The Alaska daily empire., 1916-04-21


 ca's first detachment of mountain in- lantry, corps of specially trained men for such service as that in mountain-studded country of Guer- rero, soon will be actively assisting the cavalry in the search for the bandit. that such command will prove invaluable in the work con- fronting the American troops in the Guerrero district.
 Much has been written" said the General, about this being cavalry chase. It is just as much an infantry task. There are places in the noun tains where the cavalry cannot pene- trate-rocks. cliffs, peaks, caves, can yons and forests, where at any time, the chase might become question of man.to-man fight or hand-to- hand work. The infantry In Mexico is now being brought into physical condition for this sort of campaign"
 Is that the reason" the General was asked "why the infantry at the bases back of the front has been taking the fifteen mile hikes 1t has been ordered to take into the sur rounding countryi"
 "The infantry" replied the General, may soon have a reason to demon strate the uses of its training"
 The marching referred to has been along the line Of communications as the infantry advanced toward the front. about two weeks behind the advance columns of the cavalry
 An aeroplane this afternoon sailed into headquarters camp. stopped five minutes with dispatches and then flew southward toward a mountain pass 20 miles away, flying over mesa. where the distant mountains were reflected upside down. as In water. by the afternoon heat waves on the ground The machine rocked and slipped over this boiling air
 Earlier in the day, from this same mesa. a troop of half-frozen cavalry men came into camp for rest and food. They had been caught in student mortimer The cold was SO biting that they had kept their tin- gers in action, some of them said, SO that in case of attack their trig- ger fingers would not be too numb for use Yesterday afternoon, in this mesa, snow was flying so thIckly as to obscure the adjoining noun tains. The men and horses in the headquarters camp stood with their backs to the driving white flakes, the mems heads covered with blank cts, and the horses with noses al- most to the ground.
 This morning the men in this same camp, all sleeping In the open, walk ened to find themselves covered with layer of hard snow. They looked across an irrlgating ditch to see Gen eral Pershing himself white with snow There was not tent in the camp The tents and abundant food are on the way, but thus far the troopers have moved ahead of each established camp without waiting for either tents or food.
 The troop which kept it's trigger fingers working for warmth had spent many hours in search for mountain top cabin where scouts re- ported that two Villa bandits had called for food. This house was less than 15 miles from the head quarters of the Americans, The in- formation which the troop obtained bore out the opinion among offl- cers here that most of the Villa fore es have been scattered into very small groups, some of whom are seek ing Inaccessible places. The censor ship does not permit disclosure from here of these positions, but the re- ports of patrols indicate that O good many of Villas band have been pressed so closely that they have hidden their arms and assumed the guise of farmers.
 This particular cavalry patrol lit- orally rode the mountains in it's chase after quick news of the two Villa soldiers who had called for food. The patrol. not wishing to be seen from towns as 1t went out, took to the sides of mountains, where trees, gullies. and small valleys af- forded good shelter from view of the plains. The men rode through steep slopes along which there were neith- CT roads nor trails except those made by deer and bear Their hors- es slipped and stumbled over rocks and boulders: Before they reached the Mexican's house, snow obliterat- ed the trails by which they had hoped to follow to the two bandits to their hiding places.
 At the house the cavalry found only man about so years old, In a red and green blanket, and n young wo- man with a small baby The two men who had called for food said the aged man. had left for some place in the mountains.
 The people of this region give the American troops just as little infor. nation as possible. A carranza sol. dler who had been condemned to death after capture by Villa at Guer- rero, and whose life the Americans had soved. said he was willing to act as a guide, but baked after leading ,or,o oorolr,rronn on a long frail in