The Junior Historian, Volume 12, Number 6, May 1952 Page: 4
32 p. : ill. ; 25 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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THE JUNIOR HISTORIAN
A TEXAN MEETS PANCHO VILLA
by ROBERT H. PARKINSON
Texas Military Institute, San AntonioJESSE MADLA was born in 1908
on San Geronimo Creek near Helo-
tes, Texas, where his father owned
a small ranch. Jesse stayed with his
family and helped with the ranch until
he was twenty. In I1918 he moved to
Mexico and by 1920 was in charge of
three or four taxis in a small Mexican
town in Coahuila. Early one morning
in July, 1920, Madla had his only en-
counter with the Mexican revolutionary
Pancho Villa.
Madla was sleeping in the back room
of his house when he was awakened by
a knock on the door. When he asked
who was there, a man replied that he
wanted the use of Madla's taxis. At
first Jesse thought that someone was
playing a trick on him and told the
voice to come back later. Then the man
at the door identified himself as Pancho
Villa and said that if Madla did not
want trouble, he should get outside
pronto.
Villa and Madla went out the back
way to the shed where the cars were
kept. Madla was then told to drive
Villa and four other men to the main
buildings in the town. They drove first
to the revenue office, where Madla
waited in the car while the revolution-
ists went inside. Before the men re-
turned, Madla heard shots. Later he
overheard one man tell Villa that some
persons did not know when to take
orders and to keep their mouths shut.
Then they went to the post office, the
local bank, and finally to the livery
stable, where many horses were kept.
Madla says that within an hour he
saw at least twenty persons shot down
in the streets while trying to resist
robbery. After taking all the horses
that could be rounded up, Villa told
Madla to drive him to the house of El
Lamar, a wealthy rancher, in whose
home Villa was making his headquar-
ters. When they reached the rancho,
Jesse got up enough courage to askVilla why he had been chosen to help
take over the town. Villa stated that
Madla had been referred to him by
friendly bandits whom he had met in
other towns and that he knew Jesse
could be trusted.
That afternoon Villa told Madla to
go with Trillo, one of Villa's officers, to
the railroad station to meet General
Martinez, who was coming to make
peace with Villa. They had been wait-
ing at the station about an hour when
the train arrived. The special train was
a freight with soldiers hanging on the
sides, riding underneath, and packed
inside to full capacity. Before the train
had arrived, Villa had placed his men
behind houses and brush on each side
of the track and all around the station.
No one on either side made a move.
General Martinez got off the train
alone and walked out to meet Trillo and
Madla. The three men shook hands and
walked to Villa's headquarters in the
home of El Lamar. After the signing
of the treaty, Villa asked Madla
whether he wanted to leave with him
that night. MV'adla replied that he would
be grateful if he could remain. When
asked how much Villa owed him for
his trouble, Jesse stated that he did not
owe him anything. The two men shook
hands, wished each other luck, and
never saw each other again.
Now Jesse Madla is living on the
ranch in Helotes with his brother
Manuel. Jesse has turned part of the
ranch into a playground or recreation
park with a fine swimming place on
the San Geronimo Creek, a baseball
diamond, and many picnic tables. There
Jesse can be found nearly every week
end throughout the summer months.
As this stocky well-built man stands
in the shade of a tree watching his
guests play and swim, he perhaps
thinks of his adventure that day thirty-
two years ago when he chauffeured
Pancho Villa.
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Texas State Historical Association. The Junior Historian, Volume 12, Number 6, May 1952, periodical, May 1952; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth391342/m1/6/: accessed May 30, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.