Arizona weekly citizen., 1893-04-29
EXAGGERATED REPORT
The Chihuahua Rebellion is Un-
 dOubtedly COllapsing.
The Gallant Santana Misrepresent-
 ed.-SOme Personal History.

The latest intelligence from reliable
 sources In Chihuahua indicate that
 most of the reports heretofore received
 from the rebellious district, and chiefly
 through rebel sources. have been ex-
 aggerated, and the forces at the com
 mand of Amalia greatly overestimated Whatever may be the attitude of San-
 tana at the present time, also, 1t Is now
 known that his position in the Tomochic
 revolt lastyear has been grossly misre-
 presented, and probably purposely so, by designing or jealous enemies. So
 far from being leader in that revolt,
 Santana raised company ofvolunteers
 and accompanied the federal soldiers to the town of Tomechic to help put down the rebellion at its inception. The federal troops halted on the top of the high hill overlooking the place, while
 Santana and his men marched down to
 and through the town, the Tomochics
 not firing upon them, probably because they saw they were not regular troops. Shorty afterward the federal troops un-
 dertook to do the same thing, and when
 at close range the Tomochics, from
 their hiding places and on housetops,
 POURED IN A CALLING FIRE,
 with most destructive effect, creating
 panic and routing the troops with great
 slaughter. Santana immediately faced about and ordered charge upon the
 enemy, in order to give the regulars
 time to restore order and reform, but
 seeing the latter flying helter skelter, him
 self ordered retreat in order to save
 his men from slaughter. When the de- feated forces returned to Guerrero some
 of the army officers suspicioned the
 loyalty of Santana, and talked openly of the suspicious circumstance of that officer having marched unmolested through the town while their own men had been slaughtered on entering it, and finally a captain openly accused Santana of treason or cowardice," and threatened and even orderd hls arrest.
 This was too much for the fiery Sant-
 ana, and he defed the officers. Hos tllltleS opened at once, which resulted in the death of several of the soldiers and the escape of Santana and his men. Santana, severely wounded, went to Santo Tomas, and being pursued by the troops, took to the mountains. Subsequently ex-Governor Terrazas, learning the true facts of the case, and
 knowing Santana to be an honorable, gallant and fearless man, secured for him immunity from arrest and had him
 (Stlll suffering from his wound) come into Chihuahua, where everything was satisfactorily explained, and Santana returned to his large landed estates in the west with a government commis- sion in his pocket. These being the facts of his history,
 RECENT REPORTED OCCURRENCES
 Are unaccomtable upon any other hypothesis than that the present atti tude of Santana as pronunciado is a pure invention of the rebel Amalla or his men from whom only the story seems to have sprung), and that the captured force at the command of Santana has been great ly over stated, if 1t existed at all be- yond few peons employed upon his ranch. Nor is it believed that Amalla has or can ever raise, arm and equip even 500 men. The TOmochis were preparing for nearly or quite one year, and yet were un- able to raise, arm and equip more than fifty men to meet the shock of battle. Amalla's men are armed with all sorts of guns Winchesters of various caliber (chiehy A car bines), old Springfield rifles, etc., while 1t is not probable that they have enough ammunition on hand to warm up their gun barrels by rapid and continuous firing. Gov ernor Ahumada of Chihuahua, who has a better understanding of the whole situation than any other man living, perhaps, Is said to regard it as a trifiing affair, already oh it's last legs and bordering on complete collapse.
 THE DISTRESS AND SUFFERING the ineXcusable revolt has already brought upon thousands of innocent l women and children, and that it is sure to entail upon thousands more, IS the darkest shadow in the picture. | From among the two thousand or more inhabitants of the town of | Guerrero the last woman and child | fled early last week. Many have fled from Santo Tomas and other pueblos and haciendas in that region and from isolated places even as far east as CusihuiriaChic. These have taken to the flinty roads and rough mountain trail hurriedly, most of them barefoOted and half clad, with little or no food and without means to purchasing any, and these alright ed women and delicate children are painfully over wide stretches of desert toward the city of Chihuahua leaving hope behind and with naught but despair and famine in front. The only ones along the route towhom they might appeal for help are as deeply steeped in poverty as themselves, and when they reach the city of safety they will find itS few inhabitants who are