Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1898-05-18
PORTO rico A
Fine PLACE.
A Country Sampson Hasn't t
Taken Yet.
THE INHABITANTS

= Il
City San Juan is a Large Place
Rich Soil of the Island, Pro-
ducing Sugar, Coffee, Rice. Cot
ton, and Other Things-Mineral
Resources.
In the discussions concerning
the Punishment of the Spanish
flag from American territory we
have heard nothing about the
island of Porto Rico, fertile and
productive of all the Antilles.
Compared with Cuba it is very
small-not so large as the smallest
of the six provinces into which the
former island is divided. 1t is
only ninety miles long from tip 10
tip and thirty-six broad at the
broadcast part. The total area is
$3.50 square miles-one-third
smaller than Connecticut and not
quite twice as large as Delaware.
The confguration of the island is
different from that Of Cuba. The
land rises Immediately from the
seashore into a group of hills and
mountains, eliminating in peak
3,67S feet high. These mountains
are covered with magnificent tim
ber and intersected with lovely
valleys, watered by running
streams, with deep, rich soil that
produces luxuriant crops of all
tropical staples. 1t is said to be
even more fertile thar that of Cuba,
if such thing were possible; but
owing to the hills and the rocks
the proportion of the land suscep-
tible to cultivation is very much
smaller, The chief products are
sugar, tobacco, coffee, rice, cotton
and fruit of all kinds, and the ara
BILE land is pretty well taken up.
There are supposed to be very rich
mineral deposits. Gold, iron, cop
per, lead, salt and antimony have
been found, and some of the mines
have been worked for 200 or 800
years with a profit, but agriculture
has paid SO much better that the
mineral resources have been left
undeveloped. The timber upon
the mountains is extremely valua-
BILE, being composed of the finest
cabinet woods, and is easily acces-
sible to the rainy season, when the
streams are high.
The climate of Porto Rico is i
much more healthy than that of
Cuba, and is as good as that OF. any
tropical country on earth, owing
to the absence of swamps, jungles
and other lowlands which breed
malaria. There is certainly no
place in the West Indies 30 agree
able, as far as climate and tenn
perature are concerned. The ma
tural conditions are almost per-
feet. Yellow fever and other trop-
cal diseases are unknown, except
when they are brought into the
seaports from the other islands.
The thermometer often falls as low
as SO degrees Fahrenheit during
the winter season, and never rises
above IS degrees in midsummer.
The nights are alwaps cool, and a
seabreeze springs up regularly
about II o'clock in the morning,
and goes down at sunset.
Porto Rico is densely populated,
the total number of people emu
merated at the last census being
7S4, ,709, or more than half as many
as are in Cuba. If they were scat
tered evenly over the island they
would run about twenty-five to the
square mile, but they are confined
III towns and villages in the fertile
valleys and upon tho coast, while
the timber lands are totally unin-
habited. Ninety per cent. of the
population are negroes or. mulat-
toes; at least 100000 are pure
blooded descendants of the slaves
that were brought over from Africa
by the Spaniards. The white pop
ulation does not exceed $1,000
$4,000 Spaniards and few Eng
lish, Germans, Dutchmen, Danes,
Chinese, South Americans and
Canary Islanders. Only 96,S67 of
the population can read and write,
and these constitute the upper and
classes in the cities and {
larger towns. The blacks are alb
solutely illiterate. There are no
schools except those kept by the
nriests. and thew are not encour-