El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1914-02-24

without any provocation whatever. Then
after the taking Of chihuahua in combi-
{ nation with the above named Individuals,
Z and. according to his own confession, he
appropriated more than 1000 head of cattle
{ which did not belong to him and, further
more the day he came to see me, he at
4 tempted to cowardly assassinate me For
! tunateIy, L anticipated his movement and
! disarmed him. All these motives, and es-
I cIally the last named one, forced me TO act
/ severely against Benton WltnOuL taxing into
3 consideration the fact that he was for
eigner, for there are crimes Whlch DO not
4 wish to leave uupunsheu- therefore he
I was executed with all justice and I am
disposed to give account OF the execution
to the entire world Please make the
above declaration to MI CaroIhers and to
inv ----'-- -''--' General in Chief,
Francisco Villa
The rebel cOnsel furnished a copy
of the message to G. B. CarOthers,
representative of the Z. S. State de-
Partment in FL Paso.
Benton English Citizen.
Benton was not a Mexican citizen.
Mrs. Benton has the Spanish deed to
the hacienda Los Remedies which was
executed before notary public in
Chihuahua and which mas statement
in the body of the document which
reads; "SenOr Benton accepts TINS doc
ument, testifying that he claims his
English nationality" Mrs. Benton also
denies that Benton ever held office of
any kind in Mexico and that he ever
Mexican citizen
Mrs. Benton has no more information
regarding the body Of her husband and
no replies have been received from Villa
in answer to the requests for the body
to be delivered to relatives on this side
of the river
Charles A S. PercevaI, British consul
at Galveston, has not yet arrived in FL
PasO and is not expected until Wednes-
day, when he win make an investga- /
ton Of the entire affair.
Rebel Agents Busy.
Rebel agents are frequently to be
met with in public places, vOlubly (
explaining what a hot tempered man (
Benton was Their favOrite story is /
that Benton, in the Foreign club at
Chihuahua once asserted holly that he
wished his skin were darker so that
he would not be mistaken for a
damned gringO." This story is true
It occurred a year ago and resulted
in a formal fist fight between Benton
and Phil Mclaughlin, then a resident /
in Chihuahua The pair returned from
the field Of battle on friendly foot
ing, nor did these occasional out
feet the real friendship which the
Americans felt for him because Of his
known integrity and blunt honesty.
His Word Good.
'I have loaned Benton as high as
$4,000 without the scratch Of a PEN
related an American well known in |
Mexico today, but now among the ref |
Ugees here.
At Chihuahua it is said Villa is at !
tempting to find in the court records !
something to show that Benton had I
become a Mexican citizen, but his 4
cousin, William Benton, in this city,said /
today that Benton was very careful to /
maintain his status as a British subject |
and that in a numer Of legal papers, |
he was scrupulous to have this fact
sent forth
Was Body Burnedg 7
A report was brought from Juarez |
Tuesday by Mexicans, who claim to /
have seen BentOn's body buried in a /
shallow grave in the back Of the Ochoa /
house, after shot was heard in Villas /
office. That night, they say, they no /
-iced a stencil as if flesh was being /
burned The OdOr came from the Vi l
entity of the Ochoa home, they say, /
and it is believed by them that Ben
-on's body was burned by Villas SOL !
Tiers to destroy evidence Of how he 4
net his death.
Rebel Adviser Here.
Luis Cabrera, one Of the most prom
nent attorneys connected with the
COuSututiOnaliSt' movement and min
ster of foreign affairs in the cabinet
# Gen. VenustianO Carranza, is here
rom Washington, D. C., where he has /
Deen lobbying for some weeks in an
fort to secure the raising Of the en-
.argo on arms and ammunition. Rebel
in FL PasO say that it
vas mainly through the work OF Mr..
'abrera that the embargo was lifted. {
,ol. Medina is also here.
Come Because of Benton Case.
The delicate situation arising from |
he execution last week in Juarez of /
William S. Benton, English citizen. con-
icted of attempting to take Villas /
ife by use of arms, is said to have {
allied Cabrera to FL PasO. He will
emain here until the arrival of Car
ANA from Sonora and it is said that