St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1915-09-18
THIRTY llExIOANs STRIKE DE-
LBERATE BLOW AT y,
8. ARMY.


. band Of about thirty Mexican out
laws who attacked . detachment OF
ton cavalrymen on guard 1t an irri-
gaticc pumping plant several miles
up I'd Rio Grande from this city.
In the fighting which lasted half an
hour. two American soldiers were
killed. Anthony Kraft, Of Detroit.
Mich. . private Of Troop A, twlfth
cavalry. and Harold T. Fmney. Of
Watertown. N. r.. . trumpeter Of
the Same troop. Two other soldiers.
Sergeant J. J. Walsh, who was In
command Of the detail of troops, and
Jack O'Neal, . private, we're wound
ed slightly. The Mexfcans escaped
to the brush carrying their dead and
wounded with them. The number
Of their casualties was not known.
Early tonight . rural mail carrier
was fred on from AMBUSH and slight
~ wounded about twenty miles from
the scene Of the fight this morning.
Patrols arc Reinforced.
Al . result Of the attack and re-
ports that the Mexioans might renew
hostilities at any time, patrols along
the international boundary were re-
inforced tonight and precautions TAX
en- to prevent . surprise. Col. A. P.
Blocksom, In command OF the bord-
e. patrol. also made vigorous de-
mands ON tho Carranza authorities
Ct Matamoros for the arrest Of two
bandit leaders known to be on the
Mexican side Of the river. These
men were the signers Of circulars,
distributed recently, which urged
Mexicans to rise against the Ameri-
cans.
Col. Nafarrate, Carranza COM
mander At Matamoros. sent word to
Col. Blocksom tonight that he had
ordered his troops to search for the
men. Nafarrate today also ordered
Lieut.. Col. VelAsQuez Of his forces
to come to Ma4amoros and report on
the actions Of his troops at Cavazos
Crossing, where Americans and Mexi-
cans had q fight across the river a
week ago. ~
Five Nexicans were arrested today
suspected Of Implication in the at
tack this morning, and search was
made Of the ranch buildings in the
neighbmhood. Two wa&onloads of
arms were found. but all the NUM-
lions were In houses occupied by
Americans. State peace Officers con-
Quoted the search, aided by detach-
ments Of troops.
Attack Before Daylight.
The attack on the troops at the
irrigation plant was made shortly
after daybreak and before the SOL
diers were astir. The attacking par
ty was first sighted by the trooper
assigned the duty OF preparing break
fast, but before he could give the
alarm the Mexicans opened ire from
the shelter Of straw stacks. The
Americana quickly returned the IRE
from the shed In = ranch corral, In
which they were quartered. During
the fight the soldiers caught only
occasional glimpses Of the arm or
hat Of . Mexican and directed their
IRE largely by the flashes from the
guns Of the raiders.
Forney was struck by q bullet
while he was rising from his bunk.
He died late today.
Kraft was lying on the ground in
front Of the shed under ire from
three directions when q bullet struck
him in the head. Another trooper
who was lying beside him carried
him to shelter. He died in a few
minutes.
After about thirty minutes the
Mexicans stopped firing and escaped.
When the news OF the fight was
brought to Fort Brown here, Col.
Blocksom went to the scene with re-
Inducements but no trace Of the men
could be found,