The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-08-15
THE TOWN OF PONCE.
Agreeable Spot, but Hardly Hotel
Room Enough Now.

Correspondence New York Evening Sum-
AS town Ponce is far ahead of any other
place which we have visited in the West
Indies. 1t is far more advanced and up to
date even than Kingston, Jamaica, while
the natives are so far ahead of both the ia
maicans and the Haitians that you can
scarcely regard them in the same class.
The women for the most part are sweet
faced and gentle. but while you find them
in all shades. from the lightest brown to
apparent in them all.
The three principal hotels here stand side
by side. The Hotel FRANCHISE is supposed
of the officers and all the correspondents
make their headquarters The Hotel Ingla-
terra Is also doing thriving trade, for the
Hotel Espanol is locked tight as an oys-
ter The entire menage, from the chef to
the star boarderS decamped toward the in
terror the moment the first American ship
appeared in the harbor. 1t is a pity that
some enterprising citizen of Ponce cannot
find the keys and reopen the hotel at once
rooms are needed sorey. At present the
landlady of the French hotel has the most
charmingly original methods of doing bust
ness. She thinks nothing of renting your
room over your head from three to four
times day, and when all breathing space
in the two beds has given out she obligingy
accommodates from three to four more.
either on cots or on the floor. AS madam
insists upon exacting a full rental from
each of the eight or nine occupants of each
room. 1T can be seen not only that the hotel
business in Ponce is looking up. but that
madam is quite bit of a George Boldt in
her way.
There is very pretty courtyard to the
hotel, where coffee is served in the morning.
and where large and varied collection of
Porto Rican youths disport themselves at
all hours of the day. IF you only get up
early enough you can see the entire table
dhote for that evening approach The
chickens usually arrive first. They are
brought in dozen at a time and are
dumped on the floor of the courtyard. where
they are supposed to form in line for execu-
of these Spanish fowl is the nearest ap-
proach to bloodshed which any of us has yet
seen down here
There is first-rate band here which, now
that it has successfully mastered the intri-
cacies of THE Star-spangled Banner" is
now practicing the strains of Hot Time. -
BY far the most imposing looking citizens
of Ponce are the bombaros-the firemen.
There seem to be hundreds of them, and in
their brilliant shirts they have made a spe-
cial appeal to the Massachusetts regiment.
These bombaros have such a remarkable
resemblance in both dress, thirst and de-
pertinent to the Ancient and Honorable Ar
tillery that they make the Boston men par
ticularly feel quite at home
The sieSta is one of the most popular GUS
toms at Ponce. You realize this acuteiy
the first time you decide to take a midday
catnap and meet the other eight occupants
of your bedroom all making haste to get
possession
The air here is so bracng that even those
members of the Cuban expedition who were
i'll when they arrived here are recuperating.
is about the only invalid now in the hotel.
and he is making rapid strides toward re-
cOVery. There is a great deal of typhoid
upon the transports, however.