the legend of gregorio cortez

15
rhe [cgend C Crrusorio Qortez AMERICO PAREDES the pasture's farther end. And when sing songs like El Corrido de G There's a song that makes the You can almostseehim there-G tez, with his pistol in his hand. old songs and the tales of' other He was a man, a Border man. hey still sing of' him-in the can- tinas' and the country stores, in the ranches when men gather at night to talk in the cool dark, sitting in a circle, smoking and listening to the days.Then the gtitarreros- sing of'the border raids and the skirmishes, of the men who lived by the phrase, "I will break befbre I bend." They sing with deadly seriousfaces, throw- ing out the words of the song like a challenge, tearing savagely with their stifl', callusedIin- gers at the strings of the guitars. And that is how, in the dark quiet of'the ranches,in the lighted noise of'the saloons, they sing of Gregorio Cortez. A{ter the song is sung there is a lull. Then the old men, who have lived long and seen almosteverything,tell their stories. And when they tell about Gregorio Cortez, the telling goes like this: Hoa GregorioCortezCame to Be in theCounQof El Carmen That was good singing, and a good song; give the man a drink. Not like these pachucos' nowadays, mumbling damn-foolishness into a microphone; it is not done that way. Men should sing with their heads thrown back, with their mouths wide open and their eyes shut. F'ill your lungs, so they can hear you at look like? Well, that is hard to tell. he was short and some say he was sayhe was Indian brown and some say blond like a newborn cockroach. But he was not too dark and not too fair, thin and not too fat, not too short and tall: and he lookedjust a little bit like does it matter so much what he looked He was a man, very much of a man; an was a Border man. Some say he was Matamoros; some say Reynosa; some Hidalgo county on the other side. And I others will say other things. But or Reynosa, or Hidalgo, it's all the Border: and short or tall. dark or fair, it'$ man that counts. And that's what he man. Not a gunman, no, not a bravo. He came out of'a cantina wantingto drink up seaat one gulp. Not that kind of man, if can call that kind a man. No, that wasn't gorio Cortez at all. He was a peaceful hard-working man like you and me. l. cantinas (kan tet nez): taverrrs. 2. guitaneros (gE tA re' r6s\: Spanish, guitar playen','.] ab H, sl yo ibbe. fnint. it. An nas tl Yor I lourl ,r'have tQZ. t there ryou( grow hhir cotto and other U00 uNtr stx rRtuMpfis oF THEsptRtr 3. pachucos (pa choo' k6z):juvenile delinquents.

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Page 1: The Legend of Gregorio Cortez

rhe [cgend C

Crrusorio QortezA M E R I C O P A R E D E S

the pasture's farther end. And whensing songs like El Corrido de GThere's a song that makes theYou can almost see him there-Gtez, with his pistol in his hand.

old songs and the tales of' other He was a man, a Border man.

hey st i l l s ing of ' him-in the can-t inas' and the country stores, in theranches when men gather at nightto talk in the cool dark, sitting in acircle, smoking and listening to the

days. Then the gtitarreros- sing of'the borderraids and the skirmishes, of the men wholived by the phrase, "I will break befbre Ibend."

They sing with deadly serious faces, throw-ing out the words of the song like a challenge,tearing savagely with their stifl ', callused Iin-gers at the strings of the guitars.

And that is how, in the dark quiet of ' theranches, in the lighted noise of'the saloons,they sing of Gregorio Cortez.

A{ter the song is sung there is a lul l . Thenthe old men, who have lived long and seenalmost everything, tell their stories. And whenthey tell about Gregorio Cortez, the tellinggoes like this:

Hoa Gregorio Cortez Came to Be inthe CounQ of El Carmen

That was good singing, and a good song;give the man a drink. Not like these pachucos'nowadays, mumbling damn-foolishness into amicrophone; it is not done that way. Menshould sing with their heads thrown back,with their mouths wide open and their eyesshut. F'il l your lungs, so they can hear you at

look like? Well, that is hard to tell.he was short and some say he wassay he was Indian brown and some sayblond like a newborn cockroach. Buthe was not too dark and not too fair,thin and not too fat, not too short andtall: and he looked just a little bit l ikedoes it matter so much what he lookedHe was a man, very much of a man; anwas a Border man. Some say he wasMatamoros; some say Reynosa; someHidalgo county on the other side. And Iothers will say other things. Butor Reynosa, or Hidalgo, it 's all theBorder: and short or tall. dark or fair, it '$

man that counts. And that's what heman.

Not a gunman, no, not a bravo. Hecame out of 'a cant ina want ing to dr ink up

sea at one gulp. Not that kind of man, if

can call that kind a man. No, that wasn't

gorio Cortez at all. He was a peacefulhard-working man like you and me.

l. cantinas (kan tet nez): taverrrs.

2. guitaneros (gE tA re' r6s\: Spanish, guitar playen','.]

abH,sl

yoibbe.

fnint.it. Annas tl

Yor

I lourl,r'have

tQZ. t

therer you (growhhircottoandother

U00 uNtr stx rRtuMpfis oF THE sptRtr

3. pachucos (pa choo' k6z):juvenile delinquents.

Page 2: The Legend of Gregorio Cortez

Il i

r l i

lJirilffilrt il,j ,ll llHe could shoot. Forty-four and thirry_

thirty, they were the same to him. He could; put five bullets into a piece of board and normake but one hole, and quicker than youcould draw a good deep breath. yes, he could'shoot. But he could also work.

