18 miners, 17 American, murdered on orders by General Pancho Villa

This week Christopher Lance Habermeyer, author of Gringos' Curve: Pancho Villa's Massacre of American Miners in Mexico, 1916, contacted me about the anniversary of the massacre happening Jan. 10.

The El Paso Times of Jan. 12, 1916, reported that 18 mining men, all but one American, were “ruthlessly murdered” by men loyal to Mexican revolutionary General Francisco “Pancho” Villa.

Here is that report:

Mining Men Stripped Naked and Ruthlessly Shot Down By Band of Villa Savages

What is probably the most fiendish crime of the hundreds that have marked the course of the revolution in Mexico occurred Monday morning before daylight at a point near Santa Isabel, 40 miles west of Chihuahua on the Mexican Northwestern railroad, when 18 foreign mining men, all save one of them Americans, were ruthlessly murdered by a band of Mexicans, said to have been commanded by General Francisco Villa in person.

Dragged from, the train, on which they were en route to resume the operation of their properties in western Chihuahua, their passports and salvo conductos furnished by the Carranza authorities at Juárez and Chihuahua, scoffed at, the men were stripped of their clothing, clubbed, bayonetted and otherwise ill-treated, and the luckless 18 ruthlessly shot down by the side of the track. The train on which they traveled, and on which was a large number of Mexican passengers, was allowed to proceed to its destination.

The bodies of the 18 victims were recovered by a party sent out under guard from Chihuahua and are now en route to El Paso and may possibly reach here this morning.

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Only One American Survives

Tom B. Holmes, the only survivor of the party, hid in a lavatory while his companions were being led away, and shortly afterward heard their shrieks for mercy while the bandits stripped them of their clothing. Then followed the volley and all was silence.

According to the best information available, the Americans left Chihuahua Sunday night on their way to reopen the properties of the Cust Mining company in western Chihuahua. Both at Chihuahua and Juárez they were given safe conducts and passports by the Carranza authorities. At kilometer 68 the train was stopped and several armed Villistas invaded the passenger coaches.

“All gringos step pout, please,” was the command.

After a thorough search of the train and each American lined up beside the railway the conductor was commanded to continue on his way with the fifty other passengers − all Mexicans − who were not molested.

Holmes dropped off and hid in the brush, from which place he heard the cries of his companions as they were being beaten and shot to death.

At first, it was reported in El Paso that General Jose Rodriguez had charge of the men who did the execution, but later dispatches confirmed the report that General Vila himself directed the wholesale slaughter of the Americans, who fell victim to his wrath against the American government for its recent recognition of Carranza.

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Villa Declared Americans in Mexico Would Suffer

In several proclamations and statements which he has made to the press Villa has declared that he would make Americans in Mexico suffer the mistake made by the Washington government in turning against him.

Shortly after his defeat at Hermosillo a month ago, Villa issued a proclamation stating that he would kill ever gringo (American) that fell into his hands if the Washington administration gave further aid to Carranza by permitting his troops to pass through United States territory. He added that he had sent a personal telegram to President Wilson giving him this warning.

Three weeks after Villa’s proclamation was printed in American newspapers the department of state at Washington telegraphed permission to General Obregon to pass 1,000 troops through the United States from Nogales, Ariz., to Juárez. This action was taken to help Carranza run down the Villistas in northern Mexico.

Assured by the fact that they would be given full protection in Mexico, and armed with passports and personal letters from the Carranza authorities, the eighteen men left El Paso last Saturday for Cusihuiriachi by way of Chihuahua. Forty-eight hours later they were slaughtered by Villa.

Nearly every member of the unfortunate band was among the gusts who attended a banquet given here ten days ago to General Alvaro Obregon. Among other things, the Carranza chief said:

“I invite all you men to come to Mexico. I want you to come down into our territory and open up your mines and smelters. I give you my word that you will be given full protection. Our government is in complete control of every important center in Chihuahua. Nothing will happen to you, because the Villistas are shipped. Villa is a thing of the past.”

Although the eighteen men went into Mexico at General Obregon’s invitation and armed with passports signed by officials in Juárez, they were refused protection by the Carranza authorities in Chihuahua. When a request was made for a guard of 100 soldiers to accompany the train carrying the American employees of the Cust Mining company at the company’s expense, the Carranza commander at Chihuahua refused absolutely to furnish this guard on the ground that all soldiers were needed for the southern campaign. The party then, having gone that far, decided to make their way from Chihuahua to Cusihuiriachi without military escort.

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Troops After Murderers

“Messages from General Jacinto Trevino stated troops had been sent from Chihuahua to pursue the bandits.”

Because of the massacre of the Americans, managers of mining companies in northern Mexico who have sent their employees to Chihuahua or are preparing to do so met last night to decide whether or not to resume operation. It was suggested at the meeting that they call all American employees from Chihuahua and withhold resuming operations until they were able to secure guarantees for the lives of their officials and employees. Until they have communicated with Washington they have deferred taking definite action.

List of victims of the Villa massacre:

C.R. Watson, El Paso, married.

W.J. Wallace, El Paso, married, two children.

M.R. Romero, El Paso, married.

T.M. Evans, Chihuahua, married.

C.A. Pringle, San Francisco, unmarried.

M. Anderson, Chihuahua, unmarried.

R.P. MacHatton, El Paso, married.

A. Couch, Chihuahua, unmarried.

Alex. Hall, Douglas, Ariz.

Charles Wadleigh, Bisbee, Ariz.

E.L. Robinson, El Paso, married.

G.W. Newman, El Paso, married.

H.C. Hasse, Miami, Ariz.

J. Adams, El Paso.

R.M. Simmons, El Paso.

W.B. Pearce, Los Angles, married.

J.W. Woom, Canada.

B.W. Coy.

Trish Long may be reached at tlongelpasotimes.com or 915-546-6179.

This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: 18 miners ruthlessly shot on orders by General Pancho Villa in 1916: Trish Long