Ladysmith news-budget. [volume] (Ladysmith, Rusk County, Wis.) 1907-1927, 1917-07-06

by the mother country, she still
remained true to her ancestry and
her fortressed city repealed all in
vaders. Spanish architecture, Span
| ish customs and the Spanish Ian
guage obtained in all it's original
purity, and some of the social Gus
!! toms. planted in the beginning by
southern Spaniards remain to this
day, although the march of time has
wiped them from the land of their
origin.
A Relic of the Past
The first sight which greets the
traveller is the turrets of MORO Cas-
tie which rises from thee sea at the
entrance of San Juan harbor like a
spectre of the past There Is some
thing startling in the appparation OF
stone and cement with it's battle
SCARED walls, silent sentry boxes and
gaping port holes. We somehow
expect those things when travelling
on the other side, but to find them
here, four days from New York, and
surmounted by the Stars and Stripes,
fixes ones attention on the in
congruity of things as they are.
MORO Castle and her sister forts,
San Sebastian and San Chrfstobal
were the especial pet projects of
early Spanish politicians. The Span
lish pork barrel was rolled for all 1t
was worth and the results were
enough to make a modern congress-
man tear up his rivers and harbors
appropriations with shame and en-
| Wy. Every Spanish galleon was ex-
lpected to bring few blocks OF
granite to Porto Rico. The wealth
of Mexico and Peru was lavished on
the Notifications and roads of POr-
to Rico, and the lives of a race OF
natives long extinct were worn out
| in slavish toll on Porto Rico public
works.
L
stand today in many places as
strong as ever, and while only grin
memento of a style of warfare long
extant, they are a precious relic
which our government would do we'll
to preserve.
A Fort That Never Fell
| Against these impregnable walls
came English, French, Dutch and a
whole horde of pirates and bucca-
neers, but without success. Indeed
Admiral Sampson in 1898 took few
pot shots at the ancient citadel and
his imprint remains today but he
sailed on without reducing the struc-
| ture. Sir Francis Drake came the
nearest to capturing the place but
disease finally crippled his troops
and he sailed away leaving his can
non behind, which same cannon were
afterwards used to cast a bronze
statue of Ponce de Leon which
stands in San Jose Plaza in the city
of San Juan. -
The Walled City
San Juan the walled city" of
which all of the foregoing has refer
ence is the capital city and the
largest. The population is given all
the way from fifty to sixty-five
thousand. 1t has fine harbor which
for the past two and half years
has been used as a haven of refuge
chant and one converted raider, for
merly British. Built on an island it
naturally has but one means of. egress
"a narrow bridged neck to the east
of the city, similar to the Bronx OF
our own metropolis. Out On this
road and practically joining the city
We find the American settlement in
the village of Santurce. Here we
have bungalows built in a country
where bungalows are worth while.
The American has builded well and
he has allowed nature free hand
in clothing the premises with tropic
verdure The beautiful and fruit
full cocoanut palm, the various climb
ing vines and the gorgeous tropic
blossoms parting here and there to
afford a glimpse of the distant blue,
blue sea, form a picture impossible
to describe and only family to be
pictured, for no artist can paint the
glorious colorings of this tropic land
scape.
| Having left San Juan by the one
and only road it might be well to
mention the roads, for the automo-
bile and the roads are the first
things to catch the travellers atten-
ton. The Spanish engineers knew
fhow to build roads. There is no
doubt of this. All the American gov
eminent had to do was to furnish
the top dressing for the roadbeds
were perfect. While as before men,
toned in length over all, there
are over 500 miles of perfect roads