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Show GENERAL PANCHO VILLA, commander o the rebel, wto nave begun trie sicg of Xorrcoa. Here will be fougkt tne dciive battle of the war. Leader Takes Personal Command in a Fury of H Energy; Big Guns Positioned; Insurgents Dig H Trenches and Ammunition Caves in Desert H Sands; Federals Have But 9000 Men. j H WATER IS THE CHIEF . PROBLEM I Federals Withdrawing Artillery; May Mean At- I tack on Villa's Flank; U. S. Representative, I Who Will Look After Foreigners, Is General's I Guest; Insurgents Expect to Win Quickly. I j CONSTITUTIONALIST . HEADQUAKTERS, YERMO, Durango, Mexico, I March 20. General Villa and his army of 12,000 rebels today invested tho H foderal stronghold of Torroon. Tho khaki-clad columns occupied the environs of the city without opposi-tion, opposi-tion, and today was spent in wheeling or dragging the field pieces into position to shell the foderal trenches which havo beou dug at every point whero the federal commander, General Kofugio Vclasco, expects attack. His army is esti-mated esti-mated to number 0000 men. South and southwest of tho city his position is regarded as almost imprcgna-ble imprcgna-ble by reason of tho mountains through which only three passes run, and those have been rendered almost impassable by fortifications and barbed wire cntan-glemonts. cntan-glemonts. In other directions tho city is reached through tho desert aud high Villa's recent progress has been slow, because it was necessary to repair tho railroad tracks and bridges. This morning, however, tho road was open from IH Yermo, whero the troops havo been mobilizing, to Mapimi and Bermojillo, which tH are only a few miles north of Torroon, and aro virtually suburbs of that city. ARMY MUST BATTLE WITH THE DESERT. I At the two cities, af tor suffering loug hours in the box cars, whero they wero stuffed like figs in a box und with but scant supply of water, the troops detrained and formed in columns in the intense heat. There was little loss of time in plunging into the desert, some mounted and .others on foot. Great clouds of fine desert dust marked their progress over hum-mocks hum-mocks of cacti-crowned sand, and through dry water courses. Great tank wagons laden with tho water supply, which has been Villa's greatest problem, rumbled in the train, tho wheels at times almost hub deep in the sand. In theso omorgen-cies, omorgen-cies, when branches of tho tough mesquite bush and soap weed were matted under tho wheels, sturdy peons put hands to the spokes, thero wore streams of pro-fanity pro-fanity addressed to mules in a language said to be in thiB respect tho most fl adequate in tho world, and tho columns proceeded. FOREIGNERS SUFFER FROM INTENSE HEAT H The lips of the few foreigners in the arm' wero cracked and swollen from the heat and alkali dust, but the Mexicans, trained to such conditions, coverod their mouths with folds of their blankets and fared better. All eyes wero oloodshot. . In this way, amid all the suffering which tho harshest waste of arid land in Mexico can furnish, the outskirts of Torroon were reached. Thero was no opposition and Gcnoral Villa stated that there has been nono since he began to repair the railroad south of Jimenez. The federals contonted themselves with strewing all possible obstacles except bullets in his way. Thero were occasional exchanges of shots between outposts, but nothing that assumed oven the dignity of a skirmish, GENERAL VILLA EXPECTS TO WIN IN A WEEK General Villa was ovorywhore, for now that tho ove of tho battlo is at hand, ho is a fury of onorgy, now grabbing tho haltor of a refractory mulo, now criti-cising criti-cising the lashing of a pack saddle, or snapping orders at a lesser leader. Ho went from point to point in his private car attached to a light engine, and whorover he alighted his horse, saddled and bridled, was instantly awaiting. "Torreon will bo mine in a week," he exclaimed jubilantly. "Nover baa a revolutionary army in Mexico had hotter men and novor havo they boon so thoroughly equipped. Every preparation has been made and wo can't fail." it is no figure of spocch to say that the light of battle burned in tho rebel loader's eyes. They are extraordinarily wide sot, so that whon ho looks at a visitor at closo range they seem almost to cross, and their dark depths, always jH glowing, actually scorn to flame in moments of excitement. ANGELES, ARTILLERIST, SECOND IN 'COMMAND H His subordinates rarely ever argue with him, and in such moments never, It is a danger signal ono which the Scotchman Benton is said to have failed to heed. Goncral Filipe Angoles, chief of tho artillery corps, was named second in. command to tako full chargo in the event of the death or incapacitation of Villa. jJ Angoles is a member of General Carrnnza-'s cabinet, and was detached, at Villa 'a JJ urgont solicitation, to participate in tho battlo. He is a voteran expert of the H big-gun arm of tho sorvico and many an artillory officer in the enemy's ranjss at q Torroon received his schooling from him. His loyalty to Madero's memory has Hl j endeared him to tho rank and filo of tho troops. KJ General Aguirro Beuavides was placed in command of tho disposition of B troops, although Angeles himself selected tho position for his guns. Thoy wore JH trained on the hilltops, while soldiers buried themselves, throwing up banks of jH sand around them, and caves wero dug to store tho ammunition. In the latter H thoro is a supply of home-mado shrapnel, which the rebolB rofor to 8b "Villa's JH Practically all of tho rolling stock of tho railroad is now congested on tho jH line between Chihuahua, Jimenez, Eacalon (where there is a wator supply) and jH the front. Villa has food. for a month, 2000 rounds of cartridges to tho man and his railroad Borvico, unless cut, can maintain tho water supply indefinitely. FEDERALS USE WIRELESS TO MEXICO. ' It Is believed here that the federals aro now completely out off from tho outside world, oven by wiro, although tbo wiroloss stations may permit thorn to JH communicnto with the national capital, 700 miles to tho south. Villa professes IH to boliovo that ho will capture the outire army. Scouts for soma time hava re-nortod re-nortod that cuns and ammunition wero being shipped out of Torroon in tho di-roction di-roction of Saltillo and Monterey. Goneral Villa, although accepting tho reports (Continued ?a Page Two.) ' ! VILLA'S ARMY READY TOSTOiTBEi (Continued from Pago One.) with reserve, gave two interpretations to this, one that the federals were trying try-ing to equip a force to nttack his rear, and the other that, in the knowledge of certain defeat, A'olusco was saving as much of his artillery as possible. Torrcon, although founded less than thirty years apo, has a normul population popula-tion at 150.000 persons. It has preat soap, cotton, iron and flour manufnc tories, and a great smelter receives ores from tho mines. Nine months of the year the landscape is a picture of desolation, deso-lation, as it is now, but tho annual rains briner with them color nnd bloom. Tho important adjacent cities of Gomes Go-mes del Palacio and Lerdo Kizor fall in a militarv and political sense with Torrcon. Xormnlly there is a largo foreign colony, but most of these residents resi-dents havo fled, leaving only a few as enretakers of important property. Foreigners Remain. General Carrauza and Provisional President Huorta some time ago agreed to tho establishment of a neutral zone where foreigners would bo safe from bullets, but the foreigners said they would stay in the city to guard, as far as possible, tho interests lett in their care. . George C. Carothcrs, special representative repre-sentative of the state department, ar-rived ar-rived today, and will be the guest ot General "Villa, whom he has known for manv venrsj throughout tho campaign. Oaro'thers was smiling, but ho let it out that he took $2a,000 insurance on his life before leaving. El Paso. His particular duty will be the safeguarding safeguard-ing of the rights of foreigners. |