Imperial Valley press., 1913-12-24
Huerta's Grim Testing
Startles His Guests
At a Holiday Banquet

This is assisting materially the
constitutionalist compaign by put.
ting the various insurgent leaders in
close touch with the general head
quarters here.
Telegraph lines have been restored
in the states of Sinaloa, Sonora, Chi
prise a section in Northwestern Mex
leo about 800 miles long and about
500 miles wide. In this territory the
federals hold only the coast towns
of Guaymas, on the Gulf of Cali
fornia, and Mazatlan, on the Pacific
Ocean. Constitutionalist officials as
sert that the presence of two fed
eral gunboats on the coast has pre-
vented only the capture of these
ports.
Secretary Bonillas announced that
within few days telegraphic COM
munication will be restored between
Nogales, on the Arizona Sonora bor-
der, and Juarez, on the Texas-Chi-
huahua border, by way of Torreon,
700 miles south of the international
line. Already the border telegraph
lines between Hermosillo and Chi
huahua City have been put in work.
ing order.
Gen. Carranza received bad news
from his home at Saltillo, Coahuila,
a report reaching him to the effect
that his three sisters, Ursula, Her.
media and Mariana de Carranza, had
been forced to ride upon federal
troop train. This followed previous
reports that federals had compelled
the wives of constitutionalist officers
to ride on patrol trains to prevent
attack by insurgents in that vicin-
ity.
Friends of the constitutionalist
commander also confirmed the re-
port that his Saltillo residence had
been sacked by the federals, who
carried away furnitude and carpets
and either destroyed or appropriated
a library of 5000 volumes.
Juarez, Dec PA waiting attitude
was assumed by General Francisco
Villa and his rebel troops to learn
what action, if any, the federal forces
at Ojinaga, on the border, intend to
take. So long as the bulk of the fed
real army in the north remains at
Ojinaga, more than 100 miles from
striking distance of any of the rebel
strongholds, General Villa said he was
satisfied. While the federals have
been provisioning their commissary
as if preparing to march into the in
terror, they are without any train or.
telegraphic communication south of
the border. They have among them ten
generals, or one for each 400 soldiers.
Villa, at Chihuahua, began to turn
his attention toward developments
southwark. The nearest federals in
that direction are at Torreon, about
200 miles south. AS soon as he is
sufficiently advised Of conditions, Villa
intends to send large force toward
Torreon. Skirmishes between feder-
ais and rebels at Gomez Palacio and
Lerdo, near Torreon, occurred, but
they were insignificant.
Exaction of money from persons
who leave Chihuahua continues, ac-
cording to refugees. Mrs. Pedro
Presto, wife of merchant, said she
had to pay $12,5O0 in gold, and Luis
Sequences and Pedro Torres, mer-
chants, $4,000 each.
The homes and property of Jacob E.
Touche, a native of Turkey, valued at
S500,000, was confiscated by Villa, and
Touche paid $4,000 cash for the re-
lease of sister. Touche was reputed
to have amassed large fortune in
Mexico after entering the country
many years ago with nothing more
than trained bear. His elaborate
home in Chihuahua was one of the
sights Of the city.