Charlevoix county herald. (East Jordan, Mich.) 189?-1953, 1916-11-10
Bandit Was Isolated When Order
for Movement to North
Was Given.
MOST OF RAIDERS ARE DEAD
OF the 485 Men Who Invaded coIum.
bus 400 Are Dead, Wounded or
Captured - Record Marches
Made by Troops-Story
of Hard Luck.

FIELD headquarters, American Punl-
tive Expedition In Acknowledgements
tai narratives of the cavalry regi-
ments that participated in the search
for villa, which have just been brought
up to date and submitted to headquar-
tiers, show in detail how near the
American troopers came to accom-
plishing the full purpose of their ex-
petition. They show that just after
the Parral fight, on April II, less than
a month after the expedition had en-
tered Mexico and Immediately prior
to the order to withdraw northward
from the Parral district, the Amer
leans had run Villa, sorely wounded,
to earth, and had cut off every ave-
nue. of his escape to the south into
Durango.
When Maj. Frank Tompkins' hun
dred men were attacked at Parral,
villa, disabled, had hidden at Santa
Cruz. Maj. r. l.. Howe, with his hard
riding squadron of the Eleventh cav
airy, close on the bandits trail, had
run by his quarry. General Pershing
was at Satevo, directing operations.
Col. w. Q. Brown, with five troops of
the Tenth cavalry; Col. III. II. Allen,
with two picked troops of the Elev-
enth cavalry; Major Tompkins and
Major Howe, four cavalry columns in
all, were between Villa and the haven
of safety he was seeking in the Sierra
Madres, ready to beat the brush for
him. Wounded, virtually alone, he APP
parently had little chance to evade
capture or death. Orders for with
drawal came, however, after Parral,
and the highwater mark of the ex-
petition passed.
From the beginning of the border
trouble 1t was to the cavalry that fell
the responsibility of dispensing the
Columbus raiders. That this task
was accomplished is evidenced 10y fig
ures showing that of the 4S5 men who
raided Columbus four hundred have
been killed. wounded or captured. Full
credit Is given in the narratives for
the cooperation of other branches of
the service, notably in establishing
advanced bases and maintaining the
line of communication, but the fact
remains that ii was the cavalry that
drove villa in head-long, panic-strick-
en- flight into Durango, five hundred
miles from the American border, scat
tered his band to the four winds and
set new records for marches under
terrific handicaps. 1t also fought the
four engagements that had an impor-
tant bearing on the campaign :-Dodd
at Guerrero, March %; Tompkins at
Parral, April -; Dodd at Tomoche,
April y, and Howe at Ojos Azules,
May 4. 1t was the victim, too in the
tragedy of April 81 at Carrizal.
Marches Of the Troopers.
Two of the five cavalry regiments
now in Mexico, the Seventh and Tenth,
crossed the line at Culberson's ranch
early in the morning of March 16
Their dash to Colopia Dublan has
been told and retold. The Thirteenth
which already had spent three and
half years on the border, crossed
March Is at Columbus, where 1t had
been attacked March 8 by Villa. Two
squadrons of the Fifth left Columbus
on March 20 and were joined by the
third squadron April 10 at the Nor
mon lakes, near Dublan. The first de
tachment of the Eleventh entered
Mexico March II via Columbus.
The marches of the Fifth may be
summarized as follows :-Namiquipa
April 16; San Geronimo, April %
Lake Itascate, April "a; San Antonio
May 3. About the time of the Scott
Obregon conference the regiment was
given a district, with Satevo as head
quarters, which it was ordered tC
search intensively for bandits. Each
cavalry regiment was allotted a SINH
lar sector of southern Chihuahua. The
beating of the brush for Villistas, how
ever, was never fully done. The Fifth
on May 10, was made part of a pro.
visional cavalry brigade to cover the
withdrawal of the expedition north.
ward at a time when 1900 Carran.
zistas were reported to be within &c
miles of the Americans. Since Car
rial Ii has been encamped at FL Vale
The Seventh, after completing It's
uuSu W SOiOhiu DuDiuh WIN pNhti a
Pershing's column, proceeded posi-
haste to San Miguel, where villa was
reported. Poor guides caused delay
and the bandit escaped. 1t then start
ed toward Guerrero. That town was
reached by forced marches II day:
out from the border, with daily aver
age Of 321s miles. The longest days
march was on March II, when 81
miles were covered. The route char
shows that the regiment and detach
ments on "Reminiscences covered 8,
500 miles.
Mention is made that during Col
onel Dodd's historic ride his men many
times had only parched corn to eat
Nearly three hundred miles was made
In single file, the troopers leading
their mounts, and number of then