The Butcher

Merry Christmas to you all. I hope you have a blessed day, and enjoy some good times with family. We will not have a mystery person contest today, but will resume the mystery person contest next Saturday.

As we have learned this week, Pancho Villa was more than just a bandit and revolutionary leader, he was in fact the de facto government of northern Mexico. As such, he had lots of responsibilities in addition to your normal raiding, pillaging and fighting. As such, he was in need of a right hand man to focus solely on the dirty work of banditry. He found a perfect man for the job . . . Rodolfo Fierro. The peons of Mexico affectionately referred to him simply as "The Butcher", and I don't think the name had anything to do with expertise in a meat market. No, Fierro was the ruthless bandit that allowed Villa to somewhat keep his hands clean, when necessary.

When trying to run a bandit operation, one of the key challenges is to keep the bandits outfitted and fed. This was typically done by raiding cattle or other creative activities. Supplies were always tight, so one of the particular challenges of a bandit operation was what to do with captured prisoners. Villa found Rodolfo to be particularly adept at handling this problem. In one case, Villa's forces had achieved a stunning military victory. One result of the victory was the capture of about 600 Federales. Villa put the Federales in Rodolfo's care. Rodolfo got them all together. He gave them a choice. They could either join up with Villa's bandits, or they could return home to a peaceful life with their families. Those that chose to join Villa's forces were brought into the ranks. Those that wanted to return home were marched out to a field. Rodolfo put them in groups of ten. He then would choose a group and tell them to run on home. As they ran, he would personally shoot each one as they ran away. In one day he was able to shoot each of the 600 prisoners. One prisoner was able to successfully get away. After all the shooting, Rodolfo's wrist got weary, and he paused for  a moment to stretch his hand. That was just the time needed for one of the running prisoners to escape being shot. In retrospect, choosing to join Villa was the wiser choice. Perhaps if faced with such a choice, one should choose to join Villa's forces, and then look for an opportunity one day to defect when no one is watching.

Another way that Villa would supply his army was to basically confiscate property. There was a wealthy Caucasian landowner in northern Mexico by the name of Benton. Villa had his men go in and confiscate Benton's large ranch. Benton was pretty upset and went and demanded a meeting with Villa. Things got pretty heated in the meeting, and it is said that Benton drew his gun on Villa. Rodolfo immediately took Benton outside and shot him. Villa issued  press release describing how his men heroically averted an assassination attempt on Villa. People in the US and abroad were outraged, and immediately demanded Rodolfo's head. In typical bandit fashion, Villa responded by promoting Rodolfo to General. 

With Rodolfo now general, he was given part of Villa's army, and was involved in a major battle with Federale forces. Rodolfo was defeated in grand fashion, but survived the battle. Villa called Rodolfo in, and demoted him for the loss. The meeting became very animated, and Rodolfo pulled his revolver and took at shot at Villa. In retrospect, this turned out to be a poor choice. Rodolfo was disarmed, taken outside, and shot. 

Perhaps the lesson we learn from both the Benton and Rodolfo meetings with Villa is that if you ever find yourself in a disagreement with a Bandit leader in HIS office, you best not pull a revolver on him. It would be wiser to bide your time, leave peacefully and then plan an ambush. In fact, Villa was eventually killed by an ambush, likely done by some of his disgruntled bandits. His last words were reported to be, "Don't let it end like this, tell them I said something."

Rodolfo Fierro and Pancho Villa in happier times.

The Sad Saga of Maximo Castillo

I have to say I have very much enjoyed researching Mexican Bandits and the Revolution of 1910. It is a particularly hard topic to get your hands around, as the players and alliances were changing on an almost constant basis. It is hard to know who the good guys were, and who the bad guys were, but it was pretty clear that there was no shortage of innocent victims, which brings us to today's picture of Maximo Castillo. Castillo was one of Pancho Villa's men in the north. In looking at the picture, I am not sure I like Castillo's outfit. To me, it is almost like he is trying to hard, with the feather in his sombrero, and the over-the-top beard. Perhaps he is trying to make up for other Bandit shortcomings by his dress and appearance.

