New Britain herald., 1916-03-24


 ary line only a vast cloud of dust whipped to great height by a high
 wind, could be seen and two hours l later, when the troops began making g camp, the men were thickly powder
 ed from head to foot by greyish white l coatings of pulverized lava.
 The sense of smell located Palomas l long before it's collection of brown l sunburned huts of mud and cob13le- l stones came into view. The odors 1 were those of stockyards abbatoirs and tanneries combined. Closer there 1 was added that of unwashed human ity and raiment, ragged remnants of l which lay strewn about with the re- ] mains of slaughtered cattle which 1 furnished feats for Villa and his men during their brief stop and rations 1 for the Carranza troops who were | there both before and after the ban 1 dit chiefs sojourn.
 Camped Near Lakes.
 l The American troops camped near i 9 series of lakes formed by the Mimbres river a stream which, like l a number of others in the southwest disappears in it's course through Mexico.
 Colonel Slocum halted the column at the border gate south of Colun- bus until the co1ors came up. When these had crossed the boundary into Mexico Major Tompkins brother Of the noted Lieutenant Colonel "Tommy" Tompkins of the 7th cav airy, spread his advance guard out. In the form of wide fan, the riders of the guard galloped southward. The temper of the Mexicans was still matter of speculation. There were officers who would not have been surprised to see the entry of the United States forces opposed at the boundary. But there were no Mexi- cans at the border gate and none were seen on the march to Palomas Only two bodies of armed men were encountered by either of the columns on the march here.
 Encounters Two Forces.
 At AscenciOn, the mayor, Ramon H. Gomez, had 100 Carranza soldiers and told Colonel Slocum he did not know whether to fight or to let ;he American column peaceably pass cn. l After an exchange of official visits during which he observed at the American camp the assembly of men and guns, he decided to accept the l United States army officers word that l Carranza had agreed to the entry of 1 the troops @unopposed.
 The other body of troops was en- countered here Saturday, March IS, Major Elizaldo Reyes, who said he was proceeding to Casas Grandes from Madeira after scouting for Villa was startled to see American troops in this vicinity His men referred to l them as Yel1ow-Jackets." He stop 1 ped one of the guides of the column l and asked to be taken to the Amer 1 ican commander to assure him that l his force consisting of 36 men, were l mot Villistas'' and in turn wanted to 1 be assured they would not be fired l upon.
 Stirred Jack-Rabbits.
 Major Tompkin's advance guard, l with riders at intervals of 20 yards, 1 swept the country between the bor- der and Palomas and stirred nothing but jack-rabbits.
 Major James A. Ryan of the 18th Cavalry, acting chief of staff to Gen.
 
 two human beings-a crippled Mex ican, described by the American guides as the most cunning horse thief along the border, and his wife The only other living things were a few stray dogs, which nightly fought the coyotes for the remains of cattle slaughtered by the Carranza garri l son and the Villa troops. Infantry men were posted all along the route from the border to COlonia DubIan to guard the line of communications and engineers maintained the road for wagon trains and motor trucks.
 Find Cowboys Body.
 Colonel Slocum's column made Boca Grande from Pa1omas, March 16. This was the point from which Villa started on his raid on Colum- bus. It was near Boca Grande that Villa captured and murdered Arthur Kinney, roundup boss for the Pa lomas Land and Cattle company, and three other Americans just before the raid. American soldiers found the body of one of the victims battered and mutilated and in such 8 condition that 1t could not be recognized. An officer also picked up in the aban- doned Villa encampment an expense note book of c. R. Watson leader of the party of eighteen employees of rhe Cus1hu1rachic Mining company who were slaughtered by Pablo Lopez. a Villa lieutenant, at Santa Ysabel
 Forbidden to Drink,
 Men and officers of these columns were not permitted to drink water that had not been previously tested.