Albuquerque daily citizen. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1895-1903, 1902-12-08
PISTOLS AND DEATH.
The Windsor Hotel, Socono, the
Scene Of a Desperate and Fatal
Shooting ARRAY.
IRAGlC END OF AM OLD QUARREL.

Killing of David Baca by City Marshal
Felipe Baca, the crime being commit
ted in Socorro. The full particulars
OF the tragedy are here reproduced
from the Socorro Chieftain:
One of the most determined and
deadly pistol duels ever fought in So
zorro began in front of the Windsor
hotel Wednesday evening at Z o'clock
and ended on the stairway inside the
hotel when David Baca fell dead at the
foot of the stairs, pierced with two
pistol balls fired by City Marshal Fe-
lipe Baca.
This deadly affair created some ex-
element in the city, but no surprise.
Just such an event has been confident
Is expected since about three weeks
e when the man now dead and two
of his friends fell upon City Marshal
Baca in one of the saloons of the city
and beat him over the head with a
heavy cane and other weapons so Sc
verely as to send him to bed for sew
eral days.
AS nearly al can be ascertained
from many conflicting reports the
facts of the affair Wednesday evening
are about as follows:
The marshal entered the Windsor
bar room and David Baca entered the
Office at about the same time. The lat
ter was seen to look through the win
dow in the partition between the two
rooms as though intently in search of
somebody and then to go out pistol in
hand at the front door. A moment later
the two men met on the walk in front
of the hotel and the fusilade began.
the office and started up stairs, closely
followed by the marshal using his pis-
tol as fast as opportunity offered. Cir
cumstances seemed to show that the
victim turned to run up stairs. when
the fatal shot entered his right side,
ranged upward to a vital spot, and he
fell dead at the feet of his slayer. The
marshal escaped with a pistol hole in
his hat and a powder burn on his
face.
Just how many shots were fired in
the affair cannot be told. There were
probably no less than eight. The Office
door of the hotel bears the marks of
three, one penetrated the wall of the
Office inside as pursuer and pursued
were running toward the stairway,
two or three were fired in the hallway
and probably two at the foot of the
stairs. 1t was found that the dead
man had suffered one shot through the
groin. 1t is supposed that this wound
was inflicted during the shooting out
side, and that it caused the victim to
drop his pistol and seek refuge within.
front of the hotel after the affair was
over.
AS 500 as Marshal Baca saw that
he had killed his man he walked back
into the office and threw the shells out
of his pistol and reloaded it. Sheriff
Blackington soon appeared upon the
scene, took the marshal into custody
and lodged him in the county Jail.
This deadly affair has it's comical
side. There were eight or ten guests
of the hotel in the office when the
shooting began. In an instant splint-
ers and glass were flying from the
front door. Then followed a mad STAN
pede into the bar room, into the din
ing room, up stairs, anywhere to get
out of range. One man enjoys the dis
tinction of having plunged heels over
head through the wire screen on a
screen door and alighted broadside be-
yond A bigger man made the same
attempt but made a ludicrous failure
OF 1t. A stranger in the city who was
a guest at the Windsor was hit by
some flying putty from the window and
was sure he was shot. He vowed that
he served four years in the civil war
and was wounded two or three times.
but that he would not go to bed that
night. He would sit up for the mid
night train to take him out of town.
A c%oroner's jury consisting of ]. J..
Lesson, A. E. Howell, Henry Dreyfus,
G. Biavaschi, Francisco Jaramillo and
Amado Chaves was e%mpanelled Thurs
day. The jury examined the remains
of the deceased and gave a verdict that
he came to his death from the effects
OF gunshot wounds.
The funeral was conducted at the
church of San Miguel yesterday after
noon and the remains were laid to rest
in the Catholic cemetery. Company H,
in uniform, was in attendance, as was
also Socorro Hose company No. l, of
both of which organizations deceased
a member, The attendance of
these organizations lent a peculiar i'm
pressiveness to the funeral ceremo-
MES.