Anyway, Castillo was one of the Bandit leaders under Pancho Villa. Somewhere along the way Pancho and Castillo had a falling out, and Castillo's band broke away from Villa. Villa was not only the military leader in the north, he was also more or less the de facto government of the north. One of the many things Pancho Villa was responsible for was the northern railroads. Shortly after Castillo's band separated from Villa, there was a tragic train accident. The event occurred in northern Mexico in the Cumbres Tunnel near Juarez. A freight train entered the tunnel, and was dynamited in the middle of the tunnel. The train was left in the tunnel, and the following day a passenger train entered the tunnel at full speed, not knowing that the other train wreckage was in the middle of the tunnel. The passenger train crashed into the disabled freight train, and caught on fire and exploded. All 55 on board were killed, including ten Americans. Immediately, Pancho Villa issued a press release stating that Maximo Castillo and his band of Renegade Bandits had planned and executed the operation to destroy the train. Villa stated that he would hunt down, and then publicly hang Castillo and his men. Villa indicated that he would be sending VIP invitations to American dignitaries to come and watch the hanging. Tempers were immediately flared in northern Mexico, as most people at least knew someone killed on the train. So, Castillo was a marked man. Upon learning of Villas accusations, Castillo and his men made a run for the border. They were able to reach the border and cross over into the United States. Upon safely reaching the United States, Castillo and his men were captured by US army officials and placed in detention of Fort Bliss.

Castllo is the Bandit on the left, shown behind barbed wire.

Above, Castillo is pictured with his American Guards. Castillo looks none to happy in the photograph, but I notice that he is enjoying a fine cigar.

So, once Castillo is captured he vehemently proclaims his innocence. He said that Pancho Villa had blown up his own train to turn the population against Castillo, and to give Villa a pretense to hunt down and kill Castillo as punishment for crossing him, and to serve as an example to other bandits who might think about challenging Villa.

OK, now remember that the whole purpose of the revolution was to unseat Diaz. The revolution was successful, and Madero was installed as president. Very quickly the bandits became unhappy with Madero, and the revolution continued, but this time with the goal to kill Madero. Madero's palace was over run, and Huerta installed himself as president. Very quickly Villa and Huerta had a falling out, and Villa once again was part of a revolution to oust Huerta. It was at this period of time that the Cumbres Tunnel train disaster occurred. 

This caused great confusion in the US as to what should be done with Castillo. Castillo had broken no laws in the US, so could not be tried in the United States. The US government did not recognize the legitimacy of the Huerta government, so they could not turn Castillo over to Huerta. While the US had under-the-table relations with Villa, he was a Bandit, and simply turning Castillo over the Villa would be a death sentence without even a semblance of a fair trial. So the US did not know what to do with Castillo.

Interestingly enough, I spent the day researching this yesterday, and was unable to find any information on how this was resolved, and what happened to Huerta. The trail just ran completely cold.

So, we are left to speculate on who really blew up the train. As for me, I feel that it was likely Pancho Villa. I would think that Castillo would have been seeking to keep a lower profile after crossing Villa. My bet would be that Pancho Villa did it to give him an excuse to seek vengeance on Castillo. If any readers have any information on how this ended, I would love to hear it.

Domestic Update:

In my continuing quest to become a Gentleman Farmer, I am pleased to announce that I completed fabrication of my new lettuce growing system. The system will be able to grow 350 heads of lettuce at a time, year round. I now have the  seeds planted and am waiting on them to sprout. I will keep you posted on how this new system works out.

Pascual Orozco

Bandit Week continues here at OPOD with this picture of Pascual Orozco. Don't let his boyish look and dapper suit mislead you, Pascual was pure bandit, through and through. As a start, during the Mexican Revolution of 1910, he was an insurrecto general, and Pancho Villa actually reported TO him. If that does not give you bandit cred, I don't know what does. I actually wish the bandits had created some sort of organization chart, as I find it very difficult to sort through who was on which side during the revolution, and who reported to whom. I guess they did not do this, as it appears to have been a loose knit operation, with allegiances constantly changing. In any event, it appears that Pascual was higher in the organization than Pancho Villa. Perhaps to better convince you of his Bandit Worthiness, I should show the following picture of him.

In this picture he literally defines the Bandit Chique look. With this outfit he would be equally at home attending a cock fight, dancing the night away at one of San Antonio's finest night clubs, or leading a cross-border cattle raid with the Texas Rangers in hot pursuit. His fine gold watch ensures that he is never late for any engagement, and that he shows up looking polished. Note he is sporting the bandit's best friend, the Colt 45 peacemaker, a model 94 winchester, and ammunition belts for BOTH weapons, with enough cartridges for any event that might come his way. I like to consider Pascual Orozco the Gentleman Bandit, able to adapt to almost any situation.

OK, a little more background on Pascual. As a young man, he made a wise investment in a gold mine that made him a very wealthy fellow. He then took some of his money, and developed gold mines of his own. This was successful, and he ended up a man of significant wealth. With that wealth, he was able to not only outfit himself, but was able to provide financing for the insurrecto movement. This financing, combined with his daunting appearance, led to him quickly moving up in the revolution hierarchy. Early in the movement, we was a gun runner, purchasing guns in the United States, and then transporting them to Mexico to help arm the insurrection. He was opposed to the Diaz government, and supported Madero's call to overthrow the Diaz government. He was a general in the insurrection, and achieved a number of notable victories over the Federales. After one victory, he stripped the dead Federales, and sent the uniforms to Diaz with a note, "Here are the wrappers, now please send some more Tamales". That has to be one of the best Bandit quotes of all times.

