In south Texas, the bandit Juan Nepomucino Cortina, who saw himself as the protector of Mexicans living near the border, occupied the town of Brownsville with a large force, opened the city jail and killed five men. Mexican military authorities from Matamoras, just across the border, persuaded him to camp outside the town, moved Mexican army troops into the streets of Brownsville, and placed its citizens under their protection till aid could arrive from San Antonio. (By John Osborne)