The General and the Jaguar (52 page)

120 They flung open the door: Affidavit, Milton James, September 12, 1925, James claim.

121 “Why they did not”: Letter, Sarah Hoover to E. A. Scammon, March 12, 1916, reprinted in Page,
Columbus, NM,
47-50.

121 Bessie’s skirts: Affidavit, W. C. Hoover, August 4, 1925; affidavit, Dr. T. H. Dabney, August 5, 1925, James claim.

121 “I am safe”: Letter, Eleanor Dean to Son, in Richard A. Dean, “Letters to Relatives Written After the Raid, 1986-1987”
(privately printed, n.d.), Dean collection. According to some accounts, Bessie James was pregnant at the time of her death.
But the claim that Milton James filed several years later makes no mention of that fact even though such a disclosure might
have increased the amount of compensation he was seeking. See Richard Dean, “Dean Family Faces Death in 1916 Pancho Villa
Raid,”
Desert Winds Magazine,
January 1991, 12-13.

121 “They shot him”: Sarah Hoover letter reprinted in Page,
Columbus, NM,
48.

121 “A bugler”: “Telephone Central Describes Pancho Villa in Attack,”
EPMT,
March 13, 1916.

122 Villa was mounted: Since the day of the raid, Villa’s whereabouts and activities have been hotly debated. Maud told
newspaper reporters and federal agents that Villa was mounted on a horse and participated in the raid. E. B. Stone, the Federal
Bureau of Investigation agent, writes, “Mrs. Wright personally saw Villa’s orderly saddle his horse and saw Villa mount with
a few of his principal officers and lead the attack in person on the garrison and town of Columbus” (E. B. Stone, “Villista
Activities at Columbus, New Mexico,” March 18, 1916, McKinney claim). Bunk Spencer, the other hostage, partially confirms
Maud’s statement in a January 9, 1917, affidavit in which he states that the man who identified himself as Villa “did not
remain with the horses while the attack was being made” (affidavit, E. R. Spencer, January 9, 1917, NARA, RG 395, Punitive
Expeditions to Mexico, Chief of Staff). In the army’s RO, Villa is quoted as saying that he would remain with reserve troops
(RO, 30). But an appendix of the same report states, “. . . Villa with bodyguard came up beside us at a distance of thirty
yards and waited there until after the fight. He and his guard remained mounted and entered the fight the same way . . .”
(RO, Appendix, 8). A Justice Department agent named M. H. Díaz questioned twenty-one prisoners, on February 17, 1917, who
had been captured by General Pershing’s troops in Mexico and they were specifically asked where Villa was during the Columbus
attack. Their answers varied greatly, which is not surprising given the fact that hundreds of men were milling about in the
darkness. Some said they saw him in the rear with the horses, some saw him in the front, while others said they saw him only
on the retreat, and a few said they didn’t see him at all. (M. H. Díaz, “Villa Raid on Columbus [Examination of Prisoners],”
February 7, 1917, Miller claim.) George Carothers, in his testimony before the Fall committee, said that he satisfied himself
that Villa had gotten as far as the “gate” (Fall hearing, 1781). And finally, in 1962, a man who was a colonel in Villa’s
army and participated in the raid said that Villa remained in the rear, in a deep ditch that paralleled the Deming road (“Former
Member of Villa’s Bodyguard Settles Old Argument; 364 Bandits Raided Columbus,”
EPH,
February 21, 1962).

122 Mrs. Parks grabbed: Toby Smith, “A Brave Woman in a Border Town,”
Impact Magazine,
AJ,
July 28, 1981, 9.

122 Archibald Frost and his wife: The Frost story comes from multiple sources, including Fall hearing, 1614-1616; affidavit
of Frost dated May 3, 1916, Fall microfilm records, UNM; an August 10, 1926, affidavit of Frost, Dean collection; and Hopper,
“What Happened at Columbus,” 12, 32.

122 “We had to pass”: Affidavit, Archibald Douglass Frost, August 10, 1926, Dean collection.

123 “I whispered”: Fall hearing, 1614-1616.

123 “Usually I give her”: Hopper, “What Happened at Columbus,” 32.

123 “This Mexican soldier”: Affidavit, Archibald Douglass Frost, August 10, 1926, Dean collection.

123 son was catapulted: Author interview, James Dean, September 24, 2002.

123 Multiple bullets: Fall hearing, 1614-1616.

124 mock battle: Interview, Ed Carson, Columbus, NM, May 19, 1983, NMSRCA.

124 “If you have good”: Letter, Eleanor to Sons, n.d., in Dean, “Letters to Relatives Written after the Raid,” Dean collection.
The story of the Dean family comes from the testimony of Edwin Dean, Fall hearing, 1612-1614; the claim and related affidavits
filed by Eleanor Dean; letters written by Eleanor and other family members; and numerous author interviews with Richard Dean.

124 “Mr. Dean, you”: Interview, Ed Carson, Columbus, NM, May 19, 1983, NMSRCA.

