' bands and collecting
through them droves of horses stolen in Mexico.
As to the latter, traces of his crimes are to be found in some
of the criminal cases. The first opens with an accusation
against Lopez Arenas, in 1853, for the theft of two droves from
the estate Vaqueria: the other followed in 1857, against
Poi'firio Munguia for having taken Lopez Arenas and some of
his gang across the river, from the left bank into Mexican ter-
ritory, for the purpose of stealing animals.
Of the various persons accused in the documents of actually
patronizing the robbers on the other side of the river, and of
encouraging theft in Mexico, the Commission will limit itself
to the mention of Adolfo Glaevecke, Thadeus Bhodes, and the
Estapas, as cases of peculiar notoriety, and because they are so
well established by the public voice that the Commission feels
confident that the accusations are unbiased by calumny; also
because these men hold or have held positions of ])nblie trust,
and finally because as they live apart from each other, traveling
twenty-five leagues from Brownsville to Edinburgh over an
extent of land in which is situated three different headquarters
of robbers.
The antecedents of Glaevecke and Bhodes are not of recent
28 REPORT OF OOMMTTTBE.
date. They are contemporaries, at least, in the robberies com-
mitted in 1848, and which have since continued. Adolfo
Glaeveeke is one of those who haveinost actively engaged in
horse stealing in Mexico, ever since the Kio Bravo has been
the dividing line between the two nations.
Persons who have belonged to the police corps, accomplices
of Glaeveeke, and persons who have appeared in court at vari-
ous times to reclaim stolen animals, have appeared before the
Commission as witnesses against Glaeveeke, so that with all
the overwhelming testimony before them, the Commission feels
confident to express an opinion as to his character. Glaeveeke
owns a horse pen on the Texas shore of the river, which used
to bear the name of Santa Bita, but is now called Linelio. On
one side of this enclosure was the ford known as Tia Morales.
Here the thieves in the employ of Glaeveeke congregate, and
to this pen, or enclosure, are the animals stolen in Mexico
carried ; driven for the most part across the ford Tia Morales.
The evidence of the witnesses on this point is corroborated by
documentary testimony. This ford was the object of the most
active vigilance on the part of the authorities, and the extracts
from the documents in Alatamoros show that seizure was here
oflen made of thieves and stolen animals, and tliat various
enactments of law were made to guard the ford of Tia Morales.
Nevertheless, it was not from either Linefio or Santa Rita
that the great droves of horses were taken into the interior of the
State; this enclosure was simply used as a temporary resting
place, on account of the facilities offered by its proximity to
the ford. From here the animals were taken to Palo Alto, and
in that district the number necessary to complete the drove
was furnished, and from tiience driven into Texas.
How vast this speculation was, may be imagined from the
feet that Glaeveeke had a large farm house in Palo Alto, in
which dwelt ten servants who had charge of the animals until
they were driven into the State.
Glaeveeke did not act entirely on his own account, but was
also the agent of other Americans in the interior of Texas, to
whom the droves were delivered when completed. The Lineiio
pen was not only used for illegal purposes by himself^ but lent
NORTHSRir FBONTIER QUESTION. 39
to others for the same purpose ; and one of those who made use
of the enclosnre Santa Bita to conceal stolen horses was Tomas
Oolorado (William D. Thomas). But apart from these incidental
circumstances, in which various other persons were engaged,
this spot has been the headquarters of a band of robbers, who
at times have made expeditions of one or two months, into the
interior of the State of Tamaulipas, from whence they drove
large numbers of horses. To this band of robbers belonged
Florencio Garza and Juan Vela, who were afterwards hung
in Brownsville, Marcos Guerra, a famous horse thief, who is
now living, and still under Glaevecke's protection, Tomas
Vazquez, not less notorious than Guerra, Comelio Vazquez,
Felipe Trevifio Vela, Manuel Bodriguez Vela, and others
whose names the witnesses had forgotten.
If the majority of these witnesses are to be believed, and
the Commission has had no reason to doubt them, Glaevecke
has up to the present continued his illegal traffic in animals
stolen from Mexico. He is a juror in the connty of Cameron,
was elected alderman of the municipal corporation of Browns-
ville in 1866, and re-elected in 1873.
The second case is that of Thadeus Bhodes, commonly
known among Mexicans as ^' Teodoro." He is a resident of
Bosario, in the county of Hidalgo, Texas, and under his au-
thority and protection, especially in former years, a band of
robbers dwelt, who pillaged the farms of Beynosa and the vil-
lages of Nuevo Leon, which lay near the limits of Beynosa.
This band became at last so numerous and so terrifying that in
the extracts taken by the Commission, mention is made of dep-
redations committed by them which clearly prove their
andHcity.
On the 8d of May, 1866, the justice of the peace of Bosa-
rio, Mexico, was assaulted, the object being to liberate Leo-
nardo Villasana, accused of robbing, and arrested on the
charge. They succeeded in liberating Villasana, and the band
of robbers located in Bosario, Texas, were proved to have been
the assaulters. From private information received through
Martin Washington, a resident of the left bank of the river,
who had been an eye-witness of the recurrences related by him
30 REPORT OF COMMITTBt.
to the military commander of Hcjnosa, who in tnrn gave the
details to the jndge, it is known that the attacking party con-
sisted of Jo66 Maria Zamora, Jos^ Maria Mora, Juan de Leon,
Desiderio Perales, Marcelino Ramirez, Francisco Lopez, Ilde-
fonso Cano, and other Lidians who came from Kosario, Texas,'
to Kosario, Mexico, in the night, passing by Washington's
house for the purpose of liberating Yillasana, and returning at
about one o'clock in the morning.
In the investigation which followed, several witnesses who
were present at the attack, testified to having recognized among
the party, Jos6 Maria Zamora, Marcelino Kamirez, and some
Indians.
It is also charged that two years previous Zamora had re-
moved to the Texan shore and had since been engaged in rob-
bing, and upon his arrest he stated in his declaration that he
lived in Bosario, Texas, in the house of Teodoro (Thadens
Rhodes).
The correspondence which upon this point passed between
the Judge of Reynosa and the superior authorities of Mata-
moros, shows to what condition the question had grown ; the
first declared that the left bank of the Bravo was a harbor for
thieves, and the security which they enjoyed was a constant
inducement to them to ply their illegal trade ; besides which,
the depredations committed by them in Mexican territory had
reached the utmost extent that could be endured. The District
Police Court replied, notifying of the various measures used for
the pursuit "of the criminals residing in the ranche Rt»sario,
Texas, who boldly came to this shore to commit depredations,
and who had made themselves notorious." The military com-
mander of Matamoros declared that he had spoken to the
Mexican consul in Brownsville on the subject, and asked him
to communicate with the American authorities for *' the pur-
pose of devising a measure for suppressing the robbers who
collected on the frontier of the United States, dishonored that
nation, and kept the Mexican authorities in a constant threaten-
ing attitude.
In fact, the complaints which reached the authonties in-
volved questions of the utmost gravity. On the 4th May,
NORTHERN FRONtlER QUESTION. $1
1856, tlie acting jndge of Charco Aznl, informed tlie justice of
Kejnosa that the residents of the ranehe of San Lorenzo had
manifested how insupportable the depredations committed and
damages done their property had become, the same being
charged to the bands on the left bank of the river, residents of
Bosario, Texas ; that these people needed security not only for
their property on. the field, but also for the animals used in
their daily work, such as oxen, horses, mules, milqh qpws, and
even sucking calves from the pens iiave been transported to the
other shore.
Tilings evidently grew worse instead of better, for, on the
2d May, 1858, the magistrate of Rosario, Mexico, addressing
the judge of Reynosa, declared that " the greatest excitement
was manifested bv the inhabitants on account of the bands of
robbers congregated on the opposite shore, and no .one felt
secure or considered it safe to go a hundred yards from his
house unarmed, with the constant dread of being attacked even
in his own house, and of seeing his family murdered and his
dwelling reduced to ashes."
In seeking the most effectual means for relieving the in-
habitants of Rosario from the evils complained of, the authori-
ties of Reynosa commissioned Pedro Villareal, a resident of La
Mesa, Mexico, to enlist the robbers located in Rosario, Texas, and
to incorporate them with the forces beseiging Tampico. Jose
Maria Zamora was lieutenant of the company. lie commenced
the march to Tampico, but scarcely had tliey reached San Fer-
nando, when they mutinied, and deserting fled rapidly back to
Rosario, Texas, from whence they continued their de|)redation8
on the Mexican shore. Various complaints were laid before
Judge J. F. George, by the sufferers. The judge, apparently
an honorable, energetic man, took measures to investigate the
robberies committed by the band. The stolen horses were
found in the enclosure belonging to Rhodes; the robbers re-
sisted the judge, who was compelled to- use force, wounding
two of their number in the affray. This placed Judge George
in great danger.
On the 15th June, 1858, the justice of the peace of Ro-
sario, Mexico, notified the judge of Reynosa of the foregoing
32 RBPORT OF COMMITTEE.
occurrences, adding that the jndge asked for aid to effect the
apprehension of the thieves. At this very time, Judge George
himself wrote a note to Dr. Ramon L. Jimenez, stating the situa-
tion, and requesting him to ask the assistance of the authorities of
Kejnosa, and to raise as many Americans and Mexicans as possi-
ble to come to his relief. A copy of this letter is on jSle in the
archives of Reynosa. Jndge George says, " Bring all you can,
and come^as speedily as possible ; there are thirty robbers in the
rancho, and I cannot come out until I have help. Send or go to
the judge of Reynosa, and ask him to give you ten or twelve men
to assist me. Something must be done quickly, or I will be
lost.''
Such an occurence proves the audacity of the band, and
clearly indicates the crimes and excesses committed by them in
Mexico. Judge Cool, of Edinburgh, had a private understanding
with the authorities of Reynosa, relative to furnishing the de-
sired aid, and in compliance therewith, fourteen or fifteen men,
under command of Capt. Florentine Zamora, left Reynosa
for Edinburgh. Judge Cool, on the strength of this force, with
the addition of several of the inhabitants, went 'to Rosario,
where six of the robbers were arrested and delivered over to
the Mexican authorities. Besides these, Thadeus Rhodes was
imprisoned as an accomplice in the depredations committed by
the band. The steps taken by the Mexican authorities, in lend-
ing aid to Judge Cool, was made the subject of complaint by
the commander of Fort Brown, to the Governor of Tamaulipas.
The Commission did not find all the documents in relation to
this incident ; but it is to be supposed that the complainant
would withdraw his charges when fully informed as to the facts
in the case.
Rhodes is now justice of the peace in the county of Hidal-
go, and it appears that he had before acted in that capacity ;
he has also been collector of customs in Edinburgh, notwith-
standing his character has never varied. He has been noto-
rious since the year 1840 for his illegal traffic in stolen animals,
and for keeping in his employ men who made a business of
robbing in Mexico, and his fame, spite of his position, stays by
him to this day. There are cases on file proving that the theft
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 33
of animals is one of his objects in life, despite his social posi-
tion.
The third case is tliat of Leon and Jose Estapa, the first of
whom has been sheriff until last year, and the second a col-
lector in the county of Hidalgo. Both have at their disposal a
band of thieves, to which belong the three brothers, Tijerinas.
They own the rancho Grangeno, Texas, where the Tijerinas
live. In this ranche is an enclosure known by the name of
Sabinito, bounded on one side by the river, and on the other by
an inlet. To this enclosure the horses stolen in Mexico for the
Estapd's are taken, and here the droves are collected and kept
until ready to be driven into the interior of the State of Texas.
The examination of these questions gives rise to various con-
clusions.
Ist. A general rule may be established, although admitting
of several exceptions, that the originators and instigators of
robbery in Mexico are Americans coming from Texas ; that
the agents and employees are Mexicans naturalized in the Unit-
ed States as residents of Texas, and under the jurisdiction of
that State, and others residing in Mexico, or having no fixed
place of abode.
2d. A no less general rule may be formed that Texas is the
place that receives, and has always received, the benefit of the
robberies committed in Mexico ; there without the slightest
scruple, the dealers in horses receive the stolen goods, purchas-
ing the animals at reduced rates.
IV.
The various cases cited by the Commission as examples,
being tlie most authenticated, and the numerous others filed in
the archives, prove by the documentary evidence the existing
state of disorganization on the United States frontier ; and the
inefficacy of the laws and the inability of the authorities to
meet the necessities of the case.
It does not require much exertion to understand the reason
3
34 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
of this, when it is recollected that a sheriff like Estapd or a
judge like Ehodes charged with the carrying out of the laws
and the pursuit of crinainals, are\ themselves the chief insti-
gators, abetting the criminals and enjoying the proceeds of the
crime ; but the question has a still more general bearing, for
when during a long series of years similar acts have been com-
mitted in different places, without the proper measures for
repressing the criminals having been resorted to, it is not to be
presumed that the cause exists in the simply accidental com-
.plicity of a public functionary. This might be a motive, as
lending facilities and security to criminals, but it is certainly
not the only and primary incentive of the robbers.
It has become the common opinion of the proprietors on the
Mexican frontier, that it is useless to appeal to the authorities
in Texas for justice against the thieves and traders in stolen
animals. Their complaints are met with innumerable diffi-
culties, amongst others the cost of prosecution, which often
amounts to more than the value of the animals claimed.
Besides, there is attributed to several of the Texan authorities,
along the line of the Bravo, a spirit of protection to the robbers
who commit depredations in Mexico, and to the generality of
them the utmost indifference.
In order to characterize this phase of the question, it wilt
be necessary to investigate the deficiencies and defects in the
legislation upon this subject, and the course that has been
pursued by the authorities of Texas ; or in other words, to
establish the amount of responsibility to be assumed by the
authorities, in default of proper legislation, also the point at
which responsibility commences through neglect, toleration or
assistance. So combined are these two classes of responsibility,,
that it will be necessary to analyze them simultaneously.
On the 28th August, 1856, the legislature of Texas passed
two very important laws. In the first it was ordered, that if
any person committed a crime in a foreign country, State or
territory, that if committed in Texas would be classed as rob-
bery, theft or the criminal harboring of stolen goods, and
brought said goods into the State, said person should be pun-
ished in Texas, as if the crime had been committed in that
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 35
State ; always provided however, that by the laws of the State
or Territory in which the crime had actually been committed,
it came under the head of robbery, theft or the receiving of
stolen goods (Articles 2i38, 2439, PaschalPs Digest).
The second provided that any conspiracy formed in Texas,
for the purpose of committing crimes in any other State or
Territory of the Union, or in foreign territory, should be pun-
ished in the same manner as if their object had been to com-
mit the crime in Texas (Articles 2448, to 2463, JPaschall's Di-
gest). •
These laws are remarkable for the spirit of honor which
characterizes them. They were passed at a time when the Mex-
ican frontier was in a high state of excitement, on account of
the threatening attitude of the bands of robbers, which had
been organized during the first six months of 1856, on the
frontier of the United States, crossing the river to commit rob-
beries and assassinations.
The Commission believes that the strict enforcement of both
of these laws, would have restrained to a great extent, the dep-
redations committed on the Mexican line ; unfortunately, how-
ever, it seems that no great effort was made to apply them.
To fully inform themselves as to the facts in relation thereto,
the Commission examined the statistics of the criminal court
of the county of Cameron, Texas. The facts referring to the
period, from 1848 to 1863, relative to criminal cases, are miss-
ing, on account of the destruction of a part of the archives dur-
ing the Confederate war. There remain only those cases which
were " Dismissed without trial," and those held open pendino"
the arrest of the culprits, and even of these there is no surety
that they are complete. There seemed to be pending three
cases . of accusations against persons for removing property
belonging to the State, and none for conspiracy in Texas for
the perpetration of crime in Mexico.
From 1863 to 1866, there was no grand jury called in the
county of . Cameron. From the spring of 1866 to December,
1872, there have been four criminal cases for exporting prop-
erty stolen from the State of Texas, and none for conspiracy to
commit crimes in Mexico. Of these four cases, one culprit
36 REPORT OF COMMITTEE. '
alone was condemned, two found " not guilty," and the fourth
" dismissed without trial."
Although the data up to 1863 are very incomplete, the bulk
of evidence goes to show that the laws , passed by the legisla-
ture of Texas in 1856 have proved ineffectual on account of
their non-application. There is abundant information that dur-
ing the past few years — the statistical record of which is com-
plete — the stealing of animals in Mexico for Texas has contin-
ued undiminished under all its forms, and it is not reasonable
to suppose that, whilst robberies are so frequent, the laws have
been properly enforced ; nor does the trial of four cases, in
three of which the culprits were acquitted, prove the efficacy
of the laws.
At certain periods of the year, traders from the interior of
Texas come to the river to collect droves of horses stolen from
Mexico, and up to the present they have continued their illegal
traffic without molestation. The coming of the traders, their
arrival and their manner of dealing, as well as the places where
the horses are congregated, are facts well known, carrying with
them a certain phase of notoriety ; so that it is not possible to
attribute to the ignorance of the authorities their neglect to en-
force the laws and put a bar to these crimes, by restraining the
robberies committed on the Texan line, under this guise, to the
prejudice of Mexico.
An equally well known and notorious fact is the regular
organization of robbers who have existed, and still remain, on
the left bank of the Bravo, engaging in robberies in Mexico,
without any measures having been employed to restrain them.
The only case to the contrary, of which the Commission has
cognizance, is the arrest of Thadeus Ehodes, in 1858, and from
information given at that trial, it is manifest that the prosecu-
tion of Rhodes by the authorities of the county of Hidalgo
was not so much for the depredations of which he was con-
victed, but on account of the threats made by the band against
Judge George. After all, these proceedings amounted to noth-
ing in the end ; for soon after his arrest Rhodes managed to
escape, and since then he has not been disturbed.
In fact, there never has been a single voluntary pt*osecution
NORTHERN^ FRONTIER QUESTION. 37
on the part of the authorities against the originators of robberies
committed in Mexico and planned in |United States territory,
nor of those who had fled thither with the products of their
rapacity, much less against those who shamelessly trade in
stolen goods. On the contrary, the instigators and their tools
can dedicate themselves with all impunity to their criminal
traffic, fearless of any practical intervention on the part of the
authorities, unless, indeed, some complainant asks for redress
and support, which support, if extended, is generally accom-
pamed by circumstances of unusuail difficulty for any action in
individual cases.
The Commission docs not refer to cases of corrupt function-
aries who give aid to criminals ; it is evident that in such cases
there would be no hope for justice; but the Commission has
neither data nor reason to believe this condition of things to be
general. The principal difficulty, and the one that has proved
the greatest obstacle in the way of redress through the courts,
and on which the testimony is especially explicit, is the exces-
sive expense attendant on the intervention of the public authori-
ties in Texas.
This expense commences from the moment that the authori-
ties render aid for the pursuit of the robbers and the recovery
of the stolen property. The sherifl^ or agont of tlie government,
who orders the pursuit, becomes entitled to a fee, the payment
of which the complainant is compelled to make. If the stolen
property is found, a judgment is necessary, and the employment
of a lawyer to present the case naturally follows, on account of
. the lack of simplicity in the proceedings; besides which, every
employee of the court expects and must be paid a fee. From
this it will be seen that the expenses necessary to the recovery
in Texas of property stolen from Mexico are so enormous that
they frequently surpass in amount the value of the property
claimed ; and consequently, in the majority of cases, the claim-
.ants, rather than solicit the action of the public authorities, pre-
fer to lose their property.
Independent of this evidence, there are several documents in
which mention is made of this difficulty. In a charge made on
24th June, 1852, against Cosrae, Roman and Jose Maria Cortes,
38 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
as cattle thieves, one of the witnesses, Manuel Perez, testified
to having redeemed two horses on the left bank of the Bravo
by payment of four dollars to the Oortes. Another witness,
(Jose Maria Cdrdenas), declared that the Cortes had stolen from
him two mules, one of which was sold on the left bank of the
Bravo by Jose Maria Cortes, who afterwards stole the animal
from the purchaser and brought it to the witness for a given
sum; that the Cortes committed a doublQ robbery, carrying the
animals first from the Mexican to the Texan shore of the river,
disposing of them, and afterwards stealing them from the pur-
chasers for'a reward oflfered by the owner. That in order to
obtain their animals the owners were obliged to pay the ransom,
it being almost impossible to effect their recovery through legal
measures.
In still another document, dated May 4th, 1856, the resi-.
dents of the San Lorenzo ranche complained through the justice
of the peace to the authorities of Eeynosa, of the robberies
committed by the bands of robbers from Eosario, Texas,
adding that they were hopeless of redress, as the authorities of
Hidalgo, Texas, apparently wished them to believe that they
would carefully attend to their claims, whilst they felt sure
from past experience that the authorities were wilfully mislead-
ing them so as to effect their ruin.
The two first documents referred to the authorities of the
county of Hidalgo, Texas ; that is, to the county in which
Thadeus Rhodes is justice of the peace, and in which Leon
Estapd has just been made sheriff. In these they accuse the
above named oflScers of giving protection to thieves and of pre-
venting the owners of stolen animals from recovering their
property. In the conclusion of both documents suspicion is
hinted at not only these acts of bad faith, but of a spirit of
rapacity, exercised in prejudice of the Mexican proprietors
who appear before those authorities to reclaim their property.
This aspect of the frontier question called the profound
attention* of the Commission. It presented the fact that cor-
rupt public functionaries in Texas protected the thieves and
abetted stealing in Mexico. But still more worthy of consider-
ation was the combination of circumstances which contributed
II^^ORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 39
to the development and existence of the crime. This could
not be repressed except by the vigorous and energetic enforce-
ment of the laws by the public officers ; and in failure of this,
had not ready facilities been afforded and protection secured to
the robbers, corruption to such an extent would not have
existed, and the thieves, in place of assistance, would have been
met on all sides by insurmountable barriers.
Since 1848 to the present, for the space of twenty-five
years, there has existed in Texas the trade in goods stolen in
Mexico, without the attempt at interference on the part of the
authorities to punish the offenders of law in this illicit traffic.
During this same period the collection of droves of animals at
certain periods of each year along the whole American line has
been permitted, with the knowledge that these animals were
stolen from Mexican territory. Finally, there had been toler-
ated the public organization of bands of robbers, who under
the patronage of influential persons have gone to Mexico to
steal for the benefit of their patrons.
The neglect of the public authorities is shown by the lack
of a police force and other preventive measures to impede the
combinations of the robbers in Texas and the conspiracies
entered into for the perpetration of crime in Mexico, and that
out of two laws, the upright spirit of which is recognized
by the Commission, they have been unable or unwilling to
apply them effectually, or to have used some active means for
rescuing the property after the committal of the crime.
Without mentioning the denials of justice to Mexican -pro-
prietors who appeal to the tribunals of Texas, the fact that the
complainants are obliged to pay the officials charged with the
pursuit of the robbers and the stolen property, as well as all
the costs of the court, amounting very often to a sum equal or
greater than the value of the thing reclaimed, is sufficient
reason why the aggrieved should prefer to lose his property ;
and thus the authorities deprive themselves of so certain a
means of investigating the crimes of the delinquents as that
-afforded by the prosecution of private individuals.
The Commission esteems it best to mention two consider-
40 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
ations as regards the general character of the responsibility of
the authorities on the western shore of the Bravo.
Ist. They have not used all the eflfiorts in their power to
prevent the schemes projected in Texas for robberies in Mexico,
nor taken measures to prevent the stolen objects from being
introduced into United States territory, where the thieves find
an immediate and easy market.
2d. Not having complied with this duty, they fail to per-
form another, by collecting fees from Mexican proprietors for
cooperating with those who have crossed into Texas to recover
their property.
In respect to the last, the Commission recognizes the right
of the State of Texas to levy contributions on those who seek
the assistance of the public authorities for tbe recovery of stolen
goods, and on those who appeal through the tribunals for jus-
tice, whether these charges are in the form of fees paid to em-
ployees of the court and police force, or are paid in any other
manner. But these expenses ought not, under any circum-
stances, accrue to foreign owners who would be enabled to re-
main in the tranquil enjoyment of their property, if the organ-
ization of bands of robbers was not permitted in a neighboring
country, from whence these marauders come to ravage their
properties ; or, if there was not in that country a peaceful
security for the proceeds of theft, even if these organizations
did not exist.
Before the robbery is committed, the goods are beyond the
jurisdiction of the authorities of the State of Texas, and the
proprietors do not willingly submit them to their control. A
criminal act which the authorities were in duty bound to have
prevented is what gives them cognizance of the claims advanced
by foreign proprietors. The appeal, therefore, of these proprie-
tors to the Texan tribunals is not a voluntary submission to the
laws of the State, but an appeal for redress for wrongs which
the authorities of the western bank of the Bravo had it in their
power to have prevented. If they have been inefficient or
neglectful of their duty, and if through their inefficience or
neglect foreign proprietors have been made to suffer, and have
been compelled to appear before the tribunals and police courts
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 41
of Texas for redress, and ask of these authorities the aid neces-
sary for righting their wrongs, this aid, the necessity of which
having been brought about by their own neglect, should be
cordially rendered by the authorities, and every possible means
furnished to recover the property stolen from a foreign coun-
try, especially under the conditions relating to the protection of
the Mexican frontier established since 1848. This second obli-
gation on the part of the authorities is as clear and binding as
the first ; it is not hampered by any needless conditions, nor is
it left to the judgment of the Texan authorities to comply or
not with the letter and spirit of the law. They are compelled
to perform their duty, and no opening is left them for hedging
the law round with such innumerable barriers, under the guise
of fees, as to precjlude the appeal for justice. This obligation
not only proceeds from the right of justice conferred on Mexi-
cans under the laws of Texas, but is made imperative by an-
other obligation, by which the authorities were bound to re-
press hostile proceedings on the United States frontier against
Mexico, and to redress the damages done, when these damages
arose through their neglect, and to use all the means in their
power to prevent the evil. The appeal therefore made to the^
Texan authorities against those who are benefiting by prop-
erty stolen in Mexico, is simply a reparation asked, and such
reparation should not be subject to any litigation whatsoever...
Y.
The question of robbery in Texas is one of the most com-
plicated in this investigation, embracing as it does, so many de-
tails, all of which deserve attention, in order that the case may
be fully comprehended.
The Commission, believing it necessary to inquire into the^
condition of the cattle trade in Texas, having been informed
that the cattle of the region lying between the Eio Bravo and
the Nueces had augmented considerably during the Confeder-
ate war for lack of a market, and that the evidence of the ex-
42 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
perts shows that the number of cattle have fallen off from one-
third to one-fourth what it was in 1866, under the circum-
stances, too, that there has been no sickness amongst them, nor
drought, nor unusual sales, which might explain this diminu-
tion.
Ist. We notice that this fact is set forth to lead to the in-
ference that this result has been brought about by gangs of
thieves organized in Mexico.
2d. If we take into account, as has also been suggested,
that the cattle beyond the Nueces, on account of the cold, mi-
grate to the south, crossing the river Nueces, and take refuge
in the valley of the Rio Bravo, and,
3d. Then we must conclude that cattle stealing in Texas
for the benefit of Mexico has not been confined to a special lo-
cality, but has affected the cattle over a great portion of the
State.
This result does not only exist in theory, fbr in the sched-
ule of claims presented for stolen cattle, there appear amongst
the claimants the proprietors of the counties of Refugio, San
Patricio, Goliad, Lavaca, and Bee, which are on the other side
of the Nueces.
The Commission will express its opinion, relative to the
counties lying between the Bravo and the Nueces when they
treat of the claims presented against Mexico, as regards the
disposal of the general question, and from the condition of the
cattle trade in that State, the Commission has not antecedents
suflSicient to enable it to judge whether or not there has been
any diminution of cattle in Texas. Witnesses were not exam-
ined, for the reason that the solution of the question may be found
in the official statistics relating to the payment of duties. With-
out affirming*, therefore, anything relative to this matter, the
Commission will limit itself to saying that the cattle in Texas
have suffered some reduction, which may be accounted for,
independent of any connection with the cattle thieves in Mexico.
The commercial statistics of Texas, copied from the Texas
Almanac for 1873, gives the following results :
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION.
43
Homed cattle exported to Galveston and Indianola during
the period from
Sept. 1st 1871, to Sept. Ist 1872 58,078
From Saluria, during the same period 24,461
From Corpus 3,180
Transported to Kansas from Caldwell, from May 1st
to Nov. 11th 1872 .34:9,275
434,994
This table does not include the cattle exported from other
ports of Texas, nor that taken to the northern portion of the
State, not passing through Caldwell.
The statistics show for the same period, i. e. from Septem-
ber 1, 1871, to August 31, 1872, the commerce in raw hides to
be, as follows :
Exported from Galveston 407,931
'' '' Corpus Christi 85,297
" " Eockport 10,240
" " Aranzas 31,720
" " Saluria.. 330,875
Total 866,063
In this is not included the hides exported from other ports,
nor those taken from Shreveport and other points of the Colorado
river, nor those employed in manufactures in the State, nor yet
the excess lying at the ports, which have not been exported ; thus,
for example, the number of hides received in Galveston, ex-
ceeds the number of those exported during the above named
period, by (4,902) four thousand, nii^e hundred and two; but
even if we accept the previously mentioned figures, they will
be suflScient to estimate the great number of cattle consumed
and exported.
These exportations have not been habitual, nor is there any
notice of them previous to 1866, as shown by the statistics.
Taking for example the commerce of the port of Galveston,
we arrive at positive conclusions. In the mention made of the
traffic of the above named port, published in the Texas
Almanac for 1869 (pages^ 179-180), are contained the two fol-
lowing paragraphs :
/
/
44: REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
" Cattle. — In no year previous (1868) has there been so
much activity in the exportation of cattle from this port, as at
present, owing to large herds collected, the great facility for
embarkation, and the urgent necessity of the population, com-
pelling them to use every means possible to avail themselves of
the resources within their reach. There have been also expor-
tations from all the other ports, and those transported by land
have reached an unprecedented number." i
" Cattle Hides. — The exportations from this port for the
year amount to 205,000 hides, and almost as many have been
transported from the other ports of the State, showing an
increase of at least fifty per cent, over any previous year."
It is not too much to say that since 1868 the exportation of
cattle and hides from Texas has assumed unusual activity, and
has continued increasing, as will be seen from the following
notice relative to the port of Galveston (Texas Almanac, 1873,
page 39) :
Hides exported from September 1, 1867, to August
31, 1868 205,000
From 1868 to 1869 294,892
From 1869 to 1870 332,769
From 1870 to 1871 371,925
From 1871 to 1872 , . .407,931
This unparalleled development of the commerce has not
been peculiar to Galveston, but general to all the ports of
Texas, and is established by the fact that the general expor-
tation of hides which took place from 1867 to 1868 were
calculated at four hundred thousand, and considered as an ex-
traordinary number, exceeding that of any previous year.
This is less thaii half the number of ludes exported in the
period from 1871 to 1872. In other words, the exportation of
cattle hides in any year prior to 1867 never exceeded 200,000,
so that when, in 1868 and each of the succeeding years, the
number increased until it showed the large figure of eight
hundred and seventy-six thousand and seventy-three, it pro-
duced the plain conviction that since 1868 the sales had been
unusual and the numbers constantly increasing.
In proportion to the number of cattle consumed, the pro-
duction has been alarmingly decreasing, owing to the prolonged
droughts sufifered for the past three years. A great many wit-
nesses, proprietors of farms in ^Texas, especially in the region
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 45
between the Rio Bravo and the Nueces, wliere it is insisted
that no droughts have occurred, laborers working and travel-
ers passing through that portion all testify with singular uni-
formity upon this point, and give the drought as a cause for
the mortality amongst the cattle.
The lack of rain contributes in twp different ways to pro-
duce this result. The immediate consequence is the drying up
of the springs and other watering-places. As soon as the
water is exhausted the cattle begin to perish, especially if the
herds are large. Although there are places where these springs
never dry, and where water is plentiful, the pastures become
exhausted, and the cattle fall off in flesh, even though they
may not die. The result of this is that during the winter, al-
though it may have rained previously, the cattle are unable to
resist the great cold, and quickly perish, so that the lack of
pasture is felt by causing other troubles, to which the cattle
become a prey.
From year to year the evil has increased, the drought hav-
ing continued three years, the effects caused by the scarcity of
water in one year is again repeated, falling upon cattle not yet
recovered from the last year's suffering.
Thus it is that after three years' drought, so great a number
of cattle perished during the last winter that some entire herds
were swept away, and all are more or less diminished.
The following are extracts from various newspapers of
Texas upon this subject :
"This year we have had no rain of any consequence
in Santa Gertrudisand Laureles (Nueces) ; the neighborhood of
Oakville, is also suffering from the Avow^ny^^-The Daily
Hanchero^ Brownsville, June 13th, 1872.
" A letter received from a ranche in the county of Nueces
declares that the horned cattle, as well as the horses, are dying
by the thousands on account of the lack of pasture." — The Sen-
tinel^ Brownsville, January 14:th, 1873.
" It is a fact worthy of notice, and invites reflection, that in
reality there is not in the county of Bejar a tenth part of the
number of cattle that there was in 1860. Judge Noonan rode
to Castroville one day last week, and returned the day follow-
ing. During the trip he saw but two oxen ; notwithstanding
46 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
the pasture begins to look green again." — Sam Antonio Ex-
jpressy February 27th, 1873.
"The cattle * * * is beginning to fall off, and has become
so scarce that it makes the trade precarious and not very profit-
able. It is a notorious fact that the native pasturage is disap-^
pearing, and without the care and cultivation of art, four of five
acres of summer pasturage will be* utterly useless." — ^From the
same paper.
" The proprietops of cattle in Western Texas are losing their
herds at the rate of twenty per cent., owing to the disastrous
results of thfe past winter." — Indiana Bulletin.
" A stranger can form some idea of the cattle which per-
ished during the past winter, when from ten to thirty cargoes
of hides leave our city daily for the coast, and the same may be
said of twenty other towns, north and south of us." — San>
Antonio Weeldy Herald^ March 8, 1873.
" In reality there are very few cattle within the radius of a
hundred miles of San Antonio ; the pasture has been greatly
injured by being constantly trodden, and that which remains is
being devoured by grasshoppers. It is useless, and worse than
useless, it is criminal to attempt to disguise for a longer time
the fact that this region of the country is in a transition state ;
the abundance of nature is fast giving way to the exigences of
civilization. The past mode of raising cattle is impossible,
with any hope of future profit." — San Antonio Weekly Ex-
press^ March 27, 1873.
The press confirms the evidence of the majority of the wit-
nesses, as will be noticed especially by the conclusion arrived
at by the last named paper, and which goes to- show that this
condition of things has not been sudden, but that the country
has been slowly deteriorating through a number of years.
The droughts have entailed a double injury, not only caus-
ing the death of the cattle, but impeding their reproduction^
by reason of their meagreness and debility, caused by lack of
sufficient sustenance. Thus the constant removal of cattle ta
Kansas and other places for consumption, the mortality among
them, and the dearth of reproduction will serve to explain the
decrease perceived in the cattle in Texas, if such has really
occurred, without recurring to so extraordinary a cause as that
of robberies, committed by gangs of thieves organized in.
Mexico.
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 47
VI.
Cattle stealing in Texas has taken divers forms, which will
be readily understood by consulting the laws of that State, as
said laws constitute one of the necessary elements in order to
thoroughly understand the nature of the question relating
thereto.
In said laws we can perceive the origin of the mischief, the
different forms which it has taken in the course of time, its
progress and development.
The Commission could not, therefore, disregard such an in-
valuable source of information.
On the 5th of September, 1850, the first law of which this
Commission has any knowledge was issued.
The object of this law was to regulate the shipping and
slaughtering of cattle, and this of itself indicated that at that
time cattle stealing was committed either to ship the herds or
to dispose of them at the slaughtering houses. Said law
adopted easy means to find out the robberies committed, by
ordering that all the captains of vessels, as also the owners of
slaughtering houses, should keep a registry, wherein entries
should be made of the marks and brands of the cattle, giving
a general description of the heads, their age, counties, where
the same came from, and the names of the sellers.
This registry was to be communicated to the court clerk of
the county in which the cattle were to be shipped or slaugh-
tered, and said clerk was to keep another registry, which might
be examined by any interested party (Oldham or "White's Di-
gest, Art. 1866).
During a long time no order whatever was passed, and this
cannot seem strange if we bear in mind that prior to 1848 cat-
tle were not abundant in Texas. Later, when the cattle
increased, the crime of cattle stealing began to appear, and
thence the necessity of a more extended legislation.
The law of August the 28th, 1856, was passed in order to
meet the arising exigences. Said law established a pecuniary
punishment against all persons who should brand any herds of
48 REPORT OF COMMITTEE,
cattle, if they are horses, mules, neat cattle, or sheep, without
the consent of the owners (Paschal I's Digest, Art. 1411). A
similar punishment was decreed against all those who should
appropriate to themselves the skins of any heads of cattle, or
any part thereof, against the will of the owners of the same
(Art. 2413). And finally, said law forbade, under a fine, the
selling of unbranded calves, either to be shipped or slaughtered
(Art. 2419).
We are convinced by this law, that in 1856, cattle stealing
]iad acquired thr^e new forms, viz : the stealing of unbranded
cattle ; the stealing of heads by stripping the skins off and
abandoning the remains, in order to avail themselves of the
said skins ; and by branding cattle belonging to others.
This last form of stealing requires some further explanation.
Up to a certain age stock raisers do not brand their cattle,
the ownership being recognized by the young keeping with
their mothers.
He who brands such animals, not his own, commits a plain
act of robbery. But such an act, can only be committed by
cattle owners, who have a brand of their own, and this shows
evidently that in 1856, cattle stealing was not only committed
by indigent people, but also by those who owned and raised
cattle, endeavoring to increase their stock by stamping their
brands on young cattle owned by others.
The law passed the 12th February, 1858, indicates that the
evil, at that time, far from being extinguished, had been en-
hanced and was deeply rooted. Said law imposed very severe
penalties of imprisonment against cattle thieves, whatever
might be the kind of cattle that was stolen (Paschall's Di-
gest, Articles 2409, and 2410,) as also against whosoever
might alter or efface the brand of an animal not belonging to
him, without the consent of the owner thereof.
So when the Cotifederate war broke out, cattle stealing was
committed in Texas under all its forms.
Demoralization had increased from 1850 to 1858, as an
inevitable consequence of the want of preventive laws, such as
are customary in all countries dedicated to stock raising.
Disorderly habits had been created during that period,
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 49
^hich in the course of time have been spreading, and the eradi-
-cation of which will be exceedingly difficult.
The war, by placing the State in an exceptional condition,
enlarged the scale of demoralization, the effects of which are
felt up to to the present, and will be felt for a long time to come.
The law of March 4tb, 1863, shows the principal evils
suffered during the confederation.
The purchasers of cattle destined to the use of the confeder-
ate army, or to exportation, or to a market, and of the county
where the purchase was effected, were obliged to take from the
vendor a deed of purchase, wherein the brand, or brands,
should appear. This deed was to be recorded by the purchaser
with the court clerk of the county, and the record to be accessi-
ble to the public for their inspection (Paschall's Digest, Ar-
ticle 2414). Purchasers- not complying with above mentioned
requirements incurred thereby the penalty of $500 fine (Ar-
ticle 2415). A copy of this deed, certified by the clerk, was
prima facie evidence against the vendor in any civil or crimi-
nal proceeding (Article 2416). The enactments of the law
•of 1850 were reiterated, augmenting the penalty.
There was some reason for passing this act. The very fact
that its penally was made more severe than the penalties of
previous acts, shows that demoralization and robbery had in-
creased.
The requirements of the act in regard to the sale of cattle
show' that respect for other people's property was by no means
the predominant feeling.
And truly, the investigation of the Commission proves
clearly the disorders of which Texas was then the stage.
A great number of Texans, some of them officers in the
Confederate army, took large droves of cattle to Matamoros as
a naarket, and evidently this was not only in Matamoros, but
also in all the towns of Texas, for said act shows this to be the
case.
The armed forces of Texas, disorderly and insubordinate,
never hesitated to commit any act of plunder. But leaving
this aside, the means employed by the beef contractors of the
Confederate army deserve a particular explanation.
50 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
The Commission received some accounts relating to one of
these contractors, a Mr. Beecher by name, property owner on
San Antonio river, said accounts being given by one who
served under him during the war.
Mr. Beecher, with the men under his service, used to go
into the pasture grounds, sometimes with and at others with-
out the permission of the owners. He would there make large
collections of meat cattle, and select all the fat bullocks of
seven years of age and upwards, regardless of their brands.' Ify
perchance, the owner of the bullocks happened to be on the
spot, or he came in time, he received the value of the cattle
marked with his brand ; but if he happened to be absent, this
was no objection, and Mr. Beecher would drive off the bullocks
without paying for them. Once started on his way, he would
incorporate in his drove all the bullocks he came across having
the conditions he required.
When he reached Gamstone, a place on the Mississippi
river, he delivered all the cattle he had gathered to the agents
of the Confederate army. This performance was carried on
during the whole Confederate war, and Mr. Beecher was not
the only beef contractor.
The act passed in 1863, in no way put a stop to the ever
increasing demoralization. When the war ended, there were
other causes conspiring to the same object, but as said causes
are connected with the stealing of cattle destined for the line
of the Kio Bravo, these will be dealt with by the Commissioa
in its proper place.
Nevertheless this will not prevent the Commission from
remarking here, that after said war concluded, cattle stealing
was not purely local and limited to the Eio Grande valley, but
it had a general, character, as is shown by the act of Novem-
ber 13th, 1866. According to this act, all sales, whether of
horses or meat cattle were to be under bills of sale expressing
the number of heads, their brands and marks, and the want of
said document in any criminal proceeding, was the prima/acie
evidence of culpability against the person in whose possession
the cattle was found.
The bill of sale was to be recorded with the clerk of the
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 61
County Court, whenever it referred to cattle taken on the pas-
ture ground. (1st.) To export cattle from the State or any
county, it was necessary that the purchaser should file with
the court clerk a bill of sale, and a statement of the number of
heads, marks, brands, kind of cattle and domicil of the pur-
chaser, said document to be recognized by the vendor, recorded
by the clerk, and by this functionary returned to the purchaser,
after having certified and sealed it. Whoever was found
driving cattle from one place to another, unprovided with said
documents, incurred a penalty of double the amount of the
value of each animal, and the animals were to be returned to
their owners at the expense of the accused. (Sec. 2d.) The
owners of slaughtering houses were obliged to present to the
Police Court of the county, a sworn statement of the number
of heads, color, age, marks, and brands of the animals they
had slaughtered, presenting the hides to the chief of the po-
lice or to the clerk of the County Court, and these oflicers
were to keep a registry open to the public.
It was required to file with each statement the accounts ^
the sales made over to the slaughterers, or to express in its
case that they were the raisers of the heads that had been
slaughtered.
Those who slaughtered or bought unbranded heads of cat-
tle, without a bill of sale, or failed to file the sworn statement,
incurred a penalty of from fifty to three hundred dollars
(Sec. 3d).
This act endeavored to attack cattle stealing in two of its
gravest aspects.
The first was the exporting of cattle by those who drove them
out of the State or county, and "who whileforming their droves,
gathered unscrupulously all the heads that might suit them,
without discriminating their brands or owners. The second
was the facilities the cattle thieves had for selling the animals
they had stolen to the slaughtering houses in the towns of
Texas, without a vestige being left after a short while, on ac-
count of the animals being consumed. As to this last shape of
cattle stealing, the act of 1866, when compared with the previ-
ous acts, shows that the evil had increased, not only because it
53 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
made the penalty more severe, but also because it augmented
the requirements to which the owners of slaughtering houses
were subject.
In February, 1869, Texas constituted the 5th niilitary dis-
trict. Major General Oanby, in chief of said district, by his
order No. 17, issued on the 25th of same month, extended to
the traflSc of hides the enactments of the law of September 5th,
1850, relating to the shipping and slaughtering of branded cattle.
The purchasers of hides were obliged thereafter to file with
the Police Court of the county a sworn statement, expressing the
number, color, marks and brands of the hides, name and domicil
of the vendor and purchaser, or whether the hides had been taken
from stock raised by the holder of said hides.
From these statements a record was to be kept open to the
inspection of the public ; contraveners were to be punished by
fines of from fifty to three hundred dollars. And the purchase
of unbranded hides was prohibited, when the marks had
hpen effaced, or removed, under a fine of twenty-five dollars.
The general order No. 108 was issued on June 7th, 1869.
In this order it is said that information had been received /r^m
all parts of the State^ showing that cattle stealing had been
carried on during that year to an unprecedented extent, and
that in many cases the cattle drivers would not allow them to
be examined.
The same order established certain rules according to which
the inspection was to be made, provided for the appointment
of public inspectors, who were to watch that all the laws relat-
ing to cattle should be duly fulfilled, establishing also certain
rules for the transit of cattle on the Eio Bravo frontier.
The first order gives evidence that hide stealing had as-
sumed great dimensions.
This kind of theft, as the Commission has already observed,
is committed by flaying the cattle on the pasture grounds,
where the remains are abandoned, and the hides carried ofl^.
This is easily accomplished on account of the loneliness and ex-
tent of the pastures, is full of inducements for the high prices
which hides have commanded in late years, and besides this,
it is difficult to be discovered and proved.
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 53
And now it is readily understood that this kind of theft
can only be committed in Texas, by residents of Texas, and to
the profit of dealers in hides living in Texas.
The general order No. 17 shows sufficiently that the dep-
redations committed in this way bear no reference whatever to
the Mexican frontier.
The second amongst the orders which we have referred to,
shows that in 1869, stealing by means of exporting cattle, had
assumed considerable proportions, that want of security was
general in Texas, and that the stealing of cattle, with a view to
drive them to the line of the Rio Bravo, was not by itself the
principal question, but one of its incidents only. In tiie inves-
tigation of the causes which have contributed to the increase
of the crime, the Commission thinks to have found them in the
existing demoralization of a large body of people, composed of
merchants and property owners, who evade the fulfillment of
the laws, having sufficient influence to carry through their
purposes. Besides this, the Commission has noticed a complete
subversion of moral principles, which has caused morality to
be a practical impossibility.
Witness an Indianola correspondent of the Texas Almanac
(1870, page 125). After citing. the requirements of the laws
of Texas in regard to the selling of cattle, and after having
explained how the records kept by the clerks of the County
Courts are made available to discover when cattle have been
sold illegally, by persons who are not their owners, said
correspondent adds :
" It often happens too, that diff^erent droves become mingled,
and it is only by great labor that they can be separated. Wiien
this is the case, the general practice is that the owner who
finds with his cattle heads 'bearing marks of other owners
unknown to him, may sell them as though they belonged to
him, setting down on the bill of sale their marks and brands,
in order that the owner who proves his claim may have a right
to be paid, according to said bill, the person authorizing the
same being held responsible at any time. In the large pastures
of the West, where thousands of heads belonging to different
64 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
owners gather in one drove, it frequently happens that the
vendor, while driving his cattle, finds out sorae heads of un-
known brands, and it is less troublesome for him to sell these
heads and keep the proceeds, subject to the call of the owner,
than to separate the heads from his drove."
Evidently no one could make a mistake by calling this
proceeding downright cattle stealing.
As droves of cattle belonging to diflferent owners collect
together on account of the pastures being open, and said cattle
roam .over vast tracts of grazing ground, unquestionably, in
the majority of cases, the owners who live in a distant county,
and whose heads of cattle have been disposed of in this manner,
will never hear of such sale, and the vendor may sell with the
absolute certainty that no one will ever claim the proceeds.
Nor is it possible that the cattle owners could visit all the
places from whence or through which cattle may have been
transported^ and consequently, the willingness of the vendor
to deliver the proceeds to the real owner of the heads he sold,
whenever he may present himself, has no importance whatever,
and is nothing else but a mark to violate the law and commit
crime with perfect impunity.
The remarks made by the correspondent of the Texas Al-
manac explain partly the reasons why, notwithstanding the
previous acts, the headquarters of the fifth military district re-
ceived complaints from all parts of the State of Texas against
cattle stealing, whilst droves were being transported, and also
show that these depredations were committed by stock owners
whilst disposing of cattle, and that the line of the Rio Bravo
has had no part in this form of cattle stealing.
The information received by the Commission shows to
what extent the abuses concealed under this practice were
carried. It not only helps large owners of cattle to take away
and sell heads that do not belong to them, but enables in-
dividuals of very limited means to sell great numbers of cattle,
as if they were rich stock owners.
There is a case in which out of sixty-six heads of cattle
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 55
sold, only four bore the brand of the vender, and the balance
belonged to other owners.
In another ease of eighty heads sold by three persons, there
was only one head bearing the brand of one of said persons,
and not one with the brand of the other two.
All this information refers especially to American stock
raisers of the river Nueces, who complain most bitterly against
the Mexican frontier.
The large stock owners complain that these abuses are com-
mitted by persons having no capital, but they restrict them-
selves to sterile complaints, trusting perhaps that they will
have more than sufficient compensation in committing like
abuses in their turn.
They certainly suffer, but prevent their remedy from being
applied, because it would deprive them from committing the
very same depredations.
Those who really suffer are Mexican stock owners, against
whom the greatest indignation would be manifested, if' they
dared to act in like manner.
They are really, therefore, the principal victims, and som^e
of them have preferred to abandon Texas.
Some American stock raisers on the Nueces river, have of
late fenced larger or smaller tracts of lands, wherein they keep
their stock.
No admittance is allowed on the premises, but to their
agents or to purchasers, and these have informed the Commis-
sion, that said stock raisers hold a large amount of cattle, that
does not belong to them, but which they sell as if it did.
Cattle inspection is not and never has been a means of pro-
tection ; those who commit the abuses we have referred to,
alter the marks, and either on account of the swiftness of the
cattle, which does not allow any one to approach, especially if
he is not on horseback, or because the inspector cannot dis-
tinguish the marks, they are never able to detect the
frauds committed by the vendors.
In the majority of cases, said inspectors do not even affect
to inspect the cattle, limiting their exertions simply to counting
the number of heads, and when it is found to agree with the
■ 66 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
number on the face of the bill of sale, they set down the marks;
designated on said bill.
These remarks, referring to small droves, have been made-
by American stock raisers of the Nueces and Kio Frio, to^
dealers in Mexico, and they give a good foundation to surmise^
the enormous frauds committed in those large lots of from five
hundred to two thousand heads, which are exported from Texas
to the Northern States.
It is very plain therefore, that, even should the owner ap-
ply to the registry in order to find out whether some of his^
heads had been sold, said registry would be of very little use^^
to him, on account of the alteration of the marks.
It is not the perpetration of the crime itself which calls-
, particularly our attention, but its being considered in the cate-
gory of dire necessity, the origin of which should be accounted
for, by the mingling of large numbers of cattle belonging to
different owners.
When a large drove of cattle destined for exportation ia-
formed, it is only a certain kind of cattle that is included,,
which is selected from those large collections called '' round
ants."
In the mean time, while the picked heads are being exported^,
it would be very easy to separate the heads having a dififerent
mark from the owner's.
Therefore, if amongst the picked lots, heads of cattle with*
diflferent brands should be found, there has been necessarily a
positive act, executed with a deliberate intention and will.
This is not, however, the only case in which the Commission
has noticed a perversion of the principles of morality.
Further on we shall have an opportunity to show distinctly
that cattle stealing, in the shape of branding young heads not
belonging to persons so branding them, and the traffic of stolen
hides, have found defenders in Texas, invoking reasons of pub-
lic utility, in which we can only find the crime adorned with
phrases that cannot bear analysis.
The military orders issued in 1869 were as ineffectual as the
acts previously passed.
It was, perhaps, for this reason, that on the 22d of May^
I
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 6T
1871, another act was passed, the most complete of all which
had been enacted up to that date, dealing with cattle stealing
in all its shapes.
Said act ordered the inspection of hides and animals in each
county, with the exception of the counties situated on the west
of the Colorado river, and towards the south of the Colorado
branch of the same river, in which counties the inspection is
confined to certain objects.
A public officer is to inspect all the hides, the sales of which
have been notified to him, whenever said hides are to be ex-
ported from the county, destined for the market or for ship-
ment, keeping a record of the marks and brands, names of the
vendors and purchasers, and this officer is not to allow the ex-
portation of a single animal or hide when the brand is not
plain, or when the hide was branded subsequent to the flaying
of the animal, and neither to allow unbranded cattle to be
killed in the packeries and butcheries of the county, nor that
they should be sold or shipped out of the county, unless the
ownership be proved (Sec. 4th).
From its sundry provisions it follows that cattle stealing
has distinct phases in Texas, which may be reduced to these
two, viz : cattle stealing with a view to dispose of the heads
out of the limits of the State, and with a view to disposing of
them within said limits.
The first is committed in the shape of taking droves of cat-
tle out of the State, either by land or water.
Tlie second has the following forms : I. The appropriating
of cattle belonging to other persons, altering their marks either
on the animals or on the bills of sale. II. The driving of cat-
tle destined for the butcheries and for consumption. III. The
driving in lots to large establishments where enormous numbers
of cattle are butchered. IV. The flaying of animals on the
pastures to carry off* the hides ; and V. The stealing of young
cattle, branding the heads which ^till follow their mothers.
The laws of Texas aflfbrd very interesting data in regard to
cattle depredations committed there in late years. From 1850
to the present, we notice an ever-increasing demoralization,
which assumed colossal proportions since the Confederate war.
58 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
The evil does not present a local character, but a general
one, extending over all the States.
There is not a single shape in which cattle stealing can pos-
sibly be committed which has not been tried, and of its six
phases, five have been committed by and to the profit of said
residents of Texas.
The other phase, namely, when the crime is committed by
exporting cattle out of the State, the exportation is made
through the ports to Kansas, Missouri, and California, on the
northern frontier, and to Mexico, on the southern.
The laws of Texas are, therefore, the first data necessary to
understand that cattle stealing on the American frontier, with
a view to introduce them into Mexico, is only an accessory to
a vast question, and that its causes are not to be looked for on
the Mexican frontier, but in the demoralization predominating
in some of the masses of the inhabitants of Texas. The testi-
monial evidence referring to this question presented interesting
details for the Commission, and is the commentary on the laws
of Texas.
The Commission has already called attention to the vast
number of cattle which are being exported to-day from Texas
to Kansas.
There has been a case in which an entire drove taken to the
last named State was composed of heads stolen by the drivers
on several pastures ; but this is an exceptional case.
In the majority of cases, when a drove is being formed,
heads of cattle the property of other people are mingled with
those of a legitimate source ; and besides that, the drivers on
their way either take deliberately whatever they may come
across, or do not take the trouble to separate the heads that get
mingled with their droves.
These are formed on tlie Nueces to be driven to the North,
and several persons who have traveled in Texas, have seen
occasionally heads of cattle bearing the brands of stock raisers
in Cameron county, who never had sold them.
In regard to the droves carried to the ports, the same pro-
ceeding is adopted.
The large packeries of Texas are places where stolen cattle
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. SO
are unscrupnlonsly transported ; when the animal has been
butchered, the hides, the fat, the hoofs and the horns are
separated ; as to the meat, it is left without any blood and is
fed to hogs.
The enormous number of cattle consumed in those estab-
lishments can well be appreciated by the exportation of hides,
to which trade said establishments contribute to a large amount.
Cattle are rapidly consumed there, without their owners
noticing their loss, or without having any means to prove it,
in case they should notice it.
Their only protection is the law ordering the inspection of
hides, the inefficacy of which is well tested by the very fact
that hide stealing is committed daily on a very large scale, and
the mischief is increasing instead of decreasing. We herewith
annex extracts taken from several newspapers.
" We have heard that on several ranches in the interior of
our country, cattle are being killed on tlie pasture only for tlje
sake of the hides, without any consideration to property.
There is a ranche which must be carrying on a very protitable
business, as it is said that it can maintain continually traffic
with two persons." — The /Sentinel^ Brownsville, Feb. 11, 1873.
" The news received from the northern portion of this
county (Cameron) and from the south of the Nueces is very
discouraging. The peelers are flaying daily thousands of heads.
They don't wait for the animals to die, but shoot at those th?it
have fallen, and their shots can be heard at any hour of the
night. They have no respect for the rights of other people,
their only object being to make money. They get four dollars
on eacli hide, and as to the purchasers, they have no inclination
to be more scrupulous in making the acquisition. * * ^*
The demoralization caused by the war is yet producing its had
effects, Tlie people of Texas will yet have to suffer terribly
on account of the flayers, tlie cold and the lack of pasture." —
The Sentinel^ Brownsville, Feb. 14, 1873.
"Many stock raisers of Refugio county have been in our
city for several days examining hides by virtue of injunctions,
of which they bring their pockets full. They seem to be ex-
asperated from having found tiie remains of animals killed on
the pasture, evidently for the purpose of taking the hides." —
Goliad Guard,
" A Commission of property owners have arrived in our city
(San Antonio) in search of stolen hides taken from dead ani-
60 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
mals. We have been advised that a large nnmber of tronbler
some lawsuits have been instituted auainst several of our
merchants to whom hides have been consigned for sale." —
San Antonio Weelcly Herald^ March 8, 1873.
" An organized band of cattle thieves, under the leadership
of tlie notorious thief Alberto Garza, are scouring Nueces and
Duval counties, said band numbering from twenty to thirty
men.
" The last number of the Gaceta, of Corpus Ohristi, gives an
interesting account of the operations of these banditti, who
killed and flayed in one place two hundred and seventy-five
heads in anotiier three hundred, and in another sixty-six." —
Daily Ranchero^ Brownsville, March 1, 1873.
Another newspaper, referring to this same band and to the
ineffectual persecution of it, says :
" We believe that the cattle owners of the Nueces and Kio
Grande ougiit to do something better than to run after thes6
robbers. Thev must direct their attention to the buyers of
hides. A little discipline exercised against these supporters of
thieves will soon put a stop to the trouble. If there were n^
buyers the thieves would soon take another course. The mer-
chant who bnys from the thieves is worse than the thieves
themselves. He is only one, but he turns twenty into scoun-
drels, trusting in his position to save himself from reproach and
censure." — The Sentinely May 2, 1873.
. We are satisfied by these extracts that the act of 1871 was
as ineffectual as the previous acts, probably because demorali-
zation has spread to some of the well-to-do and influential
classes of Texas society.
The last but one of the above mentioned newspapers says :
" We believe the proper time to have ascertained the
ownership of these hides Was before they were exported from
the county where the cattle were flayed, and whilst said hides
were still in the possession of the first holders.
" It is somewhat strange to wait for the sale of the hides,
and i*or these to come in the hands of second or third innocent
parties, and then to waylay them at their place of destination."
The law of Texas contains provisions which, if complied
with, would guarantee all purchasers that the hides and cattle
they bought came from a legitimate source.
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 61
If ill-gotten hides are found in their hands, in the majority
of cases, it must be attributed to a neglect on their part to ful-
fill the law, a neglect which has or can have no other causes
than a want of scrupulousness in buying stolen property, and
the neglect or complicity on the part of the inspectors of hides.
The above article is something more than an alteration of
the legal principles guaranteeing to the owner the right to
claim his property against whoever may hold it, be it in good
or bad faith ; it is the defense of an illicit traffic, of a crime.
The region lying between the Rio Bravo and the Nueces
<loe8 not constitute an exception as to cattle stealing in Texas ;
on the contary, cattle stealing is committed there under all its
forms, but its most important characters are twofold.
In the Nueces region, there is certain class of property
owners, Americans by birth and nationality, who being influen-
tial on account of the wealth they have amassed, are completely
unrestrained, because there are no laws or authorities in the
county, or in the bordering counties, to restrain them who with
absolute impunity commit the greatest depredations, and who
unscupulously use their position to increase their wealth.
In the country between the Rio Bravo and the Nueces, the
greatest number of property owners are Mexicans, and it is on
their property that said depredations are committed.
Amongst the Mexicans it is the custom to mark the young
animals every six months, and to brand them every six months
afterwards.
The ownership of these young animals is recognized by the
brands on the mothers they follow.
The mark is a cut on the ear, and a certain sign of ownership.
In case the cow should die, the sign would prove the owner-
ship.
Finally, the brand, which is a mark in the shape of letters,
or other characters, which is stamped with a heated iron on the
body of the animal, is the evidence of ownership when the ani-
mal has been separated from the cow.
Generally the American stock owners of the Nueces have
no fixed period for branding their animals. There are some,
for instance Richard King, owner of the hacienda Gertrudis
62 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
(Nueces), who has a large retinue of people in his service^
(King's people sometimes number as many as sixty men.)
These people visit all the pastures belonging to other own-
ers, where most generally they introduce themselves without
asking for the owner's permission, they there mark large collec-
tions of cattle, separating all the unbranded heads they find, even
if these heads follow 60ws bearing brands of other owners. If
they have marks on the ears, these are disfigured by another
cut, then they are branded with the brand of the name of the
person for whom they work, and carried off to his^pastures.
Yery often these heads leave the place and return to their
, old pastures, and hence it is that young cattle bearing the brand
of Kichard King, or some other stock owner, have been seen,
following cows belonging to different owners.
Referring to this, a Texas newspaper, after mentioning the
stealing of hides committed on a ranche adds the following:
" This ranch carries on another speculation, which consists
in branding all the young cattle that can be found, regardless
of their owners. * * * It is said that some men of the
Nueces county not far from here came and collected all the
calves they could find and branded them for the benefit of
those whom they serve. If this business continues nothing will
be left to our stock raisers but their corrals and wells." — The
Sentinel^ Brownsville, Feb. 11, 1873.
An article published in The Texas New Yorker^ pp. 110
and 111, " Cattle Raising in Western Texas," contains a para-
graph which attracted the attention of the Commission. It.
says :
"In a large country like this (Texas) where there is so-
great a number of cattle, it is utterly impossible for the owners
to find opportunely the calves to brand them. Before the
calves are weaned it is easy to tell to whom they belong
by the mark and brand of the cow, and no unauthorized person
would touch them, even if their owner should be a hundred,
miles distant ; but after the calves have been weaned, and when
they cease following any particular cow, no one can tell to
whom they belong, and it has been the custom for any person
having cattle on the pasture to mark these maverick calves
with tneir sign and brand. * * * Our cow hunters divide
equally among themselves the maverick calves. Occasionally
KORTflERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 63
some young men who have no cattle of their own will take
part in these expeditions, or they will give their services by the
year to receive a pro rata of all the maverick cattle that may
be found. 1 know of several who have begun in this manijer,
and who are to-day large and respectable stock owners. It is
a matter of course that these njpverick heads are by no means
divided in equal shares. The man who is going rapidly after
his cattle brands not only what is his own, but brands also
whatever his neighbor leaves unmarked or unbranded.
" We have had many la/ws on the suhject^ hut nothing has
changed or will he able to change the habit.
" Should* a law be passed making it a crfme to mark or brand
a calf, the ownership of which has not been identified by tlie
fact of its following a cow, ten years afterwards, these cattle
would outnumber the branded cattle, would belong to no one,
and would injure the country, bellowing on thousands of hil-
locks.
" B}^ studying these questions with a sincere wish to discover
the truth, any person will immediately understanding why the
Texas laws relating to maverick cattle have been ineffectual,
and why there is such an interest in preserving the custom that
the stock raiser should brand all that kind of cattle he came
across.
" Under the shadow of this custom the greatest depredations
have been and are still being committed on the property of
Mexican stock raisers.
" The laws relating to the inspection of cattle (corridas de
ganado), in force in the frontier States of Mexico, and tending
to avoid like depredations as are committed in Texas, con-
vince us that there is no foundation in the reason on which said
custom is pretended to be based.
" These reasons are substantially the fear that themaverrick
calves may turn into wild cattle, and in the lapse of time be
so numerous as to frighten the tame cattle, and turn them alsa
into wild cattle.
" This fear obliges all the owners who may find such kind of
cattle to appropriate them, and under this pretext they appro-
priate also unbranded calves, notwithstanding that the owner-
ship is well determined by their following cows bearing brands
of different owners.
'' In said laws it is determined the manner in which the in-
spection (corrida) is to be made ; the conditions necessary ta
performing the same on pastures belonging to other owners ;
the notice that is to be given to all the owners in order that
they may present themselves and take care of their property ;
64: REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
the persons who have a right to the maverick calves, and the
manner in which they are to be distributed.
" All these circumstances are well preconsidered, and to show
how well grounded those fears are.
"There are no such laws in Texas to secure cattle owners
from the depredations of which»they have been the victims up
to the present."
The article from which we copied the above paragraphs was
written with a view to encourage immigration to Western
Texas, by showing how easy it is to make a fortune there by
stock raising. To this effect several cases of large fortunes are
cited, and am&ngst others (The Texas New Yorker, p. Ill) tlie
case of an inhabitant of the Nueces, who began to work in
1865. His compensation was a share in the maverick calves
at first ; he afterwards received a certain number of cattle on
the third part of the profits. From others he received a dollar a
a head to collect cattle for them, and fifty cents for branding
their calves. In this way he had obtained in the beginning of
1872 a fortune in lands, and seven thousand heads of meat
cattle.
Now, no matter how favorable the circumstances of Texas
might be supposed to be, it is impossible to acquire such a large
capital in so short a time, and by such means. Wealth made
so rapidly must generally be attributed to other causes than
honest work. Eight alongside of some large stock owners, to
whom neither droughts nor any other calamity of that kind is a
hindrance to the progressing of their cattle, there are others
whose cattle are in a state of decadence, or are stationary. The
lands are the same ; the conditions of labor equal, and the in-
fluences of nature also equal ; and still one cattle improves and
augments whilst the other is diminished and perishes. The
depredations committed by the first on the property of the last
stock raisers explain this contradictory situation in the same
locality.
And this is by no means the only grievance suffered by the
Mexican owners in their cattle. During the cold weather,
when the cattle of the Nueces take refuge in the most southern
parts, or when, on account of the drought, they have gone in
late years to other pastures, the American stock owners of the
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 65
Nueces, in collecting their cattle, have carried awaj with them
large numberB of heads belonging to Mexican owners, even
thoagh they were marked, and there- is no relief from these
depredations, as there is none from the others. To the igno-
rance of the language, of the laws and of their rights, is added
all that the prejudice of race can imagine to constitute these
Mexicans into an oppressed class. They do not enjoy the full
protection of the laws, and justice is in the hands or is con-
trolled by their adversaries. There are §ome who dare not ufee
their property with absolute liberty ; for instance, in several
counties, they do not brand their cattle by themselves, fearing
that some imaginary crimes may be invented to injure them,
but they bargain with the foreman of some American party to
brand them, paying them fifty cents for each calf branded.
The Commission has heretofore examined cattle stealing in
Texas in its general forms, inferring that the commission of the
crime, with a view to carry the stolen cattle to the bank of the
Kio Bravo does not present the aspect of the principal ques-
tion, much less, of the exclusive one ; but that is one of the
many details of the vast demoralization under which Texas is
laboring. But as this phase of the question affects the friendly
relations of the two frontiers, the Commission studied it in a very
prolix manner.
VII.
The robberies committed from the interior of Texas to the
line of the fiver, have been carried to the American and to the
Mexican banks. Both are so confounded that it may be said
that they recognize the same cause and were perpetrated by the
same parties, there being no other difference between one bank
and the other than the places of consumption, and of the deal-
ers who brought to the market the meat of cattle stolen in
Texas.
The direct causes of the ruling demoralization on the
American bank of the Eio Bravo are four, viz : the practice of
cattle stealing, dating as far back as 1848, on Mexican soil for
5
66 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
Texas, under the protection and connivance of citizens and
residents of the United States; the organizing of armed forces
on both frontiers during the Confederate war by agents of the
United States government to combat the Texan forces ; the
driving of large droves of stolen cattle, collected on the pas-
tures, during the Confederate war, by Americans, who took
into their service a large body* of men with a view to commit
those depredations; the appointing of commissions by the com-
manders of the United States forces, on both occasions of the
occupation of Brownsville, in order that said commissions should
go to the pastures on the Bravo and the Nueces to take the cat-
tle which was said to be confiscated to the Confederates.
The first cause was anterior to the civil war in the United
States, and gave rise to the existence of a mass of immoral
people who wonld not lose the opportunity to commit in Texas
the crimes of which Mexico had been the victim up to that
date. The other causes reqnire greater explanation.
When the civil war broke out in the United States, efforts
were made to force the Mexicans living in Texas, whether or
not they had American citizenship, to take a part in favor of the
•Conftderates. Either on account of their dislike to the Con^
federate cause, or on account of their living amongst its de-
fenders, those very persons from whom they had received so
many vexations, the fact is the great majority of the Mexicans
presented an absolute resistance, and it was only a small num-
ber who joined the Confederates. The rest found themselves
persecuted and more oppressed than ordinary, the most remark-
able event being the raid by the Confederates on Eancho Cla-
reiio, Zapata county (Texas), in April, 1861, iti which raid
several inoffensive inhabitants were assassinated.
By cause of these persecutions the Mexican inhabitants of
Texas took refuge on the Mexican frontier, abandoning their
interests and property. The agents of the United States Gov-
ernment conceived that a powerful ally could be found in those
inhabitants, on account of the past oppressions and the hatred
of the present, and they tried to utilize it. It was at this time
that the organizing of bodies of men on Mexican soil took
place, at the expense and in the service of the United States,
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 67
for the purpose of crossing into Texas to give hostilities to the
Confederates. Ij is easy to conceive the bitter discussions car-
ried on for this reason, between the authorities of the Confed-
eration and Mexico. The Commission has collected all the
data it had within its reach relating to tliese diflSculties, which
they will fully discuss further on, limiting itself now to char-
acterize those facts in tlieir general aspect.
On September 27th, 1862, the Confederate commandant of
Ringgold Barracks, wrote to the authorities of Camargo, as
follows r
"During the last twenty-four hours, the band of marauders
under tlie command of Vela, ***** after having
raised the Yankee flag, the flag of our enemies, on Mexican
territory, which pretends to oe neutral, .threatened to in-
vade Texas, with tlie manifest purpose of assassinating, robbing
and destroying the peaceful citizens of this State, whenever and
wherever they might be found ; and carrying into execution
their threat, they crossed tlie Rio Bravo, at the distance of
eighteen miles from here, intercepted four wagons loaded with
provisions belonging to the Confederate States, assassinated
three of the drivei*s, and captured and destroyed said property.
This same band captured a Mr. Kifles, private in the company
of Captain R. Benavides, in the service of the Confederation,
and said individual is believed to have been assassinated.
Moreover, another band under the command of the notorious
thief and assassin, Octaviano Zapata, crossed at a distance of
forty miles from here, at the Clarefio Ranch, took away the
horses belonging to the company of Benavides, whilst they
were grazing, and hung a boy citizen of the Confederate States,
called Juan Vela."
On the 20th of January, 1863, the same military com-
mander wrote :
" 1 am duly inforir.ed that tliese bands are continuing to be
organized, on the western bank of the river; their intentions
are not only hostile to my government, but they boast of being
the allies of Yankee deapotismj*^
About 1862, Octaviano Zapata, who was one of the refugees
of Carifio Ranehe, entered into the service of the United States.
He organized in Mexico a party of from sixty to eighty men,
paid by the agents of the United States Government at the rate
68 REPORT OP COMMITTEE.
of two hundred dollars for the enlistment of each man. Sd.id
force was maintained in Mexico, avoiding the pereecution of
the Confederates, and whenever a favorable chance presented .
itself, they would cross over to the American side of the river
and carry hostilities to the Confederates.
On January 6th, 1863, the Confederate oflScer in command
at Carrizo, wrote to the president of the town council of Mier,
as follows :
" I have the pleasure to advise you that within the surround-
ings of this place some parties of men are being organized for
the purpose of carrying hostilities into Texas, under pretext of
the government of the Norths and the commander of baid parties
is Octaviano Zapata. * * * There is no doubt that said
parties do exist, as they have robbed me of thirty-two horses
at Carrizo, and I expect of you, that you will catch the robbers,
as otherwise I will be oblige4 to cross over to that side with
my force and persecute them until I chastise them."
Zapata continued in this manner until he was killed on
Mexican territory by a Confederate force who invaded our soil
with that purpose.
The enlistment and organizing of men on Mexican territory
continued. One of the cases known by the Commission was
that of Regino Ramon, who was enlisted in Camargo, Mexico,
in 1864, by agents of the United States Government. The ob-
ject of the enlistment was for Ramon to organize a force of
Mexican volunteers on both sides of tlie river to carry hostilities
to the Confederates. He was to receive a third part of all the
prizes captured from the Confederate forces, or from all those
who, although they did not actually belong to said forces, they
had manifestly taken part in the rebellion. Ramon, in the
capacity of first lieutenant in the United States array, organized
a force composed of Mexicans 'of both sides of the river, and
went to the war. He attacked and captured a train of wag-
ons. He subsequently, and after a skirmish, captured a party of
Confederate lawyers in Rome, Texas, and also bought and cap-
tured seventeen wagons at Prieto. In all these instances he
followed the instructions of the United States agents, to whoiu
he delivered the captured persons and property.
The Commission possesses no data to judge if these guerrillas
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 69
caused any harm to cattle in Texas. It is an nnqnestionable
fact that in the latter part of 1862 or the beginning of 1863,
stolen cattle were transported to the bank of the Rio Grande,
and though the Confederate officers endeavored to hold in
their correspondence with the Mexican authorities that the
mischief was committed by said guerillas, there is no evidence
to show that this was the case/ The only well defined case is
that of Guillermo Vinas, who belonged to Zapata's force, and
who, in 1862, stole some cattle in Texas and crossed to Mexico,
from whence a difficulty arose between the two frontiers.
But it is easily perceived that the violation of neutrality
of the Mexican territory, the organizing of armed forces in-
itiated or accomplished thereon, the fact of constituting said
territory into a basis of operations hostile to Texas, and the
authorizing by the agents of the United States government un-
disciplined forces to cross over to the American territory and
carry hostilities to the Confederates, would necessarily give rise
to loose habits amongst the inhabitants of the two frontiers,
from which nothing but evil could result. On the other hand,
even granting that said forces should do harm to the cattle, it
was very likely that under their shadow, and pretending to have
a political character, bands of robbers should be organized, who
under the pretext of hostilities should commit robberies in
Texas, taking refuge in Mexico, there to reorganize and return
to Texas. Amongst other charges against the Mexican fron-
tier, it is said that even previous to 1866 armed bands organized
on Mexican soil used to cross over to the United States and
make hostile incursions on American soil. By studying the
question we are convinced that neither Mexico nor her authori-
ties or people authorized said incursions, nor arc they blamable
for the subsequent difficulties connected with cattle stealing in
Texas.
The Commission has collected innumerable and sundry
documents, taken from several archives, referring to the re-
lations of the two frontiers during the Confederate war, in all
of which documents the foresight of the Mexican authorities
is remarkable. They made repeated efforts to put a stop to
the invasions organized in Mexico against Texas. Possessing a
70 REPORT OP COMMITTEE.
thorough knowledge of the frontier, the authorities perceived
that the policy adopted by the United States agents could not
produce any benefit whatever to them, but in lieu grave diffi-
culties would then arise for Mexico, preparing evils for the
future, and creating new elements of immorality (Keport of
the U. S. Commissioners to Texas, page 6), which would give
vigor to those already existing.
During the Confederate war a large number of cattle were
abandoned. The Mexicans left their property and took refuge
on this side of the river, some enlisting in the army. Many
persons availed themselves of this opportunity to brand all the
young cattle they could secure, and at the close of the war
found themselves in possession of great wealth in stock, when
it was a notorious fact that they had not a single head of neat
cattle or horse when the war began, or their stock was very
reduced. But said circumstances were utilized besides ,in
another manner. In the state of abandonment in which cattle
were left, several individuals, some of whom are proprietors
to-day, or were so at that time, took into their service great
numbers of people. Tliese entered the pastures, made large
collections of cattle, separating all the heads that suited them,
regardless of their brands, and formed droves which they trans-
ported to the Rio Bravo, where they sold them on both banks.
Amongst others who acted in this manner were the Wrights,
of Banquete Ranche, Texas, Billy Mann and Patrick Quinn.
At the conclusion of the Confederate war the evil increased ;
during said war the Texas forces had committed many depre-
dations ; several of their officere transported cattle to Matamo-
ros for sale, amongst whom was William D. Thomas (known as
Thomas Colorado). When the war was over and the forces were
disbanded, a large number of people were left without any occu-
pation, and the bands who used to bring stolen cattle to the baukft
of the river increased. The Wrights had the largest force under
them. Sometimes William D. Thomas, Billy Mann, Patrick
Quinn, and others, would combine with them, and others, each
would act on his own account. The Wrights were dedicated
to this trade up to 1866, this at least being the last year that
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 71
one of them made sale of cattle in Matamoros, according to the
knowledge of this Commission.
But it is not difficult to perceive tracks of demoralization
which these and other similar organizations left behind them.
There were regular bands of banditti, paid by the leaders who
formed them, and who received the benefit of their plunder.
The leader might disappear, but he had shown them the way
and had trained them in the career of robbery.
Brownsville, and a portion of the American frontier of the
Kio Bravo, were for the first time occupied by the forces of the
United States, at the latter part of 1863; they were again
occupied near the downfall of the Confederation, and, during
the intervening time, the United States maintained a detach-
ment of troops at Brazo de Santiago. On both occasions, the
military commander appointed commissioners to examine the
pastures, to collect all the cattle belonging to Confederates, and
to transport the same to the bank of the river, subject to the
orders of said forces. This proceeding was adopted under the
principle that the Confederates had forfeited all their property.
All the Commissioners had a certain number of men under
their orders, through whom they carried on their orders,
through whom they carried on their expeditions. Without de-
tailing the abuses they may have committed in the fulfillmeiit
of their trust, we may form an idea of the consequences orig-
inating from such a situation, by noticing that some of these
agents and their companions were afterwards very busily em-
ployed in cattle stealing. The best authenticated of this class
of cases are those of Joseph Paschall and Jos6 Maria Martinez,
the latter a Mexican by birth, and citizen of Bexar, Texas,
captain in the irregular army of the United States, and who
afterwards formed a band of robbers on the Mexican frontier,
and was killed by a Mexican posse.
Bearing in mind these antecedents, it will not seem strange
that cattle stealing should be practiced. There were many
criminals, who had always found refuge on the American fron-
tier ; to these people, from whom Mexico had suifered so many
wrongs, a new field was opened, where they might exercise
their inclinations to crime. The behavior of the residents of
72 REPORT OF COMMITTEB.
Texas, who tried to amass wealth at the expense of others,
the policy followed by the United States agents, who organized
hostilities on the Mexican frontier against Texas, and the sub-
sequent confiscations, augmented the number of criminals,
created new habits of crime, added new strength to those
already in existence, gave a new direction to the movement of
crime on the line of the Rio Bravo, and the demoralization
thus produced, was superadded to the general demoralization
prevailing in the State of Texas.
The war was the general cause, but in each locality, special
causes were added. The Commission has enunciated those that
exist on the banks of the Bravo. They convince us that our
frontier had no participation in creating that situation. But
the reverse has notwithstanding been maintained. A local
character has been assigned to the demoralization, limiting it
to the line of the Bravo, so as to make it appear, that the Mex-
ican people, especially those living on our soil, are the cause
and the instrument of the crimes committed in Texas. Refer-
ence has been made to the criminal statistics of Cameron
county, and by comparing former times to present, an exces-
sive increase of criminality has been detailed, the explanation
of which has been sought for in the tendencies of our people
to disorder and crime.
VIII.
Two are the questions involved in these appreciations :
First, the general question as to the State of Texas ; and
second, the special one relating to the robberies committed on
the line of the Bravo.
Demoralization is not peculiar to the Rio Bravo valley, and
neither is it a question of race or nationality. Between this
river and the Nueces, the majority of the inhabitants are of
Mexican origin, from whence it necessarily follows that the
generality of robbers there must belong to that race. But as
these practice cattle stealing under one form, tlie American pro-
prietors of the Nueces practice it under another. Extreme de-
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 73
moralization prevails in this region, but by no means greater
than in all the rest of Texas. Some extracts from the news-
papers convince of this.
" There is not a single prisoner in the prieon of this county
(Hidalgo), not for lack of criminals, but because none bring
their complaints to the judges. The disorganized condition of
the county ever since the war broke out ; tlie impossibility of in-
vestigating and punishing crime ; the danger to tvhich the wit-
nesses are exposed by giving their depositions, are undoubtedly
the causes of this abnormal state of affairs." — Daily RancherOy
Brownsville, July 6th, 1871.
"Thor^ are yet some disorders on account of the lynchers
in the counties of Comanche and Erath. A short time ago fif-
teen horse thieves were hung, and the perpetrators of the deed
were arrested and tried by theCtairts. * * * State police
is a desideratum \\\ some parts of Texas." — Oalveston Standard^
February 7th, 1873.
" Amongst other proceedings of the legislature on the 14th,
we hear that the special committee appointed to visit Madison
county, to investigate the disturbances that have so much
alarmed the governor, has returned and reported as the result
of their. investigation, that ten or fifteen desperadoes were the
cause of the alarms and disorders in the county. Said com-
noittee censured severely the district judge, the sheriff, and the
judicial functionaries; some, because they sympathized with the
criminals, and all because of their incompetency." — San An-
tonio Weekly Herald^ February 22, 1873.
" We have seen of late several attempts at horee stealing in
this city, which shows the presence of a band of robbers among
us, who must be watched, and should the opportunity occur,
be entertained with a small quantity of lead. We are satisfied
that this band is managed by the notorious thief, Lem Murray,
whom, it seems, no efforts are made by our officers to arrest,
notwithstanding: it is well known that becomes to the city every
night." — Indiana Bulletin.
^' The Courier of Sherman relates a thorough slaughter in
those places. The existence of a band of robbers, organized
some tiuie ago is reported, having their headquarters near Col-
linsville. Several nights ago an officer called Keltiicr, backed
by a posse^ went to the place where this band was, killed some
of tiiem and dispersed the rest; oneof the /><955^, called Stakes,
was killed in the attack. Jim Campbell, llob Broyles, Bill
74 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
Brewster, and two others of the gang were killed, and still
the work has hardly begun. There are some twenty more im-
plicated, and it is feared that their lives will be sacrificed be-
fore the tiunult may be quelled." — San Antonio Weekly Mapress^
March 20th, 1873.
"The Governor (of Texas) sent yesterday (March 26th) to
both houses the report of Adjutant General Britton, in regard
to the firing at the police in Lampazos. Said report shows that
a reign of terror and crime are prevailing in that county, which
the authorities and inhabitants are unable to counteract. A
panic prevailed after the assassination of the public men, the
inhabitants shut their places of business, barred their dors, and
waited with anxiety the arrival of General Britton and his men,
for him to disperse the half hundred of banditti who controlled
the city."
"Four of the party who assassinated Captain Williams and
his men were arrested by the Adjutant General. The assassins
were only fifteen, but tiiey were reinforced afterwards by their
friends and numbered fifty. These, after the arrival of General
Britton and his police force, dispersed."
The report says:
"These pien bear the worst character, and they are so dread-
ful to the residents of the county in which they live, that a
simple outcry of theirs, uttering hide^ is sufficient for all to
shut their doors as soon as they hear it. Up to the present
they have been amusing themselves by unloading their six
shooters on the knobs of the doors of those persons who have
incurred their displeasure by helping the sheriflf or other officers
of the county to bring to justice the transgressors of the law."
— Galveston Standard^ April 3d, 1873.
All the Texas newspapers perused by this Commission pub-
lished continual accounts of such disturbances, that by far sur-
pass those occurring on the banks of the Bravo. In order to
form a just idea of this question, it is proper to make an abstract
of the message addressed by the Governor of Texas to the
House of Kepresentatives, on the 19th of last April, vetoing a
bill to repeal the act creating the police force of the State.
The Governor, refening to his annual message in regard to
the police, said that he had expressed the opinion that their
services were still needed, basing his opinion on the information
he had received in regard to the condition of the State; that
having been advised that a majority of the two houses were of
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 75
adverse opinions, he required the Adjutant General to furnish
a report of homicides and attempts to commit homicide per-
petrated in each county from the 15th of January of this year;
that according to the official information received from twenty-
nine counties, and that received from private sources in twenty-
five others, seventy-eight homicides and seventy-two attempts
at homicide had been committed during that period ; that very
likely the number of such crimes committed in the counties
from which he had received private information was greater
than that mentioned in the report; that in the balance' of the
one hundred and thirty-five counties into which the whole
State was divided, in all probability the average number of
homicides was greater than that of the fifty-four counties he had
heard from ; but even taking this as an average, it would ap-
pear that during the "first three months of the year (195) one
hundred and ninety-five homicides had been committed in the
State, and following this average for the rest of the year it
would give the result of (780) seven hundred and eighty homi-
cides during the whole year ; that notwithstanding, and as a
consequence of the repressive acts of 1870 and 1871, this con-
dition was better than in 1867, as could be shown by comparing
the criminal statistics collected by the military authorities of
that time ; but still there was much yet to do in order to civilize
the State, and instead of abolishing the means of punishing the
criminals, it was imperative to enlarge and give vitality to the
same ; that in order to show the disorderly condition of the
State and the extraordinary insecurity of life, the preceding
facts could be compared to the criminal statistics of New York,
vi^hich State, although it contained a city of over a million of
inhabitants, and notwithstanding that in large cities crimes are
always greater, there were only thirty-seven homicides in 1860,
its population being then composed of three millions, eight
hundred and eighty thousand, seven hundred and thirty-seven
inhabitants, (3,880,737), when Texas, according to the census
of 1870, contained eight hundred and eighteen thousand, five
hundred and seventy-nine inhabitants (818,579). Moreover,
and apart from the special crime of homicide, fourteen counties
had, through commissions composed either of citizens or officers,
16 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
9
applied to the State authorities for help for the purpose of eon-
trolling certain criminal combinations too strong for the local
authorities; that the public records had been taken by force
and destroyed in two counties ; in two other counties the crimi-
nal dockets and records had likewise been destroyed, and in a
fifth the cattle registry had disappeared; that there was a
desire to conceal this situation from all those who were invited
to settle in Texas, bat it did not behoove a government to over-
look them. Said Governor goes on examining the sundry
means proposed to put a stop to the evil, and concludes that
the police force is the best. He mentions that the police have
arrested (581) five hundred and eighty-one persons accused of
assassinating, and some thousands of other classes of criminals ;
that many hundreds of assassins, cattle stealers and other crimi-
nals had fled from the State to avoid arrest; that fourteen
policemen had been killed and many more had been wounded
by the criminals; that the measures proposed to repeal the
police laws were contemporary with the increase of the crimi-
nals, and that if the police system was defective, on account of
which some bad men were employed in the police force, the
government was disposed to adopt such modifications that
should give greater eflScacy to said force.
