The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1902-03-11
ISLAND
OF r RICO
Crews Tells of His Sightseeing in San
Juan--A Sketch Of the Island,
q Past and Present..
and Present.

I overcome and practically they Were ex-
| terminated.
In 1911 was founded the city Of San
| Juan; and upon the shore, at moder-
| ate elevation overlooking the narrow en-
| rance and the quiet bay. was built the
Casa Blanca" a palace for the govern
| or. Ponce de Leon; it Is still one Of the
finest buildings seen after the Moro is
passed and the steamer is within the
shelter of the bay. Shortly after the
first batteries of what is now a power
full fort were placed. First Spain sent
a few guns. hen she sent money for
Notifications, then was built the MORO.
Later came more guns, but never has
1t had the full armament for which it
was designed; it's strength, however, TO-
gether with the natural position of the
city, was sufficient to make impregna-
BILE the capital city Of the island, San
Again and again was it attacked
by regularly equipped fleets from Eng
land. under Sir Francis Drake and
others. and by pirates and Independent
expeditions. The city was sacked n
burned, but never taken; and its patri-
otto inhabitants claim that, in the re-
cent war, If the campaign d not been
interrupted by the protocol, never
would it a been taken, at least not
without a loss incalculable in time and
men, such is its natural strength M
the problem Of difficulty it presents.
Many times in its history has the "Mer-
rimac" incident of Santiago been en-
acted, n the narrow and awkward en-
trance to it's harbor blocked to invaders
by a ship sunk in the channel. These
tactics a stood it in good stead, and
in summer Of 1898 a series of wrecks
were sunk so as to make a barrier i'm
passable-wrecks, some of them still
Z visible: through which a ship must
thread its way, slowly and with care,
to its anchorage in the placid bay be-
yound.
Most strange it seems. lying in the
harbor, and yet gratifying to see from
h forts and buildings of the essential
ly foreign city of San Juan the Stars
and Stripes f1uttering in the gentle
wind. The city is quaint and pretty,
lying white n picturesque beneath the
tropic sun. The bay is covered with a
multitudinous fleet of ~felucca-like
boats, skimming under their odd sail.
Fruit vendors scull swiftly to and fro;
ships ride at anchor on every side;
army n navy launches go scudding
by, and the whole is a scene of activity
and light.
once in the city the southern charm
grows fast. Its thirteen streets are laid
out at right angles and with perfect
system; V was a city wherein it is
so easy to find ones way. Drifting
JITOuSH us SlTGclSp us OU.UUU liHdDlldIltS
are a constantly changing Kaleidoscope
of humanity. Quaint shops line the
way brown babies 1oll under foot;
nimble ponies trot swiftly by with easy
rocking gait. and great bullocks slowly
draw their loads. unconscious alike of
their power and that finer cattle than
they exist nowhere.
IN a Justo street, through Forta-
leZa or San Francisco streets, into the
plaza goes the wayfarer, n he is in
The heart of the city, in the plaza, so
beloved of citizens of Spanish towns,
where everything occurs, where every
Sunday and Thursday evenings a and
plays. the American military and native
bands alternately, n every one goes
to listen, to gossip and stroll up and
down. Near by is the cathedral; not
far the church of San Domingo, still
bearing scars inflicted by American
shells; on either hand are municipal
buildings and we'll Quilt; overlooking
the harbor is the palace. Santa Catali-
ma, the finest building on the island,
capable of being a palace indeed; and,
near them all, that other church, rich
In historic interest, which General
Brooks seized to prevent its sale by
Spain, so keeping a considerable sum of
money on the island.
Cent? upward from the waters edge
the city slopes, spreading to right and
left, to where, upon the heights, twin
forts guard the approaches by land AMI
sea and overlook the harbor. One, FL
MORO, already seen towering above the
entrance to the port from the land side,
Is a long. low line. separated from the
city by a grassy plain. The other.
San Cristobal. gray and grim, faces
both outward and inward, controlling
the harbor and the main land; for
San Juan is an island divided from the
main body by a short, swift river,
cd. the bridge of San Antonio. To visit
the forts permission must be obtained
from the military commander OF the dis
trict; but a personal application is. az
a rule. all that is necessary, n the
effort is we'll repaid. The forts are fine
specimens of their kind and ever in the
face of d gunS, and despite their
6 and imperfect equipment, present a
problem of defence difficult to estimate.
From FL MORO the ocean spreads away
in an endless waste, while great giant
waves, unchecked from their birth in
the PARKWAY north, beat ceaselessly
upon lis rock-shod base. laundering a
warning of their power and dashing
their spray to the summit of the mas
sive walls, in which dungeons and Sc
cret pathways Turk. From the heights
Of San Cristobal the city is seen in pan
Drama. the land-locked bay. and low,
broad plains. watered BY a myraid
streams. stretching away TO the south
to the foo of the distant hills. Days
full of charm are those within the
walls OF La Capital"
Respectfully yours.
J. A CREWS.