The sun., 1919-04-20
GENERAL CARRANZA, 50
PRESIDENT e| MEXICO. U.s..
An American Under Fire During Villa
Raid Sees Mexican Treachery
and Weak Morale

was a. prisoner No explanation was
offered to my demand for one. except
ct must see the General" In vain
! I asked to send word to a friend Mt
the hotel What 1 was charged with.
or how long I should be detained, 1
| could not surmise.
A crowd now surGed In through the
entrance. On all sides heard cries
of exhultation. TN Villista.' In the
centre of the crowd I beheld little
7 boy He did not look over twelVe-he
! colld not have been over fourteen.
His face was green with fear. HIS
| clothes had been torn OFF and he held
| the remnants of a cotton shirt against
| his body. Clotted blood showed where
he had been wounded in the leg, ana
! though supported on either SIDE ne
/ walked with difficulty and great pain
! He had been with the Nillista FORCES
| in the fight the day before, whether
( by force or choice l could not know
| His wound prevented his escape and
| he lay in field twenty-four hours
| before discovered. He was questioned
and then taken out and shot. What
ever fear l had for myself vanished
| at sight of this child.
The gallant young officer l had hrst
asked for permission TO enter the
| Quartet happened in. l at once de-
manded to see the General ana TO
know why I was detained. He treated
| me with cold reserve, but he was what
| all MeXicans are-polite. lnstinctlvely
courteous themselves. they respond to
| IL In others. He led me to the Cen
| erals room, but not into n, for his
orderly said he was engaged. For two
| hours I stood outside that door wait
ing for the first opportunity TO enter
Through the open door Of the Cen
erals anteroom I saw the body of
dead Captain In dress uniform. on the
! tagging to my left lay the body or the
boy l had seen killed on the roof above
my room. Suddenly the guard who
had blocked my egress beckoned me
and told me | was at liberty 70 depart.
Outside 7 found the American to whom
I had tried TO send word OF my pre-
dIcament. A Mexican who had seen
me with him about the hotel had casu-
ally asked him what l was In Tor
! Nv friend, fortunately, was an old
! resident in Mexico, knew everybody
was we'll liked and held responsible"
position. His influence secured my re-
| lease.
We walked over to Jimenc2 TO see
what had happened there during the
fight. On the way we passed an at
tractive looking house, with nowering
patio glimpsed through the doorway
A mother. her sister, two daughters
and a baby had resided there. Their
name was Gonzales. The daughter,
the mother of the baby. had married
a Carranzista officer who had been
killed in battle some months ago. Villa
| had formerly been on friendly terms
with this family. but the marriage OF
the daughter to n Carranzista officer
was an objectionable offence, an
affront I ohm that called for revenge.
While his trusted lieutenant Martin
Lopez was leading the fight at the
station Villa entered this pretty house
II was said that with his own pistol
he killed tho entire family. baby and
ALL Throwing them into a vehicle, he
ordered the uncle OF the girl. who was
reported TO have Witnessed the tragedy
to drive them TO the cemetery, where
they were inferred in shallow trench
When we arrived at the plaza collins
| OF three men who had been shot down
the day before were being carried into
the church for funeral services, a
large cnncourse of people sat under
the shade of the trees of the pretty
plaza and moroidly watched the pro-
ceedings.
The next morning We breakfasted
late. At the end Of our table sat the
cowardly major. who had now ex-
changed civilian clothes for his uni