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Submitted: 7/6/20 • Approved: 10/29/20 • Last Updated: 10/29/20 • R5108-G0
November 25, 1879 - March 30, 1966
Although born in Central Texas, Daniel Joseph “Buck” Chadborn made his historical mrk in the Trans-Pecos region, as well as in southern New Mexico, along the international border. Chadborn was one of the many overlooked transitional frontier personalities who lived through thrilling adventures during both the 19th and 20th centuries. As a youth, necessity forced him to travel by horseback; in later years, he traded leather reins for a steering wheel, chasing smugglers with an automobile.
Chadborn had married Nita Johnson, the daugh¬ter of Annie Frazer Johnson, who had in a second marriage tied the knot with the notorious southwestern gunman Barney Riggs. However, the Annie-Barney Riggs union ended in a bitter divorce, amidst accusations of physical violence. By marriage, Chadborn had been thrust into this uncomfortable situation. A court even named Chadborn as the trustee for Annie, designating that he would receive periodic cash payments from Barney Riggs on Annie's behalf. However, the court order created so much animosity between Buck and Barney that Chadborn finally went to the judge and declared, "I want out, and you get somebody else."
On April 7, 1902, Chadborn and Riggs met on a Fort Stockton, Texas, street, Chadborn seated in a buggy, Riggs standing on the sidewalk. During an exchange of heated words, Riggs gestured wildly in the face of the much younger and less worldly Chadborn. Exactly what the movement intended remains a mystery, but suddenly Riggs reached toward his back pocket. Chadborn interpreted the move as a reach for a six-shooter. Buck jerked his revolver from the buggy seat and shot the unarmed Barney Riggs in the chest. Barney staggered back, collapsed, and died. Buck was indicted by a grand jury for second-degree murder. A change of venue subsequently shifted the trial to Alpine, Texas, where on October 14, 1903, a jury returned a verdict of "not guilty" following 15 minutes of deliberations.
After the shooting of Riggs, Buck operated a livery stable in El Paso, but by February 1909 he was in Columbus, New Mexico, in the cattle business and also working as a deputy sheriff. On March 9, 1916, Pancho Villa made his famous predawn raid. During the ensuing battle and subsequent chase after the fleeing Villistas, Buck with other civilian residents engaged in "mop-up" operations, killing Mexican stragglers and taking prisoners. Buck's scorecard in this man-killing escapade is impossible to tally, although one of his cohorts reportedly killed 12 of Villa's raiders. A few months later, in his role as a deputy sheriff, Buck participated in the legal hanging at Deming, New Mexico, of six Mexican prisoners convicted of taking part in Villa's cross-border incursion.
During 1921, Buck entered the U.S. Customs Service as a mounted patrol inspector, an assignment involving both equine and horseless-carriage operations. On the border, especially throughout the Prohibition era, Buck participated in numerous arrests, seizures, and an occasional car chase and shootout.
On his 62nd birthday Buck Chadborn retired from law enforcement. At Deming, New Mexico, on March 30, 1966, the 86-year-old ex-border lawman passed over to the other side.
Contributed on 7/6/20 by tomtodd
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Record #: 5108