Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1898-08-04
San Juan and It's DeIenSeS.

! the nineteenth century san Juan,
| which our iieet bonbarded on May y,
| is strongly fortified, but at that time
Rear Admiral Sampson had no lnten-
| ton of capturing the town he wished
| orIv TO draw the FIRE OF the batteries so
as to locate them and destroy as many
as possible. He was successful III his
| attempt, and he did not intend to try To-
| Land any soldiers or marines. Now,
however large army viii invest the
city and viii co operate with the heet
in its bombardment.
San Juan, the capital OF Porto Rico
lies on the northeast shore OF the Island
and has a population OF about 2o,O0o
The harbor is one of the finest III the
West Indies. being large, sheltered, and
capable Of accommodating any number
| of the largest ships, having en- anchor
| age OF from three to seven tathoms. IL
bears very striking likeness TO daY-
ana Harbor, to which it is little inIe-
rior. It's entrance toward the nortn II
tinvitingly open to the vessels OF our
great republic. being oyer 2,Ooo teer
| wide. and the harbor is defended on the
west side by forts erected on two small
stands. The city occupies what Is gen
orally supposed to be an island, but the
city is really built on coral reef. Ii Is
A long, irregular peninsula, and 1t Is
| connected with the mainland.by short
bridge at the east end The town IL
| completely inclosed with massive walls
Of stone and mortar which rise to =
| height, in some places, or from % to 100
feet. 1t is perfect speciman OF wal
| led town with portcuilis, moat, gates,
ane battlements. The Notifications
were begun over $50 years ago, and
| were still in good condition until they
were attacked by Admiral Sampson.
! Like Havana and Santiago, San Juan
| has MORO" Castle, or citadel Creaiiy
a round Moorish tower. The walls
have many sentry boxes at intervals
hanging out over the sea on the grim,
gray walls One can find counterpart
on a small scale in the old fort at ST
Augustine, Florida, and they are in
every way similar to those st Havana
before her walls were torn down The
peninsula on which Moro and the
lighthouse stand is thrust out into the
sea, one side breasting the laundering
surges of the Atlantic Ocean and the
other guarding the placid waters Of the
beautiful and almost landlocked harbor,
The Notifications have one advantage
over feet in being at a considerable
elevation, thus enabling them to deliver
a plunging fire In Admiral Sampson :
attack on San Juan only one man was
killed on the American vessels, and the
Admirals ship did great damage, de
stroying many OF the batteries.
Inside the walls the city is laid off III
regular squares, six parallel streets run
ming in the direction of the length OF
the peninsula and seven at right angles.
The houses are closely and compactiy
built o. stone and are usually one o.
two stories high, strccoad on the out
side and painted in a variety OF coiors.
The upper floors are occupied by the
more respectable people, while the
ground floors are almost without excep-
ton given up TO negroes and the poorer
classes The population within the
walls is estimated ct 90, 900, and most of
the people live on the ground floors
In one small room, with tiimsy par
tition, a whole family viii reside. As
may be supposed, these ground floors OF
the whole town reek with fever, and
the conditions are most unsanitary.
As Porto Rico is q tropical country,
where disease would readily get a foot
hold, the cor onsequence of such herdlng
may be easily imagined. There is some
water supply, but the population de-
pends also en- rain water caught on the
fiat roofs of the buildings and conduct
ed TO the cistern which occupies the
greater part of the courtyard which is
the essential part of the Spanish house
the world over. There is no sewage
except for surface water and sinks, and
the risk of contaminating the water
in the clsterns by adjacent vaults is
very great Epidemics are frequent,
and the town is alive with vermin,
mosquitoes, and dogs.
The streets are wider than in the older
part of Havana, and will accommodate
two carriages abreast. The sidewalks
are very narrow, and will only accom-
mod ate one person. The pavements
are Of composition manufactured in
England They are unfit for very
heavy traffic, out are pleasant ard dur
able when no very heavy sGrain is
brought upon them. The streets are
swept once day, by hand, and strange
to say, are very clean. From its topo-
graphical situation, the town should be
healthy, but it is not The soil under
the city il clay, mixed with lime, and it
is SO hard as TO be almost like rock 1t
is, consequently, imperyious to water,
The trade winds blow strong and fresh,
and through the harbor runs stream
of sea water at speed of not less than
three miles an hour With these condi-
tions, no contagious disease, if properly
taken care Of, could exist, and without
them the place would be yeritaUle
plague spot.
Though the main portion of San Juan
! is inclosed within the walls, through
which entrance is obtained only by well
guarded gateways, yet there is a small
| town by itself between the Marina and
| the walls which contains two or three
thousand inhacitants. Here is to be
found public garden and pleasure
space for booths and restaura : IS. as
we'll as public cockpit where battles
| royal are frequently waged There are
| also two suburbs, San Turce and Cata-
no, across the bay, reached by ferry.
The present expedition to San Juan
| will not be the only one which has been
sent to capture the capital. In 1896 it
was sacked by Drake and in 1898 by the
Duke of Cumberland. In 1915 q Dutch
man, Baldwin Heinrich lost his life in
| an attack on MORO Castle. The at
| tack of the English in 1913 was equally
| unsuccessful, and Abercrombie in 1897
had tn retire after & siege of three days