, j THE STANDARD OGDEN, UTAH, JUNE 1914. H
To Leadership Through Vengeance I
j Pancho Villa,
an Insignifi
cant Farmer's
Son, Slew
Powerful
Neighbor,
Who
Wronged
Sister, Thus
Making Him
self a Hero
Pancho Villa, flret general of the
Constitutionalists under Carranza,
i was not always a leader of men.
Fifteen years ago he was a sturdy
: young farmer In the fertile valley at
the foot of the hills which surround
Torreon.
He was the son ot an Insignificant
i farmer and It never occurred to him
that some day he would ne more
talked of than the King of England.
He did not know then he would bo
called upop by newspaper photo
graphers from every big dally of the
United States and by the moving
picture men of the world All he
knew about was farming.
Villa Is unlettered. His educa
tion was limited even for a Mexi
can, but Villa had some great Ideas
about right and wrong and he
loved his listers moro than most
men love their sisters. On day
something happened to Villa' sis
ter which threw the name of the
f honest family of farmers into dis
grace. Other families have hung
their heads in shame and have
closed themselves to the world.
Villa was not that kind. The
story, as told throughout all North
west Mexico, is that Francesco Villa,
but better known as Pancho Villa,
was changed in a minute from the
humble farmer supporting his po..r
fnther and mother: into the hero of
w v his part of Mexico. The "unwritten
! law." which has played nn Impor
tant part In many murder trials of
the United States, has lone been re
spected In Mexico. In the early days
when Cortes landed In Mexico with
his valiant fighting men, the un
written law was transplanted to the
it American shores. Men who mar
ried Indians of that land saw to It
that their honor was above all else
U In the world, and they would give
their lives rather than bo found
lacking in defense of the women of
BJ their homes.
Villa was a Mexican of the Mexi
cans It was his duty to support the
honor of his two sisters.
Young Villa loved his sisters dear
ly. Both of them were extremely
beautiful Mexican girls. The Villa
girls were popular with the neigh
boring young ranchers, who sought
Jthem as company on long gallops
over the roads through the woods
adjoining Torreon.
There was a certain young magl9-
trate In Torreon whom Villa dls
M liVed Intensely. Word came to
1
"Pancho" that this magistrate was
I seen ogling his elder sister. Later
Villa detected the pair in a clandes
tine meeting.
In a rage he ordered his sister
home and threatened the magistrate
with death. That night, upon his
arrival at the ranch house, young
"Pancho" commanded his sister to
cense her friendship with the magis
trate The senorila's eyes filled with
tears. She had become Infatuated
with the wealthy young man.
At the morning meal next day
the cider sister was missing. A
search of the house failed to reveal
her. "PanchO" was worried. Ho
discovered then that the magistrate,
too, had dlsapeared The pair hid
eloped. Tho brother's rage knew no
bounds and at once ho girded him
self for pursuit.
GOES TO HOME
OF PRIEST FOB AID.
He galloped madly to the homo
of n prkst whom he knew.
"Get your horse and come with
me." were the only words "Pancho"
spoke to tho priest. Tho priest
obeyed.
In silence they rode off Into the
hills, where Tllla was confident his
sister and tho young magistrate had
gone. An hour before nightfall they
struck the elopers' trail. Pushing
on. despite darkness, "Pancho" and
the priest came upon the couple In
a camp.
Villa said no word, but drew his
revolver. It was a dramatic scene.
"Pancho" turned t.. the prleit
"Marry them!" he ordered sharp-
A flourish of Villa's revolver
caused him to comply
There, in the dark of nlcht. in the.
hills hlah above Torreon. the mar
riage was solemnized. Within ten
minutes from the time Francesco
Villa's sister became the young mag
istrate's lrldc she becamo his widow.
Scarcely had the ceremony been
said when Villa stepped between his
sister and the magistrate. Again he
turned to the priest.
-Make ready a death warrant!"
he ordered, grimly.
Tho churchman would have re
fused, but young "Pancho's" revol
ver made him obey. Seizing the
prints leather-bound book. Villa
coolly wrote the words that spelled
death for his sister's abductor. The
magistrate, a new husband, fell
dead.
Villa ordered the priest to take
his sister home. He galloped off
Into the darkness. His career as a
bandit bepan.
For fourteon years Villa was a
hunted man, lie roamed the moun
tain and desert, pursued bv Diaz's
relentless rurolcs He had manv
narrow escapes. Ho fought them
back fiercely and was often wound
ed. PEONS MIKLTPK
VILLA FROM SOLDIERS.
Even then he was a hero among
the peons. They gave him shelter
ond food when they could
When It was too dangerous to live
tinder a roof, ho mado his home n
the mountain cAVes, When he dared
not appear where food was plentl
ful. ho stole It. When he needed
money he held up people who had
It. When he needed meat, he ran
off n steer.
And ao tho years passed until the
Mndero rebellion began. Villa want
ed to he a rebel, and ho did take
some Dart n th first revolution.
