rhe
[cgendC
Crrusorio
Qortez
A M E R I C OP A R E D E S
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
old songs and the tales of' other
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 savagelywith 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 GregorioCortezCameto Be in
theCounQof El Carmen
That was good singing, and a good song;
give the man a drink. Not like thesepachucos'
nowadays,mumbling damn-foolishnessinto 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
U00 uNtr stx rRtuMpfis oF THEsptRtr
the pasture'sfarther 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.
He was a man, a Border man.
look like? Well, that is hard to tell.
he was short and some say he was
sayhe was Indian brown and somesay
blond like a newborn cockroach.But
he was not too dark and not too fair,
thin and not too fat, not too short and ab
tall: and he lookedjust a little bit like H,
does it matter so much what he looked sl
He was a man, very much of a man; an yo
was a Border man. Some say he was
ibbe.
Matamoros; some say Reynosa; some
Hidalgo county on the other side.And I
others will say other things. But
fnint.
or Reynosa, or Hidalgo, it's all the it. An
Border: and short or tall. dark or fair, it'$ nastl
man that counts. And that's what he Yor
man.
I lourl
Not a gunman, no, not a bravo. He ,r'have
cameout of'a cantinawanting to drink up tQZ. t
seaat one gulp. Not that kind of man, if there
can call that kind a man. No, that wasn't ryou(
gorio Cortez at all. He was a peaceful grow
hard-working man like you and me. hhir
cotto
l. cantinas (kan tet nez): taverrrs. and
2. guitaneros (gE tA re' r6s\: Spanish,guitar playen','.] other
3. pachucos (pa choo' k6z):juvenile delinquents.

