The Colorado statesman., 1916-03-11
BANDITS DRIVE
BACK SOLDIERS
$500 ARMED MEXICAN TROOPS
INVADE U. S. AND MASSACRE
CITIZENS AND SOLDIERS.
CAVALRY ON HOT TRAIL
"ouR ARMY HAS CROSSED Dor.
DER TO GET VILLA" LAM
SING TELLS cARRANZA.
Western Newspaper Union News Service.


Columbus, N. M, March 1O-The
towns near here are shiyering in fear
OF another Villa attack Sixteen dead,
many wounded and half the town in
ruins was the toll of Villas raid on
Columbus. A handful of American
soldiers, fifteen miles south of the
border, are fighting desperately, but
are being driven back by many times
their own force, while every other
available soldier, cattleman and civil
ian able to bear arms is on the alert,
trying to locate a force of Villa ban
dts known to be moving toward
Hachitam, N. H., with the intention
of repeating the Columbus tragedy.
Late reports indicated that Villa
had more than $500 men at his dis
posal. Less than 300 are in the
United States cavalry patrol which
pursued him. 1t is believed that the
outlaw chief left about half of his
force to engage the troopers, while
he has the remainder free for new
surprise attack on the United States.
Women left in town were quartered in
the schoolhouse and the army camp
under guard of armed civilians and
soldiers. Villa signal lights flashed
all along below the border. A report
said that Deming, thirty-six miles
north of here, might be the next OBJ
ject of attack. The number of Mex
leans killed was given at forty-six.
The raid to American territory
proved costly to the bandit chieftain.
The bodies of eighteen Mexican ban
dts, including Pablo Lopez, second in
command, had been gathered and
burned before noon and troopers re-
ported an undetermined number of
dead still lying in the brush.
With the stealth of cats, 1900 Mex
lean bandits under the outlawed in
surgent, Francisco Villa, crept upon
less than $50 sleeping troops of the
Thirteenth United States cavalry be-
fore dawn Thursday, swept through
their camp, raided and partially
burned the town of Columbus, killed
sixteen civilians and soldiers, and
then. under fire of American troops,
fled back to Mexico.
Washington, March 1O.-Washing-
ton stands squarely behind Col. Slo-
cum in sending his cavalrymen into
Mexico in pursuit of Francisco Villa
and his band of outlaws. No orders
have been issued for the return of
the soldiers, and it is not probable
any will be issued for the present
Thursday night Secretary Lansing
informed the de facto government of
Mexico, through Eliseo Arredondo, its
ambassador designate here, that he
trusted no objection would be made
to the action of the American troops,
they having followed what is known
in military circles as a "hot trail"
Shocked Indignation occasioned by
news of Villas outrage was quickly
succeeded by undiGguiged satisfaction
in official and congressional circles
over the knowledge that after three
years of patient forbearance United
States troops actually were on Mexi-
can soil to ay'enge the death of their
comrades and bring to justice the out
laws for their depredations.
While no formal word of the policy
of the administration was given out,
II was reliably stated that the army
would be given free rein to catch the
bandits If possible.
1t was not considered in admins
tration circles that Col Sfocum's act
In any sense constituted an invasion
OF Mexico, a policy which the admin
istration has opposed in the past and
will continue to oppose.
Formally, there is no authority for
the presence of the American troops
in Mexico. In fact, the patrols along
the border have from the beginning
Of the disorders there been under
der orders not to cross under any
consideration.