Rensselaer Republican, Volume 21, Number 10, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 8 November 1888 — A BORDER RUFFIAN. [ARTICLE]

A BORDER RUFFIAN.

The Bloody Career of the Brndit Cortina Along the*- Rio Grapde. The representative of the St: Louis Republic at Galveston, Tex., had a conversation recently wi|h Capt. Robert Dempsey, for many years a resident on tfa£ Rio Grande, and ’who had justTetumed from the City of Mexico. .“While there,” he said, “I saw the notorious Cortina, who had been confined in the Belen prison for several years, but who has had the freedom of the capital for some time and has been using every endeavor to induce the authorities to permit him to return to the border, but so far without success, as his. well-known hatred to Texas and Texaris gives rise to the fear that should his application be granted he would again embark in the career of crime which. for years made him the terror of the border. Juan Nepucemo Cortina was born in Mexico of Spanish blood, on the side of the Sierra Madre, some sixty-five years ago. He is about five feet eight inches in height, weighs 164 pounds, and is a powerful and active man. The expression of his dark face is sinister, sensual, avaricious, malignant, and cruel. He is wholly illiterate, being unable to read or write anything save a scrawl which passes for his signature, having acquired that much from the necessity of signing numberless death warrants, pronunciamentoes, and directions for murder and plunder while he ruled the Rib Grande country. At the commencement of hostilities be tween the United tS tales and Mexico, he entered the army of the latter country in the capacity of guerrilla, spy and assassin. The first act of barbarity attributed to him was the murder on the 21st of April, "1846, of Col. Freeman Cross, assistant quartermaster general of the United States army. At the time of murder, Col. Cross was on his way to see a Mexican girl living on a ranch some two miles from Fort Brown. Cortina’s second crime was the assassination of Lieut. Porter and three men, and from that time forth for several years his record was traced in blood. As spy, courier and assassin he made a reputation in- the days of comparative peace, following the war that made him a man to be feared and shunned. ‘‘Cortina and his mothef located on a ranch on the Mexican side of the river about eight miles above Brownsville, and what were termed his peaceful days were spent in gambling and cock-fight-ing in the towns of Matamoras and Brownsville or driving stolen stock into Texas as far east as Goliad, on the San Antonia river. As a ranchero he was without an equal, and his skill with the pistol and his deftness with the lariat were remarkable, while as a horseman he was unexcelled by any one —Texan or Mexican—on the border. “One sultry day in 1859, Cortina was standing In the door of a gambling house in Brownsville and saw the city marshal —a man named Speers—shoot down a Mexican On the plaza. Cortina advanced to Speers, spoke to him, and then deliberately shot him in the face. Mounting his horse, revolver in hand, he rode out of the city, bidding defiance to all Americans. Daybreak the next morning found him in front of the Brownsville jail at the head of thirty well-armed and superbly mounted men. The key was demanded from the jailer (Johnson), who stepped forth, holding the key on one of the fingers of the left hand, remarking, ‘Come and take it!’- . “A Mexican stepped forward toreceive the key,when Johnson snot himd.ead in

his. tracks and wounded two others, but in turn was riddled with bullets and so hacked with sabers as to be unrecognizable. Cortina then released all the prisoners, murdered a blacksmith named Morris because he had forged fetters foj Mexican prisoners, slew several other persons, plundered a number of stores, and rode out of town unmolested.” “This deed threw the State of Texas into a fever of excitement. Cortina was declared an out law, and a force of regulars and rangers dispatched to theßio Grandes In the meantime Cortina had made his headquarters at his mother’s ranch, where he issued a pronunciamento calling 'upon all Mexicans to rally to his support and declared his intention of wresting all the lands west of the Nueces river from Texas. He raised as many as 500 men, and in a fight near Rio Grande City was defeated by United States troops under command of Major (afterwards General) Heintzleman and Texas rangers under Col. John S. Ford, known throughout Texas as ‘Old Rip.’ “Cortina remained on his ranch until the occupation of Mexico by the French forces under Marshall Bazaine, when he rallied his forces and declared against Maximilian, usurping the governorship of the state of Tamaulipas for hinri§elf. In 1863 he prevailed upon a young Mexican named Adrian Vidal, captain of a company of confederate troops stationed near Brownsville, to mutiny, which he did, and after committing ten murders and numberless robberies crossed the river and joined forces with Cortina. The imperialists then, captured Matamoras, and Vidal was taken prisoner, but Cortina escaped. Gen. Mexia, who was afterward shot at Queretara’withthe Emperor Maximilian and Gen. Miramon, was in command of the imperialist forces. Strong appeals were made to him for Vidal’s life, but he replied, ‘For Adrian Vidal no mercy. He dies at sunrise.’ The next morning Vidal

was brought from tne prison, blindlolded, his face turned to a wall, and he was shot by a file of Austin soldiers. “After the expulsion of the imperialistsCortina became a Mexican brigadier general, and ruled the roost along tlje border for years, plundering and murdering with impunity. He became so bad that the Mexican government, fearing trouble with the United States, had him arrested and sent to the City of Mexico, in 1876, stripping him of all rank, and keeping him closely confined foe several years. He is under indictment for murder in Texas, and should he be permitted to return to the border a repetition of his former acts can be expected, as his hatred for the is eq deeply rooted that it will never disappear until death. Had he been awarded his just dues he would have been extradited and hanged for murder years ago.”

A Youthful Moonshiner. Atlanta Special to Chicago Tribune, A curious case of'moonshining was developed ifi the Federal District Court here to-day when Bascom Johnson was placed on trial, He gave in his age as seventeen, and said he had been running an independent still for five years without the knowledge of his father. He explained that he used a powder can for a still, a coffee pot for the cap, and connected them together with a gun barrel, which served for a worm. He could mash a peck of meal at .a time, from which .he could get a pint and a half of whiskey. He had for his customers all the boys of the neighborhood The scene of his ingenuity was in Franklin County.

Living on the Reputation of Other*. “Take everything that I'have'but my good name; leave me that and I am content.” So said the philosopher. So say all manufacturers of genuine articles to that horde of imitators which thrives upon the reputation of others, The good name of Allcock’s Porous Plasters has induced many adventurers to put in the market imitations that are not only lacking in the best elements of the genuine article, but are often harmful in their effects. The public should be on their guard against these frauds, and, when an external remedy is needed, be sure to in J sist upon having Allcock’s Porous Plaster.

It is to be supposed that Helen, wife of Menelaus, had her collars done up at the Troy laundry. HOW’S THIS! We offer One Hundred Dollars Reward for any case of Catarrh that can not be cured by taking Hall’s Catarrh Cure. F. J. CHENEY & CO., Props., To’edo. 0. W’e, the undersigned, have known F- J. Cheuey for the 1-st 15 years, and bilieve him perfectly honorable in all business transactions, and financially able to carry out any obligations made by their firm. West & Truax Wholesale Druggists. Toledo. 0. Walding, Kinnan it Marvin, Wholesale Druggists. Toledo, Ohio. E. H. Van Hoesen, Cashier Toledo National Bank, Toledo, Ohio. Hall’s Catarrh Cure is taken internally, acting direitly upon the blood and mucus surfaceset the system. Price, 75c. per bottle. Sold by all Druggists.