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Show loOO DEMANDORCATlS MLLBf SLA IN w. : : Keo?y I Aviators -Missing for a Week Get Through Word of Forcible De- ! tention Near Border. ! Efforts Will Be Made to i j Furnish Money Re- quired for Men's Re- i lease; Military Excited. i J .MARFA, Tex., Aug. 17. Loiters pur- porting to bo from Lieutenants Puul I. Davis and Harold a. Peterson, American army aviators, missing since last Sunda, were received here today at military headquarters. The letters stated the aviators were being held by bandits for $1;j,000 ransom somewhere in Mexico and were threatened with death unless the ransom was paid. A report was made at once to Major General Dickman, commander com-mander of the southern department. An unconfirmed reportwas also received hero that the aviators werebeing held at a point close to the American border and that Chico Oano, a famous bandit of the Big Bend-OJlnaga district, was the leader of the bandit band holding the aviators. Dawklns Kilpatrlck of Candelaiia, Tex., sent a message to tho Mexican bandils late tonight urging them to postpone tho time limit fixed In the demand for the payment of $ 1.5,000 ransom for the release re-lease of American Aviators Davis and Peterson until "Wednesday because of the delay in receiving their demand at the. border, it was announced here tuda; . THREATEN TO KILL CAPTIVE AIRMEN. A message from a former Villa follower, now a member of the bandit band, wan received at the border late today threatening threat-ening to kill the American aviators if any evidence of military movements lo' acurcli for the Americans were seen on tho American side of the border. Thia men-sage men-sage was addressed lo Dawkina Kil-patrick, Kil-patrick, it was announced here. The parents of both aviators telegraphed here tonight saying they would muko every effort to comply with the demand for the ransom. One of the aviators' parents stated in his message lie would put up til 3 total ransom if the government govern-ment declined to meet the demand of the bandits. At a cowboy camp meeting In progress at Kort Davis, largely attended by cowboys and cattlemen from the Uig Hend, $ If), 000 was subscribed in fifteen minutes today for the payment of Die j ransom and the Marfa and Kurt DaviN banks were ordered to pla'-c the money at the disposal oT the proper authorities ui ii o'clock tomorrow morning. RANSOM MONEY jTO BE SUPPLIED. j A me.s.j.ige was also rn-'oivod Iutc tu-j tu-j night from Brigadier Onera! Jumcfi h. I K.rwln. comma ndf-r of the Kl I'asu iniii-! iniii-! tary district, stating the f I5.(M)Q raiiwoin 1 could i,c furnished by iilm, ! Although a few Villa rebels v;r,-r ported n.-;tr I'ilari'K recently, the handli i holding the Amcri'-miH arc believed to he , ico ( a no's fn moiis h.-t nd, which h;ifi 1 '"'en operating In the (Mn:ma dlHtrlc-t ror : years. i 'iino was wounded win n LroopM ; K and M, under Captain .Matin.', , r-rcmsed ; in pursuit of Irs band hist March. He : w;is said to have hern a I'aran.a captain :at one time. I.at,r he c;ilni.-d lo be a follower, but lian oprrnU'd fnde- pcndr-nlly most of the time iin a bandit. COMMANDER ERW1N TELLS OF THREATS BY MEXICAN BANDITS I Kl, PAS". Trx Aug. IT. - In nn of- ; ficiaj stiitetneni issue,j u ( military he;,d-j he;,d-j quarters her t'uiigbl and signed by , 1 'rigad i-r Genera J Ja mcs I'.. Krwin, d , 1 r ; ' t ronunandiT. it wan a iinoun'-ed that .Major ,. A, Walton. ''"Jntnand'-r of the aero unit at Fori F:i !;-. had rc I wd M ni'-s.-ag- from I A ei i ( .-i ,h n ts 1'aul II. Davhi and ITarnM G, I 1 r-r.on. stating thcv had liecn ca'Hijre.l hy ,i'ic;ui ami weld ,n ing h id for :,,( r;itif.iiii. v,'hb-;i inu.1 1 be paid by AiliCHM 1.X, Jeer,rhllg to li," iM'Ss'i A rra nge-tien t.s v.-,-vr. j.jng made 1 here lo::)g" t to oi.lHhi Si.',.a'ri ,,; and to ''-nd it to Marfa f-arly t r.n mrn.'r for the iMymciil of i ' : c ra nsom. as It if-fca-ed t;,e j.risonci-s wili be killed by the bhii'litK uni'' th,e lan.-oni is paifi lufrij-.. t-.-- ..riM".1 The full te( of the statement is--ajerf at n.hftay hcadquxriers tonight lv (ion-c:-al Krw-n read as foilows; gram u:is rrrejvf.,1 i,is ai'tcr- (Contlnucd on Paqo 2. Column 3.) II AIRMEN CAUGHT BY B10IT EE (Continued From Pago One.) noon by Major L. A. AValton. commander of the aero unit at Fort Bliss, repeating a message signed by the two aviators who have been missing since Sunday, stating they had been captured by Mexicans Mexi-cans and wcro being held for $15,000 ransom, which must be paid by August IS or they would be killed. 1 News Causes a Stir. "This message was brought into a town In the Big Bend district by a well known bandit. Colonel George T. Langhorne, commanding officer of the Kightii cav-alry cav-alry and the Big Bend district, wired the commanding general of the Kl Pao district that the message is authentic and that he 13 taking all necessary measures to secure the release of the aviators and has presented this matter to the proper authorities. The name of the place from which the message was -sent, a.s well aa the place where the ransom Is to be paid, la not given, as it might Interfere with the release of tho aviators." Aviators Peterson and Davis are a part of the personnel of the Fort Bliss aviation avia-tion corps, but were on detached duty with the Big Bend district military headquarters head-quarters at larfa, Texas, at the tjme they disappeared. They left Mar fa last Sunday morning for the usual patrol of tho border, pla lining to follow the nort h bank of tho Rio Grande to the end of the district. It is believed by aviation officers here they confused the -Conch o,s river, which flows into the Rio Grande near Presidio. Texas, with the Rio Grande, and followed the course of this river into the interior of Mexico. Another theory advanced here by fellow aviators Is that they were forced to land either on the American or Mexican side of tho border in the. wild country of the Big Bend district and were made prisoners by the Mexican bandits, ban-dits, who make marauding trips across the border at frequent intervals in search of cattle and other property, which they carry off to Mexico. Message Brought by Bandit.; When It became known ai. Fort Bliss tonight Jhat the aviators were reported held by Mexican bandits there was much discussion among army officers of the possibility of American troops crossing the border in -search of the bandits who were holding the aviators prisoners. This was 'discredited by higher officers for two reasons. The principal one advanced was that the American aviators would be killed if an expedition crossed in pursuit of the bandits. The other reason was that orders for expeditions to cross the Big Bend district apply only to the pursuit pur-suit of bandits who have stolen property on the American side and then only to follow a "hot trail." The messages from the aviators were sent to their relatives at Strathmore and Berkeley. Cal.. and Hutchinson. Minn., as soon as received at Marfa. Tlie text of their messages was not given out. but It was understood the aviators requested their relatives lo urge the payment of the ransom. The contonts of the replies was also withheld, but a courier who is familiar with .the district opposite the Big Bend was obtained and an effort made to get the replies to the aviators tonight. While no official announcement was made here tonight, it was understood th ransom would -he paid to an agent of thrfi bandits tomorrow morning and it is believed be-lieved the courier carrying the telegrams to the aviators also was authorized to inform the bandit leader of this fact. |