Don Venustiano Carranza and General I. L. Pesqueira _Frontispiece_ FACING PAGE Don Rafael Zubáran Capmany 99 Modesto C. Rolland 106 War Map of Mexico 114 General Alvaro Obregon 118 General S. Alvarado 132 General Pablo Gonzalez 142 General Benjamin Hill 176 CHAPTER I LIFE OF CARRANZA DON VENUSTIANO CARRANZA! Who is this man, practically unknown to the American public a year and a half ago, who with the help of the Mexican Constitutionalists, overthrew the most cynical, murderous, grafting and powerful military dictatorship that ever existed in Mexico? Concentration of power in Mexico City, the support of the foreigners, of the church, the bankers, the landowners, the militarists, of foreign bankers and most foreign nations, with the exception of the United States Government, were at the disposal of General Huerta and his régime, but Carranza and the Constitutionalists eliminated this nefarious rule after eighteen months of unbroken victories, sweeping finally into Mexico City in a peaceful, orderly manner. The American public is beginning to realize that such a thorough victory could never have been achieved without a popular movement, directed by a fearless, statesmanlike chief. Venustiano Carranza, with the exception of Don Fernando Iglesias Calderón, is the oldest of all the Constitutionalists, who have fought for the last year and a half, with every means in their power, against the rule of General Huerta and his governmental camorra. Don Venustiano Carranza was born in the State of Coahuila in 1859, and is therefore, fifty-five years old. In spite of the assertion of one of the correspondents who interviewed him six months ago for the _Metropolitan_ magazine, Mr. John Reed, we claim that Carranza is anything but a “senile old man,” for he rode over 1,500 miles on horseback, through the States of Nuevo Leon, Coahuila, Durango, Chihuahua and Sonora, visiting the military camps, organizing all the state and federal governments, and finally settling down in Hermosillo, State of Sonora, as his capital. Later, after Torreon had been captured from the Federals, Carranza with his staff and soldiers again crossed the State of Sonora into Chihuahua on horseback, a distance of nearly 300 miles. We must admit that unless Carranza had lived a greater part of his life on his farm, he would not have been able to stand the hardships and rigors of that famous ride. His mental training was that of a lawyer, for he studied in the schools of Coahuila and finished his law course in Mexico City.