Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1914-03-31
At TORREON I
STILL IN PROGRESS
Confidence in Villas Ultimate
Victory Restored Among
ConstitutionaIists.
REBEL ARMY HELD TO BE
BETTER PR0VIsIONED NOW
Lack of Official Reports Taken to In.-
dicate Federals Are Offering
Stubborn Resistance.

"'HNiIS' mexico. March S1-Fightir9
continues at Torreon. according to infor-
nation given by rebel officers at Juares
'ona!. No details were received. Rebel
leaders contend that the main battle for
supremacy was fought last week at
ror'ez Palacio. where soldiers of both
sides fell by hundreds in the desperate
| conflict
The losses at Gomez Palacio were 50
heavy. it is said. that neither side is now
capable of repeating so determined q
oat'ie. In Torreon the fighting is said
10 De from building to building, without
any open charges or concentrated as
sauits Gomez Palacio was taken by
storm after three sanguinary assaults,
I according to the brief reports thus far
received. report that reached Juarez
last night. when some correspondents
arrived from the front indicated that
the federals might have driven Vilias s
| army back in confusion il they had
known how to follow up their advan-
tage.
Confidence in Villas ultimate victory
was restored among constitutionalist
sympathlZers here today by receipt OF
various semi-off1cial reports that the
rebel leader had forced Gen. Refugio
Velascos federal army to it's last stand
1t is believed here that the weeks
fightinG has left the rebel army better
provisioned, both in arms and supplies,
than 1t has the federals.
Federals Fighting stubbornly.
CHIHUAHUA, Mexico March 31.-AL
though rebel officers are optimistic as to
the outcome of the battle of Torreon,
they said today that the absence of Of
frota
was meeting with stubborn resistance.
The telegraph Office is accepting teIe-
grams addressed to Gomez Palacio. care
of Gen. Villa. but thus far norre address
ed to newspaper men has been replied to.
Story of Desperate Fighting.
Ell PASO, Tex. March s1.-A tale Of
rebel reverses and rebel luck was brought
here last night from the front by John
Reed. correspondent of the New York
World, and Robert Dorman a photoe-
| rapher. They left the front Saturday
morning, AT which time they estimated
that the rebel loss was 1900 in killed
and wounded.
We were whipped twice at Gomez
Palacio, related Dorman, but Velasco.
| the federal commander. did not know it,
Federal prisoners whom We captured said
that Velasco later went insane in the
trenches.
He is cripple of previous revolutions
and has bad arm and bad leg. Tho
prisoners told us he went mad at Gomez
Palacio and went raging up and down
the lines, cursing and issuing absurd or
ders. Ultimately his own officers put
him under restraint.
Our attack on Gomez Palacio was CEN
tered on the hill known as Cerrero de Ia
Pillar. 1t is precipitous. and we made
seven assaults before taking it. The re-
suit of each unsu ccessful assault could
be discerned after the battle by the
| rings of dead rebels. Their bodies dis
tinctly marked the lines where they were
repulsed.
"When we III Saturday morning tho
fight was in rssS. 1t was slow, stub
born work. as ne :sbels had TO fight
from house to s Sc, the enemy retreat
ing from positit to position through
holes knocked in I mud houses which
are built one agaii another
The rapid-fire gut accurately trained
on obstacles put in - way of the rebel
advance, did the most DAMAGE they said.
The rebels simply fell in windrows be-
fore the barbed-wire entanglements.
Each time however. Villa was able to
retreat without pursuit and reform his
men. Their valor was unaffected by
their repulses or by their hunger.
Dorman brought back report that
Col. Victor Huerta, son Of President
Huerta, was among the feceraI dead.