The herald., 1898-06-21
THE WORST
INHABITANTS OF PORTO RICO
AWAIT AN ATTACK
Thousands Of Men Unemployed-No
News From the Outer World,
Food Is Scarce

NEW YORK, June 2O.-The Herald pub
lishes the following special correspond
ence, dated San Juan, Porto Rico, June 8:
Since the bombardment of the city, May
IL. there has been a general feeling Of un-
rest, uneasiness and uncertainty as to
what is to come next, as it is clearly ev;-
dent that matters will not rest long in
statu quo. =.
Where and when the next blow may fall
is the all-absorbing question.
No American papers have come to hand
lately and it is supposed those that ar
rived have been suppressed. That is true
CT those coming by way of st. Thomas.
News by cable is utterly unreliable as
passed for publication by the authorities,
SO that the only reliable information is
that which comes surreptitiously from st.
Thomas.
A grand review of the new volunteers
was held last Sunday, when about thou
sand men swore fidelity to the Spanish
flag.
None Of the Spanish fleet has arrived in
port yet, except the torpedo boat Terror,
which is thought to be grand acquisition
to the defenses. Her sister vessel, the F'u-
ror, lies at Martinique, according to the
latest advices. The other warships in port
are the usual ones, the Isabella III, Ponce
de Leon and Concha.
The armed transatlantic steamship AL
fonso XIII, lies loaded with provisions for
Santiago or some other Cuban port, but
does not seem inclined to move out. She
made a quick run a few days ago to Maya
guez and Ponce. to carry provisions to the
small garrison there. /
Provisions are very scarce and prices
have been increased Is per cent above the
normal
In the interior of the island the conditions
are still worse. No work is being done
on the estates. Thousands of men are un-
employed and misery and hunger are rife.
The local currency is at a low ebb, the rate
of exchange anything from ITO to las per
cent premium in gold value.
Prisoners are working briskly on the
earthworks and are repairing and strength
ening the batteries.
The absence of the cruiser Yale from her
usual daily appearance on some part Of the
coast is much commented upon, and the
rumor was started, on no foundation what
ever that she had been sent to the bot
tom by a Spanish war vessel near some
underlined point. No vessels have been
sighted at sea from any station on the is-
land so that the small coasters are be-
ginning to follow their regular routes
again.
The mines at the harbor entrance have
been laid further seaward covering all the
lines the United States fleet took during
the bombardment, which were too close in
to have effect on Moro, which lies on
the fat top of a cliff above where they
were.
The islanders are perfectly quiet; even
politics is not discussed. There have been
many cases of ham stringing of cattle, so
that they have to be killed and the own
ers, having more flesh on their hands than
they can dispose of, have to give 1t away
to the poor people-the people who did the
mischief, in fact This trick Is becoming
very common and may lead to something
more serious when people are starving as
they soon will be.
The angry feeling against the yankees
is extremely bitter among the purely Span
ish party, but nothing of the kind exists
among the true islanders who appear to be
passively awaiting the developments Of the
war; At present they are cowed-to use
a forcible expression-but If a competent
native leader were to come forward they
would rise to man and make short work
of any oppressors-too short, 1t is feared.
humanely speaking.
The island has now a population of
million. The purely Spanish element may
count as only one-tenth of the whole.