The General and the Jaguar (50 page)

60 “they got all the human heaps”: Branham, “Prelude,” 11.

60 Carranza had cut a deal: For a discussion, see Friedrich Katz’s article “Pancho Villa and the Attack on Columbus, New
Mexico,”
American Historical Review,
February 1978, pp. 101-130.

61 left in a carriage: RO, 5.

61 “We decided not to fire”: Letter, Pancho Villa to Emiliano Zapata, January 8, 1916, NARA, RG 94, AGO, Doc. No. 2377632;
copy also found in McKinney claim.

5. Tell President Wilson to Save You

62 dwindling cadre of officers: RO, 23-24.

63
“I hereby order the immediate”:
Ibid., 19.

64 “I want you”: Affidavit, Richard Dudley, February 9,
1916,
U.S. and Mexican Claims Commissions, Copies of Memorials and Briefs, box 17; “Mining Men Stripped Naked and Ruthlessly Shot
Down by Band of Villa Savages,”
EPMT,
January 12, 1916. The details of the massacre come from contemporary news reports in the El Paso newspapers or the numerous
affidavits relating to the train massacre found in the claim files. Contrary to many reports, there were eighteen—not seventeen—victims.
They were: Charles Rea Watson, forty-eight, the general manager; W. D. Pearce, fifty-two, manager of Cusi Mexicana; W. J.
Wallace, thirty-two, assistant to the manager; Herman C. Hase, thirty-four, metallurgical engineer and mill superintendent;
George Newman, thirty-seven, mining engineer; T. M. Evans, twenty-nine, storekeeper; R. P. McHatton, twenty-four, stenographer;
E. L. Robinson, thirty-six, chemist; W. B. Romero, forty-two, bookkeeper; J. P. Coy, thirty-eight, mill shift boss; Charles
Wadleigh, about fifty-five, carpenter boss; C. A. Pringle, thirty-eight, another mill shift boss; Maurice Anderson, twenty-five,
patio captain; A. H. Couch, forty, mill shift boss and a Canadian resident. Other members of the party included Alec Hall,
about fifty-five years old; J. W. Woon, twenty-five and a British citizen; R. H. Simmons, twenty-eight; and Thomas Johnson,
a sorting-plant boss who was reported as being between the ages of fifty and sixty-five.

65 “How many others”: Affidavit, Thomas B. Holmes, January 22, 1916, U.S. and Mexican Claims Commissions, Copies of Memorials
and Briefs, box 17.

65 “He got up, limping,”: “The Mexican Murders,”
Literary Digest,
January 22, 1916, 157.

66
“Abajo, gringo!”:
Affidavit, Cesar Sala, January 27, 1916, U.S. and Mexican Claims Commissions, Copies of Memorials and Briefs, box 17.

66
“Está aqui, traidor?”:
Ibid.

66 “He was cursing”: Ibid.

67 “Two soldiers using”: Fall hearing, 2759.

67 “The Americans lay”: “Mexican Murders,” 158.

68 “I lay there perfectly”: Affidavit, Thomas Holmes, March 24, 1916, U.S. and Mexican Claims Commissions, Copies of Memorials
and Briefs, box 17; “Eyewitnesses Tell of Killing of 18 Americans,”
EPH,
January 14, 1916.

68 Villa was far from the scene: RO, 8.

69 several dogs: “Armed Americans Accompany Death Train from Chihuahua,”
EPH,
January 14, 1916.

69 “Why did you not send”: Affidavit, Frances May Reiser, April 22, 1916, U.S. and Mexican Claims Commissions, Copies
of Memorials and Briefs, box 17.

69 riot broke out: “Crowd Starts Riot on Broadway; Officers and Soldiers Stop It,”
EPH,
January 14, 1916.

69 Instead of quelling: Paul R. Reyes, “The Santa Isabel Epísode, Jan. 10, 1916: Ethnic Repercussions in El Paso and Ciudad
Juárez,”
Password,
Summer 1997, 67.

69 “It was estimated that”: “Crowd Starts Riot on Broadway,”
EPH,
January 14, 1916.

70 Nineteen men were arrested: Ibid.

6. Only One Chance to Die

71 “He intends for you”: E. B. Stone, “Villista Activities at Columbus, New Mexico,” March 18, 1916, McKinney claim.

71 queen of the Villistas: “Wee Wright Boy Brought Safe and Sound to Pearson,”
EPMT,
March 11, 1916.

72 “Untangling the horse”: Ibid.

72 “I shall hold none”: RO, 11.

73 “I might have let”: RO, 11-12.

73 second American hostage: Affidavit, Edward R. Spencer, January 9, 1917, NARA, RG 395, Punitive Expeditions to Mexico,
Chief of Staff. Although he is listed as Edward here, Spencer’s first name was probably Edwin and appears that way in other
official documents and news reports.

73 dreadful fire: By March 17, 1916, the
El Paso Morning Times
was reporting that twenty-five people had died in the blaze.

