Saturday news. (Watertown, S.D.) 19??-19??, 1910-07-15
WHOLE ARMY
American Single Handed Stood
Off Nicaraguan Horde.
WAS SHOT EIGHTEEN TIMES.

But Killed Twenty-Five Of the Enen,
Before He Felt--Foe, MarveIins al
His Bravery Buried Him With All
| Honors Of War. =
| The fighting power of an American
shows In the desperate battle of Fred
Mills in the battle Of Amisegir in the
recent war between Honduras and Nj
caragua. -
John P. Poe, who once kicked a field
goal for Princeton, winning the most
sensational football game on record, re-
Gently returned to Nevada from Hon
duras, where he served as captain in
the Hondnran army. About his own
service he has little to say, but while
In San Francisco OIL his way to Nevada
he tod the story Of Mills, an American
adYenturer. recently Of Goldfield, New,
who, with bis back to an adobe wall,
held the whole >Hicaraguan army of in
vasion at bay and killed twenty-five of
President ZelayGs men before he was
finally borne down. by overwhelming
numbers.
The story comes from an officer In
the Nicaraguan forces, who came in on
the close Of Mills great fight,
When. there was rumor of war in
Central America, Mills, who was at that
time In Goldfeld, went TO San Francis
co and shipped on the first boat. He
readily obtained a captaincy in the
Honduran army and in the upset state
of affairs just before the war broke out
helped get the army into shape.
Then came the rumor that the Mica
raglan troops We're preparing to cross
the Honduran frontier in the interior
Mills was detailed With a Company of
native soldiers to 90 out into the noun
tains where the Nlcaraguans were ex-
pected to cross and, avoiding the main
body of troops, to pick up any Skin
mishing parties he could find and learn
the number Of the Nicaraguans.
At Amisegir, a mountain town which
the Nicaraguans were advancing upon
and were forced to occupy as key to
the position. Mile found himself the
only man in the Honduran forces who
realized what was at stake He pre-
pared to hold the place against all
Corners.
The town lies high up on the hills,
with nothing but zigzag mountain trails
leading to it. They are the highways
caminos reales-of Honduras, though tn
any civilized country they would be
called goat'paths. i
Mills realized that be could not be
forced from the town by artillery, as it
could only be moved against him on
the back of mules. He took up his po-
sition In an old graveyard, command
ing the last angle of the road, with
thick adobe walls jutting out at n
sharp angle over the hillside. s
Had to Fight His Own Men.
The value of this place for him lay
not In the fact that these walls formed
a first barrier against the enemy, but
also that once he got his handful OF
barefooted, hungry soldiery into the
graveyard he was able to take up his
stand at the gateway, the only exit
from the place, to keep his men from
running away as the enemy approach
ed This was only accomplished after
he had shot down one Of his own men
who tried to brush past him and had
locked the iron gate, throwing the key
over the wall. Seeing themselves trap
ped his men, after one futile rush,
which stretched two Of them at his
feet, recognized their master and man
ned their positions. Mills made them
knock holes through the wall on the
side commanding the trail, through