The Bon Homme County independent. [volume] (Tabor, S.D.) 1904-1913, 1910-03-24
AMERICAN SAVED ESTRADA
Took the Word Which Brought re.
endorsements.

TOOK the Word Which Brought Re-
endorsements.
or real Americans, there have been
a handful in the ranks Of the provi-
SIGNALS SO far. and these have acquitted
themselves with credit. Many on the
fight have claimed American citizen
ship for the protection 1t affords, but
investigation has shown that this claim
Is too remote to be seriously considered.
SO FAR, as at present ascertained, there
were but six who came from the United
States to Blueflelds for, the purpose of
aiding the revolt against Zelaya. These
were: Ralph Lees, of New Orleans;
Matthew Finnegan, of Denver, a. Philip
pine veteran; q. r. Fowler, of Texas,
and also late of the Philippines; Pat"
Dolan, who hailed many years ago from
Nebraska; Phil Graves, a trick pistol
shot. who for Is years vas a demon
strator for n of the worlds best
known arms manufacturers, and Ga
briel Conrad, Of New Iberia, La, who
a a medal for aiding the English
against the Beers, n who before that
chased the Apache Kid" with the
western regulars some IL or Is years
ago. To these may be added James
Bransheld. said to have been a MEM
Der OF the Panama constabulary, and
the only foreigner wounded at Recreo,
and James Edwards. an American who
-. Aots So IA lCd
that he ~pronounces the letter "a" as
though 1t were short 90" the same be-
ing a distinguishing mark in the vari-
GUS methods Of handling the English
language on this coast.
Craven Is prematurely gray, but his
eye Is an anachrOnism. It's u and
shoots sparks. AS a pistol salesman for
many years II was his business to show
n could be done with the short arm.
from shooting off the ashes Of a cigar
to doing other tricks common to the
stage. 1t is related to his credit that
although he handled a pistol with an
experiences seldom seen, he never killed
his man. Most Of them he shot I'm the
trigger hand as generally that was all
that was visible above the cover taken.
ConraA and Fowler are two Of the
o soldierly figures who Joined the
Estrada forces. Both had been fighting
In the Philippines n went into the
brush without illusions. Both ere in
charge OF qufck-firers n according to
General Chamorro, handled them with
q skill which went far in attaining VIC
tory. In this connection 1t may be
stated that according to DR.. Pugh, sur
geon of the u. 8. 8. Des Moines. prac-
American hospital. among the FIRST
batch Of Zelayan wounded brought
here was due to automatic gun fire.
Conrad, however, had another disttnc-
ton, and a greater one, for II was he
who acted as General ChamOrro's mes
ted everywhere to have turned i'm
pending defeat into victory for he !
PROFESSIONALS.
As has been cabled, and as,is now
conceded by Estrada, Chamerro, For
nas-Diaz, Matuty and others, the fight
Ing OF December 20 and 81 had been
undecisive. The Zelayans had been
driven into their main entertainments
at RecreO, on h Rio Mico, where their
resistance was desperate. However,
they were battling in self defense,
which probably explains that Mena,
known otherwise az Montana Tige'
(Mountain Lion), with 600 men, had
river, to cut of retreat to the west. |
As planned on the first day, he cap
tured Tatumbla Hill and the telegraph
station there. On the next and final
day Of the battle, however. he en-
.countered bad roads. His arrival In
layed, and the other generals, outnum-
bered. were merely able to hold their
own. Find Mena and tell him we are
beaten unless he can get here within
two hours. He can't be more than a
mile or w In the bush now" said
General Chamorro to Conrad.
Conrad forced his way through the
jungle with it's Dogs and tough inter-
laced vines and trees. His message
threw Mena and his men into a frenzy
OF energy. Brush which 1t had beer
deemed necessary for the macheteros
to cut were ignored-the men simply
over them. Not even waist
deep bog halted them. They were
nearly exhausted when the sight of
lent them fresh energy.
They shouted "Vive Estrada" and
swept up the hills, and from the thick
cts came the answering cry Of the other
This assault quickly
brought the battle to a close. Finding
themselves surrounded, Gonzales and
his men surrendered. Chamorro left
the boat at Bluefields today with his
arm about Conrad's broad shoulder.
and later told he story.
Without exception the Americans
mentioned In this dispatch declare that
the Nicaraguan natives have in them
the making of soldiers the peer of any.
They can live on almost nothing, and
they can carry the burdens Of a
Chinese coolie, through a country which
would put the average coolie, hardy
he is, out of commission. AND
they do not finch at h~and-to-hand
combat. Greater disciline In concerted
and rifle practice are all
that Is needed. AS 1t is, they are prone
over excitement and consequent
bad shooting. To the fact that most
OF the firing was done at close range,
When they ran into each other in the
brush, Is due the large number of cas-
now reported-600 dead and an
equal number wounded on both sides.