He could shoot. Forty-four and thirry_
thirty, they were the same to him. He could
; put five bullets into a piece of board and nor
make but one hole, and quicker than you
could draw a good deep breath. yes, he could
'shoot.But he could also work.
He was a vaquero,' and a better one there
has 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 better
n Gregorio Cortez. As for cattle, he could
up schoolfor your bestcaporal.5And if'an
imal was lost, and nobody could pick up a
ril, they would send for Gregorio Cortez.
could always find a trail. There was no
: tracker in all the Border country, nor a
who could hide his rracks better if' he
'fhat
to. wasGregorio 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 your
inesstoo? You could have told him noth_
aboutcotton or beansor corn. He knew it
E'[Iecould look into the sky of a morning
il smellit, sniff it the way a dog sniffs, and
u what kind of weather there wasgoing
And he would rake a piece of dirt in hii
and rub it back and fbrth betweenhis
see if the land had reached its
you would sayhe waslooking into
perhaps he was, for Gregorio Cortez
seventhson of a seventhson.6
piddling modern farmers, vain of
when you make a bale! you should
the crops raised by Gregorio Cor_
when harvesting came, he was in
the resr.Was it shucking corn? All
ld see was rhe shucks fly and the
pile
ndl you didn't know there *u, u
-un
the pite. But he was even better
at
time. He would bend down
raise his head till he came out the
and he would be halfway through
I
l i
rl i
lJiril
rtil,j,ll ll
another row belbre the next man wasthrough
with his. And don't think the row he wenr
through wasn'tclean. No flags, no streamers,
nothing lefi behind, nothing bur clean,
empry
burrs where he had passed-.It was the same
when clearing land. There were men
who
went ahead of him, cutting fast along their
strip in the early morning, but by noontime
the man ahead was always Gregorio Cortez,
working at his own pace,talkinglittle and
nor
singing very much, and never icting up.
For Gregorio Cortez was not of yJur noisy,
-
hell-raising type. That was not his way.
He
always spoke low, and he was always polite,
whoever he was speaking to. And when
he
spoke ro men older than himself he took
o(f
his hat and held it over his heart. A man
who
never raised his voice to parent or
elder
brother, and never disobeyed.That was
Gre_
gorio Cortez, and lhat was the way men were
in this country along the river. T'hat was
the
way they were before these modern
times
came, and God went away.
He should have stayed on the Border;
he
should not have gone up above, intcl
the
North. But it was going to be that way, and
that was the way it was. Each man has a cer_
tain lot in life, and no other rhing but that will
be his share.Peoplewere alwaysfoming down
from placesin the Norrh, from Dallas#a
S"n
Antonio and Corpus and Foro West. Ancl
they would say, "Gregorio Cortez, why don,t
you go north? There is much money to
be
made. Stop eating beansand tortillasand that
rubberyjerked beef. One of thesedaysyou,re
g"ilg to pull our one of your eyes, prll und
pull 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 the
f i r l k l o r e o f s e v e r a lc u l t u r e s , r l , e s e u e n r h
i,i-.,f:r'
son is.always lucky and specially gifted,
:::i"r.!h
sonlettmes with magical powers.
THE LEGEND OF GREGORTO CORTEZ
801
 people are not one-eyed.Come up abovewith
us, where you can eat white bread and ham."
But Gregorio Cortez would only smile, be-
causehe was a peacefulman and did not take
offense.He did not like white bread and ham:
it makes people flarulenr and dull. And he
liked it where he was.So he alwayssaid,"I like
this country. I will stay here."
But Gregorio Cortez had a brother, a
younger brother named Romdn. Now Rom6n
wasjust like the young men of today, loud-
mouthed and discontented. He was never
huppy where he was,and to make it worse he
loved a joke more than any other thing. He
would think nothing of playing a joke on a
person twice his age. He had no respect for
anyone,and that is why he ended like he did.
But that is yet to tell.
Romdn talked to Gregorio and begged him
that they should move away from the river
and go up above, where there was much
money to be made. And he talked and begged
so, that finally Gregorio Cortez said he would
go with his brother Rom6n, and they saddled
their horsesand rode north.
Well, they did not grow rich, though things
went well with them becausethey were good
workers. Sometimes they picked cotton,
sometimes they were vaqueros, and some-
times they cleared land for the Germans.
Finally they came to a placecalledEl Carmen,
and there they settleddown and farmed. And
that was how Gregorio Cortez came to be in
the county of El Carmen, where the tragedy
took place.
Romdn'sHorse Trade and What
Cameof It
RomiiLnowned two horses. two beautiful
sorrelst that were just alike, the same color,
the same markings, and the same size. You
could not have told them apart, except that
802 UNIT SIX TRIUMPHS OF TI-IE SPIRIT
one of them was lame. There
can who owned a little sorrel
was dying to get Rom6n's
one-and every time they met he
to swap the mare for the horse.
did not think much of the mare.
Iike it when the American kept
him trade.
"I wonder what this Gringos
min said to himself. "He rakesme
But I'm going to make him sucha
he will remember me forever."
And Romin laughed a big-mou
He thought it would be a fine
being a good trade. There were
when the American went to town in
along a narrow road. So Rom6n
lame sorrel, led him a little wav
road, and stopped under a big
bordered on the f'ence. He fixed it
spavined'oside was againstthe mesq
mdn waited a little while. and soon he
the buggy coming along the road.
got in the saddleand beganpicking
off the tree and eating them. When the
ican came around the bend. there was
-I'he
on his sorrel horse. American
his buggy beside Romdn and looked atr
horse with much admiration. It was a
animal exactly like the orher one, but
American could not see r.hespavinedleg.
"Changed your mind?" the American
Romin stopped chewing on a mesquite
said, "Changed my mind about what?"
"About trading that horse for my
ml
7. sorrels: horsesol'a light, reddish brown color. yo
8. gringo (grig' go): a negative term for a forei
especially someone fiom the United Srares,used
throughoutLatin America. do
9. mesquite(mesk€t'): a thorny, shrub-liketree
sweetseeds,
8e
10.spavined (spav' ind): afflicted with spavin,a
diseasein which a horse'shind leg joint becomes stt
enlarged,resulting in lameness. ch
 an Ameri- "Where's the mare?" Romdn said.
. This man "She's in my yard,," said the American,
-the good
"hung to a tree. You go get her and leave the
,'ould offer
horse there for me becauseI'm in a hurry to
lut Romiin
get to town."
He did not
That was how Rom6n had figured ir, so he
ng to make said, "All right, I'll do it, but when I finish
with these mesquites."
rinks," Ro- "Be sure you do, then," the American said.
: for a fool. "Sure, sure," said Romdn. "No hurry about
r trade that
it, is there?"
"All right," the American said, ..take your
thed laugh.
time." And he drove off leaving Rom;in still
'ke, besides
sitting on his horse under the mesquite,and
: mornings
as he drove off the American said, ..Now isn't
n his buggy
that just like a Mexican. He takes his rime."
raddled tho
Rom:in waited until the American was
r along rhc
gone, and then he stopped earing mesquites.
:squitee
He got off and led the horse down the road to
ditso ATTON lgtJg RobertaCarter Clark
of RobertaCarter Clark the American's yard and left him there in
esquite.
place of the little sorrel mare. On the way
rn he
home Rom:in almosrfell off his saddlea cou-
re dead set on trading your mare for ple of times, just laughing and laughing to
gm of mine?" Romiin said. think of'the sorr of face the American would
n the know I am," the American said. "Are pull when he came home that night.
was to come around?" The next morning, when Gregorio Cortez
lan
a trading mood," said Rom;in. "With got up he said to his brother Rom6n, ,,Some-
oked arguing you might convinceme to thing is going to happen roday."
was &: horse for that worthless mare of "Why do you say that?" asked Romiin.
fl€,
I don't know: you might go back "I don't know," said Gregorio Cortez. ,,I
ined . later on." just know that something is going to happen
rerl
go back on my word," the Ameri- today. I feel it. Last night my wife began to
neEqu! nWhat do you
think I am, a Mexi- sigh for no reasonat all. She kept sighing and
vhatP
sighing half the night, and she didn't know
my4
i we'll see," said Rom:in. "How why. Her heart was telling her something,
,.ij
r!l willing to give in hand?" and I know some unlucky thing will happen
give you rhe firsr squaremeal to us today."
Jo
m your life," the Americansaid. But Romiin just laughed, and Gregorio
laughed, and it was all he could went inside the house to shave. Rom;in fol-
guffawing. He knew who was lowed him into the house and stood at rhe
of things. door while Gregorio shaved. It was a door
the deal, with Rom6n srill made in two sections; the upper part was
spavined horse under the tree, open and Rom:in was leaning on the lower
part, like a man leaning out of a window or

