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Uprisings in Mexico

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Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Dec 8, 1910

FromReview and Herald, Vol. 87, No. 49.

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Uprisings in Mexico

By A. L. Gregory

The two principal cities of this republic, Mexico City and Guadalajara, have recently been the theaters of dramas which we hope will not soon be repeated. Here in Guadalajara, so far, there has been only one death; but the property loss has been considerable.
On the evening of Thursday, November 10, a large crowd came together to demonstrate regarding the alleged lynching of a Mexican in the United States. Soon shouts were not enough, but stones began to fly, and many windows were broken. The crowd began to march toward the American colony, attacking on the way the home of the Methodist minister, and breaking his windows. Then they remembered the old Adventist sanitarium, which is now a Methodist school; here they halted to stone the windows and pull down the iron fence in front of the property. From here they continued the march to the American colony, stoning most of the houses on the way, until they came to the home of Brother W. S. Swayze, M. D., with whom we live.
We had been warned not to go on the streets that evening, so were all at home. We heard the mob coming, and soon the stones began to come into the front rooms, crashing through the glass. We all vacated the house, and gathered in the yard to see what would result. Soon the mob passed on to another American house, but the owner and his nephew met them in front, and told them they were ready for them, and fired four shots into the air. The police persuaded the mob not to attack this house, so the “demonstration” in the colony ended for that night, the mob returning to the city, where they continued stoning houses and breaking windows.
Friday we were warned to take precautions, as the same “demonstrations” were to be repeated. The mob did not come to the chief American settlement, having been turned back by the police after an attack on one foreign house on their way out. In this attack the defenders fired a shot which killed one man.
The city is now under martial law, and no crowds are allowed on the streets. Many threats are made, and danger to life is not over; but in it all we are calm, trusting in God, who can deliver even in the troublous times.
As we left our home to go to hide in a more secluded house, where we would not be suspected, we were reminded of the time to come, when we must leave our homes and go out to the mountains and woods, to be away from the infuriated mobs.
The women got together a few of their most valuable things, which they could carry, and we men dug holes in the ground, and hid our money and what valuable papers we had, and in less than one hour we were fleeing from our home, going away to sleep on a pile of weeds and grass, not knowing what hour we might be awakened to end our existence at the hand of infuriated men.
May we all be active while the way is still half open to preach the gospel in this Catholic country.
A. L. Gregory, M. D.