124 “I knew there would”: Letter, Eleanor to Sons, n.d., in Dean, “Letters to Relatives Written after the Raid,” Dean
collection.

124 “I wondered why”: Fall hearing, 1603.

124 “The hotel was afire”: Fall hearing, 1602.

125 “So it was Edna”: Dorsey, “My Personal Story,” 130.

125 “remembered a man holding her”: Affidavit, Mrs. Ben B. Henry (Rachel Walker), May 6, 1936, Walker claim.

125 “Any more than that”: Fall hearing, 1603.

125 Simon: William Adkins, “The Story of Pancho Villa at Columbus, New Mexico,”
Family Tree,
n.d., probably sometime in fall of 1969, book 2, 52.

126 Nievergelt: “Mexican Won’t Halt, Is Shot by Sentry,”
EPH,
March 11, 1916. A band member, William Adkins, however, says that Nievergelt was killed in their quarters along with fellow
musician Paul Simon. William Adkins, “The Story of Pancho Villa at Columbus, New Mexico,”
Family Tree,
book 2, 52.

126 Dobbs: Tompkins,
Chasing Villa,
53.

126 skirmish line: Letter, Perrow Moseley to Family, March 13, 1916, reprinted in
Southwesterner,
April 1963, NMSRCA and Dean collection.

126 “about dawn”: Robert S. Thomas and Inez V. Allen, “The Mexican Punitive Expedition under Brigadier General John J.
Pershing, United States Army, 1916-17” (Washington, DC, 1954), I-15.

126 “that the town”: Affidavit, Louis Ravel, June 20, 1916, Fall microfilm records, UNM.

126 “Everything is all”: Fall hearing, 1614.

127 “Colonel Slocum had”: Letter, Horace Stringfellow Jr. to Haldeen Braddy, August 11, 1966, Braddy papers, UTEP. The
New York Times
also reported that Slocum’s gun had been damaged. “Colonel Slocum’s revolver was shot out of his hand as he emerged from
his quarters. The bullet dented the Colonel’s weapon, making it useless” (“Night Attack on Border,”
NYT,
March 10, 1916).

127 hold their fire: Letter, Herbert J. Slocum to Adjutant General, “Recommendation for Medal of Honor,” May 24, 1916,
NARA, RG 200, Papers of General John J. Pershing, Material Relating to the Punitive Expedition, box 1.

127 “Not having field glasses”: Letter, Horace Stringfellow Jr. to Haldeen Braddy, August 11, 1966, Braddy papers, UTEP.

127 “They began to bring”: Maud’s quotes about the retreat of the Villistas are taken from J. K. Richardson’s unpublished
notes and the unpublished story “Maude Wright’s Experiences as a Captive of Pancho Villa,” as told to Wallace and Verna Crawford,
provided to the author by Johnnie Wright.

127 McCain’s party: Robert Bruce Johnson, “The Punitive Expedition: A Military, Diplomatic and Political History of Pershing’s
Chase after Pancho Villa, 1916-1917” (dissertation, University of Southern California, June 1964); 58; Tompkins,
Chasing Villa,
59; Hopper, “What Happened at Columbus,” 12.

128 bludgeoned the Mexican: Tompkins,
Chasing Villa,
59.

128 “As I was sitting”: “Archbandit López Bares Details of Villista Outrages,”
EPMT,
May 27, 1916.

128
“Por buen rato pelearon”:
Calzadíaz Barrera, “El Ataque a Columbus,” 32.

129 “Wake up”: Susan Moore’s account of the murder of her husband and her own injuries taken from her December 9, 1925,
claim or her congressional testimony before the Fall committee (Fall hearing, 956-967). Except for some small details, the
statements are almost identical.

130 Cervantes and
los namiquipenses:
Calzadíaz Barrera, “El Ataque a Columbus,” 34.

131
Sabe usted dónde:
Ibid. In the article, Juan Muñoz alleges that Mr. Moore fired three shots at Candelario Cervantes. But the allegation is
not supported in the myriad accounts that Susan Moore gave to congressional investigators or in her sworn affidavit or letters.

131 “They raised their”: In Calzadíaz Barrera’s version of the attack, a man named Gabino Sandoval killed Mr. Moore. Sandoval
also allegedly helped the Carrancistas capture Villa’s beloved and incorruptible general, Felipe Ángeles.

133 man named Gardner: Affidavit, Milton James, September 12, 1925, James claim.

133 Lundy lifted: Affidavit, John E. Lundy, July 15, 1925, James claim.

133 eighteen U.S. civilians and soldiers: There has been a lot of confusion about the number of civilians and soldiers
killed in the attack, even among the townspeople themselves. For example, a memorial list of casualties appearing in the
Columbus Courier
on March 9, 1917, includes only seventeen people. Part of the confusion stems from the unidentified body found in the rubble
of the Commercial Hotel. Also, many people neglect to count Private Jesse Taylor among the military casualties. He was taken
to a hospital at Fort Bliss and died the following day. See appendix for complete list.