This document shows the grossest immorality in a consid-
erable portion of the inhabitants of Texas. By the newspaper
extracts we have inserted above, it may be observed that those
crimes have been committed in such counties where there are
no Mexican residents, and where forty or fifty criminals com-
bine to control whole cities, placing themselves above the au-
thorities. Notwithstanding our revolutions, the Mexican fron-
tier has never arrived at such a condition, nor are the crimes
committed between the Rio Bravo and the Nueces attended
with such circumstances as those committed in the remaining
portion of Texas. When the moral condition of our frontier is
far superior to that of Texas, it does not seem proper that the
causes of the existing criminality of the counties situated along-
side of the Bravo should be looked for on the Mexican border.
There are great centers of corruption and unprecedented im-
morality in Texas, and it is more reasonable to suppose that its
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 77
pernicious influence spreads to the region of the Bravo and
the Nueces, for the general motives from which that corruption
had sprunsf would be necessarily felt there, and even reach our
border. To look on the Mexican border, which is less vicious,
for the cause of the depravity prevailing in Texas is tantamount
to reverse entirely the rules of nature.
The Commission examined also the criminal statistics of
Cameron county, through the authentic data which came to
their hands, and they did not find anything that could change
their views.
" In the statement of indictments drawn from the criminal
records of the District Courts of Cameron county, Texas, down
to the spring term of 1866," there appears (39) thirty-nine in-
dictment)^, eight of which were dismissed, and (31) thirty-one
are still pending for the arrest of the accused. The functionary
who certifies the statement adds the following note :
"During the rebellion the records of the District Court of
Cameron count3\ Texas, from the organization of the county,
in 1848 to the spring term in 1866, were mutilated to a great
extent. The above statement comprises those cases in which
DO judgment was passed before the rebellion, as far as any
certainty can be acquired, an<l were collected from the best data
obtained in the spring of 18616, and the subsequent terms. The
cases adjudicated or otherwise decided before 1866 are not in-
cluded in this statement, and there are no data in my office to
determine tlieir number."
Consequently, according to this statement it is not known
'who were the persons condemned and who the persons acquit-
ted. The principal data are wanting, and this must have con-
stituted a greater number of indictments. This, notwithstand-
ing we have compared this very incomplete statement with the
statistical resume of 1866 to 1872. This resume gives the fol-
lowing result: (382) three hundred and eighty-two indictments.
Of these (14:5) one hundred and forty-five ended in condemna-
tory judgments; in (50) fifty the accused were absolved, (102)
one hundred and two cases were dismissed on noUe prosequi^
and (85) eighty-five are yet pending for arrest of the accused.
A special comparison has been made as to the indictments
for assassinations. According to the first statement (8) eight
occurred in the space of thirteen years, and (40) forty according
78 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
to the second in the space of six years. This increase seems
rather excessive at first sight, but by examining these data we
find that the first eight cases are still pending for arrest of the
accused, and the number of those that have been either acquit-
ted or condemned is not known ; whilst in the last statement,
in (13) thirteen cases the criminals were condemned, in (8) they
were acquitted, (6) six cases ended by dismissal on nolle prose-
quij and (13) thirteen are still pending for arrest of the crimi-
nals. It is therefore impossible to come to any conclusion
derived from a comparison between the two statements, and
even more, to state that in the towns on the Mexican border a
tendency is developing to assassinate American citizens.
Criminality has certainly been increasing in the region
lying between the Bravo and the Nueces rivers, but not on
such a scale as has been maintained, and this increase is due to
the aiLgmenting demoralization^ the want of good (Report of the
U. S. Commissioners, page 34) police system, and to the interest
of many influential persons in keeping up that state of dis-
organization. But we can easily perceive by the message of
the Governor of Texas, which we have just cited, that these
conditions are not peculiar to that region of the country. A
Texas newspaper says :
"In 1862 Texas had only (22) twenty-two convicts in her
penitentiary ; in 1872 she had (944) nine hundred and forty-
four." — San Antonio WeeJdy Herald^ March 22, 1873.
By comparing the two figures it will be obvious that in
point of increasing criminality Cameron has fared as all the
rest of Texas, and that the Mexican frontier has had no influ-
ence whatever in that condition. Causes which are general
to all the State have necessarily produced consequences equally
general.
Circumscribing our attention to cattle stealing especially, in
order to precise the influence that our frontier may have ex-
ercised in regard to the increase of criminal ty in Texas, it is
necessary that we should determine who have been the cattle
stealers.
The Commission reserving for another place the discussion
of the charges made against General Cortina's troops, and to
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 79
express their opinion on the subject, will, for the present, direct
their attention to the other individuals who liave been accused.
They can be classified in the four follotving groups:
The 1st group comprises residents of both frontiers, who be-
gan to commit depredations in Texas since armed forces were
organized on Mexican territory by the United States, for the
purpose of carrying hostilities to the Confederates. This group
is formed of Mexicans, many of whom are either naturalized or
reside in the United States, a fact proved by the several crim-
inal proceedings consulted by the Commission. As to race,
therefore, they may be called Mexicans, but they were under
the jurisdiction of the State of Texas when committing the
crime.
As to Mexicans residing in Mexico, there is no doubt that
several of them committed robbery in Texas.
On the 16th of January, 1S64, the local judicial authority
of Las Cuevas communicated to the alcalde of Eeynosa that,
" considering it private duty of every citizen to preserve public
order, which was being violated by several individuals whose
occupation was to bring stolen cattle from the left bajik of the
river to the Mexican border, he advised him of this fact, in
order that he might communicate the same to the chief of the
rural police if he deemed it advisable." On the 19th of May,
1869, the custom house ofiicers of Keynosa captured a drove
of cattle stolen in Texas, which had been smuggled into Mexi-
co by Dionisio Menduola, a resident of Las Cuevas.
On the 10th of May, 1871, the Mexican commander of the
post on the line of the Bravo, Mexico, advised the alcalde of
Reynosa that according to public rumors in Brownsville, a
party of men were being formed in the ranche of " Las Cue-
yas," with the sole object of invading the ranches of Texas.
In response the alcalde reported that having sent a secret com-
mission to said ranche, he had learned that the residents of
" Las Cuevas " held property on the left bank of the Bravo, and
for this reason they crossed the river every day in larger or
smaller groups, but the jdaces where such a band did exist, as
it was of public notoriety, were the ranches called Valadeses,
80 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
■
Villarsalcs, Potrero de Los Longorias, Laja, Tcpeguage and
San Francisco.
Tbe Commission based their opinion on these and other loss
important documents. The Commission presumes, although
possessing no clear data by which to be guided, tliat some of
the criminals classified in the first group have been living also
on some other ranclies bclonjring to the Mexican border, acting
in connivance with robbers living on the Texas line. To this
and to no other cause, in the judgment of the Commission, is
to be attributed that the bands of robbers should have been
able to support themselves during the last years, notwithstand-
ing the persecution carried against them on both sides of the
river.
2d. The second group of cattle thieves are the American
Texans, wlio, during and after the Confederate war, formed
droves of cattle and transported them to the banks of the river.
The Commission designate as comprised in this category the
Wrights, owners of Banquete, William D. Thomas (alias Thomas
Colorado), Billy Mann, Patrick Quinn and Charles Karr.
In regard to these three last named, the Commission ob-
tained certified copies of five indictments by the grand jury of
Cameron county, on the 1st of March, 1868, against them and
against Peter Marnill. These indictments express that said in-
dividuals stole cattle belonging to Henry A. Gilpin, Y. H.
Clark, R. King & Co;, which firm was composed of Richard
King and Mifflin Kennedy. Patrick Quinn was not only ac-
cused of being an accomplice in the robbery, but also of having
incited and enticed Peter Marnill into it. These four indicted
individuals are American citizens, and they have been and are
now residents of Texas. Several persons were witnesses in
these indictments, and amongst others, Mifflin Kennedy and
Richard King stood witnesses in five of the indictments,
Adolphus Glaevecke in three, and Cominick Lively in two
of them. The five indictments were dismissed.
This documentary evidence corroborates the depositions of
several wilnesses in regard to the existence of bands of thieves
under the leadership of the aforementioned individuals. The
stolen cattle, to which said indictments referred, belonged to
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 81
persons who afterwards filed claims against Mexico, alleging
that the robberies of cattle in Texas were perpetrated since
1866 by bands of Mexicans organized on the Mexican frontier.
But our attention is specially called to the fact that Mifflin
Kennedy, Richard King, Adolphus Glaevecke and Dominick
Lively, on whose testimony the indictments of the grand jury
were based, should notwithstanding complain of having re-
ceived injuries in their property, which they impute exclusively
to robbers living and organized on Mexican soilr — injuries which
Kennedy and King, in what concerns them alone, raise to mil-
lions of dollars. Patrick Quinn and his accomplices had stolen
the cattle of these complainants, and they well knew it, since
they could stand as witnesses against them ; and this, notwith-
standing they intentionally omitted to mention these circum-
stances in their complaints, trying to prove that it. was only by
the hands of Mexicans residing in Mexico and organizing under
the protection of our authorities, that they had received injuries
in their cattle. They therefore affirmed under oath facts, the
incorrectness of which they were perfectly convinced in the
intimacy of their conscience.
Nor were these the only Americans residing in Texas who
dedicated themselve^'to cattle stealing to carry their plunder
into Mexico. In 1871, Nathaniel White took over to Matamo-
ros a flock of sheep, and was extradited upon a petition of tlie
courts of Texas, who condemned him to several years confine-
ment in the penitentiary. Besides these individuals there
were others whose names were not known or remembered by
the witnesses.
3d. The third category of cattle thieves who committed
robbery in Texas and carried their plunder to the banks of the
Eio Bravo, comprises those who organized and committed rob-
bery in consequence of the commissions given to confiscate
*cattle belonging tp the confederates. When these commissions
ended, some of the commissioners continued in committing
depredations, acting on their own account. Others, who never
held such commissions, availed themselves of the reigning dis-
order, and organized regular gangs of robbers. Amongst the
6
82 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
first we have already mentioned Joe Paschall and Jose Maria
Martinez.
The name of one Fernando Lopez, a native of Bexar, and
domiciled in Texas, appears also on the records of the Com-
mission in the capacity of ageiit for the confiscation of cattle^
The Commission has no means in their power to ascertain the
truth of this imputation ; but they discovered, that at the time
Lopez was believed to hold that position he transported to thia
side of the river cattle stolen in Texas.
Joe Paschall was in partnership with Peter Mainiel, and
both, aided by several others, formed large collections of cattle
on the pastures, separating such heads as they saw fit to form
a drove. The Commission was never able to ascertain the
length of time Paschall followed this sort of life.
Martinez was a captain in the United States forces. After
being discharged, and after his commission to confiscate con-
federate cattle had expired, he continued to bring cattle to the
banks of the river, a large portion of which he crossed over
into Mexico. At first he made believe that said cattle were-
legitimately acquired, and to this effect he showed bills of sale,
which were found afterwards to be false; but after a certain
length of time he was persecuted in Texas on account of his
depredations, and towards 1868 he took refuge on our frontier
with his band.
His band was increased by other robbers from Texas join-
ing them. He established a ranche at Mezquitito, near the
sea, in a lonesome place, and had there about three hundred
cows, stolen from Texas. But this was of small consequence.
At the time Martinez and his second, Andres Flores, estab-
lished themselves with their band of highway robbers in Mexico,
there were other cattle thieves in Texas, whose most prominent
leaders were Ricardo Flores, member at present of the police
force of the State of Texas, and Pedro Lucio. Among these were
also Pedro Cortina, Justo Lopez, Marcos Sanchez, Severiano Hi-
nojosa. Angel Aguirre, Kodolfo Aguirroj Apolinar Rios, Apo-
linar and Rafael Herevia, Juan Sanchez, Juan Saenz, and Angel
Yazquez. These and other individuals were not precisely or-
ganized in a regular band. They lived, and are still living, in
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 83
the ranches of Texas, distant from each other. At times some
of them would assemble to collect a drove of cattle, and occa-
sionally would accompany Tomas Vazquez, a resident of
Brownsville, or some other individuals for the same purpose.
They acted also in accord with the band of Jos6 Maria Marti-
nez and Andres Flores, who carried to them horses they had
stolen in Mexico, and the former in exchange would turn ovei*
to said Martinez and Flores heads of neat cattle which they
probably had stolen on the ranches where they lived.
The exchange of stolen horses in Mexico for cattle stolen in
Texas, does not seem to have been exclusively practiced by
these two organizations of robbers; nor does it appear that the .
persons employed on the ranches were accomplices in these
robberies. There are some other similar data in the expedientea
formed by this Commission, but we only mention them in a
general manner, not deeming them to be sulBSciently precise as
to enable us to give with conscientiousness the names of the
culprits.
We quote the following extracts from a correspondence
dated at Rome, Star County, and published in a Texan news-
paper :
"In Guerrero, Mexico," says the correspondent, " I was in-
formed by the city authorities that there was an organized
band of robbers, whose constant occupation was to steal horses
in Mexico and carry them to Texas, where they in return stole
horses and cattle to bring back to Mexico. The three princi-
pal leaders are, Atilano Alvarado, Procopio Gutierrez, and
Landin, the former being the foreman of Captain R. King, on
whose ranche he has lived for a number of years, and is well
known to the stock-raisers of that section of the country ; our
informer says also, I am sure they have many accomplices and
co-operators on tlie ranches of Texas on this side of the river
and all along the coast. Procopio Gutierrez resides a part of
the time in Texas, on San Bartolo ranche, Zapote county, with
his adoptive ftither. * * * I crossed afterwards to the
American side and investigated the matter in the most secret
manner possible, and found all these things to be perfectly cor-
rect. * * * I asked several persons of the city whether
they were doing anything to put a stop to the robbery. What
can we do? they replied. Our sheriff lives on a ranch twen-
ty-two miles from here, and has not come within the county
84: REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
for several months, and even he himself has aided in transport-
ing the stolen animals through his ranche over into Mexico on
the 10th or 12th of November. No one knows or can swear with
any certainty that said cattle had been stolen, but it is presumed
that the whole or a part of them were stolen, as the drivers
kept away from the collector of customs and from the inspect-
or of liides and cattle; and when an authority of the county
connives in the robbery, instead of preventing it, there is notii-
ing to be done against such powerful bands of robbers." — DcMy
EancherOj Brownsville, January 12th, 18Y3.
4th. Under the fourth class of cattle thieves the Commission
place all the vagabonds living on the whole frontier, who are
always in readiness to commit any crime. It is certain some
of them accompanied the robbers of the three preceding classes,
but they did not act a principal part, and were rather co-opera-
tors, although now and then they would act on their own ac-
count, and in all probability they are the ones who had a
greater influence in cattle stealing during the last three years.
Auxiliaries and secondary accomplices at the beginning, they
got into a habit of stealing, and afterwards continued in the
path they liad been shown by others under whose orders they
served.
The band appertaining to this class which had a more per-
manent character was that led by Pedro and Longinop, who
acquired notoriety, not so much for their participation in cattle
stealing, as for their being supposed to be in communication
and uiider the protection of General Cortina. The robberies
committed by the Lugos were those tllat afforded more grounds
to the newspapers to bring charges against the authorities of
our frontier, and for this reason the Commission made the
minutest investigations possible in regard to these individ-
uals.
Further on the Commission will express their judgment in
regard to General Cortina ; here they will limit themselves to
the proceedings of the Lugos.
They were born in San Carlos, Tamaulipas. Being yet
quite young they committed a murder and fled to the interior
of Texas, where they lived for a long time. The Commission
does not know the precise time when they returned to the banks
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. S5
of the river. The first notice we have of one of them (Pedro),
is that he served as private in the Yth regiment of cavalry from
rebruary 13tli to August 27th, 1871, when he deserted, mount-
ed and armed.
It appears that Longinos Lugo was living by plunder when
his brother met him. They formed an organization with other
robbers to steal on both sides of the river. They both lived in
Texas, two leagues distant from Brownsville, at a place called
Las Trasquilas. Many witnesses saw them there with their
families. They saw them when they had stolen cattle on the
bank, and saw them likewise when they were transporting said
cattle to the Mexican bank. It is understood that they fixed
their residence on the bank of the river both to facilitate the
transporting of their plunder, and to fly easily in case they
should be persecuted.
To this band belonged Manuel Garcia Lugo, Lino Keyes,
Macario Trevifio, Cecilio Jaime, Margarito Garcia, Gcronimo
Perez, Secundino Castro and others whose names have not
been perfectly identified. They lived in Texas on ranches
alongside the banks of the river, and they used to meet when-
ever an opportunity presented itself to commit robbery on
either side of the* river.
Some individuals of this band, amongst others the Lugos,
accompanied Jos6 Maria Sanches Uresti the last time he crossed
from Texas to Mexico with a view of stealing, although
under pretext of political purposes. They were persecuted and
the majority of them killed by the Mexican posses at the begin-
ning of 1872. Some of those who escaped came from time to
time to commit depredations, others were killed, and ever since
then the depredations ceased on both frontiers in the places
where the band of the Lugos had their quarters.
It is worthy of notice that these men and their bands
of thieves should constitute one of the principal grounds of the
attacks of the Brownsville press against our frontier, assuming
the organization and existence of the outlaws was to be found
there, under the protection of the authorities, when said out-
laws lived and organized their bands on Texas land belonging
to Alexander Wierbisky, the present Mayor of Cameron
86 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
coiicty. The reports collected by the Commission in regard to
Wierbisky confirm that he is a person of irreproachable charac-
ter, and incapable of giving any protection to criminals. It is
therefore to be believed that he found himself in the same posi-
tion as the land proprietors of those regions very often are
placed, having to tolerate notorious criminals on their estates
against their will, for fear of greater evils, and for want of
suflScient protection on the part of the authorities. The only
thing remarkable^ in the eyes of the Commission in regard to
Wierbisky, is his having presented claims against Mexico for
large sums of money, attributing the injuries that he and others
alleged to have suflered in their cattle, to the depredations of
robbers organized in Mexico, when he could not help having a
thorough knowledge of the place where the Lugos lived ; that
said place was the headquarters of a gang of outlaws, and
therefore affirmed under oath a statement which was not exactly
correct.
By examining through the general character of the circum-
stances of the individuals who have been stealing cattle to
transport them to the bank of the Eio Bravo, we come to the
conclusion that our frontier not only has not had the unique
influence in this aspect of the robbery, nor in the increase of
criminality in Texas, but its influence has been very secon-
dary.
Leaving aside the course which gave rise to this crime, and
taking only into consideration the persons who have committed
the same, it is noticed that it originated in Texas, and that
there was an increase of demoralization, which was not to stop
at the banks of the Eio Bravo. Quite the contrary, it over-
flowed into our frontier, giving vitality to the natural elements
of disorder that have always existed there, and sowing in it new
grounds of corruption, that necessarily would fructify in due
time:
The depredations committed by the Wrights, Patrick
Quinn, Joe Paschall, and others,, was the school in which
many were taught stealing in Texas, carrying their plunder to
the line of the Bravo. The band of Jose Maria Martinez and .
Andres Flores was composed of individuals from Texas, as
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 87
was also a part of the band of the Lngos; the band which is
said to exist in Guerrero is under the leadership of Atilano
Alvarado, a resident of Texas, and a number of individuals
living in the United States are comprised in said band, and
finally it was through individuals living in Texas that droves
of stolen cattle were delivered to the robbers.
The traffic in stolen cattle on our frontier was the result of
those robberies committed in Texas. It is evident in many
cases the purchasers were innocent, especially at* the beginning ;
but when in years subsequent to 1866 cattle stealing in Texas
was made a notorious fact, the purchasers were in dnty bound
to investigate the origin of the cattle, and thoroughly ascertain
that they were not constituting themselves accomplices of an
illicit trade.
The conduct observed by Dioniaio Cardenas and Nicolas
Solis was the object of an investigation. They have been bit-
terly denounced by the Brownsville newspapers, and the cir-
cumstance that said individuals have been employed in the
city council of Matamoros, requires minute investigation.
In regard to the former, the Commission is perfectly con-
vinced that he was connected in the shameful traffic of stolen
cattle in Texas, which he was in the habit of buying for his
packery. It appears that in 1869, when a drove of stolen cat-
tle being driven by Patrick Quinn was pursued by the police,
they were found in the corral of Dionisio Cardenas. He, in
explanation, said that he had no reason to distrust Quinn ; but
in the opinion of the Commission, he ought to investigate
whom he purchased from, considering the antecedents tlien ex-
isting. It would have been easy for him to find it out, as in
the neighboring town of Brownsville he could have acquired
all the necessary data, and learned that Patrick Quinn was
under pending indictments for cattle stealing.
On the other hand, this was not the only case investigated
by the Commission. There are foundations to believe that
Pedro Mainiel delivered to Cardenas several droves of Texan
cattle, which were consumed in the butchery of Cardenas. He
could not but know that Mainiel was not the owner of the
cattle, nor was it possible for him not to surmise the origin of
88 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
said cattle. This cause, leaving aside the first one, is snfficient
for the Commission to form their opinion.
A grave reason for suspecting the conduct of Nicolas Solis
presents itself to the candid mind. On the 30th of June, 1871,
the commander of the rural force of the eastern section of
Eeynosa informed the judge that eleven heads of cattle had
been transported in a clandestine manner through the ranche of
La Bolsa, proceeding from the Texas bank. From the com-
munications written on this subject it is apparent that said
commander made minute investigations relating thereto, seized
two heads, and that Nicolas Solis carried to Matamoros four of
them.
Some explanations are necessary in order to understand the
true import of this fact. When the treaty of Guadalupe was
signed, the ranche of " La Bolsa " was separated from Texas
by the river, and consequently formed a part of Mexican ter-
ritory. After the great inundation the river changed its course,
leaving on its left side said ranche, which since that time has
been only separated from Texas by a branch of the river,,
which, most of the year, is perfectly dry, so that without any
difficulty, and by only walking a few paces, any one can go
from Mexican territory to the United States, and vice versa.
Such circumstances have been very favorable to criminals.
Opposite the " Bolsa," on the ranche of San Pedro, Texas, be-
longing to an American called Green Malstaed, a pack of out-
laws fixed their quarters. To this party belonged Cipriano
Flores, Desiderio Villareal, Julian Villareal, alias Garibay,
Francisco Perez, alias Chicon, Victor Gonzalez, alias el Coyote,
Francisco Gonzalez, alias el Chineno, and several others who
are mentioned on the record. Whenever the Texas posses
came near the place where these banditti lived, they got out of
the difficulty just by walking a few yards and taking refuge orh
Mexican soil. If any crossed the river, the robbers had ample
time to run to Texas.
The facilities which the situation of " La Bolsa" oflFered in^
the way of security to the robbers, were not less for the transit
of cattle stolen in Texas, "ithey could be brought from one
territory to the other without crossing the river, as this was
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 89*
done vrhen the cattle were already on Mexican soil. Thus one
of the dangers to which the robbers are exposed, from the length
of time it takes them to transport the cattle across the river,
was avoided.
Hence it is that San Pedro ranche in Texas, and La Bolsa
in Mexico, were places of transit for stolen cattle. Therefore
it is a legal presumption that all cattle passing via those places
were ill-gotten. This presumption holds good as to the four
heads that ^Nicolas Solis took from there into Matamoros.
The Commission knew of this fact through a document
found in the archives of Eeynosa, but they were unable to in-
vestigate the matter for the want of witnesses, and therefore
limited themselves to state the presumption which is drawn
from it against the conduct of Nicolas Solis.
Both Dionicio Cardenas and Nicolas Solis appeared before
the Commission to defend themselves from the charges brought
against them by the complainants of Texas, producing evidence,
which it is true showed that some of those charges were false.
Nicolas Solis was accused, for instance, of having enclosed
stolen cattle in the corrals of " Salisefio," * and he proves
that this was utterly impossible, as there are no corrals in the
"Saliseno."
Cardenas was accused of having bought one hundred stolen
heads of cattle in Texas, by way of the " Horcones," on the
ranche called " Los Mogotes,"t and it is proved that there
is no such ranche alongside of the river. There was a decided
interest to prove that Cardenas was alcalde in 1869, % the
object being to show that he had taken the lead in certain com-
plaints made in that year, by the city council of Matamoros,
against certain measures taken by the judge of the first instance
in regard to cattle stealing. The falsity of these investigations
was shown by the electoral votes produced before the Commis-
sion, from which it is seen that Cardenas had not been returned
to the city council in 1869.
* Report of the U. S. Commissioners, p. 17, Gregorio Villareal.
f Report of the U. S^ Commissioners, p. 17, Apolinario Hernandez.
X Report of the XT. S. Commissioners, p. 28, Alexander Wierbisky .
90 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
There was still a greater interest in stating that in the tran-
scripts of some of , the documents relating to the proceedings of
the municipal corporation, in their complaints against the
judge of the first instance, and which were given to the com-
plainants of Texas, under certificate, the name of Cardenas was
failed to be mentioned, * supposing that his name was
mentioned in the originals, as being under indictments. This
was enunciated to bring a charge against the Mexican function-
aries who issued copies of said documents, and as if to signify
that their intention was to conceal the unlawful acts of Car-
denas. The documents obtained by this Commission show
that the copies were correct in relation to this matter.
The Commission investigated these and other points, but it
is well established from the whole of their investigation, not
the innocence of the accused, but the unscnipulousness of the
Texas accusers in committing the grossest perjuries. Their ac-
cusations are grounded on divers facts, which are certainly dif-
ficult to investigate, but of undoubted truth so far as Cardenas
is concerned, and giving place to well founded suspicions as to
Solis.
The cattle which are brought from Texas into Mexico have
been consumed in the slaughtering houses, and it is safe to
state that a large number of persons dedicated to this branch
of industry must have participated in the trade of stolen cattle.
The Commission limited, however, their investigations to the
two persons aforementioned, because they have held public
offices in the municipality of Matamoros.
Dionisio Cardenas was third alcalde in 1870, and presi-
dent of the city council in 1872. Nicolas Solis was alder-
man of the same corporation iti the same year, and justice of
the peace of Salisefio in 1866.
The influence our frontier has had in the robberies commit-
ted in Texas, so far as the criminals are concerned, is evidently
of a secondary importance. It is of more importance in regard
to the purchasers of stolen cattle, as it is unquestionable that if
there were no purchasers on the Mexican line, none would
* Report of thq U. S. Commissioners, p. 29. J. 8. Parker, p. 80, Doc. 19.
NORTHERN" FRONTlBR QUESTION. 91
have been brought to it. As to this last phase of the question,
there are two persons implicated who have held public trusts
in Mexico, but the Commission must add that amongst the
authorities of the frontier of Tamaulipas they constitute an ex-
ception.
IX.
But secondary as this influence might have been, it has ex-
isted, however, giving rise to consequences, the extension of
which must be defined, i. e.y it is indispensable that we should
fix the amount of injuries caused in Texas by robberies commit-
ted there to be disposed of on Mexican soil. But before we
proceed let us state that not all of the cattle stolen in Texas
and brought to the bank of the river were transported to Mexi-
can territory. A considerable portion were consumed on the
American bank, and there are sufficient data to affirm that
Adolphus Glaevecke, the same individual in whose service
there was a band of robbers stealing horses in Mexico, and who
has been and is now alderman in Brownsville, is one of those
who received stolen cattle.
The Commission, in their investigation, believed that what
had occurred in Matamoros affi^rded a safe criterion for the
whole question. The most bitter complaints have been direct-
ed against Matamoros. This city was supposed to be the
center of the robberies ; that a considerable portion of the
Btolen cattle were carried there ; that her authorities werq
cither accomplices or connivers at the robberies. That the in-
habitants fed on the products of the depredations committed in
Texas, and finally that her merchants lacked decorum to such
an extent, that they speculated knowingly in stolen hides.
On the other hand, it was only in Matamoros where it was
possible to collect the most complete statistical data taken from
the archives of both frontiers. It was therefore in Matamoros
where the most minute investigations could be carried on,
which would enable us to form our judgment of the whole
question.
In late years a commercial phenomenon has occurred on
/
92 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
both frontiers, which is perfectly surprising at first sight, and
which needs some study in order to be understood. We refer
to the low price of cattle and the high price of hides. It is not
unusual that the hide should be sold for the very same price at
which the animal was bought. Heads of cattle are worth on
an average, say five dollars. But, however, it has fluctua-
ted according to kind and condition, rising sometimes to seven
dollars a head, and going at others as low as three dollars.
Although this phenomenon is common to both frontiers, at-
tention has only been paid to the low price of cattle on our
frontier, the explanation of which has been sought in the
numerous robberies of cattle.* Even some of the witnesses
who appeared before the Commission have viewed the facts in
the same light.
If the low prices of cattle were really a true sign of rob-
bery it would go so far as to prove that the crime had been
committed on a very large scale for the benefit of the Texas
line, as the price of cattle has had the same fluctuations on
both sides of the river.
A majority of proprietors in the counties of Texas border-
ing on the Bravo, are Mexicans, who generally bring the pro-
duce of their cattle to the towns of both lines for market. A
number of these proprietors appeared before the Commission,,
and they all testified that they had jsold on both lines at the
very same prices, as low on one as on the other.
The firm of Woodhouse & Co. established a packery in
Texas, where they bought cattle from the Texan proprietors
at the rate of four dollars a head. So the representative of
that firm deposed before the Commission.
But the statement that low prices of cattle are the conse-
quence of robbery is not correct. This has been the general
case in Texas.
'' In several portions of the State," says the Texas Almanac
for 1867, p. 197, " droves of cattle can be bought at from three
to five dollars a head." " Cattle {Texas Almanae^ 1871 , p. 165,
quoting the Columbus Times) can be bought in Western Texas
at from two to six dollars a head, and in late years of scarcity,
* Report of the U. S. Commissiocers to Texas, Note.
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 93
opportunities have been offered to buy splendid dmves of cattle
even at lower prices. By cattle we understand^ cows, heifers,
and bullocks two years old. By purchasing at so much a head,
they can even be had cheaper."
Some of the proprietors in the State of Nnevo Leon, Mexico,
have gone to Texas to buy cattle for their farms. In Mexico
they had to pay five dollars a head, and being advised they
could get them at less price in Texas, they went there and made
their purchases. The circumstances showing their legal acqui-
sition are well defined. The price they paid was from three
dollars and a half to four and five dollars for grown cattle, the
vendors undertaking in some cases to deliver the same in
Mexico.
We are convinced by these statements that the sales of cat-
tle or sheep at low prices have no connection with cattle steal-
ing ; that said sales were not caused for fear of the bands of
Mexican robbers, as has been defended sometimes, and more-
over, that the low prices of cattle were not peculiar to the Rio
Bravo region, but were general to all the State of Texas.
The true cause of this abatement is to be found in the ex-
cess of cattle and the want of consumers proportionate to the
existence on hand. Hence, large estabb'shments were started
in Texas in which great numbers of cattle were slaughtered to
gain the hides, the fat, the horns and the hoofs, throwing away
the meat or feeding hogs on it. The want of exportation
allowed such speculations, in which a profit was obtained on
the price which cattle usually commanded.
It was not in the power of every one to start such an es-
tablishment, as it required a heavy outlay, which even on a
a very economical basis could never have been less than ten
thousand dollars. The small proprietors especially were un-
able to establish such packeries, even on a small scale, and on
the other hand they were obliged to sell, and therefore, al-
though through such establishments they could realize greater
profits, still they had to dispose of their products at a reduced
price.
In said packeries the waste of the meat was possible on ac-
count of the hides and fat being made of avail ; the high prices
V
94 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
of the hides was the cause also that meat for the consumption
of the towns, should command a very low price. The compen-
sation to this loss was sought for in the hides, and this explains
why the raw hides on both frontiers as well as in the interior
of Texas should command high prices, while the cattle were at
a low price. In other words, the scarcity of consumers of
meat, preserved the low price of cattle, and as they was prin-
cipally killed on account of the hides, the compensation was
looked for in these.
It was the natural laws of trade, therefore, that produced
this situation, which in no way was connected with cattle steal-
ing. Consequently it is not from the reduced price of cattle
on the Mexican frontier, from whence it is possible to derive a
general rule which would enable us to appreciate the amount
of robbery committed, since we have explained that it was the
excess of cattle which cause the reduced price, varying from
one dollar and a half to seven dollars per head. *
Nor can we take as a starting point the excessive increase
of the hide trade in Matamoros to solve the question, f It is
not the profits realized from capital employed in speculating in
stolen hides, which has given rise to that trade, but causes of
an entirely different nature.
By examining the current prices in New York from 1862
to 1872, and taking into consideration the fluctuations of cur-
rency, it is observed that raw hides are worth at present in the
United States double the amount they were ten years ago.
This increased demand must be ascribed to the progress of
manufacture, which demand has been from year to year on the
increase, as is shown by the fact that from year to year the
price of hides has been increasing.
This increasing demand naturally causes the price of hides
to go up in the places where cattle were more numerous-
Hence a traffic arose on the Mexican border in the States of the
Mexican frontier heretofore unknown, and Matamoros became
the center of this traffic, on account of the facilities it afforded
* Report of the U. S. Commissioners, page 18, Note,
f Ibid., page 19, Importations of hides.
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 95
for exportation. The Commission caused the registry to be
produced, and in view of the books in which it is contained,
they formed a " statement of hides introduced into Matamoros
from September 15M, 1870, up to JOecewiber Z\st^ 1872."
We would not be able to find positive data in tiiis state-
ment if we were to look for the exact amount of hides intro-
duced, because, on account of smuggling, the total amounts to
much less than what really has been introduced into the city.
But if we want to direct our inquiries as to the places from
whence the hides have been sent- to Matamoros, the statement
is then complete. According to the same, the towns of the
north and center of Tamaulipas, those of N uevo Leon, Saltillo,
Chihuahua, and others in the interior all have contributed to
the trade of hides exported from Matamoros. Before proceeding
any further, let us remark that in speaking of hides we refer
only to those of neat cattle, llie Commission has refrained
intentionally from using the large testimonial evidence in their
possession relating to this point, thinking that those statistical
data were suflScient to show that the hides proceeding from the
bordering States of the west, as also from some of the interior,
concentrate in Matamoros. The commercial as well as the
statistical data convince us that the great traffic in the exporta-
tion of hides from Matamoros affords no grounds to calculate
the amount of cattle stolen from Texas for the Mexican
frontier.
The Commission has formed an opinion on this point which
is based on the judicial proceedings and the registry of cattle
on both frontiers. On the 20th of September, 1869, fifteen
proprietors of Cameron county applied to the judge of the first
instance of Matamoros complaining of the robberies they had
suffered. The judge ordered a search to be made in the hide
stores and butcheries they designated, to enable them to ex-
amine all the hides and animals found there. The owner or
person in charge of one of the hide stores refused to allow the
inspection, alleging that the warrant was against the law, as it
had the character of a general search, stating, nevertheless, to
the agents of the proprietors that they could examine his es-
tablishment, but in a private manner, and not by virtue of the
96 REPORT 0F# OOMMITTEB.
judicial mandate. Said agents refused, and this was the onlj
establishment of all those they mentioned which was not
searched. All the rest, as well as the butcheries, were in-
spected. One hundred and thirty-three (133) hides marked
with brands of American stock raisers were found, but not one
single animal so branded.
When the lamentations on account of the robbery were so
frequent against our frontier, when at that time it was supposed
that all the people of Matamoros were feeding on cattle stolen in
Texas, and that the speculators traded with the hides of those
animals, the j udicial proceedings promoted by the Texan proprie-
tors, proceedings not only witnessed but executed by their agents,
clearly demonstrated the exaggeration of those complaints.
The statistics in regard to hides in Matamoros give a more
approximate idea. The Commission investigated whether on
the ranches and pastures within the jurisdiction of Matamoros
there were any cattle from Texas. A large number of persons
of different localities who go about the pastures, witness the
inspection of cattle and their collection, and who consequently
have a perfect knowledge of the number of cattle, deposed
unanimously that in said pastures there were not and never
had been any cattle from Texas.
Other witnesses deposed that the heads of cattle stolen in
Texas, as a general rule, had been consumed in the butcheries
of the city, and they certainly could not have had any other
destination, as they are not to be found in any other place. It
would have been easy to prove the reverse, had this been the
case. The pastures on which the cattle graze are open, and
they offer no hindrance, even to a person unprovided with a
judicial order, to examine the cattle existing thereon. If
amongst said cattle there should be any from Texas, it would
be easy to point out by eye-witnesses the ranches on which
they were, and to designate the names of the pereons who held
them. The want of such a proof confirms the truth of the
investigations made by the Commission.
In the municipal treasury of Matamoros a registry of
brands is kept. It was established to protect the stock raisers
and prevent cattle stealing, or give an easier means of investi-
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 97
gating it. Of every head of cattle that is slaughtered in the city
or within its jurisdiction an entry is made on the registry,
specifying the date on which it is taken to the butchery, the
name of the owner or sender, place from whence it came, num-
ber of heads, brand or mark traced on each animal. By these
entries on the books the proprietors are enabled to investigate
whether any of their animals have been slaughtered, and to-
know from whom to claim them.
The Commission ordered this registry to be presented, and
in due compliance therewith the municipal treasurer presented
the books corresponding to the period from September 15th,
18Y0, to December 31st, 1872. The books corresponding to
previous years were not lodged with him, as the'treasurer was
not in charge of the registry of hides before that date. Even
m
those corresponding to 1870 and 1871 are incomplete, not being
therefore reliable, though we have formed an abstract of them
in the espedientes of this Commission. The only reliable basis
is the registry kept in 1872.
This registry was submitted to experts, who were persons
having a practical and thorough knowledge of the marks of
Texas and Mexico, in order that by examining all the brands,
and fixing the amount of cattle consumed in Matamoros and
its jurisdiction, they might declare what number of heads bore
Texan brands and what number Mexican.
The examination of these experts gave the following
result : In 1872 seventeen thousand two hundred and eightr-
three heads were consumed (17,283). Of these thirteea
thousand nine hundred and twenty-one (13,921) bore Mexican
brands, one thousand one hundred and fiftyns^ven (1,157)
Texan brands, and two thousand two hundred and five (2,205)
were registered without annotating the brands, or as maverick
cattle, or having the brands efiiiced.
These conclusions show what importance cattle stealing
has had in Texas during 1872, and how groundless it is to
state that the revolutions have destroyed the cattle in Mexico,
wherefore the consumption of meat in Matamoros would not
have been possible but for Texas cattle, and considering the
low price which it commands on the Mexican line, said cattle
7
V
98 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
must be ill-gotten. Although it is true that public convulsions
have injured the stock raisers, the injuries are never tanta-
mount to the complete destruction of the cattle ; they consist
Ordinarily in the fact that the contending forces take all the
number of heads they need without paying for them, and with
great waste.
Although said injuries really do exist, however considera-
ble we may suppose them to be, it could never be held that
there were not sufficient cattle in the North and center of
the State to supply such a small city as Matamoros. The
Commission investigated from what places of the State of Ta-
maulipas the cattle consumed in Matamoros were brought, and
the testimoniial evidence showing that it was from the estates
in the north and center of Tamaulipas corroborates the cor-
rectness of that statistical datum. The elements of this evi-
dence are the proprietors who made the sales and eye-witnesses
who saw the droves of cattle.
But the most important proof on this question is that taken
from the archives of Brownsville. According to the Texas
law, inspection is to be made of all hides introduced into the
State from Mexico, by the inspector of hides and animals, who
is to register the brands. The Commission endeavored to
obtain the result of the inspection nmde in the hides taken from
Matamoros to Brownsville.
Through the* Mexican Consul the Commission obtained
complete data, but in one of the documents certified by the
inspector this officer added a note to the effect that said docu-
ment did not express the number of hides stolen and carried
into Mexico, some of which were sent to the interior of said
Republic for manufacturing purposes, and. others exported
directly by Boca del Eio. Really, that officer affirmed a thing
not verified in the archives under his charge; but 'let us
analyze this remark. As the hides of cattle used in Matamo-
ros are considered as national products, their introduction into
the interior requires a document from the collector of the reve-
nue {agenie fiscal) of said city issued by the collector of cus-
toms. They must be afterwards carried to the gate {garitd)
leading to the road, and as no duties are collected on their im-
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 99
portation into the interior, there can be no possible interest in
-eluding these formalities. With this understanding, the Com-
mission applied to the respective oflScers for information as to
the introduction of hides, and received the depositions of the '
officers whose datj it is to issue those documents, the depo-
sitions of the watchmen of the gates who necessarily must have
seen the exit of the hides, and also the depositions of the watch-
men of the custom house who watch the road ; and this evi-
dence, diversified and complete as it is, gave the Commission a
positive knowledge that hides have never been carried into the
interior of Mexico.
And it is to be presumed so, when we consider that hides
command a high price in foreign markets, which is one of the
greatest inducements for robbery ; that instead of the hides
being sent to the interior of Mexico the reverse occurs. Hides
are sent from the interior to Matamoros in order to obtain
those high prices and a ready market. It would be very
strange that robberies should be committed in order to send
the stolen property to places where it is not in demand, over-
looking others where sales are easy and profitable. The idea
is also inadmissible because the inspection of hides in Brownsville
renders their exportation difficult. Boca del Eio presents an
easy exit to all who want to dedicate themselves to such an
immoral and indecorous traffic.
If to the inferences derived from the evidence produced we
add the circumstance thatthCre are no industrial establishments
in Matamoros where hides are manufactured, we must unavoid-
ably arrive to the conclusion that all the raw hides there are
destined to exportation, and they are actually exported.
The Commission also investigated the amount of hides
exported by the Boca del Rio. The custom house data gives
a total of (1,477) one thousand four hundred and seventy-seven
hides in 1871, (798) seven hundred and ninety-eight in 1872,
and not one hide in previous years. There never has been
through said place the fabulous exportations that some have
imagined * in order to exaggerate their claims ; but this, not-
* The report of the U. S. Oommiaaion, p. 20 — this documentary — where the
«ntry.
100 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
withstanding, the Commission candidly admit that there are
grounds to presume that all hides exported by Boca del Kia
come from cattle stolen in Texas. This presumption is
founded on tne fact that before the inspection of hides wa&
established in Brownsville there was not a single hide exported
by Boca del Kio, and besides, on the fact that exportation by
United States territory requires less time and affords easier
means of transportation, two circumstances from which it fol-
lows that there must be an unlawful interest to deviate export-
ation from its natural channel.
Being, as it is, a well established fact that no hides are
introduced from Matamoros into the interior of Mexico, and
that neither are they destined to manufacturing purposes, hav-
ing also fixed the amount exported by Boca del Rio, it is
unquestionable that the remainder must have been exported by
Brownsville and consequently must have been subn^itted to the
inspection of the Texas officers.
The inspection went into effect on the 12th of August, 1871-
The result from said month up to January 31st, 1873, are as
follows : Out of (39,450) thirty-nine thousand four hundred
and fifty hides inspected by Charles Murphy, (38,790) thirty-
eight thousand seven hundred and ninety bore Mexican
brands, (660) six hundred and sixty had American brands, and
out of these (32) were claimed as having been stolen. The re-
port states also that besides these (7,000) seven thousand hides
were imported from Matamoros which were not inspected.
Out of (36,625) thirty-six thousand six hundred and twenty-
five on the registry of Facundo Oortez, they were all Mexican
.except (373) three hundred and seventy-three of American
brand, (195) one hundred and ninety-five ofwhich were claimed
to have been robbed. A notice added, saying that in (800)
eight hundred hides introduced from Camargo, about half that
number bore American brands, but of these only (202) two
hundred and two were claimed, no one appearing to claim the
others.
Out of (27,366) twenty-seven thousand three hundred and
sixty-six hides on the books of Robert Kingsbury, only (457)
four hundred and fifty-seven bore American brands, and the
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 101
rest Mexican brands. Fifteen of the former were claimed as
having been stolen.
The following is a resume of the above data, viz :
Hides exported from Brownsville and sub-
mitted to inspection, total number 110,441
Imported from Caraargo 800
Hides with Mexican brands, including four
hundred, half of the amount imported
from Camargo 102,351
Hides of American brands unclaimed, in-
cluding one hundred and ninety-eight,
as per last item 1,436
Hides of American cattle claimed as hav-
ing been stolen, including two hundred
and two imported from Camargo 454
Hides not inspected , 7,000
111,241 111,241
It can easily be perceived by this statement, that in the
exportation of hides from Mexico to the United States, Amer-
ican hides bear a ratio of less than two per cent. It is certain
that not all were stolen hides, as is shown by the fact that only
twenty-five per cent, were claimed; but even admitting they
were so, and adding the number of hides exported by Boca. del
Bio, we would have a total of (4,156) four thousand one hun-
dred and fifty-six hides proceeding from Texas, i, ^., one-
fourth per cent, on the general exportation of eighteen months ;
during the first twelve of which, such bitter complaints were
advanced against our frontier, on account of cattle stealing,
which is made to amount to some millions. In Texas the as-
sessed value of each head of cattle, is five dollars ; but even
allowing its value to be ten dollars, as is stated by claimants
against Mexico, we have a loss amounting to ($41,560) forty-
one thousand five hundred and sixty dollars, during the whole
period of eighteen months. '
In this exportation it is not only hides proceeding from
Matamoros which are included. In the statistical data on the
102 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
origin of these, we can perceive that the towns alongside oT
the Bravo, as well as those situated in the interior of the fron-
tier, have made remittances of hides to Matamoros; thus ad-
mitting the whole amount to be stolen hides, said amount rep-
resents not only the robbery committed in Texas for one local-
ity, but for several localities of the frontier of Mexico during a
period of eighteen months. And as Matamoros is the place to
which the largest number of hides are sent, that figure repre-
sents the largest number of cattle stolen in Texas and brought
into Mexican territory. Moreover, our frontier is not liable for
the whole amount of that sum ; we are left to ascertain what
part of the robbery was committed by robbers living on our
frontier, and which by those living on territory of the United
States.
The documents on which the Commission based their judg-
ment are authenticated, the first by Charles Murphy, inspector
of hides, extending from August, 18Y1, to June, 1872 ; the
second by Henry Klahn, and the third by H. S. Eock, the two
latter deputy-inspectors. It has, therefore, been almost incom-
prehensible for this Commission, that from these registers it
should be inferred that twenty-five per cent, of the hides im-
ported from Mexico to Brownsville were of American brand,
and at least twenty-five per cent, had the brands effaced or al-
tered.*
The Commission consulted also the judgment of experts
and persons of practical knowledge, all of whom calculated
that in 1872 the proportion of American hides in the general
exportation did not reach five per cent., that in 1871 it aver-
aged from five to ten per cent., and in previous years it never
went over ten per cent. It cannot be stated that all the hides
in the afore-mentioned years were stolen hides, as it is well
proved that in the same* years the American stock-raisers in
Texas made considerable sales to Mexico, and they have been
selling hides even of late to Monterey ; but in the opinion of
the Commission it is beyond doubt that cattle stealing was con-
ducted on a larger scale prior to 1870 on account of the bands
* Report of U. S. Commissioners, p. 20. Where the entry ?
KORTflERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 103
led by the Wrights up to 1866, Pasehall, Patrick Quinn, and
others tip to 1869 and 1870 ; and also because no persecution
was organized against cattle stealers in Texas until 1870, and
they were enabled to commit their robberies wifti absolute im-
pnnity.
The statistical data prove to what extent they were com-
mitted, carrying to Mexican soil the stolen cattle. The obser-
vations of the Commission in regard to Matamoros which was
considered as the center place of robberies and of the traffic of
stolen hides and animals, may serve as a rule to judge as to the
rest of the frontier, which was never judged so severely as that
city by those who complained in Texas of their cattle being
stolen.
The antecedents of these affairs, all the complaints, the
newspaper articles of late years, and the findings of the juries
have been limited to the stealing of neat cattle. As to horse
stealing, the utmost that has been said is that the robbers used
to change their horses, taking fresh ones on the pastures. The
Commission was therefore surprised, as they noticed that when
the claims were presented in a formal manner an enormous
number of horses were added, supposed to have been stolen by
Mexican robbers.
The Commission investigated the matter, and it resulted
from their investigation that stolen horses had been brought
sometimes to Mexican soil, but horse stealing on a large scale
would have no object whatever, as the horses could not be dis-
posed of; that as a general rule horse stealing is practiced in Texa§,
as well as on our frontiers, with a view to carrying the horses
to the interior of Texas, where there is a great traffic in horses
and mules, and large herds are formed destined to other places
in the United States.
Some proprietors of Cameron county, Texas, appeared be-
fore the Commission and gave their depositions as to the horses
they had lost through the robbers. In ev^ry case in which the
robbers were persecuted, it was invariably shown that the
horses were carried to the interior of Texas.
In one of these cases which occurred in June, 1869, there
were strong grounds tending to show the culpability of an
104: REPQRT OF COMMITTEE.
American by the name of Brown, residing in Auras ranche,
!ffueces county, who it seems came to Cameron with a number
of men in his service to steal horses and mules which he sold in
San Antonio, Texas.
In another case there were strong suspicions against Emmil
Eutledge, a resident of Hondo Greek, Karnes county, as a
speculator at least in stolen animals.
The Commission, as the result of their study, have come to
the conclusion that the Mexican frontier has had no direct or
in any way important influence in cattle stealing in Texas,
either considering who have been the criminals or what has
been the amount of the injuries caused.
X.
The residents of Texas have complained constantly that
the Mexican authorities have not taken all the necessary pre-
cautions to prevent the stealing of cattle on our borders ; that
the State of Texas has, to the contrary, done all in its power
by Mray of keeping the laws."* Now an investigation has be-
come indispensable in order to ascertain what has occurred on
both frontiers in this particular.
The question relative to Texas presents four aspects — her
legislation, her public administration, her police, and her
administration of justice.
The Texas legislation is imperfect. It contains no efficar
cious, enei'getic means to prevent the robberies which take
place in the branding pens, and which contribute to maintain a
state of perfect disorder, in the prolongation of which the pro-
prietors who give themselves up to these depredations are in-
terested. To commit these depredations they require accom-
plices — men destitute of conscience, who rob for others without
any other consideration than the pay which they receive ; and
* Report of U. S. Commission to Texas, p. 7. While the United States.
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 105
it is certain that these men, accustomed not to respect property,
rob on their own account whenever it is possible.'
One of the proprietors who has distinguished himself most
in these depredations is Ricardo King, owner of the estate
Santa Gertrudis, county of Nueces. He has had as chief
Tomas Vazquez, accomplice in robberies of Mexican horses,
and in the robberies of cattle committed in Texas, and Fer-
nando Lopez, accomplice in the last. He has kept in his
rancho this Atilano Alvarado, who is thought to be chief of a
party of robbers stationed in Guerrero. They appear also in
the dispatches drawn up before the Commission, the dates of
which are not very accurate with regard to the robberies in
which the individuals have participated who have been in his
service. Ricardo King had a large band who ran constantly
in all directions of the country marking calves, though they
did not belong to him. It is impossible to admit that the peo-
ple forming that party possessed any sentiments of morality.
The laws of Texas offer no energetic remedies for this evil, and
are insufficient.
The inspection of animal skins has been established, but
this is equivalent to a wish to correct the evil in its effects, and
not in one of its most important causes. And even tliis law
has proven ineffectual in practice.
Those in Texas who complain of the grievances received
from our frontier, finding probably that the result of the statis-
tical data taken from the registers of inspection in Brownsville,
destroys entirely all their pretensions, look to the corruption of
the public employees for a reason to assert that the number of
American skins exported from Matamoros were many more.*
The Commission has no data to calculate the exactness of
these decisions ; they believe them to be unfounded, without
any other motive than that of having a place like the mouth of
a river where exportations can be made with less sacrifice than
Ihat required to corrupt an employee ; but in case of this
admission it is proper to say that in the opinion of the com-
plainants the laws of Texas against robbery have failed to
* Report of the U. S. Commission, page 22.
106 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
produce effect, becanse the officials of the adminiBtration pro*
tect the seizures and robberies. ^,
Notwithstanding, on other reasons the Commission founds
the belief that the laws of Texas are not to be blamed. The rob-
bery of skins there has attained extraordinary proportions, and
continues on the ascending scale. With these skins they trade,
they are taken to the towns where they are bought, and this
would not be possible without the complicity of the inspectors
of skins. With regard to the cattle, the Commission has
already explained the causes of the inefficacy of the laws of
inspection ; the owners are persuaded that some of them have
united together and named inspectors in the port nearest them
where cattle are exported.
On the 1st of July, 1870, a law was made organizing the
police of the State. To form an idea of what this police has
been, the Commission has limited itself to copy an extract of one
of the discussions held in the House of Kepresentatives of
Texas.
" House of Representatives. — An interesting discussion
on the resolution presented by Sayers,' to the end that no as-
signment be made for the pay and support of the police of
the State. Ford favored the resolution, as he did not think the
State was in condition to pay the police, and at the same time
to reimburse those whom they robbed. Powers believed the
police force ought to be paid up to the date of their past serv-
ices ; but Prendergast thought it was not commendable to
pay ruffians for killing, maiming, and assassinating peaceable
citizens. Denton said that the actual police of the State,
was a disgrace to Texas. Washington diffused in the radical
style, in favor of the State police. Smith of Colorado,
thought the sum already spent in paying truants and criminals
was sufficiently larg«. The resolution was approved." — Oal-
veston Three Weekly Jfews, April 12th, 1873.
The adm'istration of justice leaves also much to be wished
for. The statistics of crime in the county of Cameron, from
the end of the summer of 1866, to the close of December, 1872,
in point of robberies, give the following result :
"The grand jury made (97) ninety-seven indictments, in
(25) twenty-five of which the accused were condemned, and in
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION, lOT
ten acquitted ; in the caseB of (34) thirty-four ludgment was not
rendered on account of a change in place of residence, death,
or nolle prosequi^ and twenty-eight are still pending on ac-
count of wliat is feared by the accused. When the crime of
cattle stealing is so extended in Texas, it calls attention to the
fact, that in the county referred to, the best organized of all
those which are between the Bravo and the Nueces, there have
been four condemnations yearly, partly on account of cattle
stealing."
And this attention increases when on the list of the par-
doned are found Patricio Quinn, Billy Mann, Charles Karh,
and Pedro Mainiel, notorious and famed on the frontier for
their depredations. These individuals were accused on the 1st
of March, 1868, and the cases were pending till the 1st of
March, 1870 — ^that is to say two years — and eventually they
were dismissed without judgment. It is to be seen at once that
the real intention is to retard this business, and afterwards to
avoid the judgment of the criminal where, probably, according
to the class and number of the witnesses, a sentence of con-
demnation awaited him.
Thck Commission desires to explain the irregularity of the
cry against the cattle thieves, and that altogether they not only
miss a good opportunity for the chastisement of the great crim-
inals, but the authorities favor a bill commending the liberation
of the accused^ thus eluding judgment. It is not difficult to
find the solution.
The class of agents which Eicardo King has under his
command, for committing depredations on the cattle of others,
has already been mentioned. He is not the only one, nor are
the deeds committed all of the same kind. In the ranchos of
Francisco Iturria, one of which is called Punta del Monte, are
employed and live, or have lived, Pedro Lucio, corporal of the
ranch o, Pedro Cortina,. Marcos Sanchez, Severiano Hinojosa,
and others already mentioned in the dispatches. They have
been participators in the cattle stealing, and in connivance
with a band of robbers commanded by Jos6 Maria Martinez for
exchanging cattle robbed in Texas for horses robbed in Mexico.
In this manner, under the protection of persons of influential
positions, there are in Texas certain bands of immoral men
108
REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
who aid these persons in these unlawful proceedings, and at the
same time I'eceive protection. If any of them fall in the hands
of justice, this influential power is called into play to save
them, and only those who have not this protection would be
condemned. A minute examination, kept in the judicial
archives of the counties between the Bravo and the Nueces,
would be a satisfactory illustration of this question.
A Texas newspaper, referring to the same thing, says this :
" There are many persons on this side (Texas), who main-
tain themselves by cattle stealing. The peculiar character of
our Mexican population, combined with the advantages of a
very scattered population and the dense thickets, makes this
cattle stealing a very profitable business. Where there is fire
there is smoke. This old proverb occurs to us when we hear
said ' such or such a person has made his living by cattle steal-
ing.' We know they cannot be reached by our tribunals. They
have many able friends. * * * The public opinion
certainly accuses many among us of being implicated in cattle
stealing." — Daily Banchero^ Brownsville, Tebruary lOth,
1872.
" Two men by the name of Pancho Blanco and Cipriano
Guerrero, were caught and hanged from a mezquite tree by the
rancheros (ignored up to the present time), on one day of last
week. The thieves were known by the rancheros for a long
time as robbers of great notoriety. Latterly they had engaged
in the robbery of horses. We approve of the fprmer way of
disposing of all suspicious characters the whole length of the
frontier, for the following reasons : If they are taken they re-
main imprisoned at the expense of the county for three or five
months, which up to the present has occurred, and they have
no difliculty in being cleared by means of chicanery or by the
cunning of their lawyers. During the last seven years * *
many of them have been tried more than once, but they have
always easily escaped, and this resulted in their thinking that
they might continue their business with perfect impunity, in
proof of which see the numbers of this paper in the last few
months." — Daily Ranchero^ Brownsville.
In these years the robberies have been common on both
frontiers. Various documents prove it, the most notable being
a manifestation made before the first prosecuting judge in
Matamoros by the owners of fifteen properties in the county of
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 10&
Cameron, to which allusion has before been made. In judicial
writ of 14th of September, 1869, they described the cattle
stealing as being notorious, from one side of the river to the
other ; that is to say from Texas to Mexico, and from Mexico
to Texas. >
And notwithstanding its being so, there is no assurance
that the authorities on the Texas side have taken measures in
their sphere of action to prevent Texas from becoming the
market for property stolen in Mexican territory, or that
the theft should end there. It is not possible that they should
have ignored the fact of the probability that those who robbed
in Mexico would do the same in Texas, and the necessity that
both frontiers should prosecute the crime in whatever place it
might be committed, not so much for the protection of the
frontier as for self-preservation, and .to guard against similar
evils. Not only have they done nothing to remedy a situation
so demoralized, but the indifference of some and complicity of
others, as that of Judge Thadeus Rhodes and the sheriff Leon
Estap^, fomented the general demoralization, the consequences
of which have fallen on them on account of their own pro-
ceedings.
The complaints made by the residents of Texas against
Mexico, and the form and manner in which they have been
made, and the extent to which they have been made, has a
triple signification.
Before 1870 there were hardly any measures taken in
Texas to stop the robberies, making the responsibility fall on
our frontier entirely, pretending that Mexico was responsible
for the omissions of the Texan authorities.
After 1870, there were established inspectors of skins and
agents of police, who have been called by Texas itself corrupt
and immoral, men. To wish that our border should be responsi-
ble for all, is to say that the ill effects of the corruption and
immorality of the Texan public officers should fall upon
her.
In all these years they have continued to organize in Texan
territory the business of cattle stealing, that they might continue
it in Mexico ; and there they have had a public and ready
110 REPORT OF COMMITTEB:
market for the stolen property. The anihorities of that State
have taken no means to prevent it, notwithstanding that these
<3rimes spread on the frontier a great demoralization, the conse-
quences of which are perceived in that of the United States by
the stealing of cattle. To attribute this demoralization to Mex-
ico is equivalent to saying that the Mexican Bepnblic is culpa-
ble of the increase of the disorder which it has, in its
toleration, received from the borders of Texas; and even
protection has, in some cases, been given to cattle stealing
committed on our territory.
XL
The Commission has also examined into the conduct of thq
Mexican authorities, and in some cases found them inefficient,
and in others guilty ; but in general conforming to their duties.
At this increasing demoralization which, from Texas, runs over
to our frontier, considerably augmenting the disorder already
there, and which was shown by the cattle stealing, the authori-
ties of Mexico were obliged to raise a dike. It was of no
consequence whether the stolen property was of small amount,
because the question was not a matter of amount but one of
duty. The question has three phases, one of which refers to
the direction part, another relates to the execution or policy,
and the third is in regard to the suppression or judicial part.
The difficulty with regard to the United States frontier, as
regards cattle stealing, commenced in 1862. From that time
it has been noted J^hat the Mexican administrative authorities',
military and civil, superiors and inferiors, political and munici-
pal, were executing orders to put an end to the robberies com-
mitted in Texas for Mexico. Copies or extracts have been
added to the dispatches of all those depositions which make
known a constant system of watchfulness.
In some towns it has been exacted from the importers of
Texas cattle that they prove their ownership by a bill of sale,
and in cases where it has not been exhibited, the killing of the
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. Ill
cattle has not been coDBented to, except under security, and
with obligation to present at a certain time that document.
In reality the persecution of those who robbed in Texas
was a measure of self-protection , because the thefts took place
on both frontiers, and with experience acquired since 1848, the
necessity of being able to control the deprivation which threat-
ened our proprietors with ruin was understood.
There was, besides, a great pergonal interest. A great
number of the inhabitants of Mexican lineage are proprietors in
Texas. In Mier alone there are over three hundred persons
who own cattle between the Bravo and Nueces. These persons
are influential in the places where they live, and in general
exercise authority. As for instance in the past year the presi-
dent of the corporation in Oamargo was Eligio Garcia, and to-
day it is Trinidad Aldrete, both owners of cattle in Texas.
Their own convenience advises them to prevent the thefts
which are made on the left border for Mexico, and . hence it is
a great amount of personal interest which forms a safeguard
against this kind of stealing.
One of the measures of the administration, which always
produced the best results on the frontier, was the registering of
hides, and of animals to be killed, by this measure making
public what was consumed in this line, and so putting an end
to cattle stealing.
The administrative authorities, who had in former times per-
ceived the beneficial effects of the register, made an effort to
establish it there effectually, and have been carrying into effect
the necessary arrangements, which they have reformed accord-
ing to their experience, and have shown the greatest interest in
obtaining a happy result.
Notwithstanding there has been an exceptional case, in
which all has not been obtained which was necessary to regu-
late this branch, and in which omissions have been made, which
the Commission could not pass over without notice.
The archives of the register of hides in Matamoros before
the 15th of September, 1870, have been lost, and the same has
happened to the archives of the register of animals killed pre-
vious to 1872,
112 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
The reason for this is, that every year a new recorder has
been appointed in charge of the registers, of which properly
speaking no books were kept, and that the appointed one, on
leaving his business, took no care of the notes which he or
hiffagents had made.
These irregularities continued up to September, 1870, when
this business was transferred to the < municipal treasury ; some
months after, wardens were appointed at the toll gates for the
purpfosc of inspecting imported hides ; there was besides a special
commissioner of butcheries, belonging to the treasury already
mentioned, and every one of the employees has kept a book,
the collection of which was shown before the Commission.
In this there is nothing to oppose the law regulations, and
we believe to the contrary, that if strictly complied with, it
will be a complete guaranty a gainst theft ; but the same can-
not be said with regard to the application of them. The reg-
ister ought to embrace the slaughtered cattle consumed in Ma-
tamoros, and the hides of the cattle consumed in the jurisdic-
tion ; the first are inspected on entering the slaughter pen ; the
second, on passing the toll gate to be sold in the city. It
does not appear that either has been strictly complied with.
The missing register of cattle killed in the city of Mata-
moros, before 1872, that is to say, from the 16th of September,.
1870, to the 31st of December, 1871, destroys the principal
guaranty of the proprietors in the investigation of the theft.
Not to make the inspections, not to take care of the books in
which they are kept, and not to find them when they are re-
quired to be examined, are one and the same thing.
To this another irregularity is added ; in the year 1872,
appear (2,206) two thousand two hundred and five hides not
registered, the largest number of which were introduced
through the Guadalupe toll gate; they came from the ranches
of the jurisdiction of Matamoros, and consequently the neces-
sity of a branding register was felt. Some of these, though
the smallest number, were registered as maverick, or their
marks could not be identified ; but almost the whole lot had no
entry whatever on the register ; and there was a month, as for
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 113
instance the month of May, in which were discovered (535) five
hundred and thirty-five skins that had not been registered.
The series of orders issued in Matamoros since 1866, on
this subject, indicates the desire to establish the register of
hides in terms adequate to its object, but in its practice
there has not been the interest necessary to realize the views
contained in the precautions.
Notwithstanding this want of solicitude, the general char-
acter of the administrative authorities has had a tendency to
look for some remedy against the evils, and not only they, but
also the judicial functionaries had the same inclination. At
the same time that the former attended with its regulations
to that situation, the latter procured the punishment of the
guilty and the restoration of the stolen property to their owners
with the least possible difficulty.
Amongst the various cases which came to the notice of the
Commission, there are some which were initiated for the prose-
cution by the Mexican authorities, as soon as they had received
the slightest notice that there was passing or had passed a
herd of cattle robbed in Texas. Once in a while the guilty
were discovered and chastised, and in many other instances,
now by the watchfulness of the custom house officers and the
police, now through the strength of the residents, herds of
stolen cattle were captured, and in all cases were returned to '
their owners if they were claimed either by themselves or
through their attorneys, and those not claimed were sold and
the proceeds deposited. And it is to be understood that in the
generality of these cases they proceeded with such rapidity that
sometimes between the capture and delivery to their owners
they did not take twenty-five hours, and in many cases this was
done on the same day, and sometimes within an hour. The
only proofs exacted were the attestation of personality, if the
owners claimed tlirough their attorneys, and the identification
of the brand. Not even a power of attorney was exacted in
form when it occurred that the agents were creditable persons.
No cost 'was required because the judges themselves simplified
the proceeding, and placing it in the reach of all, made unneces-
sary the help of lawyers.
8
114 REPORT OF COMMITTETr.
The extracts of the criminal cases and the declaration* of
some who have been judges, and of various agents of property
holders in Texas, show that this has been the general spirit of
the tribunals on the frontier of Tamaulipas.
Notwithstanding, they have managed to create a contrary
impression, for instance, a judge of Oaraargo has been accused
of having refused to return a herd of stolen cattle to some
agents of the Texas police who presented themselves laying
claim to it.* One of the newspapers which availed itself of this
incident to accuse the Mexican authorities of being implicated
in the theft, gave itself the answer shortly afterwards :
" It is just to observe," it says, " that the judge of Camargo^
was disposed to do it ; he is ready to give up any property to an
American provided that he can prove his right to it." — The
Sentinel^ Brownsville, January 27, 1871.
In the judgment of the Commission the judge of Camargo
complied witli his duty. Two unknown persons presented
themselves, without proving a right, with the character of Texas
police, but who were not accredited by our authorities. These
proceeded discreetly in not acknowledging their pretensions to
receive the property stolen in Texas and seized in Camargo^
Sometime before Patricio Quinn, feigning to be agent of pro-
prietors in Texas, came to the Mexican authorities and asked
for the delivery of some cattle stolen on United States territory,,
brought by him to Mexico, and captured by the police from
Quinn's accomplices.
The Commission has been detained in this case because it is
one which characterizes the nature of the accusations directed
against our authorities. The spirit of justice has, however,
been so general in the tribunals that there have been no ex-
ceptions.
, On the 19th of March, 1872, were captured Gabriel Tre«
vino and six others with twentv-three cattle of Texas brands*
and a suit was brought against them for cattle stealing. On
the 1st of April, 1872, were seized Andres T. Hermenegildo
Holguin, on the plains of Santa F^, with a herd of cattle stolen
* Report of the U. S. Commissioners to Texas, page 12. William Burke.
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 115
in Texas, and criminal proceedings were also instituted against
them. There was this in particular, in the first of these cases,
that it resisted the police force.
The cattle were returned to their owners in the way shown
by the Commission, but they did not proceed with equal
justice in the chastisement of the criminals. The first prose-
cuting judge of the Northern District, lawyer Trinidad Gon-
zalez Doria, not only liberated them, but what is worthy of
especial attention, he proceeded to dispose of the case without
the slightest kind of judicial decree, leaving the expediente
unfinished. It is not necessary that the Commission should
enter into the particulars of all the immorality in such conduct.
It is sufficiently plain even for those not familiar with crim-
inal proceedings, and this procedure is even more condemnable
when coming from the judge whose jurisdiction embraced the
most important civil and criminal business of the Northern
District of Tamaulipas. If, in his judgment, the Mexican tri-
bunals were not competent to chastise the crime, the laws
had provided a mode of proceeding which the Commission
could not have reproved, even if the judge so thought, how-
ever it might have been dissatisfied with them. What the
Commission censures is the violation of the criminal proceed-
ings by liberating the accused whose trials were pending, with-
out passing judgment on them, and postponing them in-
definitely.
But just as the Commission has thought it to be its duty
to condemn the judge in the former case, they consider them-
selves also obliged to give judgment favorable to the Mexican
authorities, in an act which took place in Matamoros at the
close of 1869, to which the complainants in Texas give excep-
tional importance.*
On the 24th of September, 1869, fifteen proprietors of the
county of Cameron came to the first prosecuting judge of the
northern district of Tamaulipas, lawyer Agustin Menchaca,
complaining of the robberies from which their interests were
suffering. Afterwards the agents of these proprietors were
* Report of the U. S. Commissioners to Texas, page 24.
116 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
Henry Klahn and L. Shedd, and since then it has become
known that these were not only their representatives but that
they derived their nominations from the Texas authorities ; sub-
sequent revelations have shown that the judge of Brownsville
had nominated them that they might live in Matamoros, and
to act as inspectors of animals* and hides with a view of sup-
pressing the theft. There would have been nothing especial in
this if they had limited themselves to private agencies, but
they pretended that our authorities had upheld them, and the
resistance which they met has furnished material for subse-
quent accusations. It is suflScient to announce the act to be
able to appreciate the excessive pretensions of the Brownsville
authorities.
The first step taken was to ask for an examination of the
packeries and butcheries, with a view to find out if there were any
stolen skins or cattle. The order was solicited from the first
prosecuting judge, who ordered Klahn and Shedd, assisted by the
police, to identify the skins and cattle enclosed in those estab-
lishments. Being prohibited by the law from making general
inquiries with regard to crimes and delinquencies, there is no
•doubt that the judge already mentioned did more than was
permitted.
All the places mentioned were examined by Henry Klahn
and L. Shedd with the exception of one, whose owner opposed
the carrying out, on his property, of the order of the judge ;
alleging, for a reason, that it was unconstitutional, and that
general inquiries were against all law ; that if any one
thought he had stolen hides they should formalize their
accusation, so that in case of the result proving this to be false,
he might claim damages and injury against the accuser ; that
he would not consent to his establishment being searched with-
oijt their first showing an order to this effect, in conformity
with article 16 of the constitution. In this proceeding the
Oommission found nothing to be reproached. The law gives
the right to proclaim these errors before the authorities that
they may amend them.
* Report of the U. S. Commissioners, page 29. Henry Klahn.
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 117
But the same individual who made this opposition, went
further. He was alderman (Regidor) of the council of Mat-
amoros, and called an extra session, which was held on the 25th
of October, 1869. After putting forward the complaints against
the first prosecuting judge, and among them that relative to
the general inquiry which the latter had ordered, founded on
the 14th article of the laws of the council, he asked that a
Commission might be formed, composed of the aldermen, to
assist the first judge in the investigation which would be
raised with regard to the truth of the acts which were known,
and also upon others which might have been committed by the
said judge, and if these acts were justified by the result, the
information would be conveyed to the State Government. In
these proceedings of the council, there was an excess ; the
municipal coporation had the right to accuse the judge if they
believed him responsible, but it was not lawful to raise inform-
ation similar to that introduced.
• And so there was an excess in the Brownsville authorities
naming agents, with the purpose of being upheld by ours, that
they might establish in Matamoros, officers to inspect hides ; it
was on account of the co-operation of the first prosecuting
judge that they decided that Klahn and Shedd, assisted by the
police, should inspect all the packeries and butcheries, resolving
in the council to raise information on the proceedings of the
judge, to be conveyed to the State Government.
In the confiict which ensued between the first prosecuting
judge and the council of Matamoros there was an object. The
complainants of Texas have endeavored to show this, seeking
in it a reason against our authorities, supposing there is in them
a desire to resist what would procure the suppression of cattle
stealing. They have been given to understand that the resistance
to the examination of the hides already mentioned, arises from
the desire to conceal hides illy acquired, saying that the citizens
of Matamoros showed themselves so indignant against Judge
Menchaca, owing to his efforts to comply with the laws
and chastise the crime, that the city council adopted resolutions
addressed to the supreme government of the State of Tamau-
lipas, asking the removal or impeachment of Judge Menchaca,
I-
118 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
which obliged him to resign and take refuge in Europe ; and
that Judge Menchaca was succeeded by Pedro Hinojos^,
who privately made known to Klahn that he could not uphold
him, by reason of which the latter found himself obliged to
abandon his mission and return to Texas. To arrive at these
conclusions the complainants on the banks of the Bravo have
related the facts, omitting important details and using incom-
plete documents, withholding all that would have character-
ized the affair in its true light.
The owner of the hides on opposing the judicial order told
the agents, Klahh and Shedd, that his resistance was not made
with the object of concealing stolen property ; that they might
on this or any other occasion examine the establishment and
skins found in it, but that this should be in a private character,
and in no case in compliance with a judicial ordier contrary to
the laws. The agents Klahn and Shedd refused the offer.
The owner of the hide estafblishment, not satisfied with
having made the offer, when these orders were being executed
and whilst his establishment was closely watched by police that
no skins should be extracted therefrom, reiterated his offer in
the presence of several persons, and among them the United
States Vice Consul at Matamoros. All these persons appeared
before the Commission and deposed that it was so. Mr. Luca3
Avery, Vice Consul in 1869, said that "All met together at
the house of Klahn and Shedd, and that the witness heard Mr.
Manauton (owner of the establishment) say to them that he
was disposed to have them visit it and inspect it to their entire
satisfaction with the hides contained in it, with the understand-
ing that this offer was merely voluntary and friendly, and not
as the result of the judicial order, not recognizing in the au-
thority that dictated it the right to do so ; it w:as sufficient
that the said order was contrary to the Mexican laws." The
witness heard Mr. Klahn answer that he was much obliged for
the offer, but that in accordance with his duties he could not
accept it, because he and his partner, Mr. Shedd, desired above
all things to establish as a precedent for similar cases the one
then pending, that the American cattle breeders might, with
the intervention bf the authorities, practice general searches in
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 119
qaest of sach hides as had American brands. To this Manauton
replied, that in no case would he allow a search into his es-
tablishment unless the law so determined it, and unless, too,
the warrant ordering the search should be based on the legal
grounds provided by the law.
All these circumstances have been carefully concealed by
Henry Klahn when, to corroborate the complaints of the resi-
dents of Texas, he undertook to explain the action of the
Mexican authorities in 1869.* He, without any doubt, with-
held said circumstances because it would have been apparent
from them that there was no purpose at all to conceal the stolen
hides, and no obstacle to prevent him from carrying into effect
the inspection ; but there certainly was a refusal to allow,
nnder the pretext of said inspection, a violation of individual
rights, an undue intervention on the part of the Brownsville
authorities and of the proprietors in Texas, and that our
judicial functionaries should become accomplices to both irreg-
ularities. Mr. Klahn, in keeping silent upon all these circum-
stances, which would have cleared their conduct, and in acting
so as to show their conduct in a different light, has, under oath,
affirmed that which was not strictly true.
The proceedings of the council of Matamoros were not
arrested by anything which had before been said by the Com-
mission. On the 8th day of November was begun a session
which was interrupted but resumed on the 18th day of the
same month. In this the first judge declared that he believed
himself without the power to execute the judicial process
agreed on by the council on the conduct of Judge Menehaca,
and for this reason he had done nothing. The council revoked
their first judgment of the 25th of October, in which they had
been willing to receive this information, with which the conflict
was terminated.
All these documents relating to the first action of the
council have been used by the complainants of Texas to find a
reason for accusation against Mexican authorities ; f hut they
* Report of the U. S. Commissioners, page 29. Henry Klahn.
f Report of the TJ. S. Commissioners to Texas, page 30. Document 19.
120 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
have not mentioned the last, that is, those which show that the
judge charged to execute the judicial process refused to comply
with the agreement of the council, and that he, seeing his
error, retraced his steps.
The mass of the documents show that the council of Mata-
moros never asked for the removal of Judge Menchaca ; that its
object was to collect the proofs with regard to the actions on
which said functionary was accused by one of the aldermen^
with a view of making them known to the State government ;
that this was never executed, and that soon after the former
decision was revoked ; in all this was acquired the certain
knowledge that this incident never had the slightest importance.
And this judgment is so correct that Judge Menchaca
continued afterwards tranquilly executing his functions during
several months, notwithstanding that the complainants in Texas
asserted that, as a consequence of those persecutions, the afore-
mentioned judge found it necessary to resign and take refuge
in Europe. «
It does not seem necessary to have sought protection at
such a distance, unless he believed his persecutors to feel a most
persistent hatred against him, and did not think it sufficient to
go to the borders of the United States, putting the river Bravo
between himself and his enemies, but considered it indispensa-
ble that the ocean .should separate them.
But these dramatic proceedings are not sustained by the
documents. The judge Menchaca resigned with a view to go
to Europe for the restoration of his health, and the court of jus-
tice of the State refused to accept his resignation. At his re-
quest they gave him a leave of absence of three months, which
began the 22d of January, 1870. Up to the present date,
that is, until long after the occurrence of the incidents nar-
rated, he continued to exercise his judicial functions. Being in
Washington, he received a telegram from the convened court
recalling him to take charge of the court, but he answered it
was necessary for him to go to Europe, and in case they could
not wait on him they might consider his resignation made. He
returned in 1871, and was nominated adviser of the constitu^
tional judges of Matamoros ; he was unanimously elected con-^
^k
i
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 121
stitutional judge for the year 1872 ; during all of which time
he discharged the duties of the court, and was commissioned in
his judicial character to receive the information on the claims
pending in the joint commission in Washington ; he is at pres-
ent district attorney of the federal court in Matamoros.
• It is seen that the action of the Matamoros council has not
been an impediment in the way of attorney Augustine Men-
chaca in the exercise of his judicial functions before and after
his absence from the country. It is seen that there is no cor-
rectness in saying that the public indignation was manifested
against him on account of his efforts to suppress cattle stealing,
because on his return in 1871 the town of Matamoros unani-
mously elected him constitutional judge for 1872. It is seen
even in this trivial affair that he resumed his important
character.
The council was not guided by ignoble views, though they
erred in their course. That^same council, against which those
reproaches were made, discussed in the session of the 18th of
September, 1869, the question of cattle stealing. The act rela-
tive to this, says :
"Mr. Campuzano called the attention of the municipal
body in regard to the clandestine traffic of herds of cattle which
are passed from the other side of the river, and asked that the
R. Corporation should take such preventive measures as they
deemed expedient. The president replied that he had previ-
ously instructed the municipal justices to carry out the different
rulings on this subject, which had been communicated to them
with a view of putting an end to the illegal traffic of
cattle. Mr. Mainero remarked that the complaint set
forth by Mr. Campuzano was a notorious truth with
regard to the illegal traffic carried on on both sides
of the river, in the transportation of cattle from the left
bank into Mexico, as well as the transportation of horses and
mules from this bank to the opposite shore of the Bravo, re-
gardless of the measures taken by the president of the council
to enforce the ruling on this subject, and the repeated notices
issued relative to this abuse, and which had been sent to the
judges of the district for their instruction. That notwithstand-
ing all these regulations the evil has not been remedied, and in
spite of all the measures taken, and of all the circulars issued to
all the justices, as well as to the chiefs of the country police^
122 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
instructing both not to pernait the transportation of animals,
either in the case of importation or exportation, unless those in-
terested first present a permit from the custom house, which is
required by the general laws. Sufficiently discussed, it was
unanimously approved."
At the time the conflict alluded to took place, the munici-
pal corporation of Matamoros realized the evil in all its extent,
and spontaneously, without its having been exacted, they
sought remedies in the best faith. And not only does the
former act justify the authorities, who exercised their func-
tions in Matanjoros in 1869 ; the circular issued on the 28th ot
September, of the same year, to the principal justices of the
peace, demonstrated that the council of that year endeavored
to prosecute the thefts. In it was admitted that the greater
part of the cattle passed from one bank to another was stolen ;
the former orders to prosecute them were reiterated; the jus-
tices of the peace were threatened with the responsibility
which they incurred if they did not take precautions to
prevent the clandestine passing of cattle from one bank to
another.
The orders dictated by the Mexican authorities, and the
proceedings of those in Texas, characterized the propensities of
both. The first recognized the evil in its fullest extent ; they
saw that not only was our frontier robbed, but also that of
Texas ; their measures take steps to remedy these robberies ;
their just views show that in nothing have they attempted
dissimulation. The second, to the contrary, are only affected
by the damages they sustain, and they take no notice of the
organized robbery of horses, on their own frontier, to the det-
riment of Mexico ; they keep silent on the latter, and not only
do they remain quiet, but even the grand jury of the county
of Cameron, in its reports of the 22d of April, 1872, says that
only occasionally were horses stolen in Mexico and taken to
Texas ; that the guilty parties have been Mexicans, and it has
been impossible to find a single American involved in these
transactions. They do not recognize the truth in regard to
Mexico, and they arrive at the most unreliable statements in
reference to Texas. There is an absolute indifference in the
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. ' 128
Texas authorities to suppress the theft committed on our fron-
tier for the United States ; but they are very pressing with re-
gard to those committed in Texas for Mexico. The Mexican
proprietors who claim their stolen property before the Texas
authorities had difficulties placed in their way to such a de-
gree that pay was exacted for the sheriff or agent who pur-
sued the robbers ; but the judicial pressure as regards Mexico
has been carried to the extreme, by pretending that inspectors
whose nomination originated with the Texas authorities should
perform their duties in Mexican territory, and that our author-
ities should give them support, in violation of the laws of the
republic.
In the unlawful interference which the officers on the left
border of the Bravo pretend to exercise should be sought the
cause of the conflict begun by the Matamoros council in 1869.
It was not in truth the desire to protect the theft which moved
them, because from their own wish they had formerly adopted
means to punish it. The Commission recognizes in the munici-
pal corporation the right to oppose that intervention. That
which condemns it is the form which the resistance assumed.
If in place of the measures which they took and afterwards
found necessary to revoke, they had complained before the
court of justice of the State, demanding that it should make the
judge responsible for having exceeded the powers invested in
him, the Commission would have recognized that the council,
in its proceedings and the spirit of its tendencies, had complied
with its duties. With regard to the judge, his very error is the
greatest proof of his honorable intentions and of his earnest
desires to discover the crimes of the guilty.
Nor is there less foundation to the reproach made against
Judge Hinojosa, who succeeded Augustin Menchaca. Henry
Klahn, in private conversation and not officially, pretended to
have received from him an order to search all the pastures in
search of stolen cattle. It did not designate any place nor
necessitate any act. The judge refused to become an instru-
ment to any such deception, and answered that the pastures
should first be searched, and when he could say there was any-
thing stolen he would lend necessary assistance for its recovery.
124 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
In putting forth these acts in the complaints made against
Mexico all the circumstances are omitted, and it is only shown
that the judge, Pedro Hinojosa, refused his assistance and
made it known privately to Klahn, making it appear that the
judge found himself under such a pressure that only privately
could he treat df this subject.
It was indispensable that the Commission should carefully
discuss this incident, because it has been the one used to sustain
that the corruption of the Mexican . employees reaches the
extreme, not only in protecting the theft but also in preventing
faithful officials from complying with their duties. When, to
prove this, are presented acts and incomplete documents, they
cannot but presume that there is a want of better reasons ;
thus the accusation becomes the most complete defense.
A cause has existed by which, notwithstanding the interest
generally taken by the administrative authorities and the Mex-
ican judicials, these orders have failed to produce all the effects
which might have been expected. The reason of this has been
the want of a police force sufficient to pursue the robbers. The
agents of justice on the ranches did not count on any official
help, and their lives would have been endangered if they had
attempted to enforce the compliance with all the necessary
orders which they had received.
The country police of Tamaulipas is a force made up of the
proprietors and their servants ; it was established for the care
and security of the country — this vigilance commending itself
to those most interested — but the organization became an office
of trust, but assumed no permanent character. When they had
any work on hand, some of the residents united at the order of
their chief to do the work commended to their care and then
return to their labors. This has been one of the principal ele-
ments for the persecution of the theft, and it can be seen that
this could not be sufficient.
