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Show VILLA'S CAPTURE NOT CONFIRMED Carranza Commander Receives Re-ceives Positive Denial That Rebel Leader Has Been Taken. EXECUTION IS PLANNED Former Chief a Troublesome Outlaw and Will Be Dealt With According to His Deserts. . El Paso, Tex., Jan. 21. Denial from Carranza official sources that Francisco Villa had been captured, as reported from Chihuahua, was supplemented supple-mented today by statements from Villa Vil-la partisans here, alleged to be based on reliable information that he and several hundred followers were safe in the Tarahuamar mountains, west of Guerrero. Another dispatch repeated the report re-port from Chihuahua that eighteen bandits alleged to have been among those who killed the Americans at Santa Ysabel had been brought there and would be executed today. In Mountain Fastnesses. In the fastness of these mountains, every inch of which he has known since the days when, as a brigand, he successfully evaded every force Porflrio Diaz could send against him, they declared Villa was now awaiting await-ing the development of the movement started against Carranza by General Benjamin Argumedo, the Arrieta brothers and others. He would be next heard from, they asserted, when he struck a blow at the Carranza forces for-ces now being concentrated at Tor-reon Tor-reon to take the field against the. rebel reb-el movement which has become fairly vell developed. Herrera Supreme Chief. General Jacinto Trevlno, Carranza military chief of Chihuahua, was expected ex-pected to arrive at Torreon today or tomorrow to take charge of the new army. Before leaving Chihuahua City yesterday Trevino appointed General Luis Herrera supreme chief of Chihuahua. Chi-huahua. It was Herrera who gave the Associated Press a statement denying the report that Villa had been .caught and was being brought in for execution. This was the only statement to leach the border from Chihuahua and Mexican officials at Juarez were awaiting the arrival of civil Governor i F.nriquez this afternoon for additional information. Villa partisans who sought sanctuaries sanctu-aries here when their government . collapsed at no lime gave credence to the reported capture of their chief. Villa's Followers Loyal. "The only way In which Villa could be captured." said Perez Rul, his for-mei for-mei secretary who arrived here some time ago, "would be through the treachery of some of his followers and while he was asleep. That is Improbable. Im-probable. No man in Mexico com-niands com-niands more the loyalty of his men, no one sleeps less, and no man would be quicker than he to take his own life rather than surrender." Carranza authorities denied that there had been any bandit attack on Parral as stated in reports several days ago which declared that a Chinese Chi-nese cook had been killed and that camps of closed mines In that vicinity had been robbed. It was also stated that Carranza and the military chiefs who left Quorotaro for Celeya several days ago had returned to Queretaro. El Paso. Tex., Jan. 21. Officials of the de facto Mexican government hero had not received confirmation of the reported capture of Francisco Villa. A positive denial that the rebel leader lead-er had been taken near San Geronimo v,os received from Luis Herrera, a Carranza commander at Chihuahua City. Mexican officials were engaged in an effort to secure further infor-motlon infor-motlon concerning the basis of the rumor. The extremely circumstantial details de-tails of the reported capture led well informed persons here to believe it, but against this phase stood the telegraphed tele-graphed denial by General Luis Herrera, Her-rera, Carranza commandant at Chihuahua, Chi-huahua, that the capture had been effected. ef-fected. A message asking that ula do brought to Juarez to be executed at the race track, was ready for filing by Mexican officials in case the report re-port of his capture proved authentic. Efforts today to get in communication communica-tion with any of tho three commanders comman-ders who were said to have surrendered surren-dered the outlaw were ineffective. Villa Troublesome Outlaw. Officials here and at Washington were inclined to discount the magnitude magni-tude of the event as seen by the general gen-eral public. Villa, it was said, was a troublesome outlaw, nothing more, and would be dealt with. He was not conceded the glamor which was his in tho public mliid when ho fought at Torreon and worked his way toward Mexico City with nn unbeaten un-beaten and confident army. His present pres-ent following was said to bo Inconsiderable Incon-siderable and dwindling, and Carranza Carran-za officials refused to concede that he might riso again to prominence as he did after he was outlawed by Porflrio Por-flrio Diaz for the killing oe an army officer who had run away with his sister. Washington, Jan. 21. Tho state department's de-partment's only Information today on the reported capture of General Villa was in delayed dispatcher from El Paso conveying last nlghf unconfirmed uncon-firmed ropo'rts that he was a prisoner. pris-oner. ( |
