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During the height of the U.S.-Mexico relations under the Porfiriato, a single deal between the American Government and local landowners in the borderlands of Mexico would lead to the formation of a ramshackle band of rogues and ruffians of all sorts. In 1887, a large haul of gold bars approximating to about two-million US Dollars in worth was being transported to the prosperous city of Monterrey by way of Monclova in Coahuila de Zaragoza. This information, however, reached an individual whose greed would change much. Ramiro Narváez, a military captain of the local Cavalry Regiment and son of a local land-owner, used this information to try and make it big on persuasion of his maternal cousin, Vasco Pedrosa. The two, alongside close friend Eleodoro Zúñiga, as well as some of Ramiro's sub-officers and soldiers attempted to stage an accident for this train as it was planned to come through. A small trading post along the rail lines, known as San Juan, was set ablaze by the avaricious Captain and used as a roadblock to stop the train. However, no sooner had they overtaken the train that the real plot was made clear to them. The train was meant to be robbed, but not by them. The Federal official who had slipped Ramiro the information in the first place in return for payment, instead alerted the military who rushed in force to protect the American gold and avoid an international incident from further escalation. In the conflict, several close comrades of the trio were slain or captured. Ramiro, Vasco and Eleodoro fled north across the border before the news reached American troops, pretending to be rail workers to gain entry. Once past, they continued on their roguish activities for some time.. In 1889, Eleodoro avoided detection as both Vasco and Ramiro were caught and arrested separately, though found themselves together again in Sisika Penitentiary, nestled on an island on the Lannahechee River. With countless charges against the two, freedom became a fantasy and although neither a hangman nor a firing squad would claim their souls, it seemed that they were meant to live out destitute lives behind the sordid and swampy cells of Sisika. That is until, a storm rushed over. On April 26th, 1900, a heavy rainstorm gave the perfect cover for the Sisika Eight to escape from the prison. Among them included the two cousins from Coahuila de Zaragoza. Whether due to desperation or due to destiny, two more prisoners, Ray Carter, an Alabama-born African-American, as well as New Mexico-born Apache known as 'Dark Eyes' or Ojos Oscuros tagged along in the chaos of the storm, fleeing through the swamps of Bayou Nwa and through Roanoke Ridge, until they reached some semblance of safety initially at Annesburg. From there, horses were stolen, so were clothes and on the way, even robberies were committed in order to secure themselves with weaponry and wealth. With arms to secure their freedom, the criminal quartet escaped deeper into the South-West, slipping through Blackwater and then further beyond, to the shelter and solace of safety from the hand of the law.. (made by @iaduj16)