Jasper County Democrat, Volume 13, Number 84, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 4 February 1911 — MEXICAN REBELS MARCH TO BATTLE [ARTICLE]

MEXICAN REBELS MARCH TO BATTLE

Juarez Said to Be at Mercy of the Insurrectos. TOWN IS POORLY DEFENDED Federal Soldiers Dynamite Troop Train and Blow it to Pieces, Killing Five and Wounding Many—Battle Imminent.

El Paso, Tex., Feb. 3. J wA battle between the federals and 800 rebels who are marching on Jaurez and said to be twelve miles away to south with all reihforcemerts for border towns cut off and less than 300 armed men in town, including volunteers, rebels gay they will set up the capital of Chihuahua in El Paso’s sister city before another 24 hours. An attempt to get reinforcements into Jaurez from Casas Grandes, where Col. Robago and command have been fighting rebels and taking defeats for a week past, fai’ed when Mexican officials were unable to secure trainmen to run a train down the line after them. It would have been useless, as the insurrectos' advancing on the town held both the Mexican and the Mexico Northwestern roads and are advancing on the city in the shape of a fan.

The only clash so far between the advancing rebels and the federals came when the federal cavalry sent out to intercept the rebels, wrecked a train on which thp enemy was carrying explosives. At least five rebeles were killed and many wounded. The federals lost two killed and four wounded. Three trainmen were wounded, one of them an American, an engineer, named Charles Hay. The federals dynamited a small bridge about twenty miles south of Jaurez end then attacked the oncoming train. The train hearing only 45 men and high explosives ran into the cut and the federals opened fire The rebels replied and the fire of the federals sot off the dynamite. This literally blew- the train to pieces. The rebels on the train were working their way slowly along the track followed by the main body of troops. The federals finally retreated to the woods. Paschal Orozco Is In command of the rebels. He is known as chief of arms of the rebels and has been in command of the bands that have been doing such execution aginst the federals at Casas Grandes and Galena, south of here. He is a former telegraph opera or and son of a Wealthy rancher of Fhihuahua While they were held on the marooned trains between El Paso and Chihuahua, the American passengers were fed and treated courteously by the insurgents.. The passengers formed themselves into a volunteer red cross corps and, led by Miss Annette Cowles of Mexico City and assisted by Ex-Secretary Garfield, they aided the tvounded. Miss Cowles is head nurse of the National Railw‘ay hospital in Mexico City and was returning to Mexica from the states when her train was held up. The passengers tore up Pullman sheets and bandaged the wounds of the rebels and made them as comfortable as possible.