THE LEGEND OF GREGORIO CORTEZ 803

 over a fence. Romin began to tell Gregorio And so it was, for the Major St
about the horse trade he had made the day man.
before, and he laughed pretty loud about it, Yes, the..MajorSheriff wasa n
becausehe thought it was a good joke. Gre- gamecock" that had won in mar
gorio Cortez just shaved, and he didn't say Gregorio Cortez he met a
anything. peckedhiscomb.The MajorSher yG
When what should pull in at the gate but a and he missed; and Gregorio to
brggy,and the American got down, and the next, and he didn't miss.Three tiii :t, a
Major Sheriff of the county of El Carmen got shoot, three times did the Major the
down too. They came into the yard and up to and three times did Gregorio rcb
where Romiin was leaning over the door, sheriff of El Carmen. The Major
looking out. dead at the feet of Gregorio Cortei; ols
The American had a very serious f'ace. "I in this way that Gregorio Cortez' lask,
came for the mare you stole yesterday morn- first sheriff of many that he wa$to he
,r
ing," he said. When the Major Sheriff fell,
Romiin laughed a big-mouthed laugh. tez looked up, and the other A all
"What did I tell you, Gregorio?" he said. "Don't kill me; I am unarmed."
"This Gringo . . . has backed down on "I will not kill you," said Gregorio and
me."... "But you'd better go away." .S(
So the American went away. He and r
Just as the word "Gringo" . . . came out of
Romdn's mouth, the sherif{'whipped out his the brush and kept on running until woulc
pistol and shot Romdn. He shot Romin as he to town and told all the other sheriffs Corte
stood there with his head thrown back, laugh- Major Sheriff was dead. to
ing at his joke. The sheriff shot him in the Meanwhile, Gregorio Cortez knew th t(
face,right in the open mouth, and Rom6n fell too must go away. He was not afraid down
away from the door, at the Major Sheriff's law; he knew the law, and he knew .He
feet. had the right. But if he stayed,the thenig
would come, and the Rangershaveno thehou
for law. You know what kind of men ." Bu
When the Governor of the StatewanB a' dawn
A"d then Gregorio Cortez Ranger, he asks his sheriffs, "Bring all sh
^ ^ criminals to me." And from the mu but
stood at the door . . . with choosesthe Ranger, becauseno one can just,
handsr
his pistol in his hand. Ranger who has not killed a man. So G
he wast
Cortez knew that the bestthing for him w^a
go away, and his first thought was _ot ng'
And then Gregorio Cortez stood at the Border. where he had been born. But ir
must take care of his brother, so he put start(
door, where his brother had stood, with his
mdn in the buggy and drove into town' he w:
pistol in his hand. Now he and the Major , st
his mother lived. r must
Sheriff met, each one pistol in hand, as men
"a rifl
should meet when they fight for what is right.
Theyg:
For it is a pretty thing to see,when two men 'dter him
stand up for their right, with their pistols in I l. gamecock: a rooster trained lbr fighting'
tatch Gre
their hands, front to front and without fear. 12. cockerel: a young rooster.

804 UNIT SIX T R I U M P H SO F T I I E S P I R I T

also wasa Now there was a lot of excitementin town.
good as him in hiding his own
rracks,and he
;hewasa , h?9 them going around in circles,
:""? while
rits, but in ,.. he doubled back and headed for
home'to get
:rel't that '.: himself a rifle and a horse.
'shot
firsg .:-1,
)rtez shot l
'.'
:sdid they
eriff miss,""Q
!o? Gregorio CortezRodethe
Little Sorrel Mare All of Fitse
r shoottheil, in the back, shot in the mouth. He could
,herifffell ,'! Hundred Miles
rerspeaknor move,butjust lay therelike
and it wa*, who is dead.
killed the ll 'asked him, "Who are you?,' He wenr in and got his thirty_thirty,
and
' kill. . then he looked arouncl fbr the
said to them, ,.I am Gregorio best horse he
,,he had..It is a long way fiom El Carmen
gorioCor-t1 to the
Border, all of'five hundred miles.
rican sai{, all looked at him and were afraid of The first
thing he saw in the corral was
because they were only twenty or twenty_ the little sor_
rel.mare. Gregorio Cortez took
io Corteri and they knew that they ,e." not a good look
at. her, and he knew she *u,
th. So they stepped aside and let him no'o.dinary
3 ran
mare.
and. stood talking among rhemselves
il he "You're worth a dozen horses,,,
be the best thing to do. But Gre_ said Gre_
fs that gorio Cortez, and,he saddled the
just drove ahead,slowly,without little mare.
But by then the whole wasp,s
to careabour rhe men he left behind. . nesr was
:w that beginning to buzz. The president
to his mother's house,and there of. the
he United States offered a thousand
aid of nunhis brother and carried him in dollars fbr
:w thaf the him, and many men went out to
He stayed there until dawn, una get Gregorio
au._ Correz. The Major Sheriff.s of ine
e night groups of armed men would .ountie,
so and all their sheriffs were out. There
no touseand say,',He's in there. were
He,sin Rangers from the counties, armed
n t none of them ever went in. to the
lnul n Gregorio Cortez came out and the King Ranch Rangers from
of.his leet1, the
ng house.There were armed uaptt'at, the meanest of them all, all
men out_ armed
and- looking for Cortez. Every'
,,they.made no move against him. road was
'watched blocked and every bridge guu.d.d.-th...
as he went down the street,
were rrackers our with thosi dogs
his belt. He wenr along as they call
,t]1S hounds, that can follow a track U"*-.riir.,
mg a""walk, and they stood -i""a"a
,t
th"ere best rracker. They had "
I he reached the brush railroaa .u.r
and he wrth guns and ammunition and
tt and disappeared. with rnen,
And then moving up and down trying to
head him off,
!$oolng u, l,i- wirhrifles,now The women and children ,,uy.a
of pistolrange. in the
;rlrut houses, behind locked doors,
me a rifle," said Gregorio ,u.h *us tn.
Cor_ f'ear they all had of'Gregorio
o a horse." Cortez. fu".y
.-.,.d a big bunch town the Capital io the Border was
in and starred .from
the brush. But watchrngout fbr him. The
they could not brush and the
fields were ('ull of'm
Cortez. No man
*u. .ua. u, trait.AndGresorio
[:.::il50t" fi: #,1:

