The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1916-05-11
VILLA IN HIS GLORY.
Picture of the Bandit When Things
Were His Way.

we were dWdheueu Ill lOIieou w
shouts of "Viva Villa!" and the music
of a military band blaring snatches
of syncopation la Irving Berlin, in
terspersed with Spanish Fandango.
The generals car was opposite ours
on the next track. Charlie Chaplin
couldn't have drawn bigger crowd.
Long lines of cavalry were passing
our windows. The men were mount
ed on horses that looked as if their
ancestors were veterans of the cross
town car service. In their packs the
men carried everything from kindling
wood to babies.
Pancho Villa received us amid the
click of typewriters in his office, an
observation car. He wore a gray
sweater that looked as if it might be
the survivor of a hard football sea-
son. No tailor's iron had ever play
ed tag with the creases in his trous-
eers.
! He spoke no English. His eyes
were the eyes of a splendid animal,
the pupils dilating and contracting
constantly as do the pupils in the
eyes of a panther. When he was in
troduced he said nothing for at least
a minute. He looked through the
back of your eyes, the leaping flames
in his own blazing black eyes SEEM
ing to test the metal of your mind.
He told us he never drank liquor
it was the sleeping sickness of a
mans soul. He wanted to lfberate
the poor peon, he said, to drag him
from between the millstones where
he was being ground in abject slav-
cry by the hands of wealth and pow
,er. He had no education. He could
write his own name, but if you stop
ped him in the middle of it he had
to begin all over again. Would we
like to see his bathroom?
Now this bathroom was the par
ticular pride and pet of the man who
might have conquered Mexico. 1t
was one of the half dozen bathrooms
in captivity in the entire, country, If
Z observation and persistent search
!. count for anything. We said we'd
have to be shown.
So we were led through several
cars comprising the generals suite,
!. to box car in the rear of the train.
One-half of this car was partitioned
off into a sort of ante-room to the
bath.
The piece de resistance of this
lounge was brass bed such as finds
favor in the more ornate of the Har-
lem fats. Over it was spread a
piece of fringed yellow and silver
4 satin brocade, peon in loveliness.
Scattered over the brocade were a
number of hand embroidered slumber
pillows with edgings and insertions of
real lace. Nothing like the old ban
dit days in the mountains with a,gun
for pillow, this. 'For my siesta, .
explained Gen. Villa, indicating the
brocade.
It seems that right after the big
/ boss had his bath, which was in the
middle of the day, it was his wont to
stretch himself out for snack OF
sleep. 1t really is most worthy Gus
tom, the siesta, one we leave too long
overlooked.
The other half of the car boasted a
white porcelain tub, a shower and
hot and cold water. Gen. Villa turn
ed on the faucets himself and made
us feel the water to prove he wasn't
romancing. Arross the end of the
s car was pianola. The pianola is not
considered bathroom requisite, even
i in the most modern metropolitan
apartment, but the general had his
own ideas about fixtures.
.sI borrowed three of them," he ex-
planned, waving his hand toward the
mahogany masterpiece. II kept the
best one and gave the two others
/ away"
Here allow me to explain the sig
nificance of the word borrow as
here used. When there is battle in
z Mexico the victors go into the town
and grab anything they want. OF
course the general gets the pick of
the plunder, the men taking what Is
left in order of their rank. This is
called borrowing
From Torreen to Monterey we
travelled mostly on the floor of the
cars to avoid collision with any Car
rama bullets that might wander
Paredon three of the men of the par
through the car windows. From
ty went to Saltillo to governors s
banquet. They spent an entire day,
paging neckties for themselves, final