When the insurrection was successful, and Madero was made president, Pascual thought he would be put in charge of the new Mexican Army. Madero instead put Carranza in charge. This did not sit well with Pascual, and he was also upset that Madero did not institute land reforms, which had been one of the main reasons for the revolution. He then helped organize a rebellion against Madero. He helped finance the revolt with his own wealth, as well as organizing a cattle rustling operation where he would steal cattle, sell them in Texas, buy arms and then bring them back into Mexico. He was instrumental in bringing down the Madero government, and supported Huerta as president to replace Madero.

When Huerta's government fell, Pascual went into exile in the United Sates. While in the United States he immediately started making plans to retake Mexico. These plans ran afoul of the U.S. neutrality laws, so Pascual was arrested. He escaped from jail in El Paso, and made a run for the border. Along the way, he decided to raid a ranch in West Texas. The ranch owner organized a posse of Texas Rangers, and they overtook Pascual near Lobo, Texas. A gun battle ensued in which Pascual was killed.

A fitting end, I say, as a true Bandit should die with his boot on in battle, and never of old age.

The Brothers Madero

So yesterday we talked about the short-lived presidency of Francisco Madero. I suggested the tragedy was due to him forgetting his bandit roots, once he took the presidency. Well, most people do not know that Francisco had a brother, Raoul, who was also a bandit. Raoul is pictured above. He is standing in the center, and is the man with the cigar. While he is not sporting traditional bandit gear, he definitely projects an overall look that just screams Bandit. He does not have a sombrero, but I like the way he has that hat tipped way back. Then the cigar over in the side of the mouth shows he is a man who means business. Finishing off his look is a really menacing expression on his face. Also pictured in the photograph is Pancho Villa. As you know, I am a great admirer of Pancho Villa, the man who literally defines the "Mexican Bandit" look. But, even the best sometimes have an off day, and today must have been an off day for Pancho. He is the one in the picture that looks like he is dressed as a Trolly Car driver or something.

We now must ask, what is going on in the picture? If you look closely the men are holding a chicken upside down. Well, anytime you have 8 men pictured with one rooster, that can only mean one thing . . . there is fixing to be a cock fight. Notice the man on the left is holding the rooster upside down, and there is a string on the rooster's leg. Also note that Raoul is holding a cock-fighting blade in his hand, that he is about to connect to the spur on the back of the rooster's leg. Yep, Raoul, Pancho and the boys are getting their rooster ready for a cock fight.

Now most people don't know this, but there were few things Pancho Villa liked better than a good cock fight. Look at the grin on his face. Pancho had actually worked for a while as a professional cock fighter. I guess the proper term would be professional trainer of fighting game birds. He actually worked for the Cadillac dealership in El Paso. The owner had a cock fighting business on the side, and he hired Pancho Villa to train the roosters. I realize at this point that you probably think I am making all this stuff up, but I am not . . . I could not make up stuff like this. Well, actually I could make up stuff like this, but in this case I did not. Do some research and you will find that Villa did work for as a rooster trainer for a Cadillac dealer in El Paso.

Well, as I look at this picture of Madero and Villa having a good old time, I wonder if perhaps they put the wrong Madero brother in as President of Mexico. Perhaps if they had made Raoul president instead of Francisco, the universal bond of cock fighting would have held him closer to his bandit roots, and he would have remained in power, and all the useless bloodshed would have been avoided in the latter revolution.

Francisco Madero

This week we are looking at Mexican Bandits, and in particular, the 1910 Mexican Revolution. The three key men in this revolution were Francisco Madero (pictured above), Emileano Zapata, and Pancho Villa. Zapata was the commanding general in the south, Pancho Villa the commanding general in the north, and Madero was more of a political leader. The revolution achieved early success, and Diaz was deposed, and Madero was made president. The picture above shows Madero early on in the revolution. I think his attire is fitting for a Mexican Revolutionary leader. I note, however he is not wearing a sombrero. Of potentially more concern is his total lack of visible firepower on his person. Perhaps these are early indicators of a problem.

Make note of Madero's appearance in the photo below, after he became president:

He is sporting a three piece business suit, with a watch chain. Certainly if I were Zapata and Villa, I would feel betrayed by this attire. Well, the whole purpose of the revolution, at least in the minds of Zapata and Villa was land reform. The land in Mexico was worked by the peons, but owned by a small group of families . . . almost an aristocracy. Zapata and Villa felt the peons should be able to own land. When Madero became president, he did not institute the anticipated land reforms, and the people felt betrayed. This did not end well for Madero.