73 weekly delousing procedure: “Grand Jury Probing Jail Fire; One More Victim Is Identified,”
EPH,
March 7, 1916.

74 make “torches”: “Woman Held by Villa for Nine Days Tells Her Story,”
NYT,
March 10, 1916.

74 five soldiers slipped away: RO, 27.

74 wood stacked on the backs: Katz,
Life and Times of Pancho Villa,
297.

75 father of two children: RO, Appendix, “Villa’s Itinerary from San Geronimo to Columbus and Return,” 1.

75 “Cervantes’ control over them”: RO, 23.

75 investor Edwin Marshall: Hart,
Revolutionary Mexico,
49.

75 three other bands: D. R. McCormick, an employee of the Palomas ranch, identified José de la Luz Blanco, Inez Salazar,
Máximo Castillo, and Pancho Villa as being responsible for the depredations (Fall hearing, 1102-1105).

75 “I know that”: Affidavit, Walter P. Birchfield, June 8, 1936, Palomas Land and Cattle Company claim.

76 “To me he was repulsive”: Peterson and Knoles,
Pancho Villa,
210.

76 The McKinneys had deep roots: “McKinney Family in on All History for Last Century,”
Southwesterner,
May 1962, 16, Dean collection.

76 letter from General Obregón: Affidavit, Mamie McKinney, April 8, 1916, McKinney claim.

77 “peculiar”: Affidavit of Pedro Sotelo, n.d., McKinney claim.

77 “I told him this”: Letter, Marcus M. Marshall to Father, March 12, 1916, Scott papers, LC. This letter was also reprinted
verbatim in the
New York Times
(“Says Villa Found Border Unguarded,”
NYT,
March 19, 1916).

78 “towheaded soldier”: Report, E. B. Stone, “Villista Activities,” March 19, 1916, McKinney claim.

78 mood in the camp: The description of hangings is taken from Edwin Spencer’s account, conveyed in a March 12, 1916,
letter from Marcus M. Marshall to his father. Spencer gave numerous interviews to reporters and at least three sworn affidavits.
His story changed frequently. One affidavit was given to federal agent E. B. Stone on March 11, 1916; a second on March 20,
1916, to lawyers representing Mamie McKinney; and a third on January 7, 1917, to military authorities. In the March 20, 1916,
affidavit, which is found in the microfilm records of Senator Fall at UNM, he states that both men were stripped nude and
that he didn’t hear McKinney say anything before he was hanged. However, army officials who found McKinney’s body stated that
he was still wearing most of his clothes. In an interview that appeared on March 15, 1916, in the
El Paso Morning Times,
Spencer says, “McKinney first was pulled off the ground by the rope around his neck, and his hands were left free. After
he had been pulled up in the air, the rope was released and quickly pulled again. McKinney threw his hands out and then his
body stiffened. Corbett was choked to death before his body was pulled into the air” (“Dramatic Speech by Villa at Palomas
Incited His Band of Bandits to Murder Americans,”
EPMT,
March 15, 1916).

78 James O’Neal: Affidavit, A. Keeler, June 8, 1916, O’Neal claim.

78 American that Maud saw: J. K. Richardson, interview notes; copy provided to the author by Johnnie Wright.

79 Mexican cowboys: Statement of Sexto Yanez, April 13, 1916, McKinney claim.

80 “A heated discussion”: RO, 28-29.

7. Rumors, Warnings, and Telegrams

81 town had been founded: Speech, Richard Dean, “Founder of Columbus: Colonel A. O. Bailey,” n.d., Dean collection.

82 James Dean: Dean, “Deans Move to Columbus,” 1986-1987, Dean collection.

82 Frost opened a store: Affidavit, Archibald Frost, May 3, 1916, Fall microfilm records, UNM.

83 “He had come”: Roy E. Stivison and Della Mavity McDonnell, “When Villa Raided Columbus,”
New Mexico Magazine,
December 1950, 37, Dean collection.

83 improve Columbus: Ray Sherdell Page,
Columbus, NM: Queen of the Mimbres Valley,
1.

83
Monuments of Egypt:
Ibid., 39.

83 veneer of prosperity: F. Stanley,
The Columbus, New Mexico, Story
(privately printed, 1966), 10-12; available at UNM.

84 home of Captain Rudolph E. Smyser: Craig Smyser, “The Columbus Raid,”
Southwest Review,
Winter 1983, 79, Dean collection.

84 “Many an evening”: Stivison and McDonnell, “When Villa Raided Columbus,” 18.

84 the Commercial Hotel: The information on the hotel, its occupants and guests, comes from statements and exhibits filed
by Laura Ritchie; her testimony before the Fall committee; letters and other documents found in the microfilm records of A.
B. Fall, UNM; and two accounts of the raid by Blanche Ritchie Dorsey, her youngest daughter. One of Blanche’s accounts is
an oral-history interview, conducted by Dr. Marinell Ash on May 2, 1981, and available at the NMSRCA. The other is a firsthand
account, “My Personal Story of the ‘Pancho Villa’ Raid on Columbus, New Mexico, March 9, 1916,”
Password,
Fall 1981, 127-131.

