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Show ; HEAVY FIGHTING I IN MEXICO CITY ! Federals Open Fire on Rebels at Early Hour-Government Hour-Government Forces Strongly Re-inforced Revolutionists Fight Fiercely With Half Number of Men 4 1 S BRILLIANT OFFICERS ARE DIRECTING BATTLE ' People Desert Center of City Many in Hiding Madero and Commanding General Plan to ! Subdue Rebels in Decisive Rush Before Nightfall . Mesdoo City, Feb 32 - Another fierce street battle, which was ex pec ted to be decisive was begun between be-tween the federal troops supporting 'President Mad-ero and the rebels un-r le 'der Felix Diar. In Mexico City at 3 1 V o'clock this morning. 1 The government forces had the ad-vantage ad-vantage in numbers, their army totaJ J I ' iling 7.00ft men against the 3,000 revo lutlonists under Diaz General Huerta and President Ma-Ml Ma-Ml dero declared the would be badly dls-; M appointed and surprised if Diaz and I his mutinous srmy uere not reduced! arjf to submission before nightfall. The battle opened with heavy fighting fight-ing by the federal artillery, which had 1 been strongly relnforred In the nighr H The rebels occupied the samp posi tions as they held yesterday around the arsenal and the Y M C A build lng and from there they replied with H l a hoi fire. 7 People Desert Center of City. The population had either deserted V the center of the city or remained hidden in the houses as it was impos I slble to stir on the streets without j f running enormous risks The federal forces were reinforced last night by I he arrival of detach I ; ments of all arms of the service I Meanwhile the rebels had forfeited j themselves in the district the center sji V. of which was the arsenal which fell into fhir hands latch. The rebels, however, had not In creased In number and the size of the , .if army under the command of Diaz . j believed to be only a little over 2 500 1 Most of the federal troops who arrived ar-rived In the night were those com manded by General Angeles which he SI had called from Cuernavaca. The to j tal of these Is said to 1,60". and they brought with them two pieces of mm heavy artillery with much ammunition ffi and sUtch Brilliant Officers In CKarge. Lieutenant Colonel Barron, who has i conducted dashing campaigns during the revolution In Micboacan and Ouan - ajunto arrived with a small force, while Colonel Ocarauza. another young officer with a reputation for brilliant work, came In at the head of 200 federal troops from Vera Cruz General Huerta placed In genera! II charge of the federal artillery Lieu- .tenant Colonel Rublo Navarette. who has the reputation of being the most capable artillerist in the Mexican army. He gained fame against Oro-co Oro-co when he was under General Huer ta in Chihuahua Between 9 and 10 o'clock shrapnel rained on the walls and shutters of j the cable office, but the clerks mid op-eratOTS op-eratOTS remained at their stations V short time afterwards a solid shot from a field gun entered the Jardin i hotpl ' The first small arm encounter of - the day occurred at 10 a m , when the federals moved into range of the rebel sharpshooters The battle was Wl very brief as both sides placed theii chief reliance on a steady battery Cannonading Interne. The infantry fighting lasted only a few minutes and was succeeded by a Bp more Intense cannonade from the reb-v reb-v fle at the arsenal. The federal bat tery staioned In front of the British legation replied and drew much of the rebel fire. Bftj The cannonade soon lost some of ,its vlciousness and it seemed thai AM the rebels were concerving their fire, jl although they continued to throw shells toward the palace. One federal feder-al battery kept steadily In action at the Colonla station on the Pasco Flo Kg forma and another on San Juan de Let ran street Rushing Fortifications No serious attempt had been made till noon to rush the fortifications of the rebels At that hour General Huerta dispatched from the palaco h considesrable force of federal cavai Shortlv before noon several sholls pierced the library of the American flub Nobody was injured. The build- 1 ing was peppered with bullets A little later during a small arms 1 action some bullets fell within the embassy grounds in the heart of the district tacitly agreed upon as the neutral zone Firing on Palace Early in the afternoon the rebei batteries turned their long range guns in the direction of the national palace. pal-ace. Many of the shells thrown in a high arc clear across the city struck the building but did little serious j damage. |