The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1916-06-24
BETRAYED, D. S. TROOPS WAKE
 HEROIC STAND

the Mexican leader what the actions of his troops meant none of the men who returned could say. But the or der came down the ranks to dismount and for the horses to be led away out
 f the line of fire,
 The seven horse holders had gone
 oerhaps 200 or 300 yards to the rear,
 when behind them they heard the bark
 If 8 rifle, and then a perfect sputter
 of musketry. They whipped forward
 tt top speed to save the horses.
 . Soon they recognized the deadly rattle of machine guns When, having
 cached a point 8 little out of the line
 of fire, they turned this is what was Aappenings so far as they could dis anguish:
 Troops c and K, drawn out in a
 nasty skirmish formation, were ex- changing Vo11eys with perhaps three times their number of Carranzista in- fantry, which surrounded them on three sides and, backed by machine guns, was pouring in a perfect hail of bullets. Completely exposed in the open the Americans were galIantly holding their ground.
 Presently the Mexican cavalry, which had been held in reserve on the Hanks, charged Apparently Gen. Gomez believed the Americans were demorahzed by his mems fire and was l sending in the cavalry to finish the business The advancing cavalry, however, was met with so deadly a hail of bullets that 1t speedily turned and fled leaving behind a trail of dying men and horses.
 NTexicans Rally and Charge The Mexicans, however, confident in l the superiority of their numbers, ! rallied and returned to the charge. l Several times, while the horse-holders l watched, they swept down, but just l as it seemed they were to ride through | and over the little group of men in l khaki, they would break and roll back l once more. It was in this fighting, the
 men who returned say, that the | American fire did it's deadliest work. While the fight was still at it's hot l test some of the Mexicans began to
 take notice of the American horses and to realize that here was prize 1 worth having. Bullets began to whine | around the seven watchers. It was | then that they realized that their duty l was to leave their comrades to fight 1 their way out as best they might, and
 to save the horses if they could. l After scattering the horses through | the hills, they rode away on the back
 trail until the rattle of rifles died Eaway behind them. What the final l story of the battle was none, O1 1 course, knows. It is hoped that the magnificent fight put up by the two l troops eventually discouraged the l Mexicans sufficiently so that the | Americans were able to draw off into 1 the hills, where they may still be awaiting the endorsements already on the way, or may be fighting thei1 way back on foot toward the mair command.
 How many Mexicans were implicat ! ed in the attack is not definitely
 known, but the troopers who returned say there were at the very least 500 o, them. 'It looked as though there
 were eight or ten times as many O, I them as we had,'' said one of the troopers.
 Gen. PersY1ing has had nothing
 whatever to say as yet of the repor
 that has reached him. None th'
 less, he has been busy from the mo ment the first news came of the bat
 tie, not only sending out ample sup
 porting forces to rescue what is lief
 of Capt Boyd's and Capt. Mercy
 troops, but safeguarding his ow1
 communications What precaution
 he has taken cannot as yet be told.