The San Francisco call. [volume], May 19, 1907, Page 1, Image 1

About The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913

Image provided by: University of California, Riverside; Riverside, CA

THE NEVADA MINER
WHO FOUGHT
THE WHOLE NICARAGUAN ARMY
I "" HE fighting power of an .Xmv
I «rican shoves . in \u25a0 the desperate'
I battle of Fred Mills \!n the
battle of Ainisegir' in the recent .
mrtr 'between • Honduras and." Nica- ;
jragna. ;•-« - y \u25a0 \ ;
John P. Poe, who oncejldcked a
jfidd goal for -Princeton,) winning ; the
tnost sensational football-- game on
record, has jnst returned to Nevada
from Honduras, where ; he,* served as
csptain in the Honduran army. About
'h:s ov.il ; service he has 'little to say,
"bttt while in San , Francisco on his'
,"way to Nevada h e told the \ story of «
\u25a0Mills,-. an American adventurer,' re-.
centb r oi Goldfield, Nev.,J who with
his back to an adobe wall held' the
v.-hole Ktcaraguan army of invasion
at baj' and killed 25 of President Ze
laj-a"s men before he was finally^ borne
down by overwhelming numbers.
The story conies from an ' officer
in the Nicaraguan forces who came
in on the close of Mills* great fight.
Mills belonged. to that class of men
who pioneer before the pioneers. His
first " great ancestor was Ulysses and
his forbears harried the', Spanish main.
The spirit 4hat. liyed^in him and" kept
him up against that . adobe Tvall'.when
filmost cutrto /pieces ; was, what •- made •
a soldier of fortuhe of \ .him. :' He
iirif ted-along the: frontier : of * America :
fr om Kom eto \ Panama, \ and \ ndj on c ,
<ver cared to ask *wh ere ; , he 'came',
from originally. 'As'a'man-biejnras all'
and he was known^for having;
a heavy - hand when trouble arose.'
And that was enough. Hepassed'all
through th c Alaska . .mining , excite
ments and came -from there to - Xe
\-adsu but^ he. did not have it in him
\o keep • money, and he would not
make the sacrifices necessary; to ac
cumulate it At - thjrty : he had I some
hea\y-. seams in his^ face from hard
Imng in hard parts of thew-orld, but
he had all the ease and , grace of
youth in his long thin- figure. His
strength lay -.chiefly in", his arms and
tehoulders. -He was thin- in the hips
and lank in the legs and hated to walk
worse than a cowboy. -From cold and
tropic sun his \u25a0 face teas bronzed ' per
manently. With his --' black .- hair . arid
rery dark eyes he looked the part
he played in the world. Above all
things he was obviously, an r American
and one Avlio.cut.his way'clean when
he had anything, to do.
\u25a0 When there wasrumor. of war, in
central America^ Mills, who was at
fhat time in Goldfield, came t& San
JFrancisco and shipped on - the first
jboat, He readily obtained, a cap
jtaincy.in the Honduran army, -and in
,the upset state of affairs, just before
the war broke out *; helped - get < the
army into shape. .\u25a0 -'\u25a0.; .- - ;
Then came the rumor that the
Kicaragruan troops^ >>rcre -preparing >to.
cross the Honduran frontier, in; the
interior. * Mills" was detailed * with a
company .of native ' soldieVs to; go out"
into the mountains . where^the | Nica
ragttans were expected* to'cross, "and f
avoiding; the- main body/ of troops •' to
pick i up^any skirmishingv parjti c? * h e
cotild-'find - and learn ;the; number, of
the Nicafaguans. \u25a0 . f
At Amisegir, - a -mountain town
which _^ the Nicaraguans were -ad
x-ancing;upon and were forced to o'c
jrupy; as a key: to the 1 position, \u25a0 Mills
found ' himself : the only" man" in* the \u25a0
jHondurah forces who realized \u25a0 what
,was at- stake. «;He prepared i toj hold v
the place. against .all comers:''
The' town :lies high up^n the hillt;
.with '.nothing but . zigzag , mountain.
