No Pretty Picture

A testament to strength and determination, Maud Hawk Wright recounts the true story of a young American woman who is kidnapped from her ranch in Chihuahua during the Mexican Revolution by Villista raiders. The raiders force her and her husband off their land, leaving their infant child with a hired hand, and shortly afterward, murdering her husband. Bereft and grieving, Maud is taken to Pancho Villa's encampment in the mountains, peopled by hundreds of revolutionaries, preparing for action. To her surprise, Maud is chosen to ride with Villa and four hundred of his soldiers to the north. Enduring a brutal nine-day trek through the mountains of northern Mexico with Villa and his small army, Maud witnesses the violent mania of Villa and his officers and learns the stories of people who follow him. During the ride, Maud learns that she will become a participant in Villa's grandiose plan to invade the United States. Before dawn of the ninth day of Maud's captivity, she finds herself riding as a member of Villa's army as it crosses the border to attack a small border town, Columbus, New Mexico. What happens is surprising. Includes Readers Guide. * * * * * Michael Archie Hays taught English in Albuquerque Public Schools, Albuquerque Academy, and in schools in Italy, Egypt and Turkey. Now retired with his wife Tamra in Mountainair, New Mexico, he spends his time playing double bass and singing with jazz groups in Albuquerque.