Bellows Falls times. [volume] (Bellows Falls, Vt.) 1856-1965, 1898-10-19

The foliage is fine and the flowers beau |
titul. The leaves are like wax and will |
keep all day without willing, We passed
through number of villages on the road
from San Juan to Ponce and found them
all filthy and the same is true of Ponce,
which is city Of $4,000 and is on low
ground with no chance for drainage. The
streets were in terrible condition. We
stopped at the. Hotel Inglatare, very
ancient building The proprietor said he
wanted to sell and wanted 100000 for his
good will besides the hotel property. At
tho present time there is no chance to buy
any real estate there. They think that the
Americans are coming down there and pay
them their price so are asking from $500
to $1,000 an acre for their land. There
are but few good tool, used on the island
most of the planters use wooden plows of
the most ancient make and their hoes are
of the rudest kind.
The women do most of the marketing
and carry everything on their heads in bas-
kets or trays. Some 60 around with
a dozen quart bottles of the juice of the
sugar cane set in a tray on their heads,
selling it for drink at penny glass.
When they wash they go to brook or
river and wade out to where the water is
foot deep and sit down and go to work,
twisting and pounding the clothing on the
rocks. They Rave no soap and either
hang their clothes on the bushes or spread
them on the ground. In the city they
spread them on the pavement in the street.
| have seen as many as 20 or more wash
ing at one time in the Rio Granda de Leo
liza, near the town of Caoas. A good
laundry or bakery would pay we'll in any
of the cities or large towns, for they have
no bread that is good. There are no
stoves and cooking is all done over CRATE,
and in brick ovens.
We went to the cemetery, which is very
small, about two acres, walled in with
a high wall, and in each corner there is
a brick vault built open at the top, with
door on the inside. After the bodies
have been buried two years or more they
are dug up and thrown into these vaults,
to make room for more. There were eight
or ten men at work digging, and l counted
six bodies to be buried they told me that
they worked there all the time. We
locked into one of the vaults and it was
sight never to be forgotten; hundreds of
skeletons thrown in together.
We saw all we wanted of Ponce, then
hired team to bring us back to San Juan,
changed ponies seven times, and so used
80 in going over and back. 1t cost three
OF us $50 in Puerto Rico money for the
round trip. We came past about 5000 OF
our soldiers on their way across the island,
and saw where they had battle with the
Spaniards. The Spaniards had gone into
the interior and mounted two large guns
on the hill, then dug trenches all across the
hill below and had over thousand men
concealed in them and in the woods.
When only 40 Of our men came around
the bend in the road, they opened fire on
them; that was the first our men knew
the Spanish we're there. Our men brought
a couple of guns around and opened fire
on them, and sent ten men around to the
n than, opl in lace fhon hn1r
drove them out with 10 killed ard 20
wounded. Our loss was one man killed
and two wounded. Our soldiers went up
and unmounted the Spanish guns and
rolled them down the hill
We also came through regime Mt of
Spanish soldiers marching for San Juan,
and when we reached the city found they
were getting ready to leave the island.
Two large transports came in and we saw
1000 men put on to each boat and shipped
to Spain. They loaded lot of live cat
tie to kill and eat on the way; everything
was done very quietly. Two OF our large
battlesbips and the coaler Caesar are in
the harbor.
We spent nine days on the island and can
not say too much in praise of the scenery
climate and soil. 1t is a beautiful place,
and if we could have our Vermont people
there instead of the native Puerto Ricans,
it would be almost paradise. We lett
San Juan Thursday, October 6, at $50
P. NJ, and arrived in New York Wednes-
day, October ~, at y 80 P. NJ. We had
a pleasant trip as the weather was fine.
M. H. R.