10439	----	Proofreaders FROM YAUCO TO LAS MARIAS A Recent Campaign in Puerto Rico by the Independent Regular Brigade under the command of BRIG. GENERAL SCHWAN by KARL STEPHEN HERRMAN [Illustration: Theodore Schwan, Brigadier-General U.S. Volunteers.] TO ROBERT SMITH COBB MY BROTHER LORD IN CERTAIN ISLES OF FRIENDSHIP AND OWNER OF PRECIOUS CARGO IN MY SHIP OF DREAMS CONTENTS INTRODUCTION CHAPTER I The Independent Regular Brigade Place of meeting--Forces comprised by the command--Why we were not like the Volunteers--Characteristics of the professional soldier--Sketches of the more important officers--What we were ordered to do. CHAPTER II The First Day's March Disposition of our column--The road to Sabana Grande--The infantrymen's burden--Wayside hospitality--Hard tack and repartee--Into camp and under blankets--Arrival of Macomb's troop--A smoke-talk. CHAPTER III The People of Puerto Rico Their attitude toward the invading Americans--The proclamation of General Miles--Justice and the private soldier--Depravity of the native masses--Men and women of the better class--Local attributes of life--A hint to the weary. CHAPTER IV The Second Day Begins We march to San German--Removal of the sick from the ambulances--An approaching Spanish force--Our scouts and their leader--Concerning Señor Fijardo--Visible effects of imminent battle--Something about the town of San German. CHAPTER V The Engagement at Hormigueros Topography of the battlefield--Macomb's cavalry fired into by Spanish skirmishers--Our advance-guard comes into contact with the foe--General Schwan reaches the firing line--The main body arrives and joins in the fray--Subsequent manoeuvres of our column--The Spanish retreat--A computation of losses. CHAPTER VI The Second Day Ends A personal résumé of the fight--Lack of melodramatic accompaniments--A lost chance of glory--Another neglected opportunity--A glimpse of the flag--Once more into camp. CHAPTER VII The Occupation of Mayaguez We enter the city in triumph--An enthusiastic reception--A pretty girl and the star-spangled banner--Other memorable incidents--Our rags and tatters--A description of Mayaguez--We pitch our tents in a swamp--The First Kentucky Volunteers. CHAPTER VIII The Engagement at Las Marias Difficulties encountered in locating the retreating enemy--Final determination upon pursuit--Lieutenant-Colonel Burke sets forth--Discovery of Spanish troops near Las Marias--A one-sided encounter--Unwelcome notification of truce--The rest of the brigade comes up--Feeding the prisoners--Our disappointment. CHAPTER IX The Territory Won General Schwan returns to Mayaguez--Business and pleasure--A custom we abolished--Extent of the district captured by our brigade --Aguadilla--Facilities for transportation--Labor and the laborer--The cost of living--Rents and real estate--Skilled workmen--A word about investments. CHAPTER X The End of the Campaign Arrival of the mail-steamer--The soldier-boy and his letters--The greater part of the brigade is quartered in Mayaguez--Agriculture in Puerto Rico--Material result of our campaign--A farewell order--General Schwan departs for the United States. A Brief Sketch of the Life of Brigadier-General Schwan APPENDIX THE ILLUSTRATIONS Theodore Schwan, Brigadier-General U.S. Volunteers Statue of Columbus, Mayaguez American Cavalry entering Mayaguez on the 11th of August The Public Fountain in Aguadilla, a Favorite Rendezvous for Runaway Lovers Plaza Principal, Mayaguez. Town Hall in Background Spanish Prisoners who were brought from Las Marias to Mayaguez Plaza Principal, Mayaguez. A Public Celebration of the New Flag's Advent, under the Auspices of the Local School-teachers and their Pupils The Plaza of San German on Market-day Lower Quarter of Mayaguez A Mid-section of the Calle Mendez-Vigo, Mayaguez Positions occupied by Spanish Soldiers in the Skirmish at Hormigueros Railroad from Mayaguez to Aguadilla The Theatre, Mayaguez Custom-house at Mayaguez occupied by General Schwan as Brigade Headquarters Road from Mayaguez to Añasco Lower End of the Calle de Mendez-Vigo, Mayaguez Guenar Bridge, Mayaguez Upper End of the Calle Mendez-Vigo, Mayaguez The Town of Sabana Grande Witch River, near Cabo Rojo American Camp at Mayaguez Plaza Mercado, Mayaguez Mouth of the Mayaguez River A Bit of Yauco Wooden Dock at Mayaguez. In the Offing can be seen the German Man-of-war "Geier" "Eleventh of August" Street The Officers of the Alphonso XIII Regiment of Cazadores, taken a few days before the Fight with the American Troops at Hormigueros The Military Hospital, Mayaguez Part of the Village of Maricao Infantry Barracks, Mayaguez The Rosario River, near Hormigueros A Street in San German Tobacco Plantation (cutting leaves), Mayaguez The Plaza Principal in Mayaguez looking toward the Church A Ruined Church along our Line of March A Puerto Rican Laundry Watering the Artillery Horses at Yauco A Native Bull-team On the Road to Lares The Best Outfit in our Wagon Train "Promenade of the Fleas" in Yauco When only One Man gets a Letter The "Weary Travellers' Spring," near Añasco A Crude Sugar Mill near Las Marias A very Popular Spot Two Knights and a Pawn INTRODUCTION I have ventured to set down in this place the following bald and brief items of our recent history, not because I doubt an already existing common knowledge of their substance, but simply because they serve to illuminate and give finish to the succeeding narrative. Major-General Miles sailed from Guantanamo, Cuba, on the 21st of July, 1898; and landed at Guanica, Puerto Rico, on the 25th of the same month. The troops sailing with him numbered 3,554 officers and men, mainly composed of volunteers from Massachusetts, Illinois, and the District of Columbia, with a complement of regulars in five batteries of light artillery, thirty-four privates from the battalion of engineers, and detachments of recruits, signal, and hospital corps. On August 1st he was re-enforced by General Schwan's brigade of the Fourth Army Corps and part of General Wilson's division of the First Corps, raising his numerical strength to 9,641 officers and men. The Spanish forces in Puerto Rico at that time numbered some 18,000, about evenly divided between regulars and volunteers, and scattered advantageously over 3,700 square miles of territory. By the end of August the American strength had nearly doubled. In the brief campaign that followed, a large part of the island was captured by the United States forces, and the positions of all the Spanish garrisons, except that at San Juan, were made untenable. There were altogether six engagements,--at Guanica Road, Guayamo (2), Coamo, Hormigueros, Aibonito, and Las Marias,--with a total loss to the Spaniards of about 450 killed and wounded, while the American casualties of the same nature amounted to 43. General Miles, in his scheme of operations, intended that three columns of our troops--each composed of infantry, cavalry, artillery, and their adjuncts--should march through the eastern, western, and central parts of the island, respectively, diverging at Ponce and coalescing before San Juan. The entire success of this plan was prevented only by the arrival of the order to suspend hostilities, on the 13th of August. The column marching east--known as the First Division, First Army Corps--was commanded by Major-General James H. Wilson, and took part in three engagements. The column sent through the interior--known as the Provisional Division--was commanded by Brigadier-General Guy V. Henry, and met no opposition of moment. The third column, called the Independent Regular Brigade, and directed to proceed through the western section of the island, was commanded by Brigadier-General Theodore Schwan, and had two engagements with the Alphonso XIII Regiment of Cazadores. It is the story of General Schwan's campaign that I am about to relate. CHAPTER I The Independent Regular Brigade _Place of meeting_--_Forces comprised by the command_--_Why we were not like the Volunteers_--_Characteristics of the professional soldier_--_Sketches of the more important officers_--_What we were ordered to do_. Yauco, the place selected by General Miles as a rendezvous for the troops of the Independent Regular Brigade, is a town of about 15,000 inhabitants, and some six miles distant from Guanica. It is connected both by rail and wagon-road with Ponce, the largest city on the island, and is noted for its Spanish proclivities, fine climate, excellent running water, and setting of mountains--luxuriantly green throughout the year. Here were assembled on the evening of Aug. 8, 1898, all the forces assigned to General Schwan, with the exception of Troop "A," Fifth Cavalry, which did not appear until some thirty hours later. The command was composed of the Eleventh Infantry, Light Battery "D" of the Fifth Artillery, Light Battery "C" of the Third Artillery, and the troop of cavalry already mentioned,--all regulars, and as resolute and picturesque a set of men as ever wore the uniform of war. * * * * * Because we had no Volunteers with us, we were not granted even one little word-spattering newspaper scribe, and so relinquished at the outset any fugitive hopes of glory that otherwise might have been entertained. We were out for business,--hard marching, hard living, hard fighting,--and the opening vista was fringed with gore. We were none of us the darlings of any particular State, nor the precious offspring of a peripatetic statesman with a practised pull. We were at no time decimated by disease through ignorant or insubordinate disregard of the primary principles of hygiene. We didn't write long wailing letters home because we were obliged to sleep on the damp ground, and had neither hot rolls, chocolate, nor marmalade for breakfast. We were ragged, hungry, tough, and faithful. In other words, we were regular army men, and, most distinctly, _not_ Volunteers. [Illustration: Statue of Columbus, Mayaguez.] There is a personality peculiar to the professional soldier, even though he be but a half-fledged recruit, that defies analysis and baffles description. He is of course built from the same clay as his brother of the Volunteers; but the latter is a tin god, and the former is a devil. Yet the difference does not spring from anything more fundamental than environment, and therein lies the solace of the other fellow. Putting aside all odious comparisons and limiting myself to a view of the regular army man as I know him, I can simply say that in the eight months during which I underwent in his company hard knocks and privations without number I could not have found a more truly satisfactory comrade and friend. He doesn't, on the average, know much about books; nor did he ever hear of the Etruscan Inscriptions or the Pyramidal Policy of the Ancient Egyptians. He takes a grim delight in smashing the English language into microscopic atoms at a single blow. He is more fond of women, horses, and prize-fighting than is good for him. He will steal when he is hungry, lie to save his skin, curse most terribly on trifling provocation, and spend, to his last sou markee, his hard-won wage on adulterated drink. "He's a devil an' a ostrich an' a orphan-child in one." But he will stand his ground in action while there is ground to stand on; he will throw his life away at a moment's notice for the flag, or a chosen comrade, or a worthless girl; he will march and starve and thirst world without end if he has a leader who holds his confidence; and he is, on the whole, a rather fine specimen of the true American--being usually Irish or German. [Illustration: American Cavalry entering Mayaguez on the 11th of August.] Our brigade commander, General Theodore Schwan--silent, upright, tall, and spare--was regarded with affection and respect by every one who came into personal contact with him, officer and man alike. He was shrewd, clever, and distinguished, but never too busy or elevated to listen to the humblest soldier from the ranks, and from first to last a gentleman. Of his staff it is the highest praise to say that they were in every way worthy of their chief. Bluff Captain Davison, gruff Captain Hutcheson, studious Major Root, saturnine Major Egan, wounded Lieutenant Byron, patient Lieutenant Poore, dashing Captain Elkins, and courteous Lieutenant Summerlin, I salute you all in the most military manner of the soldier dismounted! You were my friends in need, you lent me money, you gave me fatherly counsel and passes of freedom to the shimmering tropic dawn--and I shall not forget. At the head of the Eleventh Infantry was Colonel I.D. DeRussy, who, with his ministerial drawl and dry wit, was a sharp contrast to his blunt, impetuous, and fiery second in command, Lieutenant-Colonel Burke. But, so far as I am aware, perpetual harmony reigned between them; and both were beloved by their men. The battalion of artillery was commanded by Captain Frank Thorp of Light Battery "D," my own outfit. He was best known in the ranks as "Side-wheeler," from a peculiarity of gait, and, though well on in years, was at all times gallant, courageous, and capable. A stiff disciplinarian, he kept his guardhouse well filled from week to week; but he was as quick to reward as punish, when warranted by circumstances. It is worthy of note that although he took each day enough medicine to lay an ordinary man on his back, or in an early grave, yet he was well and fit from start to finish. Captain Macomb of the Fifth Cavalry is not an easy man to describe in cold ink. Handsome, stalwart, and grave; black-haired, black-eyed, a scarf of yellow knotted at his throat,--he was Custer without the vanity or Lancelot devoid a Guinevere. [Illustration: The Public Fountain in Aguadilla, a Favorite Rendezvous for Runaway Lovers.] When he clattered through the many quaint little towns abutting on our line of march, he was followed by a billow of sighs from behind the half-closed lattices, though I dare say he knew nothing about it; for indeed he was no heart-breaker, but a true soldier. I recommend him to either Rudyard Kipling or Richard Harding Davis. Said General Miles, in a letter of instruction to General Schwan under date of August 6, 1898:-- "You will drive out or capture all Spanish troops in the western portion of Puerto Rico. You will take all necessary precautions and exercise great care against being surprised or ambushed by the enemy, and will make the movement as rapidly as possible, at the same time exercising your best judgment in the care of your command, to accomplish the object of your expedition." And this programme we were now ready to carry out. CHAPTER II The First Day's March _Disposition of our column_--_The road to Sabana Grande_--_The infantrymen's burden_--_Wayside hospitality_--_Hard tack and repartee_--_Into camp and under blankets_--_Arrival of Macomb's troop_--_A smoke-talk._ [Illustration: Plaza Principal, Mayaguez. Town Hall in background.] The disposition and arrangement of our forces on the first day's march can best be shown by the following document:-- HEADQUARTERS INDEPENDENT BRIGADE (REGULARS), CAMP AT YAUCO, PUERTO RICO, Aug. 8, 1898. GENERAL ORDERS No. 13. This command will move out on the road to Sabana Grande at ten o'clock tomorrow morning. It will observe the following rules and order of march:-- 1. Macomb's troop of cavalry will act as a screen, and will march about two miles in advance of the point of the advance-guard. The extent of the front to be covered by, and the disposition of the cavalry, will depend upon the nature of the country, and will be left to the judgment of the troop commander. He will communicate freely by means of orderlies with the commander of the advance-guard, who will at once transmit all messages to the commanding general. Three mounted orderlies to be furnished by the troop, will march with the advance-guard. 2. Two companies of infantry, one platoon of artillery, and two Gatling guns will constitute the advance-guard. A pioneer detachment, consisting of one non-commissioned officer and eight men, to be carefully selected from the advance-guard, will march with the reserve, and will be under the direction of the engineer officer of the brigade. The requisite tools will be carried on a cart. Upon arriving in camp, the advance-guard will immediately establish the outpost. 3. The main body will consist of nine companies of infantry, one battery and two platoons of artillery, and two Gatling guns. 4. The trains following the main body will be under the direction of the brigade quartermaster, and their order of march will be:-- Hospital train. Ammunition column. Supply and baggage wagons. The rear-guard will be composed of one company of infantry. A detachment from it will protect exposed flanks of the train. If horses can be procured for them, the commanders of the advance and rear guards will be mounted. The above disposition for each day's march will be conformed to, unless otherwise ordered. By command of Brigadier-General Schwan. GROTE HUTCHESON, _Captain and Assistant Adjutant-General._ [Illustration: Spanish Prisoners who were brought from Las Marias to Mayaguez.] As Captain Macomb's cavalry had not arrived at the hour appointed for our start, we set off without him. And in fact there was little need of his services on that day, our march being through a section of the island already cleared of Spanish troops, and exceedingly slow and wearisome, besides. The route from Yauco to Sabana Grande lies for some two miles along the level and creditable road leading to Guanica, suddenly going off at right angles just beyond a picturesque sugar-mill into as uneven, crooked, and hilly a highway as can well be imagined. I cannot tell you in adequate language just how the tropical sun punishes the unacclimated Northerner, especially if he be a foot-soldier tramping along in a blinding dust, parched of throat, empty of belly, and loaded down with a pack that would make a quartermaster's mule to fake the glanders. If you have been there, it needs no words of mine to galvanize your memory; and, if you have not, you cannot understand. This matter of the soldier's pack and what to do with it became a subject of serious consideration during the recent war, in both Cuba and Puerto Rico. On the march, in the charge or pursuit or retreat, it is a senseless, clogging, spirit-shackling incubus, a rank absurdity, and an utter impossibility. As a result, after three days of active campaign the infantryman is seen gayly stalking along with no burden save his rifle, ammunition-belt, and a wisp of gray blanket, which seems to me to be a fatuous and footless condition of affairs that might well be quickly remedied for the benefit of all concerned. [Illustration: Plaza Principal, Mayaguez. A Public Celebration of the New Flag's Advent, under the Auspices of the Local School-teachers and their Pupils.] As we passed the occasional little hacienda, set in its grove of cocoanut palms or orange-trees, dusky and wrinkled women came forth from the doors, bearing upon their heads huge jars, from which we filled our ever-parched canteens with cool, sweet water. They also brought us mangoes and other native fruits, and queer cigars of most abominable flavor. Because we were forbidden to eat of the fruit, we stuffed ourselves with it, and looked for more. From time to time a weary or sick soldier would lay himself down by the roadside, to be picked up later on by an ambulance; but, as the day wore on, the intervals of rest grew longer and more frequent. We had but one opportunity to water the sweating horses of the artillery, and then it was a painful matter of buckets. We munched hard-tack for our noonday meal, and made merry over it, talking of the day when we should go home and feast on beans and beefsteak and countless other things of which the heathen wot not. We were intensely voluble or silent by turns, and invented new nicknames for each other, which were so apt, spite of being touched with bitterness, that they stuck forevermore. And never, so far as I can remember, did any one mention the "Maine" or Cuba Libre. At last, shortly after sunset, we descended a long, steep hillside, and went into camp in the valley of the Rio Grande, just without the gates of a small town, uninteresting in character, and Sabana Grande by name. We had marched only twelve miles, but were hungry, limp, and ugly. So, having crammed down a hasty supper of nothing in particular, we made short shift of absent tents, and, pulling our blankets to our chins, lay face upward to the stars that made us homesick, and slept the sleep of tired little children. I was wakened in the middle of the night by a distant jangle of sabres and rattle of hooves. Seeing our officer of the day, Lieutenant R.E. Callan, standing not far away and looming gigantic against the sky, I asked him the meaning of the noise; and he replied that it was Captain Macomb's troop of cavalry just coming in. I lit my pipe and talked for a while with the lieutenant of other things than war--Maude Adams and John Drew, football, ambition, and books--till finally he went away to make his rounds. My pipe went out, and I dreamed of stranger happenings than my longest thoughts could fashion in the glare of day. And, when I woke again, reveille was soaring from post to post. [Illustration: The Plaza of San German on Market-day.] CHAPTER III The People of Puerto Rico _Their attitude toward the invading Americans_--_The proclamation of General Miles_--_justice and the private soldier_--_Depravity of the native masses_--_Men and women of the better class_--_Local attributes of life_--_A hint to the weary._ Before proceeding further with the story of our advance, it may interest you to know what manner of people we found the Puerto Ricans to be, and how they behaved toward us who came to them as dogs of war. When we were first on the island, there is no doubt that the mass of the population regarded us with acute distrust, if not with dislike and fear. But the prompt measures taken by General Miles to disabuse their minds of any preconceived ideas of ensuing rape, robbery, or desecration, did much to soothe the more ignorant and childish of the natives, while the intelligent and educated class needed no further assurance than that contained in the proclamation issued by the commanding general from Ponce on the 28th of July, which was as follows:-- TO THE INHABITANTS OF PUERTO RICO: In the prosecution of the war against the kingdom of Spain by the people of the United States, in the cause of liberty, justice, and humanity, its military forces have come to occupy the island of Puerto Rico. They come bearing the banner of freedom, inspired by a noble purpose to seek the enemies of our country and yours, and to destroy or capture all who are in armed resistance. They bring you the fostering arm of a free people, whose greatest power is in its justice and humanity to all those living within its fold. Hence the first effect of this occupation will be the immediate release from your former relations, and it is hoped a cheerful acceptance of the government of the United States. The chief object of the American military forces will be to overthrow the armed authority of Spain, and to give the people of your beautiful island the largest measure of liberty consistent with this occupation. We have not come to make war upon the people of a country that for centuries has been oppressed, but, on the contrary, to bring you protection, not only to yourselves, but to your property; to promote your prosperity, and bestow upon you the immunities and blessings of the liberal institutions of our government. It is not our purpose to interfere with any existing laws and customs that are wholesome and beneficial to your people so long as they conform to the rules of military administration of order and justice. This is not a war of devastation, but one to give all within the control of its military and naval forces the advantages and blessings of enlightened civilization. NELSON A. MILES, _Major-General, Commanding United States Army_. [Illustration: Lower Quarter of Mayaguez.] The promises set forth in this document were kept to the letter. Indeed, Justice sat up so straight for the people of Puerto Rico that she often toppled over backward and crushed the American soldier. To steal anything, from a kiss to a cow, was almost a capital offence; while houses and churches might have been lined with gold and jasper, or infected with the small-pox, so stringently were we kept out of them--at least during the hostile period. This was all a mighty good thing for somebody, no doubt, but it detracted in large chunks from the glamour of war for the soldier-boy; and I fear that the majority of us felt hurt, if not sorely cheated. Nor is it at all certain that the average inhabitant of Puerto Rico is worth coddling, protection, prosperity, "and the immunities and blessings" accorded him by his new rulers. A thick, stout cudgel or a bright, sharp axe will be more effective than honeyed words in helping him cheerfully to assimilate new ideas; though no one will believe it here at home until the hurrah is all over and some of the truth gets into general circulation. [Illustration: A Mid-section of the Calle Mendez-Vigo, Mayaguez.] About one-sixth of the population in this island--the educated class, and chiefly of pure Spanish blood--can be set down as valuable acquisitions to our citizenship and the peer, if not the superior, of most Americans in chivalry, domesticity, fidelity, and culture. Of the rest, perhaps one-half can be moulded by a firm hand into something approaching decency; but the remainder are going to give us a great deal of trouble. They are ignorant, filthy, untruthful, lazy, treacherous, murderous, brutal, and black Spain has kept her hand at their throats for many weary years, and the only thing that has saved them from being throttled is the powerful influence in their discipline effected by the Roman Catholic Church. When our zealous missionaries have succeeded in leading them into the confines of other creeds, we shall have all the excitement we want in Puerto Rico, and the part of our army stationed there will have no lack of exercise. Despite a common belief to the contrary, the color-line is drawn as rigidly in Puerto Rico as it is in Kentucky. The people having nothing but Castilian blood in their veins are as proud as Virtue; and, while politics and business see a certain mingling of skin-colors, the mixture ceases to exist across the threshold of home. No true Spaniard would permit himself to sing of his "coal-black lady" or his "cute little yallar gal"; and, if he did, he would be ostracized. The women are all very pretty or extremely ugly, and never simply plain. The girls of the better class are brought up from babyhood under a constant surveillance that knows no laxity until after marriage, and does not altogether cease even then. The growing bud is taught to play the piano or guitar, to embroider, to sing a little, to dance a little less, to speak and read French, to powder her face with art, and to walk like a very queen. She is usually married before she is seventeen, especially if her father has money; and, until the day of her death, she never sees a modern newspaper, never goes slumming, and never soils her gentle hands with work of any degree. She is apt to love her husband devotedly, and does not think her career fitly rounded until she is a mother. [Illustration: Positions occupied by Spanish Soldiers in the Skirmish at Hormigueros.] The men of the same social footing are not so interesting--to me; but, nevertheless, they possess many characteristics which claim attention and deserve applause. They are never drunkards or wife-beaters; they don't drag their business to the dinner-table and bed; they are not given to profane speech; and they show greater interest in a sonnet than in the price of pork. Life for both sexes and all grades in Puerto Rico is a rose, a kiss, and a cigarette; song, laughter, and mañana. The island is, unequivocally, a Paradise; and, if I remember rightly, dwellers in Paradise are not expected to labor. These people amply fulfill the expectation. If you are sick of the worry and fret and jar of contemporaneous life here at home, if you care for wide, sweet blue sky, eternal flowers, crystal fountains, and gypsy music, then there is no better place for you to go than to Puerto Rico. Take a bicycle and ride from Ponce around the island or straight across to San Juan. You will find the roads, when there are roads, superlatively excellent--particularly, if you do not mind an occasional hill or sharp and sudden shower of rain. The larger cities all have comfortable hotels; and, if you can afford to stay a month in Ponce, Mayaguez, and San Juan, you will bring back fragrant memories that will last you many years, or else you will send for your household gods and not come back at all. And, if you don't ride a bicycle, you will be able to get just as much pleasure from the toy railroad or wee horses when you travel about from place to place, while the expense in either case will be marvellously small. [Illustration: Railroad from Mayaguez to Aguadilla.] CHAPTER IV The Second Day Begins _We march to San German_--_Removal of the sick from the ambulances_--_An approaching Spanish force_--_Our scouts and their leader_--_Concerning Señor Fijardo_--_Visible effects of imminent battle_--_Something about the town of San German_. At eight o'clock in the morning on the 10th of August General Schwan's brigade broke camp at Sabana Grande, and moved out on the road to San German. The order of march differed from that of the day before only in the presence of the troop of cavalry; and, the command being well rested, such progress was made that the advance-guard reached the western side of San German by noon--a good ten miles. The main body halted at the same hour just outside the eastern entrance to the town, preparing a makeshift meal; and at this point the sick, both on their own account and to make room in the already crowded ambulances, were transferred to a private hospital. Before quitting San German, word was brought to the commanding general that the entire Mayaguez garrison--some 1,362 men, chiefly regulars--was marching in our direction, and would contest our advance. This information, which proved to be correct, was at once communicated to the cavalry and advance-guard, with orders to proceed with the greatest care, and to reduce somewhat the distances ordinarily separating the different parts of the column. Our source of information at this and other important times was a small body of native scouts, numbering from 6 to 11 men and commanded by Lugo Vina, a swarthy, wizened little Puerto Rican, who looked like General Gomez and was taciturn as an Indian. He was considered by General Schwan to be a man of great character and force. These scouts were well mounted, and accompanied the brigade during its entire march, rendering most important and efficient service. Three of them were arrested as spies by Spanish officials between Las Marias and Mayaguez, and narrowly escaped being shot. Eventually, they suffered nothing worse than imprisonment for several months at San Juan; and, when the Evacuation Commission arranged for their release, the United States reimbursed them to the full extent of their wages for the period of their captivity. [Illustration: The Theatre, Mayaguez.] For the position of "alcade" or Mayor of the city of Mayaguez General Schwan had a most difficult task. Someone thoroughly acquainted with the country and its people was wanted and the selection fell to a prosperous planter residing within the jurisdiction of Mayaguez--who had been--while not properly speaking, a scout--was yet of considerable service to General Schwan as an interpreter and guide up to the taking of Mayaguez. And because he had in addition been exceedingly useful to our government before the actual breaking out of the war, it was the wish of General Miles to confer upon him some suitable reward immediately hostilities were suspended. General Schwan was prepared to make this appointment, but so strong an opposition to the plan sprang spontaneously from the inhabitants of the municipality most interested that the appointment was held up. After a careful consideration of all the remonstrances and the strenuous denial by the candidate of all and every allegation and his desire that the promised honor be conferred upon him at once and without delay, it was decided by General Schwan that in the face of so much opposition there was nothing to do but to leave the residents of Mayaguez to decide the question for themselves which they did in a most emphatic manner by refusing to endorse the planter as a possibility, and presenting the name of Señor Santiago Palmer as an acceptable party. This latter gentleman subsequently received the appointment, which was satisfactory to all concerned. * * * * * The news that we were about to meet the Spanish forces face to face spread rapidly among the men in the ranks, and aroused more enthusiasm than terrapin and champagne could have done. Nobody any longer complained of the heat; and, when it began to shower by fits and starts, nobody complained of that, either. There were no more stragglers casting a windward eye to an empty ambulance, nor growls because we pressed forward so rapidly. [Illustration: Custom-house at Mayaguez occupied by General Schwan as Brigade Headquarters.] On that particular afternoon I was with the advance-guard; and, when we had learned what we might expect before sunset, I studied the men about me with a lively curiosity as to what effect the probability of immediate action would have upon their visible emotions. Most of them, in our platoon of artillery at least, were boys, or little more than boys, and almost without exception recruits of less than six months' standing. It might have been expected that some degree of gravity would have crept over them in the nearness of such unpleasant possibilities; but never were they more gay and care-free, to all appearance. Old jests already worn to shreds before we left the transport at Guanica were once more revived, and capered with new life. Good-natured irony flew from lip to lip in fantastic speculation as to probable promotions in case all the officers should be killed at the first go-off. The horses were told, individually and with great tenderness, just what every man expected of them in the approaching crisis. And no comrade gave another any instructions regarding mother or the girl at home, if he were to bite the dust. For my own part, I found my mind so busy in going over the cadences of a waltz I had danced with Somebody months before that I could not bring myself to consider anything else but the beauty of its refrain--or was it Her eyes?--try as I might. And, besides, it is not profitable to shake hands with the devil until you are within reach of his claw. [Illustration: Road from Mayaguez to Añasco.] The wagon-road leading from San German, over which we were now marching, follows the valley of the Rio Grande, whose flats, varying in width from a few hundred to a thousand yards, extend on each side to a chain of hills. On either hand, in the immediate distance, are fields of sugar-cane, bounded wherever they touch the road by wire fences. San German, the city through which we had just passed, is a place of nearly 10,000 inhabitants, with a jurisdiction numbering 30,600. It has three very fine markets, a charity hospital, a seminary, good school buildings, theatre, and casino. There is a railroad in construction, a post-office and telegraph station. It is situated on a long, uneven hill, at the foot of which lies the beautiful valley of the Juanjibos and Boqueròn Rivers, which is made a veritable garden of enchantment by the orange, lemon, and tamarind trees, together with various other plants, growing there in abundance. The town was founded in 1511 by Captain Miguel Toro, and has borne the title of city since 1877. The principal streets are called Luna and Comercio. Its chief plaza is of notable size, its church is quite regular in architecture, though of old construction, and the barracks of the infantry and civil guard merit mention. Finally, it may be said that its citizens have held a distinguished record for bravery and patriotism ever since their decisive victory over the English forces in 1743. [Illustration: Lower End of the Calle de Mendez-Vigo, Mayaguez.] CHAPTER V The Engagement at Hormigueros _Topography of the battlefield_--_Macomb's cavalry fired into by Spanish skirmishers_--_Our advance-guard comes into contact with the foe_--_General Schwan reaches the firing line_--_The main body arrives and joins in the fray_--_Subsequent manoeuvres of our column_--_The Spanish retreat_--_A computation of losses_. The ensuing account of our fight with the Alphonso XIII Regiment of Cazadores, on the 10th of August, is taken bodily from the official report made by General Schwan to Major-General Miles under date of August 21:-- At a distance of about seven miles from Mayaguez the Rio Rosario, coming from the east, parallels the road for nearly a mile, and empties into the Rio Grande just south of Hormigueros. A sugar-mill stands just off the road to the left; and a wagon-road branches off to the right, lined with hedge and brush, and, crossing the Rosario on an iron bridge, leads to the hamlet of Hormigueros, which is located on a side hill 1,500 yards from the main road. The ground to the south of Hormigueros is covered with banana groves and cane fields. At about 600 yards from where the Hormigueros road leaves the main road the latter crosses the Rio Grande on a wooden bridge. Just beyond this bridge the road to Cabo Rojo branches off to the south. From this point, for nearly a mile, the main road passes through very low, flat ground, cut up with deep furrows, which extend to the hills on the left and the river on the right, and contain considerable water from recent rains.... To resume the narrative of the day's events, near a point on the main road where it is flanked by sugar-mills our cavalry was fired into, though without effect, by the enemy's scouts, who were concealed behind a hedge lining the Hormigueros road. They were easily dispersed. The infantry and advance-guard having passed this point, the cavalry took the latter road, and, crossing the Rosario, turned westward, and advanced under cover of the railroad embankment until--taking every opportunity to damage the enemy by its fire action--it reached a position beyond the covered wooden bridge. [Illustration: Guenar Bridge, Mayaguez.] The brigade commander had left San German at the head of the main body. When he heard the firing in his front, he sent word to commanding officers to advance without further halt, and to keep their commands closed up. Similar orders were sent to the train. He was informed and approved of the route taken by the cavalry before reaching the bridge. He crossed the latter about half-past three o'clock, being at that time about 500 yards in advance of the main body. [Illustration: Upper End of the Calle Mendez-Vigo, Mayaguez.] A staff officer, who had been sent ahead to select camp, reported at this time the ground west of the Cabo Rojo road as suitable for this purpose; but owing to the suspected proximity of the enemy, whose position had not yet been determined, it was decided to push ahead and beyond the iron bridge. This, despite the fact that the men had now marched 13 miles and were very tired. Once in possession of the bridge and the high ground to the north of it, the command would occupy a strong position, which would make it hard to check its advance on Mayaguez. Accordingly, the advance-guard, under Captain Hoyt, moved forward, deploying its advance party as skirmishers and its supports into a line of squads. In this formation it continued until it had approached the bridge within about 400 yards. At this juncture the enemy opened fire, at first individual fire. The firing aimed at the advance-guard accelerated the march of the Eleventh Infantry, which ... reported to the brigade commander, whose staff had already commenced the demolition of the wire fences enclosing the road. About the time that the brigade commander caused the deployment of two companies to re-enforce the advance-guard,--Major Gilbraith in command,--the enemy, from his position in the hills to the right front, fired volleys at the main body through the interval separating the infantry advance-guard from the cavalry, wounding a number of men, also an officer and several horses of the brigade staff. Meanwhile the artillery battalion, under the authority of the brigade commander, had taken up a position to the left of the road. As the powder used by the enemy was absolutely smokeless, and his position being, moreover, for the most part screened by the trees along the Rio Grande, the question of the exact direction to be given Major Gilbraith's detachment, and to the lines of battle about to be formed from the main column, became a most perplexing one. Luckily, this uncertainty did not last long, those of the enemy's bullets that struck the ground near us solving the problem. Some slight confusion was caused by a premature and hurried deployment of the remaining companies, which interfered somewhat with the brigade commander's intention of forming two additional lines, one to support the fighting line and the other to act as a reserve, or as the changing conditions of the combat might render expedient. But under his supervision this defective formation was soon rectified, three companies being placed on the right and four companies on the left of the road, the former, under Lieutenant-Colonel Burke, moving forward in support of Major Gilbraith, and the latter being held back for a time. Major Gilbraith and Colonel Burke's troops, being unable to cross the creek, passed over the bridge that spans it by the left flank, the former's companies having previously occupied a sheltered place in a ditch parallel to and to the right of the main road. About this time the advance-guard, one of the companies of which (Penrose's) had previously held for a short time a knoll on the left of the road, moved forward and crossed the iron bridge, the advance sections of the companies being led by Lieutenants Alexander and Wells, respectively. After ... a time the entire advance-guard, including the two Gatling guns, was concentrated on the right of the railroad. It dislodged the enemy, and with the cavalry troop to the right,--the troop had arrived about this time, after doing effective service in threatening the enemy's flank,--and with the companies of Major Gilbraith pushed forward in the centre, took up a position on the northern line of hills. Here they were rejoined by the infantry and by two pieces of artillery under First Lieutenant Archibald Campbell, which the brigade commander had ordered forward, and which by their fire added to the discomfiture of the enemy. The two Gatling guns under Lieutenant Maginnis, with the advance, did good work, at first in a place near the creek where the gunners had a good view of the enemy, and later on at the various positions of the advance-guard. The two guns from the main body were also operated from the crest of the hill during the latter stage of the combat. [Illustration: The Town of Sabana Grande.] The affair ended about six o'clock; and the troops, including all the artillery, bivouacked on or near the position occupied by the enemy. The wagon train afterward went into park between the railroad and the Rio Grande, near enough to enable the men to get what was necessary for their comfort during the night. Before darkness set in, Captain Macomb with his troop was directed to make an effort to capture a railway train in plain sight from the hill occupied by the command; but the train got under way before he could reach it. It also escaped some shots that were fired at it by the artillery. Although it had now become quite dark, the captain picked up a few prisoners, including a wounded lieutenant. The difficulty in locating the enemy, and hence in giving proper direction to the attack formations, has already been alluded to. Another cause of anxiety during the earlier stage of the fight were the reports that came to the brigade commander from different parts of the field, through officers, that the enemy was getting around our right (or left) flank, and endeavoring to capture our train. There may have been some foundation for these reports; but, if so, the flanking parties were probably small, and deterred from pursuing their design by our steady advance. It may be added that the train was well guarded. [Illustration: Witch River, near Cabo Rojo.] Our loss embraced 1 enlisted man killed and 1 officer and 15 men wounded. All the wounded, the surgeons say, will recover. The enemy's loss cannot be definitely ascertained, but it is estimated at 15 killed alone. It probably did not fall short of 50 in killed and wounded. The command continued its march at an early hour the following morning, the advance-guard and the main body proceeding slowly and with great caution. This extra care was unnecessary. Those of the enemy's forces that were held in reserve (some of them not far from the city) had fled precipitately as soon as they realized the extent of their defeat. In connection with the foregoing report I consider the subjoined document as being of interest:-- HEADQUARTERS UNITED STATES MILITARY EXPEDITION IN CAMP AT MAYAGUEZ, PUERTO RICO, Aug. 12, 1898. GENERAL ORDERS No. 14. The brigadier-general commanding desires to convey to the officers and soldiers of his command his thanks for their excellent conduct in the engagement they had on the 10th instant, near the town of Hormigueros, with the Spanish forces in that vicinity. Concealed in a strong position, they poured a murderous fire into our troops about to go into camp after a fatiguing march. Had the disposition of the cavalry screen and of the advance-guard--which latter included both infantry and artillery--been less perfect, or had the command been deficient in discipline or other soldierly qualities, such an attack might have proved disastrous. As it was, it was promptly and gallantly repulsed, the repulse resulting in the enemy's precipitate evacuation of the city of Mayaguez, though it had been placed in a state of defence. [Illustration: American Camp at Mayaguez.] The major-general commanding the army has been pleased to commend the troops for their gallant action on this occasion,--a fact which it affords the brigade commander genuine satisfaction to announce. By command of Brigadier-General Schwan. GROTE HUTCHESON, _Captain and Assistant Adjutant-General._ CHAPTER VI The Second Day Ends _A personal résumé of the fight_--_Lack of melodramatic accompaniments_--_A lost chance of glory_--_Another neglected opportunity_--_A glimpse of the flag_--_Once more into camp_. At the risk of being considered tautological, I cannot refrain from devoting another chapter to the Hormigueros fight: first, because it was my initial experience under fire; and, second, because there are more things in a soldier's memory than are set forth in the official report of his commanding general. [Illustration: Plaza Mercado, Mayaguez.] Our advance-guard, after leaving San German, marched rapidly along the level road leading to Mayaguez until about three o'clock in the afternoon. As the head of our column came into view, the country people living along the route gathered their most precious possessions into huge bundles, and hurried away across the fields,--a sure sign that we were approaching the enemy's position. At the hour mentioned we were suddenly set upon by a blinding shower, and a halt was made for about fifteen minutes, when, the fury of the downpour having somewhat abated, we once more began to move ahead. The cavalry had gone off on a side road for some purpose not known to me, and the infantry was deployed in long lines to the right and left, while the artillery brought up the rear at an interval of about a hundred yards. At half-past three the skirmishers came to the Rio Rosario, but, being unable to ford it, were called back to the road and started across the iron bridge, already described by General Schwan. It was at this moment that the Spanish forces opened fire, concealed in a dense undergrowth about 500 yards in our front. All jammed together as we were, it would seem that we might have been absolutely slaughtered by the leaden hail which was poured in upon us; and the only explanation of our marvellous immunity probably lies in the fact that the enemy were surprisingly bad shots. Bullets whistled by our heads, or kicked up the dirt at our feet; but, though the pop of rifles made up a continuous sound like the opening of a hundred thousand beer-bottles, not a vestige of smoke rose in the clear air, not a patch of hostile uniform was to be seen. For some reason our infantry did not at once reply to the Spanish fusillade; and during this brief interval two men and two horses were wounded in the platoon of artillery which stood idly just behind the foot-soldiers,--too close, in fact, to be of any service, and in the way of everybody. Then the two Gatling guns under Lieutenant Maginnis went off into the field at our right, where they began to speak for themselves; and Gatling guns in action have a mighty cheerful effect upon your nerves, if they happen to be on your side of the fracas. Next, an order from the general sent the artillery galloping to the rear for about an eighth of a mile, where, after a short detour to the left and a mad race across swampy, ditch-dug fields, it took up a temporary position on a convenient knoll. The main body of our command had meanwhile arrived, and got into the row without ceremony, the firing now being heavy on both sides. My memory serves me with no clear impression of the sequence of events after this period. [Illustration: Mouth of the Mayaguez River.] During the first hour of our fighting all the powder used by us was as smokeless as that of the foe, and again and again the remark was passed that this did not seem like the real business of war. In other respects as well there were few of the accompaniments that we conjure up in our stay-at-home imagination of battle scenes. There was a little galloping of hooves, not long sustained; an occasional sharp cry of command or sharper oath; an intermittent rumble and jar from the infrequently moved artillery, not yet in action; and perhaps a groan or two from the wounded. But, even when the field-rifles began to boom and shroud the landscape in drifting smoke, the make-believe aspect of the affair did not in any degree diminish. There were no clouds of dust, no heaps of slain, no cheers, no desperate charges, and not even a glimpse of the stars and stripes. Away to our right we could see crowds of spectators on the elevated platform surrounding the Sanctuary of Montserrate; and I remember thinking it was well no admission fee had been charged for the spectacle upon which they gazed, else they would have murmured themselves defrauded. [Illustration: A Bit of Yauco.] My own most thrilling moments came about in this way: The platoon of artillery to which I belonged had, as already related, decided that its position directly behind the hotly beset infantry was untenable, and consequently fell back at speed, for some distance. Standing at the head of the first piece, with all my faculties engrossed by the scene before me, I did not hear the order which should have sent me scampering to my seat on the limber-chest, and so suddenly found myself alone, with my comrades mounted and away in full career. A glance about me disclosed the fact that no other living thing was standing up within a radius of five hundred yards. I was a conspicuous mark for the eager slayers in the adjacent underbrush; and I ought, of course, to rejoin my section as quickly as possible. So I ran. It occurred to me that here was my chance to show what I was made of. I would stop running, fill and light my pipe, and stalk in a leisurely manner down the white road, thus winning, perhaps, comment and applause from high places. I say all this occurred to me; but I also happened to recollect the story told of the survivor of Bull Run, who replied to a sneering criticism anent the Federal retreat from that famous field by the sententious rejoinder that "all them as didn't run was there yet,"--and I felt that I could fully appreciate the point. So I continued to sprint as fast as I could, leaving the bubble Reputation for other seekers, or for myself upon some other day and field. I was not afraid, and I was simply doing my duty; but I sometimes think that I may have neglected the flood-tide of opportunity, and I often wonder why, in melodramatic crises, a man's mind is not always able to control his legs. I was not alone in the disregard of romantic possibilities. Later in the afternoon I saw a wounded private propped up against a fence, and bleeding copiously from a bullet-hole that extended through both cheeks. His eyes were closed, and he was making queer noises in his throat. As I happened to be idle at the instant, I stepped to his side, and inquired compassionately if I could do anything for him. He opened his eyes with a jerk, spat forth a couple of teeth, and replied: "If you'll tell me how the beginning of 'Sweet Marie' goes, I'll give you a piece of my face for a souvenir. I've been trying to get that blame tune straight for the last fifteen minutes, but keep getting off my trolley." And he laughed a ghastly laugh. I stared at him in amazement, and then, seeing that he was not delirious, strode moodily away. What that man ought to have said was, "How goes the fight?" or "A drop of water, for God's sake"; but it is the painful truth that he didn't. [Illustration: Wooden Dock at Mayaguez. In the Offing can be seen the German Man-of-war "Geier."] A striking feature of the engagement was the thoroughly matter-of-fact manner in which both officers and men went about their work. There was no strutting, no posing, no shirking, but an evident intention on the part of all concerned, from General Schwan down, to do whatever had to be done without unnecessary fuss and feathers, promptly and well. I have seen far more excitement displayed on an ordinary drill-ground at home, in the piping times of peace. A sudden appearance of the flag just after the trumpets had sounded "cease firing" brought moisture to the eyes of many a toughened veteran; but even then, with victory still glowing in our grasp, there was not the ghost of a cheer. We were simply more tired and hungry than usual, and until matters had been straightened out for the night had no time for sentiment. And, when we finally went into camp on the very field where we had just ceased fighting, we found our chief interest centred in hot coffee, crisp hard-tack, and comfortable blankets. We had begun to realize that we might have lain stiffer and starker that night but for the whim of chance, and were silent with the clacking tongue. * * * * * Hormigueros, the village which gave its name to this engagement, is a place of about 3,000 inhabitants, whose houses cluster about the base of the mountain crowned by the Sanctuary of Montserrate. This church is visited by an endless stream of pilgrims, and many wild legends are told concerning it. [Illustration: "Eleventh of August" Street.] CHAPTER VII The Occupation of Mayaguez _We enter the city in triumph--An enthusiastic reception--A pretty girl and the star-spangled banner--Other memorable incidents--Our rags and tatters--A description of Mayaguez--We pitch our tents in a swamp--The First Kentucky Volunteers._ As early as half-past eight on the following morning--August 11--our scouts entered the city of Mayaguez, some three or four miles distant from our camp of the night before. About an hour later Captain Macomb marched his troop through the streets, accompanied by the brigade headquarters staff. Many prominent citizens greeted General Schwan at the Casa del Rey, and declared themselves subject to his orders. At eleven o'clock the entire brigade entered Mayaguez, with the general riding at its head, colors flying, and band playing. We had been through this triumphal entry business several times before; but I, for one, never grew tired of it. It was for all the world like being in the procession of a great circus. The sidewalks, balconies, windows, and roof-tops were packed with wide-eyed humanity, of all ages and conditions, hues, sizes, and degrees of beauty. At every street corner, and in every square, great crowds of the lower classes rent the air with vivas and bravos, regulating their enthusiasm by the size of the guns that swung past them. It is easy enough for some grades of mankind to cheer with frenzy the appearance of a victor, no matter who he be; and a Chinese host would have been received with just as much acclaim as we were, had they come as conquering heroes. The houses of the aristocrats sent us no demonstration of feeling one way or the other, with a single startling and highly dramatic exception. We had turned from the Calle Mirasol into the Calle Candalaria, and the head of the column had almost reached the Plaza Principal. The band had just crashed into "The Stars and Stripes Forever." Suddenly the crowd on an upper balcony of a stately house to the left was seen to sway violently; and a moment later a beautiful young girl, tears streaming from her eyes, leant far out over the rail, and waved a crudely made Old Glory over the ragged ranks below. For a breath we were struck dumb by this apparition. Then every hat came off; and for the first time that day we split the heavens with a cheer,--lustily and long. The