Government troops were promptly dispatched to the scene of trouble, but it was difficult to catch up with the marauders and engage them in battle. Their outbreaks would first be heard of in one neighbourhood, and a few days later reports of trouble would be received from sections quite remote. Additional armed bodies appeared in other sections, and it was not many weeks until the trouble began to present a serious aspect. Many of the government troops sent against the insurrectos were either cowardly or were in secret sympathy with those opposed to the government. Whenever actual engagements did occur the outcome was generally in favour of the Federal troops, but the defeated ones were always able to escape into the country, where it was difficult for them to be followed. The first battle of any note was fought at Mal Paso, when the Federals were routed, but a battle at Ojinaga a few days later was a decided defeat for the revolutionists. The failure of the government to stamp out the trouble promptly gave encouragement to all the disaffected ones, and the old spirit of lawlessness that once prevailed seemed about to break forth with all its animus and disregard of the rights of private property. The predominant figures among the insurrectos were the Maderos, a wealthy family that owned great estates near the city of Torreon. In the presidential campaign that had just passed, Francisco Madero had been a candidate for the presidency. He was thrown into prison, as that family asserted, simply because he dared to oppose the dictator who had held power for so long. The reason given out by the government was, of course, far different. Nevertheless all the disaffected factions of the republic rallied around this family, which did the principal financing of the revolutionists. A propaganda was conducted in the United States by the Maderos, and they obtained a great deal of encouragement from the majority of the newspapers of the United States, which had recently taken a position extremely antagonistic to the Diaz government. Francisco Madero established a revolutionary junta in El Paso, and large quantities of ammunition were sent across the border. A warrant for his arrest having been issued because of violation of the neutrality laws, Madero with a handful of followers crossed into Chihuahua and entered actively into the campaign.