Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1898-04-30

pose an objection whenever the camera
was pointed toward any portion of the an
Client forts. Yet he visited the Moro, with
its deep dungeons and covered ways in
spected the military town within the castle
walls and read the Inscriptions, some of
them over 200 years old. on the antiquat ed
guns Some modern cannon have been
mounted since then. but that does not mat
ter, for the Spaniard cannot aim a gun to
save his life. If any one of our ships is
ever sunk by Spanish guns it will be
through accident, and not from malice
aforethought, for the Spanish gunners the
records show us. are as inherently inca
pable of shooting straight as if affiict ed
with strabismus.
1t would be preferable that old San Juan
should be taken uninjured, with all its
memories and relics intact, than that it
should feel the effects of our guns. There
is no doubt that the harbor is mined, but
in order to demolish the walls it will not
be necessary to enter. as ship may lie
outside and drop her shells all over the
city.
Conditions of Life.
AS to local conditions, San Juan is not
an attractive city, under it's present man
agement, owing to its filthy streets and
lack Of attention to sanitation. 1t is likely
to have visit every year from Yellow
Jack, when, owing to its situation, he
might as well not be kept at a distance
The residents are acclimated and do not
summer are in danger 1t may be as well
to note, in this connection. that the West
Indian year is divided generally into two
seasons, the wet and the dry; or there may
be two brief rainy seasons, when the sun
passes over their zenith, in the vernal and
autumnal equinox, and in the latter the
hurricanes occur. The dry months are
usually frcm November to April inclusive.
and the wet and sickly from May to No
vember. The longest day scarcely exceeds
thirteen hours. and the difference between
the maximum and minimum of heat is
much less than with us, in summer, the
annual mean being about 10 to so degrees
with "a daily range of not much more than
ten degre es. and an average winter tenn
perature of 20. Then there is the daily
alienation Of the sea and land breeze the
former setting in about . in the morning
and continuing through the day, the lat
ter beginning soon after sunset and hold
Ing until about an hour after sunrise, the
hottest times being in the intervals be-
tween the two. If one could run the gaunt-
let Of the coast belt and get to some high
situation In the Interior he would be COM
paratively safe at any season in any island
of the West Indies.
That the city is not healthful one is
shown by the frequent funeral professions
that pass through the streets and seek the
campo santo." just outside the walls
This cemetery lies between the sea wall
of the fort and the ocean, and one of the
sentry boxes Overlooks the entrance. In
deed, the columbariae, in which the better
class of the dead are pigeonholed are built
against the wall itself, and as the graves
in the other portion are rented for short
term leases only not exceeding five years.
the sentinels on the parapets have grue-
some spectacles below them of piles of
bones heaped in the corners of the yard.
This custom of refinement is a Spanish
one and prevails throughout their colonies,
not only here and in Cuba, but in Mexico
as well. IT, as has been asserted, a ma
tons regard for the living may be judged