Later the authorities on our frontier saw the necessity of
organizing a system of persecution of the evil doers, and this
ought not only to be done when they carry stolen goods, but at
any time. On conceiving this idea they immediately com-
menced to put it into execution.
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 125
The gang of thieves which were most notable was that of
Jose Maria Martinez and Andres Flores. The first prosecuting
judge of Matamoros ordered the country police in the east to
pursue that gang of robbers. -The chief of that expedition,
Juan Trevifio Con ales, made an agreement with Colonel Ford,
of the left side of the Bravo, that they might simultaneously
pursue the robbers on both sides, thus preventing the fugitives
from this side from uniting and organizing on the other ; the
result was the death of both of the chiefs in September, 1870,
and the taking of Baltasar Flores and Magdaleno Carrillo ; the
rest of the gang dispersed themselves, and flying, took refuge
in the interior of Texas, where many of them have been seen.
At the beginning of 1871, the chief of the country police
of the south received orders to go in search of the robbers, and
of these were killed the robbers Ildefonse Eodriguez, Manuel
Garcia, and Candido Garcia.
In January, 1872, General Cortina organized a force for the
purpose of pursuing thieves ; they went after the Lugas gang,
who had united themselves in the interior of Texas to Jose
Maria Sanchez TJresti, and passed ovier to Mexico to commit
depredations. Both the Lugas' were killed, Pedro and Longi-
nos, Agapito Galvan and Santiago Sanchez, all famous robbers.
The country police, at the beginning of the same year dis-
persed another gang organized in Texas, and to which belonged
Antonia Sardineta, Antonia Garcia, Benito Alaniz and
Agapito Yanez. The last was taken and executed according
to the laws.
The Commission has already mentioned the situation of the
Bolsa, and the facilities which it presents to criminals for hiding
themselves on both banks. The Mexican authorities, in August,
1872, ordered the pursuit of the robbers who were hiding them-
selves there, but that this might porduce the best results, there
was a previous agreement made with the tTnited States consul
at Matamoros that a force should be in pursuit on American
territory at the same time it was being done on the Mexican
side. The combination had a good exit, leaving the gang de-
stroyed, and having killed Oipriana Flores, Victor Gonzales
{alias) the Coyte, Francisco Gonzales (alias) the Chineno and
Rafel Hinojosa (alias) the Cucho.
J
126
REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
On the course east of Matamoros it had continued its pur-
suit of the robbers, the rest of the Lugas gang, and who were
commanded by Manuel Garcia Luga. In this new pursuit
were killed Margarito Garcia, Geronimo Perez, and Severa
Acofia. '
The Commission has only referred to the organization of
thieves, the suppression of which has been sought for since the
year 1870. But apart from this they have been in pursuit of
other thieves, many of whom were executed, and others were
killed through the resistance which they made. Among these
are counted Santiago Nufies and another called Monterey, and
others whose names are not known.
The consequence of this systematic persecution has been
that the frontier of Tamaulipas is no longer a rendezvous for
the thieves, or a point of refuge for the runaways who habitu-
ally reside in Texas. The largest number of those of whom
these bands were composed came from the interior of Texas.
Those who were not killed returned to the places from which
they came, and a small number went to the interior of Ta-
maulipas. With them considerably disappeared the crimes
which were being perpetrated on both frontiers, which fact
corroborates that it is not with the inhabitants of the Mexican
frontier that the origin of the disorder can be looked for, nor
were they its principal agents. It is certain that on our frontier
there must have been accomplices, but these, according to the
proofs, did not take the principal part. It is also beyond doubt
true that on the Mexican side there must have been co-laborers
to assist them, but the robbing enterprises were organized on
the Texas '' ranches," whose residents stole cattle to make over
to others, to be carried to the banks of the Bravo.
The pursuit which was made after the gang of Jos6 Maria
Martinez and that of Cipriana Flores, are examples which
ought not to be forgotten. It is shown by these that a happy-
termination in such cases, can only be effected by the combined
action of the authorities on both sides.
With rare exceptions, the Mexicans have been extremely
solicitous to correct the disordered state complained of by
both borders. Their repeated orders, show that they proceeded
I
«
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 12T
with perseverance in a system for this purpose, and that on
convincing themselves that the ordinary means were not suffi-
cient they sought more effectual remedies.
Our frontier is tranquil, while in that of Texas exists in-
creasing disorder, and the cattle stealing, under the form of
skinning cattle, has assumed extraordinary proportions. The
comparison of what is taking place in both countries would
convince the most incredulous that the corruption so extended in
Texas had its beginning there, being there propagated and
there perfected. It is not confined to any particular class ; all
take part in it, who steal one animal and skin it ; and the
merchants who without scruple buy the skins, and the pro-
prietor who marks calves that do not belong to him, and the.
herder who sells cattle not belonging to him, on the pretext
that he will return it, if the owner claims it, are all engaged in
it. These are the causes of the diemoralization on our frontier \
there are the traders of horses stolen in Mexico, and from them
is received the impulse by the cattle stealers to' fall on the
Mexican frontier.
General Juan N. Cortina's conduct has been made the sub-
ject of most special inquiry. He has been made the object of
the severest criticism along the whole length of the Mexican
line ; his forces have been termed organized hordes, and it was
said that they penetrated into Texas for tlie purpose of com-
mitting the greatest depredations. In order that the full ex-
tent of the charges made may be understood, the Commission
have annexed to the expedienie copies of the Brownsville papers
containing them, and the report^ of several of the grand juriea
of Cameron and Starr counties. The consideration of the
question relating to the frontier under this aspect convinced the
Commission that the recent complaints are so intimately con-^
nected with General Cortina's previous life, that it would be
impossible to estimate the former without a full examination of
the latter. These considerations induced the Commission to
make a lengthened investigation with regard to General Corti-
na, and the influence exercised by him upon both sides of the
Pravo since 1859.
On the 26th of April of this year, the grand jury of Came-
128 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
Ton county found three bills of indictment against Juan N. Cor-
tina for '* cattle stealing." The number of such indictments
was subsequently increased in Cameron county to eleven, and
in Starr county to four. The crimes of which he was accused
were homicide, attempt at homicide, and treason. These lat-
ter are subsequent to his revolt in 1859, and were, no doubt,
eonsequently influenced by that occurrence. But with regard
to the three former, that is, those for cattle stealing, as these
were prior to that occurrence, it is presumable that^ no other
influences were exerted, except those usually present in such
<?ases.
His revolt was brought about by the following circum-
stances. He saw the sheriff at Brownsville dragging a Mexican
along by the collar ; Cortina remonstrated with him ; the sheriff
made use of insulting language in his reply ; Cortina then shot
at and wounded him, and carried off the prisoner. This oc-
cured on the 13th of July, 1859. On the 28th of September
of the same year, he again appeared at Brpwnsville with some
flfty men, and took possession of the town. Several of those
who, it was alleged, had been guilty of outrage toward the
*'' Texan Mexicans," were killed, and all the prisoners who joined
him were released. At the request of various persons he left
the city and retired to his ranch ; he was disposed to lay down
his arms and leave Texas ; several parties saw him for this pur-
pose, and he agreed to it, requiring only from four to six days
to transfer to the Mexican side some cattle which some of his
companions had, and divide his people into small parties of
three or four each, to avoid their being pursued by the Mexican
authorities at the time of their crossing the river. He did so,
but shortly after he was told that one of his followers had been
hung at Brownsville, upon which he went into Texas and began
gathering people together, giving his movement a more definite
character.
It is worthy of notice that when the revolt assumed this as-
pect it was highly popular among the '' Texan Mexicans," that
is, among all the Mexican population which had settled in Texas
before or after the treaty of Guadaloupe. The fact that Cortina
was joined by a large number of these, some of whom were
I
•
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 129
land owners, can be . attributed to no other reason. One of
these was Theodore Zamora, who at the time he joined Cortina
was one of the authorities of Hidalgo county, and several wit-
nesses have deposed that he was the mayor of the county at
the time.
The Commission has already referred to the condition of the
Mexicans in Texas subsequent to the treaty of Guadalupe.
Their lands were especially coveted. Their title deeds presented
the same confusion as did all the grants of land made by the
Spanish government, and this became the fruitful source of liti-
gation by which many families were ruined. The legislation,
instead of being guided by a spirit of equity, on the contrary
tended toward the same end ; attempts were made to deprive
the Mexicans of their lands, the slightest occurrence was made
use of for this purpose, and the supposition is not a remote
one, that the cause of such procedure may have been a well
settled political principle, leading as far as possible to exclude
from an ownership in the soil the Mexicans, whom they
regarded as enemies and an inferior race.
At the commencement, and during the disorganization
which was prolonged atlter the Treaty of Guadalupe, robberies
and spoliations of lands were perpetrated by parties of armed
Americans. It is not extraordinary to find some of them whose
only titles consist in having taken possession of and settled
upon lands belonging to Mexicans. After these spoliations
there came the spoliations in legal forms, and all the resources
of a complicated legislation.*
* At the time the Commission made its report it had not then received yari-
ons documents to which reference will be made in their proper places by notes.
Some of these show the insecurity under which the Mexican population in Texas
had labored, and refer to the difficulties known. as the cart question.
The residents of Uvalde county, Texas, in September, 1867, passed several reso-
lutions, prohibiting all Mexicans from traveling through the country except un-
der a passport granted by some American authority. At Goliad several Mexi-
cans were killed because it was supposed that they had driven their carts on the
public road.
On the 14th and 19th of October the Mexican Legation at Washington ad-
dressed the United States Government a statement of these facts; adding that
it had been informed that in the vicinity of San Antonip, Bexar, Texas, parties of
9
130 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
The Texan Mexicans enjoyed no greater personal security
than did their property, and what is remarkable, is that they
-armed men had been organized for the exclusive purpose of pursuing the Mexi-
cans upon the public roads, killing them and robbing their property, and that
i;he number of victims was stated to have been seventy-five. That it was also in-
formed that Mexican citizens by birth, residing peaceably at San Antonio, under
the protection of the laws, had been expelled from the place, and finally that
some of the families of the victims of these extraordinary persecutions had begun
to arrive in Mexico on foot and without means, having been obliged to abandon
all their property in order to save their lives.
The Secretary of State on the 24th of the same month addressed a communi-
cation to Mr. R M. Pease, the Governor of the State of Texas, in which he
says:
" These reports are not exclusively Mexican. The least among the outrages
appear to be the violation of rights guaranteed by law, and under treaties, and I
have no doubt that you will have already adopted speedy and energetic measures
to ascertain the truth and punish the aggressors."
Governor Pease on the 11th of November, 185Y, sent a message to the Texas
Legislature. In it he stated that during the month of September previous, the
Executive had received authentic information that a train of carts had been at-
tacked a short distance from Ellana, Games county, while peaceably traveling on
the public highway, by a party oi armed and masked men, who fired upon the
eartmen, killing one and wounding three others. That at the same time he had
also received notice of another attack which took place the latter part of July,
upon a train in Goliad county. That the attack was made at night, and three of
the cartmen were wounded. That the killed and wounded in both instances
were Mexicans, with the exception of one who was an American. That with
these same reports proofs had also been received that a combination had been
formed in several counties for the purpose of committing these same acts of
violence against citizens of Mexican origin, so long as they continued to transport
goods by those roads.
The Governor continues by stating the measures adopted by him for suppress-
ing and punishing such outrages. He states that he proceeded to San Antonio for
the purpose of ascertaining whether measures had been taken for the arrest of
the aggressors and to prevent the repetition of such occurrences, to which end he
had conferences with several citizens of Bexar. The result of these confer-
ences convinced him that no measures had been taken or probably would
be taken for the arrest of the guilty parties, or prevention of similar attacks.
That in fact combipations of the kind mentioned did exist, and that they had
been the origin of repeated assaults upon the persons and property of Mexicans
who traveled over those roads. That in several of the border counties there
prevailed a deep feeling of animosity towards the Mexicans, and that there was
inmiinent danger of attacks and bf retaliation being made by them, which if once
begun would inevitably bring about a war of races.
The following paragraph of the same message shows how inexcusable these
outrages were :
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTIQN. 131
ivere wronged and outraged with impunity, because as far as
they were concerned, justice and oppression were synonymous.
Here is what a Brownsville newspaper says upon the subject:
" We have had occasion frequently to deplore that want of
the administration of the law in such manner as to render to
all parties the justice to which they were entitled. According
to our ideas, when an officer enters upon the discharge of his
duties, he should mark out for himself such a line of conduct
as would insure the impartial exercise of his duties, laying
aside all distinctions of race and persons, and remove from his
proceedings everything which would tend to give them the
appearance of a farce. Our population is, as is well known,
divided into two classes, Americans and Mexicans ; the latter
are unquestionably more exposed to wrong than the former ;
their natural timidity makes them inoffensive, and by reason ^
of the difference of language they cannot well understand our '
laws, or fully enjoy their rights. We have heard one of our
highest officers state that it would be difficult to find a class of
people more obedient to the laws. It is true that among them
there are bad characters, and these should be severely punished,
" We have a large Mexican population in our western counties, among which
^re very many who have been carefully educated, and who have rendered im-
portant services to the country in the days of her tribulation. There is no doubt but
that there are some bad characters amongst this class of citizens, but the great
mass of them are as orderly and law-abiding as any class in the State. They
cheerfully perform the duties imposed upon them, and they are entitled to the
protection of the laws in any honest calling which they may choose to select."
The condition of the Mexican population residing in Texas has changed but
little since 1857. Governor Pease's message to the Texas Legislature that year
exposes and explains the reason of revolts such as the one which occurred od the
banks of the Rio Bravo under Cortina in 1869.
A large portion of the disturbances which occurred between the Bravo and
Nueces rivers is attributable to the persecutions suffered by the Mexicans resid-
ing there ; persecutions which have engendered the most profound hatred between
the races.
Governor Pease, in the message referred to in the forgoing note, gives it to be
understood that the Mexicans did not enjoy the protection of the courts and the
authorities. He says our laws are adequate to the protection of life and prop-
erty, but when the citizens and authorities of a county become indifferent to their
execution, they are useless. Some remedy must be found for this condition of
things, and the only means which suggests itself to me, is that jurisdiction be
given to the grand jury, the officers and courts in any adjoining county where an
impartial trial may be obtained, to arrest and try the offenders.
This passage shows that there was no justice for the Mexicans in Texas, and
with regard to which the complaint has frequently been made.
I
132 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
tut this fact at times gives rise to their all being classed in tbe^
same category, and ill-used. We do not address any one in
particnlar, our remarks are general. Americans have at times
committed offenses which in them have been overlooked, but
v^hich, if committed by Mexicans would have been severely
punished. But when election time comes, it is- wonderful to
behold the friendship existing for the Mexican voters, and the
protection extended to them, the sympathy which until then
had remained latent or concealed, suddenly reveals itself in all
its plentitude, and many are astonished not to have found until
then the amount of kindly feeling professed towards them by
their whilom friends. Promises of all kinds are made to them,
but scarcely are the promises made, when thev are broken.
An hour before the election they are fast friends, 'Mexicans,
my very good friends ' — an hour after the election they are a
'crowd of greasers.' The magistrates are not Pachas or ab-
solute rulers ; a certain respect is due to their position, and the
consciousness of the responsibility resting upon them should
make them feel their duties." — Americcm Flag^ Brownsville,
August 20th, 1856.
The Mexicans, whether they be Texans or whether they pre-
serve their origin al nationality, have been the victims both in
their persons and property, and they have not been fully pro-
tected by the laws. Upon such antecedents, the cause of the
popularity of the Cortina movement among the Mexican popu-
lation in Texas is easily understood. He issued several procla-
mations, in the first of which, dated the 30th September, 1869,
he said :
" Our purpose has been as you have seen, and your testi-
mony to the fact you cannot withhold, to punish the infamous
villainy of our enemies. These have banded together, and as*
it were, form a treacherous inquisition to pursue and rob us, for
no other reason and for no other offense upon our part, except
being by birth Mexicans, and because they suppose us to be
destitute of those very qualities which they themselves do not
possess. * * * The board having been organized and
being presided over by me, thanks to the confidence which I
inspire as being one of the most greatly wronged, we have
searched the streets of the city for our antagonists, to punish
them, since the law is inoperative for them, and justice as ad-
ministered by them is unfortunately a dead letter. They, as
we have already said, with a multitude of lawyers, form a band
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 133
in concert, to dispossess the Mexicans of their lands, and after-
wards usurp them. Adolpho Glaevecke's conduct proves it.
Invested with the character of a member of the Legislature,
and in combination with the lawyers, he has disseminated
terror among the unthinking, by making them believe that
they were about to hang the Mexicans upon any pretext, that
they would burn their ranches, to thus compel them to leave
the country, and so attain their ends."
In another proclamation, of the 23d of November, 1859,
various resolutions were published, of which the 1st and 3d
stated :
" An organized society in the State of Texas will untiringly
devote itself, until its philanthropical purpose of bettering the
condition of the unfortunate Mexicans who reside there shall
have been attained, to the extermination of their tyrants, and
to this end those composing it are ready to shed their blood or
die the death of martyrs.
" Article 3d. The Mexicans in Texas place their future
under the protection of the kindly feelings of General Houston,
the Governor elect of the State, and confide that upon his
elevation to power he will inaugurate such measures within the
sphere of his powers as will give them the protection of the
laws."
The popularity of that movement among the Texan Mexi-
cans is disclosed by another document. A report^of the grand
jury of Cameron county said :
'' Owing to it^ extended ramifications, or his (Oortina's) in-
fluence, the secrecy which he imposes, and the general sym-
pathy toward him on the part of the lower classes of the Mexi-
cans, there is little room to doubt that he could get together a
large force under his orders.
" Whether it .be fear or sympathy with the marauders,"
says the same document, " which prevents them from appear-
ing, the Mexican residents of the county generally fail to ap-
pear, and when they do, they dislike to give information with
regard to the numerous robberies and murders which are com-
mitted." — Rejport of the Grand Jury ^ Ccmieron county^ Novem-
ber^ 1859.
The higher authorities of Texas believed that there was
more in the revolt of Cortina and his followers than an inten-
134 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
tion of murder and robbery. Governor Houston, in a procla-
mation on the 28th of December, 1859, said :
"If any parties have been injured, there is no necessity for
them, under a free government such as ours, to have recourse
to acts of violence to redress their grievances, because they
may rely for protection upon the guaranty which the Consti-
tution and laws furnish. * * * The laws will be equally
executed towards all of our fellow-citizens, and none need fear
persecution. It is necessary to make an investigation, and it
will be made ; if any persons have been injured their complaints
' will be heard. Their continuance in rebellion against the laws
can only weaken their claim to justice. If, as they state, they
confide in the present executive, to see that legal protection is
extended to them within the sphere of his powers, he assures
them, that he will omit no constitutional means to protect the
rights of all good citizens ; and those who return to their duty
may be assured of the protection of the law."
The Commission have made every effort to define the nature
of these occurrences, according to the documents of the time,
. because at a later period it has been attempted to deny that
these events were questions between Texans, and throw the
responsibility on the frontier and the Mexican authorities.
The foregoing remarks refer to the nature of the movement,
but there are others which relate to those who participated in
it, and which further remove any doubts which might arise.
In his proclamation of the 30th of September, 1859, Juan
N. Cortina said : -
"Laborious and thirsting for the enjoyment of the blessings
of liberty in the classic land of its origin, we were induced to
become naturalized in it. * * * Casually separated from
the inhabitants of the city on account of being outside of it,
but not relinquishing our rights as citizens of the United
States:'
This character which Cortina and those who had revolted
with him assumed, was recognized before and after their rising.
Before, because they were allowed to vote at the elections in
Texas. After, because on the 12th of May, 1860, the grand
jury of Cameron county indicted Cortina for treason, which in-
dictment would have been impossible if he had not been a.
citizen.
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 135
The Brownsville press when explaining the elements of
which Oortina's forces were composed, says :
" On the morning of Wednesday (September 28th, 1859),
he (Cortina), with a force estimated at from sixty to one hun-
dred men, armed and mounted, all Mexicans by birth, but the
greater part of them criminals from Mexico, to whom cm asylum
has been stupidly furnished on the American side, arrived, in
our city. * * * And to make the condition of things
worse, the greater part of these men have committed crimes in
Mexico, on account of which perhaps there is as little or less
safety for them in Mexico ; in tne meantime, many among them
pretend to be citizens of the United States, and are determined
to keep on this side of the river." — Amerioan Flag, Browns-
ville, October 8th, 1859.
There were in fact among the people who had revolted with
Cortina some criminals ; the Texas side was suflfering the conse-
quences of the protection which it had aflfbrded the marauders
who sallied out from thence to perpetrate their crimes in Mex-
ico, but at the same time the remarks made by the journal re-
ferred to, show that the movement had its origin in Texas,
and was promoted by persons residing there, and that our
frontier had nothing to do with these occurrences.
The oflScers of the United States were of the same opinion.
The same journal copied from the New York Herald, the fol-
lowing paragraph :
" The war department has received a letter from Captain
Rickets, which states, *The origin of the difficulty is owing to
a quarrel among people mixed up in private matters, and is so
complicated in its character, that it is difficult to ascertain the
truth.' " — American Flag, Brownsville, January 26th, 1860.
General Winfield Scott, in his report of the 19th of March,
1860, expressed himself as follows :
"The recent disturbances on our side of the lower Kio
Grande were commenced by Texans, and carried out by and
among them ; Cortina himself and the greater part of his ban-
dits are natives of Texas. * * * But few Mexicans from
the other side of the river, if any, took part in those disturb-
ances."
The same opinion prevailed on the Mexican frontier. A
paper at Matamoros said :
136 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
"The proclamation issued by John N. Cortina, a citizen of
the United States, was printed at the city of Brownsville, and
has been circulated in both cities." — El Jayne, October 12th,
1859.
In a communication of the 1st of November, 1859, ad-
dressed by the Mexican consul at Brownsville to the Mexican
legation in the United States, relating the occurrences, and
stating that he had been called upon, together with other per-
sons, to see Cortina, he says :
" I informed them that I could not do so in my official
capacity, because in addition to the fact that Cortina was not
the representative of any legal authority, he and the parties
who were with him, were naturalized citizens of the United
States."
In a communication of the 30th of January, 1860, addressed
by the gefatura politica of the district of the north, to the
municipality of Reynosa, it stated :
" That it had been informed with regard to the late occur-
rences concerning the North American faction headed by Cor-
tina."
In nearly all the communications of that time he is styled
the same. The quotations would be lengthy, and the Commis-
sion refers to the documents taken from the divers archives,
which appear in the " expedientes.^^ In all of them it is seen
that the Mexican authorities always held an unvarying opinion
with regard to the character of Cortina and his forces, whether
he was marauding on this or the other margin of the river.
At the commencemert, and when the occurrences took
place, the truth was not denied, the press of Brownsville and
Matamoros, the grand jury who indicted Cortina as a traitor
against the State of Texas, the United States authorities, and
those on the Mexican frontier, admitted th^t the difficulties had
their origin in Texas and among Texans, and that neither Mex-
ico or the Mexicans had any interest or participation in the
question. Nevertheless, a short time after, when the most im-
minent risk was passed, attempts were commenced to be made
to distort the facts. The first was made in a report of the
grand jury of Cameron county.
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 137
When Cortina made his first revolt and took possession of
Brownsville, on the morning of the 28th of September, 1859,
several residents of the place represented to the Mexican con-
sul that it was desirable to ask aid from the authorities at Mata-
moros. The consul agreed to grant their request, upon the
condition that the authorities at Brownsville should make the
request, and authorize the coming of the force. At nine o'clock
on that day, the sheriff of the city made an official communi-
cation asking aid from the military commander at Matamoros ;
this was immediately granted, he replying that, '^ not only the
regular troops, but the people of the city were ready and willing
to aid the inhabitants of Brownsville, and that for this purpose
they would cross the river, if necessary, whenever requested to
do so by the authorities of the latter city."
Cortina again revolted in October of the same year, and
threatened Brownsville; the authorities there requested aid
from the Mexican authorities, which was promptly granted, and
not only were troops sent, but arms were furnished for the
arming of the people. On both occasions Brownsville was
garrisoned by Mexican troops, and these preserved the city and
its inhabitants from all attacks or threats. Further, the last
time the Mexican forces made an expedition against Cortina
and were defeated.
The proceedings of the authorities at Matamoros received
the full approbation of the government of the State of Tamau-
lipas and of the Federal Government. The former, in a com-
munication of the 10th of October, addressed to the military
commander of the line of the Bravo, after expressing its ap-
proval of all that had been done, added :
" The government confides in you, that you, with your
usual activity will continue taking all the measures in your
power to insure the public tranquility within the bounds of
your command, and aid the authorities of Brownsville for this
same purpose whenever they request it. You will please to
make a similar manifestation (of approval) to the authorities
and residents of your city, who with such yndly feelings re-
solved to give that aid which humanity and our friendly rela-
tions with the American people demanded."
138 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
The Federal Government, in a communication of the 3d of
December of the same year, addressed to the government of
the State of Tamaulipas, and by it transcribed on the 30th of
the same month to the military commandant of the line, after
referring to the occurrences, directed:
" Orders will be issued to the forces on the frontier of the
State, to prevent the crossing to the right bank of the Eio
Bravo, of the bandits who attacked Brownsville, and that they,
together and in concert with the officers in command of the
American forces, pursue these bandits until they are brought
to order, or exemplarily punished."
The action referred to "by the authorities of the republic,
both superior and inferior, and that of the people of Matamoros
were uniform as to the course to be pursued. This the authori-
ties at Brownsville were unable to deny at the time. The
mayor of the city in a communication of the 29th of Novem-
ber, 1859, addressed to the Mexican consul, says :
"I am the organ for expressing the general feelings of my
fellow-citizens, when I assure you of the great satisfaction
which I have experienced upon learning of the action of your
fovernment in this respect (it referred to the government of
'amaulipas). This is another of the many proofs given by the
present government of Mexico, of its desire to maintain the
principles of good friendship towards the United States as a
nation, and towards the inhabitants of a sister city."
The good offices of our authorities were recognized at that
time, because it was impossible to conceal them, but at the
same time they affected to entertain an opinion, which in the
course of years, was to suffer various transformations, until it
arrived at the one, that Mexico was alone culpable.
The grand jury of Cameron county, which commenced its
sessions on the second Monday of November, 1859, submitted
a report with regard to the disturbances which had taken place.
They related the origin of the revolt, and that Cortina subse-
quently crossed the Kio Grande into Mexico, where it is said
that he was recruiting soldiers for the Mexican army under a
captain's commission, the truth of which the jurors added,
they did not know. That he afterwards crossed the river with
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 13&
many persons residents of Mexico, and was joined by other
Mexican citizens of the left bank of the river. Of the fact
that all Cortina's companions were Mexicans, that he was a
fugitive from justice, and had taken refuge in Mexico for three
months, that he made use of the Mexican flag, to the cry of
"Hurrah for the Mexican Republic ! " The jurors conclude,
that there had been an invasion by armed Mexicans, under the
Mexican flag, with hostile intentions towards the authorities of
the State and the nation. That in view of the activity and zeal
with which the authorities, both civil and military, of the
State of Tamaulipas, and especially of Matamoros, endeavored
to relieve the city of Brownsville from the dangers with which
it was surrounded, they were unwilling to believe that the lat-
ter had sustained or aided this piratical invasion.
The report continues by endeavoring to create the impres-
sion, that Cortina's revolt was an act of invasion supported by
the Mexican frontier. It states, that at least three-fourths of
Cortina's companions had until then resided in Mexico, tkat he
had received a reinforcement of fifty men, who arrived from
Monterey under the command of an oflScer ; that not long since,
he had received , the reinforcement of another corps of from
thirty to sixty men, from Victoria, in the State of Tamaulipas,
that his force was under the military management of men who
had acquired their knowledge in the wars of Mexico, and that
he, on his expeditions made use of the Mexican flag. That for
these reasons the jury were convinced that the Mexican popu-
lation in Texas were united in a secret society, whose purpose
was to expel the Americans from the Eio Grande, and that for
this object they were in secret combination with some of the
contending parties in Mexico, from whom they received arms
and ammunition for their ulterior designs, the immediate dis-
covery of which was not possible.
It concluded by expressing the hope that the authorities of
the State would make use of their influence with the Federal
Government to make a treaty or obtain other guaranties from
the Mexican Government in such manner that in future the soil
of Texas should not be sullied by the foot of the invader, nor
the blood of her sons spilled by the hands of these.
«jfl
140 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
The truth is ignored in this report, and those who affected
to ignore it did so with a perfect knowledge of their wrong
^oing.
According to it those who revolted were not Texans by
naturalization or domicile, but Mexican citizens residing in .
Mexico. It was not a local question, but a war of invasion
supported by our frontier, and it was supported by one of the
xjontending parties in the republic during the war of the
reform. Its origin was not questions of private interest but
eomething unknown, ulterior designs on the part of Mexico.
Some criminals broke jail at the city of Victoria, in Ta-
jnaulipas, and fled towards the Bravo river, in search of that pro-
tection which the residents of the left bank always gave to
those who were guilty of crime in Mexico, and this fact is dis-
torted into a confirmation that Tamaulipas lent its support to
the movement which took place in Texas. Our people were
openly reproached, our authorities, though not so, were sus-
pectqil, when doubts were expressed whether a captain's com-
jnission had been issued to Cortina under which he was organ-
izing soldiers with which to invade Texas. They were unwill-
ing to believe that our authorities, after their zeal and activity
in protecting Brownsville, had supported Cortina, but they did
not assert a contrary belief, and appeared to be vacillating.
They spoke of Cortina's having taken refuge in our territory
when he was a fugitive from Texas, and although not even
they themselves said, except in concealed terms, that Cortina
violated the neutrality laws of Mexico, they reproached
our public officers with not molesting him. The grand jury
who did this placed itself in contradiction with the one who,
months after, acknowledged Cortina's citizenship by indicting
him for treason.
It placed itself in contradiction with the documents in its
own archives where were recorded the votes of many of Cor-
tina's companions ; it placed itself in opposition to what its own
press asserted in the beginning concerning the criminals guilty
of crimes committed in Mexico, whom they had stupidly pro-
tected on the left bank of the river, and who were Cortina's
<3ompanions ; they placed themselves in contradiction with the
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 141
agents of the United States, who characterized the movement
as one which had its origin in Texas and was supported by
Texans.
All this was done for a purpose, and that the United States,
exacting guaranties from the Mexican Republic, diflSculties
might be created between the two countries. It was then that the
" motto " which since that time has been in use by the residenta
on the Texas side as against Mexico had its origin — " Compen-
sation for the past^ giearanties for the futwre?'*
Such proceedings appear ungenerous on the part of the
people of Brownsville when but a few days had elapsed since
the protection of the Mexican forces had saved them from
greater misfortunes. It appears ungenerous that so short a
time after this occurrence reproaches and accusations should
Lave been brought against our country, but this was only the
beginning. The time was to arrive when not only the inhab-
itants of the Mexican side of the river, but all its authorities,
were to be openly accused of being the accomplices of Cortina,
and when our frontier was to be constantly menaced and fre-
quently invaded. Cortina's revolt now formed one of the accu-
sations made against the republic. It is now asserted that Mexi-
can forces accompanied Cortina. (No. 1.) (Report of the United
States Commissioners to Texas, page 29.) Among the accusera^
are Mifflin Kennedy, Adolpho Glaevecke and several others
wh© were residents of Brownsville at that time, and who owed
their personal safety to the action of the authorities on this
side. The latter especially was one of the persons against
whom the rebels entertained the deepest hatred. If to-day
those parties recollect those occurrences it is not to show their
gratitude to the Mexican frontier, but to present heavy claims,
against Mexico for losses which they allege they suffered during-
Cortina's raid. Cortina continued within the territory of tha
United States until shortly after his defeat, which occurred on
the 29th of December, 1859. The Mexican authorities from the
commencement foresaw the possibility that parties belonging
to Cortina might cross into Mexico, and had been giving their
orders in anticipation of this occurrence.
On the 3d of October, 1859, the gefatura politica of the
142 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
\ ■ - •
northern district, fearing that the dispersed belonging to the
band of Juan N. Cortina in the neighborhood of Brownsville
might pass over to this side, directed the formation of patrols
to patrol the pastures and arrest all unknown persons or those
whom they had reason to believe ought to be tried and sentenced
as vagrants. At the same time the municipality of Matamoros
gave its orders to have the directions of the gefatura carried
out. On the fourth of the same month the chief of police of
the East answered that he had taken his measures for the pur-
pose mentioned in the foregoing communication, notwithstand-
ing the greater part of that force had crossed by way of the
'' Sabinito."
On the twenty-fourth of the same month, the military com-
mandant at Matamoros, fearful that Cortina might again pass
over to this side by way of the Sabinito ranche, placed a detach-
ment there, with orders to watch the fords of the river, and prevent
the passage of any of the armed forces which were with Juan
N. Cortina, to arrest the fugitives from the prison at Victoria,
Tamaulipas, who it was said had marched in the direction of
the Bravo river, and had been seen at a ranche to the north of
the jurisdiction of San Fernando.
In the month of December, Juan N. Cortina with his force
went up the river to Rio Grande City, Star county. The Mexi-
can authorities then displayed the greatest vigilance along the
bank of the river, the strictest watch was kept on Cortina's
movements, and none of them failed to be reported. At the
time of his defeat, and when it appeared imminent that he would
cross into Mexico, the vigilance was increased, and orders mul-
tiplied to prevent if possible his crossing.
The Mexican authorities considered Cortina's continuance
on the Texas side as a menace to the people and property in
Mexico ; his crossing as an act of invasion ; his permanence on
our frontier as an act of hostility which demanded sacrifice on
the part of the government to remedy, and which kept that
part of the republic in a state of constant alarm. This alarm
was so much the greater inasmuch as the nation was then
fighting for its liberties in the war of reform. The frontier
forces were participating in this struggle in the interior of the
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 143
country, and the menaces towards the population increased in
proportion with the scarcity of their elements for defending
hemselves.
Nevertheless the Mexican authorities fulfilled their duties.
They dispatched forces to quell these disturbances, and confided .
the undertaking to General Guadalupe Garcia. The character
of this campaign was exceptional. Extensive wastes and thick
forests on the frontier permitted an easy escape and a safe
refuge to a band, which the smaller its numbers the greater
would be its faculties for escaping pursuit. The campaign was
not one in which there was even skirmishing, Oortina's party,
too weak to resist any attack, constantly fled, and the pursuit
had to be as tenacious as the flight to prevent him from reorgan-
izing. It was so, but it is easily understood that its consumma-
tion could not be the work of a moment, that only by continual
pursuit and after a certain length of time, could a result be
reached.
Not only the superior authorities contributed to carry out
this end, but the towns also. Forces were orgp,nized in them
which aided these operations. In their archives are found con-
stant notices concerning the movements of Cortina and his
men, they facilitated everything because the support was gen-
eral. General Garcia was taEen sick, the geffe politico of the
district took command of the force, and in June of 1860, suc-
ceeded in driving Juan ,N. Cortina from the bank of the river ;
he took refuge in the Burgos Mountains, and was not heard of
for a long time. The military authorities even exceeded their
powers. At the end of April, 1860, they made an arrange-
ment with the officer commanding the United States forces to
cross a cavalry force into Mexico, which in company with that
under the command of Major Jose Maria Zufiiga was to pur-
sue Cortina ; Major Zuniga did not go upon the expedition, but
Major Cecilio Salazar did, and was directed to place himself in
concert with the officer commanding the American forces, for
the better execution of his commission, if it had already crossed
the river. This force which was to visit Mexico, by virtue of
the agreement of April, 1860, did not finally cross, but by
these arrangements, which were beyond the attributes of the
144 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
military authority on the frontier, and which the Commission
is compelled to condemn, is shown the desire on the part of
those oflScers to obtain the destruction of Cortina's band.
The Mexican authorities not only engaged in the pursuit of
it but also in its suppression. A large number of the individ-
uals who accompanied Cortina, and whose names appear in the
" espedientes," were arrested and tried by court martial. Bj
the instructions given on the 25th of May, 1860, by the com-
mander of the Bravo line to Major Cecilio Salazar, engaged in
the pursuit of Cortina, he was ordered to shoot all of those be-
longing to the band whom he might arrest or apprehend. In
compliance with this order, Florencio Hernandez was shot. On
the 5th of July, 1860, id addition to those who had been
already imprisoned, the military judge ordered the imprison-
ment of fifteen individuals w^ho, it was said, had accompanied
the North American Juan N. Cortina on his invasion into
Mexico, and who had taken refuge at some of the ranchos.
The arrest of the greater part of these was effected, and they
were tried ; the^result of which trial the Commission is not in-
formed of, as the archives have been lost.
The documents relating to the occurrences of that time
show that, while the zeal of the 'Mexican authorities increased,
Texas became more exacting. She could not prevent Cortina
and his forces from invading our frontier, and Mexico had just
ground of complaint because the State of Texas showed itself
unable or unwilling to carry out its laws on the banks of the
Bio Bravo, and also because disturbances were there created
which, during several months, were a menace to our lines, a
menace which afterwards resulted in an invasion. Mexico
had to defend herself against this, because she had already suf-
ficient elements of anarchy within her own limits, and she
could not allow those emanating from Texas to be added to
them. Mexico, for the space of six months, was under the
necessity of keeping an army in the field, and suffered from the
natural consequences of such a situation. But, notwithstand-
ing all this, the tables were turned. Complaint was made
against Mexico because she did not speedily exterminate Cor-
tina's band ; she was criminated and accused of having given
I
I^^ORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION.
145
him support and protection on our soil. A volunteer force of
Texans was organized (the rangers), men without discipline,
who made a series of invasions on the Mexican frontier and
there committed the greatest excesses.
The condition of our towns on the frontier was then most
difficult. It was necessary for them to be organized to protect
themselves against the menace of the. Texan force, and at the
same time protect themselves against Cortina's band, Docu~
ments in the archives and the orders issued show this situation,
and the eflEbrt made to save it. The necessity of being on the
watch against the Texas volunteers prevented a more efflca^
cious pursuit against Cortina.
These aggressions and the menaces made at that time
against the Mexican line by the Texans, show the desire to in-
volve both flfontiers in a conflict in which the two nations would
jsubsequently become involved. They could not have believed
that Cortina would find sympathy with our authorities, because
they must have had the recollection of the proceedings of these
in previous months. In October of 1859, Brownsville had na
forces of any kind whatever. Indifiference at this time on the
part of the Mexican authorities would have been sufficient to-
have allowed this city to have become the victim of its enemy.
They lent the aid of their forces, and when they so conducted
themselves at the time when Cortina's revolt was in force, and
only required inaction on their part, it is unreasonable to sup-
pose that they would await the moment when Cortina should
be routed, a fugitive, and without men to aid him, and then
give him their sympathy. It was certainly unreasonable, but
nevertheless they pretended to believe it in order to decide the
United States to take hostile measures against Mexico..
Colonel Lockridge said, in a correspondence of the 28th of
December, 1859 :
"It is reserved for the future to decide, whether the gov-
ernment will require from the Mexican: government! the deliv-
ery of Cortina, and in the event of the latter's refusal, whether
this will not be a sufficient cause for the immediate occupation
of the northern part of Mexico by our troops, until they in-
demnify us for the past and give us guaranties for the future.*
10
146 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
You may be assured that this is the opinion of every American
now serving in the army. It is undeniable that Cortina has
received assistance and reinforcement from Mexico, and even
that he has crossed the river, and that they have publicly re-
ceived him at Matamoros, Eeynosa, and other points on the
Eio Grande." — American Flag^ Brov^nsville, Jan'y 5th, 1860.
It appears that these intentions were not overlooked by the
American Government. This is revealed in a proclamation
addressed to the people of Texas by Governor Samuel Houston,
on March 24:tb, 1860. In the part of it relating to the disturb-
ances on the Rio Bravo, he stated that he considered it to be
his duty to communicate to his fellow citizens the efforts made
by him to obtain the assistance of the Federal Government on
behalf of the frontier which had been outraged by robbers
organized in Mexico : •
"I believed it to be my duty," he said, "to defer to the
authority of the United States with regard to the invasion of
our soil by Mexico. * * -s^ With a barbarous and cunning
enemy at our doors, there was sufficient reason for my address-
ing the Federal authorities. Fearing that the thousand rumors
with regard to my intentions concerning Mexico might operate
adversely to the employment of our volunteers and the sending
of arms, and desirous of insisting upon the necessity that the
Federal authorities should protect Texas, on the 12th instant
(March, 1860), I addressed the Secretary of War the following
communication."
In this communication Governor Houston refers to a tele-
gram from Washington of the 3d of March, published in a New
Orleans paper, which telegram said :
" The President has disapproved of Governor Houston's
conduct in calling out the Texas volunteers for the defense of
the frontier."
He States, that it is not true that he had sent troops to the
Rio Bravo ; that far from this, when he assumed the government,
that he discharged four companies who were on the Eio Grande,
and that two were subsequently orga,nized by the advice of the
Texas commissioners, who conferred upon the subject with
Major Heintzleman of the United States army, and that these
were under his orders.
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 147
'' If I had GonmlUdr says the communication, '^the wishes
nnd desires of my fellow-citizens^ I would have called into the
service all the disposable forces of Texas^ 1 would have crossed
the Rio Grande^ and never ha/ve recrossed it without having
ohtavned ' guaranties for the future!
" The government of the United States, perhaps crediting
rumors and newspaper articles, supposes that T entertained
some covert design of invading Mexico. * * * It is true,
that since 1857, I have been written to from various places in
the United States, urging me to invade Mexico with a view to
•establishing a protectorate, and assuring me, that men^ money
and arms would be placed at my disposal if I took part in the
undertaking. To these suggestions I have replied unfavorably,
although as an individual I might have co-operated by placing
myself without the jurisdiction of the United States. Nor was
the security wanting that a large portion of the Mexican popu-
lation would receive and co-operate with me, towards the estab-
lishment of order in their country. Nevertheless I have re-
mained quiet and silent, under the hope that the government of
the United States will consummate a policy which must he^ and
which will he carried outy if the wretched inhabitants of this
beautiful region are to be exposed to destruction in a conJUct
with robbeftsP
The intention thus of producing a conflict with Mexico came
not only from the civil and military authorities which Texas
had on its borders, but from its high officers. For this purpose
the facts were first distorted, and afterwards followed a series
of aggressions for which Cortina was the pretext. It w^as well
known that Cortina, subsequent to his defeat, was a fugitive
and a wanderer, witl^but few of his companions, and that not
only was it impossible for him to undertake any attack upon
the left bank of the river, but not even to defend himself
against his pursuers. Nevertheless importance was pretended
to be attached to him to maintain the excitement among the
people of the United States, and drag their government' into
projects of invasion under the semblance of " guaranties for the
future." There were not wanting in General Houston's proc-
lamation the inducements which filibustering always present
to deceive the incautious by supposing a mass of the people
anxious for the invasion of the republic, and ready to aid the
invasion. All means were brought into play to deceive the
148 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
people and the government of the United States. The question*
between the North and the South was then being agitated, and
Governor Houston endeavored to find a solution of it by a war
with Mexico on the Cortina question. A political resort was
sought in it for the internal questions existing in the United
States.
After the volunteers were removed from the banks of the
Bravo the government of Texas became convinced that their
intentions were not supported by the government of the United
States, and the difficulties on the Kio Grande subsided, and
thus, notwithstanding Cortina was not driven from those places
until the month of June, and yet from April to June no diffi-
culties of any kind occurred. This conclusively shows that an
artificial life had been given to him in Texas, and that when it
ceased to serve as a political means for more extended purposes^
that he resumed his natural proportions.
XIII.
After Juan N. Cortina took refuge in the mountains of
Burgos, nothing was heard of him till the following year, and
after the Confederate war had broken out. The Clareno ranche
in Texas had been attacked by the Confederates and several
Mexicans killed. Cortina then came down to the edge of the
river, and aided by the refugees and some Mexicans from Guer-
rero, he invaded Texas by way of the Carrizo, in May of 1861.
On the twenty-third of this same month, he was defeated, and
this was his last attempt on Texas.
He continued a wandering life in Tamaulipas. At the end
of 1661, Jesus de la Serna was declared Governor of this State ;
•a revolution ensued against him, in which Matamoros and
Tampico refused to recognize him. Tamaulipas was for some
time the theater of a civil war, and Cortina endeavored to par-
ticipate in it on behalf of Governor Serna. He made his first
approaches to the authorities at Eeynosa, but these refused to
accept his co-operation, to avoid complications with the Confed-
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 14:9
erates. His second attempt was with the forces who were be-
sieging Matamoros, but the officers in command of these decided
that Cortina ought not to be employed except in the interior of
the State, and at a distance from the river. He then retired,
and placed himself under the orders of General Martin Zayas,
who was operating about Victoria, Taraaulipas, and with whom
he remained during that local war.
•The republic at this time was menaced by the European
intervention. The Federal government, in order to terminate
the conflict in Tamaulipas, at the end of December, 1861, de-
clared it to be in a state of siege, and appointed Santiago Vi-
daurri, the governor of Nuevo Leon, the governor and military
commandant; he transferred his powers to General Ignacio
Comonfort. The contending forces were ordered to place them-
selves nnder the orders of this latter ; some obeyed and others
disbanded — Juan N. Cortina was among the former. By these
means, he succeeded in confirming his position in Mexico, and
entering the army against the European intervention. He
passed through the campaign at Puebla and other places in the
interior, until August or September of 1863, when he was sent
to Matamoros in command of a force of cavalry. General Man-
uel Ruiz being at this time governor and military commandant
of Tamaulipas. At the time of Cortina's arrival at Matamoros
he held the rank of lieutenant-colonel of cavalry in the militia.
The Commission is not informed of the reasons or how he
reached this position.
The situation of the republic at this time was most critical
and deplorable ; the Mexican armies of the center and the east,
at San Lorenzo and Puebla, had been defeated by the invading
forces ; the city of Mexico abandoned by the Federal govern-
ment, and it ready to leave San Luis for refuge on the northern
frontier, with the doubtful co-operation of Santiago Vidaurri,
the governor of Nuevo Leon, without resources and surrounded
.by enemies, its position could not have been more discouraging.
During these moments Lieutenant-colonel Juan N. Cdrtina
commenced a series of revolutions at Matamoros, all with a
view to improving his position. He formed a league with Jose
Maria Cobos, a Spaniard by birth, and a reactionary general of
160 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
Mexico, who had taken refuge at Brownsville. This person
gathered together a certain number of French, Spaniards, and
Mexicans, with whom he crossed to Matamoros, on the night
of the 5th of October, 1863. Lieutenant-colonel Cortina, who
was the officer of the day, pronounced with his corps, and made
such others pronounce with whose subaltern officers he was in con-
nivance. Some officers succeeded in escaping, and others, among
them Governor Euiz, were thrown into prison. The rebel-
lion assumed a reactionary character ; Cobos refused to
recognize the constitution of 1857, and proclaimed himself in
command of the forces. It was clearly a movement in behalf
of the intervention. The views of Cobos were to organize his
elements in such a manner as to make them dependent upon
himself, doubtless for the purpose of getting rid of Cortina ;
but he had no time to realize his intentions. On the night of
the 6th, Cortina threw Cobos and his second in command,
Romulo Villa, a Spaniard, into prison, and, on the morning of
the 2d, shot them both.
On that same day Cortina again recognized Governor Euiz^
and he conferred upon him the rank of colonel ; but, at the
same time that he did this, he endeavored to get the national
guard of Matamoros together, and place himself in a condition
to control Cortina. Cortina, a few hours later, again revolted ;
but, still keeping his rank of colonel, issued a proclamation
raising the state of seige, and calling upon Jesus de la Serna-
to take charge of the government of the State. The latter was
apparently in command, the former was in reality so.
Governor Kuiz had succeeded in escaping, the federal gov-
ernment placed a force, which was marching on Matamoros,
under his command. Arrangements were entered into between
Euiz and Cortina, the result of which was that, on the first of
January, Kuiz took possession of Matamoros, and the latter
was to leave to join the campaign at Tampico. Cortina de-
layed his departure ; another conflict ensued on the 12th of
January, in which Kuiz's forces were defeated. Cortina there-
upon proclaimed himself governor and military commandant
of the State of Tamaulipas, and protested his obedience to the
supreme government.
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 151
The situation of the country could not have been more
arduous.
After the President abandoned San Luis Potosi, it was oc-
cupied by the forces of the intervention, and General Negrete
who attacked the place was defeated. Vidaurri, the governor
of Nuevo Leon, had refused to recognize the federal govern-
ment, which remained at Saltillo without the means of action,
and it was in these moments that the occurrences which we just
mentioned took place. They were more serious than they
appeared to be upon a first view. Matamoros, in consequence
of the blockade of the ports of Texas, had become a great
commercial center for the exploration of cotton and the trade
with Texas ; its resources amounted to a considerable sum, and
they were the only ones at the disposal of the government.
It, under these most difficult circumstances, accepted the con-
dition of things which had been consummated at Matamoros,
and shortly after conferred the rank of general on Cortina.
While General Cortina was governor, about the middle of
1864, he entered into double negotiations with the Confederates
and the agents of the United States. The result of the former
was a species of convention partly commercial and partly
political, in which Colonel John S. Ford represented the Con-
federates. The convention was circulated among the Mexican
towns on the banks of the river on the Yth of June, 1864.
One of its niost important stipulations was, that it obliged the
authorities on both sides of the river to permit the goods be-
longing to both governments to cross to either side at the
necessary points. It is clear that a convention of such a
nature could only be of value to the Confederates. But while
Cortina by these means was endeavoring to eradicate the want
of confidence towards himself on the part of the Confederates,
he was engaged in more important negotiations with Pierce,
the United States consul at Matamoros, and with the officer in
command of the forces of the same nation, stationed at Brazes
Santiago. The Commission has been unable to precisely as-
certain the tenor of those negotiations, but they may be pre-
sumed from their results. The French had landed at Bagdad
(the mouth of the river) ; General Cortina went out to attack
152 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
them. Notice was spread among his forces that he had a- safe
retreat in the event of experiencing 'a reverse, because he had
made arrangements with the officers of the United States to
cross with his force into Texas in the event of this occurring.
He advanced on Bagdad the beginning of September, 1864 ;
lie fought the French on the 6th at night; he retired to Burrita,
at which place he directed part of his forces to cross to the
American side^ where they were met by a company of United
States dragoons. The Confederates, who doubtless had notice
of what was occurring, left Brownsville and made two attacks
upon the American and Mexican forces, one at Tulito and the
other at Casa Blanca, in both of which they were repulsed.
General Cortina, with the remainder of his forces, returned
to Matamoros, and this fact as well as the fact that the Mexican
force was met by a company of United States dragoons, shows
that the attack on Bagdad, and the retreat to the United States
in the event of a reverse, were a pretext for placing his forces,
or part of them, at the disposal of the commanding officer of
the United States against the Confederates. There are grounds
for presuming that Cortina, a long time before, had been offered
the command of a regiment of Mexicans in Texas, as the per-
son best adapted to carry on the war on the banks of the Eio
Grande on account of his old antipathies against those who
subsequently became Confederates. There are also slight indi-
cations that, for the purpose of preventing Cortina from join-
ing the forces of the North, Geineral Magruder issued a com-
mission as a confederate general, and gave instructions to have
it offered to him, together with four hundred bales of cotton.
It appears that the negotiation was not initiated with Cortina.
He was now serving the Mexican republic ; its situation was
compromised, because all the frontier was in the possession of
the Imperialists. After having placed a portion of his forces
>at the disposal of the commanding officer of the United States
at Brazos, he, with the remainder, in September, 1865, sub-
mitted to the empire. The commencement of the following
year, when General Negrete was approaching Matamoros,
General Cortina revolted against the. empire. From that time
he has continued in the service of the republic, on the frontier
i
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 153
up to the beginning of 186T, and in the interior, or the State
of Tamaulipas, up to 1870, at which time he returned to the
line of the Bravo.
XIV.
Two kinds of feelings have predominated against General
Cortina on the Texas frontier, or rather a single feeling under
two aspects, a personal hatred due to his revolt in 1859, and a
political hatred arising from his league with the northern forces
in 1864. He was also considered a source of disquietude.
That hatred and this disquietude gave rise to two different
opinions upon General Cortina's return to the frontier in 1870 ;
some thought it desirable that the authorities of Texas should
pardon Cortina ; they deemed that by confirming his position
in the United States that all grounds of fear would be re-
moved ; others tenaciously opposed the pardon. Cortina, at
the beginning of 1871, addressed a petition to the government
of Texas asking for a pardon ; it was submitted to the legis-
lature of the State, inasmuch as it involved the making of a
law or the passing of an act, as he had never been sentenced
upon the indictments pending against him. This petition was
urged by various residents of Cameron County, and, among
them, Mifflin Kennedy, as there were also indictments pending
against Cortina in Star County, a certain numUSr of the in-
habitants there were also in favor of the pardon. One of the
reasons by which they supported it was the important protec-
tion given by Cortina during the years 1864 and 1865 to
American citizens belonging to the Union party during the
late civil war.
These petitions were favorably received by the legislature
of the State of Texas, but the rest of the inhabitants of the
United States frontier, particularly at Brownsville, where they
opposed all idea of a compromise with Cortina, succeeded in
dissipating the favorable impressions which had been created.
Simultaneously with these petitions for pardon, the accusa-
154
REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
tion was originated against General Cortina that he protected
cattle stealing in Texas. Previously they talked about bands
organized in Mexico, of the protection given by the authorities,
but never had any direct charge been brought against General
Cortina until the question of his pardon was agitated. It is
incredible that when this matter presented so favorable an as-
pect, that General Cortina would have jeopardized the result
by taking an active part in cattle stealing. The antecedents
make it presumable that these accusations were the machina-
tions of his enemies to defeat the pardon, because it was impos-
sible that this would be granted to a pei'son who, at the mo-
ment of soliciting it, was rendering himself guilty of new
crimes. Of those who had previously supported the pardon
the greater number retracted, to follow the stronger current.
That which at its commencement was an intrigue, subsequently
became converted into a system. The former was merely per-
sonal in its purposes ; the latter was more extended in its views,
because it arrived at the conclusion that it was necessary to de-
mand from Mexico "compensation for past injuries, and guar-
anties for the future."
This system was continuous. No crime was committed on
the Texas side in which General Cortina's influence was not
seen ; his desire was to make war upon the Americans. Not a
cow was stolen in Texas, but General Cortina's hand was dis-
covered in it. When a fact really occurred, it was disguised
under the darkest colors, and when there were no facts, these
were invented.
But before commencing the analysis of these, the Commis-
sion should refer to a circumstance which has most singularly
favored those accusations. The revolution at Monterey was
threatening when, on the first of October, 1871, General Cor-
tina commenced the organization of a cavalry corps called
" Fieles de Cai'tina^'* composed in its greater part of adven-
turers from both frontiers. The Commission have ascertained
in its investigation, that many people of the worst reputation
joined it. Later, he organized another corps called " JScpZora-
dores^^ consisting in part of the same characters.
Before this occurred, the charges were made with special
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 15^
reference to General Cortina. No other officer or soldier of
the army was mentioned, because in reality there was none
other to accuse, and consequently the reproaches were confined
to general statements as to robbers* organized in Mexico under
the protection of General Cortina. At most the Lugos, or
some other notorious robber, of those who were marauding on
both frontiers, was named, and of these it was said they were
Cortina's accomplices.
But from the moment of the organization of the corps of
" Fieles de Cortina " there was something definite. Men were
seen in the service who had been in prison for robbery, or
whom the public considered guilty of these crimes; several
of them were known to have been accomplices in the cattle
stealing which had been committed in Texas, and therefore the
accusations had a greater appearance of truth.
Other circumstances occurred which might well have caused
the best disposed to doubt. That force consisted principally of
men undisciplined and immoral, and who remained but a short
time in the service. They frequently 'deserted, stealing both the
horse they rode and their arms ; several of them did so within a
few days, and others after two or three months of service. In
order to avoid the pursuit to which they were exposed on
account of their desertion, they took refuge in Texas, where,
in all probability, they returned to their previous life of crime
and robbery.
It was natural that anybody who might have seen these
individuals among General Cortina's forces the day before, and
on the following one should see them in Texas, although not
admitting the accusations made against this latter, would
vacillate with regard to his conduct, especially if the former
were found complicated in any robbery.
In the complaints brought against Mexico, these circum-
stances have been made use of. The guilty have been sought
among those who served in the corps of " Fieles de Cortina,"
or " Exploradores," but as the people of Texas were ignorant of
the length of time during which the parties they accused were
in the service, the result has been that when they have fixed a
date for the occurrences stated by them, the latter appear to
I '
156 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
have been prior or subsequent to the time when the accused
parties served under the orders of General Cortina, and while
that person was a private individual. There is but a single
exception, and that is of Captain Sabas Garcia, who is accused
of having crossed from Texas into Mexico with a herd of stolen
cattle at the end of 1871 (1).
The Commission, in its investigations, have acquired proof
that Garcia was guilty of cattle stealing in Texas, but they
believe that there is no ground for charging him with the com-
mission of this crime during the time that he was in service.
In order to make an estimate of the aggregate value of the
proofs in support of the complaints, it is proper to make some
remarks.
I In order to show that soldiers of the Mexican army com-
mitted robberies in Texas, it has been stated, and some assert
that they saw it, that, in March, 1872, seventy or eighty
armed and uniformed Mexicans had five or six hundred head
of cattle on the Mexican side, in front of the Florida ranche,
,Texas (2).
The incorrectness of this is shown when we consider that
the force consisting of adventurers, and among which the com-
plainants in Texas have sought the guilty, because only thus
would the complaint made by them be plausible, had no uni-
forms.
Jose Maria Martinez, R. Echazarreta, and F. Milan, or
Millan, are accused of a robbery committed in Texas in May
of 1872, and it has been asserted that they were then in -the
service of Mexico under General Cortina's orders (3). Neither
of the three individuals mentioned have served on the frontier
since 1870, at least, and with regard to the first he was a
captain of the United States forces, commissioned to confiscate
cattle, afterwards a robber and a captain of robbers in Texas,
from whence he crossed into Mexico, where he continued com-
mitting robberies on both frontiers, until he was pursued and
killed by the Mexican military commissioners.
It is said of Pedro Jurado, Pedro Lugo, and R. Echazar-
reta, supposing them to be Cortina's officers, that they were at
the Calabozo ranch, in March, 1872, on a cattle stealing enter-
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 15T
prise (4). The truth of this charge with regard to Pedro Ju-
rado is doubtful, because he was killed on the fifth of that same
month in an encounter with the revolutionists. With regard
to Lugo it is absolutely impossible that what is stated of him
can be true, because he was killed on the 2d of February in a
fight with a force which overtook his band of robbers at the
Albercas.
Of General Cortina it is stated that, in August of 1871, he
was counter-branding cattle at Santa Fe (5). Thes^ cattle be^
longed to the heirs of Pedro Bouchard, were sold to General
Cortina by Kafael Garcia, of Texas, and received by him at
the Laguna of Santa Fe, where the purchaser branded it with
his own brand.
While acknowledging the integrity of Colonel Arocha, it
was, nevertheless, said of him, that, during his residence at
Mier, he had in his corrales a hundred head of Texan cattle ;
it was not stated that these were stolen, but it was so intimated^
(6.) These cattle belonged to George Petit Grew, the owner of
the Arroyo of Alamo, Texas, and who resided at Corpus. He
imported them into Mexico, with the intention of carrying-
them into Nuevo Leon. This was during a time of revolution,
and all traffic with that State had been prohibited ; the cattle
were seized and inclosed by General Arocha, at Mier, until
General Cortina was informed of the fact, when he directed the
release of the cattle, because Petit Grew showed that the au-
thorities at Guerrero had given him a permit. Petit Grew sold
these same cattle in Mier to Ramon Guerra.
A robbery of horses, stolen from Albert Champion at the
Torrana, Texas, in February of 1871, is mentioned, and accus-
ing Ildefonso Salinas, who is styled a captain, under Cortina's
orders, of it. Champion states a conversation which he saya
that he had with General Cortina, in which Cortina stated that
Salinas, on the night of the robbery, was in camp, and added,
" Champion, you are mad with Salinas for something." (7.)
The Commission, without assuming to defend Salinas's credit,
which is not the best, and without defending him jfrom the
charge brought against him, because it is not in possession of
the necessary data to do so, nevertheless thinks that the state-
158 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
ment is incorrect, because Salinas was not a captain in General
Cortina's forces at the time the robbery was committed. He
enlisted as lieutenant of the first company of the corps " Fieles
de Cortina" on the first of October, 18T1, and served as such
until the 30th of November of the same year. He again en-
listed on the 31st of December, 1871, as captain of the fourth
company of " Exploradores," and was discharged on the 21st
of May, 1872. No error in the date is to be supposed, because
the Brownsville papers of the month of February, 1871, speak
,of the robbery of Champion. It is consequently impossible
that General Cortina could have expressed himself in the
terms attributed to him, giving Salinas a position which he did
not hold, and calling him an officer in his force. To subsequent
accusations made against General Cortina by the Brownsville
press concerning this matter, he answered by a communication,
stating that Albert Champion wrote to him on the 13th of
February, 1871, informing him of the robbery, and requesting
him to pursue the robbers ; that he did so, and of the nine
horses which were stolen, seven were found on the lands belong-
ing to the hacienda of the Yaqueria, and returned to Champion.
In August of 1871, a band of robbers were driving a herd
of stolen cattle in Texas. While crossing it, they were attacked
on the United States side of the river and fled, after having suc-
ceeded in passing eighteen head into Mexico, which they also
abandoned. On the following day, these cattle were recovered
by Macario Cruz, the justice of the peace at Pedernal, and
placed at the disposal of the authorities.
In alluding to this fact it was stated that more than a hun-
dred head of cattle were recovered ; that the justice of the
peace in his first notice to the authorities at Matamoros, did
not state the number ; that shortly after General Cortina ar-
rived, and upon being informed of the occurrence, directed the
justice to make a second report stating the number of cattle to
be eighteen, and that after the lean ones were separated from
the others, the remainder were sold by Cortina to his agents.
This statement is a tissue of falsehoods. The Commission
investigated the number of reports made by the justice of the
peace, and there was but one, in which the facts and the num-
f
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 159
ber of head of cattle was stated. Upon an investigation of the
facts, it was ascertained that the residents of that part of the
country, on account of the drought, had driven more than a
hundred head of cattle to pasture on the farm of Angel Bena-
vides ; that the attempt was made to drive the stolen cattle
through this same farm, and some of the stolen cattle had re-
mained there; that notice of this was given to the justice of
the peace, and he took up all the cattle, in order that each
party might point out that which belonged to him, and thus
show exactly that which belonged to other people ; that eighteen
had remained unclaimed, and of these he made report to the
authorities at Matamoros ; that General Cortina was not there,
and probably never heard of the occurrence.
It is useless to pursue further this series of remarks. From
the *' espedientes " formed by the Commission various others
are derived, but the foregoing are sufficient to show how un-
scrupulous were, first the papers of Brownsville, and subse-
quently the persons who have testified under oath with regard
to the facts, either by distorting the circumstances, or stating
palpable falsehoods. The Commission cannot but fix its atten-
tion on the grounds upon which the complainants of Texas rest'
the charges brought against General Cortina. These grounds
consist of Apolinar Hernandez and Gregorio Yillareal, (1) who
served under the command of General Cortina. Hernandez
served a month and a half in the " exploradores " corps, and
Villareal about four in the " fieles." With regard to this per-
son, the testimony produced by the complainants show, that
Yillareal was to some extent an accomplice in the cattle steal-
ing (2). With regards to the first named, he is a fugitive from
Mexico, by reason of orders issued by General Cortina to pur-
sue him for horse stealing, he was also caught " infraganti " at
the Encenada, by Mexican forces, while driving stolen horses
toward the bank of the river, and fled.
The Commission by .its own experience is convinced, that
although to a certain extent the testimony of parties accom-
plices in the robberies is admissible, it is not the less proper to
receive it with suspicion. It is impossible to believe them as
though they were honorable people, and still less to give their
160 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
statements the weight of an unquestionable truth, upon which
to condemn the authorities of another country.
The Commission has remarked that the parties most com-
plicated in the robberies have been the most extravagant in
their charges against Mexico. Adolpho Glaevecke, who had
a band of robbers on his ranche for the purpose of stealing
horses from Mexico, and who subsequently speculated in cattle
stolen in Texas ; Thadeus Ehodes, who was the accomplice
and instigator of a band of robbers who were for a long time
a terror in the vicinity of Eeynosa ; William D. Thomas (alias
Eed Tom), a horse thief in Mexico, and a cattle thief in Texas;
Tomas Vazquez, of the same stripe ; Marcos Sanchez, Severia-
no Hinojosa, Justo Lopez, and various others who in Texas
acted in concert with a band of robbers commanded by Jose
Martinez to deliver them stolen cattle, and Cecilio Vela, a
criminal and fugitive from Mexico, are among those who have
shown most zeal in criminating our frontier.
The base of the proofs in questions such as the present .ia
to be found in the criminal statistics. An Qxamination of the
archives of the courts of Texas show the great number of
parties who have participated in cattle stealing. Although the
delinquents may succeed in evading the law ; although they
may be acquitted, criminal cases always leave their traces after
them, and they must always be the principal source of infor-
mation in questions of this nature. Crime has its ramifications^
and especially cattle stealing, which to a certain extent can
only be carried on by bands. Those who to-day gather to-
gether for the purpose of committing a robbery, separate the
following day, to again connect themselves with others, and in
this manper, at the end of a certain length of time, the traces
of their crimes are found among a multitude of criminals*
When the law overtakes a criminal, the investigation of hi&
crime is the examination of facts in which other parties are
complicated. They may not be imprisoned, no sentence may
be pronounced against them, but on the records of the court i&
registered a record of their deeds. If Mexi(^an soldiers bad
been guilty of depredations in Texas, if these depredations
had been of a systematic character, extending over a number
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 161
of years, there cannot fail to^b^ d^ta establishing this fact in
the criminal cases in Texas. There is where the grounds of
accusation against the armed force of Mexico should be looked
for. General Cortina's conduct on the frontier presents itself
to the Commission stripped of the character with which it has
been sought to clothe it. Far from this, when his military
duties permitted him, during the agitated period that he re-
mained on the banks of the Bravo, he pursued and punished
criminals. His enemies acknowledged this before General
Cortina applied for pardon, or his petition was made public.
One of the Brownsville papers {The Sentind^ January 27th,
1871), recognized General Cortina's disposition to aid in supr
pressing robbery. A conversation is mentioned, held with him
upon this subject, in which the General suggested various ideas,
expressing the necessity which existed for the co-operation of
the authorities of Texas. So persuaded was this paper of the
loyalty of General Cortina's intentions, that its article con-
cluded by saying :
"A better opportunity perhaps may not present itself
again in many years to tree this frontier from the criminals
who have been following their raids on society, devastating and
even murdering. Not to take advantage of the circumstance
is to neglect the interests and happiness of the residents of this
valley.'
When this was written. General Cortina had been several
months on the frontier.
There was ground enough for this confidence. The same
paper furnished the notice that on the Texas bank, there was a
meeting of robbers for the purpose of crossing into Mexico and
cutting down a criminal who had been hung by General
Cortina.
But all this changed with the question of the pardon. His
present faults were not in fact the cause which gave rise to the
change, but the personal hatreds growing out of his revolt in
1859, and the political ones, which originated from his partici-
pation in 1864 against the Texans. at Brownsville. Neverthe-
less, now and then some of the most excited yielded to the
11
162 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
evidence of truth, and their acknowledgments are General
Cortina's acquittal.
At the beginning of 1872, a police force was organized un-
der General Cortina's direction for the pursuit of robbers.
The organization was formed by voluntary contributions made
by the land owners, and he was one of those contributors.
The first act of this force was the rout of the Lugos' band,
which accompanied Sanchos Uresti. Here is what a Browns-
ville paper said upon the subject :
" The recent fight, between Captain Amador and Colonel
Uresti, has given us much food for refiection. We find among
the names of the killed, wounded and prisoners, those of well
known cattle thieves, for example, the Lugos, who certainly
did not belong to Cortina's forces. This person may perhaps
have been made the scapegoat for the sins of others." — Daily
Ranchero^ Brownsville, February 7th, 1872.
A newspaper stated this, which nevertheless before had
constantly made use of the name of the Lugos to reproach
General Cortina. All the charges, more or less, were about as
follows : '^ Pedro Lugos and other captains of cattle stealing
bands, report to Cortina and receive orders from him."
The most singular is, that months after, when the com-
plaints were brought against Mexico, the Lugos were again
spoken of as General Cortina's accomplices, and still more sin-
gular is it, that Pedro Lugo, who was killed on the 2d of Feb-
ruary, 1872, was declared to be alive in the, March following,
and one of Cortina's officers ; it was asserted that in this month
he was engaged in a robbery (1).
It is comprehensible how there might have been an error
of date, but in this case, to the anachronism is added the want
of correctness in the facts, and such want is inexcusable,
because events of public notoriety and within the knowl-
edge of all, show the contrary. The Commission, although
holding this opinion, believe that the occurrences with which
General Cortina has been mixed up on the frontier since
1859, show the propriety of his not holding any public office
whatever there. The events of 1863 and 1864, relating to in-
terior politics, must also cause him to be always viewed as a
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 163
cause of alarm, and although this may be unfounded, the want
of tranquility will always prevail fn the minds of men with
regard to our interior peace.
His presence on the line of the Bravo in an official capacity
will thus always be a difficulty for the interior, and the cause
of complications between both frontiers. Some parties will
zealously spread the most absurd rumors, and the more absurd
they are the more readily will they be credited by the timid,
on account of their predisposition to believe them. If these
rumors are examined, their groundlessness will be apparent ;
yet they are brought forth with such remarkable tenacity
that the time may come when the impartial will believe, or at
least doubt. This course of conduct, which, with regard to
another individual, would be treated with contempt, plays
upon feelings created by previous occurrences, with which all
are prejudiced and ready to believe without discussion. The
person, then, against whom these feelings are entertained, is a
constant menace, and after the lapse of a certain length of time
so great would be the prejudice engendered that no human
power could destroy it. This is what has occurred with re-
gard to General Cortina, and both the requirements of our
interior policy and our foreign policy on the frontier require
that he should hold no public office in that part of the
country.
The Commission also deem it indispensable to fix its
attention upon the organization of irregular troops on the
frontier, such as those raised at the end of 1871.
Not only the experience of our own frontier, but also that
of Texas, confirms the inexpediency of this kind of forces.
Further on, the Commission will refer to the serious disorders
committed by the irregular forces of the United States, or by
Texas volunteers (rangers). These occurrences, and the diffi-
culties to which the troops before mentioned gave rise on our
frontier, show conclusively the necessity that none but fully
disciplined forces should ever be used on either side of the
frontier.
164 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
XV.
The Commission has previously shown that, at the com^
mencement, the accusations made against General Cortina
were a personal intrigue, and that they were subsequently
continued for the purpose of strengthening the vague accusa-
tions which up to that time were directed against our au-
thorities. For several months facts were invented, or those
which really occurred were distorted, and when it was deemed
that the public mind had been sufficiently prepared, it was pro-
claimed that it was necessary to exact from Mexico " compen-
sal/ion for the past and guaranties for the future,^'* The first
part of this motto is synonymous with claims against the re-
public ; the latter part, to a war of conquest on the part of the
United States against Mexico. From the moment that this
vast horizon was perceptible, complaints increased in their in-
tensity ; they were bitter, and accompanied by all that interest
or passion could add to them. The Commission also considers
it as its duty to examine the value of that motto in connec-
tion with the facts proven, and for this purpose will express its
opinion with regard to the complaints and the complainants.
The property of several of these is found in Bee, Refugio,
Goliad, and San Patricio counties, which are situated on the
other side of the Nueces river. They state that on account of
the " Northers " their cattle wandered to the South, where the
robberies are committed, and that then they suffered losses-
By the investigation made by the Commission it is ascertained
that this is impossible. Cattle which pasture on the other side
of the Nueces, never cross this river either by reason of the
Northers or the storms vulgarly called " snow-rains." The
shelter which on these occasions the cattle seek, is found in a
strip of woods running along the whole length of the Nueces
river ; this, moreover, is marshy, and its fords well determined.
Even to bring cattle there, hard driving is necessary, because
they will not come voluntarily. That the cattle do not cross
to the south of the Nueces is proved by the fact that the
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 165
herders of the North, In general, do not cross that part of the
•country for the purpose of herding there, which they would
not fail to do in a contrary case.
It is imposible for the cattle stealing done on the margin
of the Rio Grande to reach those counties, nor can it reach
the Nueces, as they try to maintain. When a robbery is
<5ontemplated, the easiest mode is preferred, and it is not
necessary to go a distance from the banks of the Bravo
to steal cattle ; herds enough are to be found within twenty
leagues of its margin. The greater the distance to be trav-
eled, the greater are the dangers; and hence it is not pre-
sumable that the cattle stealer would unnecessarily expose
himself to these, when with a great deal less risk he might
carry out his intentions. One of the complainants is Henry
Scott, a resident of Eefugio county, commonly called, on
the banks of the Bravo river, Higi/nio Scott, On the thirty-
first of May, 1863, the Court of First Instance, at Matamoros,
tried Eugenio Leal, Felipe Rodriguez, and Susano Cisneros :
the first a runaway servant, and the two last residents of
Nacogdoches and Corpus Christi, for the robbery of four
horses. From the evidence in the case it appeared that there
was an American at Brownsville, named H. Scott, who pur-
chased stolen animals, and sent somebody here to receive them
and cross them. Rodriguez did this on that occasion, and he
and his accomplices confessed that they supported themselves
by this trajQSc.
In order to judge what each one of the land owners between
the Bravo and the Nueces may really have lost, one of the
points for making the calculation is the statements made by
them for the payment of their taxes. If any of them have not
paid their taxes, this implies either that they have cheated the
State, or committed perjury by complaining of the loss of
property which they never owned, which is most probable.
If some, in later years, have paid taxes upon an equal or a
greater number than they did during the previous ones, it is
beyond doubt that they experienced no losses ; or if they did,
they were so trifling as not to have aflected the bulk of their
property. If a year later they paid taxes upon an amount less
166 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
than they did the year before, it would be necessary yet to as-^
certain that there was no fraud in this proceeding, that the
cattle had really diminished in numbers, and that the origin of
the difference was not the drought or the stealing among the
cattle owners themselves, but that owing to Mexican robbers.
The fiscal statistics of Texas must necessarily be an in-
dispensable aid in this aspect of the question, in order to esti*
mate the correctness of the complaints ; and when the depart-
ments furnish the best proofs, the statements of witnesses
become unimportant, especially if they contradict each other
in their evidence. The Commission regrets that, at the time
of making up this report, it had not received the various and
numerous reports which it solicited, concerning the cattle and
cattle owAers in Texas generally, since 1860, and with regard
to each one of the complainants individually, since the year in
which they state they commenced experiencing losses; this
information is one of the means to form a history of the
fortune which they possess in cattle. The Commission thus
confines itself to estimates, not very precise, but which show
what there really is of truth in the complaints. The people
of Texas, in order to create an impression with regard to their
losses, set forth that the cattle in the region between the Bravo
and the Nueces, had diminished from one-third to one-fourth,,
between the years 1866 and the middle of 1872 (1). The Com-^
mission previously examined this statement with regard to the
State of Texas, and without maintaining that there was or not
such a diminution, and still less determining the amount of the
depreciation, it confined itself to showing that in the event of
its having been so, reasons for it were not wanting, and further
postponed until now the examination of this same question in
its special connection with the complainants. Taking Cameron
and Nueces counties as an example, where the complaints have
been greatest, by reason of the number of persons and the.
amounts, the fiscal statistics for the payment of taxes published
in the Texas Almanac for the years 1869, 1870 and 1872, fur--
nish the following result :
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION.
167
DO Q
0(
00
00
5§
8§ ^
*o to
-* 00
oa
s
00
00
liO
§
•4
Hones.
Yalae.
Cattle.
Value.
Horses.
Value.
Cattle.
Value.
to
00
Horses.
00
•a
8S
00
«»
1-»
*?
-:J
Value.
-^
p
M
00
1
l-L
gs
^
^
^
Cattle.
^
1
M.
S
Value.
*o
H*
^
g
00
3
00
o
The foregoing statement proves that in these counties,
far from a loss of two-thirds being announced, from 1867 to
1870, on the contrary, cattle and horses had been on the in-
crease. The jSscal statistics should also furnish some indication
of this diminution, in case there was any, either on account of
the fact that the heavy robberies are dated as commencing in
1866, or because the commencement of the depreciation of the
cattle is assigned to that year. This further corroborates
that the losses must have been really of very little importance,
since they exerted no influence upon the fiscal statistics for the
168
REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
payment of taxes. In these counties, cattle have been sold, ex-
ported, shipped to Kansas, consumed, stolen, and destroyed for
their hides, and nevertheless, cattle upon which taxes were
paid were on the increase up to 1870.
In order to estimate the complaints at their just value, the
Commission submit a statement of the total, which a very small
number of persons, residing in Cameron and Nueces counties,
allege they lost by robberies committed by bands of armed
Mexicans :
No. 2.
Cameron.
Naeces . .
CATTLE.
80
88
4>
«8 S a
143,T76
828,648
2
4)
s
£
c
M
-a
eS
$1,487,766
8,286,480
82,742
680,897
4)
3
S
c»
5
9
$824,720
6,808,970
HOBSES.
11
18
s « .
s 5: o
O cS 0)
4) 9 S
I^S
5,712
7,008
2
$179,640
848,605
S
»4
I
1,425
10,106
o
9
2
$45,750
484,540
A comparison of both these statements show that twenty
owners in Cameron county complain of losses of cattle equal to
five times the total number upon which taxes were paid in all
the county for the year 1867 ; to more than four times the num-
ber on which taxles were paid in 1868, and nearly four times
that of 1 870. In Nueces county, thirty-three persons state that
they have experienced losses amounting to double, on the aver-
age, of the number of cattle upon which taxes were paid in the
county during the same years. With regard to horses, the in-
correctness and exaggeration is noticeable, although not to so
great an extent. Taking into consideration all the complaints
for cattle stolen of which the Commission is informed, it is
found that eighty-two persons show a loss of more than twenty-
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 169
five millions, that is, three-fourths of the total value of all the
horses and cattle in Texas in 1870.
In view of the unanswerable objections which the statistics
would show, not with regard to the indirect losses, but the
direct losses, it has been attempted to explain, that inasmuch
as the pastures are open the herds spread themselves over a
vast extent of country, and that the true total is greater than
the number designated for the payment of taxes ; that as this
does not ocOur with regard to the horses, because they are more
careful, a more exact statQpaent of their number can be given.*
Such observations with regard to the cattle is equivalent to
the owners saying that they do not exactly know the amount
of their property for the payment of taxes, and state it approx-
imately ; but if this is so, their want of knowledge with regard
to their property should be an obstacle to their designating
their losses. Nevertheless, some have done it with such pre-
cision that they have not overlooked the most trifling frac-
tion. For example, Richard King & Co. make their direct
losses between 1866 and 1869 amount to one hundred and
eight thousand three hundred and thirty-six head ; Henderson
Williams to four thousand four hundred and thirty-six ; Dimas
Tores Velasquez to seven thousand eight hundred and ninety-
three. Now, neither of these three parties have forgotten the
trifling fraction of six, five and three, which shows that they
have a most exact knowledge of their property. With regard
to horses, the remark states that it does not apply to them, yet
eighteen breeders of Nueces county, and eleven in Cameron,
state that they lost a number which, compared with the total
number in these counties, would have produced the annihila-
tion of the breed of horses ; nevertheless, the statistics show
that there was a considerable increase in this line. *
* After having extended this report, the Vice Consul at San Antonio furnished
the statistical reports taken from the archives at Austin with regard to the property
ezistiDg in the counties between the Bravo and Kueces. These reports com-
mence with the year 1860, those relevant begin with 1866. These counties are
Cameron, Hidalgo, Starr, Webb, La Salle, Eucinal, Duval, Zapata, Live Oak, Mc-
170 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
Apart from these general considerations, which suggest the
strongest doubts against the claims made, there are certain mo-
Mullen, and Nueces, and it is asserted that these are the ones which have suf-
fered most from . the depredations committed by bands of robbers organized in
Mexico, being the counties most adjacent to the river bank.
The last report shows that the number of cattle in the eleven counties referred
to, so far from haying diminished a third or a fourth part in 1872 compared with
what it was in 1856, as the complainants in Texas assert, had, on the contrary,
doubled (Report of the United States Commissioners to Texas, page 6, at the
close).
It is also shown that the business of stock raising has becA in these same
counties on the increase up to 1871. The body of the report contains an explana-
tion of the probable causes which gave rise to the decrease in the year referred
to, so much so that the tax lists for 1872 showed a falling off in the amount. The
stealing on the banks of the Rio Grande could not have been one of such causes,
because in assigning this cause a commencement long prior, it would have caused
the diminution of the cattle in years previous to 1871, if steahng had been the
cause of such diminution in the number of the cattle in the last of the years re-
ferred to. The g^eat exportation of cattle and hides and the drought, explain
the reasons why cattle began to diminish in 1871.
In the complaints submitted for depredations committed in Texas against
Mexico up to the end of 1872 (Report of United States Commissioners, page 48),
there appear only sixty-five owners from the eleven counties lying between the
Bravo and the Nueces. These sixty-five persons state that they lost five hun-
dred and nineteen thousand five hundred and four head, which, at the rate of ten
dollars per head, amounts to more than five millions of dollars for direct damages.
They further state, that they lost nine hundred and fifty one thousand four hun-
dred and twenty-nine head (951,429) as consequential damage, or nine and a half
millions of dollars.
Rejecting this latter species of damage, and considering simply the direct
damage, and comparing this with the statistical information as to the number of
owners, the total number of cattle, and t]j^e total amount of property in these
eleven counties, the following conclusions are arrived at :
In the year 1872 there were (2,367) two thousand three hundred and sixty-
sreven cattle owners in these eleven counties, and they owned among the whole of
them a total of (368,352) three hundred and sixty-eight thousand three hundred
and fifty-two head of cattle. Now, then, (65) sixty-five of these cattle owners
assert that they have been robbed of a number of cattle vastly in excess of all
that was owned by the (2,637) two thousand six hundred and thirty-seven owners,
including, among these, the claimants themselves.
The value of the cattle in these same counties, in 1872, was ($1,361,217) one
million three hundred and sixty-one thousand two hundred and seventeen dollars,
distributed among the 2,637 owners referred to. Nevertheless, sixty-five of these
assert that bands of Mexicans have robbed them alone to the amount of mor&
►
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 171
tives peculiar to the Texans, motives partially connected with
their interests and, to a certain extent, to their character. A
than ($6,000,000) five inillionB, that is to say, more than three times the yalae of
all the cattle existing in that locality.
The total amount of property in these same counties, in the year 1872,.
amounted to a little more than six millions of dollars (|6,000,000).
. This amount helonged to a multitude of persons, both merchants and the
owners of real estate, and yet, (65) sixty-five persons composing, part of this num-
her, assert that they lost five-sixths of the total yalue of all the property existing
between the Bravo and the Nueces !
This comparative examination may be extended to each one of the years from
1866 up to 18T2. It may also be made by comparing with each other the statis-
tics of all the years, to estimate the change between one year and another in the
number of the owners, the number of cattle, a,nd the value of the property ; but
in whatever light it be examined, it is Incomprehensible how sixty-five persons
could have been robbed of a number of cattle greater than the total belonging to
all the owners, in each of the years from 1866, including the complainants them-
selves. If the consequential damages are taken into consideration, the amount of
the losses is nearly ($15,000,000) fifteen millions of dollars ; now, if this loss is
estimated only with regard to sixty-five owners, the loss by (2,367) two thousand
three hundred and sixty-seven cattle owners in these counties becomes almost
incalculable. It being, then, also incomprehensible how the loss by cattle steal-
ing could reach this amount, inasmuch as, according to the statistics, the total
value of the cattle existing in the counties before referred to is less than a million
and a half of dollars ; the absurdity of the complaints made against the Mexican
frontier become palpably apparent.
The aggregated statistical reports showing that from year to year there has
been a visible increase in stock raising, show the correctness of the views of the
Commission founded upon information of other kinds, and which are stated in
the body of this report, as to the unimportance of the cattle stealing into Mexico.
(1) Among the documents received by the Commission after the extending of
this report, are found statements of the number of horses- and cattle owned by
each one of the complainants, and thQ value of this property according to the
lists made out for the collection of taxes in Texas, during each of the years from
the time they state they commenced experiencing losses. This document is at.
tested by the respective comptroller, and throws a great deal of light upon the
claims made.
Antonio J. Iznaga alleges that he lost, from 1859 to 1872, (10,913) t^n tho^sand
nine hundred and thirteen heads (Report of the United States Commissioners,
page 45, No. 16).
According to the list, in 1859 Iznaga paid taxes on (147) one hundred and
forty-seven heads; in the subsequent years up to 1867, at times, he paid on (250)
two hundred and fifty heads, and at others on (300) three hundred ; during the
following years up to 1872 it was constantly augmenting, and in this latter he
paid taxes on (1,216) one thousand two hundred and sixteen heads. It is incom.
