The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1914-04-08

dual members of the army were camp.
ing out.
Why there are no cpidemiCs in Mex
lean armies is to civilized man n mar
vel There Is no sanitation. cattle ar,
slaughtered at the point most conve-
nient, heads. entrails and nondcscript
fragments lie about, and even with tn,
sun. the wonderful dry air of this high
country and the wide scattering of the
troops In camp, any sojourn in one
place would. IL seems, OF necessity bring
disease. for when | passed through the
camp sites on my way north the odor
Of decay still hung about them. There
was little else to mark the sites. for
the Mexican camp leaves little litter
and what there is liz spread over an
unbelievably wide area.
From Yermo the army marched to
Conejos, the definite concentration
camp Here Villa Joined the troops.
Conetos possesses a burned station. a
water tank and the name. Here was
the same collection of little groups
each rolling Its own tortillas on oil
tins with beer bottles. hanging strips
of meat on the thorny bushes to jerk
1t. and betraying interest only when a
rabbit strayed into camp or some
pitching" horse proved too much for
it's rider.
Railroad Track Torn -.
The railroad beyond Conejos was
torn up. and l left the car to go for
ward with the construction train. The
Federals In retreating had torn up the
track In most amateurish fashion,
merely loosening the ties. drawing
spikes from the rails and burning the
bridges. Most OF the rails and ties
could be used again and for the bridges
piles OF fresh ties were substituted BY
the light Of fires and lanterns the work
progressed wonderfully fast. Calzado.
new superintendent of railroads, was
throughout the campaign most efficient.
a soldadera family. women. children.
dogs and poultry. all encamped on a
nat car or the beams under it. furnished
supper of -four tortillas tough as leather
and less appetizing, and a fiat car
on which gun was mounted gave
some space to sleep as well az the cold
allowed.
In the morning walk brought me
to Bermejillo. where the first skirmish
had been fought. There were no Fed
eral wounded or prisoners. but some
of the dead lay unburied. They wore
the rurales uniform and some showed
the effect Of the expanding bullet fired
at short range. on one side Of the
head small hole. the other side gap
ing and the brains literally blown out
from the skull.
Here. for a moment, the embargo on
news was raised.
After days rest Villa. with his main
force OF some nine thousand men. col
umns having been detached to operate
east and west. marched to San Carlos.
five miles away. where the advance
guard lay. This march. and in the af-
ternoon when the whole army was
flung out in a single line OF horsemen
sweeping across the country with flags
flying and great columns OF dust tower
Ing above them in the sunlight. fur
nished the most magnificent. almost the
only magnificent spectacle of the cam
paign. The rest held none OF the
glamour OF war, none Of the romance
and all its horrors. The entire fighting
was like a bar room brawl, bloody with
no CLEAN OF science to relieve it's sor-
didness.
Women, Children and Dogs In Car.
For time the train kept even with
the troops. then bad break in the line
followed by others stopped all progress
and when night came we could hear
the fight at Gomez begin. That night
l slept with another correspondent and
two photographers. babes in the woods,
without canteens or blankets. who
shared hnnt al,
the result that all of us half froze in
an armored car inhabited by several
soldaderas. their children and innu-
merable dogs.
One Of the little chihuahua dogs had
family which. when it grew bitter
cold. she abandoned for the warmth of
some ones blankets, and the forsa,,en
puppies. still blind, crawled about whin-
ing in search Of comfort. With every
whimper the mother would howl as IL
her heart were breaking. but made no
effort to collect her offspring ana warm
them. The women and children slcpt
peacefully. and only after great efforts
could be reused to collect and quiet the
dogs. The puppies, the size of mice.
had crawled everywhere. the last being
located In the sleeve of "A sleeping
child.
In the luminous dawn We started to-
ward the front, where there was stfl
sporadic firing. The wounded and
stragglers were beginning to come in.
As a battle must from the rear, IT
looked like defeat Practically all Villas
forces are mounted. and the wounded
rode back two on a horse. the stronger
supporting his comrade. or II less badly
Sa<, 1nA a1n f.,r, ~