| Summary: | Part of the Institute of Texan Cultures' The Texians and the Texans series. THE MEXICAN TEXANS This pamphlet is one of a. series prepared by the staff of the University of Texas Institute of Texan Cultures at San Antonio. This series, when completed, will tell of the contributions made by the many ethnic groups to the history and culture of this state. ©1971:. The Institute of T'~xan Cultures 1rlJ'tr:jns DR.T. W'9'Y R. HENDERSON SHUFFLER Executive Director sioner for international and bilingual education. He is a member of the Texas Academy of Science, and the International Good Neighbor Council, among other organizations, and is known for his writings in the field of science education, as well as language instruction. HEN R Y B. GO N Z ALE Z A native of San Antonio, Texas, Henry B. Gonzalez was elected to the city council of his hometown in 1953. Three years later he became the first Texas citizen of Mexican descent to be elected to the state senate since 1846. Then, in 1961, he again shattered tradition with his election to the United States House of Representatives, the first of his ethnic group ever elected from the State of Texas. The parents of Congressman Gonzalez emigrated from the State of Durango during the Mexican Revolution. They settled in San Antonio, where the father became editor of La Prensa, a Spanish-language newspaper. Young Henry was educated in the public schools of San Antonio and San Antonio College. He later attended The University of Texas at Austin. He received a law degree from St. Mary's University in 1943. After service in World War II, he became chief probation officer of Bexar County until the beginning of his political career in 1953. Today, in addition to wide popularity as a public speaker, he still maintains a near perfect attendance record in the United States Congress and has attained national recognition for his abilities in government. 31 32 AMERICO PAREDES Already noted fo~is contribution to folklore studies, Americo Paredes is now developing a new program of research and publication as director of the Center of Mexican American Studies at The University of Texas in Austin. A native of Brownsville, Texas, he attended public schools and graduated from Brownsville Junior College in 1936. He worked until 1943 as a newspaperman and freelance writer. He served in the army from 1944 to 1946, the last year in Tokyo as political editor for the Pacific edition of Stars and Stripes. He remained in Tokyo through 1950, spending two years as a public relations officer for the American Red Cross, and two years with the department of the army as a magazine editor. Paredes came to The University of Texas at Austin in 1950, and received a bachelor's degree the following year, a master's in 1953, and a doctorate in 1956. He taught for one year at The University of Texas at EI Paso, and then returned to Austin, where he joined the faculty of his alma mater. In 1967, he was visiting professor at The University of California at Berkeley. Presently, he also serves as editor of the Journal of American Folklore. PORF I "'10 ~IRIO SALINAS ~d has it that one day in the late 1920's artist Robert Wood decided that he could not bear to paint another bluebonone of his landscapes. He hired r;.~:l1 (E~7< :;) young Porfirio Salinas to paint them in for him, at five dollars a picture. Today, Salinas has gained world renown as a painter of the Texas hill country and its bluebonnets. Born near Bastrop, Texas, Porfirio Salinas moved to San Antonio as a young boy and began haunting the galleries of the Witte Museum. He received lessons from Jose Arpa, a well known regional artist. An early admirer of his work was then-Senator Lyndon B. Johnson, who bought his first Salinas painting in 1949. Salinas' patrons now include some of the best known art connoisseurs in the nation. INTRODUCTION Almost two million of today's Texans are of Mexican birth or descent. Their proud heritage is a blend of several cultures that carved Texas from bedrock wilderness. It is our strongest tie with the past and an inevitably significant influence on our future. In the emergence of the Mexican people as a nationality, various types and combinations of Indians and Spaniards united under a single banner in 1821. Their story begins much earlier, however. Two centuries before the armored soldiers of Spain landed on the North American mainland, Aztecan builders were at work on their capital. From this city, called Mexico-Tenochtitlan, come both the name of Mexico and its national symbol. Following instructions from their gods, the Aztecs had located on a lake island where they found an eagle with a snake in his beak perched on a cactus. Mexico City stands on that site today. When Cortes landed in 1519 with 500 men, the many native tribes of Mexi.co totaled between 11 and 20 million people. Their ranks were catastrophically reduced by European-borne diseases, yet by 1800 they still outnumbered Spanishborn residents of Mexico over 40 to 1. Despite Spain's enormous legacy to Mexico-including language and religion- Old World Spaniards (peninsulares) never constituted more than a fraction of its total population. About a thousand . of these Europeans, mostly male, arrived annually during the first 125 years after the conquest of Mexico. Immigration played only a minor role in THE FOUNDING OF TENOCHTITLAN population growth after the first half century. Thereafter, American-born Spaniards, the criollos, (or creoles) exceeded the Spanish-born peninsulares in ever-increasing ratios. The union of Spaniards and Indians gave rise to a new group, the mestizos, who, with the Indian population, made up 83 percent of the people in New Spain. By the time of Mexican independence from Spain, the creole count was slightly over a million, while European-born Spaniards totaled 70,000. A. Caso, The Aztecs Strangely, it was the creole-the Spaniard born on this continent, of Spanish parents-who spearheaded the 1810 revolt against Spain. And Mexico became a nation in 1821 through the combined efforts of Indians, mestizos and creoles-all children of the New World. Texas history until 1836 was simply a part of Mexican history. Since then the Mexican Texan has played a significant role in Lone Star history. Some of their contributions are outlined briefly in the following sketches of a few notable individuals. \ \ 7~1 FR. ISIDRzyELlX DE ESPINOSA 2 1/-s~ C. E. Castaneda, Our Catholic Heritage, Vol. IV FRAY ISIDRO FELIX DE ESPINOSA 1709-1716 Fray Isidro Felix de Espinosa was ordained in 1697 at the College of Santa Cruz in Queretaro, the city of his birth. He was assigned to the mission of San Juan Bautista del Rio Grande, located at what is now the town of Guerrero in the Mexican state of Coahuila, about 35 miles southeast of present day Eagle Pass. In 1709 he accompanied soldiers to the present site of San Antonio, where an abundant water source was discovered and named San Pedro Springs. Espinosa was soon made father-president of the Texan missions founded by the Queretaran college. In 1716 he accompanied the East Texas expedition of Domingo Ramon, and established the missions of Nuestra Senora de la Purisima Concepcion de los Hainai and San Jose de los N azonisboth in what is now Nacogdoches County -and reestablished San Francisco de los Tejas one and a half miles north of the present Houston County community of Weches. As a member of Martin de Alarcon's 1718 inspection tour, and again in 1721 as a member of the Marques de Aguayo's expedition, Espinosa increased his knowledge of the Texas mission field. His 1746 book, Cr6nica, an account of the apostolic colleges, remains the best primary source of the early 18th century history of Texas. ,,, Un:I!111~\Vij VV'f\.,'~ JC~ \~ STOBAL DE LOS ANTOS COY 1746 Mission schools had been established at San Francisco de los Tejas in East Texas as early as 1690. The first non-mission school in Texas was founded in 1746 at San Fernando de Bexar by Don Crist6bal de los Santos Coy. It was a joint project in which government lands were donated, and