outbreak was infectious, and from every side the clamor swelled and burst till it seemed as if the universe had vaulted into mad tumult at the touch of a girl's hand. Her name was Catalina Palmer, and she has since married an American lieutenant. But that, as Kipling would say, is another story. [Illustration: The Officers of the Alphonso XIII Regiment of Cazadores, taken a few days before the Fight with the American Troops at Hormigueros.] At one corner a richly dressed old woman threw handful after handful of small silver coins among us. In several places we trod upon great quantities of flowers thrown in our path by peasant girls. The flags of England, Germany, France, and Italy, were everywhere to be seen. The quaintly uniformed corps of firemen turned out in splendor to do us honor, and we saluted with grave dignity the immense statue of Columbus standing in the centre of the town. By those who entered Mayaguez that day none of these things will ever be forgotten. From a spectacular point of view I am inclined to believe that Kiralfy would have regarded us with scorn and derision, though Jack Falstaff might have been better pleased. We were gaunt, bronzed, and dishevelled, unshaven, dirty, and tattered. Toes protruded from shoes, our hats were full of holes, our trousers hardly deserved the name, and we limped disgracefully. It was the popular impression in Puerto Rico that every American soldier was a full-fledged millionaire, but even they expressed some disappointment at our evident disregard for the external superfluities of elegance. But, when you stop to consider it, we did not go to the Antilles to make love to the pretty girls. We were quite sufficiently clothed and fed to march through tropical underbrush, take several cities, and put our more gaudily equipped enemies to ignominious flight. And that is what we were there for. [Illustration: The Military Hospital, Mayaguez.] In the early part of the afternoon we went into camp about a mile and a half outside the city lines, and the main body remained here until August 13. The camping-ground was a bad one, lying as it did in a bowl formed by a circle of low hills; and it was soaked and spongy to a degree approaching absolute swampiness. As we were not allowed to go into the city, we grudgingly sat still, and chanted our misery to the unresponsive wilderness, getting our feet wet and gathering the frolicsome malaria germ by way of interlude. On the evening of our arrival a transport steamed into the bay, having on board the First Kentucky Volunteers, who for some weeks afterward were quartered in the town, doing provost duty and breaking hearts. Later on we came to know them well; and, when they marched away to Ponce, we missed them sadly. They had lots of money, and they spent it freely. We of the regular brigade had not been paid for three months. * * * * * Mayaguez is a darling little city on the western coast of Puerto Rico,--a place of lattices, balconies, and walled-in gardens ablaze with blossoms. Behind it lies a semicircle of green hills, and before it is the laughing sea. Columbus touched here in one of his earlier voyages, and historical associations have been accumulating ever since. It is the third largest town on the island, having a population of 25,000, the majority of whom are white. The harbor is next best to that at San Juan,--102 miles distant,--and is an open roadstead formed by two projecting capes. It is a seaport of considerable commerce, and exports sugar, coffee, oranges, pineapples, and cocoanuts in large quantities,--principally, with the exception of coffee, to the United States. Of industry not much can be said, save that there are three manufactories of chocolate, solely for local consumption. The climate is excellent, the temperature never exceeding 90° F. [Illustration: Part of the Village of Maricao.] The city is connected by tramway with the neighboring town of Aguadilla, and by railroad with Lares on one side and Hormigueros on the other. It has a civil and military hospital, two asylums, a public library, three bridges, a handsome market,--the best on the island, constructed entirely of iron and stone, at a cost of 70,000 pesos,--a slaughter-house, a theatre, a casino, and a number of societies of instruction, recreation, and commerce. It also has a post-office and telegraph station; was founded in 1760, and given the title of city in 1877. A river called the Mayaguez divides the town into two parts, connected by two pretty iron bridges named Marina and Guenar, respectively. The sands of this river formerly yielded much gold; and there is gold still to be had from the same source, if one has energy enough to seek it. There are no less than 37 streets and 4 squares,--the Principal, Mercado, Iglesia, and Teatro,--all adorned by dainty fountains, and, in one instance,--the Plaza del Teatro,--a veritable ocean of flowers as well. The Calle Mendez-Vigo is one of the most picturesque and attractive streets in the world. It stretches from one end of the town to the other, wide and beautifully clean; and it is lined on either hand by the handsome houses of rich merchants. In the middle of its length lies the Plaza del Flores, between the theatre and the Hotel Paris. Moreover, it is in the Calle Mendez-Vigo that there lives the prettiest girl in Puerto Rico,--a little maid of sixteen years, Esperanza Bages by name, and already famous for her charms. The church was built in 1760. It is of masonry, with two towers and magnificent altars. The town hall, situated on the Plaza Principal, is a good stone building of two stories. Annexed to it is the Casa del Rey, built in 1832, and serving for offices of the military commandancy. The infantry barracks--Cuartel del Infanteria--is also a building of modern construction, dating from 1848; and, though of simple architecture, it is very capacious. And now let us leave Mayaguez for a little while, and get on with the war. [Illustration: Infantry Barracks, Mayaguez.] CHAPTER VIII The Engagement at Las Marias _Difficulties encountered in locating the retreating enemy_--_Final determination upon pursuit_--_Lieutenant-Colonel Burke sets forth_--_Discovery of Spanish troops near Las Marias_--_A one-sided encounter_--_Unwelcome notification of truce_--_The rest of the brigade comes up_--_Feeding the prisoners_--_Our disappointment_. HEADQUARTERS INDEPENDENT BRIGADE (REGULARS), MAYACUEZ, PUERTO RICO, Aug. 22, 1898. GENERAL J.C. GILMORE, Headquarters of the Army, Ponce, P.R. _Sir_,--... Detachments from the cavalry troop went out (from Mayaguez) in the afternoon of the 11th on both roads leading to Lares; but the left hand or westerly of these roads was followed only a short distance, information, thought to be reliable, having been received to the effect that the bulk of the enemy's force had taken the more easterly road, on which the town of Maricao is situated. This part of the force was reported as making fair headway, having only a pack-train as transportation. Reports also came to brigade headquarters that Spanish troops in large numbers, coming from different places,--including Aguadilla and Pepino,--were concentrating to attack my command. While not impressed with the accuracy of these reports, I had the outposts strengthened, and placed a field officer in charge of them. A party from the outposts, sent to reconnoitre the Las Marias road, brought word on the afternoon of the 12th that the rear-guard of the Spanish was still within five miles of Mayaguez, and proceeding slowly. [Illustration: The Rosario River, near Hormigueros.] I immediately determined to pursue and, if possible, to capture or destroy this force, and at first resolved to move out with the entire command. On reflection, however, I realized that there were objections to such a course. The city and surrounding country were in an unsettled and excited state, the latter swarming with guerillas, deserters, and bushwackers. I had no accurate knowledge of the spirit, strength, and location of the enemy's forces, supposed to be within easy reach of Mayaguez. Then, too, the rest of my command, already worn down by the exhausting marches and operations beginning on the 9th, had been seriously broken in upon by heavy outpost duty and drenching rains, which latter had made their camp a veritable mud-hole. Furthermore, the road to Lares, except for the first eight miles out, was said to be all but impassable for wheeled vehicles; and this reminded me that the major-general commanding had intimated that I might have to go to Lares by way of Aguadilla. I therefore concluded to despatch a reconnoissance in force, under Lieutenant-Colonel Burke, Eleventh Infantry, to harass the enemy and to retard its progress in every way. The detachment was made up of six companies of infantry and one platoon each of cavalry and artillery, and started at ten o'clock A.M. on August 12. It was given ample transportation for its three days' rations and the infantrymen's packs. It was therefore as mobile as it could be made without a pack-train. Hindered by excessive heat, followed by heavy showers, it marched only to a point where the two roads, above mentioned, are joined by a cross-road,--or about nine miles. I did not hear from Colonel Burke during the night, as I had hoped to; and the remainder of my command had its wagons packed, and was preparing to pull out on the morning of the 13th, when a courier came to me from him with a report of the difficulties that had retarded his progress, and of the presence of a Spanish force near Las Marias, variously estimated at from 1,200 to 2,500. This force, the colonel said, had taken up a defensive position; and he was moving toward it... Respectfully submitted, THEODORE SCHWAN, _Brigadier-General Commanding_. [Illustration: A Street in San German.] MAYAGUEZ, PUERTO RICO, Aug. 16. _My dear Gilmore_,--Availing myself of the first breathing-spell I have had for some time, I wish in this informal way and in advance of my regular report to say a few words to the general and yourself regarding our last Saturday's work (August 13). As soon as the result of the Hormigueros fight became known in Mayaguez--about nine o'clock on the 10th--Colonel Soto, the commander, "pulled up stakes." That the Spanish troops left in the greatest hurry the condition of their barracks abundantly evidenced. Our advance-guard found the city entirely clear of the Spanish, and I ordered my cavalry to keep in touch with them. The cavalry took the right-hand road of the two roads leading to Lares, over which some of the Spanish troops had actually gone; and in the evening the troop commander reported that they were between seven and ten miles off, and still retreating. My command was thoroughly tired. No one without witnessing it can conceive the distress an infantry soldier suffers while marching in this hot climate, in a deep column, weighted down as he is even without his pack; and some rest seemed actually imperative. But the next morning I found that the main body of the Spanish had taken the westerly (or left hand) road to Lares, and early on Friday--there being many other things to engage the attention of myself and troops--I started Burke out in pursuit, with about 700 men, all told. I overtook him Saturday morning about three and one-half miles north of Las Marias. His infantry had pulled his guns over roads that were almost perpendicular. His troops were exchanging shots at long range across a deep valley with the retreating Spaniards, most of whom had forded (losing a lot of men, who were drowned) a deep and rapid river known in that country as the Rio Prieto. Our fire had already demoralized the thoroughly disheartened and half-famished Spanish soldiers; and their rear-guard, at least, was also disorganized and hiding in the hills. [Illustration: Tobacco Plantation (cutting leaves), Mayaguez.] A company of infantry I had sent out brought in, about ten o'clock in the evening, forty odd prisoners, a number of pack-animals, etc. Our men were thoroughly worn out by the day's work. Early the next morning I had four companies of infantry, the cavalry, and two guns ready to resume the pursuit. And there cannot be the shadow of a doubt that, had I had five more hours, I should have taken Lares; for that the flying Spaniards had prepared to abandon it at once I have the most reliable information. But at this particular juncture the notice that hostilities would be suspended came to me. No troops ever "suspended" with worse grace. We had given the Spanish no peace, and had taken all the starch out of them. The colonel and lieutenant-colonel had surrendered. Their troops were utterly demoralized and disintegrated. It seemed a pity to deprive us of the full fruits of a victory for which we had labored so hard; but of course we had to bow to the inevitable. Please let the general read this. Faithfully your friend, THEO. SCHWAN. The part of our command left under Colonel DeRussy set out on the morning of the 13th to join the rest of the column, whose movements you have already followed in the preceding documents. The last detachment found it no less difficult to make headway than had the first; and on the morning of the 14th the entire brigade was so broken up and strung out that its head and tail were a good nine miles apart. So much trouble had been experienced in getting the artillery up the incredibly steep mountain-sides that no one had been able to give assistance or even thought to the hopelessly embarrassed wagon-train, and consequently we were practically without food for over twenty-four hours. When at last something to eat did come plodding along, we were obliged to put up with half-rations in order that our little collection of recently acquired prisoners might be fed. At a conservative estimate, those prisoners must have been the hungriest lot of men that ever laid down their arms. There were less than sixty of them, and they drew rations for about 1,200. However, they were fed; and we had the consolation of realizing that victory, like some other things of less familiar acquaintance, is its own reward. By noon on the 14th, everything was once more in order; and I have not yet ceased to wonder how those in authority managed to erase so quickly the chaos of the night before. [Illustration: The Plaza Principal in Mayaguez, looking toward the Church.] The engagement at Las Marias, while not particularly momentous in itself, was note-worthy as being the last between our forces and those of Spain during the recent war. I do not believe that the knowledge of this fact--even had we possessed it at the time--would have materially consoled us for the disappointment we felt in being obliged to stop shooting just when we had learned to do it so beautifully; but, still, it is something to have been in at the finish. CHAPTER IX The Territory Won _General Schwan returns to Mayaguez_--_Business and pleasure_--_A custom we abolished_--_Extent of the district captured by our brigade_ --_Aguadllla_--_Facilities for transportation_--_Labor and the laborer_--_The cost of living_--_Rents and real estate_--_Skilled workmen_--_A word about investments_. On August 16, in obedience to orders from Army Headquarters, General Schwan left the bulk of his troops in the positions they had respectively occupied at the time of the receipt of the truce, and, accompanied by the artillery, returned to Mayaguez. The people of this city had not yet recovered from the ferment into which they had been thrown by our advent, and went about in a state of tremulous titillation, expecting I know not what. At any rate, it did not seem to arrive; and after a day or two had passed without any sign of fell intent upon our part the merchants allowed themselves to be coaxed back into their places of business. The cafés were once more thronged. Semi-weekly concerts were given in the Plaza Principal by the band of the Eleventh Infantry and the Banda del Bomberos, in alternation. Balls, dinner-parties, and flirtations resumed their interrupted course, gathering new zest and brilliancy from the foreign element within the gates. All the Americans began to study Spanish, and all the Puerto Ricans to study English, without particularly gratifying results on either side. Cocking-mains, local games of chance, and more hectic immoralities were set forth for the delectation of the private soldiers; while I have personal knowledge of at least one quasi-clandestine bullfight, that may be best described as a furtive fizzle. Strict measures were taken by the brigade commander to prevent anything resembling disorderly conduct among his men, and though these laurel-crowned heroes, under the influence of a wonderfully cheap rum, were seized at odd moments with an evident desire to start the war all over again, there was not much difficulty encountered in maintaining a degree of decorum that was highly satisfactory. The sanitation of the municipality was rigorously inquired into, and regulated; but it is only justice to the residents of Mayaguez to say that little reform was necessary in this regard, as the current statistics of mortality and disease amply proved. Of the few changes made, however, one may be specifically mentioned. [Illustration: A Ruined Church along our Line of March.] [Illustration: A Puerto Rican Laundry.] It was the custom whenever a peasant died to carry the corpse to the cemetery in a coffin hired at transient rates, and then, having dumped the deceased into a shallow grave, to return what is facetiously known as the "wooden overcoat" to its original owner, for further service. This was bad enough, considering the danger of infection thus engendered; but much worse remains behind. It seems that the plot of ground reserved for dead paupers was very circumscribed. So it had become necessary to bury four or five bodies in the same hole, the last one in being perhaps no more than six inches from the light of day. And, as if this state of affairs were not already sufficiently horrible, we found that the congestion was sometimes still further relieved by a wholesale emptying of graves, the bones thus removed being thrown into some adjacent corner above ground, where they lay undisturbed in the hot sunshine and smelt to heaven. This ghastly practice was summarily stopped. * * * * * If you will take a map of Puerto Rico and cut off the western section by drawing a line from Guanica through Lares to Camuy, you will see at once the extent of the territory brought under American control by General Schwan. The principal towns of this section, in addition to those already described, are Aguadilla, Maricao, Añasco, Cabo Rojo, Lares, and Las Marias; but none of these places are important enough to call for detailed notice, with the possible exception of the first-named. This city, Aguadilla, while it has a population of only 5,500, is notable as being the most picturesque town on the entire island. It is the capital and port of the surrounding district; and, though the climate is hot, it is remarkably healthful. The site is a stretch of shore facing Mona Channel, between Cape Borinquen and the Rio Culebrinas. Directly behind rises the steep green-crested Jaicoa Mountain, its slopes covered with orange, lemon, and palm trees in bewildering profusion; while half-way to the summit there gushes forth a fairylike, crystal stream, which flows directly through the town before emptying into the bay. An antique church and a little fort of 11 guns, called Conception, add to the scenic beauty of the picture, when viewed from the sea. Tourists will probably spoil this lovely town before the end of another decade, but at present it is a quivering page of romance. [Illustration: On the Road to Lares.] [Illustration: The Best Outfit in our Wagon Train.] Of the facilities for transportation in this part of Puerto Rico, it may be said that they are either extremely good or extremely bad. The former condition prevails generally in the valleys, and the latter among the hills toward the interior. There are several interrupted lines of railroad, and burros are used to a considerable extent by the inland planters; but far the greater part of communication and carriage is accomplished by way of the sea. Labor here, as elsewhere in the tropics, is to be had very cheaply, but is uncertain, sluggish, and dishonest. A man for plantation work can be hired for almost nothing a day, but he will not earn even that unless he is driven at the point of a machete. The local peon desires to toil no longer than is necessary to obtain the bare wherewithal to fill his belly. Then he dreams away the remainder of the day, smoking the eternal cigarette; perhaps rousing himself sufficiently to pick the strings of a guitar in the cool of the evening--and this, at least, the beggar does well. He is not at all ambitious to improve his condition, and he will never be any better than he is to-day. Probably he will be much worse. He will cut throats and burn haciendas all the gay year round if he is not allowed to gang his ain gait. We are going to reform him, of course; but--the day will come when we shall be ashamed to look Spain in the face. In Cuba this man's brothers were known as "patriots"; which meant that they were soldiers when there was any work to be done, and laborers when fighting was on hand. In my opinion, they are vicious beasts. The cost of living naturally hinges upon the price of labor; and so one may eat and drink in Puerto Rico for a trifle more than a song. Fruit and vegetables are cheap and plentiful, though flour is so costly as to be almost a luxury; while the meats are neither low in price nor good in quality. Excellent fowls are to be had for very little money. Milk is dear and dangerous; butter is only known as it appears in cans from Denmark; and all the other dairy products are of the meanest description. Still, one can live with pleasure and comfort upon the many peculiarly native articles of subsistence in common use. [Illustration: "Promenade of the Fleas" in Yauco.] [Illustration: When only One Man gets a Letter.] Rents are low, but satisfactory houses are seldom to be had when they are wanted. There is always room in the hotels of the larger towns; and, until one can build for himself, a hotel offers a very pleasant substitute--at a slightly increased expense. Land, for building purposes, or in an unimproved state, can be leased for a sum that is almost nominal, except in a few highly favored localities. Purchasers of land are more than likely to find themselves immediately embroiled in a lawsuit over the title. If no flaw exists in your title, then it does exist in one that was drawn up a hundred years ago; and in either case the result is the same--you lose. Skilled workmen in any branch of industry will not find a good field for their abilities in Puerto Rico, at least not for a few years to come. If there were any demand for their services,--which there isn't,--they would not be able to command anything approaching the standard of wages usual in the United States. To the investor, dairy farms, ice-plants, transportation schemes, and bar-rooms offer tempting possibilities,--I reserve agriculture for separate consideration,--but it cannot be too forcibly emphasized that plenty of money, good-health, patience, and a smattering of the Spanish language are absolutely indispensable requisites to the foreigner trying to do business on this island. [Illustration: The "Weary Travellers' Spring," near Añasco.] [Illustration: A Crude Sugar Mill near Las Marias.] CHAPTER X The End of the Campaign _Arrival of the mail-steamer_--_The soldier-boy and his letters_--_The greater part of the brigade is quartered in Mayaguez_--_Agriculture in Puerto Rico_--_Material result of our campaign_--_A farewell order_--_General Schwan departs for the United States_. On the 19th of August a steamer came into the harbor, bringing us a mail, the first we had received since the beginning of July. If the people who wrote those letters could have seen the happiness they wrought upon their distant boys, I am sure they would have been surprised and touched. Again and again we read the simple news of home,--the cat was dead, or little sister had the mumps, or father had built a new fence around the back pasture,--and wars and kings and presidents faded into forgetfulness before the heart to heart talks that had come from over-seas. I don't suppose there is anybody that knows the value of a letter better than a soldier does. A few blotted lines from his mother or sister or sweetheart are meat and drink and fine raiment for his soul. He feels brave again and good again and--homesick again. He makes life a burden for the whole camp until he has borrowed or stolen a scrap of paper and a stubby pencil wherewith to make reply. He sits down in some convenient spot, with emotion fairly oozing from every pore, and for a solid hour he wrestles with his tools and vocabulary. The result probably does not altogether please him. He feels that he has said too much about his lack of socks, the toughness of his fare, the flatness of his purse. All the love and tenderness he meant to set down have somehow refused to leave him, even in description. But he knows he will be massacred if he goes howling for more paper; and so he sends off what he has written, counting the weary days until his answer comes. The man who first invented writing was, without doubt, the greatest man that ever lived. [Illustration: A very Popular Spot.] [Illustration: Two Knights and a Pawn.] On August 25 it was decided to bring all but four companies of the brigade into quarters at Mayaguez, chiefly because a great deal of sickness had begun to spring up in the outlying camps. This was accordingly done. * * * * * Scientific agriculture and prosperity have long been regarded as almost synonymous terms in Puerto Rico. The provincial government established and maintained an experimental station at Rio Piedras, for the purpose of promoting a technical knowledge of the native soil-products; and the results of this step have proved invaluable. The recent director of the station, Señor Fernando Lopez Tuero, wrote, while in office, several monographs on tropical agriculture; which I have been at some pains to translate in my search for absolutely reliable information relating to that subject. Señor Tuero is considered, to be a high and conservative authority by those of his compatriots who are best able to judge; and I feel confident that the following estimates are nearly, if not entirely, correct:-- The chief agricultural products of the island are cotton, rice, cacao, corn, cocoanuts, pepper, bananas, tobacco, vegetable dyes, coffee, sugar, pineapples, and vanilla. Of all these I shall only pause to deal here with the last four. Coffee and sugar are regarded by the Puerto Ricans as their most valuable crops. The first takes six years to come into full bearing, and during this time will cost an expense of about 162 pesos an acre, with a return in the last year of 86 pesos an acre,--a net deficit for the full period of 76 pesos. Afterward the expense should be about 66 pesos an acre, and the return 90 pesos. Sugar requires a heavy investment at the start. A plantation of 250 acres, together with the necessary buildings and machinery, will call for about 52,500 pesos. The total cost of a crop, from beginning to end, should be 152 pesos an acre, and the return about 170. A pineapple plantation, for the investor of limited means, ought to prove profitable and encouraging. The first year of cultivation will produce a crop, at a final cost of 40 pesos an acre, including the land-rent. The return is put down at 200 pesos, leaving a gorgeous net profit of 160 pesos. It would seem perhaps that under such circumstances it is odd that there is not a more general raising of this fruit by the local planters; but the reason for an apparent neglect of a golden opportunity lies in the difficulties heretofore encountered in finding swift and adequate transportation from field to market. With this handicap removed there is little doubt that pineapple-growing will become a tempting industry. The vanilla bean, however, is king-pin of the list in the claim of profit to be derived from its culture. It is said that the yearly cost of raising the crop will be 94 pesos an acre, chiefly for manure and irrigation. And the annual return for every acre is figured at 652 pesos,--a net profit that is fairly dazzling. While all these details--which I have digressed so many times to give--do not properly form a part of the story of our campaign, yet it is by no means unusual for one who has put his hand into a grab-bag to look carefully and well at the prize withdrawn. And that is what I have been doing. The material result of General Schwan's campaign may be briefly summarized thus: He marched his command ninety-two miles in eight days; fought two successful engagements; expelled the Spanish forces from the entire western part of Puerto Rico; captured and occupied nine towns; and took 362 prisoners, including Colonel Villeneuve, a lieutenant-colonel, and four other regular officers. In addition he seized 450 stands of arms, 145,000 rounds of ammunition, and ten thousand dollars in silver coin. His loss was 1 killed and 16 wounded against a total of 20 killed and 50 wounded on the side of the enemy. On August 27 the general issued a farewell order to his brigade, from which I briefly quote:-- "On relinquishing his command to return to the United States, the brigadier-general commanding desires to congratulate, and to return his heartfelt thanks to, the officers and soldiers of the regular brigade for their achievements and excellent conduct during the last eighteen days.... Our troops have continued to hold their advanced positions and outposts until now, when, peace being assured, all but a small fraction have been brought to comparatively comfortable barracks near this city. The hardships endured on the march and at these outposts have been great.... But these hardships have been cheerfully borne by officers and men. Not a murmur has been heard, despite the fact that nearly one-fourth of the strength of most organizations is on sick-report, their ailments being directly caused by the exposure incident to this campaign. "Less than three weeks have been occupied by the campaign, yet a bond of sympathy between officers and soldiers has been established that years of peace could not have engendered." On the following morning, accompanied by Lieutenant G.T. Summerlin, his aide-de-camp, General Schwan left Mayaguez for Ponce, where he boarded the transport "Chester," and returned to the United States. The campaign of the Independent Regular Brigade was thus brought to an official end. A BRIEF SKETCH OF THE LIFE OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL SCHWAN. Theodore Schwan was born in Germany, July 9, 1841. He received his earlier education in the preparatory schools of his native land, but came to the United States when he was about sixteen years old. He enlisted as a private in the Tenth Infantry on June 12, 1857; and served successfully as corporal, sergeant, first sergeant, and quartermaster-sergeant until October 31, 1863, when he received his commission. He was made a first lieutenant, Tenth Infantry, April 9, 1864; regimental quartermaster in December, 1864; a captain, March 14, 1866; a major, Eleventh Infantry, and assistant adjutant-general, July 6, 1886; a lieutenant-colonel and assistant adjutant-general, February 19, 1897; a colonel and assistant adjutant-general, May 18, 1898. Two weeks before his last promotion in the regular army he was appointed brigadier-general of volunteers, and in accordance with the Act of Congress, approved March 2, 1899, he will retain that rank until July 1, 1901. He was brevetted several times during the War of the Rebellion, and his whole military career, covering a period of forty-two years, is absolutely devoid of blemish. APPENDIX I The following officers received distinguished mention in General Schwan's reports, for service rendered under fire during the campaign in western Puerto Rico:-- Lieutenant-Colonel Burke, Eleventh Infantry. [A] Major Gilbreath, Eleventh Infantry. Captain P.M.B. Travis, Eleventh Infantry. Captain R.W. Hoyt, Eleventh Infantry. Captain A.L. Myer, Eleventh Infantry. Captain Penrose, Eleventh Infantry. Captain Macomb, Fifth Cavalry. Acting Assistant Surgeon Savage. Lieutenant Odon Gurvoits, Eleventh Infantry. Lieutenant T.F. Maginnis, Eleventh Infantry. Lieutenant Alexander, Eleventh Infantry. Lieutenant Wells, Eleventh Infantry. Lieutenant W.S. Valentine, Fifth Cavalry. Lieutenant Rogers F. Gardner, Third Artillery. [Footnote A: Died of apoplexy on August 22, 1898, while in camp near Las Marias.] In addition to those named above, special and valuable efficiency was displayed by Major E.A. Root, engineer; Major H.H. Benham, ordnance; Major Egan, brigade-surgeon; Captain Buchanan, Collector-of-the-Port at Mayaguez; Captain Davison, brigade-quartermaster; Captain Hutcheson, assistant adjutant-general; and Captain Elkins,[A] Lieutenant Byron, and Lieutenant Summerlin, aides-de-camp. [Footnote A: Wounded at battle of Hormigueros.] II In connection with the present writer's expressed opinion regarding the relative practical value of regulars and volunteers in modern warfare, the following excerpt from the Chicago _Record_ of November 3, 1898, is worth reading. Captain Avid Wester, the Swedish officer who accompanied the American army in Cuba, in order to study the war, has just returned to Sweden. During his stay in Gothenburg he was interviewed, and he seems now to have a more sympathetic view of the Americans--the volunteers excepted--than former reports indicated. Captain Wester greatly praised the treatment he had received from all the American officers, and the bravery of the Americans in the regular army. "Of the 18,000 men under the command of General Shafter," he says, "only 4,000 were volunteers or militiamen; the rest consisted of regulars, which had had an average service of six years on the borders of the Indian territory. They were very good and well-disciplined soldiers, who went into battle with complete disregard of death. The militia regiments, however, could not be got within range of the Spanish bullets, and all the stories about the heroism of volunteers are untrue. The only volunteers who distinguished themselves were the 'rough riders,' who, in spite of their name, fought on foot, but these men were not a militia regiment. The troop consisted of cowboys and adventurers, who cared neither for life nor death, but rushed blindly into battle. Brave fellows withal." After praising the bravery of the Spaniards and the accuracy of their fire, Captain Wester expresses the belief that with modern rifles in use it is of the greatest importance to have well-trained soldiers, who in the heat of battle retain their coolness and listen to their officers' directions and commands,--in a word, soldiers who retain good firing discipline. This, he says, cannot be expected of men with short time of training, on whom the din of battle often has so paralyzing an effect that the soldier can neither hear nor see. III The question concerning the quality of the beef served as a ration to our troops during the recent war--in Cuba and Puerto Rico, and aboard the transports--has already been pretty thoroughly answered, one way or the other. Yet, though the topic is worn nearly threadbare and admittedly has nothing in particular to do with General Schwan's campaign, I venture to make, in this place, a personal contribution to the discussion in the form of an extract from a letter, written by me from Mayaguez on September 15, 1898. Our rations [on the transport "Comanche"] consisted of hard tack, coffee, canned baked-beans, canned tomatoes, and canned "roast beef." Before we arrived at Key West the baked-beans had all been eaten and the water in the tanks had gone rotten--we carried no condenser--so that we were reduced to the rather monotonous diet of tomatoes for breakfast, tomatoes and canned roast beef for dinner, and tomatoes again for supper; with a full allowance of coffee and hard tack at all three meals. Anybody will be able to understand that we were pretty hungry at the end of the second day. We were thirsty too--I paid as much as fifty cents for a glass of ice-water from the cabin--but I will skip the mass of details. We had seen the piles of neat cans, labelled "roast beef," stacked up on the dock at Port Tampa, and we were impatient for the first mess-call that made us acquainted with the contents of those cans. I regret that I cannot adequately describe to you the appearance of the stuff. I will simply say that it looked filthy, was covered with a sort of slime, and emitted a nauseous odor. It was very hard to even gaze at it and remain unmoved, but we did more than that--we tried to eat it. I managed to swallow three mouthfuls and immediately became wretchedly sick. The example seemed to be popular. On the succeeding day we were each given an unopened can of the meat, which was supposed to last us for twenty-four hours. Most of the men threw their portions overboard at once; a few packed away the "corpse"--as we already called it--for purposes of trade with the unsophisticated Cubans; and I kept my can as a souvenir. I did not, however, keep it long; for, chancing to drop it upon the deck, the contents exploded with a distinct report, startling me not a little and covering my person with the débris. At the time I thought this experience was going to be altogether unique, but I discovered afterward that the same thing happened in a great many other instances. Having abandoned the beef, we were forced to subsist on hard tack and tomatoes for the rest of the voyage, and hailed with joy our anchorage at Daiquiri. But we were too previous. During our ten days' stay in Cuba we found the "corpse" still waiting for us in the mess, and we carried the ghastly burden along when we finally steamed away for Puerto Rico. We landed at Guanica on the 25th of July, which meant that we had been half-starved for twenty-two days. We had forgotten the "Maine" and would have greeted Weyler himself with a glad sweet smile, had he come bearing in his hands food fit for a human being. Once more disembarked, we lost sight of the canned roast beef for good--save at extremely rare intervals while on the march. We found no difficulty in eating the beef obtained from Puerto Rican steers, although it was tough and bloodless; and we received salt pork often enough to furnish variety. After the cessation of hostilities we began to get American beef instead of the native article, and, while it was by no means so impossible a food as its canned cousin, it certainly could not be called delicious. It smelled badly before it was cooked, was rigid and stringy when served, and had a rank taste, like--well like nothing else on earth. Our sick-list doubled at this time. IV A list of the killed and wounded on the American side, at the battle near Hormigueros, Puerto Rico, on the 10th of August, 1898. _Killed_. Fred Fenneberg, private in Company "D," Eleventh Infantry. _Wounded_. Lieutenant J.C. Byron, Eighth United States Cavalry, R.D.C. John Bruning, corporal in Light Battery "D," Fifth Artillery. George Curtis, private in Light Battery "D," Fifth Artillery. Samuel G. Frye, private in Light Battery "D," Fifth Artillery. Willard H. Wheeler, sergeant in Company "A," Eleventh Infantry. Joseph P. Ryan, corporal in Company "A," Eleventh Infantry. Arthur Sparks, private in Company "C," Eleventh Infantry. John L. Johnson, corporal in Company "D," Eleventh Infantry. J.A. Sanders, private in Company "D," Eleventh Infantry. Harry E. Arrick, private in Company "E," Eleventh Infantry. Henry Gerrick, private in Company "E," Eleventh Infantry. Paul F. Mitzkie, private in Company "E," Eleventh Infantry. William Rossiter, private in Company "G," Eleventh Infantry. Lemuel P. Cobb, private in Company "I," Eleventh Infantry. D.J. Graves, private in Company "M," Eleventh Infantry. Amos Wilkie, corporal in Company "M," Eleventh Infantry. _Injured_. Frank Muller, private in Company "E," Eleventh Infantry. Augustus H. Ryan, private in Company "F," Eleventh Infantry. 
33650	----	_New West Indian Spiders._ BY NATHAN BANKS. BULLETIN OF THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY, VOL. XXXIII, ART. XLI, pp. 639-642. _New York, November 21, 1914._ [Transcriber's Note: Words surrounded by tildes, like ~this~ signifies words in bold. Words surrounded by underscores, like _this_, signifies words in italics.] Article XLI.--NEW WEST INDIAN SPIDERS. BY NATHAN BANKS. The following new species were found in the course of an examination of material in the American Museum of Natural History collected by Dr. F. E. Lutz and Mr. Charles W. Leng in Cuba and by Dr. Lutz in Porto Rico. The types are in that institution. ~Mecoloesthus signatus~ n. sp. Cephalothorax pale, with black median mark, wider at head; sternum reddish or yellowish. Abdomen pale, with a black median stripe, narrowed near middle, not reaching anterior end where there is an oblique stripe, and a basal spot each side, also an apical spot each side, and the basal pleura show an oblique dark stripe. These marks are made up of small spots, more or less connected. The venter shows a narrow, median black stripe followed by a round spot, some distance before the spinnerets. Femora reddish, blackish near tip, and a white band at extreme tip; tibiæ dark, with a broad, white band near tip; rest of legs paler. Eyes in two groups, three each side (subequal in size) on a distinct elevation; A. M. E. minute, close together, and as high as upper edge of A. S. E. Abdomen elongate, cylindrical, spinnerets apical; legs very long; vulval area corneous, yellow, concave behind, but little swollen. Length; ceph. 1 mm.; abdomen 2.5 mm.; femur I, 12 mm.; femur IV, 10 mm. From Naguabo, Porto Rico, March. No. 21669, Dept. Inv. Zoölogy. ~Callilepsis grisea~ n. sp. Cephalothorax reddish brown, clothed with white hair; black in eye-region; mandibles reddish brown; legs yellowish, darker on anterior tarsi and metatarsi, a dark band on middle of tibiæ III and IV and these metatarsi rather dark; sternum yellowish brown, darker on sides; abdomen grayish white above and below, above with a median basal blackish streak, a dark streak on each anterior pleuron and a dark streak each side toward apex, and two blackish spots above spinnerets, latter brownish. Cephalothorax narrow; eye-rows short and far apart; P. M. E. slightly oval, about three diameters apart and much closer to the larger P. S. E.; legs moderately long, very hairy or bristly, and with stout spines especially on femora III and IV; tibiæ I and II with three spines beneath, one at base, one at middle, one at tip, metatarsi with basal spine only; metatarsi and tarsi scopulate beneath; hind legs more numerously spined; sternum once and a half longer than broad, pointed behind, narrowed in front; abdomen fully twice as long as broad, sides subparallel. Length 6.8 mm. From 12-1/2 kilometers south of Pinar del Rio, Cuba, September. No. 21670, Dept. Inv. Zoölogy. ~Wulfila pretiosa~ n. sp. Pale yellowish. Cephalothorax with a greenish stripe each side, a greenish mark over groove, and two faint lines back from P. M. E.; mandibles with a greenish vertical line in middle. Abdomen with dark greenish or nearly blackish stripe each side reaching to middle, a spot behind it, and a large median spot above spinnerets, four small dark dots in mid-dorsum; legs with faint dark spots at bases of many spines on femora and tibiæ. Cephalothorax narrow in front, A. M. E. hardly more than diameter apart; about as close to the very much larger A. S. E. Posterior eye-row nearly straight, the eyes equal and as large as A. S. E., P. M. E. about two diameters apart, and about as far from P. S. E. Legs long and slender, first and fourth pair about equal, all with stout spines on femora; tibiæ and metatarsi I and II each with two pairs of very long spines, none at tips. The black hair on tips of maxillæ, lip and mandibles is very prominent. Abdomen twice as long as broad. Length 4.5 mm.; leg I, 8 mm. From San Carlos Est., Guantanamo, Cuba. October. No. 21671, Dept. Inv. Zoölogy. ~Wulfila immaculata~ n. sp. White or pale yellowish throughout, unmarked; the eyes on black rings, the claws black, and the anterior edge of the vulva reddish. The A. M. E. small, but little more than their diameter apart, about twice as far from the plainly large A. S. E., P. M. E. nearly three diameters apart, and only about two diameters from the P. S. E. Mandibles with only fine hairs; legs long, and very slender, the first pair more than twice as long as the body, all with very long, slender spines, and fine hairs. Abdomen nearly twice as long as broad; vulva shows two reddish marks in front, and behind is a large indistinct cavity. Length 3 mm.; leg I, 7.5 mm. Type from 7 kilometers north of Viñales, Cuba, September, No. 21687, Dept. Inv. Zoölogy. Paratypes from Cabanas, Cuba, September; Naguabo, Porto Rico, March; and Mona Island, Feb. Nos. 21672 and 21682 to 21686, Dept. Inv. Zoölogy. ~Bathyphantes semicincta~ n. sp. Cephalothorax dull yellowish, a marginal dark seam, eyes on black spots; mandibles dull yellowish. Legs pale yellowish, femora and coxæ more whitish, tibiæ and patellæ I and IV tipped with black. Sternum yellowish, margined with dark. Abdomen above gray, with scattered white spots and larger black patches; a basal black spot each side, and two others each side toward tip, the last larger and extending down on sides to near the spinnerets; a large, oblique, dark spot on pleura, and one near base; venter with a large, median blackish spot, concave in front, dark on sides of genital groove. Legs I and II very long, much longer than others, all with many long, fine but stiff, hairs and some erect bristles on tibiæ, a long one at top of each patella above and one near middle of tibia above. Length 1.8 mm. From 7 kilometers north of Viñales, Cuba, September. No. 21673, Dept. Inv. Zoölogy. ~Epeira gundlachi~ n. sp. Cephalothorax, legs, sternum, mandibles, and palpi whitish; tarsi, and sometimes metatarsi, slightly infuscated; sternum sometimes more yellowish, no markings. Abdomen white above and below. Eyes small; posterior row recurved, subequal in size, the P. M. E. one half nearer to each other than to the S. E. and about three diameters apart; the four M. E. make a square; A. S. E. smaller than other eyes, close to P. S. E., fully as far from A. M. E. as these from each other. Legs with many fine white bristles, and a few black spines, two on inner side of femur I near tip, no spines in front nor below on femora, nor below on tibiæ I and II, a few above on tibiæ and patellæ, the tarsus plus metatarsus I about as long as tibia plus patella I. Sternum sub-triangular, a little longer than broad, pointed behind. Abdomen fully one and a half times longer than broad, roundedly projecting behind the spinnerets, no higher at base than at spinnerets, and broadest at about middle of length. Length 3 mm. From 12-1/2 kilometers south of Pinar del Rio, Cuba. September. No. 21674, Dept. Inv. Zoölogy. Related to group of _E. mormon_ and _E. peckhami_ by shape of abdomen and vulva. ~Misumessus echinatus~ n. sp. Male: Cephalothorax yellowish, with about fifty small reddish-brown spots scattered over surface, from each of which arises a short, but very stout spine; the marginal seam is reddish. The legs are pale with spots similar to those on the cephalothorax, many of which have a bristle or spine; no marks on the tarsi, but tibiæ and metatarsis are twice banded with reddish. The coxæ and sternum are pale. The abdomen is rather whitish above, with two rows of five reddish spots near middle, and elsewhere with many reddish dots, from many of which arise short, stout spines like those on the cephalothorax, pleura with red spots; venter with two reddish marks near base, beyond genital furrow with transverse white and black spots; some red around the pale spinnerets. The A. S. E. rather larger than usual; P. M. E. about three diameters apart, about as close to the P. S. E. Legs long and slender, tibia I with four pairs of spines beneath, the longest but little longer than the width of the joint. The male palpal organs show a very long stylet curved over two times around the bulb. Length 2.5 mm. From Cerro Cabras, near Pinar del Rio, Cuba. September. No. 21675, Dept. Inv. Zoölogy. ~Olios bicolor~ n. sp. Male: Cephalothorax, palpi, sternum, and most of legs yellowish; abdomen dark brown; metatarsi dark, tibiæ infuscated; mandibles reddish brown; tips of male palpi dark. Cephalothorax with several dark lines; a median one reaching to groove, a short one from each P. M. E., one from S. E. curved and then extending toward groove, four or six lateral dark lines; two dark lines on mandibles. A. M. E. rather more than diameter apart, about as far from the somewhat smaller A. S. E.; P. S. E. equal to A. S. E., P. M. E. much smaller than A. M. E., fully two and one half diameters apart and as far from the slightly larger P. S. E. Male palpi figured. Length 10 mm.; ceph., 4.6 mm.; femur I, 5 mm.; tibia I, 3.7 mm. Type from Desecheo Is., Feb., No. 21688, Dept. Inv. Zoölogy. Paratypes from San Juan, Porto Rico, February; Desecheo Isl., Feb., and Mona Isl., Feb. Nos. 21676 to 21681, Dept. Inv. Zoölogy. EXPLANATION OF PLATE. Fig. 1. Mecoloesthus signatus, abdomen and vulva. " 2. Callilepsis grisea, vulva. " 3. Bathyphantes semicincta, side of abdomen. " 4. Wulfila pretiosa, vulva. " 5. Olios bicolor, palpus beneath. " 6. Misumessus echinatus, palpus. " 7. Wulfila immaculata, vulvæ of two specimens. " 8. Epeira gundlachi, top and side outline of abdomen, and vulva. " 9. Olios bicolor, palpus above. [Illustration: NEW WEST INDIAN SPIDERS.] PUBLICATIONS OF THE American Museum of Natural History. The publications of the American Museum of Natural History consist of the 'Bulletin,' in octavo, of which one volume, consisting of 400 to 800 pages and 25 to 60 plates, with numerous text figures, is published annually; the 'Memoirs,' in quarto, published in parts at irregular intervals; and 'Anthropological Papers,' uniform in size and style with the 'Bulletin.' Also an 'Ethnographical Album,' and the 'American Museum Journal.' MEMOIRS. Each Part of the 'Memoirs' forms a separate and complete monograph, usually with numerous plates. Vol. I. Zoölogy and Palæontology. PART I.--Republication of Descriptions of Lower Carboniferous Crinoidea from the Hall Collection now in the American Museum of Natural History, with Illustrations of the Original Type Specimens not heretofore Figured. By R. Z. Whitfield. Pp. 1-37, pll. i-iii, and 14 text figures. September 15, 1893. Price, $2.00. PART II.--Republication of Descriptions of Fossils from the Hall Collection in the American Museum of Natural History, from the report of Progress for 1861 of the Geological Survey of Wisconsin, by James Hall, with Illustrations from the Original Type Specimens not heretofore Figured. By R. P. Whitfield. Pp. 39-74, pll. iv-xii. August 10, 1895. Price, $2.00. PART III.--The Extinct Rhinoceroses. By Henry Fairfield Osborn. Part I. Pp. 75-164, pll. xii_a_-xx, and 49 text figures. April 22, 1898. Price, $4.20. PART IV.--A Complete Mosasaur Skeleton. By Henry Fairfield Osborn. Pp. 165-188, pll. xxi-xxiii, and 15 text figures. October 25, 1899. PART V.--A Skeleton of Diplodocus. By Henry Fairfield Osborn. Pp. 189-214, pll. xxiv-xxviii, and 15 text figures. October 25, 1899. Price of Parts IV and V, issued under one cover, $2.00. PART VI.--Monograph of the Sesiidæ of America, North of Mexico. By William Beutenmüller. Pp. 215-352, pll. xxix-xxxvi, and 24 text figures. March, 1901. Price, $5.00. PART VII.--Fossil Mammals of the Tertiary of Northeastern Colorado. By W. D. Matthew. Pp. 353-448, pll. xxxvii-xxxix, and 34 text figures. November, 1901. Price, $2.00. PART VIII.--The Reptilian Subclasses Diapsida and Synapsida and the Early History of the Diaptosauria. By Henry Fairfield Osborn. Pp. 449-507, pl. xl, and 28 text figures. November, 1903. Price, $2.00. Vol. II. Anthropology. _Jesup North Pacific Expedition, Vol. I._ PART I.--Facial Paintings of the Indians of Northern British Columbia. By Franz Boas. Pp. 1-24, pll. i-iv. June 16, 1898. Price, $2.00. PART II.--The Mythology of the Bella Coola Indians. By Franz Boas. Pp. 25-127, pll. vii-xii. November, 1898. Price, $2.00. PART III.--The Archæology of Lytton. British Columbia. By Harlan I. Smith. Pp. 129-161, pi. xiii, and 117 text figures. May, 1899. Price, $2.00. PART IV.--The Thompson Indians of British Columbia. By James Teit. Edited by Franz Boas. Pp. 163-392, pll. xiv-xx, and 198 text figures. April, 1900. Price, $5.00. PART V.--Basketry Designs of the Salish Indians. By Livingston Farrand. Pp. 393-399, pll. xxi-xxiii, and 15 text figures. April, 1900. Price, 75 cts. PART VI.--Archæology of the Thompson River Region. By Harlan I. Smith. Pp. 401-442, pll. xxiv-xxvi, and 51 text figures. June, 1900. Price, $2.00. Vol. III. Anthropology. PART I.--Symbolism of the Huichol Indians. By Carl Lumholtz. Pp. 1-228, pll. i-iv, and 291 text figures. May, 1900. Price, $5.00. PART II.--The Basketry of the Tlingit. By George T. Emmons Pp. 229-277, pll. v-xviii, and 73 text figures. July, 1903. Price, $2.00. (Out of print.) PART III.--Decorative Art of the Huichol Indians. By Carl Lumholtz. Pp. 279-327, pll. xix-xxiii, and 117 text figures. November, 1904. Price, $1.50. PART IV.--The Chilkat Blanket. By George T. Emmons. With Notes on the Blanket Designs, by Franz Boas. November, 1907. Price, $2.00. Vol. IV. Anthropology. _Jesup North Pacific Expedition, Vol. II._ PART I.--Traditions of the Chilcotin Indians. By Livingston Farrand. Pp. 1-54, June, 1900. Price, $1.50. PART II.--Cairns of British Columbia and Washington. By Harlan I. Smith and Gerard Fowke. Pp. 55-75, pll. i-v. January, 1901. Price, $1.00. PART III.--Traditions of the Quinault Indians. By Livingston Farrand, assisted by W. S. Kahnweiler. Pp. 77-132. January, 1902. Price, $1.00. PART IV.--Shell-Heaps of the Lower Fraser River. By Harlan I. Smith. Pp. 133-192, pll. vi-vii, and 60 text figures. March, 1903. Price, $1.00. *PART V.--The Lillooet Indians. By James Teit. Pp. 193-300, pll. viii and ix, 40 text figures. 1906. Price, $1.80. *PART VI.--Archæology of the Gulf of Georgia and Puget Sound. By Harlan I. Smith. Pp. 301-442, pll. x-xii, and 98 text figures. 1907. Price, $3.00. *PART VII.--The Shuswap. By James Teit. Pp. 443-789, pll. xiii-xiv, and 82 text figures. 1909. Price, $6.00. Vol. V. Anthropology. _Jesup North Pacific Expedition, Vol. III._ PART I.--Kwakiutl Texts. By Franz Boas and George Hunt. Pp. 1-270. January, 1902. Price, $3.00. PART II.--Kwakiutl Texts. By Franz Boas and George Hunt. Pp. 271-402. December, 1902. Price, $1.50. *PART III.--Kwakiutl Texts. By Franz Boas and George Hunt. Pp. 403-532. 1905. Price, $1.40. Vol. VI. Anthropology. _Hyde Expedition._ The Night Chant, a Navaho Ceremony. By Washington Matthews. Pp. i-xvi, 1-332, pll. i-viii (5 colored), and 19 text figures. May, 1902. Price, $5.00. Vol. VII. Anthropology (not yet completed). _Jesup North Pacific Expedition, Vol. IV._ PART I.--The Decorative Art of the Amur Tribes. By Berthold Laufer. Pp. 1-79, pll. i-xxxiii, and 24 text figures. December, 1901. Price, $3.00. Vol. VIII. Anthropology. *_Jesup North Pacific Expedition, Vol. V._ PART I.--Contributions to the Ethnology of the Haida. By John R. Swanton. Pp. 1-300, pll. i-xxvi, 4 maps, and 31 text figures. 1905. Price, $8.00. PART II.--The Kwakiutl of Vancouver Island. By Franz Boas. Pp. 301-522, pll. xxvii--lii, and 142 text figures. 1909. Price, $10.00. Vol. IX. Zoölogy and Palæontology. PART I.--The Osteology of _Camposaurus_ Cope. By Barnum Brown. Pp. 1-26, pll. i-v. December, 1905. Price, $2.00. PART II.--The Phytosauria with Especial Reference to _Mystriosuchus_ and _Rhytiodon_. By J. H. McGregor. Pp. 27-101, pll. vi-xi, and 26 text figures. February, 1906. Price, $2.00. PART III.--Studies on the Arthrodira. By Louis Hussakof. May, 1906. Pp. 103-154, pll. xii and xiii, and 25 text cuts. May, 1906. Price, $3.00. PART IV.--The Conard Fissure, A Pleistocene Bone Deposit in Northern Arkansas, with Descriptions of two New Genera and twenty New Species of Mammals. By Barnum Brown. Pp. 155-208, pll. xiv-xxv, and 3 text-figures. 1907. Price, $2.50. PART V.--Studies on Fossil Fishes (Sharks, Chimæroids, and Arthrodires). By Bashford Dean. Pp. 209-287, pll. xxvi-xli, and 65 text figures. February, 1909. Price, $3.50. PART VI.--The Carnivora and Insectivora of the Bridger Basin, Middle Eocene. By W. D. Matthew. Pp. 289-567, pll. xlii-lii, and 118 text figures. August, 1909. Price, $5.00. Vol. X. Anthropology. *_Jesup North Pacific Expedition, Vol. VI._ PART I.--Religion and Myths of the Koryak. By W. Jochelson. Pp. 1-382, pll. i-xiii, 1 map, and 58 text figures. 1905. Price, $10.00. PART II.--Material Culture and Social Organization of the Koryak. By W. 