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l T. Orlfftth. the writer of this article,
la a Ponlander, who waa driven out of Mex
ico a few months aito after several years"
residence there. He wua forced to flee,
leaving tls property.)
THE terror of mob rule can only be
realized by the person who has
lived througrh a siege In which the
life of a man is worth only the small
price placed upon It by a horde of
heartless bandits; where movable
property Is subject to confiscation or
destruction at any time, and where
honest and disinterested persons are
forced to contribute liberally to the
support of the vandalism which Is
wrecking: the land and the prospective
prosperity.
These are the conditions 1 round in
Mexico, the land of "poco tiempo
(after while), and these are the condi
tions which are holding the Nation to
the south In a grrip of terror. It is this
state of affairs which has hrusnea
millions of American and foreign cap
ital away with a cruel and careless
hand, and has sent hundreds of peace-
loving; Americans to the States to live
In poverty, while their Mexican noia-
lngs. representing in most cases years
of saving and hard work, are either
crumbling from negligence or falling
from the blows of vandals.
At this time there seems no longer
to be any pretense of honest warfare
in Mexico. There Is a rebellion sepa
rate) and apart from that which was
created by honest people for the over
throw of Porflrlo Diax. the iron-handed
monarch. It is the rebellion of out
laws, bandits and criminals for the
overthrow of the successor of Dial and
for the establishment of what the na
tives call reon "libertad." Just what
the peon "libertad' means I am un
able to say. It is a grave question
whether it is a struggle for the liberty
and dominance of bandits and outlaws
or of honest citizens. If would seem
that the bandit class of peon is the
one seeking the upper hand In the
name of "libertad."
My observations, based upon a study
of the conditions and the experience of
going through part of the siege, led
me to believe that the Mexican people
were all with Madero. Perhaps they
would have been with any one who
stood for the overthrow of Diaz. The
better class, I think, wanted a re
public, not In name but in fact.
Madero had a strong following with
which to overthrow Diaz, but he was
not satisfied with that. He wanted to
be certain of victory, so he augmented
his ranks by opening the iails In every
town he captured and releasing the
criminals. Including the worsts of
bandits and outlaws who had lodged In
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the prisons during 80 years of struggle
against lawlessness in Mexico under
the reign of Diaz. With these men he
augmented his forces and set about to
bring to a reality; his dreams of castles.
It must have been that he forgot to
dream on the results of his work of
releasing criminals, because in doing
this he built up a force that later
militated against him and has caused
his throne to rock and his reign to
be shaken with uncertainty.
No Prisoners Are Takesu
"When the glory of fighting seemed
about to terminate with the victory of
Madero, these men were not willing to
set to honest toll. They resolved to
secure a new ruler and in that way
continue the lawlessness to which they
were addicted. They collected In small
bands led by some of the worst char
acters from the rebel army who were
fighting, not in the Interest of lib
ertad," but for the love of fighting and
vandalism. These are the bands which
are operating In many parts of Mexico
today, striking to the very heart of
that nation with robberies, murders,
thefts and vandalism.
Their operations are always -very
carefully planned and executed. Never
will they meet the federal troops un
less they far outnumber them, and
never do they take any great chances.
When they get in a fight they usually
kill every foe. taking no prisoners.
Their practices are of the most atro
cious nature. It is a rare case where
the outlaw bands are satisfied to take
the Rurales' horses, saddles, blankets,
uniforms and supplies and allow the
men to go free. Encounters between
federals and Zapatistas, as they are
called, are rare at present, because the
latter are. always well mounted and
armed and can take a town and every
thing in it and be gone before the
federals can arrive In sufficient force
to oppose them.
The Zapatistas, during the Madero
revolution, were rebels In the true
sense of the word. Private property,
except for horses and arms, were not
molested, even when they were the
property of Mexicans. "Valles" were
issued to the owner when the horse
was taken, so he could secure payment
from the government. This, of course,
was during the Madero rebellion. The
"valles" did not amount to much, be
cause the government valuation of
property was small. For example, a
friend of mine on a plantation ad
joining one I occupied had three saddle
horses ranging In value from 100 to
150 pesos each. These animals were
taken, along with their saddles and
bridles, which were worth about SO
pesos each. The "valle" Issued by the
leader of the Zapatistas on the gov-1
THE SUNDAY OREGONTAN. PORTLAJfT), SEPTEMBER 15, 1912.
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ernment was for
35 pesos for each
horse and outfit.
However, other property was not
molested by the rebels or federals, and
all persons not Mexicans were exempt
from contributions to the cause of the
rebellion. During all of Madero's revo
lution I rode through the country at
will and had no trouble. I was treated
with far more respect and kindness by
the rebels I met than by the federals.
