Los Angeles herald., 1909-12-25
zELAYA LEAVES
CAPITAL UNDER
STRONG GUARD
1conlinued from rage ous,

tcontinued from rage Ouei
and barbed wire proved unexpectedly
strong.
However. the PROFESSIONALS, who be-
lieved they faced the oppressive rule
of Madriz. or. as the only alternative
In the event of defeat, the humiliation
OF intervention by the United states
bore themselves with a show OF Valor
that should ever relieve them from the
charge of being comic opera soldiers.
The hundred dead and the $50 wound
ed gave the surviving insurgents some
thing to think about.
Widows and Orphans
Today widows and orphans may be
seen wandering about here and there.
Yet no expression of regret is heard.
The PROFESSIONALS admit their heavy
losses and estimate those of the enemy
at about an equal number.
General Chamorro, General Diaz and
General Matuty first faced the enemy.
The tugs Pioneer and Blanca, upon
which were mounted Hotchkiss guns.
half buried in sand, steamed up creek
tributary to the Mico river, upon which
the village of Recreo is situated.
For hours they shelled the village.
the gunners maintaining great accu-
racy. Zelaya's troops frequently lett
the trenches, and, advancing through
the jungles, met the insurgents IN
hand -to-hand conflict.
These clashes were followed in each
instance by a retreat to the trenches
and a forward movement by the pro-
yisionals. who cut the wire entangle-
ments with their machetes. In these
brushes many were killed or wounded.
General Chamorro, who looks like a
typical North American trooper, fought
with frenzed vigor. General Diaz dis
dained, as did General Chamorro, 10
take to cover. Diaz walked erect amid
a hail of bullets, directing the fire or
his men. who however he insisted
should keep under cover whenever
possible.
When one soldier, enthused by the
example of his commander. fought on
his feet, Diaz turned his pistol upon
the man and commanded him to get
behind a stump.
IdoIized by Men
Chamorro. who has been fighting for
twenty years, is idolized by his men,
He swore cheerfully when his troop
ers exposed themselves, and good-na-
turedly pushed them behind the cover
of stumps and tangled underbrush.
Chamorro was in active command OF
the battle, Estrada having merely laid
out the general plan.
AS the evening approached and the
enemy still resisted after repeated as
saults. the insurgents wavered from
physical exhaustion. but their courage
never failed.
But for the timely arrival OF General
Mena,sit is quite possible that the out
come of the battle would have been
wholly different Indeed, at one time
the position of the insurgents was
desperate
Chamorro and Diaz had moved on
the main fortifications at Recreo and
Tatumbla hill and Mena was under
orders to cover the lines of retreat
from Recreo. Mena had moved up the
Rama river. but his men were weak
from their march and failed to effect
the expected junction with the other
armies of the insurgents when the
assault began.
They encountered roads knee deer
with red clay and overgrown with trop-
ical plants, through which they cut a
way with their machetes, but their
progress was slow
Chamorro became uneasy and dis
patched a messenger with the urgent
request:
"Come' quickly or the day goes
against US.
And the day was going against the
PROFESSIONALS.
Enemy Close Behind
The enemy followed on every side
but Chamorro discerned at best he was
holding his line. After dispatching the
messenger to Mena he adopted the plan
OF repulsing the enemy when they left
their trenches, but without attempting
a further advance.
Mena realized the situation, and in
stead of satisfying himself by cutting
off possible retreat of the government
troops, pushed forward for an assault
How he and his 600 men got through
the intervening two miles of brush the
general has been unable to explain
They seem to have rushed so desper-
ately that they failed to realize the OBJ
stacles before them.
General Chamorro had been fought to