LIBRARY OF CONGRESS.

Chap.n^_6i Copyright

Slielf_.S_3_l_,

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

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Boundary of Department __ Horse Paths

Macadnmized Highway

A
Copyright 1898, by

Country Roads
Rivers

---

Mountains
Railroads

Wm. H.

Lee

MAP OF PORTO
Specially designed for this work from the best authority and personal observation.

RICO
Showing the physical
formation, the political divisions, railroads,
rule.

highways, country roads, and pony paths. The colors on the map indicate the seven departments under Spanish

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THE STORY OF

BEAUTIFUL PORTO RICO

Gen. Miles, Commanaer-in-Cbief of the American Army.

(Taken at Ponce.)

THE STORY
OF

Beautiful Porto Rico

A GRAPHIC DESCRIPTION
OF

THE GARDEN SPOT OF THE WORLD

BY

PEN AND CAMERA

COMPRISING
The History, Geography,
Soil,

Climate, Inhabitants, Customs, Churches,

Schools, Rivers, Lakes, Mountains, Mines, Products, Imports,

Exports, Current Prices, Scenes of the Invasion,

Railroads, Public Roads, Telegraph, Tele-

phone, Money, Measures, Etc.

BY C.

H.

RECTOR

PROFUSELY ILLUSTRATED
With Nearly Sixty Half-Tone Reproductions from Fresh Photographs by the
Celebrated Artist

WILBUR
Two Maps

F.

TURNER
Work

AND
Especially Designed for this

CHICAGO
LAIRD & LEE, PUBLISHERS
1898

Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1898,

BY WM.
in

H. LEE,

the

office of

the Librarian of Congress at Washington,

All

D.C.

Rights Reserved.

2)ebicateb
TO

OUR ARMY AND NAVY, PRESIDENT McKINLEY, HIS CABINET AND THE PUBLIC WHO AIDED SO GENEROUSLY IN
ACHIEVING

THE TRIUMP^:\NT RESULTS OF THE

HISPANO-AMERICAN WAR.

INDEX
PAGE

A Welcome
History of Porto Rico

13
21,

Geography, Provinces and Population

25

The Soil The Climate The Inhabitants

Schools and Education

38
41

46 50
54 57
73

Church and Religion

Products

Fodder and Poultry Insects, Game, Fish and Birds Rivers, Lakes and Lagoons Harbors
Cattle,

78

82 86 90

Mountains, Mines, Caves, etc

Public Roads
Railroads and Street Cars

97
105

Telegraph and Telephones Measures and Money Miscellaneous Information Peculiarities of Porto Rican Life An Object Lesson The Market of Ponce

113 117
121

126

134

137
145

The

Capital

Legend An American Hero's Grave

149 154
158
161
,

The Red Cross

A A

Spanish Officer's Sword Typical Hacienda Owner

Editor's

166 169 174 178 183

Spanish Sincerity

An

View
,

Looking Backward. Looking Forward

INDEX TO ILLUSTRATIONS

General Miles in Ponce, Frontispiece.

Page
-

Map Showing Topography

Camp
Company H,
American

of Porto Rico,
-

8
11

of the Sixth Illinois, at Ponce,

Sixteenth Penna. Vols., Before Abonito,

-

12
-

Street and Public Square, San German,

15 16

War

Vessels at

Anchor

in
-

Guanica Bay,
-

San Antonio Bridges, San Juan,

19

Looking Across the Lagoon from San Juan,

20
-

The Only

Protestant Church in Porto Rico,

at Arecibo,

Plaza and Cathedral

-----

23

24

Cathedral and Public Square in Mayaguez

Statue of Columbus, and U.
Bird's- Eye
S.

Showing
28 31
-

Cavalryman on Guard,
-

View

of Ponce,
-

Plaza, or Public Square, Ponce,

35
39

Typical View Along the Highways,

Garden in Porto Rico,

43

Group of Native View

Women

and Children, Mayaguez,

47 48

Fire Engine House, Ponce,

of

San German

Natives
-

in Foreground,

51

Cathedral, Ponce,

55
-

The Royal Palm,

Sugar Cane
Breaking

.-

59

Pack Train, Carrying Coffee to Market,

Plantation,
to

60
63

Camp

Return Home,
S. Volunteers),
-

67
71
'^'5

Provisional Engineers (Officers of U.

Grass Peddler,

After a Fishing Trip,

-------

80

Street Scene in San German,

83

"

INDEX TO ILLUSTRATIONS.
Company "A, "First
Illinois,

----Supplies,
-

Page

84^

Train of

Ox

Carts, Carrying

Army

88
92

Battery "M, " Seventh Artillery, Ready for Action,

The Famous Quintana

Baths, Near Ponce,

-

. -

95 99

A Mountain

Trip by Pony Path,

-

Spanish Barracks in San Juan,

-
-

103

Railway Depot and Yard

at Ponce,

.
-

107
-

Engine and Train, Narrow Gauge Road,

m
115
119'

Street in Ponce,

Hdqrs. of Gen's Miles and Wilson during Invasion,

Camp

of Battery "C, " Pennsylvania Volunteers,

123

The Porto Rican Milkman,

127
-

Porto Rican Funeral Procession,

Vaults,

A View of Cemetery A Group of Spanish

Busy Scene View
in

Officers

Officers of the Sixth Illinois Volunteers,

Market Place,

Market Hall, Ponce,

of

----------------

131

132 135
13(5
'

and

Soldiers,

I39 143

San Juan, Capital of Porto Rico,

144 147

Rear View of Morro Castle, San Juan, Old Cathedral, Port Ponce Camp of Battery "E,

Pennsylvania Volunteers,

------

151

General View of Cemetery in Porto Rico,

155
-

Scene

in a

Spanish Hospital, San Juan,

-

159 160

Ambulances of the American Army,

Spanish Transports, San Juan Harbor,

163 167

A A

Rich Man's Plantation, and Driveway,

Peon's

Home Under Banana

"M,
"

Trees,

168
171

Camp

of Battery

American Boys Amusing Themselves After the Victory,

American

175

War

Ships in Guanica Bay,

179

WILBUR

F.

TURNER

CHARLES

H.

RECTOR

and author of 'Beautiful gentlemen made a trip which practically covered the whole island, sailing around the greater part of the coast twice, and later traveling some three hundred miles inland by railroad, coach and native pony. They passed through fourteen towns while yet occupied by the Spanish army, having many thrilling experiences. They climbed to
faithfully picture the artist
'

THE Above Cuts These

Porto Rico.
' '

the mountain tops, and investigated the

tions

management

of the great plantafirst

where

coffee

is

grown, and were unquestionably the

men

to

cover this entire territory and secure facts and figures on the ground, with no guesswork, and to secure life-like pictures of the natives, with their
surroundings.

and many times they resorted to At Abonito the Spanish Commander was induced to loan his private carriage to carry them out of the Spanish lines, which was a queer procedure in time of war. By making
trip

The

was

full of risk,

heroic measures to pass Spanish garrisons.

this successful trip these

gentlemen are able mation never before published.

to give to the

world infor-

THE PUBLISHERS.

si
O
oo

A WELCO/nE,
When
land,
sister^

your brother marries a stranger

in a distant

you are happy

to receive the hkeness of the

new

with a few Unes descriptive of her features and

qualities.

complexion, and of her

Our

family of States has just received an addition,

It is true

Porto Rico.
status of the

we do not know
will
it

yet

what the

new member
to stay,

be in our family, but

she has

come

and

will

be well to

make

her

acquaintance.
I

should

like to introduce the reader, as I

was

in-

troduced

sailing over the shining sea

and beholding

the island emerge suddenly out of a mist, a dazzling

beauty.

The sun suddenly

dispersed

the

veil

of

vapors hiding her, and disclosed to our admiring eyes,

beyond the

flashing,

dancing waters and against a deep

blue sky, a gigantic and perfect garden.

9

Were

they

10 trees or

A WEIvCOMB.
mountain tops?

Rows behind rows

of

green

wavy

lines, rising

from the very shore

to a height of

4,000 feet and more.

Who
it

would not

fall in

love with

such a picture?
injustice,

Could

be that there was suffering,

those

oppression
there

between
a spot

verdant

hills?

Surely,

if

was

on earth where human

beings might be just and kind and happy without

great exertion, this must be the place.

And

if

the
of a
will

notions and laws of the old regime are in the

peaceful and successful pursuit of happiness,

way
we

wipe them out.

Our new
to love

sister shall

enjoy our liberty

and

will

soon learn

our ways.

HISTORY OF PORTO RICO.

It

was Columbus who discovered and named Porto

Rico.

On

the 16th day of

November
island,

1493, during his

second voyage, he sighted the

disembarked and

landed on the 19th day of the same month, and, struck

by the beauty and

fertility of

the land, called

it

Puerto
of

Rico, which signifies "Rich Port".

readers

Those

my

who have

seen with

their

own

eyes

what

Columbus saw,

will testify that

Christopher evidently
it,

knew

good thing when he saw

name.

and was not

at a

loss for a suitable

The

natives called the island

"Borinquen".
Sixteen years after the
first

discovery, in 1509, the

Spanish established the

Caparra, under

first

settlement on the island,

Don Juan Ponce

13

de Leon, and from

that time on, a steady stream of Spaniards slowly but

14

HISTORY OF PORTO RICO.

The
histale,

surely displaced the gentle Indian natives.

tory of these Aborigines was the

same

pitiful

wherever the Spanish gained a foothold.

Rico hardly a trace of the Indian blood
ered
cradle
is

In Porto

to

be discovthe
in

among
of
its

the

population

to-day.

Caparra,

the
site

'Tuertoriquenos" was abandoned

is

1552;

called

Ouebrada Margarita

to-day.

But

as a lasting
city in

monument

to the daring pioneer, the

second

importance of the island perpetuates his

name. Ponce.

We
pal

give the dates of the settlement of

all

the princi-

places

on

the

island

later

on,

and-

confine

ourselves here to an outline of the history of the whole

island.

The

capital,

whose

full

name

is

San Juan Batista de

de

Puerto Rico, was founded by

Don Juan Ponce

first

Leon

in 1511, the

Casa Blanca being the

building

erected.

In the same year, the town of San. German, in the

west of the island, was founded by Captain Miguel

Toro.

San German preserves, more than the

Its

capital,

the features of the past.

inhabitants are very

history.

proud

of their quaint

town and

its

Especially

do they glory

in relating

an incident of the English

HISTORY OF PORTO RICO.

invasion
of

17

1743,

when

the

patriotic

and

valiant

burghers of San German met the invaders half way

between

their city

and Guanica Bay where the English

had landed, (and where on July 25th, 1898, General

Miles forced an entrance,) defeated them and drove

them back For

all

into their ships.

that,

they will be good American citizens.

their

Sober and practical people, they have accepted

fate.

When
If

gentleman

in the author's

company

ex-

hibited a tiny
lustily.

American

flag, the

Porto Ricans cheered

good judgment and

tactful respect for their

officials,

prejudices and habits are

will

shown by our

they
little

be valuable citizens in the near future.

In a

book, authorized by the Spanish Administration of

Porto Rico, as a school book, the character

habitants
this
is

of the inif

stated to be "frank

and expansive," and

be a true estimation, they will blend well with the

'"Yankees" of these latter days, to be sure.

In
all,

the island

was invaded nine times, owing

to

the ''codicia" (covetousness) of the foreigners, as the

little

book

referred to states.

The French invaded

the

island in 1538.
island a visit

The English under Drake

paid the

and sacked the

capital in 1595.

Three

years later, the Earl of Cumberland repeated the pro-

18

HISTORY OF PORTO RICO.

In 1625 Baldwin Heinrich, a

cess with, much zest.

Dutch Commander,
tello del

lost his life in

an attack on Cas-

Mono.

After that the English monopolized

their prey in 1678,

the business,

swooping down on

1702, 1703, 1743 and, for the last time, in 1797.

In 1820, a movement was

of independence

made toward
of the

a declaration

on the part
the

Porto Ricans, but

the Spanish stifled

rebellion

and regained the

upper hand
In 1824,

in 1823.

Commodore

Porter of the United States,

during his successful raids on the West Indian pirates,

invaded the island, and seventy-five years later on,

May

12th, 1898,

Admiral Sampson appeared before

San Juan and bombarded the ports during three

hours.
It is a

coincidence worth noting, that on July

25th, the day

when

the

rumor went abroad

first

that

Spain was ready to yield to the inevitable, and when

General Merritt reached Manila, the American forces

under General Miles also landed

at

Guanica Bay,

Porto Rico, hoisting the American flag over the town

after

an insignificant skirmish.
11th, 1898, a protocol
of

On August
Rico
to the

was signed

at

Washington, by the terms

United
States.

which Spain ceded Porto

GEOGRAPHY.

21

On

October 18th, 1898, General Brooke took formal

possession of the island.

raising the flag over

The simple ceremonies

of

San Juan, the

capital, included

music by the military bands and the

firing of guns.

GEOGRAPHY.
Porto Rico
is

situated between longitude 9 degrees

44 minutes and 11 degrees 25 minutes east from

Washington and between

utes
is

latitude 17 degrees 54

minIt

and 18 degrees 30 minutes 40 seconds north.

the Atlantic ocean,
of the Antilles,

bounded on the north by

and south by the Sea

on the

east

and on the

west byAIona Channel.