THE LEGENO OF GREGORIO

CORTEZ 805
 Border, through brush and lields and barbed
wire fences.on his little sorrel mare.
He rode and rode until he came to a great
broad plain, and he started to ride across.But
just as he did, one of the sheriffs saw him.
The sheriff saw him, but he hid behind a
bush, because he was afraid to take him on
alone. So he called the other sheriffs together
and all the Rangers he could find, and they
went off after Gregorio Cortezjust as he came
out upon the plain.
Gregorio Cortez looked back and saw them
coming. There were three hundred of them.
"We'll run them a little race," said Gregorio
Cortez.
Away went the mare, as if she had been shot
from a gun, and behind her came the sheriffs
and the Rangers, all shooting and riding
hard. And so they rode acrossthe plain, until
one by one their horsesfbundered and fell to
the ground and died. But still the little mare
ran on, as fresh as a lettuce leaf, and pretty
soon she was running all alone.
"They'll never catch me like that," said Gre-
gorio Cortez, "noLeven'with thosedogs called
hounds."
Another big bunch of sheriffs rode up, and
they chasedhim to the edge of the plain, and
into the brush went Cortez, with the trackers
after him, but they did not chase him long.
One moment there was a trail to follow, and
next moment there was none. And the dogs
called hounds sat down and howled, and the
men scratched their heads and went about in
circles looking for the trail. And Gregorio
Cortez went on, Ieaving no trail, so that peo-
ple thought he was riding through the air.
There were armed men everywhere,and he
could not stop to eat or drink, becausewher-
ever he tried to stop armed men were there
before him. So he had to ride on and on. Now
they saw him, now they lost him, and so the
chasewent on. Many more horsesfoundered,
but the mare still ran, and Gregorio Cortez
806 UNIT SIX T R I U M P H SO F T H E S P I R I T
rode on and on, pursued by hund
fighting hundreds every place he
"So many mounted Rangers,"said
Cortez, "to catchjust one Mexican." .:i
It was from the big bunches that l
Now and again he would run into li
of ten or a dozen men, and they
scared of him that they would let hint
Then, when he was out of range they
shoot at him, and he would shoot
them once or twice,so they could go
say,"\rye met up with Gregorio Cortez,
we traded shots with him." But from
ones he had to run. And it was the little
mare that took him safe away, over the
spacesand into the brush, and once i
brush, they might as well have been
a star.
So it went for a day, and when night
Cortez arrived at a place named Los F
and calledat a Mexican house.When the
of the housecameout, Cortez told him, "I
Gregorio Cortez."
That was all he had to say. He was given
eat and drink, and the man of the house
fered Gregorio Cortez his own horse and
rifle and his saddle. But Cortez would
men?'
take them. He thanked the man, but he
The
not give up his little sorrel mare. Cortez
caught
sitting there, drinking a cup of coffee, killed
the Major Sheriff of Los Fresnos came up iff un,
with his three hundred men. All the
more.
people ran out of the house and hid, and
knees,
one was left in the house,only Gregorio "Do
tez, with his pistol in his hand. am th
Then the Major SherifT called out, in a' gorio
weepy voice, ,, th. corrido says.He soundd:
The
as if he wanted to. cry, but it was all done rsl he jur
again,
him a
He
I am your friend." called
"If you come as my friend," said Gregono river,
Cortez, "why did you bring three hundred
reds and
ent.
Gregorio

t he ran.
ittle ones
were so
rim pass.
ey would
r back at
backand
rtez, and
n the big
Itle sorrel
the open
ce in the
{ollowing