buildings furnished by the church were maintained by the people. In 1789, another school was organized in San Antonio by Don Jose Francisco de la Mata, a native of Saltillo. The fate of the school is unknown. But in 1811 Juan Zambrano established another school in San Antonio designed to accommqdate 70 pupils who would pay according to ability. The teacher was paid 30 pesos a month and a regidor (alderman) assumed responsibility for administering punishment. In 1818 Zambrano formed an 80-pupil school at La Bahia. Later, the teacher, a soldier named Jose Galan, was relieved of his position because his school duties conflicted with his other responsibilities as secretary to the ayuntamiento (municipal council). The school closed in 1821, as the population declined. Another school opened at San Antonio in 1826. Two years later the governor bought the school 7/-/J'7 From Pierpont's The Young Reader, Boston, 1831 100 charts, 36 catechisms, and other supplies out of public funds. This was the first instance in which free textbooks were provided to school children in Texas. That same year an ordinance was passed establishing a "public free primary school." Despite this activity, financial support was the crucial problem-then, as today. The central government shifted responsibility for education to the states; the states, having no money, shifted the burden to the ayuntamientos; the ayuntamientos, likewise without funds, did not know what to do. Where schools were opened, attendance was often difficult to maintain. 3 JOSE VASQUEZ BORREGO 1750 J ose Vasquez Borrego was a wealthy cattleman, who owned ranches on both sides of the Rio Grande. In 1750 he secured additional lands from Nuevo Santander's governor Jose de Escandon in order to establish the settlement of Dolores, situated north of the river between present Laredo and Brownsville. Within four years this villa had 123 inhabitants brought in by Borrego and his son-in-law, Juan Antonio Vidaurri. Supporters of Mexican independence, the founding families of Dolores were driven from their homes by Spanish royalists, but they returned in 1828. Vidaurri heirs still live on the land, although Dolores was destroyed by Indians in 1850. Ruins of the original settlement include a church, fort, school, and several houses. TOMAS SANCHEZ DE LA BARRERA Y GALLARDO 1755 Tomas Sanchez was the second ranchman from Mexico to establish a Texas town on land granted by Governor Escandon. In 1755 Sanchez located the Villa de Laredo on the north bank of the Rio Grande, thirty miles above Dolores. Under his leadership, the populatIon ~f Laredo increased ( J RUINS OF VII;T ,A DE DOLORES 1t31 O? § S -:::J- I""') _ lG Q .$.--. ~ ~ fJl.LfIM( i t) .-cr I ~ 1 t 0 4 [ ,T ,C, Collection A :\Y ' ~ '. . I:: , U.Ul~ ·,§ .«.'. ' ·.~11 <> ~ 8 c.i ~ j \ "\ . ~' ./ 'Ai ~ ' . I I ' ~) Ii') ~ HISTORICM MARK,ER AT LAREDO "':l. d---:za ":'L ,sAM.'$ ~ - F-~:a.s. 7 J- ~ T from 85 in 1757 to 700 Spaniards, mesti-zos, and mulatos by 1789. Sanchez was chief justice and alcalde (mayor) almost continuously until his death in 1796. La-redo gained early importance, which it still maintains, as a crossroads to and from Mexico. No attempt was made to ex-tend Texas government to the city, how-ever, until the Texas boundary question finally was resolved by the United StatesMexican War. The Laredo Archives (housed at St. Mary's University of San Antonio) rank with those of Nacogdoches and Bexar as valuable source material on Texas under Spanish and Mexican rule. ANTONIO GIL YBARBO 1779 Antonio Gil Ybarbo, a man of intrigue, was born at Los Adaes in what is now Louisiana. His parents had been sent there as colonists from Spain. By 1773 Ybarbo became spokesman for a group of discontented East Texas settlers. When the Marques de Rubi recommended abandoning the presidios and missions of East Texas in order to concentrate the Spanish forces for a more effective defense, the settlers were ordered removed from the N ac-ogdoches area to yacant farm lands near San Antonio. Hardship and sickness took a heavy toll of life on this journey. Ybarbo petitioned the Spanish government and, after an unhappy one-year stay near San Fernando, these people were allowed to move to the Trinity River, where they founded the town of Bucareli, in what is now Madison County. It is said that, on this occasion, Ybarbo took to East Texas cottonseed, sheep, and a Negro weaver who was expected to teach his craft to the settlers. But the people were barely able YBARBO LEADING THE SETTLERS FROM LOS ADAES, 1773 Castaneda, Our Catholic Heritage, Vol. IV - --- . I 11-3,J .\ to eke out an existence. Comanche Indians began harassing the settlement in spite of Ybarbo's ' many expeditions among the tribes to promote friendly relations. Appeals for additional arms and ammunition went unanswered. Finally after a disastrous flood, the village of Bucareli was abandoned early in 1779. Ybarbo then helped rebuild Nacogdoches. Later he was accused of smuggling, and although cleared, was forbidden to return to Nacogdoches. Exiled to Louisiana, he was allowed to return by Spanish authorities a few years later. He died at his Nacogdoches ranch in 1809. ANTONIO LEAL 1790 Antonio Leal, born in San Antonio de Bexar, led a comparatively uneventful life until 1790, when he joined the first of the filibustering schemes to wrest Texas from Spain. With Irish adventurer Philip Nolan, Leal apparently became involved in capturing and selling Texas mustangs. A ten-league grant, where the town of San Augustine now stands, was owned by Leal and his wife and used as pasture for horses awaiting transfer to Louisiana. The Spanish government became suspicious of Nolan, believing that he was selling horses to Anglo-Americans, and mapping Spanish territory as well. In 1801 Nolan was killed, his men were captured, and the Leals were arrested as accomplices. They were prosecuted in one of the most famous trials in Texas history and deported to San Antonio. 5 MEXICAN ANSURGENTS OF 1810 IN TYPICAL DRESS 6 71-J'I -.} Artes de Mexico, No. 102 JUAN BAUTISTA DE LAS CASAS 1811 Texas felt the first stirrings of Mexico's desire for independence from Spain in 1811. In those days the attitude in Spain was that all individuals who were produced in the New World atmosphere were naturally inferior. Thus the Americanborn Spaniard was not entrusted with high civil, military, and ecclesiastical offices. The impoverished Indians and mestizos were stratified by law at the bottom of the social structure. By 1810 the creoles could contain themselves no longer. Meeting secretly in every city of Mexico, they committed themselves to action against the peninsulares, contemptuously referred to as gachupines (the gentry who enjoyed the privilege of wearing spurs). Leadership was provided by a priest, Father Miguel Hidalgo, whose execution in July, 1811, could not stop the movement toward independence. Juan Bautista de las Casas plotted the Texas phase of Hidalgo's insurrection. Las Casas, born in 1775, was a native of the northern province of Nuevo Santander, now called Tamaulipas. He had spent much of his life in the military. What is termed the Las Casas Revolution was actually a coup d'etat: Spanish Governor Manuel Salcedo and Lieutenant Colonel Simon Herrera were arrested at San Antonio, and Las Casas appointed himself governor of the province in the name of the Hidalgo revolt. Las Casas, however, proved unpopular in San Antonio, and a counter-revolution terminated his brief rule. He was taken to Monclova, tried for treason, and executed. Independence for the Mexican nation finally came in 1821. JUAN MANUEL ZAMBRANO 1811 Born at San Antonio in 1772, Juan Manuel Zambrano was a man of tremendous vitality with an independent, flamboyant nature. While a sub-deacon of the San Fernando Church, he was exiled to Mexico City in 1807 by Governor Salcedo, who had received complaints from San Antonians regarding Zambrano's "aggressive acts." In spite of vigorous objection from Governor Salcedo, Zambrano was allowed to return to Texas just in time to become an observer of the Las Casas Revolution of 1811. With assistance from prominent Hispanic Texans in San Antonio, Zambrano soon organized a successful counter-revolution and restored royalist authority in March, 1811. Apparently not one to hold a grudge, Zambrano helped restore Salcedo to the governorship. Zambrano's fame spread far and wide after the events of 1811. In 1814 he was again ordered to leave Texas, because of a gambling debt. Evidently, he was slow to obey orders, for in July, 1815, he was involved in an impromptu street duel in San Antonio. The temperamental priest was feared by many people. Several complaints were filed against him for various cruelties. But, in 1818, he demonstrated a • • .:. t -·~ -. ,. 