The

island

is

ninety-five miles

long and thirty-five miles broad, with an estimated

area of 3,668 square miles.
of 1887, the population

According

to the census

was 813,937,

of

which more
of

than 300,000 were negroes.

railway, about 150 miles of

There are 137 miles

wagon

road, 470 miles of

telegraph lines and telephone systems.

San Juan, the

capital,

on the northern coast,

is

sit-

uated upon a small island connected with the main

land by a substantial arched stone bridge,

named San

22

GEOGRAPHY.
At
the

Antonio, and also two iron railroad bridges.

extremity of the island are the high
port El
fies,

cliffs

which supsigniit

Morro

Castle

(Morro means round, and

therefore, the old fashioned fort, as

we

see

on

Governor's island.

New York

harbor, and in Castle

Garden,

New

York.)

Ponce, a great mercantile center and the second

city of

importance,
It

is

about two miles from the south

of a military of

coast.

was the residence

commander
The
is

and the

seat of

an

official

chamber

commerce.

only Protestant church in the Spanish

here.

West

Indies

The

little

book already spoken

of teaches that

Porto Rico enjoys ''tolerancia de cultos" (religious

tolerance)^ but this church

was found

tightly closed
is

by our

soldiers.

Playa

is

the city's seaport, and

considered the healthiest spot on the island, and sec-

ond port

in importance.

Mayaguez, the
part.
It

third city,

is

situated in the west

exports sugar, coffee, oranges, pineapples

and cocoanuts.
in price

The annual export

is

of coffee,

ranging

with Java,

170,000 hundredweights.
'that

Of

the

180,000 bags of flour

the island

buys annually

from the United States, 50,000 are imported into

Mayaguez.

PROVINCES AND POPULATION.

Other principal
cities, all ports,

25

are Aquadiila

on the

north-west, Arecibo on the north coast, Fajardo and

Nagabo on
east.

the east side,

and Arroyo on the south-

Detailed information about rivers, mountains,

roads,
etc., will

rail-

be found under special headings.

See

index.

PROVINCES AND POPULATION.

Each town had
neighborhood
in

jurisdiction
it

over the immediate

located,

which

was

and below

is

given the population of the jurisdiction, together with

the year in which the

town was founded and

the total

number

of plantations of various kinds in the province,

according to the directory of the island and other

ofhcial records.

BAYAMON PROVINCE.
Year
Population.

Name.

Founded.
1772 1795 1842 1719

Bayamon
Ccrozal

15,316
9,652
3,985

Dorado
Loiza
Naranjito

9,600
6,6ol

1824

Rio Piedras

1774

11,042

26

PROVINCES AND POPUIvATION.

Name.
Year Founded.
1840 1857 1751 1745 1801

Population.

Rio Grande
Carolina

6,237

11,042
6,808

Toa-Alta

Toa-Baja
Trujillo Alto

3,285

4,015
5,498

Vega-Alto

1775 1776

Vega-Baja
Total population

10,648

103,789

Cane

plantations,, 88; coffee, 275; fruits, 2,446.

ARECIBO PROVINCE.
Arecibo

1778
1807

29,722
9,181

Camuy
Ciales

1820 1823
1882

13,036
9,671 6,246

Hatillo

Barceloneta

Manati

1838 1818
1823

8,191

Morovis
Quebradillas

11,567
5,929

Utuado
Total population

1789

31,292

124,835

Cane
2,849.

plantations, 38; coffee, 396; tobacco, 66; fruits,

PROVINCES AND POPULATION.

AGUADILLA PROVINCE.

29

Name.
Aguadilla

Year Founded.
1775 1511

PopulatTon.

13,306
9,557

Aguada
Isabela

1819
1829

12,554
17,163

Lares

Moca
San Sebastian Rincon
Total population

1774
1752

11,092

14,042
5,837

1770

83,551

Cane

plantations, 40; colfce, 300; fruits, 2,394.

MAYAGUEZ PROVINCE.
Mayaguez
Anasco
1760
1703
1771
28,246
12,437

Cabo Rojo
Sabana Grande

16,844
9,611

1814
1511

San German
Las Marias

19,933
9,792
3,199 7,728 9,192

1871
1876

Hormigueros
Maricao
Lajas
Total population
o

1876
1883

116,982

Cane

plantations, 90; coffee, 778; fruits, 2,535.

30

PROVINCES AND POPUIyATION,

PONCE PROVINCE.

Name.
Ponce
Adjiintas

Year Founded.
1752
1815 1825
1803

Population.

42,705
16,321
6,397
5,828

Aibonito
Barranqiiitas

Barros

1825
1646 1833 1798

11,697 10,537
7,805

Coamo
Guayanilla

Juana Diaz
Penuelas
Santa Isabel

21,032
,

1793
1841

10,023

3,384

Yauco
Total population

1756

24,411

160,140

Cane
fruits,

plantations, 49; coffee, 7,453; tobacco, 570;

9,260

PROVINCES AND POPUI<ATION.

33

GUAYAMA PROVINCE.
Name.
Year Founded.
1730

Population.

Guayama
Arroyo
Aguas-Buenas
Caguas

13,648
6,040

1855

1838
1775 1774
1809 1815

6,844

15,031

Cayey
Cidra

12,452
6,365 7,202

Gurabo
Juncos

1797
1811
1851
del

7,414

Hato-Grande
Salinas

12,738

4,314
6,739

Sabana

Palmar

1826

Total population

98,787

Cane

plantations,

38; coffee, 2,034; tobacco, 40;

fruits, 3,563.

34

PROVINCES AND POPULATION.

HUMACAO PROVINCE.
Year
Population.

Name.

Founded.
1793

Humacao
Ceiba

14,936

1838

4,314
8,794
6,579

Fajardo
Ltiquillo

1774
1797
1799

Maunabo Naguabo
Patillas

5,823

1794
1811 1801

9,914

10,553
8,028

Piedras

Yabucoa
Isle

1793

13,103
6,019

de Vieques

1843

Total population

88,063

Cane

plantations, 60; coffee, 317; fruits, 1,892.

COMBINED POPULATION OF PROVINCES.

San Juan, by
last

census

32,800

Bayamon, by old census report

Arecibo, by old census report
Aguadilla, by old census report

103,789

124,835
83,551

Mayaguez, by old census report.

Ponce, by old census report

116,982
160,140
98,787
88,063

Guayama, by

old census report

Humacao, by

old census report

Total population

818,947

PROVINCES AND POPUI.ATION.

The

37

figures given above of the population will vary

somewhat when
Hshed.
figures,

the

new census
I

of the island

is

pub-

In a few of the towns

looked up the

official

which were completed but not published, and

in every instance.
it

found an increase

In regard to the number of plantations given,

should be noted that those referred to as

tions are almost
all

fruit planta-

small patches.

Some

of the coffee
size,

and cane plantations are

large, or fair in

and

much

of the land

is

held by large owners and leased

or rented on conditions long established in the island.

Inmany

instances the cane land has not

beenworked

of late years.

Much

of

it is

idle or

used for grazing.

extensively

This industry

will certainly

be

much more

carried on now.

In

fact, a

great increase

may

be made

in all the products of the island,

and

this result

may

be

confidently expected.

It

takes time to bring

state,

cofifee,
is

cocoanuts and such to a bearing

still

but there

room

for planting,

and with the whole United

States as a market, the prospects of this garden, called

Porto Rico, must be admitted

to

be bright indeed.

38

THE
The
soil

SOIL.
is

island undoubtedly
is

of volcanic origin.

The

generally

clay, red in color, closely

resembling
is

the waste found around a brickyard

where red brick

made.

In the bottoms of the numberless valleys the

vegetable
alluvial
is

decaying

matter

has

accumulated

and
feris

formed an
tility of

stratum of darker hue.

The

the soil

marvellous.

The use

of fertilizers

unknown, because
is

entirely unnecessary.

The

visitor

struck, as

Columbus was, with

the luxurious vege-

tation.

The lowlands,

especially in the south, are cov-

ered with sugar-cane

the hill-sides are one

fields, lined

with cocoanut palms,

mass

of orange,

lemon and lime

orchards, interspersed with fields of pineapples and

palm

forests.

The rocky

tops of the

hills

and moun-

tains are

crowned by the

coffee plantations.

Banana

trees

grow everywhere.
is

The
set
ofif

rich

deep green of the

of of

scenery

relieved

and

by a superabundance

the most gorgeous flowers and blossoms. the flowers

Some

grow

in clusters fully a

yard long, hanging

down from

large beautiful trees by the thousand,

and

are in blossom the year around.

Spring reigns perpetually, and there are three or

four harvest seasons during the year.

THE

CIvIMATE.

41

No
toes,

cereals,

such as wheat, rye or oats, are raised;

these thrive better under a Minnesota sky.

The

pota-

grown

in

small quantities, are of an inferior

quality.

THE CLIMATE.
The temperature,
zone,
is

as

must be expected

in the torrid
is

always high, but the island, being so small,

swept

in its

whole extent by an almost constant seaIn consequence, the mer-

breeze from the north-east.

cury rarely

rises

above 86 degrees Fahrenheit (30 deit

grees Cent.), nor does

enheit (15

sink below 59 degrees Fahr-

degrees Cent.).

The highest

point ever

reached

in the last five years

was 92 degrees.
1st,

The hot season

sets in

about July

and

lasts

till

the latter part of September.

The

rainy season
in

comDe-

mences
cember.

in the latter part of

August, and ends

During

the heated term the

morning hours

are the hottest part of the day.

By

10 o'clock a strong

sea-breeze brings
ful

relief,

and, together with the plentilife

shade everywhere, renders

rainy season
It
is

very comfortable.

The

not as terrible as

many

people

imagine.

does not rain incessantly, but there are

frequent heavy showers, after which the sky clears

42

THE

CIvIMATB.

again in surprising rapidity.

As

the island
is

is

one

mass

of hills,

and even the southern plane

inclined

seaward, the torrents of rain disappear as suddenly as

they come.
again,

In an incredibly short time

all

is

dry
the
a

and everything greener and fresher

for

shower-bath.
drenching.

Nor do
There
is

the inhabitants

seem

to

mind

no

chill,
if

and the
change

light clothing
is

dries quickly

on the body,

too trouble-

some. Violent windstorms or tornadoes are unknown;

none

is

recorded after the year 1828.

is.

Porto Rico
globe.
fruits,

one of the most healthful spots on the

in

With proper judgment

and
if

eating of the tropical

care

is

taken not to sleep in a draught,

no

fear

need be entertained of fevers and other diseases

to
this
it

peculiar

latitude.

To

sleep

in

draught,

however, be

ever so slight, seems to be

fatal.

Colds

and catarrh, consumption and bronchitis are

ailments

common

among

the natives.

The

sanitary arrangements on the island are not in

keeping with American ideas, but the abundance of

running water and

toward the

the natural slope of the

ground

sea, in all directions,

has been a natural

substitute for artificial sewerage

and draining, so that

the conditions are not so bad, in spite of the customs

THE CLIMATE.
and habits
of
is

45

an indolent population.

The

capital,

San Juan,
needed.

just building an aqueduct, very

city stands

much

The

on a small

island,

and the

houses are built closely together, having two stories

each, which
is

unusual

in

Porto Rico.

At present

the

people of the capital depend for their water supply

entirely

upon

rain-water, caught
to

upon

the

flat

roofs

and conducted

the

cistern,

which occupies the

(the
essential

greater part of the inner court-yard,

part of every Spanish house the world over, but here

exceedingly small on account of the narrow confines

of the island).
is

Another large part

of the court (patio)

its

occupied by the vault (cesspool), and, of course,

is

close proximity to the cistern

a source of frequent

epidemics.

American

enterprise

is

sure to introduce at once

modern

ideas as to sewerage, surface draining and

all

aqueducts, stamping out

fevers;

and a sure cure

for

the bronchial and lung troubles of the natives

may

be

found

in a httle healthful physical exercise, to

at present
is

which

your Porto Rican

a perfect stranger.

The

lack of muscular exertion, together with the effects of

the everlasting cigar or cigarette, and the

enormous
left

amount

of strons: coffee

consumed

dailv,

have

the

46

THE INHABITANTS.
Outdoor
will

Porto Rican a poor specimen of manhood.

exercise,

embracing

athletics,

football,

etc.,

be
tO'

among
them.

the greatest blessings that

we can bring

THE INHABITANTS.
In complexion the inhabitants of the island vary

from a very deep black

to a light

brown.

The colored

people represent the darker shades and the Spaniards

the lighter, but a real coal-black African
rarely to be found as a really white
is

just as of the

member

white race.
In character, language, actions and gestures, the

Spanish and the native Porto Rican are not distinguishable to an American eye.

The men

are spare in
to their

build, with a fair average in height.

Owing

indolent
carriage,

life,

they are not muscular, but straight in

lively in

and

manners, and the author found

little

them frank and generous. Their

ever to be a

island is too small

kingdom

or republic by

itself,

and so they
little,

have

felt

the heartburns of the

Cuban

patriot but

nor have they ever been jealous or envious of other nations.

Friendly with

all

the world, satisfied with their

country, without a possible national ambition, and by

THE INHABITANTS.

49

the very nature of their country compelled and enabled

to trade with

anybody and everybody, they

hearts

are cosmoto

politan

in

their

and were ready

become

Americans, as they knew that the change would only

tend to enhance their liberties without threatening a
single one of their interests.

This seems to be the

natural explanation of the cordial reception with which

our American boys and our flag met

down

there at

their first appearance, so surprising to ourselves

all

and

the world, and especially to tHe people of Spain,

who

could not understand

it,

since the Porto Ricans

had not rebelled against the mother country but once,

and that so long ago that hardly one
in a

thousand

had ever heard

of

it.