133 Tompkins and his men: The details of the chase taken from Tompkins,
Chasing Villa,
55-57; “The Cavalry Fight at Columbus,”
U.S. Cavalry Journal,
July 1916, 183-185; and the official report of the raid written by Colonel Slocum to General Funston, entitled “Border Conditions,”
found in multiple collections, including the IGO Report.

133 Wiswell: “List of Victims Revised,”
NYT,
March 11, 1916. There is a lot of confusion about what the U.S. troops stationed at the Border Gate and at various points
along the border did when the raid occurred. Similarly, there is much confusion about where, exactly, Corporal Wiswell was
killed and even the spelling of his name. The official army casualty list and a 1918 proclamation by the Columbus mayor use
the name Wisewell, but I am using the more common spelling and the one that appears beside his picture in his hometown newspaper.
One early newspaper account has Wiswell killed as he carried a message to the Border Gate (“Mexican Won’t Halt; Is Shot by
Sentry,”
EPH,
March 11, 1916), but Lieutenant Clarence Benson, who was interviewed by the El Paso papers the following day, said Wiswell
was killed when the U.S. soldiers fired upon the Villistas as they galloped through a hole in the fence (“Cunning of Villa
Told by Officer,”
EPT,
March 10, 1916; “Lieutenant Who Helped Corner Villa Is at Post,”
EPH,
March 10, 1916, 2, Bouilly collection).

134 five and fifteen miles: Tompkins says he went fifteen miles into Mexico (Tompkins,
Chasing Villa,
56), but Colonel Slocum, in his early telegrams, noted that the U.S. soldiers went five miles.

134 seventy-five to one hundred: Tompkins,
Chasing Villa,
56.

134 sixty-seven Villistas: “Border Conditions,” IGO Report.

135 gladiators: Francisco Villa, “Manifesto to the Nation,” October 1916, NARA, RG 94, AGO, Doc. No. 2212358; Mason,
Great Pursuit,
248-252.

135 two boys: “‘Buck’ Chadborn of Deming Recalls Pancho Villa’s Raid on Columbus,” newspaper clipping, n.d., EPPL.

135 sixty men were missing: Villista casualties at Columbus are tabulated in RO, Appendix B, “Statement of Casualties
among Villistas Who Participated in the Attack on Columbus, New Mexico, March 9, 1916,” 3.

135 “It has come to this”: RO, 34.

10. Very Unnatural Deaths

136 Ritchie sleepwalked: Stivison and McDonnell, “When Villa Raided Columbus,” 37.

136 “few pitiful remains”: Affidavit, Mrs. Ben B. Henry (Rachel Walker), May 6, 1936, Walker claim.

137 “badly perverted”: Affidavit, E. C. De Moss, May 2, 1936, Walker claim.

137 father’s body: Fall hearing, 1614.

137 “Mama they got Papa”: Dean, “Letters to Relatives Written after the Raid,” Dean collection.

137 “People were crying”: Letter, Ozella Stanfield to Lizzie, March 24, 1916, in Dean, “Letters to Relatives Written after
the Raid,” Dean collection.

137 “Now I know”: “Colonel’s Wife Weeps for the Dead,”
EPH,
March 13, 1916.

138 crucifixes: Stivison and McDonnell, “When Villa Raided Columbus,” 37.

138 “I passed”: Letter, Alice Tompkins to Father and Mother, March 10, 1916, Columbus museum.

138 “When we came”: Statement, Mary Slocum, February [actually March] 14, 1916, Scott papers, box 22, LC.

138 separate investigations: Letter, George Carothers to Secretary of State, March 11, 1916, McKinney claim. In an interview
with a
New York Times
reporter at about the same time, Maud said Villa led the attack on Columbus with fifteen hundred men and that she was told
that he actually had three thousand soldiers in the column. In her interview with Bureau of Investigation agent E. B. Stone,
she states that “. . . on one occasion she counted 3,200 men and another occasion 2,700 men.” But the RO puts the number of
raiders at 485, a figure that is much lower than what Maud reported and the number that most historians believe now is most
accurate. The discrepancy is hard to explain; Maud was an experienced ranchwoman, but she was exhausted and severely traumatized
by the experience and her powers of observation may have been affected. Colonel Slocum uses the large numbers in his early
telegrams to the War Department. For example, on March 9, he writes that Villa invaded Columbus with five hundred to one thousand
men (telegram, Funston to Adjutant General, March 9, 1916, NARA, RG 94, AGO, Doc. No. 2377632). The following day, he reports,
“Am reliably informed it was Villa that made the attack with fifteen hundred men, leaving about one thousand on river east
of Boca Grande” (telegram, Funston to Adjutant General, March 10, 1916, NARA, RG 94, AGO, Doc. No. 2377632). Although Slocum
doesn’t disclose where he got those numbers, the source may well have been Maud. Historian Ray Sadler, in an interview with
the author in 2005, maintained that these overinflated numbers had important ramifications; the army felt that it could not
pursue Villa until it had amassed an adequate force and the delay led to Villa’s ultimate escape.