The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1908-03-18

iounu IL III small quantities in the riy-
er beds and to get 1t enslaved the In
dams and practically worked them to
death.
AS the Indians died Off the Span.
iards brought in negroes from Africa
to take their place. In less than so
years the Indian race in Porto Rico
was practically extinct as far as men
We're concerned but the Spaniards who
brought no women with them married
Indian wives and kept Indian girls as
slaves and the population of the island
became a mixture of Spanish and In.
dian blood. When the negroes were
brought in another mixture of blood
took place and the people of Porto Rico
today are the outcome of this combin.
alton of Spanish, Indian and negro
blood.
The latest census of the island was
taken in 1899 when the population was
found to be just few less than a mil.
lion and it is doubtless little over a
million at the present time. At the
time OF the census about sixty per cent
OF the people claimed themselves to
be OF white blood but in Porto Rico as
in other places people do not acknow.
ledge negro blood unless it is unques.
tionably present and subsequent study
showed that many who claimed to be
white had an infusion of African blood
IL Is likely that not over Is or 20 per
cent of the people are of pure white
blood
What struck me as the strangest
thing saw in Porto Rico was the mix
ture of whites and blacks In the same
families. Children of the same par
ents varied from light haired blondes
to the darkest OF mulattos. Color is
no bar TO good society unless there is
enough OF 1t to produce thick lips and
kinky hair and even then among the
poorer classes II seems to make little
or no difference. There are compar
itively few people in the island OF
Spanish birth, the number In 1899 be-
Ing less than eight thousand and these
mostly in and around San Juan. The
important business of the island is
however In the hands quite largely OF
these few natives OF Spain.
Cuba was always called by the Span
iards the Ever Faithful Isle" but Por
to Rico was much more deserving oil
the title for Porto Rico up to the time
| it was taken by the American forces
under Gen. Miles in 1898 never REBEL
ed against the Spanish rule in spite OF
the most cruel persecution and the
failure OF Spain to develop the resour
ces of the island or to allow the Porte
Ricans to do Ii themselves. Some
twenty years ago there was what was
called rebellion In the island but Il
was little more than a riot and wa.
quelled by handful of island militia
The Spanish did not hold the islant
undisputed for 400 years as they wer,
attacked several times by the Eng
fish and Dutch as well as by the Buc
cancers who were the terror of thi
part of the globe for nearly 200 year
but these attacks were mostly failures
or only partially successful and in tn,
end Porto Rico was left In the hand
of Spain until taken without struggle
| by the United States.
The Spanish spent immense sums O
money in terrifying San Juan an,
their forts. San Cristobol and Morn
castle were practically impregnable il
their day but would be little obstacl
today before the guns carried by mod
ern battleships, as was shown whel
Sampson tried few shots at MorrC
The Spaniards also built wall aroun
the city and considerable part of thi
wall is still standing One of the oil
city gates is still in existence, the Sa
! Juan gate on the side toward tn
harbor
There Is not one deep water harbo
on the island. San Juan harbor
landlocked and perfectly safe but
can be entered only by ships DRAWN
less than % feet of water, while a
Ponce, Mayaguez, Aricebo and Arroy
ships are compelled to anchor in a
open roadsted and passengers an
freight are brought out in lighters an
! small sloops. Even at San Juan tn
. larger ships that enter the harbor cal
not get up to the docks to receive an
discharge cargo.
Just east of the island Of Porto Ric
is the small island of Culebra whic
came to the United States with Port
Rico and here is fine deep water hal
Dor and at the point this country ha
established its principal naval static
in the West Indies. A government
tug runs between Culebra and the n,
val station at San Juan, making trip
every few days. A United States re'
enue cutter is also kept in servic
around the island though it lay in tn
harbor at San Juan all the time W
were In the island.
Frank Il. Howe.