The Watertown weekly leader. [volume] (Watertown, Jefferson County, Wis.) 1912-1917, 1914-04-28
GRAPHIC STORY
OF VERA CRUZ
Capture of Mexican City After
Two Days Fight Presents
Vivid Picture.
VALOR OF OUR BLUEJACKETS
Warships ShelIed Buildings in Which
Mexican "Snpers" Had Taken Ref
uge-Natives Surprised at Cour-
tesy of American Troops.

Vera Cruz, Mexico, April "a
thirty wounded before the city of
Vera Cruz came into the undisputed
possession of the American invading
forces after two-day fight. Although
the Mexicans suffered more severely,
the number of their casualties has not
been ascertainnd The best estimates
obtained by Capt. William R. Rush
of the battleship F1t;rida indicated
that in the engagements of Tuesday
and Wednesday their dead numbered
about one hundred AMI fifty. No per-
son knows how MANI Mexicans fell
wounded, as many of chem were taken
away and hidden by friends.
In the streets about the plaza
Wednesday afternoon lay fifteen or
twenty bodies, majority of them at
tired in citizens clothing. Some of
the men evidently had been dead since
the engagement Tuesday and the
tropical heat made their immediate
disposal imperative. One of the first
orders given after the town had been
captured was to bury the Mexican
dead in a trench at the sea end o.
one of the streets leading from the
plaza.
Scores Are Taken Prisoners.
When the city was taken the order
was given to advance carefully and
search every building for men bearing
arms. Scores of prisoners we're taken,
the majority of them protesting vol
ubly-many hysterically-that they
were not guilty of any unfriendliness
toward the Americans. Accustomed
as the MeXicans are to seeing their
own contending forces shoot imme-
diately all prisoners taken, the cap
tured men could not but believe that
they would receive no less drastic
treatment at the hands of the Ameri-
cans The guns found in houses were
thrown by the marines and blue
Jackets from the upper balconies to
the pavement below
The most spirited action was the
taking of the naval academy. Aside
from that fight, no definite, organized
opposition was encountered by the
Americans A hot fire was poured
from the naval college, but few
well directed shots from the cruisers
Chester. San Francisco and Prairie
tore gaping holes in the stone walls
and silenced the rife fire of the Next
cans inside The bluejackets then
were enabled to proceed with the task
they had in hand.
Escape From Flight Cut Off.
Despite the Smelling it had received
Tuesday, a squad Of soldiers continued
to give considerable trouble to the
Americans from the battered Benfto
Juarez tower. After they had been
silenced and removed from the tower
it was discovered that the soldiers
had continued fighting for lack of
ability to do anything else. The shells
from the warships Tuesday had torn
away the stairway in the tower and
the men had been compelled to remain
in it.
At 1908 Wednesday morning the
americans were in undisputed pos
session of all the city except the
southwest quarter, in which the bar
racks are situated, and few outlying
districts. At noon they had taken
the barracks. When the city prison,
which faces the main plaza, was cap
tured, Lieutenant-Comm Buchan-
an of the Florida made an inspection
tour through it. There was great sur