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12272	----	The Expansion of the Republic Series. THE HISTORY OF PUERTO RICO FROM THE SPANISH DISCOVERY TO THE AMERICAN OCCUPATION BY R.A. VAN MIDDELDYK EDITED BY MARTIN G. BRUMBAUGH, PH.D., LL.D. PROFESSOR OF PEDAGOGY, UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA AND FIRST COMMISSIONER OF EDUCATION FOR PUERTO RICO COPYRIGHT, 1903 [Illustration: Columbus statue, San Juan.] EDITOR'S PREFACE The latest permanent possession of the United States is also the oldest in point of European occupation. The island of Puerto Rico was discovered by Columbus in 1493. It was occupied by the United States Army at Guanica July 25, 1898. Spain formally evacuated the island October 18, 1898, and military government was established until Congress made provision for its control. By act of Congress, approved April 12, 1900, the military control terminated and civil government was formally instituted May 1,1900. Puerto Rico has an interesting history. Its four centuries under Spanish control is a record of unusual and remarkable events. This record is unknown to the American people. It has never been written satisfactorily in the Spanish language, and not at all in the English language. The author of this volume is the first to give to the reader of English a record of Spanish rule in this "pearl of the Antilles." Mr. Van Middeldyk is the librarian of the Free Public Library of San Juan, an institution created under American civil control. He has had access to all data obtainable in the island, and has faithfully and conscientiously woven this data into a connected narrative, thus giving the reader a view of the social and institutional life of the island for four hundred years. The author has endeavored to portray salient characteristics of the life on the island, to describe the various acts of the reigning government, to point out the evils of colonial rule, and to figure the general historical and geographical conditions in a manner that enables the reader to form a fairly accurate judgment of the past and present state of Puerto Rico. No attempt has been made to speculate upon the setting of this record in the larger record of Spanish life. That is a work for the future. But enough history of Spain and in general of continental Europe is given to render intelligible the various and varied governmental activities exercised by Spain in the island. There is, no doubt, much omitted that future research may reveal, and yet it is just to state that the record is fairly continuous, and that no salient factors in the island's history have been overlooked. The people of Puerto Rico were loyal and submissive to their parent government. No record of revolts and excessive rioting is recorded. The island has been continuously profitable to Spain. With even ordinarily fair administration of government the people have been self-supporting, and in many cases have rendered substantial aid to other Spanish possessions. Her native life--the Boriquén Indians--rapidly became extinct, due to the "gold fever" and the intermarriage of races. The peon class has always been a faithful laboring class in the coffee, sugar, and tobacco estates, and the slave element was never large. A few landowners and the professional classes dominate the island's life. There is no middle class. There is an utter absence of the legitimate fruits of democratic institutions. The poor are in every way objects of pity and of sympathy. They are the hope of the island. By education, widely diffused, a great unrest will ensue, and from this unrest will come the social, moral, and civic uplift of the people. These people do not suffer from the lack of civilization. They suffer from the kind of civilization they have endured. The life of the people is static. Her institutions and customs are so set upon them that one is most impressed with the absence of legitimate activities. The people are stoically content. Such, at least, was the condition in 1898. Under the military government of the United States much was done to prepare the way for future advance. Its weakness was due to its effectiveness. It did for the people what they should learn to do for themselves. The island needed a radically new governmental activity--an activity that would develop each citizen into a self-respecting and self-directing force in the island's uplift. This has been supplied by the institution of civil government. The outlook of the people is now infinitely better than ever before. The progress now being made is permanent. It is an advance made by the people for themselves. Civil government is the fundamental need of the island. Under civil government the entire reorganization of the life of the people is being rapidly effected. The agricultural status of the island was never so hopeful. The commercial activity is greatly increased. The educational awakening is universal and healthy. Notwithstanding the disastrous cyclone of 1898, and the confusion incident to a radical governmental reorganization, the wealth per capita has increased, the home life is improved, and the illiteracy of the people is being rapidly lessened. President McKinley declared to the writer that it was his desire "to put the conscience of the American people into the islands of the sea." This has been done. The result is apparent. Under wise and conservative guidance by the American executive officers, the people of Puerto Rico have turned to this Republic with a patriotism, a zeal, an enthusiasm that is, perhaps, without a parallel. In 1898, under President McKinley as commander-in-chief, the army of the United States forcibly invaded this island. This occupation, by the treaty of Paris, became permanent. Congress promptly provided civil government for the island, and in 1901 this conquered people, almost one million in number, shared in the keen grief that attended universally the untimely death of their conqueror. The island on the occasion of the martyr's death was plunged in profound sorrow, and at a hundred memorial services President McKinley was mourned by thousands, and he was tenderly characterized as "the founder of human liberty in Puerto Rico." The judgment of the American people relative to this island is based upon meager data. The legal processes attending its entrance into the Union have been the occasion of much comment. This comment has invariably lent itself to a discussion of the effect of judicial decision upon our home institutions. It has been largely a speculative concern. In some cases it has become a political concern in the narrowest partizan sense. The effect of all this upon the people of Puerto Rico has not been considered. Their rights and their needs have not come to us. We have not taken President McKinley's broad, humane, and exalted view of our obligation to these people. They have implicitly entrusted their life, liberty, and property to our guardianship. The great Republic has a debt of honor to the island which indifference and ignorance of its needs can never pay. It is hoped that this record of their struggles during four centuries will be a welcome source of insight and guidance to the people of the United States in their efforts to see their duty and do it. M. G. BRUMBAUGH. PHILADELPHIA, _January 1, 1903_. AUTHOR'S PREFACE Some years ago, Mr. Manuel Elzaburu, President of the San Juan Provincial Atheneum, in a public speech, gave it as his opinion that the modern historian of Puerto Rico had yet to appear. This was said, not in disparagement of the island's only existing history, but rather as a confirmation of the general opinion that the book which does duty as such is incorrect and incomplete. This book is Friar Iñigo Abbad's Historia de la Isla San Juan Bautista, which was written in 1782 by disposition of the Count of Floridablanca, the Minister of Colonies of Charles III, and published in Madrid in 1788. In 1830 it was reproduced in San Juan without any change in the text, and in 1866 Mr. José Julian Acosta published a new edition with copious notes, comments, and additions, which added much data relative to the Benedictine monks, corrected numerous errors, and supplemented the chapters, some of which, in the original, are exceedingly short, the whole history terminating abruptly with the nineteenth chapter, that is, with the beginning of the eighteenth century. The remaining 21 chapters are merely descriptive of the country and people. Besides this work there are others by Puerto Rican authors, each one elucidating one or more phases of the island's history. With these separate and diverse materials, supplemented by others of my own, I have constructed the present history. The transcendental change in the island's social and political conditions, inaugurated four years ago, made the writing of an English history of Puerto Rico necessary. The American officials who are called upon to guide the destinies and watch over the moral, material, and intellectual progress of the inhabitants of this new accession to the great Republic will be able to do so all the better when they have a knowledge of the people's historical antecedents. I have endeavored to supply this need to the best of my ability, and herewith offer to the public the results of an arduous, though self-imposed task. R.A.V.M. SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO, _November 3, 1902._ CONTENTS PART I HISTORICAL CHAPTER I.--THE DEPARTURE. 1493 II.--THE DISCOVERY. 1493 III.--PONCE AND CERON. 1500-1511 IV.--FIRST DISTRIBUTION OF INDIANS. "REPARTIMIENTOS" 1510 V.--THE REBELLION. 1511 VI.--THE REBELLION (_continued_.) 1511 VII.--NUMBER OF ABORIGINAL INHABITANTS AND SECOND DISTRIBUTION OF INDIANS. 1511-1515 VIII.--LAWS AND ORDINANCES. 1511-1515 IX.--THE RETURN OF CERON AND DIAZ. PONCE'S FIRST EXPEDITION TO FLORIDA. 1511-1515 X.--DISSENSIONS. TRANSFER OF THE CAPITAL. 1515-1520 XI.--CALAMITIES. PONCE'S SECOND EXPEDITION TO FLORIDA AND DEATH. 1520-1537 XII.--INCURSIONS OF FUGITIVE BORIQUÉN INDIANS AND CARIBS. 1520-1582 XIII.--DEPOPULATION OF THE ISLAND. PREVENTIVE MEASURES. INTRODUCTION OF NEGRO SLAVES. 1515-1534 XIV.--ATTACKS BY FRENCH PRIVATEERS. CAUSE OF THE WAR WITH FRANCE. CHARLES V. RUIN OF THE ISLAND. 1520-1556 XV.--SEDESO. CHANGES IN THE SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT 1534-1555 XVI.--DEFENSELESS CONDITION OF THE ISLAND. CONSTRUCTION OF FORTIFICATIONS AND CIRCUMVALLATION OF SAN JUAN. 1555-1641 XVII.--DRAKE'S ATTACK ON SAN JUAN. 1595 XVIII.--OCCUPATION AND EVACUATION OF SAN JUAN BY LORD GEORGE CUMBERLAND. CONDITION OF THE ISLAND AT THE END OF THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY XIX.--ATTACK ON SAN JUAN BY THE HOLLANDERS UNDER BOWDOIN. 1625 XX.--DECLINE OF SPAIN'S POWER. BUCCANEERS AND FILIBUSTERS. 1625-1780 XXI.--BRITISH ATTACKS ON PUERTO RICO. SIEGE OF SAN JUAN BY SIR RALPH ABERCROMBIE. 1678-1797 XXII.--BRITISH ATTACKS ON PUERTO RICO (_continued_). INVASIONS BY COLOMBIAN INSURGENTS. 1797-1829 XXIII.--REVIEW OF THE SOCIAL CONDITIONS IN PUERTO RICO AND THE POLITICAL EVENTS IN SPAIN FROM 1765 TO 1820 XXIV.--GENERAL CONDITION OF THE ISLAND FROM 1815 TO 1833 XXV.--POLITICAL EVENTS IN SPAIN AND THEIR INFLUENCE ON AFFAIRS IN PUERTO RICO. 1833-1874 XXVI.--GENERAL CONDITIONS OF THE ISLAND, THE DAWN OF FREEDOM. 1874-1898 PART II THE PEOPLE AND THEIR INSTITUTIONS XXVII.--SITUATION AND GENERAL APPEARANCE OF PUERTO RICO XXVIII.--ORIGIN, CHARACTER, AND CUSTOMS OF THE PRIMITIVE INHABITANTS OF BORIQUÉN XXIX.--THE "JÍBARO" OR PUERTO RICAN PEASANT XXX.--ORIGIN AND CHARACTER OF THE MODERN INHABITANTS OF PUERTO RICO XXXI.--NEGRO SLAVERY IN PUERTO RICO XXII.--INCREASE OF POPULATION XXIII.--AGRICULTURE IN PUERTO RICO XXXIV.--COMMERCE AND FINANCES XXXV.--EDUCATION IN PUERTO RICO XXXVI.--LIBRARIES AND THE PRESS XXXVII.--THE REGULAR AND SECULAR CLERGY XXXVIII.--THE INQUISITION. 1520-1813 XXXIX.--GROWTH OF CITIES XL.--AURIFEROUS STREAMS AND GOLD PRODUCED FROM 1609 TO 1536 XLI.--WEST INDIAN HURRICANES IN PUERTO RICO FROM 1515 TO 1899 XLII.--THE CARIBS BIBLIOGRAPHY INDEX LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Columbus statue, San Juan Ruins of Capárra Columbus monument, near Aguadilla Statue of Ponce de Leon, San Juan Inner harbor, San Juan Fort San Geronimo, at Santurce, near San Juan Only remaining gate of the city-wall, San Juan A tienda, or small shop Planter's house, ceiba tree, and royal palms San Francisco Church, San Juan; the oldest church in the city Plaza Alphonso XII and Intendencia Building, San Juan Casa Blanca and the sea wall, San Juan PART I HISTORICAL CHAPTER I THE DEPARTURE 1493 Eight centuries of a gigantic struggle for supremacy between the Crescent and the Cross had devastated the fairest provinces of the Spanish Peninsula. Boabdil, the last of the Moorish kings, had delivered the keys of Granada into the hands of Queen Isabel, the proud banner of the united kingdoms of Castile and Aragon floated triumphant from the walls of the Alhambra, and Providence, as if to recompense Iberian knighthood for turning back the tide of Moslem conquest, which threatened to overrun the whole of meridional Europe, had laid a new world, with all its inestimable treasures and millions of benighted inhabitants, at the feet of the Catholic princes. Columbus had just returned from his first voyage. He had been scorned as an adventurer by the courtiers of Lisbon, mocked as a visionary by the learned priests of the Council in Salamanca, who, with texts from the Scriptures and quotations from the saints, had tried to convince him that the world was flat; he had been pointed at by the rabble in the streets as a madman who maintained that there was a land where the people walked with their heads down; and, after months of trial, he had been able to equip his three small craft and collect a crew of ninety men only by the aid of a royal schedule offering exemption from punishment for offenses against the laws to all who should join the expedition. At last he had sailed amid the murmurs of an incredulous crowd, who thought him and his companions doomed to certain destruction, and now he had returned[1] bringing with him the living proofs of what he had declared to exist beyond that mysterious ocean, and showed to the astounded people samples of the unknown plants and animals, and of _the gold_ which he had said would be found there in fabulous quantities. It was the proudest moment of the daring navigator's life when, clad in his purple robe of office, bedecked with the insignia of his rank, he entered the throne-room of the palace in Barcelona and received permission to be seated in the royal presence to relate his experiences. Around the hall stood the grandees of Spain and the magnates of the Church, as obsequious and attentive to him now as they had been proud and disdainful when, a hungry wanderer, he had knocked at the gates of La Rabida to beg bread for his son. It was the acme of the discoverer's destiny, the realization of his dream of glory, the well-earned recompense of years of persevering endeavor. The news of the discovery created universal enthusiasm. When it was announced that a second expedition was being organized there was no need of a royal schedule of remission of punishment to criminals to obtain crews. The Admiral's residence was besieged all day long by the hidalgos[2] who were anxious to share with him the expected glories and riches. The cessation of hostilities in Granada had left thousands of knights, whose only patrimony was their sword, without occupation--men with iron muscles, inured to hardship and danger, eager for adventure and conquest. Then there were the monks and priests, whose religious zeal was stimulated by the prospect of converting to Christianity the benighted inhabitants of unknown realms; there were ruined traders, who hoped to mend their fortunes with the gold to be had, as they thought, for picking it up; finally, there were the protégés of royalty and of influential persons at court, who aspired to lucrative places in the new territories; in short, the Admiral counted among the fifteen hundred companions of his second expedition individuals of the bluest blood in Spain. As for the mariners, men-at-arms, mechanics, attendants, and servants, they were mostly greedy, vicious, ungovernable, and turbulent adventurers.[3] The confiscated property of the Jews, supplemented by a loan and some extra duties on articles of consumption, provided the funds for the expedition; a sufficient quantity of provisions was embarked; twenty Granadian lancers with their spirited Andalusian horses were accommodated; cuirasses, swords, pikes, crossbows, muskets, powder and balls were ominously abundant; seed-corn, rice, sugar-cane, vegetables, etc., were not forgotten; cattle, sheep, goats, swine, and fowls for stocking the new provinces, provided for future needs; and a breed of mastiff dogs, originally intended, perhaps, as watch-dogs only, but which became in a short time the dreaded destroyers of natives. Finally, Pope Alexander VI, of infamous memory, drew a line across the map of the world, from pole to pole,[4] and assigned all the undiscovered lands west of it to Spain, and those east of it to Portugal, thus arbitrarily dividing the globe between the two powers. At daybreak, September 25, 1493, seventeen ships, three carácas of one hundred tons each, two naos, and twelve caravels, sailed from Cadiz amid the ringing of bells and the enthusiastic Godspeeds of thousands of spectators. The son of a Genoese wool-carder stood there, the equal in rank of the noblest hidalgo in Spain, Admiral of the Indian Seas, Viceroy of all the islands and continents to be discovered, and one-tenth of all the gold and treasures they contained would be his! Alas for the evanescence of worldly greatness! All this glory was soon to be eclipsed. Eight years after that day of triumph he again landed on the shore of Spain a pale and emaciated prisoner in chains. It may easily be conceived that the voyage for these fifteen hundred men, most of whom were unaccustomed to the sea, was not a pleasure trip. Fortunately they had fine weather and fair wind till October 26th, when they experienced their first tropical rain and thunder-storm, and the Admiral ordered litanies. On November 2d he signaled to the fleet to shorten sail, and on the morning of the 3d fifteen hundred pairs of wondering eyes beheld the mountains of an island mysteriously hidden till then in the bosom of the Atlantic Ocean. Among the spectators were Bernal Diaz de Pisa, accountant of the fleet, the first conspirator in America; thirteen Benedictine friars, with Boil at their head, who, with Morén Pedro de Margarit, the strategist, respectively represented the religious and military powers; there was Roldán, another insubordinate, the first alcalde of the Española; there were Alonzo de Ojeda and Guevára, true knights-errant, who were soon to distinguish themselves: the first by the capture of the chief Caonabó, the second by his romantic love-affair with Higuemota, the daughter of the chiefess Anacaóna. There was Adrian Mojíca, destined shortly to be hanged on the ramparts of Fort Concepción by order of the Viceroy. There was Juan de Esquivél, the future conqueror of Jamaica; Sebastian Olano, receiver of the royal share of the gold and other riches that no one doubted to find; Father Marchena, the Admiral's first protector, friend, and counselor; the two knight commanders of military orders Gallego and Arroyo; the fleet's physician, Chanca; the queen's three servants, Navarro, Peña-soto, and Girau; the pilot, Antonio de Torres, who was to return to Spain with the Admiral's ship and first despatches. There was Juan de la Cosa, cartographer, who traced the first map of the Antilles; there were the father and uncle of Bartolomé de las Casas, the apostle of the Indies; Diego de Peñalosa, the first notary public; Fermin Jedo, the metallurgist, and Villacorta, the mechanical engineer. Luis de Ariega, afterward famous as the defender of the fort at Magdalena; Diego Velasquez, the future conqueror of Cuba; Vega, Abarca, Gil Garcia, Marguéz, Maldonado, Beltrán and many other doughty warriors, whose names had been the terror of the Moors during the war in Granada. Finally, there were Diego Columbus, the Admiral's brother; and among the men-at-arms, one, destined to play the principal rôle in the conquest of Puerto Rico. His name was Juan Ponce, a native of Santervas or Sanservas de Campos in the kingdom of Leon. He had served fifteen years in the war with the Moors as page or shield-bearer to Pedro Nuñez de Guzman, knight commander of the order of Calatráva, and he had joined Columbus like the rest--to seek his fortune in the western hemisphere. FOOTNOTES: [Footnote 1: March 15, 1493.] [Footnote 2: Literally, "_hijos d'algo_," sons of something or somebody.] [Footnote 3: La Fuente. Hista. general de España.] [Footnote 4: Along the 30th parallel of longitude W. of Greenwich.] CHAPTER II THE DISCOVERY 1493 THE first island discovered on this voyage lies between 14° and 15° north latitude, near the middle of a chain of islands of different sizes, intermingled with rocks and reefs, which stretches from Trinidad, near the coast of Venezuela, in a north-by-westerly direction to Puerto Rico. They are divided in two groups, the Windward Islands forming the southern, the Leeward Islands the northern portion of the chain. The Admiral shaped his course in the direction in which the islands, one after the other, loomed up, merely touching at some for the purpose of obtaining what information he could, which was meager enough. For an account of the expedition's experiences on that memorable voyage, we have the fleet physician Chanca's circumstantial description addressed to the Municipal Corporation of Seville, sent home by the same pilot who conveyed the Admiral's first despatches to the king and queen. After describing the weather experienced up to the time the fleet arrived at the island "de Hierro," he tells their worships that for nineteen or twenty days they had the best weather ever experienced on such a long voyage, excepting on the eve of San Simon, when they had a storm which for four hours caused them great anxiety. At daybreak on Sunday, November 3d, the pilot of the flagship announced land. "It was marvelous," says Chanca, "to see and hear the people's manifestations of joy; and with reason, for they were very weary of the hardships they had undergone, and longed to be on land again." The first island they saw was high and mountainous. As the day advanced they saw another more level, and then others appeared, till they counted six, some of good size, and all covered with forest to the water's edge. Sailing along the shore of the first discovered island for the distance of a league, and finding no suitable anchoring ground, they proceeded to the next island, which was four or five leagues distant, and here the Admiral landed, bearing the royal standard, and took formal possession of this and all adjacent lands in the name of their Highnesses. He named the first island Dominica, because it was discovered on a Sunday, and to the second island he gave the name of his ship, Marie-Galante. "In this island," says Chanca, "it was wonderful to see the dense forest and the great variety of unknown trees, some in bloom, others with fruit, everything looking so green. We found a tree the leaves whereof resembled laurel leaves, but not so large, and they exhaled the finest odor of cloves.[5] "There were fruits of many kinds, some of which the men imprudently tasted, with the result that their faces swelled, and that they suffered such violent pain in throat and mouth[6] that they behaved like madmen, the application of cold substances giving them some relief." No signs of inhabitants were discovered, so they remained ashore two hours only and left next morning early (November 4th) in the direction of another island seven or eight leagues northward. They anchored off the southernmost coast of it, now known as Basse Terre, and admired a mountain in the distance, which seemed to reach into the sky (the volcano "la Souffrière"), and the beautiful waterfall on its flank. The Admiral sent a small caravel close inshore to look for a port, which was soon found. Perceiving some huts, the captain landed, but the people who occupied them escaped into the forest as soon as they saw the strangers. On entering the huts they found two large parrots (guacamayos) entirely different from those seen until then by the Spaniards, much cotton, spun and ready for spinning, and other articles, bringing away a little of each, "especially," says the doctor, "four or five bones of human arms and legs." From this the Admiral concluded that he had found the islands inhabited by the redoubtable Caribs, of whom he had heard on his first voyage, and who were said to eat human flesh. The general direction in which these islands were situated had been pointed out to him by the natives of Guanahani and the Española; hence, he had steered a southwesterly course on this his second voyage, "and," says the doctor, "by the goodness of God and the Admiral's knowledge, we came as straight as if we had come by a known and continuous route." Having found a convenient port and seen some groups of huts, the inhabitants of which fled as soon as they perceived the ships, the Admiral gave orders that the next morning early parties of men should go on shore to reconnoiter. Accordingly some captains, each with a small band of men, dispersed. Most of them returned before noon with the tangible results of their expeditions; one party brought a boy of about fourteen years of age, who, from the signs he made, was understood to be a captive from some other island; another party brought a child that had been abandoned by the man who was leading it by the hand when he perceived the Spaniards; others had taken some women; and one party was accompanied by women who had voluntarily joined them and who, on that account, were believed to be captives also. Captain Diego Marquiz with six men, who had entered the thickest part of the forest, did not return that night, nor the three following days, notwithstanding the Admiral had sent Alonzo de Ojeda with forty men to explore the jungle, blow trumpets, and do all that could be done to find them. When, on the morning of the fourth day, they had not returned, there was ground for concluding that they had been killed and eaten by the natives; but they made their appearance in the course of the day, emaciated and wearied, having suffered great hardships, till by chance they had struck the coast and followed it till they reached the ships. They brought ten persons, with them--women and boys. During the days thus lost the other captains collected more than twenty female captives, and three boys came running toward them, evidently escaping from their captors. Few men were seen. It was afterward ascertained that ten canoes full had gone on one of their marauding expeditions. In their different expeditions on shore the Spaniards found all the huts and villages abandoned, and in them "an infinite quantity" of human bones and skulls hanging on the walls as receptacles. From the natives taken on board the Spaniards learned that the name of the first island they had seen was Cayri or Keiree; the one they were on they named Sibuqueira, and they spoke of a third, not yet discovered, named Aye-Aye. The Admiral gave to Sibuqueira the name of Guadaloupe. Anchors were weighed at daybreak on November 10th. About noon of the next day the fleet reached an island which Juan de la Cosa laid down on his map with the name Santa Maria de Monserrat. From the Indian women on board it was understood that this island had been depopulated by the Caribs and was then uninhabited. On the same day in the afternoon they made another island which, according to Navarrete, was named by the Admiral Santa Maria de la Redonda (the round one), and seeing that there were many shallows in the neighborhood, and that it would be dangerous to continue the voyage during the night, the fleet came to anchor. On the following morning (the 13th) another island was discovered (la Antigua); thence the fleet proceeded in a northwesterly direction to San Martin, without landing at any place, because, as Chanca observes, "the Admiral was anxious to arrive at 'la Española.'" After weighing anchor at San Martin on the morning of Thursday the 14th, the fleet experienced rough weather and was driven southward, anchoring the same day off the island Aye-Aye (Santa Cruz). Fernandez, the Admiral's son, in his description of his father's second voyage, says that a small craft (a sloop) with twenty-five men was sent ashore to take some of the people, that Columbus might obtain information from them regarding his whereabouts. While they carried out this order a canoe with four men, two women, and a boy approached the ships, and, struck with astonishment at what they saw, they never moved from one spot till the sloop returned with four kidnaped women and three children. When the natives in the canoe saw the sloop bearing down upon them, and that they had no chance of escape, they showed fight. Two Spaniards were wounded--an arrow shot by one of the amazons went clear through a buckler--then the canoe was overturned, and finding a footing in a shallow place, they continued the fight till they were all taken, one of them being mortally wounded by the thrust of a lance. To regain the latitude in which he was sailing when the storm began to drive his ships southwestward to Aye-Aye, the Admiral, after a delay of only a few hours, steered north, until, toward nightfall, he reached a numerous group of small islands. Most of them appeared bare and devoid of vegetation. The next morning (November 15th) a small caravel was sent among the group to explore, the other ships standing out to sea for fear of shallows, but nothing of interest was found except a few Indian fishermen. All the islands were uninhabited, and they were baptized "the eleven thousand Virgins." The largest one, according to Navarrete, was named Santa Ursula--"la Virgin Gorda" (the fat Virgin) according to Angleria. During the night the ships lay to at sea. On the 16th the voyage was continued till the afternoon of the 17th, when another island was sighted; the fleet sailed along its southern shore for a whole day. That night two women and a boy of those who had voluntarily joined the expedition in Sobuqueira, swam ashore, having recognized their home. On the 19th the fleet anchored in a bay on the western coast, where Columbus landed and took possession in the name of his royal patrons with the same formalities as observed in Marie-Galante, and named the island San Juan Bautista. Near the landing-place was found a deserted village consisting of a dozen huts of the usual size surrounding a larger one of superior construction; from the village a road or walk, hedged in by trees and plants, led to the sea, "which," says Muñoz,[7] "gave it the aspect of some cacique's place of seaside recreation." After remaining two days in port (November 20th and 21st), and without a single native having shown himself, the fleet lifted anchor on the morning of the 22d, and proceeding on its northwesterly course, reached the bay of Samaná, in Española, before night, whence, sailing along the coast, the Admiral reached the longed-for port of Navidad on the 25th, only to find that the first act of the bloody drama that was to be enacted in this bright new world had already been performed. Here we leave Columbus and his companions to play the important rôles in the conquest of America assigned to each of them. The fortunes of the yeoman of humble birth, the former lance-bearer or stirrup-page of the knight commander of Calatráva, already referred to, were destined to become intimately connected with those of the island whose history we will now trace. FOOTNOTES: [Footnote 5: The "Caryophyllus pimienta," Coll y Toste.] [Footnote 6: Navarrete supposes this to have been the fruit of the Manzanilla "hippomane Mancinella," which produces identical effects.] [Footnote 7: Historia del Nuevo Mundo.] CHAPTER III PONCE AND CERON 1500-1511 Friar Iñigo Abbad, in his History of the Island San Juan Bautista de Puerto Rico, gives the story of the discovery in a very short chapter, and terminates it with the words: "Columbus sailed for Santo Domingo November 22, 1493, and thought no more of the island, which remained forgotten till Juan Ponce returned to explore it in 1508." This is not correct. The island was not forgotten, for Don José Julian de Acosta, in his annotations to the Benedictine monk's history (pp. 21 and 23), quotes a royal decree of March 24, 1505, appointing Vicente Yañez Pinzón Captain and "corregidor" of the island San Juan Bautista and governor of the fort that he was to construct therein. Pinzón transferred his rights and titles in the appointment to Martin Garcia de Salazar, in company with whom he stocked the island with cattle; but it seems that Boriquén did not offer sufficient scope for the gallant pilot's ambition, for we find him between the years 1506 and 1508 engaged in seeking new conquests on the continent. As far as Columbus himself is concerned, the island was certainly forgotten amid the troubles that beset him on all sides almost from the day of his second landing in "la Española." From 1493 to 1500 a series of insurrections broke out, headed successively by Diaz, Margarit, Aguado, Roldán, and others, supported by the convict rabble that, on the Admiral's own proposals to the authorities in Spain, had been liberated from galleys and prisons on condition that they should join him on his third expedition. These men, turbulent, insubordinate, and greedy, found hunger, hardships, and sickness where they had expected to find plenty, comfort, and wealth. The Admiral, who had indirectly promised them these things, to mitigate the universal and bitter disappointment, had recourse to the unwarrantable expedients of enslaving the natives, sending them to Spain to be sold, of levying tribute on those who remained, and, worst of all, dooming them to a sure and rapid extermination by forced labor. The natives, driven to despair, resisted, and in the encounters between the naked islanders and the mailed invaders Juan Ponce distinguished himself so that Nicolos de Ovando, the governor, made him the lieutenant of Juan Esquivél, who was then engaged in "pacifying" the province of Higüey.[8] After Esquivél's departure on the conquest of Jamaica, Ponce was advanced to the rank of captain, and it was while he was in the Higüey province that he learned from the Boriquén natives, who occasionally visited the coast, that there was gold in the rivers of their as yet unexplored island. This was enough to awaken his ambition to explore it, and having asked permission of Ovando, it was granted. Ponce equipped a caravel at once, and soon after left the port of Salvaleon with a few followers and some Indians to serve as guides and interpreters (1508). They probably landed at or near the same place at which their captain had landed fifteen years before with the Admiral, that is to say, in the neighborhood of la Aguáda, where, according to Las Casas, the ships going and coming to and from Spain had called regularly to take in fresh water ever since the year 1502. The strangers were hospitably received. It appears that the mother of the local cacique, who was also the chief cacique of that part of the island, was a woman of acute judgment. She had, no doubt, heard from fugitives from la Española of the doings of the Spaniards there, and of their irresistible might in battle, and had prudently counseled her son to receive the intruders with kindness and hospitality. Accordingly Ponce and his men were welcomed and feasted. They were supplied with provisions; areitos (dances) were held in their honor; batos (games of ball) were played to amuse them, and the practise, common among many of the aboriginal tribes in different parts of the world, of exchanging names with a visitor as a mark of brotherly affection, was also resorted to to cement the new bonds of friendship, so that Guaybána became Ponce for the time being, and Ponce Guaybána. The sagacious mother of the chief received the name of Doña Inéz, other names were bestowed on other members of the family, and to crown all, Ponce received the chief's sister in marriage. Under these favorable auspices Ponce made known his desire to see the places where the chiefs obtained the yellow metal for the disks which, as a distinctive of their rank, they wore as medals round their neck. Guaybána responded with alacrity to his Spanish brother's wish, and accompanied him on what modern gold-seekers would call "a prospecting tour" to the interior. The Indian took pride in showing him the rivers Manatuabón, Manatí, Sibucó, and others, and in having their sands washed in the presence of his white friends, little dreaming that by so doing he was sealing the doom of himself and people. Ponce was satisfied with the result of his exploration, and returned to la Española in the first months of 1509, taking with him the samples of gold collected, and leaving behind some of his companions, who probably then commenced to lay the foundations of Capárra. It is believed that Guaybána accompanied him to see and admire the wonders of the Spanish settlement. The gold was smelted and assayed, and found to be 450 maravedis per peso fine, which was not as fine as the gold obtained in la Española, but sufficiently so for the king of Spain's purposes, for he wrote to Ponce in November, 1509: "I have seen your letter of August 16th. Be very diligent in searching for gold mines in the island of San Juan; take out as much as possible, and after smelting it in la Española, send it immediately." On August 14th of the same year Don Fernando had already written to the captain thanking him for his diligence in the settlement of the island and appointing him governor _ad interim_. Ponce returned to San Juan in July or the beginning of August, after the arrival in la Española of Diego, the son of Christopher Columbus, with his family and a new group of followers, as Viceroy and Admiral. The Admiral, aware of the part which Ponce had taken in the insurrection of Roldán against his father's authority, bore him no good-will, notwithstanding the king's favorable disposition toward the captain, as manifested in the instructions which he received from Ferdinand before his departure from Spain (May 13, 1509), in which his Highness referred to Juan Ponce de Leon as being by his special grace and good-will authorized to settle the island of San Juan Bautista, requesting the Admiral to make no innovations in the arrangement, and charging him to assist and favor the captain in his undertaking. After Don Diego's arrival in la Española he received a letter from the king, dated September 15, 1509, saying, "Ovando wrote that Juan Ponce had not gone to settle the island of San Juan for want of stores; now that they have been provided in abundance, let it be done." But the Admiral purposely ignored these instructions. He deposed Ponce and appointed Juan Ceron as governor in his place, with a certain Miguel Diaz as High Constable, and Diego Morales for the office next in importance. His reason for thus proceeding in open defiance of the king's orders, independent of his resentment against Ponce, was the maintenance of the prerogatives of his rank as conceded to his father, of which the appointment of governors and mayors over any or all the islands discovered by him was one. Ceron and his two companions, with more than two hundred Spaniards, sailed for San Juan in 1509, and were well received by Guaybána and his Indians, among whom they took up their residence and at once commenced the search for gold. In the meantime Ponce, in his capacity as governor _ad interim_, continued his correspondence with the king, who, March 2, 1510, signed his appointment as permanent governor.[9] This conferred upon him the power to sentence in civil and criminal affairs, to appoint and remove alcaldes, constables, etc., subject to appeal to the government of la Española. Armed with his new authority, and feeling himself strong in the protection of his king, Ponce now proceeded to arrest Ceron and his two fellow officials, and sent them to Spain in a vessel that happened to call at the island, confiscating all their property. Diego Columbus, on hearing of Ponce's highhanded proceedings, retaliated by the confiscation of all the captain's property in la Española. These events did not reach the king's ears till September, 1510. He comprehended at once that his protégé had acted precipitately, and gave orders that the three prisoners should be set at liberty immediately after their arrival in Spain and proceed to the Court to appear before the Council of Indies. He next ordered Ponce (November 26, 1510) to place the confiscated properties and Indians of Ceron and his companions at the disposal of the persons they should designate for that purpose. Finally, after due investigation and recognition of the violence of Ponce's proceedings, the king wrote to him June 6, 1511: "Because it has been resolved in the Council of Indies that the government of this and the other islands discovered by his father belongs to the Admiral and his successors, it is necessary to return to Ceron, Diaz, and Morales their staffs of office. You will come to where I am, leaving your property in good security, and We will see wherein we can employ you in recompense of your good services." Ceron and his companions received instructions not to molest Ponce nor any of his officers, nor demand an account of their acts, and they were recommended to endeavor to gain their good-will and assistance. The reinstated officers returned to San Juan in the latter part of 1511. Ponce, in obedience to the king's commands, quietly delivered the staff of office to Ceron, and withdrew to his residence in Capárra. He had already collected considerable wealth, which was soon to serve him in other adventurous enterprises. FOOTNOTES: [Footnote 8: The slaughter of rebellious Indians was called "pacification" by the Spaniards.] [Footnote 9: The document is signed by Ferdinand and his daughter, Doña Juana, as heir to her mother, for the part corresponding to each in the sovereignty over the island San Juan Bautista.] CHAPTER IV FIRST DISTRIBUTION OF INDIANS. "REPARTIMIENTOS" 1510 Soon after Ponce's return from la Española Guaybána sickened and died. Up to this time the harmony established by the prudent cacique between his tribesmen and the Spaniards on their first arrival had apparently not been disturbed. There is no record of any dissension between them during Ponce's absence. The cacique was succeeded by his brother, who according to custom assumed the name of the deceased chief, together with his authority. The site for his first settlement, chosen by Ponce, was a low hill in the center of a small plain surrounded by hills, at the distance of a league from the sea, the whole space between being a swamp, "which," says Oviedo, "made the transport of supplies very difficult." Here the captain commenced the construction of a fortified house and chapel, or hermitage, and called the place Capárra.[10] [Illustration: Ruins of Capárra, the first capital.] Among the recently arrived Spaniards there was a young man of aristocratic birth named Christopher de Soto Mayor, who possessed powerful friends at Court. He had been secretary to King Philip I, and according to Abbad, was intended by Ferdinand as future governor of San Juan; but Señor Acosta, the friar's commentator, remarks with reason, that it is not likely that the king, who showed so much tact and foresight in all his acts, should place a young man without experience over an old soldier like Ponce, for whom he had a special regard. The young hidalgo seemed to aspire to nothing higher than a life of adventure, for he agreed to go as Ponce's lieutenant and form a settlement on the south coast of the island near the bay of Guánica. "In this settlement," says Oviedo, "there were so many mosquitoes that they alone were enough to depopulate it, and the people passed to Aguáda, which is said to be to the west-nor'-west, on the borders of the river Culebrinas, in the district now known as Aguáda and Aguadilla; to this new settlement they gave the name Sotomayor, and while they were there the Indians rose in rebellion one Friday in the beginning of the year 1511." * * * * * The second Guaybána[11] was far from sharing his predecessor's good-will toward the Spaniards or his prudence in dealing with them; nor was the conduct of the newcomers toward the natives calculated to cement the bonds of friendship. Fancying themselves secure in the friendly disposition of the natives, prompted by that spirit of reckless daring and adventure that distinguished most of the followers of Columbus, anxious to be first to find a gold-bearing stream or get possession of some rich piece of land, they did not confine themselves to the two settlements formed, but spread through the interior, where they began to lay out farms and to work the auriferous river sands. In the beginning the natives showed themselves willing enough to assist in these labors, but when the brutal treatment to which the people of la Española had been subjected was meted out to them also, and the greed of gold caused their self-constituted masters to exact from them labors beyond their strength, the Indians murmured, then protested, at last they resisted, and at each step the taskmasters became more exacting, more relentless. At the time of the arrival of the Spaniards the natives of Boriquén seem to have led an Arcadian kind of existence; their bows and arrows were used only when some party of Caribs came to carry off their young men and maidens. Among themselves they lived at peace, and passed their days in lazily swinging in their hammocks and playing ball or dancing their "areytos." With little labor the cultivation of their patches of yucca[12] required was performed by the women, and beyond the construction of their canoes and the carving of some battle club, they knew no industry, except, perhaps, the chipping of some stone into the rude likeness of a man, or of one of the few animals they knew. These creatures were suddenly called upon to labor from morning to night, to dig and delve, and to stand up to their hips in water washing the river sands. They were forced to change their habits and their food, and from free and, in their own way, happy masters of the soil they became the slaves of a handful of ruthless men from beyond the sea. When Ponce's order to distribute them among his men confirmed the hopelessness of their slavery, they looked upon the small number of their destroyers and began to ask themselves if there were no means of getting rid of them. * * * * * The system of "repartimientos" (distribution), sometimes called "encomiendas" (patronage), was first introduced in la Española by Columbus and sanctioned later by royal authority. Father Las Casas insinuates that Ponce acted arbitrarily in introducing it in Boriquén, but there were precedents for it. The first tribute imposed by Columbus on the natives of la Española was in gold and in cotton[13](1495). Recognizing that the Indians could not comply with this demand, the Admiral modified it, but still they could not satisfy him, and many, to escape the odious imposition, fled to the woods and mountains or wandered about from place to place. The Admiral, in virtue of the powers granted to him, had divided the land among his followers according to rank, or merit, or caprice, and in the year 1496 substituted the forced labor of the Indians for the tribute, each cacique being obliged to furnish a stipulated number of men to cultivate the lands granted. Bobadilla, the Admiral's successor, made this obligation to work on the land extend to the mines, and in the royal instructions given to Ovando, who succeeded Bobadilla, these abuses were confirmed, and he was expressly charged to see to it "that the Indians were employed in collecting gold and other metals for the Castilians, in cultivating their lands, in constructing their houses, and in obeying their commands." The pretext for these abuses was, that by thus bringing the natives into immediate contact with their masters they would be easier converted to Christianity. It is true that the royal ordinances stipulated that the Indians should be well treated, and be paid for their work like free laborers, but the fact that they were _forced_ to work and severely punished when they refused, constituted them slaves in reality. The royal recommendations to treat them well, to pay them for their work, and to teach them the Christian doctrines, were ignored by the masters, whose only object was to grow rich. The Indians were tasked far beyond their strength. They were ill-fed, often not fed at all, brutally ill-treated, horribly punished for trying to escape from the hellish yoke, ruthlessly slaughtered at the slightest show of resistance, so that thousands of them perished miserably. This had been the fate of the natives of la Española, and there can be no doubt that the Boriqueños had learned from fugitives of that island what was in store for them when Ponce ordered their distribution among the settlers. The following list of Indians distributed in obedience to orders from the metropolis is taken from the work by Don Salvador Brau.[14] It was these first distributions, made in 1509-'10, which led to the rebellion of the Indians and the distributions that followed: Indians To the general treasurer, Pasamonte, a man described by Acosta as malevolent, insolent, deceitful, and sordid...... 300 To Juan Ponce de Leon...................................... 200 To Christopher Soto Mayor[15]...............................100 To Vicente Yañez Pinzón, on condition that he should settle in the island.............................................. 100 To Lope de Conchillos, King Ferdinand's Chief Secretary, as bad a character as Pasamonte............................ 100 To Pedro Moreno and Jerome of Brussels, the delegate and clerk of Conchillos in Boriquén, 100 each...................200 To the bachelor-at-law Villalobos........................... 80 To Francisco Alvarado.......................................80 A total of 1,060 defenseless Indians delivered into the ruthless hands of men steeped in greed, ambition, and selfishness. FOOTNOTES: [Footnote 10: The scanty remains of the first settlement were to be seen till lately in the Pueblo Viejo Ward, municipal district of Bayamón, along the road which loads from Cataño to Gurabó.] [Footnote 11: He may have been the tenth or the twentieth if what the chroniclers tell us about the adoption of the defunct caciquess' names by their successors be true.] [Footnote 12: The manioc of which the "casaba" bread is made.] [Footnote 13: A "cascabel" (a measure the size of one of the round bells used in Spain to hang round the neck of the leader in a troop of mules) full of gold and twenty-five pounds (an arroba) of cotton every three months for every Indian above sixteen years of age.] [Footnote 14: Puerto Rico y su historia, p. 173.] [Footnote 15: Among the Indians given to Soto Mayor was the sister of the cacique Guaybána second. She became his concubine, and in return for the preference shown her she gave the young nobleman timely warning of the impending rebellion.] CHAPTER V THE REBELLION 1511 The sullen but passive resistance of the Indians was little noticed by the Spaniards, who despised them too much to show any apprehension; but the number of fugitives to the mountains and across the sea increased day by day, and it soon became known that nocturnal "areytos" were held, in which the means of shaking off the odious yoke were discussed. Soto Mayor was warned by his paramour, and it is probable that some of the other settlers received advice through the same channels; still, they neglected even the ordinary precautions. At last, a soldier named Juan Gonzalez, who had learned the native language in la Española, took upon himself to discover what truth there was in these persistent reports, and, naked and painted so as to appear like one of the Indians, he assisted at one of the nocturnal meetings, where he learned that a serious insurrection was indeed brewing; he informed Soto Mayor of what he had heard and seen, and the latter now became convinced of the seriousness of the danger. Before Gonzalez learned what was going on, Guaybána had summoned the neighboring caciques to a midnight "areyto" and laid his plan before them, which consisted in each of them, on a preconcerted day, falling upon the Spaniards living in or near their respective villages; the attack, on the same day, on Soto Mayor's settlement, he reserved for himself and Guariónez, the cacique of Utuáo. But some of the caciques doubted the feasibility of the plan. Had not the fugitives from Quisqueiá[16] told of the terrible effects of the shining blades they wore by their sides when wielded in battle by the brawny arms of the dreaded strangers? Did not their own arrows glance harmlessly from the glittering scales with which they covered their bodies? Was Guaybána quite sure that the white-faced invader could be killed at all? The majority thought that before undertaking their extermination they ought to be sure that they had to do with a mortal enemy. Oviedo and Herrera both relate how they proceeded to discover this. Urayoán, the cacique of Yagüeca, was charged with the experiment. Chance soon favored him. A young man named Salcedo passed through his village to join some friends. He was hospitably received, well fed, and a number of men[17] were told to accompany him and carry his luggage. He arrived at the Guaorába, a river on the west side of the island, which flows into the bay of San German. They offered to carry him across. The youth accepted, was taken up between two of the strongest Indians, who, arriving in the middle of the river, dumped him under water--then they fell on him and held him down till he struggled no more. Dragging him ashore, they now begged his pardon, saying that they had stumbled, and called upon him to rise and continue the voyage; but the young man did not move, he was dead, and they had the proof that the supposed demi-gods were mortals after all. The news spread like wildfire, and from that day the Indians were in open rebellion and began to take the offensive, shooting their arrows and otherwise molesting every Spaniard they happened to meet alone or off his guard. The following episode related by Oviedo illustrates the mental disposition of the natives of Boriquén at this period. Aymamón, the cacique whose village was on the river Culebrinas, near the settlement of Soto Mayor, had surprised a lad of sixteen years wandering alone in the forest. The cacique carried him off, tied him to a post in his hut and proposed to his men a game of ball, the winner to have the privilege of convincing himself and the others of the mortality of their enemies by killing the lad in any way he pleased. Fortunately for the intended victim, one of the Indians knew the youth's father, one Pedro Juarez, in the neighboring settlement, and ran to tell him of the danger that menaced his son. Captain Diego Salazar, who in Soto Mayor's absence was in command of the settlement, on hearing of the case, took his sword and buckler and guided by the friendly Indian, reached the village while the game for the boy's life was going on. He first cut the lad's bonds, and with the words "Do as you see me do!" rushed upon the crowd of about 300 Indians and laid about him right and left with such effect that they had no chance even of defending themselves. Many were killed and wounded. Among the latter was Aymamón himself, and Salazar returned in triumph with the boy. But now comes the curious part of the story, which shows the character of the Boriquén Indian in a more favorable light. Aymamón, feeling himself mortally wounded, sent a messenger to Salazar, begging him to come to his caney or hut to make friends with him before he died. None but a man of Salazar's intrepid character would have thought of accepting such an invitation; but _he_ did, and, saying to young Juarez, who begged his deliverer not to go: "They shall not think that I'm afraid of them," he went, shook hands with the dying chief, changed names with him, and returned unharmed amid the applauding shouts of "Salazar! Salazar!" from the multitude, among whom his Toledo blade had made such havoc. It was evident from this that they held courage, such as the captain had displayed, in high esteem. To the other Spaniards they used to say: "We are not afraid of _you_, for you are not Salazar." * * * * * It was in the beginning of June, 1511. The day fixed by Guaybána for the general rising had arrived. Soto Mayor was still in his grange in the territory under the cacique's authority, but having received the confirmation of the approaching danger from Gonzalez, he now resolved at once to place himself at the head of his men in the Aguáda settlement. The distance was great, and he had to traverse a country thickly peopled by Indians whom he now knew to be in open rebellion; but he was a Spanish hidalgo and did not hesitate a moment. The morning after receiving the report of Gonzalez he left his grange with that individual and four other companions. Guaybána, hearing of Soto Mayor's departure, started in pursuit. Gonzalez, who had lagged behind, was first overtaken, disarmed, wounded with his own sword, and left for dead. Near the river Yauco the Indians came upon Soto Mayor and his companions, and though there were no witnesses to chronicle what happened, we may safely assert that they sold their lives dear, till the last of them fell under the clubs of the infuriated savages. That same night Guárionex with 3,000 Indians stealthily surrounded the settlement and set fire to it, slaughtering all who, in trying to escape, fell into their hands.