“MONSTROUS AND ILLEGAL PROCEEDINGS”: LAW ...

Upon his release, Christomo found himself almost immediately back before local
officials. This time, however, he was accused of attempted murder. According to a number
of witnesses, Christomo had fired his pistol at Manuel Francisco, a pardo man, after a heated
argument. 66 Christomo fled the town. This left it up to a local jury to convict him “ex-
oficio.” Teixeira then appealed the verdict to the juiz de direito, once again arguing that the
charges against his client flowed from “persecution” that had already resulted in him
“suffering several months imprisonment.” 67 Teixeira noted that the juiz had already
acquitted his client on one previous occasion. He also implied that Ribeiro and his allies
likely coerced Francisco to testify against his client like they had done previously with the
Paraguayan soldiers. Christomo then appeared himself. He testified: “I attribute the
charges against me to my enemies that have already attacked the honor of this court.” 68 The
court, however, refused to overturn the verdict. It sentenced Christomo to a year
imprisonment. The decision in effect confirmed Christomo’s banishment from the local
political scene in Alegrete. He was an outlaw, not a vizinho. 69
A similar fate awaited another one of Teixeira’s clients from the 1850s, Manoel
Rodrigues da Silva. The proceeding involved a salacious family drama. According to
prosecutors, Rodrigues had become enraged when he learned that his son Cándido had left
his home to live with a woman named Merencia. Matters came to a head when Merencia
became pregnant and Cándido began requesting sums of money from his father to maintain
his lover and his future family. To put an end to the affair, Rodrigues allegedly arranged for
his son to leave town in order to conduct business for the family’s ranch. Rodrigues, along
66 Traslado de um sumario de culpa em que a Justiça é autora e reo o Capitão João Christomo dos
Santos, APRGS. Alegrete. Cartório Civil e Crime. Processos Crimes, Maço 88, n. 3090 (1870).
67 Ibid. The trial record was not numbered.
68 Ibid.
69 Ibid.
358