The silver state. [volume] (Winnemucca, Nev.) 1909-1925, 1912-04-20
OROzCO, THE
MEXICAN REBEL

a iCecht PiCso uiSpdtCH gives tn
following account of Orozco, the Mexi
can rebel leader: While most of tn,
other military personages Of the tw,
revolutions have permitted their per
sonalities, views and daily movement!
to become subject matter for the pen
ellis and typewriters of the correspond
ents with considerable freedom, tn,
most interesting figure of them all al
the present moment is at the same
time one of the least known either
in Mexico or out That is Pascua
Orozco, the fighting head of the pres
ent revolution as well as of that of 9
year ago.
Orozco is lean, angular mar
whose personality is redolent of the
camp and the hills and not at all OF
the council chamber Of state nor OF
the drawing room. Outside his own
particular circle there are not many
who know even how old he is. 1t il
a moral certainty that he can "hog
tie' steer quickly and artistically
that he can throw a diamond hitch on
pack animal and that when he
speaks he is in the habit of receiving
respectful attention.
For Mexican he is large man
A life in the deserts and mountains
of the north has tanned him with a
parchment finish and has bequeathed
him the loose figure that looks a good
deal better on horseback than on the
ground. His hair and mustaehe are
! black and the latter droops from un
restrained habit. His photographs
show him slightly stopped, and look
ing straight at the camera as if more
interested in it than in the results OF
the snapshot.
What he thinks, what he intends tC
do become apparent chiefly in his ac
tions. Not that he has the reputation
of being morose or silent, for his men
seem to think him an ideal leader; but
he has never courted publicity in any
of his campaigns. He had been fight
ing in the Madero revolution last wear
several months before the reporters
found out what his name was and be-
gan putting him in the news. The cap
ture of Juarez early in May, 1911, less
than year ago, brought him into pub
lie view. President Madero had been
busy and conspicuous with his organi
zation of a provisional government
way from Washington to the interior
of his own country; but Orozco had
been doing most of the fighting.
Twice since then Orozco has beer
in Mexico City He came first to per
the palace on the day of his inaugura
ton in September He came agair
quietly last February on persona
4 l,,o
! In a period of little over veal
Pascual Orozco has removed himself
from his rather humble station Of
being the trusty man who could bt
/ given the responsibility of conveying
a packtrain of valuable ore through
| the mountains to Chihuahua city, tc
a position where he expects to make
or unmake presidents. So far as any
body knows there are no heraldic sym
bols of Spanish nobility anywhere uI
the Orozco family tree. Men who
used to know him in Chihuahua when
with revolver and rifle he took
charge of his own pack train and de
| livered ore through country where
his main business was to watch out fol
and keep off bandits in Chihuahua
say that in those days he had difficulty
in reading anything that was not sci
in clear type. But he prospered in q
material wav and was far from being
poor when he took up the revolution
ary cause. His claim against the
Madero government for personal ser
vices and expense incurred by himself
and father, who is now a colonel under
his command. amounted to $50,00t
gold. The assertion that only hall
that amount was allowed has been re
ported to have done much to wean hin
away from the Madero interests.
1t is probable that feeling that h,
himself "made' Madero, and that h,
has not been pleased with his owl
handiwork, is responsible for his pres
ent revolutionary activity. He ha
evidently come to the conclusion tha
his own ideas on important subjects
are about as sound as ANYBODY else =
and he has thus far kept himself in I,
relation to the revolution where hi
ideas will have to be considered in tn,
event of successful outcome
He has developed rapidly as fac
tor in Mexican revolutionary polite,
and it is the very possibility that hi
development is yet incomplete tha
makes his personality particularly in
/ teresting. He has made his revolution
so substantial an affair that it is hare
TO believe that he, himself, will b,
obliterated, even though the move
ment may be suppressed. He is &
young man with an undoubted ability
for leadership, and with the taste OF
authority he has enjoyed it is not like
ly that he will permit himself to bt
retired to private life even if he
should be persuaded to compromise
with the government upon politica
differences.