Arizona republican., 1916-04-17

with two troops. NJ and K of the Thirteenth cavalry. Reduced in num- Der the total of these two companies is approximately 100 men. The re- port that unarmed men went into Par raj appears to have been erroneous. Major Tompkins admitted that he did march his small detachment quite openly along the trail into the city, where they were met by General Lo Zano, who received them most graci ously. The civil authorities arrived and joined in the courteous reception of the major and his troops. The in cident appeared to be progressing without unpleasant features General Lozano and the civil authorities df5- cussed with Major Tompkins the question of camping sites. he and the local, officials deciding on one just outside the city to wb:ch Major Tompkins was directed
 Major Tompkins entered the town | upon the invitation of an officer of | the Parral garrison. He stated that the officer met him 10 miles from | Parral introduced himself and urged | ltl1l u dCCHDL llit IlOSDlldllly Ol tDt military and civil authorities. This fact, coupled with Major Tompkins' report of the subsequent attack, | caused officers here to express the | opinion that he and his men had been | deliberately led into a trap, although | perhaps not with the knowledge of l General Lozano, commanding officer. | Major Tompkins was preparing to | move out to the designated camp when soldiers and civilians began to | throw stones and to shoot at the | Americans. Realizing that the action was that of mob of civilians and of soldiers who had gotten beyond the control of their officers, Major Tomp- | kins made no stand but retreated his men without making resistance to- wards the main body following by the mob while stone and occasional shots fell among them, but without doing great damage.
 It was after noon when Tompkins led his men into a defensive position behind an embankment outside the town The mob respected the ad- vantage the Americans had taken bu. within a brief time there appeared on their flank a force of 300 Mexican troops who began in military fashion formal attack.
 Major Tompkins was still averse to fighting in anything but a defensive manner against this force, as clashes with the troops of the de facto gov | ernment must be avoided Also it soon became apparent that the Mexi- cans superiority in numbers made q retreat from the position from behind the embankment imperative.
 A retreat then was begun that was ended cnly at Santa Cruz. The Mex jeans pursued them almost the en- tire distance of the intervening eight miles the Americans contending themselves with a rear guard action. In the running fight the Americans cared for their dead and wounded.
 Major Tonpkins information that forty one Mexicans had been killed was obtained from one who passed over the trail from Parral after the fighting
 Major Tompkins and his two troops reached Santa Cruz just before dark and there met Colonel Brown and Major Young with a squadron of the Tenth. Later in the night Major HOWeze arrived with his picked squadron, making the force there about 500 men.
 Major Howeze also had led his men through a series of minor adventures.
 He had come from San Francisco Rorja in the neighborhood of which he had been in few skirmishes with Villas men. He reported the loss of one man killed and one wounded. Details Of the skirmishes or of his opera tions had not reached here tonight.
 No report concerning Villas death has been received at General Fun ston's headquarters tonight.
 Consul Beltram of the. de facto
 government received from Consul Garcia at Fl Faso the report that his