Multimedia Mania/abacus-multimedia-mania.iso/dp/0099/00994.txt

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$Unique_ID{bob00994}
$Pretitle{}
$Title{The Big Bend
Part II}
$Subtitle{}
$Author{Tyler, Ronnie C.}
$Affiliation{National Park Service;U.S. Department Of The Interior}
$Subject{big
ranch
bandits
bend
national
rio
mexico
grande
raid
troops
see
pictures
see
figures
}
$Date{1984}
$Log{See Chico Cano*0099401.scf
}
Title:       The Big Bend
Book:        Chapter 6: Bandits Along the Border
Author:      Tyler, Ronnie C.
Affiliation: National Park Service;U.S. Department Of The Interior
Date:        1984

Part II
Occupation Of The Big Bend

     After the Glenn Springs and Boquillas raids, Generals Scott and Funston
sent a joint telegram to President Wilson asking that the National Guard be
called out against border bandits.  Acting according to a long-range plan
intended to intimidate Mexico by placing guardsmen at strategic points along
the border, the President issued the order on May 9 calling up the Texas, New
Mexico, and Arizona National Guards.  Because of the threat of conflict with
Carranza's forces in Mexico, and because the National Guard was the only
reserve the United States had, President Wilson called all guardsmen into
active duty a few months later.  By midnight, July 4, troops from 14 States
had taken up positions along the Mexican border.  By the end of the month over
100,000 men had been sent to four major assembly areas, three in Texas and one
in Arizona.

     General Scott then continued his discussions with Obregon from a
strengthened hand.  Pershing's army was still in Chihuahua, and the National
Guard lined the border, anxious for action."I told him that if he wanted to
lose his country, the surest way to do it would be to attack Pershing," Scott
later wrote.  Under these circumstances, Scott and Obregon concluded their
talks, reaching a lengthy agreement that stipulated that Pershing would pull
back but be allowed to remain in Mexico.  Although President Carranza
repudiated the agreement, Scott concluded that it "made little difference
. . . since everything went on as if agreed upon by all."

     One of the companies sent to the Big Bend was Company I, 4th Texas
Infantry.  After several months in Marathon, the company was transferred south
to Stillwell's Crossing and La Noria, both on the Rio Grande.  Their specific
duty was to guard the region against further incursions by Mexican raiders.
One member of the company, Lt. William P. Cameron of Mineral Wells, Texas,
reported that the area was quiet while they were there. Cameron had his camera
to prove it: troops on guard, troops at mess, troops cleaning up, troops at
leisure.  But no troops in battle.  They spent most of their time stringing
telephone wire through the Sierra del Carmen and Boquillas Canyon to
Boquillas, Texas, thus eliminating one of the greatest problems in the Big
Bend - slow communication.

     Another national guardsman who left a personal view of police duty in the
Big Bend was Jodie P. Harris, also from Mineral Wells.  A cartoonist, Harris
drew caricatures and lettered a four page weekly newspaper called The Big
Bend, a Paper with a Muzzle: Without a Mission.  The paper was printed by the
"Fort Worth Star-Telegram" and included in its Sunday editions.  His postcards
were mailed home to Mineral Wells to be displayed in the local drug store.
Perhaps his most persistent complaint was that the National Guard was in the
Big Bend for no reason and that they were kept there for even less cause.
Several of his cartoons pictured unhappy privates engaged in makeshift jobs,
officers dreaming up busy-work for the troops, and awe-struck soldiers looking
at Big Bend scenery.  But most of his criticisms seemed to be routine, for all
the men knew of the raids at Glenn Springs and Boquillas.

