After much prodding of Ortiz Rubio, C. Governor, who really was interested in helping us even though the Head of Operations [Jefe de Operaciones Federales] was suspicious, we succeeded in having the Governor order the forces of the Third Regiment ["Fuerzas del 3er Regimiento del Estado"] under the command of Colonel Jaime Carrillo and Lt. Col. Teodoro Villegas to install us safely ["instalar"] at our town [Huandacareo].
Previously, I had written to [Salvador] Urrutia setting forth my plans and requesting him that upon notification he join the newly organized defense ["se incorporarara en la reinstalacion de la defensa"].
The 15th of July, 1918, at 6:30 in the afternoon, we left with the Third Regiment and Leopoldo [Diaz (defender)], Epifano [Diaz (defender)], Salvador Diaz [(defender)], Eusebio Garcia (from Cuitzeo, who wished to accompany us), Francisco Mora from Santa Ana Maya, and myself [Socorro Diaz Diaz (defender)]. Our plan as outlined--and agreed upon with the leadership of the Regiment--was that we would leave Morelia to arrive at Huandacareo at dawn. We would call for Urrutia [to escort them in] and the Regiment would return to Morelia three days after, or that is to say, after we were organized.
Our first disillusionment came upon arrival at the "Hacienda de La Soledad", two kilometers from Morelia, when the march was stopped so that the Regiment might be quartered . The following day, we bagan the march, but upon coming before the town of Tarimbaro, the order was given for the troop to go have breakfast at said town. We arrived [at Tarimbaro] at 8:00 in the morning. At 10 in the morning, a group of rebels, followers of Altamirano ["rebeldes Altamiranistas"], from the edge of town, began to fire upon us, succeeding in causing some confusion since although the cavalry's horses were tied up at the main plaza, the soldiers--instead of giving chase to the enemy--climbed up the tower steeple and from there began to fire their weapons without knowing who they were firing upon. We [the defenders] understood that it was more than an attack--a reticence [to engage] the rebels--and I asked for permission from the Colonel to set out a scouting party. Upon becoming aware of this, the rebels took flight since there were only 10 or 12 of them.
Upon my return and reporting the results of the reconnaissance, I learned the news that Captain Francisco Rangel Diaz, relative, and who resided at "Rancho de San Jose" of that jurisdiction, had been advised by some acquaintances, that the rebels from "Las Coronillas" under the command of leaders Chavez, Froylan Tena with their people and other groups, were waiting for the Regiment at "La Canada de La Magdalena" or "Meson Nuevo." The Colonel divided the Regiment into three sections, each one under the command of a Captain. He ordered one to set out for the "Hacienda de El Calvario" and advance north; another was to leave town directly, and the third with the major party to travel the middle road. Twenty minutes afterward, the shooting began from the party on our left, but upon the Third [Regiment] continuing on through the canyon to "Meson Nuevo," the Colonel, upon [his horse] jumping a fence, fell, horse and all, causing a great retreat for which I asked, with my 6 comrades [defenders] and a small group made available to me by Captain Pedro Calderon--former defender of Santa Ana Maya and a friend of mine--to be authorized to give chase. We were able to arrive at the place where [the other group] was having a shoot-out with the bandits. At over 2,000 meters [away], I motioned to the Captain to cease firing. He had in his group one wounded in the back, which indicated that the the same soldiers, inexperienced, were the cause. At the "Ranchito El Carrizal" we regrouped with the column after having chased the rebels for some distance.
Upon arriving at the plain near the town of Cuto, the column followed the road that leads to the "Rancho de Jamaica," and, upon telling the Colonel that that was not the road to Cuitzeo and Huandacareo, he advised me that his orders were to go to the "Hacienda La Noria" and then continue the route through the zone in order to leave us at our destination.
At said property, a party of some six rebels were firing from the "garitones" in front of the entrance, but with my comrades [fellow defenders] and the people given me by Captain Calderon, we dislodged them, recovering three saddled horses, two of which we handed over to the Colonel and the other for Francisco Mora who was on foot. We were at [Hacienda] La Noria until the evening of the 20th of July.
