The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1914-04-08

| ches of Gomez Palacio it was found
to have been poisoned. and the ag-
onies of dysentery were added 10 the
tortures of the heat and the hell OF
modern musketry.
Gomez Palacio having been TAX
en-, Villa instantly began prepara-
tions to take the city OF Torreon.
i New artillery ammunition had ar
rived and on Saturday afternoon the
rebels began a bombardment OF the
| pestiferous federal cannon on the
| mountains.
Federal Guns Silenced
Villa had noticed masses of infant
/ ry on Mount Colorado, there to
guard big guns Particular atten-
| tion was paid to this General An
geles' new shells burst this time, and
soon the federals on Mount Colora-
do, Mount of the Cross and Mount
Pila were silenced.
At nightfall the rebels charged on
the city proper. Firing was savage
the night long 1t was apparent
however, that the heart was waning
| in the federals Their resistance
han't the stubbornness they had
shown at Gomez Palacio.
Sunday morning found the rebels
in possession Of the Bull Ring of
Torreon.
| Until Monday night there was lit
| tie fighting, a surrender being eX-
pected. Finally Villa decided that,
while he procrastinated General
| Velasco, the federal chief was
Strengthening the barracks and dobe
houses in the center Of the city. So
now began the desperate, hand-to-
hand night fighting from street to
street which continued until the sur
render.
All night long, that Monday night
the fighting was awful. The soldiers
of both sides, hungry and thirsty
and almost exhausted, fought like
| madmen.
Rebels Keep Boring In
Villas men in squads Of 10 and 20
| bored their way from street TO street
| fighting other squads of the same
size with trevolvers, hand grenades
and rifles, lodging behind corners,
| taking refuge in house doors and
ducking from showers of bricks and
I boulder thrown from the tops of the
dobe houses.
The federals fell back, foot by
foot and sometimes groups OF Huer-
ia men who had been isolated in the
fighting threw down their guns and
dashed for the darkened desert
rather than yield themselves as pris-
Oners of war.
There was no thought Of giving
quarter. None was asked. The
rebels, drunk with the spirit OF bat
tie, threw gaspipe bombs into the
federal barricades and up on the
roofs of houses, where their enemies
were firing on them, while from the
mountain sides, on the outskirts of
Torreon, Villas artillery showered
| shrapnel into the barracks where
crowds Of federal soldiers awaited
the final onslaught of the rebel
| hordes.
| It was a scene of battle trans
planted from the middle ages into
the Goth century, high explosives
and automatic pistols taking the
place of pixies and swords.
Into this hell came looting and
| the other horrible features of war
Soldiers of both sides dragged out
barrels of liquor and broke into bus
mess places and private houses.
Crazed looters were seen stagger-
ing along the streets shouting and
screeching and singing with long
strands Of costly lace wound around
their necks AMI trailing into the gut
ter and with beautiful ostrich feath-
ers stuck into their hats. All the
while the clatter OF rifles, the roar
OF cannon and screech OF machine
guns split the air
So the night passed. Bright AMI
early the next morning. however
iGeneral Villa and his staff arrived
on the scene and in q bries hour or
Da