El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1913-11-18
VILLA DENIES Wholesale EXECUTIONS
OFFEDERALS; REFUSES VICTIMS NAMES
Juan Medina Accompanies Ell Pasoan to Prison. to Hopi
tails and Elsewhere Over the City, Admits Execu-
lions of II Men, But Declines to Furnish
Their Names and the Reason for Kill
ing the risoners.
ing the 2 risoners.
BY EDWARD. L. TINKER

suave manner. and all the earmarks Of
a diplomat
Admits II Executions.
Medina stated that only II men, up
to the present time had been ordered
shot since the battle; that, of these,
nine were federal officers who had
been captured in other engagements
and had been either parOled or had
Joined the "Constitutionalists' and af-
forwards deserted and returned to the
federals, and that the military laws
of any country IN warfare would con-
tenance the execution of these men;
that the other two were citizens of
Juarez not belonging to the federal
army, who were captured with guns in
their hands actively engaged in resist
ing the "COnstitutiOnalist" army on its
entrance into Juarez.
Refuses to Give List.
I asked Medina TO give me a list OF
the II men executed, with. the reason
for their execution He refused to do
this, taking the attitude that these men
were eXecued properly under military
law, and that an official list of the
names, and the reasons for execution,
could not add to his statement
Medina then stated ''tO show you
that these stories of wholesale execu-
lions are unfOunded, I viii take you to
the prison" There, in the first court
yard, were drawn up about 80 of the
volunteers who had fought in the. de-
fence Of Juarez, and IN room along
side were 50 federal soldiers.
Prisoners Properly Fed.
Medina returned to the men and said:
Have you been properly fed?'
They all salUted and answered,
Yes
Have you been fltreated in any
Have you been lined up against a
wall and shot2"
p He was answered by the. men with
chorus of NO, senior"
Several of the men then approached
Medina and said that they were sick
and he Immediately ordered that they
be sent to the hospital for treatment.
Takes Uniforms From Federals.
Medina again addressed the prison
ers and said: All Of you men who
want to Join the ConstitutiOnalists
men did this, but the rest remained
where they were. Medina told them
their uniforms would be taken away
from them and they would be provided
with serviceable overalls in their place,
and that they would then be free on
their promise not to take up arms
again against the 'COnstitutiOnalists,
and could come to the American side
to get work with the railroads How
ever" he said: you are all known,
and II any Of you are ever found again
in the federal army, you viii be shot
on sight"
We then started to leave the bar
racks and as we did so an old Mexican
woman rushed 10 Medina. weeping She
was Sonora SOstensia Duran, and with
implOring hands and streaming eyes,
she begged the release OF her son,
Gutierrez, who, three months before,
had been impressed in the federal
service. Just then she caught sight OF
her sons face through the bars in the
prison, and, with a cry of joy, ran to-
wards him. Medina Immediately or
dered Gutierrez to be released, and
after the sonora had promised Medina
that she would pray the Virgin that
blessings would be heaped on his head,
the mother and son left happily to-
gether.
Visit to Hospitals.
We then went to a house, No. SO Gale
Minas, which hae been turned into a
hospital. There were II wounded there,
four federals and seven Constitution
aliSts." Mrs. Fuer, a trained nurse
from FL PasO, was assisting in taking
care Of them From there We rode up
to Hospital Libertad, where we found
all the rest Of the wounded Every
thing possible was being done for
them, and the Mexicans could not
speak highly enough Of the services Of
Dr. Felix Miller, of FL Paso, who has
been the only American doctor to de-
vote his time and services to the
wounded in Juarez since the battle and
has been performing all the major
operations for them In all, there are