The 18th of July, the Colonel was advised that part of the people headed by Chavez operating towards "Arumbaro" were in habit of coming down to "Cuto" to eat in the morning. And so we planned giving them a surprise. To this end, at 3:00 in the morning he [Colonel] ordered one captain, with 30 men be mobilized to position themselves at the fence to the east of the town and that 50 [men] under the command of Major Aceves and the men from Huandacareo would wait--in hiding until the arrival of the rebels--in the town of Jamaica. All this was well planned, but the ones sent to the fence did not wait for us to take cover. Upon entering the town of "Cuto," they began shooting and did not wait for us to cover them. This occasioned the Colonel to dress down the Captain for not having controlled his men. We chased the rebel-bandits to a ranch between two hills/mounds ["lomas"] in the direction of Arumbaro. Upon being in a fire-fight with them, Juan Diaz came along, headed for Morelia; he had with him as prisoner, Sabino Rangel. He urged me to let him have a rifle and 100 cartridges in order to set him free. But signals from Padre Lara, town Parrish [Sr. Fr. Jesus Cayetano Lara, Parroquia de Huandacareo], and from don Vicente Tinoco "Manacatas" precluded his liberty.
On the 20th [of July] at 3:00 in the afternoon, the Colonel called me and communicated to me his orders from the C. Governor. He had to return to Morelia without completing his offer to take us to our town. He offered me the grade of Captain and that of Corporals and Sargeants to my comrades. He said that he had come to realize the caliber of men we were. I consulted my comrades as to whether they would continue to follow [the Colonel] but they all absolutely refused. And so we planned that that very night we would separate ourselves from the Regiment in order to direct ourselves--unescorted--to Moroleon. To the effect that those "Huandacarenses" there [would join us] and we would proceed to [Huandacareo] to reorganize the town. Upon advising the Colonel, it was lamented that he could not accompany us. I should note that Librado Ortiz [rebel-bandit], who was aware that we [the defenders] accompanied Colonel Carrillo, sent me a note saying if I was man enough I should pass through "El Puerto Cuto."
Naturally, we were not so stupid as to go where we knew they were waiting for us, so we hired a guide to take us through the hills as far as the town of "San Juan Tararameo" on the edge of the lake [Lago de Cuitzeo]--at nighttime. We left the "Hacienda La Noria" at 9:00 in the evening and upon arriving to the point where the lake was visible, the guide refused to continue onward because he feared the rebels would kill him if it was known that he had accompanied us.
As there was not even a path and the night was very dark, we frequenly rolled over, horse and all; arriving at "San Juan [Tararameo"] at about 4:00 in the morning. At 4:30 [a.m.], we arrived at "Ranchito de La Palma," at the roadway ["la calzada"] that crossed the lake. Upon waking up don Jose Maria [Last name?] who sold breakfast to travelers ["arrieros" (mule team drivers)] and confusing us with the rebels, advised us that a "general with many people" had arrived at Chucandiro. This, we believed, was the reason for the return of the Third Regiment to Morelia.
He [Jose Maria--who thought we were rebels] also informed that the so-called Colonel Contreras (follower of Altamirano) was in Cuitzeo, for which we upon saying good-bye began at gallop pace the "paso de la Calzada" [highway or graveled roadway]. If they [the bandit-rebels] became aware that we were close by, they could shoot at us on that very roadway, with no way of escape for us. We succeeded in passing through the lakeshore ["Laguna de Cuitzeo"] before sunrise and at a fast pace continued on to Jeruco, where seeing our arrival, some four rebels left running northward.
Upon arriving at Capacho, the bells began to ring, and we thought there to be rebels there also, but don Silverio Gonzalez informed us that Padre Lara of Huandacareo, had arrived to celebrate [mass]; by which we remembered to go to mass and to speak with the Padre. Upon leaving the church [at Capacho] and seeing that there were only five of us, he chided us for being so dumb as to enter the zone that was plagued with rebels. He gave us his breakfast and his saddled horse, since Eusebio Garcia was [traveling] on foot. Although we refused to accept the horse, he insisted and almost forced it upon us. Upon leaving the town, we learned that the rebel from Huandacareo, Sabino Rangel, was on his way that very day to collect a loan that he had imposed on "los senores Leon y Gonzalez". Because of this, we planned to teach him [Sabino Rangel] a lesson.
To this end, at the small mountain ["cerrito"] to the north of the cemetery, we positioned ourselves to wait for [Sabino] Rangel with his 10 companions, for whom I had ordered that the horses not be unsaddled but that only the "frenos" [bridles] should be removed. As we had not slept during the night, I told them to go ahead and sleep and I kept guard. We wanted to capture one of them in order to rescue my brother, Juan, for whom we were taking the aforesaid risks.
Due to the heat, approaching midnight, I began to fall asleep when don Rodrigo Fernandez called me. He was a neighbor in those days from Capacho. He advised me at that moment that many rebel forces were entering the town--something that I could see since I saw them passing through the cementery! Fernandez added that he had been told that it was "General" Sintora with more than 300 southerners. I immediately called the comrades [fellow defenders] and we decided to leave because I realized someone had betrayed us. A patrol of some 25 men were headed to where we were, undoubtedly to capture us! We stampeded through the ravines of "Cerro de Manuna," fearing that they would follow after us. We traveled about three kilometers in the direction of "Rancho de Tupatarillo," in the forest; where the following anecdote occurred: We were at the bottom of a ravine ("barranca") between two hills relatively close when we heard someone shout, asking if they had seen us pass, and to which came the answer from the other side that no one had been seen passing.