The author found

the

men

he met socially pleasant,

in

generous and eager to please, gentlemanly

respect.

every

They

lack

some

of the qualities of the stalis

wart American type, but

ditions.

this

due to their

civic con-

Without

a voioe in the

government

of state,

district or city,

without a voice in matters pertaining to

tariff,
is

church or school, taxes or

they lack

all political

training and their horizon

limited by that nnich.

The

laborers and lower classes are no doubt lazier

if

than their Northern brethren, but

we

i:ake into ac-

50

SCHOOLS AND EDUCATION.

count the climate and the impossibility under Spanish

rule to ever rise

by the work

of their hands,

we may
flag wid-

entertain the

hope that under the American

will

ened chances

spur them' into greater and remu-

nerative activity.

The

fair

sex in Porto Rico

is

of the

same dark com-

plexion as the men.

They

are as a rule
I

plump and

good-looking.
but
little

Beyond, this

cannot say, having seen

hurried travels.
all

of
I

them during
saw more,

my
In

Of

the

children

fact

there

could

be

seen In most cases.

Up

to their sixth or

seventh year

they wear no clothes at

all,

but run around "clad in in-

nocence."

Their plays are quieter than those of our

boys and children, but the author frequently noticed

their jolly good-naturedness.

SCHOOLS AND EDUCATION.

According
to
statistics

there

are

445

primary
girls,

schools in Porto Rico, 299 for boys and 146 for

attended by 31,541 pupils of both sexes.

that attendance
Is

It is stated

compulsory, instruction free to the

etc.,

poor, and they are furnished books, paper,

of charge.

free

In view of this

oflficial

statement,

it

was surprising

to

SCHOOLS AND EDUCATION.

53

find that so few people could either read or write, ac-

cording to an estimate by a Porto Rican, in a position

to be well informed, only
lation.

about

per cent, oi the poputhat

Even

if

we do not assume

compulsory

education exists on paper only, like religious tolerance,

it

will

be possible to reconcile the two

facts,

by

considering that the schools are entirely under the

guidance of the Catholic Church, and that the greater

part of the school hours
is

devoted to the instruction

and

drill of

the children in the ceremonial and devoof

tional

exercises

the

Catholic

ritual,
all

and

to

the

legends of saints and martyrs, for

of

which neither

reading or writing

is

required.

The

school

buildings

which

we
some

saw,
of

were

of

the poorest possible description,

them hardly

deserving to be called anything better than a shed.

Scores of fine cathedrals and the substantial guard-

houses for the soldiers on the royal highways formed

a significant contrast to these apologies for school
houses.

The introduction
tem
will

of the

American public school

in this

sys-

work
It

a radical

change

most important
and prepare

matter.

will take

some time

to find

the proper teachers, however, because they

must speak

54

CHURCH AND
it

REIvIGION.

Spanish and pronounce

well, or the children will not

in plan-

understand them; but we should lose no time

ning and starting the great work.

Institutions for secondary education are scarce
the island.

on

CHURCH AND RELIGION.

The Roman
one
existino- in

Catholic Church religion

is

the only

Porto Rico.

It is

the official or state

religion

and the churches and the clergy are supported

by the state from general taxes.

bishop

The

island has a

who

is

subordinate to the archbishop of San-

tiago de Cuba.

We,
the

in

the United States, have

in

no conception

of
life

manner

which the whole public and private

is

in countries exclusively catholic,

pervaded by the

intimate relations to the clergy.

We

took pains to get the opinion of the Porto

effect

Ricans as to the

of the

imminent

arrival

of

American protestant missionaries, and were surprised

to find

much

Indifference,

57

PRODUCTS.
The
coffee,
fruits

principal products of Porto Rico are sugar,

tobacco, and cocoanuts,

but the variety of

these

and vegetables outside

oranges,

of

named
limes,

are

almost innumerable,
apples,

lemons,

pine-

bananas,

alligator

pears,

mangoes,

papas,
corn,

mamas and

guavas, and of vegetables, beans,

rice,

sweet potatoes, and almost every vegetable that grows

in our land.

All are plentiful.

Wheat,

rye, oats

and

barley must be imported; the potatoes raised are of a

poor

quality.
it

The time

takes various fruits and vegetation to

bear or mature differs greatly.

The

coffee tree takes

is

four years to produce, and then the yield

small,

and

not
best.

till

the tree

is

seven years old

is it

counted

at its

Before planting coffee a plentiful shade must be

provided.

For the

first

two years

temporary shade

is

furnished by banana trees, and after that larger trees

are planted and trained to give a

permanent shade.
is

Passing through a coffee plantation

like

going

through a jungle.
plantation give
the
it

The

large shade trees on an old

the appearance of a forest, and then

coffee
trees
till

growth

of

beneath

their

greater

friends, spread

and bend,

the narrow space of nine

"

58

PRODUCTS.
is

or ten feet between

covered and the branches inter-

twine and weave together, forming one thick mass of shrubbery.

Beneath

all

this

you

will

find

another

growth
with

of vegetation in grass, flowers, vines, etc.,

and
the

this

bottom mat,

the

dense
is

shade

and

almost daily rains, the coffee grove

always wet, and

you cannot pass through without being draggled.

A
is

new
year.

plantation gives

some returns

after

the fourth a

After the seventh year a good plantation

gold mine for twenty-five years to come.

The

trees are planted about three Spanish yards or

is

varas apart, (a vara

about 33 inches), and an acre

will

is

about 75 varas square, which

coffee trees to an acre.
I

make about 625

could get no reliable inforacre, but the

mation as to what the yield was per

profit
is

known
feet

to

be very large.

The

trees

grow

about eight
the

high and send out new shoots from

ground
is

in different directions,

and each and every

stem

loaded with the highly-prized berries, each

berry containing two of what

we term

grains of coffee.

The stem

is

the size of a lead pencil, or less, and prac-

tically lined

from end

to

end with berries.

The

berries

will
in

grow

to the length of half an inch

and a

little less

diameter, being

somewhat oblong, holding a

rich,

PRODUCTS.
dark green color
till

61

ripening time, about the 1st of

October, when they turn a bright rich red color.

Their
brittle skin

contains a kind of jelh around the

two grains of

coffee.
is

The

skin

is

broken by a maof all ad-

chine and the coffee

washed and cleansed

herent matter, and then dried on racks or cement beds

in a

few hours and

is

is

ready for the market.

as

Porto

Rican coffee

as

good

any

in the

world and com-

mands

a price equal to that of Java.

in the island

There are excellent coffee plantations

that are

miles
little
life

up

the mountains, being accessible

only
paths.

by

native

pack ponies
is

over mountain
not so bad

The

of a coffee planter

when
will

you think

of the value of the crop, as a little

pony

carry out at one time from a hundred to one hundred

and

fifty

pounds

of coffee,

which means to the owner

This

of the hacienda
to

from 20
life,

to 30 dollars.
it

may

look

some

as a slow

but

very closely resembles a

gold mine as the years go on.

coffee out of Porto
for

The exportation
last

of

Rico by the

published report

one year was $8,789,788 worth.

in

Sugar cane

is

the
will

next crop

value in Porto Rico.

This crop

bear in nine months after planting, and will produce

well for about seven years thereafter without replant-

62
ing.
It
is

PRODUCTS.
a valuable crop.

The

fields

seem

to be

covered so thick that there could not be found room

for

any more

stalks.

The discouraging conditions

more on

in

the island the last few years have told

the

sugar industry than on anything

else,

and today there

idle,

may

be seen

many

fine

cane plantations lying

and

the buildings falling to decay, which

their architecture

show

plainly by

and extent

that they

have seen pros-

perous times.

Acres and acres of sugar land are today

cattle,

given up to grazing of immense herds of native

as the cultivating in years past
profitable.

was found

to be unin the

There seems

to

be nothing different

appearance of the cane when growing, or the manage-

ment
fields

of

an

estate,

from what we see

This business
life

in

our

own

cane

of Louisiana.

will

beyond any

doubt take on new

tion
of
this

now, and perhaps our occupawill

tell

territory

more on
of

the
the

sugar
island.

trade

than

on

any

other

business

Sugar haciendas are quite

and river
valleys,

plentiful along the coast

and when encouraged, and properly

cultivated, will, like the coffee, be a gold mine.

The land

today

is

held at from $100 to $200 per acre

prices
is

American
last report

money

but the

may

vary from this when some

basis for business

established there.

The

PRODUCTS.

65

published of the value of one year's sugar product exported, was $3,747,891.

This amount

will
life.

probably

be doubled,

when
is

the industry takes

is

new

Tobacco
the

paying crop and

It is

cultivated about

same
as.

as in the states.

not grown to such an

extent

sugar and cofYee, only $646,556 worth being

in

exported
port.

one year, according to

strong tobacco

last

published reinto cigars,

It is a

when made
it

and

it

may

be possible to improve
lands
in

by proper curing.
of

On

the high

the

vicinity

Coamo and

Abonito are the best tobacco plantations.

Cocoanuts are
a staple in the

markets.

They

are

used by the thousand, by the people of the island, and

are exported in great quantities.

person owning

one hundred acres of cocoanut

trees,

need not do any

work
in

the balance of his natural Hfe.

feet,

tree will

grow

about ten square

and

this

would give about 500

is

trees to the acre,

and each tree

valued at from one

year.

dollar to one dollar

and seventy-five cents each

This

is

for the nuts alone, without considering the fiber

that can be taken

five

from the

tree.

It

takes a tree from

it

to

seven years to mature and bear, and

is

said that a cocoanut tree

its

was never known

live

to die of

own

accord.

They

and yield continuously

66
for

PRODUCTS.
almost countless years, are pretty to look at and

rich in production.

Orange
fruit is fine

trees will bear in

about four years.

The

and

will

perhaps prove worthy of cultiva-

tion.

Lemon
are
in

trees will bear in

about four years.

Limes
in

grown

quite extensively

and are much more

use

Porto Rico than lemons.

The banana

in

Porto Rico comes nearer being

at

home

everywdiere, than any other fruit or vegetable.

the lowest lowlands to the highest hilltops the
tree

From

banana
its

may

be found, and apparently happy with

It is

load of rich

fruit.

the best friend of the people

who occupy

this land.

Its fruit is plentiful

and holds

about the same place there that our potatoes hold here.

The people would

have many

find

life

hard without them.

They

varieties,
is

which are used

in different ways.

The one

that

eaten raw as

we

eat bananas,

grows

in

small clusters and only about five inches long.

fine of

It is

meat and

rich

in

flavor.

From

this

variety

they run up to great size and length; and the larger

ones are

much

coarser and are used for cooking and

flour.

also drying

and rubbing into

The
feet,

tree will

grow
in

to

its

height from nine to fifteen

and bear

PRODUCTS.
about nine months.
at
It is rich

69
to look

and beautiful

and gives good shade.

Pineapples grow in abundance.

They bear

fruit

in

about nine months, grow very large and are of the

Will be a paying staple and

best flavor and quality.

require

little

labor, as the

same plant produces

fruit
is

many

times in succession.

The pineapple

culture

likely to be

one of the leading industries

little.

of the island.

Grapes are grown but

to thrive better in the

The grape

vine seems

temperate zone where the plant

gathers strength during the winter season.

The guava

is

a small fruit,
tree,

growing on

a tree like a
in

peach or apple
diameter.

about one and a half inches

in

Nearly round
fig.

shape with seeds like a

tomato or

This

fruit is

used extensively to make

it is

a jelly or paste.
kets.

Occasionally

found

in

our mar-

Because of the plentifulness

of the fruit
it,

and the

rich pleasant paste that can be

jelly

made from
up and

a guava-

industry

is

sure to spring

this delicacy

will

soon find a place by the side of our other sweet-

meats.
Alligator pears are plentiful and
natives.

much used by

the

They grow on
abundance

large trees and are offered

for sale in

in the

markets and by peddlers.

70

PRODUCTS.
are
three

They

times

the
in

size

of

our large

CaU-

fornia pears,
a

dark green
skin.

color and
taste
is

coated with

hard

shell-like

The

not

much

like

that of our .pear

and
it

in first

trying to eat the fruit one

of
its

may pronounce
pumpkin.

poor pear, but a good kind

or preserving
fruits

Cooking

may

bring out

hidden virtues.

Beside the

named

there are

many

others, such as the

mango, which

the natives use

extensively, but which proved to be very unhealthy to

our soldiers while doing service

fruit is large,

in

Porto Rico.

The

reddish yellow in color, and grows on

large trees in abundance.

fruit,

Then

there

is

the cactus

the

mama,

the canape and innumerable others.

all

It is a

land of fruits of

kinds and in the greatest

fruits,

abundance.

In addition to the

vegetables of

all

kinds are plentiful.

excellent.

Sweet potatoes and beans are

rice
is

The Porto Rican

of a variety that

does not" require so

much water

as the

Louisiana

rice.

Corn

is

good and three crops may be grown in one year.

all

Almost

the vegetables familiar to us are found on

the north side of the island and well

lands.

up

to the

high

For

a person with a love for a

grand garden with

Officers Of

^-^-^^^^^^^^^^

in Porto Rico, Composed of Company A, First Illinois, ana Washington, D. C. Company, in their Kitchen at the Base of a Large Tree while in Camp Near Ponce.

CATTI.E,
fruits,

FODDER AND

POUIvTRY.