He was a vaquero,' and a better one therehas not ever been from Laredo to the mouth.

e could talk to horses, and they would un_rrstand. They would fbllow him around, like

,dogs, and no man knew a good horse bettern Gregorio Cortez. As for cattle, he couldup school for your best caporal.5 And if'an

imal was lost, and nobody could pick up aril, they would send for Gregorio Cortez.

could always find a trail. There was no: tracker in all the Border country, nor awho could hide his rracks better i f ' he

to. 'fhat was Gregorio Cortez, the best

ro and range man that there ever was.that is not all. You farmers, do you

rk that Gregorio Cortez did not know youriness too? You could have told him noth_about cotton or beans or corn. He knew it

E'[Ie could look into the sky of a morningil smell it, sniff it the way a dog sniffs, and

u what kind of weather there was goingAnd he would rake a piece of dirt in hii

another row belbre the next man was throughwith his. And don't think the row he wenrthrough wasn't clean. No flags, no streamers,nothing lefi behind, nothing bur clean, empryburrs where he had passed-. It was the samewhen clearing land. There were men whowent ahead of him, cutting fast along theirstrip in the early morning, but by noontimethe man ahead was always Gregorio Cortez,working at his own pace, talkinglittle and norsinging very much, and never icting up.

- For Gregorio Cortez was not of yJur noisy,

hell-raising type. That was not his way. Healways spoke low, and he was always polite,whoever he was speaking to. And when hespoke ro men older than himself he took o(fhis hat and held it over his heart. A man whonever raised his voice to parent or elderbrother, and never disobeyed. That was Gre_gorio Cortez, and lhat was the way men werein this country along the river. T'hat was theway they were before these modern timescame, and God went away.

He should have stayed on the Border; heshould not have gone up above, intcl theNorth. But it was going to be that way, andthat was the way it was. Each man has a cer_tain lot in life, and no other rhing but that willbe his share. People were always foming downfrom places in the Norrh, from Dallas #a S"nAntonio and Corpus and Foro West. Anclthey would say, "Gregorio Cortez, why don,tyou go north? There is much money to bemade. Stop eating beans and tortil las and thatrubbery jerked beef. One of these days you,reg"ilg to pull our one of your eyes, prll undpull with your reerh on rhar stufT ani it sud_denly lets go. It's a wonder all you Border

4. vaquero (v?i ker, d): a cowboy.5. caporal (kap' e ralr): the boss ol'a ranch.6..seventh son ofa seventh son: according to thef i r lk lore of several cul tures, r l ,e seuenrh i , i - . , f : r '

:::i"r.!h son is.always lucky and specially gifted,

sonlettmes with magical powers.

and rub it back and fbrth between hissee if the land had reached itsyou would say he was looking into

piddling modern farmers, vain ofwhen you make a bale! you should

perhaps he was, for Gregorio Cortezseventh son of a seventh son.6

the crops raised by Gregorio Cor_when harvesting came, he was inthe resr. Was it shucking corn? All

ld see was rhe shucks fly and the pilendl you didn't know there *u, u -unthe pite. But he was even better at

t ime. He would bend downraise his head til l he came out theand he would be halfway through

THE LEGEND OF GREGORTO CORTEZ 801

Page 3: The Legend of Gregorio Cortez

people are not one-eyed. Come up above withus, where you can eat white bread and ham."

But Gregorio Cortez would only smile, be-cause he was a peaceful man and did not takeoffense. He did not like white bread and ham:it makes people flarulenr and dull. And heliked it where he was. So he always said, "I l ikethis country. I will stay here."

But Gregorio Cortez had a brother, ayounger brother named Romdn. Now Rom6nwas just like the young men of today, loud-mouthed and discontented. He was neverhuppy where he was, and to make it worse heloved a joke more than any other thing. Hewould think nothing of playing a joke on aperson twice his age. He had no respect foranyone, and that is why he ended like he did.But that is yet to tell.

Romdn talked to Gregorio and begged himthat they should move away from the riverand go up above, where there was muchmoney to be made. And he talked and beggedso, that finally Gregorio Cortez said he wouldgo with his brother Rom6n, and they saddledtheir horses and rode north.

Well, they did not grow rich, though thingswent well with them because they were goodworkers. Sometimes they picked cotton,sometimes they were vaqueros, and some-times they cleared land for the Germans.Finally they came to a place called El Carmen,and there they settled down and farmed. Andthat was how Gregorio Cortez came to be inthe county of El Carmen, where the tragedytook place.

Romdn's Horse Trade and WhatCame of It

RomiiLn owned two horses. two beautifulsorrelst that were just alike, the same color,the same markings, and the same size. Youcould not have told them apart, except that

one of them was lame. Therecan who owned a little sorrelwas dying to get Rom6n'sone-and every time they met heto swap the mare for the horse.did not think much of the mare.Iike it when the American kepthim trade.

"I wonder what this Gringosmin said to himself. "He rakes meBut I'm going to make him such ahe will remember me forever."

And Romin laughed a big-mouHe thought it would be a finebeing a good trade. There werewhen the American went to town inalong a narrow road. So Rom6nlame sorrel, led him a little wavroad, and stopped under a bigbordered on the f'ence. He fixed itspavined'o side was against the mesqmdn waited a little while. and soon hethe buggy coming along the road.got in the saddle and began pickingoff the tree and eating them. When theican came around the bend. there wason his sorrel horse. -I'he

Americanhis buggy beside Romdn and looked atrhorse with much admiration. It was aanimal exactly like the orher one, butAmerican could not see r.he spavined leg.

