“MONSTROUS AND ILLEGAL PROCEEDINGS”: LAW ...

assembling witnesses (in this case, written ones) who could publicly declare one’s personal
standing in the borderlands.
Gelabert also kept his commercial contacts abreast of his efforts to track down the
original criminals from Mercedes. Suspicions now fell on a former apprentice in his
commercial house, Manuel “Gallegos” Cristobo. A breakthrough occurred when Cristobo
surfaced in Salto. Gelabert’s colorado allies in the town immediately secured Cristobo’s arrest.
The subsequent trial quickly divided along factional lines. Diego Lamas, the blanco frontier
commander, demanded that Cristobo be released for lack of evidence against him. Several
prominent colorados, including Angel Tejo and Mariano Cabral, in turn insisted on a criminal
trial. Observing the proceedings, Gelabert wrote to his uncle back in Corrientes. In his
letter, he questioned how Lamas “could find this man innocent.” 202 Gelabert noted,
however, that he continued to “receive the protection of Angel Texo [Tejo], Mariano Cabral
and D. Jacinto Real” in the matter. These connections ensured that he might receive justice
because these men “were the true owners of Salto.” 203 Despite these assurances, however,
Lamas secured Cristobo’s release.
Gelabert’s appeals to his political allies in the colorado faction in Salto again highlight
the connections between cross-border reciprocal ties and the local factional battles swirling
around the city’s courthouse. Gelabert remained in close communication with both Angel
Tejo and Jacinto Llupes. Recall that these were two of the principal colorado participants in
Salto’s juicios de imprenta. Gelabert recognized that securing Cristobo’s arrest depended upon
his connections with these men. This in turn fed back into the local factional clashes over
Salto’s courts. While Tejo and Llupes maneuvered to assist Gelabert, their blanco rivals
202 Ibid.
203 Ibid.
243