The Horrell Wars: Feuding in Texas and New Mexico

Chapter 7: “Would Have Surrendered … at Any Time”

Chapter 7 “Would Have Surrendered … at Any Time” The Horrells were well aware that the animosities in Lincoln County would not permit them anything resembling a normal existence. Following the second attack on their ranch, the brothers approached Robert Casey and asked for permission to leave their women and children with him. Casey agreed. “Although Father disapproved of the actions of the men in their troubles with the Mexicans, he did not think he could refuse to give women and children protection; so he permitted them to stay in the mill. As well as I can remember, the women and children stayed about ten days at our place.”1 In the years following the Horrell War there has been a pronounced tendency to lay all the blame for the violence precipitated in Lincoln County squarely on the Horrells’ doorstep. Certainly they were not blameless, but neither were they the aggressors as contemporary sources demonstrate. From consideration of these sources the Horrell brothers’ actions are more understandable. “To understand is not to defend,” points out a noted historian. This is the case with the Horrells. 2 84 The Horrell Wars Anti-Anglo sentiment ran high in Lincoln County at the end of 1873. Klasner recalled that Heiskell Jones’ family and Frank Reagan also sought refuge with the Casey family. “The Mexicans did not like the idea of the Joneses allowing the Horrells to come to their hotel to eat, and they got pretty mad at the Joneses. The Joneses thought the best thing to do was to go to a place with a more friendly atmosphere, and came to our place. Father, for the sake of old friendship, gladly allowed them to establish themselves in the house of a renter.”3 While overlooked or downplayed, the intimidation of noncombatants by lawless militants while the “law” allied itself with these same militants reveals much about Lincoln County at this time. While the violence was not indicative of either the majority or a large minority of the Hispanic community, it was present. According to Klasner, after they had left their women and children at the Casey mill, the Horrells attempted to resume their farming. “But, it was so dangerous for them to appear in the fields that they finally realized the hopelessness of trying to farm while the Mexicans were so inflamed against them, so quit trying to make a crop.”4 With this came the realization that the militants intended to use brute force to drive them from the region. Withdrawing to Casey’s Mill, they began gathering their families to remove them to the relative safety of Roswell. As they were evacuating their families, Tom Horrell attempted to get Frank Reagan to come into the yard where the men were gathered. Reagan refused, and Horrell did not press the issue due to the presence of six troopers from Fort Stanton who were there to protect the family. Klasner later came to believe that Horrell intended to harm Reagan. 5 On January 4, 1874, some sort of skirmish took place in the village of San Patricio. Three days later in Santa Fe, Governor Marsh Giddings offered a $500 reward each for “Zachariah Crompton, E. Scott, and three other persons, brothers by the name of Harrold” who, aided by other persons murdered “Isidro Patron, Isidro Padilla, Dario Balizan, and Jose Candelaria” on December 20, 1873. The names provided to Giddings “Would Have Surrendered … at Any Time” 85 were undoubtedly based upon Juan Patron’s information. The reward was for “the apprehension and delivery of each or either of them.”6 News of the reward spread to neighboring Arizona where newspapers reported, “Gov. Giddings, of New Mexico offers rewards for the apprehension of Zachariah Compton, E. Scott and three brothers named Herrold who recently killed some New Mexicans, in Lincoln County.”7 What evidence was presented to Giddings is unknown, but from subsequent correspondence it appears that Giddings accepted Patron’s version of the facts without reservation. Giddings also attempted to downplay Mason’s report noting in part that Territorial Attorney John D. Bail considered Major Mason mistaken and that Mason had “obtained his information from unreliable sources” and charged that the information given to Mason “more generally came from the Texans who could converse more readily than the Mexicans, who speak only the Spanish language.” Giddings added that Bail “believed” that there was strong prejudice against Hispanics by the military. According...