't· · . , . ,.~,.'t.f ' ,. ~ ._.\._ . ",~ . . . \ . ~J' .~ '.~.: . !f.'l' . ." -" t;"."• ,. ti . !~P'" . .' " . . .~. A. .:.'f . ' t"T" r r-~.:'''. ' ;:- : . . ! . .: . .: .r:-:"::?iirii"" •.& . ~ ~ . >.: . ' . ',0- ;k:":': '- ,_. . -;.;.,. ~ :i.l:r ~ ',".'-: ~'''!1''':.::I• ••r r. ' r _, - _ ., ~ ,._~ '- .c . . _t.;·. ·• .-• •. - . . . .;;;.r. .:-- ~ g. . "", . l;-. . . ~-.r.,• ~ . -. " .~ {. ,. -' " Co. • _",l .~. .,. . . • - . :&. . --- . • • - - . .~. . . .~ , .' . - . =---. ,. . -_.-_ . - .-.--' - . .~. . . .'.' . . ~'". _'J t~ • " : ' . . . ;.; . . ---~.~,. .: ._' . . ~. ~ . - ";'" ~- • . .~ -< , """ ' . .: " ~ . "'- -"" . ~ SAN FERl')i'ANDO CHURCH IN THE TIME OF ZAMBRANO 71-1, V '. . 7~eab.od; M.l4seum - fltvU7:~A .~. V(.;f\w<:.-t.,uUj - IJ A (.II more constructive side of his character by establishing a non-mission school at La Bahia. On January 26, 1826, Don Erasmo Seguin, who was postmaster at Bexar, wrote his wife as follows: "Don't be afraid of the beating Father Zambu~no ~v:t1'-. threatened you with. I've heard he aied ._: I'~ \1 () .' .recently in an exemplary way. May God keep him in His heavenly kingdom!" /I ,. . L. fyI / V i li 7 8 BERNARDO GUTIERREZ DE LARA 1813 Jose Bernardo Maximiliano Gutierrez de Lara led the first successful revolt against Spanish rule in Mexico, and-in the process-gave Texas its first declaration of independence and its first constitution. Born in Mexico on the eve of the American Revolution, he was inspired by this movement and its French counterpart. When social inequality and economic injustice led Father Miguel Hidalgo and his followers to open revolt in 1810, Gutierrez pledged his personal fortune in Nuevo Santander (now Tamaulipas) to the independence movement. When Hidalgo was executed, Gutierrez hastened to the United States seeking aid to continue the revolution. Tradition says he became so exasperated with Washington bureaucracy that he even learned to swear in English. Nevertheless, by the summer of 1812, Gutierrez and Augustus Magee, a former U.S. Army lieutenant, organized a force of American filibusterers, Mexican insurgents, and Indians near Natchitoches, Louisiana. They crossed the Sabine River, took Nacogdoches, La Bahia, and San Antonio de Bexar. There, on April 6, 1813, Don Bernardo's forces proclaimed independence from Spain, and declared Texas a state in the yet-to-be established Republic of Mexico. On July 4, 1813, he wrote an appeal to the American people saying: "The fertile plains of Texas will no more be stained with the precious blood of patriots. Here you may enjoy life according to 70·!MJ. ./ GUTIERREZ DE LARA'S SEAL OF TEXAS H. Gambrell, Pictorial History of Texas your wishes; here peace and comfort will smile . " The Americans in Gutierrez's army soon became disenchanted with the harsh measures taken by the Mexicans toward their enemies, and returned to the United States. Within four months Gutierrez was forced to relinquish command of the filibustering army to Alvarez de Toledo, a Caribbean soldier-of-fortune and pamphleteer. Royalist troops defeated the filibusterers on August 18, 1813, at the battle of Medina River, and restored Spanish rule to Texas. In exile in Louisiana, Gutierrez continued to work with liberation movements, and after Mexico was independent, became the first governor of Tamaulipas. JOSE FELIX TRESPALACIOS 1822 Active in many movements for Mexican independence, Jose Felix Trespalacios led a hectic career. He had been imprisoned twice for rebellious activities when he met James Long, who also had ideas of freeing Texas from Spanish rule. After an unsuccessful invasion effort in 1819, Long returned a year later and captured La Bahia. When he learned of Mexico's bid for independence, Long sent Trespalacios and Ben Milam to Mexico to attempt a union with Agustin de Iturbide. Captured by Spanish royalists, the two messengers were imprisoned in Veracruz. They remained there until Iturbide's cause prevailed. For his service to Mexican independence, Trespalacios was made a cavalry colonel, and then appointed governor of Geahu-ila aH-fi Texas. During his administration, from 1822 to 1823, Stephen F. Austin's colony was divided into the Colorado and Brazos districts. Trespalacios later served in the Mexican National Congress. GOVERNMENT SEAL OF COAHUILA AND TEXAS T exas State Historical Survey Committee {.IJ « '< I!!. I;j .J ':l ."," , . - . - .,""~ . .- . PATIO OF m;"S~ANI~i=i GOV~RNOR'S PALACE AT SAN ANTONIO Dallas Historical Society 7/-" 11/ • J 0 SEA N TON I 0 During his tenure, Saucedo defined the S A U C E D 0 boundaries of and approved the regula- 1824 tions for Stephen F. Austin's colony. Jose Antonio Saucedo was active in the political life of San Antonio as early as 1806. In 1812, he and Erasmo Seguin wrote the code of rules for a school which was established at La Villita. With the formation of the dual state of Coahuila and Texas in 1824, he became jefe politico, the chief political officer in Bexar. MARTIN DE LEON 1824 One of the most influential men in early Texas, Martin de Leon came from a wealthy creole family of Nuevo Santander. He chose a life of ranching and ad-venture instead of the European education his father planned for him. In 1805, he made a trip to Texas, saw its possibilities for cattle raising and developed a ranch on the Aransas River. De Leon's "EJ" brand, reputedly the oldest in Texas, belonged to the J esuits centuries before and stood for Espiritu Jesus, Spirit of Jesus. Don Martin had supported the Hidalgo revolution, and with the establishment of the Republic of Mexico in 1824, he obtained a grant to settle J\Jexican families in Texas. Victoria, the capital of his colony, grew, even after its founder's neath in 1833, and was one of the first three towns to be incorporated by the Republic of Texas. The people of Victoria supported the Texas Revolution and paid heavily for their allegiance. They were considered traitors by the Mexicans. After the Texas Revolution, the AngloAmericans treated them unfairly because they were Mexicans. The enterprising caliber of men De Leon brought from Mexico, however, contributed to the growth and development of Victoria, as many of their descendants do today. Leon County is named for the city's founder. A number of his descendants live in the Victoria area today. MARTIN DE LEON'S CATTLE BRAND I.T.C. Collection 6,- trl/r (I,) 9 10 RAFAEL GONZALES 1824 Born in San Fernando de Bexar in 1789, Rafael Gonzales trained for an army career and served at various posts in Coahuila and Texas. He joined the forces of independence against Spain, and was promoted to lieutenant colonel. He served as governor of Coahuila and Texas from 1824 to 1826. The Texas town of Gonzales is named for him. ~ "/;p"'~ ff;;-; e/ lI~,, {r 1/ GASP~R FLORES 1826 Gaspar Flores Abrego y Valdes twice served as alcalde of San Antonio. He was appointed in 1826 to succeed the Baron de Bastrop as commissioner of colonization. As such, Flores completed the land titles of Austin's first colony and estabIi shed the settlers of the second Austin contract. With almost unlimited power of land grants, Flores resided in the colonies during the early 1830's and signed more than 500 titles. He and Jose Francisco Ruiz were among the few men then in Texas equipped to treat and counsel with the Comanche Indians-a service