Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1914-03-24
result battle
CLO1hEDINDOUB1
Nothing But RuInofs From
Meeting Of aoslhtles NORTH
Of Toffeo1
Federal Agents il 1ll,t Sc:
lion Claim They M De-
feat Rebel Aflll!llyj

.rr ..''H H. #".as .-FN ~. .a'." ..
El Paso, Texas March 23!A-Thous'
ands OF persons in this section whose
fortunes are locked up. insth military
and political Developments in Mext-
co today awaited. authentic infornaa'
jtion OF a battle reported. ! north OF
Torreon. In the last a. hours OK
actly Is words OF a press dispatch
Iseeped through the censor and over
the single telegraph line connecting
.Juarez with the present. war zone.
1t was so restricted as to- be scarce
Ily more than an index OF what it is
assumed the censor removed:
Meanwhile federal agents" here as
serted that Gen. Villa, moving con
fidently in the direction Of 1TOrreon,
had suddenly come upon the enemy,
100 miles north Of where he had ex-
pected them, and was defeated ut
EscalOn, on the main line Oi@the rail-.
way, and at Rosario. re'ta
II the claims Of the federals4 are
correct, Gen. Villa had to do battle
for his life, and is still in H. pre"ari.
Gus position, with an enemy in front
and another threatening W a funk
movement to occupy his rear. Fed.
erals assert, and there we're rum0rs
to the same effect in the rebel camp
at Juarez. that the first federal de-.
tachment moved out OF T0rfeOn west
OF a range of mOuntaths9s. beyond
which lies Escalon and tbs railroad.
This cOlumn. proceeding In the direc.
ton Of Parral, is said to have come
upon the, rebel general, .Urbaia. at
Rosario, and the latter was forced.
to retreat: pending the arrival of re.
Inducements. Rosario IL lilo miles
west OF Uminez, and the: latter city
is directly In the, rear of4Eacalon.
Claim Made by FederAIs.
The federal attack at Escalon ap.
parently was delayed until the west
ern column, on the other side Of the
mountains, had engaged urbana. Ex-
act information as to the fortunes
OF this general was eagerly, though
not confidently, awaited today. Fed.
erals here claim that not, only was
the rebel western column defeated at
Rosario, but that 1t was unable to
prevent the entry of the Huerta,
troops into Jiminez. II this proves
true, much of Villas army has been
cut off from retreat, with an enemy
In front and behind, and mountains
and the desert on either side,
This feature Of the story received
little credence here. Reader belief
was found for the reportlthat the
federal forces were defeated at Els.
Gallon. But it is pointed out that the
consttutiOnalists, by retreating "a
few miles to Bellano, coJld occupy
rife pits and trenches contributed In
the course OF previous resolutions,
and there make a fresh stand.
Number Engaged Not 5k nown. :
The number Of men engaged in the
alleged battles can only +bestguessed
at, and even rumor omits To- mention
dead and wounded, except n,the case
Of Gen. Benavides. reported by Huer-
taistas here to hive been killed at Els.
Gallon, where his column, the Zarago-
"a brigade Of 1900 men, IFS said to
have borne the brunt of the federal
attack. Z ' ;l
1t is pointed out that the. revolt.
tons of the last four years have
shown consistently that 1t takes mare
than one engagement to decide q
Mexican battle. r.
The country north of Torreon Il q
S~aharalike waste, and one OF Villas
greatest problems was to assure a wa
ter supply for horses and men. This
he solved by the use Of tank cars
and reservoirs. 80
One OF Worst Deserts in Mexico,
The desert is one OF thes,worst in
Mexico. The cactus alone thriyes. and
under the drifting sands the traveller
frequently comes upon the bones of
animals which persisted from thirst,
and even those Of men, for Zen. Oroz-
co fought over parts OF this country
two years ago. His men suffered ter.
rbly from thirst. So precious is the
supply of water regarded aby Villa
that he has ordered that none shall
be wasted on such supertluities AZ
bathing and the cleansing of linen,
Villa is supplied with a Yjtkless out.
lit, by means Ofawhich he Is able to
communicate with C:lihualpsa and
.luarez. The federals alsht Have sta
tons connecting Torreon. with the
City OF Mexico, 707 miles tntae south.
At Fort Bliss, the wireless station
occasionally spluttered out. detached
Spanish words. but they were unintel.
igiole and their source was unknown,
H. "a a