Norwich bulletin., 1916-04-06
Soldiers in Mexico
Suffer RardSIlips
SHOES RUINED BY SHARP
STONES OF MOUNTAINS
USE COWHIDE SANDALS
So Many Horses Lost in the Relent-
less Pursuit of Villa That Half of
the Men Are Without Mounts
Without Rations for Some Days.

Columbus. n. NJ, April 5.-Tales Of
the hardships OF the American soldiers
who are pursuing Villa over the des-
erts and through the mountains Of Chi
huahua were brought here today by ar
rivals with a truck train who had car
ried supplies to Colonel Dodd's COM
mand.
Shoes Ruined, Uniforms Torn.
Far from being the smart cavalry
men who three weeks ago crossed into
Mexico, the soldiers, their shoes ruined
by the sharp stones of the mountains
and their uniforms torn by brush. are
wearing sandals made of cowhide and
such clothing as can be obtained from
natives. they declared.
1t also was asserted that Colonel
Dodd's command had lost so many
horses in the relentless pursuit of the
bandit chief that fully half the men
were without mounts.
Pershing Asks for Extra Kits.
Substantiating some of these stories
a message came to military headquar-
ters from General Pershing today re-
questing that the extra kits containing
clothing of the soldiers OF the Seventh
and Tenth cavalry regiments, the two
regiments at the extreme front, be
rushed forward to them at once.
A truck train under the command Of
Captain c. B. Drake, consisting OF q
trucks, went TO within seven miles Of
Guerrero, its crew being the frs
| Americans to meet the troopers of the
| Seventh cavalry after their engage.
ment at that town.
Look Like Nondeseript Crowd.
Tho men were a nondescrip
| crowd" said Captain Drake. ''Thei
faces were cal1ed with gray alkali dus
and they had been without regular ra
tions for some days. Coffee. salt anC
| through their haggard dirtiness tn
men smiled and told of their resolut'
| purpose-thc getting of Villa"
Physician Told of Villas Wounds.
Captain Drake also told OF report
| current in the Guerrero country tina
! the American troops obtained their in
| formation that Villa had been wounde,
from an American physician taken cap
| tive by the bandit band and forced {
treat the leaders wounds. He assert
ed That he did not learn the name o
! this physician. He had heard Viii
had been wounded in the ankle an
4 also in the hip.
| The returning trucImen were abb
! to give few details of the Guerrer
! battle. but asserted that all of the fou
wounded American troopers wer
| again continuing the hard ride afte
| Villa on the second day following tn
! saGement. Troopers said that tn
| Villa craftsmanship in the engagement
was had, almost all the shots goin
| high. One American soldier wounded
shot six times through fleshy parts {
his body. was or a small promontor'
in the rear of the rest of the com
mand. they said.
Never Stopped for Food.
With but two days rations whe
they left the border. the troops pushe
steadily forward day and night, nevt
g~
ing to the country to provide them wit
! sustenance, according to the storie
brought here. Finally. leaving all line
of communication far behind, an
reaching a country in which agricu
ture had been at a standstill for fly
years, the soldiers were forced to d,
pend almost exclusively upon sue
beef and game as they could slaughte
Hard on the Horses.
Despite the orders to spare nothir
but horsefesh,'' the march had beC
exceedingly severe on the animals a
tached 10 the command. according
tOdays arrivals. Dead American ca
: airy horses, worn out and killed in q
1 | pursuit, were said to be strewn aloI
I. quipa. The command lost so maj
= horses, IL was asserted. that fully on
/; half of il has been obliged TO contin
: the search for Villa without mounts.
The soldiers, travelling with eve
: ounce of surplus equipment eliminate
7 have extemporized numerous article
Two bolts of calico. obtained from I
| pack of one of the mules in a vi
, pack train. captured at Guerrero. ha
Q been used by the soldiers, the true
men say. to fashion almost everythi
from hats to saddlebags.
Mistaken for Mexicans.
n when / first saw some Of these Z,
lows of the Seventh coming toward !
/ thought we were in the center of
Mexican camp where each man che
= his own uniform" said one man. "Sol
% of the men wore large Mexican sol
breros, their own hats having be
: lost; others were clad in the loc
jackets of the Mexican laborer. II
had not been for the American equi
II ment and the bits of slang comi
= through alkaH-caked lips, 1 doubt 4
n should have recognized our boys.
n only a few were clad in the same III
Is form in which they left the Unit
e States"
y The morale of the troops was
- scribed as being excellent
Is 1oa AUTOMOBILE TRUCKS
ORDERED FOR ARMY WoI