Believing we were safe from our pursuers, we scouted the mountain a bit and began to take a trench with large rocks/boulders to position ourselves against an attack we thought was imminent. Since 30-minutes had passed without us being attacked, Leopoldo Diaz slipped away from the trench, "entre el encinal" [among the oaks/woods] to make a reconnaissance, proving that no one was chasing after us. Afterward we learned Padre Lara--upon arriving on foot at Huandacareo--took pity on us for not having eaten and having prepared food, left--to bring us food-- to the mountain where we had told him we would be passing, without having located us.
We left our trench and directed ourselves to Tupatarillo to look for something to eat and after about half a kilometer, we became aware--through Leopoldo Diaz--that two persons were leaving the ranch, hurriedly, in our direction. We covered ourselves among the brier and as they passed in front of us, we called out for them to halt, something that made them scared, because they thought we were going to shoot them. One of them was our uncle, Nicolas Herrera, who in order to save his herd, had joined with the rebels, and after seeing that he was robbed anyway, had deserted them [the rebel-bandit gangs]. And this was the reason for the fear that caused him to flee to the mountain whenever a bandit gang approached. For that very reason, he was fleeing because leader, Jose Ma. Hernandez, had robbed a girl from Huandacareo and was celebrating his wedding at the "Rancho de Tupataro." To this end, he [rebel-gang leader] had sent for the musical band from Zumbilla which was well known in the region and which we heard playing. As Hernandez [rebel-gang leader] had sent a patrol to Tupatarillo to gather chickens for the banquet, our uncle [at "Rancho de Tupataro"] fled to hide. We had to return to where we had left the others in the forest and to top it off with a hail storm. I forced Pedro Villanueva, who accompanied my Uncle Herrera, to guide us through the mountain, "Cerro de Manuna," to direct ourselves toward Moroleon, since we were unacquainted with the way.
Someone, assuredly to ingratiate themselves with the rebels, had told them that we were headed toward Moroleon, since at the bottom/lap of the mountain we saw two fellows on horseback take off as we approached.
We almost ran into a patrol who was out looking for us, but since it was now dark, at the bottom of the mountain at "Rancho Nuevo", my horse, who was very suspicious, began to snort with his ears perked upward. We halted and with Leopoldo we slipped away to a fence which marked the boundary to the town. We saw a patrol of about eight men pass by us, headed in the direction of "Rancho del Cerro." Once they were far away, we crossed into the ranch [property] and through the horse pastures/horse stalls ["potreros"], directed ourselves to the point known as "las cuatro esquinas" [four corners]. Before we arrived there, we saw another two rebels who were traveling through the narrow pass/alley ["callejon"] and who made themselves to be disinterested even though they had seen us cross the plain. Seeing that they did not halt us, we agreed to make ourselves pass as "Villistas" under the command of Sintora and that we were on a mission from the "General" to recover a large order of ammunition. As they had two very good horses, I insisted that they accompany us to Moroleon, assuring them I did not know the road. I offered them 100 cartridges and 100 pesos each one, but they did not accept, assuredly, because the moon had come out and they had recognized us.
They indicated to us the road we must follow and parted from us at "Las Cuatro Esquinas." They had barely traveled some 50 meters away from us when they spurred their horses at full run headed toward "Rancho del Cerro." This confirmed our belief that they were going to pursue us and actually, we were descending at Sepio's mid-hill/mountain ["bajando a media cuesta de Sepio"], when we realized we were being followed by a party of rebels. We passed through [property of] "Rancho de Sepio" at full run and upon reaching a ravine that was protected by a double fence, we dismounted the horses, in order to confront them, confident that upon hearing the combat, Salvador Urrutia with the people from Huandacareo [staying in Moroleon] would come to our aid--we were three kilometers from Moroleon. The bandits also realized our position and began a verbal assault, calling us names: "Cebolleros", "Correlones." And we to them: "Bandidos", "pelavacas" and "montoneros." After the course of such and insults they retreated and we directed ourselves to Moroleon where we arrived at 11:00 in the evening. For this reason, fearing the defenders [of Moroleon] would shoot at us, only Epifano, my brother, and I entered [the town]. But not knowing where Urrutia's residence was, we went to the Office of the Police Command ["Comandancia de Policia"] at the plaza. We awoke the nightguard ["policia de guardia"] who got scared believing we were rebels and did not know the address [for Salvador Urrutia], not even that of Mauro Garcia, who was the Police Inspector ["Inspector de Policia"] for that town. Seeing that we could not reach Urrutia, we directed ourselves to Uriangato, where in those days was found Don Nicolas Nunez, selling his harvest. Without the defenders of [Uriangato's town hall] "Presidencia Municipal"--one block away--being aware, I was able to reach the house of Sr. Nunez whom I had to work hard to convince I was not being held prisoner. He had heard of our daring adventure through Urrutia and would not open the door to let us in until he personally identified one-by-one those who accompanied me. He deemed us crazy for having dared to cross the rebel zone and more importantly, they gave us to eat supper--it had been more than 24-hours since we had eaten.
