Las Vegas daily optic. [volume] (Las Vegas, N.M.) 1880-1908, 1906-03-03
Mexican Cowboys Struggle
Ten Hours In Water and Drown
Nsy u ne ossvs Fight 81 Ihse Asxcsn Cowboys h' Like " tn
lev Wslsn u Lie Cuzmsn N on msxce.

Full details Of the tragic desih oi
three Mexican cowboys Who lost
thsir lives by drownipg IN Lake Guz'
man, Mexico. 90 the 23d % February
have bssn hrought 70 II Paso BY
Cruz Gonzales. 0f ChihuaAus. Who
came there for the purpose ce secur'
ing = hoaa With which 10 prosecute
the search for the bodies Of the
drowned men-
The .names Of the men who met a
Natsry grave in the cold bosom Of
Lake Ouzman are Istdoro Meleudes,
Francisco hernandez and Agspito
Quintana- They were In the employ
II Mr.. Gonzales OF the time they met
their tragic fate and the description
IN their heroic struggle for life In the
merciless water for ten hours. "a
given by Mr.. Gonzales, IL narrowing
In the extreme.
II was by the merest accident that
ny. Gonzales and his little son were
not parties 20 the tragedy. The men
who we're drowned had been for some
two or three days previous engaged
in the work q Transporting some
goats from one OF Mr.. Gonzales
ranches 10 a small island that he
owns in the center OF Lake Guxman.
On the morning OF the z3d the fhree
men Who we're prosecuting the work
by means OF boats started across ~
lake with a load ~ ten goats al Z
O'Clock. They asked Mr.. Gonzales 10
accompany them and but for the fact
that he had not yet had his break
fast he would have done 30. His
samlI son had gone 10 far az TO climb
In the ooat but was persuaded by Mr.,
Gonzales 10 wait for him.
The men were conducting the york
of Transporting the goats 10 the island
by means of two steel boats with air
compartments tied together 1 the
how and the stern. The TWO boats
supported q raft consisting of boards
laid from one to the other. On the
raft the goats we're carried,
The men had made sOme thirty or
forty trips from the ranch 10 the H..
land with this same arrangement and
the accident which resulted In their
deaths was therefore a surprise. They
had ferried across the lake over half
Of the sheep and took an early start
on the morning when they met their
death in the hope Of finishing the
work that day. They carried ten
goats.
They had covered probably baIf the
distance from the shore 10 the island
when Mr.. Gonzales, who In the mean
time had preakfasted. heard cries 81
distress coming from the direction in
which they had gone. Taking up =
pair OF field glasses and peering
across the lake he could 9 the three
men struggling AZ II to get the boats
together. The boats were evidently
sinking, for the men were seen 70
throw the goats overheard and then
10 diyeRt themselves of their clothes,
which they also threw away. Then,
with the desperation OF men who see
. watery grave opening up before
them, the three brave men were seen
70 plunge into the water and try TO
right the two boats which seemed to
have drifted apart from n end. 1t
appeared TO Mr.. Gonzales that the
rope that bound the tow boats TO-
gether al the stern had broken. thus
causing them TO careen- Struggling
IN the water the three me- were seen
to try first one thing and then anoth.
er 10 right the capsiEed boats. As a
boy in swimming pushes a board or
4 log, the three men were seen max.
ing heroic efforts to propel one OF the