Six Years with the Texas Rangers, 1875 to 1881Gillett, James B.
History
Six Years with the Texas Rangers, 1875 to 1881
Gillett, James B.
Frontier and pioneer life -- Texas; Gillett, James B., 1856-1937; Texas -- History -- 1846-1950; Texas Rangers
Early in April, about one month after the capture of Abran Baca, I
learned from Santiago Cooper, a friend that lived in Ysleta, that he
had seen a man at Saragosa, Mexico, who, from the description, he
believed to be Enofrio Baca. I told Cooper I would give him $25 if he
would go back to Saragosa and find out to a certainty if the person he
had seen was Enofrio Baca. A week later Cooper came to me and said the
man at Saragosa was Baca and that the murderer was clerking in the one
big store of the town. This store was a long adobe building situated
against a hill with the front facing so that one riding up to the front
of it would bring his saddle skirts almost on a level with the building
because of the terraces in front of it made necessary by the slope of
the hill. Enofrio was of florid complexion with dark red hair, which
made it easy to identify him.
I kept this information about the murderer to myself for nearly a week
while I pondered over it. I was anxious to capture Baca, yet I well
knew from previous experience that if I caused him to be arrested in
Mexico the authorities there would turn him loose, especially when the
influence of wealthy relatives was brought to bear. Knowing he would
follow the law to the letter I dare not take Captain Baylor into my
confidence. Saragosa, a little town of about five hundred inhabitants,
is situated about four miles southwest of Ysleta. While it is only
about a mile from the Rio Grande as the crow flies, yet, because of
the many farms and big irrigation ditches, it was impossible to enter
or leave the town only by following the public road between Ysleta and
Saragosa. It has always been the delight of border Mexicans to get
behind an adobe wall or on top an adobe house and shoot to ribbons any
hated gringo that might be unfortunately caught on the Mexican side of
the river. I knew only too well from my own experience that I could not
go into Saragosa, attempt to arrest a Mexican, stay there five minutes
and live, yet I determined to take the law in my own hands and make the
attempt.
I took into my confidence just one man, George Lloyd. If ever there was
an ace in the ranger service he was one. I unfolded my plans to him. I
did not have to point out the danger to him for he had lived on the Rio
Grande ten times as long as I.
"Sergeant, that is an awful dangerous and risky piece of business and
I will have to have a little time in which to think it over," he said
when I talked with him.
The next day Lloyd came to me and said, "Sergeant, I will go anywhere
in the world with you."
Though willing to accompany me I could tell he doubted our ability to
execute the capture.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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