From: birdbrain@dontemailme.com   
      
   In article <7sUbe.658194$w62.246356@bgtnsc05-news.ops.worldnet.att.net>,   
   george.kincaid@worldnet.att.net says...   
      
   >Thank you. The term cowboys has changed through time, then, too-from thief   
   >to folk hero. So there were border raids from Mexico into Texas. I heard of   
   >Villa's raid's in the 1910s, but that was part of a long pattern then.   
   >Interesting set of relationships down there.   
      
   It's comparing apples to oranges to speak of cross-border   
   raids that were for the purpose of "stealing" one another's   
   cattle vs the revolutionary events involving Pancho Villa.   
      
   Villa was certainly a "mercenary" and depending on your   
   historic reference, either a bandit akin to "Robin Hood"   
   or a politically motivated rebel fighting for his beliefs.   
      
   There are several good "fun to read" books that bear   
   a fairly good resemblance to the truth. I mention them   
   because they are easy to read, have a plot, and are   
   by authors who have earned respect with their writing.   
   For someone looking for an introduction to life on the   
   USA/Mexican border in the last century, they will give   
   a fairly representative picture.   
      
   Cormac McCarthy tops my list with his "Border Trilogy" series.   
   And of course just about everyone knows of Larry McMurtry   
   and his various cowboy books, topped by "Lonesome Dove."   
   And one of my favorites, "Tom Mix and Pancho Villa" by   
   Clifford Irving.   
      
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