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 grant of a new concession of their territory to a foreign company, took to the war path with the avowed intention of exterminating all foreigners. In the adjoining state of Chihuahua, Orozco, an agrarian leader who had supported Madero, came under the influence of the rich Terrazas family who owned a six-million-acre hacienda, and became the leader of the reactionary forces in the north. Madero was obliged to maintain a large army to fight guerilla bands in many parts of the country. Early in 1913, Madero's commander-in-chief, Victoriano Huerta, entered into an agreement with Felix Diaz and during "the tragic ten days" a sham battle was fought in the capital in which the military suffered but little, but several hundred non-combatants were killed in the streets. The United States ambassador, Henry Lane Wilson, during this time was in frequent consultation with Huerta and Felix Diaz and, as he had been for some time previously, very antagonistic to Madero, using his influence to discredit him at Washington.

After Huerta's dictatorship was declared, Ambassador Wilson and diplomats representing European countries urged his recognition by their respective governments and such recognition was immediately extended by England, France and Spain. The Taft administration, however, hesitated. Carranza, leading political power in Coahuila, backed by the state legislature, refused to recognize Huerta and was soon supported by Generals Obregon, Hill and Alvarado of Sonora and by Villa with a strong following of the laboring classes in Chihuahua. The