The Quarterly of the Texas State Historical Association, Volume 4, July 1900 - April, 1901 Page: 128

128 Texas Historical Association Quarterly.
THE MEXICAN RAID OF 1875 ON CORPUS CHRISTI.'
LEOPOLD MORRIS.
The country surrounding the little .city of Corpus C'hristi, on the
southern coast -of Texas, has been the field of many bloody encoun-
ters which have helped to make the bravery of Texans stand out
in bold letters.
Among the bloodiest of these contests were the raids of 1875 and
1878, the incidents orf either of which would cause a thrill of horror
to pass through -one and ,make a tale almost too -awful to relate.
In the seventies, Texas was thinly settled, sometimes fifty or sixty
miles intervening between two homnesteads or settlements; but every
man carried -a rifle in those trying times, and, like New England's
early settlers, they 'were always ready for enemies, either savages or
desperadoes. Many were tihe times that, when the morning dawned
,and the husband kissed his wife and little ones good-bye, it was
good-bye forever. Such were the conditions which the pioneer
Texan had to face and endure.
Early in the spring of 1875 a band of about one hundred and fifty
,men w'as formed -at a place in Mexico called Las Quisanmas, -and under
the leadership of a cruel ,and daring oomman dier, Jose Cortina,
started on -a march towards Texas. After crossing the Rio Grande
near Eagle Pass, they formed into four separate commands, their
purpose being to first capture ,and plunder Corpus Christi, and then
make it the base of their 'operations. As they advanced they mur-
dered all who crossed their ,path, 'men, women, and -even, ,child ren.
But the United States troops stationed at San Diego were on the
alert, and after inflicting 'several defeats upon three of tthe bands,
who fled towards, the Rio Grande, they went in search of the fourth.
Meanwhile, the fourth division, whichh had 'met no opposition as yet,
halted just outside of Corpus Christi at a place now called the Oso.
Here they camped on 'a road, which was the main highway to the
"This narrative has been made up from the statements of those who had
personal knowledge 'of the aaid, and from the notes of Mr. IT. J. Noakes,
together with his account of the affair, which is given entire.