Arizona republican., 1914-03-21
With Force of 12,OOO Con- stitutionalists Drives Back Federal Outposts and Pre- pares for Long Deferred Battle
VELASCO HAS
 LARGE FORGE
Villa on Eve of Encounter is a Fury of Energy With the Light of Battle Act ually Burning in His Eyes
ASSOCIATED PRESS pIsPArCHl


 CONSTITUTIONAL I $ T H E D. QUARTERS, YERMO (Chihuahua), March 20.-Villa and a force of 12,000 constitutionalists drove the federal outposts back into the stronghold of Torreon today They planted forty guns for an attack. In the federal trenches facing. the rebel post are 5000 men under Velasco. A roar of siege guns is the signal for attack at any time.
 Villa on the eve of the battle is fury of energy He went from point to point in a private car, and every where he stopped a saddled horse was instantly ready. The light Of battle actually burned in his eyes. The big guns were planted by Colonel Angeles, and General Benevides had disposition of the troops. A cannon was trained on the hill tops while soldiers threw up mud easements and dug ammunition pits, into which to store ammunition, which they named Villa pills"
 Practically all the railroad rolling stock is 'congested between here and Escalon. Villa has food for month and unless railroad communications are cut can maintain his water sup ply indefinitely. Scouts have been reporting federals sending artillery from Saltillo and Monterey and Villa, while accepting this with re- serve, gave two interpretations to it. that the federals are either equipping
 T 1e 11y;t, his rear or that Velasco, certain of defeat, is trying to save as much of his force as possible.
 Although just thirty years old, Tor reon is an important center, contain ing twenty-six thousand. It has a normally large foreign colony. but most of the foreigners have fled, and Villa professes to believe he will capture the entire federal garrison.
 South and southwest of Torreon Velasco's position is regarded as al most impregnable by reason of the mountains and barbed entanglements in the passes.
 In other directions the city is reached only over desert and high hills Villas progress is rendered slow by the necessity of repairing tracks and bridges but the road was opened today to Mapimi and Bor- mejillo, suburbs of Torreon, where the troops were detrained which drove in the federal outposts.
 The water supply, Villas principal problem, rumbled in from Escalon- an entire train full. "Torreon will be mine in a week." he said. Never has the revolutionary army had bet ter men, or better equipment. Every preparation has been made. We cant fail.'
 General Angeles of Carranzas cab inet, second in command, is chief of artillery. The federals are believed to be entirely isolated from the world George Carothers, an American rep resentative, is the guest of Villa.
 Villa has more than forty field pieces and an immense supply of ammunition, probably 2000 rounds to the man. The constitutionalists have been moving to their bases by train, disembarking at Bermejillo and Ma pimi From these points and from Yermo the march over the desert was begun the federal advance guards retreating without opposition behind the Qualifications at Torreon.
 They tore up the railroad and de- stroyed the bridges as they retired and the rebels followed over the long waste of desert, some riding horses and others plodding wearily through the sand.
 Today General Villa, who is at this place receiving reports from various subordinate generals by courier and