Elfego Baca
Encyclopedia
Elfego Baca was a gunman, lawman, lawyer, and politician in the closing days of the American wild west
. Baca was born in Socorro, New Mexico
just before the end of the American Civil War
to Francisco and Juana Maria Baca. His family moved to Topeka, Kansas
when he was a young child. Upon his mother’s death in 1880, Baca returned with his father to Belen, New Mexico
where his father became a marshal.
In 1884, at age 19, Baca stole some guns, bought a mail-order sheriff
’s badge, and more or less appointed himself deputy sheriff in Socorro County, New Mexico
.
His goal in life was to be a peace officer
. He wanted, he said, “the outlaws to hear my steps a block away.” Southwestern New Mexico at the time was still relatively sparsely settled cattle ranching country. Cowboy
s roamed the land and did as they pleased. They might come into a town, drink at the saloon, harass the locals, and then shoot up the town out of boredom. Baca meant to put an end to that.
In October, 1884, in the town of Lower San Francisco Plaza (now Reserve, New Mexico
), Elfego Baca arrested a drunk cowboy
named Charlie McCarty. Baca flashed his badge at McCarty after deputizing himself as a peace officer, and took Charlie's gun. After Bill Milligan, the owner of the bar, refused to press charges, Baca took Charlie hostage.
McCarty's fellow cowboys attempted a peaceful negotiation of his release, but Baca refused and opened fire on the negotiator, the foreman to the Jon Slaughter Ranch, and killed him. Baca took refuge in the house of Geronimo Armijo. After deputies and justices of the peace were brought in from surrounding towns, Baca was forced to bring Charlie back to the Justice of the peace for a trial and, in turn, was provided with assurance of Baca's safety.
Justice of the peace Ted White granted Charlie's freedom. After the verdict, Elfego Baca ran out of the courtroom still in possession of McCarty's gun.
Bert Hearne, a rancher from Spur Lake Ranch, was summoned to bring Baca back to the Justice for questioning in the murder of Jon Slaughter's foreman. After Baca refused to come out of the adobe jacal, Hearne broke down the door and ordered Baca to come out with his hands up. Not soon after that, shots volleyed from the jacal and hit Hearne in the stomach, resulting in his death.
A standoff with the cowboys ensued. The number of cowboys that gathered has been disputed, with villagers at the scene reporting about forty were present, while Elfego himself later claiming there had been at least eighty. Allegedly, the cowboys fired more than 4,000 shots into the house, until the adobe building was full of holes. Incredibly, not one of the bullets struck Baca. (The floor of the home is said to have been slightly lower than ground level; thus Baca was able to escape injury.)
During the siege, Baca shot and killed four of his attackers and wounded eight others. After about 33 hours, and roughly 1,000 rounds of open fire, the battle ended when Francisquito Naranjo convinced Baca to surrender. When they left, Baca walked out of the house unharmed.
In May 1885, Baca was charged with murder for the death of Jon Slaughter's foreman and Bert Hearne. He was jailed to await his trial. In August 1885, Baca was acquitted after the door of Armijo’s house was entered as evidence. It had more than 400 bullet holes in it. The incident became known as the Frisco Shootout
. Rumor has it that Elfego Baca's defense attorney had false documentation proving Baca's legal deputization because Baca's biography suggests he deputized himself just before the arrest of Charlie McCarty.
In 1888, Baca became a U.S. Marshal
. He served for two years and then began studying law. In December 1894, he was admitted to the bar and joined a Socorro law firm. He practiced law on San Antonio Street in El Paso
between 1902 and 1904.
From 1913 to 1916, Baca served as the official representative in the U.S. of Victoriano Huerta
's government during the Mexican Revolution
, a post which earned Baca an indictment
for criminal conspiracy when Mexican general José Inés Salazar
escaped from prison. Successfully defended by the New Mexican lawyer and politician Octaviano Larrazolo
, Baca's reputation grew among Southwestern residents.
When New Mexico became a state in 1912, Baca unsuccessfully ran for Congress as a Republican. Nevertheless, he remained a valued political figure because of his ability to turn out the vote among the Hispanic
population. Working at times as a private detective, Baca also took a job as a bouncer in a casino across the border in Ciudad Juárez
, Mexico.
Baca worked closely with New Mexico’s longtime Senator Bronson Cutting as a political investigator and wrote a weekly column in Spanish praising Cutting’s work on behalf of local Hispanics. Baca considered running for governor despite his declining health, but he failed to secure the Democratic Party’s nomination for district attorney in 1944.
Metz, his biographer, wrote: “Elfego was, and is, controversial. He drank too much; talked too much ... he had a weakness for wild women. He was often arrogant and, of course, he showed no compunction about killing people.” On his 75th birthday, Baca told the Albuquerque Tribune that as a lawyer he had defended 30 people charged with murder, and only one went to the penitentiary.