172
REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
study as to the history of their fortune would show whether
they have experienced losses, the extent and cause of these.
preheDsible how so large a number conld have been lost by a person who always
had so smaU an amoant of property in cattle. There are many others in the
same predicament, such as Adolpho Glaevecke, Cornelius Stillman, Dimas Torres,
Henry Scott, and Luis Renaud, the latter of which claims for the loss of (8,334)
dght thousand three hundred and thirty-four heads from 1856, when it appears
.that in 1857 for the first time he commenced paying taxes on eighty heads, and
in the years subsequent up to 1872 his statements show from (260) two hundred
4uid fifty to (300) three hundred heads.
It is useless to enumerate the parties who have presented claims for robberies
which they attribute to bands of MezicaDs, and in whose statements for the pay-
ment of taxes there is found the most palpable proof of their unworthy inten-
tions ; there are some, such as George Krausse, who states that he lost cattle in
1854, in which year, nor in any of the subsequent ones, does it appear that he
ever had any such cattle ; but the most remarkable cases in the series of claims
■are those of the three brothers Champion, who make their losses amount to nearly
a million of dollars.
Albert Champion for the first time had cattle in 1857 to the number of (140)
one hundred and forty head, which number was increased by successiye pur-
chases to (700) seven hundred in 1869. During the subsequent years he paid
taxes on a much less number, so much so that in 1866 he only paid on (25)
twenty-five head, and the number after this date, although increasing, did not
exceed (100) one hundred in 1872. The same remarks apply with regard to the
other two brothers, each of whom at most have stated (300) three hundred head,
while in some of the years the statements did not reach (100) one hundred head,
and in others not (50) fifty. A loss of more than ($900,000) nine hundred thou-
sand dollars is scarcely compatible with such limited means.
The examination of all the documents with regard to the means of the Texan
claimants, show the degree of importance which should be attached to the com-
plaints made against the Mexican frontier, the meaning of these complaintis, and
the purposes which they had in view when they made them. They also corrob-
orate the views of the Commission with regard to the value of the cattle stolen
and carried to the Mexican frontier. Finally, they show that if since 1871 the num-
ber of cattle has diminished between the Bravo and the Nueces, either from natural
causes or by reason of the robbery, a great number of the claimants have rapidly
recuperated their losses, and in view of the customs in Texas, as a general thing
■the losses have not been recuperated by the purchase of cattle from their owners.
OWNERS.
In 1866 1,202
1867 , 1,373
1868 1,446
1869 1,298
1870 1,506
1871 2,303
1872 2,367
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION.
173
The examination of their personal characteristics would show
whether they have good grounds for regretting the existing
disorganization. With regard to the former, the Commission
is only in possession of vague indications, because the point of
departure is to be found in the statistics (1). With respect to
the latter, charges have been brought against several of the
complainants, from which it appears that some of them have
contributed directly and indirectly to the demoralization.
Francisco Iturria, a Mexican by birth, became naturalized and
resided in the United States ; while such, and living at Browns-
ville, he took a most active part in the civil war at Tamaulipas
at the end of 1861. The party to which he belonged triumphed
in Matamoros, and the compensation received for his services
was the commencement of his fortune. When the frontier was
occupied by the forces of the empire he joined them. When
Matamoros was besieged, in October of 1865, by General
The total yalue of the real and personal property in the same counties, and
during the same years, was—
In 1866 $4,022,726
1867 6,894,400
1868 6,249,772
1869 4,342,287
1870 6,746,617
1871.... 6,918,702
1872 6,171,814
The total yalue of the cattle, and the number of the same, in these same
counties, and during the same years, was :
Yeabs.
1866
1867
1868
1869, except Live Oak county,
which is not included in the
' aggregate of this year
1870.
1871 ;
1872
Ndmbea of Cattle.
Value.
192,497
827,264
872,448
$977,106
1,493,161
1,464,002
227,848
415,105
467,109
868,362
880,418
' 1,442,816
1,872,869
1,361,217
174 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
Escobedo, Iturria was so closely allied with the empire that
he was appointed commander of the inner or second line.
"While in this position he maltreated several citizens who re-
fused to take up arms against the republic. Mejia, the
Imperialists' general, prohibited the transit of people and
goods from one side to the other except under special permit.
Such permits with regard to goods were granted by Iturria, or
through his influence, with which a monopoly was established
in his favor. But apart from this, which shows a propensity to
speculate upon our misfortunes, there are other proceedings
more relevant to the present questions.
The Commission has already, for other reasons, stated that
Iturria has two ranches in Texas in which he has sheltered, and
ehelters, parties engaged in cattle stealing ; and not only this,
but one of these he employs Pedro Lucio as a herder. In
addition to him there are also Pedro Cortina, Justo Lopez,
Marcos Sanchez, and Severiano Hinojosa, all of whom have
not only been guilty of cattle stealing in Texas, but, according
to what has been stated before the Commission, belong to those
who were in connivance with the band of Jose Maria Martinez
and Andres Flores. One of these ranches is called " Punta del
Monte," and within its corrales have been found calves belong-
ing to other people, which had been carried there for the pur-
pose of branding them with Iturria's brand ; outside of the
<5orral, cows bearing other brands were lowing, which is a sure
sign that their calves were shut up inside. The calves were let
out, when they immediately followed the cows, an equally un-
mistakable proof that they belong to other people.
The complainants against Mexico state, that in December
of 1871, (370) three hundred and seventy hides were exported
at Matamoros, from " Boca del Eio " for Liverpool, on board
the Sarah Douglass ; the statement is correct, except in some
minor particulars ; the vessel was called the Mary Douglass,
and the exportation took place in November. It is said that
these hides were branded with the brands of Americans, and
were stolen. The Commission thinks that this statement is
correct, and upon investigating who was the exporter, discov
ered that they were exported by the house of Francisco Itur-
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 175
ria, at Matamoros. Furthermore, this house was the only one
which was exporting hides at " Boca del Kio " in 1871, and
« their exportation reached the number of (1,477) fourteen hundred
' and seventy-seven hides. Nevertheless, Francisco Iturria is one
of the parties who complain of the. robberies, and it will ap-
pear strange, that in order to throw the blame upon the Mexi-
can frontier, he has endeavored to support the charges made
against Mexico, or his own complaints, by those same robbers
which are sheltered at his ranche, and that these charge the
bands of robbers organized in Mexico with the cattle stealing.
Adolpho Glaevecke and "William D. Thomas (alias Red
Tom), also complain of the robberies and the losses they have
suffered. In the course of this report, the conduct of both of
these has been shown as to horse stealing in Mexico, and cattle
stealing. in Texas.
The Wrights were among those who initiated cattle stealing
on the Mexican frontier. Availing themselves of the disturb-
ances, they went on to the pasture lands under the pretence of
r looking for their own cattle, and then gathered herds together
belonging to other people, which they subsequently sold in
Mexico. They committed these depredations at the head of a
large band whom they paid, and had for accomplices Patrick
Quinn and 'Billy Mann, and are consequently of the number
who have contributed towards .the demoralization. They even
now continue their depredations on cattle, by selling that be-
longing to other people, or branding other people's calves, a*nd
these men have also raised their voices to assert that they have
been robbed by Mexicans, and that their losses amount to many
thousands of dollars.
It is said of Martin S. Culver, in an article published in
the Texas New Yorker, page 111, and who is held up as an
example showing the facility of acquiring a fortune in Texas,
that he commenced in 1856 by receiving 9k pro rata compensa-
. tion of the "orejano" calves, and had succeeded in amassing
^ a property of which his share was (7,000) seven thousand head
of cattle. It may be doubted how, in so short a time, he has
reached this position, if it is remembered to what, in the de-
176 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
moralized language reigning among the stock raisers on the
Nueces, the name of orejano is given.
H(} also presents himself as one of the victims of robbery. i
Eichard King has in his service a large band ; he makes use
of it for depredating upon other people's cattle, by seizing all of
the unbranded calves, which are then branded with King's brand,
notwithstanding the ownership of the calves is shown by their
following cows bearing other people's brands. These depreda-
tions are continuous, because King's band is almost always un-
interruptedly in movement. He thus develops and maintains
demoralization among a great number of people, because only
men without principle could accept the position of instruments
for the commission of such crimes. He has had among his
herders the accomplices in robberies committed in Texas or
Mexico, as, for example, Fernando Lopez and Tomas Vazquez ;
nevertheless, he states that his injuries amount to millions.
These instances show the nature of the complaints ; but it
is not less important to inquire how they are organized by the
complainants. A hundred individuals meet and render each
other a mutual support. Each one asserts that some one of the
number has suffered great losses, and he in his turn receives a
similar service from all the others. There would be nothing
remarkable in this, if the press of a portion of Texas had not
been urging the formation of complaints for the purpose of de-
manding reparation, showing a personal interest in the matter, ^
and the possibility of obtaining a fortune by this means. This '
association of a hundred individuals have each the same cause,
the same purposes, the same pecuniary interest, and each of
them, to the success of his interest, is supported by all the others.
In fact, the tendencies of these hundred individuals is the same
as that of a single person.
To support their pretensions, they call upon their relatives
and employees, who form a second element in the composition
of their claims. Then, as a third one, there enters a consider-
able number of thieves residing in Texas, who have co-operated
in the cattle stealing, and wKo doubtless are considered hon-
orable men, because they are produced to show that the Mexi-
can authorities were corrupt. This element was the most bitter
in its statements against Mexico.
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 177
Some of those who supported the cora plaints of the Texas
people appeared before this Commission to depose, and there
'♦ stated the contrary to what they appear to have before stated
in support of those complaints. "With regard to one of these
witnesses, his perjury is evidently shown. With regard to
another, the Commission had not within its reach the means to
ascertain whether his deposition was correct, and the causes
which he assigned in explanation of the discrepancy true.
The number of impartial persons was small. And as stolen
cattle had been really carried into Mexico, the statement of
those with regard to some of the facts served to give an aspect
of probability to the perjurers, several of which the Commis-
sion have noted in this report. The complainants did not
mention the true condition of Texas with regard to the way in
which the robberies were committed, the origin of these, and
the great state of demoralization there existing, because this
would have been their own condemnation. They either in-
vented or distorted the facts, either by attaching circumstances
^ to them which did not occur, or suppressing the real aspect of
those they presented. They ignored the fact that between the
Bravo and the Nueces there is a large Mexican population,
and that much of this is American. They confuse the question
of race with that of nationality and residence, in order that
speaking in general terms of Mexicans as engaged in stealing,
the reproach inight fall upon Mexico.
The means employed show the want of stronger grounds^
and the weakness of the foundation upon which the charges
made against Mexico by the complaining Texaus rest. The
depth of these charges only show the concerted action of a
small number of persons moved by personal motives. The
etatistics, the influence exercised with regard to the demorali-
zation and the development of crime, which several of the
complainants have had, the means which they have made use
I of to systematize the injuries with a hope of a compensation,
demonstrate without the necessity of further explanation, what
is the real signification of " compensaUon for the j^ast^ the
first part of the motto adopted against Mexico*
12
178 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
XVL
«
Combinations have been made upon the frontier of the
United. States, for evils of a very different nature from horse
stealing in Mexico, and the means for carrying them into exe-
cution have there also been furnished.
When the institution of slavery existed in- the LTnited
States, some of the slaves succeeded in escaping into Mexico.
Occasionally the old masters made attempts to recover their
slaves, and for this purpose organized a party with which they
came into our territory. The Commission learned of three
such oeeurrences, in one of which the aggressors were assisted
by Mexicans on this side. There was a case in which the car-
rying off of a family of five persons was effected. Of these
acts, one occurred at Matamoros, another near Reynosa, and
the last at Laredo. It is just, nevertheless, to remark that
Mexico made similar attempts to recover their fugitive servants
from Texas. The Commission cannot state the means em-
ployed, nor the mode of procedure, because it has not learned
the details of any case, still the general fact is proved by docu-
ments taken from the public archives. The kidnapping of free
men of color has also been among the crimes planned on the
Texas side, to be executed in Mexico. The Commission were
informed of two cases. In the first, some Americans and Mexi-
vCans crossed to this side, and carried off, upon the pretext of
his being a slave and a thief, one Aunastasio Aguado or Elua,
whom they whipped and kept in prison for three days. The
crime was committed near Matamoros, but, doubtless owing to
the measures of the Mexican authorities, the aggressors found
themselves compelled to set Aguado at liberty, of whom it is
probable they intended to make a slave.
The second case, which occurred near Mier, was less suc-
cesftfuL A Captain Jack made use of the services of a colored
man named Melchor Yalenzuela, a resident of Mexico, to steal
a skiff from this side. "When Valenzuela was arrested by our
authorities he confessed the fact, and he was released on bail.
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 179
Pending the trial, Captain Jack and another American, Dixon,
crossed to this side, and threatening Valenzuela with a pistol,
they carried him off.
The illegal attempts against individual safety not only as-
sumed this form, but others more serious. One of the most
infamous crimes ever committed on the frontier was the mur-
der of Juan Chapa Guerra. a resident at Ranchito. In Janu-
ary of 1850, some goods were stolen from Charles Stillrnan,
residing at Brownsville. He got together a force of Americans,
with which he left the American side in search of the stolen
gQods. He arrived at the Palmito ranche, and ordered that all
the people there should be tied up and whipped until they
confessed who where the thieves. It appears that he made no
discovery by this means. He was informed that Juan Chapa
Guerra, a resident of Mexico, was the guilty party, he then
sent his party to Kanchito, in Mexico, where the accused lived.
They seized him and brought him into Texas, when Stillman
told his party to do what they pleased with him, Chapa was
whipped and then killed. It was afterwards found out that
there had been a mistake in the name ; that the guilty party
was not Juan Chapa Gncrra, but one Juan Chapa Garcia.
The judicial proceedings had at that time, disclosed the liorri-
ble details of the murder. Charles Stillman was a person of
wealth, and who exercised a controlling influence in Browns-
ville. The relatives of the victim tried to find a lawyer, but
none of those in the city would act for them against Stillman.
Upon the solicitation of other persons, one consented privately
to give advice. This simple proceeding is enough to show
the condition of things on the Texas frontier. This murder
was never punished.
In addition to these attacks upon the safety of private indi-
viduals, others were organized against the public employees.
In the years immediately subsequent to 1848, smuggling across
tlie frontier of the United States into Mexico increased im-
measurably. There were then a party of smugglers, consist'
ing of Americans and Mexicans, who defied all pursuit and
committed the most outrageous aggressions. Two most serious
occurrences took place, which show the thou condition of things.
180 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
In November of 1849, a contraband was seized by the cus-
tom house guards at Caraargo. While these were escorting it
they were attacked at the Guardado ranche, in the jurisdiction
of Mier, by a party of Americans, who surprised the guards,
recaptured the cargo and crossed it into Texas.
In August of 1852, the custom liouse guard of Matamoros
seized a cargo at Olmos, in the» jurisdiction of- Keynosa.
While on the road the guards were attacked by a party of six
Americans and sixteen Texas Mexicans ; among the former were
the owners of the goods. These were carried to the Capote ford,
where boats had been prepared in which the cargo was crossed
to the United States side.
In addition to these occurrences, which were fully consum-
mated, in January of 1850, a party of forty Americans, which
had been organized at Rome, in Texas, put themselves in mo-
tion for the purpose of recapturing a cargo which had been
seized by the custom house guards, and which was in transit
at the said Guardado ranche. The authorities received timely
notice, and were enabled to send a force suflScient to protect
the cargo.
In all these occurrences it does not appear that the Texan
authorities took any measures to prevent the aggressions, or to
punish them after they had been committed. In the second
of the occurrences just related, Santiago Enriches (the name is
probably badly spelled in the documents from which this in-
formation was obtained), who was one. of the owners of the
goods, quietly returned to Edinburg, in Hidalgo county, after
having consummated his illegal proceeding.
The discharge of fire-arms from the United States side upon
the Mexican side has also been the origin of accidents, and at
times of conflicts. Such attacks have been made both by pri-
vate individuals and by the United States forces, and the
attacks were made japon persons on this, side and upon troops
stationed there^
The Commission received information with regard to ten
cases of this nature, which it will proceed briefly to state. In
April of 1851, the military commandant at Mier prohibited cross-
ing from one side to the other after seven o'clock at night by
NORTHEKN FRONTIER QUESTION. 181
way of the Arroyo ford. Later than this hour, four Americans
of Rome, Starr county, attempted to pass, and having been pre-
vented, shots were exchanged between several of the residents
at Rome and the Mexican guard. It is not clearly stated in
the documents examined by the Commission how the attack
began, and even in these there is a difference in the explanation.
The military commandant at Mier went to Davis' Camp (Ring-
gold Barracks), and the latter offered to make the necessary
investigations.
On the 14th September, 1855, at nine o'clock at night, three
Americans approached the Piedras Negras ford from the Texas
side, and requested to have a skiff sent to them. The boats
were on the Mexican side, and passing had been prohibited that
late at night on account of the threatened filibustering invasion.
The guard answered and stated the prohibition, upon which the
three individuals referred to opened fire upon the Mexican force
and the adjoining houses, which firing lasted for an hour
and a half. The officer in command of the Mexican forces went
the following day to see Captain Burbank, the commander of
Fort Duncan, who replied to him that the guilty patties were
civilians, over whom the military had no authority, but never-
theless he would endeavor to avoid such outrages, and in case
there was sufficient proof, the civil authorities might imprison
and punish the guilty ones. The same Mexican commanding
officer, in making his report to the government of Nnevo Leon,
stated that he had given orders not to answer the fire unless
the force should reach the middle of the river, in order not to
offend the United States. This conduct was approved.
What is remarkable in this occurrence is, that the firing
having lasted an hour and a half, that neither the civil authori-
ties of Texas nor the military authorities of the United States
should have taken any steps to ascertain what was going on,
and the consequence of which would have been the arrest of
the guilty parties. This shows an absolute indifference in the
fulfilment of a duty.
At the time of Cortina's revolt, at the end of 1859, the
greatest persecution was displayed against all those who it was
suspected might be in connivance with him. The family of
182 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
Teodosio Zamora lived at the Keices ranche, on the Texas side.
An American force went there ; the family, being informed of
tlieir coming, abandoned their house and property to cross to
this side. They arrived on the Mexican, side at the same time
the force reached the ranche, when these commenced firing upon
the refugees across the river.
About 9 o'clock on the night of the 31st of December,
1859, firing was commenced from the Texas side upon the
(rarita of Santa Cruz in Mexico. This Garita is in front of
Brownsville. The attacking party hid themselves behind some
trees, and from there discharged their arms. Some of the balls
penetrated the house at the Garita. The firing lasted an hour
and a half.
A similar occurrence took place on the night of February
2d, 1860, only at a difierent place. The one selected for this
attack was another of the Garitas, on the river at Mataraoros,
called -Freeport, or Parades. The firing continued long enough
for the alcalde of the city to get a force of police together, go
to the place where the occurrence was transpiring, and witness
the last discharge from the Texas side.
In both cases the darkness of the night prevented the
recognition of the attacking party, but it is undeniable that
the length of time the firing lasted aflbrded sufiicient oppor-
tunity to the military and civil authorities of Texas to inquire
into the occurrence and suppress the outrage. Their negligence
in this respect furnishes a just ground of complaint.
After Juan N. Cortina was defeated in Texas, and took
refuge on our frontier, a force of Texan volunteers took up a
position in front of Keynosa. This s'ame force had previously
invaded thei town ; but the people, who had received timely
notice of what was going on, armed themselves, and com-
pelled the invaders to recross the river. After the volunteers
had reached the Texan line, they fired upon the Mexican side,
and particularly upon the people of the town when they came
to the river for water. Antonio Loera and Juan Barrera were
wounded. The authorities at Reynosa made complaint to
John S. Ford, the captain of the volunteers ; his reply has
been lost, but by the answer of the municipality of Eeynosa,
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 183
thanking the captain, it would appear that the latter offered to
make an investigation upon the subject. The authorities at
Eeynosa and Ford's forces mutually reproached each other for
the commencement of these aggressions. The presumption,
however, is against the latter, not only because the Mexican
authorities, understanding the weakness of our frontier, avoided
a conflict, but also the pressure under which the volunteers
were compelled to abandon Reynosa, would be likely to create
feelings of revenge in them.
After this occurrence, one Saturday in Holy Week, the
people of Eeynosa discharged their arms, and some of the
balls fell in the camp of the volunteers. This act cannot but
be presumed to have been intentional, although in the explana-
tions given by the authorities at Keynosa to Captain Brackett
and Lieutenant Owens, who were commissioned by Colonel
Lee to investigate the matter, it was said that the occurrence
was accidental, and they appeared to be satisfied. Colonel
Lee offered the authorities to withdraw the volunteers in a few
days, which, in fact, he did ; and thus the difficulties which
for several months had so frequently occurred between both
frontiers were terminated.
At the time of the attack on the Clareno ranche, Zapata
county, in April of 1871, by the confederate troops', a party of
these located themselves at the Carrizo, and from there fired
upon this side. The municipality of Guerrero complained to
the commander of the force, and he replied that, so far as his
company were concerned, they would do no injury to the people
of Mexico; but at the same time he said this, some of his sol-
diers fired upon some persons who were in charge of some
boats on this side, and drove them away, while others belong-
ing to the force swam across the river and carried them off.
The authorities at Guerrero sent a force to occupy the point ;
it hardly reached the bank of the river when the confederates
made a discharge upon it, and killed Antonio Ochoa.
On the 2d April, 1862, some Americans crossed from Texas
into Mexico at Piedras Negras ; there was a quarrel between
them and somQ Mexicans, when they hastily returned to the
United States side and fired some shots at the Garita,- which
184: REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
were replied to by two of the custom house guards. During
the time of the Confederacy, in August of 1863, while a boy
named Nicanor Gongora was on the edge of the river at the
Parades ford, he was wounded by a shot fired from the Ameri-
can side by a person who came out of a tent. The aggressor
was a soldier, who, it appears, proceeded deliberately, because
he approached the river, drew his pistol, appeared to examine
it, and then fired. The boy Gongora died the following day,
and the guilty party was only kept in prison a few days.
In December of 1868, some United States soldier^, who, it
is believed, were in pursuit of robbers, approached the river in
front of the Burita ranche ; they saw a boat approaching the
Mexican side, and fired two shots at it. In- this boat there
were t\^o ladies and some children. One of the former, Mrs.
Francisca Hinojosa, was dangerously wounded.
If all the facts related by the Commission up to the present
time be considered ; if the illegal attempts against life, personal
liberty, or the free exercise of their duties by the employees
and public oflicers, are considered, and that they have not been,
single acts, but have been repeated at different times over a
vast extent on the bank of the river, the propensity which has
existed, upon the part of the United States frontier, to depre-
cate the rights of Mexico, will be apparent, as also the tolerance
of the Texan authorities, a tolerance which, in certain cases,
has amounted to complicity. Nevertheless, however serious
these facts may be, they do not show to its full extent the in-
vading spirit which has reigned upon the left bank of the
Bravo river.
XVII.
The Mexican frontier has been the constant victim of inva-
sions organized in or departing from the United States. They
may be classified under four heads : first, those the purpose of
which has been simply robbery ; second, those which, under
the pretense of political principles, were aggressive against the
►
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 185
nation ; third, those which proclaimed open hostility against
Mexico ; and fourth, those which involved a certain interven-
tion on the part of the United States forces in the internal
questions of Mexico.
Those under the first head commenced in 1848. A force of
American volunteers left Matamoros ; it is believed that they
were discharged, although it is not certain.. They went to the
city of Guerrero, and from thence to Nuevo Leon, in the in-
terior. On the 16th of July in the same year, they arrived at
Villa Aldama, stating that they were on their way to Monterey,
for the purpose of joining the forces which were going to Cali-
fornia. During that day and night there wias nothing in their
conduct calculated to discover their intentions. On the follow-
ing day, they dispersed in groups of six or eight, and took up
position at the principal houses. The officer in command then
applied to the alcalde, for the purpose of calling the municipal-
ity and the curate together, with a view to inform them
of a communication from General Wolf; this was done, when
the officer immediately ordered the doors to be closed, and he
and three soldiers cocked their pistols, and he then notified
the alcalde, that if, within fifteen minutes, ($60,000) sixty thou-
sand dollars were not paid, that he would fire a shot, and this
would be the signal for the pillage. The impossibility of deliv-
ering so large a sum was notorious ; each one offered to give
what they had, and he accepted the proposition. They com-
menced visiting the several houses in company with the officer
in command of the volunteers, for the purpose of his receiving
the money ; he thought they were deceiving him, gave the sig-
nal, and the pillaging began. The town was robbed, several
persons were killed, the alcalde was tortured and hung in his
own house, to make him confess where he had his money.
On the same day, this same party of volunteers left for
Sabinas ; they arrived there at half past one o'clock. Part of
them surrounded the town, and the remainder divided them-
selves up into parties of ten or a dozen ; upon a signal of four
shots, the pillaging corpmenced, and the same acts of robbery
were repeated which had been committed at Yillaldama. A
force of volunteers were at this time quietly passing through
186 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
Laredo, when the American commandant was informed of the
horrors being committed by this party. He replied that it was
liis duty to arrest the guilty, but that he had not sufficient force
to do so.
On the night of the 12th of December, 1848, the Pando
ranche was attacked, the witnesses say, by United States sol-
diers; but the Commission doubts whether they may not have
been volunteers belonging to the company which, at different
times, the State of Texas had in its service on the banks of the
Rio Grande. The soldiers belonged to an encampment which
was opposite Pando, a few leagues to the east of Brownsville.
They crossed to this side, fired upon the houses, and killed
Encarnacion Garza. On the litli, they returned, and robbed
the ranche, which had been abandoned by its inhabitants on
account of these outrages ; it was completely plundered, and
the horses and cattle stolen.
In October of 1859, the Arroyo Saco ranche, situated eight
leagues to the east of Matamoros, wad* attacked by a party of
soldiers, who were encamped opposite the ranche. Although
the witnesses call them United States soldiers, the Commission
is in doubt whether they were such, or whether they belonged
to the Texas volunteers.
Six soldiers entered the house at the ranche, threatened the
people with death in case of resistance, tied them up, stole
everything there was there, and afterwards returned to the
Texas side.
About the middle of May, 1864, a cotton train, which was
on the road between Eeynosa and Matamoros, was attacked.
The cartinen, upon being surprised, abandoned it, when a force
of the people of Eeynosa came to their assistance, and pursued
the assailants, who were a lieutenant and two soldiers, Mexicans
by birth, then in the United States service, and forming part of
the garrison at Edimburg, in Texas. The lieutenant's name
was Hinojosa ; the names of the soldiers were Sabas Garcia and
Severo Resendez ; the two latter were arrested. The former of
these is the captain Garcia who recently served under General
Cortina's orders, and is accused as being an accomplice in the
cattle stealing.
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION.
187
On the night of the lith of January, 1856, the force of the
imperial garrison at the town of Bagdad (Boca del Rio) was
surprised by an American force which was on the opposite side
in the camp at Clarksville. The imperial forces were dispersed,
and the Americans took possession of the place ; the soldiers of
the latter were colored, and under command of white officers.
A plundering of the place was organized. The person who had
been alcalde was murdered, because he refused to give up his
watch, as was a little girl, in order to take from her a trifling
sum which she was carrying in her hand, with which to buy
meat. The pillaging lasted twenty-two days. A party took
up his quarters at the " San Carlos Hotel," and placed a sign
on his door saying, " United States Quarter master ^'^ When a
group of the plunderers had loaded themselves with booty, and
crossed it to the other side, another party came to carry on the
same operation. Night and day they were at this work, and
carried off the goods from the stores and shops. They took the
steamer " Prince of Wales " and other boats, loaded them,
crossed them over to the other side, discharged them there, and
then brought them back again to this side and loaded them
again. The officers paid the laborers, who were working in
transferring the stolen property from the houses and stores to
the bank of the river, five dollars. A few days after it began,
a force of dragoons arrived, upon the pretext of suppressing the
disorder, and then they joined in it also. The plundering ceased
at the end of twenty-two days, the town was destroyed, and its
inhabitants ruined. A letter from the collector of the custom
house at Clarksville, said : " I had resided three weeks at that
point (Clarksville), when the colored troops belonging to the
118th regiment seized the vessels which were in my care, crossed
* the river and took Bagdad. They there plundered houses and
killed people — the scene was indescribable. The soldiers mur-
dered people in the streets, because they refused to give up their
purses ; and they threatened to shoot me because I made them
pay importation duties."
The invasions to which a political character have been
ascribed were, in part, acts of plundering ; and some of these
188 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
were accompanied by circumstances which were really dis-
graceful.
At the beginning of September, 1861, Jos^ Maria J. Carba-
jal, subsequently a general of the republic, seconded by a great
number of the inhabitants on the Mexican frontier, made a
revolutionary proclamation at the " Lobar," Mexico, in which
he set forth, as a political measure, the expulsion of the army
from the frontier, and, as a commercial measure, the reduction
of duties and the removal of prohibitions.
These ideas were extraordinarily popular in that part of the
country. The old army had behaved in an oppressive manner
towards the towns on the frontier, and this had rendered it ex-
ceedingly distasteful to them. The commercial restrictions had
reduced the towns on the line of the Bravo to a state of misery,
and the people were daily seen leaving with their means for the
I United States.
I General Carbajal, after having proclaimed these principles,
3 established himself at Rio Grande city, in Texas, where he
I commenced gathering together and organizing his elements for
the purpose of crossing into Mexico and combating the there
existing authorities. The Mexicans who accompanied him
knew nothing of his plans; they commenced understanding
them about the middle of September, 1851, when the force
which had been gathered together at Rio Grande City crossed
from Texas into Mexico. Among this force there were some
thirty Americans, which greatly displeased the inhabitants of
the frontier who had joined Carbajal ; but all this was settled
by his promise that they should be the only ones who he would
receive in aid of the enterprise.
The result of the first action was unfavorable to the govern-
ment ; the town of Camargo was attacked, taken, and its
garrison capitulated. A few days afterwards they advanced on
Matamoros. From the day after their arrival in front of the
town, parties of Americans, to the number of three or four hun-
dred men, who publicly crossed the river at the Parades Garita
and other points, commenced joining Carbajal's forces.
This produced a disagreeable impression upon those who
participated in Carabjal's views. The people of Matamoros,
?.
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 189
among whom the plan of the " Loba " had been popular, de-
cided to oppose the movement, seeing in it not a revolution,
but an invasion. They considered that the governing spirit
was filibustering, and that nothing but evil could result to the
frontier by giving the question such a direction. The subse-
quent occurrence justified these fears. The Americans who
crossed into Texas consisted of some companies of Texan volun-
teers (Eangers), who had been serving on the banks of the
Bravo, and had just been discharged. General Carbajal en-
listed them for six months. In his proclamation of the 25th of
September, 1851, he explained the reasons which had decided
him to take this step. The commander of these companies,
and the second in command of the whole of the expedition, was
Captain John S. Ford, whose conduct during the whole course
of his life has ever been absolutely hostile to Mexico.
The movement counted upon the support of Charles Stiil-
man, a merchant of wealth residing at Brownsville, who fur-
nished it with considerable resources. The Americans residing
in that city also supported it ; several of them crossed in the
afternoon, participated in the fighting, which took place during
the night, and returned to Brownsville on the morning of the
following day to attend to their business. Night and day they
were crossing from that city into Mexico, by the public fords,
both ammunition and provisions. Some houses were inten-
tionally burned, and the combustibles were obtained from the
house of Charles Stillman. The siege lasted nine days, during
which all these horrors were committed. About the end of
October, the assailants were repulsed and compelled to retire.
Everything showed that the movement had been perverted.
From a political point of view, the prevailing spirit in the oc-
currences which had taken place, was a hostility on the part of
the Texas frontier against that of Mexico. In its fiscal char-
acter, the movement degenerated into smuggling operations,
in which the people of Brownsville were interested. For the
inhabitants of the Texas side, it was a means of prosecuting the
attempts began in 1848, and leading to the ruin of our towns on
the Bravo, for the purpose of aiding the progress of their own.
This latter, and the prejudices which had been created between
190 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
both frontiers, explained the popularity of that movement on
the Texas side, and the animosity displayed by the inhabitants
of Matamoros in resisting the attack. The result of this was,
that General Carabajal, after his retreat, was little by little
abandoned by the Mexicans who had accompanied him.. He
took refuge with his force in Texas, and established his camp
at the " Sal," in Hidalgo county.
Monterey — Lerado was menaced, during several months,
by a party of the same adventurers under the command of
James Willreison and E. Alt Evans, who crossed several times
during the first half of 1852, and carried arms in the name of
General Oarbajal. Complaint was made to the commander
at Fort Mcintosh, and he replied that the acts in question were
those of pillage, against which he could do nothing as a mili-
tary officer. These adventurers were at Lerado, in Texas ;
they were supported there, and crossed to this side with im-
punity to commit these outrages.
In September of 1861, General Carbajal with his forces
crossed a second time ; they went to Cerralvo, and were there
defeated. In February of 1852, he made a third attempt near
Camargo, was again defeated, and thereupon took, refuge with
his followers in Texas.
In these cases the enlistment, the gathering of the people,
the camping, all was done publicly. The authorities of Starr
county, which was the base for the organization, took a most
active part. N. P. Norton, the district judge of the county,
headed the last expedition of this kind in March, 1853. At
this time no political principles were invoked ; it was purely
and simply acts of vandalism and robbery.
On the twentj'-fifth of March, 1853, N. P. Norton crossed
from the Texas side into Mexico, at Eeynosa Biejo. He was
accompanied by forty Americans and ten Texan Mexicans.
He reached Eeynosa on the 26th, where he arrested the alcalde
and Francisco Garcia Trevifio, whom he threatened to shoot
if within two hours they did not deliver ($30,000) thirty thou-
sand dollars. The former he shut up and kept a prisoner; his
force disseminated itself through the town, plundered various
houses, stole all the horses, mules and arms which they could
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 191
find. The people were only able to get together two thousand
dollars, which were delivered to Norton. He abandoned
Reynosa at five o'clock on the afternoon of the 26th, pursued
by a force which had left Camargo ; a slight skirmish took
place, and in the night Norton crossed the river at the Capote
ford. The only purpose of his expedition was robbery, and
this was done by the first authority of the county. He and
two of his accomplices were indicted at Brownsville for a viola-
tion of the United States neutrality laws ; in June of 1855,
that is two years after the indictment, a " nolle prosequi " was
entered in the case.
The third class of aggressions comprises the cases in which
open hostility was manifested against the Mexican nation. The
first of these was the invasion of Piedras Negras, in 1855.
This expedition was organized at San Antonio, Texas ;
several men of means took part in the enterprise, and two
hundred men who had served in the Rangers, constituted the
force. The pretext was the pursuit of the tribe of Lipan In-
dians of whom the Texans complained, accusing them of being
the authors of ranch of the injury suffered by them. It is
probable,, nevertheless, that one of the incentives was the
capture of fugitive slaves, a great number of which had taken
refuge on the frontier of Coahuila ; the negotiations previously
initiated with several persons at San Antonio makes this to be
suspected. If successful, they would not stop there ; a more
extended field of operations would present itself to the adven-
turers, even the occupation of the country. Under the pretext
then of the Lipans, there were necessarily concealed more ex-
tensive plans.
On the 25th of August, 1856, some Americans, residing at
San Antonio, Texas, addressed Colonel Lanberg, who was in
command of the frontier at Coahuila, inquiring from him upon
what conditions he would deliver up the negroes who had
taken refuge in Mexico, how many could be recovered, how
much wonld have to be paid for each delivered on the banks
of the river, and the mode of payment. The finale of the
letter contains a covert threat; it says : " Our future measures
i by
Ithe
onld
fnge
aeut
3lled
jrto
iine,
the
will .
nter
arty
was
Dnal
?an-
and
orce
ully
low.
nof
Bret
iBito
lace
gue
s
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 193
after their defeat they retreated, and arrived at Piedras
Negras, which town they pillaged and burned. The Mexican
farces, which had been detained awaiting ammanition, arrived
near Piedras Negras on the 6th, and there stopped, withoat
attacking the filibusters, because the commander of Fort
Duncan had made demonstrations to protect them. These
demonstrations consisted in placing four pieces of cannon
pointing upon Piedras Negras, while the invaders qnietly
crossed without molestation, carrying with them what they had
stolen from the place, and in full view of the civil authorities
of Texas and of the military authorities of the United States.
After reaching the other side, the filibusters made a breastwork
of bags of flour, corn, and sugar, which they had stolen at
Piedras Negras, and from thence fired npon the town, without
the military authority at Fort Duncan interposing any obstacle.
The people at Piedras Negras informed the Mexican officer
commanding that during the continuance of the invaders in
the town, two companies from Fort Duncan crossed over every
night to protect the filibusters, and retired again on the morn-
ing of the following day. Complaint was made to the com-
mander of the said fort concerning these hostile proceedings,
and his reply is far from being satisfactory. The defeat of the
filibusters created a feeling of great indignation at San An-
tonio, Texas, because a very diflferent result had been expected.
A meeting was held, at which it was resolved to invite the
people of Texas tp join in a campaign against the Mexican
Indians, to request the government to furnish arms, and that it
should take the necessary measures for the purpose in view.
C. Jones, J. H. Callaghan, S. A. Willcox, T. Sutherland, Asa
Mitchell, and J. A. Maverick published the call, and appointed
the 16th of November for the meeting of the volunteers at the
confluence of the Santa Clara and Cibolo rivers. A committee
was appointed to receive contributions, and the officers of the
expedition were appointed.
Under the pretext of the Lipan Indians, a more extensive
filibustering expedition was organized than the previous one
had been. Capitalists took part in it, and in reality the ques-
tion assumed that character which the difficulties between the
13
194: REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
frontiers have always assumed, when the greater influence is
exercised by the Texans on the bank of the Eio Bravo. It
was a war of invasion openly proclaimed, and the most
remarkable feature was the publicity given to those acts,
and the aid demanded from the government of Texas. If
there existed but this fact, it would be sufficient to decide
as to what is the cause of all the questions on the fron-
tier, and what is the prevailing opinion among the inhabitants
of Texas in the vicinity of the Eio Bravo. A short time after
this call was made, the circumstances attending the defeat of
the filibusters began to be known, and it was understood that
the undertaking presented more difficulties than had at first
been anticipated. The capitalists withdrew their names, while
the attitude assumed by the government of the United States
was sufficient to put an end to further attempts.
Gortina's revolt in 1859, and his taking refuge in Mexico in
1860, were also made the pretext of invasion by the volunteers
in the service of Texas. They were headed by John S. Ford,
captain of one of the companies, and who had been in com-
mand of the filibusters, and the second in command of the
expedition which attacked Matamoros.
The trouble began to be felt in January of 1860. At the
end of this month, a party of Americans appeared in front of
the Soledad ranche and fired upon families residing there, and,
almost at the same time, eight of them were seen on our side
in the direction of the same ranche. On tl\e fourth of Febru-
ary, the Bolsa ranche was attacked and burned, and the occu-
pants killed. An explanation of these disgraceful occurrences
has been attempted in a suppositious attack on the steamer
Ranchero by Cortina, a supposition which was sufficient for
Mifflin Kennedy, the owner of that steamer, to swear that he
suffered great losses.
General Scott, in his report to the war department at Wash-
ington, on the 19th of May, 1860, states that there was no such
attack, and his statement is perfectly true. Cortina arrived at
this ranche from up the river, remained there several days,
and was about leaving the place because he was suspicious of
it ; during the night the Ranchero arrived with a force on board.
NORTHERN FRONTIER QTJBSTION. 195
and anchored in front of the Bolsa. The people on board fired
several shots at the ranche which were replied to. The force
then landed, concealing its movements, and surrounded the
ranche. After sharp firing, Cortina retreated to a place in the
neighborhood, where he remained until the following day, when
American cavalry crossed over. So, far from the Kanchero
having beeh attacked, she served as the means of an aggression
against our frontier, an aggression which had been previously
organized, and in the execution of which the steamer ap-
proached the Bolsa, and those who where on board of her
opened hostilities against the Mexican lines.
There occurred then what took place on all the following
invasions, an unoffending man was accidentally killed, another,
Cleto Garcia, was arrested and Imng by the volunteers as one of
Cortina's friends, although he was a peaceable and inoffensive
man ; after the murdering, robbing, and burning the ranche,
the volunteers stole horses, killed cattle, and then crossed the
river at the Santa Maria ford.
Cortina's revolt was a critical period for the Mexican
population on the left bank. All who were suspected of
sympathizing with him, were murdered without pity, their
families compelled to fly, and their property stolen. The
conduct initiated by the volunteers at the Bolsa was followed
up on the occasion of the second invasion.
The military authorities at Matamoros received notice that
Cortina was at the " Mesa " ranche, and sent a force in pursuit
of him. They notified Major Heintzleman, of the United
States Army, to be on the alert on the left bank, and the
Major communicated the notice to the troops who were at
Brownsville and Edinburg. The Mexican forces arrived at
the Mesa without having heard anything of Cortina, and
departed again leaving a picket force of twenty-six men there.
Ford, the captain of the volunteers, crossed at Bosario on the
night of the 16th of March, and attacked the picket which had
been left at the Mesa ; some of the soldiers were killed, others
dispersed, and the rest made prisoners. Captain Ford then
discovered that they were Mexican forces, and explained by
saying that it had been an error, as his scouts had informed
196 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
him that Cortina was at the ^^ Mesa." A youth at the ranche
was wounded, several houses were pillaged, the money destined
for the payment of the force stolen, but few articles were ever
restored.
The disrespect towards our soil had inordinately increased
with these people. The volunteers, instead of returning to
Texas, went several leagues inward, and made incursions upon
our frontier. They visited several ranches, made prisoners of
the people, and pursued those who fled to the woods. They
searched for Cortina's friends to hang them, and at the
".Magueyes ranche" killed Elijio Tagle, stole horses, and sev-
eral days after retumied to Texas.
Ever seeking the friends of Cortina, or rather making use
of this as a pretext. Captain Ford again crossed into Mexico at
Beynosa Vieja, on the 4th of April, 1860, and shut the people
up in some sheds, to prevent them from giving notice to the
authorities at San Antonio de Beynosa, but these had had
timely notice that an invasion was on foot, and soon learned
what was going on, and that the Texan volunteers, to the num-
ber of sixty men, were within two leagues. The people were
armed and ready ; Ford penetrated the town to the principal
square, and when he arrived there, the people showed them-
selves on the roofs of the houses, and at the heads of the streets,
and gave Ford to understand that he was surrounded, and that
they would not permit the slightest disorder; Ford stated that
he had crossed upon the authority of General Guadalupe Garcia,,
and produced an order signed by him, authorizing him, Ford,
to cross to the Bolsa ranche, and arrest Cortina, whom he waa
informed was there ; he also demanded the delivery to him of
such friends of Cortina as were at Eeynosa. They answered
him that their town was not the Bolsa, and that they had no
friends of Cortina there. Ford found himself compelled to
abandon the town and depart by the public ford, because they
would not permit him to cross elsewhere, being suspicious of
his intentions towards the ranches. After he had crossed, a
conflict ensued by the firing across the river, as previously
stated by the Commission.
The Commission had diligently sought to ascertain whether
i
I
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 197
"the Mexican authorities ever gave the volunteer force permis-
rfiion to croBB. With regard to the invasion of the " Mesa," the
raids subsequently made on several ranches, and their appear-
ance at Keynosa, the documents which were exchanged con-
-cerning these acts, show that not only had they no permission, but
that the proceedings of the authorities at Keynosa in resisting
their incursion met with full approval. With regard to the at-
tack at the Bolsa, the reason for doubting whether or not such
permission was granted, is the deposition of two witnesses, who
.state that they saw the permission granted by General
<7arcia to Oaptain Ford, permitting him to cross at that place.
The Commission has not found any documents confirming
these depositions, although this is not strange, on account of
the losses which the archives have experienced. But in any
event, such a permit is not a permission to rob, murder and
bum as they did at the Bolsa. What is fully ascertained is,
that in April, 1860, an arrangement was made with the Amer-
ican commanding ofiicer, to cross a force to pursue Oortina, in
company with the Mexican force ; but this force never crossed.
The latest acts communicated by the authorities at Matamoros
concerning these aggressions, state that a force of Americans
were encamped opposite the Fuerta ranche, which force in
July of 1860, opened fire upon the latter place, to drive the
inhabitants away, and they then subsequently crossed several
times, and stole everything that they found there.
These invasions have two phases. For the party directing
them, they were a means of keeping alive a feeling of alarm
in the United States, by making it appear that Cortina was in
force, and that the Mexican authorities were in connivance
with him, so much so, that it appeared necessary to invade
Mexico with stronger forces. For the subalterns, they were a
means of gratifying their propensities for plunder. These
' aggressions were stimulated, and even defended in Texas.
"Oovernor Houston, in his communication to the war department
of the 12th of March, 1860, sustained the necessity of the
ikttack on the Bolsa ranche ; thus it had a character eminently
political. Even tolerance with regard to robbery might con-
tribute toward the same end ; there was a hope that the
198 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
exaeperation on the Mexican frontier would reach its limit, and
produce a conflict attended with the most serious consequences..
With the exception of the Bolsa, Cortina was nowhere met
with, nor was it possible that he should be, and hence this
is not the place to inquire into the purpose which carried the
volunteers oyer the Mexican frontier. They crossed at the
Mesa where they thought to find him, and attacked a picket of
Mexican soldiers; after they were undeceived, or made it
appear that they were undeceived, instead of returning to
Texas, they visited several ranches and there committed the
greatest excesses. They subsequently undertook more ex-
tensive enterprises ; hitherto they had only invaded ranches,
they now attempted to invade towns. Upon their first attempt,
the energetic attitude assumed by the people of Beynosa, who
were resolved to punish them if they did not keep themselves
within the bounds of the greatest moderation, restrained them^
If in fact permission was given to the volunteers to cross
the Bravo at the Bolsa, the Commission must strongly
condemn such a proceeding. The matte[r in question was a
most serious one, which by the constitution was reserved to
the Federal authority alone, and could not be submitted to
the judgment of an inferior. It must have acted as a stimulus
to the aggressors to continue the same course of conduct after-
wards without any such permission, thereby throwing the
greatest obstacles in the way of harmony on the frontier.
The Confederate war was the cause of great difficulties.
The Commission has previously explained the organizations
which were made on this side to harass the Confederates in
Texas, and the threats which these made to cross the river..
The war against the European intervention had compelled the
concentration of all the elements of resistance in the interior
of the republic, the frontier was defenseless, and menaces were
the consequence. The Commission have befor<e related the
occurrences which took place at the Clarafio ranche, and the
robbery of a skiff from this side by the volunteers ; these imme-
diately crossed to our side and committed several robberies*
Shortly after, a Mexican force sent by the municipality of
Guerrero arrived, and while upon the spot, fifteen volunteers
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION.
19d
»
again attempted to cross into the republic, when they were
fired npon and compelled to return. The object of these in-
vasions was robbery ; the object of the following ones was
more serious. In December of 1862, a troop of Mexican Con-
federates under the command of Captain Befugio Benavides,
crossed from the Texas to this side, pursued Octaviano Zapata,
defeated him at the place called Mezquital Lealefio, and then
burnt the farm of Jesus Yidal ; but in addition to all this,
there was a constant- state of alarm upon the Mexican side of
the river, on account of the continual demonstrations made by
various, parties of Confederates to invade our territory.
The authorities at Tamaulipas endeavored to remedy the
situation, but it is easily understood that every mean^ would
be ineflBcacious without the necessary physical force. In Feb-
ruary of 1863, the " jefe politico " of the northern district
entered into an arrangement with the Confederate authorities.
The principal stipulation with regard to this point, referred to
mutual assistance to be given by the Mexican forces to those of
Texas^ for the pursuit of those who, from the Mexican territory,
might attempt to cross and harass on the Texas side, and vice
versa. If the forces of one State were found to be insufficient,
it might call upon the other State for assistance. It was also
further arranged, that cattle imported from Texas to Tamau-
lipas should be accompanied by a permit issued by the Con-
federate authorities, that in the absence of this permit it should
be detained until it was ascertained where it came from, and in
the event of its being found that it had been stolen, it should
be returned to the Confederate authorities. The Mexicans took
all proper measures to carry out this part of the arrangement
in good faith.
With regard to the first clause, its intention is perfectly
clear ; apparently, an alliance had been entered into, but in
reality it was a means made use of to prevent attacks from their
frontier, fixing by agreement the relations between the two
lines. The Confederates would not permit any Mexican forces
to cross into Texas, because they were suspicious of them.
They could not cross into Mexico without being called upon by
our authorities for assistance, which they certainly would not
200 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
do, because they were endeavoring to prevent those aggres-
sions ; at first sight it appears as though great concessions were
made, when in reality there were none.
The Confederates soon became convinced of the ineflSciency
of these arrangements, because they continued their hostilities.
Under the pressure which was being brought to bear on the
Mexican frontier, which was defenseless against the menaces,
without means of resistance on account of the war against the
French in which the country was involved, the government of
Tamaulipas endeavored to give some tranquility to the popu-
lation, and for this purpose, on the 4:th of March, 1863, con-
sented that the Texan forces might cross into Mexico, and the
Mexican forces into Texas, in pursuit of robbers or Indians,
without further requisite than notifying the nearest authority.
It was hoped that by this means the feeling of insecurity which
was felt upon the right bank of the Eio Bravo would be ter-
minated, but experience soon showed that no concession would
satisfy that disorderly people, and that in fact force was
necessary to repel their aggressions. It is probably due to this,
that some time afterwards a force of regular Mexican troops were
sent to the line, to give greater security to its inhabitants, but
before this was done there had been a series of invasions.
On the 10th of March, 1863, Encamacion Garcia, a Con-
federate soldier belonging to the company under the command
of Captain Santos Benavides, together with a sergeant, crossed
to Monterey Larado drunk ; he attacked the Mexican guard
and threatened him with his pistol, in consequence of which
he was killed. Immediately thereupon Santos Benavides
crossed the river, invaded Larado with fifty or sixty men, and
peremptorily demanded that the alcalde should arrest the in-
dividuals who had killed Encarnacion Garcia and immediately
try them. The Texan soldiers were in the court room, grossly
insulting the authorities and threatening them with their pistols.
After a length of time the invaders returned to Texas.
At four o'clock on the morning of 15tli March, 1863, a
force of Confederates under the command of Colonel Chilton,
and which left Brownsville, crossed from Clarksville to Bag-
dad. Colonel Davis, now Governor of the State of Texas,
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 201
Captain Montgomery and several Union Americans, wl^o were
to sail on that day with those officers in a United States steamer
^* for New Orleans, were at the last named town. The Confed-
erates surprised Bagdad. Colonel Davis who was lodged at
the custom house, was the first one made prisoner, and imme-
diately crossed into Texas; Captain Montgomery arrived
shortly after in search of the Colonel, he was pursued by a
group of the Confederates and fired upon in the middle of the
town. The rest of the party were in pursuit of the Union
Americans who were going to New Orleans, and arrested several
of them. Some of the invaders, unable to resist their natural
instincts for stealing, robbed several houses in the town ; Cap-
tain Montgomery was hung upon a tree on the other side.
These acts produced a profound indignation in Mexico, and
threatened a rupture.
The commanding officer at Brownsville ashamed, perhaps,
of such proceedings, or perhaps from the appearance of an
- imminent rupture of th6' relations existing between the two
sides of the river — a rupture which would have been of great
injury to the Confederates on account of Matamoros being the
point of transit for the goods with which Texas was supplied
— ^to the complaints made by the government of the State of
Tamaulipas replied by setting Colonel Davis and the other
parties arrested at liberty.
On the 23d of June, 1868, some , Confederate soldiers^
crossed from Texas to the "Adjuntas ranche," at Guerrero, in
Mexico. They concealed themselves behind the fence of a cat-
tle pen, and when Jose Maria Salinas, who was accused of be-
longing to Zapata's band, passed by there, they fired upon him
and killed him. Octaviano Zapata, for account of the United
States, had carried on hostilities against Texas, and when he
found himself pressed he took refuge on our frontier. Some
soldiers of the garrison at Mier revolted, killed their officer
k and joined Zapata. Another force which was in pursuit of
them had a skirmish with this latter. The officer returned to
Mier for the purpose of obtaining reinforcements, but in the
mean time, on the 2d of September, 1863, Santos Benavides,
the Confederate captain, crossed into Mexico at Salinillas, and
20^ EEf>ORT OF COMMITTEE.
defeated Zapata, and killed him and eight of his coippanions.
This Confederate force did not cross the river in accordance
even with the agreement made in March previous, it failed
even to notify the nearest authority which was at Mier.
The last species of invasions comprises those whose pijir-
poses have been to exercise an intervention in the internal ques-
tions of the country. A case of this kind presented itself on
the frontier of Tamaulipas. In August of 1866, the garrison
at Matamoros pronounced and proclaimed Colonel Servando
Canales governor and military commandant of Tamaulipas.
He accepted the revolt and the position which it conferred.
The Supreme Government had appointed General Santiago
Tapia to the command of that State, and sent forces to Mata-
moros, whereupon the siege was begun. Shortly after General
Escobedo, who was the general in command of all, arrived
with others. On the 23d of November, of the same year,
General Thomas D. Sedgwick, the officer in command of the
district of Eio Grande, Texas, addressed, a communication to
Colonel Canales, in which he stated that he had been informed
that he had notified .his forces that it would be impossible for him
to pay them, and that they must provide for themselves, and that
inasmuch as the neutrality laws of the United States had been
frequently violated of late by Canales, that he demanded the sur-
render of the city of Matamoros for the purpose of assuring pro-
^ tection to life and property, and that Colonel J. G. Perkins was
conamissioned to arrange the preliminaries. On the following
day, the 24th, Colonel Perkins and Colonel Canales stipulated
that the life of this latter, liis liberty and property, and also of his
forces should be guaranteed, as also that of the people residing
in the city, without distinction of nationality ; that no forces ex-
cept those of the United States should enter the town, and that
Colonel Canales should hold his positions. On the same day
a pontoon bridge was constructed across the river; a United
States force crossed to Matamoros, the United States flag was
raised on the parish church, and Colonel J. G. Perkins issued
his general order No. 1, taking the command of the city in the
name of the United States, and designating the persons who
were to compose his staff. The result of this arrangement and
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 203
the 8ub8eqnent measures was that the United States forces
obliged themselves to prevent General Escobedo's entrance
i into the city. On the same day General Sedgwick addressed
I a communication to General Escobedo informing him of what
had occurred, and that he would hold the city of Matamoros
until both he and Colonel Canales had had a conference, for
which he appointed the following day.
At the conference, General Escobedo informed General
Sedgwick that it would be impossible for him to enter into any
arrangement, the base of which was not a full submission of
the rebels. The American oflScer then promised to allow the
former full liberty of action ; but on the 26th, he addressed
him a communication stating that he considered it to be his
duty to hold possession of the city until receiving further in-
structions from General Sheridan, inasmuch as no peaceable
solution had been arrived at, adding that he wished matters to
be continued in the same condition they were.
I On the same day, General Escobedo demanded the evacua-
tion of the city by General Sedgwick, when the latter replied,
that his views were for the protection of the life and property
of the people, and he desired that a peaceable arrange-
ment should be made. It was then agreed, that during
the combat a force of fifty Americans should remain in the cen-
ter of the town for the purpose of preventing robberies and
disturbances, and the remainder withdraw, leaving a picket at
the Garita of Santa Cruz to protect the families crossing to
Brownsville.
The city was attacked on the twenty-seventh. The moment
the fortifications were attacked, a United States ofiScer appeared
with a flag for parley, notifying General Escobedo, in the name
of the United States officer commanding at Matamoros, that in
the event of his taking any of the fortifications, that he was
not to enter into the interior of the city, and that he was to
f notify the latter of each point as he took possession of it.
Fearing a conflict. General Escobedo retired within his posi-
tions.
New explanations were entered into, when General Sedg-
wick stated that there had been mistakes and misunderstand-
204 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
ings. But on the 30th of November, he addressed a communi-
cation to Colonel Canales, directing him to surrender, imposing
as conditions that the forts and redoubts should be delivered up
to the United States troops, to be held by them, that Colonel
Canales' troops should concentrate on the public square for the
fiurrender and delivering up of their arms, and that Colonel
Canales with his officers and troops should be held as prisoners
of war, until the receipt of further orders from the United
States authorities. He further required an answer by nine
o'clock on the morning of the following day.
Colonel Canales preferred to surrender to General Esco-
bedo, and did so on the night of the 30th of November, when
the city was occupied by the government forces. On the first
of December, General Sedgwick was informed of what had
occurred, when he replied that he had given orders for the
evacuation of the city by his troops, which was done.
Although it does not appear by the records, it is well known
that the government of the United States disapproved of Gen-
oral Sedgwick's conduct, and relieved him from his command.
It is not improbable that General Sedgwick's intentions were
to favor the troops of the republic, by bringing a pressure to
bear upon those in the town, with a view of compelling them
to surrender without bloodshed. If this was so, he unquestion-
ably did not select the best course.
The Commission in the course of this report have examined
proceedings, some of which, either from their nature or by rea-
son of the parties committing them, do not render the govern-
ment of the country where they originated responsible. With
regard to others, even though they may have created such re-
sponsibility, it cannot be asserted in the present condition of
the arrangements made between both governments, as to
claims. However, the Commission stated at the commence-
ment that it was not its intention to present charges against
the United States. Its principal purpose has been the study of
the relations existing between both frontiers since 1848, in
order that the spirit of these being understood, the political
importance of the question of cattle stealing, and the diversion
which the people of Texas have sought to give it, being also
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 205
understood, the remedy for the abnormal condition of that part
of the country, may in good faith be sought.
If the occurrences which have just been related, are con-
sidered in connection with the time when they happened, it
will be remarked that from 1848 until the present time, all
possible difficulties have been marring the relations of the two
lines.
For greater cleam'ess, four epochs should be designated.
That which elapsed up to 1858 ; that which covers the time of
Cortina's revolt ; the period of the Confederate war, up to
1866 ; and that embraced from this latter year up to the pres-
ent time. Subsequent to 1848 the republic was exceedingly
feeble, its debility was not only physical, but also moral, from the
continued reverses which it had experienced in the war with the
United States. This awoke in Texas the ambition of adven-
turous spirits, who hoped to find on the Mexican frontier a field
for the exercise of their activity. It was then that the idea of
the Kepublic of the Sierra Madre sprung into existence. This-
was the first step for extending the sovereignty of the United
States over all the Mexican territory embraced between the
Eio Bravo and the passes of the Sierra. The spirit of filibus-
tering seized the idea, and the successive invasions, up to the
last at Piedras Negras, in 1855, were so many attempts upon
divers pretexts to obtain this end. As late as 1858, attempts
were made to organize expeditions against the Mexican fron-
tier, but these attempts were frustrated, because probably they
had become convinced that private enterprise could not success-
fully contend against the republic, and the population on the
Mexican line were opposed to it. The tactics were now changed,
and the attempt was made to involve the United States in a
war of conquest against Mexico ; Cortina's revolt, in 1859 and
1860, afibrded the first opportunity for obtaining it. The
Commission has stated the result of their study and considera-
tion of these facts. It is there shown, that the people residing
on the left bank of the Bravo, and the Texas forces in the
field, did their best to bring about a conflict between the two
lines, and to maintain a constant state of excitement among
206 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
the people of the IJDited States. It is there shown that this
course of conduct was sustained by the government of Texas,
and that upon the theory of preventing the organisation of i
parties in Mexico for robbing the Texas line, and obtaining
guaranties against such aggressions, a war for the acquisition
of territory was in fact intended ; the government of the United
States understood what was meant, and their labor was lost.
Governor Houston, in March of 1860, was already convinced
of the impossibility of obtaining his purpose, to which, and the
withdrawal of the Texan volunteers from the margin of the
Bravo, is to be attributed that, in the following April, the con-
flicts on the frontier were brought to a close. The Cortina
question had finished some months before, and if they sjave it
an existence in Texas, it Was for the purpose of carrying out
political plans of greater magnitude.
In 1861 the Confederate war broke out, and then the extent
of the ill-feel\ng entertained on the Texas frontier towards Mex- j
ico became manifest. The Texans upon the left bank were I
convinced of the good faith which governed the proceedings
of the Mexican authorities, and nevertheless they lost no op-
portunity of promoting broils and bitter discussions. Their
situation did not permit them to undertake any formal enter-
prises against the Mexican frontier, but they had no hesitation
in committing the greatest outrages. The invasion of Bagdad,
for the purpose of arresting officers and Union soldiers, who
were under the protection of neutral territory, carry them off
to Texas, and thereupon hang Captain Montgomery to a tree,
is an act which merits the severest criticism.
At that time the Texans went as far as they could under
their circumstances ; these did not permit them to take posses-
sion of the country, but they proceeded as though the country
in question was not a foreign one. The spirit prevailing in the
first filibustering invasions, and the one which guided the
policy of the Texas frontier during Cortina's revolt, inspired
them with an utter disregard of the rights and sovereignty of
the Mexican Kepublic. Subsequent to the year 1866, the
question of the Free Zone was first brought forward. It was
f »
f
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 207
stated that it was the cause of immense smuggling into the
United States, and that her revenues were defrauded thereby
of millions ; the necessity of taking possession of the Mexican
territory up to the Sierra Madre was defended as the only
means of preventing- contraband. It is not within the province
of this Commission to examine the question of the " Free
Zone," but it having been presented as an injury, and aground
of demoralization, on account of the smuggling to which it
gives room, and the indirect influence which it exerts in the
increase of crime, it is impossible to pass it over without a few
words of remark.
During the years immediately following 1848, smuggling
became one of the most serious questions in connection with
the frontier. The Commission has already referred to two
cases, in which, after the seizure of the cargo for violation of
the revenue laws, large parties of armed men crossed from the
American to the Mexican side, attacked the custom house
guards, recaptured the cargo, iand again crossed it to the Texas
frontier, where the parties committing these illegal acts enjoyed
every immunity. These facts furnish us with the measure of
the situation ; the fact that such parties could be gathered
together at a moment's notice, shows to what extent smug-
gling to the injury of Mexico was organized, to what extent it
was protected and encouraged, and to what degree demoraliz-
ation prevailed.
The rising of 1851 had for its object a commercial reform,
but in this, as in its political aspect, it was completely per-
verted. The commercial reforms driveled away into smuggling
operations, which were commenced on an immense scale, and
which resulted in the " Avalos *' tariff, issued by the command-
ing officer at Matamoros. By it prohibitions were removed,
and the duties reduced. This measure was most efficacious in
counteracting the political movement, because it separated from
it numerous Mexicans whose national sensibilities had been
wounded by the participation in the revolt of Texans, whose
intentions could not be relied upon by the people of Mexico.
Tha;t revolution was thus reduced to a war, supported and
208 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
maintained by the speculators at Brownsville, for, among other
purposes, that of smuggling.
The moral, social, and political consequences thus produced
are easily perceptible. The element of labor being founded
upon smuggling, all classes on both frontiers participated more
or less directly in it. The inducements were great from the
profits obtained, but the demoralization was not less. The
ruin of our towns was notorious, and to these disasters must be
added that of a great mass of the population on both margins
of the river accustoming themselves to a life of hazard and ad-
venture, ready for any disturbance, and from whence mutiny
and crime derived their principal means of action. All this
was due to the smuggling which was organized and protected
on the Texas side. The remedy for these evils was sought,
and the "Avalos" tariff was one of those put in practice,
but it, as a war measure, could be but temporary in its exist-
ence. A short time before, the idea of the Free Zone had been
suggested, which, in its subsequent development and applica-
tion in 1858, has not been, as the residents on the left bank
maintain, a measure adverse to the United States, but a defense
against the invading tendencies of the Texan side, which mani-
fested themselves in the enormous smuggling carried on to the
injury of our government.
The Free Zone, by drawing business to the frontier of Mex-
ico, and confining it to certain populous districts, has made
possible the exercise of a vigilance which was before impoefsible,
because the whole length of the banks of the Bravo then re-
quired to be watched. Smuggling has diminished to an incal-
culable degree, which will not be doubted by anybody who^
compare the moral condition, the elements of honest labor
developed at present in those towns, and the products of their
custom houses, with the relative condition of these same points,
previous to the establishment of the Free Zone.
But this, as a necessary consequence, attacked the illegiti-
mate interests created by smuggling on the Texas frontier. It
prevented Brownsville and other places on the left bank from
becoming centers for the smuggling which was done into Mex-
ico ; it was an obstacle in the way of unprincipled speculators^
NOrMejin frontier question. 209
realizing in a short time an immense fortune by defrauding
^ Mexico and spreading demoralization. All these interests
I which had been destroyed considered that they had been in-
jured when a bar was placed to their further disorderly pro-
ceedings. Hereupon they endeavored to secure the support of
the government of the United States for their immoral pur-
poses by asserting that the Free Zone was an act of hostile
legislation against it and the direct cause of a great contra-
' band across our frontier into Texas. The Commission acknowl-
edges that this contraband has existed, but of how little
importance is shown by an examination of the §canty popu-
lation which could consume it, and the not less significant
fact that most of the goods consumed on the American
frontier are of American production. If the origin of thia
smuggling is considered, it will be found that its cause must be
sought for elsewhere, and iiot in the " Free Zone," and a proof of
this fact is, that although the traffic is constant, smuggling at
certain times has not existed at all, or at least has been confined
to liquors or tobacco, which expert swimmers cross during the
night.
The " Free Zone," thus is neither by its origin nor present
condition, a measure by which the United States receives any
injury. Nevertheless the people on the Texas bank zealously
maintained the contrary, and for this purpose distorted the
facts and circumstances, and arrived at the conclusion that the
only adequate remedy to prevent the United States from suf-
fering on account of the contraband which was carried on from
Mexico into Texas, was to take possession of the Mexican ter-
ritory lying between the Bravo and the Sierra. Thus did the
people of Texas continue what they had previously commenced
in the Cortina question, and what they subsequently did in the
question of cattle stealing. A real fact, simple in its character
and circumstances, was distorted to create an artificial question
\ between Mexico and the United States for the purpose of
bringing about diflBiculties, the solution of which waa to be
found in a war of conquest.
When the Texas frontier became satisfied that the question
of the " Free Zone " would not produce the desired effect,^ they
14
210 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
Brought to life the question of cattle stealing. This explains
the reason why since 1870 they, resorted to complaints upon
this point, notwithstanding that cattle stealing has existed since
1862, and that previous to 1870 it was committed to a much
greater extent.
The petition to the legislature of Texas, in 1871, for General
Cortina's pardon excited passions of another kind, and -these
passions were an auxiliary for those purposes. From an of-
fense of a common nature, such as is simple cattle stealing,
which only demands the ordinary action of the tribunals, a
question of gneat political importance was made. It was not
an interest to suppress robbery and demoralization that guided
the people of Texas, because they have shown the contrary
by the tolerance and, in certain cases, protection, afforded
by them to cattle stealing committed in Mexico, although
this maintains a state of disorganization in which they have to
bear their share. A concerted and harmonious action between
the authorities on both banks to pursue the crime, independent
of the frontier where it may have been committed, would have
been quite sufficient ; but this concert was avoided in order
that a conflict and an uproar might be produced.
The question of cattle stealing under a political aspect is
merely artificial, and is of no importance except as a pretext.
In the same manner as in the Cortina question in 1860 and
that of the " Free Zone," in 1868 and 1869, it has served to
sustain the necessity of the United States taking possession of
the territory embraced between the Bravo and the Nueces
rivers. The political theory upon which this necessity is made
to rest is that the Bravo river is not a boundary which protects
the United States against marauding Mexicans and Indians,
and hence that it is indispensable that the boundary be extend-
ed to the Sierra Madre. This is the reason why there has been
80 much interest in maintaining that the robberies and all
kinds of crime in Texas are committed by bands organized in
Mexico. Hence it is that the urgency of " guaranties for the
future " is proclaimed, and hence it is also that these guaranties
seek an acquisition of territory.
The Commission have obtained various Texas newspapers,
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 211
in whicb are contained articles showing the political character
stamped upon the question of cattle stealing. An extract from
one . of them is sufficient. — The Brownsville Sentmely Novem-
ber 3d, 1872, Our Boundary.
The article commences by copying the resolutions submitted
in the United States Senate, on the 28th of February, 1848,
by General Samuel Houston, as an amendment to the treaty of
Guadalupe :
" That the dividing line should start one league south of
Tampico, in a straight line to the south of San Luis Potosi,
thence to the Sierra Madre, and following the 25th parallel to
the east coast of lower California, this and the islands in the
Pacific to be embraced within the limits of the United States."
It adds, that General Taylor during the war recommended
the Sierra Madre as the most desirable for the dividing line be-
tween the two countries. It also explains the causes which
probably influenced the selection of the Kio Grande as the di-
viding line. Alluding to General Houston and his action in
the Senate to change the dividing line, it says:
"He supported the resolutions presented by him for this
purpose, by many reasons full of force and worthy of a states-
man. He had witnessed the inefficiency of the Rio Grande ;
the difficulty of defending it; the facility with which it could
be crossed in spite of all precautions, and the consequent inse-
curity which would result to ourselves, if Mexico reached the
state of demoralization which he predicted. His efforts for the
passage of an act establishing a protectorate in Mexico, which
was his ardent desire, the result of his profound foresight, his
solicitude for the welfare of Texas, and the protection of the
inhabitants on the frontier — "
This same paper referring to the causes which gave rise to
its article, states :
" Cortina's invasion of 1859 and 1860 ;.the continuance of
this war of depredation which with some short intervals has
lasted for thirteen years ; the great loss of life and property
experienced by the people of Texas; the operations organized
in Mexico by the Kickapoos and other tribes of Indians, and
those by Mexican citizens, and the officers and soldiers of the
Mexican army, show the feeling of insecurity which has pre-
212 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
Tailed among the inhabitants of the Rio Grande and the
Nueces, as well as those living upon the banks of the tributaries
of this latter river, a feeling which has retarded the settlement }
of the country, the development of its resources and 'much
other important business, thus tending to draw attention to the
line of the Rio Grande, and create the opinion that it is an un-
safe line between the United States and Mexico."
It continues by saying that this demands a change. That
both governments have sent Commissioners to inquire into the
diflSculties on the frontier. That the United States Commis-
sion have gathered together a mass of undeniable proofs,
which show a criminal neglect of its duty on the part of the
Mexican Government, and connivance, on the part of its agents
or employees, in the piratical acts upon the people of the
United States. That the weakness of the Mexican Govern-
ment renders it impossible for it to guarantee the future, how-
ever good its intentions may be. That two plans had been
proposed as a remedy for the situation, the first of which was
a treaty permitting the troops of either government to cross the ^
Rio Grande in pursuit of the guilty persons or parties. That
this plan was unacceptable because it might give rise to seri-
ous conflicts. The following explanation was given with re-
gard to the second plan :
"Make the Sierra Madre the dividing line, and thus protect
the settlers in Western Texas ; accept compensation for the pasty
and give certain jkaed amd irrevocable security for the future.''^
The question of cattle stealing presents two aspects. In
the one which may be called its personal aspect, there is an
attempt made by a greater or less body of people for the
purpose of committing an act of expoiliation, to the injury of
the Mexican Republic, and to obtain the support of the
government of the United States, toward those improper
designs. This is called " compensation for the pastP In its
political aspect, it is an effort to carry out the projects which
were conceived in 1848, and the realization of which was
at first attempted by means of filibustering undertakings, and
subsequently, when these failed, by endeavoring to involve
Mexico in a war with the United States. This is called " Ouar-
aniAesfor thefviv/reP ^
Tr
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 213
From the moment in which cattle stealing ceases to be the
question, and becomes the pretext, as other previous acts have
been, the supposition is not improbable that, for some time to
<;ome, and until there is an increase in the population and strong
ties of material interests between the tWb frontiers, difficulties
of a more or less serious nature, incited and exaggerated
l)y the present residents upon the left bank of the Bravo river,
will be brought to notice.
Both frontiers are thus, for both nations, places of the
greatest importance. The diflSiculties arising there are generally
artificial, due to trifling causes for the settlement of which,
in a .majority of cases, it would be sufficient that the military
command of the frontier should be in charge of persons of
isound judgment. With regard to Mexico, the Commission is
of opinion that the military command of the frontier of the
Eastern States is a position of great responsibility, and to
which should be attached all the importance to which it is
entitled, because in all probability, if serious complications
should at any time arise with the United States, their origin
will be here.
XVIII.
It is impossible to deny that since 1848 the stealing of horses
has been carried on in Mexico, for the purpose of carrying
them into Texas and selling them there. It must also be ad-
mitted, that since 1862 cattle have been stolen in Texas, taken
into Mexico, and sold there, but it is not true that this has been
carried on to the extent alleged by the complainants in Texas ;
there is no doubt, however, about the fact. This is not a polit-
ical question within the meaning given to it ; it has no such
<;haracter as the complainants have endeavored to invest it
with ; nevertheless, both governments are certainly interested
in regulating the condition of their respective frontiers. With
regard to the cattle stealing, the remedy is with the police and
the courts, and consequently it is to the interests of both gov-
4ernments that these should produce their proper fruits.
The Commission have had an opportunity of observing the
214 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
ineflSciency of the local authorities on both frontiers. The Mexi-
can authorities do not possess sufficient means of action, while
the disorganization of those of the United States is notorious.
The evil is greater between the Bravo and Nueces rivers, by
reason of the want of large towns. Furthermore, upon both
lines the authorities are elective ; at times honest men may be
elected, but at others, corrupt ones may be. These reasons
show the necessity of extending the action of the federal author-
ities as far as possible, or the laws will consent.
As a consequence of these facts, and without prejudice to
the action of the local authorities, it is desirable that a federal
force should be detailed, sufficient to watch all the frontier
from Mataraoros to Piedras Negras; but in order that this
force should answer its purpose, it ought to be composed of
two elements, m^n of the regular army, and a federal police,
auxiliary to and under the command of the former.
The regular army by itself is insufficient, because it is im-
possible to exercise due vigilance, and efficiently pursue the
criminals without possessing a full topographical knowledge of
the country, of the places where robbery is- most easily (jomr
mitted, of the fords cf the river most frequented by cattle
stealers, and of the parties engaged in such crime. Criminals
driving stolen cattle do not travel on the highways; it is not
there they are to be sought for, or pursued, and hence the pro-
priety of a federal police composed of honest men belonging to
the place, and who would be an auxiliary to the regular troops.
It is unnecessary to call attention to the great care which
should be used by the officers commissioned to organize this
police, in the selection of the elements of which it is to be com-
posed, as otherwise it would produce a contrary effect. Thift
force does not require to be numerous if it be well organized ;
its results should be anticipated rather from the nature of its
elements than from its numbers. As a regulation of great im-
portance, the Commission would suggest that this police use no
distinctive uniform whatever, as this would serve as a notice to
the criminals whom they are to persecute.
The regular force and the police should render their services
in such manner as to be a means of real protection to all citi-
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 215
zens against the robbers. When the proprietors npon the
frontier become satisfied that they are suflScientlj protected,
they will become powerful auxiliaries in the persecution of
the robbers. If at present they show indiflference, it is
owing to the fact that they have ijo protection on either fron-
tier ; they are compelled to tolerate the criminals and be silent
as to their offenses, because the authorities furnish them no
means of defense. The nature and organization of the service
are matters with which the Commission are not acquainted, and
belong to the military. Nevertheless it is impossible to leave
unremarked that upon both banks of the Bravo river there are
ranches, several ' of which have become noted as the hiding
places of robbers, and that it is certain that those upon one
bank are in connivance with those upon the other. In order
that the service be eflScient, it is necessary to make a special
investigation as to the ranches on either side at or near which
detachments should be placed. Harmonious action upon
the part of the military authorities would produce the happiest
results in this connection. It is unnecessary to remark that
it is not desirable that a force should remain too great a length
bf time at one place ; on the contrary, it should be frequently
moved as a means of preserving discipline. A second train
of measures necessary for the suppression of cattle stealing,
is one which would lead to an expeditious action on the
part of the courts. Although the Commission deems it very
advantageous to carry this class of cases before the federal
courts on both frontiers, as being more independent in their
action and freer from the local influences arising out of elec-
tions, it has to confess that, with regard to Mexico, it has found
no means to this end compatible with the Constitution ; it does
not know whether there may be any such means in the United
States.
The suppression of all kinds of expenses, in the form of
fees to the public employees or any others, is a matter of neces-
sity. The legislation of the frontier States of both nations
should tend to facilitate the persecution of cattle stealers and
cattle stealing, without regard to the place where the offense
may have been committed. Measures of this nature are for
316 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
their own protection. For this purpose, and with a view of
converting individual action into an auxiliary of the authori-
ties, every possible facility should be offered to such action.
With regard to Mexico,, no charge is made, all is gratuitous ;
but in Texas the necessity exists of abolishing the fees paid
to the sheriff and the courts. The propriety of a simple
, proof is indicated, in order to avoid as far as possible the
assistance of a lawyer. In Mexico it has been the practice to
require the proof of presenting the brand, because it establishes
a presumption of ownership. This throws upon the possessor
of it the necessity of proving that it was lawfully acquired.
These provisions are substantially the same as those contained
in the first section of the laws of Texas, passed on the 13th
I^ovember, 1866, but there is this difference, that this latter
confines itself to Texas cattle. It is not extended to cattle
6tolen in Mexico and carried into the LTnited States, while the
courts in Mexico have applied the principle to cattle brought
from Texas.
In Texas the proof by the brand, with regard to horses
stolen in Mexico, is not suflScient, further proofs are required.
The Commission suggests the propriety of the first section df
the law of Texas of 1860, being made to extend to both fron-
tiers, for animals stolen on either -side. If this was done, the
proof of the brand upon the part of the plaintiff, and the
want of a bill of a sale in the possession of the defendant,
would amount to a presumption, or as called in law, a ^' prima
facie " proof of an unlawful possession of the animals. Some
measure of this kind is indispensable, both for the purpose
of facilitating the recovery of the stolen property by its owners,
as well as to place within the reach of the courts the same
means of investigation used by private parties.
The Commission has elsewhere remarked that cattle stealing
is generally accompanied by smuggling, so that there are two
offenses coming under different jurisdictions, and y^rj different
in their results. There can be no doubt that the original of-
fense is stealing, and that the smuggling can work no prejudice
to the owner of the property, who is innocent, and that hence
it is simply a matter of robbery, and should be so tried for the
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 217
purpose of returning the property stolen to its owner. The
Mexican authorities have taken this view of the matter, and
the custom-house employees have placed the cattle thus smug-
gled at the disposal of the local judges. In only one single
case of those which came under the observation of the Com-
mission, was the matter referred to the federal judge.
In the United States, smuggling always determines the
nature of the suit. A case has occurred, for instance, of the
owner pursuing horses and mules which had been stolen from
Mm, and after having found and recovered them, in a suit be-
fore the courts of Texas, he has been compelled to defend
another suit on account of the contraband committed by the
thieves. The owner certainly cannot be prevented from ap-
pearing and claiming his property, and although, notwithstand-
ing the smuggling, it is returned to him if he proves his prop-
erty, this result is only reached after unnecessary annoyance.
With regard to Mexico, the question is easily decided.
Cattle pay no importation duties, so that if they are clandestinely
imported, there are grounds to presume that theft and not
smuggling is the cause of the secrecy. Tliis presumption should
be held as the basis of the legislation to be made upon the
subject.
With regard to the United States, the subject presents more *
difficulties. Horses, mares and mules are subject to importa-
tion duties. The clandestine importation thus may be by rea-
son of robbery, or for the purpose of defrauding the govern-
ment of the duties. These two presumptions then are present,
but as the Commission is not sufficiently acquainted with the
laws of the United States to give an opinion, as to the means
adequate for the protection of the owners on this side against
the vexations of a suit, it confines itself to stating that that
legislation is imperfect, because it does not keep in view the
peculiar circumstances of the frontier.
These various measures are intended to protect the rights
of the owners, by removing all the obstacles in the way of the
recovery of their property at the least possible cost. Not only
morally speaking, but as a matter for their own benefit, the
Federal and State authorities should make such laws as would
I
218 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
establish easy and simple means for the protection of the rights
of the owner and the punishment of the crime. The laws
of Texas which punish the crime of stealing, when committed
outside of its territory and the stolen property is carried within
its limits, as also conspiracies for crime to be committed outside
of its limits, are worthy of special mention, and leave nothing
to be desired with regard to the matter. If, in Mexico, the
laws are properly applied, no others are necessary. The party
committing a robbery in Texas, and bringing the stolen prop-
erty into Mexico for the purpose of sale, is guilty of a crime
continued {^e i/racto suceesivo), and subject to punishment.
Also those who conspire to commit crimes, although not to be
committed on our frontier, are from the simple act guilty. The
Mexican courts have applied these principles, without the neces-
sity of a special legislation, to such cases as have occurred, and
at times have even gone farther. On the eighth of May, 1863,
while the town of Mier was temporarily annexed to the State
of Nuevo Leon, the government of that State ordered, that when
the residents of that town were guilty of crime or disorderly con-
duct in the United States, and did not demur to the jurisdiction
of Mexico, upon complaint being made against them, that they
should be tried by the State authorities.
This latter practice has never come into general use, and its
propriiety may be doubted, on account of the risk incurred by
the accused party, in being tried at a different place from
where the occurrences took place, and where it would be easier
for him to establish his innocence. With regard to the former^
there is no doubt as to its necessity, and, in the judgment of the
Commission, it is expedient that such laws be made the subject
of special legislation. The reasons which govern this judgment
are, that doubts have been expressed as to the application of
those legal principles to crimes committed in Texas, although
such doubts are groundless, because in one case the crime is
initiated, and in the other consummated in Mexico. Nev-
ertheless, it is desirable to remove all doubt, in order that
there may never be any difficulty, when there is an object in
making one, for the punishment of criminals. The extent of
NORTHERN FJIONTIER QUESTION. 21 9^
the penalty attached to cattle stealing in the State of Texas^
leaves nothing to be desired in this respect. Horse stealing,
although it may be only of a single one, is punished by five to
fifteen years in the penitentiary, and cattle by two to five years.
A reform is required in this particular in the laws of the
frontier States. The law of the 5th of January, which is in
operation in those States, affixes the penalty in proportion to
the amount of the theft, the result of which is, that the penalty
for cattle stealing is very slight. It frequently occurs that
cattle stealers are only punished by four or six months in the
chain gang, upon the conclusion of which they are set at
liberty to again continue their career of robbery ; the im-
propriety of this lias been already remarked by other persons.
Lawyer Trinidad Garza Melo, in his notes for the criminal
statistics of Nuevo Leon, in referring to this same question
stated :
" The same cannot be said with regard to the penalty
attached to cattle stealing, bv the said law of the 5th of
January. The penalty attached to cattle stealing is not
sufficient to suppress this crime in the State according to that
law ; that which might be proper and sufficient in the States of
the interior, is not so in Nuevo Leon, nor do I believe it cau
be so in any frontier State."
He continues by explaining the causes of the frequency of
cattle stealing, and which have been enumerated elsewhere by
the Commission, and continues by saying :
" Since the causes which make cattle stealing profitable, or
render its commission easy, cannot be removed or directly in-
fluenced, it is necessary that the cattle stealers should be more
severely punished. Cattle stealing, which in itself is serious on
accoant of the abuse of the public confidence, in whose custody
the cattle in the fields are, is also so by reason of the serious
losses inflicted by them upon the stock raisers ; those who re-
c[uire them for their business, and especially to the wagon
trains on the road, the theft of some of whose mules makes it a
matter of impossibility for them to continue their journey, and
this naturally becomes the source of great losses to the mer-
chants, consignees of the goods which they are transporting.
It does not thus appear that the parties committing a crime^
U20 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
attended with such serious consequences, are properly punished
by the same penalty affixed to a simple larceny, even though
this penalty be doubled as to the time in the chain gang, as
directed by the law of the 5th of February. The penalty of
the larceny being made by this law commensurate with the
value of the property stolen, it rarely occurs that at the time of
conviction in cades of cattle stealing, the penalty can exceed
one year, because the law does not sanction it, which, as I said
before, was given in 1857 for all the republic. Though this
law with regard to cattle stealing may be proper and sufficient
in the interior States, it is not so in Nuevo Leon, which by its
topographical position is, as are the other frontier States, under
very difierent circumstances, and offer greater facilities and
more certain profits to cattle thieves.
" Hence it is necessary that, in such cases, the State should
make a law attaching heavier penalties than those which are
now imposed, according to the law of the 5th of January, 1857,
referred to."
The punishment of the purchasers of animals stolen on
either, frontier should be made the object of a law. At times
there have been applied in Mexico, to parties purchasing cattle
stolen in the United States, the provisions with regard to the
receivers of stolen property, but this, neither by reason of the
time or place, has been the general practice. Nevertheless, it
is from this class of dealers that the crime receives the most
encouragement, and in the judgment of the Commission they
should be most severely punished. It will be impossible radi-
cally to remedy this, so long as there may be persons, in any of
the frontier States of Mexico or the United States, who pur-
<;hase with impunity the proceeds of the raid made upon the
other nation.
As a preventive, and in order to facilitate the action of the
courts, the Commission deem it desirable that the extradition
treaty should be amended in various points. This treaty is,
and has been wholly inefficacious, because it is not adapted to
the circumstances of the frontier. In the opinion of the Com-
mission, it requires the following amendments and additions.