trails leading to it.. They arc "the*
Jughways-^-cammos " feales-^of - Hon* '
iduras,; though in any civiliz?d country \u25a0
they ' 7 would -be ,calle~d • Vgoat j paths. *
The Graveyard Siege; '
Mills realized .that he; could not be
forced; from the . tOTrh* by /artillery,
,zs\ it could only be : moved* against
t hirV on the' backs of mules.'' -He^ook
.up fcis positioni in an? old; graveyard,'
comtaanding the last angle r of the road
with\ thick : adobe walls -jutting 'out •at ;
'a sharp; angle overHheshillside.
value of. this^place for \u25a0 him lay
\u25a0not yisrhefact th'at.thcse walls.formed
;a first barrier", against. the f enemy,: but
al»o that once^he had gothisihandful
j«f barefooted; - hungry, "soldiery? into
the graveyard he- was ; able' to' take »up"
his stand yat the ; gateway^ the * only;
exit from' the - place,* to Ikeep 5 his'i nien
from : running away .as(tHelenemy^ap-/
preached., \u25a0"\u25a0'\u25a0:." This *. was .v'only^'accom-V
plishedafter he hadshot^down'one ofr
his own men*whoftned(to;brush",pastv
him- and, had ""locked the ! iron -grate,
throwing the. key'pycrthe wall.' See-"*
ing , themselves r trapped;hisTmen;?af ter . '
jon c futilejrush%hicn] stretched \ two of }'
'--\u25a0 at \ his \\ feet,': v recognized >, ' their -
master • and -manned their v positions. : .
Mills made ! them knock Holes ' through
; the walUon'thefside^cornmanding'tße:'
'trail, 'through f which> had'they' been
Americans,; th'cy .. could have * kept < off \
the : enemy; almost -forever. ' -\\; hat _'C he
had not •reckoned*;- with, }thbu"gh, ; . \ya's "'•
; their V' propensity, to 'I blaze ' a\vaV> j_pir
their *-. ;\u25a0 ammunitioii . • regardless- •? \u25a0 of :
: wh ether • th cy \u25a0 are'\hi tt in g - anyt hirig.br'
not. 1 ;r As 'soon-; as . th i eif "\ ri re : slaolceii ed '..
the.Nicaraguan-:geriefal,;with the; help
of 'a gun, . p]aced bchind>-his
men,^forced «' them \u25a0 vp the steep' hill.'
They« outnumbered their foes- ten/ to
one. , : Swarming; along : the trail,", -al
though;- the.' first pranks 'went dO>vn";
from -the : fire of -the hneVi- 7 ;be;iindtl!e^
wall, they, managed to worm their ..way.j,
up : to 'the graveyard; shooting 7 '
holes' having/ become usclc'?> Mills'
,men,-. trapped ; as;: they were, s^ent
their *last ammunition firing > blankly '
through the '.wall, While / the _'\u25a0' Xica -5*
ra^uan: soldiers:, replied "with tenfold
effect, v The \vall now looks like; a'
sieve.; ' ; : . ; .: \u25a0 . ..' . ,
When the last rush cauie and the.
Nicaraguans" were ; scaling * the^ wail
fromevery ; side^ Stillsiwith His Handful
of-remainingcmeh^fell^back|into;one
corner »•„ th e V grayeyardi^ near . • the
v gateway^^JustJas j he] was> rallying! Hi si
,men of i!them^£mash"ed|'t!ie^locl?
t6nhe^grayeyardi"grate7;withs;thei.butt l
of -s his • ? rhusket % and ?: "swrungi" it" ' opc'n. :
MiHsV.'mcrivviaw /-Vtheir^chancej'rvand-;
rushcd^put^pell^melKAleaving' - -binr
alohefto : face*the;cnc'ny\ r/\u25a0-\u25a0ir /\u25a0-\u25a0 i v - >\u25a0
: *:Jlills*mi^ht'hay^follmvedjtncm^but
hirfightirig;b!obHTwas ¥ ur^^^vVitli one
\u25a0 la6t-;shbt;at-h!sis own •..-.menihel; turned
: ~> to Uacelthe "i who! eg Nicaraguan sarmy^
U whichft by*? thatjjtime 1 wa s :
into £ the ;\u25a0 graveyard* fro'mV all / ' sides;:
only^oneiinah;they Crushed/at ;
>hJmJwiths'aJy^ell.^4Mills'^'iut£i^
Jpvqlverff6r^a|few^bnef^^huteslkep^
ithefhordeiatibay^f^He'n^i^furYoVs'
jintithe^Nicarag^Miiforces^at^veryx
sFo^aXmprneritf?the>Niatraguaria^fell
!?ofi?thel
; marksman shipf^'grovelingsambngjtthc,
v gray estones.^/^^^p^ggjggpfcS^W
/>^lnHhe|heat^ofnheinextrrusH*allran-1
,dpmtsh~otxfirVd\th'rb¥gH|ttfTO
rhindsMUls *back *Hii| bodyJ
sandifof|thermbment|brp^
;hjslk¥e«;^TKe^Nicarlig^ns^hplnaH*
pTO^^b^nlable^t^hitlhim^ih^therfirst'
|rush;|clos^a{n%wth^theirlnnachetesK
;jMills»fired"fhis|la*stfsHbt"@hilerstillfbnv
.hisrknees^Hisfright/armidrbppedUsl
( llad?sh*aifered^his!