73

flowers and vegetables, by the side of running

is

water, Porto Rico

portion.

the place, especially the northern

CATTLE,

FODDER AND POULTRY.

of

The stock and poultry

rior.

Porto Rico are very

or, rather,

infe-

You
little

will find

poor horses

no horses,

but

ponies weighing GOO or 700 pounds.

The

cattle are fair in size,

up

to the

average of ours, but

of the island

not the best for milk or meat.

The oxen

are perhaps superior to our own, as they are so

cular

mus-

and strong

in the neck,

having been bred for

the purpose of drawing heavy loads.

to the horns

The yoke

is

tied

by rawhide thongs, and the loads on the

two-wheeled cart are pushed up-hill and controlled

going down-hill by

their great necks.

Draught oxen are worth from 125

to 200 pesos a

yoke, according to the quality of the stock, the excellence of the

match and the care with which they have

been broken, of course.

Good
3-|

beef

is

scarce

and

brings in good times 3J or

(25 pounds).

pesos for the arroba

The

principal varieties of pasture grass

grown

in

74

CATTI.E,

FODDER AND POULTRY.

The

Porto Rico are guinea grass, para and gramma.

first
hills.

does not require a rich

soil

and grows an the

excellent green
reIt

Cut and chopped

it

makes an

fodder.

Gramma

is

about the same, while para

quires the rich, alluvial soil of the bottom land.

fattens the cattle, but does not give
flesh.

them much

solid

Cattle raisers have to contend with

two

pests, the

guava and a peculiar plant

called ''mori vivi."

The

guava

is

eaten by the cattle with avidity.

The undi-

gested seeds are scattered everywhere, take root, and,

growing and multiplying

rapidly, are

more

destructive

to a pasture than the thistle of the north.

The

''mori

vivi"

is

a sensitive plant
little

which
is

it is

hard

to fight.

The
cattle,

center of the

weed

tempting morsel for

but

it

is

surrounded by a circular row

needles, which usually he
flat

of very sharp

and
but

stifif

on the ground,

rise like the bristles of a

porcupine as soon as a
it.

cow

or steer attempts to nibble at

The

cattle

sooo

learn not to

poke

their noses into these prickles

and

the weed, unmolested, soon overruns the whole pasture, so that

it

has to be abandoned for a whole season

at times, until these pests can

be exterminated.

Cured hay

is

unknown on

the island, as green fodder

CATTIvE,
is

FODDER AND

POUIvTRY.
cities the

77

abundant

all

the year around.

In the

grass

peddler makes his daily rounds, like a milkman.

The other animals found on

goat, sheep, hog, dog,
etc.,

the island,
to be

like

the

seem

dwarfed and

need new blood

to

bring them up to a useful state

and to the

size that is

common

with

us.

The hog can

beat the long-nosed Mississippi rooter in leanness and

length of head.

The The

poultry, like the animals, are of inferior grade.

is

chicken, which
It

so useful to

man,

is

very small

in size.

looks like a species of game, not so large,

if

but even leaner, chicken family

trained for the
is

possible.

The

little

cock uf the

as

proud

as a Spaniard,

and being
fight,

pit,

would put up
officers,

good

as

some

of

our army

who

turned to

this sport

in their leisure hours, will testify.

Turkeys are

small.

They do not seem

unfit for use,

to take

on

any meat and are almost

nor can you

it is

ever call a Porto Rican turkey pretty, as

as innocent of

generally

plumage

as the children are of clothes.

This state of things was certainly brought about

by the

island being cut off from the balance of the

world, and no

new blood being taken

into the

com-

numity.

For four centuries thev have been inbred

78

INSECTS, GAME, FISH

till

AND

BIRDS,

and inbred,

they are so diminutive in size that they

It is a

are almost worthless.

grand opportunity for

our stock breeders to try experiments and see what

the
fill

country needs and what

this

will

thrive

there,
it.

and

one void

in

Porto Rico as we found

INSFXTS, GAME, FISH

There are no snakes
in

AND

BIRDS.

the island of any conse-

quence; only very small and perfectly harmless speci-

mens

are to be found.

Centipedes are quite plentiful, but are not

much

dreaded by the people.

The peons go barefoot and

They
are found prinis

seem

to

have no fear of them.

cipally
fatal.

about old buildings.

Their sting

not counted

The
came

tarantitla
in

is

also to be

found there, but

never
of

contact with one, and

know

of

no case

our soldiers being disturbed by them

in all their
I

campdo not

ing in low land and on mountain side, and

think they will seriously interfere with the enjoyment

of
life.

The

lizard

is

common and may

all

be seen
;

in all its

glory along the road, and of

less to

colors

perfectly
If

harm-

any one that

Is

not too nervous.

you are

INSECTS, GAME, FISH

nervous, you

AND

BIRDS.

81

may

find

your peace broken by feeling

in bed.

one of them glide gently over your neck when

There being no game on the

the hunter.
I

island,

it

is

no place

for

was

told,

though, that

this class

might

find entertainment

enough by simply crossing Moaia

island,

channel to

Mona

about thirty miles distant,

where

wild

hogs and goats and other game are

plentiful.

Fish are abundant around the coast and

caught, but there
line, as
ice,
is
is

many

are

no great business done

too

in this

the climate
is

warm

to

handle

fish

without

which

scarce.
at

While lying

anchor in Ponce and Mayaguez, we

fish in the

saw many large

and some
at sharks.
officers

water around the vessel,

aboard amused themselves shooting

there are any fish in the rivers
I

Whether

cannot say from

my own

knowledge, but
fish

should

judge that trout and similar

would enjoy those

mountain brooks and rushing

rivers.

Birds are not very plentiful; those seen are very

pretty; the
parrot,

the canary,

the nightingale,

the

thrush, and

manv

others.

82

RIVERS, LAKES
I

AND LAGOONS.
plentifully
is

know

of

no other land on the globe so

little

blest

with pretty

fresh-water rivers as

this

island.

In her small area of less than 4,000 square

miles,

and

v^^here the

whole island may be girdled by

find over sixty rivers

a trip of 275 miles,

we

pouring

into the seas.

None

of these are large in the sense in

which we

of the land of the Mississippi,

Ohio and

Hudson speak
a

of large rivers, but they gather quite

volume

of water in their short course.

in the

They form high up

mountains from

freshlittle

water springs, and, joining forces with

streamlets and increased

many

by the frequent

rains, they

become

of

volume enough

to float a good-sized boat

by the time they reach the

There are three

coast.

rivers of considerable importance.

The

Loiza, rising in Cerro-Gordo, near Cayey, passing

districts of

through the

San Lorenzo, Caguas, Gurabo emptying into the Atlantic

and the two

Trujillos,

ocean in the north of Loiza.

The

Plata, rising in the

Cayey

district,

on the Pelado

range, passing through the districts of Cayey, Aibonito,

Cidra,

Sabana

del

Palmar, Naranjito, the two

RIVERS; LAKES

AND LAGOONS.

85

Toas, and El Dorado emptying Into Boca-Habana, in

the north of

Lower Toa.
rising in

The Anasco,
side of the
island.

San German, on the northern

in the

Cain range, empt3ang

west of the

Of some importance
nati

are, also, the

Bayamon, Maand

and Arecibo

in

the north; the Culebrinas

Guanajibo

in the west,

and the Jacaguas and

Patillas

in the south.

This wonderful supply of water for so small a

tory
is

terri-

certainly

worthy
its its

of

comment.

It

is

to

this

wealth of water and

that the island

perfect distribution throughout

owes

beauty and

fertility.

There

is

no place where the dry season or dry weather ever

affects the crops,
is

except in the south-east corner.

It

here, perhaps, that the enterprising

American may
and

find a splendid field for the exercise of his genius

energy.

There need not be

drought
if

a crop failure
is

on account

of a

the water

properly husbanded, and the

swift currents

can easily be harnessed and made to

turn the wheels of industry, or produce an electric

current that will propel the trolley car even to the

mountain peaks, or give

light to the

homes

that are

86

HARBORS.
lighted

now

by the crude lallow dips that we delegated

to the past so

many

generations ago.

There

is

a lagoon running east

from Arecibo about

will float

one mile inland, about four miles long, which

a good-sized vessel.

Several small inland lakes

may
side.

be found along the coast, principally on the north

HARBORS.
Guanica Bay
is

on the south
It is

side of the island

and

well to the west.

beyond question the best harIt

is

bor on the whole coast of Porto Rico.

inland, with
in

deep

enough depth

of

water to carry any vessel

ordinary shipping.
first

It is

the bay where the the invasion

Ameri-

can army

landed,

when

commenced,
stock
It
is

and by building pontoon docks out 225

feet, all

was unloaded from the transports with

ease.

almost a model harbor, and with small expense can be

put in perfect condition, as
it

practically already has

depth enough and

sea.
It

is

completely protected from the

may become

the principal trading port of the

railroads

island,

when roads and

are

completed

throughout.

The harbor

of

San Juan, the

capital, is of

ample

size

HARBORS.
and
to
sufficient

89

depth of water, but the channel leading

difficult that the

it is

narrow and so

frequent storms

of the north coast seriously interfere with

trade.
It is

San Juan's

probable that the channel

will

will

be improved, as

no doubt San Juan

cipal

remain the capital and prinIt

town

of the island.

has

many
will

great advan-

tages,

and with an improved harbor,

city.

soon become

an American

The other

harbors,

some

of

them hardly

to

be

called harbors, Arecibo,

on the north, Aguadilla and

Mayaguez on

the west, Guayanilla,

Ponce and Arroyo

east, are

on the south, and Humacao on the

nothing

more than small pockets

in the

coast line, and

some

of

them nothing more than open roadways

Arecibo
tection.
is is

in the

ocean.

exposed

fully to the

ocean and has no proat

A vessel

cannot risk lying

to sea.
little

anchor

if

blow

on, but

must put

Ponce, Mayaguez, Aguabetter, but will necessitate

dilla

and Arroyo, are a

great outlay of

money

in

building docks and moles

to resist the

or breakwaters strong

enough

enormous

power

of the

ocean waves.

American

capital will find a large field in the

in all the ports of

needed

harbor improvements

Porto Rico.

90

MOUNTAINS, MINES, CAVES, ETC.

Playa
de

In

Ponce, for instance, the warehouses

seemed

to be ah

wrongly located.
first

They

certainly are

not near the place where the

shipping dock will

to

be

built.

The Spanish administration seems

have

taken absolutely no cognizance of the requirements

and

interests of

commerce.
is

At present there are no

of Hghters, a

docks.

Unloading

done by means

mile or so out in the bay.

will

Our American merchants

not stand the loss of lime and the unnecessary

expense of such a method very long.

MOUNTAINS, MINES, CAVES, ETC.

To
tion,

those approaching Porto Rico from any direcit

appears to consist of nothing but mountains,

of the

and the aspect

ally

green terraced
to a

tiers, rising

gradu-

from the coast

height varying from 670

meters (2,233

feet) in the

west to 1,520 meters (5,066

feet) in the north-east, is certainly beautiful

and very

attractive.

The highest peak

is

Mount El Yunque,

1,5^0 meters

high and visible from the sea

eight miles.
It is

at a distance of sixty-

part of the lange running east and

west, and dividing the island into the north

portions.

and south

The range extends from

the capes of

San

MOUNTAINS, MINES, CAVES, ETC.

Juan on the eastern extremity,

93

to Point Cadera, near

this

Rincon

in

the west.

From

range,

the

great

watershed of the island, the waters have run north and

south for thousands of years, washing out deep ravines

and valleys and leaving standing between them

numerable ridges, which
in turn

in-

became small water-

sheds and were cut into by the torrents of the rainy

season.

Notable high peaks are Torrecilla, between Barranquitas and Barros, 3,667 feet high;

Mata de

Platanos,

near Penuelas, 3,030 feet high; Torito, in Cayey, 2,856

feet

high; Silla de Guilarte, in Adjuntas, 3,660 feet

high, and Cerro-Gordo, in

high.

San German, 2,233

feet

In minerals the be very

rich,

little

island cannot be expected to

(at Salinas,
is

but there are three salines

Guanica and Cabo Rojo), while galena

mined

in

La Rosita

in

Guayama; gold
is

is

washed
in

in

La

Cati-

nesterlila in Luquillo; lead

found
of

Guyama, and

Hme-phosphates on the island

Mona.

There are some thermal springs, the most famous

among them being

Isabel,
in

the

Banos de Coamo, near Santa

where people
afflicted

the

south,

with

94

MOUNTAINS, MINES, CAVES, ETC.

find relief.

rheums and skin diseases

The water here

has a temperature of 113 degrees.

Two

miles from Ponce are the sulphur baths of

Quintana, the waters of which contain calcium and

soda besides the sulphur.

During the morning hours

health-seekers enjoy the baths, while the afternoon

and evening are given up

to the sporting element.

The springs

of

Juana-Diaz have the reputation of

strengthening an enfeebled stomach, and there are

others In San Sebastian, San Lorenzo and Ponce, but
their virtues
classified.

do not seem to have been discovered or

Of caves

the island contains a large number.

The

interior of the

most notable one, Aguas-Buenas, proves

It is tortuous,

the volcanic origin of the island.

with

deep recesses, but a

visit is
it,

rendered unpleasant by

clouds of bats inhabiting

and whose droppings

its

fill

the cave to about one-third of

natural height.

Of

the other caves

in

we

will

name

two, that of Ciales, and

is

Arecibo the cave called Consejo, which

interest-

ing to the geologist and traveller.