First. Extradition should be applicable to the crime of
cattle stealing, whatever may be the amount stolen, and even
though it did not amount to twenty-five dollars, repealing the
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 221
last part of the third article of the treaty. The facility of com-^
mitting this crime, and the difficulty of discovering it, show
the propriety of allowing no opportunity to pass of punishing,
it, and for this purpose every means should be facilitated
which leads to this end. Furthermore, in the frontier States
the extent of this crime should not be measured by the value
of the stolen property, either with regard to extradition or its
punishment. Cattle stealing is governed by special and easily
perceptible considerations, if the recent difficulties are remem-
bered.
Second, The extradition of deserters in active service be-
longing to the garrisons on the frontier, within, for example,
say twenty leagues of the dividing line, appears also to be a
necessity. The deserters from the Mexican army take refuge
in Texas, where, not finding means of employment, they em-
bark'in crime, and increase that floating mass of criminals so
prejudicial to both frontiers. Such an emigration cannot be
desirable to Texas ; on the contrary it contributes to her
insecurity.
Third, The Commission consider the principle worthy of
consideration that the citizens of either of the two nations
who, within the jurisdiction of the other, exercise some polit-
ical rights, and thereby commit an offense, are subject to ex-
tradition. The latter part of the sixth article of the treaty
provides that neither of the two contracting parties shall be com-
pelled to extradite their own citizens. It has frequently occurred
that Mexicans by birth and nationality have participated in
the elections in Texas, and have thus perpetrated an offense
there, and then sought refuge in Mexico. The fact of voting
at elections does not deprive them of their Mexican citizenship
according to our laws, nor does it confer upon them a United
States citizenship according to the laws of that country, hence
there are no grounds to resist extradition accordin'g to the
terms of the treaty. Nevertheless the generality of these
parties commit offenses on both sides of the Bravo, and remain
unpunished. Their punishment at the place where it could
be proved they had committed their crimes would be very
advantageous.
^23 REPORT Of COMMITTEE.
• Fourth. The great distance from Matamoros to Monterey
Laredo and the intermediate towns, following the Mexican
frontier, and from Brownsville to Laredo and the intermediate
towns, by way of the United States frontier, suggests the pro-
|mety of appointing an extradition commissioner according to
the fourth article of the treaty, at each one of these places, in
order that the proceedings may be eflScient. In view of the
facility which both frontiers furnish for the escape and conceal-
ment of criminals, the greatest possible facilities should be
provided for their arrest.
These measures have suggested themselves to the Commis-
sion, but it must confess that, until the State of Texas adopts a
better legislation, and endeavors to have it strictly enforced,
doing away with the abuses which, under the name of custom,
are so many means for cattle stealing, there must be on the
United States frontier a constant cause of demoralization
which, under certain conditions, will show itself in the stealing
of cattle and carrying them to our side, in spite of all the meas-
ures which may be taken. The Commission is aware of the
diflBculties surrounding the undertaking, on account of the
great number of persons who have made and arc endeavoring
to increase their fortunes through such disturbances, while as
many more would like to do so by the same means.
XIX.
The Commission in the course of its labors has taken special
care to investigate the truth, has omitted no means to attain
this end, and it now seeks to present it in this report.
In the history of the relations between the two frontiers,
the question of cattle stealing is only an incidental one, and is
doomed to disappear so soon as it shall have answered its poUt-
ical purposes.
What merits particular attention is, that series of crises
which have periodically occurred in their intercourse since
1848, and the invariable solution of which has been sought for
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION.
223
in the expansion of territory. This is in substance the meaning
of the question of cattle stealing.
Until the spirit prevailing on the left bank of the river is
modified, a similar condition of things must continue to exist,
and, certainly, neither laws nor treaties will prove a remedy,
although they may perhaps contribute thereto.
The most powerful preventive will be found in the devel-
opment of a class of interests, different from that at present
existing on the frontier, and especially an increase in real
property, to the end that, instead of as now, seeking to bring
abont a rupture for the profits expected to be derived from it,
their exertions might then be directed towards maintaining
friendly relations, for the benefits to be obtained through them
and the necessity of their preservation.
Moin'EEET, May 15th, 1873.
Emilio Velasoo,
Ygnaoio Galindo,
Antonio Garoia Oaeeillo,
AUGUSTIN SlLIOIO,
Secretary,
■>
:ii
i
■#
^
JL^TE reports'
COMMISSION OF INVESTIGATION
ON THB
NORTHERN FRONTIER.
15
?
-i
> •
COMMISSION OF INYESTIGATION
ON THE
NORTHERN FRONTIER
Citizen Minister :
In the communication which I have the honor to forward
yon, in compliance with the decree of 2d October, 1872, which
provided for the scrupulous investigation of the injuries suf-
fered by the inhabitants on the Northern frontier of Mexico,,
you will see these injuries specified in detail, setting forth their
origin and characteristics, and showing the evil in all its various
phases.
It was not possible to give to this work less magnitude than
that which it has assumed, for the reason that the simple nar-
rative of the facts, and tlie quotations from various documents
necessitated quite a volume. It also includes the opinion of the
Commission on the best remedies to be applied to each of the
obstacles which retards the progress of that part of the country,
and it has been deemed expedient to compile these suggestions
in such form as will facilitate their presentation by you to the
president, for his consideration.
In the first place, it is shown that the establishment of a
military post on the frontier is indispensable to maintain order,
and form the basis of a regular footing for the relations be-
228 REPORT OF COMMITTEE. *
tween this republic and that of the United States. The officer
to be placed in command of these troops should be of high
rank, and possessed of qualities to render him respected.
2. It is of the utmost importance that the upper portion of
the Rio Grande be guarded by detachments of from 250 to 300
men, to be posted at San Vicente, el Burro and las Vacas, by
which measure the incursions of the savages can be restrained,
and a stop put to the raids made by the Texan populace from
this quarter, and the injuries received by Mexicans.
3. To advance the interests of the inhabitants of the vast
wilderness lying between Chihuahua, Ooahuila and Durango,
and to give encouragement and protection to Mexicans who
will settle there ; keeping in mind that the settlement of this
tract can only be effected by first guarding the frontier, and
thereby giving security to the settlers ; the government lands
should be surveyed and distributed to applicants, or to emi-
grants from the central States of the republic,, as was done by
the Spanish Government.
4. To encourage the settlement of towns under the princi-
ples indicated, employing the resources conceded to the frontier
States, under the name of " assistance^" and protecting the
capital so invested, that it may not be diverted from its object.
5. To form a new territory of all the new towns, so that
the General Government may be more active and energetic
towards the advancement of the settlers, provided, always, that
they are Mexicans.
6. To regulate the intercourse between the innumerable
ranches lying on the border of the Eio Grande, in such man-
ner as will not injure nor compromise the international rela-
tions, nor affect the revenues of the public treasury, by per-
mitting the introduction of contraband goods by the inhabitants
thereof, or by their protection to contrabandists,
7. To promulgate such laws as are considered best for the
suppression of the cattle thieves, including such measures as
may be necessary to prevent the flight of servants, who carry
off from the country vast capital, and who, by their crimes on
either shore of the Eio Grande, compromise the international
relations.
/
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 22^
8. To try and better the condition of Mexicans residing in
Texas who are owners of property in that State. This is made
essential from the feeling against them, shown by the unprece-
dented injuries to which they are daily subjected. Besides the
action of the diplomatic bureau, the establishment of a consulate
in Corpus Christi would contribute greatly towards effecting a.
beneficial change in this particular.
9. To so reform the regulations governing the trade of the
Zona Libre, that no articles of merchandise can be consumed
by the inhabitants of the region without the payment of taxes,
however moderate; and that the new tariff should embrace
some of the articles now included in the present tariff rates ;
and that this change be effected upon the basis indicated in a
separate memorial addressed to the Secretary of the Treasury.
10. That without departing from the rules laid down in the
Circular of 10th September, 1850, such others may be applied
as have been proved by experience to be best for the solution
of Indian questions, thereby inaugurating a simple policy,
straightforward and just towards these tribes, whenever they
present themselves in our territory.
11. Appoint a council, whose duty it shall be to inform it-
self on all questions relating to Indian depredations, taking ex-
act evidence relative to the injuries sustained by Mexican
citizens, and upon all other subjects bearing upon the question,
so as to avoid responsibility and secure the rights of such Mexi-
can citizens as have been injured ; in all cases the council must
take, cognizance of the tribe of Indians committing the depre-
dation, their place of residence, the amount of the damages
done by them, and the responsibility incurred by authorities
or citizens of the United States ; also the action taken by United
States officers for their punishment, and that used by Mexicans
for their repression. The council to be specially charged to
open relations with Texas or such portion of the State as is
inhabited by Indians, in order to investigate fully the conduct
pursued by American authorities towards native tribes, and
that maintained upon the government reservations, and towards
those who lead a nomadic life, using meantime every nieasure
230 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
to inform itself as to the ultimate destination of the stolen
property.
12. To inaugurate reforms in the laws of justice, by reor-
ganizing the federal tribunals in such manner as that the courts
may be administered by persons of known ability, having for
their assistants in all cases men no less worthy than themselves.
Their jurisdiction should include all such crimes as compromise
the international relations.
13. That the penal code, relating to contrabandists, is like-
wise in want of thorough reform ; frauds against the treasury
by smuggling are not considered dishonorable, and demand the
severe treatment of corporal punishment, such as imprisonment
of the merchant who commits the crime, and the closing of his
place of business should he be a Mexican citizen, and banish-
ment from the republic should he be a foreigner.
After enumerating all the troubles which afflict the Mexican
frontier, in the report made by the Commission, they considered
thieir work incomplete, and proceeded to express their judgment
as to the proper means of remedying the evil. They do not
presume to say that they have discovered the best means, and
perhaps no measures could be applied which would correct such
inveterate wrong doing, which, by reason of its long duration,
is rendered the more difficult to deal with ; but it is certain
that the measures and regulations which they propose have
all been deliberately and carefully studied by them; and
should they even prove not equal to extirpating the evils
on the frontier, which have taken such root, at least they will
undoubtedly conduce to an amelioration thereof, arid admit of
a choice by such persons as are well posted in regard to the
general situation of the country, the character of the people,
and in fact the true condition of atfairs.
In presenting to you this compendium of the result of the
labors confided to us, we must not conceal that the inhabitants
of Northern Mexico, wearied by their suflferings which number
half a century, desire even more than the reparation of losses
and danaages sustained, a regular system of protection which
will secure them from future annoyances. They wish to live
in security from the injuries, which, up to the present, they
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 231
receive almost daily from the authorities and citizens of the
United States, and which they are compelled to endure through
their weakness and inability to resent them.
If some of their objects have been accomplished, the Com-
mission will feel perfectly satisfied, and if the results desired
have not been so successful as intended, they will still enjoy
the consciousness of knowing that their efforts were solely en-
gaged to this end.
Independence and Liberty.
Mexico, March 13, 18Y4.
(Signed.) IGNACIO GALINDO.
(Signed.) Francisco Valdez Gomjiz.
Secretaryy
To the Minister of Foreign Helationa.
(Copy.)
Mexico, March 13, 1874.
Fbancisoo Valdez Gomez,
Secretary.
COMMISSION OF INVESTIGATION
ON THE
NOKTHERN FRONTIER.
The Oommission charged with the investigation of the
aflfairs on the northern frontier of the republic, in the States
of Coahuila, Nuevo Leon, and Tamaulipas, have made a
detailed report of the result of their labors to the Minister
of Foreign Affairs. Besides showing the evils existing, the
Commission have pointed out such remedies which, in their
opinion, they consider as best adapted to elevate that important
portion of the country from the prostration to which it has been
reduced.
As some of these remedies suggested belong to the military
branch, it has been determined to forward a minute of them to
you, that through you they may be brought to the notice of
the President for his consideration and resolve.
In the above-named report the Commission showed the
urgent necessity of guarding the line of the Rio Grande by a
regiment of infantry, to give dignity to the republic, and re-
strain by their presence the disorders which so frequently occur
whether by the incursions of Indians or the invasions of fili-
busters. This measure recommends itself; and it is a fact that
Mexico has always endeavored to maintain a respectable guard
on her frontier. If, in 1855, she was compelled to withdraw
these forces, it was not because she did not recognize their
utility and, in fact, necessity, but on account of the demoraliza-
tion existing, which had extended to the army. Now that
discipline has made this branch of the public service distin-
guished, the frontier claims its co-operation in the public
welfare, and hopes that a guard may be sent who will contribute
to the bettering of their towns.
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION.
283
The same necessity exists, and, in fact, there is greater
urgency for the garrisoning of the old Fort of San Vicente, of
el Burro, and of las Vacas, each by a detachment of from twa
to three hundred men. These points are situated on the
margin of the Eio Grande, and it is the opinion of old officers
of the disbanded garrisons of these forts, with whom conference
has been had upon the subject, that these points command the
best strategical positions for covering the whole line, and de-
fending Coahuila, Durango,*Zacatecas, San Luis Potosi, Nuevo
Leon, and Tamaulipas from the incursions of savages.
without possessing any military knowledge, the Commis-
sion, nevertheless, takes the liberty to recommend the garrison-
ing of the above-named points, not only because this is suggested
by superior officers of the old companies oF those forts, but
because they had been selected for this object ever since the
days of the Colonial Government, which left so many proofs
of its skill in these matters.
In order to influence the government to adopt these or other
similar measures, plans of the country have been made, in which
the rivers, mountains and valleys are laid down with the object
of their being considered by officers of the army, amongst whom
there must be many well versed in this branch who can study
such points and classify the opinions collected upon the sub-
ject, as already stated.
The defense of the frontier is of the greatest importance,
and should be decided upon, and organized without delay,
since an exact report of the sufferings of the inhabitants has
been made. Never before has the country been able to dispose
of so well disciplined an array which does credit to the country
it serves, and never before has there been known to exist such
an immensity of wrong with such easy facility for curing it.
The system of defense will lack completeness if forces are
not stationed at the entrance of Bolson de Mapimi, or, what is
the same thing, at the Lagoon of Tahualilo ; and it is the gen-
eral belief that these guards, properly stationed, will encour-
age emigration to that part of the country, which is inviting
with its wealth and abundance.
234 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
There is a law relating to the establishment of military col-
onies on the frontier, and although this is of itself sufficient to
better the condition of things, yet, on account of its great cost-
liness, the benefit to be derived will have to be postponed.
It is better to state here that, without such enormous ex-
penses, equal benefit may be obtained, and would already have
been reached, had the appropriation of five thousand dollars
monthly, accorded to the frontier States, been applied to this
object as judiciously as it should have been by the Governors
of the frontier ; but this amount, expended without any special
or settled plan, makes the sacrifices of the nation useless, and
retards the progress of the country, whilst dangers threaten
from the incursions of the Indians on one hand, and interna-
tonal complications on the other, arising from the^ abandon-
ment of our line, and giving rise to the complaints made by our
neighbors.
The ten thousand dollars apportioned to Coahuila and
Nuevo Leon, employed as intended, which, up to the present
has not been done on account of the shortsightedness of
those charged with the distribution of the funds, would have
settled a town one year, and another the next year, and
by the payment of guards to give security and protection
during the first few years of their establishment, astonishing
results might have been attained, particularly if the emi-
grants had been drafted from such places where numbers
of families live in abject poverty and misery. It was by
this means that all these regions of country were peopled,
after i;heir discovery. Besides, it is mere illusion to believe
that other emigrants will settle there, nor is it patriotic to
people the frontier with other than Mexicans in heart and
nationality.
The ideas here expressed, it is not necessary to say, are the
result of careful observations on the part of the Commission,
and of a minute and detailed examination of the present and
former situations. For this reason they are recommended to
you, and we pray you to present them to the President for his
consideration, and for the adoption of those which, in his
opinion, will produce any public benefit. You will undoubtedly
^
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 235
succeed with your exquisite tact and that experience and
knowledge of men and things which your years of labor in
the administration of affairs of the republic have gained for
you.
Independence and liberty.
Mexico, March 10, 1874,
IGNACIO GALINDO.
Feanoisoo Valdez Gomez,
Secretary,
To the Minister of War.
(Copy.)
March 10, 1874.
Feanoisoo Valdez Gomez,
Secretary.
COMMISSION OF INVESTIGATION
ON THE
NORTHERN FRONTIER.
Amongst the many inconveniences which thwart the prog-
ress of the frontier, the principal one is the sparsity of the pop-
ulation ; in that region there are large tracts of waste lands
which no one cares to appropriate, on account of the immense
expenditures necessary to acquire property, and the delay
attendant on the information which must be given to the Gov-
ernor of the State in which the land lies, the securing of the
approbation of the minister, apart from cost of surveying,
which very often no one dares to make on account of the
perils incurred in the wilderness from the attacks of Indians.
All these are barriers to the settlement of the country.
If this state of things continue, the frontier will never be
peopled, and the wealth of the land will remain unproductive.
It is easy to infer what class of people are likely to settle this
region; by changing the tariff, making the acquisition of
the lands more easy by apportioning the lots from surveys pre-
viously made, and numbering them in ord^ to make the trans-
fer easy, and by thus disposing of all the Government waste
lands, the country will soon be fully populated.
In order to realize these ideas, the Commission took the
first step by addressing a surveyor in Monterey, who has agreed
to make the measurements on the basis of the accompanying
note. As you will observe, his propositions do not appear ex-
aggerated, and contain all the necessary qualifications for giv-
ing impetus to the development of the country without great
expense to the republic. He suggests an easy method for pop-
ulating a desert, the existence of which is not unfrequently a
cause for charges against Mexico.
Although this same project has been proposed through the
mmamm
NOHTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 337
Minister of Foreign Relations, under general principles, it
specially pertains to the office under your charge, and it has
therefore been considered advisable to make these explanations,
accompanied by a draft of the measures proposed, in order that
you may bring it to the notice of the President, and with his
advice, determine the course to be pursued.
Independence and liberty.
Monterey, February 1, 1874.
IGNACIO GALINDO.
Fbancisco Valdez Gomez,
Secretary,
To the Minister of Fomento.
(Copy.)
Mexico, March 10, 1874.
Franoisoo Valdez Gomez,
Seoretary.
In reply to yours of the 6th instant, asking me for the con-
ditions under which I would be willing to make a plan of the
lands in the northern part of the States of Nuevo Leon and
Ooahuila, and to give some of the details in relation to the
proposed measurement, in order that the proposal may be
made to the national government, I address to you the follow-
ing :
1st. The plan or map of these lands, which are almost un-
known, covers an area extending from about the 27° to the 30°
of north latitude, and from 0° to 3° of longitude west of the
meridian of Mexico, including besides points which, although
outside of these limits, deserve, in my opinion, to be better
known to the national government.
2d. The plan will contain, besides the mountains, rivers,
and general features of the country, a minute description of the
geographical situation of that region, its elevation above the
sea, the settlements now in existence, as well as those places
sparsely or totally uninhabited which deserve particular atten-
tion on account of their fertility, pasturage, and mines, which
238 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
make them especially adapted to the maintenance of a popula-
tion more or less numerous.
3d. The above named map will be accompanied by special
plans of the towns and places mentioned in the second proposi-
tion, showing the topography of the place.
4th. As a road is contemplated from Piedras Negras to
Chihuahua, its track will be laid down on the map, and a note
made of such places on its route as are best adapted for settle-
ments, marking the water, and their distance from it, and
giving the quantity of water found in such places as are con-
sidered to have the best facilities of every kind, keeping in
mind that the road is a public highway.
5th. The general and special plans will be accompanied by
a diary of the expedition, which will contain a detailed descrip-
tion of everything that will lead to a thorough knowledge of
the face of the country, and of its properties and qualifications,
as well as all the proceedings employed in making the survey,
in order that confidence may be felt in the reliability of the
work. A copy of these documents will be presented to the
government and another to the society of " Geografia y Esta-
distica."
6th. That I shall be paid the sum of $300 monthly, whilst
in the performance of this work, which will probably not ex-
ceed two years, and besides this salary I shall receive $1,000,
to be paid with $600 advance salary, two months before com-
mencing the work, in case these conditions are accepted, in
order to buy the instruments and make the preparations neces-
sary.
7th. That the employment of six men during the whole
time the work lasts, will be at the expense of the government.
8th. As the district to be surveyed is frequently overrun
by hordes of savages who cross from the left bank of the Rio
Bravo, an escort of forty men is indispensable, in order to re-
pulse or attack tribes who molest or interrupt the work, and
that the escort be paid by the government and placed under
my control.
9th. If it is decided to undertake the work spoken of, the
government will please forward the orders which I am to fol-
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 239
low immediately, and advise rae as to whom I am to address
myself during the time I am engaged in the work.
These are my propositions ; if you consider them accept-
able, they may be presented to the national government for its
determination. I do not think that any .others more satisfac-
tory or economical could be made.
In regard to the loyal and conscientious fulfillment of these
proposals on my part, I leave you to be the judge ; you ought
to know me well enough.
I will add, that as both you and I know somewhat of the
signs and situation of the mineralogical districts from persona
who have gone over many of these points, if the government
should decide to have me accompanied by a scientific mineral-
ogist, I believe that interesting results may be obtained. I
would suggest, therefore, that when you propose the surveying
expedition, you also urge that it be accompanied by a mineral-
ogist.
Monterey, December 10th, 1873.
(Signed), FKANCISCO L. MIER.
Sr. Lie. D. Ignacio Galindo.
(Copy).
Mexico, March 10th, 1874.
Fkancisco Valdez Gomez,
Secretary.
_^
/
/
INVESTIGATING COMMISSION
OF THE
NCTETHERN FRONTIER.
CiT. MmisTEB:
Animated by the sentiments heretofore expressed in this
report, and prompted by the same spirit with which they had
organized the work in Matamoros, confided to the Commission
by decree of 2d October, 1872, they left that city on the first
of last June in order to visit the towns on the banks of the Kio
Grande, from Ciudad Guerrero to Eesurreccion, and also those
of H'Uevo Leon and Coahuila, for the purpose of hearing the
complaints of the inhabitants and of studying the diverse
questions of the frontier in its relations with the United
States.
With the consciousness of never having omitted a single
opportunity of arriving at the truth, which they have invaria-
bly sought with the spirit of rectitude and impartiality which
their responsible position demanded of them, the Commission
are enabled to present at this time the result of their labors
together with the second part of their report, which, on account
of its voluminousness, was not ready for presentation at the
appointed time. It includes a complete opinion relative to the
depredations committed by Indians living in Mexico and by
those living in the United States, and of the damages sustained
by both countries.
Following the same system initiated in Matamoros, the
Commission continued the examination of the question of
horse and cattle stealing along the line of the Eio Grande in
the three States to Piedras Negras, which is as far as is settled
by Mexicans and Americans, and on this subject which they
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 24:1
have already discussed and presented under all its phases, the
Commission will only add a few new observations as to other
points presented by the unsettled regions, and give another
cause for the origin of this evil, from which Mexico has suffered
since her towns and settlements became in such close contact
with those of the neighboring republic.
The knowledge which the majority of the Commission has
of the principal towns on the frontier, as well as of many of
the less important localities, has greatly aided it in the accom-
plishment of its labors, and enabled it to reach the object de-
sired — the truth. The well established integrity of the greater
number of witnesses and the plan followed in the investigation
leaves no doubt of the desired result, as is proved by the
unanimity of the witnesses examined and the evidence obtained
from the archives, setting forth clearly the number of incur-
sions which occurred during twenty-five years, the tribes by
whom they were committed and the amount of damages done.
The Commission did not limit itself to these points. It
traced the Indians to their camping grounds, to which it pro-
ceeded through the guidance of those who had pursued tlie sava-
ges thither and by directions from ransomed prisonere, by those
taken in war or rescued by the United States troops on their
own territory. It was determined that all of these witnesses
should testify as to what they had actually seen, and thus ob-
tain facts and details which could not easily be obtained else-
where. The importance of this testimony was highly estimated
by the confirmation it received from the opinions of the mili-
tary occupied in making war on the Indians, but who were
unable in later pursuits to follow the savages to their camping
grounds as had hitherto been done.
After having collected all the evidence possible from old
captives, whose declarations went as far back as the colonial
government, as well as from those who have been made captive
in later years, it became necessary, in order to substantiate the
proofs and explain the origin of the evil, to inquire by every
possible means into the policy which has been pursued towards
the different tribes of Indians who have been hostile to Mex-
ico since 1848, and who live in United States territory. Besides,
16
242 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
it was necessary to discover, even though in a general way^
the hostile attitude of those tribes towards the United States,
arid to this end the Commission directed its energies, collect-
ing all the data furnished by Texan newspapers of late dates^
and using efforts to procure all information on the subject pub-
lished in former years.
The application of these published notices was of the utmost
importance, and to secure them the Commission employed
every means at itA command, for it well understood that they
alone were all-suflBcient to destroy the value of the charges
brought against Mexico by persons who, blinded through prej-
udice, would never see but one phase of the question.
This labor showed the fallacy of the judgment of the Ameri-
can Commission, who attributed, in its report of the 1st Decem-
ber of the past year, the depredations committed on the Rio
Grande to the Kickapoos, Lipans, Seminoles, Carrizos and
other Indians, who, having haunts in Mexico, Chihuahua and
Coahuila, came on the American frontier to molest the settle-
ments.
In addition to this general investigation, special care ha&
been given to obtain all the information possible relative to the
above named tribes, and the result of this investigation ha&
shown the incorrectness of the report. With the exception of
the Kickapoos, none of the tribes mentioned live in Mexico ;
many of them only existing in name, the tribe having entirely
died out.
A long list of invasions and injuries committed on the banks
of the Eio Grande in Mexican territory by American citizens
was also discovered ; and although the spirit which prompted
or characterized these abuses was extensively discussed in the
first part of this report, it must again be touched upon in order
to present the question under all its phases, one of these espe-
cially being a determined tendency to disturb and annoy, un-
der one pretext or another, the tranquility of the frontier towns
of Mexico.
Another distinct cause has presented itself to the Commis-
sion at every step, showing a great difficulty to exist in all
these towns through fugitive servants. On account of the close
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 243
connection which this evil maintains with natural difficulties,
which it has contributed to increase, to the injury of Mexican
settlements and Texan proprietors, as well as the participation
by these fugitives in horse and cattle robberies, it was thought
indispensable to collect all data which would give a clearer
idea of the situation than could possibly be arrived at without
such information, and which would likewise demonstrate the
origin of serious social evils, which should be as promptly
dealt with as the gravity of the case seems to demand, whether
the question to be considered be the loss of men to the republic,
or the complications which their naturally bad conduct causes
OQ either frontier.
In the development of a mercantile spirit, noticeable in the
populace with which Texas is being filled, there have been
found points ifvorthy of study, and it may also be considered
that the results of this enterprise have given rise to many of the
existing complications.
In treating these questions, more or less closely connected,
care will be taken to point out in each the cause of the general
evil resulting to the frontier of both countries. To do this, all
data possible have been accumulated, the archives of more than
one hundred and fifty leagues of the line of the Eio Grande
having contributed largely to the fund of information. The
dates of these proofs and their conformity with other evidence
carry with them such evidence of proof, that they may be im-
plicitly trusted and the deductions made from them relied
upon.
Fully appreciating testimonial evidence, the Commission
determined not to omit securing it, although, for the investiga-
tion of Indian .depredations, it was not absolutely indispensa-
ble, on account of the old custom of the authorities of the
States inserting, in the official papers, the incursions and dep- .
redations of Indians, furnishing thereby a rich fund of infor-
mation, from which has been made a general estimate of the
damages done by the savages. This has also been used as
corroborative testimony, in order to test the veracity of wit-
nesses, their correctness, their judgment, and the knowledge
which they possessed about the matter upon which they testi-
244 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
ficd. In the narration of this long series of events, many of
which were cruel and blood v, the witnesses were often moved
to tears, although the occurrences ha J taken place many years
before. Nor could anything else be expected from men who had
passed the greater part of their lives in combats with Indians,
and number their fights by the number of tlieir wounds.
Memory cannot play them false in that which concerns the
Indians, — when the witness, through the murder of a fatljcr, a
son, or a brother, has good cause to pursue the savages and to
avail himself of every opportunity to avenge tlie injuries done
him. Not unfrequently this leads to a still greater loss of
life, and punishment and vengeance have to be left to the
charge of strangers. Such is the history of the frontier towns.
From sources as direct and positive, the Commission has
collected the material from which the judgment to be expressed
in its report was formed ; nor will the Commission hesitate
to affirm that all the circumstances set forth are tru.e, because
it has examined the evidence with diligent research, and because
it is corroborated by the history of these towns, by the experi-
ence and remembrances of men, by the old landmarks and
monuments, and by the stories of young men just escaped from
captivity.
HISTORICAL SKETCH OF INDIAN WAES ON THE
FRONTIER BEFORE 1848.
When the limits of Mexico reached to the rivers Sabine
and Arkansas, the eastern and northern boundaries of Texas,
this immense territory was inhabited in a very few settlements, \
which were constantly molested by several tribes of Indians. \
The northern line of outposts was rapidly settled about the i
close of the last century, in consequence of tlie establishment
of military colonies by the Spanish Government. Don Juan
de [Jgalde, the first comniander-in-cliief of these colonies in
Tamaulipas, Nuevo Leon and Coahuila (then including Texas),
still lives in the memory of this region, on account of his ex-
■■
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 245
ploits against the Indians in the campaign of 1Y96 ; a town
and a county in Texas bear his name, the latter having been
the theater of some of his battles.
Eight companies, full and well equipped, were distributed
along this line — four in Coahuila, three in Tamaulipas and one
in Nuevo Leon — and were found sufficient to repress the incur-
sions of the Indians, who, for a long series of years, never
penetrated to the second tier of settlements towards the souths
During the war of Independence the Indians were kept at bay^
although a part of the frontier troops was drawn off to the
center of Mexico, to operate against the insurgents.
After the Independence the new government maintained
the colonial cpmparlies, and in 1826 introduced in them several
reforms found necessary by experience. Peace reigned in all
this region, which became highly prosperous, increasing rapidly
in cattle raising, the chief pursuit of the settlers on the right
bank of the Eio Grande.
The district between the Nueces and the Eio Grande, now
a part of Texas, but then owned by the inhabitants of Eey-
nosa, Camargo, Mier, Guerrero and Laredo, was very soon
filled with flocks and herds, and was fully protected by the
companies stationed at Bahia, Alamo and Espiritu Santo.
Through lack of population, no settlements were made farther
north, and the security thus obtained was enjoyed by the for-
eign colonists who accompanied Austin and located near San
Antonio de Bejar.
When, a few years later, the Texans revolted against the
government, a new era began, wliich is still well remembered;
for the incursions of the Comanches, Lipans, Mescalercs, Cai-
guas, and other allied tribes date from 1836. The frontier
companies were no longer able to repel the invaders, who pene-
trated in numerous hordes into the villages, spreading death
and desolation. It was said then, and it has been again alleged
recently before this Commission, that this aggression of the
savages was stimulated by the Texans, who sought thereby an
auxiliary in their movement for independence. The Coman-
ches and other allied tribes had previously lived near the
Colorado and on the prairies ; they now established themselves
246 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
on the left bank of the Rio Grande. At this time the districts
of Monclova, Villaldama and Matamoros were first invaded,
and the coincidence of these depredations with the Texan war,
along with the peace existing between those tribes and the in-
surgents, waSj in default of more positive proof, a sufficient
foundation for believing these hostilities to be encouraged by
the Texan s.
Further invasions were soon made in the districts of Salinas,
Monterey, Saltillo, Pdrras, Viesca, Lin Ares, Matehuala, Catorce,
and the frontier of Zacatecas. As was natural, the remnants of
the frontier garrisons, of those ccmpantes who, for so many
years, had formed a wall against the Indians, resumed their task,
though now superior to their ability ; but by the aid of the citi-
zen militia, then first called out, they drove back the invaders
and pursued them into the interior of Texas. The campaigns
then made at San S4ba and Eio Puerco proved that the rebellion
liad not extended to the west of Texas, and that the insurgents,
protected by deserts, forests and an unhealthy climate, were re-
duced to their own proper limits.
The hordes which invaded Mexico were now settled upon
the rivers Brazos and Colorado, and scattered throughout the
immense plains lying between Texas, New Mexico and the
frontier of the United States. It was there, according to the
expression of an American traveler who traded in 1834 in
Santa Fe and Chihuahua, that the savage tribes of the great
western prairies lived. The Comancbes, the wandering Arabs
of this hemisphere, were the largest known .tribe, considering
themselves as the only lords of those plains, where they hunted
the elk in summer, spending the winter upon the banks of the
tributaries of the Brazos and Colorado rivers in Texas.
From these regions they moved southward to undertake
' their career of hostilities along the present Mexican frontier
from Chihuahua to the Gulf of Mexico, robbing cattle and
mules, killing men and taking captives women and children.
These Indians of the prairies and of Texas amounted to
47,620 in 1842, according to a census taken by the American
Commissioners for Indian Affairs. The Comanches appear in
this census as owners of the prairies, and with the Kiowas,
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 247
Apaches, Arapahoes and Cheyennes, amounted to 16,100, or
about half the number of the remaining small tribes which
were generally subject to them, and with which they sometimes
had bloody wars.
The Commission would note here that the Indian agents
formed a census of the Comanches and the allied tribes which
purported to be complete and accurate. If these Indians lived
in Mexico, the census could not have been taken, nor would
there have been any occasion for it. The Indian Commission-
ers undoubtedly formed it when the Comanches and the other
tribes came to the settlements to trade, or perhaps when they
all lived on the banks of the river Platte, which has always
belonged to the United States.
The inclination of these Indians to plunder, and their bad
faith in the observance of treaties, which they respect or break
arbitrarily without the least scruple, involved them in hostili-
ties with the Texans, and in 184:0 they penetrated into the
capital, marking their path with bloodshed as far as the bay of
Matagorda. In their invasions of Mexico they had proved
their strength, of which they now gave the Texans a specimen,
but afterwards made peace with them.
For the better understanding of the mode and conditions of
this warfare, it must be noted that the United States had grad-
ually driven the Indians of Florida and the other Southern
States to the frontier, and placed them between the Arkansas,
the Red river, and the False Wachita, then the boundary with
Mexico. According to the census of the Commissioner of In-
dian Affairs, there were in 1843, 81,541 inhabitants in the
above territory, Cherokees, Choctaws, Chickasaws^ Creeks,
Seminoles, Kickapoos, Potawattomies and others. Near these
tribes, in the Wachita mountains of Texas, lived the Wacoes,
"Wachitas, Towakanoes, Caddos or Enyes, scattered along the
Ked river, neighbors of the Indians on the government reser-
vations. In contact with all these tribes were the Comanches,
with their following of small subject or allied tribes, such as
, the Kiowas, Cheyennes, Arapahoes and others, while the
Apaches were then living farther westward, between the Kio
Pecos and the Rio Grande, in the Sierra Blanca and Organ
248 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
monntains. In the immense region between the Eio Grande
and the Arkansas, these savages were the only inhabitants up
to 1831, when the eastern tribes were removed to the Indian
Territory.
The Santa F6 trade having sprung up just at this time, the
mercantile caravans began to traverse the plains lying between
the outposts of both nations, and were accompanied by escorts
of dragoons from Fort Gibson on the Missouri river. In a
work written in 1844 by Josiah Gregg, which was published
in two volumes, entitled, " The Commerce of the Prairies," in-
teresting details are given concerning the customs of the
Indians, and, what is more important for the purposes of this
Commission, precious data are afforded in explanation of the
causes and origin of the incursions made by the Comanches
and other tribes upon Mexican territory, and at the same time
the' motives are explained which rendered such depredations
more frequent from that time forward.
In 1839, Josiah Gregg and other American traders se^ out
on a fourth or fifth mercantile expedition to Santa Fe and Chi-
huahua, in order to profit by the closure of the Mexican ports
on account of the war with France. In describing the route^
he says (page 18, vol. II) :
" Just at hand there was* a beautiful spring, where, in
1835, Col. Mason with a force of Urfited States troops had
JL 'big talk' and still bigger 'smoke' with a party of Coman-
che and Wachita Indians. Upon the same site, Col. Chou-
teau had also caused to be erected, not long after, a little
stockade fort, where a considerable trade was subsequently
carried on with the Comanches and other tribes of the south-
western fjrairies. The place had now been abandoned, how-
ever, since the preceding winter. * 3fr * yi[Q had not been
long at the fort, before we received a yisit from a party of
Comanches, who, having heard of our approach came to greet
us a welcome, on the supposition that it was their friend Chou-
teau returning to the fort with fresh supplies of merchandise.
Great was their grief when we informed them that their favor-
ite trader had died at Fort Gibson the previous winter."
By the above statement, which cannot be doubted when we
bear in mind the time of its appearance and its author, it is-
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 24&
shown that trade with the Comanches and Wachitas was com-
menced in 1835, on American territory, between the False
Wachita and Canadian rivers, near Fort Holmes. The hopes
of profit, or the impulse arising from real nece^ities, en-
gaged the Indians in this trade, which, it must be repeated,
was initiated by an oflScer of the United States army, in the
sight of his soldiers, who knew that the articles given in ex-
change by the Indians were the spoils of their depredations
npon a friendly nation.
For the first time the Comanches learned the advantages of
this lucrative traffic ; for the first time they found sellers of
arms and ammunition, and purchasers of their booty; and
henceforth they thought only of new invasions and new depre-
dations upon their southern prey, the Mexican settlements then
abounding in riches. The general incursion of these savage
hordes in 1836, into the flourishing towns in the districts
of Villaldama, Monclova and Northern Tamaulipas, had ita
real origin in the treaties of peace made by Col. Mason, and
the mercantile enterprise of Col. Chouteau.
It has been stated by this Commission, upon the faith of
undeniable data found in abundance in the archives of the
military ^* Oomandancias " of the eastern provinces, the sav-
ages had never passed the outer line of posts. If they com-
mitted depredations, they all proceeded from their vindictive
feeling towards the new settlers, who had gradually driven
them northwards to regions not formerly their own. But
while the Spanish race was thus repelling these tribes north-^
ward, a counter-movement commenced in the northeast, by
which the Saxon race, in turn, dislodged their. Indian tribes
and drove them southward.
A time came when all these tribes were brought together
in the same vicinity, in consequence of the counter-movement
referred to. The Mexican tribes which had resisted and re-
jected the benefits of the civilization which the Spaniards had
proflfered them, and the Northern tribes which, although ap-
parently treated with more policy and justice, were ultimately
driven back by a race which disdained to mingle with them,,
came into contact in 1831, at which time many American
26@ REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
tribes were located south of the Missouri and the Arkansas.
From this vicinity arose a double peril and a double evil for
Mexican settlements, which were menaced on botli sides, since
ihe Americans indirectly encouraged robbery by their trade,
and placed near the Mexican border other tribes which, though
less barbarous and initiated in some of the habits of civiliza-
tion, were still very dangerous neighbors on account of the
natural inclination they all had to pillage and marauding.
It may be seen that not merely the Texan rebellion, but
the conduct of the American Government, powerfully stimu-
lated the depredations of the Oomanches and their associate
tribes. The American officials tolerated, permitted, and, it
may be maintained, even fostered and protected these depre-
dations. The Oomanches and the Apaches never showed so
much energy in evil-doing as was observable from 1836 on-
ward ; that is, from the time when American officers had
afforded them a market for bartering the spoils of their incur-
sions into Mexico.
In 1840, the irruption of thousands of savages to the
vicinity of San Luis Potosi, who also visited the principal
towns of Zacatecas, caused enormous damage, desolating nu-
merous haciendas and slaying hundreds of victims. This took
place precisely when the Mexican Government had on its
hands the war in Texas, and when the Oomanches were stimu-
lated by the mart opened for their plunder, near the river
Arkansas. They had then a motive which had not existed in
previous years. Their contact with the whites created necessi-
ties they had never known before, and encouraged them to
undertakings foreign to the mere spirit of vengeance on ac-
count of the seizure of their lands, which was the first cause
of their hostilities with the Spaniards, and afterwards with the
Mexicans.
The Oommission does not here express a simple opinion,
but a conviction formed by a careful study of the facts. Not-
withstanding the aptness of tlie Indians for warfare, their
knowledge of the country acquired with the greatest ease, and
their skill as horsemen, remarkable above all among the Oo-
manches, they had always given way before the arms and dis-
i
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION.' 251
cipline of the Mexican troops, whether led by Spanish officers
before the Independence or by the Mexican officers trained in
their school. *The*killing of their enemies was their chief ob-
ject in their early campaigns, and when they had more or less
I success at the outposts of our lines, they stopped there, and
returned in triumph, with the scalps of their victims as
trophies.
But as soon as the American trade sprang up, booty became
their chief object, and to obtain it they had to penetrate with-
in the lines, as they began to do, favored by the Texan deserts
and the plains of our frontiers. They invaded an unknown
country, a region they had never traversed, the dangers and
difficulties of which they knew not, and then they began to
collect in large numbers, and organized formal expeditions.
They were the same Indians who had been kept at bay for six
years by Captain Lopez, with 250 men stationed between Las
Moras and San Antonio de Bejar, and repeatedly pursued and
defeated whenever they had attempted an incursion. These
same troops were still there, and in greater numbers, for the
army of operations against Texas was in that vicinity in that
year (1836), but the invasions took place by several distinct
routes.
The reorganization of the defensive companies, which was
decreed in 1826, was carried into effect in 1829, by General
Bustamante. He it was who had stationed the forces above
mentioned, under Captain Santiago Lopez, at Las Moras, San
Saba and the springs of Leona, which had given six or seven
years of peace to the frontier, during which time all kinds of
cattle had largely multiplied. This organization still existed,
as before mentioned, in the year of the first great Comanche
incursion, but their efforts were fruitless ; the savages kept out
of their reach, or when routed in small pa^rties, fell back upon
the larger masses, and effected all the pillage they could desire.
The great change which was noted in the conduct of the
Indians naturally attracted the attention of militaiy men, and
they could only explain it by the Texan insurrection ; but, as
we have seen, Texas, was itself at that time a prey to the
ferocity ot these savages.
252 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
Much blood had to be shed ; thousands of persons have
groaned in captivity ; immense riches have disappeared, and
many years of unheard of calamity have passed, before the
real cause was discovered.
The American Government, by driving to the v^est the
Indian nations expelled from several States through greed of
their lands, and by locating them on the frontiers of Mexico*
gave rise to a new situation, which was imperfectly understood
by that government, and a great evil was thereby inflicted
upon Mexico, who quickly suffered therefrom. From what-
ever light this new condition of the Indians in the western
plains be examined, their incursions ioto Mexico, which began
at the time of the location of the other tribes on the Arkansas
river, were the real and necessary result of that measure.
Without it, it is impossible to explain their sudden bravery, or
their peculiar comportment in their depredations, utterly dif-
ferent from all that had been previously observed.
Before this time, the Indians had made assaults, had spied
and surprised the encampments, but they did not approach
the towns except at night, and for the purpose of robbing-
cattle. From this time onward, they formed their camps by
day, in open view, besieging the villages, and even carrying
off captives. This was done by the Con^anches between San
Buenaventura and Nadadores, in the district of Monclova,
encamping between the two towns, which are less than a
league apart ; they did the same at Saltillo, approaching that
city by the high road, and in like manner at Bustamante in
Nuevo Leon, and at Salinas Victoria, before which towns they
deliberately encamped, defying the power of the inhabitants
and of the government itself, which could only assemble its
tro<M)s in their rear, after they had all united together to carry
off their enormous booty. Then, at last, the soldiers of the
military companies attacked them, six leagues from San
Fernando, at Pozo, now Zaragoza, routed them completely,
recovering all the spoils, and the captives which they had.
brought from the outskirts of San Luis Potosi.
When General Arista had his headquarters in these towns,
the Indians did not hesitate to attack detachments of his army
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 253
accompanied by the frontier militia, and it was very evident
that they were carrying out a regular plan, which perhaps they
had not themselves conceived.
In their investigations the Commissioners have collected
the facts bearing upon Indian incursions from beginning to
end, and the differing phases which this warfare has presented
along the entire extent of the frontier. They have foreseen
that from this series of facts something would be discovered,
which would explain their causes, and that this explanation
would be found only by penetrating, as they have done, into
the very lodges of the Indians. From such premises, im-
portant results have been deduced, and it is believed that the
general statements already made will be confirmed in all their
fullness by the examination of the period more especially
intrusted to the Commission, i. e., the twenty-five years which
have elapsed from 1848 to the present time.
The evils suffered during this period are immense, greater
even than those which have just been summarily sketched.
The Commission, in order to present the picture of the mis-
fortunes of this period, although it has taken the testimony of
many witnesses, has employed it merely as a guide to the
examination of the archives, in which it has found all that
could be asked for. These documents will speak for them-
selves, and while they show the greatness of the evils, they
also prove the strenuous efforts of the authorities to remove
them, and their despair at finding themselves impotent to
remedy them from causes far beyond their reach. The losses
suffered through Indian depredations differing greatly according
to their respective localities, and the measures taken for their
repression differing in like manner, good order and clearness
require that these depredations be treated separately in regard
to the States which have come within the scope of the Com-
mission's labors.
INDIAN HOSTILITIES IN TAMAULIPAS FROM 1848.
The great riches which the towns of Tamaulipas had ac-
quired in lands and cattle, between the Rio Nueces and the
254: REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
Rio Grande, were almost annihilated — first by the Texan war,
and afterward by that with the United States.
That portion of the territory of Tanaaulipas began anew,
after the American war, to be stocked with cattle by the landed
proprietors residing on the right or Mexican bank of the Rio
Grande. They had barely began to establish their ranches,
when they again experienced the depredations of the Indians.
The town of Reynosa * was one of the first ; the judge in
charge of one of its ranches reported that, on the 12th of April,
1849, a cattle station belonging to a citizen of that town had
been assaulted by savages from the American side of the river,
who had killed two servants, a man and a woman, and had car-
ried captive three men and one woman.
' On the 4th of May of the same year, Indians again appeared
in the same municipality, robbing cattle, which were carried
across the river. Similar invasions were renewed on the 11th
of June and the 27th of August of that year^ and it appears by
the official reports that the Oomanches encamped on the Texan
bank, cut off communication with Brownsville, to whose inhab-
itants the Mexican authorities sent timely notice of the presence
of Indians in their- vicinity. The alcalde of Reynosa addressed
the American consul at Matamoros for this purpose.
Hostilities were suspended until 1866, when the mayor of
Matamoros, being informed of the presence of Indians near Rey-
nosa, sent a detachment of soldiers in their pursuit. The
amount of damage done in this incursion, which was the last,
does not appear, but it would seem to have been considerable
from the promptitude with which troops and ammunition were
sent, and the dispatch of a militia force in aid of the regular
troops.
The action of the Mexican authorities in repelling the inva-
sions which had attacked Reynosa from Texan territory was
prompt and efficacious, not only in protecting their own citi-
zens, but also those of Texas, to whose authorities notice was
* In the Spanish text, reference is made in each para^aph to the " expediente/*
or.coUection of documents where the proofs of the facts are found ; these references
are suppressed in the English version, as unnecessary for the American reader. —
Note of the translator.
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 255
sent, enabling them to guard against a surprise. The solicitude
of the government went so far as to urge the suflTerers to fur-
nish evidence of their losses, so as to obtain indemnification, but
it does not appear that any one took that step. Undoubtedly
the sufferers were away from home, and the Commission take»
note of their conduct as an evidence of their spirit of honesty.
The city of Camargo, situated farther north, and witlv
greater possessions on both banks of the Rio Grande, suffered
greater damage than Eeynosa, on account of the greater num-
ber of invasions, and the diflSculties they encountered at the
hands of the American authorities, when they solicited the re-
turn of cattle recaptured from the Indians on American soiL
In this town, as in Keynosa, the investigation has been limited
to an examination of its archives. They afford ^ good idea of
the amount of suffering from Indians, who always came from
Texan territory, and have furnished interesting data for the his-
tory of the terms of intercourse kept up between the two fron-
tiers, and the manner in which the authorities on both sides,
fulfilled the duties of their posts.
Camargo having been invaded on the 4th of April and 5tb
of May, 1849, the Indians recrossed the river to Texas, where
they were pursued by Texan soldiers or citizens, and their booty
recaptured. The Mexican sufferers having been unsuccessful
in reclaiming their property, they made a statement of the facta
to the Ayuntamiento (Common Council) of Camargo, and that
body, in an extra session, voted to address the State govern^
ment, requesting it to make known the case to the President of
the republic, and in this connection asked " that the interpreta-
tion of the last clause of the 2d paragraph in Article XI of the
Treaty of Peace with the United States, signed on the 2d of
Februaiy of last year — which guarantees the property robbed by
Indians in Mexican territory — may be made known ; and
whether this guaranty does not extend to property robbed from
Mexicans within tlie limits of the territory which, by that treaty ^
was ceded to the United States, which property, although fully
guaranteed, is in danger of abandonment, from lack of security ;
and whether there is any enactment in the United States which
declares the spoils carried off by hostile Indians from Mexican
^66 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
<;itizeii& to be a lawful prize when recaptured from them, since
respect for law alone can^ in stick ease^ prevent disturbances
from occurring between the owners aiid the recapturers of such
property?'^
Soon after these complaints, the authorities of Eeynosa re-
quested those of Camargo to inform the military commander in
Starr county of these robberies of cattle, and to urge him to
take nieasures for the fulfihnent of Article XI of the Treaty of
Guadalupe Hidalgo.
The simple statement of a complaint, made in the above ex-
tract, is tiie best commentary that can be made upon the fact
of Indian depredations, since it clearly shows a complete neg-
lect of treaty obligation, and a great indiflference on the part
of the American authorities, as was stated by the First Court
of Camargo, on the 11th of March, 1851, in a communication
addressed to General Avalos : "The Indians had made an at-
tack upon ^Las Cuevas ' from the opposite ehore, and had not
been pursued, although they had killed a settler, because they
were on the territory of the neighboring nation, where they
had not been pursued."
With this conduct of the American authorities, in keeping
Mexican property recaptured from Indians, or failing to attack
them when on American soil, the Mexican towns afforded
a striking contrast, distinguishing themselves, although still
suffering extreme misery as the result of the recent war, by
their zeal in punishing the Indians, for which purpose the
armed citizens and the permanent troops marched in every di-
rection.
From Matamoros, where the Avalos brigade was istationed,
there were thrown out, by orders of its commander, detach-
ments which hastened to Reynosa, Camargo, Mier, Guerrero
and Nuevo Laredo, to aid in all movements against the barba-
rians. The State Government, with commendable care, ob-
tained arms, ammunition and provisions for the same object,
and stimulated the towns to action, and to bear their losses
with patience, until a radical remedy could be applied, which
remedy, as is seen from all its communications with the local
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 267
authorities, was to be found in the exact fulfillment of the
treaty of Guadalupe.
The inhabitants of the Mexican bank of the river beiog thus
ever on the alert, they did not wait to be attacked before taking
every measure of precaution. At the least information of an
Indian invasion on the Texas side, orders were sent to the
judges in charge of the ranchos, to watch the fords and prevent
the passage of the Indians. Speedy communications were sent
from town to town with news of every incursion, and since it
could not be prevented, as coming from foreign territory, ita
effects were mitigated by timely warning to those who were
immediately endangered.
The superior authority of the Northern District was con-
stantly attentive to the invasions in Camargo and other towna
of the line, and in reporting to the State Government those of
February 28th and March 1st, 1861, stated that it did so in
order that they might be communicated to the National Gov-
ernment, so as to demand of the American Government the
fulfillment of the treaty of Guadalupe. Private individuals and
authorities clamored daily against that government, for failure
to observe the treaty, and for notorious infractions of it, since
the Indians were neither forced to return their spoil, nor were
prevented from crossing the river to commit their usual depre-
dations.
The leading citizens of our towns on the Rio Grande being
proprietors of ranchos in Texas, the prevailing insecurity in
that State frequently endangered not only their property, but
their lives, and the authorities of the Mexican shore were ac-
customed to take action in their behalf. A case which oc-
curred to Don Nieves Villareal will illustrate this. It was
stated to the First Judge at Camargo, by the justice of the
rancho of Fresnos, in the following terms : " At this moment,
1 p. M., Antonio Cano, servant of Don Nieves Villareal, has
just appeared on the opposite bank, wounded by an arrow by
the savages, this morning, at ' Clavellinas,' a point in Texas a
league from the river, and says that he does not know where
his master is ; and as, in my opinion, the said Yillareal may
have fallen a victim, I not only inform you, but have taken
11
258 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
every step in my power to find and assist him, placing armed
men all along the line to protect families crossing the river
from the other side."
The above communication being dated August 21st, 1863,
it is apparent that the condition of the frontier had not im-
proved in five years, and that the Mexicans residing in Ameri-
can territory found their best protection from the Mexican
side. The facts are that the depredations were common to
both banks, and in the region in question were more frequent
on the Texas side. The natural explanation of this is, that the
property of the landowners, though residing on both sides of
the river, was chiefly in Texas, and their losses were therefore
unrecorded. It is beyond doubt that at this time there were
no American stock raisers in this region, they being the only
ones who calculate and exaggerate such losses, and the only
ones who get any attention.
There was a lull of three years for Camargo, and no further
incursion is recorded until 1856, when two men were killed and
a boy captured. He was retaken by the energetic action of
the forces of Camargo, in conjunction with those of Mier and
Aldamas, a town in Nuevo Leon.
The forces of the invaded towns now appear for the first
time in joint action, pursuing the retreating Indians as well as
the Eio Grande barrier permitted ; and when the savages di-
vided into smaller parties they did the same, even lying in am-
bush, at times, at strategical points.
In relating above, very briefly, the incursions made in
Camargo and Eeynosa since 1848, the Commission has not
paused to calculate the amount of damages, because it is not
fully specified in the documents they have consulted, and which
are collected in the proper expediente. It will be understood,
however, that, apart from the loss of life, the value of which
cannot be properly estimated, and apart from the property
stolen or destroyed in each incursion, one of the gravest dam-
ages has been the suspension of every kind of industry, and the
lack of confidence in beginning afresh, arising from the inse-
curity of the fruits of labors, which if once carried across the
river by the savages, would never be recovered, even if recap-
/
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 259
tared from the enemy. Of this fact one sad experience has
been related. Fortunately it was not repeated on account of
the infrequent pursuit of the savages by the Americans, other-
wise the anticipated conflict might have occurred between
owners and recapturers of Indian booty. It is a poor satisfac-
tion which one can get from the fact of no such conflict having
ever taken place !
Before passing to the invasions of other towns in Tamau-
lipas, the Commission feels bound to say in just praise of their
inhabitants, that in view of the evils with which they were
threatened by savages, they always adopted very eflScacious
preventive measures, keeping watch for their first appearance,
which they rapidly made known to the herdsmen, enabling
them generally to call in the scattering men and animals, and
that they made great sacrifices for the recovery of stolen prop-
erty. Neither authorities nor citizens ever bethought them-
selves of the obligations contracted by the American govern-
ment, concerning indemnification for or return of stolen prop-
erty, and whenever any depredations were made it was through
absolute impossibility of preventing it. In consideration of the
power and wealth of the United States, and the justice with
which the American government has almost always tried to
proceed, it will be seen that the conduct of these Mexican
towns is highly commendable.
It should be noted in passing, that during the five years
passed in review, the Indian invasions made in Texas were still
more numerous than in Mexico, and no voice was ever raised
to attribute them to the Seminoles, who then resided in Mexico
with a few Kickapoos, although they traversed all this region,
according to their customs, in quest of game. The cause of
this will be hereafter explained.
As the Commission advances farther north in its examina-
tion of the depredations committed by the savages, it will have
to linger longer at each town, to relate evils steadily increasing
in magnitude. This will be manifest at Mier, in which city it
was necessary, as before, to be content with the information
found in the archives. These were not found complete, owing
to local disturbances, but the existing part gives a perfect idea
260
REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
of the magnitude of the Indian depredations upon the property
on both sides the river, held by those numerous citizens who,,
as before remarked, are land owners in both countries.
In this town and the preceding ones, the Commission formed
registers of losses upon affidavits of the sufferers, with the only
object of obtaining a statement of damages which it might
verify by further examination. It endeavored thus to combine
the interests of private individuals, whose complaints could
only be entertained in this way, with the duties of the Com-
mission, urgently summoned to other places, and unable to
devote the necessary time for the study of private losses in
the records.
For sixteen years the city of Mier was constantly struggling-
with the calamity of the Indian war. It was four times in-
vaded in 1848, between June and December, although it had
organized a half company of National Guards for the repulse
of the Indians, who in that year killed five persons, carried six
captive, and took all the horses they could find. In the
reports of these losses made to the Mayor of Matamoros, com-
plaint is made that all efforts of citizens and soldiers were
futile, "because the Indians, as usual, repassed the Rio
Grande." The municipality wrote to the member of Congress
for the district, and in summing up the evils then suffered,
said :
" The chief is the constant invasion by savages, who yes-
terday had the audacity to come within a mile to the south of
this city."
During the above mentioned period the city of Mier was
twenty times invaded. Its citizens were moreover frequently
slaughtered at the cattle stations by assaults from the other side
of the river, where the Indians organized, obtained arms and
ammunition, and passed over to employ them against Mexicans.
The documenta examined by the Commission leave no doubt
that, in all these eases, the Indians came from Texas. It i&
seven times mentioned that their coming was preceded by their
presence on the other side, which was known beforehand, be-
cause the inhabitants of Mier, then as now, had many ranchos
■■■■■■
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 261
in Texas. Several times the Comanches were seen crossing
the Eio Grande right in front of the town. Many other times
they were seen opposite, and it does not appear that they were
ever pursued, or in any way obliged to retnrn their booty to
citizens of Mexico. On the contrary, the latter suflfered daily
outrages which must have been very trying, when they resolved
to make a statement to the minister of war, to whom, on the
29th of July, 1852, they wrote as follows :
'* It is of public notoriety from daily recurring instances,
which have been proven before American authorities, that in
the towns on the Texan side of the Rio Grande there are daily
brought our horses, mules, cattle and utensils of agriculture,
and notwithstanding the .proved fact of their having been
stolen by Indians, or by we]l known thieves of both countries,
whom we can point out individually ; notwithstanding the aid
of the American authorities has been implored for the recovery
of our property, they have closed the door to our complaints,
in open violation of Article XI, of the treaty of Guadalupe
Hidalgo."
The horrible and hopeless condition of affairs depicted by
the citizens of Mier, in the preceding paragraph, had been ap-
proaching for years, and the State Government had so under-
stood, when on the 23d of March, 1850, it wrote to the Ayunta-
miento of that city, as follows: "The northern towns, which
have always been harassed by Indians, are now in an unusu-
ally diflBcult position on account of the neighborhood of the
United States, which country permits the Indians to buy arms
and ammunition at low prices to enable them to wage war
against peaceful citizens of Mexico."
This assertion was based, by the State Government, on data
which this Commission has not seen, but which probably are
found in the archives of Ciudad Victoria. It has been con-
firmed by a dispatch from the Judge of Guerrero to the court
at Mier, dated January 23d, 1853, stating the appearance of a
party of Indians from San Ignacio, Texas, all armed with car-
bines, undoubtedly bought in the United States where they
resided, and where, only, they could have been obtained.
The large number of lives lost during these years, notwith-
262 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
standing all the precautions taken, and the numerous captires
carried to American territory, afford an idea of the cruelty of
this warfare. The reports made by the officers sent to pursue
the savages, generally state that their efforts had been frustrated
by the enemy having recrossed the Rio Grande, and these re-
ports well depict the situation as regards an enemy which ap-
pears to have understood the situation, and which certainly
profited by it.
In view of the data collected and arranged, the Commis-
sion could not omit to mention a circumstance which has had
much influence in increasing the loss of life and property in
the Mexican settlements on the Kio Bravo. The Indians were
not punished, and could not be, except when they penetrated
far enough inland to be overtaken before reaching their strong-
holds. It is thus explained that, although troops, were kept in
readiness to march at the fir&t news of an incursion, they were
able only three times to punish the Indians. These engage-
ments took place near Aldamas and Cerralvo, towns of Nuevo
Leon, fifteen or twenty leagues from the river.
As to the conduct of the national and State governments in
aid of the sufferers, it should be mentioned that a company of
troops was stationed at Mier in 1848, which was soon reinforced
by the organization of four more companies of National Guards,
which, in connection with the permanent troops, made expe-
ditions against the savages, going in quest of them as far as
their places of defense or of assembly on their incursions.
Arms, money, exemptions from imposts, were lavished for
the alleviation of sufferers, and as a last resort the lower author-
ities petitioned for the strict fulfillment of the treaty of Guada-
lupe, attributing, with truth, their ruin to the infraction of
that instrument. .
In their solicitude to put an end to intolerable sufferings,
the towns associated together by means of their authorities,
and appointed speoial commissioners for their defense, which
from 1850, after a careful study of the evil, was systematized
with good results. This measure originated in the interior
States and towns, and is Jiere mentioned only to show the ex-
tent of the evil and the unity of its origin.
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 263
In the city of Guerrero, twelve leagues north of Mier, the
Commission was astonished at the magnitude of the losses sus-
tained by that place from the outset. Here it was deemed
necessary to go beyond the examination of the public archives,
and add to their extracts therefrom such information as could
be obtained from respectable witnesses, who have suffered
great damages, and have passed much of their lives in warfare
against the Indians, as officers of the militia companies which
have always been organized for that purpose.
The Commission also found here a multitude of townspeople
who had recently returned from captivity among the Indians,
and resolved to obtain their testimonv as to the tribes and
places of residence of their captors, and all that they had seen
among them, giving especial attention to the means by which
they recovered their liberty. With double reason, it was
thought fitting to obtain the testimony of many citizens of
Guerrero who have taken an active part in the pursuit of the
Indians, not only at home, but in Texas itself, in the recent in-
vasions which were made in that State.
Guerrero has experienced more than sixty invasions in a
brief term of years, and in the long list of deaths, there was not
a single year in which victims of Indians were not registered,
some of them killed at "La Costa," in Texas. Seventy-eight
persons were killed by Indians between 1848 and 1865, more
than half of whom were heads of families. In 1848, 1850, and
1853, it is stated of certain victims that they were killed at
" La Costa," in Texas, thus confirming the information sent to
the authorities of Reynosa, and by them communicated to the
American consul.
The only years since 1848 in which regular incursions were
not made were 1860 and 1861, and the registers show murders
by Indians almost every month. This, indeed, is readily in-
ferred from the fact that one of the first measures of the gov-
enment of Tamaulipas, on its reorganization after the war, was
to equip a half company of National Guards, which was con-
stantly employed in pursuit of the savages. As these were not
enough, the citizens of Guerrero voluntarily undertook a cam-
paign with 110 men, in addition to contingents furnished by
264: REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
other towns on their invitation. A march of sixty leagues to
the supposed hiding places of the Indians had no other result
than to prove that the enemy was not there, but in Texas,
whence it had first come.
An evident proof of this latter fact is found in the persons
killed at " La Costa," as above mentioned, in the notice sent
by the authorities of Nuevo Laredo to the other towns along
the Eio Grande, of the appearance of the Indians at San Ig-
nacio, Texas, armed with carbines, and in their constantly pass-
ing the river at the point called " Pan," when coming from
the north of Texas. And what removed all doubt as to the
sources of these incursions, was the notices sent by oflSicers of
the American army to the authorities of Guerrero, informing
them that the Indians were crossing the river. On the 21st of
June, 1853, General Cruz, in command at Matamoros, was in-
formed by his subordinate at Guerrero, as follows : " On the
18th instant I received from the captain on the left hank of the
river, information that he had that day overtaken the party of
Indians marauding near the rancho Garceno, and that said In-
dians were crossing the river to the right bank at Golondrinas."
The Commission observes with regret that in five years
transpiring from the treaty of peace and the assumption by the
American government of the obligation to restrain Indian in-
vasions, the authorities in Texas had not even opened commu-
nications with their Mexican neighbors, notwithstanding con-
stant Indian incui'sions in both countries, and the notice quoted
above is the first of its kind.
The losses, however, had been so severe in the preceding
years, that the president of the city council, writing to the
mayor on the 23d of November, 1850, says : " Since you left
this city, there have not passed two days without inroads, kill-
ing shepherds and cowherds. ^ * * Within six days there
have been three killed and two dangerously wounded, in addi-
tion to the horses and mules carried off by the wretches."
On the 8th of July, 1851, the Garza family was attacl^ed and
exterminated by a group of Indians on the road to their rancho ;
and on the 31st of the same month the council informed the
government that ''frotn January to the end of July the In-
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 266
i3ians had killed more than twenty townspeople. In July alone
they have killed eight, wounded nine, and carried off a boy,
not counting seven men wounded and one killed the same day,
belonging to the party of Don Juan Manuel Zapata, who was
also killed, the Indians losing three killed and two thrown into
the river, by crossing which the remainder escaped to the
Texan shore."
On the 27th of January, 1854, the rancho " Moros " and
others on the banks of the Salado were attacked, a herdsman
severely wounded, and all the horses in that region carried off.
" At the same time," adds the president, of the council in a
dispatch to the Governor of the State, " a large party of
Indians crossed the river from the left bank, killed Crisanto
Vela, and wounded a wagoner on the road leading to Rome in
Texas ; on the 25th they returned carrying off many horses."
The same writer, referring to the preceding account, which
had also been sent to the prefect of Matamoros, said to that
oflScer on the 4:th of February :
" Yesterday the citizen Juan Gonzalez and his son Pablo,
who was made captive on the 2Yth, preSented themselves;
and the latter says, that he was a witness of the events
stated in the communication of the 27th of January ; that
the Indians concerned were nine in number; that there
are twenty-three Indians and two squaws now collected
at a place which is probably that called ' La Oracion '
that they speak our language very well ; that they told
him that they are Comanches; that they are dressed like-
white people with blouses, jackets and pants, with good hats;
that they said they were great friends of the Americans ; that
they had three rifles, a gun and a revolver, and had somewhere
near a hundred horses and mules."
These calamities could not be describ.ed in more simple and
expressive terms. They depict the situation in such lively
colors, that when we reflect that it has been the same for
almost twenty years, we cannot fully appreciate the sufferings
of those inhabitants, except by seeing them, and still more so,
when we learn what they had previously suffered from 1836*
onward.
The witnesses who have appeared before the Commission,
266 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
elderly men, of the best standing in Guerrero, have narrated
the hostilities previous to 1848. They say that the Comanche^
never molested that place until 1836, when they came along
the left bank of the Rip Grande, robbing cattle, killing
shepherds, and committing many other depredations, until
they were routed by Don Antonio Zapata, with the armed
citizens of Guerrero, on the spot now occupied by Davis, or
Eio Grande City, recapturing many prisoners, recovering the
stolen horses, and taking those the Indians rode, so that they
escaped only on foot. They state also, that at the rancho
called " Mogotes," between Agualeguas and Mier, the Indians,
to the number of 500, had taken possession of the houses
and corrales, and Zapata dislodged them, with great loss ;
they add that in the same year another numerous party
encamped in front of the city, at a time when Zapata with
most of the citizens was forty leagues away, engaged in a
revolution, and that on learning the fact they hastily returned,
and routed the Indians at " Huizachal," near the city, retaking
fifty captives who had been carried off from the suburbs.
Meanwhile, one of#the leading citizens organized a force of
eighty men, with whom he went in pursuit of the fugitive
Indians, routing them a second time at " La Oracion," and
recapturing the remaining prisoners, with one exception.
After the death of Zapata, his cousin, Don Juan Manuel
Zapata, continued to be the leader of the townsmen on such
occasions, until in 1851, he was killed in an engagement.
The Indians again attacked the rancho of " Moros," which
they burned, and more than fifty persons perished in the
flames. They afterwards attacked " China," in the State of
Nuevo Leon, killed more than sixty persons at Meco, and were
routed on the plain of Ramirez, with the loss of sixty warriors,
by the troops of Camargo and Guerrero. The witnesses
unanimously state that, previous to 1848, the attacks were
made by large parties, which were generally severely punished,
and the reason given is quite convincing, namely, that their
^ movements were impeded by the large amount of their booty,
so that they were easily overtaken. After the above date, the
Indians acted upon a different system, coming in small parties,
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION.
26r
which were again subdivided, meeting at and returning to
some plac^ in the desert with their respective spoils. On this-
particular, the witnesses were very explicit, since it is stated
in many official reports that such encampments were formed,
sometimes in Texas and at other times in Mexico, and after
this plan was first discovered in Texas, they changed their
point of meeting to a place in the desert of Coahuila, from
which they could depredate either in Tamaulipas or Nuevo
Leon.
Equal truth and exactness is found in the causes which they
assign for the partial cessation of such incursions, which they
attribute to the cattle being nearly annihilated, an evident fact^
and to the tenacity with which the marauders have been pun-
ished in Mexico, where all the frontiersmen are now trained
soldiers in this kind of warfare, undertaken by them readily
and systematically.
One of the actors in the wars in Texas speaks of the in-
vasion by Comanches, who entered Mexico in 1836, at a time
when he was retreating from San Antonio de B^jar, after the
capitulation of General Cos. He was a soldier of the perma-
nent companies of Tamaulipas, and fought at Laredo, in Texas,
with the Comanches, who were pursued as far as the Nueces..
After withdrawing from military service, he took part in the
exploits of Zapata at Moros, Huizachal, and elsewhere. He
noted the change of tactics on the part of the Indians after
1848, and attributed it to the same causes as the other wit-
nesses. He relates that before the year 1851, in which Don
Juan Manuel Zapata was killed, that officer, and Don Jose
Maria Benavides Hinojosa became convinced that the Indians
were encamping in Texas and committing murders with im-
punity. He consequently went over the river with a party of
armed citizens, and by consent of the American commander at
" Ojuelos," attacked the Indians, who had been long encamped
at " Caliches," as was proved by finding in their possession the
spoils of persons killed long before, by the droves of mules re-
captured, and, lastly, by the captives who were then set at
liberty.
All the witnesses agree that the only way in which Mexi-
^68 REPOUT 0F COMMITTEE.
cans could recover their property carried into Texas by Indians
was by taking part personally in the pursuit ; as it otherwise
happened, as in Laredo, that the animals recaptured from
Indians would be sold at auction, even before the eyes of the
owners.
The President of the Common Council at Guerrero was one
of the officers who, in 1850, requested the permission of the
American commander to cross the river, and states that he
aided with a company of his soldiers, and he adds that four
years later, in 1854, the Indians were again pursued in Texas,
but this time by Mexicans residing and being organized there,
as permission was no longer given to the citizens of Guerrero
to participate, and that at the present time even the privilege
granted in 1854 is no longer allowed to the Mexicans living in
Texas, who in fact cannot now assemble' at that place more than
sixteen men.
The statements of these witnesses as to the losses suffered
by the city of Guerrero being entirely corroborated by the data
obtained from the public archives, an irresistible force is added
thereto by the testimony which captives have given before this
Commission. It is fully confirmed by them that incursions
into Mexico are made by crossing the Rio Grande near the
Sierra del Carmen, following that range as far as Santa Kosa,
scattering thence into the interior States, and on their return
recrossing into Texas between Nuevo Laredo and Guerrero.
This was done in ] 844, when they carried off Sabds Rodriguez,
passing by the point called " La Oracion," in the desert of
Ooahuila, northwest of Nuevo Laredo, above which point they
crossed the river, and, passing by San Saba, proceeded forty-
three d^ys journey to their settlement, which appears to have
been on the Red river or one of its tributaries, according to
the description and the Comanche names of the places. And
that such is the custom generally followed by these Indians is
proved by the two campaigns which the captive made with
them, one in 1850, when they came to Salinas, and the other
in 1852, when he was forcibly rescued on the hill of " La
Oracion."
It is beyond doubt that a residence of eight years among
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 26&'
the Indians enabled him to know their customs, and, in speak-
ing of this point, he averred that they sold all their booty to
Americans and to other Indians, and he states that in his own
place of residence a drove of mules was once sold. The witness
concludes by saying that, in December, 1856, he killed an In-
dian at the rancho " La Salada," in Texas, and that he was a
Comanche, as he knows from having seen him before and heard
him talk.
Estevan Herrera and Manuel Villareal were captured in
1868 by Comanches, who were retiring from towns in N"uevo
Leon with stolen horses, and near Las Tortillas carried off
these two boys. As they have just been rescued by Americana
from the Comanches, it cannot be doubted that the latter are
the tribe which now commits depredations both in Mexico and
in Texas. These captives saw in Texas the murder by Coman-
ches of two Mexicans named Juan and Jos^ Maria Benavides ;
they saw Indians arrive with cattle, horses, and captives ; they
fi'equently saw them set out on expeditions, and saw Americans
from New Mexico come to buy cattle and horses.
That this statement of those captives, although they are
very young, is in accordance with fact, is proved by a narrative
published this year by a Mr. Hittson, about robberies by In-
dians in New Mexico, and the sales they make to American
citizens. What was stated by Mr. Gregg, in his work already
quoted, is fully proved at page 291 of volume I, where the fol-
lowing language is found :
"Such is the imbecility of the local governments (those
of Chihuahua and Durango), that the savages, in order .
to dispose of their stolen property without even a shadow
of molestation, frequently enter into partial treaties of peace
with one department, while they continue to wage a war
of extermination against the neighboring States. This ar-
rangement supplies them with an ever ready market for the
disposal of their booty and the purchase of muhitions
wherewith to prosecute their work of destruction. In 1840 I
witnessed the departure from' Santa Fe of a large trading party
freighted with engines of war and a great quantity of whiskey,
intended for the Apaches, in exchange for mules and other
articles of plunder which they had stolen " from the people of
270 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
r
the south. This traflSc was not only tolerated, but openly en-
couraged by the civil authorities, as the highest public func-
tionaries were interested in its success, the governor himself
not excepted."
What the American author relates as having taken place in
New Mexico in 1840, and censures with good reason, is repeated
now-a-days, with the difiference that the inhabitants are now
American citizens, and what they buy of the Indians is no
longer merely property robbed from Mexicans, but from Ame-
ricans as well, and with the further difference that the partial
treaties were made with governments of departments or States,
while they are now made with the agents of a powerful gov-
ernment, which permits, tolerates, and protects this scandalous
traflSc, ruinous to the citizens of a neighboring nation and de-
moralizing to the Americans themselves.
In September, 1871, when Cecilio Benavides was tending
his cattle, with his two sons Juan and Jos6 Maria, at his
rancho in Texas, called " Prieto," Indians came and took the
two boys captive. These boys say that on their journey of
twenty-three days to the residence of the tribe, the Indians
killed eight or nine persons, and committed other robberies ;
that the New Mexicans came to buy horses at the encamp-
menta and that the Indians made frequent expeditions, from
which they returned bringing cattle, horses, and captives ; that
one of the latter was Manuel Vela, taken in Texas in 1872 by
the same Indians, who wera Comanches and Kiowas, from
. whose hands they were rescued in consequence of the encamp-
ment being attacked by American troops: these routed theni
and took many prisoners, who were exchanged for American
and Mexican captives.
Juan Vela Benavides, another of the captives, was taken in
1848 ; saw the trade with the New Mexicans ; knew of the
trading post where the Comanches went to exchange their
Mexican booty; and, lastly, saw several Germans come to
trade, and even availed himself of one of them to effect his own
ransom. He states that an American commissioner, accom-
panied by two other men, came twice to the village and re-
turned. This witness testifies that in the year of his captivity
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 271
(1848) the Indians already had their regular place of meeting
in the desert, and all his statement fully proves a well com-
bined plan of attack, as well as the understanding of the Co-
manches with the Ameipcans.
From the multitude of evidence, a clear exhibit has been
formed, showing the amount of damages ; that their perpetra-
tors have been Comanches acting with the connivance of
American citizens, who have directly or indirectly encouraged
them, generally acquiring the booty stolen in Mexico by ex-
change for arms and ammunition.
When we take into account the pledges usually given by
revolutionists when fighting for the triumph of a principle, it
will enable us to appreciate two notable facts which show the
character of Indian warfare and the importance always given
to it. Don Antonio Zapata was, in 1839, accompanying the
revolutionary General Canales in his march against Nuevo
Leon and Coahuila, when he learned that the Indians had ap-
peared near Guerrero, and he turned back immediately and
routed them at HuizachaL Santa Anna, in his last despotic
and suspicious administration in 1853, ordered a general dis-
arming throughout the country, and only excepted the frontier
States on account of the warfare they were maintaining against
the savages.
The amount of attention given to this warfare, even in the
most critical times for the country, is sufficiently proved by the
spontaneousness with which the menaced towns have under-
taken it at their own expense, and especially by the two in-
stances given above, which show the grave nature of an evil
which in times of civil strife was regarded as a matter not of
fortunes alone, but of life and death.
After the treaty of Guadalupe a new town was built on the
right bank of the Eio Grande, opposite the old town of Laredo.
The Mexicans born in that town when it belonged to Mexico,
who did not wish to endure the cruel fate of being foreigners
in their own country, crossed the river and founded Nuevo
Laredo on lands originally belonging to the old town. From
its beginning this settlement was involved in the same struggle
272
REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
as the other towns on the Bio Grande, and as late as last year
has continued to suffer from the Comanches.
Here, as in Guerrero, the public archives and the state-
ments of numerous witnesses, have furi|ished abundant data to
prove enormous damages, and the brief summary which this
Commission will now give will show that all the complaints
presented to it along the frontier of Tamaulipas represent only
a very small part of the real losses, since only a portion of the
sufferers have had their losses recorded, and these not the whole,,
but only that part which they best remembered.
Nuevo Laredo, having been founded during the war, it was
directed and enabled, in July, 1848, to organize a half company
of National Guards for its own protection against the savages..
Nevertheless, its sufferings from their incursions gave occasion
to the State government to issue the following order :
'' According to Article XT of the Treaty of Peace with the
United States, that country undertook not only to prevent Indian
invasions, but to punish them severely when made, and to redeena
the captives taken in our territory. Consequently, whenever we
have to deplore an occurrence like that you mention, you may
call the attention of the authorities of old Laredo to this obliga-
tion. This government is making the greatest efforts to miti-
gate the suTOrings of your unfortunate town, and authorizes
the Ayuntamierito to employ the municipal moneys for the
purchase of arms."
As the invasions continued, the citizens of Old and New
Laredo combined in a campaign against the Indians at ^' Laguna
de la Leche," in which the troops of the military colony located
in that vicinity took part. But as the seat of the evil was else-
where, nothing came of these expeditions, and the government
of the State, pitying the sufferings of the frontier towns, in-
formed them, on the 23d of March, 1850, that '' it had urged
the signing of an extradition treaty, and would urge it again,
since they were at times exposed to Indian barbarity and at
other times to depredations by criminals on the left bank of the
river." This proposal shows satisfactorily that the Mexican
authorities were then struggling at the same time with the sav-
ages and the demoralization existing on the left bank, where-
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 273
criminals found refuge, and the inhabitants profited by the pur-
chase of their spoils.
On the Ist of February, 1850, Indians penetrated by night
into the town, carrying off all the horses, which were no longer
safe even in the yards. It became necessary to set a guard at
night in order to enjoy any security, and matters came to the
extreme in March, of having to call back a party sent in pur-
suit of Indians, because other Indians were menacing the
town, thus leaving the cattle farms at the mercy of the formid-
able enemy.
On the 31st of July, the mayor was informed that the In-
dians had stolen all the horses there were in the neighborhood,
that a party of citizens and another of soldiers had unsuccess-
fully gone in pursuit, and that other Indians had attacked the
rancho of Agapito Galvan, and passed on towards Guerrero.
There were then in Mexico enough Indians to allow them to go
from one town to another, to cross over to Texas to secure their
booty, and return to continue their depredations. The alarm
caused in Nuevo Laredo by the presence of Indians in their
streets, and the unavailing efforts made by the inhabitants to
recover their property when hurried across the river, was wit-
nessed by the American town and the garrison in the adjoining
fort. But not the slightest step was taken to prevent or to
punish these outrages, prepared and consummated in American
territory.
The people of Nuevo Laredo did not desist from their efforts
to counteract these ferocious assaults. The citizens who had
just returned from one expedition, set out again the same year
in combination with those of Guerrero, and of several towns
in -W uevo Leon, to drive the savages from their pastures, and
such was their solicitude to prevent those evils, that they sent
notice to the distant town of Monclova of a horde that was
taking that direction.
Up to the year 1872, the incursions have continued with
more or less vigor. To enumerate them all would take much
time, and the objects of the Commission are met by a few cita-
tions which afford a complete picture of those which are omit- ,
ted. In this continuous chain of invasions we find dispatches
18
27* REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
from the authorities, which set forth in detail the hopelessness
of the situation, enabling us by their simple perusal to form an
exact judgment of the evil and its origin. After Nnevo Lar
redo was surrounded daily and nightly by the Indians, murder-
ing and robbing, and evading chastisement by passing over to
Texas in full sight of Old Laredo ; after it had become noto-
rious that the Comanches were the perpetrators of those depre-
dations, which were tranquilly witnessed by the citizens of the
United States; on one occasion when some Lipan Indians
showed themselves in the vicinity, the Texans observed a totally
diflTerent conduct, as may be seen by the following dispatch
sent on the 7th of March, 1856, by the first judge to the higher
authorities at Guerrero :
" Having been informed to-day, at 8 A. M., by the citizen
Eodrigo Martinez, that a body of 80 or 90 armed citizens of
Laredo, Texas, have crossed the river into Mexico, at the ' Es-
condida' ford, near this towi), with the object of attacking the
Lipan Indians, who have been hunting wild cattle on the Lam-
pazos roa<l, by virtue of a written permit given them by the
Governor of *Niievo Leon, Don Santiago Vidanrri ; and as this
town has not sufficient means for repelling this force, I inform
you thereof, requesting you to make the fact known, and to
inform me what assistance your city can give us to defend the
sovereignty of the nation, whose laws and decorum have been
trampled under foot under pretext of the Lipaus."
To the grave offense of tolerating the Comanches in their
own country, the Americans added this outrage. From this
time onward they watched for opportunities to conceal or deny
their own offenses, laying the res])onsibility on Indians who had
done no harm. When those deeds are scrutinized in the 4^ght
of the data collected from many sources, it is palpably seen
that this conduct had a crafty purpose, namely, to distract the
attention of Mexicans from their own losses to those of the
Texans. Tiiis object was generally attained by means of a
crime, namely, the violation of our territory, which attiacted
attention, and drove us to reflect on the best means of prevent-
ing it. It was not without reason that the authorities asserted
that the chastisement of the Lipans was merely a pretext, since
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 275
it was well known that those Indians were neither the sole per-
petrators of the damages suffered in Texas, nor of those on the
Mexican bank of the river. When the Coraraission comes to
treat of the Lipaiis, it will show the real object of this proced-
ure of the Texan people. It will now observe that the Amer-
icans were aroused to invade our territory, when they learned
that Indians who were at peace with Mexico were in the
vicinity of Nuevo Laredo. But when the Comanches came
from Texas, passing the rancho of San Ignacio, where they
murdered some Mexicans, being chased to the river banlc by
an American officer, our territory was respected.
No rational and satisfactory explanation can be given to
such conduct, which is the more to be regretted, because oc-
curring in the most critical times, when the Indian incursions
were most frequent and the devastations most cruel.
Although the inhabitants of the right bank of the Rio
Grande were kept in continual movement in the pursuit of the
Indians, they not unfrequently laid aside these occupations to
return and defend their towns from the menaced attacks of fil-
ibusters, which were organized in the principal towns of Texas?
with the manifest intention of depredating in Mexico. While^
they were attending to this new peril, the savages remained in
possession of their pasture lands, and robbed them with perfect
impunity.
Many instances of these piratical invasions are recorded,
which are here mentioned on account of their relation to the
depredations of the savages. They are also mentioned, because
many of our citizens arc convinced, with more or less reason,
that the intention was formed of aiding and abetting the rob-
beries of the Indians, with whom they were in partnership.
The Commission does not attach any importance to this belief.
It did not wish even to mention it, and the only motive for so
doing is to show how lamentable has been the condition of the
frontier towns in every respect ; that the Indian depredations
have been very extensive, and that the citizens and authorities
of the United States' have largely contributed to them, the
former by their menaces of attacking the Mexican towns which
2T6 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
were already suflfering from the Indians, and the latter by the
aid and comfort they gave to such plans.
From the year 1855 io 1858 there was constant alarm on
the frontier, on account of hostile preparations in Texas, and
the consequences were disastrous in respect to the spoiling of
their property by the Indians. Before this date, other causes,
springing from a spirit of positive malevolence, created a situa-
tion no less dangerous and threatening for the Mexican towns.
•The invasions of 1851, which were carefully masked under a
different plan, had no other object than the profit of the Texan
border at the expense of the Mexican ; the destruction of the
latter region in pursuance of a preconceived plan of annexa-
tion.
As there are many persons in Texas who still cherish these
ideas of conquest, and most of them live on the frontier, the
influence they have had in public life has been employed in
manufacturing conflicts, increasing the ruin of the Mexicao
frontier. Hence their indifference to or encouragement of the
robberies of the Indians, hence the negro troubles, the com-
plaints against Kickapoos and Lipans, and the recent charges
of cattle stealing, for it is seen that when one grievance disap-
pears another is invented.
The Commission does not need to sav that this conduct does
not proceed from any design of the government of the United
States, since it is well known that those evil-doers are hostile
to their government, on account of its not countenancing their
plans of invasion. These plans, however, have not been put
down with the energy and promptitude necessary to forestall
the evil, and responsibility has been thus incurred for all that
has been suffered.
