Some weeks ago a rugged old warrior left the Tibetan frontier for his home in Califor~ nia. W. H. Standifira, with his wife and little boy Wes, arrived in China in 1932, The Tibetan border being their objective they made the long, arduous journeys across Yunnan, up the dangerous V-shaped gorges of the Mekong, across the: Yangtze at Juba-long, to the little semi-Tibetan city of Batang, This'long journey took them through robber country where the Duncans and Mac-leads were robbed of all their earthly possessions, and with their little children left with only the clothes they were wearing. Between Yenching and Batang the Standifirds spent some time with one of the biggest brigand incarnations on the Tibetan frontier, and the Namka Lama entertained the Americans with, the gentle purpose of assessing his Visitors. Mr. Standifird claims he belongs to particular denomination; his religious outlook, however, inclines towards what is known as Pentecostalism. If one lived next door to him he might put him down as a Holy Roller. When the Standifirds were in residence with the Namka Lama they saw much of the stuff that had been robbed from the Duncans and the Macieods, The Namba incarnation soon made the discovery that he was not entertaining Presbyterious or even Anglicans. The Standifirds, father, mother, and son, firmly believed in the roving personality of the Devil, and were prepared to resist him at every turn, They discovered that the Namka lamasery was the dark abode of demonism in every shape and form. They were assured that devils and demons and unclean spirits, thousands of them, made the Namka lamasery their habitat, Luther threw an ink pot at the devil but Standifirds seemed to have a more effective method. They sang and sang and sang till the walls of the lamasery resounded with their hymns. And this proved too much for he brigand incarnation. The Standifirds were poor so the Namka Lama invited them to move on. Apparently they were not \worth robbing, so unmolested they continued their Journey up the Yantze to the famous little city of Batang. Here they lived for some time before coming out to Tachienlu in the summer of 1933.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.