"Changed your mind?" the AmericanRomin stopped chewing on a mesquite

said, "Changed my mind about what?""About trading that horse for my

7. sorrels: horses ol'a light, reddish brown color.8. gringo (grig' go): a negative term for a forei

especially someone fiom the United Srares, usedthroughout Latin America.9. mesquite (mes k€t'): a thorny, shrub-like tree

sweet seeds,10. spavined (spav' ind): afflicted with spavin, adisease in which a horse's hind leg joint becomesenlarged, resulting in lameness.

ml

yo

do8e

stt

ch

802 UNIT SIX TRIUMPHS OF TI-IE SPIRIT

Page 4: The Legend of Gregorio Cortez

an Ameri-. This man-the good,'ould offerlut RomiinHe did notng to make

rinks," Ro-: for a fool.r trade that

thed laugh.'ke, besides: morningsn his buggyraddled thor along:squiteed i t s oesquite.

rhc

rn he

gmn thewas

lan

okedwas &:

f l€,

inedrerl

ATTON lgtJg Roberta Carter Clarkof Roberta Carter Clark

re dead set on trading your mare forof mine?" Romiin said.

know I am," the American said. "Areto come around?"

a trading mood," said Rom;in. "Witharguing you might convince me tohorse for that worthless mare ofI don't know: you might go back. later on."go back on my word," the Ameri-

nWhat do you think I am, a Mexi-

we'll see," said Rom:in. "Howwilling to give in hand?"

Jo give you rhe firsr square mealm your life," the American said.

laughed, and it was all he couldguffawing. He knew who wasof things.

the deal, with Rom6n srillspavined horse under the tree,

"Where's the mare?" Romdn said."She's in my yard,," said the American,

"hung to a tree. You go get her and leave thehorse there for me because I'm in a hurry toget to town."

That was how Rom6n had figured ir, so hesaid, "All right, I' l l do it, but when I finishwith these mesquites."

"Be sure you do, then," the American said."Sure, sure," said Romdn. "No hurry about

it, is there?""All right," the American said, ..take your

time." And he drove off leaving Rom;in stil lsitting on his horse under the mesquite, andas he drove off the American said, ..Now isn'tthat just like a Mexican. He takes his rime."

Rom:in waited until the American wasgone, and then he stopped earing mesquites.He got off and led the horse down the road tothe American's yard and left him there inplace of the little sorrel mare. On the wayhome Rom:in almosr fell off his saddle a cou-ple of times, just laughing and laughing tothink of'the sorr of face the American wouldpull when he came home that night.

The next morning, when Gregorio Cortezgot up he said to his brother Rom6n, ,,Some-

thing is going to happen roday.""Why do you say that?" asked Romiin."I don't know," said Gregorio Cortez. ,,I

just know that something is going to happentoday. I feel it. Last night my wife began tosigh for no reason at all. She kept sighing andsighing half the night, and she didn't knowwhy. Her heart was telling her something,and I know some unlucky thing will happento us today."

But Romiin just laughed, and Gregoriowent inside the house to shave. Rom;in fol-lowed him into the house and stood at rhedoor while Gregorio shaved. It was a doormade in two sections; the upper part wasopen and Rom:in was leaning on the lowerpart, like a man leaning out of a window or

neEqu!vhatPmy4

i,.ijr!l

THE LEGEND OF GREGORIO CORTEZ 803

Page 5: The Legend of Gregorio Cortez

over a fence. Romin began to tell Gregorioabout the horse trade he had made the daybefore, and he laughed pretty loud about it,

because he thought it was a good joke. Gre-

gorio Cortez just shaved, and he didn't say

anything.When what should pull in at the gate but a

brggy,and the American got down, and theMajor Sheriff of the county of El Carmen gotdown too. They came into the yard and up towhere Romiin was leaning over the door,looking out.

The American had a very serious f'ace. "I

came for the mare you stole yesterday morn-ing," he said.

Romiin laughed a big-mouthed laugh."What did I tell you, Gregorio?" he said."This Gringo . . . has backed down onm e . " . . .

Just as the word "Gringo" . . . came out ofRomdn's mouth, the sherif{'whipped out his

pistol and shot Romdn. He shot Romin as hestood there with his head thrown back, laugh-ing at his joke. The sheriff shot him in theface, right in the open mouth, and Rom6n fell

away from the door, at the Major Sheriff'sfeet.

A"d then Gregorio Cortez^ ^ stood at the door . . . with

And then Gregorio Cortez stood at thedoor, where his brother had stood, with his

pistol in his hand. Now he and the Major

Sheriff met, each one pistol in hand, as men

should meet when they fight for what is right.

For it is a pretty thing to see, when two men

stand up for their right, with their pistols in

their hands, front to front and without fear.

And so it was, for the Major Stman.

Yes, the..Major Sheriff was a ngamecock" that had won in marGregorio Cortez he met apecked his comb. The Major Sherand he missed; and Gregorionext, and he didn't miss. Three tiiishoot, three times did the Majorand three times did Gregoriosheriff of El Carmen. The Majordead at the feet of Gregorio Cortei;in this way that Gregorio Cortez'first sheriff of many that he wa$ to

When the Major Sheriff fell,tez looked up, and the other A"Don't kill me; I am unarmed."

"I will not kill you," said Gregorio"But you'd better go away."

So the American went away. Hethe brush and kept on running untilto town and told all the other sheriffsMajor Sheriff was dead.

Meanwhile, Gregorio Cortez knew thtoo must go away. He was not afraidlaw; he knew the law, and he knewhad the right. But if he stayed, the

Border. where he had been born. But

must take care of his brother, so he put

mdn in the buggy and drove into town'his mother lived.

I l. gamecock: a rooster trained lbr fighting'

12. cockerel: a young rooster.

Cortez knew that the best thing for him w^a

go away, and his first thought was _ot

yGt o:t, ather c b

o l slask,

he,r

all

and. S (

would come, and the Rangers have no

for law. You know what kind of menWhen the Governor of the State wanB a'

Ranger, he asks his sheriffs, "Bring all

criminals to me." And from the mu

chooses the Ranger, because no one can

his pistol in his hand. Ranger who has not killed a man. So G

and rwoulcCorte

tot(

down. H e

the nigthe hou

." Budawn

s hbutjust ,

hands rhe was t

ng 'ir

start(he w:

, s tr must"a rifl

They g:'dter him

804 UNIT SIX TRIUMPHS OF TI IE SPIRIT

tatch Gre

Page 6: The Legend of Gregorio Cortez

also was a Now there was a lot of excitement in town.