The following day, the "Presidente Municipal" [Mayor] and part of the "Ayuntamiento" [Town Council] went to the house of don Nicolas to congratulate us for our adventure, but in reality, to ask that we accompany an escort comprised of neighbors who were going to wait for Senor Ramon Nunez who was coming from Salvatierra with a shipment of ammunition for the defense.
In the meetings that we had in the days subsequent with don Nicolas and Salvador Urrutia, we recalled that it was indispensable to go to Morelia to gather part of the armament there in order to organize in adequate form the recuperation of our town. To that end, the 31st day of July, we left for Salvatierra to take a train: don Nicolas, Urrutia, Leopoldo [Diaz] and Epifanio Diaz, accompanied by people from Moroleon who were going to take the train with us. We needed to form a group of large number for protection against the frequent assaults from bandidos in that area.
Upon arriving at Morelia, we went with Urrutia to advise the C.Governor of our plans. He congratulated me for the said adventure in having crossed the zone even to Moroleon and at the same time asked forgiveness because the forces of the Third Regiment had not been able to complete their mission to install us at our town [Huandacareo]. He invited Urrutia and myself to accompany him that afternoon to a meeting to take place in the northern part of the city; an invitation we accepted, naturally, and we accompanied him, with his "estado mayor" to the "Hacienda de el Colegio y San Jose por el Norte"; and along 6:00 in the afternoon, near the vicinity of "Los Filtros," to a conference he had with one of the heads of the revolution under the command of Altimirano and whom a few days afterward accepted amnesty.
The battle to recuperate Huandacareo
The 8th of August [1918], by train, we returned to Salvatierra in order to go to Moroleon--12 comrades that resided in Morelia ["la capital"] and who were coming to join the defenders for the recuperation of Huandacareo. We left [Moroleon] on the 9th [of August, 1918], at 5:00 in the morning--but not by way of the ordinary road, but through the mountains, in order to stop at "Rancho de Chicho," at the boundaryline between [the states of] Guanajuato and Michoacan, to the north of our town [Huandacareo]. The column incorporated 42 neighbors from Huandacareo and two from Moroleon, Donaciano Juarez (Cuatro-ojos), and Jose Almanza. Upon reaching the ranch indicated ["Rancho Chicho"], we had three break-ups to attack the rebels who were at Huandacareo; one under the command of Marcelo Campos [defender of Huandacareo at battle of January 8th, 1918], would go on to the "Rancho de Tupataro" continuing on through "El Reseco" and attack from the east--it was comprised of ten men and their leader.
The second--under the command of don Miguel Gazca and Nicolas Manriquez [January 8th defender]--would follow in the direction of the river, "Arroyo Blanco," to the canyon alley that goes to Villa Morelos, following through all the canyon in order to attack from the west. It was formed by 15 men.
Urrutia and I would follow through "Las Mesas" in order to attack from the north. Five men were assigned to me: Epifanio [Diaz, January 8th defender], Salvador Diaz [defender], Ramon Fernandez [defender], Jose Almanza and Conrado Vargas [defender] as a column that was free to roam ["volante'] whereever it's help was needed most.
