Dakota farmers' leader. (Canton, S.D.) 1890-19??, 1913-06-13
REBELS TAKE CITY.
HUNDREDS KILLED IN BATTLE
WHICH RESULTS IN CAPTURE
OF MATAMORAs, MEX.
FEDERAL LEADER is SLAIN
victors Possessed Plans Of Fortified
tions and Under Guidance Of De-
serter Attacked Vulnerable Points
-Victors Made Three Attacks.

Brownsville, Tex, June 5.-Hun
dreds are believed to have been killed
in a battle that ragged for II hour
Tuesday between the rebels under Gen
Lucio Blanco and the federal forces il
Matamoras, the northern stronghold
of the federal government. and which
resulted, after desperate fighting, in
the capture Of the city in the evening
by the rebels.
Much of the fighting was hand to
hand. Maj Estaban Ramos, one OF
Mexico's noted soldiers, made a heroic
License against terrible odds. His off.
GERS c~apitulated only after their chiei
had been mortally wounded by a hall
dozen rebel bullets INC lay at the poin,
of death in a hospital in Brownsville.
The dying general heard the shouts
or the yictors in the streets of the con,
quered town just before he passed
away.
The attack began at 1890 Tuesday
morning. when the constitutionalists
under General Blanco advanced In
sklrmish line. The federals had prac
t1cally no chances to hold the city
and their resistance throughout the
day was called remarkable by Ameri
can army officers who viewed the as
sault from this side of the river.
The rebels were in possession Of
complete plans of the Notifications. A
federal deserter showed them where
all the mines were laid and named the
Vulnerable points in, the line of de-
tense. Virtually the only defense the
honIfn1 nf fa1N,,1,. I,,-J L;-l
barbed wire fence charged with cleo.
tricity.
The rebels charged this three times
and each time were hurled back. Six.
ty of their number were e~lectrocuted.
Finally they concentrated their as
sault upon the Matamoras light plant,
Major Ramos dispatched Captain We,
lez. his most trusted aid. with two
lieutenants and a picked band of 20
sharpshooters to defend the plant and
save the wire fence.
The federals made a gallant defense,
but were outnumbered four to one, and
Captain Velez. the ~lieutenants and the
squad of soldiers were killed to a man
after they had retreated to the very
doors of the e~lectrification plant.
The plant fell at three o'clock, and
the last hope of the federals went with
it. Blanco appealed to Major Ramos
to surrender, but the old Mexican fight
er scorned the offer and sem the en-
voys back and ordered a deploy to re-
pulse the attack.
The rebels advanced and, after a
heavy fire, the federal band was driven
under Cutting their way through
the wire fence, now useless as a de-
Tense. the rebels swarmed into the
town. .
Slaughter followed. Retreating from
street to street the defenders slowly
but surely were driven to bay. Scores
Of soldiers fed to the river and swan
to the American shore, where they
surrendered to the flag of the United
States.
No until the defending army had
been so completely routed that it was
impossible to marshal a squad of 20
fighting men at one place did a junior
officer Of Ramos staff raise the white
flag on bis saber.
Bullets whizzed into Brownsville,
where hundreds watched the fortune
Of the battle across the river. One au-
tomobile was wrecked by a shell. but
no one was seriously hurt.