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For a few years, Jesús Chavira, my great grandfather, had an ticipated his uncertain journey. Orphaned in his native Ciudad Camargo, Chihuahua, Jesůs found a new home with his grandfather, Gregorio. The old man lived alone on his ranch and was happy for the newfound companionship.
Jesús, a tall, thin pre-teen, was welcomed also because he provided badly needed labor on the cattle ranch near Satevň in Mexico's sprawling northern state. Fertile plains, prime cattle-raising country where cowboys still ply their craft, surround the 300-year-old town. While dedicated to caring for his grandson and the ranch, the old man sensed death creeping up on him.
Because the region was lawless, Gregorio was certain Jesús wouldn't be able to hold onto the ranch once he died; ruthless land grabbers might even kill him. In the event of his death, Gregorio told his grandson, he should head for Texas where work was fairly plentiful.
One day in 1870, Gregorio died, and Jesús, all of 14 and astride a white mare, made for Fort Davis, Texas, a U.S. Calvary base. Several days after he set out, he arrived at the army fort and solicited work. He was hired as a stable boy. The army was at war with the Apache and Comanche. Before long, the soldiers began using him to scout ahead of military patrols.
In time, my great grandfather put down roots in the inhospitable west Texas wilderness. He married and soon had eight children, among them my grandfather, José. Together, they struggled to make a living raising crops and cattle on unforgiving land. And they endured virulent racism.
Their story is noteworthy for its near-epic quality. But it is also typical of the hardships other Mexican families confronted at the time. Perhaps most important, it reminds us that Mexicans, today painted with a broad brush that makes them all seem like recent arrivals in el norte, have always been here moving ahead in the most adverse conditions.
The Chavira history underscores something else. They, like millions of others who made the short trip north, labored hard for little money, served their new country in three wars and asked for little in return. Some degree of respect and fair play was the extent of what they hoped for. It took
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