night fell
s F'resnos
r the man
im, "I am

s glven to |AsANTAlg25,farsiladoAmare|.^ll...;^-^.'_
Amaral collection of
by RomuloFialdini. Julio Bogorocin,S5o Paulo,Brazil.
houseo[,.,
e and hir
rould
he wouHF,l Why have you made me a corral?,,',
he could not find a ford.
ortez Major Sheriff knew that he So he rode ro a
had been ranch housenearbv,where
['ee, t.in a lie, and the fighting ,n"y *.." t olding
b.g;r. ;; a baile'nbecause,h. yorng.ri
came the Major Sheriff anJ the liili'"r ,n.
i*"ia ,n.._ house had been baptized
the ler him, and he killed ;h", ;;;, n"
many ,f,..iif, asked rhe man of the house
c, pnd Someof the sheriffs got "r,a
weak in the "t"ri'"'rl.a.
are only two fords,,,
;orioCo and many ran awav. ..^'tn".a th. m"., ,aid.
t go away," said Gregorio r-rnels sevenmiles upstream
and the other is
Cortez. ,,I sevenmiles down."
out, are looking for. I am Gre_
'sou l1n I", "I will take another
look at rhe river,,,said
-rij
we.remore than three Gregorio Correz. He left tt,.
I hundred, but Uuit. ,oo.
slowly to the river. It was steep,
andh. .";;;;;;
,ll1j^.]l,.orral, he could see the l
and far below
d thosethreehund..a
d,
o kill more.
Jii;;; .h^: barery,..
i;;.;;;,Jifl,THftir."nTj
uld on. until he came
3n to a river
oan Antonio. It is not much 13. conal (ka ralr): an enclosure
the banks ur. of a tor confining animals.
that resembles a pen
,r""p und high, and
14. baile (bit la): Spanish.
a dance.

TTTELEGEND OF GREGORIO
CORTEZ 807
 ferent voices, as if he had manY men. andGr
there thinking, trying to figure out a way'
when he heard the music at the baile stop' made the Rangers say to one another, laughir
He knew the Rangerswere at the baile now' is a whole armY of men with Gregorio Her
So he leanedover in his saddleand whispered tez." So they broke up their corral and r thatth,
away, becausethey did not think there t €amet
in the mare's ear. He talked to her, and she
understood. She came to the edge of the enough of them to fight Gregorio Cortez again.'
all thi men he had. And Gregorio beganr
bank, with soft little steps, becauseshe was :
to rode away, laughing to himself' swellin;
afraid. But Gregorio Cortez kept talking on, bY daY,and
she He kept riding on and thicket
her and talking to her, and finally ,lSut on
jumped. She jumped lar out and into the night, unO if he slePt the mare stood
anl she would wake him uP when sheI the ma
iark water below, she and Gregorio Cortez'
noise. He had no food or cigarettes' and He uns
The other bank was not so high, but it was
Cortez took out his ammunition was running low' He was tree,ar
'..u,u,as steep. Gregorio
just
along a narrow trail with a high barbed
r longwl
and he lassoeda stumP high on the on
fencE on one side and a nopal thicket and thr
bank. He climbed up the rope and got a stick' he hit a turn he werew
other, and right befbre
and with the stick he worked on the bank as
horses ahead. The first man that for thr
fast as he could, for he could hear the racket lound ,
around the turn ran into Gregorio
of the dogs. The ground was soft' and he a wh{
with his pistol in his hand' There was
knocked olf pu.t o1 the toP, until he made wi
line of oih"r* behind the first, all armed
something like a slope. Then he pulled and a How
to rifles, but theY had to Put the rifles
talked,rniil th. mare struggledup the bank
where he was. After that they rested up a bit
for a
and waited for the Rangers' Up they came
Dolla
with their dogs, to the spot where the mare Greg
had jumped. When theY came uP to the armed
,iueri edge, Cortez fired a shot in the air and the ma
munition. And then he rode awaY' I
yelled at ihem, "I am Gregorio Cortez!" and he was verf itself. t
He rode on to La Grulla,
Then he rode away, leaving them standing waterllli theMe
thirsty, because he had not had
there on the other side,becausenone of them
# *"','i.,i^,v
ll,il'l;?ilXT:* Nea*l
too- form a
was brave enough to do what Cortez had the^vei talked
done. La Grulla there was a dam where
when Gre had dt
He rode on and on, and somet'imesthey oL,.ro. watered their stock' But
goriocorte,go,,n.,.';; ;,- :i:ljlj:::t bought
l r