they performed several times. Don Gaspar offered all of his goods and cattle to the men in the Alamo, and was one of four Bexar delegates elected to the Convention of 1836 at Washington-on-theBrazos. But for the hand of fate, he and Erasmo Seguin would have joined Ruiz and Jose Antonio Navarro as the only native Texans to sign the March 2 Declaration of Independence. Seguin became too ill to travel, and Flores died en route to Washington. The Flores family had farms and ranches below San Antonio, and the town of Floresville is named for them. JUAN MARTIN DE VERAMENDI 1830 Juan Martin de Veramendi, born in San Antonio, served for a time as collector of foreign r evenue. In 1824 he was chosen mayor of his native city. Later, in 1830, he was elected vice-governor of Coahuila and Texas. While en route to Mexico City to qualify, he met Jim Bowie. The two became friends and traveled back to Texas together. Bowie married Veramendi's daughter, Ursula, and the two men went into the cotton business. The governor of the province, Jose Maria Letona, died, and Veramendi took his family to Saltillo to assume the office of acting governor. At his summer home in Monclova, Juan Veramendi and most of his family-including Bowie's wife-died during a cholera epidemic in 1833. HOME OF JUAN MAR!IN DIE VERAMENDI "'1·,3/$1 V g/- 500 D.R.T. Library . ' . .-s ~ °3 ~, ~,. " . . " '" -.Q:~ r~_. ;-,. U'~ ~;.:. ~'- ""'c;,. <:":. ~.,;,~.\ 'J~ \L - "~ ~. ) / -\ ~- I V I.l /. -.". "',:. , /Y ~ :ttl.; e;.)o , ~ v , / / ~iiiiiiliiii!Z!E BENAVIDES J~m DE LEON GRANTS 0 ' /.1-6"6~ PLACIDO BENAVIDES 1832 Placido Benavides, one of Martin de Leon's colonists, played a leading part in the fight for Texas independence. A native of Reynosa, Benavides came to Texas in 18Z8 as secretary to Francisco de Leon, commissioner of the De Leon colony. With two of his brothers ~p~ shared a . land gra~t o(jjlffi 0 ;; He marrIed Agustma ~-. "" ecame alcalde of Victoria home, Round Top House, served~S refuge for colonists during Indian ra' s. Always loyal to the Texan cause, B navides ~ ~# ~ ~ ~U" '~ " "f, '.,. ~o " '"<$> ~". -'> ~ .,. ~ ;,.l.~ itP 1'J, . (f~113' ~r ,. . L tJ· $/)) 1'#1.';>"-1 ~ Victon.a Co. , 18-7-9-, Gen. L a nd Office led a group of Mexican Texan ranchers during the 1836 Texas Revolution. Anglo antipathy toward Mexicans in the immediate wake of the war caused him to move his family to Louisiana, where he died in 1837. RAMON MUSQUIZ 1835 "Ramon Musquiz is one of the best friends to Texas and the truest that lives in this place and he deserves the confidence of the Colony and of all Texas." So wrote Stephen F. Austin from San Anto-nio in December 1835. Ramon Musquiz was the political chief and the highest civil official in Texas from 18Z7 until 1834. All official relations of the colonists with the state and federal governments had to be conducted through him. Musquiz was born of an old and distinguished family in northern Coahuila. His father, Captain Miguel Musquiz, had been stationed at Nacogdoches during the Philip Nolan expedition. Prior to becoming a political leader, Ramon Musquiz operated a mercantile business. Upon assuming office in Bexar he showed an earnest desire to promote, in all legal ways, the welfare of the Texan colonists. He cooperated with Stephen F. Austin and others who sincerely believed that the introduction of slavery was necessary for the rapid development of Texas. Musquiz successfully urged Mexican authorities to exempt Texas from the decree of 18Z9, abolishing slavery in Mexico. He also worked to make Texas a separate state within the Mexican nation. In March 1835 he replaced Juan Seguin as Vice Governor of Coahuila and Texas, and three months later was elevated to the governorship. He was in San Antonio during the battle of the Alamo, and later helped tend the Texan dead. Shortly thereafter Musquiz left San Antonio and lived in Monclova until 1839, when he returned to San Antonio. ~ , ,1,,3. '11.3 / "/"-" ~IL. <:.:2 d;tk~- Z~ ~-. \._""~ oll 12 READING 1()~!;7S TEXAS' DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE 1836 On March 2, 1836-four days before Santa Anna's success at the Alamo-delegates at the town of Washington signed Texas' Declaration of Independence. At least seven Mexican Texans were elected to serve in this convention, but only three were able to attend-Jose Antonio Navarro, Jose Francisco Ruiz, and Lorenzo de Zavala. JOSE ANTONIO NAVARRO 1836 For fifty years before the American Civil War, Jose Antonio Navarro had a part in every major decision affecting the history of Texas. Born in San Antonio de Bexar in 1795, he was involved in the first stirrings for independence from Spain and was active in the insurrection led by Gutierr~ z and Magee. When that uprising failed, Navarro took refuge in Louisiana until granted amnesty in 1816. His pleasant friendship with Stephen F. Austin began in 1821, when the colonizer was locating his settlers in Texas. Navarro was a member of the Chamber of Deputies in the state legislature, when, at Austin's urging, he introduced a prudent and novel piece of legislation into the New World. Decree No. 70, passed by the legislature of Coahuila and Texas in 1829, was the forerunner of the homestead law. Texas thus became the first government in this hemisphere to make the family secure in its home. A signer of Texas' Declaration of Independence, Navarro was also a member of the committee to draft its constitution. After serving in the Third Congress of the Republic, he reluctantly accepted President M. B. Lamar's appointment in 1841 as commissioner on the ill-fated Santa Fe expedition. As a result, Navarro spent four years in a Mexican prison. He escaped in time to attend the Texas Convention of 1845, where he voted for annexation to the United States and helped draw up the new state's constitution. Navarro was a state senator in the First and Second Legislatures, and at an Austin meeting in 1861, spoke for the secession ordinance. Twenty-five years before his death in 1871, Navarro County was created and named in his honor. The county seat, Corsicana, is so-called for his father's birthplace on the isle ~orsica. JOSE ANTONIO NAVARRO '1- ~-43 D.R.T. Library ~1 H.y.~ . -> I . . ~ . JOSE FRANCISCO RUIZ 1836 Born in San Antonio on September 1, 1780, Jose Francisco Ruiz was sent by his family to Spain for an education. He returned home in 1803, filled with ideas of self-government. He became a respected and influential teacher and was an early supporter of the Mexican Revolution. Unlike others, who escaped to the enited States after defeat of the Gutierrez-Magee t' expedition, Ruiz went to live among the Indians and remained with them until Mexico gained independence. He was soon a colonel in the Mexican army, where his knowledge of the Indians was a great asset in military and governmental affairs. After signing the Texas Declaration of Independence, Ruiz served as the first senator from Bexar to the Texas Congress. 