The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1916-03-29
'vILEA IN DASH TO GAIN WILL DS
 NEAR TORREON
Bandit Leader Hopes to Reach Businesses in the
 Mountains.
INDIANS WON'T AID
 EXPEDITIONARYARMY
Giving Help To villistas, and Will Refuse To Help
 Pershing's Men.

Fl Paso, March 29-So1newhere amid the extinct volcanoes of the great continental divide, Francisco Villa is fleeing southward< today. Hard on his trail, cava1rymen of the United States army. are straining every nerve ] to catch up with him before he can sreach the wastes almost unknown to any but Mexicans and Indians, in which he began his career as bandit years ago.
 In the absence of officials news of the chase, the border has settled down to speculation, based on such United States by Arnerican. mining men and ranchers who struggled in here GI
 A1herIcans familiar with Mexico are almost unanimous in their opinion that the troopers of the north, operat- ing the corufed horses of the plains, are tremendously handicapped against Mexican bandits on their mountain bred ponies. It is not question of nervessp9r courage, it is a problem of climatic, topographic and other ma tuEal conditions which the stoutest heart and strongest muscles arc vir-s tnaIly helpless. An American rancher who is familiar with the country through which Villa is retreating, ex- pressed the following view Of the situation today:
 T have known Francisco Villa for 20 years For many years fI was the only white man in the1 country in whdch-he lived. T knew his habits, his processes of mind and the Tara huInare Indians among whom he is at present have little hope that the American cavalry can ever catch him now that he has, presumably 50 or more miles start on them. Villa and his men. mounted on their Mexican ponies can travel 4 O miles a day with ease and 50 miles if fypresseds
 ssAn his men need is a little dried beef and some corn meal. With this and a blanket strapped behind their saddles, they can travel ind efinite1y. Compare this with the equipment of an American trooper who makes tHirty-five miles day at best
 The sTarahunaare Indians will not give the slightest assistance to the Americans but they will dig up -heir last grain of corn CT wheat for Villa. More than that. they give him speed fer information about his pursuers, than the fastest horseman could give. There is no horse that could keep Iace with these Indians in that coun-. try. [ have often sent one of them from my ranch to Minaca, a distance Of 82 miles He could start in the eYening and reach Minaca the next morning It is almost imp os sible to tire them a,1d all they need for sub sis+ance is a, little ball of dried ms5t that they carry with them
 Another difficulty is that there is virtually no water in that country now and what little there is will be dried up soon There may be a few snow CTS in May but there will be nothing like what is needed for a, large body of troops until after June 20, the date when the real rain begins's
 The rancher was asked what diff ference he thought the tntroduction of aeropianes in the chase was going to make
 .I hardly think they will prove of any great assistance he said. seIn the first place the aviators will be starting from an altitude of from 5000 to 10000 feet, They will then be flying over the. country of rugged hills Of granite, split in a thousand ways by guIches, ravines and great canyons. There are numerous valleys, of course, which are broad and fair ly level, but they will be a source of great danger On the hottest days of summer you can climb, from a valley where not a breath of air is stirring and encounter winds on top of the hills which would take a strong man off his feet The hot air rushes up the slopes and turns into 9 small hur- lricane when it reaches the colder l1eveIs.s'
 The rancher was positive that Villa was n1aking for Torreon as his first main objective. The Villa followers zvho have been operating about that city are numerous and apparently well supplied with anmunition and sup plies. IT he can reach them. sufficient Iy ahead of his pursuers to organize the scattered bands into a group he may to strike a. decisive blow against the Carranza forces of General Ig- nacio Ramos, capture Torreon and strike solIthward for Mexico city. In i the meantime, the border has settled i down into almost complete calm.
 This is all the more marked because l it follows a period of almost feverish | excitement-S There are murnlurs of unrest and the authorities have not | delayed in the slightest their precau- tfons against outbreak but on the | surface at least the troubled frontier | Is taking nap.
 The one issue that is expressing the people here is the question as to whether Carranza intends to permit the American expeditionary force to use the Mexican railroads for the for Vvarding of supplies