It is not merely this Commission which condemns the ac-
tion of the authorities and citizens in question ; their own fel-
low-citizens have condemned it by contrary action, such as
is usual between friendly neighboring nations. It has been
said a few pages back that a violation of our territory was com-
mitted in 1856 by a body of eighty or ninety Texans, and that
this alarmed the Mexicans and caused serious commotion. But
recently in 1870, some Indians, who had been marauding in
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 277
Texas, crossed the river and were pursued in Mexican territory
hy American troops. This occurrence gave occasion to Colonel
Anderson, commanding at Fort Mcintosh, to address the fol-
lowing note, on the 17th of April, to the president of the coun-
cil at Nuevo Laredo :
" Sir : I have the honor to inform you that I sent yester-
day a body of troops, made up of soldiers and citizens, in pur-
suit of the Indians, and that they have followed them across
the river. As these savages are common enemies of all civilized
people, I hope that this act of pursuing them on the other side
will meet with your approval, and I trust it will not be consid-
ered disrespectful to your authorities, since our only object is
4;o recover some stolen horses. If, however, your authorities
are opposed to. pursuing the Indians on your territory, I will
send a messenger to recall them."
The authorities of Nuevo Laredo went beyond the sugges-
tion of Colonel Anderson, replying immediately that they had
sent a force to co-operate with the Americans in the pursuit of
the savages, whom he had so justly called enemies of all civil-
ized people. This act of the American oflSlcer is equivalent to
a condemnation of the previous conduct of the American
authorities arid people in Texas, as contrary to the true inter-
ests of both nations.
The Commission takes pleasure in narrating another occur-
rence, which not only proved the zeal of the Mexican author-
ities in pursuing the Indians, but also the enterprise of private
individuals animated by the same spirit. In 1870, while Mex-
icans and Americans were engaged together in chasing the
Indians who had crossed into Mexico, the rancheros of " Agua-
verde," without notice or order, and moved only by duty, as-
sembled to the number of six, attacked the Indians in the very
act of recrossing the Hio Grande with the booty taken on both
banks, and recovered the property of Americans and Mexicans,
thus proving the activity and good organization maintained in
this kind of warfare made only against the Coraanches. When
the united forces reached •Aguaverde in pursuit, they found
there the horses recovered by the herdsmen, and all the owners
received their property without any conditions, and the Amer-
icans returned satisfied to their country.
378 * REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
This good understanding between the authorities of both
countries proves, by its favorable result, what might have been
done from the beginning, if the operations had been guided by
a spirit of concord. This actipn of the American oflScer also
demonstrates the impropriety of the conduct of all his prede-
cessors since 1848, who have simply kept their posts, and have
but once given notice of an invasion made from their territory
into Mexico. This same fact shows that the conduct observed
in 1856, in invading Mexico to attack the Lipans, when they
were hunting wild cattle at a distance from the frontier, was a
criminal procedure. It also shows that, with the exception of
Colonel Anderson, no Federal authority in Texas has known
how to comply with his international duties.
Unfortunately for the preservation of good feeling between
the two frontiers, the prevailing spirit among the American
authorities has been favorable neither to law nor to justice, but
to power and force. When placed in front of unfortified points,,
they have almost always abused their position. Surrounded by
parties interested in the maintenance of abuses by which they
profited, the Federal oflicers have listened to one-sided reports,
and have therefore assumed an attitude neither just nor con-
formable with the true interest of both republics. In most
cases an ignorance of English on the part of Mexicans, and of
Spanish on the part of the Americans, has prevented their re-
ceiving exact information, and has maintained an embarrassing
situation.
It will be seen, in the course of this report, that information
has been obtained from all possible sources, and that of a na-
ture to inspire the most absolute confidence, since the persons
who deposited it in the archives never suspected that it would
be used for any special object. The Commission, therefore,
confides in such information, and does not doubt that all im-
partial persons will concede to it that force which it deserves
from its authenticity, its simplicity, and Its evident truth.
The towns of Tamaulipas visited by the Commission have
proven very considerable losses, which are undoubtedly below
the fact. These proceed from direct damages to person and
property, and indirect losses resulting therefrom.
KORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 279
The calculation of losses which have been proven, although
amounting to a heavy sum, is very far from the reality, for not
all the sufferers have presented themselves, and those who have
done so have not given in the whole amount of their losses.
There was such perfect good faith on the part of the complain-
ants that when any one of them had previously presented a
claim, he always stated the fact at the outset, and confined
himself to mentioning his more recent losses. Not a few of
the sufferers have abstained from presenting their complaints,,
because they had obtained no satisfaction for those presented
twenty years before. Aside, therefore, from the justice which
is perceptible in the majority of the cases, they have also the
further recommendation of supplying evidence for those which
are awaiting a decision (by the Mixed Commission) at Washing-
ton, since it is plain that no spirit of speculation nor precon-
ceived plan has entered into these complaints.
No one will charge these reclamations with being exag-
gerated or impertinent, if he considcTS for a moment the losses
which have occasioned them, the long space of time in which
they have been accumulating, and the other circumstances al-J
ready mentioned from which they have arisen. Any scruple
on this head will disappear on the slightest examination of the
first part of the 2d expedients^ in which all the invasions of
savages in Tamaulipas have been conjointly proven, as well as
the immense amount of property carried off to the United .
States, enriching that country at the expense of Mexico, and,
above all, the valuable lives which have been sacrificed. It
will there be seen that the claimants have been very moderate,
rating neither their property nor their lives at their true value.
The Commission has taken care to form a statistical table which
represents the incursions in connection with the losses of life
and property thereby caused ; and it has no doubt that the real
losses will thus become apparent, and also the good conduct,
nay, the disinterestedness of the sufferers. But if there should
be any who still doubt, notwithstanding the authenticity of the
documents obtained from the archives, they will undoubtedly
be convinced by a parallel drawn between the claimants of
the two nations, the Mexicans resting their cases for the losses
280 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
of twenty years on the public archives alone ; while, on the
other side, appear incredible tales of imaginary losses dur-
ing six years only, estimates of which the mere statement
suffices, even in the United States, to draw down the ridicule
and the condemnation of every right-minded and impartial
man.
The morality, and good sense of the Mexican citizens
will loe still better seen by the fact that nothing whatever
has been claimed as compensation for the robberies of horses,
which have been made with impunity by American citizens,
with perhaps the connivance and protection of their authori-
ties, ever since 1848. The losses from this cause have been in-
calculable, but owing to the difficulty of estimating them, as
well as to the doubt how far the American authorities have
become responsible through their negligence, the sufferers
have abstained from presenting their complaints, thus affording
a criterion of the real value of the American claims for losses
of cattle, which are undoubtedly much less than the Mexican
losses of horses, since the latter began in 1848, and have con-
tinued up to the present time, while the former were unknown
until the beginning of the Confederate war.
It being difficult to ascertain the exact losses, the basis of
one per cent, per month on the entire amount, as charged by
the complainants, will not appear exaggerated. The profit on
cattle-farming is calculated by the American claimants at 33
per cent., or one-third of the capital invested, and it will there-
fore be seen that this point has been equitably determined, as
is also the case respecting the valuation of the property stolen
or destroyed.
It has been previously mentioned, that many of the suffer-
ers were unable, from sickness or absence, to appear before the
Commission; so that the recorded losses, although they afford
data for calculating all those which have bcQn suffered in
Tamaulipas by Indian incursions alone, do not really represent
their full amount, which would be a much larger sum.
No calculation has been attempted of the sums spent by
the public treasury in protection of the frontier, because the
data are not accessible. It has been ascertained, in a general
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 281
way, that the nation, in the midst of its serious difficulties from
internal and foreign wars, has not, for an instant, neglected the
frontier, on which it has fixed its attention, on account of its
importance as an integral portion of the republic, and on ac-
count of its relations with the neighboring nation.
Nor has the value of the services of the Mexican frontiers-
men, in the pursuit of the savages, been calculated, as in jus-
tice it should be. But there have been no accurate data,#8ince
the documents consulted are incomplete, and it has been
thought best to leave this blank, which may perchance be filled
up respecting other of the invaded towns, where such registers
may have been kept.
The Commission h^s endeavored to give, in the preceding
summary, an idea of the sufferings of the people of Tamaulipas,
on account of the incursions of the savages, but it puts more
trust in the accompanying synoptical table, which gives all the
invasions, along with their dates, the murders and robberies
caused thereby, and the expeditions organized against them.
This table supplies all that has here been omitted, and will
prove the accuracy of the Commission's statements, for it
should be distinctly remembered, that nothing has been
affirmed which does not rest on some public document, or been
placed beyond doubt by the unanimous testimony of numerous
witnesses.
DEPKEDATIONS OF SAVAGES IN NUEVO LEON.
Nuevo Leon being separated from the American frontier by
Coahuila on the north, and by Tamaulipas on the east and
northeast, it would seem to be sheltered, by its position, from
the depredations of savages who had other towns nearer at
hand on which to satisfy their greed of rapine and bloodshed ;
but unfortunately this has not been the case. The evils, dam-
ages and sufferings of its neighboring States have been here ex-
perienced on a still greater scale, in proportion to the greater
riches accumulated by the well-known industry of its citizens,
who, having enjoyed domestic peace ever since the independ-
282 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
ence of Mexico, had devoted themselves to stock-raising and
agriculture as the sources of their prosperity, until the savages,
by their incessant warfare, involved them in ruin.
It v^^ill be remembered that Spanish civilization, in its la-
borious task of peopling these regions, and civilizing the native
tribes, had, at the close of the last century, advanced its settle-
ments in this direction as far as Lampazos, Laredo and the
Presidios (military colonies) of San Vicente, Bdbia, Agua-
verde, Alamo and Bahia ; that soldiers and missionaries had
preceded the first settlers of these regions, who did not occupy
them until reports of their beauty and fertility aroused a spirit
of enterprise, after they had been completely reduced to peace
by the force of arms or of proselytism.
The origin of San Antonio, of Laredo, of Guerrero, and all
the other towns on the right bank of the Rio Grande, was due
to the same causes, and most of them were colonized by Indiana
of Haxcala, who by their adhesion to the Spaniards, by their
bravery and industry in the most indispensible arts of civilized
life, contributed to facilitate the work of the conquerors. Thank*
to these expedients, most of the Indians were brought to order
and Christianity, the remainder were driven northward, and
in the middle of the seventeenth century the struggle which
still continues was begun.
The superiority in arms and discipline which the Spaniards
communicated to the Christianized Indians overcame all resist-
ance, and it is to be noted that the Spaniards who lived in those
establishments always preserved their influence over those In-
dians, whom they did not fear to arm for the conflict with the
savages.
These discoveries and settlements went on progressing dur-
ing the seventeenth and the greater part of the eighteenth cen-
tury, at the end of which their decline commenced. It was
then seen that the colonies remained stationary, weighed down
by the war with the savages, and the colonial companies were
then organized upon a plan so sagacious that eight of them,
conveniently located, kept at bay the immense multitude of
Comanches and other Indians who roamed over the deserts of
Kew Mexico and Texas, then belonging to our nation.
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 283
It is true that no step was taken in advance, bat it is also
trne that from tlie organization of the said companies all the
frontier towns were greatly relieved frQin their previous strug-
gles, and those farther south enjoyed complete peace up to the
year 1836.
The frontiers of Tamaulipas and of Coahuila, as being more
open and extended, were garrisoned by seven companies, and
but one was destined to Nuevo Leon, which was placed near
Lampazos to guard the approaches to the center of the State.
The experience of forty years showed that this system, com-
bining attack with defense, was well devised, for except in one
or two instances, neither the Comanches nor any other Indians
penetrated within the extensive lines defended by the colonial
garrisons, from Bahia on the Gulf coast to San Vicente, near
the old post of San Carlos in Chihuahua.
Santa Rosa, San Fernando de Aguaverde, Presidio de Kia
Grande, Lampazos, Laredo and San Antonio, which were the
outposts, are the only towns which preserve in their annals the
details of the depredations committed by Indians, who rarely
failed on such occasions to be severely pufiished, and even pur-
sued into their native deserts.
Travelers passing to the south of the above mentioned posts
enjoyed the same security as within the towns themselves.
This peace and tranquility was still better secured from the
year 1829, when General Biistamante reorganized the colonial
garrison, as before mentioned, creating a situation of pros-
perity w^hich will seem wonderful and even incredible with-
out an investigation of the position of the Indians at this
period.
The work of Josiah Gregg, already mentioned, which was
written at a time when it was not even imagined that it would
ever supply evidence in international questions, solves the
enigma of the formidable invasions made by the savage hordes
inhabiting the frontiers of Northern Mexico and the western
territories of the United States. Its data are the more precious
becaase obtained in the Indian country, and precisely at the
time when they were effecting their great movement towards
the Mexican settlements, and because while the author criticises^
284: REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
the Mexican authorities for their dealings with the Indians, he
has written down tlie condemnation of his own country, furnish-
ing a criterion by which to pass judgment upon this compli-
cated Indian question.
It has already been stated that the government of the
United States, yielding to the pressure applied by some of the
States, dislodged the Indian tribes which led an independent
existence in the midst of that republic, the inhabitants of
which never intermarried with them, leaving them to preserve
their savage manners and customs/ That government being,
according to the expression of De Tocqueville, impotent to pro-
tect the Indians, it transplanted them to the frontier of Mexico,
and at the close of 1831 ten thousand had been placed at the
nearest point to Mexico, at a great distance from all American
settlements.
Some of the observations made by Mr. Josiah Gregg in his
travels across the prairies to Santa Fe and Chihuahua in the
spring of 1839, have been quoted at the beginning of this re-
port for the purpose of explaining the origin of the great erup-
tion made into our^hree States in 1836, the precursor of so
many later ones. It must be here explained that Camp
Holmes, mentioned as the place where the first trading post
with the Comanches and Wichitas was established, was situated
in American territory, in the Creek country, near the Canadian
river, at about latitude 35° 5'. This trade must have been im-
portant, since the author expressly says, " as far as Holmes we
had a passable wagon road, which was opened on the occasion
of the Indian treaty before alluded to, and was afterwards kept
open by the Indian traders."
This statement, written in 1839, proves that for four years
in succession the Comanche trade had been kept up, since
though the trading post of Colonel Chouteau had been aban-
doned since 1838, the road to Camp Holmes had been kept
open by the Indian traders, which shows that the Indians
either sought out the traders, or that tlie latter came to Camp
Holmes, following the road which had been '^kept open."
Our author next relates an interview he had with an Indian
<5hief, who talked a little Spanish, that language being more or
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 286
less known by the Prairie Indians. Tabba-quena, the Indian
chief, showed by his talk that he was well acquainted with all
the Mexican frontier from Santa Fe to Chihuahua and thence
to the Gulf, as well as with all the prairie region. He gave
proof of this by making a map which well represented the
principal rivers, the plains, the road from Santa Fe to Missouri,
and the Mexican posts were better located in this Indian
sketch than in the printed maps.
This fact proves the continual intercourse of the Comanches
with the American establishments, since they knew them well
as far as the Missouri. It is added that Tabba-quena had with
him about sixty persons, including squaws and boys, and also
some Kiowa chiefs and warriors, wto, although belonging to
another tribe, are frequently found living with the Comanches.
Tabba-quena said that his companions had gone to see the
" Great Captain," which he had not done, because he turned
back to get better horses, and the author -afterwards learned
that the Kiowas had really been at Fort Gibson, and had
received a considerable present. This Indian captain was
living on the False Wachita, in territory then and now be-
longiijg to the United States :
'' We succeeded in purchasing several mules, which cost us
between ten and twenty dollars' worth of goods apiece. In
Comanche trade, the main trouble consists "in fixing the price
of the first animal. This being settled by the chiefs, it often
happens that mule after mule is led up and the price received
without further cavil. The Santa F6 caravans have generally
avoided every manner of trade with the wild Indians, for fear
of being treacherously dealt with during the familiar inter-
course which necessarily ensues. This I am convinced is an
erroneous impression, for I have always found that savages,
are much less hostile to those with whom they trade than to
any other people. They are emphatically fond of traffic, and
being anxious to encourage the 'vfhites to come among them,
instead of committing depredations upon those with whom
they trade, they are generally ready to defend them against
every enemy."
The Commission has extracted these details concerning the,
trade with the Indians, their fondness for and eagerness to
maintain traffic, in order to point out the connection between
^86 BEPOBT OP COMMITTKE.
this free intercourse with American citizens and anthoritieSy
and the robberies and butcheries perpetrated on Mexican
towns. The great Indian irruptions can only be explained by
these antecedents. There must have been a cause for the
change which took place among those savage hordes in 1836,
and that cause cannot be other than the trade which was
begun the previous year at Gamp Holmes by an American
colonel, and was actively continued by other Americans, in
order to enrich themselves by the fabulous gains of this traffic.
Another cause may be found in the removal of tlie Southern
Indians to the remotest comer of the American territory, in
contact with the savage tribes of Mexico. A brief sketch of
the avocations of the said tribes on their last reservations will
hereafter be given, and will show the truth of the inference
which has just been drawn.
As the especial object of this Commission^ according to its
instructions, is to investigate the damages caused by Indians
from the United States since 1848, the Commission will proceed
to state the results obtained, as regards the State of !N^uevo
Leon, and will do so with greater minuteness than heretofore,
because the depredations have been immense and incalculable,
and because this State being the central one of those which
have suffered this great plague, the narrative will necessarily
include much relating to the neighboring States, and from it
may be derived authentic conclusions as to the right of the
citizens to indemniflation, and the responsibility of the United
States to make it. The depredations previous to 1848 will
first be summarily treated to show the origin of the re-
sponsibility, aside from all treaties, according to natural law.
As in Tamaulipas, the public arcliives have been the main
source of information, but with the important difference that
in Nuevo Leon they haV^ been found nearly comj)lete, not
having suffered the same spoliation as in the former State, which '
has frequently been a victim of piratical or filibustering ex-
peditions, and of local revolutions, which have caused the
destruction of very important documents. Another source
of valuable information lias been the statements of the most
respectable citizens of all the towns visited, especially those
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 287
who hav'e held public positions, or have been leaders of ex-
peditions against the Indians. The Commission is therefore
certain of having ascertained the troth upon this interesting
topic, and feels sure that the results will attract public at-
teiition through their importance, not less than their novelty
to most readers, though the facts themselves are of remote
occurrence.
The government of Nuevo Leon had barely been reinstated,
about the middle of the year 1S48, in the midst of tlie diffi-
culties incident to the evacuation of the posts held by the
American troops during the war, when its attention was called,
not merely to the evils committed in the towns by the disor-
derly troops of the retiring army, but to the invasions of the
Oomanches, which were made with a violence never before
seen. From the 15th of July, 1848, when the authority of
Oanas (now Mina) reported the first Comanche incursion, there
was not a single day of rest for the government, for Villal-
dama, Lampazos, Vallecillo, Valenznela and Salinas continu-
ally reported other and repeated invasions. From these commu-
nications, which have all been compared in order to form the
annexed statistical table, it appears tl)at 104 Comanches pene-
trated into the center of those towns, besides four other parties
of which the numbers are not given, but calculating them at
only 15 each, they bring up the total number of invaders to
164.
Eleven persons killed, three wounded, two captives, and
droves of horses and mules carried off, were the consequences
of these incursions, which were resisted bj' more than 200 men
of the towns attacked, and by a few regular troops sent in
pursuit by the commander-in-chief. Six combats with the In-
dians, resulted in taking from them saddles, a captive and some
cattle, proved that they were Comanclies, and that the local
and federal authorities complied with their respective duties.
The year 1849 was ushered in by an attack upon Agnale-
guas by a party of Comanches, which extended its foray to
every one of the northern towns, including San Nicolas de las
Garzas, three leagues from Monterey. More than 500 Co-
manches made during this year thirty-four incursions, killing
288 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
thirty-four persoDs, wotinding fourteen, aud capturing four, be^
sides the usual robbery of horses, which may be safely calcu-
lated, in accordance with oflScial data, at more than one thou-
sand.
The parties of citizens and soldiers organized to resist them
equaled the number of invasions, and inore than 1,000 men-
were this year engaged in pursuit, fighting the Indians in three
engagements, recapturing some horses, though but few, for
while some were fighting otliers were engaged in hurrying off
the stolen animals. It was thus noticed in all the engagements
that their principal care was to preserve their booty, making
the greatest efforts to accomplish this object, and generally suc-
ceeding in distancing pursuit by the rapidity of their retreat.
The memoir presented to the Congress of Nuevo Leon, in
1850, speaking of "public security," said : "that of this State
would be complete, were it not for the incursions of the savage
tribes," which although less numerous this year than in the
other frontier States, presented the horrible picture of 800
Comanches, who killed 21 men, wounded 20, captured four
children, and robbed more than a thousand animals. The
forces employed in resistance, besides the permanent compa-
nies, amounted to 1,520 men, organized in 16 towns.
The Commission cannot refrain from mentioning the names
of these towns, and the number of assaults they experienced
this year, for this will give an exact idea of their sufferings.
Villaldama was nine times attacked by Comanches, Aguale-
guas seven, Sabinas Hidalgo eight, Cerralvo two, Marin four,
Mina nine, Salinas Victoria eight, Bustamante four, Lampazos
nine, Vallecillo ten, Pesqueria Chica one, Pesqneria Grande six,
San Nicolas de las Garzas two, Abasolo three, San Nicolas Hi-
dalgo three, and China once — making a total of 86 incursions
upon 16 towns of Nuevo Leon, in a year when the governor
informed Congress that their forays were less frequent than in
the other frontier States. This was a fact, and if the proofs
have not been found, through the incompleteness of the archives,
it was nevertheless well know^n to all when the said memoir
was published. This shows in what manner the investigation
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 289
of depredations in Nuevo Leon discloses what took place in
other States.
Nine regular campaigns were undertaken by order of the
government, besides the partial pursuits made by the National
Guard of each invaded town, some of which mustered 80 or 100
men. The situation produced by these occurrences attracted
the attention of the press in the capital of the republic, and in
announcing the events of the frontier it was said :
" The first thing that meets our eyes is always something
about savage Indians. Why is it that these unhappy towns can
never free themselves from this horrible plague ? Plans of defense
are devised, funds are raised for the war, but the result always is
that, although the savages are sometimes beaten, the towns
never have a moment's rest. Their inhabitants perish at the
the hands of the savages, or are carried into a fearful captivity.
Agriculture, industry and commerce relapse into insignificance,
the revenues cease, tranquility is lost by constant fear of the
peril which threatens life, honor and family interests ; all, in
short, presents the most doleful picture of misfortune and deso-
lation."
Everywhere people wondered that the frontier did not enjoy
a moment's rest, in spite of all the plans and systems devised to
repel the savages ; the desolation of the beleaguered towns was
felt at hundreds of miles' distance. Information of these calam-
ities must have reached the government at Washington, for the
Indians who ravaged Mexico lived in the United States, and
they paraded their spoils in full view of the military chieftains.
It was, then, their duty to prevent this mischief, since they had
expressly contracted by treaty to do so.
In the midst of the r^iin and desolation which befel a great
part of the republic, tlie general government of Mexico prepared
to unite its efforts with those of the United States to carry into
effect the solemn engagement of the latter to prevent such in-
vasions. With this object, the inspectors of the East, Chihua-
hua and the West, and the commanders stationed in Coahuila,
Nuevo Leon, Tamaulipas, Durango, Chihuahua and Sonora, and
the prefect of Lower California were instructed :
" 1st. Under their own strict responsibility to grant no peace
19
290 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
and to wage vigorous war with the savage Comanches, Apaches,
Lipans add otlier tribes who roam through the American ter-
ritory, without forn)ing settlements or cultivating the ground
like other tribes, but devote themselves entirely to hunting and
warfare of an atrocious character, not only when they emigrate
from the United States under an appearance of peace, but also
when they may be driven thence by force of arms. 2d. To
,make no truce, peace or agreement with any other savages, not
included in the above category, without awaiting the decision
of the supreme government, to whom a report must be sent as
to the circumstances and the condition of the tribe which may
desire to make peace."
When the supreme government, on the 10th of September,
1860, forwarded the above rules for the guidance of its oflScers
in their dealings with the savages, it treated all agreements for
peace as imprudent, because they would weaken the force of the
unquestionable obligation undertaken by the United States to
put down and chastise the Indian incursions.
The statesman who formed the above resolutions took into
consideration all that was occurring along the vast extent of the
Mexican frontier, and knew that, in spite of all the efforts of
government and people to suppress Indian depredations, there
was no other means of success than in the fulfillment of
the solemn obligation of the United States. While awaiting
such action on the part of the American government, he ar-
ranged and prepared everything to facilitate it, and took care,
above all^ that no act should weaken the binding force of the
obligation^ That the savages should cause greater ruin and
sacrifice more victims was preferable to losing the rights given
by nature and by solemn compact. The war was, therefore, to
be accepted and waged at whatever sacrifice.
The State governments acted in harmony with that of the
Federation, and at the time the above measures were taken a
plan of defense was published in Nuevo Leon, declaring a war
of extermination against the savages.
Taking into account the deserts, the hiding places offered
by the mountains, the agility of the savages, their endurance,
astuteness, and dexterity in their peculiar mode of warfare,
rules were drawn up to meet all these requirements; a decree
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 291
was promulgated and carried at once into effect. It was high
time, for, as has been seen, the evil had assumed enormous pro-
portions, which engaged at once every sentiment of pride,
dignity, and honor ; and the government could therefore say
in the circular which accompanied the plan of defense, " Who,
in contemplating this picture which would horrify the most
apathetic citizen, does not hear the imperious voice of duty and
honor demanding that a remedy be found for all these evils?"
All the elements and resources of Nnevo Leon, having been
brought to bear upon the remedy of the situation, the Indian
war presented a more favorable aspect in 1861. The memoir
published by the government in this year contained the follow-
ing words :
"The idea, which was roughly suggested in the previ-
ous memoir, concerning the means of defense against the sav-
ages, was carried into effect. The towns were provided with
a sufficiency of arms, ammunition, and pecuniary resources, and
the ferocious savage learned to his surprise and his cost that the
State will not quietly endure the evils he is accustomed to in-
flict."
Nevertheless, the Commission found sixty-eight incursions
recorded during this year, made against the same towns by
about 600 Indians. The losses were 36 killed, 33 wounded,
and 12 captives, besides about 300 horses.
By order of the government, and in accordance with the
plan of defense approved -on the 20th of September of the pre-
ceding year, four expeditions were organized, and the pursuit
of the Indians was more active and effective than ever. The
greater number of the killed was the result of eight engage-
ments, which took place either in the immediate pursuit or in
the desert fastnesses, where the Indians brought together their
booty, and whence they sent out small parties into the northern
districts of Nuevo Leon.
The severe punishment and loss of life inflicted on the
Indians in the active campaign everywhere undertaken, is fully
set forth in the official reports, and it was seen that united
action and a proper distribution of the forces, which were the
chief elements of the plan of defense, would produce favorable
292 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
results, after a little experience. The forces employed this
year amounted to more than 1,000 men.
The savages acted as if they comprehended that they were
the object of a combined a;ction on the part of the government
and people, and meant to prove their valor and real power,
coming, in 1852, in greater numbers and more frequently than
ever. There were, consequently, more killed, more wounded,
more captives, and greater robberies. Ninety-two attacks were
made upon herdsmen, laborers, and travelers by parties of
greater or less size, and it is authentically shown that more
than 1,000 savages were concerned. in them.
About 2,000 men were employed in a pursuit which was
carried into the rudest fastnesses of the mountains, at a sacrifice
of 62 killed, 30 wounded, and 16 captives, and the usual ac-
companiment of horses and mules stolen, amounting to more
than 500. A real war was now being waged ; eight large ex-
peditions were sent out on formal campaigns, ten engagements
took place, in all which the Indians were beaten with loss, and
over 200 horses and mules were recaptured.
In thefollowing year, 1853, the Indians were distributed in
smaller parties of fifty, thirty, twenty, ten, or even five, and thus
made 77 incursions in the north and west of the State, causing
a loss of 35 killed, 23 wounded, 6 captives, and some 300 horses
stolen. About 1,500 men belonging to the companies already
organized in the towns were employed in pursuit; four en-
gagements took place, with notable loss to the savages, and,
there being 800 of them scattered in small parties, many minor
chastisements inflicted upon them escaped official notice.
To the list of towns which had been annually, and some-
times daily, assailed since 1848 without a moment's intermis-
sion, there must now be added, for the year 1854, the names of
towns which had never before been attacked, such as Linares,
Montemorelos, San Pedro de Iturbide, Galeana, Doctor Arroyo,
and Kio Blanco, the two former situated to the south of Mon-
tery, on the road to Victoria, at the foot of the Sierra Madre,
the third in the heart of the Sierra^^ and the rest on the other
side of the mountains, a hundred leagues from the State capital.
This change of tactics on the part of the Indians was un-
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 293
doubtedly occasioned by their conviction that they could no
longer overcome the resistance made to them in all quarters,
and also in great measure to the fact of the diminution of the
number of horses in the towns they had so frequently visited.
They thought it possible to obtain a larger number, which they
wanted for their system of exchange, by attacking otlier dis-
tricts, as yet unaccustomed to their spoliations, where they
might satisfy their thirst for blood.
Although the Comanches are astute in robbery, dexterous
in self-defense, and daring in attack when in sufficient force,
all which qualities they have acquired during several genera-
tions of border warfare, they nevertheless had not shown
therein any knowledge of real military science, carrying on
their early wars, as has been said, rather from vengeance than
for the sake of spoils. Tactical warfare was not known or
practiced by them until after 1840, and its date may be more
correctly assigned to about the year 1848. On their ancient
system they staked the success of their campaigns upon the
number of forays ; they sent forth one or two thousands of
prairie warriors, appeared at many points at once, robbing im-
mense numbers of horses and mules, which they carried off in
triumph to their chosen retreats ; but they never once failed to
be defeated in their larger masses, as happened at the " Llano
de Eamirez,'' at Huizachal, at El Pozo, and, as will be seen
hereafter, at La Oracion, Rosita and other places.
A superior intelligence, an intelligence not native to the
Indians, must necessarily have suggested to them their change
of tactics. As their object was to steal horses and conduct
them in safety to their market, another plan was devised, which
consisted in meeting together in large numbers at a given ren-
dezvous within Mexican territory, at some place advantageously
located for defense, far away from settlements and unknown to
their victims ; to fortify themselves therein with all possible
secrecy and precaution ; from these headquarters to carry out
their simultaneous forays, returning there with their booty, and
repeating the operation as often as possible, until the time came
to carry off at once their immense booty to the United States.
Those who know something of the Indians; those who have
294 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
studied their habits and followed step by step the incidents of
their nomadic and warlike life, must agree that such combina-
tions could not originate with them, and that they have been
taught them by civilized men, without heart or conscience, who
desire by their means to realize gigantic speculations.
In August, 1854, the Indians had passed that massive range
of the Sierra Madre, which would seem to be an unsurmount-
able wall of defense, and the towns of San Pedro de Iturbide,
Galeana, Doctor Arroyo and Eio Blanco suddenly beheld the
sanguinary tomahawk of the savages hurled at the heads of
their inmates. A hundred and ten Comanches, in a single
body, attacked those unsuspecting settlements with the result
which is shown in the following communication, which is text-
ually inserted here :
" Galeana, August 15th, 1854.
*^ To the Oovemor of the Department of Nuevo Leon :
" Most Excellent Sm :
"By the inclosed original reports, your excellency will
learn that the savages, to the number of about 100, have in-
vaded this municipality, committing acts of the most horrid
cruelty at the place called 'Penuelo,' where they murdered all
the inhabitants, consisting entirely of defenseless women and
children, the men being all in the country tending their cattle,
which they were taking to the Department of Zacatecas.
These lamentable occurrences have thrown this town into the
greatest consternation, and the commissariat under my charge
in these sad circumstances, has, by making use of every resource,
armed and mounted twelve men of this town for the speedy
relief of the hacienda ' Potosi,' where the arrival of the terrible
enemy is momentarily expected, and which is exposed to all the
devastations of the savage, it being without men and without
arms. It would be difficult, excellent sir, to describe the
lamentable picture presented by the estate where the tragic
event occurred, and the sentiments of Christian men are horri-
fied at the sight ; but it appears to me that at present our at-
tention should be exclusively given to the more important duty
of burying the dead, and aiding other places exposed to the
same fate as the ruined hamlet of Penuelo. Yes, most excel-
lent sir, the innocent blood of more than 200 victims is still
reeking in the fields of Penuelo calling aloud for vengeance ;
NORTHERN. FRONTIER QUESTION. 295
and this municipality, being unable from its poverty, to arm
and mount even one hundred men, earnestly and respectfully
implores your excellency to impart your paternal protection in
the manner you may find most expedient, supplying us with
arms and ammunition for our defense against so atrocious an
enemy, and for punishing him if possible, whenever he shall
again appear within this district.
"Pedro Pereyra."
While these disasters were occurring at such a distance
from the capital that it was impossible to render timely aid
and succor to the hapless sufferers, many other districts of the
State were overrun by small parties of ten or fifteen Indians,
and by larger ones of two or three hundred each, killing in this
year fifty-six persons, wounding thirty-five, taking captive
nineteen, and carrying off 600 animals. An active pursuit of
these scattered parties through mountains, plains, and forests,
with the greatest zeal, by 1,500 men, gave no better result
than the recapture of sixty animals and a small amount of
other booty, effected in four engagements against more than
4:00 Comanches.
On account of the ever-increasing energy displayed by
authorities and people in the pursuit and chastisement of the
savages, who were worsted in every encounter, there were in
1855 only twenty-seven forays, two of which were upon towns
to the south of the Sierra. In that year there were only forty-
four killed, three wounded, and two captives. The invaders
numbered more than 200, and the six towns assailed sent
against them 500 men, who, however, only once overtook
them.
In the next year, 1856, there were seventy-three forays
against the northern towns of Nuevo Leon, but the losses were
less, amounting only to twenty-five killed, fifteen wounded,
three captives, and barely 100 animals stolen. The govern-
ment and people, stimulated by the successful result of their
systematic and well-combined defense, were more active than
usual. Ten expeditions were sent against the Indians, and al-
though no regular battle took place, the savages perceived that
tbey were awaited and vigorously pursued, and that they could
96 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
no longer commit their usual depredations with impunity.
More than 2,000 men were employed against about 500 In-
dians.
It should be stated that all that was done against the sav-
ages, in 1855 and 1856, was at a time when Nuevo Leon and
all the frontier was engaged in a political war, defending their
principles by means of armies which were sent into the interior
of the country, and which were kept there until the conflict
was decided in favor of the liberal cause they had espoused.
The Indian war was not, however, neglected, but, on the con-
trary, it was undertaken more vigorously than ever, so as to
keep in the interior of the republic that army of citizens which
would instantly have returned at the first news of danger to
their families.
The Commission relates this circumstance, because it is
honorable at once to the government and to the people, and
shows the real importance always given to the war with the
savages, which was never neglected either by government or
people, even in times of civil or foreign wars. ,
In 1857, the invasions followed the ordinary course of pre-
vious years ; there were eighty-nine forays upon the northern
towns, which lost forty-five men killed, twenty-six wounded,
thirteen captives, and three hundred horses. Parties of Na-
tional Guards, composed of from seventy down to ten men,
were constantly sent against the invaders, 2,000 men having
been thus employed. With the exception of thirty Lipans,
who attacked Mina, the other assailants were Comanches. It
was noticed that in the same month, and almost at the same
time, they fell upon six different towns, all of them being re-
mote from their usual theater of operations. During this year,
as in the preceding, the parties of Indians who gave occupation
to an army of 2,000 Mexicans were never larger than thirty,
and sometimes consisted of only three or four.
It seems incredible that so small a number of savages could
cause so much woe and escape punishment, even when con-
stantly pursued by the combined forces of the towns surround-
ing the theater of their depredations. Yet this was generally
the case, and can only be explained by the nature of the ground,
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 297
which offers rar^ facilities for guerrilla warfare through its al-
most impenetrable forests and its many rugged mountains.
These considerations may explain the comparative impunity
of the Indians themselves, but not their success in carrying off
their booty ; it has, however, been mentioned that their first
care is to secure their spoils, by sending a portion of their num-
ber in all haste to place them beyond reach, .while the remain-
der, concealed in the mountains, await other opportunities for
new depredations.
The grand total of the ten years examined, from 184Y to
1857, shows as the result, 652 persons killed, wounded, and
carried captive, although the services of more than 12,000 men
were employed in their pursuit, attacking them whenever it
was possible. During this period the savage invaders num-
bered more than 5,000, an average of 500 each year.
The preceding calculation having been formed upon the re-
ports made to the government, in which the number of hostile
Indians is not always mentioned, as is also the case respecting
the parties of citizens sent against them, the Commission feels
sure that even double the number both of enemies and of armed
citizens would fall short of the real truth. But the numbers
given above suffice to prove the persistency of the war, and the
immense extent of the evils thereby caused. In ten years the
State of Nuevo Leon lost 650 of her best sons, and in each year
1,500 of her citizens were constantly under arms to hasten to the
relief of the places attacked, which comprised, at one time or
other, almost all the towns of the State. Even the few which
have not been directly ravaged, have suffered their share of the
robberies and butcheries which marked the path of the bar-
barians.
The solicitude of the State and general governments could
not exceed the requirements of the afflicting situation. The
plan of defense of the 20th of September, 1850, provided meas-
ures so prudent and efficacious, that, without them, the ruin
would have been complete. The supreme government created
new military colonies, and put into operation the same scheme
of warfare established by the ancient presidios^ which were now
replaced by these colonies. Nothing that could tend to the ex-
298 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
tinction of the Indian war was omitted, and if it still exists, the
reason is obvious — the aggressors live in the territory of another
nation, where they are encouraged, befriended and almost im-
pelled to wage this warfare with the persistency they have
shown therein.
The national Congress appointed a committee of its mem-
bers to draw up a project containing suitable measures for put-
ting an end to the growing evil of these invasions ; and the ar-
gument of their plan contained the following declaration :
"The 11th article of the Treaty of Peace between Mexico
and the United States, if carried into effect carefully and in
good faith, would supply the means of radically terminating
the Indian war. The exact fulfillment of this article would
suffice to invigorate the defense of the frontier States, and would
soon extirpate the war which is devouring them. The Junta
ought never to lose sight of that article, and we therefore pro-
pose that the general government be requested to furnish a re-
port upon tliis important point, as a basis upon which to predi-
cate the action most expedient for the welfare of tlie States in
question."
In the same year (1849), the Junta of Congress, being de-
sirous to perform its task faithfully, called upon the military
commanders in the frontier States and the inspectors of the col-
onies to emit their opinion upon the best means for the defense
and security of the border. Tlie commander-in-chief in Nuevo
Leon, who was also inspector general of the eastern colonies,
gave his report on the 8tli of July of that year, and, among
other things, he wrote as follows :
" In the midst of the necessity and despair which so great
sufferings have produced, the idea has several times occurred
of imitating the conduct of the Spanish soldier, Don Juan de
Ugalde, by carrying the war into the deserts, and attacking the
savages in t'neir own haunts. Some State governors, who have
heretofore tried this plan separately, found that the barbarians
• forestalled their efforts by carrying their families far to the
north, to hiding places unknown to the Mexicans, and then fol-
lowed the footsteps of these exploring parties, falling upon
them and wreaking vengeance at unguarded moments. This
plan is out of the question at the present day, because our
frontier being now the Kio Grande, it is incumbent upon the
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 299
government of the United States to restrain the inciii*sion8 of
the Indians, in fulfillment of the obligation contracted by the
11th article of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, and under
these circumstances, how could the war be carried, without
danger of reclamations, into a desert which is not our prop-
erty ? "
After the careful examination which Inspector Jauregui
made of all the plans devised for the defense of the frontier,
under the new situation, so (Afferent from that of 1772, when
the plan oi presidios was adopted; after depicting with excel-
lent judgment the differing aspect of affairs at a time when the
savages were always punished by the forces which garrisoned
the frontier, noth withstanding their excellent arms and their
dexterity ; he concludes that their present abode being on
foreign soil, and consequently beyond reach, the only means of
preventing their depredations would be to obtain from the
Government of the United States, the fulfillment of the 11th
Article of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, and to combine
some new civic militia with the reestablished military colonies.
The brevity of this report will not permit the Commission
here to enumerate separately all the measures adopted by the
General or the State Government for remedying the evils
caused by the Indian invasions. No absolute success was at-
tained, but a situation more favorable than that of the United
States was reached, as may be seen from the following article,
found in the official newspaper of Nuevo Leon of the 31st of
May, 1849 :
" Matamobos, May, lith, 1849.
" On Thursday, the 10th instant, at 11 o'clock, P. M., two
or three merchants came to the house of General Francisco
Avalos, bearing a communication from the first judge of Came-
ron county (Brownsville), Mr. J. B. Bigelow, in which he re-
quested that some cavalry be sent to his aid to repel a party
of savages which was marauding near Palo Alto, and which, it
was feared, might approach Brownsville and other towns on
the river. General Avalos, as was natural, called together the
necessary forces, but at the same time replied to Judge Bige-
low, that inasmuch as Mexican soldiers ought not to cross the
river without the express consent of the American military
300 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
commander, he should wait for an official invitation, to avoid
all pretext for future complaint or reclamation. Many Ameri-
can and Mexican families living on the left of the Kio Grande
have crossed to this city to escape danger from the ferocity of
the savages. Judge Bigelow, in another communication to
General Avalos, said that the American commander had de-
clined to interfere in the matter, and that he was therefore
obliged to dispense with the aid which the general was kind
enough to afford him. Consequently, the Mexican troops
withdrew from the river bank to Iheir respective barracks."
This incident, thus recorded in the newspaper '^ El Bien
Pvhlico^^ printed in sight of the city of Brownsville, needs no
comment, and shows how well the stipulations of the treaty of
Guadalupe Hidalgo were complied with in the second year
after its signing. The American Government, up to that
time had taken no measures to protect its own citizens, much
less those of Mexico, from the ravages of savages dwelling
within its territory.
The newspaper already cited affords information that the
rancho " El Capote," within the jurisdiction of Matamoros,
was invaded by Indians, and that another party was seen across
the river. The Mexican ranches were protected by cavalry
troops immediately sent out.
This unprotected condition of the American frontier still
continued in 1853, and undoubtedly led to greater activity on
the part of Mexicans in the ensuing years, in organizing and
directing a real army of operations, which always obtained
favorable results in the pursuit of the savages.
Within th^ period under considerati^on, the authorities of
ISTuevo Leon took the initiative in carrying out the new plan of
defense, efficiently aided by the military colonies, and organized
a coalition of the frontier States, by means of Commissioners,
who met together and drew up a scheme similar to that already
adopted by Nuevo Leon. Notwithstanding these efforts, the
lives sacrificed, the captives carried off to be trained up as
enemies of their own kindred, and the property stolen and de-
stroyed could not be repaid by many millions of money, for
beyond the material loss was felt the paralyzation of all indus-
try, especially stock-raising and agriculture, which were com-
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 301
pletely abandoned when it was found by costly experience that
the eflforts of both State and National governments were in-
effectual to prevent the depredations of the savage.
Before continuing the narrative of the events of the second
decade, and having already summarily related the losses suffered
by the State of Nuevo Leon up to 1857, it will here be fitting
to give a slight idea of the operations directed by the military
headquarters established at Monterey under the auspices of the
War Department.
It appears from the archives of the said headquarters, that
from the month of September, 1848, it sent troops for the pro-
tection of Lampazos ; that it placed a force of dragoons at
Maraulique for the defense of the adjoining towns ; that it had
an oflBcer employed in operations at " Ceja Colorada," beyond
Ciudad Guerrero; that it executed an order from the Depart-
ment of Foreign Affairs to remove the " Taracanhuaces " In-
dians from Laguna de Lara, whither they had come, escaping
from pursuit by American forces in Texas ; that it provided
Lampazos with a piece of artillery for its defense, not only
against Indians, but also against American adventurers who
threatened to attack it ; that for the same purpose it sent 100
men under Commandant Pozas to defend that town from 80
Americans discharged from the retiring army ; all which meas-
ures were approved by General Minon, who was at Saltillo.
While watching over the safety of a portion of the frontier,
the troops of the general government routed a body of Indians
in January, 1849, recapturing considerable booty ; and, lastly,
while penetrating into the desert in search of the common
enemy, they united with the civil authority in selecting lands
suitable for a colony.
Still more vigorous action was displayed in 1850. The
military colony of San Vicente, located in the desert 120
leagues north of Monterey, routed the Lipan and Mescalero
Indians, killing five and wounding twenty-two. In Lampazos,
two parties were sent against invading Indians, two others in
Salinas; the Oomanches were attacked at " Pajaros Azules "
in combination with the local militia, and an expedition was
equipped in union with the military colonies to penetrate the
desert as far as the '' Laguna de Jaco."
302 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
Certain information was given by the officers of Fort Mc-
intosh to the military colonies at Monterey Laredo in January,
1851, that the American government had made peace with
several tribes of Comanches, and this news was corroborated in
March by the fact of eight Indians of that tribe soliciting peace
with Mexico.
Four captives, natives of Nuevo Leon, were this year ran-
somed by American troops, and the State government refused
to pay the eighty dollars advanced for this purpose, on the
ground of the obligation contracted in the llth article of the
treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. The year terminated, with a
peremptory order from the War Department to send a respect-
able force to the hill of Pdnico to dislodge the Indians there
collected, thus proving that even in the capital of the republic
the occurrences on this remote northern frontier were noticed.
In February, 1852, the commander-in-chief at Monterey
was informed by the government of Nuevo Leon that a party
of Comanches had killed every inhabitant at Bajan, in Coa-
huila, and at the same time learned from the authorities at
Yallecillo that a party of 200 Americans and Texan Mexicans
were preparing an invasion of that municipality under the same
leader who had made a similar attempt two months before.
The situation presented to the governor and to the commander
in Nuevo Leon by such menaces was embarrassing and cruel.
Ferocious hordes of savages were desolating the towns, and
were abetted by native and adopted citizens of the United
States, in whose territory they were openly organized. Not-
withstanding, both those authorities attended to the double
menace, and in September a party of Indians was totally de-
stroyed at Capulin, where more than 200 animals were recap-
tured.
During the year 1853, in accordance with the instructions
of the supreme government of the republic, the commander in
Nuevo Leon extended a protecting hand to the State of Coa-
huila, in whose capital he placed a garrison, which was immedi-
ately employed in the pursuit of the Indians who appeared at
San Jos6 and at Florida.
Once more the tidings of attacks designed by filibusters
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 303
obliged the governor and the commandant of Nuevo Leon, the
latter of whom was now at Mier, to act at the same time against
two enemies. The forces of Colonel Zuazua, employed exclu-
sively against the savages, were ordered to fall back to the
sooth, so as to protect Salinas, Yallecillo and other towns along
that line, while Colonel Caso was, for the same reason, ordered
to proceed to Villaldama. Such was the anxiety of the gov-
ernment to stimulate the war with the Indians, that the com-
mandant was ordered to watch closely the movements of the
filibusters, and should they desist, as was probable, to send his
National Guards into the desert in search of the Indians, which
was accordingly done and duly reported to the War Depart-
ment.
While the permanent forces of the republic attended to the
danger from filibusters, other forces were operating against
the Indians at Aguanueva, near Saltillo, at Patos and at Santa
Kosa, where in two engagements a party of Indians was
severely punished after killing several and recapturing much
booty.
As to JSTuevo Leon, during this year, when the danger from
filibusters had ceased, the commandant provided Galeana with
arms, and allowed its citizens to carry them, visited the north-
ern frontier of the State at Parras and Yallecillo, sent 70 regu-
lars on an expedition to Huizaches, and finally sent the entire
State forces, then first placed under his command by virtue of
a revolution, into the desert as far as "Laguna de la Leche,"
notwithstanding the fact that there had been no recent Indian
invasion to repress.
The Seminoles presented themselves this year to the com-
mandant general, soliciting agricultural implements in order to
cultivate the lands which had been assigned them, and in the
same month the commander at Marin and Colonel Zuazua re-
spectively reported successes achieved against the hostile
Indians. All the army ofiScers were indefatigable in their
combinations and in the distant expeditions which they under-
took, at the slightest word of the Indians having appeared even
in the mountain fastnesses. The general government mean-
while did not forget the interests of the peaceful Indians, the
304 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
Serainoles, and Mascogos, wifh whom it had made treaties on
the 16th of October, 1850, and the 26th of July, 1852 ; and
now ordered that these agreements be carried into eflfect. It
was also ordered that special defensive armor be prepared
both for the infantry and the cavalry employed npon Indian
service.
In the course of this same year the commander at Marin
repulsed an attack by the Indians in his own district, aided the
militia of Apodaca and Mina, and located a flying section of
twenty dragoons at " Minas Viejas," to attend to the security
of the adjacent district. About this time, the War Depart-
ment established, at Doctor Arroyo, a fifth cantonment for the
better defense of the frontier. The Lipans had been admitted
to live in peace at '^ Mesa de Catujanos," in Coahuila, but were
to be watched by a detachment placed near them by the coifl-
mandant general of Nuevo Leon.
In 1855, Captains Menchaca and TJgartechea received
especial instructions to go in pursuit of the savages, wherever
they might be found. The former, a native of San Antonio de
Bejar, who had been in the Mexican service since 1836, trav-
ersed a great part of the desert, as may be seen by the diary
of his operations, and expressed the gpinion that most of the
invasions are made by Texan citizens disguised as Indians.
The latter, who took another direction, followed the Indians to
the Kio Grande. He simply expressed his opinion that some
white men disguised as Indians committed frequent robberies
of horses, and carried them for sale to the adjoining republic.
Although the frontier was engaged, in 1856, with a vast
political question, and was maintaining an army in the interior
of the republic, a new force was nevertheless organized in
January at the town of Mnzquiz, and by order of the com-
mandant general immediately undertook a campaign. Forces
were also sent against the remnant of the Lipans, who attacked
some shepherds at San Diego, and escaped punishment only by
recrossing the Eio Grande. A little before this time a so-called
massacre of some Lipans had taken place, an act considered as
just and well deserved by the military commander of the
frontier. The Tancahue Indians were also pursued on account
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 305
of their having abandoned their reservation without the knowl-
edge of the authorities. Elsewhere, a body of Comanches was
attacked, and six captives, 200 animals, and much booty were
recovered from them, as is circumstantially related in the diary
of operations kept by the officers in command. There were also
movements of troops near Lampazos, Parras, and Mdndova
Vieja, in pursuit of Comanches. It was also in this year, 1856,
that an American Commission, professing to be properly author-
ized, visited the Mexican frontier and conferred with the
authorities concerning the damages which the Lipans were
causing on both sides of the river.
The Commission desired to present a compend of all the
operations during the time of the comandandas generales^
in order that it may he seen what the supreme govern-
ment of the republic was doing through its agents, for the
security of the frontier and the maintenance of good rela-
tions with the adjoining country. Their action was so con-
stant and efficacious that it became superior to that of the
United States, and for five years there was more security
against Indian invasions and depredations in Mexico than in
the United States. The Commission has also felt bound to
examine the conduct, both of the civil and military authorities
which have represented Mexico in this great question of Indian
invasions, because it was necessary to show that neither the
immense extent of the evils nor the notoriety of the fact that
they proceeded from the United States, a country bound by
treaty to prevent them, ever led to any violation of the terri-
tory of that republic.
In-continuing the thread of our narrative of Indian. depre-
dations upon the northern towns of Nuevo Leon, from 1857
onward, it will be seen that many years and vast efi^orts were
necessary to obtain some respite from those invasions, which at
this time began to diminish in number. *
Only thirteen towns were attacked, in 1858, in forty inva-
sions; the same towns having been assaulted four or five times
by more than 700 Comanches. Thanks to tlie vigorous resist-
ance and an active pursuit by 1,000 citizens, only 18 persons
were killed and four wounded. Of the former, several lost
20
306 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
their lives in the eight engagements of this year, which resulted
in recovering more than 200 animals and two captives, besides
killing many Indians. In spite of all this activity, they suc-
ceeded in carrying off a large number of horses. In the in-
vasions of this year, mention should be made of the daring
and audacity of the Indians in approaching the suburbs of
Monterey, climbing on foot the steep mountains to the South,
and reappearing at Guadalupe, two leagues away, and that
the 30 Indians who performed this feat called out in pursuit
■nearly 1,000 men who followed them into tlie mountains with-
,aut being able to reach them. It was, however, learned that
the greater portion of them perished of hunger and thirst
among the rocks where they found refuge.
Ei^ht towns in the north, and one in the south, beyond
the Sierra Madre, suffered in 1859 the accustomed scourge,
eleven -dtizens being killed, six wounded, and many children
and horses carried off.. The number of the Indians had de-
creased to 300, but several parts of the State were simultane-
ously attacked. On the the 20th of January, three parties of
Indians entered the district of Lampazos at different points,
and on the 30th, others attacked Galeana, more than 100
leagues distant. This tactics was intended to attract all the
defensive forces to the north, while the invaders of Galeana
might meet with no impediment. In view of these operations,
and of the opinions of intelligent officers, such as Ugartechea
and Menchaca, who had grown gray in Indian warfare, it may
be deemed certain that these Indians were aided, materially or
morally, by citizens of Texas.
In all the year 1860, but one person was killed, four wounded,
and two made captive by the Indians. Although they appeared
four times near Lampazos, and five times at Villagarcia, great
vigilance was displayed both here and at seven other places
where they showed themselves, they being repulsed in five en-
gagements. Their number was about 150, and their booty
insignificant.
In the thirty-one invasions of the year 1861, the loss of
horses was considerable, though not exactly specified in the
reports of the Alcaldes, Ten of the northern towns had to
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 307
deal with abput 400 Oomanches, losing eight persons, an insig-
nificant number as compared with previous years. Great dex-
terity was displayed by the invaders in eluding pursuit, and in
placing their booty in safety in their chosen hiding places.
But one person killed and one wounded are recorded for
the year 1862. Ten incursions were made against seven of the
northern towns, by less than 100 Indians.
In 1863, only 100 Indians appeared, making seventeen in-
cursions, and being pursued by more than 300 citizens, who
lost six killed and four wounded, without being able to recover
the few stolen horses. Each year since 1861 has shown a de-
crease in the numbers of the killed, of the invaders, and of the
amount of booty. The year 1864 presents but four persons
killed and two wounded, and a small number of animals stolen
from five of the northern towns. Still less were the losses in
1865. Only eighty Indians were seen in this year, who killed
two citizens and wounded several in an engagement, and car-
ried off a few horses from four towns, which were the only ones
molested. In 1866 not a single Indian returned.
The Commission will leave for another place the many im-
portant considerations suggested by this review of the eighteen
years warfare with the Indians in the three frontier States of
Nuevo Leon, Tamaulipas, and Coahuila. At present it will
confiue itself to a fact which has attracted its careful attention.
From the breaking out of the Confederate war in 1861, it
be^an to be noticed that the invasions began to diminish year
by year, until they totally ceased in 1866, when that war had
also been concluded. The natural order of events would have
been that on the withdrawal of the Federal garrisons from the
Kio Grande in the former year, the savage hordes would pour
through the gap thus left open and devastate the north of
Mexico. But the fact was directly the converse of what every
one expected, and it needs explanation.
This explanation may be found by first taking cognizance
' of the prior fact that the American garrisons on the Eio Grande
and the Colorado, though presumably established for the de-
fence of both Texans and Mexicans from Indian invasions, were
ineffectual for that object, as has been sufficiently seen in the
308 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
long lists of calamities suffered by both conntries, but especially
Mexico. Very few cases of recapture of horses from the sav-
ages occurred up to 1861. During the same period the iu-
vasions were coustantly increasing in number and in impor-
tance, and they almost ceased with the withdrawal of the
Federal troops — a fact attested by all the inhabitants of the
frontier. Taken by itself, a participation or a direct influence
of the Federal troops in those depredations might naturally be
deduced from these premises.
This Commission is very far from drawing such a conclu-
sion. It has already shown that in 1835 an immense trade
with the Comanches was established by American speculators,
and that this was the origin of the great movement against the
Mexican frontier. The testimony of American witnesses, es-
pecially that of Gregg, has so confirmed this fact that it has
acquired an irresistible force. The later fact of the cessation of
the Indian invasions simultaneously with the withrawal of the
Federal troops, supplies another proof that the invasions had
no other origin than the traflSc in question. On the day when
the cause disappeared, the depredations ceased, because the
motive no longer existed. The withdrawal of the Federal
troops removed the occasion of such a criminal traffic.
Two very powerful reasons co-operated for this change so
beneficial to Mexico and to humanity. The first was the rup-
• ture between the North and the South, which divided the great
Kepublic into two hostile camps, and monopolized the activity
' of all its citizens, both the men of principle and the speculators,
in the service of their respective parties — the former devoting
themselves exclusively to the triumph of their own cause, the
latter looking after the result of the speculations for which an
enormous field was opened. The Indian traders, whether
Unionists or Confederates, saw before them this great oppor-
tunity, and hastened to utilize it, leaving the Indians without
the stimulus which alone had induced them to undertake such
dangerous and fatiguing campaigns. The otlier fact, which
contributed in a smaller degree to the change in question, was
the mercantile current which sprang up during the confederacy
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 309
between Texas and Kansas, the latter State becoming a great
center of the cattle trade, which could no longer be carried on
through the blockaded ports, but became possible in this direc-
tion tlirough the rapid extension of railroads. The Indians could
no longer be competitors; they did not comprehend the rev-
olution which was taking place against their interests, and they
thus became isolated from their former customers. It was thus
that mercantile calculations and the new use of capital solved,
in a measure, one of the gravest questions which had so long
defied the more or less intelligent and energetic action of two
governments.
The few years which remain to be examined down to the
present time, show a slight increase in the number of incur-
sions until 1869 ; they are reduced lo two in 1870, and then
completely cease. In 1867, 80 Indians appeared in seven of
the northern towns, causing two deaths and carrying off a con-
siderable number of horses. In 1868, four towns were robbed
of but few animals by about 200 Indians, who, however, mur-
dered no one. In 1869, the iacursions were 25, the deaths nine,
the wounded four, and but one captive. The horses carried off
were in considerable numbers, and but few were recovered in
three engagements. One town only, Lampazos, was attacked
in 1870, by two different parties of Indiana, one of which killed
30 persons, and both carried off many horses. They were
chased by both regulars and militia until they repassed the Rio
Grande at different points.
From this examination of the annals of twelve years, from
1857 onward, it appears that there were in Nuevo Leon 105
persons killed, wounded, and carried captive. The warfare
was almost insignificant during the six years of American war
and reconstruction, and the spoils, though less than in previous
years, was beyond all proportion to the number of aggressors.
As has been seen and proved by the tables formed by the
Commission from official records, the losses in the entire period
embraced by its researches have been enormous in lives, liberty
and property, as well as in the destruction of commerce and
agriculture. Nevertheless, these official data do not represent
the full amount of the losses ; they are but the proofs of their
310 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
existence which the authorities of the towns were able to pro-
duce at the outset, before the full particulars in each case were
revealed by the result of the pursuit of the invaders, and by
the recounting of the remaining stock. The object of the
earliest official reports having been simply to give notice of
the incursions, so as -to enable the government to take speedy
measures for their repression, it was a secondary consideration
to give the losses, which were barely mentioned, as a proof of
the appearance of the savages.
In such moments, the citizens of all the towns thought only
of meeting the danger, and in view of. the trouble and delay
incident to making out full proofs, they did not take care to
place them in the archives. Notwithstanding this, the losses
have been so great that in going over the records the chief con-
tents are found to be the daily reports sent to the authorities
of the various phases of Indian robberies and murders.
The inhabitants of the frontier being obliged, in the way of
business, to make long journeys to Chihuahua, Sonora, Du-
rango, and Texas, it oftened happened that they were attacked
by large parties of Indians, lost their property, and left their
.companions buried in the deserts, far away from their homes.
None of these numerous disasters are recorded in the archives,
but the testimony of witnesses and of captives has thrown light
on this other source of enormous losses of life and property.
Such evidence from ocular witnesses is very interesting in
details, reliable in point of facts, and important for the under-
standing of many official reports, whose authors have amplified
and illustrated them by personally appearing before the Com-
mission.
In the towns of Nuevo Leon visited by the Commission,
forty-two witnesses have been examined, ten of whom have
been captives. From their statements have been learned the
dates of many incursions, the tribes which made them, the
amount of damages, the persons who chiefly suffered them, and
the steps taken by the towns for the recovery of their property.
These witnesses have been persons of the best standing in their
respective places of residence. Many of them have been per-
sons of capital, who have held office, especially in the organiza-
J
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 311
tion of the National Guards for Indian campaigns, and they
have thus been able, in many cases, to fill up the blanks as to
losses and sufferers, so frequent in the public records.
These witnesses being from seventeen different towns, they
have shown, according to their geographical distribution, the
gradual advance of the invasions southward. They have
proved that the depredations did not begin until after 1836 to
pass through the line of the towns which, like Lampazos and
Salinos, are close to the military colonies. No one of these
witnesses has failed to give a particular account of the atroci-
ties perpetrated by t\\e Indians, as personally seen, or learned
on good authority. The truth of the official reports has thus
been ascertained and corroborated ; and while the interested
parties have brought witnesses to prove their losses, the new
testimony has generally been confirmed by the less specific
evidence of the archives.
It has been a remarkable fact noticed in this investigation,
that the greater part of the Indian outrages which occurred in
any one State have found proof ia towns of other States.
Thus, for example, reports made in 1852 by an officer at
Lampazos, who participated in the engagement between the
citizens of Guerrero and the Indians at *' La Oracion," has
placed beyond a doubt the truth of the statements made by
the citizen Benavides Hinojosa, and the captive Sabas Rodri-
guez.
The incursion of Indians upon Laredo, Texas, in 1869, as
described by citizens of Nuevo Laredo, who united with the
Texans in pursuing the marauders as far as the boundary of
Nuevo Leon, has been fully corroborated in all particulars by
the statements of General Naranjo, of the citizen Manuel
Rodriguez, and the official reports. The same conformity
exists between multitudes of the expedientes drawn up in
different States, and some of them have been confirmed by
evidence obtained from Texas.
Citizens of San Francisco (Nuevo Leon) testified before the
Commission when itr began its labors at Salinas Victoria, that
in 1860 they drove their stock to Texas for sale, because they
had become convinced that they could not profitably carry on
312
REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
stock raising in Mexico, on account of insecurity and the
impossibility of hiring herdsmen at any price ; that having
penetrated into the interior of Texas on account of the war
then breaking out, they found they could not dispose of their
stock, and therefore resolved to stay tliere ; that they suft'ered
great losses from an invasion by Comanches, who had taken
several captives on bqth sides of the river Nueces, and at this
time carried off a boy who was the son of one of the Mexican
herdsmen.
At the same time. General Quiroga made a similar state-
ment about Indians whom he had fought when living on a
ranch in Texas, near Laredo, mentioning an occasion when
a party of eighty Indians attacked some wagons with families
traveling from Laredo to San Antonio, whom he with five of
his herdsmen rescued by a stratagem, but were unable to
. deliver a captive woman previously taken by them.
These witnesses could not know, when they made their
statements, that the said captives would soon after confirm
what they said. Two months later, when the Commission
was approaching the Rio Grande, all those captives arrived
from Fort Sill, where they had been ransomed from the
Comanches and Kiowas, who had committed the depredations
referred to on the Rio Nueces, whence they had been carried
captive. This incident, properly belonging to the section
relating^ to Texas, is here narrated to show the character of the
witnesses examined by the Commission, and illustrate by this
instance the truthfulness of others not less competent and in-
telligent, and who deserve equal credit.
It has been stated that ten captives have given testimony.
These are to be divided into threje classes ; some were taken
before Mexico became independent, others in the period about
1848, and still others in recent times. On e^ch of these
periods th^y furnish interesting information, which must be
considered in order to understand many points which would
otherwise have remained obscure.
It has been thought important to kno^ the routes followed
by the Comanches, Lipans and Mescaleros in Mexico and the
United States, as well as their relations to each other ; and on
X]
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 313
this subject only the captives could afford light. Ventura
Garza states, that he was captured in 1858, at Bustamante, by
the Mescaleros, who in this incursion killed 20 men and carried
off 150 mules. Their retreat was made crossing the river near
Laredo into Texas, and following up the Rio Grande to Paso
del Norte. They again crossed the river near that town, and
at Sierra Eica, in the State of Chihuahua, met with the rest of
their band, composed of Mescaleros, Lipans and Gilenos, then
at war on both sides the Rio Grande. Their system was to
depredate only in the United States when they lived in
Mexico,' and vice versa, which did not prevent them from
marauding in either republic at a sufficiently remote distance
from their headquarters. By this deceit they kept their haunts
unknown and kept clear of pursuit on both sides. They would
suddenly go to New Mexico, says the captive, treat* for peace,
open trade, exchanging their Mexican booty for arms, and
afterward, probably in 1861, broke their engagements, com-
mitting horrible atrocities and spoliations. This witness was
ransomed in 1865 at Paso del Norte.
>
By this narrative, it is plainly to be seen that the treachery
of the Indians has either not been understood, or it has been
tolerated in order to gain temporary advantages which, in the
long run, cost dear.
The Comanches carried off another captive from Villaldama
in 1851. His testimony is useful only for the enumeration of
the murders and robberies which they committed during the
few days he was with them, for the proof of the tribe to which
they belonged, and for the confirmation of the fact that they
used to encamp on the tops of mountains to go down and rob
ill the valleys. On comparing the statement of this captive
with documents from the archives of the State Government, it
is found that, on the 31st of March of that year, the alcalde
reported the murder of two persons and the captivity of two
others, and a drove of horses. This illustrates the light thrown
upon official reports by testimony such as this.
Another captive states that Comanches carried him off from
Potrero, after killing his companion Dominguez ; that a little
way off they killed another man, and two more before reach-
ing Bajdn, from which place they came. The Indians were
814: REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
only four in number, and in a few days they had collected a
considerable booty, with which they got away to the North,
passing near Monclova. This witness confirms other state-
ments as to the passes by which the savages crossed the Kio
Grande.
In a foray of the Comanchcs upon Sabinas, in 1848, they
carried off a boy who remained among them three years, and
was then sold to the Lipans. From the latter he was ransomed
by the Americans, along with other Mexican captives, at the
trading place for the sale of their horses in Texas. The Co-
manches and Lipans were then at peace with each other, com-
mitted their depredations together, and traded in the United
States their booty. Official documents prove that at this time
the Lipans were waging an atrocious warfare in Mexico, as
proved by reports found in the army headquarters at Monterey.
The captives above mentioned were from Durango, Coahuila
and Nuevo Leon, which fact shows the extent of territory over
which they marauded.
Cornelio Sanchez was taken captive in 1839. He was
taken across the Kio Grande above San Fernando ; was at San
Saba, where there were then some Comanche huts ; visited the
Lipans who were on good terms with them, and during
eight years that he lived among the Indians saw the dealings
between the Comanches and other tribes, the latter of whom
traded with the Americans. Just at the time when this
captive escaped from Santa Eosa, the last-mentioned wit-
ness was captured at Sabinas. Their evidence agrees in
depicting a good understanding between Comanches and
Lipans, and also as to the location of their several villages or
encampments.
The frontier town of Lampazos — the same where a colonial
company was founded at the close of the last century — expe-
rienced, in, 1820, an incursion of more than 200 Comanches,
who captured nearly fifty children, two of whom escaped, some
years later, from their detention near the Rio Colorado ; one of
them belonged to a prominent family at Lampazos, and still
holds a high social position there. He says that during the
six years of his captivity he was constantly a witness of traffic
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 315
existing between these Indians and the Americans, as well as
the New Mexicans ; that the Lipans lived in harmony with the
Comanches ; that although they sometimes quarreled on mat-
ters relating to elk hunting, this only resulted in separation,
and never in hostilities, which they only had with the
" Washas," a tribe living farther north ; that he became ac-
quainted with the Kiowas, Yamparicas and Sarigtecas, who
belong to the same group as the Comanches, and who also, to-
gether or apart, used to make forays upon Mexico ; that he
saw the Tuj-ka-nayes, agricultural Indians who lived as perma-
nent settlers at points on the same river, and that he became
acquainted with the Lipans, Mescaleros and Gilenos, who
were known by the common name of Apaches. He mentions
the Tahuacanos, and says that all these tribes lived and dressed
nearly alike, and that the chief difference observed between
the two great families of Comanches and Apaches was in the
arrows — those of the former being shorter and better made ;
that the Comanches may also be known from the Apaches by
their wearing the hair in three braids, while the latter form
only one tress, or cut it even with the shoulder. He w^as aided
to escape to New Mexico by a native of Santa Fe ; returned
home in 1826, enlisted as a soldier in the colonial companies in
1828, and served in the detachments stationed at " La^ Moras,"
under the orders of Captain Santiago Lopez. He states that
the frontier enjoyed peace from 1829 to 1836, through the
active pursuit of the Indians every time that they approached
the line of garrisons ; that he has often fought against the
Indians, who have almost always been Comanches, and that he
estimates the losses caused by them to have been very great.
On a comparison of the statements of this captive and of
another who was his companion, with the descriptions given by
Mr. Gregg in his work so often quoted, there is found to be an
absolute aorreement in the two accounts of manners and cus-
toms, and a certain knowledge is obtained of the places where
they lived, of the beginning and progress of their incursions,
and of their traffic, since we learn from the work in question
that certain American adventurers penetrated for the first time
into those immense prairies in the year 1821.
316 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
However this may be, these captives clearly prove that the
marauders upon the right bank of the Rio Grande have always
been Comanches and Lipans; that previous to 1848, these two
tribes lived only to the North of that river ; that they have
maintained a traffic in Mexican booty, chiefly with Americans,
but sometimes with Indians of the reservations, obtaining by
barter arms and ammunition, and that this trade has been since
1830 the most effective stimulus for their work of pillage and
devastation.
The towns of Nuevo Leon have lost much more than 1,000
souls in killed, wounded and captives, since the official docu-
ments alone mention 935. If the damage to life, health and
liberty, be estimated at the inadequate sum of $10,000 for each
individual, it would therefore amount to ten millions of dollars.
Nevertheless the people of Nuevo Leon do not claim so great
a sum, and the moderation and equity displayed by the suf-
ferers needs no clearer proof.
During twenty-two years of continual assaults, the towns of
Nuevo Leon have been devastated by the savages eighty-nine
times, as may be seen by the tables accompanying this report.
In each of these incursions the damages may be calculated at
$5,000, and in the majority of the'cases the documents of the
archives show that they were greater. Upon this insufficient
basis, the loss would amount to $4:,045,000.* The losses stated
in the town records as examined by the Commission, are evi-
dently but a small part of the real loss. Such as they are, the
amounts stated have been proved by the sufferers in legal
form, and with unimpeachable evidence. Indeed, the reflec-
tions lately made in this report would suffice to establish their
truth, even if they were only affidavits of the interested parties.
In the section devoted to the State of Tamaulipas, sufficient
reasons have been given for the amount of interest charged on
the sums representing losses, and it is unnecessary here to insist
upon the extreme justice and equity of that calculation.
In closing this examination into losses, another important
element should not be overlooked, which should naturally in-
* Later documents increase this sum.
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 317
crease the amount, but for which no estimate has been made.
It is well known that when a town was invaded, the citizens
took up arms and started at once, at their own expense, in pur-
suit. It is evident that in many cases this abandonment of
their ordinary avocations must have occasioned irreparable
losses, but none of them have ever calculated even the value of
their time while thus employed.
To understand the consequences of this omission, and to
appreciate the moderation displayed in this matter, it will be
enough to state that for 22 years the forays average three per
month, and in their repression more than 12,000 citizens have
been engaged, not countitig the forces employed by the Su-
preme Government. The services of these citizens would
amount to nearly a million and a half, calculating only for the
third part of each year. These services have been compensated
in part by small amounts of money, exemption from taxes, and
distribution of the booty recaptured. The State of Nuevo
Leon has suftered a real and positive loss of more than three
millions of dollars, not a cent of which has been entered in the
Commission's register of damages.
It was necessary to make these explanations, for only in
this way can a complete idea be formed of the situation of the
frontier towns, whose fate has been for more than a century to
struggle with savages, especially during the last fifty years,
since our savages first came into contact with those of the
United States. Could Mexico ever have foreseen this result,
when she ought rather to have expected that the influence of
the sister and friendly republic upon the savage would be a
well-spring of blessings for both countries ?
The trade which was begun in 1821, which was carried on
with greater activity ten years later, originated mutual neces-
sities in that quarter, and should have bronglit about an intimate
connection between buyer and seller, for such is the nature of
commerce. Yet it was not the United States, not the republic
which carried it on, but only a small number of its citizens ;
and in this case the observation of a profound writer is verified,
that the spirit of trade separates private individuals, and pro-
duces a different result from that which ensues from inter-
318 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
national commerce. The relations of individuals in the United
States with others of Mexico have proved the truth of this re-
mark, for those relations were followed by a war of extermina-
tion, because they were not based upon the general interests of
the two countries. The removal of Indian tribes of the United
States to the southwest (contrary to the desires of a govern-
ment which regarded them with favor, but according to De
Tocqueville was impotent to protect them), rendered the con-
dition of affairs worse, and prognosticated evil results for
Mexico.
INDIAN DEPREDATIONS IN COAHUILA.
Coahuila was originally united with Texas, forming a single
province, under the name of " New Philippines," the principal
colonists having come from those islands. Its immense terri-
tory, bounded on the east by the Gulf of Mexico and Louisiana,
and on the west by Durango or Nueva Viscaya, stretched to
the north beyond lat. 37°. Its features were mountainous to
the south, while immense sea-like prairies in the north afforded
sustenance to vast numbers of cattle and horses, which multi-
plied from the animals abandoned there by their owners in
consequence of Indian invasions.
When the Spaniards were extending their discoveries north-
wards, their most advanced posts in this direction were Saltillo
and Chihuahua. These conquests were suspended in 1670, on
account of the immense numbers of Indians, some of them
original inhabitants of this region, others driven hither by the
progress of the conquest in other parts.
As there were no insuperable obstacles for the iron-framed
men of that age, and their spirit of enterprise carried every-
thing before it, a century did not pass before these Indians
were subdued and forced to live in villages, while the refractory
had to retire northwards to a great distance from the settle-
ments.
Most of the existing villages in Coahuila were thus estab-
lished. The wise policy of the conquerors overcame the resist-
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 319
ance of the Datives, and the indigenous element became the
basis of their power in all the provinces which formed New
Spain. The butcheries and other cruelties of which the Span-
iards have been accused have thus had their compensation.
In 1688 Candela was already settled, and one of the mis-
sionaries located there* was informed by Indians from beyond
the Eio Grande that settlements were being made on the Gulf
of Mexico by white men who were not Spaniards. This news
was sent to Mexico, and resulted in tlie exploration and con-
quest of Texas, a very easy task, according to the chroniclers,
on account of the mild character of the Indian natives. San
Antonio de Bejar was the capital of the province. Up to the
year 1719 there were more or less disturbances in dealing with
the resident Indians and in keeping off hostile tribes. At that
date the Marquis of Aguayo, Don Jos6 de Valdivieso, carried
there troops and more missionaries, and order was restored.
New colonists from the Canary Islands added to the security
of those settlements, and Spain advanced her boundaries to the
river Empalizada, afterwards called Red River, which became
the boundary with Louisiana. Military colonies and outposts
were placed along the immense line of defense, and a general
tranquility proved that the Marquie of Aguayo had accom-
plished his object.
The characteristics of the ensuing wars of conquest have
been given in the sections on Nuevo Leon and Tamaiilipas,
and there is no occasion to add anything here. The position
of the province called Coahuila-and-Texas, being the farthest
advanced, engaged it more deeply than its neighbors in such
struggles, in which it was always triumphant, because security
was fully established on the right bank of the Rio Grande.
The year 1836 came and this situation was completely
changed. The savages on both sides of the Rio Grande ravaged
all the plains, enjoying impunity through their numbers. The
accumulated riches in cattle was too great to be carried off in
a single incursion, and there was so much in the districts near-
est to the military posts, that they more than suflSced for the
earliest incursions, which did not therefore extend beyond
Monclova, Lampazos, and Guerrero until the year 1840. In
320 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
this year the marauding hordes fell upon the three frontier
States at once. One column penetrated by Santa Kosa, taking
the high road, which it lined with corpses, encamped near San
Buenaventura, and again in a stronghold near Saltillo, defeat-
ing the militia of both towns, and continued their progress into
the State of San Luis Potosi, robbing an3 murdering at every
step. They passed through Agua Nueva, Ventura, San Salva-
dor, Salado, and many other places, as far as Morterillos, fifteen
leagues from the city of San Luis, all which towns suffered
enormous losses, and some of their families still mourn their
members carried into captivity.
At the same time another horde penetrated through the
center of the State, encamped near Bustamante, in Nuevo
Leon, killing or wounding more than 100 persons, passed on to
the important and wealthy town of Salinas Victoria,' defeated
the regular troops and militia combined, and, carrying off an
immense booty, effected on their retreat a junction with the
other column which was carrying away the rich plunder of San
Luis. A third column at the same time visited Ciudad Guer-
rero, in Tamaulipas, causing horrible destruction. This was
the first time that these barbarians presented the order and
aspect of an army.
The towns above mentioned having been surprised when
they had no reason to expect such a daring attack, the great
losses suffered were inevitable. For the chastisement of such
audacity, hurried orders w^ere sent to the detached parties of
the colonial companies to assemble and cut off the retreat of
the savages. These veterans, well acquainted with the country
and with the habits of Indian warfare, correctly calculated
from the data given them, the line of march and the move-
ments of the Indians, whom they surprised in turn at El Pozo,
eight leagues west of San Fernando de Aguaverde. They com-
pletely routed the savages, recovering all the horses and free-
ing the captives, except a few who fled along with the Indians,
through fear of their intending liberators, of whom they had
heard unfavorable reports. The armed citizens of the entire
frontier co-operated in this notable feat of arms. The third
section of invaders was meanwhile pursued by the assembled
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 321
citizens of Guerrero, Mier, and Oaraargo, and was routed with
great loss.
As has been mentioned elsewhere, the order of march, the
formation of the encampments, and the tactics in battle ob-
served by the Indians in this colossal campaign were entirely
novel, and far too scientific in their strategy to make it cred-
ible that Comanches, Lipans, and Mescaleros were the devisers
of such combinations. From that time it was generally be-
lieved that some Texan-Americans, hostile to Mexico, were
mixed up with them, their object being to keep off the war
with which that insurgent State was then threatened. Even if
this were not the case, another cause for this Indian campaign
may be found in thei fact that on the American frontier these
savages were stimulated by army officers, and were brought
into contact with Osages, Kaws, Delawares, Shawnees, and
other Indians of the reservations, with whom they traded, and
who perhaps accompanied them in their incursions. It was
beyond doubt that American citizens from that region, and
officers at the forts on the Arkansas river, were the directors of
this incursion.
The corruption of these officers, and of the speculators who
went from village to village on the reservations, looking out
occasions to cheat the Indians, had an important bearing upon
the incursions on our frontier. The Indians experienced a
sudden change, which does not>admit of any other explanation
than the removal of the civilized American tribes to the south-
west and the employment of immoral agents who betrayed
their trust and brought about the ruin of a great part of Mexi-
co. It is to be noted that such proceedings were made known
to the American Government, but no remedy was applied.
From this negligence in superintending the Indians of the
reservations, and from the corruption of the agents employed
in dealing with them, sprung the great organized invasions of
Mexico by Indian tribes. There is no other rational explana-
tion, nor can any be found, especially if attention be given to
the gradual development of their mode of warfare.
At the outset, only the outposts were attacked. After the
war had become an object of speculation, from 1836 onward,
21
322 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
the first elements of an organization became perceptible, the
Indians having now a well-defined object, i. e., to get as much
booty as possible. They had formerly destroyed greaj; num-
bers of animals, carrying off but few ; they now took pains to
collect and carry off as many as possible. On perceiving that
the system of invading in large bodies did not work well, they
abandoned-it, and fixed their encampments near San Saba and
on the river Pecos, making those places their headquarters for
their expeditions ; this change was the result of the severe
chastisement they had received. From about 1848, they be-
gan to send out guerrilla parties separately from their encamp-
ments in Texas.
The ravages suffered by Coahuila, which presents an im-
mense frontier extending for 100 leagues along the Eio Grande,
have been innumerable, for the invaders could cross at any
point. Many incursions have come from the North, crossing
the river above or below the ancient ''Presidio deSan Carlos,"
and passing tliroiigh the " Bolson de Mapimi," to attack the
southern settlements of Cuatro Cienegas, Pdrras, Viesca and
Laguna.
Depopulation, poverty and ruin have been the natural con-
sequences of so many irruptions, and this is the present con-
dition of a State which is one of the most important of the
republic in extent, fertility of soil and salubrity of climate.
It was once very wealthy in cattle, but its fl,ocks and herds have
disappeared on account of this warfare. During many years
the sons of Coahuila have fought the Indians merely to defend
their own existence, since their cattle no longer afforded a
temptation to the enemy, who nevertheless had to cross the
State on his route to the more wealthy estates of San Luis
and the south of Nuevo Leon. The wayfarers and the country
residents were exposed to destruction on these excursions of
wide range, and it was necessary to live always with arms in
the hand, although there was no more property to secure or
defend.
The narrative of the invasions experienced in Coahuila will
confirm the above statement, and will excite wonder, for it
will seem impossible that towns which have experienced such
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 323
great and long-continued sufferings could have been kept to-
gether.
The Mexican territory had not been fully evacuated after
the peace, of which the principal condition had been the re-
pression of the savage tribes and indemnification for their
depredations when not checked, ere the towns of Coahuila
were attacked. During the months of August, September and
October, 1848, three bands of Indians ravaged several towns,
and led to an expenditure of more than $3,000 from the public
coffers for repelling them. The State government, foreseeing
an irruption of Comanches and other Northern tribes as the
consequence of the war which the United States has agreed to
make upon them, employed all its funds in equipping troops
for the contingency. The proofs found in the archives of that
government show that during the year 184:9, over $24,000 was
spent for that purpose.
The Indians, meanwhile, continued their usual incursions,
which numbered this year eleven, the invaders being estimated
at 800. Having perceived that they could no longer be pur-
sued across the river, they established their villages nearer to
its left bank, as headquarters for perpetrating their devas-
tations with impunity. Thanks to the activity of the State
forces and the colonies, their murders were, however, less
numerous than on some former occs^sions. The loss amounted
to 22 persons killed, wounded and taken captive, and several
hundred horses stolen.
In 1850, the Comanches, Mescaleros and Lipans, sometimes
in union, and sometimes separately, marauded over the whole
vast area of Coahuila, ravaging the greater part of the ranches
and haciendas^ and even attacking the town of Santa Eosa,
which only escaped being occupied by them through the timely
warning given by a recently escaped captive. More than 600
savages were engaged in skirmishes with the militia of Santa
Rosa, Morelos and Guerrero, at the same time that others were
marauding at Palomas, a hundred leagues to the south, and at
Yiesca, a hundred leagues to the west.
In the 36 places which they attacked this year, they killed
28 persons, wounded 14, and captured the same number. Five
324: REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
battles resulted in liberating half the captives and a part of the
horses stolen. About 1,000 men were employed in the cam-
paign, at an expense on the part of the government of Coa-
huila of $3,824.
The citizens of Santa Eosa, in connection with the colonies
of Monclova Viejo and San Yicente, undertook a campaign
during the closing days of the year, and in January, 1850, ten
scalps had been taken from the Indians, and eight more were
killed, but carried away by their comrades. The citizens of
Cuatro'Cienegas made an expedition to Lake Jaco, in quest of
a party of Indians supposed to be encamped there. The state-
ments of a captive, who escaped from a band of Gileilos, after
an engagement at Eosita, furnished evidence that the Indians
had already carried their stolen horses across the Eio Grande.
The general government, in its solicitude for the welfare of
the frontiersman, ordered that the widows and orphans of the
killed in the battle just named should receive the 'pensions
fixed by law. Permanent sections of troops were stationed at
Saltillo and Pdrras, whose citizens cooperated in defense, so
that their vigilance extended throughout the north, south and
west of the State, while the eastern line was protected by the
detachments of national troops placed at Lampazos, Mina and
Mamulique.
When in the month of June the savages invaded the dis-
trict of Pdrras, causing immense losses over a hundred leagues
of territory to the northward, the authorities at Guerrero wrote
to the government on the 14th of June : " These misfortunes
occurred on the 12th instant ; on the following day this cor-
poration sent out a party of 15 men, which returned to-day,
after having pursued the savages until they recrossed the Rio
Grande." From the western extremity of the State, the au-
thorities of^Cienegas thus described the situation in the same
month: ''We do not know to-day which way to pursue the
savages, for they are seen in every direction, and traces of
them are seen even in the suburbs of this place."
Communication between the frontier and Zacatecas and
San Luis having been cut off by Indians on the high roads,
the government of Coahuila informed the National Govern-
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 325
inent of the fact, requesting that 100 men frojn the colonies
might be sent to protect the roads. The war department, un-
willing to call off troops from the frontier, refused the request,
but authorized the equipment of 150 more men at the cost of
the federal treasury. The governor immediately raised such a
force from among the most experienced Indian fighters.
During this whole year the State Government was untiring in
its organization of elements of defense, especially for the dis-
trict of Parras, where hostilities were of daily recurrence.