13 14 LORENZO DE ZAVALA 1836 Lorenzo de Zavala's illustrious political career began in his native Yucatan as a member of its provisional assembly and as its representative to the Spanish Cortes in Madrid. An advocate of democratic reforms, he served in the Mexican Congress from 1822 until his election as governor of the state of Mexico in 1827. Under President Vicente Guerrero, De Zavala was Minister of the Treasury and received an empresario land grant to settle families in Texas. In 1833 Santa Anna called the scholarly statesman from the Mexican Chamber of Deputies to be Minister to France. Giving up the post when Santa Anna abrogated the Mexican Constitution of 1824, De Zavala brought his family to Texas and established a home near present Houston in 1835. He represented the Harrisburg municipality in the 1835 Consultation at San Felipe and attended the Convention of 1836 at the town of Washington, where he signed the Texas Declaration of Independence. On March 17, 1836, De Zavala was named ad interim vice-president of the Republic of Texas. His health was failing, and he resigned this office only a month before his death, on November 15, 1836. Although deeply involved in the struggles for Mexican independence, and later for Texas independence, Lorenzo de Zavala found time in his 47 years to publish a number of important books on Mexican politics. He was highly esteemed by his fellow Texans, who considered him one of the most interesting and polished gentlemen of their frontier. GREGORIO ESPARZA 1836 Gregorio Esparza-one of nine known Mexican Texans to die in the Alamowas its only defender whom Santa Anna allowed to be buried. Bodies of all the others were burned, including Juan Abamillo, Juan A. Badillo, Carlos EspalIer, Antonio Fuentes, Jose Maria Gregorio, Toribio Losoya, Andres Nava, and Guadalupe Rodriquez. Esparza was an exception because his brother was on call to Santa Anna during the storming of the Alamo, and had joined General Cos at the siege of Bexar in December, 1835. Gre-gorio, on the other hand, hp.d entered the Texan service as a volunteer in mid-October, and with Juan Seguin's company, helped drive Cos from San Antonio. When Santa Anna reoccupied the city early in 1836, Esparza was warned that he and his family had better take refuge in the Alamo. The siege was beginning, and massive doors barred tight in the beleaguered walls, when the Esparzas, under cover of night, were raised through a window into Alamo chapel. There Gregorio was found on March 6, 1836, the eve of his thirty-fourth birthday, slumped over the small cannon he had manned-a ball in his chest and a saber slash through his side. Travis' slave, Joe, and at least twelve women and children survived the battle inside the Alamo. Five were Esparzas: Gregorio's wife and their four small youngsters. Esparza was proud of his heritage from a mestizo father and a Spanish mother, and his offspring were proud of him. One son, Enrique, lived to be eighty-nine. At his death in 1917, the family's printed announcement closed: "The deceased was a son of one of the soldiers on the side of the Americans in the battle of the Alamo." . 15 16 JOSE MIGUEL ALDRETE 11 • .u~ (J,) / JOSE MIGUEL ALDRETE 1836 During the Texas Revolution Jose Miguel Aldrete served with Captain Philip Dimmitt's garrison at Goliad, signed the Goliad Declaration of Independence, and helped supply the Texan forces. Little is known of Aldrete's youth, although he probably was born at La Bahia. He mar- Patricia De Leon Collection ried a daughter of Mexican empresario Martin de Leon, served on the Goliad town council, and was several times alcalde. A large landholder in Nueces and Refugio Counties, Aldrete was land commissioner of Coahuila and Texas in 1835, when Santa Anna did away with its government. JESUS CUELLAR 1836 The Mexican army's success at San Patricio and Goliad during the Texas Revo ~ lution might have been reversed had a plan devised by Captain Jesus Cuellar succeeded. A soldier in the Mexican army until after the siege of Bexar, Cuellar deserted to the Texas side because of his personal dislike for Santa Anna. He joined Fannin's troops at Goliad and suggested a stratagem of entrapping Urrea's forces at a pass. Unfortunately, Fannin was too slow in taking action and soon was massacred at Goliad along with his men. Cuellar, in the meantime, had been sent as a messenger to Refugio and managed to make his way to Texan forces on the Brazos. Some sources say he was with General Sam Houston at San Jacinto. Nicknamed "Comanche" for having once been an Indian captive, Cuellar remained a loyal Texas citizen and died at Goliad in 1841. ERASMO AND JUAN SEGUIN 1836 The Seguins, Erasmo and Juan, devoted their lives and fortunes to the growth and development of Texas. Born at San Antonio in 1782, Erasmo Seguin was an early alcalde of Bexar. He ranched south of town, experimented with cotton, and organized a city-owned school. A friend of Stephen F. Austin, Erasmo supported the colonists in their dealings with the Mexican government and tried to rein- force the weakening relationship between the Texans and Mexicans. In December 1835, when General Cos and his troops occupied San Antonio, Mexican soldiers made the mistake of mistreating Erasmo Seguin. He reacted by making huge contributions of food, horses, and mules to the rebels. He was elected a delegate to the Convention of 1836, but illness prevented his signing the Texas independence declaration. His son, Juan, was one of the most effective recruiters for the Texan forces. More than once he rode through enemy lines to deliver messages, and he led a cavalry unit at San Jacinto. Later, as a lieutenant colonel commanding the military at San Antonio, Seguin buried the ashes of the Alamo defenders. So popular did he become that the town of Walnut Springs changed its name to Seguin in his honor. Seguin served in the Texas Senate until 1840, when he resigned to help set up a northern Mexico republic separate from Santa Anna's regime. Uncovering a Mexican plot to invade Texas again, he hurried back to warn his Texas friends. Juan Seguin became mayor of San Antonio in 1841. When General Rafael Vasquez and his troops captured the city in March of the following year, Vasquez told the people that the mayor sympathized with the Mexican cause. Although this seemed a deliberate attempt to discredit Seguin, his enemies took advantage of the situation and incited powerful opposition. They were so successful that when Seguin returned with Captain Hays, after having pursued Vasquez and his army to the Rio Grande, he was met by an aroused mob that forced him to flee into hiding. A few days later, when General Edward Burleson arrived to take charge of the army, Mayor Seguin asked for a military trial to clear his name, but Burleson refused, saying that the charges were ridiculous. Bishop Odin reported that about twenty of the most prominent Mexican families of San Antonio were compelled to leave the city as a result of their treatment by the Texas Volunteers, who invaded their lands aJid homes. Se- JUAN SEGUIN ~J'- '1'70/ guin resigned as mayor and joined the march of the refugees to Mexico. In September, 1842, Santa Anna forced him to follow General Adrian Woll in a reinvasion attempt. Seguin died at Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas in 1889, unappreciated for his services to Texas. When the hands of history were exposed, however, he was vindicated of false accusations and recognized as a true Texas patriot. In 1969 citizens of Seguin, Texas, raised funds to restore his grave and made a pilgrimage to the site. Texas State Library 17 18 b8-'~ SECOND REGIMENT OF TEXAS VOLUNTEERSNINTH COMPANY 1835-1836 Captain Juan Seguin's company served gallantly throughout the Texas Revolution- at the storming of Bexar, in the Alamo, as scouts in Houston's army, and as a unit at San Jacinto, where those who did not speak English cried: "Recuerden el Alamo!" Seven of the nine Mexican Texans who died in the Alamo were Seguin's men (see section on Gregorio Esparza). Other members of the company included: Antonio Cruz Arocha, Jose Maria Arocha, Manuel Arocha, Simon Arreola, Andres Barcinas, Manuel Bueno, Juan M. Cabrera, Gabriel Casillas, Cesario Corman, Antonio Curbier, Matias Curbier, Alejandro de la Garza, Lucio Enriques, Manuel Flores, Manuel Maria Flores, N epomuceno Flores, Pedro Herrera, Jose Maria Jimenez, Tomas Maldonado, Antonio Menchaca, Jose Maria Mancha, N epomuceno Navarro, Jacinto Peiia, Eduardo Ramirez, Ambrosio Rodri- , guez and Manuel Tarin. JOSE ANTONIO MENCHACA 1838 Born at Bexar in 1800, Jose Antonio Menchaca was the grandson of Marcos Menchaca, who had settled on a grant from the Spanish crown. Jose joined the Texan forces in 1835, participated in the siege of Bexar and served under Juan Seguin at the battle of San Jacinto. At this battle, Sergeant Menchaca-1_ who was fluent in both English and Spanish, acted as interpreter for Seguin and others of the company who did not understand Eng- lish. After the Texan army left Harrisburg, General Houston had asked the company of Mexican Texans under Juan Seguin to stay behind and guard the