Mexico Missouri message. (Mexico, Audrain County, Mo.) 1899-1918, 1914-09-17

mine was safe now-and he was safe.
Aragon dared not raise a hand. So he
sat himself down on the broad veranda
and listened with boyish interest to
Don Juan's account of the war.
What, have you not heard of the
battle?" cried portly Don Juan, delight
ed to have fresh listener. Aqua
Negra has been taken and retaken,
and the railroad will soon be repaired.
My gracious! have you been out in
the hills that long? Why, 1t was two
weeks ago that the rebels captured
the town by a coup, and eight days
later the federals took 1t back.
"Ah, there has been a real war, Mr..
Sud! You who have laughed at the
courage of the Mexicans. what do you
think OF Bernardo Bravo and his men?
They captured the last UP train from
Fortuna; loaded all the men into the
ore cars and empty coaches; and,
while the federals were still In their
barracks, the train ran clear into the
station and took the town by storm.
And eight days later, at shutdown.
the federals took 1t back. All, there
was awful slaughter averted, senior!
But for the fact that the fuse went
out two hundred Yaqui Indians who
led the charge would have been blown
into eternity. ~
Yes, so great was the charge of
dynamite that the rebels had laid In
their mine that not house in Aqua
Negra would have been left standing
| II the fuse had done its work. Two
tons of dynamite! Think Of that. my
friendl
But these rebels were as ignorant
of its power as they were of laying
a train. The Yaquis walked into the
town at shutdown and found 1t de.
serted-every man, woman and child
had fed to Gadsden and the rebels had
fed to the west.
But listen, here was the way /,
happened-actually, and not as com
mon report has 1t, for the country Is
all in an uproar and the real facts
we're never known. When Bernardo
Bravo captured the town OF Aqua Ne
gra the people acclaimed his hero
'He sent word to the junta at e
Paso and set up a new form of gov
eminent All was enthusiasm, and
several Americans Joined his ranks
to operate the machine guns and can
non. AS for the federals. they occu
pied the country to the east and at
tempted few sallies. but as they
had nothing but their rifles, the artil
lery drove them back.
"Then, as the battle ceased, the
rebels began to celebrate their vic
tory. They broke into the closed can
tinas, disobeying their officers and be
ginning the loot of the town, ant
while half Of their number were DRUM
the federals, being informed OF theil
condition, suddenly advanced upor
them. with the Yaquis far in the lead
"They did not shoot, those Yaquis
but, dragging their guns behind them
they crept up through the bushes anC
dug pits quite close to the lines. Then
when the rebels discovered them ant
manned their guns, the Yaquis sho
down the gunnersy
GIoWihb pOiucr, tuoy CTept ldItHe
to the front-the rebels became disor
ganized, their men became mutinous-
and at last. when they saw they would
surely be taken, the leaders burie,
two tons OF dynamite In the trenches
by the bull-ring and set a time-fuse
to explode when the Yaquis arrived.
"The word spread through the tow
| Ill A..
soldiers fed every which way to cd
cape-and then. when the worst wa
expected to happen. the dynamite
. failed to explode and the Yaqui
J rushed the trenches at shutdown"
did those Yaquis know about tn
J dynamite?" Injured Bud.
KNOW? repeated Don Juan. wavin
the thought away; mot wordi Thei
, commanders kept It from them. eve