Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1915-08-22

set in a maze of tiny wrinkles: a
square. stern jaw, a close-clipped light
brown mustache over Scotch-lrisn
mouth-these are things that impress
the observer.
There is a deliberateness of manner
and speech about him that betoken the
and bravery He looks like one who is
afraid of nothing on earth-and they
say in Texas that he is just that sort
of man. Also he looks like one VINO
would be n dangerous opponent in
poker game.
x *
His father was lawyer at Austin
and was justice of the state supreme
court for many years. His great-grand
father, William p Duval, was a lead
ing figure in the early history of the
country. being representative in Con-
gress from Kentucky 100 years ago
and later territorial governor Of
Florida under the administrations of
Presidents Monroe, Adams and Jack
son. migrating afterward to Texas.
1t was this old Gov. Duval who, ideal
lied. was the original Ralph Ringwood
of Washington Irving's tale, for the
governor and Irving were fast friends.
Duval West at seventeen, after at
tending a military academy in his
home town for time, determined that
he had all the education he needed
w
plains country and became a cowboy.
All his life he had known Mexicans,
living as he did so near to the border,
but in the COW country he got to know
more about them.
After time his cousin. Tom Greene,
son of the famous Gen. Tom Greene of
the Confederate army, engaged him
along with a number OF other cowboys
to go down to the Greene ranch in the
state of Coahuila. Mexico, to handle
his herds of the Bar brand.
Three years Duval West worked at
this job. getting far down into the state
his employment. and getting some
more angles on the Mexican. But
being cowpuncher palled SO he re-
turned to Texas. where he became
trict court at San Antonio This was
in 1888. when he was twenty-one years
old
After year and a half of this he
became chief deputy United States
marshal. in which position he acquired
reputation as first-class fighting
man. But he left all this to go to
cumberland Law School at Lebanon.
his diploma in his hand he hurried
back to San Antonio and became as
sistant United States district attnrney
IN the same court where he had served
as deputy clerk and deputy marshal
This particular court has much to do
with the making of Duval West and
fitting him for the task of helping
settle the future of Mexico. Being near
the international line, which line is
fringed on both sides with a Mexican
popula ton. the court has chiefly to do
with Mexicans.
Smuggling and cattle running across
the line and things of that sort make
up most of the courts business. Span
ish Is all but the official language
there. In nine cases out of ten an in
terpreter is sworn as matter of course
at the beginning of the trial
Now, the bandits and smugglers and
cattle and horse runners who make up
the people with which that court dealt
in Mr.. Vests day are of precisely the
same class from which so many revo-
lutionary generals and leaders and
rank and file of armies" in Mexico
have come in recent years. The cattle
running band of a while ago has be-
come one of the many revolutionary
armies of oday.
The Panchos and the Manuels and the
Juans with whom Mr.. West, as clerk
and marshal and district attorney, had
to deal in the old days, whose mental
processes he had to study, whose man