Sullivan republican. [volume] (Laporte, Pa.) 1883-1896, 1890-07-11
AHERO OF THE FREE ZONE.
LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF THE
INFAMOUS CoRTINA.
Still Living i'm = Hale Old Age and
Highly Esteemed by ths Mexican


Highly Esteemed by ths Mexican
J Government.
A Fort Davis (Texas) correspondent Of
the New York Times says that the Rie
Grande pronounced REQ Grandee) is 9
dry, sandy trough eleven months out oi
the twelve, and rascals committing dep
relations on this side can easily skip
ecross into what is known as the "Zons
Libre," or Free Zone, and be safe from
both Governments.
This little belt of nondescript soil,
stretching along the Rio Grande on the
Mexican side for sixty miles or more, is
and has been for years the safe refuge or
retreat for all the cutthroats and outlaws
of tho Southwest. Stea! horse, mur-
der man, rob train, or commit some
other deviltry, and all they had to do to
be safe was simply to cross the Rio Grande
dry shod and hide themselves amid the
mountainous rocks of .tZona Libre."
To give an idea of what man can do
In thu country and escape hanging it is
only necessary to recite few experiences
of Juan Nepucemo Cortina, who is now
alive; hearty and well, prospering under
the fostering care of the Mexican Gov
ernment. This old rascal, gray and aged
in crime now, is a born bandit and muir
derer, and the catalogue of black crimes
charged against him would alone be suf-
ficicnt to fill good sized volume. He
always had an inherent hatred for citizens
of the United States, and especially for
Texans. No red handed Apache or any
Dther savage or Indian has ever caused to
our couptrymen one-tenth of the sorrow
and mis- !fy that this villain has. In his
face mag yet be discovered the avaricious,
malignant, cruel sneer which has been
true exponent OF his living character for
all the years of his lie.
When the war with Mexico broke out
Cortino was stalwart young fellow, who
took possession of nearly all the Lower
4io Graude country and carried on
deadly guerrilla warfare against our peo-
Nle. Hc was, believe, really commits
aloned by the Mexican Government as
Spy an1 assassin. He began his career
ander this commission in April, 1916, by
ambushing ecd shooting in cold blood
Colonel Trueman Cross, Assistant Quar-
ternecter General, C.:tcd States Army.
Colonel Cross was veteran of 1915, and
deserved better fate than fell to his lot.
Cortina's next exploit was to trap
Lieutenant Theodore II. Porter, Fourth
United States Infantry, and handful of
--on, and slaughter them without mercy
The record would be too long and dismal
to follow him through the war. For
tn oil ipfn l., l.
f'1-S,.th. When the Mexican war closed
the guerrilla settled down, nominally to
ranching and farming, but his true occu-
patton was horse stealing and the rum
ming off of stock. When he stole from
Americans a market was found for his
~5i1lnder on the opposite side of the Rio
Grande at Matamoras, Cindad Victoria,
and other towns of the Mexican States of
Tamaulipas. When he despoiled his own
countrymen the animals were crossed over
and driven far inland into Texas, princi-
pally to Goliad, which was then a
tourishing frontier settlement on the
Lower San Antonio River. His skill at
voping was remarkable, and his horse
nanship was superb. None of that day
could equal him in either of these ac-
complishments. An old Texan ranger,
who is himself pretty well along in
years, thus speaks of Cortina in his
palmy days:
81 knew the fellow WELL He could
handle the lariat better than any cowboy
the Northwest or Southwest has ever
produced, and as to his nerve, why with !
all his wickedness must say that he was
the nerviest and quickest man with a
shooter l ever saw. One day in Browns
vile (old Brown was tough town them
Cortina was standing in the door of a |
saloon smoking cigar and apparently |
looking at nothing, yet his eagle eve
covered everything and everybody in |
sight. His waist was a perfect arsenal
OF firearms, and among Others I noticed |
a large, double -barreled, old-fashioned |
horse pistol, which was stuck con-
veniently in front and within easy reach
for quick use.
"a row sprang up at the other end of |
the town which created some excitement. |
A Mexican came running down the street, |
and at his heels the City Marshal with
pistol cooked, who called for the fugitive
to halt. The pursuer stopped, leveled
his big pistol and fired. The Mexican
fell, winged, but not very badly hurt.
Cortina stood quietly looking on and
made no move to interfere until the
Mexican tumbled heels over head in the
dust. Then he threw away the cigar he
had been smoking, walked over to the
cursed him in Spanish, drew
his pistol like flash, and shot the
officer in the face. Then leaping on the
nearest horse Gt was not his OWN, with
revolver in hand, he rode out of town,
yelling defiance at all Americans, but
at Texans.
''In the night he collected thirty des-
peradoes from somewhere, armed them
TO the teeth, and dashing back into
she town at daylight rode to the Browns
vile Jail, determined to Hberate every
criminal and horse thief therein confined.
Of johnson, the jailer, they demanded
the kpvc