The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1899-09-03
IN THE MOUNTAINS OF PORTO RI60.
One Hundred Miles Among Our West Indian Hills With
Government Mules.

Queer Features OF N the Country-SOnethtng
About the Tobacco FteIds-A Land of Palms and
Hananas, Where Oranges Cost Four Cents
Dozen and the Cotton Trees-A Look
at the villages Interior Cities of Our switz-
erIand of the Tropics
Copyrighted 1892 by Frank G. Carpenter
SAN JUAN. Porto Rico, Aug. 12.-Let us take
a trip together Uncle Sans new island
can give YOU no idea Of it's beauty without you go
with me- We will start at Ponce and travel lesureiy
across Porto Rico, making notes upon the way we
shall go over a trip l recently made ana repro
duce it in the notes l took the ground Our con-
yeyance is Il battery wagon. such as is used by
Uncle Sans Geographic operators in time OF war
1t is as big as hall bed room, and so fitted out with
long cushioned seats that can sit up OF lie GOWN
at will. Our motive power is four of Uncle SANS
government mules. They will go slow or as fast
as we like and we shall get relays of new mules
at noon every day.
THE MILITARY ROAD.
The route we shall take shall be over the famous
military road, made at enormous cost toy the
Spaniards. 1t winds it's way across the mountains
from the coast of the Caribbean sea to that OF the
Atlantic through of the most beautiful regions
that you will not need to old clothes, and you
ride comfortably upon it as upon your as
phaIt or macadam at home
| despair of giving you a conception of this high
way There is nothing better in the United States.
1t is smoother than the driveways Of Central PARK,
New York. and better constructed than the roads
IN Soldiers Home park at washington. There Is not
81 pebble not a rut in it. and still it has been cut
right out of the mountains. 1t is twenty feet wide
and more winding than the Mississippi river. AT
times as we go over it we shall be hanging to the
sides of preepices, and we shall wind about lnnum-
cradle horse shoe curves Now the road may be
seen both above and below u.s. and again we may
trace it's wanderings for miles about the hills
HOW THE ROAD IS KEPT.
AS we go we shall see hundreds of poems work
ing on the road They thought to have a fat
Job for they have employment all the year round.
They toll from sunrise to sunset and their wages are
80 cents day At intervals along the road we pass
square buildings, the homes of the officials in charge
Each gang has it's overseer, whose chief sign of
office is leather bag much like wonlan's shopping
bag in which he carries the money to pay off the
The length of the military road is eighty-one
miles. 1 refer to the main trunk line. There are
branches over which shall CO. which make thirty
or forty miles more, giving a trip of more than
100 miles
Mai HILL the civil engineer in charge of the
public works of Porto Rico says that the Spaniards
had altogether eleven military roads, and that their
original plans included the whole island He est-
mates that the cost of this road which we
are going was probably $2000000. 1t was, how
ever constructed after the extrayagant methods of
the Spaniards and if today it should not cost
more than $4,000 mile.
THROUGH THE SUGAR PLANTATIONS
We begin ride at Playa, the port for Ponce
driving first to Ponce city, two miles away. We go
past the OK carts and pack trains which are bring
ing goods to the coast, stop moment at the COM
missary department for supplies and then make our
way out through the sugar plantations to the foot
of the mountains.
Vast cane fields to be everywhere seen ON
both sides. The black earth is covered with rich
growth of pale green, out Of which rise large build
ngs the sugar factories their smoke stacks leaning
as it We're against the sky The most of the coast
is lined with sugar plantations, the most of which
are of vast extent, and not few of which are
making fortunes for their owners.
We go over mountain streams in which scores
of washerwomen bare footed and bare legged, are
sitting the water and pounding the dirt out of the
clothes. Oilers have spread the washed garments out
on the grass and sprinklng them from the
streams in order to bleach them.
IN THE HILLS.
Now the edge of the hills. Howfdry
they look in the distance. Many of them seem
rough and bare They make think of the AL
leglaues in August-for at this point we miss the
rich tropical luxurianee expected 10 find IN
Porto Rico 1t will be different further
Notice how, the clouds rest on the tops of the
mountains. Many of the peaks are hidden and feecy
white masses nestle here and there on the higher
sIepes This is so throughout Porto Rico There
is plenty of but the hot rays are often tempered
byaclouds The air is moist. but there is always a
breeze and even at midday in the mountains the
heat is not very unpleasant
Many of the hills covered with grass There
is one upon which fat cattle feeding, and here
is another which looks for all the world like any field
Of the United States. 1t is fenced with barbed wire
Further on are fields bounded by prickiy hedges Of
wild pineapples. The pines sharp that you
cannot crawl ever them, and they we'll to keep
In the stock.
THE COUNTRY HOUSES
Where the farm houses and where are the
barns? Farm houses as we know them not to
be seen in Porto Rico. Here and there is the home
of planter. a building made of boards with holes
in the walls for windows and with pair of stairs
reaching from the ground to its first floor The