Spanish speaking peoples in Utah, oral histories: book 13, numbers 135 through 146

Page 253

Il\'TERVIE~v: Romero Page 11 Junction there was a telephone. And he came quickly. The pick up was not from the county, but he came, they rented a pick up and there we placed them and we came with them to Taos, and we passed through the Post Office in Taos where roy wife was the Postmistress, with these prisoners. When we had placed them in jail, we telephoned to Jaramillo, the deputy chief marshall, and they came in two or three days for them. There had been a demand for them, they had been wanted, they had to punish them. They fined them according to the law, according to the criminal act. They were criminals because they had interests against other peoples ' property. They were punished, they gave them some time in jail, but not as much as they would others who committed a graver crime. As I understand it, they were fined. The system of punishing this kind of crime was somewhat different than those in Texas, where the punishment was more serious. This occurred in approximately 1920. At that time there were Model A's, which we called them at that time, some Fords. I remember another occurrance during the time I was deputy chief marshall, there was a young man there whose name was Juan Martinez. When, well we received the same notice by the same form over the telephone that Juan Martinez was one of these little thieves, little local thieves of horses