Giving the three sections lead time, they arrived at their assigned points. At exactly 2:00 in the afternoon the order to initiate the advance on the town [of Huandacareo] was given. It is possible that the rebel-gang of Sabino Rangel and some of "La Canada" were aware of our approach; when we descended from "Las Mesas" they began to ring the bell of alarm and they came out running in the direction of the town cemetary. A short while afterward, began the battle between them and the people under don Miguel Gazca. In the shootout died two [rebels] under Sabino Rangel--Jose Ines [Vargas] and Jose Refugio Vargas, brothers. Completing with the mission given to me, we mobilized rapidly toward the river "Arroyo de San Francisco," and while going through the "La Nopalera" in front of the cemetery, my comrades [fellow defenders] confused me and began to shoot toward us, but Roman Tinoco told them not to be stupid, didn't they see it was the escort Urrutia had ordered to aid them and [thus] they suspended their firing. We reached the entrance to the horse pasture?/horse stalls? ["Potrero de San Francisco"] where J. Refugio Vargas [rebel] was lying on the ground with a bullet to his dorsal spine. As he was still alive, we insisted he mount his horse so we could take him to the church to confess, to which he responded that at any rate, "se lo iba a llevar la tiznada," better to give him a bullet. When the comrades declined to do this, he stretched towards his rifle and acted as if he was going to fire at us, so that it was necessary to fire at him. We gathered him to his house and the following day we buried him. The combat had lasted 45-minutes. At 3:00 in the afternoon, we had taken the town [Huandacareo].
During [the next] eight days we dedicated ourselves to repair our fortunes which had seen destruction at the hands of the rebels. We cleaned the filth from the plaza, the atrium of the church, and the public garden where we fed the 20-plus horses that were with us.
The 17th of August, 1918, [A party from Huandacareo] left to bring back some neighbors who were at Moroleon who had not been able to leave with us prior. [The party consisted of :] Salvador Urrutia, Miguel Gazca and 18 men--who were also going to gather their families. I was left in charge of the [civilian] defense, and having to be on guard because a party of "Canados", knowing we were not at our full number had made their way to "La Hacienda [de Huandacareo]". We went out [from the town] to chase them away and were successful, since upon our approaching the hacienda [property], they fled out through the "Potrero Prieto" [either horse pasture or horse stalls named Prieto].
On the 18th [of August, 1918], we were also on high alert because it was made known to us that a party of bandits from the area of Chucandiro were able to approach as close as "Rancho de San Cristobal." At 11:00 in the evening, we thought we were being attacked from the east, but it was Hilario Chavez, Guillermo Chavez, Agustin E. Hipolito Rangel, Leopoldo Diaz, Patricio Diaz, Juan [Diaz] (my brother), and 15 other defenders who, without protection/escort, had left Morelia by train to Andocutin and from there by way of Santa Ana Maya and Cuitzeo had come to join the [civilian] defense.
On the 19th [of August, 1918], upon the arrival of [Salvador] Urrutia, we began to distribute the people among the "fortines" (fortlets/battle stations). Prior to this we had concentrated on defending the tower [bell tower at Templo de San Jeronomio]. And we [now] organized the services as we had had them prior to evacuation. Every eight days, an escort of 20 men would leave for Moroleon to bring back Huandacrenses who still lived there.
We reorganized our espionage ("espionaje") service at the neighboring towns and ranches. Through them, our spies, we learned that Chavez Garcia had arrived at Chucandiro the 4th of September and that it was almost certain that he was headed in our direction.
In effect, on the 5th of September,[1918], [Chavez Garcia] arrived at the "Hacienda de Huandacareo" and from there demanded our surrender, with our sending him a burning response sending him to ..... . Upon receipt of our response, he began to mobilize against our town. We doubted he would attack, because we learned that he did not even have half the "chuzma" (rabble/mob) with him with which he had attacked us in January. He did not have more than 600 men. He dispatched close to 100 men under the command of "Colonel" Bravo, so that following the canyon that leads to Villa Morelos, they could attack us from the north. Toward the south, he sent Ramon Nunez or Rafael Ortiz to position themselves to attack from that direction. And, he sent Sacramenlo Vieyra to position himself to the east to attack us from that side. Chavez positioned himself at the hill ("cerrito") that is behind the cemetery, from where he would send groups to reinforce the other attacking parties--which were sent back by the ones at the tower and the battle station at the "casa de Figueroa." [Miguel Figueroa Guzman, defender, Reten #5, Defense of January 8, 1918].
From the north, only one attempt to attack us was made. They succeeded in traveling as far in as the "Esquina del Ojo de Agua," but having lost three, felled by the defenders who were at the "Esquina" in front of where the cine (movie house) is located, they retreated to "La Calle Nueva" without launching another attack. From the east, we did not have to engage in battle since Sacramento Vieyra concentrated his efforts on getting us to surrender. And, at 4:00 in the afternoon, before the firefight was over, he retreated with his 80 to 100 men towards Cuitzeo and Santa Ana Maya, the area where he operated. Seeing that he was not able to terrorize us, much less dislodge us, Chavez suspended his attack and pulled his people back, leaving by way of the river "Arroyo Blanco" and "Las Mesas" toward the direction of "La Cienega" de Guanajuato [in the State of].
