Pancho Villa Can’t Think of Something Deep to Say as He Lay Dying, So Asks Followers to Make Something Up
A romantic hero’s legend can always use some romantically heroic last words to close the tale. But what if the hero can’t think of anything memorable to cap off his story? The tale of Francisco “Pancho” Villa (1878 – 1923) illustrates what might happen then. Villa was born into an impoverished family of Mexican sharecroppers. He received some elementary schooling, but had not progressed beyond basic literacy when his father died and he had to quit school and help his mother. Villa worked a variety of menial jobs, interspersed with stints of banditry. At age 16, he reportedly killed his first man: a hacienda owner he accused of raping his sister. He then stole his victim’s horse and fled to the hills, beginning his career as a full time bandit.
Villa was captured in 1902, but was spared the death penalty, and got drafted into the Mexican army instead. He deserted after killing an officer and stealing his horse, and returned to banditry. In 1910, the Mexican Revolution began, and Villa was persuaded that he could fight for the people by directing his banditry against hacienda owners. He turned out to be a natural at the revolution’s style of warfare, and was instrumental in defeating the government’s forces in northern Mexico.
After victory, the rebel alliance split when the new government failed to enact promised land reforms. Villa, appointed a brigadier general, supported the new government, but struck a superior general during a quarrel and was sentenced to death. He was saved from the firing squad by a last minute telegram from the president, ordering his imprisonment instead.
Villa escaped prison and fled to the US, but returned to Mexico in 1913, after securing American support to fight against a new government that had seized power in a coup. In the second round of fighting, Villa again achieved considerable success, and he was appointed governor of the state of Chihuahua. As governor, he confiscated grand haciendas, breaking them up into smaller plots which he redistributed to the families of fallen revolutionaries. It was during this period that Villa gained international fame, and was depicted as a romantic bandit-warrior who took from the rich and gave to the poor.
The coup-installed government was overthrown, but the victorious allies again fell out. This third round of fighting did not go well for Villa, and he suffered repeated setbacks. By 1915, his forces had shrunk to a small band hiding in the hills, and the US shifted its backing from Villa to his opponents. Feeling betrayed, he began attacking American interests in northern Mexico, and in 1916, crossed the border and attacked the town of Columbus, New Mexico. The US responded with a military expedition to Mexico, to hunt down Villa. He eluded the Americans, and his popularity rose among Mexicans resentful of the intrusion.
Villa continued guerrilla warfare until 1920, when he made peace and recognized the Mexican government in exchange for an amnesty and a 25,000 acre hacienda. In 1923, he announced plans to run for president, but soon thereafter, his car was ambushed and shot up. Fatally wounded, Villa realized that a life as interesting as his should end with an interesting final statement. However, he could not think of anything memorable, so his last words as he lay dying were: “Don’t let it end like this! Tell them I said something!”