[18] In the interior nearly a hundred Spaniards were killed during the night. Gonzalez, though left for dead, had been able to make his way through the forest to the royal grange, situated where now Toa-Caja is. He was in a pitiful plight, and fell in a swoon when he crossed the threshold of the house. Being restored to consciousness, he related to the Spaniards present what was going on near the Culebrinas, and they sent a messenger to Capárra at once. Immediately on receipt of the news from the grange, Ponce sent Captain Miguel del Toro with 40 men to the assistance of Soto Mayor, but he found the settlement in ashes and only the bodies of those who had perished. FOOTNOTES: [Footnote 16: La Española.] [Footnote 17: The chroniclers say fifteen or twenty, which seems an exaggerated number.] [Footnote 18: Salazar was able in the dark and the confusion of the attack on the settlement to rally a handful of followers, with whom he cut his way through the Indians and through the jungle to Capárra.] CHAPTER VI THE REBELLION _(continued)_ 1511 Salazar's arrival at Capárra with a handful of wounded and exhausted men revealed to Ponce the danger of his situation. Ponce knew that it was necessary to strike a bold blow, and although, including the maimed and wounded, he had but 120 men at his disposal, he prepared at once to take the offensive. Sending a messenger to la Española with the news of the insurrection and a demand for reenforcements, which, seeing his strained relations with the Admiral, there was small chance of his obtaining, he proceeded to divide his force in four companies of 30 men to each, and gave command to Miguel del Toro, the future founder of San German, to Louis de Añasco, who later gave his name to a province, to Louis Almanza and to Diego Salazar, whose company was made up exclusively of the maimed and wounded, and therefore called in good-humored jest the company of cripples. Having learned from his scouts that Guaybána was camped with 5,000 to 6,000 men near the mouth of the river Coayúco in the territory between the Yauco and Jacágua rivers, somewhere in the neighborhood of the city which now bears the conqueror's name, he marched with great precaution through forest and jungle till he reached the river. He crossed it during the night and fell upon the Indians with such impetus that they believed their slain enemies to have come to life. They fled in confusion, leaving 200 dead upon the field. The force under Ponce's command was too small to follow up his victory by the persecution of the terror-stricken natives; nor would the exhausted condition of the men have permitted it, so he wisely determined to return to Capárra, cure his wounded soldiers, and await the result of his message to la Española. Oviedo and Navarro, whose narratives of these events are repeated by Abbad, state that the Boriquén Indians, despairing of being able to vanquish the Spaniards, called the Caribs of the neighboring islands to their aid; that the latter arrived in groups to make common cause with them, and that some time after the battle of Coayúco, between Caribs and Boriqueños, 11,000 men had congregated in the Aymacó district. But Mr. Brau[19] calls attention to the improbability of such a gathering. "Guaybána," he says, "had been able, after long preparation, to bring together between 5,000 and 6,000 warriors--of these 200 had been slain, and an equal number, perhaps, wounded and made prisoners, so that, to make up the number of 11,000, at least as many Caribs as the entire warrior force of Boriquén must have come to the island in the short space of time elapsed since the first battle. The islands inhabited by the Caribs--Santa Cruz, San Eustaquio, San Cristobal, and Dominica--were too distant to furnish so large a contingent in so short a time, and the author we are quoting justly remarks that, admitting that such a feat was possible, they must have had at their disposition a fleet of at least 200 canoes, each capable of holding 20 men, a number which it is not likely they ever possessed." There is another reason for discrediting the assertions of the old chroniclers in this respect. The idea of calling upon their enemies, the Caribs, to make common cause with them against a foe from whom the Caribs themselves had, as yet, suffered comparatively little, and the ready acceptance by these savages of the proposal, presupposes an amount of foresight and calculation, of diplomatic tact, so to speak, in both the Boriqueños and Caribs with which it is difficult to credit them. The probable explanation of the alleged arrival of Caribs is that some of the fugitive Indians who had found a refuge in the small islands close to Boriquén may have been informed of the preparations for a revolt and of the result of the experiment with Salcedo, and they naturally came to take part in the struggle. On hearing of the ominous gathering Ponce sent Louis Añasco and Miguel del Toro with 50 men to reconnoiter and watch the Indians closely, while he himself followed with the rest of his small force to be present where and when it might be necessary. Their approach was soon discovered, and, as if eager for battle, one cacique named Mabodomáca, who had a band of 600 picked men, sent the governor an insolent challenge to come on. Salazar with his company of cripples was chosen to silence him. After reconnoitering the cacique's position, he gave his men a much-needed rest till after midnight, and then dashed among them with his accustomed recklessness. The Indians, though taken by surprise, defended themselves bravely for three hours, "but," says Father Abbad, "God fought on the side of the Spaniards," and the result was that 150 dead natives were left on the field, with many wounded and prisoners. The Spaniards had not lost a man, though the majority had received fresh wounds. Ponce, with his reserve force, arrived soon after the battle and found Salazar and his men resting. From them he learned that the main body of the Indians, to the number of several thousand, was in the territory of Yacüeca (now Añasco) and seemingly determined upon the extermination of the Spaniards. The captain resolved to go and meet the enemy without regard to numbers. With Salazar's men and the 50 under Añasco and Toro he marched upon them at once. Choosing an advantageous position, he gave orders to form an entrenched camp with fascines as well, and as quickly as the men could, while he kept the Indians at bay with his arquebusiers and crossbowmen each time they made a rush, which they did repeatedly. In this manner they succeeded in entrenching themselves fairly well. The crossbowmen and arquebusiers went out from time to time, delivered a volley among the close masses of Indians and then withdrew. These tactics were continued during the night and all the next day, much to the disgust of the soldiers, who, wounded, weary, and hungry, without hope of rescue, heard the yells of the savages challenging them to come out of their camp. They preferred to rush among them, as they had so often done before. But Ponce would not permit it. Among the arquebusiers the best shot was a certain Juan de Leon. This man had received instructions from Ponce to watch closely the movements of Guaybána, who was easily distinguishable from the rest by the "guanin," or disk of gold which he wore round the neck. On the second day, the cacique was seen to come and go actively from group to group, evidently animating his men for a general assault. While thus engaged he came within the range of Leon's arquebus, and a moment after he fell pierced by a well-directed ball. The effect was what Ponce had doubtless expected. The Indians yelled with dismay and ran far beyond the range of the deadly weapons; nor did they attempt to return or molest the Spaniards when Ponce led them that night from the camp and through the forest back to Capárra. This was the beginning of the end. After the death of Guaybána no other cacique ever attempted an organized resistance, and the partial uprisings that took place for years afterward were easily suppressed. The report of the arquebus that laid Guaybána low was the death-knell of the whole Boriquén race. The name of the island remained as a reminiscence only, and the island itself became definitely a dependency of the Spanish crown under the new name of San Juan Bautista de Puerto Rico. FOOTNOTES: [Footnote 19: Puerto Rico y su Historia, p. 189.] CHAPTER VII NUMBER OF ABORIGINAL INHABITANTS AND SECOND DISTRIBUTION OF INDIANS 1511-1515 Friar Bartolomé de Las Casas, in his Relation of the Indies, says with reference to this island, that when the Spaniards under the orders of Juan Ceron landed here in 1509, it was as full of people as a beehive is full of bees and as beautiful and fertile as an orchard. This simile and some probably incorrect data from the Geography of Bayaeete led Friar Iñigo Abbad to estimate the number of aboriginal inhabitants at the time of the discovery at 600,000, a number for which there is no warrant in any of the writings of the Spanish chroniclers, and which Acosto, Brau, and Stahl, the best authorities on matters of Puerto Rican history, reject as extremely exaggerated. Mr. Brau gives some good reasons for reducing the number to about 16,000, though it seems to us that since little or nothing was known of the island, except that part of it in which the events related in the preceding chapters took place, any reasoning regarding the population of the whole island, based upon a knowledge of a part of it, is liable to error. Ponce's conquest was limited to the northern and western littoral; the interior with the southern and eastern districts were not settled by the Spaniards till some years after the death of Guaybána; and it seems likely that there were caciques in those parts who, by reason of the distance or other impediments, took no part in the uprising against the Spaniards. For the rest, Mr. Brau's reasonings in support of his reduction to 16,000 of the number of aborigines, are undoubtedly correct. They are: First. The improbability of a small island like this, _in an uncultivated state_, producing sufficient food for such large numbers. Second. The fact that at the first battle (that of Jacáguas), in which he supposes the whole available warrior force of the island to have taken part, there were 5,000 to 6,000 men only, which force would have been much stronger had the population been anything near the number given by Abbad; and, finally, the number of Indians distributed after the cessation of organized resistance was only 5,500, as certified by Sancho Velasquez, the judge appointed in 1515 to rectify the distributions made by Ceron and Moscoso, and by Captain Melarejo in his memorial drawn up in 1582 by order of the captain-general, which number would necessarily have been much larger if the total aboriginal population had been but 60,000, instead of 600,000. * * * * * The immediate consequence to the natives of the panic and partial submission that followed the death of their leader was another and more extensive distribution. The first distributions of Indians had been but the extension to San Juan of the system as practised in la Española, which consisted in granting to the crown officers in recompense for services or as an inducement to settle in the island, a certain number of natives.[20] In this way 1,060 Boriqueños had been disposed of in 1509 to 9 persons. The ill usage to which they saw them subjected drove the others to rebellion, and now, væ victis, the king, on hearing of the rebellion, wrote to Ceron and Diaz (July, 1511): "To 'pacify' the Indians you must go well armed and terrorize them. Take their canoes from them, and if they refuse to be reduced with reason, make war upon them by fire and sword, taking care not to kill more than necessary, and send 40 or 50 of them to 'la Española' to serve us as slaves, etc." To Ponce he wrote on October 10th: "I give you credit for your labors in the 'pacification' and for having marked with an F on their foreheads all the Indians taken in war, making slaves of them and selling them to the highest bidders, separating the fifth part of the product for Us." This time not only the 120 companions of Ponce came in for their share of the living spoils of war, but the followers of Ceron claimed and obtained theirs also. The following is the list of Indians distributed after the battle of Yacüeca (if battle it may be called) as given by Mr. Brau, who obtained the details from the unpublished documents of Juan Bautista Muñoz: Indians To the estates (haciendas) of their royal Highnesses 500 Baltasar de Castro, the factor 200 Miguel Diaz, the chief constable 200 Juan Ceron, the mayor 150 Diego Morales, bachelor-at-law 150 Amador de Lares 150 Louis Soto Mayor 100 Miguel Diaz, Daux-factor 100 the (municipal) council 100 the hospitals 100 Bishop Manso 100 Sebastian de la Gama 90 Gil de Malpartida 70 Juan Bono (a merchant) 70 Juan Velasquez 70 Antonio Rivadeneyra 60 Gracian Cansino 60 Louis Aqueyo 60 the apothecary 60 Francisco Cereceda 50 40 other individuals 40 each 1,600 _____ 4,040 Distributed in 1509 1,060 _____ Total 5,100 These numbers included women and children old enough to perform some kind of labor. They were employed in the mines, or in the rivers rather (for it was alluvium gold only that the island offered to the greed of the so-called conquerors); they were employed on the plantations as beasts of burden, and in every conceivable capacity under taskmasters who, in spite of Ferdinand's revocation of the order to reduce them to slavery (September, 1514), had acted on his first dispositions and believed themselves to have the royal warrant to work them to death. The king's more lenient dispositions came too late. They were powerless to check the abuses that were being committed under his own previous ordinances. The Indians disappeared with fearful rapidity. Licentiate Sancho Velasquez, who had made the second distribution, wrote to the king April 27, 1515: " ... Excepting your Highnesses' Indians and those of the crown officers, there are not 4,000 left." On August 8th of the same year the officers themselves wrote: " ... The last smeltings have produced little gold. Many Indians have died from disease caused by the hurricane as well as from want of food...." To readjust the proportion of Indians according to the position or other claims of each individual, new distributions were resorted to. In these, some favored individuals obtained all they wanted at the expense of others, and as the number of distributable Indians grew less and less, reclamations, discontent, strife and rebellion broke out among the oppressors, who thus wreaked upon each other's heads the criminal treatment of the natives of which they were all alike guilty. Such had been the course of events in la Española. The same causes had the same effects here. Herrera relates that when Miguel de Pasamente, the royal treasurer, arrived in the former island, in 1508, it contained 60,000 aboriginal inhabitants. Six years later, when a new distribution had become necessary, there were but 14,000 left--the others had been freed by the hand of death or were leading a wandering life in the mountains and forests of their island. In this island the process was not so rapid, but none the less effective. FOOTNOTES: [Footnote 20: The king's favorites in the metropolis, anxious to enrich themselves by these means, obtained grants of Indians and sent their stewards to administer them. Thus, in la Española, Conehillos, the secretary, had 1,100 Indians; Bishop Fonseca, 800; Hernando de la Vega, 200, and many others, "The Indians thus disposed of were, as a rule, the worst treated," says Las Casas.] CHAPTER VIII LAWS AND ORDINANCES 1511-1515 We have seen how Diego Columbus suspended Ponce in his functions as governor _ad interim_, and how the captain after obtaining from the king his appointment as permanent governor sent the Admiral's nominees prisoners to the metropolis. The king, though inclined to favor the captain, submitted the matter to his Indian council, which decided that the nomination of governors and mayors over the islands discovered by Christopher Columbus corresponded to his son. As a consequence, Ceron and Diaz were reinstated in their respective offices, and they were on their way back to San Juan a few months after Ponce's final success over the rebellious Indians. Before their departure from Spain they received the following instructions, characteristic of the times and of the royal personage who imparted them: "1. You will take over your offices very peaceably, endeavoring to gain the good-will of Ponce and his friends, that they may become _your_ friends also, to the island's advantage. "2. This done, you will attend to the 'pacification' of the Indians. "3. Let many of them be employed in the mines and be well treated. "4. Let many Indians be brought from the other islands and be well treated. Let the officers of justice be favored (in the distributions of Indians). "5. Be very careful that no meat is eaten in Lent or other fast days, as has been done till now in la Española. "6. Let those who have Indians occupy a third of their number in the mines. "7. Let great care be exercised in the salt-pits, and one real be paid for each celemin[21] extracted, as is done in la Española. "8. Send me a list of the number and class of Indians distributed, if Ponce has not done so already, and of those who have distinguished themselves in this rebellion. "9. You are aware that ever since the sacraments have been administered in these islands, storms and earthquakes have ceased. Let a chapel be built at once with the advocation of Saint John the Baptist, and a monastery, though it be a small one, for Franciscan friars, whose doctrine is very salutary. "10. Have great care in the mines and continually advise Pasamonte (the treasurer) or his agent of what happens or what may be necessary. "11. Take the youngest Indians and teach them the Christian doctrine; they can afterward teach the others with better results. "12. Let there be no swearing or blasphemy; impose heavy penalties thereon. "13. Do not let the Indians be overloaded, but be well treated rather. "14. Try to keep the Caribs from coming to the island, and report what measures it will be advisable to adopt against them. To make the natives do what is wanted, it will be convenient to take from them, with cunning (con maña), all the canoes they possess. "15. You will obey the contents of these instructions until further orders. Tordesillas, 25th of July, 1511. F., King." It is clear from the above instructions that, in the king's mind, there was no inconsistency in making the Indians work in the mines and their good treatment. There can be no doubt that both he and Doña Juana, his daughter, who, as heir to her mother, exercised the royal authority with him, sincerely desired the well-being of the natives as far as compatible with the exigencies of the treasury. For the increase of the white population and the development of commerce and agriculture, liberal measures, according to the ideas of the age, were dictated as early as February, 1511, when the same commercial and political franchises were granted to San Juan as to la Española. On July 25th the price of salt, the sale of which was a royal monopoly, was reduced by one-half, and in October of the same year the following rights and privileges were decreed by the king and published by the crown officers in Seville: "1st. Any one may take provisions and merchandise to San Juan, which is now being settled, and reside there with the same freedom as in la Española. "2d. Any Spaniard may freely go to the Indies--that is, to la Española and to San Juan--by simply presenting himself to the officials in Seville, _without giving any further information_ (about himself). "3d. Any Spaniard may take to the Indies what arms he wishes, notwithstanding the prohibition. "4th. His Highness abolishes the contribution by the owners of one 'castellano' for every Indian, they possess. "5th. Those to whom the Admiral grants permission to bring Indians (from other islands) and who used to pay the fifth of their value (to the royal treasurer) shall be allowed to bring them free. "6th. Indians once given to any person shall never be taken from him, except for delinquencies, punishable by forfeiture of property. "7th. This disposition reduces the king's share in the produce of the gold-mines from one-fifth and one-ninth to one-fifth and one-tenth, and extends the privilege of working them from one to two years. "8th. Whosoever wishes to conquer any part of the continent or of the gulf of pearls, may apply to the officials in Seville, who will give him a license, etc." The construction of a smelting oven for the gold, of hospitals and churches for each new settlement, the making of roads and bridges and other dispositions, wise and good in themselves, were also decreed; but they became new causes of affliction for the Indians, inasmuch as _they_ paid for them with their labor. For example: to the man who undertook to construct and maintain a hospital, 100 Indians were assigned. He hired them out to work in the mines or on the plantations, and with the sums thus received often covered more than the expense of maintaining the hospital. The curious medley of religious zeal, philanthropy, and gold-hunger, communicated the first governors under the title of "instructions" did not long keep them in doubt as to which of the three--the observance of religious practises, the kind treatment of the natives, or the remittance of gold--was most essential to secure the king's favor. It was not secret that the monarch, in his _private_ instructions, went straight to the point and wasted no words on religious or humanitarian considerations, the proof of which is his letter to Ponce, dated November 11, 1509. "I have seen your letter of August 16th. Be very diligent in searching for gold. Take out as much as you can, and having smolten it in la Española, send it at once. Settle the island as best you can. Write often and let Us know what happens and what may be necessary." It was but natural, therefore, that the royal recommendations of clemency remained a dead letter, and that, under the pressure of the incessant demand for gold, the Indians were reduced to the most abject state of misery. [Illustration: Columbus monument, near Aguadilla.] Until the year 1512 the Indians remained restless and subordinate, and in July, 1513, the efforts of the rulers in Spain to ameliorate their condition were embodied in what are known as the Ordinances of Valladolid. These ordinances, after enjoining a general kind treatment of the natives, recommend that small pieces of land be assigned to them on which to cultivate corn, yucca, cotton, etc., and raise fowls for their own maintenance. The "encomendero," or master, was to construct four rustic huts for every 50 Indians. They were to be instructed in the doctrines of the Christian religion, the new-born babes were to be baptized, polygamy to be prohibited. They were to attend mass with their masters, who were to teach one young man in every forty to read. The boys who served as pages and domestic servants were to be taught by the friars in the convents, and afterward returned to the estates to teach the others. The men were not to carry excessively heavy loads. Pregnant women were not to work in the mines, nor was it permitted to beat them with sticks or whips under penalty of five gold pesos. They were to be provided with food, clothing, and a hammock. Their "areytos" (dances) were not to be interrupted, and inspectors were to be elected among the Spaniards to see that all these and former dispositions were complied with, and all negligence on the part of the masters severely punished. The credit for these well-intentioned ordinances undoubtedly belongs to the Dominican friars, who from the earliest days of the conquest had nobly espoused the cause of the Indians and denounced the cruelties committed on them in no measured terms. Friar Antonia Montesinos, in a sermon preached in la Española in 1511, which was attended by Diego Columbus, the crown officers, and all the notabilities, denounced their proceedings with regard to the Indians so vehemently that they left the church deeply offended, and that same day intimated to the bishop the necessity of recantation, else the Order should leave the island. The bishop answered that Montesinos had but expressed the opinion of the whole community; but that, to allay the scandal among the lower class of Spaniards in the island, the father would modify his accusations in the next sermon. When the day arrived the church was crowded, but instead of recantation, the intrepid monk launched out upon fresh animadversion, and ended by saying that he did so in the service not of God only, but of the king. The officials were furious. Pasamonte, the treasurer, the most heartless destroyer of natives among all the king's officers, wrote, denouncing the Dominicans as rebels, and sent a Franciscan friar to Spain to support his accusation. The king was much offended, and when Montesinos and the prior of his convent arrived in Madrid to contradict Pasamonte's statements, they found the doors of the palace closed against them. Nothing daunted and imbued with the true apostolic spirit, they made their way, without asking permission, to the royal presence, and there advocated the cause of the Indians so eloquently that Ferdinand promised to have the matter investigated immediately. A council of theologians and jurists was appointed to study the matter and hear the evidence on both sides; but they were so long in coming to a decision that Montesinos and his prior lost patience and insisted on a resolution, whereupon they decided that the distributions were legal in virtue of the powers granted by the Holy See to the kings of Castilla, and that, if it was a matter of conscience at all, it was one for the king and his councilors, and not for the officials, who simply obeyed orders. The two Dominicans were ordered to return to la Española, and by the example of their virtues and mansuetude stimulate those who might be inclined to act wickedly. The royal conscience was not satisfied, however, with the sophistry of his councilors, and as a quietus to it, the _well-meaning_ ordinances just cited were enacted. They, too, remained a dead letter, and not even the scathing and persevering denunciations of Las Casas, who continued the good work begun by Montesinos, could obtain any practical improvement in the lot of the Indians until it was too late, and thousands of them had been crushed under the heel of the conqueror. * * * * * King Ferdinand's efforts to make Puerto Rico a prosperous colony were rendered futile by the dissensions between the Admiral's and his own partizans and the passions awakened by the favoritism displayed in the distribution of Indians. That the king took a great interest in the colonization of the island is shown by the many ordinances and decrees issued all tending to that end. He gave special licenses to people in Spain and in Santo Domingo to establish themselves in Puerto Rico.[22] In his minute instructions to Ponce and his successors he regulated every branch of the administration, and wrote to Ceron and Diaz: " ...I wish this island well governed and peopled as a special affair of mine." On a single day (February 26, 1511) he made, among others of a purely private character, the following public dispositions: "That the tithes and 'primicias'" [23] should be paid in kind only; that the fifth part of the output of the mines should be paid only during the first ten years; that he ceded to the colony for the term of four years all fines imposed by the courts, to be employed in the construction of roads and bridges; that the traffic between San Juan and la Española should be free, and that this island should enjoy the same rights and privileges as the other; that no children or grandchildren of people executed or burned for crimes or heresy should be admitted into the colony, and that an exact account should be sent to him of all the colonists, caciques, and Indians and their distribution. He occupied himself with the island's affairs with equal interest up to the time of his death, in 1516. He made it a bishopric in 1512. In 1513 he disposed that the colonists were to build houses of adobe, that is, of sun-dried bricks; that all married men should send for their wives, and that useful trees should be planted. In 1514 he prohibited labor contracts, or the purchase or transfer of slaves or Indians "encomendados" (distributed). Finally, in 1515, he provided for the defense of the island against the incursions of the Caribs. If these measures did not produce the desired result, it was due to the discord among the colonists, created by the system of "repartimientos" introduced in an evil hour by Columbus, a system which was the poisoned source of most of the evils that have afflicted the Antilles. FOOTNOTES: [Footnote 21: The twelfth part of a "fanega," equal to about two gallons, dry measure.] [Footnote 22: Cedulas de vecindad.] [Footnote 23: First-fruits.] CHAPTER IX THE RETURN OF CERON AND DIAZ--PONCE'S FIRST EXPEDITION TO FLORIDA 1511-1515 Ceron and Diaz returned to San Juan in November, 1511. Before their departure from Seville they received sundry marks of royal favor. Among these was permission to Diaz and his wife to wear silken garments, and to transfer to San Juan the 40 Indians they possessed in la Española. We have seen that the first article of the king's instructions to them enjoins the maintenance of friendly relations with Ponce, and in the distribution of Indians to favor those who had distinguished themselves in the suppression of the revolt. They did nothing of the kind. Their first proceeding was to show their resentment at the summary treatment they had received at the captain's hands by depriving him of the administration of the royal granges, the profits of which he shared with King Ferdinand, because, as his Highness explained to Pasamente in June, 1511, "Ponce received no salary as captain of the island." They next sent a lengthy exposition to Madrid, accusing the captain of maladministration of the royal domain, and, to judge by the tenor of the king's letter to Ponce, dated in Burgos on the 23d of February, 1512, they succeeded in influencing him to some extent against his favorite, though not enough to deprive him of the royal patronage. "I am surprised," wrote the king, "at the small number of Indians and the small quantity of gold from our mines. The fiscal will audit your accounts, that you may be at liberty for the expedition to Bemini, which some one else has already proposed to me; but I prefer _you_, as I wish to recompense your services and because I believe that you will serve us better there than in our grange in San Juan, _in which you have proceeded with some negligence_." In the redistribution of Indians which followed, Ceron and Diaz ignored the orders of the sovereign and openly favored their own followers to the neglect of the conquerors', whose claims were prior, and whose wounds and scars certainly entitled them to consideration. This caused such a storm of protest and complaint against the doings of his protégés that Diego Columbus was forced to suspend them and appoint Commander Moscoso in their place. This personage only made matters worse. The first thing _he_ did was to practise another redistribution of Indians. This exasperated everybody to such an extent that the Admiral found it necessary to come to San Juan himself. He came, accompanied by a numerous suite of aspirants to different positions, among them Christopher Mendoza, the successor of Moscoso (1514). After the restoration of Ceron and Diaz in their offices, Ponce quietly retired to his residence in Capárra. He was wealthy and could afford to bide his time, but the spirit of unrest in him chafed under this forced inaction. The idea of discovering the island, said to exist somewhere in the northwestern part of these Indies, where wonderful waters flowed that restored old age to youth and kept youth always young, occupied his mind more and more persistently, until, having obtained the king's sanction, he fitted out an expedition of three ships and sailed from the port of Aguáda March 3, 1512. Strange as it may seem, that men like Ponce, Zuñiga, and the other leading expeditionists should be glad of an opportunity to risk their lives and fortunes in the pursuit of a chimera, it must be remembered that the island of Bemini itself was not a chimera. The followers of Columbus, the majority of them ignorant and credulous, had seen a mysterious new world rise, as it were, from the depths of the ocean. As the islands, one after the other, appeared before their astonished eyes, they discovered real marvels each day. The air, the land, the sea, were full of them. The natives pointed in different directions and spoke of other islands, and the adventurers' imaginations peopled them with fancied wonders. There was, according to an old legend, a fountain of perennial youth somewhere in the world, and where was it more likely to be found than in this hitherto unknown part of it? Ponce and his companions believed in its existence as firmly as, some years later, Ferdinand Pizarro believed in the existence of El Dorado and the golden lake of Parimé. The expedition touched at Guanakáni on the 14th of March, and on the 27th discovered what Ponce believed to be the island of which he was in search. On April 2d Ponce landed and took possession in the king's name. The native name of the island was Cansio or Cautix, but the captain named it "la Florida," some say because he found it covered with the flowers of spring; others, because he had discovered it on Resurrection day, called "Pascua Florida" by the Spanish Catholics. The land was inhabited by a branch of the warlike Seminole Indians, who disputed the Spaniards' advance into the interior. No traces of gold were found, nor did the invaders feel themselves rejuvenated, when, after a wearisome march or fierce fight with the natives, they bathed in, or drank of, the waters of some stream or spring. They had come to a decidedly inhospitable shore, and Ponce, after exploring the eastern and southern littoral, and discovering the Cayos group of small islands, turned back to San Juan, where he arrived in the beginning of October, "looking much older," says the chronicler, "than when he went in search of rejuvenation." Two years later he sailed for the Peninsula and anchored in Bayona in April, 1514. King Ferdinand received him graciously and conferred on him the titles of Adelantado of Bemini and la Florida, with civil and criminal jurisdiction on land and sea. He also made him commander of the fleet for the destruction of the Caribs, and perpetual "regidor" (prefect) of San Juan Bautista _de Puerto Rico_. This last surname for the island began to be used in official documents about this time (October, 1514). The fleet for the destruction of the Caribs consisted of three caravels. With these, Ponce sailed from Bétis on May 14, 1515,[24] and reached the Leeward Islands in due course. In Guadeloupe, one of the Carib strongholds, he landed a number of men without due precaution. They were attacked by the natives. Fifteen of them were wounded, four of whom died. Some women who had been sent ashore to wash the soiled linen were carried off. Ponce's report of the event was laconic: "I wrote from San Lucas and from la Palma," he writes to the king (August 7th to 8th). "In Guadeloupe, while taking in water the Indians wounded some of my men. They shall be chastised." Haro, one of the crown officers in San Juan, informed the king afterward of all the circumstances of the affair, and added: "He (Ponce) left the (wounded) men in a deserted island on this side, which is Santa Cruz, and now he sends a captain, instead of going himself ..." Ponce's third landing occurred June 15, 1515. He found the island in a deplorable condition. Discontent and disorder were rampant. The king had deprived Diego Columbus of the right to distribute Indians (January 23, 1513), and had commissioned Pasamonte to make a new distribution in San Juan. The treasurer had delegated the task to licentiate Sancho Velasquez, who received at the same time power to audit the accounts of all the crown officers. The redistribution was practised in September, 1514, with no better result than the former ones. It was impossible to satisfy the demands of all. The discontented were mostly Ponce's old companions, who overwhelmed the king with protests, while Velasquez defended himself, accusing Ponce and his friends of turbulence and exaggerated ambition. As a consequence of all this strife and discord, the Indians were turned over from one master to another, distributed like cattle over different parts of the islands, and at each change their lot became worse. Still, there were large numbers of them that had never yet been subjugated. Some, like the caciques of Humacáo and Daguáo, who occupied the eastern and southeastern parts of the island, had agreed to live on a peace footing with the Spaniards, but Ponce's impolitic proceeding in taking by force ten men from the village of the first-named chief caused him and his neighbor of Daguáo to burn their villages and take to the mountains in revolt. Many other natives had found a comparatively safe refuge in the islands along the coast, and added largely to the precarious situation by pouncing on the Spanish settlements along the coast when least expected. Governor Mendoza undertook a punitive expedition to Vieques, in which the cacique Yaureibó was killed; but the Indians had lost that superstitious dread of the Spaniards and of their weapons that had made them submit at first, and they continued their incursions, impeding the island's progress for more than a century. FOOTNOTES: [Footnote 24: Washington Irving says January.] CHAPTER X DISSENSIONS--TRANSFER OF THE CAPITAL 1515-1520 The total number of Spaniards in the island at the time of the rebellion did not exceed 200. Of these, between 80 and 100 were killed by the Indians. The survivors were reenforced, first by the followers of Ceron and Diaz, then by some stray adventurers who accompanied Diego Columbus on his visit to the island. We may assume, therefore, with Mr. Acosta,[25] that at the time of which we write the Spanish population numbered about 400, who Arángo, in a memorial addressed to the Cardinal Regent, classifies as Government officials, old conquerors, new hirelings, and "marrános hijos de reconciliados," which, translated, means, "vile brood of pardoned criminals," the latter being, in all probability, the immigrants into whose antecedents the king had recommended his officers in Seville not to inquire. This population was divided into different hostile parties. The most powerful at the time was Ponce's party, led by Sedeño, the auditor, and Villafranca, the treasurer; opposed to whom were the partizans of Ceron and Diaz, the protégés of the Admiral, and those who had found favor with Velasquez, all of them deadly enemies because of the unequal division among them of the unhappy Indians. The expedition to Florida and the honors conferred upon him by the king naturally enhanced Ponce's prestige among his old companions. Diego Columbus himself was fain to recognize the superior claim of him who now presented himself with the title Adelantado of Bemini and Florida, so that the captain's return to office was effected without opposition. With his appointment as perpetual prefect, Ponce assumed the right to make a redistribution of Indians, but could not exercise it, because Sancho Velasquez had made one, as delegate of Pasamonte, only the year before (September, 1515). In virtue of his special appointment as judge auditor of the accounts of all the crown officers, he had condemned Ponce during his absence to pay 1,352 gold pesos for shortcomings in his administration of the royal estates.[26] The licentiate's report to the king, dated April 27, 1515, gives an idea of the state of affairs in San Juan at the time. " ... I found the island under tyranny, as will be seen from the documents I enclose. Juan Ceron and Miguel Diaz are responsible for 100,000 Castellanos[27] for Indians taken from persons who held them by schedule from your Highness." "It would be well to send some bad characters away from here and some of the Admiral's creatures, on whom the rest count for protection." "The treasurer (Haro) and the auditor are honest men. The accountant (Sedeño) is not a man to look after your Highness's interests. The place of factor is vacant." "To your Highness 200 Indians have been assigned in Puerto Rico and 300 in San German." A few days later (May 1, 1515) Velasquez himself was accused of gross abuse in the discharge of his duties by Iñigo de Zuñiga, who wrote to the king: " ... This licentiate has committed many injustices and offenses, as the attorney can testify. He gave Indians to many officers and merchants, depriving conquerors and settlers of them. He gambled much and always won, because they let him win in order to have him in good humor at the time of distribution of Indians. He carried away much money, especially from the 'Naborias.'" [28] "He took the principal cacique, who lived nearest to the mines, for himself, and rented him out on condition that he keep sixteen men continually at work in the mines, and if any failed he was to receive half a ducat per head a day." "He has taken Indians from other settlers and made them wash gold for himself, etc." Before Ponce's departure for Spain the island had been divided into two departments or jurisdictions, the northern, with Capárra as its capital, under the direct authority of the governor, the southern division, with San German as the capital, under a lieutenant-governor, the chain of mountains in the interior being the mutual boundary. This division was maintained till 1782. Capárra, or Puerto Rico, as it was now called, and San German were the only settlements when Ponce returned. The year before (1514) another settlement had been made in Daguáo, but it had been destroyed by the Caribs, and this ever-present danger kept all immigration away. The king recognized the fact, and to obviate this serious difficulty in the way of the island's settlement, he wrote to his officers in Seville: " ... Spread reports about the great quantities of gold to be found in Puerto Rico, and do not trouble about the antecedents of those who wish to go, for if not useful as laborers they will do to fight." That Ferdinand was well aware of the insecurity of his hold on the island is shown by his subsequent dispositions. To the royal contractors or commissaries he wrote in 1514: "While two forts are being constructed, one in Puerto Rico and the other in San German, where, in case of rebellion, our treasure will be secure, you will give arms and ammunition to Ponce de Leon for our account, with an artilleryman, that he may have them in his house, which is to do duty as a fortress." And on May 14, 1515, he wrote from Medina del Campo: " ... Deliver to Ponce six 'espingardas.'" [29] During this same period the island was constituted a bishopric, with Alonzo Manso, ex-sacristan of Prince John and cánon of Salamanca as prelate. He came in the beginning of 1513, when the intestine troubles were at their worst, bringing instructions to demand payment of tithes _in specie_ and a royal grant of 150 Indians to himself, which, added to the fact that his presence would be a check upon the prevalent immorality, raised such a storm of opposition and intrigue against him that he could not exercise his functions. There was no church fit for services. This furnished him with a pretext to return to the Peninsula. When Ponce arrived the bishop was on the point of departure. There can be no doubt that King Ferdinand, in reappointing Ponce to the government of the island, trusted to the captain's military qualities for the reestablishment of order and the suppression of the attacks of the Caribs, but the result did not correspond to his Majesty's expectations. Haro, the treasurer, reported to the king on October 6, 1515: " ... From the moment of his arrival Ponce has fomented discord. In order to remain here himself, he sent Zuñiga, his lieutenant, with the fleet. He caused the caciques Humacáo and Daguáo, who had but just submitted, to revolt again by forcibly taking ten men for the fleet." The crown officers confirmed this statement in a separate report. These accusations continued to the time of Ferdinand's death (February 23, 1516), when Cardinal Jimenez de Cisneros became Regent of Spain. This renowned prelate, whom Prince Charles, afterward Emperor Charles V, when confirming him in the regency, addressed as "the Very Reverend Father in Christ, Cardinal of Spain, Archbishop of Toledo, Primate of all the Spanish Territories, Chief Chancellor of Castilla, our very dear and much beloved friend and master," was also Grand Inquisitor, and was armed with the tremendous power of the terrible Holy Office. It was dangerous for the accusers and the accused alike to annoy such a personage with tales inspired by petty rivalries from an insignificant island in the West Indies. Nevertheless, one of the first communications from Puerto Rico that was laid before him was a memorial written by one Arángo, accusing Velasquez, among other things, of having given Indians to soldiers and to common people, instead of to conquerors and married men. "In Lent," says the accuser, "he goes to a grange, where he remains without hearing mass on Sundays, eating meat, and saying things against the faith ..." The immediate effect of these complaints and mutual accusations was the suspension in his functions of Diego Columbus and the appointment of a triumvirate of Jerome friars to govern these islands. This was followed two years later by the return of Bishop Manso to San Juan, armed with the dreadful powers of General Inquisitor of the Indies and by the nomination of licentiate Antonio de la Gama as judge auditor of the accounts of Sancho Velasquez. The judge found him guilty of partiality and other offenses, and on June 12, 1520, wrote to the regent: "I have not sent the accounts of Sancho Velasquez, because it was necessary that he should go with them, but the bishop of this island has taken him for the Holy Inquisition _and he has died in prison_." The Jerome fathers on their way to la Española, in 1516, touched at what they describe as "the port of Puerto Rico, which is in the island of San Juan de Boriquén," and the treasurer, Haro, wrote of them on January 21, 1518: " ... They have done nothing during the year, and the inhabitants are uncertain and fear changes. This is the principal cause of harm to the Indians. It is necessary to dispose what is to be done ... Although great care is now exercised in the treatment of the Indians their numbers grow less for all that, because just as they are ignorant of things concerning the faith, so do they ignore things concerning their health, and they are of very weak constitution." The frequent changes in the government that had been made by Diego Columbus, the arrest of Velasquez and his death in the gloomy dungeons of the Inquisition, the arrival of de la Gama as judge auditor and governor _ad interim_, and his subsequent marriage with Ponce's daughter Isabel, all these events but served to embitter the strife of parties. "The spirit of vengeance, ambition, and other passions had become so violent and deep-rooted among the Spaniards," says Abbad,[30] "that God ordained their chastisement in various ways." The removal of the capital from its swampy location to the islet which it now occupies was another source of dissension. It appears that the plan was started immediately after Ceron's accession, for the king wrote to him November 9, 1511: "Juan Ponce says that he located the town in the best part of the island. We fear that you want to change it. You shall not do so without our special order. If there is just reason for change you must inform us first." Velasquez, in his report of April, 1515, mentions that he accompanied the Town Council of Capárra to see the site for the new capital, and that to him it seemed convenient. In 1519 licentiate Rodrigo de Figueroa sent a lengthy exposition accompanied by the certified declarations of the leading inhabitants regarding the salubrity of the islet and the insalubrity of Capárra, with a copy of the disposition of the Jerome fathers authorizing the transfer, and leaving Ponce, who strenuously opposed it, at liberty to live in his fortified house in Capárra as long as he liked. On November 16, 1520, Baltazar Castro, in the name of the crown officers of San Juan, reported to the emperor: "The City of Puerto Rico has been transferred to an islet which is in the port where the ships anchor, a very good and healthy location." FOOTNOTES: [Footnote 25: Annotations, p. 96.] [Footnote 26: Ponce protested and appealed to the Audiencia, but did not obtain restitution till 1520.] [Footnote 27: A Castellano was the 150 part of a mark of gold. The mark had 8 ounces.] [Footnote 28: Indians distributed to be employed as domestic servants.] [Footnote 29: Small pieces of ordnance.] [Footnote 30: XII, p. 89.] CHAPTER XI CALAMITIES--PONCE'S SECOND EXPEDITION TO FLORIDA AND DEATH 1520-1537 Among the calamities referred to by Friar Abbad as visitations of Providence was one which the Spaniards had brought upon themselves. Another epidemic raged principally among the Indians. In January, 1519, the Jerome friars wrote to the Government from la Española: " ... It has pleased our Lord to send a pestilence of smallpox among the Indians here, and nearly one-third of them have died. We are told that in the island of San Juan the Indians have begun to die of the same disease." Another scourge came in the form of ants. "These insects," says Abbad, quoting from Herrera, "destroyed the yucca or casabe, of which the natives made their bread, and killed the most robust trees by eating into their roots, so that they turned black, and became so infected that the birds would not alight on them. The fields were left barren and waste as if fire from heaven had descended on them. These insects invaded the houses and tormented the inmates night and day. Their bite caused acute pains to adults and endangered the lives of children. The affliction was general," says Abbad, "but God heard the people's vows and the pests disappeared." The means by which this happy result was obtained are described by Father Torres Vargas: "Lots were drawn to see what saint should be chosen as the people's advocate before God. Saint Saturnine was returned, and the plague ceased at once." "Some time after there appeared a worm which also destroyed the yucca. Lots were again drawn, and this time Saint Patrick came out; but the bishop and the ecclesiastical chapter were of opinion that this saint, being little venerated, had no great influence in heaven. Therefore, lots were drawn again and again, three times, and each time the rejected saint's name came out. This was clearly a miracle, and Saint Patrick was chosen as advocate. To atone for their unwillingness to accept him, the chapter voted the saint an annual mass, sermon, and procession, which was kept up for many years without ever anything happening again to the casabe ..." To the above-described visitations, nature added others and more cruel ones. These were the destructive tempests, called by the Indians Ouracan. The first hurricane since the discovery of the island by Columbus of which there is any record happened in July, 1515, when the crown officers reported to the king that a great storm had caused the death of many Indians by sickness and starvation. On October 4, 1526, there was another, which Juan de Vadillo described thus: " ... There was a great storm of wind and rain which lasted twenty-four hours and destroyed the greater part of the town, with the church. The damage caused by the flooding of the plantations is greater than any one can estimate. Many rich men have grown poor, among them Pedro Moreno, the lieutenant-governor." In July and August, 1530, the scourge was repeated three times in six weeks, and Governor Lando wrote to Luis Columbus, then Governor of la Española: " ... The storms have destroyed all the plantations, drowned many cattle, and caused a great dearth of food. Half of the houses in this city have been blown down; of the other half those that are least damaged are without roofs. In the country and at the mines not a house is left standing. Everybody has been impoverished and thinking of going away. There are no more Indians and the land must be cultivated with negroes, who are a monopoly, and can not be brought here for less than 60 or 70 'castellanos' apiece. The city prays that the payment of all debts may be postponed for three years." Seven years later (1537), three hurricanes in two months again completely devastated the island. " ... They are the greatest that have been experienced here," wrote the city officers. " ... The floods have carried away all the plantations along the borders of the rivers, many slaves and cattle have been drowned, want and poverty are universal. Those who wanted to leave the island before are now more than ever anxious to do so." The incursions of Caribs from the neighboring islands made the existence of the colony still more precarious. Wherever a new settlement was made, they descended, killing the Spaniards, destroying the plantations, and carrying off the natives. [Illustration: Statue of Ponce de Leon, San Juan] * * * * * The first news of the wonderful achievements of Cortez in Mexico reached San Juan in 1520, and stirred the old adventurer Ponce to renewed action. On February 10, 1521, he wrote to the emperor: "I discovered Florida and some other small islands at my own expense, and now I am going to settle them with plenty of men and two ships, and I am going to explore the coast, to see if it compares with the lands (Cuba) discovered by Velasquez. I will leave here in four or five days, and beg your Majesty to favor me, so that I may be enabled to carry out this great enterprise." Accordingly, he left the port of Aguáda on the 26th of the same month with two ships, well provided with all that was necessary for conquest. But the captain's star of fortune was waning. He had a stormy passage, and when he and his men landed they met with such fierce resistance from the natives that after several encounters and the loss of many men, Ponce himself being seriously wounded, they were forced to reembark. Feeling that his end was approaching, the captain did not return to San Juan, but sought a refuge in Puerto Principe, where he died. One of his ships found its way to Vera Cruz, where its stores of arms and ammunition came as a welcome accession to those of Cortez. The emperor bestowed the father's title of Adelantado of Florida and Bemini on his son, and the remains of the intrepid adventurer, who had found death where he had hoped to find perennial youth, rested in Cuban soil till his grandchildren had them transferred to this island and buried in the Dominican convent. A statue was erected to his memory in 1882. It stands in the plaza of San José in the capital and was cast from the brass cannon left behind by the English after the siege of 1797. CHAPTER XII INCURSIONS OF FUGITIVE BORIQUÉN INDIANS AND CARIBS 1530-1582 The conquest of Boriquén was far from being completed with the death of Guaybána. The panic which the fall of a chief always produces among savages prevented, for the moment, all organized resistance on the part of Guaybána's followers, but _they_ did not constitute the whole population of the island. Their submission gave the Spaniards the dominion over that part of it watered by the Culebrinas and the Añasco, and over the northeastern district in which Ponce had laid the foundations of his first settlement. The inhabitants of the southern and eastern parts of the island, with those of the adjacent smaller islands, were still unsubdued and remained so for years to come. Their caciques were probably as well informed of the character of the newcomers and of their doings in la Española as was the first Guaybána's mother, and they wisely kept aloof so long as their territories were not invaded. The reduced number of Spaniards facilitated the maintenance of a comparative independence by these as yet unconquered Indians, at the same time that it facilitated the flight of those who, having bent their necks to the yoke, found it unbearably heavy. According to "Regidor" (Prefect) Hernando de Mogollon's letter to the Jerome fathers, fully one-third of the "pacified" Indians--that is, of those who had submitted--had disappeared and found a refuge with their kinsmen in the neighboring islands. The first fugitives from Boriquén naturally did not go beyond the islands in the immediate vicinity. Vieques, Culébras, and la Mona became the places of rendezvous whence they started on their retaliatory expeditions, while their spies or their relatives on the main island kept them informed of what was passing. Hence, no sooner was a new settlement formed on the borders or in the neighborhood of some river than they pounced upon it, generally at night, dealing death and destruction wherever they went. In vain did Juan Gil, with Ponce's two sons-in-law and a number of tried men, make repeated punitive expeditions to the islands. The attacks seemed to grow bolder, and not till Governor Mendoza himself led an expedition to Vieques, in which the cacique Yaureibó was killed, did the Indians move southeastward to Santa Cruz. That the Caribs[31] inhabiting the islands Guadeloupe and Dominica made common cause with the fugitives from Boriquén is not to be doubted. The Spaniard was the common enemy and the opportunity for plunder was too good to be lost. But the primary cause of all the so-called Carib invasions of Puerto Rico was the thirst for revenge for the wrongs suffered, and long after those who had smarted under them or who had but witnessed