Jasper County Democrat, Volume 13, Number 98, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 25 March 1911 — FIRE ON UNITED STATES TROOPS [ARTICLE]

FIRE ON UNITED STATES TROOPS

Rumor that Mexican Federate Did So Is Confirmed. CAVALRY RACES FOR TERLINGUA Detachment Now Lost to World In Fastnesses of Rattlesnake Mountains—Texas Rangers Are . Following. San Antonio, Tex., March 24. The officers commanding the extended border patrol in southwestern Texas have sent to Brigadier General J. W. Duncan, commander of the department of Texas, no authoritiative confirmation of the report that American soldiers were fired on by Mexican federal troops in the vicinity of Presidio, report of the incident has been forwarded to Attorney General Wicker sham in Washington by United States Marshal Eugene Nolt a of this district and an then tic v eri float ion of the r. ews came from various sources. According to a telegram received from Presidio via Alpine, not only was the patrol under command of Sergeant Long made the target for several shots from across the Rio Grande, but a band of insurrectos crossed into American territory at the isolated town of La Jilas and after spending, some hours on Texas soil returned to their post outside the beleaguered town of Ojinaga. The troops of cavalry sent on rush orders down into the mountains by orders of General Duncan to ride to the relief of the threatened Terlingua district is still out of the world in the passes of the Rattlesnake mountains Terlingua and the sparsely settled country in the Chisos mountains is still very disturbed and over the single telephone wire leading over the ranges out of Terlingua into Marathon word has come that if the cavalry troop did not arrive before long the isolated folk there feared they would be plundered and shot up by the Mexican bands. In addition to the force of cavalry now’ threatening the passes fn the Bad .Lands that bar the towns of Terlingua and La Jilas from the world, so a correspondent at Alpine on the railroad line wired to San Antonio, a company of the Texas Rangers had been hastily summoned to Alpine and they will take the dark trail over the mountains in the. wake of the troops of the Third cavalry. The destination of the rangers is the Contrabando canyon, the scene of some bloody fights between rangers and Mexican cattle rustlers several years ago.