The log cabin Democrat., 1916-08-05
C0LQUfTTf CROSSES
 MEXICAN BORDER VISITS ANCIENT CHURCH Conway Minister Writes Interesting
 ly of Trip to Juarez and Ysleta, in Old Mexico.
Editor Log Cabin Democrat:

Editor Log Cabin Democrat:
 Our work of Bible distribution moves on, and l see so many interest ing objects that my old habit of writ ing for the newspaper seizes me and l must write.
 The sensation of this trip so far was trip into Mexico. Greater sen- sations may await me, I do not know. All the Villa bandits are not dead yet, which fact they persist in demonstrat- ing along the border. How do 1 know that 1 will not come on a struggling band who will not care a thing about my kahki bound Testaments, or my mission among American soldiers? Mr. Peyton Chenault or Dallas and myself crossed the Rio Grande river on the international bridge and land ed in Juarez, Mexico. Here we met Rev. w. F. Hatchell, 15 years a mis- sionary of the Baptist church in Mex ico, who showed us great kindness. The Rio Grande is insignificant at this point. 1 believe 1 could wade across and not get thoroughly wet-that is, if one of the line riders in Uncle Sam's service did not see me and stop me.
 Juarez is a town of considerable l importance on account of its age, be- ing one of the oldest towns in northern Mexico, and because of it's having been battle ground in the wars that have ragged in Mexico in the last seven years. It is also one of the principal ports of entry for Mexico The town is made up principally of adobe novels, | though there are a few brick houses that have withstood the ravages of | war The town was established as early as 1549, and was called "Paso | del Norte,' the passage to the north 1; the name being changed afterwards to Juarez in honor of Bohito Juarez, the George Washington of the Mexi- can republic. Fl Paso gets her name from the name of this ancient city. Juan Maria Ponce de Leon built the first house in Fl Paso in 1927, and on this spot now stands the History Mills building.
 was impressed with the filth and squalor of the place and most of its inhabitants. Poor little old dried-up, wrinkled women sitting flat down on the sidewalk with hand extended, palm up, begging; half-clad dwarfed, dirty, starved children ran about the streets begging the passerby, make a picture 1 am not able to draw. We saw some places of especial in- ! terest. First of these was the bull pen, called in Spanish, Plaza de To- ros,' where on last Sunday they pull ed off one of their famous bull fights. General Gonzales, who is in charge of the Mexican army at that point, and his retinue attended. The peculiarity about this great structure is the fact that our own stars and stripes is painted, grouped with other flags, over the main entrance. Why should this be? Does our nation endorse bull fighting in bloody Mexico?
 The object in which I was especially interested was the old Guadaloupe Catholic church, about 37O years old. This building has withstood the bat ties of the many wars, though often shot full of bullet holes but always repaired and kept in good state of preservation. The great beams SUD- porting the tiled roof were brought down from New Mexico by the h. dians and hand carved in lilies and roses by these early artisans. A few sad-faced, dirty looking worshippers kneelng before the altars where their fathers had worshipped 10 genera tions before, made the picture com plete.
 The Juarez jail-hoary, grim and dirty-was seen as we passed by 1 thought of the thousands of prisoners incarcerated there in the past and the many that have gone from there to their execution. The Juarez monu- ment, erected in memory of President Juarez, is about 100 feet high and composed of several statues about the | base and a great bronze statue of the old warrior and statesman on top of the shaft. This even showed some signs of bullets.
 We saw a detachment of Mexican kcavalrymen riding down the street. I
 felt glad of the fact that we are pro-
 tected by the stars and stripes.
 Another town of considerable inter-
 est to me is Ysleta, Tex, a town of
 about l 300 inhabitants, 12 miles down
 the Rio Grande valley from Fl Paso.
 This is the oldest town in Texas and
 they claim that St. Augustine, Fla,
 is the only town in the United States
 that is older than Ysleta. This town
 was settled by tribe of Indians
 friendly to the Spaniards some time in | (Continued Last Psge)