Mower County transcript., 1899-02-15
FROM PORTO RICO.
An Interesting Letter From q
Former Austin Boy In the Fifth
u. S. Cavalry. " ?.

Porto Rico. At our request he has
written out an interesting account Of:
some of his experiences. AS he was
raised in this city his many friends
here will have a double interest In
his letters. He writes as follows: :4.
DEAR EDITOR AND READERS OF THE:
TRANSCRIPT: s5 s5
Having just arrived from Porto
Rico aud finding the people here so
anxious to learn of the famed isle.and;
Of my voyage going and coming will
endeavor to- appeaSe your readers
with the plainest description that /
can give. Mine was not pleasure:
trip, but in line of duty as SOLDIER
and so did tot observe as closely as ii.
l had been correspondent for your
pauer. My regiment, the Fifth U !. S..
Cavalry, ,embark from Savannah, Ga.
Nov. 8, 1898, with 800 men and 700
horses, on the government transport
Michigan Our voyage was without
any nuta BILE event until Sunday Nov
Ii. and 18th hour (unlucky) when our
old boat run head on to the silver
reefs, which are about $50 miles north
Of Hayti. These reefs have been the
cause Of many good ship foundering;
But for our snip to strike them, only
one hour after the ships navigator
had taken reckC ming, was nothing less
than gross carelessness on either the,
naVigatOr's or the man-at- the wheels
part. The ship listed terribly every.
dish slipping from the table in the
officers mess. Even the soldiers tin
cup Of coffee: upset. Every soul on
board rushed to the rail to find the:
cause Of such scraping, crushing
sound, sailors rushed forward and.
aft Of the great boat apparently very
much excited while soldiers actually.
laughed at the situation. I looked
over the taft rail and could see dark
spots Uf different sizes all about u.s.
lhUse dark spots we're the rocks or.
reefs. Then it was that the snip'ss
officers showed their abilities in pilOt.s
ing us out OF there; after two hours
we were again in our right cou rse,
which was four miles to the south or.
this reef. After that Incident the
ships captain was heard to remark to
our commanding officer, saving, Col.
those soldiers are the brayest lot. of
men Fever saw, or else they did noS
realize their danger I believe the
latter, was the truth. I for one felt as
IL had long way to swim just then.
The next day we sighted Hayti, but
we ran no nearer than six knots 50
Can say nothing of that island except
that 1t was very mountainous. We
came in sight OF our island home the
night or Nov. l6; the long dark coast
line made US feel more secure and by
the time the anchor was dropped it
was bed time so we could not 60 ashore
that night. Early next morning I
got the first good sight of the shore
from the bay. There lay the city OF
Ponce at the foot hills. The whole city
was shrOuded in fog that made me
think ef malaria, typhoid fevers,
small Fox, in fact every kind of sick
ness fer there was an OdOr of hot
sJeaming grasses that makes one feel
as if they had symptoms OF one of the
named fevers. l went ashore there
to see growing for the first time in
my life, cocoa nuts, nice ripe oranges,
bananas, pine apples and even sam
pied some Of their native cigars and
wines Well it was treat, after be-
ing obliged to subsist on soup and
cutfee for ten days. looked at the
narrow streets and sidewalks and
wondered IL l was in the land Of
dwarfs. The buildings are mostly
stone and plaster, lots of doors but
alas, no glass; l did not see pane of
glass or what we would call a decent
window in Porto Rico. The wealthy
have shutters painted In bright colors.
But the poor people bar or bolt the
doors or openings. And when one is
indoor you feel as If it were a Jail.
Then the wooden dwellings are small
and as plain in structure as our piO-
neer cabins, but the material. Why
think Of whole house built of
mahogany or rosewood or lignum
vitae woods, but don't think it has
the polish of Somer or Steiuway.
No, they are black from age and the
floors are black from want Of Ivory
soap or Pearline with water. The other
towns l visited are the same IN gener-
al appearance. Mayaguez, the third
city in size is the prettiest place on
the island; the city is dotted over
with cocoa palms, banana plants and
various other plants that make a
Minnesota boy stand with mouth open
at such an assortmentof plants, grasses
and ferns, and then the city is cleaner
OAUu OuNC. L LILO ClUy \Mdydku uCL)
Is up to date on improvements; they
have an electric light plant,ic plant,
so one can get ice cold lemonade Aqua
de lem on) on a hot day. They also
have street railway system. but that
IS burro power; they also have q
match factory. There every native
must carry a box OF matches. Why?
Because even II he does not smoke he
would feel Uncomfortable If he
couldn't oblige you with light for
your cigar. 5.@..zs ! Z .s ..... .s I.
San Juan the second city in size is
the capital of the island. Here is the
Governor Generals Palace and other
municipal buildings. They have .
nice theatre and their plazas are very
pretty in the evening lit up and
crowded with dark eyed SenOritas
dressed with bright colored callcees
and It akes one thin K OF views on the
drop curtatns In our gssa Atheatres,
Well; our trip on water was finished
when We arrived Of San Juan; then.
came the hurry and blstle unload ding.
the great ship Our work flushed
for the day, We want 81 zee the