horses and equipment. Perhaps Houston was afraid some of these men might be shot by mistake in the forthcoming melee. But Seguin and his company were insulted by Houston's suggestion. Menchaca told the commander-in-chief that they had joined the army to aid in the fighting and wanted to die facing the enemy. <7/ . .a.a ~ vi I If horse-herding was the alternative, they would go and attend their families, who were fleeing to the Louisiana border in the "Runaway Scrape." Houston admired this kind of courage and changed his order. The Mexican Texans fought bravely and well at San Jacinto. In 1838 President Lamar named Menchaca to a conference commission on the Cordova r ebellion, and he was later mayor pro tern of San Antonio. VICENTE CORDOVA 1838 Vicente Cordova lived in Nacogdoches, where he served as alcalde, judge, and councilman. Cordova was opposed to the Texas Revolution and led a rebellion of his own. He began in 1835 with an attack on Texans marching to the siege of Bexar. Cordova rose again against the AngloTexans in 1838, but was defeated. His forces, including 300 Indians, camped on an island in the Angelina River and sent a letter to President Sam Houston disclaiming any allegiance to Texas. Thomas J. Rusk pursued him with the militia, but Cordova and many of his men escaped to Mexico. With General Adrian Woll's army in 1842, Cordova assisted in the l\1exican occupation of San Antonio, and was killed at the battle of Salado. ~ "I-'it!! . ~ JOSE MARIA JESUS CARBAJAL (CARVAJAL) 1846 At the mid-point of his career Jose Maria Jesus Carbajal commanded an army division for Mexico in the War of 1846. This war, which established the Rio Grande as a permanent international boundary, settled officially the old Texan-Mexican dispute over land stretching south from the Nueces to the Rio Grande. But Carbajal and many other Rio Grande residents con- 19 20 tinued to view this fateful strip as part of the Mexican state of Tamaulipas. San Antonio-born Carbajal was a fatherless lad of thirteen when befriended by Stephen F. Austin in 1823. Austin arranged for him to study in the United States, and on his return in 1830, he lived with Austin to learn the technique of surveying. He was named surveyor for Martin de Leon's Victoria colony, married De Leon's daughter, and served as secretary to the Coahuila and Texas Legislature. When Carbajal's arrest was ordered in 1835 for rebellious activity against Mexico, he fled to New Orleans with his brother- in-Iaw, Fernando de Leon, to secure a boat load of munitions for Texan volunteers. Captured and detained at Matamoros, Carbajal was prevented from attending the 1836 Convention at the town of Washington to which he had been elected. He did not escape until after the battle of San Jacinto. One of Carbajal's brothers died for the Texas cause at Goliad; another was a Texan cavalry officer. But when the revolution was over, strong anti-Mexican feeling swept Texas. The De Leon family had its possessions taken and was forced into exile. Thereafter, Carbajal never considered himself a Texan. In 1839 Don Jose was active in the short-lived Republic of the Rio Grande, which was an attempt to establish a confederation of northern Mexican states. He was among petitioners to the United States in 1850 for a proposed Republic of the Sierra Madre, which would occupy the region east of the Rio Grande, south of the line of New Mexico, and distinct from Texas. By 1855 Carbajal had led four expeditions of Texans and Mexicans into Mexico, attempting to form a free trade zone along the Rio Grande. He fought in the same area during the Cortina War of 1859. Almost single-handedly Don Jose captured Matamoros in 1866 and was named governor of Tamaulipas. President Juarez then entrusted Carbajal with a delicate loan mission to the United States; his success, and his purchase of arms, made possible Mexico's complete expulsion of the French. ,.) LOS KINENOS 1853 The widely known King Ranch of South Texas has taken well over a century to build. Much of the labor involved has been provided by Mexican ranch hands whose families have been associated with the ranch for several generations. With pride, they have called themselves Los KING RANCH RIDERS 7d - .17' /' Kinefios. Some of these people, who worked for the ranch in the late 19th century have achieved almost legendary status. Ramon Alvarado was a famed cow boss, while Luis Robles and Julian Cantu were expert horse bosses. Jose Maria Alegria had charge of the sheep. Today, kineiios say they work "with" the ranch owners, not "for" them. Tom Lea, The King Ranch I ~I/ I ;J / I ~ " / ,! ~ ~j . I/~;V'vf / ' I I I ( / -: . II f1 I { 'r '1// II ')' ) /' It 1/ , ,I It! DON MANUEL MUSQUIZ 1854 In 1854 a political refugee from Mexico named Manuel Musquiz settled in a canyon six miles southeast of Fort Davis. He established the first great cattle ranch in the Davis Mountain country. About 1861, Chief Nicolas and 250 Apache warriors attacked the ranch while Musquiz was in Presidio. Three people were killed and all the cattle were driven away. Lieutenant Mayes and a company of troops from Fort Davis started to the rescue, but they were ambushed and all but one man were killed. By 1862, Musquiz had changed his base of operations to Santa Rosa in Old Mexico. It was here that he was reunited with his brother, Miguel, who had been an Indian captive since early boyhood. Miguel was the father of Alsate, noted chief of the Chisos Apaches. Today, the ruins of the Musquiz ranch house may be' seen on the road between Fort Davis and Alpine. The great cottonwoods he planted still stand. PROCESO MARTINEZ 1859 Don Proceso Martinez was a pioneer merchant and office holder of Zapata County, Texas. A native of Guerrero, Mexico, he emigrated, at the age of 19, to Nuevo Laredo, where he was employed by Francisco Iturria, a wealthy Spanish merchant. He stayed with Iturria a year. In 1859, he crossed the Rio Grande to manage a ranch owned by his father. He 21 'j~S~ • O~. BUILDING ~T!~:N:Gt~O ~,,;,,~ ~ l :A _ ::r91 I.T.C. Collection traveled often to San lrgnacio, where he terior of Mexico and outlets at Corpus met and soon married Miss Maria de Je- Christi and San Antonio, In one of his sus Uribe. Martinez had the foresight to shipments he received a consignment of see that the Civil War, then brewing in kerosene lamps, which quickly replaced the United States, wS)U1ld gieer~e a brisk tallow candles for home lighting in San trade between the Confederate States and Ygnacio. He planted the first cotton, and Mexico. He established in Laredo a gen- also introduced the first modern style eral merchandise store which became plow and corn-planter in Zapata County. highly successful. In 1868, he settled in Martinez died at his home in San Y gna- San Ygnacio, where he founded a similar cio, .Texas, on February 23, 1937, at the enterprise. He conducted a large scale age of 96. export-import business between the in- 22 JUAN NEPOMUCENO CORTINA 1859 Born in Tamaulipas of wealthy parents, Juan Cortina fumed against injustices done to many South Texas Mexicans in the wake of the 1846 war. He witnessed his people being victimized by dubious land transactions and subjected to discrimination and abuse. In September 1859 he shot a deputy sheriff who was pistol-whipping a prisoner on the streets of Brownsville. When the gunfire had ceased, four men lay dead or dying. For the next two months, Cortina completely dominated the region with a series of raids on. the border towns. When federal troops under Colonel Robert E. Lee arrived on the scene, Cortina was driven from Texas for good. In his violent and ill-considered way, he had stirred up more hatred and persecution than ever before, since his raid resulted in strengthening the very forces that were working against just treatment for the Mexicans. In Mexico he joined the cause of Benito Juarez, who was trying to drive out the French. He also lent support to the Union Army, which was trying to eliminate slavery in Texas. Later, when he was about to receive a pardon from the governor of