84 El Delgado: Antonio R. Garcez,
Ghosts of Las Cruces and Southern New Mexico
(Santa Fe: Red Rabbit Press, 1996), 239.

85 fifty dollars: Affidavit, Sam Ravel, February 10, 1926, Ritchie claim.

85 Curtains framed: “List of Furniture, Household Goods, and Wearing Apparel,” May 2, 1916, Ritchie claim.

85 warehouse: Affidavit of Louis Ravel, June 29, 1916, Fall microfilm records, UNM.

85 Rachel and John Walton Walker: Affidavit, Mrs. Ben B. Henry (Rachel Walker), May 6, 1936, Walker claim.

86 attended Ohio State University: Letter, Dr. Thomas Crowl to Richard Dean, August 7, 2000, Dean collection. Crowl did
research on Hart and discovered that there was no record of him graduating from Ohio State.

86 “secret agent”: “Son of Mr. and Mrs. Maurice Hart of 940 Neil Ave., and Inspector in Employ of U.S. Dept. of Agriculture,”
Columbus (Ohio) Evening Dispatch,
March 10, 1916, Bouilly collection; “List of Victims Revised,”
NYT,
March 11, 1916.

86 ring: “Colonel’s Wife Weeps for the Dead,”
EPH,
March 13, 1916.

87 Pereyra had volunteered: “Pereyra Shot Near Columbus,”
EPH,
March 16, 1916.

87 Steven Birchfield: Mrs. Ritchie, in her testimony before the Fall committee, identifies the old cattleman as Steven,
but Blanche years later refers to him as Billie. He may have been related to Walter Birchfield, who gave a sworn statement
in 1936 describing the bandits’ depredations on the Palomas ranch.

87 filled with “kibbichers”: Arthur Ravel, autobiography, unpublished typescript, July 13, 1966, 3-A, Dean collection.

87 relationship with the Villistas: Historian John Eisenhower, in his book
Intervention,
says on page 50 that Villa had established a business relationship with Ravel early on: “Villa would steal cattle from wealthy
landowners in northern Chihuahua and drive them up to Columbus. Ravel would then arrange to sell the stolen livestock in the
United States, and Villa would use his share of the proceeds to purchase arms and ammunition.” In numerous interviews, however,
both Arthur and his brother Louis claimed that Sam did not do business with the Villistas. Nevertheless, the documents make
clear that they had some kind of business relationship.

87 “merchandise”: Letter, Sam Ravel to A. B. Fall, August 26, 1914, Fall microfilm records, UNM.

88 Figueroa: Statement of Sam Ravel, July 28, 1914, Fall microfilm records, UNM.

88 dashing figure: Dorsey, “My Personal Story,” 127.

88 “He still continues”: Letter, Sam Ravel to Attorney General, August 26, 1914, Fall microfilm records, UNM.

88 forcibly entering: “Villa Agents Sue Luna County Men for $10,000,”
EPH,
October 19, 1914.

89 “Chivalry, courtesy, hospitality”: Tompkins,
Chasing Villa,
191.

89 seventy-five million dollars: Christine Mulhearn, “Women in Philanthropy: Mrs. Russell Sage (Margaret Olivia Slocum),
1828-1918” (case study, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, 2000), 3.

89 “improvement of social”: “Russell Sage Foundation Records,” Rockefeller Archive Center, http://archive.rockefeller.edu/collections/nonrockorgs/sage.php.

89 eight million dollars: “Colonel Slocum Leaves $2,000,000 Estate to Kin and Friends,” newspaper clipping, April 8, 1928.
Copies of this clipping and numerous other documents and letters involving Herbert Slocum were graciously made available to
the author by Slocum’s great-granddaughter, Lynn Rivard.

89 gave away more: Letter, Slocum to Son, July 5, 1917, courtesy Lynn Rivard.

89 “Be constant”: Letter, Slocum to Teddy, November 8, 1917, courtesy Lynn Rivard.

90 lackluster student: “Official Register of Officers and Cadets,” U.S. Military Academy, 1873-1876, courtesy Lynn Rivard.

90 “His rag tail outfit”: Letter, H. S. Slocum to Benjamin McAlpin, December 1, 1925, courtesy Lynn Rivard.

90 Slocum participated: “Service in Army,” n.d., courtesy Lynn Rivard.

91 “greasers”: “Memorandum,” in War Department General Staff, “Report of Investigation of Raid on Columbus, New Mexico,
by Pancho Francisco Villa and Fellow Bandits,” NARA, RG 165, Records of the War Department General Staff, Office of the Chief
of Staff, Correspondence, 1907-1917, Report No. 13137, box 138 (hereafter cited as “Investigation of Raid”). Colonel Slocum
twice refers to Antonio Múñez as a “half breed” in his interview with Lucien Berry, an inspector with the Punitive Expedition.