Once ho was captured and was in
Jail for a time while Mudcro was
i 'resident
But his fame as a leader and gen
ernl has nil como within the last
year. ilo was In El Paso when
Hueita became dictator, and he de
termined to take tho field as a guer
rilla chieftain against the usurping
president.
With .lx companions he crossed
Into Mexico. In a week he had 100
men under him. In a month he had
00. Then the disoatches in Amerl-
; (
can papers began to tell about him
r-e.boUt hlH raids In Northern Mexi
co and his defeat of Federal troops.
Presently, rallying about him a
great number of rebels, In addition
to his troop of raiders, he began a
series of open and concerted attacks.
He was uniformly successful.
His first conspicuous success was
the capture of Juarez. It was con
spicuous because Juarez Is across the
river from El Paso, Tex
Quickly arranging the orderly ad
ministration of Juarez as a rebel
A T top Pancho Villa re
viewing his troops.
Lower let t Villa leading
his command. Lower cen
ter Villa in uniform. Low
er right Villa's archers be
fore Torreon.
city, he gathered his soldiers to
gether and fell like a thunderbolt on
a superior force of Federals who
were leisurely coming up to Juarez
to hang him, and utterly routed
them at La Mesn.
Before they could rally he
marched straight for Chihuahua, in
their rear and took this city.
He was quick as a cat. and hta
rapid movements dismayed the
Blow-going Federals. They retreat
ed across n desert to the city of
Ojlnaga, on the Rio Grande Villa
sent a subordinate to beat thorn.
The subordinate fought the Federals
for a week, but failed. Villa hur
ried to the spot and defeated them
In nn afternoon and an evening.
Villa fought bravely under Ma
dero during the Madero rebellion
With nearly 1.000 men he came to
Maderos ramp and offered hla
services. The men were for the
most part bandits, violators of the
laws of Diaz Villa saluted Madero
and swore eternal fealty to him.
Aftr Huerta'l men killed Mi
dero. Villa flew to arms Hp swore
he would kill Huerta as he had
killed the man who wronged his sis
ter. Villa Is not an educated mon. He
can hardly write his own name.
Yet he has qualities of leadership
Which appeal to the Mexican. When
Madero attacked Juarez It was Vil
la who led the fightintr His men
attacked the rlty before Madero
gave the order. Madero was not
rendv. He sent messengers to re
call Villa. Villa could not he found.
He was too near the front.
History In IdveHtaenitnta
Thomas Jefferson once said there
was nothing true In the newspaper
except the advertisement.", and any
delver Into local history who has had
occasion to pore over the riles In the
public library, or in the New York
Historical Society, will admit that
the advertisements are the motl In
teresting part of the paper Moro
real Information regarding the man
ners and customs of the people, their
modes of travel, the things they ate
and wo.-e, the books they read and
l
their amusements Is to be found In
the advertising columns than in J
those parts of the paper devoted to
what ffti termed news in those days.
Th- ed of the New York Ga- j
zette and Weekly Post Boy of No
vember 21, 17 4. said that he feared !
to publish news of local Interest for
fear his readers should tell him that
they already knew it.
"In this dearth of news." he say,
if we poor newswriters happen to
add anything of our own we are gen-
erally soon whipped up or blamed
for making free with other people's I
affairs. Indeed some of us have
lately Informed the public of strange
news and then added: Good news, If
true, but no grounds to believe it.
Thn he launches Into a complaint
against the Increasing high cost of
living, which shows that the dlfflcul
tle.s of the present day were not un
know n to the residents of New York
more than a century and a half
"All the common necessities of life ;
In this city," says the Now York Ga
zette editor, "continue to grow so
dear, as must soon Impoverish our
poor citizens' pockets unless they
have better means to supply them
than we have. Firewood Is $7.75 to
$S.50 a cord: butter 25 cents to 28
cents per pound, and flour so doar
that It Is a shame to mention."
It was several years after the es
tahlishment of newspapers In Amer
lea before advertising In them be-
came popular. John Campbell, the !
poatmaater of Boston, who. in 1704,
starte.l the Boston News Letter, the
fust real newspaper In this country.
had croat difficulty in persuading hla
neighbors to advertise their wareat
William Bradford and Peter Zenger,
In this city, wore no more fortunate
in the early years of their newspaper
publications, and even Benjamin
Franklin, for many years after he
began publishing the Pennsylvania I
Gazette, found his advertising col
umns very meagre.
One learns from these early adver
tlslng columns about negro slaverj
In New York. Philadelphia and Bos
fon. In 1T33 the Now York Gazette
advertises:
A likely negro girl for town or
country: has had the smallpox. She
is about 15 years old. Also to be
sold, sundry drugs and medicine by
John Hnggs over against tho meat
market.
Reenied I.Ike Homo. j
Little Lester, traveling on the Con- H
tinent with his mother, grew tired of
hearing nothing but French and J
German, etc., .spoken. One morning, J
hearing a rooster's cock-a-doodlo-40,
ha exclaimed: "Thank goodnes. 1
There's something that speaks Ena J
Ush. anyway