     The soldiers in the Big Bend undoubtedly felt that their presence was
unnecessary, but that did not stop them from appreciating the beauty and
uniqueness of the land.  Some of Harris' cartoon cards called attention to
landmarks of the Big Bend.  He joined what had already become a widespread
park movement by drawing two soldiers admiring the scenery and agreeing that
the region should be made a park.  Another humorously made its point by
showing soldiers trying to move a wagon mired in sand up to its axle.  The
soldiers are suggesting, tongue in cheek, that the Bend is good for nothing
but a national park.  Harris also promoted the idea of a park in his
newspaper.  When the bill to create such a park finally reached Congress,
guardsmen from several States who had served there in 1916 supported it.

     Major Langhorne's punitive action and the presence of the National Guard
kept bandits from crossing into the Big Bend for over a year, but conditions
in Mexico improved only slowly and in Europe they worsened considerably.  In
late 1916 Company I was called from the Big Bend and the following year sent
to Europe.  Although they were replaced with other guardsmen, the country was
not patrolled as closely as before, and by 1917 the bandits were back.

Brite Ranch Raid

     Many Texans were shocked on Christmas Day 1917 to learn that raiders had
crossed the border and attacked the L. C. Brite Ranch.  About sunup that day
approximately 45 bandits rode into the ranch, located a few miles west of
Marfa, and routed it.  The bandits were able to surprise the ranchers, because
they usually had the help of an informer, often a ranch employee, who advised
when the ranch would be deserted.  Because of the ruthless daring - and
because it happened on Christmas Day - news of the attack was carried in
newspapers across the country.  The Big Bend was in the news again.

     The bandits had carefully planned the raid.  They probably chose
Christmas Day because they knew few people would be at the ranch. Indeed, the
Brites were at their home in Marfa when the bandits rode up. Only T. T. Van
Neill, the ranch foreman, and his family were there.  Before the attack began,
the bandits cut the telephone lines leading to the ranch.

     Van Neill's father was up making coffee.  As he sat sipping the brew in
the dawn light, he saw the bandits ride into the ranch complex and disperse.
He ran into his son's room, grabbed a rifle, and shot the man who appeared to
be the leader.  The bandits then returned the fire.  The pair held the bandits
off from the house, but were unable to get any help.

     The raiders took two ranch hands prisoner.  They sent one in to tell
Neill and his father that the other would be killed if they did not surrender.
Mrs. Neill dissuaded Van and his father from fighting to the last and
encouraged them to give the bandits the key to the store, hoping that they
would then go away.  The bandits looted the store, then rounded up the best
horses on the ranch.  Meanwhile, they had captured Mickey Welch, the postman,
and two passengers in the mail stage, who were killed, probably because they
recognized some of the gang.

     Several hours later, as the raiders continued their leisurely looting,
the Rev. H. M. Bandy and his family arrived at the ranch for Christmas lunch
with the Neills.  The bandits agreed to allow Bandy and his passengers to go
to the Neill house.  All recognized the danger they were in, although they did
not know at that time that Welch and his passengers had been murdered.  Bandy
knelt and led everyone in player, then asked for a rifle to help defend the
house.

     Help soon arrived and everyone in the house was rescued.  The bandits did
not know that James L. Cobb, a neighbor, had heard the shots and had driven to
the ranch to investigate.  He saw the Mexicans looting the ranch, then drove
to the nearest telephone and called the sheriff.  John A. Pool, Sr., also
reached the ranch after the raid.  Soon a large posse gathered in automobiles
to pursue the bandits.  In fact, they almost caught them at Brite's Ranch.
Volunteers arrived as the bandits were headed down Candelaria Rim, only 8
miles away.  The robbers were slowed considerably by all their loot.  The
posse followed and might have wounded some of them, but they could not follow
the trail down the rim in cars.  Although the body of one of the bandits was
dressed in a Carranzista uniform, the Neills attributed the raid to Chico Cano
and his gang.

