The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-06-14
Sylvester Had Many Adven-
 in Flight From Torreon
BY BANDITS
Purchased Passage With $50 Note. Got in Mud Hole in Two Seconds But Required Seven Hours
 to Get Out

aid. One who doubts 1t and believes that the most stirring tales of daring and danger originate in the fertile brains of unreasonable scrihes should have attended a recent dinner where a score of "exiles" gathered for re-
 union. The "exiles" were full-nedged American citizens banished from far
 away Mexico. There they had known
 one another before the serenade of the light guitar gave way to that of bom- barding cannon. They had heard both and even as they listened to the melo- dious strains of La Paloma," the pop ular Mexican anthem which tho res taurant orchestra played for them they seemed to hear with sense finer than that bestowed by the ear the thunderous hoofs of the rebel cavalry under Gen. Francisco Villa, which even then was closing in on the once fair city of Torreon. whence these "exiles'' came.
 Among the most interesting of tho stories told of the siege times and es- capes to the border was that related by Edwin Stull Sylvester, now living in In No. PAT West one Hundred and Fourth street. With his wife and two children, Anita, 1 years old, and George, 6, they narrowly missed death when General Villa besieged Torreon last July, and their flight across tho Mex ican desert 200 miles in an automobile was beset by adventures which might we'll furnish the plot for a novel of daring and danger.
 With his wife, children, and six other Americans, MT Sylvester escaped from Torreon in two automobiles. Receiving President Wilson's warning that Amer leans should leave Mexico a month af- ter 1t had been made, many Americans Tn Torreon believed that it meant sure intervention on the part of this gov ernment. Believing that interference In Mexican affairs might lead to a mas saere. of American citizens, many of the latter made haste to flee.
 There was no train service, and after some difficulty MT. Sylvester and his friends purchased two autom obiles. The manner In which they proposed to flee made light travelling equipment necessary, consequently each of the party left with only suitcase. A linn lied amount of provisions and water could be carried, because 1t was ne- oessary to take along a quantity of gasoline. Three weeks prior to their departure it had rained necessarily and the roads, none too good In dry wealth CT, were practically impossible near Iorreon. To escape them the automo- piles and their occupants travelled on a box car to a point 20 miles northeast the terminus of the railroad. and then the flight of nine days, filled with peril from bandits, thirst, hunger, heat and mechanical mishaps began.
 We had smooth running for only an hour. and then our troubles started" 1" MT. Sylvester asserted. There was an innocent looking puddle of water across the road, and 1t took us just three seconds to run into the middle of 1t. It took us seven hours to get out, for mud and slime clogged the macnin- cry and came to the body of the car. With the assistance of the other ma chine and by wading waist deep In the mud we managed to be on our way again. But only for an hour. Dusk was falling as we entered a deep can yon. Scarcely were We between the towering walls of rock when a man stepped into the road and with a rife ready for use commanded us to stop, As we slowed up another peon on horseback appeared at a turn in the road. My wife grasped an American flag and showed 1t just as we stopped
 What Is that rag?" the man afoot said with a sheer.
 "1'he American flag. and we are Amer
 
 the party answered hotly.
 You can't pass here the horseman said. ''Our chieftain has forbidden anyone to pass. You must come with us to the mountains and wait. He will be here tomorrow afternoon"
 'T think every one had his hand on a pistol' MT. Sylvester continued. We hesitated to shoot because of my wife and children.
 Leaning toward my wife I whisper ed in English: There seems to be no other way out of 1t. Shall we kill them~
 Yes she replied quite calmly adding, If there is no other way. But please lure them short distance away so that their shots can not strike the children.
 "At this juncture in the conversation the chauffeur started his engines whereupon both bandits covered my wife and children with their guns. The engine was stopped and with a friend asked the two men to follow us a few feet up the canyon We proposed to have 1t out there. However as we walked my friend remarked that two peons would not be sufficiently fool hardy to try to hold up two automo- piles, and we came to the conclusion that their band must be near at hand We offered each of the men a $50 United States gold certificate. which they took and allowed us to pass.
 We made splendid progress until that afternoon. when one of the ma chimes was put out of commission by colliding with a pile of rock" MT. Syl- vester continued. Tt was hopelessly wrecked. and we abandoned it. Leaving three of our party and a Mexican chauffeur. we pushed on with my wife and children. At dusk we made camp. ate from our scanty supply of food and waited until the moon rose.
 "The morning of the following or third day of our flight we were caught in another water hole. Without the aid of the other automobile we were For three hours we tried to dislodge the machine. Then we sat down. our hopes of escape settling as deep in slough of despondency as our machine was in mud.
 '"ro amuse him I let little George shoot my revolver. and I fancy he made ono of the luclsiest shots he ever will make. for the noise attracted the attention of the driver of an overland wagon. He drove up to us with six mules, and proved to be an Ameican. We breakfasted with him, and then his the mud. A peon passed with several more mules. and these with the Amer Icans got us out
 They struck the Camino real. or Royal road. the following day. and were making fair speed, when 30 men rode out from behind hill and stopped them. They told who they were. and asked where they could obtain mood and water. The soldiers gave them ci and directed them to a ranch house seven miles away where they vh fox md