The daily morning journal and courier., 1898-07-11
QUEER OLD SAN JUAN.

The Fine Specimen of a Walled Town
 That the United States Will Have.
 San Juan is a perfect specimen of a walled town, with portcullis, moat, gates and battlements. Built over 250 years ago, it is still in good condition and repair. inc walls are picturesque, and represent a stupendous work and cost in themselves. Inside the walls, the city is laid off in regular squares, six parallel streets running in the di- rection of the length of the island and seven at right angles. The houses are closely and compactly built of brick, usually of two stories, succeed on the outside and painted in a variety of colors. The upper floors are occupied by the more respectable people, while the ground flors, almost with exception, are given up to negroes and the poorer classes, who crowd one upon another in the most appalling manner. The population within the walls is estimat- ed at 10000, and most of it lives on the ground floors. In one small room with a flimsy partition a whole family will reside.
 The ground floors of the whole town reek with filth, and conditions are most unsanitary. In a tropical coun- try where disease readily prevails, the consequences of such herding may be easily inferred. There is no running water in the town. The entire popula- tion depends on rain water caught on the fiat roofs of the buildings and con- ducted to the cistern, which occupies the greater part of the courtyard that is an essential part of Spanish houses the world over, but that here, on ac- count of the crowded conditions is small. There is no sewerage, except for surface water and sinks, while vaults are in every house and occupy whatever remaining space there may be in the patios not taken up by the cisterns. The risk of contaminating the water is great, and in dry seasons the supply is entirely eXhaustiyed Epidem- ics are frequent, and the town is alive with vermin mosquitoes and dogs.
 The streets are wider than in the old- CT part of Havana and will admit two carriages abreast. The sidewalks are narrow, and in places will accon1mo- date only one person. The pavements are of composition manufactured in England from slag, pleasant and even and durable when no heavy strain is brought to bear upon them, but easily broken and unfit for heavy traffic The streets are swept once a day by hand, and, strange to say, are kept very clean. From it's typographical situation the town should be healthy, but it Is not. The soil under the city is clay mixed with lime, so hard as to be all most like rock. It is consequently im- perviouS to water and furnishes a good natural drainage. The trade wind blows strong and fresh, and through the harbor runs a stream of sea water at a speed of not less than three miles an hour With these conditions no con- tagious diseases If properly taken care of, could exist; without them the place would be veritable plague spot.
 Besides the town within the walls, there are small portions just outside, called the Marina and Puerta de Tierra, containing 1000 or 5000 inhabitants each. There are also two suburbs, one, San Turce, approached by the only road leading out of the city, and the other, Catano, across the bay, reached by ferry. The Marina and the two suburbs are situated on sandy points or spits, and the latter are surrounded by mangrove swamps. The entire population of the city and suburbs, &C., cOrding to the census of 1884, was 27,- 900. It is now QS96) estimated at 0,000 One-half of the population consists of negroes and mixed races.-Boston l ENenine Transcrint