191 2n Madero 



"Cruz Blanca" (White Cross), the Mexican reHef 

 organization. 



Photographers had made snapshots of various a squalid 

 scenes — pictures which gave a pecuHarly sordid ^"'"■fi^''^ 

 and repulsive impression of the "Battle of Juarez." 

 One showed a long line of freight cars drawn up on 

 the American side of the river, and covered with 

 hundreds of men and boys watching the fight. 

 Naturally a bullet had occasionally crossed the line. 

 As a result some of our ardent war-spirits favored 

 an instant declaration of war against Mexico. 



In the station at El Paso I met President Francisco 

 Madero and staff, then about to leave through Texas 

 via Laredo for the City of Mexico, the direct road by 

 Torreon and Chihuahua being interrupted. Madero 

 was a short, stoutish man of the "sawed-off" type, 

 looking very much like General Grant. Modest in 

 demeanor and quiet in speech, he seemed distinctly 

 different from the military hero of Spanish America 

 as traditionally presented. He told me that he had 

 been a student in the University of California in the 

 Department of Agriculture, adopting meanwhile 

 that curious half-apologetic air with which some 

 graduates of our sister institution explain why they 

 went there instead of to Stanford ! He made on me a 

 favorable personal impression; nevertheless, his char- An impos- 

 acter and experience scarcely fitted him to ride ^'^^'^""'^ 

 safely over the stormy seas of revolution, beset by 

 foreign exploiters, dissatisfied clericals, and his own 

 greedy followers and relatives. 



Accompanying Madero were Generals Huerta and 

 Blanquet — burly, brigand-like fellows soon to play 

 false toward their leader. With him also was an 

 ambitious young man. Colonel Hay, who had lost 



n 443 3 



