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Show CONSUL EDWARDS VISITS PRISONER JUAREZ, Mexico, Feb. 18. Thoma3 D. Edwards, United States consul here, today succeeded In seeing Gustavo 'Bunch, tho American whom the rebels arc trying on a charge of being a spy. The whereabouts of Wllllanr S. Benton, the British subject who was arrested last night, could not be learned. General Villa Vil-la said he was not locked up. but meanwhile mean-while his friends made a fruitless search for him and his wife in 131 Paso was suffering suf-fering tho greatest anxiety. Bauch, according to his sister, Mrs. J. M. Patterson, was born in New Iberia, La,, and was a mere baby when his father. fa-ther. William Bauch. left that city twen-ty-rivc years ago and came to' Eagle Pass. Tex. The father Is now a resident of Diaz, across tlie Rio Grande from Eagle Pass. Senor Ramon, chief of the rebel secret service conducted tho American consul and two reporters Into the dilapidated and gloomy cnnrtol where a company of soldiers la quartered. Bauch Badly Scared. The visitors were led into a dark angle of the building, where they wore cautioned cau-tioned that tho prisoner was Incommunicado. Incommuni-cado. Then from somewhere out' of the deeper darkness beyond, like a rat from Its hole, the prisoner appeared. His round face, fringed by a ring of beard, was a perfect picture of fright until un-til he saw that his visitors Included Americans. Amer-icans. Till then he had no way of knowing know-ing that he was not being brought out to be executed. A rebel officer spoke sharply to him in Spanish, warning him to eay nothing. Tho young man blinked at the feeble fay of light which penetrated from a dusty pane and a choking sound came from his throat. Then he replied to the officer that he understood. Senor Ramon explained that Bauch's case was still being heard and that It Is the rule to hold prisoners Incommunicado until decision is rendered. No Explanation. Nowhere in Juarez could reporters find an official to explain adequately tho charges against the prisoner, but Senor Ramon said that there was much documentary docu-mentary evidence which seemed to incriminate in-criminate him as a spy. lie has worked on Mexican railroads most of his fife and his captors bolleved him to be a Mexican, despite his fair skin and brown hair, until representations to the contrary were made. Mrs. Patterson has telegraphed to New Iberia for proofs of his birth. Benton's case is not without an clement cle-ment of humor. Ho is a Scotchman and known to be very outspoken. Last night he went to General Villa to protest against the action of rebels who tore down a fence of his big ranch near Chihuahua and pastured their horses on his properly. prop-erly. He insisted that Villa remove the horses and ropalr tho fence. Villa's answer was not satisfactory to Benton, who. Indifferent Indiffer-ent to tho hostile surroundings and his unprotected state, unburdened his mind of a variety of grievances collected against rebels of the various revolts of the last three years. lie called Villa a number of names, of which "bandit" was one of the mildest. Villa is sensitive of his record as an outlaw, which he was for manv years, and roso as If to slrikc his accuser. The latter lat-ter also was ready with his lists, but bystanders by-standers interfered and Benton was marched off to jail. |
