Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1899-09-02


Same new island I can give you no
idea OF its boHuty without you 80 with
mo. We VIII start nt Ponce and travel
across Porto Rico taking our
notes upon tha way We shall go over
a trip recently made and reproduce Il
IN thc notes took on tho ground. our
conveyance ~ battery wagon. such
uH ~ ucd by Uncle Sans tclcguphlc
operators in time N war II o. na big
na hail bed room. and 90 fitted out
with long cushioned seats that we can
nt up or Doe down nt will. our motive
power DE- four Of Uncle Sans govern
mcnt mules They will 40 as slow or
o. fast as we like. and we shall Get re-
lays OF now mules at noon every day.
THE MILITARY ROAD.
The route we shall take shall be- over
tho famous military road. made ut ON
enormous cost by the splu.nfdH 10
winds iu way across the mountains
from the coast of the Caribbean sea 10
that of the Atlantic through ono of the
most benuumi regions III the world. u
~ 20 smooth and free from dust that
you will not need 10 wear old clothes.
and you can ride as comfortably upon
q as upon your asphalt or mucadam at
home.
despair of giving you "a conception
Of this highway There " nothing bet-
ter in the United States. Il ~ smoother
thnt the drlyeWuyH Of Central Park.
New York. and better constructed that
the roads Ia Soldiers Home Park at
Washington. There ~ not q pebble. not
a nut ln II. nnd SIN % has beon cut
fiEht out ~ the mountains u lH twenty
tCet wide md more winding than The
Mississippi river AZ times when we
ehnll be- going over 10 We shall be- hang
ms 90 the sides Uf preclplcrH, and we
shall wind about lnuumeflblo horse
shoe cur,H Sow the road may De- seen
both above ana below Us, und again
we may trace ~ wandctings Tor miles
about the hills.
now THE ROAD 1s KEPT
A we go VIE shall rcc hundreds "
peous working ON the road, They are
thought 20 have lat Job. Tor they have
employment nll the year round. They
toll from sunrise 60 sunset and their
wages are thirty cents q day Al In
tcrvals along the roads we pass square
buildings. the homes % the officials
IN charge. Each gang has It's over.
seer. whose chief sikh " office ~ q lea
Their bag. much Ike w0mnn's shop
ping bag IN which he carries the money
10 pay on the men.
The length ~ the military road n
clghiy-one miles. I refer to the main
trunk line, There are branches. over
which We shall Eo. which make thirty
or forty miles more. giving us trip
" more than 100 miles.
Major lllll. the civll engineer In
charge ~ the public works of Porto
Rico. says that the SpuniardH had alto
Ecthcr eleven military roads and that
their original plans Included tho whole
island. He estimates that the cost III
this rad over which We ARE going was
probably 100000. II was. however.
constructed after the oNtrnvngnnt
today u should not cost more than
5000 mile.
THROUGH THE SUGAR PLANTA- |
TtONs.
We began our ride nt Playa. the port
FOR Ponce driving lrat to Ponce city.
two miles away. We gu past the OK
carts ana pack trains which are bring.
ing goods 90 the coast. stop moment
AZ the cummisHury department for sup.
plies ana then make our woy through
the sugar plantations 10 the foot Of the
mountains.
Vast cane fields urc 10 bee everywhere
seen On both sides The black earth ~
covered with rich growth OF pale
grccn out of which RISE large bullllns,
the sugar factories, their smoke stacks
leaning ~ II were. against the aky.
Tho most Of the coust ia lined Win
sugar plantations tho most Of which
nrr " vast cNtcntund not % few uf
owners
we 80 over mountain streams In
which scorcs NJ wuHhDryomcn, bare
footed ana bare legged, are sitting In
the water ana pounding tho dirt out OF
the clothes Others have spread tho
washed garments out on the grusH ana
arc sprnklng them from the streams
In order to blcnch them
IN THE HILLS.
Now we are ON the edge N the hills.
How dry they look in the distance
Many of them seem rough aud bare.
They make us think Of the Allpghtulcs
~ August for at this point We MISS
the rich tropical luNurionCc We expect
I'd Ia hui iu Porto Rico, II viii bee
dlnerrnt further on
Notice how the clouds rest on the tops
OF ne mountains Many uf the peaks
arc hidden and ncDpy white muasps
nestle hero ana There ON the higher
slope. This is no throughout Porto
ltleo. There 10 plenty Vt sun. but the
hot rays are often tempered by clouds
The air is moist. but there ~ always
a breeze, and even 80 midday IN the
mountains the heat IN not very un-
pleasant
Many " the hills ARE covered with
graFH, There rs one upon which tat
cattle are feeding, aud here IS another
which looks Tor AN the world like any
Mold ~ the United states. % "a fenced
with harbod wire Further on are folds
bounded By pr.uldy hedges OF wild pine.
apples. The pins are $50 sharp that
you cannot crawl over them. and thgy
serve well 60 Keep iu the stock
THE COUNTRY HOUSES.
Where are the farm houses and whore
are the burns' Farm houses us Nu
know them are not tu be- grpu iu Porto
lico. Here ANA there rs the homo OF
a planter "a building made OF boards
with holes Ia the walls for windows
and with o. pair ut stairs reaching from
the ground 90 ita first floor. The houses
are butt high on the ground, and, uH
IN the cities, the WE'LL o-do people all
live upstulrH,
As to barns, there b.. ! venture. not
one In the country. The cattle and
horses feed out ut doors AN the year
round, IL iB never r0ld here and thpro
IN always good pasture
All along tho road and scattered over
the hills we see the homes OF the poems
They are little Hhuuks made of boards
or palm bark They are sn Door that
you would not think them nt FOR ynut
COW. You could put up any one uf them
for less than 49, and few arr moro than