May 7, 1911
French Insurrecto is Drowned Bathing in Rio Grande
__PREVIOUSLY CAUSED TROUBLE
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In the Insurrecto Camp; but Effort Was Made by Colonel Villa’s Men to Rescue Him From Danger
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The body of Jules Muller, a Frenchman and Insurrecto soldier in Madero’s army, who was drowned Thursday afternoon after he had almost caused blood to be shed at the Insurrecto army camp opposite the smelter, was recovered at a late hour the same night and interred in a rude grave in the hills near the camp. According to the story of one of the insurrectos, twenty of the American company were disarmed by order of Colonel Villa, who had become excited when the Frenchman had reported to Villa that the Americans were shooting his men.
The story of the occurrence is that Muller had several days previous to the trouble withdrawn from the American company and had been attached to Col. Villa’s forces. Thursday afternoon he is said to have reported to his commander that the Americans had been taking ammunition away from the camp and selling it. Villa immediately wrote an order to Col. Garibaldi, asking him to disarm the Americans who were suspected.
Muller then took four Americans and six Mexicans to the camp and attempted to disarm the men without delivering the order to Garibaldi. The Americans, of course, objected and Muller left the men whom he had taken with him at the American camp and is said to have met Garibaldi who had come up and inquired the trouble.
When he presented the note from Villa to Garibaldi the latter wrote across the bottom of it an order for Muller’s arrest and sent him to Villa. Instead of delivering the order he reported that the American’s were killing Villa’s men. Villa immediately mounted thirty men and rushed to the scene, meeting Garibaldi at the outskirts of the camp.
Villa immediately ordered that the Americans be disarmed which they refused to allow until requested to do so by Col. Garibaldi, who told them that he would return their arms within a few minutes. The officers then went to headquarters and when they learned the true state of affairs Villa personally returned the arms to their owners.
In the meantime Muller, the Frenchman, had gone down to the river to bathe. While out in the water he is thought to have stepped in a deep hold, and not being able to swim, was drowned. Villa’s men threw him a rope, but were not able to rescue him, as the rope missed the unfortunate man and he never again appeared on the surface until some hours later, when his body was recovered at the dam near Hart’s mill.
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