My great uncles were bootleggers in West Texas during prohibition years. They smuggled sotol, an alcoholic brew native to Chihuahua, across the border. One uncle, Cecilio Chavira, engaged in shootout with Sierra Blanca’s sheriff who sought to arrest him. Cecilio escaped.
The sheriff detained my grandfather, Jose, who was also Cecilio’s brother. What happened next is described in an excerpt from my book: https://www.amazon.com/We-Were-Always-Here-Americans/dp/1558859136
“He and his deputies grabbed me and told me to take them to Cecilio,” he said. “I really didn’t know anything about
what had happened and had no idea where he was. They started yelling and punching me, then they tied me to a post.
The sheriff pistol-whipped me until blood was running down my face and onto my chest. I wouldn’t beat an animal the way
they beat me.”
They went away, leaving José to broil in the desert sun.
“Everyone could see me all bloody and thirsty, but they were afraid to help me because of what the sheriff might do.”
By chance, the sheriff’s mother happened onto the scene.
She asked José what had happened, and when he told her, she became angry with her son. The woman untied José and gave
him some water. When her son returned, she berated him.
Still, the sheriff took José to jail for more questioning.
Apparently realizing that further grilling was useless, the sheriff freed him. “My brother Gustavo came for me, and he
had a clean shirt. He had heard I was all covered in blood.
You know, not long after that, the sheriff was diagnosed with fatal cancer. He committed suicide by cutting his own throat.
I have always believed that God punished him for his cruelty.”
Ricardo Chavira Chicano 