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Show FOE OF Negro from Ojitos, Mexico, Mex-ico, Tells of Meeting Band of Bandits Who Claimed to Have Fought With and Killed Three Americans Ameri-cans Near Border. PURSUIT STOPS AT BORDER LINE Father of Peterson Appeals Ap-peals to Governor of New Mexico and Generals Gen-erals Pershing and Bell to Take Steps to Save His Son if He Is Still Alive. COLUMBUS, N. M., Feb. 15. Unconfirmei reports reaching here this morning are that Mexicans attacked at-tacked Lange's ranch, N M., fifty miles southwest of here, early today to-day and killed three American employees. em-ployees. Efforts to confirm the report had proven unavailing up to 2 o'clock this morning. CORNER RANCH, N. M., Feb. 1-1 (by courier to Hachita, X. M.). Mormon Mor-mon scouts led by Lem Spillsbury, recently re-cently a civilian scout -with the American Amer-ican expedition in Mexico, crossed into Mexican territory today in their search for A. P. Peterson, Hugh Acord and Burton Jensen, the Mormon cowboys missing since the raid on the Corner Ra.nch. Tbey returned to the ranch tonight to-night to report their efforts fruitless. Detachments of the Twelfth United States cavalry also ' scanned the hills and ravines for miles along the border for the men. ' Their efforts likewise were unrewarded. An American negro residing at Ojitos, Oji-tos, Mexico, arrived today on the American Amer-ican side and reported that he had been stopped by a band of Mexican rebels on his way, who said they had fought with and killed three Americans near the border last Monday night. They described -he Americans as cowboys. His story, told directly to H. V. More-head, More-head, manager of the "Warren ranch, near here, increased the growing ap-prehensiou ap-prehensiou that the America us have been made away with by Prudeucio Miranda Mi-randa and his band. A sharp lookout for fresh graves was kept up by the searchers today. Scene of the Raid. The Associated Press correspondent visited the Corner ranch today and fouud the place in disorder from the raid of last Monday afternoon. The rooms occupied by the six Mexican employees, em-ployees, who are numbered among the missing, were thoroughly ransacked? articles ar-ticles lay strewu about the floor anil chairs and tables were overturned as if hand-to-hand encounters had taken place. , l-'rom hoof prints around the vicinity of the corral, it was indicated the bandits ban-dits turned their horses toward the path leading to Colonia Diaz in Mexico. Mex-ico. It was this path that Dem Spills-burv Spills-burv and his scouts followed today in their incursion into Mexico, but after riding for two miles they lost the trail. other losses reported by .lames 1'ous-dale, 1'ous-dale, boss of the Palomas Laud & Cattle Cat-tle company, lessee of the Corner ranch, were sixty head of horses and mules, besides a number of cattle. Families Grief -stricken. The families of the three kidnaped men are grief-stricken. A. I'. Peterson, Peter-son, 38, the eldest of the partv, has a wife and seven children living at Hachita: Burton Jensen, 32, has a wife and two children, also residing at Hachita, and Hugh Acord is 22 years of age and unmarried. I. em Spillsbury and ten1 companions will start at dawn tomorrow to resume search for the missing cowboys. The posse is camped tonight within earshot of Monday 's raid. Speaking of today's search. Spills-bury Spills-bury said: "For fifty-two hours vve have scoured the ridges and canyons for miles on both sides of the border in search of our companions and I fear (Continued on Page Two.) FATE OF iH COWBOYS OHMj (Ccntinued from Page One.)j the three Americans were killed. However, How-ever, if we cannot find them alive, at least we might find their bodies and restore them to their relatives. ' - ' |