97

PUBLIC ROADS.
On
account of the topography of the island, the
built principally

pubHc roads, which the government

from a military point
outline
of view,

conform closely

to the

form

of the island,

making

the circuit, with the

exception of the south-east corner, while the south and

north coasts are, in addition, connected by two roads

running across the back of the big watershed.

of these, the road

One

from San Juan

to

Coamo,

is

a splen-

did piece of engineering, and the pride of the inhabitants

of the

whole

island.

The road

is

about 100

kilometers or sixty-three miles long, and thirty feet

wide, solidly built, macadamized and as smooth as

anything except asphalt can be.

From Coamo

the

road continues west through Ponce along the south

shore, but although
it is

very good,

it

does not com-

pare with the part

first

named.

The

''royal roads," plainly indicated

on our map,

must be

called very

good

as a whole, but outside of

them there
of.

are absolutely
this

no roads worth speaking

in

What

must mean

such a mountainous

region, where any road deserving the

name can be
be able to

built only at great expense, the reader will

98

PUBLIC ROADS.

imagine.

From Mayaguez you may

travel

due east
district

for thirty-five miles

through a weld-populated

before you reach a road, say at Utuado, and from there

to

Caguas, again due

east, is

about sixty miles between

cities

two good roads. There are roads connecting

villages, but they are so

and

rough that a carriage or wagon

would go

to pieces in the first half hour, to lead

and

in places

you have

your pony over boulders and

fallen

trees for miles.

Good roads

will

do wonders for the

country, by opening up the interior.

In traveling through the island, you nuist be a good

horseman

to

make one

of these trips
if

up the mountains.

It is thrilling

and grand

you can stay on your pony,

as he climbs

up and

slides

down

the steep banks and

I,

wallows through the

little rivers.

myself, brought
to the

some marks

of

my

trip

back with

me

United

States, in the shape of bruises.

When
comes so

the rainy season sets

in,

the clay ground be-

slippery, that the faithful animal,

its

be

it

ever

so honest, will lose a roll

footing and sometimes give you

of you.

down

the

bank and land on top

because
I I

This

tried to take as a joke

size as

was about the same

it

my

mount, and

simply acknowledged that

till

was a pony on me, and would lead him

we found

PUBLIC ROADS.
a better road.
I shall

101
I

never forget the impression

had, after climbing about two thousand feet above the

sea,

making
I

eight

miles

on the back
at

of

a pony,
be-

when

turned

and

looked

the

country

hind me.

We were

in the

midst of a

cofifee

plantation

and

in

view of the lower lands.

all

We

could see four

small towns, and the capital in

distance.

her grandeur in the

Certainly

if

you can endure the

a six

ride

and are sure that

falling

you can stand

hundred pound animal

it

on
a

you about three times,

trip.

will

pay you
a

to

make such

more pleasing view,

more exhilarating
cannot be found.
of the

atmosphere and a more

restful place

You

are disturbed

by nothing but the chatter

few birds in the trees and these pass unnoticed, as the

wild parrot does not talk our language; and the crow,
if

he ever had the caw of our American crow, has been

it

compelled to leave

ofY

and spends

his time in study-

ing the cut of your clothes.

If

you

desire to

make an extended

trip in

Porto

Rico, you may, of course, by taking plenty of time,

cover a good part of the island by sailing around

it

and landing

at

dififerent

points,

and then running

102

PUBIvIC ROADS.

inland as far as the roads are good, but this will take

much more

time,

and

will
I

be

much more

expensive.

In this connection
that occupied

should hke to speak of an idea

frequently, as I travelled along

my mind

the royal roads.

of

All along these highways, at intervals

about six miles, there stand substantial buildings,

erected for the purpose of sheltering the civil guards

or military of the island.

These houses are constructed

20x40
feet.

of

masonry, about

They

are first-class buildings and

by

slight

alterations could be

made

into

most elegant public

school houses.

We

shall not

need them for the pur-

pose for which they were erected, and as the people

must have
went into

free schools, let

this

our government, which

for

war with Spain

humanity's sake,

import into the island some of our liberal-minded

school teachers, of which
spare,

we have enough and

good buildings

to

and open up

all

these

as public

schools, as

soon as possible, since Spain has

now

vacated the land.

105

RAILROAD AND STREET CARS.

The
not
far

railroads of the island are

all

narrow gauge and

is

reaching in length. The island

girdled by one

franchise,

which

starts at the capital,

San Juan, and

around the

were the road

island,

built,

would carry you

all

clear

about 275 miles, touching

the towns along

the coast, and at

Island, a

Humacao, on
intO'

the east end oi the

branch would run

Caguas about twentylines

five miles,

and there are nice dotted

to

on the com-

pany's
run.

map

show where other branches may be

only a franchise.
It

As

I said before, this is

was

granted to a French company about eight

years ago,
to ride

and you must not

gO'

tO'

Porto Rico expecting

around the island by

It will

rail for

some two years

to

come.

be taken care of by some of our enterprising

little facts I

Americans, and from some

confident that the
first

gathered

am

steps in this direction have

already been taken.

The

franchise referred to has

expired and

is

declared by

good

authorities to be per-

fectly worthless.

The

present tracks will be utilized

so far as this can be done, but there will be a

new

grant, leaving the old

company

out.

When

the franchise

was granted eight years ago,

106 a start

RAII/ROAD

AND STREET

CARS,

was made from the

to

capital south to
Httle

Bayamon,
this

and thence west

point,

Arecibo and a
about
fifty

beyond

which
at

is

in all

miles.

start

was

also

made

Aguadilla to Rincon, through Anasco

to within

and Mayaguez, and beyond,

of

about two miles

to Lares.

San German, with a branch from Anasco

start

Another

was made

at

Ponce and carried through

Guayanilla to Yauco, and also a short piece of road

was

built

from San Juan toward Carolina, which

lies

east of the capital, but

was not

finished

and has never

in railroad

been used.

This
it

is all

that has been

is

done

building, and as
the public.
miles, only

rests to-day,

absolutely useless to

Out

of the

whole franchise of about 300

about 134 miles have been constructed.

of the road
is

The gauge
is

3 feet

llj inches.

The road

well equipped with rolling stock

all

and the depots and

water tanks

along these pieces of road are of

masonry and
of

in

good

condition.

The incompleteness
of
trains

the system
all

and the irregular running

exclude

freightage and keep the usefulness of the

road down in every way.

The roadbed looks

In
fact,

as

much
be

Hke a pasture

as like a railroad.

stock

may

seen along the tracks, and in

fifty

miles our engineer

slackened his sixteen-mile-an-hour speed more than

RAII^ROAD

AND STREET

CARS.

109

once to give some huge ox or bull the privilege of

crossing, as the animal

was weightier than the engine.

Trains are run only in the early morning and late

afternoon hours.
traffic.

From

10

a.

m. to 4

p.

m. there

is

no

This will

all

soon, and very soon,

be changed.
to bring

American business methods are bound

good
enter-

results in this, as in all other directions.

The

prising early visitors on the island seemed to prefer a

cold franchise to flowers, oranges and pretty things,

as the franchises

were well looked

to before they

had

seen a plantation in the land.

When we

were
it

in

Ponce,
truly

about the time the protocol was signed,

was

amusing
there,

to see the
all

crowd

of speculators gathering
to get

and

of

them trying

on the

inside of
to realize

something good.

Not one

of

them seemed

the insignificant size of the island and had they

comthe

promised the matter by agreeing

to divide

up on

whole franchises and each take an equal share, they

would not have gotten more than about eleven

each.

feet

From

the capital to
to

Rio Piedras runs a narrow

the small suburban
is

gauge railroad
travel,

accommodate

and

to haul grass.

By

the way, Rio Piedras

110

RAILROAD AND STREEP CARS.

summer
resort of the capital; the governor-genis

the

eral's

summer home
make

there

among

others. This short

road would

a nice electric line

and

will

undoubt-

edly be used in this

way

in the

near future.
is

In Mayaguez, the west end town^ there

street car line

little

toy

from the harbor up

hall
is

to the

street

on

which the town

street car line
Httle ponies,

situated.

It is

the only real

on the

island.

The

cars are

drawn by

and are so small that but few people can

If a

ride at a time.

car

jumps the

track, the colnductor

car,

and driver

invite the people

lift

aboard to leave the

rails.
it

and then they

it

back on the

don't

know who owns

the road, but think

is

a syndicate

of residents of the town.

Directly after our people

took possession of Mayaguez on the 12th of August,

the board of directors
of
this

extensive

enterprise

notified the public that instead of the 3-cent fare that

had been charged up

to charge

to that time, they

were compelled

now

5 cents^ assigning as the reason that the

it,

great increase in business necessitated

as the

manto

agement had
fill

to exert themselves so
It

much more

the

demands on them.
it

was perhaps good argu-

ment, but

looked to

my

skeptical

mind more

as

if

TELEGRAPH AND TELEPHONES.

the owners had heard of

113

WaU

street

and were takiag

advantage of an opportunity.

Whether American
fields in

capitaHsts wiU find profitable

Porto Rico

in the

way

of street car lines, I

is

cannot say; but until the interior

opened up more
day

and

until

wages

for labor
to a

now 60

to 70 cents a
I

shall

have risen

higher standard,

should say
to ride to

there will not be people

enough who want

make any new

island.

surface

road pay anywhere on the

TELECxRAPH AND TELEPHONES.

From
the capital

you can communicate with

all

the

principal towns of the island

by telegraph, both around

It

the coast and throughout the interior.

was

esti-

mated that

at the time

our army invaded the island,

there were in use about 500 miles of telegraph line.

It

can be said of the telegraph

in

in

Porto Rico that

it

was found

more

perfect

working order than any

it

other branch of public improvements, and

will

need

but few additions to

in

make

the system complete.

As

European

countries, the telegraph lines were built

and controlled by the government, and were, therefore, like the royal roads, well

planned and constructed

114
at the

TELEGRAPH AND TBivEPHONBS.

expense
of the people.

This method has one

advantage: As the people have paid the cost of estab-

Hshing the plant, they are not called upon to pay more
for the service than
it

takes to run the system.

The

rates are consequently so

low as to be a surprise to

an American.

The telephone
but
is

is

not in universal use in the island,

progress.

making

fair

We

found

it

in quite

general use in the three principal towns.

In San Juan

the residents estimated that there were 500 'phones in use; in

in

Ponce 200, and more being added

it

daily,

and

Mayaguez
is

was coming

into general use.

The

telephone

destined to play a prominent part in the

affairs of the island in a short time.

The towns

are

not far distant from each other, and a simple

line,

little

such as

is

needed to do business from place

little.

to place will cost

to shore north

system reaching from shore

east

and south and even

I

and west

will

not cost much, and

doubt not that each and every

this

town

will soo'n

have the telephone and through

will

means
fited.

of

communication the island

be

much

bene-

117

MEASURES AND MONEY.

Like the Spanish mother country, the colony
Porto Rico used nominally and
system, but the
officially the

of

metric

common
own

people, of course, are slow

line of the in the

everywhere
abstract.
east
still

to

adopt anything new in the

In our

country the marketmen

talk of "a shilHng a

pound," meaning thereby

in Boston.

12J cents in

New

York, and 16 2-3 cents

The

royal roads and the railroads are measured,

therefore,
of a mile),

by kilometers (1,000 meters equal .62137

and the milestones
of

Porto Rico are kilo-

meter posts.
meter
is

In trading at the shops, however, the

not in use, but the old Spanish vara, shorter

by three inches and a fraction than our yard. The vara

has thirty-six pulgadas or inches.
is

The square vara

used for measuring land.

is

Seventy-five varas square

a
little less

are called a cuerda, which

than our acre.

The weights

are the

same

as ours.
is

The monetary system

decimal,
is

like

ours.

peso has 100 centavos, but

cents,

worth only about 50

coins
1

American money.

The

in

circulation

are of the following denomination:

centavo and 2
1

centavos of copper;

5, 10, 20,

40 centavos and

peso of

118
silver,

MEASURES AND MONEY.

and
5

and 10 pesos

in gold.

The

latest coins all

bear the imprint 'Isla de Puerto Rico/' but they were

minted in Spain.

Of paper currency they have

5,

10

and 20 pesos
of a

bill^.

The

fives are of the size

and shape

cabinet photograph; the tens are considerably

larger,

and the twenties are

of

commercial

letter size.

The

bills I

saw were made

this

in the

United States.

Of course

money

will

be speedily replaced by

our United States currency.

We

shall

have to shoul-

der the expense of cancelling and withdrawing the

coins

and substituting ours

for them.

What

will be-

come

of the bills I cannot say, but there will probably

it,

be no difficulty about
body.

and no

loss entailed to any-

During the author's sojourn

paper
12|-

in the island a local

o'f

(a

curiosity,
8-|

printed on one side

a sheet

inches by

inches, without date or indication of

the place of pubhcation, called El Buscapie

guide), contained a leader, in a

Footsou-

which

it

was

stated that

New York moneyed company

war

intended to buy up

all

the Porto Rican pesos at $1 each, to

of

make

venirs of the
profit of

them and
o,n

sell

them, making a
relieving the

about $2,000,000
a serious

them and

Porte Ricans of

and embarrassing problem.

MISCKIvLANBOUS INFORMATION.

121
its

Our

saying of "castles in Spain" has, of course,

equivalent in Spanish.
is

Could
mines

it

be that

this equivalent

anything

like ''gold

in

New York"?

MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION.
Coal
has not yet been discovered on the island exit

cept in insignificant quantities, and

that there
is

is

not believed

much

of

it

there.

