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On September 27, 1915, Jesus Bazán and his son-in-law, Antonio Longoria – both recognized Tejano community leaders and the latter a Hidalgo County commissioner – traveled to a local Texas Ranger camp on the Sam Lane ranch to report a horse robbery that occurred a few days prior at their ranch north of the Rio Grande in Hidalgo County. Although Bazán and Longoria should have had the law on their side, anti-Mexican violence in the region was persistent. After a seemingly uneventful conversation with Ranger Captain Henry Ransom, the two men left on horseback. When they were about 300 yards from the campsite, laborers on Sam Lane’s ranch witnessed Captain Ransom and two civilians climb into a Model T Ford and follow the men. One passenger reached outside a window and shot both men in the back. Bazán and Longoria fell from their horses and died on the side of the road. Unfazed by the shooting, it was reported that Captain Ransom returned to the campsite to take a nap, leaving the bodies to decompose. Several days later, a family friend and neighbor buried the men where they fell. Neither the Texas Rangers nor local law enforcement investigated, explained or reported the murders. In 1919, as a result of the Bazán and Longoria murders and many other incidents of violence against Mexican Americans, the Texas Legislature conducted a formal investigation into state and local law enforcement practices. Many law enforcement groups were reorganized as a result. Memories of the murders continue through oral tradition, reflecting this violent yet pivotal time in Texas history. (2016) |
