Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-06-10
MEXICAN TREACHERY
Story of Col. Crabbe and His
FilibuSters.
WENT OVER FROM ARIZONA
To Help the Revolutionists in Mex
leo and Won.
THEN THEY WERE SOLD OUT.
Made Stand In an Old Church and
Were Butchered Almost
to Man.
WENT OVER FROM ARIZONA
THEN THEY WERE SOLD OUT,

'Col Greene 10 not the first American
who has had to lead forlorn hope down
In the same region Of Mexico" said an old
westerner. talking to a Star reporter yes
terday after the news had come In about
the defense of the Cananea mine. The
other case that recall happened northeast
and not 80 far from there, as distances go.
In Sonora. But 1t did not come out 30
well.
'sEver hear of Crabbe and his American
fi1busters? Well. I suppose not many
people have in this part of the country,
and they probably are forgotten by the
most of those who ever knew of them.
There may be some record Of them in the
State Department, but I have never been
particularly interested In 1t so as to look
the matter up.
1.-THE story was told me on a trip down
through Sonora some years ago. We were
camping at little dusty, worid-forgptten
old plaza called Caborca. 1t was not much
of place, couple Of stores and few
shaeks, all OF adobe, q river winding
around the outskirts Of the sleepy little
place with the town nesting In the crook
OF It's elbow. The most impressive thing
about the whole place. as is the case in
most of those old Spanish-American towns
is the church. 1t Is q great big, adobe
building with one Of the two towers miss
II,
quite finishing the churches that were built
on a grant Of crown money. The money
did not have to be paid back till the
church was finished, SO they never fin
ished 1t.
Crabbe and His Filibusters.
'But about Crabbe. The church was
pointed out to us the place where
Crahbe and his filibusters made their
last stand before they were wiped out by
the Mexicans. And the story as they told
1t was about in this wise. 1t was some
time after the MAMMALIAN empire and
before the present government had gotten
firm In the saddle. They were mostly
revolutfng those days, and this happened
to be one of the seasons when revoluting
was good. I confess I forget just what
the political complexion of the row was, If
ever knew. 1 think It the Ortise
faction which was the de facto government,
and who the other side was, the books may
TELL but 1t does not much matter. Prob
ably they were the Noreagos. The Noreago
family is responsible for about nine-tenths
of the meanness and deviltry that goes on
in that part of the country now, and prob
ably they were then.
Anyhow it was not far over the line into
Arizona and there were plenty of boys
there who were always looking for trouble,
and 1t had to be very dull season when
they had TO go far as old Mexico to get
it, too The revolutionist party made over
lures to Col. Crabbe, Geo. Crabbe 1 think
his name was, and he QUILTED a hundred
Americans In the neighborhood of Tucson
and went over the line to help the oppress-
ed revolutionists. 1t was a very altruistic
performance. The revolutionists had prom
Used him and his followers all sorts of Of
fees and grants Of land and coniscated
haciendas when they were successful, and
the filibusters went over for what was in
it, in addition to the natural love of a
scrap.
They hitched up with the revolution1s.s
somewhere between Sasabe and Nogalles
and marched south, taking the country
with them. There were about 5000 Of the
revolutionists, the 100 Americans and m
the neighborhood of 10000 government
troops in that part of the country. They
had the sympathy Of the people in that
part OF the country, and when they met up
with about twice as many government
troops they licked them to a standstill and
moved south on their victorious march.
They had two or three other skirmishes,
and were all to the good. and were pre-
pairing to do business with the rest of the
government troops on a large scale when
they were sold out.
Americans We're Sold Out.
THAT is one thing that makes me think
Il was the Noreagos they were travelling
with, for they sure are out to do anybody
they transact business with. The revo-
OF allies and they made overtures to the
other side to sell them out. Thought, /
suppose, that If they ever licked the whole
OF the army there would be no holding
them, and they would go down and set up
a government In Mexico City on their own
account. Maybe they would. / don't pre-
tend to be up on Col. Crabbe's line of eth
les, and I do not know whether he was
TIM for rnh fnrrr1 ayIca r,rf
They got as far Caborca, and there
the treachery became known. The revo-
lutionists tried to overpower them, intend
ing to hand them over as hostages to the
government troops But they might as well
have tried to walk off with red-hot
stove. The Americans were all hard men
and gun fighters, and they wiped out all
close-range opposition and retired to the
old church. There they were, hundred
OF them against the combined forces OF
Mexico. for the revolutionists had made
common cause with the government troops
and undertook to rush the church They
did not have artillery to breach the walls
but the marks of the bullets are there today
and inside there are marks of the shots on
wall and pillar where long range IRE was
kept up on the old building.
Arranged to Surrender.
For five days Crabbe and his army stood
off all the forces of Mexico. There were
few of the Americans wounded at the
windows and on the roof. but none Of them
were killed. They had water enough to
hold out, but at the end their ammunition
gave out and they were left to face the al
ternatives of hand-to-hand fight which
meant ultimately being wiped out or sur
rendering and trusting to the good faith OF
the victors. With the memory of the
Alamo still fresh in mems minds they
ought to have known the quality of Next
can mercy But they finally arranged TO
surrender. being promised all the honors OF
war and a safe escort out OF the country
1T was fatal move. When they had
concluded the terms and let the Mexicans
into the church the native troops fell en-
them and they were butchered almost to q
man. A few of them got away, but very
few, and the old church still stands as
monument to the treachery of the Mexican
troops"
CUMMyITS FA uOp TrrT urnr