; h e w a s a ,rits, but in ,..:rel't that '.:'shot

firsg .:-1,)rtez shot l:s did they

'. '

eriff miss, ""Qin the back, shot in the mouth. He couldrer speak nor move, butjust lay there likewho is dead.

killed the ll

good as him in hiding his own rracks, and he:""?

h?9 them going around in circles, whilehe doubled back and headed for home'to gethimself a rifle and a horse.

!o? Gregorio Cortez Rode theLittle Sorrel Mare All of FitseHundred Miles

r shoot the il,,heriff fell ,'!and it wa*,

' kill. .gorio Cor-t1rican sai{,

io Corteri

3 rani l hefs that

:w thataid of:w thafenonlnulng

because they were only twenty or twenty_and they knew that they ,e." notth. So they stepped aside and let himand. stood talking among rhemselves

be the best thing to do. But Gre_just drove ahead, slowly, without

all looked at him and were afraid of

to care abour rhe men he left behind.to his mother's house, and there he

nun his brother and carried him in theHe stayed there until dawn, una au._night groups of armed men would sotouse and say, ',He's in there. He,s in

t none of them ever went in.n Gregorio Cortez came out of.hishouse. There were armed men out_,,they. made no move against him.'watched as he went down the street,

,t]1S "" his belt. He wenr along as

mg a walk, and they stood th"ereI he reached the brush and hett and disappeared. And then

!$oolng u, l,i- wirh rifles, now;rlrut of pistol range.

me a rifle," said Gregorio Cor_o a horse."

.-.,.d in a big bunch and starred

the brush. But they could not

'asked him, "Who are you?, '

,,he said to them, ,.I am Gregorio

He wenr in and got his thirty_thirty, andthen he looked arouncl fbr the best horse hehad.. I t is a long way f iom El Carmen to theBorder, al l of ' f ive hundred miles. The f i rstthing he saw in the corral was the little sor_rel.mare. Gregorio Cortez took a good lookat. her, and he knew she *u, no'o.dinarymare.

"You're worth a dozen horses,,, said Gre_gorio Cortez, and, he saddled the little mare..

But by then the whole wasp,s nesr wasbeginning to buzz. The president of. theUnited States offered a thousand dollars fbrhim, and many men went out to get GregorioCorrez. The Major Sheriff.s of ine .ountie,and all their sheriffs were out. There wereRangers from the counties, armed to theleet1,

and the King Ranch Rangers from theuaptt'at, the meanest of them all, all armedand- looking for Cortez. Every' road wasblocked and every bridge guu.d.d.-th...were rrackers our with thosi dogs they callhounds, that can follow a track U"*-.riir., ,t

"best rracker. They had railroaa .u.r -i""a"a

wrth guns and ammunit ion and with rnen,moving up and down trying to head him off,The women and children ,,uy.a in thehouses, behind locked doors, ,u.h *us tn.f'ear they all had of'Gregorio Cortez. fu".ytown

.from the Capital io the Border waswatchrng out fbr him. The brush and thef ields were ( 'u l l of 'mtrait. And Gresorio [:.::il50t" fi: #,1:

Cortez. No man *u. .ua. u,

THE LEGENO OF GREGORIO CORTEZ 805

Page 7: The Legend of Gregorio Cortez

Border, through brush and lields and barbedwire fences. on his little sorrel mare.

He rode and rode until he came to a greatbroad plain, and he started to ride across. Butjust as he did, one of the sheriffs saw him.

The sheriff saw him, but he hid behind abush, because he was afraid to take him onalone. So he called the other sheriffs togetherand all the Rangers he could find, and theywent off after Gregorio Cortez just as he cameout upon the plain.

Gregorio Cortez looked back and saw themcoming. There were three hundred of them.

"We'll run them a little race," said GregorioCortez.

Away went the mare, as if she had been shotfrom a gun, and behind her came the sheriffsand the Rangers, all shooting and ridinghard. And so they rode across the plain, untilone by one their horses fbundered and fell tothe ground and died. But stil l the little mareran on, as fresh as a lettuce leaf, and prettysoon she was running all alone.

"They'll never catch me like that," said Gre-gorio Cortez, "noL even'with those dogs calledhounds."

Another big bunch of sheriffs rode up, andthey chased him to the edge of the plain, andinto the brush went Cortez, with the trackersafter him, but they did not chase him long.One moment there was a trail to follow, andnext moment there was none. And the dogscalled hounds sat down and howled, and the

men scratched their heads and went about in

circles looking for the trail. And GregorioCortez went on, Ieaving no trail, so that peo-ple thought he was riding through the air.

There were armed men everywhere, and hecould not stop to eat or drink, because wher-ever he tried to stop armed men were therebefore him. So he had to ride on and on. Nowthey saw him, now they lost him, and so thechase went on. Many more horses foundered,but the mare still ran, and Gregorio Cortez

rode on and on, pursued by hundfighting hundreds every place he

"So many mounted Rangers," saidCortez, "to catch just one Mexican." .:i

It was from the big bunches that lNow and again he would run into liof ten or a dozen men, and theyscared of him that they would let hintThen, when he was out of range theyshoot at him, and he would shootthem once or twice, so they could gosay, "\rye met up with Gregorio Cortez,we traded shots with him." But fromones he had to run. And it was the littlemare that took him safe away, over thespaces and into the brush, and once ibrush, they might as well have beena star.

