El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1900-12-06
PORTO RiCANS HERE
THE EMI6QsNrS ATTRACT CON
SIDERABLE ATTENTION.
The Lsborers Are Dart Like M XII
can Perns and Part Like Eeuroe


The much heralded Porto Ricans ar
rived in Ell Paso this morning on the
G. H.. passenger train from the east,
it having attached the cars containing
them at Valencia. They were not
taken out on the regular S. p. pasSen-
ger train that left in about an hour
after the arrival of the G. H. train, but
were taken out by a special engine at
II O'Clock.
The stories concerning their sani-
tary condition which preceded them
were found to be but little exaggerated
if any. They are travelling in three
tourist cars with a baggage car at
tached for dining car. They have the
cars all to themselves and a special
process of ablution and disinfection
will be necessary to place the cars in
fit condition to be used again. Not on
ly a cleaning but repairing will be
necessary. as they are breaking out
window lights and doing sundry dam
age to the cars.
There is nothing in the appearance
of the Porto Ricans to arouse the in
terests of the people who have seen
negroes and MeXicans. There are
three classes represented in the ia
natives of Porto Rico that are in this
shipment. One of them is so much
like the Mexican peon that it would
take a more than casual observer to
distinguish them from the familiar fig
ures seen every day on the streets of
Ell Paso. Another class is no more,
no less than the descendants from
Ethiopian settlers in Porto Rico.
They have the thick lips, the curly
hair and the slovenly appearance of
the low class coon. All that the Porto
Ricans of this class have to distinguish
them from the negro is their speech
and it sounds odd to hear negro
talking Spanish with the ease of
Mexican-born peon. The third class
represented in this shipment would be
hard TO distinguish from the common
American 1aborer if not heard to
speak.
The Porto Ricans raised some ex-
citement in the G.. H., yards this morn
ing a short time before thel left One
of them bought some fruit from Mex
lean vender and the man having them
in charge ordered the Mexican to give
back the money and take the fruit
away from the Porto Rican. Neither
acquieSced and considerable warm ar
gument was INDUCED in. The man.
ager of the Porto Ricans said that at
Sanderson the Porto Ricans almost
made themselves sick and he could not
allow them to eat fruit any more. The
men folks of the party in the cars
heard the wrangle and came out to
see what was the trouble. Then they
took part with their brother who want
ed some fruit and jabbered like a lot
of geese. The gist of their talk was
that they had the money to buy the
fruit if they wanted it and they didn't
propose to let anyone prevent them
from eating it. To prove that they
meant what they said some of them
bought apples from the Mexican, while
the boss had to stand by and grit his
teeth. ..-
George E. Baldwin, labor contractor,
has thee ontract to furnish some sugar
raisers of the Hawaiian islands with
several hundred Porto Ricans to work
on the plantations on these islands and
this is the first shipment of them.
The boat on which they will sail from
San Francisco leaves on the 14th inst,
and the idea is to get there with the
emigrants just in time to hurry them
on to the boat. so none of them will
get lost in the city. They will be held
n day or so at each of several small
towns between this place and San
Francisco.