Elena Greenhill Blaker
Elena Greenhill Blaker | |
|---|---|
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| Born | 1875 Yorkshire, England |
| Died | March 31, 1915 Gan Gan, Chubut, Argentina |
| Cause of death | Executed by police |
Elena Greenhill Blaker (1875 – March 31, 1915) was an outlaw of British origin who became famous in Patagonia in the early 20th century. She was killed in a shootout with Chubut police in 1915.
Early life
[edit]Elena Greenhill was born in 1875 in Yorkshire, England and lived there until she was 14 years old, when her family decided to move to Cierro Verde in Chile's Araucania region as part of a frontier settlement program. The Chilean government gave her parents 40 hectares of land, oxen, tools and materials to build a house.[1] Elena spent most of her time taking care of her younger siblings and helping with chores.
At the age of 19, Elena married a 36 year old businessman named Manuel de la Cruz Artete and moved to Choele Choel, and then Chelforó, both in Rio Negro. They had two children.[1]
Criminal career
[edit]Beginnings
[edit]In reality, Manuel de la Cruz was not a businessman, but a cattle thief; he made a living stealing cattle in Argentina and selling it in Chile.[2] Over the years, Manuel taught Elena his trade and how to shoot. Elena's marksmanship with the Winchester rifle rapidly surpassed Manuel's[3] and was described as "extraordinary".[4]
Manuel was found dead not far from their house in November 1904, his head bashed with rocks. Elena was the first suspect, but she was eventually cleared. Police later arrested a farm employee for the murder, who had allegedly been romantically involved with Elena. The lawyer who secured Elena's release was Martin Coria, who later became Elena's second husband; the policeman in charge of the murder investigation was his best man at the wedding. They moved to Montón Nilo, also in Rio Negro, shortly after.[5]
Rise to fame
[edit]The couple set up a general store, which they used as a front to sell stolen merchandise. Due to the dangerous nature of their life, Elena sent her children to a boarding school in Buenos Aires.[5]
In 1909, Elena and her husband were accused of having stolen 3000 sheep from a farm in Telsen, located in northern Chubut. Chubut police sent a contingent of 17 agents, led by Police Chief Calegaris, to the Montón Nilo house to arrest them. They were assisted by Police Chief Altamirano of Rio Negro police. As they approached the building, they were shot at from the windows and a long shootout ensued until a white flag was raised from one the openings and a farm employee came out to negotiate. Calegaris approached the worker with some of his officers, but was surprised by a sudden stampede, which Elena had set off intentionally. In the ensuing confusion, Calegaris was taken hostage, forcing his officers to retreat. Elena allegedly forced him to do the dishes and other house chores while keeping him prisoner, before fleeing with her husband and heading north to Buenos Aires to lay low. Calegaris was humiliated and swore revenge.[3][1]
Altamirano fell ill and died in October 1914. Elena married one of her associates, Martin Taborda, and shortly after, decided to return to the bandit life. Before leaving, Elena wrote her will, possibly anticipating that she would not return.[1]
Death
[edit]Elena and Martin were ambushed in a pass called Angostura del Chacay, in Gan-Gan, Chubut, on March 31st, 1915 by local police wearing civilian clothes.[1] The shootout lasted an hour. Elena collapsed after being wounded, and was executed by police officer Valenciano, who shot her in the back of the neck, allegedly to make sure she wasn't playing dead. She was 42 years old.[4] Martin managed to get away, but was arrested the following day.[1] His lawyer protested the arrest and accused Valenciano of murder, claiming that the police officer had been following them for 24 hours and had had plenty of opportunities to arrest them in crowded public spaces, and instead chose to wait for an opportunity to attack them in a desolate location to make sure they were no witnesses.[4] Valenciano was fired and imprisoned, but was released after one year. He moved to Santa Cruz and joined the local police force. In 1922 he was charged with the extrajudicial execution of three farm workers, who were apparently involved in left-wing groups. He was acquitted and later became a judge.[4]
A nearby hill was renamed La inglesa ("The Englishwoman") in her memory.[6]
Her remains were buried in the nearby Gan-Gan cemetery until 1949, when her family exhumed them and had them moved to the Cementerio Británico in Buenos Aires.[5]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f Novack, Mario (April 26, 2023). "En tiempos de bandidos, la inglesa que humilló a la policía". Alerta Digital.
- ^ Rafart, Gabriel (20 March 2014). "Ley y bandolerismos en la Patagonia argentina, 1890-1940". Historia y Justicia (2).
- ^ a b Anguita, Eduardo; Cecchini, Daniel. "La increíble historia de la bandolera inglesa que enfrentó a la policía en la Patagonia y fue ejecutada de un tiro en la nuca". Infobae.
- ^ a b c d Chucair, Elias (2003). La Inglesa Bandolera. Ediciones del Cedro. pp. 7, 47–48, 73. ISBN 987-20692-2-0.
- ^ a b c Garcia, Marcelo. "Elena Greenhill Blaker: la leyenda de "la Grinil" una bandolera suelta en la Patagonia". Canal 26.
- ^ "La historia de la inglesa y de un cerro en la Meseta Central". El Chubut. April 13, 2023.
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