chased him and sometimes he stood and .,"' it'atsrewclose to thetow

fought. And every time he fought he would
il; ;;;"X;;;.n'
and tht
kill
"them
a Ranger or two' They chased him the water.crego.io"b;;;T"PPtd :1{'
went Daqs guarde
thought what heiould do' Then he
acrossthe Arroyo del Cibolo and into the oak rounding t1,t*: tez.Th
into the brush G;;
grove, and there they made him a.corral' "td "p
and steers wer4'; Heh
they sent the dogs away and sat down to for this was cattle *"""ty
then
everywhere. Pretty.;;';J n"i t*t tt'".*#j one pis
wait, for they wanted to catch him asleep' and.whil€'. left his
Gregorio Cortez thought for a little while
;::?, ;; ;. ili.;;i"'*"'"' qft
made his mare lie the cattledrank n. ^"J inl *u'" atunk nearth
*hai h" should do. Then he the it soon
be After he had finished, some of
down on the ground, so she would not trees c?flI€ uv' walked
Gregorio Cortez began talk- that were resting under the
hurt. After that a$at theydir
and helped him get the herd together
ing to himself and answering himself in dif-
 This
Ihere
' Cor-
and Gregorio Cortez rode off.with the herd,
laughing to himself.
He rode on and on, and by now
he knew
h-ethought of trying some of the
chose one in whichlhere was
houses,and
a p..uy girl at
the door becausehe knew it wouli
L
went that the Rio Grande was near. He rode till b"
he if
he talked to a girl. There *u,
were came to Cotulla, and there he was chased no, u "ur;"r
woman
:zand that did not like Gregorio Correz.
again.The little mare was tired, and now she
loftez The girl wasalone,and she invited
beganto limp. She had cut her leg and ir . him into
was the house. When he asked fo.
swellingup- Gregorio Correz ,odJ he. into ammunition,
nd by a she told him she had none.
thicket,and the Rangers made him a corral.
"My father has taken it all,,,she
Suard But once in the brush, Gregorio Cortez led . said. ,.He
:arda is out looking for a man named
the mare to a coma t... und tied her there. Gregorio
rd his Cortez."
He unsaddledher and hung the saddleto
going the Gregorio Cortez was embarrassed
tree,and he patted her and talked to her fbr - because
I wire a he could see that the girl knew
longwhile. Then he slippedour of rhe thicket, who he was.
n the But she did not ler on and neither
andthe Rangersdidn't see him because did he. He
reard they stayedat rhe house for a while,
rere waitingfor him to ride our. They waired and when he
came left she told him how to ger to
for threedaysand finally they crepi in the Rio Grande
)rtez, and by the quickestway.
loundonly rhe mare and the saddle.
vhole Nol' all the people along the
, river knew
with rnat Gregorio Cortez was on the
Border, and
rway. El Teco Sold Cregorio Cortez that he would soon cross,but no one told the
a tall sheriffs what they knew. nnd
: just
Morral's Full of Sihser tez walked on, in his new clothei
Gre.qo.ioCo._
with his
while pistols in a morral,.Iookinglike
an' ordinary
t.one man, but rh-epeople he mei knew
Gregorio Cortez was gone. While that he was
lam- all the L,regorro Uortez. And he began
men were guarding the thicket to talk to
where pe_oplealong the way.
E_-marewas tied, he walked into
very Cotulla Soon he met a man who told him, ,.you,ll
tclf. He walked inro rown and be
ina mixed with on the other side of the river
Mexicans[here. He sat on the station tonighr, Gre_
Near pl2t_ gorio Cortez."
n and listened [o ot'ner men . .. '-
: va- rt,hile they "I think I will," he said.
rzr ^r all
d of ^rrthe
^r
Gre ,
thingsthat Gregori, a.;;;; "You'll be all right then,,,said
oone.Then he went to a the man.
mQ{,., slore and "l guessso," said Gregorio
himself new clothesand walked Cortez.
s€to :l out of
n. He went to the river and took . -'But your brother won't,,, the man said.
and,, a bath "H.e-diedin the jail last night.,,
bacl , .tfe1yam across, because tf,eUriagewu; "H. was badly *ounde"d,,,
said Gregorio
rtdq.,,"i I3r.1Tn"j sorrof manwasGregorioCor- Correz. ^
"Ir was his lot ro die, buil-'nuu"
r neydon't makethem like
,Vefe", him any more. avenged his death."
tredl r"tf rhreecarrridges left, on. fo.
1..1
rhi&
ttstoland two for
the otler, and he hal ,'They beat him before he died,,, the man
said. "The.Rangers came to the jail
rifle with the mare. But and beat
to&; he *"r-;;;; h r m t o m a k eh i m t a l k . "
Rfo Grande, and he expected
to cross This wasthe first newsthat Gregorio
Still hc needed ammunirion, Cortez
:Il so he had heard, and it made him ,n",igt,iiJ
E,Sauz andtriedtoUuyro_", Uui
f,jT.
not sellcartridgesin
that town. Then 15.morral (m6 riil,): Spanish,
a large bag or pouch.

