Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1892-06-01
A NOTORIOUS BANDITS FATE.
Race For Life Between a Mexican Guerrilla
and q Dragon.

! Race For Life Between a Mexican Guerrilla
and Dragon.
In our war with Mexico our army
and supply trains were contin ually
harassed by the bands of guerrillas that
infested the roads OF all the guerrilla
| chiefs there were none holder or more
cruel than the soldier-priest, Padre
| Jaurata. On more than one occasion
he had made attacks upon our men
| with a black flag at the head of his fol-
lowers This celebrated band consisted
| OF upward of one thousand desperately
brave men, well drilled, and who were
acknowledged to be equal in horseman-
ship to any body of men in the world.
The majority of them had been robbers
in the mountain passes for years pre-
vlous to the commencement of the war.
They were dreaded by their own law
abiding citizens even more than by our
army.
Their usual mode of warfare was to
keep in the rear or in the TANKS of our
train and cut down all the stragglers
they could reach If any poor soldier,
broken down, foot sore and weary.
should drop behind his command his
fate was sealed These rangers of the
mountains showed no mercy and took
no prisoners Through their spies
they would learn In what part of the
train the specie and valuables were
looked, then wait at some mountain de-
file where the roads were so narrow
that it would be diff cult to send relief
to that part of the train attacked.
They would swoop down on the unpro-
fod hn "a
take what valuables they could carry
off, and if they had time burn the
wagons and mutilate the dead.
Gen. Scott concluded to use every eff
fort TO destroy Padre Jaurata and his
merciless band. Early in February,
1s4s, Gen. 40 Lane" justly styled the
Marion of the army, left the City of
Mexico with about FIVE hundred men,
consisting of four companies of the
Third Dragons, under comma I'd of
President Folks brother. Maj. William
H. Polk, and four companies OF Texas
rangers under command of Col. Jack"
Hays, the celebrated Indian fighter
The command was in fighting trim;
there was not a wagon or pack animal,
not even an am bulance, in the column
rillas at their mountain homes, and it
was to be a fight until death. Our
marching was mostly done in the
night; we rested in some outsof-the-
way place in the daytime, hidden from
sight as much as possible.
On the 21st of February we struck
the trial of the enemy. We heard
they were in force at Tehualtaplan.
They numbered over one thousand
IanceFs. under the command of Padre
Jaurata and Col. Martinez On that
evening we went into camp at sun.
down At midnight we resumed our
march toward the enemy's camp Just
as the day was breaking on the morn
ing OF the 22d we arrived at the ont
skirts OF the town and were received
with royal salute, for bullets whistled
from neatly every house.
The lighting was hand to hand and
from house to house. All who refused
70 surrender were shot down w;thont
parleylng. In the fight a guerrilla At.
tempted to escape on horseback. A
dragon was soon ct his heels: then 4
became race for life. The drapoon,s
horse was strong and tireless, of good
Kentucky stock The guerrilla's horse
was small and wiry, real mustang.
and so well trained that his rider could
turn him around so suddenly that he
would lose but little of his speeL. The
race was up road about fifty feet
wide. bounded by high stone wall on
either side, 80 there was no chance for
tuEning either to the left or to the right