The Benson signal., 1916-07-01
ARE LED INTO A TRAP
But Troops of Tenth Cavalry
Made a Gallant Fight.
Trooper Who Escapes Tells Graphic
Story of CarrizaI Battle to Gen.
Pershing-Mowed Down by
Machine Guns.

El Paso, Tex.-When the detail of
the Tenth cavalry fell into the ambush
laid by CarranZa troops four cOuriers
escaped and were sent to summon re-
endorsements for their heavily Outnum-
bered comrades. One of the four told
graphic story of the fight to General
Pershing, and that officer included 1t in
his report of the fight to Washington.
The story as told by the trooper is as
follows:
I'VE had been marching since early
Wednesday morning when we reached
the neighborhood of Carrizal. Capt.
Charles L. Boyd was riding ahead OF
the column. Just behind him was Capt.
Lewis s. MOrey. Lieut.. Henry K. Adair
was further back with the column.
There were IS men in the troop.
Outnumbered S to I.
"trOm our position we could see
some Mexican soldiers in the village.
Captain Boyd sent forward "a messen-
ger under flag of truce to ask permis-
sion to enter the town in search of the
bandits that we were hunting. Gen.
Felix Gomez sent back word giving
permission to enter.
Gomez himself rode out to meet
Captain Boyd. Captain Boyd gave the
word for the column to advance. We
were just starting forward when we
noticed Mexican troops pouring out
from behind different kinds of shelter
adobe houses and the like-and de-
ploying to the right and lelt. 1t was
battle formation. From the first glance
we saw that they Outnumbered us at
least five to one.
Captain Boyd noticed their move
ment. To any soldier that sort of thing
can mean only that an attack is about
to be made. i saw Captain Boyd mo-
tiOn to the MexicanS and make some
remark about 1t to Gomez. Gomez
wheeled his mount around and sig
nailed with his hands. Then he made
q dash for his own lines.
''At the same time q couple of ma
chine guns. one ut each end of the
Mexican line, opened up on us. We
were caught In our saddles in easy
range. and we were good targets. |
saw Captain Boyd fall. A moment
later Captain Morey was wounded In
the shoulder.
"Lieutenunt Adair gave us the order
to dismount. We got out of our sad
dies in hurry. Then he told us to
throw ourselves on our faces and re-.
turn the fire. Someone got Gomez just
as he was reaching his line. The next
minute Lieutenant Adair was hit.
Both he and Captain Boyd are dead,
believe.
Horses Going Down.
1.-THE machine guns were still going.
l could hear the bullets whizzing over
us. Because Of Lieutenant Adair's Or
der we saved q lot Of men. But the
horses did not have the same luck. The
bullets started to hit them, and they
were going down as if their legs were
suddenly cut out from under them.
1.-The others, stung by the bullets and
kicked by the dying horses. began to
rear and plunge. The men in charge
tried their best to hold them hut they
broke away. Some of the men were
killed trying to save their mounts.
"When the horses got away we were
marooned. We fought back and pre-
vented the Mexicans from advancing
in spite of their advantage in numbers
and the machine guns. We began to
fall back toward the hills as we'll as
We could.
1--WE recovered four horses and then
tie four of us were sent here to re-
port. We left the rest of the troops in
the hills. The retreat was slow because
of the wounded. The MexicanS kept
firing. but were kept away by the ac-
curate rifle fire Of our men,"