Columbus is a small town in the state of New Mexico, almost on the Mexican-American border.
Adventures in Columbus[]
On March 9, 1916,[1] Indiana Jones and his cousin Frank visited the town looking for "girls" (i.e. prostitutes) but they were caught in the middle of Pancho Villa's raid on the town, in which the Sentry was shot.[2] To this day, the Villista attack on Columbus stands as the only attack on US continental soil by a foreign army since the War of 1812. Pancho Villa had ordered the attack the town, after the United States had officially recognized the Carranza government of Mexico.[1]
The Villistas ignored the pair of teens, as they were concentrated on looting the local bank, but Indiana Jones couldn't keep still after he saw a Mexican stealing dresses from a shop served by a young girl. In response, Jones took a horse and ran after the thief till he recovered the three dresses he had taken with him. However, by that time Jones had already entered Mexican territory and was made prisoner of the Villistas.[2]
Behind the scenes[]
The entire scene in Columbus was shot in Texas Hollywood, a fake Western town in the Tabernas Desert of southern Spain.[1] Texas Hollywood was built in 1963 to serve as set of European Spaghetti Westerns such as Sergio Leone's famous A Fistful of Dollars, For a Few Dollars More and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.
The town as depicted in the episode is shown to be several miles from the border and near mountainous terrain, while the real town is adjacent to the international border, and is on flat land. It could be that the escape route used by Villa's men led away from the town but stayed on the American land until another crossing area could be reached.
Appearances[]
- The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles – "Young Indiana Jones and the Curse of the Jackal" → Spring Break Adventure
- Mexico, March 1916
- South of the Border
- The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: Revolution
Sources[]
- The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles trading cards
- Who Are Those Guys? (Non-fiction source)
- Interactive Timeline
- The Lost Journal of Indiana Jones