In July 1936, several years before his death, Janet Smith conducted an interview with Elfego Baca. Her notes can be found in the Library of Congress
, Manuscript Division, WPA Federal Writers’ Project Collection. Baca told Smith, “I never wanted to kill anybody, but if a man had it in his mind to kill me, I made it my business to get him first.”
, and the angry Villa put a price of $30,000 on Baca’s head. Obviously, it was never collected.
One often told story says that once when he was practicing law in Albuquerque, Baca received a telegram from a client in El Paso
, Texas
. "Need you at once," it said, "Have just been charged with murder." To which Baca is supposed to have responded with a telegram saying, "Leaving at once with three eyewitnesses."
Studios released a television miniseries
entitled The Nine Lives of Elfego Baca and starring Robert Loggia
in the title role. Significant is the care Disney took to depict the famous siege in as authentic a manner as possible, given the known details. Among those who appeared in the series were Skip Homeier
, Raymond Bailey
, and I. Stanford Jolley
. Episodes of the series were later edited into a movie titled Elfego Baca: Six Gun Law, which was released in 1962.
American Old West
The American Old West, or the Wild West, comprises the history, geography, people, lore, and cultural expression of life in the Western United States, most often referring to the latter half of the 19th century, between the American Civil War and the end of the century...
. Baca was born in Socorro, New Mexico
Socorro, New Mexico
Socorro is a city in Socorro County in the U.S. state of New Mexico. It stands in the Rio Grande Valley at an elevation of . The population was 9,051 at the 2010 census...
just before the end of the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
to Francisco and Juana Maria Baca. His family moved to Topeka, Kansas
Topeka, Kansas
Topeka |Kansa]]: Tó Pee Kuh) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Shawnee County. It is situated along the Kansas River in the central part of Shawnee County, located in northeast Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was...
when he was a young child. Upon his mother’s death in 1880, Baca returned with his father to Belen, New Mexico
Belen, New Mexico
Belen is a city in Valencia County, New Mexico, United States. Belen is Spanish for Bethlehem, and over time has gained the nickname "Hub City" because of the Belen Cutoff of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway. The Cutoff made it possible for many more trains to travel east and west across...
where his father became a marshal.
In 1884, at age 19, Baca stole some guns, bought a mail-order sheriff
Sheriff
A sheriff is in principle a legal official with responsibility for a county. In practice, the specific combination of legal, political, and ceremonial duties of a sheriff varies greatly from country to country....
’s badge, and more or less appointed himself deputy sheriff in Socorro County, New Mexico
Socorro County, New Mexico
-2010:Whereas according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau:*75.1% White*1.1% Black*11.7% Native American*1.2% Asian*0.0% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander*2.8% Two or more races*8.1% Other races*48.5% Hispanic or Latino -2000:...
.
His goal in life was to be a peace officer
Peace officer
A law enforcement officer , in North America, is any public-sector employee or agent whose duties involve the enforcement of laws. The phrase can include police officers, prison officers, customs officers, immigration officers, bailiffs, probation officers, parole officers, auxiliary officers, and...
. He wanted, he said, “the outlaws to hear my steps a block away.” Southwestern New Mexico at the time was still relatively sparsely settled cattle ranching country. Cowboy
Cowboy
A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the vaquero traditions of northern Mexico and became a figure of...
s roamed the land and did as they pleased. They might come into a town, drink at the saloon, harass the locals, and then shoot up the town out of boredom. Baca meant to put an end to that.
The Frisco Shootout
Reserve, New Mexico
Reserve is a village in Catron County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 387 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Catron County. Currently the village has several stores, a bar, and a health clinic...
), Elfego Baca arrested a drunk cowboy
Cowboy
A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the vaquero traditions of northern Mexico and became a figure of...
named Charlie McCarty. Baca flashed his badge at McCarty after deputizing himself as a peace officer, and took Charlie's gun. After Bill Milligan, the owner of the bar, refused to press charges, Baca took Charlie hostage.
McCarty's fellow cowboys attempted a peaceful negotiation of his release, but Baca refused and opened fire on the negotiator, the foreman to the Jon Slaughter Ranch, and killed him. Baca took refuge in the house of Geronimo Armijo. After deputies and justices of the peace were brought in from surrounding towns, Baca was forced to bring Charlie back to the Justice of the peace for a trial and, in turn, was provided with assurance of Baca's safety.
Justice of the peace Ted White granted Charlie's freedom. After the verdict, Elfego Baca ran out of the courtroom still in possession of McCarty's gun.
