Arizona republican., 1916-04-24
American Cavalry Find Lit tie Except Scenery with Now and Then a Small Elusive Group of Villista Bandits
NO HELP COMES
 FROM THE NATIVES
The Latter Fear the Ven geance of the Bandits when Pursuing Troops Have Been Withdrawn from That Region
Republican A. p. Leased Wirel

FIELD HEADQUARTERS IN MEX ICO, April 21.-(By Aeroplane to Co., lumbus, N. M, April 23.)-The weeks riding and foot climbing through the hills and canyons of the Guerrero dis trict, a cavalry squadron reported to- day the discovery of much evidence that the Villistas in the northern part of Villas old territory are thoroughly scattered. They found the influence of these bandits nevertheless strong with the people.
 One day this cavalry rode along a mesa, 5000 feet in altitude, a narrow, almost level plain, between two noun tain ranges. On the eastern side of the mesa was fringe of low bushes, sev- eral miles long, apparently bordering the foot of the eastrn mountains. The 1 cavalry veered into these bushes for a search, and at their further edge came abruptly upon canyon, fully thou
 sand feet deep, which shut them off i from the mountains. The mesa and the surrounding mountains were yellow with dead grass, awaiting the coming ! of spring in the high altitude, but at
 the bottom of the canyon lay a long
 valley, brilliant in the green of new
 color, grass and trees in leaf. A
 stream ran the lengths of this valley.
 with Mexican adobe dwellings dottng
 it's banks at intervals for miles. Most
 of the canyon sides were inaccessible,
 but with trails leading up the slopes every five or ten miles. The cavalry men took one of these trails. Descend ing, they noted repeatedly the hoof- prints of Mexican ponies, which had
 ascended this trail.
 In most ofthiS Guerrero region man on horseback is invariably either Car
 ranZa soldier or a bandit. The caval-
 rymen knew no Carranza patrols had
 been that way. They found plain eVi-
 dences that men had camped at the
 hacienda. Nevertheless, it required all
 the balance of the day, by careful and
 adroit questioning, and some sharp
 talking, to gain from any Mexican on
 the hacienda the bare admission that
 bandits had stopped there. That was
 every scrap of information which could
 be gleaned.
 The cause of this reticence was fear
 of retaliation by the bandits. Many
 American officers, although noting the
 coldness of the Mexican population and
 the flat refusal of most MeXicans to
 give any aid in the Villa pursuit, have
 become convinced vhat when the
 American troops are withdrawn, most
 of the few MeXicans who have been courteous to the Americans will be
  ! cans who have sold food too freely to the Americans are considered likely to have forfeited their lives.
 Most of the bandits now are living in
 the mountains in groups of two or three
 and often singly, taking their food : from friends, or by threats from peace g full MeXicans. The cavalrymen have = captured a good many of these men, ) but it has been extremely difficult to
 ind ar n,1 frh fr I,n1l f them long as prisoners. Occasionally e the bandits make their presence known S to the cavalrymen by few long range
 | shots. Thus far not one American has e been hit in the sniping. A motorcycle . rider, carrying dispatches through a = mountainous region, had one of the 5. closest calls. Three mounted men, con- = cealed behind an adobe house which he d had to pass, dashed out at him, leaped - from their horses al4o opened fire or e him with rifles at 25 yards. They hi n the machine but did not damage it. The g dispatch rider, with a spurt, gained the if cover of a gate post. Gates are rareties '. in this section, but when they are con- r. structed they are massive enough tC y last half a century without repairs. The a gate post behind which this messenger S, took cover was made from a tree two If feet in diameter. With his pistol tn, IS ulSpdtcn rluer opened lire ana drOVt SC the Mexicans off, although he could no le tell whether he hit any of them. l. One of the indices of the scatterin. h Villistas is the difference noted now il ir Mexican towns as compared with thes 1t places when the troops first reached Id them nearly month ago. At that tim lg several of the mountain towns were ob Id served to have many young, tough l. looking and armed men lettering abou is the streets. Now few such character
 ar, tn he seen rlarn thn t1,r,-,,