The Frisco shootout was an

Old West The American frontier, also known as the Old West or the Wild West, encompasses the geography, history, folklore, and culture associated with the forward wave of American expansion in mainland North America that began with European colonial ...

gunfight A shootout, also called a firefight or gunfight, is a fight between armed combatants using firearms. The term can be used to describe any such fight, though it is typically used to describe those that do not involve military forces or only invo ...

that began on December 1, 1884, involving lawman Elfego Baca. The shootout happened in

Reserve, New Mexico Reserve is a village in Catron County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 289 as of the 2010 census, down from 387 in 2000. It is the county seat of Catron County. Currently the village has two grocery stores, a hardware store, a bar, ...

, and stemmed from Baca's arrest of a

cowboy A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the '' vaquer ...

, Charlie McCarty, who had been shooting into the air and into buildings at random while intoxicated.

Shootout

Shortly after the arrest was made, Baca was confronted by a large number of the cowboy's friends. Baca took refuge in the house of local resident Geronimo Armijo. An intense shootout ensued, during which the cowboys increased in number to around eighty men.

Legend A legend is a Folklore genre, genre of folklore that consists of a narrative featuring human actions, believed or perceived, both by teller and listeners, to have taken place in human history. Narratives in this genre may demonstrate human valu ...

has it that the cowboys fired more than 4,000 rounds into the house, but there is little way of confirming just how many rounds were fired exactly. Baca was not wounded by any of the rounds fired, but did return fire killing four of the cowboys, and wounding eight others. The standoff ended when the cowboys were unable to acquire more ammunition. With their ammunition supply depleted, they simply withdrew. The fight had lasted thirty-six hours. Charlie McCarty served his time in

jail A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, correc ...

for disturbing the peace and drunkenness, and was released. The cowboys pursued Baca through legal means, attempting to have him imprisoned for the killing of their four comrades. In May 1885, Baca was

indicted An indictment ( ) is a formal accusation that a person has committed a crime. In jurisdictions that use the concept of felonies, the most serious criminal offence is a felony; jurisdictions that do not use the felonies concept often use that of an ...

for the killing of one of the men. However, when the door of Geronimo Armijo's house was introduced as evidence, having over four hundred bullet holes in it, Baca was

acquitted In common law jurisdictions, an acquittal certifies that the accused is free from the charge of an offense, as far as criminal law is concerned. The finality of an acquittal is dependent on the jurisdiction. In some countries, such as the ...

. He went on to become a licensed attorney and a Deputy US Marshal.

Memorial project

On May 24, 2008, the Elfego Baca Foundation opened a memorial at 101 Main St

, in honor of Baca."Projects"
, Catron Concerned Citizens Group. Retrieved 8/24/08.

References

External links

GhostTowns.com

Legends of America website.
Western Web
Archived from 2007

Borderlands
{{Template group , title = Articles related to the Frisco shootout , list = {{Catron County {{Gunfights and feuds in the Old West {{American frontier 1884 in New Mexico Territory History of Catron County, New Mexico American Old West gunfights December 1884 events Deaths by firearm in New Mexico