Texas, his old enemies began circulating rumors that he was a cattle thief. Many of the charges were self-contradictory, but they eliminated his chance for a pardon. Cortina also opposed the dictatorship of Porfirio Diaz, whose forces ' subsequently took him in custody. The old firebrand spent the rest of his life on parole in Mexico City, where he died in 1892. JUAN CORTINA I. T. Canales, Juan N. Cortina 7 tJ-/9fJ ./ SANTOS BENAVIDES 1861 Santos Benavides was a prominent Laredo merchant who was also an effective military leader. He was a grandson of Tomas Sanchez, who had founded the city in 1767. Benavides himself was born at Laredo in 1827. He was mayor of the town in 1857, when an Indian band came raiding. The pursuing forces consisted of 25 civilians led by Benavides and a detachment of soldiers. The Indians were defeated at the end of a 350-mile chase. Early in 1861 Benavides was commissioned captain of a ranger company organized at Laredo. When the Civil War came, he volunteered his services to ' Colonel John S. Ford, who was commander of the Rio Grande Military District. The companies of Benavides and Captain Donaldson were stationed at Carrizo to protect the country between Rio Grande City and Fort Ewell. In May 1861 Cortina and his band crossed the river. Benavides gave chase. With 36 men, he defeated Cortina's 70 in a bloody fight near Carrizo. From that time until the Confederate withdrawal from Brownsville in November. 1863 Cortina gave little trouble in Texas. In 1864, Colonel Benavides commanded a force which defeated the Federals under Colonel E. J. Davis. Promoted to brigadier general, Benavides also distinguished himself at the battle of Palmito Ranch. After the war, he was an alderman in Laredo, and a member of the 16th, 17th, and 18th State Legislatures. He was appointed Texas Commissioner to the World's Cotton Exposition in 1884. 4J iF 1 2&lJ 2 tIIJmtj 6! I adS, y ot. 11 ~.rtt1 d~ /.~,." MISS P"Tf'.ICI'" DE /.EO" I G N A C I 0 Z A RAG 0 Z A COU.&C.Tlori DE SEGUIN 1862 General Ignacio Zaragoza, a native Texan, became one of Mexico's greatest heroes on May 5, 1862, when he led tattered recruits to victory over superbly equipped French forces. This significant battle of 23 24 Puebla was the turning point in Mexico's efforts to rid itself of French occupation, and so inspired the country that Cinco de Mayo (May 5) became a national holiday. By order of President Juarez, Zaragoza was made military governor of Veracruz. His name was inscribed in letters of gold in the halls of Congress, and the city of Puebla's name was changed officially to Puebla de Zaragosa. But four months later, Ignacio Zaragoza was dead of typhoid at the age of 33. The h ero had inherited a tendency toward military life. His father, Miguel, was a young lieutenant stationed at Bexar when he met and married Maria de Jesus Seguin member of a prominent San Antonio family. Her cousin Juan Seguin became a colonel in the Texas army. The Zaragozas were transferred to Presidio La Bahia, near Goliad, where Ignacio was born in 1829 and named for his Texan grandfather, Ignacio Seguin. Subsequently, army orders took them back to Bexar, and on to N acogdoches and Anahuac before 1834, when Miguel Zaragoza was assigned south of the Rio Grande. In 1962 Texas joined with Mexico in centennial celebrations of the battle of Cinco de Mayo. Soil from Goliad was taken by relay runners over a thousand miles to Puebla, and that city in turn presented the town of Zaragoza's birth with a bronze bust of him. Each year on May 5, Zaragoza Societies from several Texas cities gather at Goliad for commemorative ceremonies. In an area designated as Zaragoza State Park, plans are underway to restore the house where he was born. IGNACIO ZARAGOZA DE SEGUIN 5!.-f~7 '- .7/" , ),. . ! --- - .- ' '"_ ~ _ ,_' ~ - ,. _w,.-- - ~ / - -- / 7 _ "r- _?- . 4 -- f • -- ' --- .-- . -- . _ . . . .a:~., _ ::-~.~ . ~ . ::.~;~ . . !~,_. _~.'_~ l~,~ ,'_'. i _ .-~\~ . . "''''::S~ :;.0"- . ;:J;/rfl. - ~ ~'. • "" ", : ~"; ., . ~ ' -~ ~ .~L~ ~ft~;-':~{~ · ~ ~ / ~_ . . , '"", : . .:l::. ~'IiIIt;. 1<. 31'/ "j A FREIGHTING TEAM IN THE TIME OF ;::~m~ - '- - --' --· £z P~;-Public Library "* GL 0 J 10 DAN D A Danda's caliber were much in demand 1874 because of their knowledge of Indian war-f) lojio Danda worked for the famed fare, and because their courage was equal wagonmaster, August Santleben, on the to any emergency. Chihuahua Trail. Danda, however, was celebrated, not as a trail driver, but as an Indian fighter. He was a citizen of Presidio del Norte. His reputation was acquired on the trail that ran between his hometown and Fort Davis. Marauding bands of Mescalero Apaches used this route in making raids into the Big Bend country and Old Mexico. Occasionally, the Indians fought openly, but their preferred tactic was the ambush. Men of ~ /~h"~:' ~- PEDRO JARAMILLO 1881 As a young man, Don Pedro Jaramillo had an infection on his nose which caused him great pain. In desperation, he flung himself by a pond, intending to make a poultice of the cool mud. As the pain left him, Don Pedrito vowed to devote his life to healing others. He arrived in Texas in 1881, and soon located at Olmos, an old settlement near Falfurrias. As an evangelist and healer, he became a legendary curandero and true folk hero, developing a clientele from as far away as California and New York. He carried a Bible whereever he went, and his clients paid whatever they could afford. At times there would be as many as 500 camped at Los Olmos Creek waiting for Don Pedrito. Pictures of Don Pedrito are among those of saints in many Mexican homes in South Texas today. Wreaths, holy candles, and letters are placed on his grave at Olmos, a spot for meditation and prayer, in the hope that Don Pedrito still will help his followers. A Laredo firm once supplied curative herbs, using his picture and the trademark "Don Pedrito." iJ- t/?1 / PEDRO JARAMILLO Brooks County Library " ~) ~ 25 . ~ I' ./~' -'='" ,j S-d 3mD£RU: RfI>lU\J4TOrJ. ---.;;::.". .,.It\ . . .,1 4 (~ .~: 26 ~ "-" .,7 ',.,.- I~ "l!' 1(1 (' A ~EXICAN JACAL ABOUT ~"8~--;-i:'-"'- t .~.l . 11 ~ )1 9 H arper's Monthly, Vol. LXXXI GROWING IMPORTANCE OF THE T E X AS ' BORDERLANDS. 1876-1920 For more than 60 years after the Texas Revolution there was little immigration from Mexico to Texas. By 1876, however, events vital to Mexico began taking shape on the Texas side of the Rio Grande. That was the year in which Porfirio Diaz assumed his ruthless dictatorship of Mexico. He maintained it for nearly 35 years. Periodic efforts were made to overthrow Diaz, but none were successful until the Madero revolution of 1910. The turmoil which followed caused a great movement of the Mexican people into this state. In 1900, prior to the revolution, Mexicanborn Texans totalled about 70,000 and their numbers were increased by an average of only 100 immigrants per year. This pattern changed drastically with the events of 1910 and the years thereafter. Many land and property owners were forced to leave Mexico, and with its countryside despoiled by war, agricultural production fell to a level of the late 1700's. CATARINO GARZA 1891 The flashing figure of Catarino Garzaborn in Mexico, reared in Brownsvillewas the last of the line of the minor marauders to plague Diaz. In 1891 Garza recruited a small army in South Texas and captured the Mexican village of Guerrero, believing that local support would rally to his cause. When support failed to materialize, his men were forced north of the Rio Grande, where they scattered in small bands and taunted the law for two years. Garza, meanwhile had scurcbed from Mexico to Cuba, and on to ~t.gMBI/:\" ~, where he was killed as a filibuster in tW. I/. CATARI~ARZA ~. ~ J ~ D.R.T. Library , . ., . . . •. GREGORIO COR~EZ -A;~ RA~';;~R~ WH; ;UR~UED HIM ~,~ '173' GREGORIO CORTEZ 1901 Gregorio Cortez, a Mexican Texan hero, gave rise to a folk legend comparable to those of Sam Bass, Billy the Kid, or Jesse James. His feats became symbolic of the struggle between the oppressed and the oppressor. In his time, ballads were composed and sung a bout Cortez from San Antonio to Mexico City. Born in Mexico in 1875, Cortez moved with his family to Manor, Texas, in 1887. His exploits began with the killing of Sheriff Harper Morris on June 12, 1901. The dispute came about as a result of misunderstanding between the two men, neither of whom could speak the other's language. During a fantastic ten-day flight, Cortez walked at least 120 miles and rode more than 400, using three horses. He killed '" . " . '. '. . . . .,.: -'.! .' ~ • " .;;., .