Bert Hearne, a rancher from Spur Lake Ranch, was summoned to bring Baca back to the Justice for questioning in the murder of Jon Slaughter's foreman. After Baca refused to come out of the adobe jacal, Hearne broke down the door and ordered Baca to come out with his hands up. Not soon after that, shots volleyed from the jacal and hit Hearne in the stomach, resulting in his death.
A standoff with the cowboys ensued. The number of cowboys that gathered has been disputed, with villagers at the scene reporting about forty were present, while Elfego himself later claiming there had been at least eighty. Allegedly, the cowboys fired more than 4,000 shots into the house, until the adobe building was full of holes. Incredibly, not one of the bullets struck Baca. (The floor of the home is said to have been slightly lower than ground level; thus Baca was able to escape injury.)
During the siege, Baca shot and killed four of his attackers and wounded eight others. After about 33 hours, and roughly 1,000 rounds of open fire, the battle ended when Francisquito Naranjo convinced Baca to surrender. When they left, Baca walked out of the house unharmed.
In May 1885, Baca was charged with murder for the death of Jon Slaughter's foreman and Bert Hearne. He was jailed to await his trial. In August 1885, Baca was acquitted after the door of Armijo’s house was entered as evidence. It had more than 400 bullet holes in it. The incident became known as the Frisco Shootout
Frisco Shootout
The Frisco Shootout was an Old West gunfight that occurred on December 1st, 1884, involving lawman Elfego Baca. The shootout happened in Reserve, New Mexico, and stemmed from Baca's arrest of a cowboy who had been shooting into the air and into buildings at random while intoxicated.Shortly after...
. Rumor has it that Elfego Baca's defense attorney had false documentation proving Baca's legal deputization because Baca's biography suggests he deputized himself just before the arrest of Charlie McCarty.
Law and Order
Baca officially became the sheriff of Socorro County and secured indictments for the arrest of the area's lawbreakers. Instead of ordering his deputies to pursue the wanted men, he sent each of the accused a letter. It said, "I have a warrant here for your arrest. Please come in by March 15 and give yourself up. If you don’t, I’ll know you intend to resist arrest, and I will feel justified in shooting you on sight when I come after you." Most of the offenders turned themselves in voluntarily.In 1888, Baca became a U.S. Marshal
United States Marshals Service
The United States Marshals Service is a United States federal law enforcement agency within the United States Department of Justice . The office of U.S. Marshal is the oldest federal law enforcement office in the United States; it was created by the Judiciary Act of 1789...
. He served for two years and then began studying law. In December 1894, he was admitted to the bar and joined a Socorro law firm. He practiced law on San Antonio Street in El Paso
El Paso, Texas
El Paso, is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States, and lies in far West Texas. In the 2010 census, the city had a population of 649,121. It is the sixth largest city in Texas and the 19th largest city in the United States...
between 1902 and 1904.
Political life
Baca held a succession of public offices, including county clerk, mayor and school superintendent of Socorro County, and district attorney for Socorro and Sierra Counties. In his book The Shooters, Leon Metz writes that “most reports say he was the best peace officer Socorro ever had.”From 1913 to 1916, Baca served as the official representative in the U.S. of Victoriano Huerta
Victoriano Huerta
José Victoriano Huerta Márquez was a Mexican military officer and president of Mexico. Huerta's supporters were known as Huertistas during the Mexican Revolution...
's government during the Mexican Revolution
Mexican Revolution
The Mexican Revolution was a major armed struggle that started in 1910, with an uprising led by Francisco I. Madero against longtime autocrat Porfirio Díaz. The Revolution was characterized by several socialist, liberal, anarchist, populist, and agrarianist movements. Over time the Revolution...
, a post which earned Baca an indictment
Indictment
An indictment , in the common-law legal system, is a formal accusation that a person has committed a crime. In jurisdictions that maintain the concept of felonies, the serious criminal offence is a felony; jurisdictions that lack the concept of felonies often use that of an indictable offence—an...
for criminal conspiracy when Mexican general José Inés Salazar
José Inés Salazar
José Inés Salazar was a leading Orozquista General in the Mexican Revolution.Salazar was a native of Casas Grandes, Chihuahua.Prior to the Mexican Revolution he was a member of the Partido Liberal Mexicano....
escaped from prison. Successfully defended by the New Mexican lawyer and politician Octaviano Larrazolo
Octaviano Ambrosio Larrazolo
Octavio Ambrosio Larrazolo served as the fourth Governor of New Mexico and a United States Senator. He was the first United States Senator of Mexican-American heritage....
, Baca's reputation grew among Southwestern residents.
