The Estancia Springs Controversy

Joel P. Whitney was a land speculator who, along with his brother James G. Whitney, purchased the bulk of the Cañada de Cochiti land grant from 1881 to 1883 (see this blog post). The Whitneys’ voracious pursuit of land in New Mexico soon brought them into conflict with well-established New Mexican landowners. One such family was the Oteros, a prominent family of entrepreneurs and politicians in the territory. Prior to the arrival of the Whitneys in the area, Manuel Antonio Otero had purchased the Baca land grant, a portion of which was also claimed by owners of the Estancia grant. Otero had established a ranch on his grant, managed by his son Manuel B. Otero. After Joel Parker Whitney purchased the Estancia grant, he too established a large ranch on the grant and sent his younger brother James G. Whitney there to manage its operations. The younger Whitney was described as “a big blustering fellow, purse-proud and egotistical, domineering and ruthless, a man totally devoid of tact, a braggart who imagined he was a wonderful shot with a pistol.” Upon discovering the conflicting claims, Whitney ordered the Otero family to vacate their property at Estancia Springs, which they refused. They also declined to negotiate, saying that if he disputed their title, he could bring a lawsuit against them in court. Infuriated at not getting his way and with little interest in resolving the dispute through legal channels, Whitney hired seven so-called “Texas gunmen” and decided to brazenly invade the ranch, driving off the crew of New Mexican cowboys and taking possession of the property.

Manuel B. Otero and his brother-in-law, a doctor named Edward C. Henriques,[i] happened to be on their way to the Estancia ranch with a group of men when news of the Whitney invasion reached them on 17 August 1883. Otero sent for Sheriff Dubois of Valencia County, but rather than waiting for him, decided to proceed to the ranch and confront Whitney and his men himself. When the Otero party arrived at Estancia, they were received in the messroom by Whitney and his brother-in-law Alexander Fernández. The seven Texas gunmen filed into the room and took seats along the wall. Otero and Whitney’s discussion quickly became heated.

Whitney stated, “I hold possession of the grant. You and your family will have to vacate.”

“Do you have a writ of ejectment?”

“I do. It’s at my ranch headquarters. Why don’t you send one of your men for it?”

“I would be a fool to send one of my own men for a writ to eject me from my own property! But I will submit to you if you can produce the court’s writ.”

Whitney declared, “this is my writ,” and pulling his weapon, fired at Otero.

According to one account of what occurred during the ensuing gun battle, Whitney’s unsteady shots missed Dr. Henriques’ shooting arm, but struck him in his left arm. Despite the wound, Dr. Henriques managed to return fire, killing Mr. Fernández and hitting Whitney several times until, badly wounded, he dropped his gun and pleaded for his life. The seven Texans deserted their employer during the melee, cursing and stumbling in a mad rush to get out of the smoke-filled room. They had been in the territory long enough to know that if they had participated in the murder of the popular Otero, their days would be numbered. Otero’s men surrounded Whitney and demanded revenge, but Dr. Henriques planted himself in the door with his rifle and said, “Stand back, the fight is over. Give the man a chance for his life.”

The sheriff arrived with his men, disarmed the Texans and took Whitney into custody. They put Mr. Whitney in a light wagon with two ponies hitched to it and drove him to Chilili, where they secured a good spring wagon with mules to drive him to Albuquerque. From there, he was transferred to St. Vincent’s hospital in Santa Fe and kept under guard. Meanwhile, efforts were made to save Mr. Otero’s life, but he perished from his wounds. A few hours prior to his death, he managed to make a statement before a Manzana justice describing how the shootout unfolded.

On August 28th, Sheriff Dubois served a warrant to Mr. Whitney, charging him with the murder of Mr. Otero and notifying him that he was under orders to transport him to Valencia to stand trial if he could travel. Mr. Whitney, still suffering from his wounds, was in no condition to travel. One bullet had shattered his jaw, and he was in a great deal of pain from another wound to his back. He provided sworn affidavits from his physicians that he could not be moved without endangering his life. Sheriff Dubois therefore demanded $20,000 in bonds to ensure he would appear in the Valencia district court.

Mr. Whitney undoubtedly had concerns about being tried in Valencia County and since his family had the resources to extricate him from his predicament, it’s not surprising that they aided him in an attempt to abscond. On September 20th, Joel P. Whitney had a private Pullman coach attached to the Atlantic express train bound for Atlantic City, and the family boarded it with the accused. When the train reached Lamy junction, a dispatcher there, José D. Sena, learned of the identity of the passengers and thinking it strange, telegraphed Governor Sheldon. The governor promptly issued orders for the conductor to hold the train and for the fugitive’s arrest. Three sheriffs boarded the private car at Sulzbacher, where they found the wounded Mr. Whitney, his wife Octavia, his brother Joel P. Whitney, Mr. M. P. Metcalf (a co-owner of the Estancia property), another woman and their servants.

When the officers explained that Whitney had to go back, the car was detached from the Atlantic express and hitched to the Pacific express for the journey to Albuquerque. Mr. Metcalf defended the family’s conduct, contending that they had made no secret of their plans. They were on their way to the hot springs in Las Vegas where Mr. Whitney could recuperate, and the $20,000 bond secured in Valencia County ensured he would return for the trial. The governor disputed these claims, saying that the Whitneys had secretly prepared for their departure and no such legal bonds were on file in Valencia County. Curiously, Mr. Whitney’s wounds did not prevent him from continuing to buy up land in the Cañada de Cochiti. Just five days before his alleged attempt to escape justice, he purchased a parcel from a set of Lucero siblings—Benito (F1b1a), Josefita (F1b1b), Dolores (F1b1c) and Leonor (F1b1d)—for $100.

Mr. Whitney eventually succeeded in posting bail, finding refuge in San Francisco where he continued to recover from his ordeal. On November 14th, his attorneys appeared at the Los Lunas courthouse and presented affidavits from his physicians stating that he could not travel to stand trial. In response, the district attorney asked for the $25,000 bond to be forfeited. However, James G. Whitney would eventually have to face justice. The family’s business interests in the area were perhaps too important to abandon. The Whitneys went to great lengths to ensure the most favorable conditions for the trial. They convinced the authorities to change the trial venue to Springer and provided monetary “inducements” to potential witnesses. Even one of Parker’s attorneys hinted that he expected to be compensated for his efforts to compromise some of the parties concerned.

During the trial, Dr. Henriques and Charles Armijo presented the most damaging testimony against Mr. Whitney, but doubts were raised about who had fired the killing shot. After a two-day trial, on 30 April 1884, a jury made up predominantly of “Americans” returned the verdict of “not guilty.” Indignant locals said that he had been acquitted not because of doubts about who had fired the shot that had killed Otero, but more likely because Whitney’s rich relatives had spent no less than $100,000 to clear him. The Albuquerque Morning Journal, possibly seeking to curry favor with the new land magnates, declared that anyone who had sat through the trial was not surprised at the acquittal. The Otero-Whitney controversy thus came to an end.

---

Sources

Charles Pope, “The Estancia Springs Tragedy,” New Mexico Historical Review 20, 3 (1945). Available at: https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/nmhr/vol20/iss3/2

Mark Thompson, “Para Nada: The War Over the Baca and Estancia Land Grants,” Bar Bulletin, September 10, 2007, Volume 46, No. 37

The Las Vegas Gazette

22 August 1883, p. 4

22 September 1883, p. 1, 4

1 May 1884, p. 1

The Sante Fe New Mexican

29 August 1883, p. 4

[i] Edward C. Henriques was married to Emilia Otero, sister of Manuel B. Otero.