The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1911-05-07
REBELS WEAPON DYNAMITE
FEARFUL SLAUGHTER IN 10
DAYS FIGHT AT PARRAy,
Cathedral Mined and Blown IN After a
Daring Dash-ROads Made Death
traps for Diaz Troops Mexican Fed.
erals ROuted--Decr IDOubiy Useful.

Daring OASh-ROads Made Death
Traps for Disx Troops Mexican Fed.
erals ROuted-Becr DOubiy lsefui.
SAN ANTONIO. May g. When dynami, o
shattered the sanctuary of the ancien,
cathedral, burying fighting convicts under
the weight of sacred relics. and begrimed
rebels cooled the heated barrels of their
guns by plungng them into watts of beer.
then there was bitter fighting in Parras.
Mexico
j. >. Thompson. an American mining
engineer who halls from Denver. is the
first witness Of the events in the battered
city TO make his way across the border
and tell Of what he saw during the ten
days that Parras was the stake in constant
fighting between insurrect os and Fcderals
He arrived in San Ant onio to-day havin Z
been week dodging breaks IN railroads
and holdups by rebels south of the Rio
Grande.
None Of the few papers published in
the cities Of northern Mexico that have
come through the mails here has dared
the wrath Of the Government by print
ing details Of the continuous actions
at Parras which finally resulted in the
insurrectos holding the town
1T was on April 49," said MIR. Thomp-
son, that messenger from the rebels
under the command of ENRIQUE Adame
NIacia rode into Parras with a note adj
dressed TO the Mayor. demanding sur
render. The messenger was sei7ed and
thrown into Jail There were ONLY be-
tween fifty and one hundred Federal
soldiers in Parras al the time. but the
commander, a little Captain. decided 20
die game
in the afternoon another messenger
came into town from the hills outside
He bore an identical note. couched in
stronger terms. He too was thrown
into iail
The rebels then began to open fire at
long range. Their bullets pattered on the
roofs but did no damage Then the next
morning AZ Q O'Clock they began to close
in on the town The Federal soldiers were
scattered over the roofs of the houses
nearest the rebel advance and about
twenty-five of them we're stationed in
the heavy stone tower of the cathedral
Twenty-one prisoners were released from
the jail, armed with guns and stationed on
the roofs to assist in defending the town.
A majority Of them were placed in the
church tower
With a rush a band Of the insnrrectos
made the town. jumped down the street a
and GRO ssed the plaza toward the cathed-
raj under a heavy fire They sheltered
themselves under the caves of the cathcd-
raj in such position thai the Federals
in the tower above could no. depress their
fire upon them. Then with picks they
followed out hole in the adobe and
rammed it full of dynamite sticks When
they sci of the charge the whole tower
came down and a portion OF the roof Of
the cathedral with II Every man in the
tower was crushed
The Federal Captain surrendered after
that incident. At the behest of the nom
combatants peace agreement was
entered into, by the terms of which the
rebels retired to the ranch San Lorenzo.
a few miles out Of town and the remnants :
Of the Federals evacuated the town and
bivoucked on hacienda an equal distance
away from Parras. The peace agree
ment was designed to extend to April 30,
by which time both sides thought that the
peace negotiations between Madero ana
the Diaz Government AZ Juarez would
be completed Neither side wanted TO
shed blood unnecessarily
soon after the Federal defenders had
retired they were reinforced by 200 men
comprising portions of the Nineteenth
and Twenty third regiments and band
of rurales. all sent out from Torreon
The rebel force. which had numbered
about $50, was increased by volunteers
from all the countryside until approNi-
mately 900 insurreCtos were encemped
at the ranch San Lorenzo, where on April -
the Federals broke the peace agreement
and tried to reoccupy the town
"Th" insurrectos. suspecting an ag-
Gressive move by the federas got To the
town first and mined the approaches with
dynamite. They touched of the mine,
with electric currents a. the enemy ad-
vanced and did terrible slaughter In
one instance thirty rurales were caught
by one explosion and snuffed out, When
the Federal- saw that they he'd been re-
pulsed in their attack. on the town they
retired TO the hills and began to shell the
place.
After a day OF TINS firing, which did
little damage. the insurrectos pursued the
Federals and captured two machine guns
and a wagon train filled with ammunition.
Another detachment of the Government
troops sent out from Torreon as reen-
forcements was fought all day. the rebels
using the houses on the edge Of the town
as forts They cut loopholes through the
walls to fire from II was during this
fighting that the rebels used portion of
a brewery building as fort. When
their guns got too hot they plunged them
into beer. They also used the beer 10
cool themselves
when the Federals finally left Parras
in rebel hands the latter issued passports
to all non-combatants who desired to
leave, Most of them did desire, for the
bank had been looted and business was
al Il standrtill When | left Parras "A
week ago no effort had been made to re-
cover the bodies Of those who had been
slain in the dynamiting of the cathedral.
and no estimate Of the dead in the several
fights had been made
DROI'ES ~ GIIIIES.