So it went for a day, and when nightCortez arrived at a place named Los Fand called at a Mexican house. When the

of the house came out, Cortez told him, "I

Gregorio Cortez."That was all he had to say. He was given

eat and drink, and the man of the housefered Gregorio Cortez his own horse and

rifle and his saddle. But Cortez wouldtake them. He thanked the man, but he

not give up his little sorrel mare. Cortezsitting there, drinking a cup of coffee,the Major Sheriff of Los Fresnos came up

with his three hundred men. All the

people ran out of the house and hid, and

one was left in the house, only Gregoriotez, with his pistol in his hand.

Then the Major SherifT called out, in a'

weepy voice, ,, th. corrido says. He soundd:

as if he wanted to. cry, but it was all done rsl

I am your friend.""If you come as my friend," said Gregono

Cortez, "why did you bring three hundred

m e n ? 'The

caughtkillediff un,more.knees,

"Doam thgorio

Thehe juragain,him a

Hecalledriver,

806 UNIT SIX TRIUMPHS OF THE SPIRIT

Page 8: The Legend of Gregorio Cortez

reds andent.Gregorio

t he ran.ittle oneswere so

rim pass.ey wouldr back atback andrtez, andn the bigItle sorrelthe opence in the{ollowing

night fells F'resnosr the manim, " I am

s glven to

house o[,.,

e and hirrouldhe wouHF,lortez['ee,camethec, pnd

;orio Co

out,' s o u

I

d ,o kill

| A s A N T A l g 2 5 , f a r s i l a d o A m a r e | . ^ l l . . . ; ^ - ^ . ' _by Romulo Fialdini.

Amaral collection of Julio Bogorocin, S5o Paulo, Brazil.

Why have you made me a corral?,,',Major Sheriff knew that he had been

t.in a lie, and the fighting b.g;r. ;;the Major Sheriff anJ the i*"ia ,n.._ler him, and he killed many ,f,..iif,Some of the sheriffs got weak in theand many ran awav.t go away," said Gregorio Cortez. ,,I

l1n I", are looking for. I am Gre_

we.re more than three hundred, but

,ll1j^.]l,.orral, and h. .";;;;;;d those three hund..a Jii;;; .h^:more.

3n uld on. until he came to a riveroan Antonio. I t is not much of athe banks ur. ,r""p und high, and

he could not find a ford. So he rode ro aranch house nearbv, where ,n"y *.." t oldinga baile'n because ,h. yorng.ri l i i l i '"r ,n.house had been baptized ;h", ;;;, "r,a

n"asked rhe man of the house "t"ri '"'rl.a.

..^'tn".a are only two fords,,, th. m"., ,aid.r-rne ls seven miles upstream and the other isseven miles down."

"I will take another look at rhe river,,,saidGregorio Correz. He left tt,. Uuit.

-rij ,oo.slowly to the river. It was steep, and far belowhe could see the lbarery,.. i;;.;;;,Jifl,THft ir." nTj

13. conal (ka ralr): an enclosure that resembles a pentor confining animals.14. baile (bit la): Spanish. a dance.

TTTE LEGEND OF GREGORIO CORTEZ 807

Page 9: The Legend of Gregorio Cortez

there thinking, trying to figure out a way'

when he heard the music at the baile stop'

He knew the Rangers were at the baile now'

So he leaned over in his saddle and whispered

in the mare's ear. He talked to her, and she

understood. She came to the edge of the

bank, with soft little steps, because she was

afraid. But Gregorio Cortez kept talking to

her and talking to her, and finally she

jumped. She jumped lar out and into the

iark water below, she and Gregorio Cortez'

The other bank was not so high, but it was

just as steep. Gregorio Cortez took out his'..u,u,

and he lassoed a stumP high on the

bank. He climbed up the rope and got a stick'

and with the stick he worked on the bank as

fast as he could, for he could hear the racket

of the dogs. The ground was soft' and he

knocked olf pu.t o1 the toP, until he made

something like a slope. Then he pulled and

talked,rniil th. mare struggled up the bank to

where he was. After that they rested up a bit

and waited for the Rangers' Up they came

with their dogs, to the spot where the mare

had jumped. When theY came uP to the

,iueri edge, Cortez fired a shot in the air and

yelled at ihem, "I am Gregorio Cortez!"

Then he rode away, leaving them standing

there on the other side, because none of them

was brave enough to do what Cortez had

done.He rode on and on, and somet'imes they

chased him and sometimes he stood and

fought. And every time he fought he would

kill "them

a Ranger or two' They chased him

across the Arroyo del Cibolo and into the oak

grove, and there they made him a.corral'

then they sent the dogs away and sat down to

wait, for they wanted to catch him asleep'

Gregorio Cortez thought for a little while

*hai h" should do. Then he made his mare lie

down on the ground, so she would not be

hurt. After that Gregorio Cortez began talk-

ing to himself and answering himself in dif-

ferent voices, as if he had manY men.

made the Rangers say to one another,

is a whole armY of men with Gregorio

tez." So they broke up their corral and r

and Grlaughir

He rthat th,€ame tagain. 'began rswellin;thicket

,l Sut onthe maHe unstree, arlong wland thrwere wfor thrlound ,

How

away, because they did not think there t

enough of them to fight Gregorio Cortez

rode away, laughing to himself' :

