| OCR Text |
Show VILLA INSPIRES HIS FOLLOWERS Both Fear and Confidence Pervades Per-vades Rebel Troops Obedience Demanded. TOR RE ON INCIDENTS Splendid Courage in Battle and Heonc Stoicism in Suffering Suf-fering and Death Displayed. El Paso, Tex.. April 8. "Embroidering "Embroid-ering the salient facts of the successful success-ful constitutionalist campaign against Torreon aro a multitude of incidents hardly less interesting," said Associated Associ-ated Press correspondents who accompanied ac-companied Villa and who reached El Paso Monday night. "What struck us chiefly during the campaign was the mixture of fear and confidence which Villa's name inspired inspir-ed in his followers. 'General Villa says he will shoot anybody who cuts the telegraph wires by shooting from the train,' called out an officer to soldiers on top of a troop train who were Improving their marksmanship by shooting at the insulators on telegraph tele-graph poles. Instantly tho careless firing ceased. Nobody doubted that Villa meant what he said. " 'Send this telegram at once,' Baid a newspaper correspondent excited to n military operator In a camp near the railroad track. Villa's Word Law. " 'I can't, senor was the regretful rospohse, 'General Villa has just no-tif no-tif led us that no messages must go out until further orders from him and he will shoot us if we send this one, even though It is approved by his private pri-vate secretary.' To which there was obviously no answer. "The camp at Verjel, just above Gomez Palaclo, was alive with sinister sinis-ter rumors. A man started to lead his horse to drink from one of the numerous Irrigation ditches in the vicinity. 'Don't drink that water don't let your horse drink It,' came a warning cry from a number of soldiers. sol-diers. 'That water comes from near Torreon and it is poisoned by the federals. fed-erals. Two men and two horses drank of it this morning and died at once ' And In a few minutes the report was all over the camp that villainous federals fed-erals had poisoned the water, thus adding another Item to the score to be settled when Gomez Palaclo was taken and Torreon fell. Fight Was Real War. "To this camp returned the long lino of wounded from the first days' fight at Gomez Palaclo. Previously the campaign cam-paign had been a sort of holiday. But these pitiful evidences left no doubt that this was war. The wounded endured their sufferings with remarkable remark-able fortitude with true Indian stoicism. stoi-cism. In the little improvised hospital hos-pital near the railroad hospital train at Verjel were probably 70 men ly ing on cotsand not,avsingle groan came from one 6f them. Some were wounded unto death but they lay dying with true Indian stolidity. One sold his horse, which stood tied in front of the rude adobe structure, a few minutes before he died. More by looks than words he charged one of his companions to take the money to his family back In Chihuahua. Courage on Field. "Courage in the hospital was matched match-ed by courage In the field by a willingness wil-lingness to venture everything 'for the great prize of death In battle.' Never were raw soldiers more easily turned back from flight Into the thick of death and conflict. During the first daylight artillery and infantry attack on Gomez Palaclo, the federal fire grow so hot that the things seemed to be going badly for the rebels. reb-els. Men began to leave the trenches trench-es and make their way to the rear. Two cannons were attached to caissons cais-sons that were waiting to be placed in position at a certain point and began be-gan also to move backwards, the drivers dri-vers urging their mules on In plain Incipient panic. Boy Turns Tide of War. "All at once a blonde Mexican boy 15 years of age, rode on horseback through the mcsquite in the direction of the rearward movement. 'Vuelva,' ('go back") he yelled again and again, putting spurs to his horse. And at the word from a mere boy the mere suggestion, the cannon stopped and turned, the men faced tho shot and shell from the south once more, and all marched cheerfully back to the field they were about to abandon. Children Proudly Brave. "Many officers carried their small sons along with them as companions to the war. One of them, about 13 years of age, with innocent infantile face, was asked by a newspaper correspondent, cor-respondent, if he wasn't afraid. 'No, senor,' he replied proudly. '"Have you been clos'e to the bullets?' bul-lets?' " 'Si, senor,' still more proudly, and with the words he opened hlB shirt, where a dull red scar burned over a very recent surface wound. 'It's nothing noth-ing but a scratch,' he added, as he buttoned his shirt over the treasure and vindication of his courage. "In simple justice it must be said there were few evidences of vandalism. vandal-ism. There probably has never been a more good natured army than that which Villa commands. The morning morn-ing of the entrance into Gomez Palaclo Pa-laclo some soldiers rode up to well-kept well-kept cottages on the grounds of the soap factory. The proprietor from the front yard watched them In anxious expectation. One soldier drew In the gallery, where a magnificent mag-nificent climbing rose was brilliant with red roses. He took one, waved it gaily to his companions, and ail, rode on, leaving the house owner astonished as-tonished at this Illustration of military mili-tary moderation. The Incidentals typical. In battle, and too often out of It, the Mexican is ruthless. Under ordinary circumstances he is appar ently the most polrie and agreeable of men. "There is one brand of the federal service, however, for which the rebel has a constant stock of ferocity. This Is the volunteer branch made up of followers of Orozco in the ante-Ma-dero revolution, called 'Colorados,' in the military Blang of the' day. All 'Colorados' must and should die. Colorados Are Shot. "A prison train to the north seldom reaches Chihuahua, without making a halt somewhero en'' route to shoot two or three men Identified as former for-mer followers of Orozco. It is said that Bachlmba, the place where Orozco Oroz-co was defeated by Huerta, is a favorite fa-vorite place for such summary executions. execu-tions. On the other hand the regulars, regu-lars, the 'Pelones,' are regarded with a certain respect and treated almost with consideration. 'They are forced Into the service,' rebel officers explain, ex-plain, 'and only fight because they have to.' Villa Direct In Manner. "Through the whole campaign Villa has been direct and simple in his methods. Torreon was taken by main strength and tenacity. 'When will Torreon fall?' a newspaper correspondent cor-respondent asked Villa the night after af-ter tho day success had been expected. expect-ed. 'I don't know,' he said simply. sim-ply. 'All I know Is that the town Is going to be taken beforo we quit. This feeling pervaded all the generals gener-als and the army. It was a question of fighting long enough and hard enough and the town was certain to be theirs. "The sieges of Gomez Palaclo and Torreon had their 'bloody angles. Shattered remnants of almost annihilated anni-hilated companies reeled back from 'La Plla,' the fortified mil protecting protect-ing Gomez Palacio, and similar catastrophes, ca-tastrophes, punctuated with evidences of high courage, marked the taking of Santa Rose and Calabazas hills, forming the western wall of Torreon. Torre-on. The rebels gained the positions, but they paid the price. At other points along rrtre" line the dead scattered scat-tered over the open plain attested that there to the federal fire had been concentrated and deadly. "The taking of Torreon has con- firmed Villa in his belief In night-fighting night-fighting his principal contribution to date to the science of Mexican warfare. war-fare. It is true that at night there may be confusion and the troops may fire on their own side as is said to have occurred once during the siege. On the other hand, he holds, night attacks give the assailants protection they would not otherwise have, keep tho garrisons In constant suspense, and have a greater moral effect on the enemy. Efficient Sanitary Methods. "The three salient features of the campaign against Torreon, features which will no doubt be carried into the campaign against other cities to the east, and south, were the comparative com-parative efficiency of the sanitary arrangements, ar-rangements, said to be unequaled in the history of Mexican warfare; the remarkable quickness with which tho wrecked railways in front of the advancing ad-vancing army were made passable, and the continuance of night attacks, giving the combats a weird and sinister sinis-ter aspect which tho struggle by day will always lack." oo |