     The next day a larger party gathered to pursue the raiders.  By December
27 the Americans had surrounded Pilares, Mexico, where they suspected the
bandits lived.  A shoot-out occurred and many people were killed.  Estimates
vary from 8 to 50.  They recovered much of the loot taken at the Brite Ranch,
but some innocent people undoubtedly were killed.  The Texas Adjutant General
investigated the matter and concluded that although the Americans had handled
the problem in an unorthodox manner, justice had been served.  The governor
disagreed and dismissed Capt. J. M. Fox and his entire company of Texas
Rangers as a result.  Some contended that Fox's dismissal was a political
move.  He was clearly in violation of the law, however, in following the
unwritten code of the Big Bend.

Nevill Ranch Raid

     Although the Pilares attack was intended to impress upon the Mexicans the
fact that any raids would be punished, the forays did not stop.  The last
large-scale raid in the Big Bend occurred 3 months later on the Ed Nevill
Ranch.  Nevill and John Wyatt had leased a ranch about 6 miles down the Rio
Grande in Presidio County.  The ranch had no telephone; the nearest neighbor
was 11 miles away.

     On March 25, 1918, the army captain at Van Horn received a report from
one of his informers across the border that some bandits were planning a raid
on the nearby Bell Ranch.  A patrol dispatched to the area found no bandits.
On hearing the report in Van Horn, Ed Nevill left for his ranch. He arrived
after an 8-hour ride to find the ranch peaceful.  Thinking that there was no
danger, he and his son were sitting in the front room discussing the next
day's chores when some horsemen rode up.  Thinking they were the troopers
returning from the Bell Ranch, Nevill was not alarmed. But when he saw they
were Mexican bandits, he reached for his rifle and started shooting.  They
exchanged fire with the raiders, then ran for a ditch about 250 yards from the
house.  Ed Nevill made it, although he had his rifle shot from his hands and
his hat knocked off.  His son was fatally wounded in the head just four steps
out of the house.  The bandits also murdered the wife of one of the Mexican
ranch hands and made off with the horses, ranch supplies, clothes, and
bedding.  Chico Cano again was credited with the raid.

[See Chico Cano: Chico Cano (center), the tough Mexican bandit, and his
pursuer, Capt. Leonard F. Matlack (right).]

     Langhorne, who had been promoted and named commander of the Big Bend
district, received word of the attack at midnight.  He immediately ordered
Troop G at a nearby ranch to proceed to Nevill's.  They arrived at 3:30 a.m.
Troop A was sent by rail to Valentine, where they disembarked, rode to the Rio
Grande, and joined Troop G.  The bandits had crossed near Pilares, and the
soldiers followed.

     Rather than wait for the troops to surround their camp, the bandits set
up an ambush.  A vicious battle followed.  Some reports claimed that 32
bandits and one American were killed.  The soldiers continued the fighting in
Pilares, destroying several houses.  Again they found some of the stolen loot
in the village, adding to its reputation as an outlaw hangout.

     The raid on the Nevill Ranch was the big raid in the Big Bend. There were
several smaller ones, but as the situation in Mexico began to stabilize and
the surveillance in Texas increased, the raids decreased. After the National
Guard was recalled from the Big Bend, Langhorne's 8th Cavalry squadron was
stationed at Marfa and given instructions to patrol the Rio Grande country.
Believing that the temporary posts should be bolstered, the government leased
land from Howard E. Perry and Wayne R. Cartledge in 1919 to build Camp Santa
Helena near what is today Castolon.  The post was never constructed as
originally planned, for a large force was no longer necessary.  The final
plans called for one officers' quarters, two barracks, one kitchen mess, one
lavatory, two quarters for non-coms, two stables, one blacksmith
shop-guardhouse combination, one hay shed, and a grain barn, but only one
barracks, a lavatory, a barn, a corral and stables, and one building each for
officers and noncommissioned officers was built.  The camp was ready for
occupation in early 1920.