them had passed away, the tradition of them was kept alive by the areytos and songs, in the same way as the memory of the outrages committed by the soldiers of Pizarro in Peru are kept alive _till this day_ among the Indians of the eastern slope of the Andes. The fact that neither Jamaica nor other islands occupied by Spaniards were invaded, goes to prove that in the case of Puerto Rico the invasions were prompted by bitter resentment of natives who had preferred exile to slavery, coupled, perhaps, with a hope of being able to drive the enemies of their race from their island home, a hope which, if it existed, and if we consider the very limited number of Spaniards who occupied it, was not without foundation. * * * * * It was Nemesis, therefore, and not the mere lust of plunder, that guided the Boriquén Indians and their Carib allies on their invasions of Puerto Rico. Diego Columbus during his visit in 1514 had founded a settlement with 50 colonists along the borders of the Daguáo and Macáo rivers on the eastern coast. They had constructed houses and ranchos, introduced cattle, and commenced their plantations, but without taking any precautions against sudden attacks or providing themselves with extra means of defense. One night they were awakened by the glare of fire and the yells of the savages. As they rushed out to seek safety they fell pierced with arrows or under the blows of the terrible Macánas. Very few of them escaped. The next attack was in the locality now constituting the municipal district of Loiza. This place was settled by several Spaniards, among them Juan Mexia, a man said to have been of herculean strength and great courage. The Indian woman with whom he cohabited had received timely warning of the intended attack, a proof that communications existed between the supposed Caribs and the Indians on the island. She endeavored to persuade the man to seek safety in flight, but he disdained to do so. Then she resolved to remain with him and share his fate. Both were killed, and Alejandro Tapia, a native poet, has immortalized the woman's devotion in a romantic, but purely imaginative, composition. Ponce's virtual defeat in Guadeloupe made the Caribs bolder than ever. They came oftener and in larger numbers, always surprising the settlements that were least prepared to offer resistance. Five years had elapsed since the destruction of Daguáo. A new settlement had gradually sprung up in the neighborhood along the river Humacáo and was beginning to prosper, but it was also doomed. On November 16, 1520, Baltazar Castro, one of the crown officers, reported to the emperor: "It is about two months since 5 canoes with 150 Carib warriors came to this island of San Juan and disembarked in the river Humacáo, near some Spanish settlements, where they killed 4 Christians and 13 Indians. From here they went to some gold mines and then to some others, killing 2 Christians at each place. They burned the houses and took a fishing smack, killing 4 more. They remained from fifteen to twenty days in the country, the Christians being unable to hurt them, having no ships. They killed 13 Christians in all, and as many Indian women, and '_carried off_' 50 natives. They will grow bolder for being allowed to depart without punishment. It would be well if the Seville officers sent two light-draft vessels to occupy the mouths of the rivers by which they enter." On April 15, 1521, a large number of Indians made a descent on the south coast, but we have no details of their doings; and in 1529 their audacity culminated in an attempt on the capital itself. La Gama's report to the emperor of this event is as follows: "On the 18th of October, after midnight, 8 large pirogues full of Caribs entered the bay of Puerto Rico, and meeting a bark on her way to Bayamón, manned by 5 negroes and some other people, they took her. Finding that they had been discovered, they did not attempt a landing till sunrise, then they scuttled the bark. Some shots fired at them made them leave. Three negroes were found dead, pierced with arrows. The people of this town and all along the coast are watching. Such a thing as this has not been heard of since the discovery. A fort, arms, artillery, and 2 brigantines of 30 oars each, and no Caribs will dare to come. If not sent, fear will depopulate the island." In the same month of the following year (1530) they returned, and this time landed and laid waste the country in the neighborhood of the capital. The report of the crown officers is dated the 31st of October: "Last Sunday, the 23d instant, 11 canoes, in which there may have been 500 Caribs, came to this island and landed at a point where there are some agricultural establishments belonging to people of this city. It is the place where the best gold in the island is found, called Daguáo and the mines of Llagüello. Here they plundered the estate of Christopher Guzman, the principal settler. They killed him and some other Christians,[32] whites, blacks, and Indians, besides some fierce dogs, and horses which stood ready saddled. They burned them all, together with the houses, and committed many cruelties with the Christians. They carried off 25 negroes and Indians, _to eat them, as is their wont_. We fear that they will attack the defenseless city in greater force, and the fear is so great that the women and children dare not sleep in their houses, but go to the church and the monastery, which are built of stone. We men guard the city and the roads, being unable to attend to our business. "We insist that 2 brigantines be armed and equipped, as was ordered by the Catholic king. No Caribs will then dare to come. Let the port be fortified or the island will be deserted. The governor and the officers know how great is the need, but they may make no outlays without express orders." As a result of the repeated requests for light-draft vessels, 2 brigantines were constructed in Seville in 1531 and shipped, in sections, on board of a ship belonging to Master Juan de Leon, who arrived in June, 1532. The crown officers immediately invited all who wished to man the brigantines and make war on the Caribs, offering them as pay half of the product of the sale of the slaves they should make, the other half to be applied to the purchase of provisions. The brigantines were unfit for service. In February, 1534, the emperor was informed: "Of the brigantines which your Majesty sent for the defense of this island only the timber came, and half of that was unfit.... We have built brigantines with the money intended for fortifications." Governor Lando wrote about the same time: "We suffer a thousand injuries from the Caribs of Guadeloupe and Dominica. They come every year to assault us. Although the city is so poor, we have spent 4,000 pesos in fitting out an expedition of 130 men against them; but, however much they are punished, the evil will not disappear till your Majesty orders these islands to be settled." The expedition referred to sailed under the orders of Joan de Ayucar, and reached Dominica in May, 1534. Fifteen or 16 villages of about 20 houses each were burned, 103 natives were killed, and 70 prisoners were taken, the majority women and boys. The Spaniards penetrated a distance of ten leagues into the interior of the island, meeting with little resistance, because the warrior population was absent. Eight or 10 pirogues and more than 20 canoes were also burned. With this punishment the fears of the people in San Juan were considerably allayed. In 1536 Sedeño led an expedition against the Caribs of Trinidad and Bartholomé. Carreño fitted out another in 1539. He brought a number of slaves for sale, and the crown officers asked permission to brand them on the forehead, "as is done in la Española and in Cubágua." The Indians returned assault for assault. Between the years 1564 and 1570 they were specially active along the southern coast of San Juan, so that Governor Francisco Bahamonde Lugo had to take the field against them in person and was wounded in the encounter. Loiza, which had been resettled, was destroyed for the second time in 1582, and a year or so later the Caribs made a night attack on Aguáda, where they destroyed the Franciscan convent and killed 3 monks. With the end of the sixteenth and the commencement of the seventeenth centuries the West Indian archipelago became the theater of French and English maritime enterprise. The Carib strongholds were occupied, and by degrees their fierce spirit was subdued, their war dances relinquished, their war canoes destroyed, their traditions forgotten, and the bold savages, once the terror of the West Indian seas, succumbed in their turn to the inexorable law of the survival of the fittest. FOOTNOTES: [Footnote 31: The West Indian islands were inhabited at the time of discovery by at least three races of different origin. One of these races occupied the Bahamas. Columbus describes them as simple, peaceful creatures, whose only weapon was a pointed stick or cane. They were of a light copper color, rather good-looking, and probably had formerly occupied the whole eastern part of the archipelago, whence they had been driven or exterminated by the Caribs, Caribós, or Guáribos, a savage, warlike, and cruel race, who had invaded the West Indies from the continent, by way of the Orinoco. The larger Antilles, Cuba, la Española, and Puerto Rico, were occupied by a race which probably originated from some southern division of the northern continent. The chroniclers mention the Guaycures and others as their ancestors, and Stahl traces their origin to a mixture of the Phoenicians with the Aborigines of remote antiquity] [Footnote 32: Abbad says 30.] CHAPTER XIII DEPOPULATION OF THE ISLAND--PREVENTIVE MEASURES--INTRODUCTION OF NEGRO SLAVES 1515-1534 The natural consequence of natural calamities and invasions was the rapid disappearance of the natives. "The Indians are few and serve badly," wrote Sedeño in 1515, about the same time that the crown officers, to explain the diminution in the gold product, wrote that many Indians had died of hunger, as a result of the hurricane. " ... The people in la Mona," they said, "have provided 310 loads of bread, with which we have bought an estate in San German. It will not do to bring the Indians of that island away, because they are needed for the production of bread." Strenuous efforts to prevent the extinction of the Indians were made by Father Bartolomé Las Casas, soon after the death of King Ferdinand. This worthy Dominican friar had come to the court for the sole purpose of denouncing the system of "encomiendas" and the cruel treatment of the natives to which it gave rise. He found willing listeners in Cardinal Cisneros and Dean Adrian, of Lovaino, the regents, who recompensed his zeal with the title of "Protector of the Indians." The appointment of a triumvirate of Jerome friars to govern la Española and San Juan (1517) was also due to Las Casas's efforts. Two years later the triumvirate reported to the emperor that in compliance with his orders they had taken away the Indians from all non-resident Spaniards in la Española and had collected them in villages. Soon after the emperor's arrival in Spain Las Casas obtained further concessions in favor of the Indians. Not the least important among these were granted in the schedule of July 12, 1520, which recognized the principle that the Indians were born free, and contained the following dispositions: 1st. That in future no more distributions of Indians should take place. 2d. That all Indians assigned to non-residents, from the monarch downward, should be _ipse facto_ free, and be established in villages, under the authority of their respective caciques; and 3d. That all residents in these islands, who still possessed Indians, were bound to conform strictly, in their treatment of them, to the ordinances for their protection previously promulgated. Antonio de la Gama was charged with the execution of this decree. He sent a list of non-residents, February 15,1521, with the number of Indians taken from each, his Majesty himself heading the list with 80. The total number thus liberated was 664. These dispositions created fierce opposition. Licentiate Figueroa addressed the emperor on the subject, saying: " ... It is necessary to overlook the 'encomiendas,' otherwise the people will be unable to maintain themselves, and the island will be abandoned." However, the crown officers ascribe the licentiate's protest to other motives than the desire for the good of the island. "He has done much harm," they wrote. "He has brought some covetous young men with him and made them inspectors. They imposed heavy fines and gave the confiscated Indians to their friends and relations. He and they are rich, while the old residents have scarcely wherewith to maintain themselves." But Figueroa had foreseen these accusations, for he concludes his above-mentioned letter to the emperor, saying: " ... Let your Majesty give no credence to those who complain. Most of them are very cruel with the Indians, and care not if they be exterminated, provided they themselves can amass gold and return to Castilla." Martin Fernandez Enciso, a bachelor-at-law, addressed to the emperor a learned dissertation intended to refute the doctrine that the Indians were born free, maintaining that the right of conquest of the New World granted by the Pope necessarily included the right to reduce the inhabitants to slavery. And thus, in spite of the philanthropic efforts of Las Casas, of the well-intentioned ordinances of the Catholic kings, and of the more radical measures sanctioned by Charles V, the Indian's lot was not bettered till it was too late to save him from extinction. "The Indians are dying out!" This is the melancholy refrain of all the official communications from 1530 to 1536. The emperor made a last effort to save the remnant in 1538, and decreed that all those who still had Indians in their possession should construct stone or adobe houses for them under penalty of losing them. In 1543 it was ordained by an Order in Council that all Indians still alive in Cuba, la Española, and Puerto Rico, were as free as the Spaniards themselves, and they should be permitted to loiter and be idle, "that they might increase and multiply." Bishop Rodrigo Bastidas, who was charged to see to the execution of this order in Puerto Rico, still found 80 Indians to liberate. Notwithstanding these terminant orders, so powerless were they to abolish the abuses resulting from the iniquitous system, that as late as 1550 the Indians were still treated as slaves. In that year Governor Vallejo wrote to the emperor: "I found great irregularity in the treatment of these few Indians, ... they were being secretly sold as slaves, etc." Finally, in 1582, Presbyter Ponce de Leon and Bachelor-at-Law Santa Clara, in a communication to the authorities, stated: "At the time when this island was taken there were found here and distributed 5,500 Indians, without counting those who would not submit, and to-day there is not one left, excepting 12 or 15, who have been brought from the continent. They died of disease, sarampion, rheum, smallpox, and ill-usage, or escaped to other islands with the Caribs. The few that remain are scattered here and there among the Spaniards on their little plantations. Some serve as soldiers. They do not speak their language, because they are mostly born in the island, and they are good Christians." This is the last we read of the Boriquén Indians. * * * * * With the gradual extinction of the natives, not only the gold output ceased, but the cultivation of ginger, cotton, cacao, indigo, etc., in which articles a small trade had sprung up, was abandoned. The Carib incursions and hurricanes did the rest, and the island soon became a vast jungle which everybody who could abandoned. "We have been writing these last four years," wrote the crown officers, February 26, 1534, "that the island is becoming depopulated, the gold is diminishing, the Indians are gone. Some new gold deposits were discovered in 1532, and as much as 20,000 pesos were extracted. We thought this would contribute to the repeopling of the island, but the contrary has happened. The people, ruined by the hurricanes of the year 1530, thinking that they might find other gold deposits, bought negroes on credit at very high prices to search for them. They found none, and have not been able to pay their creditors. Some are fugitive in the mountains, others in prison, others again have stolen vessels belonging to the Administration and have gone with their negroes no one knows where. With all this and the news from Peru, not a soul would remain if they were not stopped." When the news of the fabulous riches discovered in Peru reached this island, the desire to emigrate became irresistible. Governor Lando wrote to the emperor, February 27, 1534: " ... Two months ago there came a ship here from Peru to buy horses. The captain related such wonderful things that the people here and in San German became excited, and even the oldest settlers wanted to leave. If I had not instantly ordered him away the island would have been deserted. _I have imposed the death penalty on whosoever shall attempt to leave the island_." On July 2d he wrote again: " ... Many, mad with the news from Peru, have secretly embarked in one or other of the numerous small ports at a distance from the city. Among the remaining settlers even the oldest is constantly saying: 'God help me to go to Peru.' I am watching day and night to prevent their escape, but can not assure you that I shall be able to retain the people. "Two months ago I heard that some of them had obtained possession of a ship at a point on the coast two leagues from here and intended to leave. I sent three vessels down the coast and twenty horsemen by land. They resisted, and my presence was required to take them. Three were killed and others wounded. _I ordered some of them to be flogged and cut off the feet of others_, and then I had to dissimulate the seditious cries of others who were in league with them and intended to join them in la Mona, which is twelve leagues from here. If your Majesty does not promptly remedy this evil, I fear that the island will be entirely depopulated or remain like a country inn. This island is the key and the entrance to all the Antilles. The French and English freebooters land here first. The Caribs carry off our neighbors and friends before our very eyes. If a ship were to come here at night with fifty men, they could burn the city and kill every soul of us. I ask protection for this noble island, now so depopulated that one sees scarcely any Spaniards, only negroes ..." But even the negro population was scarce. The introduction of African slaves into la Española had proceeded _pari passu_ with the gradual disappearance of the Indians. As early as 1502 a certain Juan Sanchez had obtained permission to introduce five caravels of negro slaves into that island free of duty, though Ovando complained that many of them escaped to the mountains and made the Indians more insubordinate than ever; but in San Juan a special permission to introduce negroes was necessary. Geron in 1510 and Sedeño in 1512 were permitted to bring in two negroes each only by swearing that they were for their own personal service. In 1513 the general introduction of African slaves was authorized by royal schedule, but two ducats per head had to be paid for the privilege. Cardinal Cisneros suspended the export of slaves from Spain in 1516, but the emperor sanctioned it again in 1517, to stop, if possible, the destruction of the natives. Father Las Casas favored the introduction of African slaves for the same reason, and obtained from the emperor a concession in favor of his high steward, Garrebod, to send 4,000 negroes to la Española, Cuba, and Puerto Rico. Garrebod sold the concession to a Genovese firm (1517), but negroes remained very scarce and dear in San Juan till 1530, when, by special dispensation of the empress in favor of some merchants, 200 negroes were brought to this island. They were greedily taken up on credit at exorbitant prices, which caused the ruin of the purchasers and made the city authorities of San Juan petition her Majesty April 18, 1533, praying that no more negro ¡slaves might be permitted to come to the island for a period of eighteen months, because of the inability of the people to pay for them. In Governor Lando's letter of July, 1534, above quoted, he informs the emperor that in the only two towns that existed in the island at that time (San Juan and San German) there were "very few Spaniards and only 6 negroes in each." The incursions of the French and English freebooters, to which he refers in the same letter, had commenced six years before, and these incursions bring the tale of the island's calamities to a climax. CHAPTER XIV ATTACKS BY FRENCH PRIVATEERS--CAUSE OF THE WAR WITH FRANCE--CHARLES V.--RUIN OF THE ISLAND 1520-1556 The depredations committed by the privateers, which about this time began to infest the Antilles and prey upon the Spanish possessions, were a result of the wars with almost every nation in Europe, in which Spain became involved after the accession of Charles, the son of Juana, daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella and Philip I, Archduke of Austria. The young prince had been educated amid all the pomp and splendor of the imperial court. He was a perfect type of the medieval cavalier, who could break a lance with the proudest knight in the empire, and was worthy in every respect of the high destiny that awaited him. At the age of twenty he became the heir to eight kingdoms,[33] the recognized ruler of the Netherlands, lord of vast territories in Africa, and absolute arbiter of the destinies of the Spanish division of the New World. Scarcely had this powerful young prince been accepted and crowned by the last and most recalcitrant of his kingdoms (Cataluña), and while still in Barcelona, the news arrived of the death of his grandfather, Maximilian, King of the Romans and Emperor elect of Germany. Intrigues for the possession of the coveted crown were set on foot at once by the prince, now Charles I of Spain and by Francis I, King of France. The powers ranged themselves on either side as their interests dictated. Henry VIII of England declared himself neutral; Pope León X, who distrusted both claimants, was waiting to see which of them would buy his support by the largest concessions to the temporal power of the Vatican; the Swiss Cantons hated France and sided with Charles; Venice favored Francis I.[34] The German Diet assembled at Frankfort June 17, 1519, and unanimously elected Frederick of Saxony, surnamed the Prudent. He showed his prudence by declining the honor, and in an address to the assembly dwelt at some length on the respective merits of the two pretenders, and ended by declaring himself in favor of the Spanish prince, one reason for his preference being that Charles was more directly interested in checking the advance of the Turks, who, under Soleiman the Magnificent, threatened, at the time, to overrun the whole of eastern Europe. Charles I of Spain was elected, and thus became Charles V, King of the Romans and Emperor of Germany--that is, the most powerful monarch of his time, before he had reached the age of manhood. His success, added to other political differences and ambitions, was not long in provoking a war with France, which, with short intervals, lasted the lifetime of the two princes. * * * * * Spain was most vulnerable in her ultramarine possessions. They offered tempting prizes to the unscrupulous, adventurous spirits of the period, and the merchants on the coast of Normandy asked and obtained permission to equip privateers to harass Spanish commerce and attack the unprotected settlements. San Juan was one of the first to suffer. An official report dated September 26, 1528, informs us that "on the day of the Apostle Saint John a French caravel and a tender bore down on the port of Cubágua and attempted to land artillery from the ship with the help of Indians brought from Margarita, five leagues distant. On the 12th of August they took the town of San German, plundered and burned it; they also destroyed two caravels that were there...." French privateers were sighted off the coast continually, but it would seem that the island, with its reputation for poverty, its two settlements 40 leagues apart, and scanty population, offered too little chance for booty, so that no other landing is recorded till 1538, when a privateer was seen chasing a caravel on her way to San German. The caravel ran ashore at a point two leagues from the capital and the crew escaped into the woods. The Frenchmen looted the vessel and then proceeded to Guadianilla, where they landed 80 men, 50 of them arquebusiers. They burned the town, robbed the church and Dominican convent; but the people, after placing their families in security, returned, and under favor of a shower of rain, which made the arquebuses useless, fell upon them, killed 15 and took 3 prisoners, in exchange for whom the stolen church property was restored. The people had only 1 killed. The attack was duly reported to the sovereign, who ordered the construction of a fort, and appointed Juan de Castellanos, the treasurer, its commander (October 7, 1540). The treasurer's reply is characteristic: "The fort which I have been ordered to make in the town of San German, of which I am to be the commander, shall be made as well as we may, though there is great want of money ... and of carts, negroes, etc. It will be necessary to send masons from Sevilla, as there is only 1 here, also tools and 20 negroes.... "Forts for this island are well enough, but it would be better to favor the population, lending money or ceding the revenues for a few years, to construct sugar-mills...." On June 12th of the same year the treasurer wrote again announcing that work on the San German fort had commenced, for which purpose he had bought some negroes and hired others at _two and a half pesos per month_. But on February 12, 1542, the crown officers, including Castellanos, reported that _the emperor's order to suspend work on the fort of San German had been obeyed_. In February, 1543, the bishop wrote to the emperor: "The people of San German, for fear of the French privateers, have taken their families and property into the woods. If there were a fort they would not be so timid nor would the place be so depopulated." As late as September, 1548, he reported: "I came here from la Española in the beginning of the year to visit my diocese. I disembarked in San German with an order from the Audiencia to convoke the inhabitants, and found that there were a few over 30, who lived half a league from the port for fear of the privateers. They don't abandon the important place, but there ought to be a fort." But the prelate pleaded in vain. Charles V, occupied in opposing the French king's five armies, could not be expected to give much attention to the affairs of an insignificant island in a remote corner of his vast dominions. Puerto Rico was left to take care of itself, and San German's last hour struck on Palm Sunday, 1554, when 3 French ships entered the port of Guadianilla, landed a detachment of men who penetrated a league inland, plundering and destroying whatever they could. From that day San German, the settlement founded by Miguel del Toro in 1512, disappeared from the face of the land. The capital remained. No doubt it owed its preservation from French attacks to the presence of a battery and some pieces of artillery which, as a result of reiterated petitions, had been provided. The population also was more numerous. In 1529 there were 120 houses, some of them of stone. The cathedral was completed, and a Dominican convent was in course of construction with 25 friars waiting to occupy it. Thus, one by one, all the original settlements disappeared. Guánica, Sotomayor, Daguáo, Loiza, had been swept away by the Indians. San German fell the victim of the Spanish monarch's war with his neighbor. The only remaining settlement, the capital, was soon to be on the point of being sacrificed in the same way. The existence of the island seemed to be half-forgotten, its connection with the metropolis half-severed, for the crown officers wrote in 1536 that _no ship from the Peninsula had entered its ports for two years_. "Negroes and Indians," says Abbad, "seeing the small number of Spaniards and their misery, escaped to the mountains of Luquillo and Añasco, whence they descended only to rob their masters." FOOTNOTES: [Footnote 33: Castilla and Aragón, Navarro, Valencia, Cataluña, Mallorca, Sicily, and Naples.] [Footnote 34: Hista. general de España por Don Modesto Lafuente. Barcelona, 1889.] CHAPTER XV SEDEÑO--CHANGES IN THE SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT 1534-1555 A slight improvement in the gloomy situation of the people of San Juan took place when, driven by necessity, they began to dedicate themselves to agriculture. At this time, too (1535), Juan Castellanos, the island's attorney at the court, returned with his own family and 75 colonists. Yet scarcely had they had time to settle when they were invited to remigrate by one of Ponce's old companions. This was Sedeño, a perfect type of the Spanish adventurer of the sixteenth century--restless, ambitious, unscrupulous. The king had made him "contador" (comptroller) of San Juan in 1512 and perpetual "regidor" (alderman) in 1515. In 1518 we find him in prison under accusation of having brought a woman and child from a convent in Sevilla. He broke out of the prison and escaped in a ship. In 1521 he was in prison again for debt to the Government. On this occasion the judge auditor wrote to the emperor: " ... It is said of the comptroller that he has put his hands deep into your Majesty's treasure. He is the one who causes most strife and unrest in the island, ... everybody says that it would be well if he were removed." In 1524 Villasante accused him of malversation of public funds. In 1531 he appears as Governor of Trinidad, accused of capturing natives of the neighboring continent, branding them and selling them as slaves. In 1532, reinstated in his post as comptroller, he leaves Alonzo de la Fuente as his deputy and goes on an expedition to conquer Trinidad. In 1535 he complains to the emperor that the authorities in San Juan have not assisted him in his enterprise, and in the following year the governor and crown officers address a complaint against him to the empress, saying: "Sedeño presented a schedule authorizing him to bring 200 men from the Canary Islands to make war with fire and sword on the Caribs of Trinidad, and permitting him, or any other person authorized by him, to fit out an expedition for the same purpose here. "Under this pretext he has collected people to go to the conquest of Meta. We wrote to the Audiencia in la Española, and an order came that he should not go beyond the limits of his government, but he continues his preparations and has already 50 horses and 120 men on the continent, and is now going with some 200 men more and another 100 horses. He takes no notice of your Majesty's commands, collects people from all parts without a license, and causes grave injury to the island, because since the rage for going to Peru began the population is very scarce and we can not remedy the evil...." This restless adventurer died of fever on the continent in 1538. Sedeño's emigration schemes deprived the island of many of its best settlers. The wish to abandon it was universal. Lando's drastic measures to prevent it roused the people's anger, and they clamored for his removal. The Audiencia sent Juan Blasquez as judge auditor, and Vasco de Tiedra was appointed Lando's successor in 1536. But in the following year a radical change was made in the system of government. The quarrels, the jealousies, and mutual accusations between the colonists and the Government officials that kept the island in a continual ferment, were the natural consequence of the prerogatives exercised by Diego Columbus, which permitted him to fill all lucrative positions in the island with his own favorites, often without any regard to their aptitude. The incessant communications to the emperor, and even to the empress, on every subject more or less connected with the public service, but dictated mostly by considerations of self-interest, coming, as they did, from the smallest and poorest and least important of his Majesty's possessions, must have been a source of great annoyance to the imperial ministers, consequently they resolved to remove the cause. The Admiral was deprived of the prerogative of appointing governors, and henceforth the alcaldes (mayors) and "chief alguaciles" (high constables), to be elected from among the colonists by a body of eight aldermen (regidores), were to exercise the governmental functions for one year at a time, and could not be reelected till two years after the first nomination. The wisdom of this innovation was not generally acknowledged. The crown officers wrote: " ... All are not agreed on the point whether the governor should or should not be elected among the residents of the island. For the country's good he should, no doubt, be a resident." Alonzo la Fuente was of a different opinion. He wrote in November, 1536: "It has been a great boon to take the appointment of governors out of the Admiral's hands. As a rule, some neighbor or friend was made supreme judge, and he usually proceeded with but little regard for the island's welfare. All the rest were servants and employees of the Admiral, which caused me much uneasiness, seeing the results. Appoint a governor, but a man from abroad, not a resident." In the following year he wrote regarding the elective system just introduced: " ... If the alcaldes must take cognizance of everything, this will become a place of confusion and disorder. A few will lord it over all the rest, and the alcaldes themselves will but be their creatures." The new system of government was unsatisfactory. Castro and Castellanos asked for the appointment of a supreme judge in March, 1539, because an appeal to the authorities in la Española was made against every decision of the alcalde. Alderman La Fuente and Martel confirmed this in December, 1541. They wrote: " ... There is great want of a supreme judge. More than fifteen homicides have been committed in less than eight years, and only one of the delinquents has been punished ..." In January, 1542, the city officers sent a deputy to lay their grievances before the emperor, not daring to write them "for their lives," and in February the island's attorney, Alonzo Molina, stated the causes of the failure of the elective system to be the ignorance of the laws of those in authority and the reduced number of electors. "It is necessary," he said, "to name a mayor or governor who is a man of education and conscience, _not a resident_, because the judges have their 'compadres.'[35] The governor must be a man of whom they stand in fear, and if some one of this class is not sent soon, he will find few to govern, for the majority intend to abandon the island." A law passed, it appears, at the petition of a single individual, in 1542, increased the confusion and discord still more. This law made the pastures of the island, as well as the woods and waters, public property. The woods and waters had been considered such from the beginning, but the pastures, included in the concessions of lands made at different times by the crown, were private property. The result of this law was aggression on the part of the landless and resistance on the part of the proprietors, with the consequent scenes of violence and civil strife. Representations against the law were made by the ecclesiastical chapter, by the city attorney, and by the three crown officers in February, 1542; but the regidores, on the other hand, insisted on the compliance with the royal mandate, and reported that when the law was promulgated, all the possessors of cattle-ranges opposed it, and four of their body who voted for compliance with the law were threatened to be stoned to death and have their eyes pulled out. "We asked to have the circumstance testified to by a notary, and it was refused. We wanted to write to your Majesty, and to prevent any one conveying our letters, they bought the whole cargo of the only ship in port, and did the same with another ship that came in afterward...." On the 2d of June following they wrote again: " ... An alcalde, two aldermen, and ten or twelve wealthy cattle-owners wanted to kill us. We had to lock ourselves up in our houses.... The people here are so insubordinate that if your Majesty does not send some one to chastise them and protect his servants, there will soon be no island of San Juan." The system of electing annual governors among the residents was abolished in 1544, and the crown resumed its prerogative with the appointment of Gerónimo Lebrón, of la Española, as governor for one year. He died fifteen days after his arrival, and the Audiencia named licentiate Cervantes de Loayza in his place, who was compelled to imprison some of the ringleaders in the party of opposition against the pasture laws. This governor wrote to the emperor in July, 1545: " ... I came to this island with my wife and children to serve your Majesty, but I found it a prey to incredible violences...." Cervantes was well received at first, and the city officials asked the emperor to prorogue his term of office, but as Bishop Bastidas said of the islanders, it was not in their nature to be long satisfied with any governor, and the next year they clamored for his "residencia." He rendered his accounts and came out without blame or censure. It appears that about the year 1549 the system of electing alcaldes as governors was resumed, for in that year Bishop Bastidas thanks the emperor, and tells him "the alcaldes were sufficient, considering the small population." But in 1550 we again find a governor appointed by the crown for five years, a Doctor Louis Vallejo, from whose communications describing the conditions of the island we extract the following: "It is a pity to see how the island has been ruined by the attacks of Frenchmen and Caribs. The few people that remain in San German live in the worst possible places, in swamps surrounded by rough mountains, a league from the port...." And on the 4th of December, 1550: " ... The island was in a languishing condition because the mines gave out, but now, with the sugar industry, it is comparatively prosperous. The people beg your Majesty's protection." However, in October, 1553, we find Bishop Alonzo la Fuente and others addressing King Philip II, and telling him that "the land is in great distress, ... traffic has ceased for fear of the corsairs...." The same complaints continue during 1554 and 1555. Then Vallejo is subjected to "residencia" by the new governor, Estevéz, who, after a few months' office, is "residentiated" in his turn by Caráza, who had been governor in 1547. After this the chronicles are so scanty that not even the diligent researches of Friar Abbad's commentator enabled him to give any reliable information regarding the government of the island. It remained the almost defenseless point of attack for the nations with which Spain was constantly at war, and this small but bright pearl in her colonial crown was preserved only by fortunate circumstances on the one hand and the loyalty of the inhabitants on the other. FOOTNOTES: [Footnote 35: Protectors or protégés--literally, "godfathers."] CHAPTER XVI DEFENSELESS CONDITION OF THE ISLAND--CONSTRUCTION OF FORTIFICATIONS AND CIRCUMVALLATION OF SAN JUAN 1555-1641 San German disappeared for want of means of defense, and if the French privateers of the time had been aware that the forts in San Juan were without guns or ammunition it is probable that this island would have become a French possession. The defenses of the island were constructed by the home authorities in a very dilatory manner. Ponce's house in Capárra had been fortified in a way so ineffective that Las Casas said of it that the Indians might knock it down butting their heads against it. This so-called fort soon fell in ruins after the transfer of the capital to its present site. There is no information of what became of the six "espingardas" (small ordnance or hand-guns) with which it had been armed at King Ferdinand's expense. They had probably been transferred to San Juan, where, very likely, they did good service intimidating the Caribs. In 1527 an English ship came prowling about San Juan bay, la Mona, and la Española, and this warning to the Spanish authorities was disregarded, notwithstanding Blas de Villasante's urgent request for artillery and ammunition. [Illustration: Inner harbor, San Juan.] After the burning of San German by a French privateer in August, 1537, Villasante bought five "lombardas" (another kind of small ordnance) for the defense of San Juan. In 1529 and 1530 both La Gama, the acting governor, and the city officers represented to the emperor the necessity of constructing fortifications, "_because the island's defenseless condition caused the people to emigrate_." It appears that the construction of the first fort commenced about 1533, for in that year the Audiencia in la Española disposed of some funds for the purpose, and Governor Lando suggested the following year that if the fort were made of stone "it would be eternal." The suggestion was acted upon and a tax levied on the people to defray the expense. This fort must have been concluded about the year 1540, for in that same year the ecclesiastical and the city authorities were contending for the grant of the slaves, carts, and oxen that had been employed, the former wanting them for the construction of a church, the latter for making roads and bridges. This "Fortaleza" is the same edifice which, after many changes, was at last, and is still, used as a gubernatorial residence, the latest reconstruction being effected in 1846.[36] As a fort, Gonzalez Fernandez de Oviedo denounced it as a piece of useless work which, "if it had been constructed by blind men could not have been located in a worse place," and in harmony with his advice a battery was constructed on the rocky promontory called "the Morro." San Juan had now a fort (1540) but no guns. The crown officers, reporting an attack on Guayáma by a French privateer in 1541, again clamor for artillery. Treasurer Castellanos writes in March and June of the same year: "The artillery for this fort has not yet arrived. How are we to defend it?" Treasurer Salinas writes in 1554: "The French have taken several ships. It would have been a great boon if your Majesty had ordered Captain Mindirichága to come here with his four ships to defend this island and la Española. He would have found Frenchmen in la Mona, where they prepare for their expeditions and lay in wait. They declare their intention to take this island, and it will be difficult for us to defend it without artillery or other arms. If there is anything in the fort it is useless, nor is the fort itself of any account. It is merely a lodging-house. The bastion on the Morro, if well constructed, could defend the entrance to the harbor with 6 pieces. We have 60 horsemen here with lances and shields, but no arquebusiers or pikemen. Send us artillery and ammunition." The demand for arms and ammunition continued in this way till 1555, when acting Governor Caráza reported that 8 pieces of bronze ordnance had been planted on the Morro. The existing fortifications of San Juan have all been added and extended at different periods. Father Torres Vargas, in his chronicles of San Juan, says that the castle grounds of San Felipe del Morro were laid out in 1584. The construction cost 2,000,000 ducats.[37] The Boquerón, or Santiago fort, the fort of the Cañuelo, and the extensions of the Morro were constructed during the administration of Gabriel Royas (1599 to 1609). Governor Henriquez began the circumvallation of the city in 1630, and his successor, Sarmiento, concluded it between the years 1635 and 1641. Fort San Cristobal was begun in the eighteenth century and completed in 1771. Some fortifications of less importance were added in the nineteenth century. When Caráza reported, in 1555, that the first steps in the fortification of the capital had been taken, the West Indian seas swarmed with French privateers, and their depredations on Spanish commerce and ill-protected possessions continued till Philip II signed the treaty of peace at Vervins in 1598. But before that, war with England had been declared, and a more formidable enemy than the French was soon to appear before the capital of this much-afflicted island. FOOTNOTES: [Footnote 36: The inscription on the upper front wall of the building is: "During the reign of her Majesty, Doña Isabel II, the Count of Mirasol being Captain-General, Santos Cortijo, Colonel of Engineers, reconstructed this royal fort in 1846."] [Footnote 37: Ducat, a coin struck by a duke, worth, in silver, about $1.15, in gold, twice as much. It was also a nominal money worth eleven pesetas and one maravedi.] CHAPTER XVII DRAKE'S ATTACK ON SAN JUAN 1595 Of all the English freebooters that preyed upon Spain and her colonies from the commencement of the war in 1585 to the signing of peace in 1604, Francis Drake was the greatest scourge and the most feared. Drake early distinguished himself among the fraternity of sea-rovers by the boldness of his enterprises and the intensity of his hatred of the Spaniards. When still a young man, in 1567-'68, he was captain of a small ship, the Judith, one of a fleet of slavers running between the coast of Africa and the West Indies, under the command of John Hawkyns, another famous freebooter. In the harbor of San Juan de Ulúa the Spaniards took the fleet by stratagem; the Judith and the Minion, with Hawkyns on board, being the only vessels that escaped. Young Drake's experiences on that occasion fixed the character of his relations to the Dons forever afterward. He vowed that they should pay for all he had suffered and all he had lost. At that time the Spaniards were ostensibly still friends with England. To Drake they were then and always treacherous and forsworn enemies. In 1570 he made a voyage to the West Indies in a bark of forty tons with a private crew. In the Chagres River, on the coast of Nombre de Dios, there happened to be sundry barks transporting velvets and taffetas to the value of 40,000 ducats, besides gold and silver. They were all taken. Two years later he made a most daring attempt to take the town of Nombre de Dios, and would probably have succeeded had he not been wounded. He fainted from loss of blood. His men carried him back on board and suspended the attack. On his recovery he met with complete success, and returned to Plymouth in 1573 with a large amount of treasure openly torn from a nation with which England was at peace, arriving at the very time that Philip's ambassador to Queen Elizabeth was negotiating a treaty of peace. Drake had no letters of marque, and consequently was guilty of piracy in the eyes of the law, the penalty for which was hanging. The Spaniards were naturally very angry, and clamored for restitution or compensation and Drake's punishment, but the queen, who shared the pirate's hatred of the Spaniards, sent him timely advice to keep out of the way. In 1580 he returned from another voyage in the West Indies, just when a body of so-called papal volunteers had landed in Ireland. They had been brought by a Spanish officer in Spanish ships, and the queen, pending a satisfactory explanation, refused to receive Mendoza, the Spanish ambassador, and hear his complaints of Drake's piracies. When his ships had been brought round in the Thames, she visited him on board and conferred on him the honor of knighthood. From this time onward he became a servant of the crown.[38] It was this redoubtable sea-rover who, according to advices received early in 1595, was preparing an expedition in England for the purpose of wresting her West Indian possessions from Spain. The expedition was brought to naught, through the disagreements between Drake and Hawkyns, who both commanded it, by administrative blunders and vexatious delays in England. The Spaniards were everywhere forewarned and goaded to action by the terror of Drake's name. Notwithstanding this, the island's fate, seeing its defenseless condition, would, no doubt, have been sealed at that time but for a most fortunate occurrence which brought to its shores the forces that enabled it to repulse the attack. Acosta's annotations on Abbad's history contains the following details of the events in San Juan at the time: "General Sancho Pardo y Osorio sailed from Havana March 10, 1595, in the flagship of the Spanish West Indian fleet, to convoy some merchantmen and convey 2,000,000 pesos in gold and silver, the greater part the property of his Majesty the king. The flagship carried 300 men. "On the 15th, when in the Bermuda channel, a storm separated the convoy from the other ships, sent her mainmast overboard, broke her rudder, and the ship sprang a leak. In this condition, after a consultation among the officers, it was decided to repair the damage as well as possible and steer for Puerto Rico, which they reached on the 9th of April. The treasure was placed in security in the fort and messengers despatched to the king to learn his Majesty's commands. "A few days later official advice of the preparations in England was brought to the island in a despatch-boat. Governor Juarez, General Sancho, and the commander of the local infantry held a council, in which it was resolved to land the artillery from the dismasted ship and sink her and another vessel in the channel at the entrance to the harbor, while defenses should be constructed at every point where an enemy could attempt a landing. The plan was carried out under the direction of General Sancho, who had ample time, as no enemy appeared during the next seven months. "On the 13th of November 5 Spanish frigates arrived under the command of Pedro Tello de Gúzman, with orders from the king to embark the treasure forthwith and take it to Spain; but Tello, on his way hither, had fallen in off Guadeloupe with two English small craft, had had a fight with one of them, sank it, and while pursuing the other had come suddenly in sight of the whole fleet, which made him turn about and make his way to Puerto Rico before the English should cut him off. From the prisoners taken from the sunken vessel he had learned that the English fleet consisted of 6 line-of-battle ships of 600 to 800 tons each, and about 20 others of different sizes, with launches for landing troops, 3,000 infantry, 1,500 mariners, all well armed and provided with artillery, bound direct for Puerto Rico under the command of Sir Francis Drake and John Hawkyns. "Tello's 5 frigates made a very important addition to the island's defenses. Part of his men were distributed among the land forces, and his ships anchored in the bay, just behind the two sunken ships. "All was now ready for a determined resistance. General Sancho had charge of the shore defenses, Admiral Gonzalo Mendez de Cauzo commanded the forts, Tello, with his frigates and 300 men, defended the harbor. The bishop promised to say a mass and preach a sermon every day, and placed a priest at every post to give spiritual aid where necessary. Lastly, despatch-boats were sent to la Española and to Cuba to inform the authorities there of the coming danger. "The defensive forces consisted of 450 men distributed at different points on shore with 34 pieces of ordnance of small caliber. In the forts there were 36 pieces, mostly bronze ordnance, with the respective contingent of men. On board of Tello's frigates there were 300 men. "General Sancho, after an inspection of the defenses, assured the governor that the island was safe if the men would but fight. "At daybreak on the 22d of November the English fleet hove in sight. The call to arms was sounded, and everybody," says the chronicler, "ran joyfully to his post." A caravel with some launches showing white flags came on ahead, sounding, but on passing the Boquerón were saluted with a cannon shot, whereupon they withdrew replacing the white flags by red ones. The whole fleet now came to anchor in front of the "Caleta del Cabron" (Goat's Creek), much to the surprise of the islanders, who had no idea that there was anchoring ground at that point; but, being within range of the 3 pieces of cannon on the Morrillo and of the 2 pieces planted at the mouth of the creek, they were fired upon, with the result, as became known afterward, of considerable damage to the flagship and the death of 2 or 3 persons, among them Hawkyns, Drake's second in command. This unexpectedly warm reception made it clear to the English admiral that the islanders had been forewarned and were not so defenseless as they had been reported. Some launches were sent to take soundings in the vicinity of Goat Island, and at 5 in the afternoon the fleet lifted anchor and stood out to sea. Next morning at 8 o'clock it returned and took up a position under the shelter of the said island, out of range of the artillery on the forts. More soundings were taken during the day in the direction of Bayamón, as far as the Cañuelo. That night, about 10 o'clock, 25 launches, each containing from 50 to 60 men, advanced under cover of the darkness and attacked Tello's frigates. The flames of 3 of the ships, which the English succeeded in firing, soon lit up the bay and enabled the artillery of the 3 forts to play with effect among the crowded launches. The Spaniards on board Tello's ships succeeded in putting out the fire on board 2 of the ships, the third one was destroyed. After an hour's hard fighting and the loss by the English, as estimated by the Spanish chronicler, of 8 or 10 launches and of about 400 men, they withdrew. The Spanish loss that night was 40 killed and some wounded. The next day the English fleet stood out to sea again, keeping to windward of the harbor, which made Tello suspect that they intended to return under full sail when the wind sprang up and force their way into the harbor. To prevent this, 2 more ships and a frigate were sunk across the entrance with all they had on board, there being no time to unload them. As expected, the fleet came down at 4 o'clock in the afternoon, but did not try to force an entrance. It quietly took up the same position between the Morro and Goat Island, which it had occupied the day before, and this made the Spaniards think that another night attack on the 3 remaining frigates was impending. After dark the frigates were removed to a place of safety within the bay. The night passed without an alarm. The next day the English launches were busy all day sounding the bay as far as the Boquerón, taking care to keep out of range of the artillery on shore. Night came on and when next morning the sun lit up the western world there was not an enemy visible. Drake had found the island too well prepared and deemed it prudent to postpone the conquest. Two days later news came from Arecibo that the English fleet had passed that port. A messenger sent to San German returned six days later with the information that the enemy had been there four days taking in wood and water and had sailed southward on the 9th of December. It is said that when Drake afterward learned that his abandonment of the conquest of Puerto Rico had made him miss the chance of adding 2,000,000 pesos in gold and silver to the Maiden Queen's exchequer, he pulled his beard with vexation. FOOTNOTES: [Footnote 38: Drake and his Successors. The Edinburgh Review, July, 1901.] CHAPTER XVIII OCCUPATION AND EVACUATION OF SAN JUAN BY LORD GEORGE CUMBERLAND--CONDITION OF THE ISLAND AT THE END OF THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY Puerto Rico and his Majesty's treasure were now safe. When there was no longer any fear of the enemy's return, haste was made to reembark the money and get rid of General Sancho and Tello and their men who were fast consuming the island's scanty resources. Two years after Drake's ineffectual attack on the island another English fleet, with a large body of troops under the orders of Lord George Cumberland, came to Puerto Rico. A landing was effected at Cangrejos (the present Santurce). The bridge leading to the capital was not then fortified, but its passage was gallantly disputed by Governor Antonio Mosquera, an old soldier of the war in Flanders. The English were far superior in numbers and armament, and Mosquera had to fall back. Captain Serralta, the brothers John and Simon Sanabria, and other natives of the island, greatly distinguished themselves in this action. The English occupied the capital and the forts without much more opposition. An epidemic of dysentery and yellow fever carried off 400 Englishmen in less than three months and bid fair to exterminate the whole invading force, so that, to save his troops, the English commander was obliged to evacuate the island, which he did on the 23d of November. He carried with him 70 pieces of artillery of all sizes which he found in the fortifications. The city itself he left unhurt, except that he took the church-bells and organ and carried off an artistically sculptured marble window in one of the houses which had taken his fancy. Mr. Brau mentions some documents in the Indian archives of Spain, from which it appears that another invasion of Puerto Rico took place a year after Cumberland's departure. On that occasion the governor and the garrison were carried off as prisoners, but as there was a cruel epidemic still raging in the island at the time the English did not stay. The death of Philip II (September 13, 1598) and of his inveterate enemy, Queen Elizabeth (March 24, 1603), brought the war with England to a close. The ambassador of Philip III in London negotiated a treaty of peace with James I, which was signed and ratified in the early part of 1604. So ended the sixteenth century in Boriquén. If the dictum of Las Casas, that the island at the century's beginning was "as populous as a beehive and as lovely as an orchard," was but a rhetorical figure, there is no gainsaying the fact that at the time of Ponce's landing it was thickly peopled, not only that part occupied by the Spaniards but _the whole island_, with a comparatively innocent, simple, and peaceably disposed native race. The end of the century saw them no more. The erstwhile garden was an extensive jungle. The island's history during these hundred years was condensed into the one word "strife." All that the efforts of the king and his governors had been able to make of it was a penal settlement, a presidio with a population of about 400 inhabitants, white, black, and mongrel. The littoral was an extensive hog-and cattle-ranch, with here and there a patch of sugar-cane; there was no commerce.