Carolina watchman. [volume] (Salisbury, N.C.) 1871-1937, 1916-03-22
ca'lanze Troops Fight Villa Army
General GauiIa at Juarez Receives DIS
patch that Battle Was 10 Progress.

| patch that Battle Was 10 Progress.
Fl Paso, Texas, March 2s.-The
forces of Colonel Cano were en-.
gagsi in at 4:sO O'Clock this af-
ternoon with bandits led by Villa
in Namiquipa, according to dis
patch received this afternoon by
General Gauirs. CArranxa COM
msndsnt at Juarss. The result
of the fighting was not decided al
the time of the receipt of the dis.
patch. Namiquips 10 in the dis
trict of Gu.rlero, State of Chi.
haahua.
Colonel Csno is in command of
q force of nine-hundred cavalry
which came in contact two days
ago at Ri Vale with Villa forces
which on this 90 ,asion fed with
out giving battle.
Despite the reports that General
Cano's forces had engaged those
of Villa al Namiquipa, persons
we'll informed here expressed the
opinion that the Carranzs forces
had failed TO hold up their end of
the net by which il was proposed
to capture the bandit chieftain.
There we're oorfrmatory reports
received today of the news received
for the last week that the Mexican
tre ops not only were failing to
cooperate with he American
troops, but in certain instances at
least, were actually Withdrawing
from the Geld of operations.
The Associated Press learned on
urq" estionabls authority that the
tro ops of the de facto Government
which had been seen. at Cssss
Ora 1des have been withdrawn and
are now in about .Taarez.. Fgom
ths same source, il was learned
that Al least one 1etachm snt of
Csrranzs troops had refused to
fight Villa and had Withdrawn on
the bandits approach, leaving
him free to pass inso his fave rite
mounsa;q fassr, ~ Tass d,taoh-
ment withdrew on receipt of
message that he was warring not
on Mexicsns but the enemies of
Mexicans.
The extraordinary rlpidity with
which the American cavalry push.
ed into Mexico gave rise to high
hopes yesterday that the unex.
pected had happened and the no.
torlous bandit was oornered. This
seemed inayitable if the Csrranza
soldiers did their part and if the
account of the strength of their
field forces was ccr ect. Villa,
cut off from the north by the for
ward sweep of the Amsrican col.
umns, from the west by the Sierra
Madre barring the approaches +,
the State of Senors, was supposed
to be eq asllJ barred from east and
south by powerful Csrranza forces
Il now seems certain that Villa
has been moving fresly ia at least
a large section of the country sup
posed to be held by the troops of
tae first chief. In the last few
days he has been variosly reported
by General Gauira, the Carranzs
commander at Jaarez, at point,
along a line reaching north and
south from Oslesna to Namiquipa
a distance of about rs miles. By
the same accounts he has not been
moving steadily south but rowing
N ,rsh and east. The mountain.
Gus, csnnon-split, roadless coun.
try in which he il operating, adds
many miles to the country be has
covered As compared with ito dis-
tancs on the map.
The reason for tbs Carranza
troops moving to the border re
mains unexplained. It is impos-
sible even to make a fair estimate
of the number of men under Gem
eral Gaulra at Juarez. The large
staff at his headquarters and the
fact that new troops are arriving
daily indicates that lis force 10 q
large one. The most conser vativs
estimate places it at 8, COO and cal.
culations range from that point
upward to 5000. Every p1ecau.
tion has been taken to prevent the
facts being known and most of
the men are kept outside the
town among the hills. Raporss
from Aqua Prieta and Ojinaga tell
of Mexican 1eiforcemeuts reach.
ilg those points also, bus nothing