Coulee City dispatch. [volume] (Coulee City, Wash.) 19??-19??, 1936-04-02
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Pancho Villa as Seen by One Who
"Knew Him When.''

In THE red annals Of Mexican
i history, beginning with the
arrival of Cortez, down through
the Inflated Maximillian's reign
! and afterward to that smoke-laden
era dawning with. the new century
and unfolding under gunfre up to
the assassination Of Obregon, there
have been many sensational and over
confident bad men who, by the bullet
and the blade, went the way of all
flesh.
If by popular vote the question
could be decided, Pancho villa, who
graduated from plain cattle thief
into world-famous revolutionary,
would receive the palm for spectac-
ularism. Many times have | crossed
the trail of Pancho, and on each occa-
sion fattened his biography with data
amazing and almost unbelievable. His
life was a mosaic, traced with human
blood on the adobe of Mexico.
Recently, through Haymon Krupp,
for many years merchant in Ell Paso,
today an oil operator in the Lone Star
state, where he attained distinction by
his development of the Big Lake fields,
royalties from which made the Univer-
sity of Texas at Austin one of the
richest educational institutions in the
Union, am privileged to add another
chapter to the life Of Pancho, the
Damned.
Starts as a Drayman.
"He turned up at Ell Paso in 1909,"
said Mr.. Krupp, with broken-down
truck and one horse, seeking employ
ment at delivering merchandise.
gave him work at so much per load.
Although he did everything possible to
ingratiate himself with me, l hadn't
the slightest idea that his mission was
the rounding of of revolutionists bent
on liberating Mexico from the Diaz
rule. That, however, was his mission.
All else was sacrificed to such ends.
Pancho Gets Going Strong.
Suddenly Pancho disappeared from
Ell Paso, and with him, as was after
wards learned, number of men and
horses. The next news got of Villa
he had raided and was occupying
Juarez with few hundred followers
and was recruiting an army, with a
view to Selling power. He needed
blankets for his troops. Would trust
him for $4,000? l sent carload.
| ut was not long before he had COM
pletely infested Juarez and the border
and by virtue of his position, supported
by 10000 poems, forced recognition as
leader. His next order. for merchan-
disc, amounting to $250,00O, was ac-
companied by trainload' of confis-
Gated Mexican cotton. l declined the
security, but was advised by the
American authorities that it was nego-
table and could be sold by me. 1 ac-
cepted it as payment in full, and dis
posed of the lot at profit. That was
in 1910, with Pancho going strong"
The General Staff Meeting.
Did you see him after he left Ell
Paso and got in action?" l asked
Krupp.
Eyes. was summoned to attend
meeting Of his general staff at
JuareZ, and asked why l did not ship
the $125OOO order for blankets, shoes
and supplies that had come to me two
weeks before. l told him 1t was be-
| cause he owed me $4,000 on a pre-
vious shipment, and with that he
/ turned upon General Cajeda and de-
manded that he proceed at once to
dig up that SUM of. money, no matter
where he was obliged to get it. Cajeda
beckoned pe to follow him, which |
did, just around the hall into another
room, where received the exact sum
due in silver Mexican and United
States currency, with the positive as
surance on Caieda's part that Pancho
would personally shoot him through
the belly for letting that much cash
exchange hands. Not So l saw Gen
eral Cajeda several times after that.
'"But it was not beyond Pancho to
shed blood with little provocation. 1t
was his habit to send men to bury
money in certain spot and then kill
them when they reported that orders
had been carried out My total trans
actions with Villa amounted to over
S3,000,000, all of which he paid with
exception of $175000.
Tragic End of RevoIutionist.
'Pancho was captured by Huerta,
escaped into New Mexico, was chased
by General Pershing, but got away to
return In 1914 and joined Carranza
against. Huerta. then president. Later
he turned against Carranza, was cap
tured in 1915 and given a ranch in
Paral by the Mexican government
where he lived in high style until 1923,
when he was shot from ambush while
driving his car with some convivial
friends. No other occupant Of the
auto was hit. Abyssmal ignorance was
the cause of his undoing. He could
barely read, and In consequence be-
came suspicious of all those around
him. There can be no question about
his genius for leadership, and In the
beginning of his inSurrpctiOn hp had