The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1898-10-20

Miller Esq, Of 65l Mulberry street Reading,
| Pa. ~ have been very poor III health. l -uf
/ fered with running sore leg. l tried many
/ kinds OF different medicines and doctors with
/ out RELIEF. Then used three bottles Of Golden
/ Medical Discovery and say that
| tirely cured can now do as good days work
as the next man
/ Unfailable-Dr. Pierce's Pleasant Pellets
/ for constipation and biliousness.
realized what was going on and killed
many of the Spaniards being almost ex-
/ terminated themselves in the unequal
contest.
| By the way, Ponce de Leon is undeserv-
edly famed for being one OF the most gen
erous and chivalrous of all those iron
hearted old Conquistadores-per be-
| cause he is SO often COMPOUNDED with his
equally illustrious namesake-Luis Ponce
de Leon, the priest and poet, who died in
Madrigal late in the same century. Juan
| Ponce, though a religious enthusiast, who
never neglected the conversion of In
dian souls, while converting their persons
and property to his own uses, employed
the most barbarous methods for subjuga-
ting the peaceful people who had shown
his ferocious bloodhound, the great dog
| Berezillo, which at the masters command
| sprang upon men, women and children
and tore them in pieces, has survived
nearly four centuries while millions of
mere human beings have lived their little
! day and died and been forgotten. 1t is
related that the services OF the vicious
| brute We're so highly valued by the Con
queroIs that he drew the pay of a cross
bow man, which, Of course, went into his
masters pocket.
For some unexplained reason Capaua-
now known as Puerto Niejo, (Old Po1t),
was abandoned after time: and in 1911
Leon founded another eity-the same san
Juan Bautista de Puerto Rico that stands
to- day, the Capital and chief town of the
Island, But it is by no means the lead
ing one in point OF population, having
only about -, 600 in time of peace; while
Ponce on the other side Of the island is
credited with about IS, 600, according to
the latest census, and san German some
thing over 30, 600. Owing to the course
OF trade and the great ocean liners, the
| world has heard less about this island
than others of the West lndies-until the
war with Spain brought it into our posses
sion. But it is only few days pleasant
sailing from New Y ork (about 100 miles,
| believe) and perhaps thousand miles
southeast from Havana Owing to its
favorable position, the hurricanes that so
often visit Martinique, st. Vincent and
other islands to the southwark do not dis
turb Porto Rico. In normal times it is
an ideal winter ''resort," with the very
perfection of climate, where the Their
mometer never falls below 50 degrees and
seldom rises above so. Earthquakes and
volcanoes are alike unknown here. Snakes
and other venomous creatures are as
scarce as in Ireland after St. Patrick
visit, and there are no end of places in
the highlands where yellow fever and
| L
populated to the number of 800, 900, or
thereabouts-m mainly Spanish Creoles and
negroes with a mixture of Germans,
| French, Danes, Swedes, Russians, Chinese,
Canary Islanders, and Chuetas, or de-
scendants of the Moorish Jews-there is
| plenty of room for more. Unlike most of
the other West India Islands, there are
good many more white than black citizens
| here-the proportion in Porto Rico being
not SO great as in the Capital of our own
country, where, as is well known, bout
''colored''
| In spite of its sprawling cognomen,
| there was never more compact little city
than this ''Saint John the Baptist 1t
is situated on long, narrow island, con-
nected with the north shore by bridge
and causeway. The peninsula-l like island
has strong fort at either end and is en-
tirely surrounded by massive walls of
stone and mortar, rising in places to Il
height of from fifty to one hundred feet.
| The houses are all of stone-no wooden
| buildings having been allowed by the
| Spanish authorities except along the
wharves outside the walls. Like other
casas built by descendants of the Moors,
these are mostly one storied painted in
all the -colors of the rainbow, rose pink,
sky blue and yellows predominating, with
iron barred windows and enormous doors.
| Some of them have iron balconies, shut
tiers and jalouses, but there is not such a
thing as chimney in all Porto Rico, and
few glass windows. Not far from the
landing is the Marina, the park and pa
rade ground of the city, adorned with
statues and flowers. 1t has wide, cen
trail walk, lined with benches, while rows
of palm and pepper trees strive to hide the
frowning walls which enclose it, with their
antique sentry boxes, projecting here and
there. At its seward end is the main
fortress, of course called the Moro, and