The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1916-03-20

ing his wits today with Pancho Villa.
At the head of a fresh column of
troops, presumably made up Of the
combined forces of Pershing and
Dodd, which are now operating with
Casas Grandes as a base, the hard
riding American cavalry general
hoped today to get into actual con-
tact with Villas rear guard bands.
Reports that Villa is perpetratinG new
outrages upon isolated American colo
nists. have spurred Pershing on in
his new dash south. Word Of these
attacks, received at headquarters
here, arouse evident apprehension.
While not officially confirmed. the
fact that the reports were passed by
the military censor. indicates their
seriousness.
Death to Foreigners.
Ell PASO, Texas, March 20.-On
the verge of a nervous breakdown,
Mrs. Wallace Rogers Of Detroit,
Mich, the wife of mine owner, to-
day hugged her baby tightly in her
arms and retold the story Of their
two day refuge in an abandoned cop
per mine shaft in the Cananea dis
trict while Villista bandits rayaged
the countryside and sought to slay
all Americans. Rats, bats and un>
derground lizards added terrors to the
black depths of the abandoned shaft,
Mrs. Rogers said, and she was COM
PEELED to sustain the baby's life with
condensed milk, rafting the emptied
cans to frighten away the rats.
Mrs. Rogers said the MeXicans be-
came infuriated at the sight of the
American flag and respected only the
British flag Many Americans, she
asserted, were compelled at times to
seek protection under the folds of the
British union jack.
Vincenzo Viscont, an Italian, today
wired the Italian embassy at Wash
ington, telling of the murder of his
brother Farfco Eisconti, by bandits,
near Santa Rosalia, Chihuahua, March
Il, and demanding that the embassy
protest to the state department.
Grimes of this kind are commit
ted almost daily against foreigners In
Mexico" Visconu wired the ambas-
sador.
A number of other local Italians to-
day were drawing protest to be for
warded to the embassy with request
that it be formally sent to Secretary
Lansing.
Di Burcio Garcia. Mexican ranch
er, said bandits rode up and shot the
Italian dead without the slightest
warning.
Rumors of Escape.
DOUGLAS Ariz., March 2O.-Per-
sistent rumors that Villa had es-
capped the pursuit of American and
Carranza forces and was safe in the
Sierra Madres east Of MADEIRA, were
unconfrmed here today.
Scouts under. Gen. Luis Gutierrez,
who have kept the local Carranza
representatives informed of Villas
progress, have lost his trail. Three
hundred Sonora militia men concen-
trated at Aqua Prieta were to be sent
to Mulstos to replace the Carranza
garrison reported to have been rush
ed over the Guerrero mountains to
Numiuuipa where Villa was last re-
ported heading.
Meagre reports of the progress of
the American expedition suggested
that the cavalry columns under Per
shing and Dodd joined forces in the
vicinity of Galeana.
Only Sixty Miles Away.
[By E. T. Conkle, United Press STAFF
Correspondent
Ell PASO, Texas, March ~
With all indications pointing to 4
long campaign in pursuit of villa far
into Mexico, the problem of supply
ing the American expedition was
uppermost in the minds of army men
here today.
A withdrawal from Mexico without
Villas capture was considered likely
(Continued on mage 81