     When Pancho Villa's men attacked Ciudad Juarez for the third time in June
1919, the American government ordered the Army Air Service to begin regular
patrols along the river.  Surveillance in the Big Bend was the responsibility
of two military districts: the Big Bend District, which stretched from
Comstock to Sanderson to Boquillas, and the El Paso District, which included
Boquillas to Presidio to Marfa.  The "Big Chickens," as the horse soldiers
called the flimsy DeHavillands, were supposed to find out where Villa had
gone.  They were also to spot any bands and move in close to determine what
they were doing and which direction they were headed.  Any bandit movements
were to be reported to the troops on the ground.  Although the pilots were not
supposed to cross the Rio Grande, they often did, particularly if they were
looking for something.  As the raids in the Big Bend decreased, the ranchers
grew appreciative of the "River Pilots."

     This esteem was proven in August 1919, when two flyers, Lt. H. G.
Peterson and P. H. Davis, went down near Boyame, Chihuahua.  Flying upriver
from Lajitas, Peterson and Davis mistook the Rio Conchos for the Rio Grande
and unwittingly headed into Mexico.  Four connecting-rod bearings burned out,
forcing them to land in rough terrain.  Still thinking they were over the
United States, the airmen made certain that they landed on the northern side
of the river.  Coming down in pasture covered with mesquites, paloverde, and
greasewood, they broke the landing gear and wrecked the plane. (The
DeHavillands, often called a "flaming coffin" by the pilots, had an
unretractable axle connecting the two front landing wheels; rough terrain or
brush would break the axle and sometimes flip the plane over.)  Believing they
were in Texas, the lieutenants headed downriver, expecting to find Candelaria
and the army post there.

     Peterson and Davis were captured by Chico Cano's gang, led by Jesus
Renteria, variously called "Corklet," "Gancho" (or hook, because he had an
artificial arm and steel hook), or "Mocho" (maimed).  Renteria was well known
in the Big Bend as one of Cano's most vicious murderers.  During the raid on
the Brite ranch he reportedly had sat on Mickey Welch's body while an
accomplice held his hair and slit the man's throat with a pen knife.  Renteria
was assisted in the capture by "Slim" Olivas and Delores Navarrette.

     The lieutenants were allowed to send out messages saying that they were
being held for ransom, but that they were well treated and in good health.  A
messenger delivered Renteria's demand for a $15,000 ransom to Dawkins
Kilpatrick, a storekeeper and a rancher at Candelaria on August 17. Send
$15,000 in cash by midnight, August 18, or the flyers would be killed, he
wrote.  When word of the airmen's capture reached a group of Big Bend ranchers
attending Bloys Camp Meeting, near Marfa, the money was raised in less than 10
minutes.  Grateful for the aid they had received from the "River Pilots," the
ranchers authorized the Marfa National Bank to deliver the money to Capt.
Leonard F. Matlack at Candelaria.

     Negotiating with Renteria by notes delivered by Tomas Sanchez, Matlack
arranged for ransoming the prisoners one at a time.  Peterson was brought
safely to the American side.  When Matlack returned for Davis, he overheard
the bandits planning to kill them after the money was delivered. Acting
quickly, he drew his pistol on the bandits and ordered Davis to get on the
horse behind him.  Matlack returned to the Rio Grande by a different route and
avoided a suspected ambush.

     Captain Matlack performed bravely.  He brought the airmen back to the
American side safely, and he saved $6,500 of the rancher's money ($1,000 was
given to Sanchez for his assistance).  Colonel Langhorne declared that the
officer deserved a decoration.

