Herald and news. [volume] (West Randolph, Vt.) 1878-1943, 1898-12-22

the climate alone. There was no more
sickness among the troops in Porto Kick
than in the United 6tates, and the deatf
rate was smaller than in towns OF CORES.
pondiBg population in the northern
states. Poor and insufficient quantity Of
food, overcrowded and uDsanitary camps
that is, in their location, and a great lack
OF pure water for drinking and bathing
4 was what caused most of the trouble, both
in and out of the United States.
The population OF Porto Rico is over
800 900, and 1t is said that about SOC, 600 are
negroes. There are also quite mum Der OF
Indians. The people generally are UNDER
sized, averaging about feet inches, and
are efieminate, but bright and intelligent
and can out Yankee the Yankee or out
Jew the Jew In an affair of barter or trade.
Their complexion Is a muddy yellow,
unless mixed witch Indian or negro, and
they have dark eyes and black hair. There
are many OF French descent, however,
who have fair skins, light or sandy hair
and blue eyes. They are erect, square
shouldered. wiry and muscular and gen
orally good looking. They are very peace
able and polite, easy going, lazy, and won
drously happy and conteDted. They exist
to-day, because they can't put 1t OF till
tomorrow. Manana (tomoirow) is almost
ltheir god. Education is not as backward
as we bad supposed. In all the towns and
49,
nearly aIlthe young people and most OF
the older ones as well can read and write.
In the country districts 1t is different. as
advantages were not ~ good. The per-
centage OF iliiterates Is not nearly SO high
as In Spain.
Although drunkenness is very rare,
everybody drinks wine and rum. Both
are very cheap. Their wines are very light
and are drank by the tumblerful, but al
mi cd mil MI - ~
water. Kun is used by putting a very lit
tie In tins drinking water. This is verit-
able fire watt r, made from the sugar cane.
1t is sold at penny glass, and one glass
will make man drunk, two will send him
climbing cocoanut palm and five will
put him in the ground with four to six
feet OF earth over him. 1t is "holy ter
ror."
The people dress well and In good taste,
in white or light-colored goods, clean as
to person and clothing, and their gar
ments have fashionable cut and fit. But
strange contrasts are seen. In the street
one sees the well dressed child and the ma
ked urchin OF the very poor, the palatiai
home and the hut OF bamboo frame with
walls and roof of plantain leaves, and on
the farm the up-to-date American pillow
and harrow or the more primitive bent
stick and branch OF tree.
Although there are many poor people,
never saw beggar or tramp In all the four
months was on the island. Their food
consists largely of rice; fruit, sweets, meat,
fish and bread. Here are a few prices:
Chickens, live, 10 to 20 cents each; eggs,
n dozen; oranges, cents dozen; pc.
fstoes, 10 cents pound: bananas, to 3
cents dozen; cabbages, rs cents to 81 q
head; beef, 3 to s cents pound; milk, 10
cents quart; wine, 30 to so cents gal
lon; -four, S25 to $50 barrel; lemons, 3
cents dozen; cocoaDuts, 2 cents apiece:
butter. 81 a pound. All cooking Is done
over charcoal fires, and very good cooks,
indeed, the Porto Ricans are. Olive oil Is
used 10 place OF lard. All butter Is inn
ported, mostly from Denmark. It is very
little usei. Splendid cattle are raised, but
meat is preferred to milk. The oxen are
used fer labor and cows are scarce.
Porto Rican coffee is the best in the
world, and THEY know just how TO prepare
IL to make II good. What isn't used at
home is exported to England and France,
where il commands the highest price of
any coffee on the market.
Breakfast is at II O'Clock. Many places
of business close from II to 2 O'Clock, so
all can go to breakfast; then business from
2 till O'Clock; then dinner, still
greater function than breakfast, and after
dinner an easy chair or siesta, the Plaza or
The Porto Ricans have practically no re-
iigion. Although all baptized 10 the Ro-1
man Catholic church, u one sees the in
eide OF the sacred edifice more than three
or four times during the whole course OF
his life, it must be either by miracle OF
God or some crafty work OF the devil.
Ponce has only two churches. One OF
them Is the English Episcopal church con-
nected with the British consulate. The
Ia ho trr oh int ho
Plaza, which will hold less than one thous-
and people, and this for city OF nearly
sc, 900 population. Attend this church on
any Sunday or high feast day and one will
fiud the congregation. at the principal SER
vice, to consist Of from rs to 100 women
and Is to 20 men. Sunday is not a holy
day, but holiday. and more retail bust |,
OF church service than on any other da5
in the week.
Everybody goes horseback 1t Is the
am bition Of every man, woman and child
to have horse or pony. The Porto Ri,an !
horses are very small, very gentle and
great pets, and are the easiest and best
riding horses in the world.
There are good laundries, but most OF
this work is done at the creek by sozzling |
the clothes in the water and whacking
them against the stones. Furniture 10
scarce, because II Is highly taxed luxury. !
Even the wealthy have comparatively lit
tie. All bedsteads are OF brass or iron.
Those who cannot afford them use cots or
When a man dies, q coffin Is
rented In which to take the body to the
On arriving there the remains
are taken out OF the coffin and showed
head first into vault built in the ceme-
terry wall. This vault is rented by the
year. II the friends Of the deceased do
not keep the rent paid, the vault is
opened and room is made for the next by
hoeing out the bones and unceremonious-
" piling them in corner Of the cemetery
wall, and there they remain.
Well, guess have written enough for
once. In this have told OF some OF the
Of the people. In my next
will try and tell about the country and
places visited.
/ was in three skirmishes or battles
y here Mauser bullets sung past my ears
ind three Spanish shells struck within 80
" 40 feet OF me, but like most of the others
who were there was neither hit nor hurt.
(Other locals on next page.)