The Logan Republican. [volume] (Logan, Utah) 1902-1924, 1903-01-13
THE POOR OF
PORTO RICO
Their Lives. Though Hard, Are Not
Without q Picturesque Side.

Of the world does not know how the other
half lives.' The island of Porto Rico is
a small part OF what has been to MS the
other half' OF the world | shah try 70
tell you something OF life ms 1t Is lived
and seen by the missionaries In the little
mountain .Ss town own. Of .l lS@r's says Mrs MIS-
sionary. The town itself h situated In a
valley In the midst OF beautiful hills. ever
green with the foliage of the orange, the
banana and the coffee Naturally shut in
from the outside world by the mountains.
crossed only on pony back over the mar
row mountain paths, the people here CON
tlnue In their accust omed ways. unanect-
ed by the influences which have made so
many changes In the towns and cities OF
the coast Life In such a place Is neces-
sarily simple. and the missionaries md n
easy TO do without many ot the so-called
necessities Of the Homeland, and are com
Portable and content sleeping on the can
vas covered cots, with dressing tables
made from drygoods boxes and draped
with muslin. aud q curtain across one
corner of the room instead OF q closet
After the work Of the day Is over the
family find rest and comfort I'm the rlcaS-
ant, airy living rooms. but for the all
important refreshing Of the body they are
dependent upon tho offices OF tho cook, go
you. as well as they. may have some In
terest in our good naturcd black candida,
holding the American baby, much to the
sat 'sfactlon of both.
The Porto Rican stove is especislly in
teresting, In shane II Is something IKE
. carpenters bench. about two feet wide,
eVe feet long and as high ~ an ordinary
table. The outside frame IL Of wood, and
when the kitchen Is hoinr freshly painted
the stove must not hc neglected. The
top and inside are made of bricks and
cement. so arranged as To leave an open
ing running from end to end below the
nreplaces FOR a draft, Along the ton Rnd
at regular intervals are four IRON nre-
nlaces. five inches square and four inches
deep. 80 set into tho stove that the tops
are on level with the ton Of the stove.
A maid who often noglects one fire would
feel overhurdened with the care OF these
four separate fires at the same time, as
In necessary with these stoves. The
American housewife who prefers to have
her food baked can use a galosene oven
over one of these fires, and the result II
QUITE satisfa ctorv.
But even this stove. however crude and
inconvenient. In seen only In the pctte,
homes OF Porto Rico. After good-natured
Candida has finished her days work and
has found her way down the hill along the
steep. narrow path that leads to Shack
town." where she lives. u she wishes 70
prepare an evening meal for hungry chill
dren she will bring out from the corner
OF the room an empty oil can, which has
been given her by the missionary, and
which has been fitted up by the tinsmitf
ing below for draft. The making OF
the stove has cost her 20 cents. and she
possesses a better outflt for housekeeping
had one OF these stoves made for her owr
use, and as II can be easily carried about
u In very convenient. Many times has
she sat on low bench and popped corr
over the Goals In the oil-can stoves. whil'
one or more wondering natives stood
around seeing the operation for the frs
time, and afterward some OF them woul,
try to pop their own corn. Charcoal II
the fuel used In these stoves. but man!
of tho poor people are too poor TO bu,
charcoal and make their fire with bits o
Nod Nd tlslg usht Hob m hn mic rol
Small green bananas are the most com
mon food OF the poor people; cooked will
little Goldfish they are considered a grea
treat. II want to give especial pleasur
to my cook, ] furnish the bananas an,
goldfish, and she will prepare her favorit
dish.
10 the housekeepcr who Is providinI
for the needs OF large family the dali,
supply OF milk Is important, and In tn
home of the missionaries we can Away
depend upon the coming OF Mary, tn
milkwoman. She walks barefooted tw
or three miles. often coming through tn
mud and pouring rain. II you go TO he
home you will lind a house, standing Il
the midst of orange and banana tree
and the fragrant coffee, itself the onl
| thing to mar the beauty of the tropica
landscape. Inside you viii find her tire
children, not as clean as herself. and q
room still less SO. All the time tina
the mother Is gone which Is usually hal
| the day, these children are alone. carin
for one another, and the oldest is onl
six years of age. Father? They hav
none. Like thousands of children In thi
beautiful Island, they have no father [
| own them. Although these fathers some
| times live with their families. II II wit
| the sanction neither of priest or magis
trate. This condition of morals Is nc
counted for when we are told that in tn
past the marriage ceremony was not per
formed except upon the payment OF
| sum too large for many of the poores
| people to save from their small earnings
But now. thanks be to the preaching O
! tho gospel and the work of the mis-
| sionaries, the sacred rite is performe
| without money and without price.
We have been called pioneers in Port
| Rico and many times what we do an
see reminds MS OF some of the stories W
| have heard our grandfathers tell of IN
| pioneer days out West, when many OF III
needs OF the family were supplied by Ia
Dor within the household Many times
is a favorite article OF food In the famil!
| One day, after an unsuccessful search Il
the meal, Candida helped me out of IN
diiiiculty by Offering to have the cor
| gladly accepted the offer. Candida's mil
like those seen throughout the interior
the Island, differs little from the mil
| used in Bible times. II consists OF tw
stones, resembling grindstones each
| foot or more In diameter and from thr,
to five inches In thickness, the 'uppI
and neither mlllstones,' OF the Scripture
has its upper surface slightly hollowe,
and into this ooncavity FITS the convexit
of the upper stone. Through the cent,
OF the upper stone Is n hole. throue
| which the corn passes down TO the grint
| ing surface between the stones. Near Il
| outer rim Is another hole for the end
| the handle--a pole. seven or eight fe
| long, with It's upper end slipped into
| loop fastened to n beam above. Occi
slonally this pole Is replaced by n sho
handle only six or eight inches long,
In the mill used two or three thousar
| years ago.
The women or children who do Il
! grinding sit on the floor and slowly POI
the corn or rice into the central openr
as they rotate the upper stone. the fin
ness of the meal being determined by q
amount of pressure. the rate of rotate
or the number OF times II Is PASS,
through the mill. The meal escapes
the sides from between the stones. Ira
cling along the mountain roads of the Il
terror the Sound of grinding" can oft,
be heard. 1t is slow work and tiresom
and the workers have to change Off
but the result is satisfactory and Il
meal Is always fresh. They grind Il
rice In the same way, and from bo
kinds OF -four Candida can make fritte
that are very pleasant to the taste.-Ne
York Tribune.