But now the conditions have changed
comnletelv around and the land is one
of unsafety and uncertainty for every
person, American, untisner, Herman,
Frenchman, Spaniard and Mexican In
cluded. This state of affairs Is due to
some big mistakes made by Madero,
which gave the so-called Madero
Zapatistas a cause for starting a new
revolution under the name or "Iioer-
tad." These rebels have assumed the
name asqulstas-itapaustas. under
their methods there is no pretense of
honest warfare. At first Ihey confined
; ' vM. .
How .Would-be Leaders Are Struggling for Sup
remacy Lost by Diaz How The Peon, The
American, The Britisher and the Spaniard Alike
Pay for the Support Vandilism.
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their robbing, plundering and murder
Ing to the Mexicans, but, little by lit
tle as thev have found they have force
and are not molested by other nations,
they have grown bolder, until the
American and other roreigner in their
country Is not only not exempt from
contributions to the cause of the rebel
lion, but are In as much danger of the
vandalism as the Mexicans. The ban
dit gangs are as free now to order an
American off his plantation and steal
everything he possesses as they were
at the beginning to Invade the ranch
of a Mexican. . There seems to be no
limit to what these organized bands of
outlaws will do.
Many plantation owners have this
year been required to desert their
places with little or no part of their
crops removed. The fields of waving
grain, which bore every promise of en
riching the struggling settlers who
have fought for years against odds In
their efforts to gat a start, have been
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left to rot or be destroyed by vandals.
An indication of the deplorable con
ditions might be recited in the case of
men who are working on the farms.
Payday, or "raya," was held every Sat
urday night, at which time the express
companies would deliver money to the
employers and the men would be paid
off. Vandals put a stop to this prac
tice to such an extent that the express
companies refused to carry money into
the country and then the farmers or
plantation owners faced a serious
problem. It was found very difficult
to get several hundred dollars to a
plantation for each week's payday, as
there was always a gang of outlaws
hanging around eager to attack a
money train. The farmers devised all
kinds of schemes to secure the money.
It would be hauled In boxes packed as
mill supplies or in sacks carried in the
form of bundles of grain begs.
When the money got to the planta
tion there arose the problem of paying
the men off at a time when there were
no Zapatistas around. Seldom did a
week go by while I was in Mexico
during the present "eign of terror that
the plantation was not visited by a
band of outlaws numbering from 10 to
100 men, on horses. We always treated
them with courtesy, as to do otherwise
was the same as suicide. I was lucky
usually in finding some one of the band
who had worked for me and he would
always put in a good word which
helped very materially In tne outcome
of the visit to the plantation.
Think They Cam Whip TJ. s.
Upon a few occasions, however,
bands came to our place which we did
not know and upon such occasions we
lost from one to three saddle horses
and outfits. But each time we were
successful In getting them back by
applying to some of the bigger leaders
a Vi n ka-ila whom Wf kneW. TJDOn
one occasion one of my best horses was
returned after two weeks of hardships
as a Zapatista mount. I had given up
hope of ever getting this horse and
. 1 1 -w oa o-rAcLflv Kiimrisfid one
day when I saw a Zapatista ride up to
tne staDte ana. mm nua, d,Uui,
j v. i ,3 1 .- 4a tha stnhlA Hn v The
rider was drunk, as most of the Zapa
tistas usually are, but I thanked nlm
and wrote a letter to bis leaden.
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I often talked to members of the
outlaw rebel bands, and found that they
expected victory. They are fighting
for Gomez for President and Emlllo
Zapata for Minister of War. The lat
ter can neither read nor write. The
so-called rebels have no doubt that
they will succeed in overthrowing the
government. They say that they may
be delayed a little in their work If
they have to stop and fight the United
States, in case that country inter
venes. I asked one Zapatista If ho
thought they could whip the United
States, and he said: "Why, of course
we can. It's true they beat us before,
but then we were at a disadvantage
because we had muzzle-loading rifles.
But it is different now," he said, as he
ran his hand down the shining barrel
of a graceful pistol at his side and
pointed to a "Colins machete" on the
other side of his belt and a .30-.30 rifle
of the latest model swung on his back.
I laughed a dry laugh and let the argu
ment drop at that.
An experience we had soon after this
might be related as a good example of
the method under which warfare is
being conducted in Mexico. We had
Just succeeded in getting a payroll to
the plantation in boxes shipped from a
nearby town as mill supplies, gnd were
counting the money on a table pre
paratory to paying off the men, when
ten Zapatistas whirled around the cor
ner on horseback and pulled up right
in front of the cabin. There was no
time to hide the money, so I went to
the door and invited the leader and
two or three of his officers in. They
declined, but, Instead, grouped around
the window and watched us counting
the money.
