Arizona republican., 1916-04-01
With Gen. Pershing's Column 'Sabra's Story Of U.S.Motor Ira Work

How over twenty thousand United States troops have established author ity in huge tongue of Mexican terri tory, to make that region available as the base of the punitive expedition, to pursue the Villa bandits, and how this army is kept supplied with ammuni- .tion and supplies by means of great motor truck teams, is the story told yesterday by Johnny Sabra, a Phoenix boy, and one of the first chauffeurs with the Pershing forces. Sabra re- turned, called by the illness of his mother. He will probably rejoin the truck train shortly.
 That is the life for me- said Sabra, when interviewed in the office of John Hyder, his former employer here. 'I love the excitement of it. and the chance to show those eastern drivers what desert rat can do with motor truck or touring car, in the worst sort of country for travelling. It's not brag ging to say that half the force of driv- CTS who came from an eastern factory, got sick of conditions and have tried to give up the fight"
 That the expedition is much more | powerful thing than most people have i been led to believe, was the gist of Sa- bras statement. At a base camp at 1 Casas Grandes. 147 miles south of Columbus, General Pershing has large 1 force of regulars. In the mountains to 1 the south and east, he is directing three troops of cavalry, in pursuit of bands of Mexicans. The entire country is , ], thicker than flies-fOot scouts, cavalry scouts, scouts on motorcycles, scouts 1 in touring cars and scouts that tour the blue sky in powerful aeroplanes. l Credit to Motor Outfits
 1 Sabra gives tremendous credit to the performances of the motor division. The 1 truck trains move on schedules as reg l ular as railroad trains; the drivers l work shifts just like the crews of 1 through freights; clouds of motorcycle scouts accompany each band of trucks; l with one exception, aeroplanes have
 proven most serviceable; touring cars transport officers to various points in 1 the field, in spite of almost total lack
 or roads-in fact, Old James J. Gaso- line is the big. efficient chap who's
 making the expeditionary forces possi- ble. so far from railroad bases
 There hasn't been any fighting. That's all bosh,' said Sabra, when questioned if he had seen any action 'I doubt if a single U. s. soldier has
 been wounded. Occasionally a picke
 will shoot a Villa spy. In fact, the only
 trouble anybody has had has been with
 the wire cutting bandits The signal
 corps has strung wires to connect all
 the camps with buzzer systems, ant
 almost every night, some prowler gets
 his, for cutting wires
 1 Buzz of Preparation
 Its all a big preparation for some
 thing that nobody is hep to yet. In the
 camp at Casas Grandes, are so many
 soldiers you can't count em, and they
 are all waiting impatiently to get ir
 action. Most of them have been in tho
 Philippines. and now. they are deat set on seeing some business.
 Nobody knows where the Tentl !, Cavalry is but the boss Those babie.
 went out in the Sierras Madres tn,
 other day, hot after lot of bandits
 They chased them two days, and ex hausted their horses. Then, they Jeff their mounts and eight hundred of then went into the mountains. The only
 connection is the wireless and the six
 scouts.
 We'll Organized
 T never saw anything so well or
 ganized. Everything goes on by order
 and every action is just as smooth a
 the best cylinder oh.
 | Roads Arc Rotten
 "All but the roads. Say, 1 never say such roads. Alkali flats, high center. dust as fine as powder, that comes U } under your running boards and gets in l ! to your nose. And you don't sta , around to let the guy in front of yo get away, either. No chance to strins 5 out and get rid of the dust. Your oI