The picture presented by the year 1 851 is frightful. Coa-
huila suffered 94 incursions, which occasioned a loss of 63 per-
sons killed, 35 wounded, 11 captives, and an immense number
of horses plundered from almost every rancho, hacienda and
settlement in the State, which was literally inundated by more
than 3,000 Comanches and Lipans. The number specified in
the reports alone was over 1,000, while in 41 reports they were
not numerically estimated otherwise than by speaking of a
" large " or a " considerable " body.
More than 2,500 soldiers were constantly occupied through-
out the year, for not a week passed without an appearance of
the enemy in some quarter. The engagements numbered 16,
a large number when it is remembered that the Indians avoid
fighting and prefer to murder defenseless victims. The efforts
of the soldiers and citizens effected the delivery of three cap-
tives, the killing of 11 Comanches, and the recapture of 400
animals. In order to fully understand the desperate nature of
the situation, it will only be necessary to peruse a few extracts
from the reports written under the impressions of the moment
by civil and military authorities.
The towns of the Eio Grande district, situated in front of
Fort Duncan, suffered 14 invasions, and concerning one of them
the mayor of Guerrero wrote on the 7th of February in the
following terms :
"At this moment (3 P.M.) the citizens whom I sent in
pursuit of the Indians have returned, and they inform me that
the savages have been engaged for two nights in driving across
the river the horses stolen from this vicinity, being probably
occupied during the daytime in ranging along the hills across
326 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
the Eio Grande, watching where the horses were kept on thi&
side, so as to come for them by night. The citizens did not
cross the river in pursuit, because they had no orders to do so.
This new system of strategy aflPbrds very little hope of our
being able to preserve the very few animals left to us, and
when they are all gone the invaders will no longer have to fear
the pursuit which they have hitherto experienced from us."
The combined eflfiorts made by the authorities to restrain
the overflowing torrent of invasion were proportionate to the
gravity of the evil. The governor wrote to the governors of
Durango, Chihuahua, and Zacatecas to inform them that the
frequent onsets of the savages had forced him, notwithstanding
the small amount of his resources, to project a campaign in
combination with the sub-inspector of colonies, and those gov-
ernors were requested to take appropriate measures. The
legislature of Coahuila imposed extraordinary taxes for the
same purpose, and commissioned one of its members to attend
to the organization of the State's defense in this disastrous war..
The sub-inspector of colonies gave instructions to Colonel
Galan, which it is proper to quote in part, as showing that the
origin of the depredations was then as it is now, and always has
been, on the left, or American side of the Eio Grande.
After naming the points called San Vicente, Noche Buena,
Jaco, San Antonio de los Alamos, Bolson de Mapimi, and
Laguna de Tahualilo, as localities to be visited, forming a com-
plete circle of 400 leagues from the starting point at Piedras
Negras, the sub-inspector gave the following direction :
" On the route above designated there are some places
which need to be carefully explored. The first of these is the
bank of the Kio Grande from the mouth of Pecos river to the
ford of Ahogados, near which last point the Indians who de'
vastate this department generally cross the river, having their
villages near by on the opposite hankP
It was also ordered, in pursuance of instructions from the
War Department, to make no peace with the Comanches,
Apaches, Mescaleros, and other tribes which lead a wandering
life on the American territory, exclusively occupied in hunting
and in warfare.
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 327
The campaign was organized, consisting of troops from the
colonies,, along with some Seminole and Kickapoo Indians, who
had recently arrived in the country. The latter abandoned
the expedition during its return march, in order to attend to
their families, which had been left unprotected. The party
was engaged for two months in traversing the desert, and twice
gave battle to the savages. The commander, in his report,
dated August 4th, said :
" I continued my march up the Eio Grande, and Sergeant
Candido Guerra had another engag^>ment on the river with the
savages, who were returning with their plunder to their vil-
lages situated across the river. He succeeded in recovering a
boy who was captured from the hacienda of Hermanas. I
then detached an officer to pursue the fugitives to the Eio
Grande. On his return he stated that he had traced the trail
of the enemy, numbering 87, across the river, and that when
once on the other side they moved slowly, knowing that the
Mexicans were not allowed to pursue them on that si^e."
The experienced officer, Colonel Juan Galan, who made
this report, added some highly important information, as fol-
lows :
" I continued my march the next day (July 4th, 1851) up
the river, and, examining as many places as possible, I found
on the left side several trails along which the savages had
lately passed in small parties, with their booty from our fron-
tier. I was satisfied that for more than a year no savages have
lived on this side the river between the colonies and the junc-
tion of the Sierra, and that they have their villages not far
from the latter point on the river Pecos."
In the careful examination which was then made of the
canyons of the Sierra del Carmen, it was ascertained with equal
certainty that the savages no longer inhabited those mountains
as formerly. The deserts of Chihuahua were also explored,
and there were found, near San Vicente, the trails of savages
conducting the spoils of the interior States across the Kio
Grande to their villages.
All efforts for the due chastisement of the savages having
proved futile, on account of their residence being in American
territory, and the evil being beyond remedy so long as this
828 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
•
situation should last, the sub-inspector was careful to so inform
the commandant-general, which he did in connection with sub-
mitting the report of Colonel Galan, in the following terms :
*' By the testimony of Col. Galan, in confirmation of the
documents I sent you on July 27th and the 3d instant, it is
shown that the savages set out on their campaigns against us
from the head waters of the rivers Colorado and Nueces, from
the junction of the Pecos with the Eio Grande, and other
points in Texas where they live ; that our spoils and captives
are scld to speculators and traders who live among them, in-
creasing their brutal cov^tousness, and making this warfare
interminable; that therefore Mexico cannot expect the protec-
tion offered her by the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, and must
take measures of her own to secure such protection."
Colonel Maldonado, the sub-inspector of the eastern colo-
nies, did not confine his attention to the reports of his subor-
dinate when he affirmed that the Indians resided exclusively
in the United States, but referred to other proofs already for-
warded, which showed, as he said, that our spoils and capUves
were objects of traffic in the United States^ in spite of treaties,
and that the war had become interminable in consequence of
the stimulus given it by that criminal traffic.
All the governors of the frontier States responded to the
cry of alarm raised on the banks of the Eio Grande, not so
much on account of the non-fulfillment of a treaty as on ac-
count of the protection given to their enemies in Texas and
other parts of the" United States, and the alliance made with
them for the plunder and annihilation of Mexico. The States
of San Luis, Zacateeas, Durango, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo
Leon and Tamaulipas formed a coalition, and prepared for the
conflict by uniting their troops and their resources.
From every side outcries were made against so flagrant a
violation of treaties and of natural law. The official gazette of
Durango copied, this year, the text of the 11th article of the
Treaty of Guadalupe, and narrated the fruitless efforts of the
Mexican Minister, Seiior La Eosa, to obtain from the Govern-
ment at Washington its fulfillment, which subject was brought
before a committee of the American Senate. The writer ex-
claimed, in conclusion : " That government which is the read-
I
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 329
iest to raise an outcry when any breach of treaty is committed
by other nations, is itself scandalously and unscrupulously
breaking the faith which it pledged in the name of God Al-
mighty ! "
It was despair which burst forth in this cry and this invoca-
tion. From this time it was currently said that since the
United States had no settlements along the 750 leagues of its
frontier from the mouth of the Eio Grande to the Pacific, it
took no care to fulfill its agreements, and that it overlooked
th6m because the sufferers were Mexicans. From that time the
writers at Durango, guided by the soundest principles of nat-
ural law, maintained that nothing could be more just and rea-
sonable than the demand made by the Mexican Government
upon that of the United States, on account of those depreda-
tions, even apart from the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.
The Government of Coahuila, in inviting that of San Luis
to unite its forces and resources for an effort to restrain the in-
vasions, stated the necessity of maintaining troops in the Bolson
of Mapimi and other points, to prevent the savages from main-
taining there their places of deposit for booty and centers of
operations during their inroads. The situation imperiously de-
manded such a concert of action, and the governor added :
^^This, in my opinion, is what is most urgent to be done, until
the Supreme Government can properly defend the frontier,
and the United States carry out the obligation it contracted to
' restrain the incursions of the Indians." No one failed to see
that the evil could not be remedied without the intervention of
that republic as being the source whence it proceeded and was
fomented.
Not a single day passed without some confirmation being
given of the neglect imputed to the United States, and even
the most simple minded fully understood the bearings of the
situation, and depicted it as perfectly as words can express it.
The chairman of the common council of Guerrero, on the
8th of October, 1851, after enumerating the murders and rob-
beries of the day before, employed the following language in a
dispatch to the government :
" This continual recurrence of murders and robberies, for
830 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
which no remedy can be found, is a sad omen, and the more so
since we are prohibited from taking effective action for driving
away the marauders from our homes, through fear of the
United States. That country offered in the treaty of Guada-
lupe to restrain such inroads, whereas its own territory now
affords a secure refuge for the marauders. In this afflicting
situation, where can we find a remedy for the sufferings which
overwhelm us ? Our only resource is to send our complaints
to your government, and to inquire whether the governor will
kindly allow us to pursue the savages (into American territory)
so as to punish them and drive them from their headquarters ;
and if this cannot be done, although according to natural law
it would seem proper and urgently necessary to do it under the
circumstances, I would request him to authorize me to solicit
from the American commander near Piedras Negras the fulfill-
ment of the 11th article of the said treaty of Guadalupe, send-
ing a force to the residence of our Indian enemies to punish
.them and return us our property."
The sub-inspector of the colonies had written the day pre-
vious in a similar stra^in, relating his recent observations. He
stated that having pursued the Indians until they crossed the
river, the citizens who accompanied him were exasperated at
seeing the enemy leisurely halting on the other side, and pro-
posed to go over and punish them, which he had some difficulty
in preventing, by adding persuasion to command.
This honored commander, who carried to such an extreme
the strict fulfillment of the orders of his government, was
obliged to place infantry every night to guard the fords of the
river. AH this took place at only ten leagues from Fort Dun-
can, the commander of which took no notice of these occur-
rences and employed no measures for repressing the Indians.
It was a settled policy to permit them to do as they pleased, so
long as they did not injure American citizens. The sub-in-
spector had perceived this from the time of the revolt of the
Kickapoos, which had oecurred a few months before, when, as
will be seen in the proper place, the requests made to the
American commander produced no result.
The culpable negligence of the American government was
proved by daily observation on the frontier. The governors
of Coahuila and Nuevo Leon therefore addressed separate notes
I
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 831
to the minister of foreign affairs, requesting him to arrange
with the government at Washington for the Mexican troops to
be allowed to cross the river in pursuit of the retreating
marauders, or for that government to place on the frontier
sufficient forces to prevent their incursions in the name of com-
mon humanity.
These petitions and demands from the frontier States show
clearly that at the close of the year 1851 all the incursions
came from the United States, that the booty was carried
thither, and that the American government had not properly
garrisoned the border. The State authorities did all in their
power to promote a mutual understanding between the two
nations, while the national government, in the belief that sueh
understanding existed, had taken its measures to deal with the
fugitive tribes, which it was supposed would be driven into
Mexico by pursuit on the part of the Americans. Never was
there a more costly deception, nor one less merited from the
responsible party.
To fill the measure of the woes of the Mexican frontier,
there was only lacking a menace of filibusters. The colonel
commanding at Fort Duncan, on the 3d of November, 1851,
came over to Piedras Negras fo advise the inspector of the
western colonies that he had learned by express of the approach
from the direction of Bejar of a group of adventurers intend-
ing to depredate on the frontier, and that Adams, the negro
hunter, was at Leona with seventeen men. All that he offered
to do in the premises was to prevent them from crossing the
river at the places where he had any forces stationed, and the
terms of this offer showed that the action of the Federal author-
ities did not extend to the disarming of the bandits. The State
authorities of Texas acted in the same manner.
Under such circumstances, the warning could not be con-
sidered as any service. Its only effect was to draw off from
the Indian war all available forces, and place them in readiness
to meet the new perils which it will be remembered menaced
Tamaulipas and Nuevo Leon at this time, producing the same
result. In fact, both savage and civilized enemies only did
332 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
the same work, and that work was the ruin of the Mexican fron-
tier.
After the heartrending picture of murders and desolation
which characterized the year 1851, it could not have been
anticipated that any greater misery was in store for the ensuing
year. Yet such was the case. During the year 1852, more
than 2,000 Indians appeared 110 times in the towns and ranches
of the State, causing a loss of 73 persons killed, 48 wounded
and 32 captives. The effective loss was five per cent, of the
whole population, which was then less than 70,000 souls.
Property was almost extinguished, all industry was destroyed
or paralyzed. It will now be understood why the governor of
Nuev*o Leon, in his message to the legislature, said that al-
though the misfortunes of the State had been frightful, they
had been less than those suffered by other frontier States.
This Commission is not in the habit of making calculations,
but of simply presenting official data. In the present instance,
however, it will venture, in consideration of the perfectly evi-
dent deficiencies of the official reports in giving account of
losses of life and property, to double the official statement of
killed, wounded and captives for the year in question. The
result shows an amount of destruction greater than that caused
by the most dreaded scourge of mankind, the cholera.
In sixteen engagements with the savages, three captives
were recovered and a small number of horses. Besides the
constant assaults of the accustomed foe, the filibusters also kept
the border in continual alarm.
In 1853, all four of the districts of Ooahuila were overrun by
great numbers of Comanches, who killed 28 persons, wounded
24 and carried captive six children. In seven engagements,
although a few horses were recovered, none of the captives were
freed.
During the ten years, from 1854 to 1864, the inroads of the
savages were incessant, and none of the inhabited points in
Ooahuila escaped the consequences. During this period, ac-
cording to official data, there were 124 persons killed, 43
wounded and 20 carried captive. In the numerous engage-
ments twelve of the captives were recovered, and more than 800
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 33$
animals. Ther^ were occasions when the same town was simul-
taneously approached from three or four different directions*
The farmers were obliged to grasp with one hand the plow
and with the other the rifle, and they were not unfrequently
laid dead in the furrow. Wagon trains were abandoned on
the high road after the murder of the wagoners and seizure of
the mules. . The raising of sheep was entirely abandoned from
the unusual peril to which the shepherds were exposed, and
this prosperous industry of the frontier States completely dis-
appeared.
Other serious evils were first felt during this period. The
robbery of cattle had now become an object for the Indians, who
had heretofore taken only horses and mules. The coincidence
of the new settlements made at the same time in the western
part of Texas, adjoining the Indian country, gave reason to
suppose that the cattle were stolen for the ulterior benefit of
these fresh customers.
The authorities never displayed greater zeal, activity and
energy than now in the pursuit of the savages, expeditions
being repeatedly sent into the desert as far as the Laguna de
Jaco. On such an expedition in 1856, a captive was recovered
named Crescendo Santiago, who was a boy at school in Du-
rango when carried off, fourteen years before. He stated that
his captors and all the Indians who marauded in Mexico re-
sided in Texas, between the Eio Grande and the Colorado,"
where they left their families, and where they traded their
booty for arms, provisions and clothing at an American settle-
ment.
In March, 1856, in consequence of depredations committed
by the Lipans, who resided in villages in Coahuila, and had
been regarded as at peace, stringent measures were taken with
them, as will be more particularly related in a future section
devoted to this tribe. The result was the extermination of a
great portion of this tribe, and the flight of the survivors into
Texas, where they established themselves on the Eio Pecos,
and thence continued, in combination with the Mescaleros, their
depredations upon both countries, as will be proved by the
statements of captives. But from this time the tribe may be
334 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
considered as having disappeared, and it would scarcely be
necessary to mention them were it not for charges made against
Mexico of pi;otecting their depredations in 1861, at the time of
the beginning of the American civil war.
Early in that year the Lipans, in union with the Mesca-
leros, came from the river Pecos (Texas) and attactced the Mexi-
can town of Eesurreccion, the most northern settlement of
Ooahuila, on the Kio Grande. Several of the inhabitants were
killed, and five children were carried captive, who were not re-
covered until seven years later, all which time they passed with
their captors in American territory.
Under pretext of rendering assistance to [the suffering town,
Captain H. A. Hamner, commander in the neighboring Fort
Clark, committed an outrage upon the laws of Mexico.
Without any authorization, he brought over some troops and
accompanied the citizens in pursuing the Indians a few leagues,
without result. On his return to the town, he demanded the
surrender of a negro whom he claimed as his slave. Happily,
he did not gain his object, on account of the firmness of the
citizens.
In May and June, 1861, Colonel John H. Baylor, com-
mander at Fort Duncan, complained, to the First Alcalde of
Piedras Negras, of outrages committed in Texas by numerous
parties of Indians, whom he supposed to be Lipans, coming
from Mexico. He also wrote to the Mexican military com-
mander of the frontier, and to the governor of the State, to
the same purport, sending these letters by Captain Hamner, as
a special commissioner to treat of this subject, and also to
propose a combined action against the tribes of Mescaleros,
Apaches and Comanches, whom he characterized as " common
enemies." At the same time he enlarged upon the necessity
of a good understanding between Mexico and the Confederate
States, in view of the increased trade which would be the re-
sult of "the unjust war which Abraham Lincoln has com-
menced against us."
The governor of the State replied to Colonel Baylor, under
date of June 29th, showing the impossibility of the aggressors
in Texas being Lipans, that tribe having been reduced in 1856
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 335
to a small number of individuals, known to be poor and with-
out horses. He expressed his conviction that the real culprits
were Comanches and Mescaleros.
In December 1861, January and March 1862, the Lipans
g^ive further evidence of their sentiments towards Mexico by
coming with the Mescaleros and robbing again near Eesurrec-
cion, and at Villa Muzquiz, whence they carried off more than
a thousand cattle. They were pursued by two bodies of troops
until they reached the Rio Grande, en route for their villages
on the Pecos, taking with them the Indian inhabitants of
" Burro," who had heretofore been considered as peaceably
disposed.
In Coahuila, as in the other frontier States, the Indian
hostilities diminished rapidly after the outbreak of the Ameri-
can civil war. This phenomenon was undoubtedly due to the
same causes which have been mentioned in another place.
Since the re-establishment of order, hostilities have again been
resumed, though with less activity than before. The invasions
have generally been by the lower fords of the Eio Grande,
from Guerrero to San Ignacio (Texas). The aggressors have
invariably been Oomanches or Kiowas, who have first marauded
in Texas, have crossed to Mexico with their booty, and again
recrossed at another point. This tactics has contributed to
throw suspicion on the Kickapoos, and has also aided the
marauders to carry off their booty, though it has sometimes
been taken from them in Mexico and returned to the owners in
Texas. Sometimes these invaders, returning from their raids
in Mexico, have been attacked by troops from Fort Olark, and
the booty taken from them, though Mexican property, has been
regarded as a lawful prize.
The continual expeditions organized in Coahuila, as may
be seen in the journals of their commanders, have always
stopped at the Eio Grande, and testify that all the booty has
been carried across. On the few occasions when, by invitation
of American officers, the forces of the two nations have been
united in pursuit, the line of march has always been on the
left bank, up to the mouth of the Rio Pecos, where the hostile
Indians have been found, with a few exceptions, when, in order
\
336 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
to deceive the American troops, thej^ have hastily crossed the
Eio Grande to the right baifk, but have returned when the
danger was past.
On reflecting upon the long duration of Indian warfare in
Coahuila, it is easy to see that the losses must amount to s,
very large sum. Very few, however, have been registered,
for a multitude of diflSculties has prevented the citizens from
appearing before this Commission. One of these diflSculties
arose from the uprising of the Lipans, in September last (1873),
and the murders committed by them in revenge for the attack
made upon them by American troops (the McKenzie raid) in
Mexican territory. This cause operated on all the frontier
towns, and local political disturbances had the same eflfect in
Monclova, Saltillo, Parras and Yiesca. Such considerations as
have been advanced respecting the claimants of Tamaulipas
and Nuevo Leon, induce us to form a favorable judgment
upon the claims which are set forth in an accompanying table,
and which amount to a considerable sum.
The victims sacrificed have been innumerable, especially
on the three occasions when the American troops have chas-
tised Indians who were living in peace in Mexico, and which
led the Lipans ultimately, after perpretrating great depreda-
tions, to retire up the Pecos river into the heart of New Mexico.
In concluding this general review of Indian incursions in
Coahuila, it is needless to mention that it completes those
relating to the other two frontier States, inasmuch as the points
of crossing the river, and those which served them as head-
quarters during their raids were generally in this State.
The reclamations collected in all three States have been
mainly presented as evidence before this Commission, though
some of them have been received by local judges, by virtue of
powers given by it, and in conformity with the rules published
at the commencement of the investigation. These evidences
and the extracts made from the local archives will prove the
sufferings of the frontier towns of Mexico, and that the pro-
tection extended to them, though greater than that existing on
the American border, has been far from meeting the necessities
of the case, and the demands of national interests, arising
TNORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 337
i
from the proximity of the towns of two Eepublics. Great
embarrassments on the frontier must be ascribed to the neg-
ligence of both Governments, who have never heretofore prop-
erly examined this important subject.
INDIAN DEPREDATIONS IN ZACATECAS AND
SAN LUIS POTOSt
The same robberies and horrible butcheries which have
been narrated in the cases of the frontier States, also took
place in Zacatecas and San Luis. The sufferings of these
States were equally grave, although of less duration, because
the savages did not carry their inroads so far, until they had
already desolated the vast area which liej between them and
the frontier. Publications made in 1849 and succeeding
years afford sufficient data for forming an idea of their
magnitude, although the Commission has not visited any of
the localities in question. The account now given of these
depredations will therefore be brief, and is chiefly introduced
as being confirmatory of the opinions already expressed
as to the motive of such distant incursions, namely, the
criminal traffic begun in 1835 by American citizens with
the savage tribes. After 1848 this traffic, instead of being
abandoned, as was required by the good faith pledged in a
solemn treaty, was extended, and resulted in the desolation of
these rich States.
The superior authorities of Zacatecas and San Luis, know-
ing well that the savage tribes of the North, had to traverse
Nuevo Leon, Coahuila and Durango before reaching their own
borders, had recourse to a union of all the States in ques-
tion, — the first proposal of such a coalition having been
made by the governor of San Luis. That functionary, on the
25th of August, 1851, after informing the Government of
Nuevo Leon, that three parties of Indians were raiding in the
north of the State, went on to say :
" It would seem proper under the circumstances, for the
governments of Zacatecas, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo Leon,
22
338 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
Tamaiilipas and San Luis Fotosi, to unite in a common plan
of defense, each State affording the resources in its power,
and acting in combination with the greatest energy for the
punishment of the savages."
The result of this proposal was the appointment of com-
missioners from the several States named, who drew up a plan
of defense. - This measure proves not merely the generality
and importance of the danger, but that it proceeded from the
United States, whence the invaders came, and whither they
returned with their booty ; it also shows that the evil had
become extreme, as was recognized by the Governor of Nuevo
Leon in accepting the invitation.
While the Commissioners of the invaded States were as-
sembled at Saltillo, their natural center, and were engaged iu
the formation of a plan of defense, horrible scenes were enacted
in the State of Zacatecas, where the haciendas and ranchos of
Sombrerete, San Andres del Teul and Fresnillo were devas-
tated by a multitude of savages. During this year, 1852, the
ravages reached the State of Jalisco, which thereupon joined
the coalition, and gave $10,000 per annum for the expenses of
the campaign.
In July, 1852, more than 50 persons were murdered near
Fresnillo. The districts of Sombrerete and Jerez were next
attacked, and though the government sent more than 400 men
in pursuit, it was rendered fruitless by the fact that white rob-
bers accompanied the Indians, guiding and directing their
movements very skillfully.
It was not in Zacatecas alone that it had been observed that
the Indians were guided in their work of murder and robbery
by intelligent white men. Three years before the same obser-
vation had been made in !Nuevo Leon, by a director of the colo-
nies, who informed the inspector-general that citizens of San
Antonio, Texas, accompanied the Indians, as he perceived by
their dress and other pecularities, which left him no donbt on
the subject. The same discovery was made by the authorities
of Agualeguas, in Nuevo Leon, and the fact was confirmed by
the testimony of a captive from Nuevo Laredo, in Tamaulipas.
In view of news received by express, that 700 Comanches
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 339
were approaching through Durango, the whole State of Zaca-
tecas rose in arms to repel them. At this time the hostilities
rea^ched ten States, including, besides those previously men-
tioned, those of Sonora and Sinaloa. All these aggressors were
either Comanches or Apaches, of which tribes there was not a
single village located on Mexican soil, as was declared this j^ear
by the experienced Colonel Galan, in his report of an extensive
exploration of the Mexican deserts.
If, in addition to what has been said respecting the frontier
States, separately, we sum up the results in each year, and take
note of the immense number of regular troops and militia con-
stantly employed in the Indian service, we shall, after all, only
be able to form an insufficient idea of the vast amount of the
losses. In illustration of this statement, it may be enough to
refer to the sufferings of a single one of the districts of Zaca-
tecas. In Marzapil there were more than 400 persons killed,
wounded and taken captive — a fact which will startle even
those most accustomed to the bloody scenes of the frontier.
No one will be surprised to learn that in Zacatecas, troops
were ultimately recruited to be exclicsively employed in pursuit
of the savages. This was done in 1857, under the direction of
Colonel Francisco Treviiio, from whose skill in this warfare the
best results were obtained. In one of his numerous engage-
ments, he recovered from the enemy 8,000 horses, and on
another occasion a quantity of bars of silver. Such facts de-
monstrate the great number of the invaders, and indicate the
vast amount of life and property which must have been sacri-
ficed in this State from 1848 to 1857. The preceding data re-
specting Mazapil, are the only ones which have been furnished
the Commission, but it is evident that other districts which are
wealthier and more populous must have suffered more severely.
As. to San Luis, only very general information has been ob-
tained, but the simple fact of that State having been the first
to propose a coalition against the savages, shows that its suf-
ferings must have been cruel. It has already been mentioned
that San Luis had first become a prey to such hostilities in
1840, shortly after that great impulse which precipitated the
tribes of the plains against the Mexican frontier. Horrible
34:0 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
butcheries and extensive robberies were then perpetrated, as
appears by the records of that period, but these former ravages
were undoubtedly surpassed by those which gave rise to the
coalition of 1852.
In the conferences for drawing up a plan of defense, it was
recognized that the enemy resided in the United States, and
it was for this reason that the governors said in their notes to
the Supreme Government, that nothing practicable could be
devised unless the privilege of pursuing the savages on Amer-
ican soil could be obtained, or the American Government
could be induced to attack them after crossing the Eio Grande.
The latter alternative, it was added, was out of the question,
through the scarcity of troops along the entire line of the
American frontier, and till more forces were placed there, the
desolation of the Mexican border was inevitable.
When, therefore, the Plan of Defense was published, under'
date of the 22d of February, 1852, its 78th article was in the
following terras:
'*' The governments of the coalition will earnestly urge the
supreme national authorities to obtain from the government at
Washington permission for Mexican forces to cross the Rio
Grande, and attack the nomadic tribes which reside in that
territory ; without omitting to demand constantly and vigor-
ously the fulfillment of Article 11th, of the Treaty of Guada-
lupe, and an indemnification for the losses which the frontier
has heretofore suflFered from the non-fulfillment of that article."
The national coffers, the donations of States which were
free from such r,avages, the fortunes of private individuals, all
aided the border States in their warfare against the savages.
But the American government did nothing to comply with its
natural and prescriptive obligations. Ten years after the
treaty of Guadalupe, the frontier was still ungarrisoned, and
later, the inefficient organization of the troops stationed there,
their small number and miserable armament, neither afforded
security to the American settlements nor impeded the incur-
sions of the Indians into Mexico.
Now that this plague has extended to Texas itself, and other
parts of the United States, it is seen that the Mexicans have
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 341
displayed a great superiority over their neighbors in their
mode of Indian warfare. The brief narrative, which follows,
of depredations by Indians in Texas, will show the mode of
pursuit there adopted, and will confirm the opinions heretofore
expressed as to the complicity of the authorities and people of
the United States in Indian robberies and butcheries, for the
fact will be revealed by military ofiicers, by the citizens robbed,
by captives and by the Indians themselves, all agreeing that
government agents have supplied them with arms, thus inciting
them to commit these depredations, in which, moreover, they
have been directly aided by American citizens.
INDIAN DEPEEDATIONS IN TEXAS.
The Commission has already made a brief statement of the
occurrences which took place in 1831, in regard to the savage
tribes inhabiting the territory of the United States, and also to
those settled in Mexico at that date, when Texas was included
in the republic of Mexico. At said period, as before stated,
the removal of Indian tribes from the northeastern to the far
southwestern portion of the United States was eflFected, there-
by placing said tribes in contact with the savage hordes of
Mexico.
In sundry portions of this report the Commission have given
their opinion as to the great evil which this measure caused to
the republic of Mexico, basing said opinion* upon extracts
taken from a history of all these tribes, written forty years ago
by an American citizen, wh6 crossed the plains several times,
was acquainted and had intercourse with the majority of,
said tribes, those living on the reservations included, and who
for this very reason was enabled to give a very minute account
of their habits, and to prove the same by the testimony of cap-
tives and other men, so well versed in Indian afi^airs, that full
credit cannot but be given to the greater portion of said history.
Neither the author nor any of his countrymen could have
imagined that this work w^ould become the most unimpeachable
342 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
witness, upon the testimony of which we might rely to judge
successfully all questions relating to the savages, which might
in time present themselves, on account of the frequent depre-
dations committed by savages both in Mexico and in the
United States.
The waste lands of both countries were, in those regions,
very extensive. There, the Indians being free to hunt, it is an
unquestionable fact that no one molested them ; besides which,
they did not carry hostilities into American settlements, be-
cause these were too far removed from said regions, and in the
places nearest to the savages there were military camps estab-
lished as advanced posts to guard the reservations.
None of the officers of the United States government, and
none of those engaged in commerce with New Mexico and
Chihuahua, which commerce was begun about this time, could
help knowing that the Comanches and the other tribes, not
subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, were in the
habit of robbing and committing other crimes in the Mexican
settlements ; and, according to Gregg's narrative, this knowledge
was never a hinderance to prevent traders from dealing with
Indians, but, quite on the contrary, Gregg himself advised all
merchants who, out of fear, abstained from trading, to go
into the business at once, as he knew by his own experience
that the Indians were fond of trading, and always defended
those who were in the habit of bartering with them.
This author was so utterly selfish upon this question, that his
judgment was entirely led astray. Whilst condemning the
authorities of New Mexico and Chihuahua as imbeciles and
criminals, on account of the treaties of peace entered into with
the Apaches, notwithstanding their depredations in other
sections of Mexico, where they were wont to steal and then
convey their plunder to those States, he did not perceive
that he was committing himself, for he had stated previously
that the Indians lived by plunder in Mexico, and that he never
thought it was wrong to trade with them on American soil,
as if the stolen property became legitimate merchandise by
transfer to the neighboring country. If his censure of the
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 343
Mexican authorities was just, the public functionaries of his
own country deserved it still more for violating the first
principles of law and justice, by establishing trading stations
and bartering with tribes of Indians who they well knew were
robbers and assassins, and opening by this iniquitous behavior a
deep chasm whereinonehalf of the wealth of Mexico would be en-
gulfed, and, sooner or later, a great portion of his own country
also.
Eegarding these two facts stated above, viz:' First, the
establishment of Indian reservations in close proximity to the
Comanches and Apaches ; and second, tlie mercantile trade
started since that time and continued up to the present, it can
easily be perceived that the Commissioners have not been mis-
led in their opinion, when they point them out as the unique
<3ause to explain the depredations committed by the Indians,
both in Mexico and in the United States. The Commission
deems it unnecessary to expound reasons of their own to cor-
roborate that judgment, but will limit themselves to narrate
the depredations committed in Texas, copying literally some
opinions of the Texans themselves, and of the oflScers of the
United States army, who have been compelled to acknowledge
a glaring truth, in recognizing that these facts (including the
negligence of the United States Government) are the cause of
the Indian devastations in Mexico.
The Commission thought that a report of the depredations
committed in Texas, made at a time when the minds of the
people were unprejudiced, would place the Indian questions in
their true light, and the best arguments that could be made might
be based upon it. Through the Mexican consul at San An-
tonio, Manuel Maria Morales, who has given notorious proofs
of his energy and laboriousness, the Commission has just
received data relating to the depredations of the Indians in
that State, from 1857 to the present, with the only exception
of those committed during the Confederate war, which were
not found mentioned in army newspapers.
Said data having been received just when the Commission
were about to consider this matter, acting on information
344 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
which had been obtained on the Mexican frontier, and when
they had already written that portion of the report relating to
the States of Tamaulipas, Nuevo Leon and Coahuila, it was
with positive satisfaction that they saw tlieir opinion ^ cor-
roborated by private and official documents published in
Texas. There the press has made effi)rts to misrepresent the
Indian question, and now it comes to show the true cause of
the trouble, and to acknowledge the justice of our complaints.
The Commission quote these opinions because they are the re-
searches of Texans themselves, and also because they are
vouched for by the best authority, that of the United States
officers of the army, so that partiality in an opinion on this
question cannot be attributed to .the Commissioners.
They have always been fortunate in the investigation
of the different points aimed at; in many instances, the
best information and very best proof wherewith to throw some
light upon the question, were procured in Texas, as if this State
had been* charged indirectly to show the inculpability of the
Mexican frontier. It thus occurred with a message of the
Governor of Texas, at the close of the first part of this report,*
and also with a report of the grand jury of Kerr county, in
regard to the discovery of a large party of American citizens,
who, under the disguise of Indians, have been perpetrating, for
the last five years, the most atrocious crimes, killing defense-
less persons and stealing horses and cattle.
These scandalous and unprecedented crimes which were
committed on %very large area of the territory of Texas, have
been commented upon by the newspapers, which, when pub-
lishing some of the depredations actually committed by the
Indians, have expressed doubts as to whether the perpetrators
of the crimes were Indians or not, and in fact, suspected them
to be dispersed members of a band of outlaws, who concealed
themselves in caves along the banks of the Guadalupe river,
where they took refuge for a long time. This discovery was
made in one of the border counties, in fact the very one
which has been most clamorous against Mexico, through state-
* CuaderDos, No. 8, of Vouchers, fol. 8.
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 345
ments which they often caused to be published, relating to the
iDJuries caused by Kickapoos acting in conjunction with
Mexicans ; and these publications are very important as relating
to all questions concerning the Comanches, Kickapoos, and
horse and cattle thieves. In a word, it explains in a great
measure the true source of the violation of Mexican soil' by
General McKenzie, at the head of some Federal troops, in
order to <5hastise Indian criminals.
Even this has not been sufficient to disabuse the Texan
press, for a spirit of invasion predominates in the minds of a
majority of Texans, to whom a large portion of Mexican terri-
tory would be an easy prey. The Commission will, in the
examination of these invasions^ consider the fundamental prin-
ciple of prejudice, for as such they qualify sentiments of those
who still shelter irrealizable and pernicious ideas to the welfare
of both frontiers, tending to keep them in perpetual disorder,
and to retard progress and the acquirement of wealth. In
the enumeration of the depredations committed in Texas, the
Commission regret not being able to present so clear a state-
ment as that which they were able to make in regard to the
frontier settlements of Mexico. Nevertheless they have a
complete account, covering several years, which will enable
them to make some comparisons, and by this means give
another illustration of the immensity of the evils Mexico has
had to suffer.
Before undertaking this task, however, the Commission
think it advisable, in order to be fully understood, to point out
with precision the ordinary abiding places of the Indians, both
savage and independent tribes, and also those who live on
reservations subject to the government at Washington.
The savage Indians are the Comariches, Cayugas, Apaches,
Arrapahoes and Cheyennes ; they neither till the ground nor
live in towns, but dedicate their lives to hunting and stealing ;
these constitute what are properly called Prairie Indians, who
roam ov^r the country from " false " Wachita to Santa ¥4.
Near this river, and living sometimes in United States territory
and at others on Texan soil, the Wacoes, Whitchutas, Takua-
••
346 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
kanoes, Towyash, Kerchies, Cadocs and others were found.
As to the second class of Indians, those who live on the reser-
vations, are the Cherokees, Choctaws, Chickasaws, Creeks,
Seminoles, Florida Indians, Shawnees, ?ottawattomies, Kicka-
poos, Delawares and others, who inhabited the country from
the Arkansas to the Red river in the acknowledged limits of
Mexico.
As soon as these Indians were transported to those remote
regions, they began plundering. In Gregg's * often quoted
work we read the following passage :
" Three or four days after this, and while crossing the head
branches of the Osage river,^we experienced a momentary
alarm ; conspicuously elevated upon a rod by the roadside,
we found a paper purporting to have been written by the Kan-
sas agent, stating that a large band of Pawnees were said to be
lurking in the vicinity. The first excitement over, however, the
majority of said party came to the conclusion that it was either a
hoax of some of the company who had gone ahead, or else it was a
stratagem of the Earos (or Kansas Indians) who, as well as the
Osages, prowl about the prairies and steal from the caravans
whilst on the route, whenever they entertain the slightest hope
that their deeds will be attributed to others. They seldom
venture farther."
It is not only true, as stated in the above quoted paragraph,
that the Kansas Indians alone committed robberies in the hope
that their evil deeds might be laid to others, but the Shawnees,
Delawares and Kickapoos were also in the habit of leaving
their reservations, and going to the prairies to hold intercourse
with other Indians.f
" Though the Shawnees, Delawares and Kickapoos are
amongst the most agricultural of the northern Indians, yet a
few of these spend their time on the prairies in hunting, and in
trading with the wild tribes. Whether because the vicious
inclinations of the Indians rendered their residence in the States
of the American Union dangerous to the inhabitants, with
* Commerce of the Prairies, Vol. 1, fol. 4.
f Commerce of the Prairies, Vol. 2, fol. 276.
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 347
whom it was difficult to make them live in peace, or whether
to prevent the anomaly of sovereign nations, as the Indians
were considered, living within the limits of the United States,
eighty thousand were transported to the Red river, in the
acKnowledged limits of Mexico."
As soon as the Indians were removed to the southwestern
portion of the counties of Mexico and the United States, they
commenced the depredations alluded to, although more inclined
to the craft of agriculture than other tribes.
Ever since then, the policy of the government has been
greatly censured, because they undertook to maintain the
Indians in peace by giving them money in the shape of annui-
ties, which served only to keep tjiem in idleness and to corrupt
their habits without giving them strength, energy, or any in-
dustry by which to live. Since then the contractors or govern-
ment agents, who in reality deserve the name of harpies, have
acted in such bad faith as to merit the following criticism upon
their conduct : *
" It is one of the calamities incidental to the state of igno-
rance in which some of the poor Indians remain, that their inti-
mate and, indeed, political intercourse with the more civilized
people of the United States does not spare them from being
preyed upon by these unprincipled harpies, who are continu-
ally prowling about their reservations ready to seize every
opportunity of deceiving and defrauding them out of their
money and effects. The greatest frauds practiced upon the
frontier Indians have been perpetrated by contractors and
government agents. The character of these impositions may
be inferred from the following instance as it is told, and
very generally believed, upon the southwestern frontier : It
had been pretty well known that some of those who had
been in the habit of contracting to furnish with subsistence
several of the southern tribes in the year 1888 et seq.y had
been imposing most grossly upon the Indians as well as the
government in the way of short rations and other delinquencies,
which resulted in the gain of a very large sum to the parties
concerned. About the close of their operations, one of the em-
ployees, who was rather more cunning than the principals,
took: it into his head, on account of some ill treatment he had
* Ufn supra, vol. 2, p. 262.
S48 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
«
suffered, to make an expose of their transactioiiB. He hap-
pened to hold a letter of instractioiis (which were of eonrse
of a confidential character), wherein were set forth the pro-
cesses by which these frauds were to be practiced. And to
turn the affair to his particular profit, he threatened the parties
with a complete exposure unless a satisfactory gratification
should interpose. A compromise being indispensable to the
welfare of all whom it concerned, a negotiation was soon set
on. foot, but the ' noisy customer ' was not silenced until he
was paid $13,000 cash, whereupon he delivered up the obnoxi-
ous papers and agreed to abscond. Some notice of the facts
of this case are said to have been brought to the notice of the
government, and how it has escaped an investigation, and
more especially how it escaped the attention of the superintend-
ent of that immediate district, have been matters of great sur-
prise to those who had a knowledge of the particulars."
When we see immorality practiced on such a large scale by
the very commissioners and agents appointed to take care of
the Indians, and we find these subject to such misery and
suffering, we can hardly consider it strange that they should
hunt on the prairies, and, associating with the Comanches, yield
to their natural propensities, and participate in the depreda-
tions committed by the latter on the Mexican settlements.
The history of the reservation Indians will show that this
opinion is well founded.
We must bear in mind that, on the other hand, those men
who at the same time were robbing the Indians were specu-
lating with the government of their own country, an^i that their
acts of criminality were never punished, notwithstanding that
these were notorious; they could have no scruple whatever
after the United States reduced the annuities to the Indians to
make up for the profits they could no longer realize by trading
with property plundered by Indians from Mexico.
Such conduct on the part of the United States, which at first
passed unnoticed, makes their responsibility all the greater,
and this is not only the opinion of the Commission, but of the
very agents and citizens of the United States who, victims of
this tortuous policy, adopted ever since 1831 and continued
up to late years, when a remarkable change has occurred, have
repeatedly asserted these facts.
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 349
The Oominission will in the first place cite the Texan news-
papers, organs and interpreters of public opinion in that State,
and afterwards proceed to give the result of their own investi-
gation. By following this plan, the credibility, good faith and
honesty of the witnesses who have given their depositions can
be the better appreciated, and will be better understood by
bearing in mind that the Commission had already ended their
investigations and written the greater portion of this report
before they received the data referring to the injuries caused
by the Indians in Texas, which, as has already been stated, have
confirmed and strengthened their opinions.
One of the most reliable periodicals of Texas, The Herald^
by request of the Commission, furnished the Mexican consul at
San An tenia with a literal copy of the articles taken from the
files in the office, and certified to by the editor, relating to all
the facts which had been published concerning the Indians.
The source is' unimpeachable. By this means the Commission
is enabled to follow the incursions of the Indians, step by step,
from 1857, from which year these data were collected, although
for the purposes of the Commission the data of any would
have sufficed. The facts are as follows :
On the 4th of August, 1857, some troops from Fort Mason
pursued a party of sixty Indians as far as '^ Devil river " (alias
San Pedro), where they attacked them, killing ten Indians and
losing only two soldiers.*
Prior to said date, on the 27th of July, 1857, the second
lieutenant of the 2d cavalry, stationed at Fort Clark, reported
a fight with the Indians. They were at first supposed to be
Tancahues, who, judging from information received from Fort
Mason, were coming for their families, but it was soon discov-
ered, that they belonged to another tribe. Nine Indians
were killed, with a loss of two soldiers, and as the tribe
dispersed and the force was not considered sufficient, further
pursuit was abandoned, f
Mr. Brackett, captain of cavalry at Fort Mcintosh, sent a
* CoaderDO, No. Y of Vouchers, fol. 1.
f Cuaderno, No. Y of Vouchers, fol. 2.
350 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
squad of cavalry, by way of Laredo, in pursuit of a party of
Indians who had approached that camp and stolen some horses
from the town. The Indians, who were thought to be Coman-
ches or Lipans, abandoned in their flight twelve animals to
the troops. *
On the same spot, a skirmish occurred on the 3d of Novem-
ber, between the soldiers and a party of Indians, in which the
latter lost their horses and equipage.f
About a month before, on the 16th of October, in the same
year, some troops belonging to the 2d cavalry, under command
of the second lieutenant, left the fort in pursuit of a band of
Indians who had murdered two men ; the Indians made their
escape on foot, but all their horses and clothes were captured.:]:
About the same time, the 25th November, § the Herald
published some letters received from the town of Santa Rosa-
lia, State of Chihuahua, referring to the invasion of some four
hundred Indians, who had encamped in front of the town,
stolen horses to the value of five thousand dollars, and killed
a great many cows. The Indians returned to the United States
by the same route they had come, crossing the line at a point
a short distance above San Cdrlos and by way of Fort Lancas-
ter, from which place they had stolen twenty-five bushels of
com on their way into Chihuahua.
Governor Runnels, finding the frontier line of northeastern
Texas entirely exposed, || applied to General Twiggs, in com-
mand of the department, for some regular troops, stating that
in that district the Indians had killed one white and one colored
man, and wounded a boy, besides stealing property to a large
amount ; and as about one-half of one of the three companies
which "the State had organized to protect that line, was the
only available force, and by no means sufficient for the emer-
gency, aid was earnestly requested.
* Cuademo, No. 7 of Vouchers, fol. 5.
f Vouchers, Cuaderno, No. 7, fol. 6.
% Vouchers, Cuaderno, No. 7, fol. 7.
§ Vouchers, Cuaderno, No. 7, fol. 9.
[ Vouchers, Cuaderno, No. 7, foL 10.
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 361
This occurred on the 14th of January, and the day before
the Herald^ under the head of " Protection to the Frontier,"
said : *
" An intelligent person of Waco informs the commander of
the department of the depredations committed by the Indians
near Camp Colorado, where they have assassinated two of the
inhabitants and stolen a great many horses. The writer states
as his opinion that the Indians in these depredations were ledy
or instigated^ hy the MormonsP t
At the time of these occurrences, and whilst the facts and
opinions were being published in Texas, the press there were in
receipt of information from Laredo, Texas, that in the interior
of Mexico some of the northern tribes, very likely the Coman-
ches, had destroyed a wagon train and killed three teamsters,,
adding that the Indians, thirty in number, were armed with
rifles.:]:
From a research made by the San Antonio Herald^ on the
2d of February of said year 1858, it appears that in the depart-
ment of Texas § during the two previous years the troops had
had sixteen engagements with the Indians. In these, twenty-
six Indians had been killed, twenty-three wounded, and six
taken prisoners, besides the losses sustained by the Indians in
almost every engagement by the capture of their horses.
Most of these combats had been fought on the banks of the
Colorado, Brazos, and Concho rivers, and in one of the combats
that occurred on the banks of the Rio Grande the Indians, said
to be Comanches, were pursued on the right bank. In another
combat, which took place under command of Lieutenant Hood,,
on the San Pedro river, the Indians were of the Comanche and
Lipan tribes.
Several bands of Indians were seen at Medina. || From
this place the Herald received letters which brought informa-
tion that persons who had accompanied the troops in the pur-
* Vouchers, Cuaderno, No. 7, fol. 11.
f Repetition of quotation.
\ Cuaderno, No. 7, p. 11.
§ Cuaderno, No. 7, p. 11 to 16.
I Vouchers, Cuaderno, No. 7, pp. 16-18.
352 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
8uit of the Indians as far as the mountains, stated that a squaw
hefore dying ^ had declared that her party "belonged to the reser-
vation, and that several other bands had left there without the
knowledge of Major Neighbor, the Indian agent.
In another publication dated February 17, 1858,* it was
said that the duty of the companies organized by order of the
State legislature was to operate against the Indians at once,
without waiting to chastise them for robberies committed, and
thus avoid a useless excursioft which would not remedy the
evil. It was also said that General Twiggs was powerless, and
that the time had arrived for the Federal government to take
into their own hands the defense of the country. By timely
help, the Indians would l^e repulsed as far as the reservation,
and the atrocities and depredations committed on the frontier
and the suffering endured by the inhabitants would immediately
cease.
The special agent of the Comanches wrote the same day
that he had captured two Comanches and two Mexicans who
had stolen from the reservations and in Texas ; that as the
Mexicans had fled, he had caused the two Comanches to be
tried by a court composed of their chiefs ; that having been
sentenced to death, they were examined and revealed the fact
that several bands of Comanches, Kickapoos and Caiguas, com-
manded by Shanico's son, were the perpetrators of the rob-
beries, and that Kickapoos and Comanches lived together to-
wards the north of Red river. Mr. Eoss, the agent, concluded
by promising that he would soon go and examine personally
the camp of the Indians. f
On the 14th of April, the Indians appeared near Laredo,
and on the 20th, between camp Hudson and Fort Clark, where
they wounded two men on San Pedro river, who stated that
the Indians were armed with rifles and belonged to the
Comanche tribe. Another party of Indians followed, within
view, a train of wagons as far as Puerco river in order to at-
tack it at their convenience ; and that Mr. Rome, by whom
* Vouchers, Cuaderno, No. 7, pp. 18, 19.
f Vouchers, Cuaderno, No. 7, pp. 21, 22.
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. ^ 353
the report was made, observed that the road to El Paso was
strewn with Indians who apparently were bolder and more
hostile than ever before.*
On the same day, two parties of soldiers left Fort Mcin-
tosh in pursuit of a party of Indians who were driving some
horses in the direction of Nueces river.f
On the 24th of August, four men, two Americans and two
Mexicans, were assassinated near El Paso, seventy-five miles
below Fort Davis, by a party of Comanches coming apparently
from Mexico, as they were driving a large herd of horses. ^
According to news received from northern Texas, which
was published on the 28th of said month, the Comanches were
then on the Arkansas river on the agency of the Osages, mak-
ing their preparations to fall on the frontier of Texas. §
The assassination of several families and the robbery of
cattle at Denton and Clear Creek, perpetrated in September,
caused a great deal of excitement, and the neighboring towns
commenced to arm themselves. ||
During the early part of October, footprints were noticed
on the banks of Devil river, and on the 12th of the same
month, the Gazette of Austin said that, on account of the
complicity of the renegade Kickapoos and Kichees with the
Comanches, who showed themselves very hostile, one hundred
men were to be armed, by order of the governor, to recover
the stolen property wherever it could be found.T
In the month of October, Wise county was invaded by In-
dians, believed to be Kickapoos, and three of the inhabitants
of the county were killed.**
On the 22d of October, a long article was published in the
Herald^'W showing the state of alarm in which the people of
Texas lived, because the Comanches and Wichitas, their
enemies, were ferocious and blood-thirsty savages, and power-
ful enough, on account of their large number, to destroy any
town they might choose to attack. The frontier, it was said.
* Vouchers, Cuaderno, No. 7, p. 23. f Ibid, 24.
X Vouchers, Cuaderno, No. 7, p. 26. § Ibid. 27.
I Vouchers, Cuaderno, No. 7, p. 27. 1 -^»^- PP- 28, 29.
** Ibid. p. 80. tt Vouchers, Cuaderno, No. 7, pp. 30 and 31.
23
354: REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
was exposed to all the horrors of rapine and murder for many
miles along the line, because the government troops could only
give protection to those who were within reach of the post
parapets ; besides tlie troops were few in number, and not
competent to maintain the kind of warfare necessary to subdue
the savages who defied them, and fearlessly crossed the lines
of the camps, and penetrated into the central part of the
State. As a proof of this, it was said that, a month before,
eight of the most influential citizens of Brownsville had been
murdered, and by letters from that city it was known, that
from Fort Duncan to Ringgold Barracks, a distance of over
three hundred miles, there was not a single soldier to be seen.*
Such a state of affairs looked somewhat like criminal in-
difference on the part of the authorities at Washington, who
had proiTiised to send troops to check the Indians. It was
added that all the Indians were well armed with bows and
arrows, lances, axes and rifles, and it was recollected that a
very short time previous an American by the name of Chisnijf
a trader, had sold to the Indians seventy-five boxes of arms
and ammunition, on agreement that they should go to Texas and
steal horses and whatever other property they could, which
would be paid for with arms and provisions, thus establishing
a regular trade of stolen goods.
The governor of Texas reported to the commander of the
department the depredations committed in Brown county by
twenty Indians, who had killed four men and taken two cap-
tives. :]:
Tlie assassinations just referred to caused great alarm at
Lampazos and its vicinity. The letters were unanimous in
saying that the Indians were on the war path throughout the
countr}^, obliging the families to abandon their houses, cattle
and all other property. It was said, however, that the Indians,
authors of these assassinations, had been punished, and this
* '' Surely tbia is aU wrong, and shows something like criminal neglect on
the part of the authorities at Washington/'
t Vouchers, Ouademo, No. Y, p. 31. ' J Vouchers, Cuaderno, No. Y, p. 82.
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 366
was proved by the property rescued from them, which had
belonged to the persons they had killed. * •
About the end of December, three bands of Indians overran
' the vicinity of Bandera, and retreated after having stolen some
horses ; they were pursued by troops ordered to the rescue by
General Twiggs. The opinion then was that the Indians were
more bent on robbery than on anything else, f n
The Commission will now bring to an end these extracts
of the depredations committed by Indians in the State of Texas
during the years 1857 and 1858. It may readily be observed
that whilst in Texas the Indians committed twenty-two assassin-
ations, wounded five persons and captured two others; in the
State of Nuevo Leon they killed fortj^-five persons, wounded
twe!»ty-six and captured thirteen during 1857 alone, and in
1858 they killed eighteen and wounded four persons, forming a
total of sixty-three killed, thirty wounded and thirteen captured,
i. e. four times as many persons sacrificed as in the State
of Texas.
It will also be observed at a glance, that the operations of
the Indians in Texas and on the frontier States of Mexico,
were all based on the thorough knowledge which they possessed
of the respective situations of these States, and also of the indif-
ference of the Texaiis in regard to the depredations perpetrated
in Mexico. For this reason, whenever they stole horses in
Texas, near the places where they lived, they took good care
to drive them in small lots, so as to facilitate their own flight,
whilst the reverse was the case whenever the robbery was com-
mitted in Mexico, for although in the towns of the interior
they proceeded in like manner, yet, whenever they came near the
Texan line they always formed in one body, and did not mind
passing in view of the military camps posted on that line.
The spirit of the public press during all these years tends to
flhow that the injuries caused by the Indians were attributed
partly to those living outside of said reservations, because the
line was, uninhabited; there were very few soldiers, and the
• Vouchers, Cuf.depno, No. 7, p. 33.
\ Vouchers, Cuaderno, No. 7, p. 89.
866 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
military posts were easily avoided. Such conduct on the part
of tBe government was censured, qualified as bad and criminal,
and the government was urged to furnish suflBcient troops to
repress the Indians.
This same view was expressed by the Commission when
they endeavored to explain the cause of the horrible depreda-
tions committed by the Indians from the very commencement
of the trouble. The sorties of the Indians from their reserva^
tions, as was ascertained by a squaw and confirmed by the
report of the official agent of the Indians ; the concentration of
the Comanches in places inhabited by the " Osages " (trans-
ported in 1831), in order to concert their attacks upon Texas,
and other States ; the connivance of the Comanches, Kickapoos,
Wichitas and Juyes in the depredations committed upon the
settlements ; the participation of the Mormons, they being not
unfrequently accused of sometimes instigating and at others
leading the Indians on to warfare, as was discovered in the case
of Chism, an American trader, who furnished arms and ammu-^
nition to the Indians ; and the very remark that the Indians
were more inclined to robbery (which requires abettors) than
to any other crime ; all this now published in the face of Texas
is only a repetition of what occurred in 1835, with the only
difference that they who fell victims to those depredations,
i.e.j since 1836, were Mexicans exclusively, but from 1836 to
the present, the Texans have likewise suffered, although on
a far minor scale, as is shown by the comparison drawn before*
This result, as has been before said, is the effect of the gen-
eral cause of trouble oa the banks of the Arkansas river, in
1831, when the northeastern Indians were put in intercourse
with those of the south^vest, and also by the encouragement
given their natural propensity for stealing, by American citi-
zens who bought from the Indians the spoils which they
brought from their incursions into Mexico, until the live stock
being exhausted in that country, they were forced to extend
their raids into Texas, where everything fell easy prey to^their
rapacity.
Even without the acknowledgment made by Texans in late
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 357
years, it was generally surmised that it was their own fellow-
citizens who either led or incited the Indians to plunder, and it
is easy to trace this fact, that whether by Mormons, or Indians
from the reservations, who were in constant business relations
with American citizens, the Indians were incited and even led
at different times by such persons. The simple fact that these
tribes have had no other occupation for more than half a cen-
tury, during which time they have carried away from Mexico
an immense number of horses which they could not employ,
not having any need for them, is of itself a proof that they
disposed of them, either to the Indians on the reservations, with
whom they were in daily communication, and through them to
Americans, or to the latter directly. Nevertheless, it is a great
step in relation to this criminal traffic, that the discovery has
been made that all the depredations committed by Indians,
have been by those living in a savage condition, and by those
supported by the government on permanent establishments.
The Commission might here close this report, considering
their opinion as to the origin, progress and actual condition of
the Indian depredations to be well grounded, and established
by the extracts heretofore set forth; but as such persistent
efforts have been made of late to impute all the depredations
committed in Texas to a part of the Kickapoos, now living in
Mexico, they deem it advisable to give further details of the
depredations committed before the settlement of these' Indians
in Mexico, noting the remarks then made whilst, pending the
hostilities, the case was likely to be better appreciated and un-
derstood.
In February, 1869, some soldiers from Fort Quitman,* situ-
ated between El Paso and Presidio del Norte, had a rencontre
with the Mescaleros, who fled to the mountains of Chihuahua,
in Mexico. In the same month the troops from Fort Inge, in
Uvalde county, in conjunction with some citizens, pursued a
party of Indians and recovered nearly all their horses. The
depredations in Uvalde f continued, and it was thought that
* Vouchers, Cuaderno, No. 7, pp. 86 and 36.
f Vouchers, Cuaderno, No. 1, pp. 36 and 87.
3a8 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
they had been committed by the same Indians, who had been
beaten, reinforced by others.
Through letters from El Paso and Pan Elizario, it was dis-
covered that on the 7th of February, there had been another
rencontre with the Mescaleros, in the Canon del"Peno";*
some heads of neat cattle and a few horses had been stolen
from San Elizario ; a posse of residents and troops pursued the
Indians, killed from twenty to thirty, and wounded quite a
number.f In the same month some Indians were seen near
"Pedernalee" and '' Bandera," with the apparent intention of
stealing.:]:
The Herald published, on the 24:th of March, an account
given by two Comanches, taken prisoners in the combat near
Fort Arbuckle, in October, 1858. Amongst other things, it
was said that all the Indians were ready fcr war with the
whites; that they had over four hundred Mexican captives,
men, women and children, and two white men in the Comanche
country; that they got their arms and ammunition from other
Indians who received such from the Americans ; that a few Co-
manches went to the vicinity of Bent's Fort, and procured arms
and ammunition from the agent ; that the Indians go at pleasure
to Mexico, across the Rio Grande, and are not afraid of the
Americans on the other side of that river.§
After this, the troops had several engagements with the
Comanches || near Fort Arbuckle, and they pursued them act-
ively for several murders committed by them, and for the cap-
ture of two young girls above Boston. On the following day,
they were overtaken and the captives rescued ; one, a girl of
about twelve years of age, said that the Indians spoke English.^
The citizens of Young county ** had a meeting in April,
with a view to petitioning the Federal Government to remove
the Indians from the reservations, and in case of the demand
* Vouchers, Cuaderno, p. 39. \ Vouchers, Cuaderno, pp. 38 and 40,
\ Vouchers, Cuaderno, p. 39. § Vouchers, Cuaderno, No. V, pp. 41 and 42..
\ Vouchers, Cuaderno, No. 7, p. 45.
\ The little girl says that the Indians spoke English.
** Vouchers, Cuaderno, No. 7, pp. 46 and 46.
N(fttTHERN FRONTIER QUESTTON. 359
not being granted, to join with the neighboring, counties and
force cono-pliance with their desires.
The following was written from Fredericksburg, in the
month of April:*
" It is certain that the Indians are aware of the movement
of the troops, and if care is not taken to guard the passes from
Concho, Kickapoo, San Saba and Llano, they will be able, with-
out much difficulty, to open war on the frontier, having an open
field from the Colorado river to the Guadalupe."
On another occasion in Fredericksburg and Kerr, f there
was another incursion of Indians, and robberies were committed
which caused the greatest an;xiety to the inhabitants.
In the following month, May, 1859, ^ about, seven hundred
Indians, of various tribes, attacked a body of troops in Colo-
rado. § Meantime, the Indians from the southern reservations
had abandoned their fields, encamped in the grounds of their
agent, Mr. Koss, and declared a war opened, the results of
which were greatly to be feared.
At the very time that a man was killed in " Frio," || and
that animals were being stolen and wrested from the Indians,
news came that Van Doren had obtained a recent victory over
the very Comanches whom he had routed in October of the
preceding year.
From a repo»'t T" made by Lieutenant Hazen, of the infantry,
it became known that the Indians were encamped near Uvalde
and its vicinity. They were in possession of papers signed by
persons purporting to be officers of the army, and were guar-
anties of good conduct, &c., &c. It was thought that if the
papers had really been given to those in whose possession they
w6re found, it would be dangerous for such papers to fall into
the hands of others. It was also inferred from the papers, the
antiquity of which was remarkable, that the bearers were
Kickapoos.
* Vouchers, Cuaderno, No. 7, p. 47. f Vouchers, Cuaderno, No. 7, p. 48.
t Vouchers, Cuaderno, No. 7, p. 50. § Vouchers, Cuaderno, No. 7, p. 50.
II Vouchers, Cuaderno, No. 7, p. 51.
If Vouchers, Cuaderno, No. 7, pp. 52 and 53.
360 REPORT OF COMMITTEE. •
In June,* they committed robbery and a murder in the
county of " Llano ; " and shortly before they repulsed Baylor,
an officer, who attacked them at the head of over one hundred
men, on the reservations of the agency at Brazos.
According to letters from "San Elizario, published in the
Herald f of June 9th, two hundred Indians had passed by
Camp Stockton with a number of horses, bound north, evi-
dently on their return from Mexico, from whence the horses
had been stolen.^
During the months of June and July, the counties of
" Blanco " and " Frio " § were invaded by small bands of In-
dians ; on one of these occasions, the stolen property was all
recovered, and one Indian killed.
In August, the counties of " Mason " and " Bandera " were
invaded ; and in the following month, those of " Kerr " and
" Blanco ; '^ the damages consisted of the killing of cattle and
the stealing of horses in small lots.||
In September, they appeared in " Webb " county, and
killed a Mexican boy near Palafox ; about the same time, in
the county of " Maverick," not .far from " Eagle Pass," at a
place called " Pendencia," they committed the most horrible
atrocities on a family residing there.^^ They were pursued by
a party of Americans from " Eagle Pass," but were not over-
taken ; and believing that they had crossed into Mexico, the
authorities of Piedras Negras gave a written permit to the
commandant to pursue them, in case of necessity, to their own
territory, and otherwise lending aid to the pursuers with a re-
inforcement of seven men. **
* Vouchers, Cuaderno, No. 1, p. 64.
I Vouchers, Cuaderno, No. 7, pp. 64 and 65.
t " These Indians were, no doubt, just from Mexico, where they had stolen the
horses they had with them.
§ Vouchers, Cuaderno, No. 7, pp. 65 and 66.
II Vouchers, Cuaderno, No. 1, pp. 67, 68 and 69.
If Vouchers, Cuaderno, No. 7, pp. 60 to 66.
** " Captain Stone started soon in pursuit. Seven of the company were from
Mexico. The merchants in Eagle Pass threw open their stores, and generally told
the Yolunteers to help themselves to supplies. Captain Stone obtained a written
permit from the Mexican commandant to go into Mexico in pursuit of the Indiansi
if necessary."
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 861
During the months of September and October,* the coun-
ties of " Webb " and " Frio " were invaded, and on the 5th of
October the Herald published accounts received from San
Sdba, through a Mexican captive who had made his escape
from Comanche county, and who stated that he had been
captured in Santa Clara, Durango, by the Comanches, who
took him north and put him to take care of horses, in connec-
tion with other Mexicans, who were retained as servants to the
Indians.
He further stated,* that after the battle with Yan Doren,
the Indians f retreated towards the northwest, making short
marches and hunting buffalo in order to maintain themselves
on the journey. They did not encamp until they arrived at a
large camp of white people; the place was situated on the
banks of a wide river, near a grove of tall pine trees and high
mountains ; that at that place the Indians received liquors,
clothing, sugar, blankets, and they were promised that Van
Doren and the Texans should not fight against them, and that
they should encamp at two days' journey farther on. He also
stated that the white men furnished the Indians with guns,
clothing and ammunition in exchange for horses, and that carts
were constantly being removed laden with various articles ;
that the Indians were united for war, and that this was the first
time they had taken him towards the South to rob ; that after
the Indians left the establishment of the white men, where they
had procured all they desired, they marched for a whole moon
together, and afterwards separated into small bands, the one
with whom he traveled being composed of six Indians.
On account of the frequent incursions of the Indians near
Castroville during the month of October,:]: troops left Fort Inge
in pursuit of the savages, whom they overtook between Fort
Terret and Fort Clark, and seized one hundred and thirty
horses.
Captain Samson found an old Indian encampment in Nueces,
* Vouchers, Cuaderno, No. 7, pp. 65 to 67.
f Vouchers, Cuaderno, No. 7, pp. 67 to 70.
X Vouchers, C'uaderuo, No. 7, p. 71.
362 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
which had served as a refuge to the Indians in the spring of 1859,
and when he made his report in October, he remarked, " that in
his opinion the greater number of the bands * who invaded that
part of the country came from the north and created disturb-
ances on the frontier on either shore of the Rio Grande. In
case of pursuit, if they succeeded in crossing the river, they
considered themselves safe in Mexican territory." f
[Ifews of atrocities committed by the Indians came from
Fort Stockton on the 27th October,:]: thaf not far from the fort
two men had been killed and a number of horses stolen. On
this occasion, the editors of the Herald asked : How long will
the lives of men be exposed through the criminal economy of the
government? How long will the present administration de-
preciate the lives and property of its citizens ? §
In November,! troops from Forts Clarke and Inge, with
citizens from Uvalde, started in pursuit of the Oomanches,
whom they routed near Fort Terret. This was the official re-
port made by the expedition. In the same month, prepara-
tions were made to await the Indians at the Springs of Leon,
that being the point from which they had made their entrance.^
Official intelligence from Fort Clark, relative to the encounter
referred to, stated that the Indians with whom they had fought
near Fort Terret, carried guns, revolvers, and bows and arrows.
During the three months ending November, 1859, in which
Captain Samson ** and his company had been scouring the
county of '^ Kerr " and the vicinity, he is said to have discov-
ered various trails leading to the settlements, but as the Indians
were on foot, it was almost impossible to discover and punish
* Vouchers, Cuaderno, No. 7, p. 75.
f " I am of the opinion that most of the parties that visit our part of the fron-
tier come from the north, and whip around to the Rio Grande on their return.
In case of pursuit, if they can cross that stream, they feel safe in Mexican terri-
tory."
X Vouchers, Cuademo, No. 7, p. 77.
§ How long will human life be a prey to the puny economy of the govern-
ment ? How long will this utter disregard of life and property characterize the
present administration ?
I Vouchers, Cuaderno, No. 7, p. 78. ^ Vouchers, Cnaderno, No. 7, p. 79.
** Vouchers, Cuademo, No. 7, pp. 82 to 86.
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 363
them. At the end of the year the Indians invaded the county
of Blanco, from whence they stole a few horses.
From all the reports of Indian depredations in Texas during
the year 1859, it will be observed that the murders committed
by them were few, and the damages from robbery small, since
the stolen goods were nearly always recovered, and a number
of Indians reported as killecj. Those who could never be pun-
ished, according to reports from Fort Quitman, were the Mes-
caleros, on account, of their taking refuge in the mountains of
Chihuahua. Nevertheless, these did not altogether escape, for
at a later date they were whipped at " Canon del Perro," Texas,
to which place they had returned, which is conclusive evidence
that the Mescaleros lived in Texas.
The incursions along the whole left bank of the Rio Grande,
clearly demonstrate that those who made the war were Co-
manches and other northern tribes. The encounters which
took place near Fort Arbuckle, in the Chickasaw territory,
leaves no room for doubt on the subject, and the belief is con-
firmed by important revelations made by two young Comanches,
as for instance : the fact of the number of Memcan captives
and the scarcity of Americans, and the trade with the reserva-
tion Indians, who furnished them with arms, as did also the
agent at Fort Bent. This fact is sustained and confirmed, as
well as the other report that there were American leaders
amongst the Indians, as was stated by the girl of twelve years
of age, who was rescued near Belton, and who heard the In-
dians speaking English. Still greater force is lent to these
statements by the testimony of the young Mexican captive,
who had been held in the same settlement or encampment with
the two Comanche prisoners, and who reiterated the fact of
trade with the whites, and exchange of horses for arms, and
participation of the authorities and citizens in this merchandise
of human blood and stolen property.
The observations of army officers, who were in pursuit of
the savages, as to the revolvers in their possession, the opinion
of Capt. Samson (Chief of the Rangers), that the bands who
carried hostilities on both banks of the Rio Grande, came from
the north, and when pursued, took refuge in Mexican territory,.
S64 EEPORT OP COMMITTEE.
aad in fact, tbe very Eituation of tbe counties in which the
. depredations were committed, all go to form incontrovertible
proof that tlie ills endured by Texas, originated on its own soil,
where the Indians dwell, and through its own citizens, who
famish the savages with arme and incite them to robbery and
murder.
It is worthy of notice, that during this year all the depreda-
iioHB committed were attributed to northern tiibes ; it is not
concealed that those who assailed tlie county of Kerr and other
frontier counties, came from the north and returned there by tbe
eame route, and it is fully acknowledged that it was they who
were the antbors of the injuries sustained on both banks of tbe
Rio Grande. At that time, then, Mexico harbored none other
Indian tribes but the Seminoles, and at this very time, there
were American agents employed in trying to effect their trans.
portation or return to the United States.
As regards the damages sustained by Mexico, apart from
those before mentioned and proved, later data collected in
Texas, by means of the official reports'from Fort Quitman, as
well as from letters written from the frontier, and through the
statements made by the very Comanehes themselves relative
to the great number of Mexican prisoners retained by them, it
ie unquestionable that these do not proceed from any other
e than by way of Texas or the United States.
glance at the map of that State and of the frontiers of
nited States and Mexico, compared with the official in-
ition given, and the statements of citizens who have pur-
the Indians, all afford another material proof of the
e from whence the Indians come. It is useless, therefore,
iimerate facts to establish this opinion, except perhaps the
ssion of feeling in the invaded counties, from which may
iced the point from whence the Indians came.
uring the year I860,* they appeared by way of Mason,
J Creek, La Leona y Frio, Laredo, Camp Colorado and
Lawson. It was somewhat remarkable that in these in-
as the Indians were generally on foot, and that those who
• Cuftderno, No.7, pp. 84 to 101.
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 365
were purened from Laredo passed by Fort Clark on their way
northward, which indicates the extension of tlieir wanderings^
and shows that there is no reason to blame other Indians than
the aborigines of Texas.
In the same year the San Antonio Herald of February 22,
published intact an official report from ^Captain Kichard M^
Richardson, in command of cavalry troops stationed at Fort
Mason, addressed to Capt. John. Withers, adjutant. The
report was dated February 16, and, after referring to the oper-
ations against the Indians pursued by the troops, and the
results thereof, he concluded the communication with these
remarkable words : *
" There can be no doubt but that white men were engaged
with these Indians. When I charged upon the camp I heard
two persons within, speaking the English language too fluently
to be Indians. This party was mounted, and armed with rifles
and six-shooters."
. Meridian, Palo Pinto, Mason, Bosque, Hil, Brazos and
Belknap, all suflFered depredations, and some of them were of
a horrible character. In mentioning these, the Herald of
March 20 quotes the Houston Telegraph : f
"The Indians killed ten persons, carried some off cap-
tive, and horribly abused others, especially two young ladies,
whom, after abusing with all the brutality which Indians and
white outlaws know so well how to practice, they stripped
them of their clothing and turned them loose to die of cold and
hunger, or to fall again in the hands of the brutes who infest
the country, or to be torn to pieces by savage beasts of prey.'^
Other incursions followed, and Castro ville, Eagle Springs,
Boerne, Fredericksburg, and Laredo suffered considerably.
New proofs that the Indians were led by Americans who used
this mask to obtain plunder through the medium of the sav-
ages, whom they aided in their work of pillage and murder. On
the 16th March, 1860, after a skirmish with the Indians, intel-
ligence came from Castroville to the Herald as follows: %
" The chief spoke good English and Spanish, and said that
* Cuaderno, No. Y, p. 96. t Cuaderno, No. Y, p. 9Y.
\ Cuaderno, No. 7, p. 98.
366 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
he knew a great deal of German also. The Indians carried
rifles and six-shooters."
On the 16th of March, 1867, this same paper published a
letter from Mr. Henry Kedmond, owner of the ranche of this
name, giving valuable information of the depredations from
which the towns were suffering, and, amongst other things,
remarked : *
"In January, a Mexican boy was captured by the Indians
about twenty-five miles from this place, in Mexican territory ;*
he escaped a few days since during a battle between the
Indians and the troops from Fort Clark, and has returned to
his home. He says that the Indians are at war with Mexico
and Texas, and that there are a great many above here in the
Pecos and Independence Creeks, composed of Kickapoos, Co-
manches, and Lipans."
The paragraph concluded as follows :
" A short time since, we saw an account in one of our Mis-
souri exchanges of the lynching of five of these Indians who
were captured, with a lot of horses in their possession, by a
company of settlers. They turned out to be bogus Indians,
painted white horse thieves and murderers, and they admitted,
at the time of their execution, that they had just come over
from Texas, where they had stolen all the stock they had with
them."
From 1861 to 1865, the emergencies of war prevented the
periodicals from giving the details of the doings of the Indians,
and it was not until 1866, that intelligence upon this subject
reappeared in their columns.f These depredations had been
continued up to 1867, when nine hundred Comanches attacked
Fort Lancaster, and continued there marauding through the fol-
lowing /ear in Bandera, Fredericksburg, Llano, Camp Atkison,
Hondo, Frio, Sabinal, San Mdrcos, Middleton, Fort Mason, San
Saba, Leon, Pedernales, Guadalupe, New Braunfelds, Boerne,
Fort Davis, Concho, Loyal Valley, Kickapoo Springs, and
Camino del Paso.
The depredations committed in 1860 and the following
years, on the margin of the Kio Grande and the central counties
* Caaderno, No. 1, p. 106. f Caaderno, No. 7, pp. 106 to 126.
V
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 367
of Texas, the official report that Americans were in league with
the Indians, the confirmation of these reports by tlie " Galves-
ton News," and the statements received from Castroville, all
present horrible pictures of deeds committed, which were not
attributed to Mexican Indians or to those residing in Mexico,
but to those of the United States who were, in collusion with
white men. It was well known in Texas that these same In-
dians who committed robberies in Mexico, crossed the Kio
Grande, and, on their return by way of Fort Clark, they re-
leased a captive whom they had taken on Mexican soil. This
having occurred in 1867, three years after the coming of the
Kickapoos to Mexico, it was not considered strange that the
captive denounced said Indians as associates of the Comanches,
since it was believed that the tribe of Kickapoos, to whom he
referred, belonged to that portion of the tribe who had re-
mained in the United States.
On perusing the information sent to the press from the
above mentioned places, the attention of the Commission was
attracted by several very important features of the case. First,
that from August, 1868,* after the Kickapoos came to Mexico,
no mention is made of them as participators in the depredations
committed, yet, notwithstanding tliis fact, the writer from Fort
Mason alludes somewhat dubiously to this omission ; second, in
reporting the encounters with the Indians, they are said to
have been armed with bows and arrows and shields, arms not
used by the Kickapoos ; and, in the third place, that they un-
derstood English, as was noticed in one of the skirmishes had
with them.
From the examination made, which covers eight years, ex-
clusive of the years of the war, we have as a result tlie fact
that, up to 1868, there were considerable losses in Texas
through murders and robberies committed by the Indians, and
up to that time there was no doubt whatever that the perpetra-
tors were Comanches in leagrue with other Indians from the
reservations, and other tribes known as Wild Indians. These
acts, corroborated by the instigators of the bloody struggle
* Oaaderno, No. 7, p. 118.
368 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
which was sustained, and from whom important confessions
were forced, not only serve to explain what was actually taking
place, but also to foretell what was likely to happen in the
ensuing years.
It being indisputable that white men instigated the Indians
to robbery, and furnished them with arms and ammunition,
sometimes directly, and at others through the reservation In-
dians, it is easy to believe that one step further would convert
them into guides and commanders of the savages on their
marauding excursions ; and the fact was soon discovered
through various sources, that white men or Americans accom-
panied and led the Indians in these invasions. The most ab-
solute proofs have been obtained of this criminal act, which
words fail to characterize, for there are oflBicial reports, state-
ments of released captives, of innocent maidens, and of men of
veracity and clear judgment, all going to prove that there have
been cases, like those of the Missouri, in which white men-
Americans — disguised as Indians, conducted horses stolen in
Texas.
It being only five years since these atrocities were consum-
mated, and no proof existing that any energetic measures on
the part of the Federal Government or of Texas have ever been
taken to discover the criminals, who associated with Indians
and disguised themselves in savage garb, it will not be difficult
to surmise that the evil increased from day to day.
The acts committed in Kerr county this year prove this
clearly, and the Commission will make no commentary on the
following report of the grand jury, presided over by the Hon.
Judge Everet, from which a plain idea will be formed of the
effect of the negligence or apathy of the authorities : *
"Report of the grand jury, presided over by the Hon.
Judge Everet: We, the grand jury of the county of Kerr,
elected and sworn in for the present session of court, respect-
fully submit the following report of the condition of our county :
With care and diligence we have inquired into the facts rela-
tive to the execution of Jamison and the dragging of James
Katcliffe and George Graffenreid from the prison, followed by
the immediate execution of the men, and after the most careful
* Vouchers, Cuaderno, No. 7, pp. 13, 14 and 15.
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 369
investigation of the case, we have been unable to discover, or
even to get a trace of the persons who infringed the law in this
respect.
'' Our county is situated on the frontier ; and a short time
previous to this, it was invaded by fugitive criminals <|oming
from the more populous counties of the northeast. These per-
sons have taken up their abode on the Rio Guadalupe, a region
almost uninhabited, covering a great extent of mountainous
country, in which numerous caves abound, forming a secure
and easy refuge ; the valleys are rich and the pasture excellent,
serving for the sustenance of their flocks. From these almost
inaccessible mountains, the outlaws have swooped down upon
the towns and villages, robbing cattle, and effacing tlie brands
by substituting their own.
" It is also discovered and proved, by good and reliable evi-
dence, that, not content with stealing cattle, they have disguised
themselves as Indians, the natural enemies of the white men,
and, under this garb, have added, not unfrequently, to their
innumerable crimes, those of murder and incendiarism.
" It is unfortunate that some unknown persons have applied
prompt punishment to these criminals, without awaiting the
action of the courts. As the act was secret, it has been quite
impossible to discover tlie perpetrators or those who took any
part whatever in it. We honestly believe that this state of af-
fairs has ended, and that in the future affairs will return to the
peace and quiet heretofore enjoyed. Respectfully submitted,
this 31st day of July, 1873, by the president,
•'CHAS. SOHINER."
The application of the terrible " Lynch Law," and the
abuses of it by whomsoever it may have been put in practice,
and for whatever other crimes it may have been applied, goes
to show the popular feeling in Kerr county in respect to assas-
sinations and robberies of cattle and horses by persons under the
disguise of Indians, and the little confidence had in appeal to
judicial administration. This case also proves the exactness of
the before named articles and other evidence which accuses
white men, disguised as Indians, of being the actual perpetra-
tors of these crimes, of which they were accused since 1855, by
oflBcers of the Mexican army, as has been previously stated.
It will be remembered that this state of affairs in Texas
was the result of acts committed by their own citizens in league
with the Indians, and that at that time the Federal Govern-
24
370 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
ment had almost surroanded Texas by forts and military posts,
covering the boundaries towards the northeast, and guarding it
on the north by the Red river. The boldness of the Indians
in daring to force their way through a line so garrisoned, for,
though but poorly defended, it still formed a very formidable
barrier, can only be accounted for in the fact previously noted,
that Americans were the guides and leaders of the savages, fur-
nishing them constantly with the number of the forces and all
other information which would serve to render their expedi-
tions successful.
It will be well, just here, to note that the line of Dnited
States forts and military posts extends from 100*^ to 101"^ parallel
of west longitude, and on the north, from Eagle Pass, their num-
ber includes Forts Duncan, Inge, Clark, Campo Verde, Terrett,
McKavett, Campo de San Sdba, Concho, Campo Colorado,
Chadbourne, Phantom Hill, Griffin, Campo de San Marcos, and
Camp Cooper. These two last posts * are situated on one of
the branches south of Brazos river, on the 33° of north latitude,
and directly on the route to the reservations of the Comancbes,
Kiowas and Apaches, lying on the left bank of the Ked river,
in the 35° of latitude. Thus, there is over forty leagues over
which the Indians could roam and enter Texas from the reser-
vations and the prairies on which they dwelt, with scarcely any
obstacle, in spite of the numerous forts situated in the center.
Although the object of the Federal Government in establish-
ing such forts and military stations was .the protection and se-
curity of the populated portion of Texas, it will be seen that it
was not successful, and that the Indians have overrun Texas
from all directions, passed through the line of military posts into
Mexico, and returned with captives and other fruits of their
plunder, as is proved by occasions when they were attacked near
the forts and the Mexican captives released.
The Indians had by this time prepared another market;
they robbed in Mexico and Texas and carried their plunder to
New Mexico to dispose of it, and the trade in this was so exten-
sive there, and so barefaced, that the '^Borderer," a periodical
* See map of Texas.
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION.
371
of ^' Cruces," New Mexico, attempted to defend it by upbraid-
ing a wealthy stock raiser of " Palo Pinto," who endeavored to
recover his cattle which the Indians had stolen and sold in that
territory, perhaps in connection with the white outlaws from
Kerr, dwelling on the Guadalupe river.
Mr. Hittson, the stock raiser of " Palo Pinto," above re-
ferred to, wrote on the 10th February of said year to the presi-
dent of the Committee on Indian Affairs ; and the matter of
which he treats is of such grave importance that his letter can-
not be omitted. It runs as follows :
•
" Sir: Tour letter dated January 3d, in which you request
a detailed account of my expedition to New Mexico in search
of stolen cattle, is at hand, and it gives me great pleasure to
accede to your wishes, as far as my memory will permit me,
not having at hand all the minutes of my operations, which
would make a complete report. You and the other members
of the committee are well aware that the stock raisers of the
northwest portion of Texas have been subjected to immense
losses from the frequent invasions of the Comanches, Caiguas,
and other tribes of Indians, and that through their constant
and unrestrained depredations, the large flocks and herds of
f>ast years have been exhausted in this section of the country,
n order to put a stop, as far as was possible, to these acts, and
to recover the stolen property, I went to New Mexico last sum-
mer, and in consequence of not having any aid, and on account
of the limited period of my stay, I was only able to accomplish
a part of my object. There are a great many difficulties in the
way of recovering stolen property, because so many persons in
the territory are implicated, directly or indirectly, with the
Indians in the robbery of cattle on the frontier. They also fur-
nish them with arms and ammunition, with which numbers of
our people have been murdered and mutilated. From this
cause, t met with great opposition, with which I had to strug-
gle in my endeavor to recover the stolen property. * * * I
was enabled, however, to vanquish the majority of the obstacles
put in my path, and I was put in possession of five or six thou-
sand head of cattle which had been stolen ; but the herd was
recovered only at the cost of enormous expenditures almost
equal to the value of the property. The number of stolen cat-
tle bouglit from the Indians and disposed of by those implicated
in this illegal traffic, in the territories of Arizona and New
Mexico, is far greater than is supposed by the people of Texas.
I am convinced, from personal observation, that it will be no
872 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
exaggeration to estimate the number of stolen cattle, disposed^
of in the manner above stated, at one hundred thousand head
during the two last decades. TTntil some measures are taken
by either the general government or the State, these depreda-
tions will continue."
This criminal trade with the Indians presents itself on
every hand ; it has been denounced from all parts, and this
fact being notorious, it has not escaped the attention of the
Committee on Indian affairs, the president of which asked for
the information contained in the above quoted letter, in which^
as is seen, the Comanches and Caiguas are* expressly accused
as the principal authors of the depredations committed in
northwestern Texas, and implicitly of those committed in Mex-
ico, it being known that on their route the same tribes attack Mex-
ico, and carry off large numbers of horses and cattle, which, to-
gether with those stolen from Texas, find a market in New Mexico.
If, in spite of the great number efforts and military camps
situated on a direct line from Eagle Pass to Los Brazos, the
sole object of which has been to protect Texas on the line of
the prairies, the central point of habitation of the Indians, the
savjiges have been able to cause great evils to that State, it
will be easy to calculate and understand the amount of dam-
ages sustained on the Mexican frontier, constantly invaded
since 1848 up to one year ago, from within this line, and also
from the vast unprotected lands in the northwest, from Fort
Clark to Paso del Norte; over this vast tract, from the time
you leave Fort Clark, there are no other posts save Hudson,
Lancaster and Stockton, at great distances from each other and
from the Rio Grande. After these on El Paso road, there i&
Fort Davis, far distant from the river, and above Presidio del
Norte is Fort Quitman, and no other defense until you reach
El Paso.
The immense open tracts lying between the posts have
made incursions easy, and served as a refuge for Nuxcaleros,
Lipans and Comanches, who have always dwelt on Puerco
river. From this source and cause come manv of the evils of
the Mexican frontier, and many of those of Texas, as is proved
by the robberies committed at " Palo Pinto."
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 373
Without having any military information, the Commission
will risk an opinion, based on a comparison of the military
posts of to-day and those established and maintained by the
Spanish Government, and preserved by that of Mexico, that
the latter were better calculated to obtain the desired object,
even as to the location of the forces, which, without being
numerous, maintained peace and security. But their lives
were not inactive, and, besides, there were none to incite the
Indians to robbery at that time.
