Elfego Baca
Elfego Baca was a notable figure in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, born in Socorro, New Mexico Territory, as the youngest child in a family that faced significant challenges. After his mother's death, Baca returned to Socorro and became involved in law enforcement, eventually purchasing a sheriff's badge and claiming to have learned to shoot from the notorious outlaw Billy the Kid. His most famous encounter occurred in October 1884, during a dramatic gunfight in Reserve, where he withstood an onslaught from a large group of armed men for thirty-six hours, solidifying his status as a local legend.
Following this event, Baca became the official sheriff of the county, known for his tough law enforcement tactics and commitment to protecting marginalized communities, particularly local Hispanics. He later transitioned to a legal career, passing the bar in 1894 and serving in various public roles, including mayor of Socorro. Despite facing personal controversies and struggles with alcohol, Baca emerged as a representative voice for the Hispanic population in New Mexico during a time of prevalent discrimination. His life story, which blended elements of heroism and complexity, inspired the 1958 television series "The Nine Lives of Elfego Baca," further introducing his legacy to a wider audience.
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Subject Terms
Elfego Baca
American lawman and lawyer
- Born: February 10, 1865
- Birthplace: Socorro, New Mexico Territory (now in New Mexico)
- Died: August 27, 1945
- Place of death: Albuquerque, New Mexico
Baca was a law-enforcement official, lawyer, and politician in New Mexico Territory beginning in the mid-1880’s. He was most noted for his willingness to defend the Hispanic minority in the region against prejudice from the white majority.
Early Life
Elfego Baca was born in Socorro in what then was New Mexico Territory, the youngest of Francisco and Juana Maria Baca’s six children. According to the (likely apocryphal) story he wrote in his autobiography, Baca was born when his pregnant mother jumped while playing ball, came down hard, and proceeded to give birth. In order to provide an education for his children, Francisco moved his family east to Topeka, Kansas, where he worked as a contractor. When Juana Maria died in 1880, Baca and his brother Abdenago returned to Socorro. Their father rejoined them in New Mexico a year later and became marshal in the town of Belen.
While serving as marshal, Francisco killed two local cowboys. He was arrested and jailed in Los Lunas and sentenced to a term in the state penitentiary. Baca and a friend walked to Los Lunas and proceeded to break his father out of jail. Francisco fled to Texas, where he remained some seven years before safely returning.
Baca received only a minimal education, hardly unusual for the period, and although he would later become well respected by the Hispanic community, he never learned to speak Spanish well. Hoping to follow his father into law enforcement, he purchased a sheriff’s badge, obtained some guns, and became a self-appointed law officer in Socorro County. Baca claimed he learned to shoot from Western outlaw Billy the Kid; the “Kid” was killed in 1881, and while Baca’s and Billy’s paths might have crossed, the story is probably one of many that was embellished over time.
Life’s Work
The Baca legend is centered primarily on an October, 1884, gunfight he survived in Lower San Francisco Plaza (Frisco), a town now known as Reserve and located near the Arizona border. While serving as a self-appointed law officer, Baca had arrested a local cowboy, Charlie McCarthy, who was harassing local Hispanics. McCarthy was freed by a judge, and his friends decided to teach Baca a lesson. Baca fled to a nearby jacal, a small hut or cabin, where he held off some forty to eighty gunmen for thirty-six hours. As many as four thousand shots might have been fired at Baca’s hiding place, none of which managed to hit him. Baca became a local legend. His story later inspired a 1958 television series,Walt Disney’s The Nine Lives of Elfego Baca, which served to introduce Baca to a larger audience.
Baca was acquitted of any charges in the shootout and shortly afterward became the official sheriff of the county. He was noted for his tough approach to the law, including sending letters to lawbreakers giving them the choice of turning themselves in or being shot for “resisting arrest.” The ploy apparently was successful.
After several years as a United States marshal, Baca began to study law. He passed the bar in 1894 and practiced law in Socorro and then in El Paso, Texas. Over the following decade, he served in a number of positions, including county clerk and law clerk, then was mayor of Socorro from 1896 to 1898.
Baca earned a reputation for willingness to defend the needs of the poor during his career. Once he recovered the stolen inventory of a store from a group of inebriated miners. When the store owners did not return, Baca allowed the local (Hispanic) poor to help themselves to the stock.
Beginning in 1913, Baca served for several years as representative in New Mexico for the Mexican government, although the story of a “price on his head” because he stole a gun from Pancho Villa was likely apocryphal as well. Baca spent his last decades supporting Spanish causes in the state. He was unsuccessful in running for public office, in part the result of criminal accusations during his years practicing law and a problem with alcohol abuse.
Significance
Baca was willing to represent both as a law officer and then as a lawyer the Hispanics of New Mexico, most of whom lived in poverty, at a time in which discrimination against them was commonplace. That he was controversial in his personal life—a lawyer and politician not above some underhanded dealings—is a portion of the Baca biography; however, he also was a role model for Hispanics in New Mexico. Although he was born in poverty, he used courage and education to become a successful lawyer and politician with a life story appropriate enough to later warrant a television series.
Bibliography
Ball, Larry. Elfego Baca in Life and Legend. El Paso: Texas Western Press, 1992. This popular biography is short on details but provides a concise and easily readable life story of Baca.
Crichton, Kyle Samuel. Law and Order, Ltd.: The Rousing Life of Elfego Baca of New Mexico. 1928. Rev. ed. Santa Fe, N.M.: Sunstone Press, 2008. Addresses the legends associated with Baca, often using first-person accounts.
Sager, Stan. Viva Elfego!: The Case for Elfego Baca, Hispanic Hero. Santa Fe, N.M.: Sunstone Press, 2008. Detailed biography of Baca. The author also provides a detailed analysis of the 1884 gunfight that became the basis for the Baca legend.