New-York tribune., 1910-12-25
MORE TROOPS TO Front
Thirteen Hundred Soldiers SEM
to General .Navarro's AId.-
NOW ON THE DEFENSIVE
Navarro Executes Civilians, and
Rebels Retaliate by Shoot
ing Prisoners.

Rebels Retaliate by Shoot-
ing Prisoners.
f-,nrahu, Mexico. Dec 24-Two big
trains carving thirteen hundred troops
loft hero this morning to reinforce General
Navarro.
Their first task, a dif1cult one. will be to
take Nal Paso.
Chihuahua. Dec q (via FL Paso. Tex
Dec. PA special representative OF Inc
Associated Press who has been Win the
insurgents two weeks returned to-day oy
mule team. His Judgment OF the situatioii
in this state may be summarized IN the
statement that General Navarro mas peeh
fought back from the offensive TO the ue-
fensive. but that the reinforcements no"
at hand will crush the rebellion WITHIN
month or two. In this connection IL was
stated to-day that federal troops are now
stationed as follows
Six hundred under General Navarro at
PedernaIes and vicinity (west or MAI
Paso): 700 at San Antonio. made up OF $40
who were unin njured In the Nal Paso am
buscade and $40 reinforcements, and l'5"
who arrived here last night and to-day.
The latter include a battery OF arnierS
made up of two light mortars for firing
over hills two Hotchkiss guns and TWO
rapid frers.
TWENTY-FIVE passenger coaches are now
on the tracks of the Mexico Il NORTH
western Railroad to forward the reinforce
n'ents To-day was spent in loading food
on the cars and in making other prepara-
tions for the campaign These troops VIII
go first to San Antonio, making new force
| Of 2,OoO led by the best officers In Mexico.
| 1t is their programme to take Nal Paso
| tho present rebel stronghold. This once
taken, a junction will be formed with Ma
| varro under the troops which have come
overland from Sonora.
Federal Triumph Expected.
! All this will entail serious fighting, but
| there is no foreigner here now, viewing
| affairs impartially, who pretends a belief
| that the federals will not triumph event
! ually.
| The rebels lost a chance Of creating a
/ nationwide revolt when they failed tc
! crush Navarro at Cerro Prieto- At thai
| time they did not have their forces con
| centrated. and Navarro held his own HI
| Is now strictly on the defensive at Peder'
| males.
| While Navarro is under orders not tc
| Inks ltle tUtUSIfe, Ho ID III a NSiSiASi'
position, which the insurgents cannot at
| tack without disaster His job Is to sl
| tight and allow the reinforcements, now
numbering treble his own force, to continue
| the campaign. Navarro's original force
| was it has now been shown, scarcely more
| than a police force, which a misguided
government considered sufficient Diaz is
| now sending an army The Associated
Press correspondent brings word that ir
| the fighting around Pedernales and the
west entrance to Nal Paso the rebels were
| much inferior in numbers. but at Nal Pase
! they were superior In position.
| 1t will be two weeks ago Sunday that
| Navarro met the insurgents at Cerro Prfetc
| and fought drawn battle He remained
there until tho following Thursday, when
| he was ordered to clear Nal Paso Of rebels
to make way for a prospective troop train
| With his entire force he left Cerro Pr1eto
and marched with every semblance of max
| ing an attack on the well posted revolu-
| tionists toward Rancho Santiago. The in
surgents opened fire, but their shots fell
| short.
Rebels Score Victory.
| Meanwhile the federal force at Peder-
| males was attacked and repulsed. Navarro
| lost in this engagement about twelve dead,
\ 1QCiuQlQS Two Objects, ana aDOuL twenty
| five wounded The insurgents lost twenty
] one killed and about forty wounded. The
| latter were checked In their charge In an
| arroyo, where they sustained most of their
! losses. Six of them remained at one post
| until all were killed.
| The rebel detachment which shot up the
| troop train at the eastern entrance to Nal
| Paso numbered only two hundred men
! The ambuscade cost them only two killed
and two wounded. The federal loss is
known to have been about thirty-one killed
| and seventy-one wounded
| Arrivals from the front to-day brought
| confirmation Of the statement that Navar-
! ro executed number of civilians at Cerro
| Prieto The number is given now as thirty
| two, twenty-five in the village proper and
| ten at a hamlet nearby, The story was
! told here to-day in convincing detail
The revolutionists last Saturday executed
the prisoners as a retaliatory measure
| These were 1oyalists taken at Guerrero
! three or four weeks ago. They were given
| a trial of rough sort and convicted OF
| treachery while being allowed the consid-
| Grafton of neutrals. When the revolution
| lists became certain of the executions at
| Cerro Prieto they shot their own captives
| The execution occurred at a hamlet be-
| tween La Junta and Guerrero