Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1916-04-07
CaUalrymen Slip Unseen
Through Mountains; Beat
Villa at His Own Game

General Pershings Camp at San
Geronimo Ranch, Mexico, April 3 by
Aeroplane and Motor Truck to Co
lumbus, N. NJ, April News of the
second Villa defeat, which reached
here late to-day was taken as sharp
moral defeat for the Villa forces, be-
cause the American cavalrymen had
outwitted them at their own game,
that of slipping unseen through noun
tain passes. The news came in after
General Pershing had been out of
touch with General Funston for two
days, on account of bad weather and
a temporary shortage of gasoline,
which prevented the aero squad from
carrying messages back to the wire
less at his field headquarters.
Losses to the Villa forces, given as
thirty or more dead and forty horses
captured in the Aguascalientes fight
are not considered of as much sig
nificance as the manner in which the
coup was executed.
Ever since the Villa forces retreat
ed from Guerrero, the presence of
Villa bands in some force between
Guerrero and Bachiniva, SO miles
north of Guerrero, had been known.
1t also was evidence from the reports
to headquarters that these Villa forces
under Manuel Lopez were inclined to
rely for safety on their intimate
3 y
That they were relying on nothing else
than their speed in making for difficult
passes was indicated last Friday,
March 81, when two American scouts
inadvertently frightened the entire
band estimated at about 200 out of
the town of Bachiniva.
Duel ArouSeS Villa
The scouts got into a bloodshed duel
with two Villa outposts at Bachiniva.
The sound of the firing aroused the
| Villa forces which at the same time
was camped in the plaza of the town.
They scrambled for their horses and
with shouts of "los Americanaos" rode
out of the mountains in a hurry.
Saturday and Sunday two seperate
columns of cavalrymen were on the
trails which this band had taken. In
spite of fast riding, or rather fast
walking, for it is by walking and
leading their horses most of the way
that the cavalry gets around and some
times directly over the mountain tops
neither of these troops was in posi-
tion to catch the Villa forces.
Struck Unexpectedly
Apparently that is what the bandits
had expected, but they had not ac-
counted for the unexpected striking
power of the American cavalrymen
The Americans were not relying upon
merely two columns of troops to box
the Villa forces.
Below Bachiniva where either the
Villa forces did not know of their
presence, or where they considered
them too far away to be q menace
were 200 negro cavalrymen under
Colonel w. G. Brown.
These negroes have the reputation
of being among the best trailers in
the army. They caught the Villa
forces after the bandits had ridden
only a few hours out of Bachiniva
Like Dodd's fight at Guerrero, it was
a case of quick work for a few mo-
ments with rifles and then a chase
The Americans did not stop to report
what they had done. but stayed on the
trail, so that tonight, two days after
the fight, no details have reached
headquarters camp, other than the
bare report of skirmish and the
story of two Mexican ranchmen Civ
ing the location of the encounter and
! Villa losses.