Daily Kennebec journal., 1914-01-02

sition and resorting to dynamite
bombs. During the afternoon battle
the lone rebel gunner drew the fire of
four machine guns, 80 shots coming
from the Federal side to one from the
= Constitutionalists. With Brien were
about 10 Constituttonalists, according
to two Americans who crossed the
bridge and reached the revolutionist
lines. The squad had four machine
guns, but used only one at time.
Many bullets fell on the American
side of the river. Narrow escapes were
numerous but no deaths had been re-
ported tonight.
Miguel Guerrero, a Mexican, was
wounded while seated on curbstone
in Laredo.
Many wounded Constitutionalists cross
= ed to the American side and were cared
for in improvised hospitals.
Word from Hidalgo at 5 o'clock said
500 Constitutionalist reinforcements were
. on their way to Nuervo Laredo. They
were expected to arrive during the night.
= Examination of the field indicated that
at one stage of the fight the Constitu-
tionalists cut off an entire company of
'Federals, moving them down with both
rifle and artillery fire. 1t was said not
one of the 65 men of this company es-
capped
Three times the rebels attempted to
crush the Federal entrenchments, but
each time machine gun fire drove them
back.
Federal officers claimed that consid-
.erable proportion of their forces, sta
toned west of the city, did not partici-
pate in the morning battle, being held
,as a reserve.
Just before the morning fighting reach
ed it's height, the master mechanic of
: the National Railways of Mexico at
Nuevo Laredo ran six locomotives to the
American side.
Red Cross surgeons and nurses began
to go on the battlefield soon after 9
O'Clock. Before noon firing had practi-
cally ceased. Rumors that the dead
might reach 400 from the morning fight
alone were not verified. The officials
did not report that proportion of the
more than 200 dead they found, were Fed
,erals, but indicated that the Federal
losses were heavy.
The rebels forces appeared to number
between 5000 and 1000 men. or nearly
twice as many as the Federals.
umn of Federal infantry led by squad
ron of cavalry dashed out of Nuevo La
I = redo toward the east where some Con-
stitutionalists seemed to occupy an ex-
posed position. AS the attacking column
>passed a point near the Rio Grande, three
Federals broke from the ranks and ran
toward the river. Their late comrades
shot them dead
AS the Federal sortie was about to
>reach the Constitutional lines the main
body of rebels appeared south of the city,
coming from different direction than
,the column Of Constitutionalists which
the Federals were about to attack and
which apparently had been used as a
'ruse.
Back into the city the Federal column
.dashed and machine guns began a steady
fire upon the main body of Constitution
alists, which soon withdrew. BY o'clock
,the firing had lulled to an occasional
rifle shot
The Federals main fighting during the
first three hours was done from semi-cr
cular entrenchments composed of loaded
freight cars protected with bags of sand
The American city was not touched by
bullets during this stage of the fight
SAmercan soldiers lined the river banks
with orders not to permit combatants to
, cross.
Daylight revealed the downtown streets