The Bemidji daily pioneer. [volume] (Bemidji, Minn.) 1904-1971, 1912-05-10
SCARED The GARRISON.
MOVING PICTURE CAMERA IN
MEXICO STARTED PANIC.
Soldiers Thought It Machine Gun
and Were overjoyed When tho
American Photographer Made
a.. Clear Their Mistake.

An American camera man recently
ventured into Mexico to take some
pictures of Mexican scenery, together
with a parade of a Mexican regiment.
Mistaking him for an insurrecto about
to start another revolution by turning
machine gun on them, several hun
dred Mexican soldiers, comprising the
garrison at Tia Juana, broke ranks
while on dress parade and ran in
Biography. F
Officers joined the privates in get
ting behind buildings and trenches.
and the regimental bugler had hardly
sounded the call to arms to repel the
attack of the supposed invaders when
the moving picture man, now thor
oughly frightened himself, tucked his
machine under one arm and started
to run for the boundary line. He had
gained the outskirts of the town when
a Mexican officer ventured to snatch
a look from his hiding place and, see
ing the ground clear, ordered charge
with fixed bayonets. It took consider
able prodding, however, to get the
privates back into the ranks and the
military formation. 4
The frightened operator was over
hauled by mounted men, dragged back
into town and taken before the COM
manding officer. The enraged sol'
diers wanted to make q target out OF.
him then and there. but the officers
prevailed upon them to let the regular
military law take its course. The NOV
ing picture machine was carefully ia.
ken apart and searched for explosives.
The camera man pleaded with the Of
ficers to let him 60. He explained to
the Mexicans that he was not a Till.
buster nor soldier of fortune; that
he was only working for living. He
went through a pantomime with the
aid of sheet on the wall to show the
soldiers how pictures are taken for
the n1ckelodeons in the United States.
, Then a great light burst upon the
intelligence of the commander in
chief. He rapidly interpreted his dis:
covery to his fellow officers and his
privates. The moving picture man
stood distrustfully by, not quite sure
that he had yet made himself plain.
The soldiers were SO overjoyed at
the fact that they were to have been
sent down into posterity by the NOV.
ing picture route that the man was
ordered to take their picture without
fear of interruption. A brief exam1na.
ton, however, convinced the moving
picture man that he could never &C.
compl1sh the fact; but he feared to
arouse the ire of the Mexicans, so he
went through the motions Of taking
a real picture, while the soldiers
marched back and forth within his
range, drilled, fixed their bayonets,
charged upon imaginary foes, pitched
their tents and went through every de-.
tail of war life in Mexico. Il
His arms were aching from turning
the crank of his broken machine, and
he would have ordinarily used up sew.
eral miles of film, when the regiment
came to attention and the commander
stepped to the front and proudly dotted
his cap. ~.
That was the end. The picture man
was loaded down with cigarettes and
cigars and presented with a silk scarf
by one of the officers. He refused an
invitation to dine and hurried with
an escort of honor to the boundary
line, the men insisting on carrying hls
machine for him. 1