Evening star., 1912-09-15
Women Do the Cooking.

"A Mexican army always has its camp
| followers, and wagon loads Of these
| greasy, dirty, repulsive women come into
camp in the wake of the fighting men. A
| Mexican soldier will wait long time
| for the arrival of the women before he
will condescend to cook a meal for him.
| self. AS soon as the wagons lumber in
| the women jump down, light fires and get
| their tin buckets of frijoles boiling, and
| slap the tortillas on hot fiat stone to
! cook. Beans and corn form the entire
| menu of a Mexican soldier and he is per-
| fectly satisfied if he has plenty, and a
| woman at hand to prepare them. These
| camp followers are a wild lot. and as
| active as men. / shall never forget see
| ing: them make their escape after the bat
| tie of Casas Grande. Most of the men
| lay dead on the field, ano these women
| caught frightened, riderless horses as
| they pranced about leaped astirde and
/ galloped away, their coarse black hair
| flying in the wind.
With Madero's army was band of
| midgets that had come down from the
mountains Little dark fellows who wore
| nothing except breechcloth and san
dalS. They We're under five feet IN
| height and usually acted as messengers
and couriers When one was sent out
| with message he would place the paper
| in his sandal and start out kicking rub
ber ball ahead of him as he ran. As long
| as he can kick the ball in advance of
| him he can keep running. He kicks the
| ball to attain speed, as keeping his mind
intent on the ball concentrates all his
force upon the running. When / saw
| the midgets in battle they carried the
| rifles provided them, but still retained
their bows and arrows.
1.-The first disturbances came through
| the demand of the Mexican people for the
| ballot The elections had always been
controlled through the military and jeffe
politicos who had been appointed from
| the personal friends of DiaZ and sent
from the City of Mexico with ample force
| to carry out the law in the rurales-the
troops which were the iron law of Mexico.
Madero Started Campaign.
THE campaign had been started by
Madero against the Diaz regime. Madero
published a book, which he was trying
| to circulate, and also had issued thou
sands of little fiiers on thin tissue paper.
| Though prohibited by the Diaz govern
ment, these fiiers were widely distributed
| by means of teamsters and freighters, as
| they are called. They would carry the
| fiers in their belts or slip them into the
soles of their sandals, where ten or tif-
teen could he concealed. This method
Of campaigning progressed in every di-
| rection until the whole country was ring
| ing with Madero's manifestos.
Before the election Madero was ar
rested and put in Jail at San Luis
Potos The Madero family live in
Coahuila They own about eight million
| acres of land-rubber and cotton .planta-
tions and cotton mills. At the time
| the revolution started this property was
! in the hands of the grandfather of Fran
| cisco Madero.
| "On election day I was in one of the
large cities, Parral, in Chihuahua. Three
| or four days after the election every
body was talking Madero, and the cleo
| ton lists were being posted around town.
| A voter had the right to come and place
| his name and address under the name
| of Madero or Diaz. These lists did not
/ attempt to contain the names of all the
| qualified voters. Three days before the
| election about 800 rurales came into
| Parral with a band and marched up to
| the Church of the Guadeloupe, going into
| camp in the churchyard. Next day about
| 100 more followed. The day before cleo
| ton another 100 arrived. They paraded
| the streets to let the town know what
they were doing, and the Maderistas be-
i came too badly frightened to attempt to
| vote.
| Next morning the polls We're opened in
the office of the jeffe politico in the mu-
| nicipaI building. There he had arranged
n long table. on which We're piled numer-
| Gus documents and books. He marched
| in the rurales. who formed an ominOus
line on each side of the table, and then
the jeffe announced: The polls are ready