     As soon as the officers were safe, Colonel Langhorne ordered troops into
Mexico to chase Renteria and his men.  The "River Pilots" served as their
"eyes," flying low over the harsh terrain, searching for any suspects.
Messages were then dropped to the cavalry, indicating the direction the
suspects were headed.  The results were immediate.  Sergeant William H.
Nealing's patrol encountered three Mexicans who immediately surrendered.
Although they were not members of Renteria's band, they were wanted by U.S.
authorities.  They were turned over to the civilian scouts, who took them off
into a canyon and shot them.  (An officer was later court martialed for the
action.)  Lts. F. S. Estill and R. H. Cooper spotted Renteria's gang on the
afternoon of the first day.  Flying low over the canyons and mountains, they
suddenly realized that three horsemen below were firing at them with rifles.
Turning the craft toward the trio (the Marlin machine guns were aimed by
pointing the plane at the target), pilot Estill began firing.  As they flew
by, Cooper fired more rounds with the Lewis machine gun mounted on the rear
cockpit.  They reported that both Renteria and his white horse were killed.
(Of course, stories still circulate in the Big Bend that Renteria survived the
attack and now lives in one of the border towns.)

     Langhorne recalled the troops and proclaimed success.  Renteria was
reported killed.  Four other bandits were killed by the civilian scouts.
Almost half of the ransom money was saved.  The bandits, who at one time had
reigned supreme in the Big Bend, were no match for the DeHavillands.  The Big
Bend was on the verge of peace after a decade of turmoil.

     The Big Bend figured in another pilot search in 1921.  Lt. Alexander
Pearson, a crack pilot in the 12th Aero Border Patrol Squadron, attempted to
fly from the Pacific to the Atlantic across the southern United States with
only two service stops.  The crankshaft broke, forcing him down near Columbus,
N. Mex.  After repairs, he flew into Fort Bliss at El Paso on February 8,
1921.  He left Fort Bliss the next day, intending to land in San Antonio or
Houston.  But he encountered a fierce norther in the Big Bend and was blown
far off course.  Somewhere over the mountains the bearings of his crankshaft
froze up, forcing him to land in rough terrain. Like Peterson and Davis, he
thought he was in the United States when he was really in Mexico.  He walked
along the Rio Grande, hoping to find a ranch or a village.  Two Mexican
horsemen aided him, and he met J. E. Murrah, foreman of the Rutledge ranch,
who loaned him a horse for the ride into Sanderson. "A good meal and bed was
all I wanted that night, as I was pretty well exhausted," he told reporters.
"The worst thing about this is that I lose my chance to try the
transcontinental record."  Pearson's plane was finally repaired and flown out
of the valley where he had landed - "Las Vegas de los Ladrones" (the Lowlands
of the Thieves) - on the Mexican side of the river east of Boquillas.

     By 1921 the Big Bend had quieted down to a point where the army could
discontinue aerial patrols.  The circumstances that spawned the raids were
unique.  Mexico had undergone tremendous revolution and social upheaval.
Settlement in the Big Bend was so sparse that defense was practically
impossible.  Several wealthy ranches, two large mines, and numerous wax
factories were within easy striking distance of the Rio Grande.  J. O.
Langford operated his resort at Hot Springs.  Jesse Deemer his store at
Boquillas, and Brite his ranch in the Capote Mountains.  Most of them
evacuated their homes at one time or another during the chaotic years. One who
stayed was Dawkins Kilpatrick, who mounted a machine gun on the roof of his
store in Candelaria.  Army occupation, increased settlement, and stability in
Mexico combined to bring peace.  Soon fur trappers hunted their prey in the
Rio Grande and Rio Conchos canyons, farmers moved into the Castolon area to
raise cotton, and ranchers returned to their herds.

     The Big Bend's reputation for violence died hard, but by the turn of the
century civilization had overtaken the region.  While outlaws, cattle
rustlers, and smugglers did not disappear, their feats became less colorful
and less publicized.  Some of the most fanciful material about the
blood-thirsty thieves and bandits was written by Hill after his seemingly
uneventful trip down the Rio Grande in 1899.  But even former Texas Ranger E.
E. Townsend had to admit 30 years later that Hill had exaggerated the
lawlessness of the Big Bend.  With the end of the Mexican revolutionary era, a
peace that had existed with a few sensational interruptions was reestablished,
and the dream of the early-day National Guardsmen - that the Big Bend be made
a national park - grew into a reality.