Gregorio Cortez

Gregorio Cortez Lira (born June 22, 1875 near Matamoros, Tamaulipas—February 28, 1916) was a Mexican American who became a hero to some Mexican American Texans and a symbol of the willingness to fight for equal rights.

Background

Cortez's parents were itinerant laborers who brought their family to Manor, Texas (near Austin) in 1887. That year, his brother Romaldo was charged with horse theft but the charges were dropped for lack of evidence. Another brother, Tomás, was also charged in a separate horse-theft incident, but received a pardon from Texas governor Lawrence Ross. Nevertheless, Tomás Cortez served time in the state penitentiary in the 1900s. The oral historian Richard Mertz discovered that he may have been involved in horse theft (a crime equivalent to today's grand theft auto) with members of his family during the 1880s. In 1889 he began working as a farmhand in various Texas counties, becoming familiar with much of the area. In 1890 he was wed, and the couple had four children. His wife divorced him in 1903, alleging he abused and intimidated her. He remarried the next year and again in 1916. It is known that he spoke English and owned horses.^[1]

The incident

On June 12, 1901, while investigating a horse theft, Karnes County sheriff W.T. "Brack" Morris went to the Thulemeyer ranch outside of Kenedy, where Gregorio and Romaldo Cortez were tenant maize farmers, after learning that Gregorio had acquired a mare from a Mexican Kenedy resident by way of trade. After misunderstandings between Morris and the Cortez brothers resulting from poor translation by a deputy--in which Cortez was supposedly asked if he had recently acquired a caballo, or a stallion, and Cortez answered he had acquired a yegua, or a mare, a word which the deputy did not understand--Morris shot and wounded Romaldo, prompting Gregorio to shoot and kill Morris.^[2] On his escape, Cortez stopped at the ranch of Martín and Refugia Robledo on the property of Mr. Schnabel. At the Robledo home Gonzales county sheriff Glover and his posse found Cortez. Shots were exchanged, and Glover and Schnabel were killed. Cortez escaped again and walked nearly 100 miles to the home of Ceferino Flores, a friend, who provided him a horse and saddle. He then headed toward Laredo, Texas.^[1]

Flight and capture

Cortez, now a fugitive from the law, spent ten days on the lam, repeatedly evading authorities (local posses and sheriffs, not Texas Rangers, as has previously been suggested...he was eventually arrested by a Ranger once the Rangers were called in), and at times aided by compatriots. The search for Cortez involved hundreds of men. A train on the International-Great Northern Railroad route to Laredo was used to bring in new men and fresh horses. During his flight, Texas newspapers were highly critical of Cortez, some lamenting that he hadn't been lynched. Popular hatred for Cortez among Anglos provoked violence against Mexican communities in Gonzales, Refugio, Hays, and other counties. However, admiration of Cortez by some Anglo-Texans increased as the search progressed, and the San Antonio Express touted his "remarkable powers of endurance and skill in eluding pursuit."^[1] Cortez was finally apprehended on June 22, 1901, when an acquaintance turned him in.^[1]

During those 10 days, Cortez was pursued by a posse that at times included up to 300 men. He traveled nearly 400 miles on horseback and more than 100 miles on foot. This was one of the largest manhunts in history. His story was symbolic of the struggles between the Anglos and Mexicans in South Texas.^[3]

Trial, conviction, and exoneration

Immediately following Cortez's capture, his supporters began forming organizations to publicize the case and raise money for his defense. At his first trial (in Gonzales), he was sentenced to fifty years' imprisonment for second-degree murder. While appeals were being denied, a lynch mob of three hundred attempted to hang him. He was also tried and convicted in Karnes City and Pleasanton. However, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals overturned all the verdicts. His last trial was in Corpus Christi in 1904, after which he began serving a life sentence. Efforts to have him pardoned began with his incarceration and finally succeeded in 1913, when governor Oscar Colquitt issued him a conditional pardon.^[1]