bandit, whose "peace talk" was, of course, not worth a moment's credence.
In the autumn of 1912, General Robles, at the head of 5,000 men, marched against the brothers Zapata, who retired to the Villa Ayala. Here a three-weeks' battle was fought, and again the Federal troops were worsted and driven back with heavy losses.
Towards the end of the year, Emiliano Zapata, with a force of 10,000 armed men, made a sally into the State of Hidalgo, whose rich mines had roused the cupidity of the bandits. The "raid"—it was almost an invasion—was not entirely successful. The Zapatistas failed in their effort to secure the capital city of Pachuca, and had to withdraw before the State troops. Considerable damage was done, however, among the peaceful inhabitants, and the raiders returned home laden with plunder. More than that, Zapata's popularity in Mexico was greatly increased as a result of the raid, and a corresponding increase took place in the size of his army.
On the appointment of the Provisional Presidency of General Huerta, for whom as an enemy Zapata had a wholesome respect, he left his task of harassing the capital and withdrew once more to his fortified home in Guerrero.
Here we observe a new and somewhat surprising phase of his career, for we find the rapacious bandit, the vulture of the mountains, the Attila of the South, posing as a philanthropist, and that on a very extensive scale. Thousands of square miles of land were divided among the very poorest of the peasantry. Part of this was property which had already been seized by Zapata. In some cases, the rightful owners were purposely dispossessed so that their land might be given to the peons.
He is still, however, "El Atila del Sur," whom the rôle of benefactor fits but poorly. One feels again that it is a malicious and cynical rather than an altruistic motive which prompts his actions. His democracy, too, is of the crudest.