He kept riding on and on, bY daY,and

night, unO if he slePt the mare stood

anl she would wake him uP when she I

all thi men he had. And Gregorio

noise. He had no food or cigarettes' and

ammunition was running low' He was

along a narrow trail with a high barbed r

fencE on one side and a nopal thicket on

other, and right befbre he hit a turn he

horses ahead. The first man that

around the turn ran into Gregorio

with his pistol in his hand' There was a wh{

line of oih"r* behind the first, all armed wi

rifles, but theY had to Put the rifles a

munition. And then he rode awaY' I

After he had finished, some of the

that were resting under the trees c?flI€ uv'

and helped him get the herd together a$at

He rode on to La Grulla, and he was verf

thirsty, because he had not had waterllli

ll,il'l;?ilXT:* # *"', 'i.,i^,v too- Nea*lLa Grulla there was a dam where the^vei

oL,.ro. watered their stock' But when Grel r

gorio corte, go, ,n.,.';; ;,- :i:ljlj:::til; ;;;"X;;;.n' .,"' it'at srew close to

the water. crego.io"b;;;T"PPtd :1{'thought what heiould do' Then he went Daqs

into the brush "td

G;; rounding "p t1,t*:

for this was cattle *"""ty and steers wer4';

everywhere. Pretty .;;';J n"i t*t tt'".*#j

;::?, ;; ;. ili.;;i"'*"'"' and.whil€'.the cattle drank n. ^"J inl *u'" atunk qft

for aDolla

Gregarmedthe maitself. tthe Meform atalkedhad dtboughtthe towand thtguardetez. Th

H e hone pisleft hisnear thit soonwalkedthey dir

Page 10: The Legend of Gregorio Cortez

LThisIhere' Cor-wentwere

:z andloftez

nd by

Suard:ard ard hisgoingI wiren thereardcame)rtez,vholewith

rway.a tall: justwhilet. onel a m -

He rode on and on, and by now he knewthat the Rio Grande was near. He rode til l hecame to Cotulla, and there he was chasedagain. The little mare was tired, and now shebegan to limp. She had cut her leg and ir wasswelling up- Gregorio Correz ,odJ he. into athicket, and the Rangers made him a corral.But once in the brush, Gregorio Cortez ledthe mare to a coma t... und tied her there.He unsaddled her and hung the saddle to thetree, and he patted her and talked to her fbr along while. Then he slipped our of rhe thicket,and the Rangers didn't see him because they

and Gregorio Cortez rode off.with the herd,laughing to himself.

rere waiting for him to ride our. They wairedfor three days and finally they crepi in andlound only rhe mare and the saddle.

El Teco Sold Cregorio CortezMorral's Full of Sihser

Gregorio Cortez was gone. While all the

h-e thought of trying some of the houses, andchose one in whichlhere was a p..uy girl atthe door because he knew it wouli b"

"ur;"r ifhe talked to a girl. There *u, no, u woman

that did not like Gregorio Correz.

. The girl was alone, and she invited him intothe house. When he asked fo. ammunition,she told him she had none.

. "My father has taken i t al l , , ,she said. , .He

is out looking for a man named GregorioCortez."

- Gregorio Cortez was embarrassed becausehe could see that the girl knew who he was.But she did not ler on and neither did he. Hestayed at rhe house for a while, and when heleft she told him how to ger to the Rio Grandeby the quickest way.

, Nol' all the people along the river knew

rnat Gregorio Cortez was on the Border, andthat he would soon cross, but no one told thesheriffs what they knew. nnd Gre.qo.io Co._tez walked on, in his new clothei with hispistols in a morral,.Iooking like an' ordinaryman, but rh-e people he mei knew that he wasL,regorro Uortez. And he began to talk tope_ople along the way.

Soon he met a man who told him, ,.you,ll be

on the other side of the river tonighr, Gre_gorio Cortez."

" I think I wi l l , " he said."You' l l be al l r ight then,, ,said the man."l guess so," said Gregorio Cortez.

. -'But your brother won't,,, the man said."H.e-died in the jail last night.,,

^ "H. was badly *ounde"d,,, said Gregorio

Correz. " Ir was his lot ro die, bui l - 'nuu"avenged his death."

,'They beat him before he died,,, the mansaid. "The.Rangers came to the jail and beathrm to make h im ta lk . "

veryi n a

Near: va-Gre ,mQ{,.,s€ to :l

E_-mare was tied, he walked into Cotullatclf. He walked inro rown and mixed with

Mexicans [here. He sat on the station pl2t_n and l istened [o ot ' . . . ' -rzr ̂ r ^rr ̂ r

ner men rt,hile theyd of all the things that Gregori, a.;;;;oone. Then he went to a slore and

himself new clothes and walked out ofn. He went to the river and took a bath

.tfe1 yam across, because tf,e Uriage wu;I3r.1 Tn"j sorr of man was Gregorio Cor-r ney don't make them l ike him any more.

1..1 r"tf rhree carrridges left, on. fo.ttstol and two for the otler, and he halrifle with the mare. But he *"r-;;;;Rfo Grande, and he expected to cross

:Il Still hc needed ammunirion, so he

f, jT. E,Sauz and tried to Uuy ro_", Uui

men were guarding the thicket where

This was the first news that Gregorio Cortezhad heard, and it made him ,n",igt,iiJ

15. morral (m6 riil,): Spanish, a large bag or pouch.

THE LEGENO OF GREGORIO CORTEZ

i'f,4\

and, ,bacl ,rtdq.,,"i,Vefe" ,

tredlrhi&to&;

not sell cartridges in that town. Then

809

Page 11: The Legend of Gregorio Cortez

He walked on. and he met another manwho said, "Your mother is in thejail, GregorioCortez."

"Why?" said Gregorio Cortez. "Why shouldthe sheriffs do that to her?"

"Because she is your mother," the man said."That's why. Your wife is there too, and so areyour little sons."

Gregorio Cortez thought this over, and hewalked on. Pretty soon he met another manwho said, "Gregorio Cortez, your own peopleare suffering, and all because of you."

"Why should my people suffer?" said Cor-tez. "What have I done to them?"

