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Show (Til m T YBF7 , zZS m f " j i . - , , -,v , . t ... v I ' -h" it I " -- 1 x 2 i -L s , 4 ' STRDET SCDND IN clUAHEZ CILT-aD .IDAKEZ, the scene of die recent ini)ortant events in connection with the trouble witli Mexico, is situated on the tight bank oC the Kio Grande, directly direct-ly opposite El Paso, Tex., and 1.223 hiiles north of Mexico City. The Ivery name of the city of Juarez suggests sug-gests noteworthy events in the history of the southern republic, and the conferences con-ferences which have been held there recently by the representatives of the military forces of both the American ind Mexican governments add another interesting chapter to the community's annals, says the National Geographic society bulletin. For more than 200 years Juarez was Jcnown as EI I'aso del Norte (the pass of the North), and it was not until SS.") that the city was renamed in honor hon-or of one of Mexico's greatest states-pen states-pen and patriots, Benito Juarez, who established his capital here during the troublous times when Napoleon III of France was abetting the ill-fated Maximilian Max-imilian in his effort to found an empire em-pire in the western hemisphere. Juarez, a full-blooded Zapotec Indian, Indi-an, born in an obscure village near paxaca, succeeded to the presidency of Mexico when Conionfort, weary of the internal strife, "quit the job" and went to the United States, leaving affairs af-fairs in the hands of his chief justice. Immediately Juarez was embroiled in civil war by the assumption of the executive ex-ecutive office by Zuloaga. It was while trying to displace his rival that the Indian patriot endeavored to borrow bor-row Money from the United States and, f.s a part of the bargain, he agreed to a treaty the terms of which brought forth a storm of protest from England and France. By this treaty, which was never ratified, the United States was to have a perpetual and unrestricted un-restricted passage across both the Isthmus of Tehuantepec and the northern north-ern states of Mexico, and the right to employ American troops to enforce these rights' as well as to protect American citizens ' against levies and loans. Start of Maximilian's Attempt. A short time later Juarez precipi-cated precipi-cated an international crisis by his decision de-cision to suspend for two years the payment of interest on the national debt. England, Spain and France sent fleets to Vera Cruz to force payment, but England and Spain soon withdrew, while France, her soldiers once on Mexican soil, decided to press her claims, and gradually Napoleon's scheme for a western empire began to assume definite form. His scheme eventuated in the abortive attempt to establish Archduke Maximilian of Austria Aus-tria on the throne of the Montezumas. It was during the famous defense of the city of Puebla against the invading invad-ing French army that a young Mexican Mexi-can soldier, who was to become the most conspicuous figure in the history of modern Mexico, distinguished himself him-self by his bravery and his exceptional exception-al powers of leadership. This young hero was Forfirio Diaz, now known to fame as "the strong man of Mexico." It was in the center of the international interna-tional bridge which connects Juarez and El Paso that President Taft and President Piaz (be who had been Juarez's military right hand) met in 1010, upon the occasion of the centenary cen-tenary celebration of Mexican independence. inde-pendence. The traveler who passes through El Paso on his way to Juarez may choose any of four times by -which to set his watch Central. Mountain, Pacific and Mexican. Mountain time is an hour slower than Central, while Pacific is an hour slower and Mexican is 24 minutes faster than Mountain. Famed for Its Bull Fights. On account of its bull fights and cock fights. Juarez has long been a city of feast-day pilgrimage for Americans in search of a new sensation. The Spaniards, Span-iards, who became addicted to the bullfight bull-fight habit in the twelfth century, during dur-ing the occupation of the Iberian peninsula pen-insula by the Moors, introduced this sport into Mexico shortly nfter their overthrow of the Aztecs. The fights in Juarez are not so elaborately staged as those in Mexico City, for native bulls are used customarily, and these have not the ferocity of the animals imported by the capital from Andalusia Andal-usia at a cost, frequently, of $1,000 (Mexican) each. On important bull-fight days the population of Juarez tops the 10.000 mark, while there Is a relative temporary tem-porary decrease la the size of the fifth city in Texas. El Paso, which had only 7.''.G people in 1SS0 but which had grown to more than 30,000 in 101.0. Nuevo Laredo Is Important. Another center of Mexican population popula-tion along the frontier is Nuevo Laredo, the border city of Tamaulipas. It is one of the most important gateways gate-ways to the southern republic, not on account of its population, for El Paso and Juarez constitute a hyphenated city more than twice as large as Laredo (American) and Nuevo Laredo (Mexican), but because the latter is the northern terminus of the shortest raihfejiy route to Mexico City, the distance dis-tance being only about S00 miles, com-pared com-pared with 1.200 miles by way of Juarez and 1,000 miles through Ciudad Porfirio Diaz (Eagle Pass). AVilh 8,000 people, Nuevo Laredo is a little more than half as large as the American tow-n at the other end of the 900-foot international bridge which spans the Kio Grande ht this point. The two towns were one up to the time of the secession of Texas, the settlement set-tlement on the left bank of the river being captured by Texas rangers in 184G and occupied by United States troops under General Lamar a year later. |