The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-10-23
TIE WOMEN OF PORTO RICO.
They Ride TO Church on Mules and Smoke Big Black Cigars

No one ever walks in Porto Rico. The
mules the thing here. The women ride
great deal. The better classes use
the English side saddle, although a few
prefer the more picturesque and safer.
but less graceful, Spanish saddle. SAYS
the New York Herald. In the county
districts the pilliOn is occasionally en-
rloyed, while among the lower class es
many women ride astride without ex-
citing comment. When the natives are
both pretty and good riders they dis
play considerable cOquetry in the sad
die.
I noticed one rider near Juana Diaz
who took my mind back to the old
days of Chivairy. She was a lovely girl
OF about fifteen or sixteen, with a face
like a madonna and figure like an
artists model. One little foot crept out
beneath her silk riding skirt, and to my
surprise it was devoid of hosiery. The
skin was like polished velvet, and was
of a pinkish gold of an exquisite tint.
1t was shed with a slipper of satin, en-
broidered in color, and had an arched
inStep which made the foot all the more
cha rming by it's setting.
The time to see the women at their
best is on Sunday morning, when they
ride from their homes to mass in the
nearest church or cathedral. On one
Sunday morning, While riding Ieisurely
into small village on my way to this
town, l met a crowd Of WOrshippers on
their way to mass. Nearly all the
women were on muleback and sat or
lclled as if they were in an easy
chair in their own homes. A few, prob
ably weather. than the others or else
delicate in health, were accompanied By
little darby boys, who held over them
u raraSOl or an umbrella.
On Sunday each woman wears huge
rosary, sometimes so large as to be un-
comfortable. I saw several that were
so UnWieldy that they went over the
shoulders and formed a huge line,
larger indeed than a string of sleigh
bells. These are ornamental rosaries
and are not used for prayer. The pray
ing rosary is small and dainty as those
used by fashionable women in our own
Roman Catholic churches. Besides the
fan and the rosary every woman is
provided with a neat and often hand
somely bound prayer book and a huge
lighted cigar or cigarette.
This is indeed the land for women
who love the weed. A few smoke
cigarettes and pipes, but the majority
like partajas, perfectOs, NapOleons and
other rolls Of the weed larger than
those usually seen in our own land.
They smoke them at home and in the
streets, at the table or on the balcony,
lying in hammocks, or lOlling on their
steeds, and only desist when within
the sacred walls Of the church. The
moment mass IS over and they emerge
into the sunlight the first thing the
women do is to light fresh cigar and
then climb into the saddle
They make a beautiful picture upon
the roads. Imagine an intensely blue
sky above, with below rich green veg
citation and startling dashes of scarlet,
crimson, vermilion, orange and white
from the flowers which seem to bloom
the year through, setting off the bright
hues of the costumes. 1t combines the
picturesque side of New Orleans life, of
Florida scenery, of the Maine lake
country, and of the New Hampshire
hills