which, he threatened to burn and destroy the plant. As the manager had not such a sum in his possession, and telegraphic communication with the headquarters of the Company in the City of Mexico was interrupted, he was unable to comply with the demand and General Carranza thereupon proceeded to destroy the plant, and in prosecution of such intent, dynamited several hundred coke ovens, burned most of the houses and buildings, and destroyed the extensive structures of the company, such as the tipple and washer.
"After completing such work of destruction, General Jesús Carranza announced that he intended to march immediately to Agujita, the other plant of the company, situated some fifty miles from Lampacitos and that if, by the time he arrived there, the money previously demanded by him was not paid, he would destroy the plant in Agujita.
"Upon arriving at the latter named place, the corporation representative being without money and being unable to comply with the demand of general Carranza, the latter proceeded to destroy the plant at Agujita and would have succeeded, as in the case of Lampacitos but for the fact that his troops were frightened away before the destruction was completed by the rumoured approach of Huerta's forces.
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"General Carranza did not destroy a large body of coke which was on hand at the time of the depredations committed by him and his forces and this has been regarded by the shareholders of the company as one of the sources from which it would be able to derive large sums of cash to be immediately used in the work of rehabilitating the mines.
