Bancroft Benson was a con man, glib enough to talk himself into half ownership of a ranch on the Texas side of the Rio Grande. Now that he was an established land owner, he was ready for the next time the Rio Grande changed its course and cut a more southerly path into Mexico. Since the river was his boundary, the change would give him more land as long as the Mexican landowner didnt decide to become an American and retain his claim on the banco.