East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1911-04-13
AMERICAN BOYS
IN MEXICAN JAIL
EXPERIENCE OF TWO LADS
CAPTURED BY FEDERALS
Interesting story Told I'm Letter
From One of the Boys I'm the Des
Moincs Capita-Kcpt i'm Filthy Cell.

One of the striking stories from
Mexico recently was the arrest of two
American boys, one Of whom prov
ed to be from the state of Illinois,
Guy G. Core, writing to the Des
Moines Capital from Ell Paso, Tex,
on April /, has an interesting story
o. the adventure of these young lads.
L is as follows:
Locked in filthy, narrow cell, with
a dirt floor and compelled to eat only
the very coarsest of food, Lawrence
Converse and Edwin Blatt, the two
Americans lads in jail at Juarez, Mex
leo, on charges of sedition, have de-
cided that Sherman was about right
about war.
The boys, both adventurous spirit,
decided ct the outbreak of hostilities
they would like to see a real battle.
Il was with this purpose in mind that
they entered the interior of Mexico.
For a time they were with Maderos
forces, but finding that battles were
few and far between, they started for
the American side. They observed that
a party of rurals eyed them curiously
anu ~ lllsllt BItdltl ldf,Nt " put lll'
Rio Grande between themselves and
Mexico. A short time after they had
crossed the river and We're seated on
a log eating frijoles, sixteen rurales
! galloped up to the river on the oppo-
site side. Stealthily four of their num-
| Der crossed the river and seized the
/ boys. They tied their hands and
marched them across the river at a
! ford. Here rope nooses We're thrown
over their heads and tightened about
their necks The ropes were tied to
the saddles of the rurales and this
way they entered Juarez. Here they
were thrown in Jail incommunicado,
which means they were locked in d
CaTk cell for hours, without being
allowed to see any one. At the end
ni get time they were placed in a
vile smelling sell and daily insulted by
Mexican soldiers. At night the lads
were separated and each compelled to
sleep with four Mexican convicts on
the dirt floor of a cell 7X9 without bed
clothes or blankets of any kind. When
first incarcerated young Converse was
i'll. He pleaded for a physician, but
the only reply was: You ought to be
shot" in Spanish. Through the night
other prisoners would be heard beg
| ging for food. I'VE are starving to
DEATH was the cry. Back would
come the answer: You ought to be
/ shot"
Young Converse Born in Iowa.
Mr.. and Mrs. c. II. Converse of
Glendora, California, father and moth
ei of young Converse are here doing
| all in their power to free the lads
Mr.. Converse is an attorney. He lived
| formerly in Avoca, Iowa and later at
LewistOwn, Illinois. where he was city
attorney for four terms and presiden,
Of the board of education three terms
Lawrence Converse, the lad who is
causing state departments of two ma
tions to act was born in Oakland, To-.
81 years ago.
Mr.. Converse was in Pennsylvania
when Mrs. Converse learned of the
arrest of her son. She immediately
went to General Harrison Gray Otis
Of the Los Angeles Times for help
| General Otis is q personal friend OF
President Diaz. He wired at once to
President Diaz asking the two Am
erican lads not be executed. A tele-
gram came back mo violence at pres
ent." Mr.. Converse believes this is the
only thing that saved the lives of both
boys Mr.. Converse has taken a sur
veyor to the spot of the boys capture
&C miles west of Ell Paso and estab-
lished the fact beyond question that
they were arrested on American SOL
Yesterday he brought six Americans
who saw the lads arrested and taker
across the rives and has their sworr
deDoSitiopS