New Mexico’s Old Times & Old Timers

NEW MEXICO’S OLD TIMES & OLD TIMERS

by Don Bullis, New Mexico Author donbullis@msn.com

A Shooting Affray at Wallace, New Mexico

In the popular fiction of the Old West—first penny-dreadfuls, then movies and television—gunfights were the order of the day in many frontier towns, and they could occur for any number of reasons. There were bank, stagecoach and train robberies, of course, and cattle rustling, and other miscreant behavior as well. Sometimes the gunfights were a matter of honor, or contests to see who was fastest on the draw. Money, women, crooked card games and drunkenness also ranked high on the list of the causes of firearm violence.

None of those things had anything to do with a gunfight that claimed two lives in the New Mexico town of Wallace in 1889. (Wallace—named in honor of Territorial Governor Lew. Wallace— was settled about 1884 and grew to a population of nearly 1,000. Over the years, the place was also called Annville, Thornton—in honor of another territorial governor, William T. Thornton— and finally Domingo Junction and then simply Domingo, for its proximity to the Santo Domingo Pueblo Reservation. The town diminished in size gradually over the years until there was nothing left but a single trading post.)

This account of the Wallace affair is taken from several news items that appeared the Albuquerque Morning Democrat in July 1889. One of them was subtitled,

“Full Particulars of the Shooting Affray by an Eye Witness.”

“The gunfight that took place at Wallace Friday was one of the liveliest while it lasted that ever occurred in New Mexico,” wrote a witness to the event.

As the story goes, a man identified as an Italian, coincidentally known only as Domingo, lived in the town, and he was afflicted with varioloid, a mild form of smallpox that was sometimes mistaken for measles. Another Italian named Joe Colcha took care of Domingo. The problem was that instead of staying at home and attending to the sick man, he insisted on “running around town.”

Local citizens had warned him to stay away from the businesses district and other public places. Townspeople correctly feared contagion.

On Friday morning, July 26, 1889, Joe appeared at the post office where fifteen or sixteen men had gathered. The witness didn’t say whether the men were there to consider how to deal with the problem of Joe Colcha, or were just there to get their mail. The former is probably the case since there was a lawman present. Joe stood beside one man who tried to run him off saying that he could give him smallpox. Another man threatened, “to smash him.” Joe took offense and left, but not for long. He soon returned to the post office with a Winchester rifle and opened fire, wounding a man by the name of Mitchell. Joe then ran into the street and fired three more shots into a nearby store where a crowd had gathered. Apparently, he didn’t hit anyone there. The witness reported what happened next.

“The people of Wallace were poorly provided with arms and those who had guns at their houses started to find them. They gathered a few pistols and shotguns and started after Joe, who had taken to the hills. Two of the men were mounted on horses. Joe got into a small gully and commenced firing on the crowd. One of his shots struck a man named Moore who was mounted on a horse and passed through his kidneys [sic].”

In addition to the bullet wound to his body, his lower jaw was said to have been ‘shot away.’ The crowd reacted with unified anger and the reporting witness was quite succinct about what happened next:

“The Italian was riddled with bullets.”

The witness didn’t immediately mention that the fatally injured man was Warren Moore, a Bernalillo County deputy sheriff who had joined in the posse to help round up Joe after the initial shooting. [Sandoval County wasn’t created until 1903.] The correspondent added, though, “Moore is well known throughout Bernalillo County and his death causes intense sorrow in the community where he has resided during the past fifteen years.”

The witness wrote the final note: “A coroner’s inquest was immediately held and the verdict states that Moore came to his death by a gunshot wound caused by the Italian, who, the verdict states, killed himself.” [Emphasis added.]

No mention was made regarding the disposition of Joe Colcha’s remains, nor is mention made of what became of the afflicted Domingo. ▫

PRODUCING GENETICS THAT WILL IMPROVE YOUR BOTTOM LINE.

“ready for work” black angus bull sale march 13, 2023

belen, nm cattlemens livestock auction

willcox, AZ

WILLCOX ALL-BREED BULL SALE FEB 27, 2023

willcox, az willcox livestock auction

willcox, AZ

FEED EFFICIENT GENETICS

OUR MOTHER HERD IS IN THE TOP 20% FOR DRY MATTER INTAKE (DMI)