What

is

used comes

from Norfolk, Va., and costs 8^

to 10 pesos per ton.

etc.,

Only

the electric light plants, factories, railroads,

requiring a constant supply of coal, have occasion to

purchase

it.

All cooking

is

done by charcoal^ brought

down from

the mountains

by the peons and

selling

at 25 centavos

per bushel.
in quahty,

Bricks are rather poor

easily

being

soft

and

broken, though durable

are

when

laid in the wall.

They
are

made

of a size about

6x9x1^

inches.

They

commonly

sold in the towns at 8 pesos per 1,000

of clay
in
is

delivered.

The supply

unlimited.

Paints.

Way
sea,

up

the

mountains,

2,000

feet

above the

about seven miles south of Rio Grande,

for paint, in

are found in
red, white

abundance the minerals used

and blue.

These colors are displayed on

island,

the buildings,

throughout the

with scarcely

122

MISCElvIvANEOUS INFORMATION.

any variation, either by mixing them together or

adding other shades.
Earth should,
It is

curious indeed that Mother

in this island,

supply the colors which

represent, so completely, our national

stars

emblem

^the

and

stripes.

The people
more than

of

Porto Rico

will

value henceforth,
stance, because
it

ever, this

chalky sub-

will serve as a

reminder of the flag

that relieved

them from

the oppression endured by

them

for centuries.

Lumber.

The duty on lumber up to

6

this

time has

been 4 pesos on rough, and

prices at
for the

pesos on dressed.

The

which lumber has

retailed

run from 28 pesos

commonest pine

to 45 pesos for

good Georgia
hardwood,
the log

pine.

The

island produces

some

beautiful
of
it

highly prized for furniture.

Some

sells in

for 5 pesos per cubic foot in the harbors.

Galvanized Corrugated Iron

throughout the island
ures.
for roofs

is

used generally

and temporary enclos-

Heretofore

it

has been principally imported

from England, and

is

now

selling for 6 pesos

and 25

centavos per 100 pounds, being sold in bundles of

fourteen sheets, 3x6
feet,

with an average weight of

climate well, not-

220 pounds a bundle.

It s-tands the

withstanding

many

reports to the contrary.

MISCEIvIvANEOUS INFORMATION.

125

Labor.

Native

workmen

(peons) on the planta-

tions are furnished, without expense, a thatched shanty,

usuaUy containing one room.

They have

also

the

use of a small plot of ground for a garden.

They work

by the year
always
in

at

from 8

to 20 pesos per

month, and are

oblige

debt to their employers,

who

them

to take their

pay out

in

goods kept

in a small store

or commissary

nm

by each planter.

Carpenters, bricklayers and the

ers

more

skilled labor-

have had but

little

work

in the past

year or two,

but

when employed

get from 1| to 2 pesos per day.

Rates of Interest.
running six months or
10 to
1.2

Ordinary commercial paper,

less, is

usually

drawn

at

from

per cent.

Short loans from IJ to 2 per cent,

per month; long time loans on real estate, three to five

years,

from

9 to 12 per cent.

Long

time loans are

secured by mortgages which are in current use, as in

the United States.

Registry of Deeds.
all

Only about

10 per cent, of

property holdings are recorded.

Not

until

about

1880 was a system of registry adopted and made a

law,

and the requirements

of the law are so expensive,

in the

surveys and other charges, that only a few have

its

availed themselves of

benefits.

Titles

generally

126

SOME STRIKING

PECULIARITIES.
transfers have

are considered

good when proper

been

made, which means

living people

getting- the signatures of all the

in

who might

any way becoiiie heirs to

to

the

seller.

The recording does not seem

give
loss

any advantage, except as a safeguard against the

of the papers.

Rents.
seems

The

rate of rent

charged for any property

its

to be established at

about 12 per cent, of

If

cost

or earning

power
lot

capitalized.

the house cost 1,200

pesos and the

at 12 per cent,

were valued

at

800 pesos, the rent

a year.

would be 240 pesos

SOME STRIKING PECULIARITIES OF PORTO RICAN LIFE.

Ice, artificially made,
is

only to be obtained in three

towns:
is

San Juan, Ponce and Mayaguez.

The

price

from 20 to 30 pesos per ton

to 6 centavos per

in large quantities,
at retail.

and

from 2

pound

The

natives

use but Httle, and since the American occupation the

army has

utilized the plants to their

utmost capacity,

frequently no ice being obtainable at any price.

Butter
tity

is

not

made on

the island.

The

sniall

quanaiid

used

is

brought from Denmark and Holland,

It

costs 1 peso per pound.

comes

i(n

sealed packages.

SOME STRIKING
The
scarcity of butter

PECULIARITIES.

129

makes the problem

is

of eating a
to

serious one for Americans, as one

obHged

become
oil

accustomed

to

many unfamihar

dishes.

OUve

and

garlic reign supreme.

native cannot eat unless his

food
oil.

is

flavored with odorous garlic and

swimming

in

When we

forbade our cook to further use these

it

articles,

she said, straightening up, that

was impos-

sible to

prepare a meal without them.

Peddling Milk.

In many
his

of the

towms the milkdoor calling out

generally

man

drives his

cow from door

and

to

"vaca"

(cow),

customers

bring

out a large bottle and watch the fluid milked into

it.

The

calf

ahvays

accompanies

the

cow\

The

peddler cannot be accused of watering his milk unless

they think

him expert enough

I

to

carry

supply

up

his

sleeve.

saw^
it

one

of

our soldiers buying

milk, who, after seeing

drawn from the cow accused

(w^ater).
I

the

milkman

of selling

him agua

w-ondered

whom

the charge

was

against, the
I

man

or the cow.

The

cow looked unconcerned,

am

sure, but the

milkman

did not, although I could not swear that he understood the Yankee's joke any better than his fourfooted milk

can did.

Watering the Streets.

The island being so

rich

130
in

SOMK STRIKING
mountain streams,
it is

PECULIARITIES.
of the

no wonder that many

cities

have water-works.

The

streets are sprinkled

by

man going from

point to point, opening a small trap

a

in the

narrow walk, attaching

hose to a water main

and squirting
reach.

a thin stream as far as the force wall

FUNERAL
it

in

Porto Rico

is

as simple

and unpreor circum-

tentious as

can be made.

The rank

stances of the family

who

suffers loss
in

by the death of a
to

member, may be judged

the cemetery.

watching a procession

The poorer

are carried to their last rest-

ing place by their friends and sometimes on the heads

of

couple

of
will

sturdy peons.

The next
a

class,

or

middle class
higher class

enjoy the luxury of

cart,

and the

will resort to the

extravagance

of a hearse.

In no case do the

women

or children attend the funeral

of a native or a Spaniard. of a foreigner

is

Sometimes when

a funeral

held, they will turn out, but this does

not occur often.

The cemeteries

are a curiosity.

They

are partly

walled in and the walls are thick enough to have tiers

of recesses, in

which the

coffins are deposited.

The

poorer people rent one of these vaults for

for 25 pesos, the well-to-do

five years

buy one or

several outright,

SOME STRIKING

PECULIARITIES.

133

while only the very richest families aspire to a private

tomb.
reader

In our picture of the cemetery of Ponce, the

may

notice,

on the

seal of the vault in the rightletters

hand lower corner, the

R.

I.

P.,

signifying:

rcquiescat in pace; or ''may he rest in peace."

first

When

noticed this inscription,

I

wondered
of the

in

my mind
dispelled
letters

whether

was the lucky discoverer

grave of Rip

Van Winkle,

but the remainder of the

name

my
met

ludicrous fancy at once, of course.

The

my eyes many times more in that cemetery. The houses are mostly built of brick, and stuccoed.
story
is

One

the rule.

Glass panes for windows are

unknown.

Slats take their places.'

The
in

stores have no show-windows, but, as shown

our cuts, nothing but doors, three or four of which

lead into the

same room,

to be used either as a store or

shop or dwelling, according to the tenant's needs.

One

of our cuts

shows the

polite

Spanish way of

protecting the walls of their houses from the disfigur-

ing poster.

Instead of our forbidding "Post no bills!"

you

find the notice that

"You may

post your

bills at

'the rate of

25 pesos each."

134

AN OBJECT LESSON.
In presenting the two pictures, one of the Spanish,
the other of

American
in service in

officers;

taken while the

armies were

Porto Rico,

we

call atten-

tion to the striking contrast in bearing

in dignity of the

and difference
is

two

forces.

This difference

so

impressive as to be an object lesson to the world of

to-day, and to
all

coming generations.
pitiable

The Spanish

officers are

specimens of

soldiers, with their frail bodies

and half child-like

bearing, in their humiliation and dependency, with

all

manhood

blasted by superstition and tyrannical

government.
hand, have

The American

officers,

on the other

won

the admiration of the world. Instead

is

of looking the

humble insubordinate, every man

Their
tall,

knight, brave and true.

their bright

muscular frames,
is

faces and their dare-devil courage,

the product of the free schools of America.

Surely these two pictures

illustrations of the truth,

may

stand as forcible

to

be learned by every

man, woman, boy and

individuals, are

girl,

that governments, like

known by

their fruits.

One

teaches
is

the folly of bad government, while the other

THE MARKET OF PONCE.

splendid apotheosis
institutions

137

of

the blessings of our free

and self-government.

THE MARKET OF PONCE.

The
daily supply of food
is

always procured

at the

market, where from

6 o'clock to

10 a. m. each day,
all

Sunday included,
ilies

the servants of

the wealthy famof the poor, repair

and the mistresses and children

for the

purchase of their daily supplies.

are chiefly concerned in the

The grocery
of liquors,

stores
of

sale

various

canned

goods,

condiments,

and

such

articles as are not perishable.

There are no meat marice

kets,

no refrigerators and no
class,

except
in

in cafes of the

better

and even there only

homoeopathic

quantities.

The market
open on
all

in

Ponce

is

an iron-roofed buildinsf,

four sides to the elements, surrounded by

pillars,

enormous stone

with a floor of cement, and

it

the entire scpiare surrounding

of native dressed stone.

is

paved with blocks

In the interior of the market

or booths, leased by the

are hundreds of

little

stalls,

municipality and presided over by a market-master

and native policemen, who enforce order.

On

one side

is

the fish market, in which a great

138

THE MARKET OF PONCE,

At one place
a

variety of fish are exposed for sale.

steak

will

be

carved

for

you from an enormous

sturgeon; in another, large red snappers are exposed

for sale,

whole or by the pound;

in others, small fish,

freshly caught, are for sale by the string, usually six

to eight
2.-)

strung together, and offered for from 20 to

centavos. All the fish in these waters are beautifully

is

marked; one variety

another
will

a deep red, almost crimson;

be gold, al^out twice as large as the gold

fish of the aquaria,

and several

varieties of silver fish.

to those of the

There are no

fish in

any way similar

United States, and perhaps the most marked characteristic of

them

all is

their

unusual coloring.

On
native

the other side of the market

meat

is

sold, all

beef, pork,

mutton and poultry.

to cut

The

native

marketmen have not learned

up beef across the

or-

grain, but slice off a slab indiscriminately, with

across the grain, as the case

at a

may

be,

and

it is all

sold

uniform

price, the

customers seemingly having

no preference

as to the cut, the choicest of steaks go-

ing at the same price as the coarser portions.

In another section of the hall are
fruits; in

another

vegetables, in another laces, tinware, hardware, hosiery,

gay ribbons, shoes,

in fact a

department

store,

THE MARKET OF PONCE.

tjiough

141

owned by

hundred eager, screaming

indi-

viduals, each one crying his or her wares as loudly

as possible.
I

asked the prices of

many

things, as they were sold

in

small portions that morning, with the following

result.

Musk

melons, the kind our grandmothers

raised, long, deeply-ribbed

and yellow, 25 cents each;

half-grown chickens, 75 cents per pair; eggs, 3 and 4

cents each;

home-made

cheese, similar to the

good
jelly,

Dutch or cottage

cheese, 10 cents a

pound; guava

25 cents per pound; pine-apples, 10 to 20 cents each,

according to
coarse

size;

bunches

of bananas, 50 cents to $1

brown

sugar, 6 to 8 cents per pound; a lighter

colored sugar, 8 cents per pound; refined white sugar

is

unknown;

shelled corn, 4 cents per

pound; Ameri-

can

ham and

bacon, each, 20 cents per pound; flour

8 cents per

from

New

York,

pound; home-made hard

soap, 20 cents per pound; small head of cabbage, 20

cents each; guavas, 40 cents a peck; jerked beef from

South America, 16

to 20 cents per

pound; bread, 12
a half;

cents per loaf, weighing about a

pound and

fresh rolls, 10 cents per dozen; small tomatoes, 1 cent

each; oranges, 50 cents per hundred; white beans, 6

cents per pound; corn meal, 6 cents per pound; south-

142

THE MARKET OF PONCE.

cow
pears, 2 cents per

ern

pound;

Irish potatoes,

-8

cents per pound; sweet potatoes or yams, 2 cents per

.

pound; native

coffees, 20 cents to 25 cents per

pound;

cocoanuts, 3 cents each; fresh beef, 14 cents; pork and

mutton, 20 cents.
all

The above

prices of course were

in

Porto Rican money, which would make the

about
half

articles

the

price

named

in

American

money.
In addition to these articles,
I

noticed the following,

but was unable to procure the prices:

Egg

plant,

gumbo, lima beans, small water melons, canapas,

tains, limes,

plan-

pumpkins, summer and winter scjuashes,

a

pomegranates, native peppers of

pigs, big

dozen

sorts,

live

and

little,

with their legs

tied,

lying in passive
field

rows on the pavement awaiting purchasers, large

corn, sugar cane, string beans, garlic,

more

garlic,

and

plug tobacco
1

in

ropes at 25 cents per yard; cigarettes,

of ten; cigars

and 2 cents per bundle

from

1 to 5

cents each, the cheaper being equal to the dearer in

quality, there as elsewhere.

