“MONSTROUS AND ILLEGAL PROCEEDINGS”: LAW ...

extent to which borderlands legalities were entangled with violence. The Ribeiros’ first act
appeared to be the murder of Francisco de Assiz Paula Rocha, another public notary in
Alegrete. According to witnesses, two National Guardsmen “stabbed Rocha in the street”
and then fled to Freitas Valle’s residence. 36 The Diario do Rio Grande, a newspaper allied with
the Liga against the Ribeiros’ progressistas, accused Luis Ferreira of orchestrating the crime. It
further alleged that Mathias Teixeira de Almeida was the mastermind behind the wave of
violence surrounding the legal investigation of his client and political ally. The paper claimed
that Teixeira used the killing to not only intimidate political rivals, but also as a pretext to
convene a military tribunal against Amaral and Prado Lima. The article continued:
“gathering officials together for a pro forma investigation of such a horrible crime, [Ferreira]
appointed as the director of the ad hoc war tribunal the well-known and flamboyant Mathias
Teixeira de Almeida, who had served as the principal instigator of these intrigues.” 37
Eventually, Teixeira ordered soldiers to raid Prado Lima’s house. Amaral and his father-in-
law fled the city. 38 The article lamented that little could be done against the men because
they “enjoyed the protection of the Barão do Porto Alegre” and his Contra-Liga allies. 39
The increased violence against Prado Lima and Amaral no doubt reflected the
Ribeiro faction’s growing confidence in its political position. By appointing da Silva as the
new district judge in the town, Sinimbú signaled to the Ribeiros his support for their side in
the judicial and electoral conflict. The Diario de Rio Grande also suggested that political
motivations underlay da Silva’s appointment. The paper noted that the judge was Teixeira’s
36 Justiça ex-oficio c. Tenente Gemoniano Manoel Casal, APRGS. Alegrete. Cartório Civil e
Crime. Processos Crimes, Maço 83, No. 2912 (1860).
37 Maneol de Freitas Valle c. José Vaz Alves de Castro Amaral, Diario do Rio Grande, No. 1250
(January 30, 1853), included with the case.
38 Ibid.
39 Ibid.
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