On the 4th of September, 1918, upon learning that the barbarian ("troglodita") could be found in Chucandiro, through courier, we advised the C. Governor of the State and the Head of the Federal Operations ("Jefatura del Operaciones Federales"). The C. Governor ordered Colonel Jaime Carrillo to mobilize from Indaparapeo, were he was located, in order to come help us--something which was not done, since he did not arrive until the 8th at about 10 O'Clock in the morning. The "Jefatura de Operaciones" ordered General Alfonso Pruneda to also come to help us from Zacapu where he was located and he did arrive at Chucandireo on the 6th [of September], causing some wounded/kills to a small party of bandits operating there who had hidden from Chavez so as not to accompany him in the attack upon us [at Huandacareo].
[The September 6, 1918 lettter from Salvador Urrutia reporting to "C. Gobernador del Estado Ing. Pascual Ortiz Rubio" at Morelia over the Chavez attack on Huandacareo can be found in Document No. 12 of the "Documented Notes and Orders" posted in this blog.]
General Pruneda arrived at Huandacareo on the 7th [of September, 1918], and having kept watch the night at Huandacareo, gave up his chase of Chavez. Upon the departure of the general [Gen. Pruneda], Colonel Carrillo arrived with his Third Regiment and the general, who knew the orders that had been issued him in Morelia, "le puzo como lazo de cochino." [Colonel Carrillo] accepted our offer to accompany him on his hunt [for Chavez] and we did so to "Hacienda de Pamaceo" whereupon, by way of Moroleon and Cuitzeo, we returned with the Colonel--who stayed at that town [Cuitzeo]. We arrived at Huandacareo at 11:00 at night. Colonel Carrillo established himself at Cuitzeo until the 17th or 18th of September with his Third Regiment.
The 10th of September, 1918, don Nicolas Nunez advised us that he would leave from Morelia with the rest of the defenders who were at the capital and that if possible the people from the town should come out to protect the passage of the column/caravan at "El Puerto," given that besides the defenders, some 300 persons were returning to reside in Huandacareo. I was commissioned to take 30 men and position ourselves at "El Puerto." But, upon passing through Cuitzeo, it occurred to me to ask for collaboration from the forces of the Third Regiment, and the Colonel ordered that another 30 men go with us to help in the event the "Puerto" was in the hands of the bandits. We left Cuitzeo and I dispatched Nicolas Manriquez with 15 men, that if we should come under attack, he should surprise the attackers from the left flank.
We took control of "El Puerto" without incident and the reinforcement from the Third Regiment arrived about half an hour afterward. At about 10:00 in the morning, we heard a firefight in the direction of "El Carrizal," and leaving don Nicolas Manriques with 15 men and an official with another 15 [men] for protection of "El Puerto," we mobilized--I with 15 men and a Captain with another 15 men--succeeding in arriving near "Rancho del Carrizal" [property], where we found don Miguel Figueroa and Francisco Huerta--who protected by a gate--awaited our attack thinking we were the enemy. Once identified, we continued giving chase to the fleeing bondolers by way of the path leading from "El Carrizal" to Copandaro. Upon our return, we joined the column/caravan which included my family.
By orders from the "Sr. Governador Ortiz Rubio," an escort of 40 soldiers from "Ler. Regimiento de las Fuerzas del Estado,"[LER? 1er? Primer?] accompanied the members of the [civilian] defense who protected the neighbors who were returning to the town [Huandacareo]. That escort was very helpful, because the rebels from Chavez de Arindeo, Froylan Tena, and Ramon Medina "La Media" had positioned themselves at a corral in front of "Rancho de el Carrizal" impeding the advance of the column/caravan. It was necessary to dislodge them, and we succeeded after a firefight lasting half an hour. The rebels ran without cover towards "El Rancho de Santa Cruz." The escort, "Ler. [1st?] Regimiento" under the command of Major Herrera, upon arriving at "Rancho de Jamaica" took a detour to garrison "guarecer" at "La Hacienda de la Noria" while we continued on. After a long firefight with the rebels at Cuto--since these became aware that part of the forces had detoured and they descended on that town where Sr. Luis Nunez and I were waiting for all the caravan to pass. Upon the lengthy firefight, Don Nicolas Nunez returned with a small party to find us, since the escort proportioned by Colonel Carrillo at Cuitzeo had arrived at "Puerto" and stayed at that town while we continued on to our town which received those returning with bells ringing in great joy.
