Albuquerque morning journal., 1906-08-18
An Interesting and Graphic
Account of Things InSuIar
From the Pen of the Apostle
Of Statehood, -
BRILLIANT PICTURE OF -
NATURAL CONDITIONS
Former Delegate Describes in
His Most Happy Vein tho
Wonders and Curious Incl
dents in Newest Territory.
(By Judge Bernard $. Rodcy.)

(By Judge Bernard :. ROdcy.l
[Note.-This is the first installment
of AN article descriptive Of the people
and conditions in the island of Porto
Rico, written by Judge Rodey at the
request of the Morning Journal Il
is done in the former delegates most
attractive style, and is a brilliant pie
ture of this fabulously rich island.
about which so much has been said
and written and about which so lit
tie Is known. After reading Judge
Rodey's letter one may be able to dis
cuss Porto Rico and Porto Ricans
with authority, so clearly are all con-
ditions portrayed. The concluding In.
stallment will appear in the Morning
Journal tomorrow, sunday, morning.
San Juan, p, r., Aug 81 have
had information from home that thu
people were expecting me to write
descriptive letter of the Island Of Pur-
to Rico, This is a pretty rambling aud
disconnected one, but have not time
to prepare it carefully. As information
is the thing it is intended to impair
l will risk it for that purpose.
Porto Rico is surely tropical, eli
mate and vegetation. Every inch nf
ground is covered with grass, plans,
shrubs, flowers, fruits trees, ferns
mosses and verdure that you never
saw before. Frosts are unknown on
the island, although hallstones at rare
intervals come down In the mountain.
Heating stoves are not on the list If
manufacturers or imp0rtations, aQl
were, 1t not for cooking light anI
power. fire might be disposed with M
wear clothes at all is to sweat ani
suffer, however, light they are. 40
wonder the small children go naked
Every tree and shrub bears fruit
or flower. There are no wild ant
mails. The country Is too densey pop
ulated to permit of there being any,
but it is said that there were none
from the first. House cats are numar-
Gus: rats are legion, In spite of the
mongoose, whose principal duty is t.
kill them off The rat and the mon
goose are both importatons, the for
mer as a stowaway and the latter H.
request, but his welcome has worn out
The entire coast OF the island grows
cocoanut trees. Mr.. Rat likes the co..
coanuts and he shins up the tall trees
aud lives In the branches beside mis-
food. Recently some native planters
have put an obstruction IN Mr.. Ra,s
by putting a ten-ineh piece OF tin neat
ly around the tree about fifteen feet
from the ground. Mr.. Rat crawls up
the tree to the tin and is stopped, as
he can't crawl up the smooth tn.
When all the trees are timed the nuts
will be free from the rats depreda-
tions. The other day | was over a.
Mayaguez where the agricultural ex-
pertinent station is located AS We
were driven past corn field we mo-
ticed standing In the middle of it
lone slim cocoanut tree of eXtraordi-
nary height. Our host told us a sto'y
about 1t. That a few days before he
wanted to get the nuts from II, aud
got the usual nutpicker, thnt Is Il small
negro boy to shin up the stem aft"r
the nuts, at which these children are
very expert. Up Skinned the pickI-
ninny like a squirrel. until he got near
the branches at the top. Then four
disturbed, surprised aud scared rl;s
started to run down. but stopped JUS
above him, hesitatlng what TO do; the
hoy was equally scared and screamed
In terror, which caused the four rOd-
ents TO jump like flying squirrels ont
and down into the cornfield. where the
stalks broke their fall and saved them
they scampering away on reaching tha
ground. The nuts We're all empty.
There is not a snake on the islaud.
so It is said. The mongoose killed
them. An Irish friend of mine ven
tured the suggestion that when 81
Patrick went to Ireland he had few
"mongeeso" along. Mr.. Mongoose has
also a penchant for birds eggs aud
young birds, hence the beautiful aud
mn "A IiaA foil r,F lei t4
not full of songsters as one would sx-
pect II is a jungle without Its natu-
raj music.
The island, which Is about / 90 mil 8
long from east to west and about thir-
ty-five miles wide from north TO south.
looks like a lot of hills or mountain
peaks sticking up out OF the ocean.
4 Land OF Tropic Wonders.
Level land exists only In the little
valleys and around the circumference
where the streams debouche TO the
ocean Hence there are no cr0ss-couu-
try railroads, and, In my opinion. there
never will be, In commercial sense
There Is a railroad around the ous-
side that almost completes the cirr'e
now and will do so before many year..
IT Is dinky little three-fopt slx-gaug-
ed thing. but It does an enormous bus
neas. There is also a street railway
In the city OF Mayaguez with a 90
inch gauge 1t looks like a toy. There
Is a good trolley system In San Juan
and Ponce. Vegetation covers every
thing, valleys, hills. mountains aud all.
clear 10 the tops. The Island Is ali cul
tlvated, uphill and down. There are
Of course, sections where this state
ment IL not OF all times completely
true. 1t looks odd to sec tobacco