From
that the

6 o'clock to 10

pandemonium

reigns; after

crowd

of purchasers dwindles
is silent,

away one by

one, and the place

and the attendants put up

the shutters, sweep the floors and a torrent of water

THE
is

CAPITAL.

145
is

turned

on through hydrants and everything

is

scrubbed to absolute cleanliness and the place

serted
till

de-

the next morning.

THE CAPITAL.
The
capital,

San Juan, according

of 32,800.

to the last census,

had a population

It is really a beautiful

town, built on a peninsula,

or, rather,

an island, that
It is

runs almost directly west and out into the ocean.

walled on the north or ocean side with strong fortifications,

Morro

Castle

and San

Cristobal

fortresses,

which

will stand for

ages to come, and which simply

smiled at Sampson's famous bombardment.

gigantic walls, while there was
the city,

These
in

some damage done

might truthfully

say, like the boy, ''Never

touched me."
Notable buildings are the "Beneficencia," the Lunatic

Asylum,

the

Captain-General's

Palace,

the

Administration Building (Intendencia), the Spanish

Bank, the Barracks de

sentatives, the
Civil

Ballaja, the

House

of

Repre-

and the Military Hospital, the

other churches

Consistory, the

Cathedral,

and the

bishop's palace, the Institute for Secondary Education,

and a seminary

for the aspirants to priesthood.

146

THE
is

CAPITAL.

The town

well paved throughout with white pavis

ing brick and

.

in the best condition.

It

is

excep-

tionally clean in

outward appearance,

as the streets

are
rain

on such an
dash
all

incline that the frequent sho-w'ers of

the dirt off and

down

into

the

bay.

Good

telegraph and telephone service^

gas works,

electric light

works,

ice factory

and some other small

manufacturing plants give the town a decidedly modern aspect.

It is

destined to remain the principal town

of the island.

By

reclaiming some low land, dredglagoons,

ing

some

natural

improving some

little

islands

and extending the

drives, the district south of

the present

town could be made one

of the

handsomest

tropical parks in the world.

Before
Rico,

I visited

the place I said, "If

we took Porto

we should destroy
I

the wall around the north of

San Juan."
destroy
it,

have changed

my mind we
it

should not

but should keep

it

for

its

picturesqueness

and for the story

protection,
it

tells of

the past 400 years.

As

is

of less value to rely

now

than ever, as
their

we

Americans prefer
manship.

on our boys and

marks-

Ample room may be found

the soldiers

in the barracks for all

we

shall need' there

and

think

we

shall

r
i

^^^n,,

IK
L

i
\
%

^^^^^^P^jj^l^^^^^^^^^^^V

A LEGEND.
have space to
let.

U9

They

are at present constructing

water works to bring water into the town, carried in

iron pipes from a

mountain stream.
if

When

this

im-

provement

is

completed and

sanitary principles are

observed, there will be no reason

why San Juan should

not be a very healthful and attractive place, especially

as-there will be no longer need of cranmiing the people

together for the sake of retaining so large a part of

the island for militar}' purposes.

A LEGEND.
The pious people
in

Porto Rico are blessed with the

presence of a miracle-working image, the history of

which they love

to

tell,

and

in

whose

beneficial

efih-

cacy they place implicit confidence.

In the times

when

slavery

was lawful and piracy

Porto Rico whose en-

lucrative, there lived a

man

in

terprise
rick.

and shrewdness had made him immensely

his fortune

Whtn

was large enough

to other things.

to satisfy

him he turned

his

mind

He

wished

now

to acquire a standing

among

his

countrymen and

with heaven, and to this end he had to cleanse himself

of the stains

which

his

unrighteous

life

had

left

upon

his reputation.

This was accomplished by donating

150

A LEGEND.
t/lie

to

cathedral in

Mayaguez

the statue of a saint,

carved and decorated in the most sumptuous style

that the island afforded.

This image one day mysteriously disappeared from

its

resting place in the church.

At

first,

people thought

that thieves

had sacrilegiously

laid

hands on the holy

it

image, tempted by the rich jewels with which

was

hung, and the whole population

set

out to discover
After

the hiding place of the thieves and their booty.

many

days of fruitless search, the image was acci-'

dentally discovered in the fork of a large tree in the

forest
relate,

many

miles from Mayaguez, and, strange to

not a single

gem

or jewel was missing, nor was

itself

the shghtest injury done to the statue

orations.

or

its

dec-

The happy people went out

and carried
their

in

solemn procession

their
in

now doubly

prized treasure back to

church

triumph.

Speculation as to the per-

petrators

of the

dastardly crime continued, but no

clew to their identity was found.

Hardly, however,

had the excitement subsided, when one morning, on

opening the church, the place
to be of the statue

was found

empty

again.

Amazed and

bewildered, the peo-

ple never

thought of going to the place where the

A LEGEND.
saint

153

had been recovered the

after
all,

first

time, but there

it

was found
intact.

again by an accident, and again

To make an end
the people

to

such disturbances of the peace,

the church with soldiers
at every

now surrounded
a

and guards, placing dow, below and

to

watch

door and win-

in the belfries,

and threatening death

any of them who should be discovered asleep or

careless at his post.

In spite of

all

these precautions, however, the saint

went on the

third escapade after a while,

in

and was

found again perched

depth of the
that
it

the fork of the tree in the

it

forest.

Then

dawned upon
that

the people

could not be

human hands

had removed
in

the image, nor could they find any

human purpose
priest

these
it

rem.ovals,

and

the

grey-haired

gave

as his opinion that the saint

seemed

to

wish a change
in

of location

and that her desire should be granted,

return for which she would assuredly be gracious to

the island
to her.

and grant many a favor

to those

praying

This opinion was universally accepted by the

of Porto Rico

good people

and

church was accord-

ingly built in the place of the tree and the image was

given the place of honor therein.

The

city of

Hermo-

154

AN AMERICAN HERO'S GRAVE.

gueras, according to the legend, sprung up around

this

new church.
in

The pious
in the

Porto Rico firmly believe to

this

day

healing power and benevolence of this image,

as the pilgrimage of thousands annually testifies.

AN AMERICAN HERO'S GRAVE.

At Ponce,
in

the old cemetery,

may be

seen the

grave of Ethan Allen, of the Second Wisconsin Volunteers.

This grave

is

located about one-third the

way

through the grounds, on the right side of the main

walk.

Allen undoubtedly was the

tO'

first

American

soldier

be buried on the island.

When

our army, aboard

27th,

the transports, steamed into

Ponce harbor July

1898, he reported himself

sick,-

and received the best

in spite of all that

care that could be given him.

But

could be done, he sank rapidly and in only a few hours

was no more.
had performed
could do

He had
his last

answered

his last

bugle

call;

good

service;

had done

all

he

given
to

his life for his country.

On

the

same day

that Allen died, the

town

of

Ponce

was surrendered
were made

to the

Americans, and arrangements

of the

burv the comrade

brave Wiscon-

AN AMERICAN HERO'S GRAVE.

sin

157

boys

in the cemetery.

An

undertaker was secured,

together with two carriages, and on the 28th of July,

all

that

was earthly

of brave

Ethan Allen was carried

customary
of this

to the
salute,

burying ground and

after firing the

was placed
lie

in a grave.

The remains

brave boy

there to-day under the tropical flowers,

2,500 miles from home, w^here his officers and

com-

rades were compelled to leave them.

This pathetic
Allen was the
dent
it

little

story
fall

is

related because poor

in

first

to

and
of

telling this

inci-

is

applicable to

many

our worthy, uncomto

plaining boys in blue

call of their

who went

Porto Rico

at the

country, but never returned to their loved

ones at home.

For the family and

friends of our soldiers

is

who

lost

their lives in the service, there

the great consolation

that they

wore

their

uniform with credit; they died

as only the brave can die,

and that every ooe

sister or

of

them

was an honor
blessed

to the

mother,

sweetheart

who

them and was so proud when they marched

away.

158

THE RED
Not

CROSS.
Porto Rico do we
its

as part of the history of

speak of the Red Cross Society, but

work has
by the

been of so much importance Americans, that we

feel
it

in the invasion

should have a place in

it.

our attempt to picture the island as we found

The

work

of the

mem.bers of

this

society can never be

fully described.

The

sacrifices they

make and hard-

ships they endure to carry relief to the suffering soldier

boys

in

the field

is

deserving of the heartfelt

gratitude of every true American.

Their work
with

is

to provide the soldier in the service

it is

many

things which

impossible for the

army

commissaries to furnish, and to comfort and nurse the

sick

and wounded. They did

their

work

well in this
testify,

war, as thousands of our brave boys will

who

enjoyed the delicacies of

light,

nourishing

diet,

which

took the place of hard tack and side meat.

They

knew no

nationality or sect in their work, but stood

of love for all

on the humane platform

mankind, as

ready to relieve the suffering of the unfortunate Spaniard as of one of our

own

fallen heroes.

At the

latter

part of the war the Spanish

Red Cross

officials

and

^
'^

3 <
Ct>

CO
9i

a 3* M P ^ W Cb >
(/J
f-t

a>

3
fa

3 S ?r a
o 3
a>

> !

3*

(P

> >^ ^ B S" ^

m

Pj

JS 55

n
w
CO

H
'^:;

^ ^

A SPANISH

OFFICER'S SWORD.

161

ours met and consulted together.

stories that could be told

Thousands are the

of

by our boys,

how

their

burning heads were cooled by some sacrificing nurse

who
to

left

her

home and

travelled 2,000 miles,

and more,

render this noble service, and whose touch was

like the

mother's or

sister's.

The Red Cross

will

never be forgotten by those

who

witnessed their good work

God

bless them.

A SPANISH OFFICER'S SWORD.

Just after the Americans

entered

Mayaguez and
held by the

while the neighboring towns were

still

Spanish, no ooe, of course, was permitted to go be-

yond our

pickets without a pass from the Spanish

governor-general.

But

this

did

not stop a certain

American who was determined

to see the next town.

sentries, the
ofificer

He
was

was challenged by the ^Spanish

called out,
to return at

guard

and the commanding

ordered

him

once from where he had come.

informed the
ofificer

The
knew

American

politely

that he

he was talking to a gentleman, and rather than do anything that might

make
if

trouble for any one, he

would leave the town

he had to walk.

The Span-

162

A SPANISH OFFICER'S SWORD.

obhge
a

iard replied that his desire to

in conflict

gentleman was

with his duty. After some further exchanges

of civilities they

concluded they were both good

fel-

lows and adjourned to a place where refreshments

were served,

to

settle

further

details.

They took

brandy, *'limonada" and cigars, and then "Hmonada,"

cigars

and brandy, followed up by the best dinner the

afiford, at

house could

the American's expense, with

free music, furnished

by the landlord's pretty daughter.

The

point at issue was not wholly forgotten in this

flood of

good things;

the discussion of the question,

alter-

whether the American was under arrest or not,

nating with a contemplation of the war from a reasonable

standpoint.

While the Spaniard imbibed

his

brandy and did justice to the dinner,

rose
to an admirable pitch

his patriotism

and he remarked:

"1

am under

orders to surrender this town in about two

all

weeks with

army

effects, but, sir, I shall

I

never sur-

render this sword.

pieces into the sea.

shall
I

break

it

and throw the

to

have sworn

wear

it

with
it

honor

to

my

country, and to die rather than yield

^'Oh!
tell

into other hands."

would not break

to do.

it,"

said

the American; "I will

you what

You

have

worn

It

with honor to your country and yourself;

now

A SPANISH OFFICER'S SWORD.

let
it

165

me honor

both the sword and you.

I will

Let

me

take

back to America.

hang

it

on the wall

of

my

library

and many

will

be the good drinks

I shall

take

and the cigars

I shall

smoke

to the soldier

and gentleit.

man who honored

tell

that

sword by wearing

will

the story to the

young generation, and

in patriotism

it

will

give

to the

world a lesson
officer

and generosity."

The
the

seemed impressed by the argument and

to his

same evening the American was escorted

and allowd
cell.

train

to depart, instead of sleeping in a

prison

Just before the train pulled out, a car-

riage drove rapidly

up and the

officer,

who

is

the

principal in this

little

story, stepped out

and handed

the

American

a package, bidding

him "a Dios." Upon

examination, the American found the package contained the valued sword.
of a
It

now hangs

in the library

prominent young Chicago lawyer, who would not

sell it for

many

times

its

real value.

166

A TYPICAL HACIENDA OWNER.

About nine miles due
to Lares, there lives east of

Mayaguez, on the road

Pelissier,

Lope Valdestino

owner
for

of a 200-acre coffee plantation.

He

is

a rich

man

Porto Rico, but

fashion,

lives,

with his family, in a very plain

o'f

though with the pride

of a perfect

a knight

and the
of

manners
his

gentleman.

At the gateway

mountain home, seven Americans halted

their

ponies in August, 1898, partly to seek shelter from one

of those drenching
rest

mountain showers, and partly

of the

to

and draw on the hospitality

owner

for re-

freshments.

