El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1916-11-07
VILLAS GOLDEN
ONES ARE SLAIN
Famous Squadron of Picked
Men Fights to Almost the
Last Man to Save Villa.
By EDMOND E. BEHR.

Field Headquarters, Punitive ENpedl-
ton. Mexico. Nov. by Motor Truck
Train to Columbus. y. M)-Viua's
squadron Of gold has been annihilat-
ed. His ~Dorados,'' who composed that
famous organization. no longer exists.
except IN the tales Of valor told around
bandit campfires these cold nights
From group of 400 fearless men,
the "Dorados'' have dwindled away un-
Ill now they are only a memory But
the stories Of their proWeSs and cour-
age are still related by the men VINO
follow Villas bloody battle Rag TO-DAY
When villa began the war against
Huerta in 1913 he organized a personal
hodyguard of about go men Inese 40
had followed him in the early DAYS
of his outlaw career VIVA knew ever
one Of them would lay down his lie
for him They We're admittedly tne
most LOYAL and fearless soldiers IN ms
whole army More than that, they were
all crack shots. Years Of guerilla war
fare under Villa. in the days when ne
Fought president DiaZ's soldiers. had
taught them an individual resourcet u
ness that the great majority OF MS
soldiers did not possess
As time passed and Villas army grew.
he found il necessary TO increase lhS
number Of -Dorados. or Golden ones-
villa himself gave them that name lie
velvet banner. with the WORDS
-.Escuadron d. ORC" Squadron OF
Cold embroidered upon II with Eold
threads Ev the first Of January 1871 T.
n s1,fadror1 numb ered 400 men IL
was said then that lila cOuld car!
each man by name IneY accom- peii-1'i
him everywhere. Their uniforms ana
COMMITMENT were the finest In the army
10 he chosen for this command became
the ambition of every soldier IN the
villa ranks ,-+7,.
beg9u 10 lose battles Heretofore ms
..Doralos" had rarely been called upon
r. do much fighting villa had plenty
of less valuable soldiers Tor ms cam
pafers But as the CarTancistas under
CEN 0HregOn hammered their way
r-orrbvra~d from Mexico City in the
snring and summer OF 1915. the villa
armies thiuned.
..DoradOs- Lose 200
In the rhree-dav battle at telaya-
where villa suffered his first and
greatest defeat. the "Dorados we're
hurled twice into breaches Wners Ihe
Carrancistas had broken the villa lines
they did not turn the tide OF a deIeat-
h1tr they beat back the attackers ions
enough TO give villa an opportunity
FOR "a retreat that would otherwise have
been a rout That deed cost the squad
ron POO lives
Then came the occupation of Aguas-
raIieures by DbregOn. whose advance
cavalry burst into the city from the
south Villa IN an auLoulOhllr- N'tS
leaving its northern limits The Car
rama cavalry. learning that the enemy
leader was almost in their grasp, gave
chase Immediately They had 20 take
a certain road there was no other route
by which the fleeing Villa could be cut
Of.
save villa From Capture
But the squadron OF gold barred the
way For more than an hour. the zoo
-Dorados-' who survived Celaya. with
stood almost overwhelming numbers or
attackers At last. the CarranZa troops
Cutuumbered then ten TO one and they
sullenlv retreated- Villas escape was
assured but $50 'DOrados' died to
make il so. II is this deed Of valor that
will live longest in the memory OF the
u.en who follow villa of the so who
were still alive. there is not much to
tell One by one they died or were
captured in the few months afterward
that Villas army held together
No ..Do-ado-- Left.
From natives who have drifted into
/ this camp from the south. where they
saw villa and his bandits. comes the
Information that none OF the "Dorados
are with him now That is. why they
saw. villa rarely stays with his main
command fearing possible treachery,
but directs operations from some re-
mote fasrness in the hills. where only
a few trusted companions know his
wherea bouts. Messengers carry his or
ders from headquarters 10 the dill
ferent commands which follow him.