When New Mexico became a state in 1912, Baca unsuccessfully ran for Congress as a Republican. Nevertheless, he remained a valued political figure because of his ability to turn out the vote among the Hispanic
Hispanic
Hispanic is a term that originally denoted a relationship to Hispania, which is to say the Iberian Peninsula: Andorra, Gibraltar, Portugal and Spain. During the Modern Era, Hispanic sometimes takes on a more limited meaning, particularly in the United States, where the term means a person of ...
population. Working at times as a private detective, Baca also took a job as a bouncer in a casino across the border in Ciudad Juárez
Ciudad Juárez
Ciudad Juárez , officially known today as Heroica Ciudad Juárez, but abbreviated Juárez and formerly known as El Paso del Norte, is a city and seat of the municipality of Juárez in the Mexican state of Chihuahua. Juárez's estimated population is 1.5 million people. The city lies on the Rio Grande...
, Mexico.
Baca worked closely with New Mexico’s longtime Senator Bronson Cutting as a political investigator and wrote a weekly column in Spanish praising Cutting’s work on behalf of local Hispanics. Baca considered running for governor despite his declining health, but he failed to secure the Democratic Party’s nomination for district attorney in 1944.
Metz, his biographer, wrote: “Elfego was, and is, controversial. He drank too much; talked too much ... he had a weakness for wild women. He was often arrogant and, of course, he showed no compunction about killing people.” On his 75th birthday, Baca told the Albuquerque Tribune that as a lawyer he had defended 30 people charged with murder, and only one went to the penitentiary.
In July 1936, several years before his death, Janet Smith conducted an interview with Elfego Baca. Her notes can be found in the Library of Congress
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
, Manuscript Division, WPA Federal Writers’ Project Collection. Baca told Smith, “I never wanted to kill anybody, but if a man had it in his mind to kill me, I made it my business to get him first.”
Legends
Another legend says that Baca stole a pistol from Pancho VillaPancho Villa
José Doroteo Arango Arámbula – better known by his pseudonym Francisco Villa or its hypocorism Pancho Villa – was one of the most prominent Mexican Revolutionary generals....
, and the angry Villa put a price of $30,000 on Baca’s head. Obviously, it was never collected.
One often told story says that once when he was practicing law in Albuquerque, Baca received a telegram from a client in El Paso
El Paso
El Paso, a city in the U.S. state of Texas, on the border with Mexico.El Paso may also refer to:-Geography:Colombia:* El Paso, CesarSpain:*El Paso, Santa Cruz de TenerifeUnited States:...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
. "Need you at once," it said, "Have just been charged with murder." To which Baca is supposed to have responded with a telegram saying, "Leaving at once with three eyewitnesses."
Walt Disney television series
In 1958, Walt DisneyWalt Disney
Walter Elias "Walt" Disney was an American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur, entertainer, international icon, and philanthropist, well-known for his influence in the field of entertainment during the 20th century. Along with his brother Roy O...
Studios released a television miniseries
Miniseries
A miniseries , in a serial storytelling medium, is a television show production which tells a story in a limited number of episodes. The exact number is open to interpretation; however, they are usually limited to fewer than a whole season. The term "miniseries" is generally a North American term...
entitled The Nine Lives of Elfego Baca and starring Robert Loggia
Robert Loggia
Robert Loggia is an American film and television actor and director.- Early life :Loggia, an Italian American, was born on Staten Island, the son of Elena Blandino, a homemaker, and Benjamin Loggia, a shoemaker, both of whom were born in Sicily, Italy...
in the title role. Significant is the care Disney took to depict the famous siege in as authentic a manner as possible, given the known details. Among those who appeared in the series were Skip Homeier
Skip Homeier
-Career:Homeier began acting as Skippy Homeier at the age of six, on the radio show Portia Faces Life. From 1943 until 1944 he played the role of Emil in the Broadway play, Tomorrow the World. Cast as a child indoctrinated into Nazism, who is brought to the United States from Germany following the...
, Raymond Bailey
Raymond Bailey
Raymond Thomas Bailey was an American actor on the Broadway stage, movies, and television. He is best known for his role as wealthy banker, Milburn Drysdale, in the television series The Beverly Hillbillies....
, and I. Stanford Jolley
I. Stanford Jolley
Isaac Stanford Jolley, Sr., known as I. Stanford Jolley was a prolific American character actor of film and television, primarily in western roles as cowboys, law-enforcement officers, or villains...
. Episodes of the series were later edited into a movie titled Elfego Baca: Six Gun Law, which was released in 1962.
External links
- UltimateDisney.com's Show/DVD Review of Elfego Baca
- Tribute to Elfego Baca in the U.S. House of Representatives, May 10, 1995
- Elfego Baca
- Interview with Elfego (Library of Congress)
- Borderlands
- Elfego Baca at 'Readers of The Purple Sage'
- Frisco, New Mexico, GhostTowns.com entry by Samuel W McWhorter.
- Elfego Baca & The “Frisco War”. Legends of America website.