-'wrifctr^.^rK^' - \u25a0;'
.:\Vith:hisMcft ; hKnd'hVdrowMiis'
.saber .- an^^^^l b a^®^?n|^^
'•^all.^Wc"akTfjomlJ6ss
sri aged; t oTrunjHisJswor'd'
/ithYdugitlthVceTof AtheFmehTcl6sing|ih :
V,upbn\him^;.< \ " -
A^Gallant.Stand \u25a0 ,
J^^Vhllejhiß^wjbrdiwasfstilltcaughtim
\u25a0i t\ iel bqdy^of|bnej m an Tanother| jumped'
l^'with? tlieTelbpwTof 4His¥sJhattered'|arteij
3 a .'rfbigllNicaraguan'
frneglrbTwh^liadX^li^bed^tHe^wan
Itook f ad^nUg^bfj^th^de^ly^emi
.wereylockedfto
Sis e^tlje^f negro stjJbodyFa^lal snleld|
gSu"chltwasAthe^fju/yXofjhis!jfo«^^
ithcy:hacked^the^bo^yAbf|theirSown^
icb"mralde3tbTpie'ces;in|th^ir|^
ygetTatfthejHated'gririgo.-. • y \u25a0 ' / _-- <~
<^Risihglwithlthe Ibbdy ' of 7 the \ riegjo'
\u25a0 'held f ih|if ont |^f
Hblind7^tbT|the?irieirest .pgraveßtone?
\ an"dSher'e|ma J dei hjs||aJtjstand.|^Withj
|lus|bl opd3vsv?ord|d^r|\vingla|dead|lme'
paboijtlHim^lie^lasted^S|ull|minutei
c|fst6o<! |His|:f ujl
Ih'wd^iifd^houlUe^ato^h^ienemi^
|Witlilliis^ldng;Veacli;h'e<waJ^abl?|tpj
|k"«pJtHep^at?"a|'distance4b^^
crowd to thcffellblvsToni
i'i,ab"out:|fii m^then^ suddettly^a^KMeti
|stßpHUimfsqu^ybJt^e^
tfah'dihi-Ipitche^d'-fiW.v^jrilHiis^fulHlenVtiiS
The San Francisco
Sunday Call.
Magazine
Section
Part I.
* -Even -'a s S tfe J f ell |b is s ; enemies" j j uirfp etl
'>
fwKbmi lie' h aft fata in* iiiTth^uneven feoffs
:;^^rhe ylMcaraguan; .officer • whostells"
l-tlve^t^yi^aj^^tlpt^tl^^VmencaTrsj
*bodyihjtdilß;^
?afinarvellto|tlie'Cwh"ole 'army ifotyKej
"hadtla^ted'M) long.' -";"". ' " ' '• ' ;• -
Hi^ragiuns,wejne,soiprcuound-.H i^ragiuns,wejne,soiprcuound-.
IknmvStJiefstx^
a i generalissimo' of ; their
gwnHorc^^^P^^^^l
M^Vh«v-; theji last J three J,yolleyst were;
«fire*dv6j^shis^^av^|tJil^^laceyi6vcrS
ibi^ltlijTira vestone|b^ wh ichlKe 2 Jisd £
rf6{ißlitTandUalleh7*and:njdelvWcraH'lc7l*
n\u25a0 c v ican* fl i g.<