THE LEGENO OF GREGORIO

CORTEZ 809
i'f,4\
 He walked on. and he met another man
who said,"Your mother is in thejail, Gregorio
Cortez."
"Why?" said Gregorio Cortez. "Why should
the sheriffs do that to her?"
"Becauseshe is your mother," the man said.
"That's why. Your wife is there too, and so are
your little sons."
Gregorio Cortez thought this over, and he
walked on. Pretty soon he met another man
who said, "Gregorio Cortez, your own people
are suffering, and all becauseof you."
"Why should my people suffer?" said Cor-
tez. "What have I done to them?"
"You have killed many sheriffs, Gregorio
Cortez," said the man. "The Rangers cannot
catch you, so they take it out on other people
like you. Every man that's given you a glassof
water has been beaten and thrown in jail'
Every man who has fed you has been hanged
from a tree branch, up and down, up and
down, to make him tell where you went, and
some have died rather than tell. Lots of peo-
ple have been shot and beaten becausethey
were your people. But you will be safe, Gre-
gorio Cortez; you will crossthe river tonight."
"I did not know thesethings," saidGregorio
Cortez.
And he decided to turn back, and to give
himself up to the Governor of the State so
that his own people would not suffer because
of him.
He turned and walked back until he came
to a place called Goliad, where he met eleven
Mexicans, and among them there was one
that calledhimself his friend. This man was a
vaquero named El Teco, but Judas should
have been his name. Gregorio Cortez was
thirsty, and he came up to the eleven Mex-
icans to ask for water, and when El Teco saw
Gregorio Cortez he thought how good it
would be if he could get the thousand-dollar
reward. So he walked up to Cortez and shook
his hand and told the others, "Get some water
810 UNIT SIX TRIUMPIIS OF THE SPIRIT
for my friend Gregorio Cortez."
Then El Teco asked Gregorio Cortez
him see the pistols he had, and that he 1
get him some ammunition. Gregorio
smiled, becausehe knew. But he handed;
the guns to El Teco, and El Teco looke
them and put them in his own morral.
El Teco called the sheriffs to come aRd
Gregorio Cortez.
When Gregorio Cortez saw what El
had done, he smiled again and said to h
"Teco, a man can only be what God
him. May you enjoy your reward."
But El Teco did not enjoy the
though the sheriffs gave him the money,
thousand dollars in silver, more than a
could hold. He did not enjoy it because
could not spend it anywhere. If he
buy a taco at the marketplace, the taco
would tell him that tacos were worth
thousand dollars gold that day. People
him in the streetsand wishedthat he would
killed or die. So El Teco became very
afraid. He buried the money and never
it, and he never knew peace until he died.
How Cregorio CortezWent to
Prison,But Notfor Kllling the
Sheffis
When the sheriffs came to arrest
Cortez, he spoke to them and said, "I am
your prisoneryet. I will be the prisoner to lyncl
of the Governor of the State. I was going could r
the Capital to give myself up, and that And
where I'll go." ti that G
The sheriffs saw that he was in the right, so they d
they went with him all the way to the Capita& They I
and Cortez surrendered himself to the Gover'' day or
nor of the State. hand r
Then they put Cortez in jail, and all thS would
Americans were glad, becausethey no longer But
were afraid. They got together, and they t for he
'tez to
let
he would
o Cortez
ded over
ooked at
'al. Then
and get

El Teco
I to him,
od made

reward,
)ney,one
a morral
causehe
I went to
o vendor
orth two
le cursed
wouldbe
:ry much
ver spent
: died.

ito
the

Gregorio.r l l l u s t r a t i < t nb y A n t h < l n y R u s s o

Iamnofl
rner :h him. -I'hreetimes they tried, but thev
goingA, to see him hanged. So they brought him to
not lynch Cresorio Cortez.
I that trial fbr killing the Major Sheriff of the
lo pretty soon all the people besan
to see
county of'El Carmen. The lawyer that was
Gregorio Correz rvui ir,'the iight,
right, and
aeainst him got up and told the judges that
did not wanr ro lynch him
nlny,r,o.".
Cortez should die, becausehe had kiiled a
broughr him gifis to the
iail, and one
man. Then Gregorio Cortez got up, and he
ng
^of'the jud.qescame arrd shook the
spoke to them.
GregorioCortez arrd saiclro him, .,1"Sel{'-def'ense
,ot is allowed to any man," said
havedone the sanre..,
Gregorio Cortez. "It is in your own law, and
(tortezhad nranyenemies. by your own
S.:g?.Ii" law do I defend myself. I killed
nad killedmany
men, arrdthey wanled the sheriff',and I am not sorry, for he killed

