Document text
Marie Carter
Anthony,
New Mexico
OLD TIMERS STORIES
1870
Cruz Richards Alvarez, of Old Vesilla is a man who takes
great pride in his ancestry. So when I requested him to tell me
something about his family history he complied, and began:
"My great-grandfather, John Richardslwas a piominent London
physician, who took a notion to embark for America. His two sons,
Ruben and Stephen, accompanied him. Their mother was dead.
"While they were at sea the crew mutinied. John Richards
must have been a game old boy. For he took charge of the ship and
brought it to Galveston, Texas. At a later date, however, he was
beheaded by the Indians, consequently, the boys were left orphans
in the wilds of Texas. Ruben, who was destined to become my grand-
father, joined the American Army under General Scott in Mexico.
On returning from the Mexican war he stopped at Precido, Texas, which
was Mexico, and met my future grand -mother."
"Love at first sight, followed by a prendorio, or engagement
announcement," I suggested.
"According to the old Spanish custom there should have Veen a
prendorio, but in this case, everything went haywire. The girl's
father, Francisco Hernandez," he explained, "as a rich old guy with lots
of money end cattle and thought Ruben was an adventurer with designs on the
family fortune. So he told him to begone or he would shoot him.
"Did he go?"
Carter 2
"Si Senora, muy pronto. But he came back. Then what do you think
happened?" he asked.
"I can't Imagine."
"He kidnapped the girl."
Reuben Richards, the man who kidnapped hisisweetheart and married her,
was also a soldier in the Civil War. He joined the Federal Army, and his
brother Stephen joined the Confederate army. Cruz Richards Alvarez, the
grandson of Reuben Richards, was in the Diplomatic Service of the United
States during the World War; attached to the American EMbassy at Madrid Spain.
At the present time he is an Attorney of Old Mesilla; and the President of
the Chamber of Commerce.
When I asked Cruz Richards Alvarez to tell me something about Old
Mesilla, he replied:
"Thrilling national history and romance are imprinted on the placid
tree -lined streets of Mesilla. On November 20, 1854, the official con-
firmation of the Gadsden Purchase Treaty, wherein Mesilla and Southern
Arizona were purchased for ten million dollars from Mexico, took place in
its picturesque plaza."
"Do you happen to know the names of the officers who represented the
United States and Mexico on that eventful day?" I inquired.
"Yes. General Sam Garland represented the United States, and General
Angel Trias represented the Mexican Government. Have you seen the Spanish
pavilion which marks the site where the two flags floated during that inter-
national adjustment?" he asked.
"Yes," I replied. "What is its history?"
"Well, it is modeled exactly on the lines of a bandstand of the period
of the Gadsden Purchase, when Mesilla and all the territory south of the
Gil-. river to the present international bondary came into the possession of
the United States. The pill-rs f the grandstaqd hi,ve a hist)ry, too.
They qere carried to La Mesilla by ox -team before the Civil Tar and used in
building the 'ir:t flour mill. It was dedicated June 24, 192. After the
oillrs o: the Mesiallagrandstand were discarded by the flour mill, they
were bought by John Lemon and used to form raflers in his home. Incidently
Mr. Lemon, was killed in a battle between Republicans and Democrats about
1875 in the rear of the bandst,Ild's present location.
The Republicans, who were parading on the streets of Ls Mesilla, were
suddenly attacked by the Democrats. The attack was followed by a fierce
battle. During the gun fight some of the bullets struck and tore holes in the
brass instruments carried by the Republicans' band.
*****)1*****
"Mr. Alvarez "I said,"How did Colonel John R. Baylor factor in the
history of Old Mesilla?
"Well, in 1861, when Mesilla became the capital of Arizona, Colonel
Baylor appointed himself governor and selected his Supreme Court and other
territorial officials with headquarters southeast of the plaza. Baylor
liked Mesilla, and treated the natives in a friendly manner. He was very
liberal with his confederate money, which was paper. And the following year,
when General Carleton, commanding the California Volunteers, captured Mesilla
for the Union cause, the merchants almost went bankrupt, trying to exchange
Baylor's paper money for sound currency."
****wwww****
There is a current story in Old Mesilla about a certain Yankee of the
early days who had a habit of serenading dark -eyed senoritas. There is still
considerable double as to how he mixed his drinks, but none whatever regarding
the way he chili -con -earned his English and Spanish. For this gallant Yank's
favorite ditty accompanied by the strum, strum, of an old guitar, went something
like this:
Te quiero, te quiero because you
are the dream angel of ml vida,
Y ml amor that you control
Makes my very timid soul
Sing with highest joy, ml querida;
Ah! when I see your star -lit eyes,
Beaming with mucho "come hither,"
Ml corazon muy furioso beats,
And performs many romantic feats
For you, for you only, ml querida.