[39] There were no roads. The people, morally, mentally, and materially poor, were steeped in ignorance and vice. Education there was none. The very few who aspired to know, went to la Española to obtain an education. The few spiritual wants of the people were supplied by monks, many of them as ignorant and bigoted as themselves. War and pestilence and tempest had united to wipe the island from the face of the earth, and the very name of "Rich Port," given to it without cause or reason, must have sounded in the ears of the inhabitants as a bitter sarcasm on their wretched condition. FOOTNOTES: [Footnote 39: A precarious traffic in hides and ginger did not deserve the name of commerce.] CHAPTER XIX ATTACK ON SAN JUAN BY THE HOLLANDERS UNDER BOWDOIN 1625 Holland emancipated itself from Spanish domination in 1582 and assumed the title of "the United Provinces of Netherland." After nearly half a century of an unequal struggle with the most powerful kingdom in Europe, the people's faith in final success was unbounded, while Spain was growing weary of the apparently interminable war. At this juncture, proposals for a suspension of hostilities were willingly entertained by both nations, and after protracted negotiations, a truce of twelve years was signed in Bergen-op-Zoom, April 9, 1609. In it the absolute independence of the United Provinces was recognized. This gave the Spanish colonies a welcome respite from the ravages of privateers till 1621, the first year of the reign of King Philip IV, when hostilities immediately recommenced. France and England both came to the assistance of the Provinces with money for the raising of troops, and the wealthy merchants of Holland, following the example of the French merchants in the former century, fitted out fleets of privateers to prey upon the commerce and colonies of Spain and Portugal. The first exploits of these privateers were the invasion of Brazil and the sacking of San Salvador, of Lima and Callao (1624). Puerto Rico was just beginning to recover from the prostration in which the last invasion had left it, when on the morning of the 24th of September, 1625, the guard on San Felipe del Morro announced 8 ships to windward of the port. Juan de Haro, the governor, who had assumed the command only a few months before, mounted to an outlook to observe them, and was informed that more ships could be seen some distance down the coast. He sent out horsemen, and they returned about 8 o'clock at night with the news that they had counted 17 ships in all. Alarm-bells were now rung and some cannon fired from the forts to call the inhabitants together. They were directed to the plaza, where arms and ammunition were distributed. During the night the whole city was astir preparing for events, under the direction of the governor. Next morning the whole fleet was a short distance to windward. Lest a landing should be attempted at the Boquerón or at Goat's Creek, the two most likely places, the governor ordered a cannon to be planted at each and trenches to be dug. In the meantime, the people, who had promptly answered the call to arms, and the garrison were formed into companies on the plaza and received orders to occupy the forts, marching first along the shore, where the enemy could see them, so as to make a great show of numbers. The artillery in the fort was in bad condition. The gun-carriages were old and rotten. Some of the pieces had been loaded four years before and were dismounted at the first firing. One of them burst on the sixth or seventh day, killing the gunners and severely wounding the governor, who personally superintended the defense. In the afternoon of the day of their arrival the Hollanders came down under full sail "with as much confidence," says the chronicler, "as if they were entering a port in their own country." That night the fort was provisioned as well as the scanty resources of the island permitted. The defenders numbered 330, and the food supply collected would not enable them to stand a long siege. The supply consisted of 120 loads of casabe bread, 46 bushels of maize, 130 jars or jugs of olive oil, 10 barrels of biscuit, 300 island cheeses, 1 cask of flour, 30 pitchers of wine, 200 fowls, and 150 small boxes of preserved fruit (membrillo). Fortunately during the night 50 head of cattle and 20 horses were driven in from the surrounding country. From the 26th to the 29th the enemy busied himself landing troops, digging trenches, and planting 6 pieces of cannon on a height called "the Calvary." Then he began firing at the fort, which replied, doing considerable damage. At 9 o'clock on the morning of the 30th, a drummer under a flag of truce presented himself before the castle with a letter addressed to the governor. It was couched in the following terms: "Señor Governor Don Juan Faro, you must be well aware of the reasons of our coming so near and of our intentions. Therefore, I, Bowdoin Hendrick, general of these forces, in the name of the States General and of his Highness the Prince of Orange, do hereby demand that you deliver this castle and garrison into our hands, which doing we will not fail to come to terms with you. And if not, I give you notice, that from this day forward we will spare neither old nor young, woman nor child; and to this we wait your answer in a few words. "BOWDOIN HENDRICK." To which epistle the governor replied: "I have seen your paper, and am surprised that you should ask such a thing of me, seeing that I have served thirteen years in Flanders, where I have learned to value your boastings and know what sieges are. On the contrary, if you will deliver the ships in which you have come to me, I will let you have one to return with. And these are the orders of my King and Master, and none other, with which I have answered your paper, in the Castle of San Felipe del Morro, the 30th of September, 1625. "JUAN DE HARO." The next day a heavy cannonading commenced, the Hollanders firing over 150 shots at the castle with small effect. The same day a Spanish ship arrived with wine and provisions, but seeing the danger it ran of being taken, did not enter the port, but steered to la Española, to the great disappointment of the people in the fort. On the 4th of October the governor ordered a sortie of 80 men in three parties. On the 5th Captain Juan de Amezquita led another sortie, and so between sorties, surprises, night attacks, and mutual cannonadings things continued till the 21st of October. On that day Bowdoin sent another letter announcing his intention of burning the city if no understanding was arrived at. To which letter the governor replied that there was building material enough in the island to construct another city, and that he wished the whole army of Holland might be here to witness Spanish bravery. Bowdoin carried his threat into effect, and the next day over a hundred houses were burned. Bishop Balbueno's palace and library and the city archives were also destroyed. To put a stop to this wanton destruction Captains Amezquita and Botello led a sortie of 200 men. They attacked the enemy in front and rear with such _élan_ that they drove them from their trenches and into the water in their haste to reach their launches. This, and other remarkable exploits, related by the native chroniclers, so discouraged the Hollanders that they abandoned the siege on the 2d of November, leaving behind them one of their largest ships, stranded, and over 400 dead. The fleet repaired to la Aguáda to refit. Bowdoin, who, apparently, was a better letter writer than general, sent a third missive to the governor, asking permission to purchase victuals, which was, of course, flatly refused. The king duly recompensed the brave defenders. The governor was made Chevalier of the Order of Santiago and received a money grant of 2,000 ducats. Captain Amezquita received 1,000 ducats, and was later appointed Governor of Cuba. Captain Botello also received 1,000 ducats, and others who had distinguished themselves received corresponding rewards. Puerto Rico's successful resistance to this invasion encouraged the belief that, provided the mother country should furnish the necessary means of defense, the island would end by commanding the respect of its enemies and be left unmolested. But the mother country's wars with England, France, and Holland absorbed all its attention in Europe and consumed all its resources. The colonies remained dependent for their defense on their own efforts, while privateers, freebooters, and pirates of the three nations at war with Spain settled like swarms of hornets in every available island in the West Indies. CHAPTER XX DECLINE OF SPAIN'S POWER--BUCCANEERS AND FILIBUSTERS 1625-1780 The power of Spain received its death-blow during the course of the war with England. The destruction of the Armada and of the fleets subsequently equipped by Philip II for the invasion of Ireland were calamities from which Spain never recovered. The wars with almost every European nation in turn, which raged during the reigns of the third and fourth Philips, swallowed up all the blood-stained treasure that the colonial governors could wring from the natives of the New World. The flower of the German and Italian legions had left their bones in the marshes of Holland, and Spain, the proudest nation in Europe, had been humiliated to the point of treating for peace, on an equal footing, with a handful of rebels and recognizing their independence. France had four armies in the field against her (1637). A fleet equipped with great sacrifice and difficulty was destroyed by the Hollanders in the waters of Brazil (1630). Van Tromp annihilated another in the English Channel, consisting of 70 ships, with 10,000 of Spain's best troops on board. Cataluña was in open revolt (1640). The Italian provinces followed (1641). Portugal fought and achieved her emancipation from Spanish rule. The treasury was empty, the people starving. Yet, while all these calamities were befalling the land, the king and his court, under the guidance of an inept minister (the Duke of Olivares), were wasting the country's resources in rounds of frivolous and immoral pleasures, in dances, theatrical representations, and bull-fights. The court was corrupt; vice and crime were rampant in the streets of Madrid.[40] Under such a régime the colonists were naturally left to take care of themselves, and this, coupled with the policy of excluding them from all foreign commerce, justified Spain's enemies in seeking to wrest from her the possessions from which she drew the revenues that enabled her to make war on them. Englishmen, Frenchmen, and Hollanders made of the Antilles their trysting-ground for the purpose of preying upon the common enemy. These were the buccaneers and filibusters of that period, the most lawless class of men in an age of universal lawlessness, the refuse from the seaports of northern Europe, as cruel miscreants as ever blackened the pages of history. The buccaneers derived their name from the Carib word "boucan," a kind of gridiron on which, like the natives, they cooked their meat, hence, bou-canier. The word filibuster comes from the Spanish "fee-lee-bote," English "fly-boat," a small, swift sailing-vessel with a large mainsail, which enabled the buccaneers to pursue merchantmen in the open sea and escape among the shoals and shallows of the archipelago when pursued in their turn by men-of-war. They recognized no authority, no law but force. They obeyed a leader only when on their plundering expeditions. The spoils were equally divided, the captain's share being double that of the men. The maimed in battle received a compensation proportionate to the injury received. The captains were naturally distinguished by the qualities of character that alone could command obedience from crews who feared neither God nor man. One of the most dreaded among them was a Frenchman, a native of Sables d'Olonne, hence called l'Olonais. He had been a prisoner of the Spaniards, and the treatment he received at their hands had filled his soul with such deadly hatred, that when he regained his liberty he swore a solemn oath to live henceforth for revenge alone. And he did. He never spared sex or age, and took a hellish pleasure in torturing his victims. He made several descents on the coast of this island, burned Maracaibo, Puerto Cabello, Veragua, and other places, and was killed at last by the Indians of Darien. Sir Henry Morgan, a Welsh aristocrat turned pirate, was another famous scourge of the Spanish colonies. His inhuman treatment of the inhabitants of Puerto Principe, in 1668, is a matter of history. He plundered Porto Bello, Chagres, Panamá, and extended his depredations to the coast of Costa Rica. He used to subject his victims to torture to make them declare where they had hidden their valuables, and many a poor wretch who had no valuables to hide was ruthlessly tortured to death. Pierre Legrand was another Frenchman who, after committing all kinds of outrages in the West Indies, passed with his robber crew to the Pacific and scoured the coasts as far as California. The atrocities committed by a certain Montbras, of Languedoc, earned him the name of "the Exterminator." * * * * * When the first buccaneers made their appearance in the Antilles (1520), the Windward Islands were still occupied by the Caribs. Here they formed temporary settlements, which, by degrees, grew into permanent pirates' nests. In some of these islands they found large herds of cattle, the progeny of the first few heads introduced by the early Spanish colonists, who afterward abandoned them. In 1625 a party of English and French occupied the island San Cristobal. Four years later Puerto Rico, being well garrisoned at the time, the governor, Enrique Henriquez, fitted out an expedition to dislodge them, in which he succeeded only to make them take up new quarters in Antigua. The next year the French and English buccaneers who occupied the small island of Tortuga made a descent upon the western part of la Española, called Haiti by the natives (mountainous land), and maintained themselves there till that part of the island was ceded to France by the treaty of Ryswyk, in 1697. Spain equipped a fleet to clear the West Indies from pirates in 1630, and placed it under the command of Don Federico de Toledo. He was met in the neighborhood of San Cristobal by a numerous fleet of small craft, which had the advantage over the unwieldy Spanish ships in that they could maneuver with greater rapidity and precision. There are no reliable details of the result of the engagement. Abbad tells us that the Spaniards were victorious, but the buccaneers continued to occupy all the islands which they had occupied before. In 1634 they took possession of Curagao, Aruba, and Bonaíre, near the coast of Venezuela, and established themselves in 1638 in San Eustaquio, Saba, San Martin, and Santa Cruz. In 1640 the Governor of Puerto Rico sought to expel them from the last-named island. He defeated them, killing many and taking others prisoners; but as soon as he returned to Puerto Rico the Hollanders from San Eustaquio and San Martin reoccupied Santa Cruz, and he was compelled to equip another expedition to dislodge them, in which he was completely successful. This time he left a garrison, but in the same year the French commander, Poincy, came with a strong force and compelled the garrison to capitulate. The island remained a French possession under the name of Saint Croix until it was sold to Denmark, in 1733, for $150,000. Another expedition set out from Puerto Rico in 1650, to oust the French and Hollanders from San Martin. The Spaniards destroyed a fort that had been constructed there, but as soon as they returned to this island the pirates reoccupied their nest. In 1657 an Englishman named Cook came with a sufficient force and San Martin became an English possession. About 1665 the French Governor of Tortuga, Beltrán Ogeron, planned the conquest of Puerto Rico. He appeared off the coast with 3 ships, but one of the hurricanes so frequent in these latitudes came to the island's rescue. The ships were stranded, and the surviving Frenchmen made prisoners. Among them was Ogeron himself, but his men shielded him by saying that he was drowned. On the march to the capital he and his ship's surgeon managed to escape, and, after killing the owner of a fishing-smack, returned to Tortuga, where he immediately commenced preparations for another invasion of Puerto Rico. When he came back he was so well received by the armed peasantry (jíbaros) that he was forced to reembark. From this time to 1679 several expeditions were fitted out in San Juan to drive the filibusters from one or another of the islands in the neighborhood. In 1780 a fleet was equipped with the object of definitely destroying all the pirates' nests. The greater part of the garrison, all the Puerto Ricans most distinguished for bravery, intelligence, and experience, took part in the expedition. The fleet was accompanied by the Spanish battle-ship Carlos V, which carried 50 cannon and 500 men. Of this expedition not a soul returned. It was totally destroyed by a hurricane, and the island was once more plunged in mourning, ruin, and poverty, from which it did not emerge till nearly a century later. FOOTNOTES: [Footnote 40: In fifteen days 110 men and women were assassinated in the capital alone, some of them persons of distinction. Cánovas, Decadencia de España, Libro VI.] CHAPTER XXI BRITISH ATTACKS ON PUERTO RICO--SIEGE OF SAN JUAN BY SIR RALPH ABERCROMBIE 1678-1797 The _entente cordiale_ which had existed between England under Charles I and Spain under Philip IV ceased with the tragic death of the first-named monarch.[41] Immediately after Cromwell's elevation both France and Spain made overtures for an alliance with England. But the Protector well knew that in the event of war with either power, Spain's colonies and treasure-laden galleons offered a better chance for obtaining booty than the poor possessions of France. He favored an alliance with Louis XIV, and ended by signing a treaty with him in 1657. The first result of the hostilities that ensued was the capture by the English Admirals Blake and Stayner of several richly laden galleons. From that time to the end of the eighteenth century England's attempts to secure the two most-coveted Antilles (Cuba and Puerto Rico) continued with short intervals of peace. In 1768 an English fleet of 22 ships, with a landing force under the command of the Earl of Estren, appeared before San Juan and demanded its surrender. Before a formal attack could be made a furious hurricane wrecked the fleet on Bird Island, and everybody on board perished excepting a few soldiers and marines, who escaped a watery grave only to be made prisoners.[42] It is certain, however, that on August 5, 1702, an English brigantine and a sloop came to Arecibo and landed 30 men, who were forced to reembark with considerable loss, though the details of this affair, as given by Friar Abbad, and repeated by Mr. Neuman, are evidently largely drawn from imagination. In September of the following year (1703) there were landings of Englishmen near Loiza and in the neighborhood of San German, of which we know only that they were stoutly opposed; and we learn from an official document that there was another landing at Boca Chica on the south coast in 1743, when the English were once more obliged to reembark with the loss of a pilot-boat. These incessant attacks, not on Puerto Rico only, but on all the other Spanish possessions, and the reprisals they provoked, created such animosity between the people of both countries that hostilities had practically commenced before the declaration of war (October 23, 1739). In November Admiral Vernon was already in the Antilles with a large fleet. He took Porto Bello, laid siege to Cartagena, but was forced to withdraw; then he made an ineffectual attack on Cuba, after which he passed round Cape Horn into the Pacific, caused great consternation in Chile, sacked and burned Payta, captured the galleon Covadonga with a cargo worth $1,500,000, and finally returned to England with a few ships only and less than half his men. The next war between the two nations was the result of the famous Bourbon family compact, and lasted from 1761 to 1763. Two powerful fleets sailed from England for the Antilles; the one under the orders of Admiral Rodney attacked the French colonies and took Martinique, Granada, Santa Lucia, San Vicente, and Tabago; the other under Admiral Pocock appeared before Havana, June 2, 1762, with a fleet of 30 line-of-battle ships, 100 transports, and 14,000 landing troops under the command of the Earl of Albemarle. In four days the English took "la Cabaña," which Prado, the governor, considered the key to the city. For some unexplained reason the Spanish fleet became useless; but Captain Louis Velasco defended the Morro, and for two months and ten days he kept the English at bay, till they undermined the walls of the fort and blew them up. Then Prado capitulated (August 13), and Havana with its forts and defenses, with 60 leagues of territory to the west of the city, with $15,000,000, an immense quantity of naval and military stores, 9 line-of-battle ships and 3 frigates, was delivered into Albemarle's hands. It was Puerto Rico's turn next, and preparations were made for an attack, when the signing of the treaty of peace in Paris (February, 1763) averted the imminent danger. By the stipulations of that treaty England returned Havana and Manila[43] to Spain in exchange for Florida and some territories on the Mississippi; she also returned to France part of her conquered possessions. In 1778 Charles III joined France in a war against England, the motives for which, as explained by the king's minister, were frivolous in the extreme. The real reason was England's refusal to admit Spain as mediator in the differences with her North American colonies. This war lasted till 1783, and though the Antilles, as usual, became the principal scene of war, Puerto Rico happily escaped attack. Not so during the hostilities that broke out anew in consequence of Charles IV's offensive and defensive alliance with the French Republic, signed in San Ildefonso on the 18th of August, 1796. In February, 1797, Admiral Henry Harvey, with 60 ships, including transports and small craft, and from 6,000 to 7,000 troops under the orders of Sir Ralph Abercrombie, appeared before the island of Trinidad and took possession of it with but little resistance from the Spanish garrison. On the 17th of April the whole fleet appeared before San Juan. The capital was well prepared for defense. The forts, as now existing, were completed, and the city surrounded by a wall the strength of which may be estimated by the appearance of the parts still intact. On these defenses 376 pieces of cannon of different caliber were planted, besides 35 mortars, 4 howitzers, and 3 swivel guns. The garrison was reduced to about 200 men, part of the troops having been sent to la Española to quell the insurrection of the negro population led by Toussaint L'Ouverture. There were, besides these 200 veteran troops, 4,000 militiamen, about 2,000 men from the towns in the interior (urbános) armed with lances and machetes, 12 gunboats and several French privateers, the crews of which numbered about 300. Abercrombie landed on the 18th at Cangrejos (Santurce) with 3,000 men, and demanded the surrender of the city. Governor Castro, in polite but energetic language, refused, and hostilities commenced. For the next thirteen days there were skirmishes and more or less serious encounters on land and sea. On the morning of the 1st of May the defenders of the city were preparing a general attack on the English lines, when, lo! the enemy had reembarked during the night, leaving behind his spiked guns and a considerable quantity of stores and ammunition. [Illustration: Fort San Geronimo, at Santurce, near San Juan.] The people ascribed this unexpected deliverance from their foes to the miraculous intervention of the Virgin, but the real reason for the raising of the siege was the strength of the fortifications. "Whoever has viewed these fortifications," says Colonel Flinter,[44] "must feel surprised that the English with a force of less than 5,000 men should lay siege to the place, a force not sufficient for a single line along the coast on the opposite side of the bay to prevent provisions from being sent to the garrison from the surrounding country. Sir Ralph's object in landing, surely, could only have been to try whether he could surprise or intimidate the scanty garrison. Had he not reembarked very soon, he would have had to repent his temerity, for the shipping could not safely remain at anchor where there was no harbor and where a dangerous coast threatened destruction. His communication with the country was cut off by the armed peasantry, who rose _en masse_, and to the number of not less than 20,000 threw themselves into the fortress in less than a week after the invasion, so that the British forces would, most undoubtedly, have been obliged to surrender at discretion had the commander not effected a timely retreat." The enemy's retreat was celebrated with a solemn Te Deum in the cathedral, at which the governor, the municipal authorities, and all the troops assisted. The municipality addressed the king, giving due credit to the brilliant military qualities displayed during the siege by the governor and his officers. The governor was promoted to the rank of field-marshal and the officers correspondingly. To the municipality the privilege was granted to encircle the city's coat of arms with the words: "For its constancy, love, and fidelity, this city is yclept very noble and very loyal." FOOTNOTES: [Footnote 41: He was decapitated February 9, 1649.] [Footnote 42: So says Abbad. No mention is made of this episode in Señor Acosta's notes, nor is the name of Earl Estren to be found among those of the British commanders of that period.] [Footnote 43: Manila was taken in October, 1762.] [Footnote 44: An Account of Puerto Rico. London, 1834,] CHAPTER XXII BRITISH ATTACKS ON PUERTO RICO _(continued)_--INVASIONS BY COLOMBIAN INSURGENTS 1797-1829 The raising of the siege of San Juan by Abercrombie did not raise at the same time the blockade of the island. Communications with the metropolis were cut off, and the remittances from Mexico which, under the appellation of "situados," constituted the only means of carrying on the Government, were suspended.[45] In San Juan the garrison was kept on half pay, provisions were scarce, and the influx of immigrants from la Española, where a bloody civil war raged at the time, increased the consumption and the price. The militia corps was disbanded to prevent serious injury to the island's agricultural interests, although English attacks on different points of the coast continued, and kept the inhabitants in a state of constant fear and alarm. In December, 1797, an English three-decker and a frigate menaced Aguadilla, but an attempt at landing was repulsed. Another attempt to land was made at Guayanilla with the same result, and in June, 1801, Guayanilla was again attacked. This time an English frigate sent several launches full of men ashore, but they were beaten off by the people, who, armed only with lances and machetes, pursued them into the water, "swimming or wading up to their necks," says Mr. Neuman.[46] From 1801 to 1808 England's navy and English privateers pursued both French and Spanish ships with dogged pertinacity. In August, 1803, British privateers boarded and captured a French frigate in the port of Salinas in this island. Four Spanish homeward-bound frigates fell into their hands about the same time. Another English frigate captured a French privateer in what is now the port of Ponce (November 12, 1804) and rescued a British craft which the privateer had captured. Even the negroes of Haiti armed seven privateers under British auspices and preyed upon the French and Spanish merchant ships in these Antilles. Governor Castro, during the whole of his period of service, had vainly importuned the home Government for money and arms and ships to defend this island against the ceaseless attacks of the English. When he handed over the command to his successor, Field-Marshal Toribio Montes, in 1804, the treasury was empty. He himself had long ceased to draw his salary, and the money necessary to attend to the most pressing needs for the defense was obtained by contributions from the inhabitants. While the people of Puerto Rico were thus giving proofs of their loyalty to Spain, and sacrificing their lives and property to preserve their poverty-stricken island to the Spanish crown, the other colonies, rich and important, were breaking the bonds that united them to the mother country. The example of the English colonies had long since awakened among the more enlightened class of creoles on the continent a desire for emancipation, which the events in France on the one hand, and the ill-advised, often cruel measures adopted by the Spanish authorities to quench that aspiration, on the other hand, had only served to make irresistible. But Puerto Rico did not aspire to emancipation. It never had been a colony, there was no creole class, and the only indigenous population--the "jíbaros," the mixed descendants of Indians, negroes, and Spaniards--were too poor, too illiterate, too ignorant of everything concerning the outside world to look with anything but suspicion upon the invitations of the insurgents of Colombia and Venezuela to join them or imitate their example. They, nor the great majority of the masses whom Bolivar, San Martin, Hidalgo, and others liberated from an oppressive yoke, cared little for the rights of man. When the Colombian insurgents landed on the coast of Puerto Rico, to encourage and assist the people to shake off a yoke which did not gall them, they were looked upon by the natives as freebooters of another class who came to plunder them. On the 20th of December, 1819, an insurgent brigantine and a sloop attempted a landing at Aguadilla. They were beaten back by a Spanish sergeant at the head of a detachment of twenty men, while a Mr. Domeneck with his servants attended to the artillery in Fort San Carlos, constructed during Castro's administration. In February, 1825, some insurgent ships landed fifty marines at night near Point Boriquén, where the lighthouse now is. They captured the fort by surprise and dismounted the guns, but the people of Aguadilla replaced them on their carriages the next day and offered such energetic resistance to the landing parties that they had to retreat. Another landing was effected at Patillas in November, 1829. This port was opened to commerce by royal decree December 30, 1821. There were several small trading craft in the port at the time of the attack. They fell a prey to the invaders; but when they landed they were met by the armed inhabitants, and after a sharp fight, in which the Colombians had 8 men killed, they reembarked. * * * * * The beginning of the nineteenth century found Spain deprived of all that beautiful island world which Columbus had laid at the foot of the throne of Ferdinand and Isabel four centuries ago, of all but a part of the "Española," since called Santo Domingo, and of the two Antilles. Before the first quarter of the century had passed all the continental colonies had broken the bonds that united them to the mother country, and before the twentieth century the last vestiges of the most extensive and the richest colonial empire ever possessed by any nation refused further allegiance, as the logical result of four centuries of political, religious, and financial myopia. FOOTNOTES: [Footnote 45: They ceased altogether in 1810, as a result of the revolution in Mexico.] [Footnote 46: Benefactores and Hombres Illustres de Puerto Rico, p. 289.] CHAPTER XXIII REVIEW OF THE SOCIAL CONDITIONS IN PUERTO RICO AND THE POLITICAL EVENTS IN SPAIN FROM 1765 TO 1820 After the conquest of Mexico and Peru with their apparently inexhaustible mineral wealth, Spain attached very little importance to the archipelago of the Antilles. The largest and finest only of these islands were selected for colonization, the small and comparatively sterile ones were neglected, and fell an easy prey to pirates and privateers. Puerto Rico, notwithstanding its advantages of soil and situation, was considered for the space of three centuries only as a fit place of banishment (a _presidio_) for the malefactors of the mother country. Agriculture did not emerge from primitive simplicity. The inhabitants led a pastoral life, cultivating food barely sufficient for their support, because there was no stimulus to exertion. They looked passively upon the riches centered in their soil, and rocked themselves to sleep in their hammocks. The commerce carried on scarcely deserved that name. The few wants of the people were supplied by a contraband trade with St. Thomas and Santa Cruz. In the island's finances a system of fraud and peculation prevailed, and the amount of public revenue was so inadequate to meet the expenses of maintaining the garrison that the officers' and soldiers' pay was reduced to one-fourth of its just amount, and they often received only a miserable ration. His Excellency Alexander O'Reilly, who came to the Antilles on a commission from Charles IV, in his report on Puerto Rico (1765) gives the following description of the condition of the inhabitants at that time: " ... To form an idea of how these natives have lived and still live, it is enough to say that there are only two schools in the whole island; that outside of the capital and San German few know how to read; that they count time by changes in the Government, hurricanes, visits from bishops, arrivals of 'situados,' etc. They do not know what a league is. Each one reckons distance according to his own speed in traveling. The principal ones among them, including those of the capital, when they are in the country go barefooted and barelegged. The whites show no reluctance at being mixed up with the colored population. In the towns (the capital included) there are few permanent inhabitants besides the curate; the others are always in the country, except Sundays and feast-days, when those living near to where there is a church come to hear mass. During these feast-days they occupy houses that look like hen-coops. They consist of a couple of rooms, most of them without doors or windows, and therefore open day and night. Their furniture is so scant that they can move in an instant. The country houses are of the same description. There is little distinction among the people. The only difference between them consists in the possession of a little more or less property, and, perhaps, the rank of a subaltern officer in the militia." Abbad makes some suggestions for increasing the population. He proposes the distribution of the unoccupied lands among the "agregados" or idle "hangers-on" of each family; among the convicts who have served out their time and can not or will not return to the Peninsula; among the freed slaves, who have purchased their own freedom or have been manumitted by their masters; and, finally, among the great number of individuals who, having deserted from ships or being left behind, wandered about from place to place or became contrabandists, pirates, or thieves. "Their numbers are so small and the soil so fruitful they generally have an abundance of bananas, maize, beans, and other food. Fish is abundant, and few are without a cow or two. The only furniture they have and need is a hammock and a cooking-pot. Plates, spoons, jugs, and basins they make of the bark of the 'totumo,' a tree which is found in every forest. A saber or a 'machete,' as they call it, is the only agricultural implement they use. The construction of their houses does not occupy them more than a day or two." The good friar goes on to tell us that, through indolence, they have not even learned from the Indians how to protect their plantations from the fierce heat of the sun and avoid consequent failure of crops in time of drought, by making the plantations in clearings in the forest, so that the surrounding walls of verdure may give moisture and shade to the plants. "Nor have they learned to build their bohíos (huts) to windward of swamps or clearings to avoid the fever-laden emanations." * * * * * The stirring events in Europe that marked the end of the eighteenth and the beginning of the nineteenth centuries did not find these conditions much changed, though _some_ advance had been made and was being made in spite of the prohibitive measures of the Government, which were well calculated to check all advance. To prevent the spread of the ideas that had given birth to the French Revolution, absolute powers were granted to the captains-general, odious restrictions were placed upon all communication with the interior, sacrifices in men and money were demanded on the plea of patriotism, and a policy of suspicion and distrust adopted toward the colonies which in the end fomented the very political aspirations it was intended to suppress. From the outbreak of the French Revolution, Spain was entangled in a maze of political difficulties. The natural sympathy of Charles IV for the unfortunate King of France well-nigh provoked hostilities between the two nations from the very beginning. The king gave public expression to his opinion that to make war on France was as legitimate as to make war on pirates and bandits; and the Directory, though it took little notice at the time, remembered it when Godoy, the favorite, in his endeavors to save the lives of Louis XVI and his family entered into correspondence with the French emigres. Then war was declared. The war was popular. All classes contended to make the greatest sacrifices to aid the Government. Men and money came in abundantly, and before long three army corps crossed the Pyrenees into French territory ... They had to recross the next year, followed by the victorious soldiers of the Republic, who planted the tricolor on some of the principal Spanish frontier fortresses. Then the peace of Basilia was signed, and, as one of the conditions of that peace, Spain ceded to France the part she still held of Santo Domingo. From this period Charles, in the terror inspired by the excesses of the Revolution and the probable fear for his own safety, forgot that he was a Bourbon and began to seek an alliance with the executioners of his family. As a result, the treaty of San Ildefonso was signed (1796). Spain became the enemy of England, and the first effects thereof which she experienced were the bombardment of Cadiz by an English fleet, the loss of the island of Trinidad, and the siege of Puerto Rico by Abercrombie. Spain also became the willing vassal, rather than the ally, of the military genius whom the French Revolution had revealed, and obeyed his mandates without a murmur. In 1803 Napoleon demanded a subsidy of 6,000,000 francs per month as the price of Spain's neutrality, but in the following year he insisted on the renewal of the alliance against England (treaty of Paris, 1804). The total destruction of the Spanish fleet at the battles of Saint Vincent and Trafalgar was the result. Godoy, who in his ambitious dreams had seen a crown and a throne somewhere in Portugal to be bestowed on him by the man to whose triumphal car he had attached his king and his country, began to suspect Napoleon's intentions. Seeing the war-clouds gather in the north of Europe, he thought that the coalition of the powers against the tyrant was the presage of his downfall, and he now hastened to send an emissary to England. The war-clouds burst, and from amid the thunder and smoke of battle at Jena, Eylau, and Friedland, the victor's figure arose more imperious than ever. All the crowned heads of Europe but one[47] hastened to do him homage, among them Charles IV of Spain and the Prince of Asturias, his son. The next step in the grand drama that was being enacted was the occupation of Spanish territory by what Bonaparte was pleased to call an army of observation. This time Godoy's suspicions became confirmed, and to save the royal family he counsels the king to withdraw to Andalusia. Ferdinand conspires to dethrone his father, the people become excited, riots take place, Godoy's residence in Aranguez is attacked by the mob, and the king abdicates in favor of his son. Napoleon himself now lands at Bayona. Charles and his son hasten thither to salute Europe's master, and, after declaring that his abdication was imposed on him by violence, the king resumes his crown and humbly lays it at the feet of the arbiter of the fate of kings, who stoops to pick it up only to offer it to his brother Louis, who refuses it. Then he places it on the head of his younger brother Joseph. Thus fared the crown of Spain, the erstwhile proud mistress of half the world, and the degenerate successors of Charles V accept an asylum in France from the hands of a soldier of fortune. But if their rulers had lost all sense of dignity, all feeling of national pride, the Spanish nation remained true to itself, and when the doings at Bayona became known a cry of indignation went up from the Pyrenees to the Mediterranean. On May 2, 1808, the people of Spain commenced a six years' struggle full of heroic and terrible episodes. At the end of that period the necessity of withdrawing the French troops from Spain to confront the second coalition, and the assistance of the English under Lord Wellesley cleared the Peninsula of French soldiers. After the battle of Leipzig (1813) a treaty between Ferdinand VII and Napoleon was signed in Valencia, and Spain's independence was recognized and guaranteed by the allies. * * * * * From the beginning of the war many officers and privates, residents of Puerto Rico, enlisted to serve against the French, and large sums of money, considering the island's poverty, were subscribed among the inhabitants to aid in the defense of the mother country. Ferdinand VII reentered Madrid as king on March 24, 1814, accompanied by a coterie of retrograde, revengeful priests, of whom his confessor, Victor Saez, was the leader. He made this priest Minister of State, and soon proved the truth of the saying that the Bourbons forget nothing, forgive nothing, and learn nothing from experience. He commenced by ignoring the regency and the Cortes. These had preserved his kingdom for him while he was an exile. He refused to recognize the constitution which they had framed, and at once initiated an epoch of cruel persecution against such as had distinguished themselves by their talents, love of liberty, and progressive ideas. The public press was completely silenced, the Inquisition reestablished, the convents reopened, provincial deputations and municipalities abolished, distinguished men were surprised in their beds at night and torn from the arms of their wives and children, to be conducted by soldiers to the fortress of Ceuta--in short, the Government was a civil dictatorship occupied in hanging the most distinguished citizens, while the military authorities busied themselves in shooting them. In the colonies the king's lackeys repeated the same outrages. Puerto Rico suffered like the rest, and many of the best families emigrated to the neighboring English and French possessions. The result of the royal turpitude was the revolution headed by Rafael Diego, seconded by General O'Daly, a Puerto Rican by birth, who had greatly distinguished himself in the war against the French. Other generals and their troops followed, and when General Labisbal, sent by Ferdinand to quell the insurrection, joined his comrades, the trembling tyrant was only too glad to save his throne by swearing to maintain the constitution of 1812. O'Daly's share in these events raised him to the rank of field-marshal, and the people of Puerto Rico elected him their deputy to Cortes by a large majority (1820). The first constitutional régime in Puerto Rico was not abolished till December 3, 1814. For the great majority of the inhabitants of the island at that time the privileges of citizenship had neither meaning nor value. They were still too profoundly ignorant, too desperately poor, to take any interest in what was passing outside of their island. Cock-fighting and horse-racing occupied most of their time. Schools had not increased much since O'Reilly reported the existence of two in 1765. There was an official periodical, the Gazette, in which the Government offered spelling-books _for sale_ to those who wished to learn to read.[48] During the second constitutional period, Puerto Rico was divided by a resolution in Cortes into 7 judicial districts, and tablets with the constitutional prescriptions on them were ordered to be placed in the plazas of the towns in the interior. Public spirit began to awaken, several patriotic associations were formed, among them those of "the Lovers of Science," "the Liberals, Lovers of their Country," and others. But the dawn of progress was eclipsed again toward the end of 1823, when the news of the fall of the second constitutional régime reached Puerto Rico a few months after the people had elected their deputies to Cortes. FOOTNOTES: [Footnote 47: The King of England.] [Footnote 48: Neuman, p. 354.] CHAPTER XXIV GENERAL CONDITION OF THE ISLAND FROM 1815 TO 1833 That Ferdinand should, while engaged in cruel persecution of his best subjects in the Peninsula, think of dictating liberal laws for this island is an anomaly which can be explained only by its small political importance. In August, 1815, there appeared a decree entitled "Regulations for promoting the population, commerce, industry, and agriculture of Puerto Rico." It embraced every object, and provided for all the various incidents that could instil life and vigor into an infant colony. It held out the most flattering prospects to industrious and enterprising foreigners. It conferred the rights and privileges of Spaniards on them and their children. Lands were granted to them gratis, and no expenses attended the issue of titles and legal documents constituting it private property. The quantity of land allotted was in proportion to the number of slaves introduced by each new settler. The new colonists were not to be subject to taxes or export duty on their produce, or import duties on their agricultural implements. If war should be declared between Spain and their native country, their persons and properties were to be respected, and if they wished to leave the island they were permitted to realize on their property and carry its value along with them, paying 10 per cent on the surplus of the capital they had brought. They were exempted from the capitation tax or personal tribute. Each slave was to pay a tax of one dollar yearly after having been ten years in the island. During the first five years the colonists had liberty to return to their former places of residence, and in this case could carry with them all that they had brought without being obliged to pay export duty. Those who should die in the island without heirs might leave their property to their friends and relations in other countries. The heirs had the privilege of remaining on the same conditions as the testators, or if they preferred to take away their inheritance they might do so on paying a duty of 15 per cent. The colonists were likewise exonerated from the payment of tithes for fifteen years, and at the end of that period they were to pay only 2 12 per cent. They were equally free, for the same period, from the payment of alcabala,[49] and at the expiration of the specified term they were to pay 2 12 per cent, but if they shipped their produce to Spain, nothing. The introduction of negroes into the island was to be perpetually free. Direct commerce with Spain and the other Spanish possessions was to be free for fifteen years, and after that period Puerto Rico was to be placed on the same footing with the other Spanish colonies. These concessions and exemptions were contained in thirty-three articles, and though, at the present day, they may seem but the abolition of unwarrantable abuses, at the time the concessions were made they were real and important and produced salutary effects. They brought foreigners possessing capital and agricultural knowledge into the country, whose habits of industry and skill in cultivation soon began to be imitated and acquired by the natives. The effects of the revolution of 1820 were felt in Puerto Rico as well as in Spain. The concentration of civil and military power in the hands of the captains-general ceased, but party spirit began to show its disturbing influence. The press, hitherto muffled by political and ecclesiastical censors, often went to the extremes of abuse and personalities. Mechanics and artisans began to neglect their workshops to listen to the harangues of politicians on the nature of governments and laws. Agriculture and commerce diminished. Great but ineffectual efforts were made to induce the people of Puerto Rico to follow the example of the colonies on the continent and proclaim their independence. This state of affairs lasted till 1823, when, through French intervention, the constitutional Government in Spain was overthrown, and a second reactionary period set in even worse in its manifestations of odium to progress and liberty than the one of 1814. The leading men of the fallen government, to escape death or imprisonment, emigrated. Among them was O'Daly, who, after living some time in London, settled in Saint Thomas, where he earned a precarious living as teacher of languages.