Gregorio Cortez
| Gregorio Cortez | |
|---|---|
| Born |
June 22, 1875 Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico |
| Died | February 28, 1916 (aged 40) Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico |
| Cause of death | Pneumonia |
| Nationality | Mexican |
| Occupation | Tenant maize farmer |
| Criminal charge | Horse theft |
| Criminal penalty | 50 years |
| Conviction(s) | Second-degree murder |
Gregorio Cortez Lira (June 22, 1875 – February 28, 1916) was a Mexican American tenant farmer in the American Old West who became a folk hero to Mexicans living in South Texas. He was known for his ability to evade authorities as well as his impassioned words in court.
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 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. He remarried the next year and again in 1916. It is known that he spoke English and owned horses.
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 corn 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 in self-defense. 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.
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