Revolutionary, Victor Ochoa Arrested

Ochoa was in charge of the uprising of 1892. At that time he sought to overthrow the rule of Diaz. His family was possessed of considerable landed estate in Chihuahua. Much of this had been seized in the early nineties. General Ochoa picked a band of several hundred men about him and started a revolt that stirred the entire republic.

During one of his marches he was caught in the mountains by Diaz’s soldiers. His men were outnumbered, and they fell one by one until Ochoa alone survived. Through a ruse, he managed to obtain the uniform of one of the regular soldiers and while on the retreat was espied and shot at in the belief that he was deserter. Then started a chase which led through the mountains, through treacherous ravines and gullies. It was a long traverse of over three hundred miles, but Ochoa finally managed to obtain some aid from farmers and fled to Texas, where he remained in exile for a long time.

On April 11, 1895, Ochoa was arrested in Texas by the United States government for violating the neutrality laws and was sentenced to prison for two years and six months and pay a fine of $1,000. He was taken to Kings county penitentiary, at Brooklyn and was discharged on May 10, 1897. On Feb. 15, 1906, President Roosevelt granted his application for a pardon and a restoration of his civil rights.

For the past five years Ochoa lived quietly at 15 Ramapo avenue, this city, with his family. He manufactured fountain pens for a living and also interested himself in airships. He constructed a flying machine which he called a "collapsible monoplane" and organized the International Airship company, with offices in New York city. He had in the meanwhile closely followed the events in Mexico, and one day he suddenly disappeared leaving his machine behind, ready for flight.