The depredations of the Indians during the last five
years, between 1869 and 18Y3, differ very slightly from
those committed previously, for they have not changed the
theatre of their pernicious acts, nor the manner of committing
them. The robbery of horses and cattle has been constantly
maintained in the invaded counties, and in order to execute
their design with security, they employed the same tactics as
in Mexico, dividing in small groups and attacking many places
at the same time, thus diverting attention and escaping easily
with their booty — another proof that the thieves and assassins
in Texas and Mexico were the same people.
Worthy of notice and special consideration is the difference
of the proceedings taken in Texas and in Mexico. The au-
thorities of the former do not seem to have taken any meas-
ures for organizing the citizens and arming them against the
enemy who devastated their property, but on the contrary, the
action seems to have been individual and without system. The
injured parties have assembled and, without order or leaders,
have started in pursuit of the criminals, and if in some in-
stances they have been successful, far more frequently they
have utterly failed.
This absence of concerted action and unity on the part
of the counties springs, without doubt, from the repara-
tion which they expect to receive for their losses through
the Federal government, which owes them security ; and
this feeling crops out in all the actions of the people, — ^in the
statements made by individuals, who not unfrequently contra-
dict themselves, not having really witnessed the acts, and in the
4iotoriou8 exaggerations of others who, not fearing any public
374 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
authorities who could force them to tell the truth, present
things in a manner suitable for a claim, or for a sensation ia
the newspapers.
For this reason, no great confidence can be placed on the
number of the depredations assented ; but it is, nevertheless, well
proved that they have been frequent, because the commanders
of the forts have published, from time to time, an account of
their operations, which were sometimes corroborated here by
the sufferings of Mexicans, transient and permanent residents
in Texas.
If, after the precaution suggested, evidence is admitted or re-
ports considered not having an oflBcial source, it will still appear
that the counties of Texas have suffered greatly from invasions
on the part of the Comanches and Caiguas from the reserva*
tions, and other tribes, not living on the reservations, distin-
guished by the name of wild Indians.
There are indications in the places where they have been,
encamped, and in others where the Indians have approached
near enough in broad daylight to be clearly seen, to convince
the observer that the invaders have been none others than the
Comanches and Caiguas. Other vestiges noticed in the north-
west in the combats had in that district with the Indians, indi-
cate that the Apaches and Comanches are the ones who attack
that portion of the State, sometimes together, and sometimes
separately.
In designating the tribes who have committed the depreda-
tions, the correctness of the data heretofore given is corrobor-
ated by the testimony of persons living at the forts. One of
these persons,* writing from Fort Griffin on the 12th of June,
1869, affirmed that the Indians from the reservations were the
authors of the depredations, and that the reservations were
nothing more than a rendezvous and depot for the stolen ani-
mals. These Indians, said the letter, " are an organization of
thieves, whose object is to make money by the purchase of
stolen animals. There can be no doubt (it continued) of this
fact on the part of persons who are aware of the proceedings of
* Cuaderno, No. 7, p. 189.
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 375
the past three months, but it is somewhat astonishing and pe-
cnliar that the robbery of horses and mules in the vicinity of
this locality coincides with the arrival of certain persons from
^ Cash Creek,' who have no ^own occupation or mode of
livelihood, and it is worthy of notice that Texans were
not admitted to the reservations."
The same writer * gives an account of frauds existing in the
reservations, enumerating the cases of stolen property carried
over this route, and concludes by saying that it was easy
enough for them to do this, " because the white friends of the
Indians kept them posted as to the number and movements of
the troops."
The investigations made in Guerrero City by the Commis-
sion confirm so^ne of the articles published by the papers of
San Antonio, which remarked, referring to letters of Septem-
ber 26, 1871, received from Uvalde, that the Indians liad
approached Eagle Pass not far from that place, and had killed
two negroes at Fort Clark. This was also mentioned by Ser-
vando Gonzalez,f whom the Comanches and Caiguas had cap-
tured from the rancho del " Prieto," Texas, in that month.
The captive added, as a confirmation of what Mr. Hittson had
declared, that persons from New Mexico went to trade with the
Indians, and exchanged cattle and horses for arms and other
goods.
From letters dated Friotown, January 29th, 1872,:]: it
was known that the Indians who had been seen at the head of
the Nueces, and who had proceeded to the county of Llano, were
Comanches, as was certified by experts who had examined the
arrows. Wherever an effort has been made to discover the
truth, none other tribes have been found, save the Caiguas,
who almost always accompany the Comanches.
Mention is also again made of the Kickapoos,§ residing in
Mexico, implicating them in the robberies committed on the
banks of the Rio Grande. The writer throws out this suspi-
cion, which springs from having seen these Indians roaming
* Cuaderno, No. 7, p. 198. f Expediante, No. 8, p. 24 to 26.
X Cuaderno, No. *?, of Vouchers, p. 19Y.
g Cuaderno, No. 7, of Vouchers, p. 198.
376 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
over the lands near the river. Up to the close of 1872, no
formal accusation nor acts of notoriety had been alleged, that
would serve to implicate the Indians referred to, in the depre-
dations committed in Texas. It being necessary to treat of
these separately, it has been considered as well to call attention
to the fact, that until last year the sufferers themselves in
Texas recognized the reservation Indians and the other sav-
ages inhabiting the neighboring plains as the authors of the
robberies and murders committed.
After having referred, with such detailed minuteness, to
the depredations committed in Texas from 1867 to 1868, the
Commission will explain why they did not proceed in the same
manner in regard to the ensuing years. The reason is obvious.
It was necessary to expose the evils which had existed in
Texas at the time when no Indians were living in Mexico, and
this had to be done in detail, in order that the causes of
the troubles assigned might be properly understood and appre-
ciated, and that they might serve to explain the acts committed
in following years. At that time there being no Indians in
Mexico, and those living on American soil being the only ones
known, no others could possibly be accused of committing the
depredations. At that time the truth was told, but aftewards,
for reasons which will be hereafter noted, it was not convenient
to acknowledge the same causes, and therefore accusations were
indulged in against Mexico.
The total depravity of hundreds of individuals living in
Tex^s and the contiguous States has become so patent since
1858, that a great many Americans commenced to allude
to this state of affairs in the newspapers, denouncing, for
the first time, the criminal intercourse of American traders
with the Indians, as has been stated in the case of Chism. That
accusation was confirmed by reports of captives, Comanches,
women, children, officers of the Government, and the stock-
raisers, all of whom, year by year, have revealed some act or an-
other putting this alleged crime beyond a doubt. And yet neither
the Government of Texas nor the General Government, nor even,
the people, in spite of repeated denunciations, have taken any
measures to discover and punish the criminals, who have grown
irORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 377
80 bold as to establish themselves almost in the heart of Texas,
disguised as savages, and more to be dreaded on account of
their superior intelligence and audacity.
From the number of men who have given themselves up to
the horrible crimes alleged and proved against them, an esti-
mate may be made of the low stage of morality in Texas, and
the reason why the Kickapoos have been blamed in latter
years for the depredations committed in that State may be
found in the fact that a few of the tribe have been surprised
and inveigled by the criminals, who doubtless intended in this
manner to conceal their own horrible crimes by laying the
blame on others, and to stimulate feeling and prejudice against
Mexico in the minds of the Texan people, in order to seek a
quarrel with the Mexican frontier.
The correctness of this judgment is verified on consider-
ing the proceedings of the present year, and connecting
them with the invasion of Remolino, whilst in pursuit of
the Kickapoos.
The following will explain the means that were used to
call the attention of the public by grave acts, in order to
divert the minds of persons from the criminals who lived in
Texas.
On the 9th January, 1873,* the " Galveston News " published
reports from Live Oak county of murders and robberies com-
mitted by the Kickapoos a short distance from Oakville, saying
that the Indians had been killed after a valiant defense, and
that they were armed with pistols and bows and arrows. They
also asserted that the Indians were Kickapoos, and drew this
inference from the fact that they bore chimales (shields), and
that the shepherd who was wounded, himself a Mexican, so
affirmed. The statement itself possesses the elements why it
should be rejected, because the fact is well known that these
Indians do not use bows and arrows, nor shields nor pistols.
This invasion was by the Comanches and Caiguas, the same as
the one of the previous year, by which the stock-raisers of San
* Cuaderno, No. 8, p, 1.
378 REPORT OP OOMMirrEE.
Diego, a rancho farther south than Oakville, had Buffered
terribly the previous August.
Besides, these statements were contradicted a few days
afterwards by a publication in the San Antonio Herald^* re-
ferring to information given by Mr. Diamond, who had seen,
in the county of Bandera, Indians dressed in the United States
army uniform ; they were armed with bows and arrows, and
he had heard them speaking English during the combat.
A United States army guide, who had been employed in
this capacity for eleven years, to lead the troops whilst in pur-;
suit of the Indians, destroyed this report in regard to the
Indians residing in Mexico. On the 1st February of this year,
after referring to the evils suffered by Bandera, this guide de-
clared that after eleven years experience he felt authorized to
give it as his opinion, that in the first place the mode of mak-
ing war with the Indians would be inefScacious unless soldiers,
either regulars or volunteers (rangers), who would be always
ready for the march, were employed ; and in the second place,
he suggested as an effective means of defense the fortifying of
the line from Eed river to Eio Grande, which was all the
more necessary now that the Indians were more audacious and
better armed than the whites, having received needle gnns from
the American government.*
And that no doubt should exist that the Comanches and
Caiguas were the invaders of Mexico and Texas, and in order
to deny, oflScially, the private intelligence received from Laredo,
Oakville and other places on the southern portion of the Eio
Grande, concerning depredations of the Kickapoos, there ap-
peared on March 31st of the present year f a statement from
the headquarters of the army in Texas, giving information
that Mr. Tatum, the Indian agent, had notified the recovery
by him of six more captives from the Comanches and Caigaas.
The names of the released men, who had been captured in Mex-
ico and Texas, were Servando Gonzales, Manuel Vela, and
those before mentioned, all of whom have been examined' by
the Commission.
* Cuaderno, No. 8, p. 1. f Otiadernp, No. 8, of Vouchers, p. 1.
id
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 37&
Prom February, when they appeared in Bandera and pro-
voked the above expressions from the guide, nothing is heard
of the Indians until May 24th, when they appeared in Las
Nueces, and afterwards four hundred more, who had crossed
the Eio Grande near Eagle Pass.
Other incursions followed in June, and the appearance of
the Indians near Fort McKavett, caused the correspondent of
the San Antonio Herald^''' to write from Menard ville that the
Comancbes and Caiguas continued their work of devastation, f
A thousand of these Indians, according to advices from Fort
McKavett, were encamped on the wlorado, and it was feared
that they would attack the escort who was conveying prisoners,
made by McKenzie, to Fort Sill. %
The foregoing had scarcely been published, when advices
came from Bandera that the Kickapoos, and their allies, the
Mexicans, were revenging themselves for the attack made by
McKenzie, commencing by the assassination of the family of
Mr. Moorcs dwelling not far from that place. It was very
soon discovered that that family had fallen victims to the
ferocity of disguised whites, or bogus Indians.§ Without any
mistake whatever, the spirit of the letter referred to proved
that the writer belonged to a party of banditti, who had beeu
prosecuted in Herr county.
The presence of the Indians at Fort McKavett, in July, \
clearly indicated the source from whence they came, and the
person who wrote to the San Antonio " ReroLd^^ stating that
the Counties of Brown, Coleman and Camp Colorado had been
invaded, mentioned that the reservation Indians were not
quiet, and that they and the wild Indians were the perpetrators
of the evils committed.
In June, one month previous,^ a decided proof was ob-
tained at Fort Concho, that the invaders of Texas were none
other than the Comanches. The military held at that post
one hundred prisoners of that tribe, including women and
« ^_^
* Oaaderno, No. 8, of Vouchers, p. 4. \ Cuademo, No. 8, of Vouchers, p. 6,
% Cuaderno, No. 8, of Vouchers, p. 4. § Cuaderno, No. 8, of Vouchers, p. 1.
I Cuaderno, No. 8, of Vouchers, pp. 4 and 11.
Tf Cuaderno, No. 8, of Vouchers, p. 7.
880 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
childreD, and it was supposed that the hope of effecting the
release of their people had restrained them from invading Del
Paso road during this period.
In view of the depredations committed * at Frio, Dogtown,
Bandera, Atacoso and Hondo, the " Galveston News " stated,
in July, that the punishment inflicted by McKenzie had pro-
duced no benefit whatever, and that there was now no doubt
that the sufferings endured had proceeded from the Comanches
and Kickapoos of Fort Sill. The unjustness of McKenzie
was enlarged upon, and the falsity of the accusations against
Mexico maintained. W
In this same month the Indians also appeared in the counties
of Uvalde and Sabinal, and, fifteen miles from Fort Sill, the
postmaster f was obliged to ask protection against the Caiguas,
who conducted themselves in an insolent and threatening
manner.
Whilst these occurrences were taking place, intelligence
came from Uvalde that the Mexicans and Indians were the
perpetrators of the murders, and that they ought to be ex-
terminated in order to put a stop to so terrible a situation ;
but the editors of the " Herald," :j: on the same day, expressed
a different opinion, pointing to the reservation Indians as the
authors of the murders and robberies which had occurred, and
expressing an opinion that in all of these the reservation
agent had a part ; and that the postponement of the conferences,
which were to have taken place to decide the fate of Satanta
and Big Tree, chiefs of the Caiguas who were detained in
prison, was owing to the fact that the Indians were absent on
A robbing expedition, and that the agent wanted to gain time
for them to return.
Every day brought news of incursions in other places ;
and as the disturbances were in counties contiguous to the
Mexican frontier, the conclusion arrived at was that the Kicka-
poos and Lipans, residents of Mexico, were the authors of
* Caaderno, No. 8, of Vouchers, p. 9.
f Cuademo, No. 8, of Vouchers, p. 37.
X Cuaderno, No. 8, of Vouchers, pp. 16 and 18.
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 381
these atrocities, forgettiog that a portion of these tribes reeifled
in Texas, and were more likely to commit these deeds than
tlie others from whom they could not be distinguished, and
who were closely watched, which was not the case with the
Texan Indians.
But the " Weekly Express," * in an article of the 24th
July last, put an end to all these theories by declaring that
there was conclusive proof that the Indians who invaded Texas
came from the reservations of Fort Sill, as was indicated by
their dress, arms and ammunition — strong corroborative evi-
dence.
" Besides," continued the article^ " none of the trails were
directed towards the Rio Grande, and had the invaders come
from that section, the fact would soon have .been discovered.
The military," it was added, "held the same opinion, and they
were very well informed."
At this very time the discovery was made in Kerr, that the
hordes of criminals who, under the disguise of Indians, had
committed the most horrible atrocities, were white outlaws,
and the press being occupied with these, it neither admitted nor
published any further accusations against the Mexican fron-
tier, for after these disclosures, it would have been barefaced
and ridiculous to have propagated reports which no one would
have credited.
During tlie succeeding months, the papers were filled with
news of incursions, but they limited themselves to a judicious
observation on the state of the Indian war, and what is still
more worthy of notice, a general belief that the marauders
came from the reservations.
After enumerating the invasions made in Texas by Indians
who have sometimes been designated as Comanches or other
northern tribes residing in the United States, and at other
times as Kickapoos living in Mexico, the result of all the data,
collected from the public press in Texas, and those procured in
Mexico, may be summied up as follows :
Cuademo, No. 8, of Vouchers, pp. 10 and 36.
382 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
Firat. The depredations committed in Mexico, in the States
of I^uevo Leon, Ooahaila, Tamaulipas, Zacatecas and San Luis
Potosi, since 1848 to the present year, have been perpetrated by
the Comanches, Caiguas and others of the tribes residing in the
United States. This fact has been fully established : first, by
means of the testimony given before the Commission by the
residents on the banks of the Rio Grande, who have witnessed
the Indians crossing from the left to the right bank of the
river, and returning with the fruits of their plunder to American
soil ; second, by documents collected from the public archives,
in all the towns on the right bank of the river, from Eeynosa
and the lower portion of said river to " Resurrection," one
hundred miles above, said documents being corroborated by
archives of old military posts, and those of the government of
the States referred to ; third, by the oflBicial reports of the mili-
tary commanders of the United States, advising those of Mex-
ico of the invasion of Comanches, who when pursued in that
republic, or even watched, crossed over into Mexico ; fourth, by
the permits solicited by the authorities to pursue bands of Co-
manches, who after having committed dejfredations in Texas
took refuge in Mexico, to do as much or still greater damage ;
fifth, by reports of those oflScers of the reprisals of captives
and horses stolen in Mexico by the Indians, the captives being
generally ransomed in the United States by tlic troops and
citizens of that republic; sixth, by the statements of Mexican
captives who have escaped from the Indian encampments, or
ransomed, and also by the evidence of the very Indians them-
selves.
Second. The immense amount and value of the articles
stolen or destroyed by the Indians in the three States above re-
ferred to is incalculable, and this fact is confirmed by official
documents and the unanimous testimony of a thousand wit-
nesses, including the history of the frontier towns.
Third, The robberies and murders which have been the
result of these depredations have been committed, not only
by the Comanches and other northern tribes, but also by some
American officials and private citizens, who instigate the savages
to pillage, by purchasing from them the stolen property with arms
.
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 388
and ammunition, and who stimulate them by accompanying
or guiding them on their expeditions. The proof of this may
be seen : Ist. In the history of the Indian nations, written by
an American citizen ; 2d. In the testimony of witnesses who
have been in the Indian agencies and observed the illicit traffic,
which has been continually carried on, in stolen goods ; 3d.
From public denunciations, such as that of Mr. Hittson and
the Texas press in general, on the complicity of some officials
and entire towns of the United States, in the robberies and
murders committed by the Indians.
Fourth. The depredations committed in Texas may be
attributed exclusively to the reservation Indians and various
other roaming tribes not confined to the reservations, and also
to hordes of criminals who, disguised as Indians, have invaded
different counties, and not by any means to those tribes resid-
ing in Mexico, who have had no participation in said damages.
The evidence of this, according to the proofs given, is as fol-
lows : 1st. The official communications of the American au-
thorities addressed to their superior officers and to those of
Mexico. 2d. The daily press commenting on the operations
of the American and Mexican forces against the savages, whose
arms they described, and who made description of the places
invaded by them in purauit of the Indians, thus putting their
statements beyond a doubt. 3d. The unanimous declarations
of American and Mexican captives, prisoners of the Indians, as
well as those of the residents and officers of the forts. 4:th and
lastly. The report of the grand jury, who stated that for over
five years a numerous band of American outlaws had been
committing the atrocities for which the Kickapoos and Mexi-
cans had been blamed.
KOBBERT OF CATTLE AND HORSES.
Having explained in all its details the cause of the compli-
cations on the frontier, and accounted for the robbery of cat-
tle in Texas for the Mexican market, and the robbery of
horses in Mexico for the United States, the Commission has
384 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
but little more to add upon this subject. Another mode of
stealing cattle and horses, not considered at the time the first
report was rendered, because it was not in practice at the points
then visited, will require some explanations.
In all the towns, suflScient data were collected to give a
thorough knowledge of this question. In every locality an
investigation was made as to whether there were any persons
there engaged as cattle traders who went to Texas and brought
cattle for consumption in that or other towns, and the result
always went to show that there were no such traders, and that
the cattle introduced into Mexico were brought there by
Americans, who frequently pass with droves for Monterey and
Saltillo. Mention is everywhere made of those speculators,
who live at " San Nicolas de los Garzas," of whom it has been
said that they make their importations by way of Nuevo Laredo
and Piedras Negras, under custom-house documents regularly
registered.
The witnesses mention YSLriowQ rancheros of Leona, Penden-
cia, Nueces, and other points of Texas as the principal vendors;
they specify the modes of making the sales, drawing up the
registers, and the frauds, which, in spite of the strictest watch-
fulness, are committed by these rancheros to the prejudice of
the legal owners of the animals exchanged ; they demonstrate
the barrier which the use of the register presents for the dis-
covery of theft, which is consummated under protection of law
and the force of habit permitting cattle raisers to dispose of
animals of any brands whatever ; they explain how many
American dealers, in order to avoid the registration, which is
usually made in the place where the inspector resides, accom-
pany the purchasers to the bank of the Rio Grande, and aid
them to pass the droves, which are not stolen except by the
vendors themselves.*
In Guerrero Cityf there are persons who, since 1856,
opened the cattle trade with Texas, and who furnish interesting
* See " Expedientes," 1, 2, 4, and 6.
f See " Expedientes," 1, 2, 4, and 6, pp. 87 to 40.
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 885
information relative to the origin of this branch of traffic. They
were merchants trading in national goods with the central por-
tion of Texas. An inundation of the Nueces river caused
them to delay their journey, and in the '^ ranchos " they ex-
<;hanged their merchandise for fat cattle, which they brought
^nd sold in Mexico to great advantage. This fountain of profit-
able commerce once discovered, they devoted themselves ex-
clusively to it, and have continued the business up to the
present date.
These witnesses are too well known, both in Mexico and
Texas, for their integrity, and do not need, in order to be be-
lieved, that their evidence be substantiated by other testimony.
Nevertheless, their declarations have been well sustained ; and
besides enumerating the diverse modes of stealing practiced by
the rancheros at the branding places, and in the sales of droves
- for Kansas and Mexico, which droves are composed of animals
of different owners, they contain judicious observations relative
to the robberies committed for the Mexican market, placing
the number at a low figure.
Persons well acquainted with the markets of Monterey and
Saltillo, the only points where sales of cattle can be effected,
declare that the thieves would not be able to find purchasers
for large numbers, and it is clear that without the incentive of
quick and easy sales robberies would not be perpetrated.
Honest traders, having maintained constant relations with the
butchers of Monterey, affirm that the cattle legally imported are
quite sufficient for the consumption, and* that there is no reason,
therefore, for robberies on an extensive scale.
The data obtained at the municipal treasury of the city of
Monterey, prove the exactness of these observations ; * it is
found that in a period of ten years, the consumption of cattle
in the city referred to, amounted to thirty-six thousand four
hundred and seventy-two; averaging three thousand six
hundred and forty-seven head of cattle a year.
If this result is compared f with the bills issued by
* Expodientes (Vouchers), 1, 2, 4 and 5, pp. 64 to ^.
t Expedientes (Vouchers), 1, 2, 4 and 6, pp. 2*7, 28, 42, 43 and 60.
26
386 REPORT OF COACMITTEE.
the custom houses of Guerrero, Nuevo Laredo and Piedrafr-
Negras, it will be seen that during the last four years in the
two former, and in ten months in the latter place, there were
legally imported twenty-three thousand three hundred and
forty-one head of cattle, which is equal to five thousand three
hundred and thirty-five a year, corroborating the evidence of
the traders of Guerrero city, and showing that the legal im-
portation furnishes a full supply for Monterey, and leaves
enough for the consumers in the other towns, which are Saltillo
and Parras.
If we consider, as is the truth and is fully proved in the re-
spective " expedientes," that a great amount of the consump-
tion by the towns referred to is supplied by cattle raised in
Tamaulipas, in Coahuila and in Nuevo Leon, we shall see that
the legal importation of Texan cattle, according to the custom
house permits, covers the demands of the m'arkets, and the
stolen cattle would find no purchasers, save at prices so low
that the thieves would lack all incitement to commit the crime.
Information which the Commission has received from the
towns through which the cattle pass on their way south, is uni-
form as to the fact that the cattle drivers make periodical
journeys to Monterey, Saltillo and Parras ; they are for the
most part Americans, and the sales they make, at the points
where they stop, are insignificant on account of the small con-
sumption, and because, as they express it, the cattle raisers of
the vicinity are able to supply the demand.
It should be noted* that, amongst the reports received,
this general fact is testified to by some American citizens liv-
ing on the frontier, who further state that these cattle drivers
have been frequently pursued by Texans, as thieves, and that
they have been followed as far as Sabinas Hidalgo.
Bearing in mind the ineflScacy of the system of registering
done by the inspectors in Texas, for the better security of the
proprietors, who never receive the value of their animals regis-
tered and sold, sometimes because the marks are so altered
that the witnesses can easily swear unanimously, sometimes
* Expedientes, 1, 2, 4 and 6, pp. 11, 12, 15, 16, 169 and 170.
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 387
because this legal requirement is omitted, and sometimes for
other reasons, it will be no exaggeration to affirm that of the
six thousand head of cattle annually imported from Texas into
Mexico, five-sixths of the number are stolen, from the fact that
their legal owners have never sold them ; but this is the system
of legal robbery practiced in Texas for many years since the
confederate war, as is stated by the traders. '
That this is the true cause of the cattle stealing, has been
clearly demonstrated by the Commission in their first report
through the enumeration of abuses, each one of which was thor-
oughly investigated by means of testimony from competent
witnesses ; with the statistics published in Texas ; with the
records of the criminal courts, and with the articles constantly
published in the newspapers, to say nothing of the well known
and notorious acts that prove conclusively, so to speak, the
cause of the diminution of the cattle, and the folly of attribut-
ing the same to a scheme for robbing, organized in Mexico^
to supply the markets.
The movement which has lately been put into operation by
the cattle raisers of Texas, of holding a convention, which will
open its session on the 3d November, and the causes which have
led to the formation of their society, will prove a mortal blow to
the claimants against Mexico on account of cattle stealing,
and be a confirmation of the correctness of the judgment .
formed by the Commission, since early this year, as to the true
nature and importance of the cattle depredations.
" The Western Stock Journal," a paper organised in Texas
for the defense of the stock raisers,* issued .its first number
in Pleasanton, Texas, in August last, and No. 20 of the issue,
dated September 16, contains an exhortation to the cattle
raisers, in the following words :
" At the last meeting of The Stock Raisers^ Associatimi of
Western Texas^ they passed a resolution to bold the next
regular meeting of the association in Pleasanton, on the 3d of
November. This notice has been put in possession of ev^y-
* CuaderDO, No. 8, of Vouchers, p. 64.
888 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
one from the coast to the mountains, and from the Colorado
to the Eio Grande, and according to the advices we have
received, the decision of the Assembly has been adopted, and
those interested are desirous of attending the sessions.
'' It is to be hoped that the whole west will be vigorously
represented at the coming sessions, as questions of the greatest
importance, as affecting the interests of stock raisers of western
Texas will be fully discussed by the association, and on the
resolutions of that body will depend, in great part, the future
success of the cattle business in our country.
" The custom or practice of selling cattle without the au-
thority of the owner, which has existed for a long time in this
country, opening the door to abuses which have caused incal-
culable injuries to the interests of the cattle raisers, ought to be
stopped; the cattle thieves and hide purloiners should dis-
appear, if to do this it is necessary to call in the gallows to
enforce the rights of property, even though this be only cattle.
It is also essential that the grab game should cease, if we do not
wish to renounce the prosperity which cattle raising promises.
" But, in order to accomplish these important objects, it
is indispensable to secure unanimity of thought and action
amongst the stock raisers, and to do this they must combine
and discuss the means of remedying the evil before applying
them.
" Serious fears are felt that there is an impending conflict
between the stock raisers on account of the existing evil prac-
tices, and it is believed that there will soon develop a serious
state of affairs. When they meet in November, the stock
raisers will be in position to calm these troubled waters ; first,
by adjusting their own differences, grown out of the sales of
cattle, quietly and fairly, and afterwards agreeing not to sell
nor interfere with any but their own cattle, except in the case
of having a written permission from the owner to do so. Be-
sides, the stock raisers will bind themselves to prosecute to the
last extreme any infraction of the law relating to cattle, remem-
bering that this law, properly enforced, is suflScient to protect
the interests of stock raising in all its ramifications. Unity ot
action and a rigid obsei vance of the law on the part of the
stock raisers will preserve public tranquility and achieve the
protection and security which their interests demand.
"If the association unaniuiously adopt these measures, and
it is seen that the stock raisers are earnest in inaugurating a
more equitable mode of doing business, public confidence will
be restored and the cattle business will receive a new impulse
which will elevate it to a better position than it has ever before
possessed."
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 38ft
After three years of unjust and irrational complaints against
Mexican thieves, the vicious system ("malpractice") which
has so greatly injured the interests of the stock raisers of
Texas has been discovered ; they condemn the custom of sell-
ing cattle without the consent of the owner, recognizing the
fact that by this means the door was left open to a thousand
abuses which have occasioned incalculable injuries to the pro-
prietors ; they see that immense and scandalous frauds have
been committed, and they even suggest punishment on the?
gallows to those who commit these crimes in the future.
The Commission has already expressed an opinion relative-
to these abuses, which they discovered through the investiga-
tions practiced by them in Matamoros in the latter part of the
past year, and are now convinced that they were correct in
their judgment, since the whole force of Texan stock raisers,
through their organ, " The Western Stock Jov/malj^^ so declare
by the important confessions they make, and no matter what
solution the association of stock raisers may arrive at to account
for the grave diflSiculties they are about to consider, they have
at least established the fact of the disorder, the amount of the
incalculable losses sustained and the general abiifees which exist,
from their own confession, from the " coast to the mountains,
and from the Colorado to the Eio Grande."
The disorder having been introduced in 1861, twelve years
of constant abuses have been hardly sufficient to furnish a
perfect knowledge of the causes, and, perhaps, the circumstance
which has most contributed to drawing aside the veil which
concealed them has been the coming of the American Com-
mission. As in Texas there are several persons acquainted with
the source of the fortune of Richard King and other ranch-
ero8^ on seeing the anxiety with which many presented
themselves to register injuries they had never sustained in
losses of cattle, but had in reality caused them to a great num-
ber of their neighbors, the attention of the poor men of Texas,
who are numerous, was attracted by an act of such bare-
facedness, and from thence proceeded the reaction which has
been observed.
It is true that the estimates of damages sustained through
390 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
the loss of cattle was accepted in the proportion given by
the claimants, and attributed to bands of Mexican criminals,
and that such fabulous claims were presented to the United
States Government, through the report of its Commission ;
but their amount, so enormously exaggerated, and the causes
assigned by the claimants, offended the public sense of justice ;
they were at once denounced, classified as absurd, and peo-
ple sought other causes which were quickly found.
The fears entertained that conflict might ensue on account
of the abuses committed, reveal the existence of a great and
profound evil, and there are symptoms that tranquility will be
disturbed, unless they who have introduced the evil make an
effort to check it in the interest of the future of bnsiness. The
honest portion of the stock raisers have leagued themselves
against the dishonest ones, and if the simple initiation of their
work has resulted in the vindication of Mexico, it is to be
hoped that a full discussion of the matter will lead to a full
reparation.
But the evils which seem to be the base-work of the Stock
Eaisers' Association of Western Texas, are not the worst
phases of the question, and probably they do not know
all their details, which differ according to the localities in
which the frauds are perpetrated. All these varieties the
Commission have carefully weighed, and will here specify
what they discovered very lately in the county of Kerr.
The bandits who have a refuge there dress like Indians, when
sallying forth to rob and assassinate in all directions ; and they
were, under this disguise, engaged in the robbery of cattle
and horses.^ The jury who made this declaration after care-
ful investigations, did not include it in their report, although
it was not doubted that the persons engaged in the scan-
dalous trade with New Mexico found allies in the banditti
of Kerr. .
The present condition of Kerr county, the civil authorities
of which are unable to defend it against the attacks of thieves
and murderers, is suflScienfc proof of the truth of this statement.
The " Weekly Express of October 2," from that county, con-
tains the followirxg statement :*
* Cuademo, No. 8, of Vouchers, p. 64.
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 391
" For several years Kerr has been the point of union of
^criminals, who are compelled to flee from other places, and
who devote themselves there to their profession."
In view of this condition of affairs, a company of cavalry,
by command of General Augur, marched to Kerr to preserve
peace, but notwithstanding this, a correspondent of the Daily
Herald wrote from that county, the nest of criminals, an
article published August 20th, as follows : *
" We maintain that the only solution to the question of the
defense of the frontier, is the establishment of our line beyond
the Rio Grande, and, if necessary, to the Sierra Madre."
Previous to this, on the 7th of the same month, the
" Weekly Express," of San Antonio, published an article stat-
ing that the counties of De Witt, Goliad^ Karnes, Victoria and
others were infested with bands of robbers and highwaymenf —
*' Because the authorities are incapable of restraining
them. And what do we see in Kerr ? The citizens of that
place, in order to defend their lives and property, are compelled
to neglect their business and organize themselves into com-
panies of militia. What a state of society is this ! Is the law
a dead letter? In some other parts of the State, the court
houses have been burned and the towns pillaged by bands of
armed criminals."
Some time later, on the 4th September, the same paper, in
referring to De Witt county, remarked that there existed there
two large bands, well armed, who threatened the public tran-
quility, and that the sheriff, through either fear or inability,
was unable to cope with them ; the article concluded as fol-
lows::!:
" This condition of things is not peculiar to the county of
De Witt ; it is the same throughout the State, and is the result
of the abolition of the State police."
* Cuaderno, No. 8, of Vouchers, p. 47.
f Cuaderno, No. 8, of Vouchers, p. 49.
X Cuaderno, No. 8, of Vouchers, pp. 62 and 68.
892 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
The state of affairs described by the newspapers as general
throughout the State of Texas, was also alluded to in The
Daily Herald^ of San Antonio, of the Slst of May, relating
that Martin S. Culver, of Corpus Christi, had been in the of-
fice, on that date, and had said : *
" I am the bearer of sworn affidavits and statements of a
great many of the most honorable persons, showing the manner
m which they have been robbed, not hy persons who reside on
the other shore of the Rio Grande^ hut oy people living on this
side. The chief of the band conducted a train of seven cars
in which the hides of the animals they had stolen were openly
conveyed to a rancho^ and that in view of such acts it was
absurd to even suggest that the thieves came from Mexico."
About the same time, a band^'of Americans and Mexican
Texansf made an assault on Corpus Christi, according to a
publication in the Oalveston Ifews of the 6th of July last
Martin S. Culver, one of the claimants against Mexico, be-
fore the American Commission, on account of cattle said to
have been stolen by the Mexicans, has damaged his claim by
the petition which he has presented to the governor of Texas,
asking protection against the thieves who live in Texas, and
not in Mexico ; he must be aware that he has prejudiced his
own claim and that of his companions, but very likely pre-
ferred this to seeing his ruin consummated by the legion of
banditti who were quartered there.
Still greater disorders have occurred in other counties. In
the county of Dimmitt, for instance, which is situated on the
Bio Grande, north of Webb and south of Maverick, the in-
habitants are for the greater part thieves and murderers.:};
The stealing of horses is committed by them in the most bare-
faced manner ; they hire escaped prisoners from the jails in
Mexico, and employ them in stealing horses from Mexico, and
not content with this, they murder the Mexican travelers who
stop at their ranches to sell horses, take possession of the ani-
» Coaderno, No. 8, of Vouchers, p. 68.
f Cuaderno, No. 8, of Vouchers, p. 58.
X Expedientes, 1, 2, 4 and 5, pp. 102 to HZ.
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 893
male and enjoy the benefits of their guilt in the face of the
populace, who are well aware of the manner in which such
property is acquired.
Some of these bandits have crossed over into Mexican towns^
contracted for valuable horses, and the owners, on going to
leave the animals at Carrizo, Dimmitt county, have been mur-
dered. These banditti appear as claimants against Mexico for
large sums on account of cattle said to have been stolen by
Mexican citizens and soldiery directly and indirectly under
protection of the Mexican authorities. The investigations pur-
sued have done nothing less than demonstrate the double rob-
bery which the inhabitants of Carrizo have been indulging in ;
first by the sale of animals of all kinds of brands, and then,
after having aided in the transportation of cattle across the Kio
Grande at points not authorized by law, they receive the ani-
mals again as stolen property whenever the Mexican authori-
ties have voluntarily rescued them from the thieves.
It has been said of these inhabitants of Texas, by their
fellow-citizens * who know them well, and are acquainted with
their habits and mode of living, that all the crimes of which
they are accused can well be believed, because they are quite
<5apable of any crime in the calendar. They were the first who
introduced cattle into Mexico for sale, and they are the ones
who. have continued the traffic. The fact of being a stock
raiser in Texas is a passport for robbery, as one who sells ani-
mals belonging to another is not considered a thief provided he
is also an owner, and, nothing is more frequent than the sale of
large lots of cattle in which there is not a single animal belong-
ing to the vendor.
It is an old habit in a certain rancho that some of the stock
raisers themselves, or the Mexicans whom they employ, drive
in large herds of cattle, formed of animals from Leona, Medina,
Frio and las Nueces, and divide the profits after the sales are
made.
It has been frequently observed, that when the thieves have
been apprehended with cattle stolen from the above-named
* Expedientes, 1, 2, 4 <fe 5, pp. 102 to 178.
394: REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
ranchoB^'*' and escaped from the jails in Mexico, they seek
refuge in the aforementioned county, where they live as
herdsmen to the stock raisers, notwithstanding that some of
these very stock raisers, on recovering the stolen cattle, have
seen them in irons in the prisons of Mexico.
These acts, which are referred to amongst the many that
have been proved by means of the investigations instituted on
the right bank of the Eio Grande, are suificient to form an
idea of the extent of the demoralization on the opposite shore.
Nor is there any intention to deny that it also exists, in a
measure, on the Mexican bank ; it certainly exists in the ma-
jority of the places, but, unlike the case in Texas, criminals do
not pontrol the towns, intimidate the action of justice, nor are
the headquarters of their machinations established in Mexico.
It has already been shown of what these banditti are ca-
pable. Kerr county alone, whose nearest point is situated
forty leagues from the Rio Grande, gives ample food for
thought and deep reflection in the late horrible acts committed
there, not only on account of the criminality of the principal
actors, but because of the demoralization existing amongst the
masses of the people. The banditti are not afraid to live
amongst them ; on the contrary, they attended the investiga-
tions of the jury which sat in the case of Madison, who was
murdered in order that his house might be appropriated by one
of the chiefs of the band who had fancied it. So great, indeed,
was their confidence that most of them sent for their families.t
These details prove that there were intimate relations and a life
in common between the. banditti and the rest of the inhabit-
ants of the county, where they first engaged in the stealing of
hides and the transportation of cattle, and then perpetrated
other atrocities in the counties of Brown, Medina, Boerne,
Sabinal, Pedernales, and other points, it having been clearly
proved that for five or more years they had been committing
these depredations.
The same person who, in the month of July, informed the
* Ezpedientes, 1, 2, 4 <& 5, pp. 102 so 160.
f Oaaderno, No. 8, of Vouchers, pp. 14, 15, and 28.
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION. 395
Daily nevoid * of the acts of the banditti whilst disguised as
Indians, wrote, on May 3 : " that there had been incursions of
Kickapoos, Lipans, Seminoles, &c., with their not less brutal
allies, the Mexican Oreasers^ to whom the assassination of the
Terry family was attributed." This family, as was afterwards
discovered, and reported by the same correspondent, had been
sacrificed by the disguised banditti who infested Kerr, and
who were not in reality the Kickapoos, Lipans, Seminoles and
their allies the Mexican Greasers. Thus is truth perverted, and
thus she punishes those who belie her, discovering their guilt
at once, condemning them out of their own mouths, and brand-
ing them as inconsistent and destitute of common judgment.
And in order to make the calumny more glaring, it will be
well to copy the letter which this same writer caused to be
published, on the 17th of July last, two months after he had
furnished the previous information : f x
" Up to the present it has been almost impossible to believe
that a great part of the depredations attributed to the Indians
were committed by white men, but there is now no c^oubt
whatever upon this subject. The statement of young Baker is
fully corroborated. A great many of the details cannot yet be
published, but from what is already known it would seem that
these banditti do not number less than from fifty to seventy in
this part of Texas. The atrocities committed by them under
the guise of Indians, have been numerous. Our readers must
recollect the murder of Mr. Alexander in this county about five
years ago; the assassination of the daughter and grandchil-
dren of Mr. Coe in Brown county ; and later, that of the Terry
family, near Zanzemburg, ten miles from Kerville. All these
murders were, at that time, attributed to the Indians (and as it
will be remembered, to the Indians resident in Mexico, and to
their allies, the Mexicans), but to-day there is no doubt what-
ever that these horrible deeds were perpetrated by those dis-
guised white devils."
These acts described by the same person, were attributed at
one time to the Mexican Indians, because it suited his purpose
to do so, and afterwards, in defense of the truth, to the real
* Ouaderno, No. 8, of Vouchers, p. 14.
f Gnaderno, No. 8, ofVouchers, p. 14.
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION.
had in a foreign country, the United States reje :
iDg to the investigations made by its consuls. '
lieved that this practice influences the conduct
€an authorities, and causes them to reject i \
warrants of the Mexican authorities ; holding
demands a trial in the place where the stole :
thief are found, they also require the evidence
such place.
The Commission finds no other rational ex :
irregular a proceeding as that practice by the
thorities without exception, no matter what pi i
fered them, notwithstanding that the law of Te i
stated above, qualifies as theft that which has 1 1
in another place, even though it be in a foreign
It has been observed that the Mexican stocl
right bank, in order to facilitate somewhat I
their stolen animals, are compelled to register :
Texas, a circumstance which indicates that ni
given to the certificates of the Mexican autho •
that nullifies the beneficial eflFects of the la\\
which qualifies as theft that act which would li
if committed in Texas.
Following this unequal course, the propri
have greater facilities for recovering their £
because they are aided by the civil and milili
without other proofs being required save a
robbery and a description of the property,
almost always lose the property stolen from the
Since the year ISdS, after immigration
Texas, the losses of cattle have been incalculal;
to stock the ranchos they stole all the anima
From that time, when the stealing of horii
which exists to the present date, there has evii
successful effort on the part of the Texan autL
stop to that evil. It has permeated that Stti
favorable causes, and helped to develop tb
immorality which has been fostered for yeai
and spread into Mexico, inciting and stimulatin
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION.
be instituted against the CDlprits, according to
preceding regulations, reserving to the intere I
right to recover the stolen property in a neighl :
any means which is possible, although the an
act ex officio in this respect. Nevertheless, thej
the parties the certificates or documents necesi ;
the fact of the injuries received.
In issuing these regulations, the Governor 1 :
press that they referred to the robberies being p :
scandalous effrontery, on both shores of the ] !
stolen goods consisting principally of horses ai (
were publicly sold on either shore, in utter hee
crime, which was no less one because they cr •
with the goods.
It was also set forth that the crime was in i :
that on account of the pernicious effects likely
it it was necessary to suppress it in the beginni :
of these regulations is alone sufficient to show o »
Mexican authorities to the depredations comn i
When in the exercise of ample authority, such
ment at that time enjoyed, every effort was ma ;
the criminals, who, be it remembered, appeared i
with the Confederation. Such was the zeal of i
that excesses ensued ; they trampled all tutelai ;
tice, forced judgments from judges competei
in the abhorrence of the crime and the crimim,
tuted themselves defenders of the interests of 'i
caring for or expecting reciprocity.
The Mexican authorities have latterly emplo \
gies, under various regulations, to put a stoj
scandalous traffic. The arrest of various pan
line from Guerrero to Resurrection, and the
some of the thieves, is the fullest demonstral:
know how to fulfill their duties, and this is the
uous, when it is reflected that neither the Texan
the United States troops have arrested any tlr
standing that they might have easily done so, fn
edge they must necessarily possess of their grazi
NORTHERN FRONTIER QXJESTIOJS
pelled to notify the authorities, a circumstance
exaggerated respect for the rights of propert;
liberty, has given rise to the existing disorder >
be dijHBcult to occur in Mexico on account < :
police regulations, which, although observed
serve to maintain a degree of established order.
If, furthermore, it be observed that the I ;
river are for tl^e greater part in possessio i
cheros residing in Texas, a,nd that generally th ;
to be employed in the transportation of the :
a slow and difficult proceeding to make them \
but be admitted that the frequent robberies wh i
never take place except through the carelessnes i
of the Texans with the thieves. Both exist, a i
tribute to the perpetration of the crime, and \
fact that the arrest of thieves in Texas is so rar s
The difficulties arising out of the robberi
horses, it will be seen, are reciprocal, and hav(
contact, for it not unfrequently happens that
changed for the others. T'he ranchos of Texas i
fugitive servants from Mexico, whose habits r
are not of the best, have always fostered an (
moralization which, added to that already exij
has caused evils on either bank of the river,
shore has suffered a triple loss: in the absenci
sidered as an instrument of liabor; in the capit£
time of his flight the servant owes his master (a |
capital), for in order to secure the services of 1
necessary to advance their salaries; and lastl;
depredations committed^ by these men, whb af;
dedicate themselves to the theft of horses froi
lands with which they are well acquainted, in oi
of the animals to speculators, who purchase tt.
without scruple, and even hire these men to coix
The immense losses suffered by the Me:!
through the flight of servants, may be computei
26
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTIOI
much by that acquired from Mexico, for, unf
bring with them a vicious element which, add(
floating population congregated there from
world, and composing a considerable mass of
imperils the preservation of good habits of o
as is demonstrated by the existing demoralizat
of Texas.
The fugitive servants referred to are fo
<5riminals, for they always steal before fleeing
been prosecuted for other crij^es, and it is or
suppose that in the United States, where they 1
do not maintain any better conduct. Thes
others of another class, especially the cattle th
managed to escape, all reside in Texas, having
transitory nationality in the United States, ac
they commit, as is clearly shown, neither the
the authorities of Mexico can take any pa
plainly the result of a lack of good police re
would impede the combination of evil dispose
as the classes above mentioned.
Freedom of labor having been establishec
tional principle, the institution of servants^ o
and considered necessary on the frontier, caiin(
tained, nor would it be advisable, either moi
ically considered. But the annoyances endure
involved are of the most paramount interest t
as regards the peace and harmony of each,
serves consideration^ and a stop should be put t
laws, which properly enforced, would close the
teip of roaming, which is indulged in by th(
States of Nuevo Leon, Ooahuila and Tamaulij
frontier of Texas.
The institution of field labor having und
change, by action of law and a better knc
economy, the old system is fast disappearinc
change is taking place, the energies of the an
be employed in causing, directly or indirec
of servants, by means of extradition, when t
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTIO
Indians, and the others who were said to hi
places in Mexico, and to use them as points c
of asylum in the perpetration of inroads i
Commission has spared no labor, and has souj
rather in documents of ancient date, than in
witnesses.
These researches were commenced by
archives of Eeynosa, and it was fully ascert^
single one of the tribes mentioned, had any <
district.
The Carrizos were the original inhabitan
when it was discovered and occupied by the
ment. They were formed into missions, wen
ized, and became the basis of the populatio
towns along the Eio Grande. Very few ii
tribe persisted in maintaining the customs, Ian
of the tribe; but even these have disappe
descendants are now blended with the mass oi
in all the towns on the right bank as far as <
are employed chiefly as domestic servants, foi
in great request on account of their proverbii
dence obtained at Camargo fully confirmed
documents were found, which put an end to
the subject.
In 1857, the Governor of Nuevo Leon
complaints against the Carrizos, as being the
the depredations suffered that year at Agualegi
.transmitted them to the authorities of Mier ;
Tamaulipas. The reply made from the lat
date of August 5th, contained the following si
" If your excellency was surprised to hear
Indians had committed the ravages generally i
Comanches and Lipans, how great must have
on reading your communication, since I jposi
the said tribe known as Carrizos in the time
became extinct several years ago ; their des<
abandoned the manners, customs and peculiar
tribe, and become blended with the people
excellency may therefore rest assured, that
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUEST]
to Mexico, were driven thence, and were
within the jurisdiction of Reynosa at " La
points. Yielding to the habits of their vagab
manifested their iDclination to plunder, oblig
of that town to organize troops and redu<
General Avalos interfered in the case by virt
from the general government, took them un<
and removed them to the center of Tamau
Burgos. There they gave occasion to dis
governments of Nuevo Leon and Tamaulij
their being carried back to their former place
Beynosa. Being again attacked on account
tribe removed to Texas, and on the 26th of C
judge of Rosario sent the following report
Reynosa :
" In pursuance of your orders of the
the arrest of the Carancahuases, I took meas
pose, but finding that they are now on the
jRio Grande, beyond the limits of my autho
called ' Urestefia,' I informed the authorities
Ballon, to the end that they on the American
this side may combine for their arrest, since, b
they have carried off, they have committed o(
La Mesa. With the inhabitants of this disi
plored all this region in their pursuit."
The history of these Indians terminates with
upon them in the said year 1858 by Juan N.
citizen of Texas, along with other rancheros,
surprised at their hiding place in Texas, and wei
These Carancahuases were undoubtedly the "
referred to by the American commission in com
Lipans, Kickapoos, Seminoles and Carrizos.
only ones known in Tamaulipas of whom inforr
had at Bi:own8ville, and the accuracy of such ir
now be readily inferred.
Shortly after the establishment of the milil
1850, certain Seminoles, Kickapoos and Musci
themselves in the district of Rio Grande, in tl
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTIO
command of the chief Papicua, who report
committed by the remainder of the tribe froi
tion on American soil. Colonel Maldonado,
of the colonies, lost no time in transmitting
commander of the American forces at Fort I
all the stipulations of the treaty of Guadali
The American authorities took no measures, ai
continued their depredations.
The lands set apart for the Indian emigi
right bank of the Kio Grande, but the events
showed that it was inexpedient for the Semi
and the nine Kickapoos to continue to occupy
borhood of the United States being dangerous
The remaining tribes were therefore persua<
the mountains of Santa Kosa, thirty leagues to
The Seminoles and Muscogees undoubtedl
location an advantageous one, for the next yea
Wild Oat, chief of the Seminoles, and Papic
remnant of the Kickapoos, were in the city of '.
as a reservation the locality called " Nacimie
granted them under a new compact celebrate
Department, as also a similar reservation in
compense for the good service they had begun
war against the savages. Papicua settled nes
where he devoted himself to agriculture, and fi
As to the Seminoles we will now briefly n
tory and comportment in Mexico up to the
all returned to the United States. While tl
Seminoles and Muscogees were negotiating in
grants of land, several parties of those tribes \
ing Colonel Langberg in his campaign against
as far as the " Laguna de Jaco ; " the remaind<
in agriculture and in hunting. A later campa
Seminoles against the Comanches earned for 1
of the government, which, however, ordered tl
peditions they should be accompanied by son
was done in 1853 and 1854. The next year tl
with the Mescaleros, inflicting upon the latter \
KOBTHBRN FRONTIER QUESTIi
member that in 1S57, an American named
at Oorpns Chrasti, made a contract with th
Nuevo Leon and Coahuila for bringing the '.
to Mexico. This contract was published at t
doubtedly influenced the subsequent conduct
the American government.
On the 12th of March, 1859, a represental
States agent ibr the Seminoles came to Yilla
formed Colonel Blanco that his object was tc
removal of the two tribes in question to ti
This person was given a passport and an esc
and was accompanied thither by the Semin<
mission leading to the removal which took
later, as above mentioned, to the general regrc
ants of Santa Eosa.
The measures taken at this time for the ret
noles to the United States did not spring fro
committed by them in Texas. No accusation
brought against th^m. The motive may hav(
the dispersed members of the tribe, or the fea:
can portion would attract their American bre
leave the agents without the gains of their ofl
all events, the action was not a just one, for it
mate Mexican interests, on which considerable
spent.
At the close of 1861, not one of the tribes ii
in Mexico, except the so-called JBlack Muscog
numbering from 40 to 60 persons. The Semin
poos were all gone, except nine of the latter
Morelos and AUende as farmers and teamsters, s€
however, had already been killed in Texas in 1
went thither to sell deer skins and furs.
In the heat of the Confederate war and our ^
French intervention, the Kickapoo chief, Tobac
the military commander of the district of the Ri
mission and an outiit to go to the north and bri
of his tribe who wished to come to Mexico. I
communication from the government of Nuei
412 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
December 6th, 1863, that the expe.nses incurred in complying
"with his request were approved.
On the 13th of October, 1864, the first alcalde of Santa
Bosa reported that five days before, more than 200 Kickapoos
of both sexes had presented themselves, asking for subsistence
and permission to remain in that municipality, until they could
solicit a permanent place of residence from the president of the
republic. It was observed that they presented no passports
from the authorities of Kio Grande district, but their journey
had been aloug the high road, and they were presumed to be
acting in good faith.
No other document on the subject appears in the archives
of Santa Bosa until January, 1866, when the alcalde of that
place acknowledges receipt of a decree of the 11th of that
month, which granted to the Kickapoos the location of Nacimi-
ento, formerly abandoned by the Seminoles and Muscogees.
From communications found at Kosa, Nava and Guerrero,
it is found that in 1865, some of these Indians were engaged
in hunting near Eemolino, where they solicited and received
rations of meat. They were also charged, about this time,
with stealing horses at Eesurrection, which led to secret inves-
tigations and precautionary measures., A circular order was
sent to the ranches near Piedras Negras, by the prefect of that
district, directing the greatest vigilance iu preventing the
Kickapoos from going over to Texas to rob, as had been at-
tempted by a party of eleven warriors at Pacuache ford. This
attempt was prevented, and gave rise to strict injunctions from
the government of Coahuila, to watch and report their con-
duct, accompanied by a threat of expulsion, in case of a repe-
tition 6f the grievance.
The action of the Mexican Government in watching over
the interests of Mexicans and Americans was loyal, prompt
and eflicacious, and for three years thereafter, no further
complaint was made against the Kickapoos. It was stated
in the account of depredations in Texas, that up to 1868, the
Kickapoos had not been mentioned, even as the jprobahle per-
petrators of outrages. This fact proves the good result of
the warnings given and the measures of precaution taken in
i
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTK
1865. It should also be noted that the fi
against the Kiekapoos, of robberies in Texai
Mason county, adjoining Kerr, where about
disguised as Indians had taken refuge. Th
had been accused of being in alliance with 1
1858, before the Kickapoos came to Mexic
Mason county is equidistant from the Ameri
Kickapoo reservations, there is greater rej
such depredations to the larger fraction residi:
States, than to the smaller in Mexico.
It is nevertheless true, that the conduct o
was not always unexceptionable. A few i
robberies of cattle occurred, but the sufferc
always Mexicans, although in one or two in
redation was committed on the Texan side of
government of Ooahuila and the military ai
Grande district were ever on the alert to disc
such depredations as were actually accomplishe
occasions, several of the malefactors were ki
others were imprisoned, and the stolen aninr.
their owners on both sides of the river. In
the measures of repression adopted were so
lead to a fear that the whole tribe might bec<
commissioner was appointed to reside among
for the special purpose of watching their condi
ing property supposed to have been stolen.
July, 1867, that officer forwarded to the prefec
of Eio Grande, a description of the animals .
giving their brands, and suggesting that the lo
be invited to reclaim their property. The lead<
were assembled and solemnly warned of the <
sequences which' would ensue from any renew;
redations. The complaints from Mexican suffe
1868, and the authorities of Santa Eosa, who
been conspicuous in accusations against the Kicks
them from the charge of collusion with the Co)
ing that the Kickapoos themselves had just bee
all their horses by that tribe of notorious marau
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUE8TIC f
remove. The oflfer was renewed at Brown'i
authorities of Santa Bosa, with the same ne| \
It was now apparent that there would be c
the Indians, and the authorities, who a few xt i
risked their existence in their repression o1
were indirectly threatened with the charg i
which have since been brought against them.
It may not be presumptuous, in view of tl (
the multiform speculations carried on amon ;
the reservations, to attribute to the private ii
and traders, their labors for the removal o
other Indians who have sought refage in M( <
jecture is strengthened by the fact that in li
1870, three or four different commissioners ca :
for the common object of effecting the remov ;
and Kickapoos of Nacimiento. They succeec i
the negroes, and the poverty of the Kickapoos i
that they would follow the example.
Such energy shown by private individual
shows that depredations were not the cause
Moreover, the poverty of the Kickapoos conv: i
commissioners of the falsity of the sweepin ;
against them in Texan papers, which represen
mitting naurders and robberies on a grand i
abetted by Mexicans who publicly bought the
In order to attend to the urgent wants oi
siding at Kacimiento, a census was taken in
they were found to number 500. The autl
Bosa then appealed to the philanthropy of tl
districts of Monclova and Uio Grande, for th
wants, and the State government also succorc
sideration of the services they had rendered
ages. It was just at this time that the con
Duncan and the commercial agent at Piedras
Santa Eosa, offering the Kickapoos great indi
kinds of guaranties for removing.
The excessive vigilance with which the
watched by the authorities of Santa Eosa, fr<
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION
labored in 1851, when this tribe first presente
peated on the second occasion, although assun
character. It was inevitable that semi-civilize
to our soil, would occasion such difficulties, wl
a forgetfulness of the lesson taught on the earl
to the violation of the wise rules laid down
1850, prohibiting all negotiations with such ti
without the express approval of the supreme g
The second immigration of the Kickapoqs
lie took place during the war with France, and
to the supreme government, unless, perchan<
complaints. It was a State government whicl
and gave them lands near the American front
cnrrences have proved the great wisdom and
resolution taken in 1850, concerning the mann
and directing Indian affairs.
AN ACCOUNT OF THE LlPi
The Lipans, one of the tribes composing 1
tion, have for many j^ears committed horrible <
the frontier of Mexico. It was they who, aft
defeated in 1789 and 1790, in the two famou
rccted by the celebrated Don Jnan de Ugald
their allies, the Comanches, to this side of the
1813, when a long period of peace had fill
grounds to overflowing with all kinds of cattle
In the general summary of Indian invasio
account has been given of their misdeeds up to
-date a peace was made <vith them by the goveri
This act brought about difficulties with Texas,
Nuevo Leon ; the governor of the latter State
mit the Lipans into its towns, on account of 1
they had always shown to all similar favors. C
ugain the wise rules of 1850 were broken by ac
our borders a savage tribe, which was formidab
27
418 BEPOBT OF COMMITTBE.
from its nnrabers as from its familiar knowledge of onr terri-
tory.
In the acconnts of depredationa ia Naevo Leon and
Tamaulipas, it has already been mentioned that the Lipans
were followed by parties from both those States, to ascertain
whether they had been the perpetrators of any of the ontragea-
snffered therein. On this errand Colonels Zuazua and Frutoa
penetrated from Lampazos and Oindad Guerrero to Villa de
Rosas, where the anthorities aided their iarestigationa, giving
them guides to the Indian encampments. Although no posi-
tive proofs against the Indians were fonnd, the suspicions were
not quieted, since it was ascertained that some of the tribe
had previously disappeared, carrying away numerous horses.
These suspicions and other new complaints made by towns
in Mexico and Texas very properly engaged the attention of
the governor of the frontier, who, in December, 18o5, wrote as-
follows to the minister of war :
" The Lipan tribe which, in the time of the immortat
Itnrbide, niirabered nearly a thousand warriors, has suffered an
incredible diminution, owing to its wandering life and savage
habits; since its cliiefs lately made peace with governor Car-
dona, the fighting men number only eighty-eight. Ifotwith-
standing the treaty, the Americans and some of our frontier
towns have made complaints against these Indians, and the
military authority, therefore, appointed an agent to watch
their conduct and report their expeditions, so as to prevent or
punish them! The Lipan cliicftaius, who werenot well pleased
with such supervision, which they attributed to Colonel Lang-
berg, came to this oiEce to complain of that measure ; but
when they learned that it was by my order, and when I showed
them that it was a guaranty for them as regards both Ameri-
cans and Mexicans, they went away satisfied, promising to
keep the treaty of peace. There is nothing to fear from this
tribe, which is located at a place which it cannot leave without
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION
inclination towards civilized life, are all de
governor who exercised such strict supervision
month later, in February, 1856, the Lipans wer
searching investigation, in consequence of cert
Coahuila and murders in Texas, when an o
" to notify them for the last time, that the lea
damages caused on either side of the Rio Gr
the signal for their extermination without discri
kind." It was not until a month later, in M
investigations were made in Texas, resulting i
made against the Lipans for the acts aire?
Appeal w^s made to the friendship and goc
between the two countries, and co-operation
putting an end to the depredations of the Lipai
In replying to the note of Colonel Kuggl
Intosh, in which the above mentioned comph
the Governor of Nuevo Leon and Coahuila t(
make a demand and to remind the Americ;
unfulfilled duty. Under date of March 16th,
as follows :
^^ I have the satisfaction to inclose copies of c :
sent to the military commanders on the frontier,
will see that before you informed me of tlu
robberies committed by the Lipans, I ordered th :
malefactors, and in case of resistance, to \v
extermination against them. I trust, Mr. Cc
this conduct on the part of the Mexican aulL :
imitated by those of the United States, in
Comanches, Kiowas and other barbarous tribes
numbers, cross the Rio Grande to rob and devasta I
of Mexico, and who sell their spoils to Americai
fully proved by the kind of arms they employ, a
existence of trading posts on the left bank ot t
It cannot be believed that -the government <
States will tolerate such traflSc in the blood and :
citizens of a friendly nation, nor that when it
istence of this shameful and inhuman traffic,
instruct the commanders of detachments alon]:
prevent the Indians from crossing, and the whii
from supplying them with arms, as has heretofi
from Moras up to Paso del Norte."
420 BEPOET OF COMMirrBE.
Under date of March 26th, the governor and commander-
in-chief communicated to the war department the result of his
proceedingB against the Lipans, as follows :
" The auxiliary troops of Kio Grande and Lampazos having
been placed under arms by my orders, the former sarprised on
the 19th instant, a party of 63 Indians near Yilla Gigedo, and
was condncting them to Kio Sabinaa to act in concert with Col-
onel Znazua; but bt'fore arriving tl]ere, the savages undertook
to escape, while their women commenced killing their infants,
rather than see them deprived of liberty. This unnatural action
enraged the troops, and after Oaplaiu Miguel Patifio had in
vain attempted to prevent the flight and this horrible butchery,
he was forced to appeal to the last remedy, by putting to death.
41 perscne of both sexes. Meanwhile Colonel Zuazna was en-
gaged in carryiug out his own instructions, with a respectable
force, and without awaiting the arrival of Captain Patifio, he
attacked and disarmed the enemy, capturing 74 persons of all
ages and both sexes."
Five days later, these events were communicated to Lieu-
tenant-colonel Daniel Buggies, in command at Fort Mcintosh,
in the following terms :
"My orders for the chastisement of the Lipans were carried
oat on the 21st, 2^d and 23d instant, with such exactitude that
the result snrpassed my hopes, the whole tribe having been
made prisoners, most of the warriors killed, and the small rem-
nant BO dispersed that their iuBigniflcant number cannot inspire
any fears for the future. * * * I trust that the civil and
military authorities of the United States will correspond to the
desires and expectations of those of Mexico, who have now af-
forded a rare example of the interest they take in the misfor-
tunes of their fellows, by imitating tlieir conduct in regard to
the Comanches and Kiowas, of whom I spoke in my note of
the 16th instant."
It may be said that the history of the Lipans is bronght
to an end by the official notes above transcribed. The Com-
misaion might here close this subject, for the tribe disappeared
in 1856, and the miserable remnants do not deservo the Dame
of a tribe. But the charges which are still made against Mex-
ico on tlieir account, have forced the Commission to trace all
their steps, even after the above date.
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTIC I
«
The statements of captives have suppliec
concerning the dispersed remnant of the Li{ i
concurrent testimony, it appears that since "
have lived on the banks of the Pecos river
Mescaleros, and have marauded on both i i
Grande, maintaining traffic with the Comanc
people of New Mexico. Their residence on
has also been abundantly proved by the com i
of Mexicans and Americans made against thei i
They have not lived in Mexico except for a si i
when the vigilance over them was so strict t i
camped and retmiied to the Pecos. In Ap
year (18Y3), they presented themselves again, :
of the Kickapoos frightened them away, an(
dering and robbing on their retreat.
From 1856, when this tribe was nearly i
the present time, the remnants have present i
Mexico three times, always with nnmeaninj
The first time was in 1861, when they remai
Again in 1868, a fraction of, them came and 1
Eemolina. Finally, in April of the present
came, but withdrew in May on account of th
Two years and a half of residence in Mexico
and a half in the United States.
This Commission finds itself bonnd to cens
of the governments of Coahuila in this respect
of experience has been sufficient to teach then
of accepting propositions of peace from Indiani
violated its stipulations and acted with eviden
exercise by that State of a faculty which belor
the supreme government of the republic meriti
sure but condemnation. The same may be sa
of land to the Kickapoos. The frontier needs
diflferent class, who are repelled by the prese
barous Indians. This imprudent conduct, h
no offense against the United States, nor has tl
enced any grievance from the short sojourn
and Lipan Indians in Mexico.
REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
INVASION OF MEXICAN TERRITOEY BY FOKOES
OR CITIZENS OF TKE UNITED STATES.
A profound sensation ought to bave been caused, and was
really caused, by the conduct of General McKenzie, when,
■without notice to any authority in Mexico, and without just
cause, lie invaded our territory with a detachment of the army
of the United States, surprising a small encampment of Kicka-
pooB which was living at Remoiino engaged in the ordinary
labors of agrieultnre.
The conduct of that officer has been reviewed in a separate
document, in which this Commission believes that it has stated
all the circumstances which explain it It may here be men-
tioned that the judgment of the Commission differs entirely
from that of the Texan press, which attributed that step to in-
Btrnctions left by the American secretary of war when he visited
the Kio Grande frontier shortly before.
By the facts set forth in the sections devoted to Kickapoos
and Lipans, the value of the accusations against the former may
be correctly estimated. The name of the latter was never men-
tioned in this connection, it being well known that they resided
in American territory, AU the accusations were brought
(gainst the Kickapoos, for no other reason than that they lived
in Mexico, and not a single proof of any depredations by them
in Texas was alleged. -
The abundant evidence collected by this Commission shows
that the invasion was intimately connected with the recent
arrival of a band of Lipans numbering, tliirty warriors, who
had been admitted, as being peaceably inclined, by the gov-
ernment of Coahnila, They had settled at Remoiino, adjoin-
ing the Eickapo<K, with whom some of tbem lived, while
others were engaged in tending their horses and cattle in the
pastures of tlie Sierra. One of the Lipans had with him a
Texan boy taken captive years before, whom the American
commercial agent at Piedras Negras undertook to ransom.
Outrages had been committed in Kerr county and vicinity
for a term of years by American bandits disguised as Indians,
NORTHERUr FRONTIER QUESTIC
and their depredations were currently attribu ;
or Mexicans. Forays had in consequence b ;
ans of the frontier into Mexico, one of whi :
character and consequences, must be here nai :
Under pretext of recovering stolen pro] i
fifteen or twenty Texans crossed the Rio Grar I
September and murderously assaulted the hoi i
(Aguilera) at Resurreccion or Villa Nueva.
had painted their faces black ; they were heac ;
ous assassin " named Mc Weber, whose sole ob i
der of Aguilera, and among them were severa
of Uvalde county. In the encounter the I i
down, a woman and a boy were severely wor i
era himself was killed after a heroic resists i
l:illed three of his assailants. The horrible na i
forced the Texan authorities to take cognizanc :
of the criminals were imprisoned, and the j i
demned the act, though writers were not ;
fended it.
A person named Strickland wrote to a Tes ;
dated April 20th, from San Felipe, a ran
Grande, 25 leagues above Eagle Pass or Fort I
charged that the surrounding region was
plundered by Indians and Mexicans disguisec
<^omplained of the impediments offered by t i
the pursuit of the robbers into Mexico, unde
laws of neutrality, " which had," so he said,
letter, and been nullified by the continual inci
from the other side."
This letter undoubtedly produced considers
was strengthened by another written from K
3d to the San Antonio Daily Seraldy accusing
the Lipans, the Seminoles, red* or black, anc
allies of constant forays and murders in that d
in Kendall and Bandera counties.
Close .upon these letters came a dispatch fr
<^ial agent at Fiedras Kegras dated May 8th, q
■exaggerated as the above statements, which ^
424 REPORT OP COMMITTEE.
the immediate cause of the McKenzie invasion. It was textir-
ally as follows :
" Editor of Express :
"I have been ^informed that the Mescaleros have in their
possession another boy who was taken captive five years ago at
Olmos, near San Antonio and Bandera. A messenger 1 sent
to the Indian encampment to ransom him has returned, bring-
ing word that the Indian who lM)lds tiie boy is away on an in-
cursion in Texas, and the captive cannot be given up until his
return.^'
An agent or public officer of the United States should
naturally be considered too discreet and prudent to propagate
falsehoods. The dissimulation with which it was done pro-
duced its full effect. From the above dispatch it was inferred
that the Mescaleros were living in Mexico, and this was false,
for there was but a single one of them in Mexico, who was
married to a Lipan woman, and lived on a rancho of his own.
The falsity of the statement about the Indian whose absence
on a foray in Texas delayed the ransom, is obvious to all who
know the mysterious and reserved manners of the Indians.
Nevertheless, this item served as a text for a general explosion
in the Texan press against Mexico, and these inflammatory ap-
peals were speedily followed by the McKenzie raid, which took
place just at a time when the new American Oommidsioners
for the removal of the Kickapoos had passed through San An-
tonio, on their way to Monterey and Saltillo, at which latter
place they were at the moment of its actual occurrence. This
circumstance adds force to our friendly construction that the raid
was not directed by the American Gov^nment, but was due
to a sudden resolution of General McKenzie, acting on hifr own
responsibility.
According to official data. General McKenzie set out oh
the 17th of May, with six companies of the 4th Regiment of
cavalry and 25 Seminoles. His force is estimated at 500 men.
Crossing the Eio Grande with the utmost secrecy and advanc-
ing with great rapidity, he reached the Kickapoo village of
Eemolino, between 8 and 9 A. M., on the 18th of May, sur-
rounded and burned it without resistance, killing 19 Indians,
NORTHERN FRONTIER QOESTK
captaring 41 women and boys, and about 50
were mostly away from the village, engage
tural occupations. The settlement of Lipai
on account of a deep creek which separates :
poos. After a hasty breakfast, for which th(
tie, the invaders retreated with the utmost
recrossed the Rio Grande before the milit
towns could be assembled to avenge this ai
of Mexican territory.
The few horses which formed the only b
identified as American property, and were a
uted among the Seminole guides. The Lipac
rowly escaped from a blow which was princi
them, speedily retired to a more secure en
Sierra del Burro, and early in September th
Mexico, after murdering three persons and s
,two hundred horses.
Had it not been for the extreme swiftn
march, a conflict with the Mexican militia w(
evitable. The forces of Piedras Negras, Mo
tion, as well as all the other towns of the dist
arms, but before they could be assembled the
appeared.
As to the pretext alleged for this violatio
ritory, the Btatements of two AmericanB con^
that no one believed in any recent depredatit
poos, but that the Lipans were the intend
attack. This fact clearly shows the injusi
taken, for the Lipans had been for many j
month preceding, residents on the Hio Pecot
ritory.
Elsewhere this Commission has severe!
conduct of the Government of Coahuila, in {
peace to the Lipans and permitting their resi
State, but this condemnation does not at all j
of the American oflScer. So far as the I
concerned, they cannot object to that procec
permitted the Lipans to reside quietly or
426 REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
whence they had made repeated forays into Mexico. As long
ago as 1861, they had carried off five boys as captives from
Kesurreccion, who were not recovered until 1868, when the
tribe momentarily returned to Mexico. The surrender : of
oaptives, who could not otherwise be obtained, afforded a
strong inducement to negotiate with them, and such negotia-
tions were in no respect an offense against the United States,
where they had so long been tolerated in the midst of the
federal forts.
It has been observable for many years, that the Americans
do not consider these Indians as public enemies, except when
they come to lime in Mexico. No one remembers them when
they are within the United States ; they are never mentioned
nor attacked, nor are they thought to be capable of committing
any outrage. But when they are living in Mexico, even
under the severest vigilance, they are transformed into perpe-
trators of all the injuries suffered in Texas, where it would
seem that people wish to enjoy the exclusive privilege of harbor-
ing hostile Indians. ^
If the presence of the Lipans at Eemolino influenced the
invasion, it becomes thereby less excusable, for no recent crime
was charged upon them. If they had committed any outrages,
they were not known in Mexico. The division of the horses
captured at Eemolino, among the Indian guides because they
did not belong to any citizens of Texas, is the surest proof that
there was no real motive for the insult offered to Mexico.
The conduct of these Indians in September last (1873)
in murdering several Mexicans at Remolino, Moral and Ke-
surreccion, and carrying off their property to the United
States, shows how far they are in complicity and good fellow-
ship with the citizens of the towns in question. These dep-
redations have been the inevitable consequence of the act of
General McKenzie. The Lipans cannot believe that the
American forces could have made the attack without the con-
nivance of the Mexican residents at those places, on whom they
have therefore wreaked vengeance as the supposed accomplices
in the McKenzie raid.
I
I
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUEST!
THE INDIAN POLICY OF THE UN
Out of 300,000 Indians now living in tin
United States, according to the last census, 1 s
civilized. Only 130,000 support themselves, ;
ment maintains 115,000 and 55,000 are sav< j
the chase and by robbery.
This single fact, transpiring in the mic \
most powerful nations of the earth, shows thj I
formerly possessed the northern part of ou '
gained nothing by contact with the whit< •
centuries their situation has been worse than
coming of the Europeans. Formerly the
themselves, to-day the government maintain i
were beggars.
Whether such a protectorate over the In(
or the reverse, the system observed in regard
is a bad one. Persons competent in the i :
since censured it, expressing wonder that 1 1
have been able, in an easy, tranquil and ev ;
almost to exterminate the Indian races froi
domain, which they have gradually appropr
employment of material force.
The isolation in which the Indians were
tempt with which they have been treated, an
which they were surrounded by immoral " aj
•duced their fatal results. The partially civi
not advanced in the path of enlightenment, r
age tribes entered upon that path. It has al
tioned, that the contact between the agric
Bomadic tribes has been for both a source o1
the origin of a delicate question which cannc
T>y the united eflforts of policy and justice.
From the time of the colonial government
there was declared against the Indians, unde
-apparently just form, what was virtually a us
tion. This circumstance naturally attracted
NORTHER^ FRONTIER QUBSTl
the new policy very few advantages had be<
it is undeniable that some good results have
ceived, and this Comniiesion takes pleasure
fact, inasmuch as it recognizes the excellent
government at Washington, in its present efl
pacific for a warlike policy.
Having heretofore, in this report, express
opinion as to the Indian policy of all the j
trations anterior to the present one, this Cc
stain from any criticism of the actual gov
that it has to struggle with rooted abuses ar
which it often has to temporize, in order to ter
in a given period. It observes, nevertheless,
careful and profound system which is revea
some of which it may be well to indicate.
The general government now desires to j
from dealing with the Indians. It is tryiii
npon reservations, so as to obviate the inc(
result from their wanderings. It has recogi
suiting from the lack of education among
and there is an effort on the part of the g
cate the rising generation which will soon
their semi-barbarous parents. It is thus ai
them beyond the control of the States wl
been hostile to the improvement of this unfoi
In this respect it is observed that the Fe
true to its principles, has not attended to the
made by the State of Texas for the enlistmc
employed in defense against the Indians. T
cesses of every kiiid which irregular troop
whenever they have been employed, have n<
they are too well remembered to admit of
ments which would result in destroying a w<
carried out with patient wisdom in the mi
obstacles.
This Commission believes that it has di
ject to wliich the efforts of the government
accomplish the union of the Indians, to mak
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTIC
If this line of conduct had been observec
ward, or if even the points on the Rio Q i
Indians generally cross had been garrisoned
depredations would not be so long. But cai i
for the security of Texas and the American es i
Mexico was handed over as a prize for the
savages, who speedily invaded and desolated o
could the exclusive intention of protecting 1 :
shown by the new distribution of forts and < i
fully successful, since the American garri i
numerical feebleness, their deficiencies in h i
other causes, were useless for any pursuit of
thus came to pass that more than once greatei
joyed in Mexico than in Texas, and that Am( i
requested aid from Mexico for their own defen
of Comanches who encamped in front of theii
The protection of the American frontier, f
years from 1848, was so completely neglectec ,
central points in Texas, entire settlements oi
were made with the object of serving as head<
raids upon Mexico, and from which they alsc
smaller scale in Texas itself. The Federal a
while, remained indifferent, viewing with trs
ganization within their own country of expedi
foreign republic. They showed the same indifl
nomadic hordes returned with the cattle they
even when they drove them in front of thei
never attempting ♦their recapture. At other
who represented the American Government
with the Indian tribes, secretly fomented a trsA
ber tribes, which were exclusively engaged in t
of Mexico and of Texas. Employees of the ]
ment shared the gains of that illicit traflSc, wi
or indirectly, and with full knowledge of th(
the good name of their country, by stimulatin
continue their depredations on the Mexics^n fn
What has recently transpired in Texas in 1
BO serious and noteworthy a character, that i
NORTHERK FRONTIER QUEST
tated the incursions of the Indians. In 185
single soldier along a line of 300 miles, fr«
raeks to Eagle Pass. Along another line oi
from Eagle Pass to Fort Davis, the military
that the Indians sometimes attacked an<
Frequently the garrisons had no other occuj
as spectators of the depredations committed
the Indians would set out from their village
located in the midst of American forts. 1
those forts failed to report the facts, or wl
reports were neglected by the governme
which thereby incurred a responsibility eqi
from the devastation of Sonora.
The Texan newspapers, which certainlj
Mexican frontier, admit the reality of tl
Sonora and along the Rio Grande. The Dt
Antonio, under date of the 23d of July last
merating the suffering of Texas, and conder
protection given to marauding Indians on 1
vations, said that—
" This neglect does not surprise us, for t
curs on the Chiricahua reservation in Arizona
ment made peace with the chief Cochise, It
wreak his hate upon the Mexicans by devoti
to plundering them ; for which end he wai
military control, exempted from roll-<5alls, ai
an agent who had no instructions to watch 1
those forays into Mexico which commenced
the Howard treaty. There can be no doubt
marauding Indians were tracked to the rese
the booty was found, and where the agent ai
dations in Mexico.
" Indeed, it is circumatantially in eyidenct
Mexican territory was relied upon as the chi
Cochise to keep the' peace on our side of thi
papers raised their voices for very shame, b
partment made no change and took no step
outrages, and waa satisfied with Gen, Howa
Cochise was innocent."
The complaints of Gen, Pesqueira to '
28
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTI
"Tlie people and government of the Uni
alleged, '' are the real causes of these crimes
murdered and robbed the Indians."
A delegation of Comanches, Kiowas an(
Washington to solicit the liberty of the
The legislature of Tex^-s declared against 8U<
though the World stated that the protest wa
the sentiments of the Texan frontier and
Texan papers, it nevertheless maintained
government.
The Texan papers have ransacked the pi
the board of Indian commissioners for seven
thus brought to light important documen
board has expressed its weighty opinion agai
means by which Indian agents formerly acqi
tunes. While it is not denied that the same
on a smaller scale, an oflBlcial proof is thus
Federal government has always been and s
for the misdeeds of the Indians. It is admi
past Indian troubles have been caused by a 1
the treaties.
In rejoinder to these opinions of the boarc
tity of treaties, and the value of peaxjeful mc
questions, the same papers brought forward a
butchery of Lipans and Kickapoos committe
and observed that the War Department had i
duct, thus presenting in a strong light the inc
government.
It has always been the fate of all import
plans of governments to encounter thousands
in their purely economical details. This is wl
place in the United States, in regard to the
Nevertheless, the i^esponsibilities contracted i
vicious system cannot be repudiated by the c
than those arising from the misconduct of its
To extirpate the inveterate abuses involve
istration of Indian affairs is a herculean tai
government at Washington is likely to fail, in
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTl •
came to Eeynosa and Matamoros in 1849 { :
tection against the hordes of savages wh<
around their towns, and their authorities cal ;
those of Mexico. That help was granted, a
encampments were put to flight by the effort
wlio availed themselves, in their own interes .
to fight the common enemy upon American i
itants of Guerrero took the first step in this <
were several times imitated by the settlers
Rio Grande in Coahuila. As a recompen <
ofl[ices, the Mexicans living in Texas have
privilege of assembling together in a numbei
individuals I
While Texas was thus the rallying-point :
who desolated Mexico, and while those tribet
manently encamped in that territory as a I [
against Mexico, neither the people nor the ai i
States prevented their actions. That peop
were witnesses of the depredations, and too :
to increase the horrors of the situation bj
Mexican frontier with invasions on their ov
eflfecting them on the most futile pretexts.
For example, at a time when Nuevo La •
by the Comanches, it suffered an invasion he; i
vides, under pretext that the Lipans, then a1
ico, and under strict vigilance, had approach
Kio Grande. It had been thought right and p
Diake peace with them in 1854, without an;
garding hostilities in Mexico ; but is was nc
that Mexico should make any treaty with tl
when, as in this case, it was stipulated that t
from incursions into Texas.
We have already given the history of
wretched and miserable tribe whose ruin w
by the Texans, and whose warriors do not n
It seems incredible, that living as they did, n
in Texas, their name should have been used
the Mexicans, when Texas has thousands x
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION
After a long period of neglect, the questioi
tion of the Indians has now attracted the seric i
the government of the United States. This fa
plicit recognition of the right of Mexico to d i
tain indemnification for the losses siiflFered on sn :
to restrain the Indians from committing deprec ;
The right to such indemnification, moreovt i
not merely by the history of the Indian tribes, I
duct of the government to which they are su ;
ently of all treaties, as a consequence of th :
the Government at Washington now recognizei
to discharge with honorable solicitudcj in spitt
drances thrown in the wa}^ by the bastard in i
own negligence has created. All these cons: i
the reality of the grievances experienced :
proceeding from American territory, in whiel
have been prepared, and whose citizens have
connivance of their authorities, the receivers of '.
On her part, Mexico has done all that tl
manded. She has facilitated the action of the .
ernment in the fulfillment of its agreements ; •
uted more than her revenue has warranted, to '
pation of an evil which was not a common oi i
very reason was not suppressed by the govern ni
for its existence. She has exhausted the measui
of convenience, of necessity and of utility, to p
lation that was being wrought upon a great
ritory, and all without result, as has been seen f
L of the American Government in tliis question,
treated not merely with disdain, but perhaps '
f openly contrary to the demands of justice.
Every where and at all times the violation
stance of the Treaty of Guadalupe, and second
ciples of natural justice between nations, has
When it is recognized that the observance of th(
essential to preserve the life and tranquility of
not be believed that the United States will ssi
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTION.
The latter object demands from Mexico the
forces sufficient to repel all aggressors of whate^'
believed that the presence of disciplined troops
will avail not only as against th^ Indians, but
vasions by parties of bandits, such as those who
last (1873) attacked La Eesurrection, adding t<
rage, insult and calumny.
A convenient distribution of troops, and th
manded by honorable and educated officers, wc
than a mere display of numbers, towards effectii
opinion among the Texans of the frontier, who
be thus brought to abandon their traditional sysl
and indiscriminate hostility, and cultivate thos€
tions which the two peoples so urgently need.
It will much contribute to this result, if
nounced by the Supreme Government of Mexi
lar of the 10th of September, 1850, shall be i
sued, by refusing all terms of peace to the
Even respecting the semi-civilized tribes, after
which have arisen with the Seminoles, Kickapc
gees, a similar policy should henceforth be adop
It is one of the first duties of Mexico, and
Commission cannot sufficiently urge, to place h«
dition to repel every act of violence which can
from her numerous enemies in the United States
be real Indians, disguised white men, filibusters
dits. The sending of sufficient troops to prote
territory from all outrages, will not only afford
k inhabitants, but will stimulate the colonizati
"^ deserts which urgently demand industrious settl
F terial welfare of the country, and as a check to
ambition of filibustei*s.
Four detachments of 150 men each, distri
San Vicente and Las Vacas, would close the
which the savages have penetrated into the thre
huila, Nuevo Leon und Tamaulipas, and would
greater part of Durango. Three encampmei
colonies placed at Bdbia, Zorra and Pico Eter
29
NORTHERN FRONTIER QUESTIO
the listleesness of their agents. This fact has
fliience upon the demoralization and decline o
would, therefore, be a public benefit if the
ment, through the means opep to it, could exe
for the better discharge of judicial functions
peril our relations with the neighboring rcpub
This Commission, in the discharge of its
careful to collect documents whose study will
motion of its important objects. It believes t
has acted judiciously, and contributed to reali:
of the Congressional law of October 2d, 1872,
its existence. The examination of these que^
portance is greater than the capacities of the
Commission, has been purposely confined with
so as to leave to the sound judgment and wisd*
men, the task of deducing the important com
flow from the facts so carefully collected and p
In fine, in order to crown the just, grand, i
fitting work of elevating the frontier of Nor
that degreQ of prosperity whicli the security
demands, and to which nature has destined it
and obstacles are neither insurmountable nor
If care shall be taken that the laws be observ
with all strictness ; if the security of the front
gently and vigilantly maintained ; if prompi
be applied to diflSiculties arising from a long pe
the frontier will soon, very soon rise to a p
will be reflected from all tlie other States o,
Thus the real power of Mexico will be cement
now enjoyed and the preparatory measures air
pily forebode.
• Monterey, Decernher 7th, 1873.
IGNACIO GALINDO.
ANTONIO GARCIA
AGUSTIN SILICEO.
FRANCISCO VALDfij
K.^^aXi
HARVARD LAW LIBRA
LAMMASCH COLLECTION
INTERNATIONAL ARBITRATI
Live Music Archive
Librivox Free Audio
Metropolitan Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Internet Arcade
Console Living Room
Books to Borrow
Open Library
TV News
Understanding 9/11