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Show : TEXISIfffi THEIR .TROUBLES 3 I Seventy per cent of the population ) . of the Texas territory "invaded" by ' the Mexican "array of liberation" Is , composed of Mexicans. The district affected, in which, the recent raids and j.' battles have occurred, equals In area i. the State of New York. Tho southern part of Texas is more 1 Mexico than United States, and for that reason any uprising among the Mexicans is considered a menace. The United States regular troops already on the ground to oppose an insurrection insurrec-tion or attacks on Americans number !k but a handful compared to the Mexican j population and the soldiers of fortune I who crossed over the line to start , trouble. j It is estimated that 3,000 Mexican i soldiers have come across the Rio j Grande in tho last two weeks. Judg-. Judg-. ing and resistance offered to American Ameri-can troops, they were well supplied with arms and ammunition. ', Tho affected section begins at Ray- ' mondville on the Brownsville railroad and extends south to Brownsville. All ; the district west of Brownsville as far ' as Laredo also Is involved. Many -, r Tights have been reported in Starr and '4 Hidalgo counties. ! Although the total of persons killed In the battles in the Brownsville country coun-try numbers but twenty-three, St is conservatively estimated that all along the border, from Brownsville to Naco, Ariz., 200 have been killed during the last twelve months in raids on isolated isolat-ed ranches and battles with cowboys, ranchers. United States troops and by stray bullets fired by Mexican civilians, civil-ians, ft It was on account of these fatalities j that General Scott was sent to confer 5 with Villa and succeeded in declaring .Naco neutral ground. Tho Americans ai Naco were struck by 1)1111613 when opposing Mexican armies were firing at each other, the Arizona town immediately im-mediately adjoining the Mexican town. General Funston has about 36,000 soldiers under his command, most of ; ; whom are located in San Antonio, Texas City and El Paso. From Loredo io Brownsville and vicinity there are , i 3,000 regulars, and about 1,500 are stationed sta-tioned permanently at Brownsville. At this time the Brownsville force has been decreased in order to main- itain detachments in towns along tho Brownsville road as far as Raymond-llle. Raymond-llle. Four companies were sentjrom Laredo, but as soon as they had gone .Mexicans near Laredo began raiding.' and there is no chance of more troops being drawn from that quarter Ferguson Will Call Out Militia. f It is positively known that Governor Ferguson Intends to call out the Texas ' nnllonal guard to maintain order at the border unless a large number of ' additional federal troops are sont I there This the government has prac-! I tlcally refused, owing to the report byi i General Funston that only a slight in- creaso in the number Avas necessary. J Unlike former Governor Colquitt, I Ferguson is a man of great calmness and opposes using the national guard for every occasion, but now he is ful ly aroused. Brownsville Itself is expecting ex-pecting an attack, despite assurances from the commander at Matamoros and the presence of at least 1,00 American Am-erican troops. Every citizen in Brownsville, reports say, sleeps with guns loaded at his pillow, ready for Instant service. Many women and' children of Brownsville, Laredo and Corpus Chrlsti" have been sent to Houston, San Antonio and Fort Worth for safety Brownsville has a population of 13,-000 13,-000 and is 50 per cent Mexican. Laredo Lare-do has 10,000 Inhabitants, SO per cent Mexicans. All of the towns along the -Rio Grande will average no less than 50 per cent Mexican and will run as high as 90 per cent. Mexicans Think Territory Theirs. Such conditions tend to lead the ignorant Mexicans of such localities to believe the territory rightfully belongs be-longs to Mexico and thoy point to the difference In population to prove It. Moreover, the majority of Mexicans came to the Texas towns to live because be-cause they knew they would be safe there. The present uprising began with the murder of Al Tustln 'and his son Charles at Sebastian by Mexicans. Austin was president of the Sebastian Law and Order league and the killing aroused the country to a ferment But hardly had news of the two deaths been received when throe Mexicans were slain by a poss headed by Adjt Gen. Hutchings. Since then raids and battles have been daily occurrences, with the claim made by Mexican prisoners that they are fighting under the plan of San Diego, which aims to subjugate lower Texas and restore it to Mexico. Wild as tho scheme may appoar, these desperate, des-perate, ignorant and hardy Mexicans are just such men as would attempt it. If hundreds, perhapB thousands, of Mexican soldiers crossed tho line to begin this "revolution" they would not bo so easily handled as is Imagined, for they have hatl four years' training in warfare under most trying conditions. condi-tions. They are hardened to life in the open, to suffering and hunger, and doubtleBs are led by Mexicans who know every Inch of the territory. Moreover, they will not fight' in the open If they can avoid it. They attack when least expected and only when they find a smaller band. They prefer pre-fer to lie in ambush, and to attack defenseless de-fenseless ranches Following an attack, at-tack, they hastily retreat, and the same becomes more one of hide and seek than of actual fighting. The moat .important engagements fouht so far in this "war" were those taking place at Sebastian, Layford. Mercedes, Langtry, Norrias ranch and a 'ranch a few miles north of San Benito. Be-nito. Two battles were fought at Sebastian, Se-bastian, the last, August 12. resulting in the death of three more Mexican raiders. |
