The times., 1898-07-14
WELCOME TO PORTO RICO
Natives of the Island Eager 10
Assist the Americans.
SPANIARDS FED FALSE NEWS
The People Kent in Ignorance of
fenses Weak-The City Can BE
Easily TaEen--InEnbiiants Suffer-
ing for Food.

New York, July 13.-one of the officers
of the Britishsship Fl. NJ Pollock. which
arrived here from Porto Rican ports
yesterday, said
Americans need fear no opposition in
Porto Rico except from Spaniards. The
| natives are eager TO see the Americans
land. They want to be rid of their OPP
pressors. Nothing more has been heard
of autonomy. The senator's have never
been called together.
Food in Porto Rico is scarce and dear.
with the exception of beef. which is plen-
tiful. Flour in the port sells for % cents
a pound, or $23 a bag. A high price was
offered a schooner to bring a cargo of
tainted fish into Mayaguez
In this port there are about 1000
| troops, regulars and volunteers. The
former are half-starved, beardless boys.
There are no Notifications anywhere,
except at San Juan. The harbor of San
Juan is well defended with electric mines.
| We were boarded by an officer of the
| Yosemite of the bIockading fleet. on Sun
day, June 26, and he knew all about San
Juan and its defenses. Had the former
bombardment lasted two hours longer
the town would have surrendered. At
| the same time. | do not think there was
much damage done. | could only see two
shot holes in the MORO and two or three
others in the prison.
I'VE first called at Fajarda with the
mails. A custom house officer got them
: and they have never been delivered. span
! ish spies and detectives dogged US every
where we went. They Insisted that we
! were Americans or in league with Ameri-
| cans.
'.The people are kept in dense ignorance
/ of what is going on The first news We
! heard at Fajarda was that the Spanish
/ fleet was b0mbarding New York, and was
/ then going 10 she'll Boston and other
! coast cities, while 200, 900 Spanish troops
were lying off shore, waiting to capture
| the railroads and invade the Western
| States. Commodore Sampson had been
! killed twice before. but he was surely
| killed at Santiago, and President Mckin-
/ ley had left Washington TO take command
| of the fleet, some of the ships of which
/ were coming TO devastate the coast OF
| Porto Rico. The natives were counselled
! TO fire guns and pistols at the Americans.
! and so frighten them off. as had been
! done in Cuba.
! Churches and houses are surrounded
! by sand bags, two or three tiers deep, as
| from the barbarous Yankees Innumer
| able stories are told the simple natives
/ of the savage deeds Of the Americans.
! When / explained TO one negro that the
/ Americans were fighting to set the Porto
! Ricans and Cubans free from Spanish op-
preston, he danced for JOY and cried:
! Let them come, let them comeF Others
said the Americans would find every
| house open to them.
| Il saw a bulletin posted at Arecibo,
dated from Madrid stating that all was
| quiet al Manila and that the natives were
| joining with the Spaniards to repel the
| Americans.
1--WE were twice mistaken for an Amer
! can transport ard soldiers on board were
drawn up to repel US. The same thing oc-
! CURED in the case of the steamer Elliott
| from Halifax When she arrived at May
\ aguez so suspicious were the authorities
/ that the principal priest and two other
residents were not permitted TO visit the
ship at Arecibo.
Porto Ricans have plucked up courage
| wonderfully. They are hardly the same
/ people as those met when previously on
! the island, so much are they fortified by
! the prospect of relief from oppression.
| There is a war tax on everything that
possibly can be taxed. Some time ago
! planters son lost both legs in a sugar
! mill He had pair of artificial legs made
| and fitted here in New fork at cost OF
| 5000 When father and son returned to
| the island they were not permitted to
| land until they had paid $500 taxes on the
| boys artificial limbs.
The people are starving all over the
island, which has a population of nearly
a million.
There is a native captain in prison on
the island because he admitted TO the
governor that he had told one Of the
sblppkl6arS that he a pnTtn Pipon
and so had escaped seizure with his
schooner. The governor was incensed be-
cause he did not say he was a S.3aniard
1T will be easy to land troops on the
island outside of San Juan. Arecibo and
Fajarda are both good harbors."