The 14th of September, at about one in the afternoon, the lookout that we had at the tower advised that a party of bandits was taking our herds from the "Protero de San Francisco" [horse pastures/horse stalls even stockyards; a farm for rearing horses] and that there were about 25 men. Immediately we formed an escort of 30 defenders to keep the herds from being taken by the bandits. Leaving by way of the cemetery, under the command of don Nicolas [Nunez] and [Salvador] Urrutia. From the tower, we realized that the theft of the herd was nothing more than a ruse on the part of Chavez Garcia. He had dispatched that small party in order to have us leave to follow after them thereby allowing him to attack the town by surprise. As I was able to recognize, in time, his strategy, I ordered the bells be rung to signal an alarm at the same time that I commissioned Amador Gonzalez to go advise the defenders of the danger they ran. They were engaged in a firefight with the cattle robbers. But they also realized the plan, because Leopoldo Diaz, whom they had ordered to stay back at the hill and guard the [passage through the] cemetery, saw when Chavez Garcia with his column of men left the "Hacienda [de Huandacareo]" at full speed in the direction of the town. Thus, he, Leopoldo [Garca] ran to warn Urrutia of the imminence of the attack. It was then agreed with Don Nicolas that they would all retreat but do so shooting in order to protect themselves, as they were all on foot. Some arrived quickly at the bed ("cauce") of the "Arroyo de San Francisco" (San Francisco river) and accompanied by others that had gone out to protect them, they kept our comrades from being surrounded. Genero Carreon, with two comrades returned and aided in the protection of those who still had not returned, "parapetado" at the river [at the parapet or bridge rail fence at river] in front of the diagonal canyon at the exit that leads to the cemetary.
Not all the comrades succeeded in evading the circle. Four--Nicolas Manriquez, Lorenzo Loeza, Roman Tinoco, and Epitasio Loeza were cut off and had to hide in the "milpa" (cornfields) that were beyond the cemetery. Only the providence of God kept them from being discovered. Naturally, we lost more than 100 heads of cattle which we did not recover until the month of January of 1919, as will be told.
After having fired at us from the hill at the cemetary, Chavez Garcia, seeing his plan had failed, retreated in the direction of Villa Morelos, where he had established a type of general headquarters, although not permanently, since the forces of the government forced him to retreat as far as the vicinity of Purepero, where he was seen frequently.
Feeling protected by Chavez Garcia, Fidel Gonzalez would descend "Las Canadas" to see what he could steal from the "Hacienda de Huandacareo" or neighboring "Rancho de San Cristobal," "Rancho Marijo," or "Rancho Llano Grande," whether it be cattle or seeds. And we would have to come out to pursue him although he was very careful to retreat when he saw that we were pursuing him.
[Salvador Urrutia dies.]
On the 21st or 22nd of Steptember, [Salvador] Urrutia left the town [of Huandacareo] to bring back a large group of Huandacarenses residing in Morelia, and having encountered Sr. Jesus Solorzano, he was invited by Solorzano to participate in a bullfight organized for the 30th--the anniversary of the birth of Morelos [Jose Maria Morelos y Pavon, Mexican Independence Leader, 9-30-1765 to 12-22-1815, executed by Spanish colonial authorities. A Catholic priest, Fr. Morelos was born in Valladolid/Morelia.]
He [Salvador Urrutia] left on the 29th [of September, 1918], and in process of fighting the bull he had drawn, he was gored in a grave manner and died the 5th of October [1918], being buried in Morelia--from where his remains were gathered for burial at the parrochial church [Templo de San Jeronimo, Huandacareo].
The 6th of October [of 1918], at 11:00 in the morning, Fidel Gonzalez, who had approached the lake [Lago de Cuitzeo] through its brook ("rivera"), succeeded in reaching "Los Banos de Agua Caliente" (the area of hot springs), attempting to steal cattle that was pasturing at "La Higuera," but was spotted by the watchmen at the tower of the "Maniobra." Ten defenders came out and made him run almost to the "Hacienda [de Huandacareo"]. We did not continue the pursuit since we were a small group of defenders; about 20 [defenders] had left with Don Nicolas [Nunez] for the burial of [Salvador] Urrutia. We succeeded in taking back the cattle they had stolen.
In those days the tragic "gripa espanola" [Spanish flu; pandamic influenza virus; Influenza A subtype H1N1] broke out throughout the state [of Michoacan] or better said, throughout the nation, causing Huandacareo and its "Ranchos" no less than 400 casualties. There was one day in which we buried 32 bodies, recovered in part from the ranches by the roadway since there were no people to bring them into town and much less coffins to bury them in. We opened a trench and it was there we deposited them.
[J. Ines Chavez dies.]
