Daniel B Flores

Cuentos de Milagro Daniel B Flores

Cuentos de Milagro, Tales of a Guadalupe County Village is a about the old Guadalupe county village located off Interstate 40 on the western end of the county, about two miles east of Torrance county. The small village once had a post office, an elementary school and a Catholic church. The post office was opened in 1916 and was closed in 1935. The school was in operation from then 1910s until it was closed in 1965. The church, Nuestra Señora de Dolores, only had services for special occasions and was served by a priest from Anton Chico. The church has been kept in good repair and is now maintained by the Muñiz family. A Sunday afternoon mass is held one Sunday a month. The priest comes from Santa Rosa. Most of the early settlers to the area arrived there to claim land under the provisions of the Homestead Act. They managed to survive by dry farming and ranching. Perhaps the most famous homesteader was José Chávez y Chávez. Chávez y Chávez gained notoriety during the Lincoln County War. He was an associate of the famous outlaw, Billy the Kid, during the conflict which took place in Lincoln county. There is also information about several other homesteads located in the Milagro area. The homestead documents help establish a time frame for when the first settlers came into the area. Chávez y Chávez eventually drifted north to Las Vegas where he became a policeman. Unfortunately, he also found himself involved with a notorious businessman in the area, Vicente Silva. He became a member of Silva's gang of outlaws, La Gavilla de Silva, Silva's Gang, and straddled both sides of the law. He was convicted for murder; a murder carried out under orders from Silva, and was sent to the territorial penitentiary. He managed to avoid execution through legal maneuvering and had his sentence commuted to a life term. He later assisted the prison guards at the Penitentiary of the Territory of New Mexico during an uprising of prisoners. As a result he received a pardon from the territorial governor. After his pardon, he drifted around and eventually he remarried and settled in Milagro. He died in 1923 and is buried in an abandoned cemetery in Milagro.