The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1914-07-14
VILLAS Vice
WINS VICTORY
Rebel Generals Influence With
Soldiers Wonderful
THEY FIGHT LIKE DEMONS.

At Command of Chief Troops Sweep
All Before Them-Villa Likened to
Scottish Chief Whose Zone Blast of
Bugle Horn Mas Worth a Thousand
Men"
Jimmy Hare. an American news
paper photographer, returned to lei
Paso from Torreon. where he Witness
ed the battle of Zacatecas. says an Ell
Paso dispatch TO the New York Ameri-
can OF General villa and the battle
Of Zacatecas Hare said:
villa has been compared with Grant
and Lee and Washington and Napoleon
and other famous warriors. but after
seeing him in action at Zacatecas and
seeing the effect of his presence upon
his soldiers | am more inclined to
liken him 70 Roderick Dhu. the famous
Scottish chieftain. of whom it is said.
One blast of his bugle norm were
worth IA thousand men
when Villa arrived upon the scene
at Pimiento, an outpost of Zacatecas.
and gave the order for an attack in
force upon the almost i~mpregnable
positions occupied by the fpderals his
soldiers became demons rather than
men and fought their way ove seem
iugly insurmuuntable obstacles Three
hours later they had not only captured
the city and all ii contained, including
munitions OF war. but destroyed an
army almost equal to their own i'll
number.
Hills Covered With Dead.
The carnage was something fright
ful. The surrounding hills were lit
orally covered with dead. and bodies
of men ana horses lay In heaps in the
streets of the city. where they were
moved down by machine gun fire as
the panic stricken federals attempted
to seek safety in flight
After being driven into the city
and finding that it could not hold
ii General Barron's army attempted
to get away to the southwark through
the pass leading to Laguna de Guada-
lupe, and here is where the greatest
loss of life was sustained.
I'm the tortuous six miles of mar
row canyon which constitutes the road
from the southern gateway of Zaca-
tecas to Guadalupe the bodies Of be
tween $500 and 5000 horses and be.
tween $500 and 1000 men were found
The disposition of this great mass OF
carrion before it began to faint the
air and cause an epidemic of disease
was in itself q stupendous as well as 8
grewsome task. Nearly the entire Con
stitutionalist army, or at least that por
ton of it not required In similar effort
on other portions of the battlefield anC
not including those sem In pursuit oil
the few federals, was put at work al
burying and burning the bodies. Greai
quantities of lime were used In order
to cause quick disintegration and at thu
same time d~isinfection.
The mountains around and abou
the city of Zacatecas are ~honeycombet
with mine openings of all sorts. anJ
many federals. finding escape cut off
sought refuge In shafts, pits and tun
nels in the surrounding hills. The Con
stitutionalists, suspecting that tn,
mines would be used as places of ref
uge, searched the district promptly aft
err the order was given to cease firing
and thousands of prisoners were cap
tured in this manner.
Praise For Hospital Service.
"Other parties who had succeeded Ii
cutting their way were overtaken ant
either captured or killed If they put vi
a fight"
OF the loss in killed and wounded
sustained by the Constitutionalists Mr.
Hare said that he could not talk intel
ligently because of the lack of fact
and figures on which to base a state
lei
He was loud In his praise of Genera
Villas hospital service and said thu
wounded on both sides were giver
splendid care as rapidly as they could
be brought TO the hospital trains Will,
the battle was in progress or to thu
hospitals in Zacatecas after the occu
patton.