In 1913 the military was totally frustrated with Madero and staged an overthrow of the Madero government. Madero's palace was overrun, he was captured and then executed.

Personally, I feel if Madero had remained more of a bandit and less of a politician, he would have had a better chance of holding onto power. After becoming president, he tried to form a coalition between the political class, the land class and the revolutionary movement. It ended in disaster for him.

Domestic Update:

Handsome Jack continues to try and get the attention of Lovie. The picture below shows Handsome and Lovie on the woodpile, with Juaquin in the backgroung.

After I took this picture, Handsome Jack jumps down off the woodpile and puts on quiet a show for Lovie.

Lovie still showed no interest. That is Miss Ivy June in the background, watching the show.

Emiliano and his Men

Good Monday morning to you all. Hopefully some of you have this week off and can enjoy a little time unwinding from the busy year. Bandit Week continues here on OPOD with this picture of Emiliano Zapata and his men. Zapata was one of the most famous of the Mexican Bandits/Revolutionaries/Rebels/Freedom Fighters. He is pictured seated in the middle. Zapata and his men were part of the 1910 Mexican Revolution against President Diaz. Zapata was in charge of the Army of the South, and Pancho Villa was responsible for the Army of the North. So, initially Zapata, Madero, and Pancho Villa were united in their efforts to overthrow President Diaz. They were successful, and then Madero was put in charge. However, Zapata became unhappy with the lack of reform instituted by Madero, and Zapata then turned against him. Zapata led the revolutionary movement in the south for several years very successfully. Then he was betrayed and ambushed by two Mexican Generals and was killed. Zapata is most remembered for his motto, "It is better to die on your feet than live on your knees".

I really like the picture above. First I like the blatant display of firepower, as you would expect in a picture of Bandits. Second, I really like the traditional Bandit hats adorned by the men. I am concerned that one man is attending the Bandit meeting in a Bowler hat. I mean, lets say that the Federales raided the Bandit meeting. Who would you naturally suspect had tipped them off . . . the man with the big sombrero, or the man in the bowler hat? I suggest that if you attend a bandit meeting, proper headgear is a must.

Ah, a classic photo of the quintessential Mexican Bandit, Emiliano Zapata.  

Mexican Bandit

This week we are going to move South of the Border and look at Mexican Bandits and Revolutionaries. What better way to start the week than with this picture of the quintessential Revolutionary . . . José Doroteo Arango Arámbula, aka Francisco Villa, aka Pancho Villa. I like this picture of him because of the classic Bandoliers over his sholders forming an "X" across the chest. I would have preferred he have more actual weaponry in view, but I guess you can not have it all. Also, a little wider brim on the hat would have been nice, giving a little more of a sombrero look.

I find Mexican History to be fascinating. The 1800's and early 1900's appear to be one revolution after another. The central government would be corrupt, and then populist revolutionaries would appear to challenge the central government, but often times these revolutionaries were just as corrupt as the central government. It is interesting to try and figure out why the US evolved into a more stable government and society in the same time period. 

Wow, was that a Wild and Crazy Mystery Person Contest yesterday. The guesses were coming fast and furious. It was all I could do to keep up with all the contest entries. By midmorning I was becoming more confident that no one would get it, as it appeared my Arch-Nemesis the Evil Nate Maas had been stumped. While I did not get to have my victory breakfast this morning, I will admit that since no one had guessed it by lunch, I did have a splendid victory lunch.

I made that BBQ Brisket, and it was about the best I ever had. EAM made the potato salad and home made bread, and Mrs. PJM made the pinto beans. Now, zoom in and look at that piece of Brisket. The meat displays the highly sought after "Smoke Ring" which is the red area along the outside of the meat. I bet you have never seen such a big smoke ring. It goes half way into the meat. I have a secret formula for making such a large smoke ring. Unfortunately, I will be unable to share this most important secret with you, lest the Evil Nate Maas steals the recipe. 

There continues to be strange goings on out in Chickie Town. Handsome Jack's construction project is moving forward. He has the whole area cordoned off, but I was able to sneak in and snap a few pictures.

It looks like a large flat construction pad has been assembled.

In the picture below you can see Handsome Jack sitting on the solar panels watching over the construction site.

I will keep you posted as I learn more of what that bird is up to.

I don't have more pictures from Chickie Town right now. The chickies are molting right now, and don't want their pictures taken. They are a mess, as they have lost their feathers. Egg production is down from 9-10 eggs a day to about 3 eggs a day. Egg production is hurt when the chickies molt, and also when the days are short. I have a light on a timer in the Chickie Coop. If I turn it on, it will help get egg production back up, but if you use artificial light to increase egg production, the chickies do not live as long. So, as long as they produce enough for us to eat, I will leave the light off.