THE LEGEND OF GREGORIO CORTEZ 8I I

rili
my brother. He spilled my brother's blood,
which was also my blood. And he tried to kill
me too. I killed the Major Sheriff defending
my right."
And Gregorio Correz talked fbr a long time
to the judges, telling them about their own
law. When he finished, even the lawyer who
was againsthim at the start was now for him.
And all the judges came down from their
benches and shook hands with Gregorio
Cortez.
The judges said, "We cannot kill this man."
They took Gregorio Correz all over the
State,from town to town, and in each town he
was tried before rhe courr for the killing of a
man. But in every court it was the same.Gre-
gorio Cortez spoke to the judges, and he told
them about the law, and he proved that he
had the right. And each time the judges said,
"This man was defending his right. Tell the
sheriffs to set him free."
And so it was that Gregorio Cortez was not
fbund guilty of any wrong becauseof the
sheriffs he had killed. And he killed many of
them, there is no room for doubt. No man has
killed more sheriffs than did Gregorio Correz,
and he always fought alone. For that is the
way the real men fight, alwayson their own.
There are young men around here today,
who think that they are brave. Dangerous
men they call themselves,and it takes five or
six of them to jump a fellow and slashhim in
the arm. Or they hide in the brush and {ill
him full of buckshot as he goes by. They are
not men. But that was not the way with Gre-
gorio Cortez, for he was a real man.
Now the enemies of Gregorio Cortez got
together and said to each other, "What are we
going to do? This man is going free afrer
killing so many of our friends. Shall we kill
him ourselves?But we would have to catch
him asleep,or shoot him in the back, because
if we meet him face to face there will be few of
us left."
812 UNIT SIX T R I U M P H SO F T H E S P I R T T
Then one of them thought of the
rel mare, and there they had a plan
Gregorio Correz. They brougnt him
I
court, and the lawyer who was aEai
asked, "Gregorio Cortez, do you
this 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 distanceof five hundred miles
Then the lawyer asked him, "Is this
yours?"
And Gregorio Cortez saw that they
him, but there was nothing he could do,
causehe was an honest man and he felt
he must tell the truth. He said no, the
did not belong to him.
Then thejudges asked Gregorio Cortez,
this true, Gregorio Cortez? Did you take
mare that did not belong to you?"
And Gregorio Correz had to say that
thing was true. Grt
So they sentencedGregorioCortez,but coln's
for killing the sheriffs,as somefoolswill was.l
you evennow,when theyought to know know
ter. No, not for killing the sheriffs but for "I
stealingthe little sorrel mare. The judge seni coln'r
tenced him to ninety-nine years and a da,y,, Marr
And the enemies of Gregorio Cortez were' Gr
huppy then, because they thought Cortel. coulr
would be in prison for the resrof his life. ting,
belct
doze
yard
HousPresid.ent
Lincoln'sDaughter'
to hi
FreedCregorio Cortez,and How woul
He Was Poisonedand Died So
daul
But Gregorio Cortez did not stay in prison' told
long. Inside of a year he was free and this iq, mar
the way it came about. Every year at Christ Br
ittle sor- masttme,a pretty girl can come to the Gover_
n [o get take his no. She wenr ro the Governor
nor of the State and ask him to give her a and
back to said, "I would like to have a prisoner
prisoner as a Christmas present. And the for
rnst him Christmas."
, Governor then has to set the prisoner free And the Governor looked at her
:cognize and give him ro the girl. So it happened ro and saw
she wasa pretty girl, so he said, .,your
Cortez.One day PresidenrLincoln'i daughter wish is
a better granted. What prisoner do you want?,,
visitedthe prison, and she saw Gregorioto._ And President Lincoln's daughter said, .,I
tez.As soon as she saw him she went up and want Gregorio Cortez.'
r ridden
;spoketo him. The Governor rhoughr for a little while
"I am in love with you, Gregorio Cortez,,, and
then he said, ,,That', i -un you cannot
She car- PresidentLincoln'sdaughter said,.,andif you have.
n to the He's the best prisoner I got.;'
promiseto marry me, I will go to the Gover_ And President Lincoln's daughter
tiles." nor next Christmasand tell him to give you to shook
her head and said,,.Don'tforget ih"t
ris mare me." yo, guu"
your word."
"So I did," the Governor said,,,and
rey had I cannot
do, be- Kr go back on it."
f.eltthat am in loae with !ou, And that was how Gregorio Cortez
gor out
le mare ^I of prison, where he hadt-beensentenced
to
Gregorio Cortezr,, ninety_-nine yearsand a day, nor for killing the
,rtez,"ls sheriffs, as some fools will tell you,
President Lincoln,s stealingthe little sorrel mare. Gregorio
but for
.akethis Cortez
tt
claughter kept his word, and he did not rnuriy president
said. I incoln's daughter, and when at
that the last she lost
her hopes, she went awayto the
North.
i, GregorioCortez looked at presidentLin_ Still, the enemies of iregorio Cortez
, but not boln's daughter,and he sawhow beautifulshe not.give did
willtell' up. When they heard rhar he was
It made him thoughtful, and he did not
row bet- getting out of prison they were scared
what to say. and
but for't angry, and they srarted thinking of
I have many rich farms," president ways ro
Cgesen-,1,1' Lin_ get,revenge.They got a lot of money
n'sdaughter said. ,,They are all my together
own. and gave it to a man who worked
laday.' me and we will farm together." in tf,e
ez wen6, prison, and this man gave Cortez
orio Cortez thought about that. a slow poi-
He sonjust before Gregorio Cortez gor
Qorte4,, d seehimself already like a German. out ofjail.
r life. ,:'; sir- And that was how he came tJdie,
on the gallery, fult of h"- within a
year from the day he got out ofjail. As
"J;;;:';;
Lg and breaking wind while a soon as
half_ he cameout and his friends ,"r"hi-,
little blond cockroachesplayed in ttrey said
rhe to eachorher, "This man is sick.This
And he was rempred. But then he man will
said not last the year."
rself, "I marry a Gringo girl. We
_can't And so it was. He did not last the year.
-not make a matching pair.', 'hi- He
.l the slow poison they gave jur,
he decided that president Lincoln,s 31."0
Detorehe waslet out, becausehis enemies
did
not want to see him free.
And that was how Gregorio Cortez came
Iou at all." to
die. He's buried in Laredo some
PresidentLincoln'sdaughter place, or
would not maybe it's Brownsville, or Mahmtros.
or

THE LEGEND OF GREGORIO

CORTEZ 813
 somewhereup above.To tell the truth, I don't
know. I don't know the place where he is
buried any more than the place where he was
born. But he was born and lived and died,
that I do know. And a lot of Rangers could
also tell you that.
So does the corrido; it tells about Gregorio
Cortez and who he was. They started singing
the corrido soon after he went to jail, and
there was a time when it was forbidden in all
the United States, by order of the President
himself. Men sometimes got killed or lost
their jobs becausethey sang El Corridode Gre-
814 UNIT SIX TRIUMPFISOF TFTESPIRIT
gorio Cortez.But everybody sang it
same,becauseit spoke about things
Iruc, FirstI
Now it is all right to sing El Conit
1.
gorio Cortez,but not everybody
more. And they don't sing it as it
Secol
sung. These new singers changeall
songsa lot. But evenso, peoplestill 2.
Gregorio Cortez. And when a good:
3.
sings the song-good and loud and
you can feel your neck feathers rise,
can see him standing there, with his
his hand. }}
4,
Bro