To top it off, the 20th or 22nd of October, [1918,] Chavez Garcia now with only 300 bandits, approached near "La Hacienda [de Huandacareo] and afterwards, by way of "La Calzada del Agua Caliente" [roadway to warm springs], he advanced very slowly with his people. Afterwards, we found out that he was sick with the Spanish influenza ["la gripa"]. We were expecting that he would launch an attack from the south, but since he had not ordered his people to attack us from the north and seeing that he was not attacking but rather following the southern road past "El Protero de La Higuera" [Horse farm La Higuera], a few companions from town [Huandacareo] took the risk of leaving town as far as the fence of the aforementioned "El Protero" which is the boundary of the town on the south and began to fire at them. This made Chavez's people to wade in the waters of the "Lago" [Lake Cuitzeo], continuing the road without answering the firing, until they had reached the point known as "Las Piedras Anchas" [wide rocks or boulders], near Capacho. They followed the road to Cuitzeo where they retired until the 25th of October. Undoubtedly, the bandits were disillusioned for reason of their leader's illness and perhaps they were also transporting others who were ill. Among the defenders who went out, some 30 of them, various of them were ill and the outing caused the death of three of them. Among them: Elipdio Figueroa [defender of Huandacareo in the battle of January 8, 1918], who had been of great service to the defense.
Recuperation of Chucandiro.
On the 1st [of November, 1918], Colonel Anacleto Lopez arrived in town with his Regiment and a request on the part of the "Jefatura de Operaciones" [Head of Operations], for our cooperation in the recuperation of the town of Chucandiro. Having been ordered by the "Jefe de la Defensa" [Head of the Defense, i.e., don Nicolas Nunez] to accompany the Colonel to said town [Chucandiro], [I left] accompanied by 35 of the "defensa" [civilian defenders]. The bandits who were at that town, since they kept a lookout from the hill in front of the "La Hacienda de La Pesera", upon seeing our approach, left hurriedly; without the Colonel overtaking them and having chased them as far as "El Rancho de Carucheo." The following day, we ventured to the town, "Pueblo de Tendeparacua," without being able to locate them. Afterwards, our spies revealed to us that they had fled in the direction of "Huaniqueo." We returned our attention to the defense of our own town [Huandacareo] until the 3rd [of November].
Attempting to steal cattle, the leader, Esteban Hernandez, approached [Huandacareo] on the 23rd of November, [1918,] as near as the "Protero de Las Mesas" [horse farm, Las Mesas]. But upon being spotted by watch we kept from the tower, we left--[party of] ten men--all the way to "Rancho de Chicho" , that is, to the boundary line [between the State of Michoacan] with the State of Guanajuato.
During those days the rumor was growing that Ines Chavez Garcia had been moved to Purepero, Michoacan where he had died. And as it was said with assurance that at a "cerro" [mountain] near said town [Purepero], he [J.Ines Chavez Garcia] had buried a great quantity of silver and gold. Many people in that region tried to find that famous treasure.
Afterward, the story has grown that he did not die, but that seeing his downfall and frequent defeats in battle, along with the tenaciousl persecution by government troops, he had retreated outside of Mexico, and that he had a "granja" [country home; leisure farm] near Los Angeles, California.
The first days of December [1918] saw a so-called "Colonel" Bravo from the forces belonging to Chavez Garcia with about 60 bandits, who joined the 40-plus belonging to Fidel Gonzalez, establish themselves at "El Rancho de Barreras" [located] at the "estribacion" [foot of the mountain] del "Cerro de La Leonera." They made frequent incursions into "Rancho de San Cristobal" and ["Ranche] de Marijo" when there was no federal garrison at Chucandiro.
We became aware that the 15th or 16th of that month [December, 1918], he ["Colonel" Bravo] joined the bandit gang of Chavez Garcia's brother. This in part confirmed the death of the famed bandit or his retreat from the rebellion. On two occasions, they sent us word daring us to go dislodge them from their positions. But, naturally, what we did was accompany the forces of the government to dislodge them whether with the forces of General Jose L. Flores, who with frequency asked for our cooperation, or with the forces of the state under the command of Colonel Teodoro Villegas.
On the 26th of December [1918], the rebel, Jesus Sintora, arrived at Chucandiro and wrote to us requesting that we declare ourselves [politically]. Having been named "Jefe de la Operaciones" [Head of Operations] in that zone of the state, he was interested in knowing our position. Our response was that we were not pursuing political ends but rather defending our small enterprises and familes against the gangs of bands who under the umbrella of "revolucion" dedicated themselves to nothing more than stealing whatever they found. On the 28th, he retreated from Chucandiro, from where the following day, General Pruneda with his people arrived in pursuit of Sintora.
[The General] did force the bandits that operated at "el Cerro de La Leonera" [mountain named Leonera] to withdraw. The bandits then established themselves at the towns of Santa Rita and Copandaro, from where they planned the assault I will tell about now:
