Valdez daily prospector., 1914-05-12
WITH VILLA IN THE
 THICK OF BATTLE
Human Interest Side of the
 Siege of Torreon.
BOY HERO OF GOMEZ PALACIO

Order Shouted by Little Horseman at
 Critical Juneture Sent Despairins 1 Troops Back to Face Shot and Shell.
 Raw Soldiers Put to the Test Show
 ed Splendid Courage.
 "Embroidering the salient facts of the Constitutionalist campaign against Torreon are multitude of incidents hardly less interesting" said corre- spondents who accompanied General Villa. upon reaching Fl Paso, Tex.
 "What struck us chiefly during the campaign was the mixture of fear and confidence which Villas name inspired in his followers. General Villa says he will shoot anybody who cuts the telegraph wires by shooting from the train,' called out an officer to soldiers on top of troop train who were i'm proving their marksmanship by shoot ing sat the insulators on telegraph poles Instantly the careless firing ceased. Nobody doubted that Villa meant what he said.
 "'Send this telegram at once said a newspaper correspondent to mill tary operator in his field office under tree near the railroad track. I can't, senor,' was the regretful response General Villa has just notified us that no messages must go out until fur ther orders from him, and he will shoot us if we send this one, even though it is approved by his private secretary to which there was ob- viously no answer.
 "The wounded endured their suffer- ings with remarkable fortitude. Cour- age in the hospital was matched by courage on the field by willingness to venture everything for the great prize in death battle.' Never were raw soldiers more easily turned back from flight into the thick of death and con- Hict During the first daylight artll- lery and infantry attack on Gomez Pa lacio the federal fire grew so hot that things seemed to be going badly TOT the rebels. Men began to leave the trenches and make their way to the rear. Two cannon were attached to caissons that were waiting to be placed in position at certain point and be- gan also to move backward, the driv- CTS urging the mules on in plain 1n- cipient panic.
 Boys Order Potent.
 "All at once Mexican boy about fifteen years old rode on horseback through the mesquite in the direction of the rearward movement Vuelva! eco back!) he yelled again and again. putting spurs to his horse. And at the word from mere boy the cannon were stopped and turned, the men faced the shot and shell from the south once more. and all marched cheerfully back to the field they were about to abandon.
 ''In simple justice it must be said there were few evidences of vandal- ism. There probably has never been a better natured army than that which Villa commands. The morning of the entrance into Gomez Palacio some sol ) diers rode up to a well kept cottage on the ground of the soap factory. The proprietor from the front yard watch ed them anxiously. One soldier drew in the gallery. where a magnificent climbing rose vine was brilliant with red roses. He took one. waved it gay ly to his companions. and all rode on. "The incident is typical. In battle and too often out of it the Mexican is ruthless. Under ordinary circumstances he is apparently the most polite and agreeable of men.
 "There is one brand of the federal service, however. for which the rebel has constant stock of ferocity. This is the volunteer branch, made up or followers of Orozco in the anti-Madero revolution
 Night Fighting Idea vindieated.
 "The taking of Torreon has confirmed Villa in his belief in night fighting. his principal contribution to date to the science of Mexican warfare. It is true that at night there may be confusion and the troops may fire on their own side, as is said to have occurred once during the siege. On the other hand. he holds, night attacks give the assail- ants protection they would not other wise have, keep the garrison in con- stant suspense and have greater mor- al effect on the enemy.
 '1The three salient features of the campaign against Torreon, features which will no doubt be carried into the campaign against other cities to the east and south. were the, comparative efficiency of the sanitary arrangements. said to be unequaled in the history of Mexican warfare; the remarkable quick ness with which the wrecked railways in front of the advancing army were made passable and the continuance of