I knew the leader well, for when he
worked for me some months before
this he had taken sick and I had doc
tored him and, not only saved his life,
but had paid his brother $2.50 a week
for six weeks to feed him. ' For that
reason he was under moral obligations
to me and, fortunately, he seemed to
realize this fact. We talked with the
visitors about 15 minutes and learned
that they were in need of money. Be
lieving that the best thing for me to
do under the circumstances was to
offer them some funds rather than
have them take everything we had In
sight, I asked the leader if I could not
contribute a few "pesltos." They all
expressed a willingness, and I walked
over to the money table and picked up
a stack of 15 pesos and handed them to
the leader.
"Leader Killed for Decency.
I noticed that his followers were not
pleased with the size of the contribu
tion, but in their natural outward po
liteness they thanked me. At that
moment I looked down to the stable
and saw a bunch of the visitors sad
dling one of my best horses which they
had rounded - up in the pasture. I
turned to the leader and politely In
formed him that I could not spare the
horse because I had a lot of work to
do and the 6upply of animals was very
low on the plantation. I told him that
nothing would please me better than
to contribute a horse If I could spare
one.
I saw that my objection did not meet
with hearty approval, and I could see
that something was going to happen,
so I obeyed an Impulse to go down to
the barn and rescue the horse and take
a chance on leaving the money. I
knew from experience that if the gang
intended to take the money they would
do so whether I was there or not.
At the barn I told the Zapatista who
was about to mount my horse that I
was very sorry, but I could not spare
the animal, so he would have to turn
him Into the pasture again. The lead
er of the gang then came up and, after
thinking a few minutes, told the man
to turn the horse loose. At this I
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thanked them all and they rode off. I
could see, however, that there was a
feeling of dissatisfaction among some
of the men.
I lost no time in paying off my men.
for I didn't dare take any chances on
the bandit gang's returning. A few
days later I learned from another
bandit gang that the leader of the
former gang had been shot from be
hind by his own men because he had
not taken all of the money and three
or four saddle horses. When they
were at my ranch they wanted to take
the money, but not one had the nerve
to take things In his own hands until
they had talked among themselves and
found that they were all of the same
opinion. This is a sample of the
treachery of the Zapatistas. When
they are treated with courtesy there is
no telling what they are thinking or
planning.
Depredations Are Many.
One day Just a short time aso after
I had finished with my crops I decideil
to go to a nearby town. I wanted to
go on horseback, but knew that If I
did I would lose my horse and saddle,
so I took the train. This train, as Is
customary, had about 30 federal troops
in a rear coach to protect the train and
passengers from the bandit gangs. On
arriving at the town I started down
the road on foot and had walked but a
short distance when a bunch of about
100 Zapatistas dashed by me, bound for
the depot to attack the train. I stood
by the road as they passed with their
rifles in their hands. Fortunately I
knew the leader and I was not inter
fered with.
They were a little too late for the
train, which circumstance probably
saved the' lives of the federal trooiis
and the pocketbooks of the passengers
on the train. The bandit gang, accord
ing to their habit, would have slaugh
tered every soldier on the train and
possibly some of the passengers. Of
the hundred Zapatistas I should say 70
had rifles, pistols and swords and two
or three belts full of cartridges each.
All were exceedingly well mounted.
They remained In the town about
two hours and then went down the
road to a nearby pasture, where they
killed a steer and held a barbecue.
They did not ask the owner of the
steer for permission to eat it, but sim
ply helped themselves.
There seems to De no end to these
depredations. To the people who live
here in the states and get only the
occasional reports from the places
where news can be sent out, a very
small part of the story of crime and
hardships which people of all nations
are suffering Is known. It Is in the
remote districts where the outlaws
have the sway that the trouble is rag
ing. I have seen trees with all the
way from one to a dozen bodies dang
ling from ropes. Some of the scenes
are too horrible to describe.
The Americans in Mexico have long
been wondering what Washington Is
going to do. They have been wonder
ing what Is going to be the fate of
the Monroe Doctrine. There is no Ques
tion about the seriousness of the con
ditions. The people on the border
realize the conditions because they get
the reports direct and they are all in
favor of intervention. The Americans
and foreigners In Mexico demand Inter
vention. What will Uncle Sam doT Will he
stand Idly by and see millions of
American capital go to the dogs, thou
sands of American homes smashed,
hundreds of American lives lost? I do
not believe he will. His emissaries to
Mexico know the conditions and I
think It is only a matter of time be
fore our soldiers will be In the field
bringing to an end the reign of terror
which Mexico cannot end of Its own
accord because of her would-be leaders
who axe dreaming of castles,