Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1916-03-24
Ehrntng Gi1at

1T is odd how rumors get starteo
and how persistent they are after the.
are started" said a National GuarP
officer yesterday after he had answere,
for the fifty-ffth time a fool inquiry
as to when the Guard would be ex-
pected to leave for Mexico early in
the day the rumor got abroad" said
he' that on account of the reporteS
mutiny of Carranza troops, the Guard
had been summoned to do border duty
and at once every man who has any
thing to do with the State military arm
was put under a heavy fire of inquiries
from friends and acquaintances anX-
ious or curious" The National Guard
headquarters on the Hill were also
subjected to a like bombardment of
questions, which persisted until the
very close of the day. OF course there
was absolutely nothing in the report.
Men acquainted with military affairs.
however, take a rather pessimistic
view of the whole Mexican situation.
They agree with DR.. Monsen, the eX-
plorer and lecturer who spoke before
the Natural History Society here last
week, that the regulars in Mexico
could be easily cut off and might have
a hard time fighting their way out if
Villa should by any chance come into
the command of all the troops i'll
Northern Mexico. Said DR.. Monsen:
Il have been all through that country
ana i know whereof | speak. The
greatest handicap is the desert and its
lack of water | went across the coun-.
try with Villa when he was at the
zenith of his power and arrived at Il
certain great spring, where we eX-
pected 10 find water for men and
horses, When we got there we found
mat keg of arsenic had been dumped
into it. Immediately Villa, who con-
trol lied the railroad, got together a
train or tank cars and sent them to the
nearest supply, but it was thirty-siX
hours before any of us got a drop TO
drink, and the suffering was intense.
1t would be the easiest thing in the
world to cut off the thin line of COM
munications stretched across the desert
behind an invading American force,
and this would leave the invaders in a
very bad way. AS for Carranza, I
would not trust him even if he were in
full control, which he is not. | know
the man personally and | know that
his generals have no respect for him
and that he has no great weight with
| them. They do practically as they
please. He is the head of the govern
ment by their liberation and he will be
deposed or overruled as they see fit
|
because he dare not
Speaking of conditions in Mexico
City, DR.. Monsen said that letters from
friends say the death rate is frightful
The fever is ravaging the population
and the victims are so many that there
are no more single funerals. Every
day fiat cars, hauled by a trolley car,
go through the poorer sections" he
said, and gather up the bodies of
men, women and children, who are
laid side by side and one on top of
the other. and hauled away to the sub
urbs to be inferred in a common
grave"
The wild ducks and wild geese hy-
ing north have paid little attention to
the cold weather of the past few days.
Yesterday morning, with the river
running full of slush ice, two big floclls
of ducks and a flock of geese number
ing dozen or more were seen be-
tween the bridge island and the west
tern shore. They We're swimming
close to the edge of the ice foes and'
were apparently enjoying themselves
in the cold water. More geese have
gone north this Spring than for many
years past. In most cases in recent
years the geese have not paused long
on the Susquehanna but have pursued
their way steadily north. for the most
part ignoring the stream here. Old
rivermen believe that the cold weather
in the north has interfered with their
Journey.
One of the few men now living who
fought in the Mexican war is General
d. f. Nagle, of Pottsville, who is we'll
known to many here. lie has been Il
visitor TO various ceremonies here, and,
while almost ninety, is willing to go to
the front again.
The Harrisburg soldiers who served
in the Mexican war were known as
the Cameron Guards, named in COM
tplment 10 General Cameron, and
were enrolled on December &c, 1876.
Ii was commanded by Captain E. c.
Williams, who later became a general
in the Civil War. The company was
mustered into the United States service
at Pittsburgh on January q This
company served in IeXico and reached
the City of Mexico, where some of its
men died. 1t returned to the city in
July, 1S4S, only a remnant of what
started.
One of the first monuments in the
State to the Mexican soldiers was put
up in Capitol Park. It was erected in
1868 and was the occasion of much
ceremony.
James Scarlet, the lawyer who is
counsel for the trainmen in the full
crew cases. has been almost continu-
ously in court for year. He has been
engaged in the United States Court i'm
the western part Of the State for
months lie plans TO return to this
city for the full crew case argument
next month.