The

interpreter of the party addressed the dignified

if

old gentleman, asking

dinner,

he could favor them with

his

and he replied with great politeness that

at their disposal, that they

poor,

mean home was

to all

were

welcome

he could do for them.

a splendid dinner
it

The dinner was prepared (and

was), and in pleasant conversation an hour

at the table.

was passed

After the meal was ended, one of the

bill in

guests proffered an American $10

the planter told

payment, but

them

that he believed he

was enter-

taining gentlemen and friends, and that he could not

SPANISH SINCERITY.
think of accepting money; and even
friends, he could
if

169

they were not

make no

charge, as he was not an

innkeeper.

The

family of this generous Spaniard was most

interesting.

The

eldest daughter,

about 20 ydars of

age,

was strikingly

beautiful with her dark hair

and

great blue eyes.

a small silk
in her hair.

One

of the party presented her with

flag,

American

which she

at

once placed

This flag seemed to add to her attractive-

ness, as the red

was

like

her rosy

lips

and cheeks, and

flag

the blue like her limpid eyes.

Never was the

worn
Porto

more proudly by an American than by

Rican
will
girl.

this

venture to say, no more valuable citizen

this haci-

be found anywhere than the owner of

if

enda,

one

may judge from

such short acquaintance.

SPANISH SINCERITY.
In Ponce,
sion,
in the early

days of the American inva-

when

things w^ere very

much

unsettled,

some

of

the fastidious diners,

garlic

who were
in
all

not used to having

and

olive

oil

the dishes placed before

if

them and who

ofif

felt

they could not live

like

entirely cut

from everything
in

club or the fine eating

for

houses

the

United States, clubbed together

170

SPANISH SINCERITY.

renting a house, that they might be able to have their

own meals prepared and

lish.

to give their orders in

Eng-

The standing

order, or, rather, supplication was,

garlic

"For God's sake, leave out the

and

olive oil."

One

party of three, in a case of this kind, started

out one morning, determined to secure c[uarters and

make arrangements
After

for

preparing their next meal.

many

inquiries

and much walking they were

house of a Spanish professor.

finally directed to the

A
ten-

more pleasant gentleman could not be found. He

dered the use of
five

rooms without charge and made

any way he might

daily calls, offering his services in

be useful.

As

the days passed, a

warm

friendship

grew up

between the Spaniard and Americans, many amusing

incidents resulted from the
efforts to

mixed conversations,

in the
all

understand each other

the

professor at

times exerting himself to master the English.

Thcv

war was discussed and

bitter conflict, the

the causes which led to the

Spanish gentleman being outspoken

he held prein

in his views, giving in full the opinio'iis

vious to the war.

He

said:
still

'T

was born and raised

and
it

Spain and

my

mother

lives there,

is

but

natural that I should be attached to the land of

my

SPANISH SINCERITY.
birth.

173

I felt that the

Americans were unwarranted

felt

in

invading our land; you would have

in m^y place.

the

same
feel

way were you

bitter

We

Spaniards did

and no

just

man

will

censure us

when he underthe Americans

find the

stands our position and learns

how

were represented

to us.

It is all o-ver

now; we

Americans

to be gentlemen, such as as

we

claim to be,
intO'
is,

and such gentlemen

homes.
it

we can welcome
it

our

We

now

accept the situation as

hoping
will be.

will

be

for the better,

and trying

to believe

it

My

good old mother

remain
in

will

perhaps die in Spain, while

I shall

I shall

Porto Rico.

master the Engcitizen, abide

Hsh language, become an American

the
be,

by

new
that

laws,

and the one great wish of

3-year-old

my

life shall

my

boy

shall

grow up

to be a

worthy, respected citizen of the victorious, liberal and

progressive United States, and that he
love the stars and stripes, as

may

always

my

mother and myself

have loved the flag of Spain."

similar case occurred

among

another group of

Americans, who, having taken a house, had just be-

come comfortably

settled,

when one evening

a gentle-

man
iard.

entered

who was

readily recognized as a Spanfair

He

addressed the party in

English, statiuvg

174

AN EDITOR'S VIEW.
was
a Spaniard,
like

that he lived next door, that he

had
have

been a Spanish sympathizer and would

to

seen Spain victorious, but that his holding these opinions did not necessarily bar

them from being

in the land

frie'nds

and that as they were strangers

and unac-

quainted with the customs, which would lead to

inconveniences, he had

many

come
if

to

offer

his

services,

hoping

to be called

upon

he could in any way add

to their comfort.

He

proved of great service and a

dehghtful neighbor.

AN EDITOR'S VIEW.
Just after the signing of the Protocol, an editorial

appeared
follows:

in the

Porto Rican papers,

in

substance as
is

"We

are confronted with a condition that

trying and sad, not to say humiliating.

We
us,

have to

meet the questions

that,

loom up before
meet them

and we

must nerve ourselves

true, trusting

to

as brave

men and

women.
is

"It

is
it

sad, indeed, to think the time

coming, as

come

must, for the Spanish to completely evacuate

It will

Porto Rico.

be a

-trial

and

loss not only to

those that go, but also to those that will stay.

Many

American Boys Amusing Themselves After the Victory Had Been Won.

AN
are the instances

EDITOR'S VIEW.

177
of

where old and dear friendships

long years' standing must be severed; where

are to be sent away,

ofihcers

who have

resided here twenty

into our best fam-

years or more,
ilies,

who have married

ties of

and who have formed

love and friendship

All of these

which were never meant

families ties,

to be severed.

and

ties of

dear friendship must

now

be

broken, and our friends and dear ones must leave the
land and deliver
practically
"It led
is
it

over to the
to us.

new power, which

is

unknown

not for us to pass judgment on the events that

up

to the present situation,

nor would

it

be profit-

able to do so.

But
and

it is

proper that we pause to realize

what we

lose,

to look into the future.

in the past, but

We

give

up what has been pleasant

not what the future
"It
is

we know

may

bring.

our duty to ourselves, to meet our

new

fellow

citizens, the

Americans, frankly and without

let

distrust.

Let us welcome them as friends,

us welcome their

laws and institutions, which they claim are so

much

more
that

liberal

and humane than ours, and

let

us trust

all will

work out

for the

advancement

of

our

in-

terests

and

civilization.

Let us welcome our con-

querors and hope that our friendships with them

may

178

LOOKING BACKWARD.
in the future

be lasting and true, and that sometime

we may again meet

those that

now

leave us.

"We
now
all

trust in the great

wisdom

of

God, that

all

that

looks dark will not prove dark, and that

we may

be gainers in the end."

LOOKING BACKWARD.
The
patriotic

Porto Rican of to-day does not deplore

the events that brought about the change in political

affiliation,

by which he has become or

citizen.

is

to

become

an American

The burdens which impover-

ished Spain and were piled on the backs of her subjects

and colonists were too heavy,

ing of
relief,

no^t to

give

them a

feel-

now

they have been taken away.

full

In order to realize the

w^eight of the burden,

we must remember

that Spain has always considered

her colonies as milching cows from which to draw

the greatest possible advantage, and at the smallest

possible outlay.

The Spanish system

of

exploiting

her colonies consisted in sending to them armies of

soldiery, priests,

monks and

civil

officers, for

whom

the natives and later on the colonists had to provide

shelter
It

and food, and handsome

salaries.

became a

settled institution in Spain to educate

LOOKING BACKWARD.
the sons of noble families with a view to
fill

181

a govern-

ment position

in a colony, richly

endowed and giving

an opportunity, besides, for amassing a fortune rapidly,

by taking bribes or stealing outright the funds

contributed by the colonies or mother country for

public improvements.

To

create such opportunities,

great projects were always being carried out, roads

constructed, cathedrals built in every
little

town, (sev-

enty in Porto Rico), and contracts

plies.

let for

army sup-

To keep

the colonists from rebelling against

taxation,

the

enormous

necessitated

by the lavish

equipment of the colonial administration, an army

was kept, so

large, that

its

disproportion to the needs

of the colony in the

.

way

of protection against a foreign

attack

is

almost ridiculous.

Porto Rico

is filled

with

splendid barracks and guard houses.

To
ness

this

must be added the unnecessary sumptuouscivil

of

the

and

clerical

establishments.

The

small island of Porto Rico had as extensive and elaborate a machinery of administration, as any
in

monarchy

Europe.

It

was divided

into seven provinces, besides

which San Juan, the

capital,

formed

a district

by

itself,

similar to our District of Columbia.

Each

of the seven

provinces had a governor,

who was

subordinate to the

182

lyOOKING BACKWARD.
at the Capitail.

Governor-General

Each Governor had

imported from

his staff of subordinates,

and

clerks, all

Spain.

The

judiciary of the island have a separate and dis-

tinct plan of division.

laid

Eleven judicial

circuits

were

out on the

little

island, each with a

Superior Court
all

over the local courts of the Alcalde arid

of

them

subordinate to the Supreme Court and Court of Last

Appeal

for local affairs of

ecclesiastic

San Juan.
Rico consisted
fairly

The
of

diocese of Porto

twelve

vicariates.

The
O'f

country

swarms
excellent

with

priests,

many

them,
of

no

doubt,

men, and true friends

the lowly and poor, but

the system of compelling the people to support

this

entire

class

in

luxurious

idleness,
is

without

voice as to their

number

or character,

utterly

wrong
on the

and must lead

in too

many

cases to overbearing

part of the supported, and to hatred

on the part of the

supporters.

Taxes and forced contributions swallowed up what

little

an ambitious

workman might have

It

laid

up

against a rainy day.

one's conditions.
of in

was useless

to try to better

There are no savings banks to speak

Is
it

Porto Rico.

wonder

that the population

LOOKING FORWARD.
is

83

indifferent

and indolent?

What

incentive

had the

workman

to save

money, when he knew,

that his Httle

treasure would only rouse the covetousness of

priest or civil officer?

some

What

incentive
to his

had the planter

recess,

to

improve the road leading

mountain

when he knew
safety

that his very secludedness

was

his only

from the tax-gatherer and dishonest

official?

LOOKING FORWARD.
The
stars

and

stripes

waving from San Juan

will not

increase the fertihty of the Porto Rican soil; neither

will the flag

over

Havana make Cuba

thrift

raise

more

towill

bacco.

Nothing but American

and industry

develop the agricultural and mineral resources of these

islands.

The

little

red school house must bring to the Porto

will enable

Ricans that mental training, which

to enjoy the blessings of liberty as

them

we understand and
The
present gener-

cherish
ation

it.

This
but
ideas,

will take time.

will

imperfectly

appreciate

and

accept

American

and

it

will

behoove us to use patience

girls,

with them, but the boys and

now soon

tO'

come

under the influence of our bright and devoted school

84

LOOKING FORWARD.
and eagerly,
seize

teachers, will readily,

upon the wider

opportunities that

we can

afford them.
to depict the island

The author has endeavored

and

the inhabitants as he found them, and shall feel gratified

if

he has succeeded in inspiring his readers with

a love for the people from

lifted

whose shoulders we have

the yoke, and with the firm belief that the

will

new

union
all

prove a blessing to them, and to us, and to

humanity.

'

M t<

A TIMELY, IMPORTANT BOOK

Laird
By

& Lee's
m. De Rivas
Spain

PRACTICAL

Spanish Instructor
F.

A Graduate
One sound

of the University of Seville,

for every letter.

A unique

method of learning Spanish without the aid of a teacher. Not a dictionary, phrase book or grammar. No irksome or confusing rules to be learned. Five thousand useful expressions; 2,000 names of Spanish officials, ships, cities etc., with their correct pronunciation.
Silk cloth,

Morocco,
"

full gilt,

25c 50c
for its lucid
: ^

It is especially to

be

commended

and comprehensive exposition of the pronunciation. ... It has a complete list of syllables from which the Spanish words are formed, and

::

also of officials, of diseases, of dishes ordinar- " ly required, of verbs in common use, of occu- pations, arts, sciences, and all the acts pnd

doings of everj'day
:

life."

Carter's [Monthly.

The Book Correctly Spells and Pronounces all the Names of Places and Persons Used in "The
Story of Beautiful Porto Rico."

You Make no Mistake

in Purchasing a Copj-. The Best is Always the Cheapest. For sale everywhere, or sent postpaid on

receipt of price,

by

LAIRD & LEE,

263

Wabash Av.,Chicago

A BOOK OF
.INTERNATIONAL IMPORTANCE.

THE

Salva=Webster
Spanish= English
384 Pages

&

English=Spanish
mustrated

UlCtlOnary
of

4C,000 Words and Definitions New and Thorouglily Revised Edition

The Pronunciation
Explained

English Thoroughly

for Spanish Speaking Students of English.

Interlinear matter for practice of pronunciation in both languages; numerals, names of months, etc., grouped together; conversation

''

pieces added, business and social correspondence enlarged. Also conversations, foreign moneys, colored maps, list of consulates, Spanish abbreviations, irregularverbs,Biographical

and Geographical Cyclopedia,

etc., etc., etc.

Invaluable to Business

&

Professional

Men, Teachers

&

Students.

Capt. P. F. Harrington, of the Puritan, says: "Having some acquaintance with the Spanish language, I find the booic an admirable one."

ENDORSED BY ARMY AND NAVY PUBLIC AND PRESS

Should be in every
library, public

and private

Cloth, No Index, 30c I Stiff Cloth, Double Index, Marbled Edges, 60c I or sent on receipt everywhere, For sale i

Limp

of price,

by

LAIRD & LEE, 263 Wabash Av.,Chicago

I

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

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