were to kill absolutely everyone, including the baby. For Villa biographer Friedrich Katz, "In moral terms, this execution marked a decisive decline of Villismo and contributed to its popular support in Chihuahua." Further Villista atrocities were reported in the Carrancista press. The treatment of women varied between different leaders, but in general they were not treated well at all. Even horses were said to be treated better than they were. The horses were valued much more, and so when traveling by train, the horses rode inside train cars while women traveled on the roof. Traveling by train was already risky since revolutionaries was known for blowing up trains and railroads. Being on the roof in plain sight was even more dangerous. There are also stories of women being used as shields to protect Alvaro Obregón's soldiers. Life for a soldadera, camp follower or soldier, was extremely hard. Reasons for participating Force One reason for joining the revolution was through brutal force. Male soldiers often kidnapped women and forced them to join armies. Other times soldiers would turn up at villages and demand that all the women there join. If the women refused they would be threatened until they gave in or else would be shot and killed. These kidnappings were no secret in Mexico and were frequently reported in the country’s newspapers. In April 1913, the Mexican Herald newspaper reported that 40 women were captured from the town of Jojutla, by Zapatista armies, as well as all the women from a neighboring town two kilometers away. Although newspaper reports did alert readers to such issues, literacy rates for women, especially in the countryside, were extremely low, only averaging around 9.5% of the women. This meant that majority of the women would only be able to get information about kidnappings and other dangers by word of mouth. This process would mean that it was probably too late for them to help themselves by the time revolutionary armies appeared in their town. Another form of forcefully making women join the revolution was by a woman’s husband, with his wanting his wife to take care of him while he was at war. John Reed once asked a soldier why his wife had to also go and fight in Villa’s army, and he responded by saying, "shall I starve then? Who shall make my tortillas but my wife?" Protection Another reason to join the