Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1906-09-19

- HE aborigines Of Porto Rico have
long since disappeared from the
Va face of the earth. when Columbus
discovered the Antilles he found the is
lands peopled by a race which in all prob
ability was an offshot OF the Carib In
dams of the mainland. The great nayi.
gator was impressed by the timid friend
illness of the naked savages, whose pence
full tendencies were proclaimed by the
fact that they possessed no sort Of
weapon. Their country was a 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 region
knew nothing of tabor or hardship. They
lived the lives Of happy, careless children
until che white gods" In the flying
ships" came to them from over the sea.
Then life changed for the unfortunate In
dams. The Spaniards forced them to dig
for gold where It did not exist, and slew
them when they failed to find it. They
were put to uuaccustomed labor In the
Geld, and when they rebelled Spanish sol
diers slaughtered hem like sheep In the
shambles. They we're siain to give eclat
were harried by hounds to afford sport
for their conquerors. In short the pro-
cess of "pacifcat!on," as pursued by the
first colonists, was, In fact, a deliberate
system OF determination, so that the ma
tives of Porto Rico, who, according to
Las Casas. numbered 600 at the time
of the discovery, disappeared with such
terrible rapidity that the Bishop of San
Juan reported to the king IN 1543 that
there were but 60 Indians in the island.
These figures undoubtedly applied to the
pitiful remnant of males, for large num-
bers of women Were preserved as concu-
bines. from whom spIang u race of half
breeds, which has been gradually alb
Borbed and lost In the later population.
Traces of the miscegelatlon may occas-
ionally be seen at 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-
tirely extinct
The present population of Porto Rico is
composed of the descendants OF two dis
tinct classes Of Spnniards negroes and
of half castles With the exception Of
Cuba aud Porto Rico, every sugar produc-
Ting island OF the West Indies contains at
least ten times as many colored persons
as whites. In Porto Rico the latter rep
resent 81 per cent. of the total popula-
ton. and all but one-sixth of the re-
mainder have more or less white blood in
their veins Porto Rico was never an ex-
tensive slave-owning colony, principally
because there were few capitalists in the
island In fact, until the Introduction Of
the sugar industry by refugees from
To,
groes In Porto Rico was Insignificant.
The humane laws promulgated by the
Spanish crown for the protection OF slaves
were widely disIegsrded Ia the colonies,
but they appear TO have been strictly
observed In Porto Rico. AS a conse-
quence, the negroes In that island en-
joyed leDient treatment. and were per.
mitted to secure their freedom upon easy
terms Thus we have in Porto Rico a
negro element quite satisfied with their
lot In life, and. in some respects. supe-
rior to their kin Of the neighboring ISL
Ands They are fairly industrious, CHEEKY
and respectful. They have none of the
inconsecuent vanity Of the Santo Domingo
black. and are less simple and supersti-
tious than the jamaican negro Ii could
not be expected that the Porto Rican
negro should be Inclined TO hard work.
Every kind Of stimulus Is lacking to rim.
and he has never had an example ri en-
ergy, for the Innate Incidence Of the we'll
TODD Spanlard is only exceeded by that
of the white peasant cultivator. How
ever, the proportion Of pure negroes in
the population Of Porto Rico Is only
about the same as that Of the colored to
the total inhabitants Of Philadelphia, and
they viii not be an important factcr In
the future development Of the island.
The mulattoes present an eGt.-eiy DIFF
terent proposition. Their numbers &C