414Hel-X-X-X4HE***
Mesilla, New Mexico, a historic town with a quaint Spanish atmosphere, has
about 1200 inhabitants. It is situated in the heart of the Mesilla Valley, on
State Highway No. 28, two miles west of Las Cruces, New Mexico, and U. S. Highway No.
80. It is the center of the Mesilla Colony Grant, containing twenty-four square
miles of the richest land in the valley. Mesilla is forty-five miles from El Paso,
Texas, the metropolis of the southwest.
********4H44
A few days ago,, while nosing around the streets of Old Mesilla, I had the
good fortune to meet Cruz R. Alvarez again. He called my attention to the old jail
Where Billy the Kid was incarcerated, saying:
"He was a tough customer, ruthless with his enemies, but generous to his
friends, the native rancheros. His good looks, charming personality, and find dancing
won him the admiration of the younger set, who considered him a gay caballero. But
he was a desperado, a gunman and a killer, who was sentenced to be hung, April 15,1881."
"In Dana Ana County?"
"No, in Lincoln County. Colonel A. J. Fountain, who organized the New Mexico
Militia, was Billy the Kid's defence counsel." he said.
"Perhaps I had better tell you something about the old stage coaches,"Mr
Alvarez said. "South of the plaza, adjoining the Valley
Mercantile Company building, it the station site of the Butterfield stage coaches,
which used to carry steel -nerved passengers in quest of adventure and fortunes.
Travelling from San Antonio, Texas, over a rugged, Indian and bandit -infested route
to San Diego, California. The Hospitality and gayety of early Mesilla appealed to
the California gold hunters much as an oasis appeals to the tongue -parched nomads
of the Sahara."
Mesilla was also the county seat of Dona Ana County until the latter part
of the 19th century, when the railroad entered this Apache -infested -region. In
those days the railroads were an invaluable asset to any town, and would have have
helped advance Mesilla to a great extent. But the early land owners emphatically
refused to donate sufficient land to the A.T.& S.F. railway for a right of way
through Mesilla. Hence, the railroad, was built two miles east through Las
Cruces, where the county seat is now located.
"A large percentage of the tourists, visiting Mesilla, invariably want to
know where to find the old Chihuahua Santa Fe Trail, "Mr. Alvarez said. "When we
tell them it is right here, they seem surprised. The famous Chihuahua Santa Fe
Trail is the route over which De Vargas with his soldiers and Franciscan friars entered
New Mexico in 1692, To the south, within a distance of twenty-five miles on this
historic trail, there are several quaint Spanish pueblos with their typical mission
churches -San Miguel, La Mesa, Chamberino, and La Union, formerly called Los Amoles."
4-44-X-*****
There are several good stores in Old Mesilla. E. V. Oaboats Valley
Mercantile Company, Where the U.S. post office is located; Patio Cafe, Mesilla
Garage, Gadsden Museum Art Gallery (In the Albert Fountain family home) and Billy
the Kid museum. Guerrats Theater Building, Bermudez Mission Grape Nurseries, Lockets
Asparagus Farms; St. Albinus, a French -Roman type of church, modern pu_blic school
building and an active Chamber of Commerce.
"Mr. Alvarez, I said, I always thought Billy the Kid
was shot."
"He was, but that occurred after he escaped from the
Lincoln jail."
"Escaped?"
"Yes, killing both of his guards. Prior to his in—
carceration, April 1, 1878, he killed sheriff William Brady and
George Hineman. On July 15, 1881, Pat Garrett, the sheriff of
Lincoln County and two deputies, discovered Billy the Kid at
the home of Pete Maxwell, near Fort Sumner. The outlaw walked
into Maxwellls bedroom and was shot by Garrett.
4$-X-M-X-X-4****4HHE
Cruz Richards Alvarez: Born in La Union, New Mexico,
September 14, 1896; son of Mr. and Mrs. Deonicio Alvarez of La
Union; Graduate, Industrial Commercial Department, State College;
New Mexico; Teacher of Spanish in Las Vegas Normal University;
Teacher in Hollywood, California Secretarial School; Teacher El
Pas ol Vocational School, El Paso, Texas; Attached to American
Embassy Madrid, Spain, during World War; Married and has two
Children, Consuelo a girl and Benjamin, a boy; Wife was Fanny
Bermudez 1 granddaughter of Don Rafael Bermudez, Customs Collector
for Mexico in Mesilla up to 1854.