The copper era and Morenci leader., 1921-02-25
RANCHO VILLA IN SUPREME. REIGN ON CHIHUAHUA RANCH

me that early this spring he antief- pates attempting cultivation of cotton, and say that he will allot in the neighborhood of 500 acres for the ex- pertinent. The agricultural expert IS of the opinion that cotton raising will prove success in that section, and Villa says he is ready to dc anything once."
 Unused Tractors One thing in particular which at- tracted my attention was the fact that the big farming tractors, which the Mexican governtment purchased for the Villa farm, are not being us- ed, but are out in the open and ex- posed to the elements.
 ] I asked the general why they were not put to use, and he advised me that 1t took oil and engineers to operate them. And it takes money to buy oil ! and pay engineers.
 Says He's Poor
 q am poor man, reports to the contrary, notwithstanding and must wait my time. have no ready cash now, but when I harvest my wheat i crops I will have plenty, and then we will put tractors to work" i OhS Ii1lhS WAlSI cinuSSu U0 very tnuch on my little trips in and around the ranch with my host was the fact that we never travelled great distance without the usual body guard of 16 men,
 i Drives Ford
 You see the general knows how to i drive Ford and whenever we start any where eight armed horsemen i proceed the machine for about a mile and the rear guard of eight men fol- low closely upon the heels of the automobile.
 The first time we ventured forth | in this manner, the general turned to me and asked if had six-shoot- CT on my person. told him no. Then in his usual smiling way, he ] turned to General Trillo and told his former chief of staff to see that was supplied with side arms and ammuni- tion. After being given my choice of guns, Villa said:
 You will favor me greatly by wear ing these during our little trips; in- 1 fact, keep them strapped to your per son during your entire stay here as | my guest.
 l Go to ParraI
 |, The old saying is: 'When in Rome do as the Romans do," and asking no ! further questions at the time, I buck led on the firearms and we took a little jaunt into the mining catmp of Parral in the state of Chihuahua. In a joking manner Villa turned to me upon our arrival in the camp and said: Regardless of the many times have victimized this placed by levying taxes in days gone by. they are still my friends as you will now observe"
 Sure enough. When we were ready to leave the automobile the first thing I knew a crowd had gathered around and many were the "Vivas" which greeted the former bandit chief, who smilingly responded with his usual manner of salute. Trusts No Man
 Later that night I asked General Villa why he thought it necessary r. that I should pack this artillery around with me. and drawing me to one side, he whispered: Although , I am no longer a bandit but a respect
 ed citizen of my beloved Mexico, I trust no man. How do I know but what some fellow is right in this town right now, waiting to settle and old grudge with me. I am taking no chances. Always remember this: Never turn a corner or a fence abrupt
 ly, always make a wide detour, be-
 cause no friend turks behind a corner
 or a fence.
 Good logic. no? I agreed with the
 general, and although I was some
 what burdened with the shooting ! irons dangling at my sides, I made
 the best Of it, and by this time l feel
 of thnr1 -D-
 ped to my sides. ..,4
 Would Write Life
 The object of my trip to General
 Villas ranch is for the purpose o1
 securing from Tim cretain data up
 on which to base s'ory or ms ne,
 and a wealth of it have g. genereu so
 far. to be sure. !
 Every night after dinner the gen.
 eral, Mrs. Villa and General Trillo
 held ginht school They are being
 taught to read and write the Span-
 ish language by a Professor Lutz, a
 German-American from Mexico City.
 It is indeed very amusing. to say the
 least, and while I myself, am not a
 fluent Spanish scholar by any means. I can see during the instruction per iods a certain light in the generals eyes confessing to Lutz that his (Villa's) vocabulary of the Spanish language is very limited and that much explaining is necessary on the ; part of the professor to enlighten my host as to the meaning of many words and their proper uses in gram nautical construction. $i Newspapers Correspondents According to the general a score of enwspaper correspondents have
 been down to the ranch since his
 surrender, but pursuant to wishes ex- pressed by the Mexican government
 that he remain out of the limelight , ] for time, he has been compelled to . send them away without covering their aSSionmentS