Evening journal., 1906-09-05

% HE aborIgines OF Porto Rico have
long since disappeared from the
- face Of the earth when Columbus
discovered the Antilles he found the is-
lands peopled by race which 10 all prob.
ability was an offshot OF the Cnrih In.
dlnns OF the mainland The great navi.
gator was impressed by the timld friend
nness OF the naked savagos whose peace
ful tendencies were proclaimed by the
fact that they possessed no sort OF
weapon. Their country was terres
trial paradise. blessed with a soft.
salubrious climate, free from Wild beasts
and venomous reptiles, and abound
Ing In the fruits OF the earth Needless
TO say, the inhabitants OF such a region
knew nothing Of labor or hardship They
lived the lives OF happy, careless children
lntil the white gods" IN the dying
ships" came 10 them from over the sea-
Then life changed for the unfortunate In
dlnns The Spaniards forced them to Dig
FOR gold where II ala not exist, and slew
them when they failed to nnd H. They
were put TO unaccustomed labor In the
Geld. ana when they rebelled Spanish sol
Hers slaughtered them like sheep IN the
shamhies. They were slain TO give eclut
70 the ceremonies OF a saints day; they
were hnrried by hounds TO afford sport
for their conquerors. In short. the pro
cess OF ''pacihcation." as pursued hy che
first colonists, wns In fact, deliberate
system Of extermination. so that the ma
tiyes OF Porto Rico. who. according TO
Las Casas. numbered 100000 at the time
OF the discovery disappeared with such
fnrrfhIn Al.
Juan reported TO the king IN 1543 that
there were but 60 Indians in the island.
These figures undoubtedly applied 70 the
pltful remnant OF males, for large num-
oers OF women were preserved as concu-
hines. from whom sprnng race OF half
breeds, which has been gradually alb
sorbed and lost 10 the later population.
Traces Of the miscegenation may occns-
ionally be seen az the present day. but
they are so few and so slight that they
do not constitute a contradiction OF the
statement that the aboriginal stock Is en-
firely extinct
The present population OF Porto Rico Is
composed OF the descendants OF two dis.
tinct classes OF Spaninrds- negroes and
OF half castles With the exception OF
Cuba aud Porto Rico. every sugar nroduc.
Ing Island OF the West Indies contains al
least ten times as many colored persons
as whites. IN Porto Rico the latter rep.
resent 81 per cent OF the total populn.
ton. and all hut one-slxth OF the re-.
mninder have more or less white blood IN
their veins. Porto Rico was never an ex.
fensive slave-owning colony principally
because there were few capitalists 10 the
Island. In fact. until the introduction OF
the sugar industry by refugees from
Haiti and Jamaica. the nnmhcr of ne
groes In Porto Rico was Insignificant.
The humane laws promulgated by the
Spanish crown tor the protection % slaves
we're widely disregarded IN the colonies.
but they appear 10 have been strictly
observed In Porto Rico. As conse-
quence, the negroes 10 that island en-.
joyed lenient treatment. aud were per-
mitted 10 secure their freedom upon easy
terms Thus we have in Porto Rico a
negro element quite satisfied With their
lot 10 life. aud. in some respects. supc-
rior to their kin OF the neighhorlng lsl.
ands. They are fairly industrious. CHEEKY
and respectful. They have none OF the
inconsequent vanity or the santo Domingo
black. and are less simple and supersti-
Nt''" '-'- A"H d"AANiNAu ItttN- 10 COull
not be expected that the Porto Rican
negro should be iaciined to hard work
Every kiud OF stimulus is lacking to him.
aud he has never had an example Of en-.
ergy. Tor the innate Incidence OF the we'll
to-oo spaniard Is only exceeded by that
or the white peasant cnlilvator How
ever. the proportion OF pure negroes IN
the population OF Porto Rico Is only
about the snme as tina; Of thc colored 10
the total Inhabitants Of Philadelphia. ana
they will MOI he an Important factor Ia
the future Development OF The island.
The muiatioes present an entirely dif
eFent proposition Their numbers ac.