[50] * * * * * In 1825 the island's governor was Lieutenant-General Miguel de la Torre, Count de Torrepando, who was invested by the king with viceregal powers, which he used in the first place to put a stop to the organized system of defalcation that existed. The proof of the efficacy of the timely and vigorous proceedings which he employed was the immediate increase of the public revenue, which from that day continued rapidly to advance. The troops in garrison and all persons employed in the public service were regularly paid, nearly half the arrears of back pay were gradually paid off, confidence was restored, and "more was accomplished for the island during the last seven years of Governor La Torre's administration (from 1827 to 1834), and more money arising from its revenues was expended on works of public utility, than the total amounts furnished for the same object during the preceding 300 years." [51] The era of prosperity which marked the period of Count de Torrepando's administration, and which at the same time prevailed in Cuba also, was largely due to the advent in these Antilles of many of the best and wealthiest citizens of Venezuela, Colombia, and Santo Domingo, who, driven from their homes by the incessant revolutions, to escape persecution settled in them, and infused a new and healthier element in the lower classes of the population. The condition of Puerto Rican society at this period, though much improved since 1815, still left much to be desired. The leaders of society were the Spanish civil and military officers, who, with little prospect of returning to the Peninsula, married wealthy creole women and made the island their home. Their descendants form the aristocracy of today. Next came the merchants and shopkeepers, active and industrious Catalans, Gallegos, Mallorquins, who seldom married but returned to the Peninsula as soon as they had made sufficient money. These and the soldiers of the garrison made a transitory population. Tradesmen and artisans, as a rule, were creoles. Besides these, the island swarmed with adventurers of all countries, who came and went as fortune favored or frowned. There was another class of "whites" who made up no inconsiderable portion of the population--namely, the convicts who had served out their time in the island's fortress. Few of them had any inducements to return to their native land. They generally succeeded in finding a refuge with some family of colored people, and it may be supposed that this ingraftment did not enhance the morality of the class with whom they mixed. The evil reputation which Puerto Rico had in the French and English Antilles as being an island where rape, robbery, and assassination were rife was probably due to this circumstance, and not altogether undeserved, for we read[52] that in 1827 the municipal corporation of Aguadilla discussed the convenience of granting or refusing permission for the celebration of the annual Feast of the Conception, which had been suspended since 1820 at the request of the curate, "on account of the gambling, rapes, and robberies that accompanied it." Horse-racing and cock-fighting remained the principal amusement of the populace. Every house and cabin had its game-cock, every village its licensed cockpit. The houses of all classes were built of wood; the cabins of the "jíbaros" were mere bamboo hovels, where the family, males and females of all ages, slept huddled together on a platform of boards. There were no inns in country or town, except one in the capital. Schools for both sexes were wanting, a few youths were sent by their parents to be educated in France or Spain or the United States, and after two or three years returned with a little superficial knowledge. About this time the formation of a militia corps of 7,000 men was a step in the right direction. The people, dispersed over the face of the country, living in isolated houses, had little incentive to industry. Their wants were few and easily satisfied, and their time was spent swinging in a hammock or in their favorite amusements. The obligation to serve in the militia forced them to abandon their indolent and unsocial habits and appear in the towns on Sundays for drill. They were thus compelled to be better dressed, and a salutary spirit of emulation was produced. This created new wants, which had to be supplied by increased labor, their manners were softened, and if their morals did not gain, they were, at least, aroused from the listless inactivity of an almost savage life to exertion and social intercourse. Such were the social conditions of the island when the death of Ferdinand VII gave rise to an uninterrupted succession of political upheavals, the baneful effects of which were felt here. FOOTNOTES: [Footnote 49: Duty on the sale of produce or articles of commerce.] [Footnote 50: In 1834 the Queen Regent, Maria Christina, gave him permission to reside in Puerto Rico. Two years later he was reinstated in favor and was made Military Governor of Cartagena. He died in Madrid a few years later.] [Footnote 51: Colonel Flinter. An Account of the Present State of the Island of Puerto Rico. London, 1834.] [Footnote 52: Brau, p. 284.] CHAPTER XXV POLITICAL EVENTS IN SPAIN AND THEIR INFLUENCE ON AFFAIRS IN PUERTO RICO 1833-1874 THE French Revolution of 1830 and the expulsion of Charles X revived the hopes of the liberal party in Spain, which party the bigoted absolutism of the king and his minister had vainly endeavored to exterminate. The liberals saluted that event as a promise that the nineteenth century should see the realization of their aspirations, and the exiled members of the party at once came to France to attempt an invasion of Spain, counting upon the sympathy of the French Government, which was denied them. The attempt only brought renewed persecution to the members at home. Fortunately, the king's failing health and subsequent death transferred the reins of government to the hands of the queen, who, less absolutist than her consort, reopened the universities, which had long been closed, and proclaimed a general amnesty, thus bringing the expatriated and imprisoned Liberals back to political life. After the king's death the pretensions of Don Carlos, his brother, lit the torch of civil war, which blazed fiercely till 1836, when a revolution changed the Government's policy and the constitution of 1812 was again declared in force. In 1837 the Cortes, though nearly all the Deputies were Progressists, by a vote of 90 to 60, deprived Cuba and Puerto Rico of the right of representation. Another Carlist campaign was initiated in 1838. In 1839 Maria Christina, having lost her prestige, was obliged to abdicate; then followed the regency of the Duke de la Victoria Espartero, an insurrection in Barcelona, the Cortes of 1843, an attack on Madrid, and the fall of the regency, a period of seven years marked by a series of military pronunciamentos, the last of which was headed by General Prim. Isabel II was now declared of age (1843), and from the date of her accession two political parties, the Progressists and the Moderates, under the leadership of Espartero and Narvaez respectively, contended for control, until, in 1865, the insurrection of Vicalváro gave the direction of affairs to O'Donnell, Canovas del Castillo, and others, who represented the liberal Unionist party. They remained in power till 1866, when Prim and Gonzales Bravo raised the standard of revolt once more and Isabel II was dethroned. Then another provisional government was formed under a triumvirate composed of Generals Prim, Serrano, and Topete, who represented the Progressist and the democratic parties (September, 1868). They steered the ship of state till 1871, and, seeing the rocks of revolution still ahead, offered the Spanish crown to Amadeo, who, after wearing it scarce two years, found it too heavy for his brow, and abdicated. He had changed ministeriums six times in less than two years, and came to the conclusion that the modern Spaniards were ungovernable. A republican form of government was now established (February 11, 1873), and it was understood by all parties that it should be a Federal Republic, in which each of the provinces should enjoy the largest possible amount of autonomy, subject to the authority of the central government. This proved to be the stumbling-block; the deputies could not agree on the details, passions were aroused, violent discussions took place. The Carlists, seeing a favorable opportunity, plunged the Basque provinces, Navarra, Cataluña, lower Aragón, and part of Castilla and Valencia, into civil war. At the same time, the Radicals promoted what were called "cantonnal" insurrections in Cartagena, and Spain seemed on the verge of social chaos and ruin. A _coup d'état_ saved the country. General Pavia, the Captain-General of Madrid, with a body of guards forced an entrance into the halls of congress and turned the Deputies out (January 3, 1874). A provisional government was once more constituted with Serrano at the head. His first act was to dissolve the Cortes. * * * * * The events just summarized exercised a baneful influence on the social, political, and economic conditions of this and of its more important sister Antilla. Royalists, Carlists, Liberals, Reformists, Unionists, Moderates, and men of other political parties disputed over the direction of the nation's affairs at the point of the sword, and as each party obtained an ephemeral victory it hastened to send its partizans to govern these islands. The new governors invariably proceeded at once to undo what their predecessors had wrought before them. They succeeded each other at short intervals. From 1837 to 1874 twenty-six captains-general came to Puerto Rico, only six of whom left any grateful memories behind. The others looked upon the people as always watching for an opportunity to follow the example of the continental colonies. They pursued a policy of distrust, suspicion, and of uncompromising antagonism to the people's most legitimate aspirations. The reactionists, in their implacable odium of progress and liberty, considered every measure calculated to give greater freedom to the people or raise their moral and intellectual status as a crime against the mother country; hence the utter absence of the means of education, and a systematic demoralization of the masses. Don Angel Acosta[53] mentions the Count de Torrepando as an example of this. He came from Venezuela to govern this island in 1837, with the express purpose, he declared, of diverting the attention of the inhabitants from the revolutionary doings of Bolivar. Gambling was, and is still, one of the ruling vices of the common people. He encouraged it, established cockpits in every town and instituted the carnival games. He also established the feast of San Juan, which lasted, and still lasts, the whole month of June; and when some respectable people, Insulars as well as Peninsulars, protested against this official propaganda of vice and idleness, he replied: "Let them be--while they dance and gamble they don't conspire; ... these people must be governed by three B's--Barraja, Botella, and Berijo." [54] General Pezuela, a man of liberal disposition and literary attainments,[55] stigmatized the people of Puerto Rico as a people without faith, without thought, and without religion, and, though he afterward did something for the intellectual development of the inhabitants, in the beginning of his administration (1848-1851) thought it expedient not to discourage cock-fighting, but regulated it. In 1865 gambling was public and universal. In the capital there was a gambling-house in almost every street. One in the upper story of the house at the corner of San Francisco and Cruz Streets, kept by an Italian, was crowded day and night. The bank could be distinctly seen from the Plaza, and the noise, the oaths, the foul language, mixing with the chink of money distinctly heard. When the governor's attention (General Felix Messina) was called to the scandalous exhibition, his answer was: "Let them gamble, ... while they are at it they will not occupy themselves with politics, and if they get ruined it is for the benefit of others." This systematic villification of the people completely neutralized the effect of the measures adopted from time to time by progressist governors, such as the Count of Mirasol, Norzagaray, Cotoner, and Pavia, and not even the revolution of September, 1868, materially affected the disgraceful condition of affairs in the island. Only those who paid twenty-five pesos direct contribution had the right of suffrage. The press remained subject to previous censorship, its principal function being to swing the incense-burner; the right of public reunion was unknown, and if known would have been impracticable; the majority of the respectable citizens lived under constant apprehension lest they should be secretly accused of disloyalty and prosecuted. Rumors of conspiracies, filibustering expeditions, clandestine introductions of arms, and attempts at insurrection were the order of the day. Every Liberal was sure to be inscribed on the lists of "suspects," harassed and persecuted. A seditious movement among the garrison on the 7th of June, 1867, gave Governor Marchessi a pretext for banishing about a dozen of the leading inhabitants of the capital, an arbitrary proceeding which was afterward disapproved by the Government in Madrid. Such a situation naturally affected the economic conditions of the island. Confidence there was none. Credit was refused. Capital emigrated with its possessors. Commerce and agriculture languished. Misery spread over the land. The treasury was empty, for no contributions could be collected from an impoverished population, and the island's future was compromised by loans at usurious rates. The dethronement of Isabel II, and the revolution of September, 1868, brought a change for the better. The injustice done to the Antilles by the Cortes of 1873 was repaired, and the island was again called upon to elect representatives. The first meetings with that object were held in February, 1869. The ideas and tendencies of the Liberal and Conservative parties among the native Puerto Ricans were now beginning to be defined. Each party had its organ in the press[56] and advocated its principles; the authorities stood aloof; the elections came off in an orderly manner (May, 1869); the Conservatives carried the first and third districts, the Liberals the second. It may be said that the political education of the Puerto Ricans commenced with the royal decree of 1865, which authorized the minister of ultramarine affairs, Canovas del Castillo, to draw up a report from the information to be furnished by special commissioners to be elected in Puerto Rico and Cuba, which information was to serve as a basis for the enactment of special laws for the government of each island. This gave the commissioners an opportunity to discuss their views on insular government with the leading public men of Spain, and they profited by these discussions till 1867, when they returned. The question of the abolition of slavery had not been brought to a decision. The insular deputies were almost equally divided in their opinions for and against, but the revolutionary committee in its manifesto declared that from September 19, 1868, all children born of a slave mother should be free. In Puerto Rico this measure remained without effect owing to the arbitrary and reactionist character of the governor who was appointed to succeed Don Julian Pavia, during whose just and prudent administration the so-called Insurrection of Lares happened. It was originally planned by an ex-commissioner to Cortes, Don Ruiz Belviz, and his friend Betánces, who had incurred the resentment of Governor Marchessi, and who were banished in consequence. They obtained the remission of their sentences in Madrid. Betánces returned to Santo Domingo and Belviz started on a tour through Spanish-American republics to solicit assistance in his secessionist plan; but he died in Valparaiso, and Betánces was left to carry it out alone. September 20, 1868, two or three hundred individuals of all classes and colors, many of them negro slaves brought along by their masters under promise of liberation, met at the coffee plantation of a Mr. Bruckman, an American, who provided them with knives and machetes, of which he had a large stock in readiness. Thus armed they proceeded to the plantation of a Mr. Rosas, who saluted them as "the army of liberators," and announced himself as their general-in-chief, in token whereof he was dressed in the uniform of an American fireman, with a tri-colored scarf across his breast, a flaming sash around his waist, with sword, revolver, and cavalry boots. During the day detachments of men from different parts of the district joined the party and brought the numbers to from eight to ten hundred. The commissariat, not yet being organized, the general-in-chief generously provided an abundant meal for his men, which, washed down with copious drafts of rum, put them in excellent condition to undertake the march on Lares that same evening. At midnight the peaceful inhabitants of that small town, which lies nestled among precipitous mountains in the interior, were startled from their sleep by loud yells and cries of "Long live Puerto Rico independent! Down with Spain! Death to the Spaniards!" The alcalde and his secretary, who came out in the street to see what the noise was about, were made prisoners and placed in the stocks, where they were soon joined by a number of Spaniards who lived in the town. The contents of two or three wine and provision shops (pulperias) that were plundered kept the "enthusiasm" alive. The next day the Republic of Boriquén was proclaimed. To give solemnity to the occasion, the curate was forced to hold a thanksgiving service and sing a Te Deum, after which the Provisional Government was installed. Francisco Ramirez, a small landholder, was the president. The justice of the peace was made secretary of government, his clerk became secretary of finance, another clerk was made secretary of justice, and the lessee of a cockpit secretary of state. The "alcaldia" was the executive's palace, and the queen's portrait, which hung in the room, was replaced by a white flag with the inscription: "Long live free Puerto Rico! Liberty or Death! 1868." The declaration of independence came next. All Spaniards were ordered to leave the island with their families within three days, failing which they would be considered as citizens of the new-born republic and obliged to take arms in its defense; in case of refusal they would be treated as traitors. The next important step was to form a plan of campaign. It was agreed to divide "the army" in two columns and march them the following day on the towns of Pepino and Camuy; but when morning came it appeared that the night air had cooled the enthusiasm of more than half the number of "liberators," and that, considering discretion the better part of valor, they had returned to their homes. However, there were about three hundred men left, and with these the "commander-in-chief" marched upon Pepino. When the inhabitants became aware of the approach of their liberators they ran to shut themselves up in their houses. The column made a short halt at a "pulperia" in the outskirts of the town, to take some "refreshment," and then boldly penetrated to the plaza, where it was met by sixteen loyal militiamen. A number of shots were exchanged. One "libertador" was killed and two or three wounded, when suddenly some one cried: "The soldiers are coming!" This was the signal for a general _sauve qui peut_, and soon Commander Rojas with a few of his "officers" were left alone. It is said that he tried to rally his panic-stricken warriors, but they would not listen to him. Then he returned to his plantation a sadder, but, presumably, a wiser man.[57] As soon as the news of the disturbance reached San Juan, the Governor sent Lieutenant-Colonel Gamar in pursuit of the rebels, with orders to investigate the details of the movement and make a list of names of all those implicated. Rosas and all his followers were taken prisoners without resistance. Bruckman and a Venezuelan resisted and were shot down. Here was an opportunity for the reactionists to visit on the heads of all the members of the reform party the offense of a few misguided jíbaros, and they tried hard to persuade the governor to adopt severe measures against their enemies; but General Pavia was a just and a prudent man, and he placed the rebels at the disposition of the civil court. They were imprisoned in Lares, Arecibo, and Aguadilla, and, while awaiting their trial, an epidemic, brought on by the unsanitary conditions of the prisons in which they were packed, speedily carried off seventy-nine of them. Of the rest seven were condemned to death, but the governor pardoned five. The remaining two were pardoned by his successor. So ended the insurrection of Lares. During the trial of the rebels, the same members of the reform party who had been banished by Governor Marchessi, Don Julian Blanco, Don José Julian Acosta, Don Pedro Goico, Don Rufino Goenaga, and Don Calixto Romero, were denounced as the leaders of the Separatist movement. They were imprisoned, but were soon after found to have been falsely accused and liberated. [Illustration: Only remaining gate of the city wall, San Juan.] Until the arrival of General Don Gabriel Baldrich as governor (May, 1870), Puerto Rico benefited little by the revolution of September, 1868. The insurrection in Cuba, which coincided with the movement in Lares, made Sanz, the successor of Pavia, a man of arbitrary character and reactionary principles, adopt a policy more suspicious and intransigent than ever (from 1869 to 1870), but Governor Baldrich was a staunch Liberal, and the Separatist phantom which had haunted his predecessor had no terrors for him. From the day of his arrival, the dense atmosphere of obstruction, distrust, and jealousy in which the island was suffocating cleared. The rumors of conspiracies ceased, political opinions were respected, the Liberals could publicly express their desire for reform without being subjected to insult and persecution. The gag was removed from the mouth of the press and each party had its proper organ. The municipal elections came off peaceably, and the Provincial Deputation, composed entirely of Liberal reformists, was inaugurated April 1, 1871. General Baldrich was terribly harassed by the intransigents here and in the Peninsula. He was accused of being an enemy of Spain and of protecting the Separatists. Meetings were held denouncing his administration, menaces of expulsion were uttered, and he was insulted even in his own palace. Violent opposition to his reform measures were carried to such an extent that he was at last obliged to declare the capital in a state of siege (July 26, 1871). On September 27th of the same year he left Puerto Rico disgusted, much to the regret of the enlightened part of the population, which had, for the first time, enjoyed for a short period the benefits of political freedom. As a proof of the disposition of the majority of the people they had elected eighteen Liberal reformists as Deputies to Cortes out of the nineteen that corresponded to the island. Baldrich's successor was General Ramon Gomez Pulido, nicknamed "coco seco" (dried coconut) on account of his shriveled appearance. Although appointed by a Radical Ministry, he inaugurated a reactionary policy. He ordered new elections to be held at once, and soon filled the prisons of the island with Liberal reformists. He was followed by General Don Simon de la Torre (1872). His reform measures met with still fiercer opposition than that which General Baldrich encountered. He also was forced to declare the state of siege in the capital and landed the marines of a Spanish war-ship that happened to be in the port. He posted them in the Morro and San Cristobal forts, with the guns pointed on the city, threatening to bombard it if the "inconditionals" who had tried to suborn the garrison carried their intention of promoting an insurrection into effect. He removed the chief of the staff from his post and sent him to Spain, relieved the colonel of the Puerto Rican battalion and the two colonels in Mayaguez and Ponce from their respective commands, and maintained order with a strong hand till he was recalled by the Government in Madrid through the machinations of his opponents. During the interval between the departure of General Baldrich and the arrival in April, 1873, of Lieutenant-General Primo de Rivero, there happened what was called "the insurrection of Camuy," in which three men were killed, two wounded, and sixteen taken prisoners, which turned out to have been an unwarrantable aggression on the part of the reactionists, falsely reported as an attempt at insurrection. General Primo de Rivero brought with him the proclamation of the abolition of slavery and Article I of the Constitution of 1869, whereby the inhabitants of the island were recognized as Spaniards. Great popular rejoicings followed these proclamations. In San Juan processions paraded the streets amid "vivas" to Spain, to the Republic, and to Liberty. In Ponce the people and the soldiers fraternized, and the long-cherished aspirations of the inhabitants seemed to be realized at last. But they were soon to be undeceived. The Republican authorities in the metropolis sent Sanz, the reactionist, as governor for the second time. His first act was to suspend the individual guarantees granted by the Constitution, then he abolished the Provincial Deputation, dissolved the municipalities in which the Liberal reformists had a majority, and a new period of persecution set in, in which teachers, clergymen, lawyers, and judges--in short, all who were distinguished by superior education and their liberal ideas--were punished for the crime of having striven with deed or tongue or pen for the progress and welfare of the land of their birth. FOOTNOTES: [Footnote 53: Estudio Historico. San Juan, 1899.] [Footnote 54: Cards, rum, and women.] [Footnote 55: He had been President of the Royal Academy.] [Footnote 56: El Porvenir, for the Liberals, the Boletin Mercantíl, for the Conservatives.] [Footnote 57: Extracts from the History of the Insurrection of Lares, by José Perez Moris.] CHAPTER XXVI GENERAL CONDITIONS OF THE ISLAND--THE DAWN OF FREEDOM 1874-1898 The Spanish Republic was but short lived. From the day of its proclamation (February 11, 1873) to the landing in Barcelona of Alphonso XII in the early days of 1876 its history is the record of an uninterrupted series of popular tumults. The political restlessness in the Peninsula, accentuating as it did the party antagonisms in Cuba and Puerto Rico, led the governors, most of whom were chosen for their adherence to conservative principles, to endeavor, but in vain, to stem the tide of revolutionary and Separatist ideas with more and more drastic measures of repression. This persistence of the colonial authorities in the maintenance of an obsolete system of administration, in the face of a universal recognition of the principles of liberty and self-government, added to the immediate effect on the economic and social conditions in this island of the abolition of slavery, for which it was unprepared,[58] brought it once more to the brink of ruin. From 1873 to 1880 the resources of the island grew gradually less, the country's capital was being consumed without profit, credit became depressed, the best business forecasts turned out illusive, the most intelligent industrial efforts remained sterile. The sun of prosperity which rose over the island in 1815 set again in gloom during this period of seven years. The causes were clear to every unbiased mind and must have been so even to the prejudiced officials of the Government. They consisted in the anomalous restrictions on the coasting trade, the unjustifiable difference in the duties on Spanish and island produce, the high duty on flour from the United States, the export duties, the extravagant expenditure in the administration, irritating monopolies, and countless abuses, vexatious formalities, and ruinous exactions. Mr. James McCormick, an intelligent Scotchman, for many years a resident of the island, who, in 1880, was commissioned by the Provincial Deputation to draw up a report on the causes of the agricultural depression in this island and its removal by the introduction of the system of central sugar factories, describes the situation as follows: " ... The truth is, that the country is in a pitiable condition. Throughout its extent it resents the many drains upon its vitality. Its strength is wasted, and the activities that utilized its favorable natural conditions are paralyzed. The damages sustained have been enormous and it is scarcely possible to appraise them at their true value. With the produce of the soil diminished and the sale thereof at losing prices the value of real estate throughout the island has decreased in alarming proportions. Everybody's resources have been wasted and spent uselessly, and many landholders, wealthy but yesterday, have been ruined if not reduced to misery. The leading merchants and proprietors, men who were identified with the progress of the country and had vast resources at their command, after a long and tenacious struggle have succumbed at last under the accumulation of misfortunes banded against them." Such was the situation in 1880. To relieve the financial distress of the country a series of ordinances were enacted[59] which culminated in the reform laws of March 15, 1895, and if royal decrees had had power to cure the incurable or remove the causes that for four centuries had undermined the foundations of Spain's colonial empire, they might, possibly, have sustained the crumbling edifice for some time longer. But they came too late. The Antilles were slipping from Spain's grasp; nor could Weyler's inhuman proceedings in Cuba nor the tardy concession of a pseudo-autonomy to Puerto Rico arrest the movement. The laws of March 15, 1895, for the administrative reorganization of Cuba and Puerto Rico, the basis of which was approved by a unanimous vote of the leaders of the Peninsula and Antillean parties in Cortes, remained without application in Cuba because of the insurrection, and in Puerto Rico because of the influence upon the inhabitants of this island of the events in the neighboring island. After the death of Macéo and of Marti, the two most influential leaders of the revolution, and the terrible measures for suppressing the revolt adopted by Weyler, the Spanish Colonial Minister, Don Tomas Castellano y Villaroya, addressed the Queen Regent December 31, 1896. He declared his belief in the proximate pacification of Cuba, and said: That the moment had arrived for the Government to show to the world (_vide licet_ United States) its firm resolution to comply with the spontaneous promises made by the nation by introducing and amplifying in Puerto Rico the reforms in civil government and administration which had been voted by Cortes. He further stated that the inconditional party in Puerto Rico, guided by the patriotism which distinguished it, showed its complete conformity with the reforms proposed by the Government, and that the "autonomist" party, which, in the beginning, looked upon the proposed reforms with indifference, had also accepted and declared its conformity with them. Therefore, the minister continued: "It would not be just in the Government to indefinitely postpone the application in Puerto Rico of a law which awakens so many hopes of a better future." The minister assures the Queen Regent that the proposed laws respond to an ample spirit of decentralization, and expresses confidence that, as soon as possible, her Majesty will introduce in Cuba also, not only the reforms intended by the law of March 15th, but will extend to Puerto Rico the promised measures to provide the Antilles _with an exclusively local administration and economic personnel_. "The reform laws," the minister adds, "will be the foundation of the new regimen, but an additional decree, to be laid before the Cortes, will amplify them in such a way that a truly autonomous administration will be established in our Antilles." Then follow the proposed laws, which are to apply, explain, and complement in Puerto Rico, the reform laws of March 15th--namely, the Provincial law, the Municipal law, and the Electoral law. The Peninsular electoral law of June, 1890, was adapted to Cuba and Puerto Rico at the suggestion of Sagasta, who, in the exposition to the Queen Regent, which accompanied the project of autonomy, stated: That the inhabitants of the Antilles frequently complained of, and lamented the irritating inequalities which alone were enough to obstruct or entirely prevent the exercise of constitutional privileges, and he concludes with these remarkable words: " ... So that, if by arbitrary dispositions without appeal, by penalties imposed by proclamations of the governors-general, or by simply ignoring the laws of procedure, the citizen may be restrained, harassed, deported even to distant territories, it is impossible for him to exercise the right of free speech, free thought, or free writing, or the freedom of instruction, or religious tolerance, nor can he practise the right of union and association." These words constitute a synopsis of the causes that made the Spanish Government's tardy attempts at reform in the administration of its ultramarine possessions illusive; that mocked the people's legitimate aspirations, destroyed their confidence in the promises of the home Government, and made the people of Puerto Rico look upon the American soldiers, when they landed, not as men in search of conquest and spoliation, but as the representatives of a nation enjoying a full measure of the liberties and privileges, for a moderate share of which they had vainly petitioned the mother country through long years of unquestioning loyalty. The royal decree conceding autonomy to Puerto Rico was signed on November 25, 1897. On April 21, 1898, Governor-General Manuel Macias, suspended the constitutional guarantees and declared the island in state of war. A few months later Puerto Rico, recognized too late as ripe for self-government by the mother country, became a part of the territory of the United States. FOOTNOTES: [Footnote 58: The slaveholders were paid in Government bonds (schedules), redeemable in ten years. They lost their labor supply, and had neither capital nor other means to replace it. Their ruin became inevitable. An English or German syndicate bought up the bonds at 15 per cent.] [Footnote 59: See Part II, chapter on Finances.] PART II THE PEOPLE AND THEIR INSTITUTIONS CHAPTER XXVII SITUATION AND GENERAL APPEARANCE OF PUERTO RICO The island of Puerto Rico, situated in the Atlantic Ocean, is about 1,420 miles from New York, 1,000 miles from Havana, 1,050 miles from Key West, 1,200 miles from Panama, 3,450 miles from Land's End in England, and 3,180 from the port of Cadiz. It is about 104 miles in length from east to west, by 34 miles in average breadth, and has an area of 2,970 square miles. It lies eastward of the other greater Antilles, Cuba, Haiti, and Jamaica, and although inferior even to the last of these islands in population and extent, it yields to none of them in fertility. By its geographical position Puerto Rico is peculiarly adapted to become the center of an extensive commerce. It lies to the windward of Cuba, Santo Domingo, and Jamaica, and of the Gulf of Mexico and Bay of Honduras. It is contiguous to all the English and French Windward Islands, only a few hours distant from the former Danish islands Saint Thomas, Saint John, and Santa Cruz, and a few days' sail from the coast of Venezuela. Puerto Rico is the fourth in size of the greater Antilles. Its first appearance to the eye of the stranger is striking and picturesque. Nature here offers herself to his contemplation clothed in the splendid vesture of tropical vegetation. The chain of mountains which intersects the island from east to west seems at first sight to form two distinct chains parallel to each other, but closer observation makes it evident that they are in reality corresponding parts of the same chain, with upland valleys and tablelands in the center, which again rise gradually and incorporate themselves with the higher ridges. The height of these mountains is lofty, if compared with those of the other Antilles. The loftiest part is that of Luguillo, or Loquillo, at the northeast extremity of the island, which measures 1,334 Castilian yards, and the highest point, denominated El Yunque, can be seen at the distance of 68 miles at sea. The summit of this ridge is almost always enveloped in mist, and when its sides are overhung by white fleecy clouds it is the certain precursor of the heavy showers which fertilize the northern coast. The soil in the center of the mountains is excellent, and the mountains themselves are susceptible of cultivation to their summits. Several towns and villages are situated among these mountains, where the inhabitants enjoy the coolness of a European spring and a pure and salubrious atmosphere. The town of Alboníto, built on a table-land about eight leagues from Ponce, on the southern coast, enjoys a delightful climate. To the north and south of this interior ridge of mountains, stretching along the seacoasts, are the fertile valleys which produce the chief wealth of the island. From the principal chain smaller ridges run north and south, forming between them innumerable valleys, fertilized by limpid streams which, descending from the mountains, empty themselves into the sea on either coast. In these valleys the majestic beauty of the palm-trees, the pleasant alternation of hill and dale, the lively verdure of the hills, compared with the deeper tints of the forest, the orange trees, especially when covered with their golden fruit, the rivers winding through the dales, the luxuriant fields of sugar-cane, corn, and rice, with here and there a house peeping through a grove of plantains, and cattle grazing in the green pasture, form altogether a landscape of rural beauty scarcely to be surpassed in any country in the world. The valleys of the north and east coasts are richest in cattle and most picturesque. The pasturage there is always verdant and luxuriant, while those of the south coast, richer in sugar, are often parched by excessive drought, which, however, does not affect their fertility, for water is found near the surface. This same alternation of rain and drought on the north and south coasts is generally observed in all the West India islands. Few islands of the extent of Puerto Rico are watered by so many streams. Seventeen rivers, taking their rise in the mountains, cross the valleys of the north coast and fall into the sea. Some of these are navigable for two or three leagues from their mouths for small craft. Those of Manati, Loisa, Trabajo, and Arecibo are very deep and broad, and it is difficult to imagine how such large bodies of water can be collected in so short a course. Owing to the heavy surf which continually breaks on the north coast, these rivers have bars across their embouchures which do not allow large vessels to enter. The rivers of Bayamón and Rio Piedras flow into the harbor of the capital, and are also navigable for boats. At Arecibo, at high water, small brigs may enter with perfect safety, notwithstanding the bar. The south, west, and east coasts are also well supplied with water. From the Cabeza de San Juan, which is the northeast extremity of the island, to Cape Mala Pascua, which lies to the southeast, nine rivers fall into the sea. From Cape Mala Pascua to Point Aguila, which forms the southwest angle of the island, sixteen rivers discharge their waters on the south coast. On the west coast, three rivers, five rivulets, and several fresh-water lakes communicate with the sea. The rivers of the north coast are well stocked with edible fish. The roads formed in Puerto Rico during the Spanish administration are constructed on a substantial plan, the center being filled with gravel and stones well cemented. Each town made and repaired the roads of its respective district. Many excellent and solid bridges, with stone abutments, existed at the time of the transfer of the island to the American nation. The whole line of coast of this island is indented with harbors, bays, and creeks where ships of heavy draft may come to anchor. On the north coast, during the months of November, December, and January, when the wind blows sometimes with violence from the east and northeast, the anchorage is dangerous in all the bays and harbors of that coast, except in the port of San Juan. On the western coast the spacious bay of Aguadilla is formed by Cape Borrigua and Cape San Francisco. When the southeast winds prevail it is _not_ a safe anchorage for ships. Mayaguez is also an open roadstead on the west coast formed by two projecting capes. It has good anchorage for vessels of large size and is well sheltered from the north winds. The south coast also abounds in bays and harbors, but those which deserve particular attention are the ports of Guánica and Hobos, or Jovos, near Guayama. In Guánica vessels drawing 21 feet of water may enter with perfect safety and anchor close to the shore. Hobos or Jovos is a haven of considerable importance; sailing vessels of the largest class may anchor and ride in safety; it has 4 fathoms of water in the shallowest part of the entrance, but it is difficult to enter from June to November as the sea breaks with violence at the entrance on account of the southerly winds which prevail at this season. All the large islands in the tropics enjoy approximately the same climate. The heat, the rains, the seasons, are, with trifling variations, the same in all, but the number of mountains and running streams, the absence of stagnant waters and general cultivation of the land in Puerto Rico do, probably, powerfully contribute to purify the atmosphere and render it more salubrious to Europeans than it otherwise would be. In the mountains one enjoys the coolness of spring, but the valleys, were it not for the daily breeze which blows from the northeast and east, would be almost uninhabitable for white men during part of the year. The climate of the north and south coasts of this island, though under the same tropical influence, is nevertheless essentially different. On the north coast it sometimes rains almost the whole year, while on the south coast sometimes no rain falls for twelve or fourteen months. On the whole, Puerto Rico is one of the healthiest islands in the West Indies, nor is it infested to the same extent as other islands by poisonous snakes and other noxious reptiles. The laborer may sleep in peace and security in the midst of the forest, by the side of the river, or in the meadow with his cattle with no other fear than that of an occasional centipede or guabuá (large hairy spider). Unlike most tropical islands there are no indigenous quadrupeds and scarcely any of the feathered tribe in the forests. On the rivers there are a few water-fowl and in the forests the green parrot. There are neither monkeys nor rabbits, but rats and mongooses infest the country and sometimes commit dreadful ravages in the sugar-cane. Ants of different species also abound. CHAPTER XXVIII ORIGIN, CHARACTER, AND CUSTOMS OF THE PRIMITIVE INHABITANTS OF BORIQUÉN The origin of the primitive inhabitants of the West Indian Archipelago has been the subject of much learned controversy, ending, like all such discussions, in different theories and more or less verisimilar conjecture. It appears that at the time of the discovery these islands were inhabited by three races of different origin. One of these races occupied the Bahamas. Columbus describes them as simple, generous, peaceful creatures, whose only weapon was a pointed stick or cane. They were of a light copper color, well-proportioned but slender, rather good-looking, with aquiline noses, salient cheek-bones, medium-sized mouths, long coarse hair. They had, perhaps, formerly occupied the eastern part of the archipelago, whence they had gradually disappeared, driven or exterminated by the Caribs, Caribós, or Guáribos, a savage, warlike, and cruel race, which had invaded the West Indies from the continent by way of the Orinoco, along the tributaries of which river tribes of the same race are still to be found. The larger Antilles, Cuba, Santo Domingo, and Puerto Rico, were occupied by a race which probably originated from some part of the southern division of the northern continent. The chroniclers mention the Guaycures and others as their possible ancestors, and Stahl traces their origin to a mixture of the Phoenicians with the aborigines of remote antiquity. The information which we possess with regard to the habits and customs of the inhabitants of Boriquén at the time of discovery is too scanty and too unreliable to permit us to form more than a speculative opinion of the degree of culture attained by them. Friar Abbad, in the fourth chapter of his history, gives us a description of the character and customs of the people of Boriquén taken wholly from the works of Oviedo, Herrera, Robertson, Raynal, and others. Like most of the aboriginal inhabitants of America, the natives of Boriquén were copper-colored, but somewhat darker than the inhabitants of the neighboring islands. They were shorter of stature than the Spaniards, but corpulent and well-proportioned, with flat noses, wide nostrils, dull eyes, bad teeth, narrow foreheads, the skull artificially flattened before and behind so as to give it a conical shape, with long, black, coarse hair, beardless and hairless on the rest of the body. Says Oviedo: " ... Their heads were not like other people's, their skulls were so hard and thick that the Christians by fighting with them have learned not to strike them on the head because the swords break." Their whole appearance betrayed a lazy, indolent habit, and they showed extreme aversion to labor or fatigue of any kind. They put forth no exertion save what was necessary to obtain food, and only rose from their "hamácas" or "jamácas," or shook off their habitual indolence to play a game of ball (batey) or attend the dances (areytos) which were accompanied by rude music and the chanting of whatever happened to occupy their minds at the time. Notwithstanding their indolence and the unsubstantial nature of their food, they were comparatively strong and robust, as they proved in many a personal tussle with the Spaniards. Clothing was almost unknown. Only the women of mature age used an apron of varying length, the rest, without distinction of age or sex, were naked. They took great pains in painting their bodies with all sorts of grotesque figures, the earthy coloring matter being laid on by means of oily or resinous substances extracted from plants or trees. These coats of paint, when fresh, served as holiday attire, and protected them from the bites of mosquitoes and other insects. The dandies among them added to this airy apparel a few bright feathers in their hair, a shell or two in their ears and nostrils. And the caciques wore a disk of gold (guarim) the size of a large medal round their necks to denote their rank. The huts were built square or oblong, raised somewhat above the ground, with only one opening for entrance and exit, cane being the principal building material. The chief piece of furniture was the "hamáca," made with creepers or strips of bark of the "emajágua" tree. The "totúmo" or "jigüera" furnished them with their domestic utensils, as it furnishes the "jíbaro" of to-day with his cups and jugs and basins. Their mode of making fire was the universal one practised by savages. Their arms were the usual macána and bow and arrows, but they did not poison the arrows as did the Caribs. The largest of their canoes, or "piráguas," could contain from 40 to 50 men, and served for purposes of war, but the majority of their canoes were of small size used in navigating the coast and rivers. There being no mammals in the island, they knew not the use of flesh for food, but they had abundance of fish, and they ate besides whatever creeping or crawling thing they happened to find. These with the yucca from which they made their casabe or bread, maize, yams, and other edible roots, constituted their food supply. There were in Boriquén, as there are among all primitive races, certain individuals, the embryos of future church functionaries, who were medicine-man, priest, prophet, and general director of the moral and intellectual affairs of the benighted masses, but that is all we know of them.[60] FOOTNOTES: [Footnote 60: For further information on this subject, see Estudios Ethnologicos sobre los indios Boriqueños, by A. Stahl, 1888. Revista Puertoriqueña, Año II, tomo II.] CHAPTER XXIX THE "JÍBARO," OR PUERTO RICAN PEASANT "There is in this island a class of inhabitants, not the least numerous by any means, who dwell in swamps and marshes, live on vegetables, and drink muddy water." So wrote Dr. Richard Rey[61] a couple of decades ago, and, although, under the changed political and social conditions, these people, as a class, will soon disappear, they are quite numerous still, and being the product of the peculiar social and political conditions of a past era deserve to be known. To this considerable part of the population of Puerto Rico the name of "jíbaros" is applied; they are the descendants of the settlers who in the early days of the colonization of the island spread through the interior, and with the assistance of an Indian or negro slave or two cleared and cultivated a piece of land in some isolated locality, where they continued to live from day to day without troubling themselves about the future or about what passed in the rest of the universe. The modern jíbaro builds his "bohío," or hut, in any place without regard to hygienic conditions, and in its construction follows the same plan and uses the same materials employed in their day by the aboriginal inhabitants. This "bohío" is square or oblong in form, raised on posts two or three feet from the ground, and the materials are cane, the trunks of the coco-palm, entire or cut into boards, and the bark of another species of palm, the "yaguas," which serves for roofing and walls. The interior of these huts is sometimes divided by a partition of reeds into two apartments, in one of which the family sit by day. The other is the sleeping room, where the father, mother, and children, male and female, of all ages, sleep, promiscuously huddled together on a platform of boards or bar bacao. The majority of the jíbaros are whites. Mestizoes, mulattos, and negroes are numerous also. But we are here concerned with the jíbaro of European descent only, whose redemption from a degraded condition of existence it is to the country's interest should be specially attended to. Mr. Francisco del Valle Atilés, one of Puerto Rico's distinguished literary men, has left us a circumstantial description of the character and conditions of these rustics.[62] He divides them into three groups: those living in the neighborhood of the large sugar and coffee estates, who earn their living working as peons; the second group comprises the small proprietors who cultivate their own patch of land, and the third, the comparatively well-to-do individuals or small proprietors who usually prefer to live as far as possible from the centers of population. The jíbaro, as a rule, is well formed, slender, of a delicate constitution, slow in his movements, taciturn, and of a sickly aspect. Occasionally, in the mountainous districts, one meets a man of advanced age still strong and robust doing daily work and mounting on horseback without effort. Such a one will generally be found to be of pure Spanish descent, and to have a numerous family of healthy, good-looking children, but the appearance of the average jíbaro is as described. He looks sickly and anemic in consequence of the insufficient quantity and innutritious quality of the food on which he subsists and the unhealthy conditions of his surroundings. Rice, plantains, sweet potatoes, maize, yams, beans, and salted fish constitute his diet year in year out, and although there are Indian races who could thrive perhaps on such frugal fare, the effect of such a _régime_ on individuals of the white race is loss of muscular energy and a consequent craving for stimulants. His clothing, too, is scanty. He wears no shoes, and when drenched with rain or perspiration he will probably let his garments dry on his body. For the empty feeling in his stomach, the damp and the cold to which he is thus daily exposed, his antidotes are tobacco and rum, the first he chews and smokes. In the use of the second he seldom goes to the extent of intoxication. Under these conditions, and considering his absolute ignorance and consequent neglect of the laws of hygiene, it is but natural that the Puerto Rican peasant should be subject to the ravages of paludal fever, one of the most dangerous of the endemic diseases of the tropics. Friar Abbad observes: " ... No cure has yet been discovered (1781) for the intermittent fevers which are often from four to six years in duration. Those who happen to get rid of them recover very slowly; many remain weak and attenuated; the want of nutritious food and the climate conduce to one disease or another, so that those who escape the fever generally die of dropsy." However, the at first sight apathetic and weak jíbaro, when roused to exertion or when stimulated by personal interest or passion, can display remarkable powers of endurance. Notwithstanding his reputation of being lazy, he will work ten or eleven hours a day if fairly remunerated. Under the Spanish _régime_, when he was forced to present himself on the plantations to work for a few cents from sunrise to sundown, he was slow; or if he was of the small proprietor class, he had to pay an enormous municipal tax on his scanty produce, so that it is very likely that he may often have preferred swinging in his hammock to laboring in the fields for the benefit of the municipal treasury. Mr. Atilés refers to the premature awakening among the rustic population of this island of the procreative instincts, and the consequent increase in their numbers notwithstanding the high rate of mortality. The fecundity of the women is notable; from six to ten children in a family seems to be the normal number. [Illustration: A tienda, or small shop.] Intellectually the jíbaro is as poor as he is physically. His illiteracy is complete; his speech is notoriously incorrect; his songs, if not of a silly, meaningless character, are often obscene; sometimes they betray the existence of a poetic sentiment. These songs are usually accompanied by the music of a stringed instrument of the guitar kind made by the musician himself, to which is added the "güiro," a kind of ribbed gourd which is scraped with a small stick to the measure of the tune, and produces a noise very trying to the nerves of a person not accustomed to it. In religion the jíbaro professes Catholicism with a large admixture of fetichism. His moral sense is blunt in many respects. Colonel Flinter[63] gives the following description of the jíbaros of his day, which also applies to them to-day: "They are very civil in their manners, but, though they seem all simplicity and humility, they are so acute in their dealings that they are sure to deceive a person who is not very guarded. Although they would scorn to commit a robbery, yet they think it only fair to deceive or overreach in a bargain. Like the peasantry of Ireland, they are proverbial for their hospitality, and, like them, they are ever ready to fight on the slightest provocation. They swing themselves to and fro in their hammocks all day long, smoking their cigars or scraping a guitar. The plantain grove which surrounds their houses, and the coffee tree which grows almost without cultivation, afford them a frugal subsistence. If with these they have a cow and a horse, they consider themselves rich and happy. Happy indeed they are; they feel neither the pangs nor remorse which follow the steps of disappointed ambition nor the daily wants experienced by the poor inhabitants of northern regions." This entirely materialistic conception of happiness which, it is certain, the Puerto Rican peasant still entertains, is now giving way slowly but surely before the new influences that are being brought to bear on himself and on his surroundings. The touch of education is dispelling the darkness of ignorance that enveloped the rural districts of this island until lately; industrial activity is placing the means of greater comfort within the reach of every one who cares to work for them; the observance of the laws of health is beginning to be enforced, even in the bohío, and with them will come a greater morality. In a word, in ten years the Puerto Rican jíbaro will have disappeared, and in his place there will be an industrious, well-behaved, and no longer illiterate class of field laborers, with a nobler conception of happiness than that to which they have aspired for many generations. FOOTNOTES: [Footnote 61: Estudio sobre el paludismo en Puerto Rico.] [Footnote 62: El campesino Puertoriqueño, sus condiciones, etc. Revista Puertoriqueña, vols. ii, iii, 1887, 1888.] [Footnote 63: An Account of the Present State of the Island of Puerto Rico. London, 1834.] CHAPTER XXX ORIGIN AND CHARACTER OF THE MODERN INHABITANTS OF PUERTO RICO During the initial period of conquest and colonization, no Spanish females came to this or any other of the conquered territories. Soldiers, mariners, monks, and adventurers brought no families with them; so that by the side of the aboriginals and the Spaniards "pur sang" there sprang up an indigenous population of mestizos. The result of the union of two physically, ethically, and intellectually widely differing races is _not_ the transmission to the progeny of any or all of the superior qualities of the progenitor, but rather his own moral degradation. The mestizos of Spanish America, the Eurasians of the East Indies, the mulattoes of Africa are moral, as well as physical hybrids in whose character, as a rule, the worst qualities of the two races from which they spring predominate. It is only in subsequent generations, after oft-repeated crossings and recrossings, that atavism takes place, or that the fusion of the two races is finally consummated through the preponderance of the physiological attributes of the ancestor of superior race. The early introduction of negro slaves, almost exclusively males, the affinity between them and the Indians, the state of common servitude and close, daily contact produced another race. By the side of the mestizo there grew up the zambo. Later, when negro women were brought from Santo Domingo or other islands, the mulatto was added. Considering the class to which the majority of the first Spanish settlers in this island belonged, the social status resulting from these additions to their number could be but little superior to that of the aboriginals themselves. The necessity of raising that status by the introduction of white married couples was manifest to the king's officers in the island, who asked the Government in 1534 to send them 50 such couples. It was not done. Fifty bachelors came instead, whose arrival lowered the moral standard still further. It was late in the island's history before the influx of respectable foreigners and their families began to diffuse a higher ethical tone among the creoles of the better class. Unfortunately, the daily contact of the lower and middle classes with the soldiers of the garrison did not tend to improve their character and manners, and the effects of this contact are clearly traceable to-day in the manners and language of the common people. From the crossings in the first degree of the Indian, negro, and white races, and their subsequent recrossings, there arose in course of time a mixed race of so many gradations of color that it became difficult in many instances to tell from the outward appearance of an individual to what original stock he belonged; and, it being the established rule in all Spanish colonies to grant no civil or military employment above a certain grade to any but Peninsulars or their descendants of pure blood, it became necessary to demand from every candidate documentary evidence that he had no Indian or negro blood in his veins. This was called presenting an "expediente de sangre," and the practise remained in force till the year 1870, when Marshal Serrano abolished it. Whether it be due to atavism, or whether, as is more likely, the Indians did not really become extinct till much later than the period at which it is generally supposed their final fusion into the two exotic races took place,[64] it is certain that Indian characteristics, physical and ethical, still largely prevail among the rural population of Puerto Rico, as observed by Schoelzer and other ethnologists. The evolution of a new type of life is now in course of process. In the meantime, we have Mr. Salvador Brau's authority[65] for stating the general character of the present generation of Puerto Ricans to be made up of the distinctive qualities of the three races from which they are descended, to wit: indolence, taciturnity, sobriety, disinterestedness, hospitality, inherited from their Indian ancestors; physical endurance, sensuality, and fatalism from their negro progenitors; and love of display, love of country, independence, devotion, perseverance, and chivalry from their Spanish sires. A somewhat sarcastic reference to the characteristics due to the Spanish blood in them was made in 1644 by Bishop Damian de Haro in a letter to a friend, wherein, speaking of his diocesans, he says that they are of very chivalric extraction, for, "he who is not descended from the House of Austria is related to the Dauphin of France or to Charlemagne." He draws an amusing picture of the inhabitants of the capital, saying that at the time there were about 200 males and 4,000 women "between black and mulatto." He complains that there are no grapes in the country; that the melons are red, and that the butcher retails turtle meat instead of beef or pork; yet, says he, "my table is a bishop's table for all that." To a lady in Santo Domingo he sent the following sonnet: This is a small island, lady, With neither money nor provisions; The blacks go naked as they do yonder, And there 're more people in the Seville prison. The Castilian coats of arms Are conspicuous by their absence, But there are plenty cavaliers Who deal in hides and ginger, There's water in the tanks, when 't rains, A cathedral, but no priests, Handsome women, but not elegant, Greed and envy are indigenous. Plenty of heat and palm-tree shade, And best of all a refreshing breeze. Of the moral defects of the people it would be invidious to speak. The lower classes are not remarkable for their respect for the property of others. On the subject of morality among the rural population we may cite Count de Caspe, the governor's report to the king: " ... Destitute as they are of religious instruction and moral restraint, their unions are without the sanction of religious or civil law, and last just as long as their sensual appetites last; it may therefore be truly said, that in the rural districts of Puerto Rico the family, morally constituted, does not exist." Colonel Flinter's account of the people and social conditions of Puerto Rico in 1834 is a rather flattering one, though he acknowledges that the island had a bad reputation on account of the lawless character of the lower class of inhabitants. All this has greatly changed for the better, but much remains to be done in the way of moral improvement. FOOTNOTES: [Footnote 64: Abbad points out that in 1710-'20 there were still two Indian settlements in the neighborhood of Añasco and San German.] [Footnote 65: Puerto Rico y su historia, p. 369.] CHAPTER XXXI NEGRO SLAVERY IN PUERTO RICO From the early days of the conquest the black race appeared side by side with the white race. Both supplanted the native race, and both have marched parallel ever since, sometimes separately, sometimes mixing their blood. The introduction of African negroes into Puerto Rico made the institution of slavery permanent. It is true that King Ferdinand ordered the reduction to slavery of all rebellious Indians in 1511, but he revoked the order the next year. The negro was and remained a slave. For centuries he had been looked upon as a special creation for the purpose of servitude, and the Spaniards were accustomed to see him daily offered for sale in the markets of Andalusia. Notwithstanding the practical reduction to slavery of the Indians of la Española by Columbus, under the title of "repartimientos," negro slaves were introduced into that island as early as 1502, when a certain Juan Sanchez and Alfonso Bravo received royal permission to carry five caravels of slaves to the newly discovered island. Ovando, who was governor at the time, protested strongly on the ground that the negroes escaped to the forests and mountains, where they joined the rebellious or fugitive Indians and made their subjugation much more difficult. The same thing happened later in San Juan. In this island special permission was necessary to introduce negroes. Sedeño and the smelter of ores, Giron, who came here in 1510, made oath that the two slaves each brought with them were for their personal service only. In 1513 their general introduction was authorized by royal schedule on payment of two ducats per head. Cardinal Cisneros prohibited the export of negro slaves from Spain in 1516; but the efforts of Father Las Casas to alleviate the lot of the Indians by the introduction of what he believed, with the rest of his contemporaries, to be providentially ordained slaves, obtained from Charles II a concession in favor of Garrebod, the king's high steward, to ship 4,000 negroes to la Española, Cuba, Puerto Rico, and Jamaica (1517). Garrebod sold the concession to some merchants of Genoa. With the same view of saving the Indians, the Jerome fathers, who governed the Antilles in 1518, requested the emperor's permission to fit out slave-ships themselves and send them to the coast of Africa for negroes. It appears that this permission was not granted; but in 1528 another concession to introduce 4,000 negroes into the Antilles was given to some Germans, who, however, did not comply with the terms of the contract. Negroes were scarce and dear in San Juan at this period, which caused the authorities to petition the emperor for permission to each settler to bring two slaves free of duty, and, this being granted, it gave rise to abuse, as the city officers in their address of thanks to the empress, stated at the same time that many took advantage of the privilege to transfer or sell their permit in Seville without coming to the island. Then it was enacted that slaves should be introduced only by authorized traffickers, who soon raised the price to 60 or 70 Castilian dollars per head. The crown officers in the island protested, and asked that every settler might be permitted to bring 10 or 12 negroes, paying the duty of 2 ducats per head, which had been imposed by King Ferdinand in 1513. A new deposit of gold had been discovered about this time (1533), and the hope that others might be found now induced the colonists to buy the negroes from the authorized traders on credit at very high prices, to be paid with the gold which the slaves should be made instrumental in discovering. But the longed-for metal did not appear. The purchasers could not pay. Many had their property embargoed and sold, and were ruined. Some were imprisoned, others escaped to the mountains or left the island. From 1536 to 1553 the authorities kept asking for negroes; sometimes offering to pay duty, at others soliciting their free introduction; now complaining that the colonists escaped _with their slaves_ to Mexico and Peru, then lamenting that the German merchants, who had the monopoly of the traffic, took them to all the other Antilles, but would bring none to this island. However, 1,500 African slaves entered here at different times during those seventeen years, without reckoning the large numbers that were introduced as contraband. Philip II tried to reduce the exorbitant prices exacted by the German monopolists of the West Indian slave-trade, but, finding that his efforts to do so diminished the importation, he revoked his ordinances. A Genoese banking-house, having made him large advances to help equip the great Armada for the invasion of England, obtained the next monopoly (1580). During the course of the seventeenth century the privilege of introducing African slaves into the Antilles was sold successively to Genoese, Portuguese, Holland, French, and Spanish companies. The traffic was an exceedingly profitable one, not so much on account of the high prices obtained for the negroes as on account of the contraband trade in all kinds of merchandise that accompanied it. From 1613 to 1621 during the government of Felipe de Beaumont, 11 ship-loads of slaves entered San Juan harbor. During the eighteenth century the traffic expanded still more. To induce England to abandon the cause of the House of Austria, for which that nation was fighting, Philip V offered it the exclusive privilege of introducing 140,000 negro slaves into the Spanish-American colonies within a period of thirty years; the monopolists to pay 33-13 silver crowns for each negro introduced, to the Spanish Government.