12 JULY 2023 T he town of Reserve, New Mexico, is small, boasting about 250 residents according to the most recent census. So it’s hardly the type of place to find world-class artwork. But there’s one there, thanks to the bravery of Elfego Baca. When the subject turns to putting in a long, hard day on the job, Baca’s name should rise to the top of the list. He became a legend in 1884 for sticking to what had to be done, no matter how long it took. Reserve was known as San Francisco Plaza back then, and it was a gathering place for cowboys who made up their own rules, so there wasn’t much respect for law and order. Baca, a self-appointed sheriff’s deputy from the neighboring town of Socorro, rode into town one day to tame a bunch of rowdies who got most of their unruliness from whiskey bottles. When Baca arrested one of them, he was immediately accosted by several armed cowboys who demanded the release of their drinking partner. Baca refused, and the battle was on. The cowboys accompanied their demands with threats; Baca answered with gunfire, so the cowboys left. Some came back and offered to negotiate their friend’s release, but the talks hit a snag when Baca refused to return his prisoner’s gun. Aware that the cowboys were getting uglier and surlier, Baca jumped into a jacal, a low, one-room building made of cedar posts stuck into the ground and coated with adobe mud. It would be his refuge for the next 36 hours. An estimated 80 cowboys surrounded the hut and began shooting from every angle. All the bullets hit the structure, and luckily, none hit Baca. One cowboy kicked the door open but was met with a fatal gunshot. Another died when Baca wounded his horse, who rolled over its rider and killed him. The enraged cowboys increased their gunfire, but the walls of the jacal repelled every shot. The battle was on its second day when a sheriff arrived from Socorro and negotiated a truce. Baca was taken back to Socorro and charged with murder but was exonerated on the grounds of self- defense. The bullet-riddled door of the jacal was presented by his defense team and was a key element in the verdict. At the scene of the extended shoot-out, initial estimates put the number of rounds fired by the cowboys at around 300. But the figure reached as high as 4,000 as the legend grew. After the incident, Baca went into politics and eventually was elected mayor of Socorro, then county sheriff. He remained active until he died in 1945. The episode might have vanished into the annals of time, but local businessman Henry Martinez engineered a drive to erect a life-sized bronze statue of Baca with his six-gun drawn to be placed at the site of the legendary gunfight in the heart of Reserve. Created by Arizona artist James Muir, it was installed and dedicated in May 2008. A New Mexico lawman’s longest day The Lowe Road A former Valley newspaperman who now writes about his travels across Arizona, the U.S. and the globe. BY SAM LOWE Local businessman Henry Martinez engineered a campaign to erect a life-sized bronze statue of Elfego Baca to be placed at the site of the legendary gunfight. PHOTO ON RIGHT SHOT BY ALEX SMITH