~ . : T exana Collection, The University of T exas at Austin two of his pursuers, one of whom was Sheriff Robert M. Glover. Chased by hundreds of men in parties up to 300, Cortez outwitted the posses, until captured near the Rio Grande border by Texas Ranger Captain J. H. Rogers. Gregorio Cortez was tried for three murders, acquitted of two, and convicted on the third. Sentenced to life imprisonment, he was pardoned by Governor O. B. Colquitt in July 1913. ,/ 27 28 MEXICAN TEXAN POPULATION 1930-1970 By 1930, over 266,000 persons of Mexican birth lived in Texas, and many hundreds of thousands of others moved seasonally into other states to harvest crops before returning to their homeland. The most significant movement of people on the North American continent still occurs across Texas' southern border, making Texas the bridge-or meeting place-between English-speaking and Latin America. Almost two million Mexican Texans -or some 20 percent of the state's 1970 population-exert the rich cultural influences of their forebears on Texas life: in architecture, food, dress, music, language, ranching traditions and other customs. And many Mexican Texans of today, as in the past, occupy places of business, professional, military, and political distinction. Perhaps the first among them who should be cited are the Medal of Honor winners, as listed in the records available to November, 1970. During World War II the nation's highest honor was awarded ~ergeant Luciano Adams of Port Arthur, Sergeant Marcario Garcia of Sugarland, Private Silvestre P. Herrera of EI Paso, Sergeant Jose M. Lopez of Brownsville and Sergeant Cleto Rodriguez of San Marcos. A cardinal example of determined courage is a more recent Mexican Texan to receive the Medal of Honor-Corporal Benito Martinez of Fort Hancock in far West Texas. The award was made posthumously in 1952 for his "incredible valor and supreme sacrifice" in Korea. "It is perhaps a sound conclusion," wrote Raymond Brooks of the Austin American in 1966, that the Mexican contribution to citizenship, at least in Texas and other border states, is taking care of itself to a degree and in a manner comparable with the highest achievements of other groups of similar dimensions." It is impossible to even list all of the Texans of Mexican ancestry who are making significant contributions in the arts, the professions, and business. Nor can anyone honestly presume to select any reasonable numb~r as being more worthy of mention than all pthers. We have chosen a few outstanding individuals, whose accomplishments are representative of the contributions being made in many areas by Mexican Texans today. ~ CARLOS E. CASTANEDA In a lifetime devoted to the study of borderland history, Carlos Castaneda's total literary output included 78 articles and a dozen books. His most distinguished contribution was a work entitled Our Catholic Heritage in Texas. For many years he was engaged by the University of Texas to search the principal archives of Mexico City and Saltillo, colonial capital of Coahuila and Texas, for documentary sources relating to early Texas. In the course of this work, he discovered and edited Fray Agustin Morfi's History of Texas, 1673- 1779, a work which had been considered lost. 7 CARLOS CASTAN DA 7/- /-lS'" Eleuterio Escobar Collection Castaneda was born on November 11, 1896, at Camargo, Mexico, a small town on the Rio Grande. He came with his family to the United States in 1908. His struggle to obtain an education began at Brownsville, where he attended high school, and concluded with a doctorate of philosophy from The University of Texas in 1932. Though he qualified as a graduate engineer, and spent a year in field work in the Republic of Mexico, he was drawn irresistibly to the teaching and writing of history particularly of his native Southwest and Latin America. His knowledge of languages, his great intellectual energy, and his native culture made him admirably qualified for this work. His teaching career began in the public schools of Beaumont, then San Antonio. For four years, 1923-1927, he was associate professor of Spanish at William and Mary College in Virginia. He returned to his alma mater, The University of Texas, in 1927, where he remained until his death in 1958. JOSE CISNEROS From his home at EI Paso, Jose Cisneros has devoted a lifetime to studying and portraying the historical record of the borderland and its people. His skillful pen-and-ink drawings have made him one of the nation's foremost illustrators. Born in 1910 in the Mexican state of Durango, Cisneros came with his family to Juarez in 1925. In 1934 he moved his residence to EI Paso. He worked at such jobs as deliveryman and window trimmer until 1943, when he began working for the EI Paso Transit Company. Throughout his life, Cisneros has pursued his art work in his spare time. With little opportunity for formal education, he is described by friends as one of the best informed and best read men in the EI Paso Southwest. Although he has never had an art lesson , he has produced striking illustrations for such volumes as The Journey of Fray Marcos de Niza, The JOSE CISNEROS ?4-.!9' I Spanish Heritage of the Southwest, and Morelos of Mexico. Today; his drawings are found in more than 30 books and countless pamphlets, greeting cards, program covers, and the like. He has also designed emblems and medallions for a number of organizations and institutions. Cisneros' work has appeared under the imprint of such major publishing houses as Random House, Funk and Wagnalls, Devin-Adair, and ( Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.L1~ S~J 71.2- In/ormation Service, The University of Texas at \austin 'I ! 29 30 REYNALDO GARZA In 1961 Reyn aldo Garza of Brownsville became the first Mexican American ever appointed to a federal judgeship in the State of Texas. He is a lifelong resident of Brownsville, attended public schools there, and received a bachelor of arts degree and law degree from The University of Texas at Austin in 1939. He practiced law in Brownsville until 1942, when he began military service. He reentered law practice in 1945, and continued until March, 1961, when he was appointed a federal district judge by President Kennedy. During his career of public service, Judge Garza has served on the school board at Brownsville, and later as a member of the city commission. He was an original member of the International Good Neighbor Council. He has also served with distinction in such organizations at the Knights of Columbus, the Rotarians, and the Boy Scouts of America. REYN ALDO GARZA 6'1-.3' /1 / I.T.C. Collection - .1 71-/1 SEVERO GOMEZ Severo Gomez is Texas's first assistant commissioner of education for international and bilingual education, having been appointed to this job at the time of its creation in 1967. Gomez, born in 1924, was educated in the public schools of Woodsboro, Texas. He graduated from Texas A & I College in 1948, with an interruption for military . s.~rvice from 1943 to 1946. He began teachihg, at Benavides, Texas, upon his graduation from college. He remained there until 1955, when he transferred to the Rio Grande City school system, where he was supervisor of science education. In 1960, he received his doctorate from The University of Texas at Austin, and joined the staff of the Texas Education Agency. Gomez's pioneering work in the field of bilingual education culminated in his appointment as the first assistant commis-
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