The evening times., 1898-06-20
DEFENsES OF SAN JUAN.
They Have Been Greatly Strength
eRed Since the BOn ba I'd m enf.

Ahey IhASe 'ICuhy
eRed since the Bombnrdment.
New York. June 2O.-The Herald prints
the following letter dated San Juan, Por-
to Rico. June 8:
Since the bombardment of the city
May II. there has been a general feeling
of unrest, uneasiness and uncertainty as
to what Is to come next. as it is too
clearly evident that matters will not rest
long In statu quo.
Where and when the next blow may
fall is the ail-absorbing question. The
general report yesterday was that the
city would be bombarded today. Hun
dreds left for the country to add to the
thousands there already. This report
cannot be traced to any foundation ex-
cept that two British steamers I'm port
loading sugar have received cabiegrams
from their owners In England to leave
port today without fail. which they are
now preparing to do. This may mean a
blockade only.
No American papers have come to hand
lately. and 1t is supposed those that ar
rived have been suppressed That is
true of those coming by way of ST.
Thomas. News by cable is utterly un-
reliable as passed for publication by the
authorities. so that the only reliable in
formation is that which comes surrepti-
tiously from St. Thomas.
"A SEdiu EtNlt" VI the new volunteers
was held last Sunday when about 1900
men swore fidelity to the Spanish flag
None Of the Spanish fleet has arrived in
port yet, except the torpedo boat Ter
ror. which is thought TO be a grand acqui-
sition to the defenses-- Her sister vessel,
the Furor. lies at Martinique, according
TO the latest advices. The other warships
in port are the usual ones-the Isabella
H., Ponce de Leon and Concha.
The armed transatlantic steamship AL
fonso XIII lies loaded with provisions for
Santiago or some other Cuban port, but
does not seem inclined to move out. She
made quick run a few days ago to
Mayaguez and Ponce. to carry provisions
to the small garrisons there.
Provisions are very scarce and prices
have been increased IS per cent above the
normal. In the interior of the island
the conditions are still worse No work
is being done on the estates. Thousands
of men are unemployed, and misery and
hunger are rife. The local currency is at
a low ebb. the rate of exchange anything
from ll0 to li5 per cent premium on gold
value.
Prisoners are working briskly on the
earthworks and are repairing and
strengthening the batteries.
The absence of the cruiser Yale from
her usual daily appearance on some part
of the coast is much commented upon
ton whatever. that she had been sent
to the bottom by Spanish war vessel
near some underlined point. No vessels
have been sighted at sea from any sta
ton on the island, so that the small coast
ers are beginning 10 follow their regular
routes again.
The mines at the harbor entrance have
been laid further seaward covering all
the lines the United States fleet took
during the bombardment, which were too
close in to have effect on the Morro
which lies on the fat top of the cliff
above where they were.
The islanders are perfectly quiet; even
politics is not discussed. There have
been many cases of hamstringing of cat
tie. SO that they have to be killed. and
the owners, having more fresh on their
hands than they can dispose of. have to
give IL away to the poor-the people who
actually did the mischief. in fact. This
trick is becoming very common. and may
lead to something more serious when
people are starving, as they soon viii be-
The angry feeling against the Yam
KEGS" is extremely bitter among the
purely Spanish party. but nothing of the
kind exists among the true islanders. who
appear to be passively awaiting the de-
velopment Of the war. At present they
are cowed-to use forcible expression
but If a competent native leader were
20 come forward they would rise to a
man and make short work of any os-
short, II Is feared, humane
ly speaking.
The island has now a population Of a
million. The foreign or neutral element
is very small comparatively. The purely |
Spanish element may count as only one
tenth of the whole.