Salt Lake Tribune | 1916-05-19 | Page 1 | American Soldier Killed by Mexicans

WIH SOLDIER KIIXEDBYMEX1 CANS Sergeant Harry Furman Is Shot Down While Hunting Hunt-ing Stray Mules. EL PASO, Tex., May 18.- Sergeant Harry Furman, a member of . the machine ma-chine company of the Twenty-third infantry, in-fantry, was shot and killed on Mexican soil a mile and a half east of Juarez today by Mexican customs guards. General Gavira, Juarez commander, and other Mexican -.officials say Furman Fur-man crossed lihe international boundary bound-ary in an intoxicated condition, and fired on the customs guard before he was made the target of their fire. Furman s company commander says that he saw the sereai'.- out a short time before the shooting, and that he appeared perfectly sober. The shooting was first reported by General Gavira to General Bell at Fort Bliss. General Bell detailed Major George D. Moore and Captain William B. Graham of the Twentieth infantry to make a joint investigation in-vestigation in company with the Mexican Mexi-can military judge and two officers named by General Gavira. This investigation disclosed that Furman, Fur-man, while searching for stray mules, rode a horse upon a atrip of Mexican soil left north of the Eio Grande by the shifting of the river bed. He was armed with a pistol. American Ameri-can army men admit that he was not within his rights in penetrating Mexican Mexi-can soil. His pistol had been recently fired, two chambers being empty. General Bell said tonight he had absolutely no evidence to show whether Furman or the Mexicans fired first. General Bell will report the matter to General Fun-ston. Fun-ston. The entire Twenty-third regiment tonight to-night mourned t lie death of Sergeant Furman. He was one of the most popular popu-lar men in the regiment, being its crack machine-gun operator, an all-around athlete ath-lete and a tine horseman. The idea that the sergeant could have been intoxicated is scouted by officers and privates alike. It was said that shortly before Furman left to round up Die stray mules he 'had ridden tiie most fractious horse in the regiment over the hurdles, a feat lie could not have accomplished. ' it was contended, if lie had not been 1 sober. ' ; Furman was serving his second enlistment, enlist-ment, having signed at t he Columbus, Ohio, barracks. He had two sisters in Brooklyn, N. Y-, one of them being a Mrs. Faber, at No. 2 M.mjtou street. IJoneral Gavira said that American soldiers sol-diers witnessed the shooting but made no effort to return the fire of the Mexicans. At Camp Cotton ton it; lit it was said that, while shots were heard, nobody witnessed the incident. '