"You have killed many sheriffs, GregorioCortez," said the man. "The Rangers cannotcatch you, so they take it out on other peoplelike you. Every man that's given you a glass ofwater has been beaten and thrown in jail'

Every man who has fed you has been hangedfrom a tree branch, up and down, up anddown, to make him tell where you went, andsome have died rather than tell. Lots of peo-ple have been shot and beaten because theywere your people. But you will be safe, Gre-gorio Cortez; you will cross the river tonight."

"I did not know these things," said GregorioCortez.

And he decided to turn back, and to givehimself up to the Governor of the State sothat his own people would not suffer becauseof him.

He turned and walked back until he cameto a place called Goliad, where he met elevenMexicans, and among them there was onethat called himself his friend. This man was avaquero named El Teco, but Judas shouldhave been his name. Gregorio Cortez wasthirsty, and he came up to the eleven Mex-icans to ask for water, and when El Teco sawGregorio Cortez he thought how good itwould be if he could get the thousand-dollarreward. So he walked up to Cortez and shookhis hand and told the others, "Get some water

for my friend Gregorio Cortez."Then El Teco asked Gregorio Cortez

him see the pistols he had, and that he 1get him some ammunition. Gregoriosmiled, because he knew. But he handed;the guns to El Teco, and El Teco lookethem and put them in his own morral.El Teco called the sheriffs to come aRdGregorio Cortez.

When Gregorio Cortez saw what Elhad done, he smiled again and said to h"Teco, a man can only be what Godhim. May you enjoy your reward."

But El Teco did not enjoy thethough the sheriffs gave him the money,thousand dollars in silver, more than acould hold. He did not enjoy it becausecould not spend it anywhere. If hebuy a taco at the marketplace, the tacowould tell him that tacos were worth

thousand dollars gold that day. Peoplehim in the streets and wished that he wouldkilled or die. So El Teco became veryafraid. He buried the money and neverit, and he never knew peace until he died.

How Cregorio Cortez Went toPrison, But Not for Kllling theSheffis

When the sheriffs came to arrestCortez, he spoke to them and said, "I am

your prisoner yet. I will be the prisonerof the Governor of the State. I was going

the Capital to give myself up, and that

where I'l l go." tiThe sheriffs saw that he was in the right, so

they went with him all the way to the Capita&

and Cortez surrendered himself to the Gover''

nor of the State.Then they put Cortez in jail, and all thS

Americans were glad, because they no longer

to lynclcould r

Andthat Gthey dThey Iday orhand rwould

Butfor he

8 1 0 UNIT SIX TRIUMPIIS OF THE SPIRIT

were afraid. They got together, and they t

Page 12: The Legend of Gregorio Cortez

'tez to lethe wouldo Cortezded overooked at'al. Thenand get

El TecoI to him,od made

reward,)ney, onea morralcause heI went to

o vendororth twole cursedwould be:ry muchver spent: died.

Gregorio.rI amno f lrnergoing A,I that

i tothe

right,

:h him. -I'hree times they tried, but thev

not lynch Cresorio Cortez.lo pretty soon all the people besan to seeGregorio Correz rvui ir,'the iight, anddid not wanr ro lynch him nlny,r ,o." .broughr him gi f is to the iai l , and oneng

^of' the jud.qes came arrd shook the,ot

Gregorio Cortez arrd saicl ro him, . ,1

l l l us t ra t i< tn by Anth< lny Russo

to see him hanged. So they brought him totrial fbr kill ing the Major Sheriff of thecounty of 'El Carmen. The lawyer that wasaeainst him got up and told the judges thatCortez should die, because he had kiiled aman. Then Gregorio Cortez got up, and hespoke to them.

"Sel{'-def'ense is allowed to any man," saidGregorio Cortez. "It is in your own law, andby your own law do I defend myself. I killedthe sheriff', and I am not sorry, for he killed

have done the sanre. . ,

S.:g?.I i" (tortez had nrany enemies.

nad k i l l ed many men , a r rd t hey wan led

THE LEGEND OF GREGORIO CORTEZ 8I I

Page 13: The Legend of Gregorio Cortez

rilimy brother. He spilled my brother's blood,which was also my blood. And he tried to killme too. I killed the Major Sheriff defendingmy r ight."

And Gregorio Correz talked fbr a long timeto the judges, telling them about their ownlaw. When he finished, even the lawyer whowas against him at the start was now for him.And all the judges came down from theirbenches and shook hands with GregorioCortez.

The judges said, "We cannot kill this man."They took Gregorio Correz all over the

State, from town to town, and in each town hewas tried before rhe courr for the kill ing of aman. But in every court it was the same. Gre-gorio Cortez spoke to the judges, and he toldthem about the law, and he proved that hehad the right. And each time the judges said,"This man was defending his right. Tell thesheriffs to set him free."

And so it was that Gregorio Cortez was notfbund guilty of any wrong because of thesheriffs he had killed. And he killed many ofthem, there is no room for doubt. No man haskilled more sheriffs than did Gregorio Correz,and he always fought alone. For that is theway the real men fight, always on their own.There are young men around here today,who think that they are brave. Dangerousmen they call themselves, and it takes five orsix of them to jump a fellow and slash him inthe arm. Or they hide in the brush and {illhim full of buckshot as he goes by. They arenot men. But that was not the way with Gre-gorio Cortez, for he was a real man.

Now the enemies of Gregorio Cortez gottogether and said to each other, "What are wegoing to do? This man is going free afrerkill ing so many of our friends. Shall we killhim ourselves? But we would have to catchhim asleep, or shoot him in the back, becauseif we meet him face to face there will be few ofus left."

Then one of them thought of therel mare, and there they had a planGregorio Correz. They brougnt him Icourt, and the lawyer who was aEaiasked, "Gregorio Cortez, do youthis mare?"

"I do," said Gregorio Cortez. ..And a

Iittle mare there never was."The lawyer asked him, "Have you

this mare?"And Gregorio Cortez answered, ,,Sh€l

ried me all the way from El Carmen uo"Border, a distance of five hundred miles

Then the lawyer asked him, "Is thisyours?"

