El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1916-05-16
BANDITS FIRE GRASS AND FOREST
NAN EFFORT TOSTOP MAN HUNT
Would Deter Americans From Their Relentless Chase
With the Torch But It ais; 200 Bandits Killed By
the Americans Since They Entered Mexico; The
United States Army is Now Heartily Feared.
By GEO. II. CLEMENTS.

, whom he formerly preyed. free to
! work out their own salvation.
COO BanditS Killed.
Z Up to this time il is estimated that
/ i'm the neighborhoOd Of 200 NillistaS
/ have fallen victims to the deadlineSs
! of the aim Of American riflemen since
! the Columbus raid on March ., last
I This estimate includes those killed
while the raid was in progress. The
I figures viii be disputed by some en-
{ thusiasts who will tell you that fully
! that number OF Nillistas were killed
at Columbus alone. However. these
arc the figures kept by am officer
whose duty il is to be careful.
The death list does not look for
midable. especially when the number
Of American soldiers engaged in the
great man hunt is taken into con-
sideratiou. but IL means much more
tEan the mere figures would Indicate
The killing OF a few members Of the
bandit bands is Of little moment to
the average resident of this country,
which has been constantly at war for
the past five years. What counts for
much more in this campaign is that
the bandits can find no place i'm which
TO hide. That is something for them.
Americans Are GO-GetterS.
Hitherto. even under tie iron rule
of Porfirio Diazs rurales, bandits
might be driven from position or
town i'm which they had established
themselves. but they simply moved 10
another position or town and reestab-
lished themselves till they had made
themselves so obnoxious 70 the inhabi-
tants that.the complaints Of the latter
could no longer be ignored by the
most complacent leader Of rurales
They We're very rarely followed and
never with the persistency which has
marked the pursuit policy OF the
Americans since they have been on the
trail.
The bandits are being worn out. II
rarfaarn
which carried the pursuers at first
showed signs of fatigue but they are
becoming used to the mountain trails
and TO the materially different char
acter Of the food and forage found in
this country as against the food and
forage they had been used to i'm the
posts from which they were brought.
The men never We're worn out, and
now that the cOmmisSary department
is in position to keep them clothed
and fed and their horses have recOV-
cred to the point that they are ready
to negotiate the trails as well or bet
ter than can the mounts OF the men
being pursued, there is little hope for
the latter
Bandits Well Broken Tp.
II the dispersal OF the bandits is all
that is needed to put this country at
peace, the Americans seem to have the
situation well i'm hand. Time viii be
required. but now that the Americans
are here and well equipped for the
work cut out for them.a few days or
weeks more or less will hardly mat
ter. The constant cOmbinE OF tile
mountains and the constant motion in
which the Americans are i'm position
to keep the undesirables viii do the
business so effectively that there win
he little trouble for a well disposed
police department TO keep the country
free from brigaudage forever after.
This observation is predicted upon
q belief held by many. though not
universally held. that the de facto
government or at least that the
jewellers in the affected district viii
keep hands off if they do not CO.
operate with the Americans now en- ?
eaged in the work Of Riding the
country of the robber bands with
which it is now infested. If those
citizens who profess allegiance to the
dc facto government do not keep hands
eff even If they do not cooperate with
the Americans the cleanup campaign
may be prolonged, but il is firmly be
leYed that when the forces composing
re present punitive expedition arc
eiEally withdrawn from Mexico, the
latter will be a perfectly safe place
for an American or any other foreiener
to live and do business i'm, provided.
OF course, he is willing TO Onply
with any reasonable laws which may
be passed by the national or state
legislatures.