22. The Spectator Sport Combat
Insurgents in northern Mexico rose up against their government in the late 1920s, in the Escobar Rebellion. During the fighting, Mexican government forces, or federales, entrenched in the Mexican border town of Naco, in the state of Sonora. Their positions lay directly across the border from the American town of Naco, Arizona. Americans in Arizona’s Naco and the surrounding region viewed the conflict in Mexican Naco as a spectator event.
Sightseers arrived from miles around, competing with each other for dibs on the best spots from which to view the fighting in Mexico. Many even crossed into Mexican Naco for a better look. It did not seem foolhardy at the time, particularly as combatants from both sides, fearful of US military intervention, were careful not to fire across the border or unnecessarily endanger the gringos. Still, the occasional stray bullet whizzed by, which only added to the spectators’ thrill and excitement.