And Gregorio Cortez saw that theyhim, but there was nothing he could do,cause he was an honest man and he felthe must tell the truth. He said no, thedid not belong to him.

Then thejudges asked Gregorio Cortez,this true, Gregorio Cortez? Did you takemare that did not belong to you?"

And Gregorio Correz had to say thatthing was true.

So they sentenced Gregorio Cortez, butfor killing the sheriffs, as some fools willyou even now, when they ought to knowter. No, not for killing the sheriffs but forstealing the little sorrel mare. The judge senitenced him to ninety-nine years and a da,y,,And the enemies of Gregorio Cortez were'huppy then, because they thought Cortel.would be in prison for the resr of his life.

Hous Presid.ent Lincoln's Daughter'Freed Cregorio Cortez, and HowHe Was Poisoned and Died

But Gregorio Cortez did not stay in prison'long. Inside of a year he was free and this iq,

the way it came about. Every year at Christ

Grtcoln'swas. lknow

" Icoln'rMarr

Grcoulrt ing,belctdozeyardto hiwoul

Sodaultoldmar

Br

8 1 2 UNIT SIX TRIUMPHS OF THE SPIRTT

Page 14: The Legend of Gregorio Cortez

ittle sor-n [o getback to

rnst him:cognize

a better

r ridden

She car-n to thet i les."ris mare

rey haddo, be-

f.elt thatle mare

,rtez, "ls.ake this

that the

, but notw i l l t e l l '

row bet-but for ' t

Cge sen-,1,1'l a d a y . 'ez wen6,

Qorte4,,r life. ,:';

masttme, a pretty girl can come to the Gover_nor of the State and ask him to give her aprisoner as a Christmas present. And the

, Governor then has to set the prisoner freeand give him ro the girl. So it happened roCortez. One day Presidenr Lincoln'i daughtervisited the prison, and she saw Gregorioto._tez. As soon as she saw him she went up and

take his no. She wenr ro thesaid, "I would like to haveChristmas."

Governor anda prisoner for

;spoke to him.

And the Governor looked at her and sawshe was a pretty girl, so he said, .,your

wish isgranted. What prisoner do you want?,,

And President Lincoln's daughter said, .,Iwant Gregorio Cortez.'

The Governor rhoughr for a little while andthen he said, ,,That',

i -un you cannot have.He's the best prisoner I got.;'

And President Lincoln's daughter shookher head and said, ,.Don't forget ih"t yo, guu"your word."

"So I did," the Governor said, ,,and I cannotgo back on it."

And that was how Gregorio Cortez gor outof prison, where he hadt-been sentenced toninety_-nine years and a day, nor for kill ing thesheriffs, as some fools will tell you, but forstealing the little sorrel mare. Gregorio Cortezkept his word, and he did not rnuriy presidentI incoln's daughter, and when at last she losther hopes, she went away to the North.

Still, the enemies of iregorio Cortez didnot.give up. When they heard rhar he wasgetting out of prison they were scared andangry, and they srarted thinking of ways roget,revenge. They got a lot of money togetherand gave it to a man who worked in tf,eprison, and this man gave Cortez a slow poi-son just before Gregorio Cortez gor out ofjail.

And that was how he came tJdie, within ayear from the day he got out ofjail. As soon ashe came out and his friends ,"r"hi-, ttrey saidto each orher, "This man is sick. This man willnot last the year."

And so it was. He did not last the year. He

31."0 .l the slow poison they gave

'hi- jur,

Detore he was let out, because his enemies didnot want to see him free.

And that was how Gregorio Cortez came todie. He's buried in Laredo some place, ormaybe it's Brownsville, or Mahmtros. or

"I am in love with you, Gregorio Cortez,,,President Lincoln's daughter said, .,and if youpromise to marry me, I will go to the Gover_nor next Christmas and tell him to give you tome."

KrI am in loae with !ou,^ Gregorio Cortezr,,

President Lincoln,st tclaughter said.

i, Gregorio Cortez looked at president Lin_boln's daughter, and he saw how beautiful she

It made him thoughtful, and he did notwhat to say.

I have many rich farms," president Lin_n's daughter said. ,,They are all my own.

me and we will farm together."orio Cortez thought about that. He

d see himself already like a German. sir-on the gallery, fult of h"-

"J;;;: ';;Lg and breaking wind while a half_little blond cockroaches played in rhe

And he was rempred. But then he saidrself, "I

_can't marry a Gringo girl. We-not make a matching pair.',he decided that president Lincoln,s

Iou at all."President Lincoln's daughter would not

THE LEGEND OF GREGORIO CORTEZ 8 1 3

Page 15: The Legend of Gregorio Cortez

somewhere up above. To tell the truth, I don'tknow. I don't know the place where he isburied any more than the place where he wasborn. But he was born and lived and died,that I do know. And a lot of Rangers couldalso tell you that.

So does the corrido; it tells about GregorioCortez and who he was. They started singingthe corrido soon after he went to jail, andthere was a time when it was forbidden in allthe United States, by order of the Presidenthimself. Men sometimes got killed or losttheir jobs because they sang El Corrido de Gre-

gorio Cortez. But everybody sang itsame, because it spoke about thingsIruc,

Now it is all right to sing El Conitgorio Cortez, but not everybodymore. And they don't sing it as itsung. These new singers change allsongs a lot. But even so, people stil lGregorio Cortez. And when a good:sings the song-good and loud andyou can feel your neck feathers rise,can see him standing there, with hishis hand. }}

First I

1 .

Secol

2.

3.

Bro

4,

8 1 4 UNIT SIX TRIUMPFIS OF TFTE SPIRIT