Fulton County tribune. (Wauseon, Ohio) 1883-1925, 1916-06-30
GRAPHIC STORY or
AMDUSHED TROOPS
Surviving Trooper Tells of Fight
of Tenth Cavalry.
WERE oUTNUMBERED 5 TO l
Caught by Mexican Machine Guns
Which Opened Fire at Signal From
Gomez-Eiorses Were Shot
Down or Broke Away.

El Paso, Tex.-One of the most
graphic stories in the history of the
American army is that told by one Of
the four cOuriers sent by the command
ing officer of the umbushed troops of
the Tenth cavalry when he reached
General Pershing's headquarters with
his appeal for relief for his comrades
The following is the story he tells:
I'VE had been marching since early
Wednesday morning when we reached
the neighborhOOd Of Cnrrizal. Capt.
Charles 4. Boyd was riding ahead Of
the column. Just behind him was Capt.
Lewis 5. Morey. Lieut.. Henry X. Adur
was further back with the column.
There were 60 men in the troop.
outnumbered 5 to I.
From our position we could see
some Mexican soldiers in the village.
Captain Boyd sent forward messen-
ger under a flag of truce to ask permis-
sion to enter the town in search of the
bandits that we were hunting. Gen.
Felix Gomez sent back word giving
permission to enter.
Gomez himself rode out to meet
Captain Boyd. Captain Boyd give the
word for the column to advance. We
were just starting forward when we
noticed Mexican troops pouring out
from behind different kinds of shelter
adobe houses and the like-and de.
ploying to the right and left. IL was
battle formation. From the first glance
we saw that they Outnumbered us al
least Eve to one.
Captain Boyd noticed their move
Enent. To any soldier that sort of thing
can mean only that an attack is about
to be made. saw Captain Boyd mo
tion TO the Mexicans and make some
remark about 1t to Gomez. Come:
wheeled his mount around and sig
nailed with his hands, Then he made
n dash for his own lines.
AT the same time a couple OF Eia
chine guns, one at each end of tn.
Mexican line, opened up on us. w,
we're caught Ia our saddles in easy
range, and we were good targets.
saw Captain Boyd fall. A moment
later Captain Morey was wounded il
the shoulder.
Lieutenant Adair gave us the ordel
TO dismount. We got out of our sad
dies in a hurry. Then he told us t.
throw ourselves on our faces and re
turn the fire. Someone got Gomez jus
~. ne was reaching his line. The mex
minute Lieutenant Adair was hit
Both he and Captain Boyd are dead,
believe.
Horses Going Down.
''The machine guns were still going
j could hear the bullets whizzing owe
us. Because of Lieutenant Adairs or
der we saved a lot of men. But tn
horses did not have the same luck Tn
bullets started to hit them, and the.
were going down as if their legs wer,
suddenly cut out from under them.
THE others, stung by the bullets an,
kicked by the dying horses, began t,
rear and plunge. The men in cllarg
tried their best to hold them but the
broke away. Some of the men wer
killed trying to save their mounts.
when the horses got away we wer
mRrOoned. We fought back and pre-
vented the Mexicans from advancin
in spite of their advantage in number
and the machine guns. We began I
fall back toward the hills as well a
we could.
I'VE recovered four horses and the
the four Of us were sent here to re
port. We left the rest of the troops /
the hills. The retreat was slow becaus
OF the wounded. The Mexicans keI
firing. but were kept away by the az
eurate rifle fire Of our men,"