Posted on 10/31/2004 5:39:51 PM PST by 4.1O dana super trac pak
SUNLAND PARK, N.M. - On Sunday, an estimated 40,000 pilgrims crowded onto the rocky trail up Mount Cristo Rey to pray at the feet of Jesus as armed deputies scanned the desert scrub for bandits.
On Cristo Rey's 4,675-foot peak is a 30-foot-tall sandstone statue of Christ that has attracted hundreds of thousands of worshippers over the past six decades. This years pilgrims are making the 820-foot vertical climb to celebrate the 65th anniversary of the statue's completion in 1939.
On a cloudy day in mid-September about 2,000 people made the 2 1/2-mile trek for a mass at the base of the statue as part of an annual youth pilgrimage.
A weathered sign at the trailhead tells visitors not to leave valubles in their cars, to ascend in groups of five or more and ends with the warning, "Travel At Your Own Risk."
"See down there? That's a staging area for them (bandits)," said Lt. Ruben Gallegos, standing on Cristo Rey's peak during the September pilgrimage. He points to a flat area at the top of a valley on the mountain's flank that opens into Mexico.
The large groups of people on the annual pilgrimages - and the prescence of armed deputies - usually discourages the robbers, Gallegos said. But bandits and gang members have been blamed for robberies, assaults, vandalism and thefts on Cristo Rey (Christ the King in Spanish) in recent years.
'snip'
In an April incident, 22 members of the same family - including five children younger than 10 - were robbed by an armed man wearing a black ski mask. The family thought their numbers would discourage bandits, but the man made them kneel and give him cell phones, cash and jewelry, including a wedding ring.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailysentinel.com ...
This is really shameful. This mountain is 500 feet from the border, I doubt US citizens are committing these crimes.
LVM
It's a scary area, I went through there the other day. Lots of Border Patrol trucks through.
Old Russian proverb: "The wolves do not care how many sheep there be".
Numbers only count when it's the number of ARMED and READY protectors
http://www.elpasotimes.com/outdoors/hiking/mountcristorey.html
I think centuries ago a remedy against bandits, etc., was created to protect those on pilgrimages in the Holy Land, so the story goes.
New Mexico allows both open and concealed carry. G-d helps those who help themselves.
Your neck of the woods.
Superstitious "believers", not Christian
This is in MEXICO not New Mexico.
I favor the Israeli approach: Trust in G-d, and keep your weapon clean.
No, the mountain is located in Sunland Park, NM
Guess they diverted the mighty Rio Grande a bit south....
Well, it sounds like Mexico.
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