May 18, 1936
Dispute Over Old Mine Leads To Encounter On Main Street
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Prisoner Held Here
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Truck Driver Asserts He Fired In Fear Of Knife Attack
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An ancient Indian gold mine cost the lives of two early miners, nearly killed another in 1934, and last night in Van Horn, Texas, brought the score up to date with the critical wounding of one man, the injury of another, and the jailing of the third.
Jesus Dominguez, 39, tall, gaunt, with supreme faith that he was doing right, shot Poinciano Villalobos, 60, Van Horn merchant and politician, three times.
The shooting, which momentarily scattered an after-baseball game crowd on Main Street, caused considerable excitement in Van Horn. The crowd scattered when the firing began. Dominguez said he fired “every shot in the gun.”
Condition Critical
Isabel Granada, Villalobos’ companion at the time, was shot once in the shoulder. Villalobos was taken to a Marfa Hospital, where his condition was said to be serious. Dominguez was brought to El Paso County Jail.
There he joked with jailers while he was being finger-printed, reiterated that he meant to shoot Villalobos, whom he charged with allegedly swindling him out of $30 in connection with the Indian mine.
“I shot him. I hope I killed him. He threatened me. He swindled me. Last night I thought he was going to attack me with a knife,” Dominguez said.
“I shot Granado accidentally. He happened to get in the way when I was shooting at Poinciano.
Has Political Power
“Villalobos has money and he thinks he has political power.
“I saw him last night as I came into Van Horn with a tank of oil from Big Spring. I had gone to my room and washed, and had gone into a cafe to order supper. I had my pistol with me. I always carry one in the truck for safety.
“I saw Poinciano coming down the street with Granada. They were talking. Suddenly I got to thing about all the trouble I had had with him. I walked out of the cafe and went up to where they sat down on the street curb.
“I told Poinciano: ‘Here is that extra $15 I owe you, but I want my mineral samples.’ Poinciano said: ‘All right, but I have the samples at my store somewhere, but can’t find them.’
Blinded With Rage
“I got so mad I couldn’t see. I was blind. Then Poinciano pulled out a knife. Granada stepped up. I thought they were going to attack me. I pulled out my pistol and began shooting at Poinciano. He ran. I kept shooting. Then he fell. My gun was empty. I started to hit him with it. Then some woman screamed at me not to hurt him any more. That seemed to wake me up. I realized what I had done.
“I looked around and saw a big fellow coming up. (J.E. Garranda, who brought Dominguez to El Paso last night.) I handed him the gun and told him to take me to the sheriff.
“I told Sheriff Anderson (A.A. Anderson, Culberson County sheriff) what had happened. He started to put me in jail, then decided he had better send me to El Paso.
Retaliations Feared
“That Poinciano has two sons and a lot of other relatives in Van Horn who might want to do something to me. They didn’t know of my trouble with Poinciano.
“I’m not afraid. I hope that fellow dies. If they send me to the penitentiary God will be with me. I am right with Him, I know.”
The shooting last night was the climax of a wildcat prospecting venture begun in 1933, when several young men located an ancient Indian cave near Kent.
According to Dominguez, Villalobos grubstaked them until differences of opinion caused them to break up the partnership. In 1934 Villalobos sold him an interest in the mine for $30, and his labor.
“We did a lot of work on the cave and got a shaft opened for 300 feet,” Dominguez said. “One of the boys who was working for me found a nugget of pure gold about an inch in size. We put it in Villalobos’ car after we had finished work. After I got home and washed up I asked Villalobos to see it again. He told me it got lost out of the car on the way in to town. I thought that was rather peculiar.
“Then last year we were doing some more work and had blasted out a big place.
Ancient Skulls Found
“Near the entrance of the cave we had found a couple of skulls, probably of people who had tried to find the gold before us, or of the old Indians. So we were working carefully.
“The next day after the blasting we went into the cave and it looked as if someone had been fooling around in it. Then we went on to the end of the tunnel. The boy who was with me started to begin work and a rock slide began. He fell. I thought he was gone, sure. He caught with the tips of his fingers a timber.
“I unhooked my light and flashed it down the hole. I saw him there and grabbed for him. I didn’t think I would save him, but I got him out. We got out of that place.
Find Gold-Bearing Ore
“The slide covered up all our work and we didn’t have any more money. But we have a big piece of gold-bearing rock which we had picked up. We thought we could interest someone with money to help develop the mine.
“We had given the ore sample, which was the size of two water glasses, to Villalobos to keep for us until we needed some financing. It was shot through with gold. The rock was so crumbley that the ore could have been paned with water and a pan.
Ore Sample Lost
“He claimed he lost the sample. We couldn’t get any more money, so we quit work on the mine. Everybody else thought we were crazy to work on it anyway. But there is gold there. Maybe $35,000 or $40,000 worth. With $400 I could go down there and find it.
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