The Portland daily press., 1898-08-10
ABOUT PORTO RICO.
Mistake to Say That the Porto Ricans
Are Loyal to Spain.

Mistake to Say That the Porto Ricans
Are Loyal to Spain.
When I left San Juan, Porto Rico, last
April. writes Gilson Willets in the Home
journal, the last words the chief aid. de-
camp of Gen. Macias said to me We're:
mo fighting. DO war. Since then,
by our war ships, and now it is to be in
vaded and captured by our army. Mean
While wonder what that Ipeace-loving
aid-de-camp is doing.
The island of Porto Rico, the second
of the Pearls of the Antilles, is one of
the lovleest on earth. AS it is only few
days sail from New York, it may become
famous winter resort. The climate is
not unlike that of New York in July,
and an agreeable popularity of it is that
strangers are quickly and easily accli-
mated Though the island is nearer the
equator than Hawaii, this climatic
agreeableness has brought to Porto Rico
people of northern nations, who have
summed the Pacific acknowledgements,
Russians. Swedes, French and Danes be-
ing among the 5000 foreign population
which thrives and prospers there. These
foreigners are found principally in San
Juan-which is to be our first point of at
tack-on the northeast coast, and in San
German, town larger than San Juan
the capital.
San Juan is of more than ordinary in
terest, as it is probably the best example
of Spanish city in the new world The
architecture is largely of the by brid type,
which is known as Hispano Moorish, III
which sunlight and fresh air are excluded
from buildings by using narrow windows
and small doorways. The houses in the
city have handsome iron balconies, aud
those in the suburbs are set in very pretty
gardens. The city itself is built on what
was formerly series of billy islands,
coral reefs and lowlands sometimes SUBJ
merged in stormy weather. 1t is con-
nected with the mainland by long pen
insula, and with the island proper by
railway bridge. 1t is the neatest city in
Spanish America. Within the harbor are
a square-turreted, little stone battery and
a liliputian fort oddly picturesque, but
practical y insignificant. On high
point of land, within the castle walls,
stands tall lighthouse. This Is the real
gateway to the island.
Ponce de Leon is. buried here. His dust
is inclosed in a box that is awaiting in
terment beneath a proposed monument.
Perhaps the most noted building 10 the
city is the Casa Blanca (white house)
that Ponce built for himself in 1909, an d
which he occupied during his long term
as governor. This Is now the governor
generals palaoe. 1t is a good type of the
municipal architecture of Madrid. The
cathedral is rather handsome building.
There are gloomy, but attractive, con-
vent, one or two picturesque gates, and
number of large and massive houses
built in the olden time, when the place
was frequented by Spanish warships and
galleons
Some of the streets are paved in a Curl
GUS fashion. Wedge-shaped stones are
driven into the earth Of the roadway, and
afterward hammered by heavy paviors
until they form smooth and rather con-
G ave surface. This conflicts with our
i'd cas- of paving, the intent being to use
the center of the street. instead of its
sides, as gutter for water during heavy
rains.
Like Cuba, Porto Rico is overrun with
Spanish soldiers. Every officer, private,
petty official and custom house inspector
is imported from Spain, and the island
must support them. But the people are
unalterably opposed to all things Spanish.
hey have a good reason to hate their op-
pressors and hate them they do. heartily.
The productive class of the population,
the small landholders and laborers, are
Of very old Spanish stock, which was
mixed centuries ago with the native In
dian blood. This class, called Gibaros,
are peaceful, Dontented and, as the virtue
is measured in Porto Rico. industrious.
They are the farmers and herders, and
are content to pack their product to mar
ket or mill on mule back; and it is well
it is so, for the majority of them have
only mule paths by which to reach mar
ket The monetary unit on the island is
the silver peso-not to be confused with
the much less reliable pessta-and is
worth about 80 cents in our currency.
Puerto Rico, or Porto Rico, as it is
generally spelled, is the sma' lest and
most easterly of the Antilles, and has an
N0k'OAANOAACiSo
lands of Vieque, Culebra and Mona), of
$500 square miles, wit, population of
about 500, 600, of which $4,000 are white.
The island is nearly rectangular in shape
with lsngth, east and west, of about
100 miles, and breadth of 40.
While in this island l saw very few
birds or flowers. But did see a great
numbe of pretty girls, especially in San
Juan. heard a story about girl ofssSan
Juan, Pauline Macias, the daughter of
the captain general, who went out into
the streets Of the capital and tried to
rouse her countrymen to the defense of
their city. II true, this was in contra.
vention of the Spanish code of conven-
tionalities. Rarely does a Castilian Joan
d Arc venture out to lead Spanish troops;
for, no matter how much her service
should be valued, her act would surely be
misconstrued. Whatever freedom the flu
ture may bring to Porto Rico and to the
women of San Juan, at present they are
hedged about with the strongest chains of
custom. They do not often venture out
of doors unattended, and, like the Moor
ish women, they visit oftener tie GENE.