The people's journal. (Pickens, S.C.) 1891-1903, 1899-04-20
THE PUERTO IsICANS,
N Missionary's Description OF tho
Island and it's Inhabitants

reformed ChurCh, gives most interest.
ing description Of tho island OF Puerto
ltico, together with the habits and
characteristics OF the natives, in the
Missionary Review. from which the
following extracts are made
The island Of Puerto Rico is the sum
nit Of mountain that rises five miles
from tho depths OF tho Caribbean Sea.
1T Is parallclOgram in shape, its
length from cast to west being one
hundred and eight miles, and its aver
age breadth thirty-scvcn miles. 1t
has an area OF about j, go square miles,
or slightly less than that OF the State
Of Connecticut or the island Of jamaica.
II lies some 300 miles southeast OF
New York, and seventy miles cast OF
llayti and Is the smallest and most
castcrly Of the greater Antilles.
Puerto lticO Is an island Of great
| beauty. It's numerous rivers, prolific
soil and humid climate contribute to
produce luXuriant vegetation sur
passed by no other part Of tn; West
Indies. lilly in the interior, with
level lowiands around the coast, and
lnnumcrablc valleys extending IN
beautiful v,stas in all directions, every
foot Of soil invites to cultivation
| Broad reaches Of sugar. cane ON the
lower levels, fringcd and dotted with
the cocoanut'palm, give place aficr Is
| while TO extensive tobacco fields, anu
these in turn ave followed up the hills
| and mountain sides by tho waXUn-
lcavcd cotrcc plant yielding its arumat-
| iC berry >undCr the shade Of the broad
| banana. These heights arc titled al
| most TO their SUBMITS, and it would hc
| difficult To find anywhere in the in
terrier Of Puerto ltlco an acre OF soil
| that does not contribute in some way
to the sustcnnnCC Of man.
besides the staples mentioned, (su-
gar, coffee and tobncco,) cotton, rice,
corn, sweet potatoes, bananas ans
oranges arc produced. The rice is II
mountain variety which docs not need
flooding, and with imported Goldfish
forms the principal article OF food among
| tho laOorlnE classes. On the low tand
pastures, OF which there are many, OK.
ccllcnt beef cattle are reared. n good
| military road, constructed at immense
cost to tho government, trAvcrscs the
island from San Juan to Ponce, with Il
branch or leading from CayCy to
Guayama. One great need Of the is
| land is good roads and bridges. The
| journey across the hills can be per-
formed only on horseback. tortunutu-
| ly for travellers, the horses, uimihutivG
animals, have an easy cantor, and Il
ride ON one Of them is Il delightful cX
pcricncc.
Puerto Rico has been mi.govcrncd
and exploited by rapacious officials to
Is point almost inCuncuivablr. The
haCicndas, or plantations, have been
largely owned by Spaniards. The cX.
tOrtiOn praCticcd by the Spanish TAX.
gathcrcrs, along with other abuses OF
u similar nature. made the ownership
Of land and tho carrying ~! Of any husl
ness on the part OF native Puerto
lticans almost an impOssibility. From
tho beginning OF Spanish rule, the in
hab!tunts OF the island have suffered q
boy :Ott in almost every industry they
have undertaken. Indeed it may be
doubted whether the Spaniards them
selves, who own the land, ever made d
titho as much out OF it as aid uthC
officials who governed them.
TIE people AND THEIR CHARACTER
, lSTlCS.
, The total population amounts I,
about 500, 900, Of whom the Spanairds
or pcninsularcs, form IL small bu
, commercially dOminanL class. Tn
\ children Of these Spaniurds, born o
the island, are known AS puCrL
lIcans, and in Spain they arc con
y PEELED TO move in IL lower social circl
,. than do their parents. The GibarO:
" or small land owners and day labOrcI
" Of the country districts, are Is curiou
q old stock modified by Carib dcsccn
u a still lower class has IL large mi,
+ turc Of negro blood. ali speak Spui
g ish, but with IL rapid articulation,
% dropping OF the "s.' and " changIn
~ OF the "r" INTO "l" that make til
u language very cXasporating TO " low {
" Of the old Castilian.
|, The natives Of Puerto RICO are siigh
" in physique, and more or less cOnsulnl
y tive In appear ancc, although yigoroU
- frames arc occasionally seen, Th
- ancmic condition uf the middle an
y lower classes is said TO be due partl
y TO The constant intcrmarriages thi
:. have taken place in this small islam
! during tEeipast. 400 years, and partly [
! tho troatmcnt received at the hand
=. OF their rulers, who seemingly spare
, no effort to rcprcss every aspiration
and crush every enterprise that show
ed themselves among this intclligcn
y and gcnGrOus-h hearted people. Witt
wages ranging from s 90 per day down
to twenty bananas (Which were 0fLcG
considered sufficient for tho support 0
IL IabOrcra famlIy), and even thi
t wage paid in dcprcciatcd silver or un
> ripe fruit IL is not TO be wondered $
.. that the average Puerto lIican look
!. more like walking corpse than
: living being. Naturally bright nnC
/ vivaciOus, quick and eager to learn, o
}. great kinGlincss OF spirit, hospitab
= TO Is degree, remarkably docilc an
c patient under restraint, intensely loya
n to the soil on which he was born, h
has been rcprcsscd, boy -cottcd, oven
:. taxed and ovcr-w0rkcd, undcr-fcd an
scantily clad, until hope was we'll mig
!, extinct in his bosom. Is it to b
) wondered at that, when the stars an
u stripes were unfurlcd over his ,nutiv
d soil, he should rush toward them, vii
,, with dclirious JOY, and, with burstin
: heart, should thank God that the Yea
! OF jubilee had come?
t. A few of the Puerto lticans arc wei
5, TO- do; a larger number manage to ,iy
n in some sort OF comfort, although the
r, scantil Furnished, shcd-likc dwcllinl
r. offer few attractions to the visitt
,r from Northern climcs. The grci
m, inritv ,f h,, .