[66] War interrupted this contract several times, and long before the termination of the thirty years the English ceased to import slaves. Several contracts for the importation of slaves into the Antilles were made from 1760 to the end of the century. First a contract was made with Miguel Uriarte to take 15,000 slaves to different parts of Spanish America. In 1765 the king sanctioned the introduction by the Carácas company of 2,000 slaves to replace the Indians in Carácas and Maraeaíbo, who had died of smallpox. All duties on the introduction of negroes into Santo Domingo, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Margarita, and Trinidad were commuted in the same year for a moderate capitation tax, and the Spanish firm of Aguirre, Aristegui & Co. was authorized to provide the Antilles with negroes, on condition of reducing the price 10 pesos per head, besides the amount of abolished duty. This firm abused the privileges granted, and the inhabitants of all the colonies, excepting Peru, Chile, and the Argentina, were allowed to provide themselves, as best they could, with slaves from the French colonies while the war lasted (1780). Four years later, January 16, 1784, a certain Lenormand, of Xantes, received the king's permission to take a ship-load of African slaves to Puerto Rico on condition of paying 6 per cent of the product to the Government. In this same year the barbarous custom of branding the slaves was abolished. The abominable traffic was declared entirely free in Santo Domingo, Cuba, and Puerto Rico by royal decree, February 28, 1789. Foreign ships were placed under certain restrictions, but a bounty of 4 pesos per head was paid for negroes brought in Spanish bottoms, to meet which a per capita tax of 2 pesos per head on domestic slaves was levied. By this time the famous debates in the British Parliament and other signs of the times announced the dawn of freedom for the oppressed African race. Wilberforce, Clarkson, and Buxton, the English abolitionists, continued their denunciations of the demoralizing institution. Their effects were crowned with success in 1833. The traffic was abolished, and ten years later Great Britain emancipated more than twelve million slaves in her East and West Indian possessions, paying the masters over one hundred millions of dollars as indemnity. Spain agreed in 1817 to abolish the slave-trade in her dominions by May 30,1820. By Articles 3 and 4 of the convention, England offered to pay to Spain $20,000,000 as complete compensation to his Catholic Majesty's subjects who were engaged in the traffic. The Spanish Government illegally employed this money to purchase from Russia a fleet of five ships of the line and eight frigates. The slaves in Puerto Rico were not emancipated until March 22, 1873, when 31,000 were manumitted in one day, at a cost to the Government of 200 pesos each, plus the interest on the bonds that were issued. The nature of the relations between the master and the slave in Puerto Rico probably did not differ much from that which existed between them in the other Spanish colonies. But these relations began to assume an aspect of distrust and severity on the one hand and sullen resentment on the other when the war of extermination between whites and blacks in Santo Domingo and the establishment of a negro republic in Haiti made it possible for the flame of negro insurrection to be wafted across the narrow space of water that separates the two islands. There was sufficient ground for such apprehension. The free colored population in Puerto Rico at that time (1830-'34) numbered 127,287, the slaves 34,240, as against 162,311 whites, among whom many were of mixed blood.[67] Prim, the governor-general, to suppress every attempt at insurrection, issued the proclamation, of which the following is a synopsis: "I, John Prim, Count of Ecus, etc., etc., etc. "Whereas, The critical circumstances of the times and the afflictive condition of the countries in the neighborhood of this island, some of which are torn by civil war, and others engaged in a war of extermination between the white and black races; it is incumbent on me to dictate efficacious measures to prevent the spread of these calamities to our pacific soil.... I have decreed as follows: "ARTICLE 1. All offenses committed by individuals of African race, whether free or slaves, shall be judged by court-martial. "ART. 2. Any individual of African race, whether free or slave, who shall offer armed resistance to a white, shall be shot, if a slave, and have his right hand cut off by the public executioner, if a free man. Should he be wounded he shall be shot. "ART. 3. If any individual of African race, whether slave or free, shall insult, menace, or maltreat, in any way, a white person, he will be condemned to five years of penal servitude, if a slave, and according to the circumstances of the case, if free. "ART. 4. The owners of slaves are hereby authorized to correct and chastise them for slight misdemeanors, without any civil or military functionary having the right to interfere. "ART. 5. If any slave shall rebel against his master, the latter is authorized to kill him on the spot. "ART. 6 orders the military commanders of the 8 departments of the island to decide all cases of offenses committed by colored people within twenty-four hours of their denunciation." This Draconic decree is signed, Puerto Rico, May 31, 1843. FOOTNOTES: [Footnote 66: Treaty of Madrid, March 16, 1713, ratified by the treaty of Utrecht. There were two kinds of silver crowns, one of 8 pesetas, the other of 10, worth respectively 4 and 5 English shillings.] [Footnote 67: Flinter, p. 211.] CHAPTER XXXII INCREASE OF POPULATION ALL statements of definite numbers with respect to the aboriginal population of this island are essentially fabulous. Columbus touched at only one port on the western shore. He remained there but a few days and did not come in contact with the inhabitants. Ponce and his men conquered but a part of the island, and had no time to study the question of population, even if they had had the inclination to do so. They did not count the enemy in time of war, and only interested themselves in the number of prisoners which to them constituted the spoils of conquest. Any calculation regarding the numbers that remained at large, based on the number of Indians distributed, can not be correct. The same may be said of the computations of the population of the island made by Abbad, O'Reilly, and others at a time when there was not a correct statistical survey existing in the most civilized countries of Europe. None of these computations exceed the limits of mere conjecture. With regard to the attempts to explain the causes of the decay and ultimate disappearance of the aboriginal race, this subject also appears to be involved in considerable doubt and obscurity, notwithstanding the positive statements of native writers regarding it. It has been impossible to ascertain in what degree they became amalgamated by intermarriage with the conquerors; yet, that it has been to a much larger degree than generally supposed, is proved by the fact that many of the inhabitants, classed as white, have, both in their features and manners, definite traces of the Indian race.[68] With respect to the census taken by the Spanish authorities at different times, though they may have taken great pains to obtain correct statistical accounts, there is little doubt that the real numbers greatly exceeded those which appear in the official returns. The reason for this discrepancy is supposed by the author mentioned to have been the _direct contribution_ which was levied on agricultural property, inducing the landed proprietors to conceal the real number of their slaves in order to make their crops appear to have been _smaller_ than they were. Nor does it appear that the increase in the population of Puerto Rico is so much indebted to immigration as is generally supposed; for, notwithstanding the advantages offered to colonists by the Government in 1815, and the influx of settlers from Santo Domingo and Venezuela during the civil wars in these republics, there were only 2,833 naturalized foreigners in the island in 1830. It appears also that the Spanish immigration from the revolted colonies did not exceed 7,000 souls. Puerto Rico had the reputation of being very poor, consequently, no immigrants were attracted by the prospect of money-making. The increase in the population of this island is sufficiently accounted for by the fact that three-fourths of the inhabitants are engaged in agricultural pursuits, which, of all occupations, are most conducive to health. To which must be added the people's frugal habits, the easy morals, the effect of climate, and the fecundity of the women of all mixed races. These, and the peace which the island enjoyed in the beginning of the nineteenth century, together with the abolition of some of the restrictions on commerce and industry, promoted an era of prosperity the like of which the inhabitants had never before known, and the natural consequence was increase in numbers. "In those days," says Colonel Flinter, "if some perfect stranger had dropped from the clouds as it were, on this island, naked, without any other auxiliaries than health and strength, he might have married the next day and maintained a family without suffering more hardships or privations than fall to the lot of every laborer in the ordinary process of clearing and cultivating a piece of land." The earliest information on the subject was given by Alexander O'Reilly, the royal commissioner to the Antilles in 1765, who enumerates a list of 24 towns and settlements with a total population of _Free_ men, women, and children of all colors....39,846 Slaves of both sexes, including their children ........5,037 Total.................................................44,883 Abbad, in his "general statistics of the island," corresponding to the end of the year 1776, gives the details of the population in 30 "partidas," or ecclesiastical districts, as follows: Whites 29,263 Free colored people 33,808 Free blacks 2,803 Other free people ("agregados") 7,835 Slaves 6,537 ------ Total 80,246 That is to say, an increase of 7-311 per cent per annum during the eleven years elapsed since O'Reilly's computation, which was a period of constant apprehension of attacks by pirates and privateers. From 1782 to 1802 there were three censuses taken showing the following totals: In 1782 81,180 souls. " 1792 115,557 " " 1802 163,192 " From 1800 to 1815, there was universal poverty and depression in the island in consequence of the prohibitive system introduced by the Spanish authorities in all branches of commerce and industry, and the sudden failure of the annual remittances from Mexico in consequence of the insurrection. Still, the population had increased from 163,192 in 1802 to 220,892 in 1815. From this year forward a great improvement in the island's general condition set in, thanks to the efforts of Don Ramon Power, Puerto Rico's delegate to Cortes, who obtained for the island, in November, 1811, the freedom of commerce with foreign nations, and by the appointment of Intendant Ramirez procured the suppression of many abuses and monopolies. The royal schedule of August 13, 1815, called "the schedule of graces," also contributed to the general improvement by the opening of the ports to immigrants, though short-sighted restrictions destroyed the beneficent effects of the measure to no small extent. However, immigrants came, and among them 83 practical agriculturists from Louisiana, with slaves and capital. The census of 1834 gives the total population on an area of 330 square leagues, in the proportion of 981-16 inhabitants per square league, as follows: Whites.......................... 188,869 Colored..........................126,400 Slaves........................... 41,817 Troops and prisoners.............. 1,730 Total........................... 358,836 This year shows an increase in the proportion of the slave population over the free population since 1815, due to the free introduction of slaves and the slaves brought by the immigrants. A statistical commission for the island of Puerto Rico was created in 1845. The census taken under its auspices in the following year may be considered reliable. The total figures are: Whites........................... 216,083 Free colored......................175,791 Slaves............................ 51,265 Total............................ 443,139 In 1855 cholera morbus raged throughout the island, especially among the colored population, and carried off 9,529 slaves alone. The next census shows the progressive increase of inhabitants. It was conducted by royal decree of September 30,1858, on the nights of December 25 and 26, 1860. The official memorial gives the following totals: Whites................................ 300,430 Free colored.......................... 341,015 Slaves................................ 41,736 Unclassified.......................... 127 Total............................. 583,308 or 1,802.2 inhabitants per square league; one of the densest populations on the globe, and the densest in the Antilles at the time except Barbados. The annual increase of population in Puerto Rico, according to the calculations of Colonel Flinter, was: From 1778-1802 ... 24 years ... 5-12 per cent per annum. " 1802-1812 ... 10 " ... 1-15 " " 1812-1820 ... 8 " ... 3-14 " " " 1820-1830 ... 10 " ... 4 " " " 1830-1846 ... 16 " ... 3-15 " " " 1846-1860 ... 14 " ... 3.72 " " or an average annual increase of a little less than 4 per cent in a period of eighty-two years. From 1860 to 1864 the increase was small, but from that year to the end of Spanish domination the percentage of increase was larger than in any of the preceding periods. The treaty of Paris brought 894,302 souls under the protection of the American flag. They consisted of 570,187 whites, 239,808 of mixed race, and 75,824 negroes. FOOTNOTES: [Footnote 68: Flinter.] CHAPTER XXXIII AGRICULTURE IN PUERTO RICO After the cessation of the gold produce, when the colonists were forced by necessity to dedicate themselves to agriculture, they met with many adverse conditions: The incursions of the Caribs, the hurricanes of 1530 and 1537, the emigration to Peru and Mexico, the internal dissensions, and last, but not least, the heavy taxes. The colonists had found the soil of Puerto Rico admirably adapted to sugar-cane, which they brought from Santo Domingo, where Columbus had introduced it on his second voyage, and the nascent sugar industry was beginning to prosper and expand when a royal decree imposing a heavy tax on sugar came to strangle it in its birth. Bishop Bastidas called the Government's attention to the fact in a letter dated March 20, 1544, in which he says: " ... The new tax to be paid on sugar in this island, as ordained by your Majesty, will still further reduce the number of mills, which have been diminishing of late. Let this tax be suspended and the mills in course of construction will be finished, while the erection of others will be encouraged." The prelate's efforts seem to have produced a favorable effect. Treasurer Castellanos, in 1546, loaned 6,000 pesos for the Government's account, to two colonists for the erection of two sugar-cane mills. In 1548 Gregorio Santolaya built, in the neighborhood of the capital, the first cane-mill turned by water-power, and two mills moved by horse-power. Another water-power mill was mounted in 1549 on the estate of Alonzo Perez Martel with the assistance of 1,500 pesos lent by the king. Loans for the same purpose continued to be made for years after. But if the Government encouraged the sugar industry with one hand, with the other it checked its development, together with that of other agricultural industries appropriate to the island, by means of prohibitive legislation, monopolies, and other oppressive measures. The effects of this administrative stupidity were still patent a century later. Bishop Fray Lopez de Haro wrote in 1644: " ... The only crop in this island is ginger, and it is so depreciated that nobody buys it or wants to take it to Spain.... There are many cattle farms in the country, and 7 sugar mills, where the families live with their slaves the whole year round." Canon Torres Vargas, in his Memoirs, amplifies the bishop's statement, stating that the principal articles of commerce of the island were ginger, hides, and sugar, and he gives the location of the above-mentioned 7 sugar-cane mills. The total annual produce of ginger had been as much as 14,000 centals, but, with the war and excessive supply, the price had gone down, and in the year he wrote (1646) only 4,000 centals had been harvested. He informs us, too, that cacáo had been planted in sufficient quantity to send ship-loads to Spain within four years. The number of hides annually exported to Spain was 8,000 to 10,000. Tobacco had begun to be cultivated within the last ten years, and its exportation had commenced. He pronounces it better than the tobacco of Havana, Santo Domingo, and Margarita, but not as good as that of Barinas. The cultivation of tobacco in Puerto Rico was permitted by a special law in 1614, but the sale of it to foreigners was prohibited _under penalty of death and confiscation of property._[69] These and other stringent measures dictated in 1777 and 1784 by their very severity defeated their own purpose, and the laws, to a great extent, remained a dead letter. The cultivation of cacáo in Puerto Rico did not prosper for the reason that the plant takes a long time in coming to maturity, and during that period is exceedingly sensible to the effects of strong winds, which, in this island, prevail from July to October. The first plantations being destroyed by hurricanes, few new plantations were made. Of the other staple products of Puerto Rico, the most valuable, coffee, was first planted in Martinique in 1720 by M. Declieux, who brought the seeds from the Botanical Garden in Paris. The coco-palm was introduced by Diego Lorenzo, a canon in the Cape de Verde Islands, who also brought the first guinea-fowls; and, possibly, the plantain species known in this island under the name of "guinéo" came from the same part of the world. According to Oviedo, it was first planted in Santo Domingo in 1516 by a monk named Berlangas. Abbad gives the detailed agricultural statistics of the island in 1776, from which it appears that the cultivation of the new articles introduced was general at the time, and that, under the influence of climate and abundant pastures, the animal industry had become one of the principal sources of wealth for the inhabitants. There were in that year 5,581 farms, and 234 cattle-ranches (hatos). On the farms or estates there were under cultivation: Sugar-cane 3,156 cuerdas[70] Plantains 8,315 " Coffee-trees 1,196,184 Cotton-plants 103,591 On the cattle-ranches there were: Head of horned cattle 77,384 Horses 23,195 Mules 1,534 Asses, swine, goats, and sheep 49,050 This was a comparatively large capital in stock and produce for a population of 80,000 souls, but the reverend historian severely criticizes the agricultural population of that day, and says of them: " ... They scarcely know what implements are; ... they bring down a tree, principally by means of fire; with a saber, which they call a 'machete,' they clear the jungle and clean the ground; with the point of this machete, or a pointed stick, they dig the holes or furrows in which they set their plants or sow their seeds. Thus they provide for their subsistence, and when a hurricane or other mishap destroys their crops, they supply their wants by fishing or collect edible roots. "Indolence, rather than want of means, makes them confine their cultivation to the level lands, which they abandon as soon as they perceive that the fertility of the soil decreases, which happens very soon, because they do not plow, nor do they turn over the soil, much less manure it, so that the superficies soon becomes sterile; then they make a clearing on some mountainside. Neither the knowledge of the soil and climate acquired during many years of residence, nor the increased facilities for obtaining the necessary agricultural implements, nor the large number of cattle they possess that could be used for agricultural purposes, nor the Government's dispositions to improve the system of cultivation, have been sufficient to make these islanders abandon the indolence with which they regard the most important of all arts, and the first obligation imposed by God on man--namely, the cultivation of the soil. They leave this to the slaves, who are few and ill-fed, and know no more of agriculture than their masters do; ... their great laziness, together with a silly, baseless vanity, makes them look upon all manual labor as degrading, proper only for slaves, and so they prefer poverty to doing honest work. To this must be added their ambition to make rapid fortunes, as some of them do, by contraband trading, which makes good sailors of them but bad agriculturists. "These are the reasons why they prefer the cultivation of produce that requires little labor. Most proprietors have a small portion of their land planted with cane, but few have made it their principal crop, because of the expense of erecting a mill and the greater number of slaves and implements required; yet this industry alone, if properly fostered, would soon remove all obstacles to their progress. "It is useless, therefore, to look for gardens and orchards in a country where the plow is yet unknown, and which has not even made the first step in agricultural development." * * * * * Under the royal decree of 1815 commerce, both foreign and inland, rapidly developed. From the official returns made to the Government in 1828 to 1830, Colonel Flinter drew up the following statement of the agricultural wealth of the island in the latter year (1830): Wooden sugar-cane mills 1,277 Iron sugar-cane mills 800 Coffee estates with machinery 148 Stills for distilling rum 340 Brick ovens 80 Lime kilns 45 _Land under Cultivation_ Cane 14,803 acres. Plantains 30,706 " Rice 14,850 " Maize 16,194 " Tobacco 2,599 " Manioc 1,150 " Sweet potatoes 1,224 " Yams 6,696 " Pulse 1,100 " Horticulture 31 " Coffee-plants 16,750 acres 16,992,857 Cotton-trees 3,079 " 3,079,310 Coco-palms 2,402 " 60,050 Orange-trees 3,430 " 85,760 Aguacate-trees 2,230 " 55,760 Pepper or chilli or aji trees 500 The live stock of the island in the same year consisted of: Cows 42,500 head. Bulls 6,720 " Oxen 20,910 " Horses 25,760 " Mares 27,210 " Asses 315 " Mules 1,112 " Sheep 7,560 " Goats 5,969 " Swine 25,087 " Turkeys 8,671 " Other fowls 838,454 " This agricultural wealth of the island, houses, lands, and slaves _not_ included, was valued at $37,993,600, and its annual produce at $6,883,371, half of which was exported. These statistics may be considered as only _approximately correct,_ as the returns made by the proprietors to the Government, in order to escape taxation, were less than the real numbers existing. The natural wealth of Puerto Rico may be divided into agricultural, pastoral, and sylvan. According to the Spanish Government measurements the island's area is 2,584,000 English acres. Of these, there were Under cultivation in 1830, as above detailed 117,244 acres. In pastures 634,506 " In forests 728,703 " ------------ Total _tax-paying lands_ 1,480,453 " The pasture lands on the north and east coasts are equal to the best lands of the kind in the West Indies for the breeding and fattening of cattle. On the south coast excessive droughts often parch the grass, in which case the cattle are fed on cane-tops at harvest time. There are excellent and nutritive native grasses of different species to be found in every valley. The cattle bred in the island are generally tame. From 1865 to 1872 was the era of greatest prosperity ever experienced in Puerto Rico under Spanish rule. The land was not yet exhausted, harvests were abundant, labor cheap, the quality of the sugar produced was excellent, prices were high, contributions and taxes were moderate. There were no export duties, and although, during this period, the growing manufacture of beet-root sugar was lowering the price of "mascabado" all over the world, no effect was felt in Puerto Rico, because it was the nearest market to the United States, where the civil war had put an end to the annual product by the Southern States of half a million bocoyes,[71] or about 675,000,000 gallons; and the abolition of all import duties on sugar in England also favored the maintenance of high prices for a number of years. However, the production of beet-root sugar and the increase of cane cultivation in the East[72] caused the fall in prices which, in combination with the numberless oppressive restrictions imposed by the Spanish Government, brought Puerto Rico to the verge of ruin. "The misfortunes that afflict us," says Mr. James McCormick to the Provincial Deputation in his official report on the condition of the sugar industry in this island in 1880, "come under different forms from different directions, and _every inhabitant knows what causes have contributed to reduce this island, once prosperous and happy, to its actual condition of prostration and anguish_." That condition he paints in the following words: "Mechanical arts and industries languish because there is no demand or profitable market for its products; commerce is paralyzed by the obstacles placed in its way; the country never has had sufficient capital and what there is hides itself or is withdrawn from circulation; foreign capital has been frightened away; Puerto Rican landowners are looked upon with special disfavor and credit is denied them, unfortunately with good reason, seeing the lamentable condition of our agriculture. The production of sugar scarcely amounts to half of what it was in former years. From the year 1873 a great proportion of the existing sugar estates have fallen to ruin; in 8 districts their number has been reduced from 104 to 38, and of these the majority are in an agonizing condition. In other parts of the island many estates, in which large capitals in machinery, drainage, etc., have been invested, have been abandoned and the land is returning to its primitive condition of jungle and swamp. Ten years ago the island exported 100,000 tons of sugar annually, the product of 553 mills; during the last three years (1878-1880) the average export has been 60,000 tons, the product of 325 mills that have been able to continue working. Everywhere in this province the evidences of the ruin which has overtaken the planters meet the eye, and nothing is heard but the lamentations of proprietors reduced to misery and desperation." This state of things continued notwithstanding the representations made before the "high spheres of Government" by the leading men in commerce and agriculture, by the press of all political colors, and by Congress. The Minister of Ultramar in Madrid recognized the gravity of the situation, and it is said that the lamentations of the people of Puerto Rico found an echo even at the foot of the throne. And there they died. Nothing was done to remedy the growing evil, and the writer of the pamphlet, not daring openly to accuse the Government as the only cause of the island's desperate situation, counsels patience, and timidly expresses the hope that the exorbitant taxes and contributions will be lowered; that economy in the Government expenditures will be practised; that monopolies will be abolished, and odious, oppressive practises of all kinds be discontinued. Such was the condition of Puerto Rico in 1880. The Government's oppressive practises, and they only, were the causes of the ruin of this and all the other rich and beautiful colonies that destiny laid at the feet of Ferdinand and Isabel four centuries ago. The following statement of the proportion of sugar to each acre of land under cane cultivation in the Antilles, compared with Puerto Rico, may be of interest. The computation of the average sugar produce per acre, according to the best and most correct information from intelligent planters, who had no motives for deception, was, in 1830:[73] For Jamaica 10 centals per acre. Dominica 10 " " Granada 15 " " St. Vincent 25 " " Tobago 20 " " Antigua 7-12 " " Saint Kitts 20 " " Puerto Rico 30 " " FOOTNOTES: [Footnote 69: Leyes de Indias, Ley IV, Libro IV, Titulo XVIII.] [Footnote 70: The actual cuerda is a square of 75 varas each side, about one-tenth less than an acre. Abbad understood by a cuerda a rectangle of 75 varas front by 1,500 varas depth, that is, 20 cuerdas superficies of those actually in use.--_Acosta._] [Footnote 71: The bocoy in Puerto Rico, equal from 12 to 20 centals of sugar, according the quality.] [Footnote 72: British India produced about that time over 1,500,000 tons of cane-sugar per annum.] [Footnote 73: Colonel Flinter, An Account of the Island of Puerto Rico. London, 1834] CHAPTER XXXIV COMMERCE AND FINANCES Until the year 1813 the captains-general of Puerto Rico had the superintendence of the revenues. The capital was the only authorized port open to commerce. No regular books were kept by the authorities. A day-book of duties paid and expended was all that was considered necessary. Merchandise was smuggled in at every part of the coast,[74] the treasury chest was empty, and the Government officers and troops were reduced to a very small portion of their pay. The total revenues of the island, including the old-established taxes and contributions, produced 70,000 pesos, and half of that sum was never recovered on account of the abuses and dishonesty that had been introduced in the system of collection. An intendancy was deemed necessary, and the Home Government appointed Alexander Ramirez to the post in February, 1813. He promptly introduced important reforms in the administration, and caused regular accounts to be kept. He made ample and liberal concessions to commerce, opened five additional ports with custom-houses, freed agriculture from the trammels that had impeded its development, and placed labor, instruments, seeds, and modern machinery within its reach. He printed and distributed short essays or manuals on the cultivation of different products and the systems adopted by other nations, promoted the immigration of Canary Islanders, founded the Royal Economic Society of Friends of the Country, and edited the Diario Económico de Puerto Rico, the first number of which appeared February 28, 1814. The first year after the establishment of these improvements, notwithstanding the abolition of some of the most onerous taxes, the revenues of the capital rose to $161,000, and the new custom-houses produced $242,842. Having placed this island's financial administration on a sound basis, Ramirez was called upon by the Government to perform the same valuable services for Cuba. Unfortunately, his successors here soon destroyed the good effects of his measures by continual variations in the system, and in the commercial tariffs. They attempted to prevent smuggling by increasing the duties, the very means of encouraging contraband trade, and the old mismanagement and malversations in the custom-houses revived. One intendant, often from a mere spirit of innovation, applied to the court for a decree canceling the regulations of his predecessor, so that, from the concurring effects of contraband and mismanagement, commerce suffered, and the country became once more impoverished. The revenues fell so low and the malversation of public money reached such a height that the captain-general found it necessary in 1825 to charge the military commanders of the respective districts with the prevention of smuggling. He placed supervisors of known intelligence and probity in each custom-house to watch and prevent fraud and peculation. These measures almost doubled the amount of revenue in the following year (1826). As late as 1810 the imports in Puerto Rico exceeded three times the sum of the produce exported. The difference was made up by the "situados," or remittances in cash from Mexico, which began early in the seventeenth century, when the repeated attacks on the island by French and English privateers forced the Spanish Government to choose between losing the island or fortifying it. The king chose the latter, and made an assignment on the royal treasury of Mexico of nearly half a million pesos per annum. With these subsidies all the fortifications were constructed and the garrison and civil and military employees were paid, till the insurrection in Mexico put a stop to the fall of this pecuniary manna. It was fortunate for Puerto Rico that it ceased. The people of the island had become so accustomed to look to this supply of money for the purchase of their necessities that they entirely neglected the development of the rich resources in their fertile soil. When a remittance arrived in due time, all was joy and animation; when it was delayed, as was often the case, all was gloom and silence, and recourse was had to "papeletas," a temporary paper currency or promises to pay. With the cessation of the "situados" the scanty resources of the treasury soon gave out. The funds of the churches were first requisitioned; then the judicial deposits, the property of people who had died in the Peninsula, and other unclaimed funds were attached; next, donations and private loans were solicited, and when all these expedients were exhausted, the final resort of bankrupt communities, paper money, was adopted (1812). Then Puerto Rico's poverty became extreme. In 1814 there was at least half a million paper money in circulation with a depreciation of 400 per cent. To avoid absolute ruin, the intendant had recourse to the introduction of what were called "macuquinos," or pieces of rudely cut, uncoined silver of inferior alloy, representing approximately the value of the coin that each piece of metal stood for. With these he redeemed in 1816 all the paper money that had been put in circulation; but the emergency money gave rise to agioist speculation and remained the currency long after it had served its purpose. It was not replaced by Spanish national coin till 1857. The royal decree of 1815, and the improvements in the financial situation, as a result of the new administrative system established by Ramirez, gave a strong impulse to foreign commerce. Though commerce with the mother country remained in a languishing condition, because the so-called "decree of graces" had fixed the import duty on Spanish merchandise at 6 per cent _ad valorem_, while the valuations which the custom-house officials made exceeded the market prices to such an extent that many articles really paid 8 per cent and some 10, 12, and even 15 per cent. An estimate of the commerce of this island about the year 1830 divides the total imports and exports which, in that year, amounted to $5,620,786 among the following nations: Per cent. Per cent. West Indian Islands imports 53-12 Exports 26 United States imports 27-14 " 49 Spanish imports 12-18 " 7 English imports 2-34 " 6-12 French imports 2-58 " 6-58 Other nations' imports 1-34 " 8-34 The American trade at that time formed nearly one-third of the whole of the value of the imports and nearly half of all the exports. An American consul resided at the capital and all the principal ports had deputy consuls. The articles of importation from the United States were principally timber, staves for sugar-casks, flour and other provisions, and furniture.[75] * * * * * The financial history of Puerto Rico commences about the middle of the eighteenth century. In 1758 the revenues amounted to 6,858 pesos. In 1765, to 10,814, and in 1778 to 47,500. Their increase up to 1,605,523 in 1864 was due to the natural development of the island's resources, which accompanied the increase of population; yet financial distress was chronic all the time, and not a year passed without the application of the supposed panacea of royal decrees and ordinances, without the expected improvement. From 1850 to 1864, for the first time in the island's history, there happened to be a surplus revenue. The authorities wasted it in an attempt to reannex Santo Domingo and in contributions toward the expenses of the war in Morocco. The balance was used by the Spanish Minister of Ultramar, the Government being of opinion that surpluses in colonial treasuries were a source of danger. To avoid a plethora of money contributions were asked for in the name of patriotism, which nobody dared refuse, and which were, therefore, always liberally responded to. Of this class was a contribution of half a million pesos toward the expenses of the war with the Carlists to secure the succession of Isabel II, and Sunday collections for the benefit of the Spanish soldiers in Cuba, for the sufferers by the inundations in Murcia, the earthquakes in Andalusia, etc. From 1870 to 1876 a series of laws and ordinances relating to finances were promulgated. February 22d, a royal decree admitted Mexican silver coin as currency. December 3, 1880, another royal decree reformed the financial administration of the island. This was followed in 1881 by instructions for the collection of personal contributions. In 1882 the Intendant Alcázar published the regulations for the imposition, collection, and administration of the land tax; from 1882 to 1892 another series of laws, ordinances, and decrees appeared for the collection and administration of different taxes and contributions, and October 28, 1895, another royal decree withdrew the Mexican coin from circulation. In the same year (March 15th) the reform laws were promulgated, which were followed in the next year by the municipal law.[76] In the meantime commerce languished. The excessively high export duties on island produce imposed by Governor Sanz in 1868 to 1870 brought 600,000 pesos per annum into the treasury, but ruined agriculture, and this lasted till the end of Spanish rule. The directory of the Official Chamber of Commerce, Industry, and Navigation of San Juan, at the general meeting of members in 1895, reported that it had occupied itself during that year, through the medium of the island's representative in Cortes, with the promised tariff reform, but without result. Nor had its endeavors to obtain the exchange of the Mexican coin still in circulation for Peninsular money been successful on account of the opposition of those interested in the maintenance of the system. The abolition of the so-called "conciertos" of matches and petroleum had also occupied them, and in this case successfully; but the directors complained of the apathy and the indifference of the public in general for the objects which the Chamber of Commerce was organized to advocate and promote, and they state that within the last year the number of associates had diminished. The Directors' report of January, 1897, was even more gloomy. They complain of the want of interest in their proceedings on the part of many of the leading commercial houses, of the lamentable condition of commerce, of the inattention of their "mother," Spain, to the plausible pretentions of this her daughter, animated though she was by the most fervent patriotism. FOOTNOTES: [Footnote 74: Rafael Conty, subdelegate of the treasury of Aguadilla, sailed round the island in a sloop in 1790 and confiscated eleven vessels engaged in smuggling.] [Footnote 75: For commercial statistics of Puerto Rico from 1813 to 1864, see Señor Acosta's interesting notes to Chapter XXVIII of Abbad's history.] [Footnote 76: _Vide_ Reseña del Estado Social, Económico é Industrial de la Isla de Puerto Rico por el Dr. Cayetano Coll y Toste, 1899.] CHAPTER XXXV EDUCATION IN PUERTO RICO In Chapter XXIII of this history we gave an extract from his Excellency Alexander O'Reilly's report to King Charles IV, wherein, referring to the intellectual status of the inhabitants of Puerto Rico in 1765, he informs his Majesty that there were only two schools in the whole island and that, outside of the capital and San German, few knew how to read. In the mother country, at that period, even primary instruction was very deficient. It remained so for a long time. As late as 1838 reading, writing, and arithmetic only were taught in the best public schools of Spain. The other branches of knowledge, such as geography, history, physics, chemistry, natural history, could be studied in a few ecclesiastical educational establishments.[77] The illiteracy of the inhabitants of this, the least important of Spain's conquered provinces, was therefore but natural, seeing that the conquerors who had settled in it belonged to the most ignorant classes of an illiterate country in an illiterate age. Something was done in Puerto Rico by the Dominican and Franciscan friars in the way of preparatory training for ecclesiastical callings. They taught Latin and philosophy to a limited number of youths; the bishop himself gave regular instruction in Latin. A few youths, whose parents could afford it, were sent to the universities of Carácas and Santo Domingo, where some of them distinguished themselves by their aptitude for study. One of these, afterward known as Father Bonilla, obtained the highest academic honors in Santo Domingo. From 1820 to 1823, under the auspices of a constitutional government, intellectual life in Puerto Rico really began. A Mr. Louis Santiago called public attention to the necessity of attending to primary education. "The greatest evil," he said, "that which demands the speediest remedy, is the general ignorance of the art of reading and writing. It is painful to see the signatures of the alcaldes to public documents." He wrote a pamphlet of instructions in the art of teaching in primary schools, which was printed and distributed through the interior of the island. The governor, Gonzalo Arostegui, addressed an official note to the Provincial Deputation charging that body to propose to him "without rest or interruption, and as soon as possible," the means to establish primary schools in the capital and in the towns of the interior; to the municipalities he sent a circular, dated September 28, 1821, recommending them to facilitate the coming to the capital of the teachers in their respective districts who wished to attend, for a period of two months, a class in the Lancasterian method of primary teaching, to be held in the Normal School by Ramon Carpegna, the political secretary. A certain amount of instruction, talent, and disposition for magisterial work was required of the pupils, and those who already had positions as teachers could assist at the two months' course without detriment to their salaries. The fall of the constitutional government in Spain, brought about by French intervention and the reaction that followed, extinguished the light that had just begun to shine, and this unfortunate island was again plunged into the intellectual darkness of the middle ages. Persecution became fiercer than ever, and the citizens most distinguished for their learning and liberal ideas had to seek safety in emigration. For the next twenty years the education of the youth of Puerto Rico was entirely in the hands of the clergy. With the legacies left to the Church by Bishop Arizmendi and other pious defuncts, Bishop Pedro Gutierrez de Cos founded the Conciliar Seminary in 1831, and appointed as Rector Friar Angel de la Concepción Vazquez, a Puerto Rican by birth, educated in the Franciscan Convent of Carácas. In the same year there came to Puerto Rico, as prebendary of the cathedral, an ex-professor of experimental physics in the University of Galicia, whose name was Rufo Fernandez. He founded a cabinet of physics and a chemical laboratory, and invited the youth of the capital to attend the lectures on these two sciences which he gave gratis. Fray Angel, as he was familiarly called, the rector of the seminary, at Dr. Rufo's suggestion, asked permission of the superior ecclesiastical authorities to transfer the latter's cabinet and laboratory to the seminary for the purpose of adding the courses of physics and chemistry to the curriculum, but failed to obtain it, the reasons given for the adverse decision being, "that the science of chemistry was unnecessary for the students, who, in accordance with the dispositions of the Council of Trent, were to dedicate themselves to ecclesiastical sciences only." The rector, while expressing his regret at the decision, adds: "I can not help telling you what I have always felt--namely, that there is some malediction resting on the education of youth in this island, which evokes formidable obstacles from every side, though there are not wanting generous spirits ready to make sacrifices in its favor." [78] Some of these generous spirits had organized, as early as 1813, under the auspices of Intendant Ramirez, the Economic Society of Friends of the Country. Puerto Rico owes almost all its intellectual progress to this society. Its aim was the island's moral and material advancement, and, in spite of obstacles, it has nobly labored with that object in view to the end of Spanish domination. From its very inception it established a primary school for 12 poor girls, and classes in mathematics, geography, French, English, and drawing, to which a class of practical or applied mechanics was added later. In 1844 the society asked and obtained permission from the governor, the Count of Mirasol, to solicit subscriptions for the establishment and endowment of a central college. The people responded with enthusiasm, and in less than a month 30,000 pesos were collected. The college was opened. In 1846 four youths, under the guidance of Dr. Rufo, were sent to Spain to complete their studies to enable them to worthily fill professorships in the central school. Two of them died shortly after their arrival in Madrid. When the other two returned to Puerto Rico in 1849 they found the college closed and the subscriptions for its maintenance returned to the donors by order of Juan de la Pezuela, Count Mirasol's successor in the governorship. If the unfavorable opinion of the character of the Puerto Ricans to which this personage gave expression in one of his official communications was the motive for his proceeding in this case, it would seem that he changed it toward the end of his administration, for he founded a Royal Academy of Belles-Lettres, and a library which was provided with books by occasional gifts from the public. He introduced some useful reforms in the system of primary instruction, and inaugurated the first prize competitions for poetical compositions by native authors. From the returns of the census of 1860 it appears that at that time only 17-12 per cent of the male population of the island knew how to read, and only 12-12 per cent of the female population. Four years later, at the end of 1864 there were, according to official data, 98,817 families in Puerto Rico whose intellectual wants were supplied by 74 public schools for boys and 48 for girls, besides 16 and 9 private schools for boys and girls respectively. In 1854 General Norzagery, then governor, assisted by Andres Viña, the secretary of the Royal Board of Commerce and Industry, had founded a school of Commerce, Agriculture, and Navigation. After sixteen years of existence, this establishment was unfavorably reported upon by Governor Sanz, who wished to suppress it on account of the liberal ideas and autonomist tendencies of its two principal professors, José Julian Acosta (Abbad's commentator) and Ramon B. Castro. In the preamble to a secret report sent by this governor to Madrid he says: "This supreme civil government has always secured professors who, in addition to the required ability for their position, possess the moral and political character and qualities to form citizens, lovers of their country, i.e., lovers of Puerto Rico as a Spanish province, _not of Puerto Rico as an independent state annexed to North America_." Female education had all along received even less attention than the education of boys. Alexander Infiesta, in an article on the subject published in the Revista in February, 1888, states, that according to the latest census there were 399,674 females in the island, of whom 293,247 could neither read nor write, 158,528 of them being white women and girls. The number of schools for boys was 408, with an attendance of 18,194, and that for girls 127, with 7,183 pupils. From the memorial published by the Director of the Provincial Institute for Secondary Education, regarding the courses of study in that establishment during the year 1888-'89, we learn that the number of primary schools in the island had increased to 600, but, according to Mr. Coll y Toste's Reseña, published in 1899, there were, among a total population of 894,302 souls, only 497 primary schools in the island at the time of the American occupation. The total attendance was 22,265 pupils, 15,108 boys and 7,157 girls. FOOTNOTES: [Footnote 77: See Franco del Valle Atilés, Causas del atras Intellectual del campesino Puertoriqueño. Revista Puertoriqueña, Año II, tomo II, p. 7.] [Footnote 78: Letter to Dr. Rufo Fernandez from Fray Angel de la Concepcion Vazquez. See Acosta's notes to Abbad's history, pp. 412, 413, foot note.] CHAPTER XXXVI LIBRARIES AND THE PRESS Books for the people were considered by the Spanish colonial authorities to be of the nature of inflammable or explosive substances, which it was not safe to introduce freely. From their point of view, they were right. The Droits de l'homme of Jean Jacques Rousseau, for example, translated into every European language, had added more volunteers of all nationalities to the ranks of the Spanish-American patriots than was generally supposed--and so, books and printing material were subjected to the payment of high import duties, and a series of annoying formalities, among which the passing of the political and ecclesiastical censors was the most formidable. The result among the poorer classes of natives was blank illiteracy. A pall of profound ignorance hung over the island, and although, with the revival of letters in the seventeenth century the light of intellect dawned over western Europe, not a ray of it was permitted to reach the Spanish colonies. The ruling class, every individual of whom came from the Peninsula, kept what books each individual possessed to themselves. To the people all learning, except such as it was considered safe to impart, was forbidden fruit. Under these conditions it is not strange that the idea of founding public libraries did not germinate in the minds of the more intelligent among the Puerto Ricans till the middle of the nineteenth century; whereas, the other colonies that had shaken off their allegiance to the mother country, had long since entered upon the road of intellectual progress with resolute step. Collegiate libraries, however, had existed in the capital of the island as early as the sixteenth century. The first of which we have any tradition was founded by the Dominican friars in their convent. It contained works on art, literature, and theology. The next library was formed in the episcopal palace, or "casa parochial," by Bishop Don Bernardo de Valbuena, poet and author of a pastoral novel entitled the Golden Age, and other works of literary merit. This library, together with that of the Dominicans, and the respective episcopal and conventual archives were burned by the Hollanders during the siege of San Juan in 1625. The Franciscan friars also had a library in their convent (1660). The books disappeared at the time of the community's dissolution in 1835. Bishop Pedro Gutierres de Cos, who founded the San Juan Conciliar Seminary in 1832, established a library in connection with it, the remains of which are still extant in the old seminary building, but much neglected and worm-eaten. A library of a semipublic character was founded by royal order dated June 19, 1831, shortly after the installation of the Audiencia in San Juan. It was a large and valuable collection of books on juridical subjects, which remained under the care of a salaried librarian till 1899, when it was amalgamated with the library of the College of Lawyers. This last is a rich collection of works on jurisprudence, and the exclusive property of the college, but accessible to professional men. The library is in the former Audiencia building, now occupied by the insular courts. The period from 1830 to 1850 appears to have been one of greatest intellectual activity in Puerto Rico. Toward its close Juan de la Pezuela, the governor, founded the Royal Academy of Belles-Lettres, an institution of literary and pedagogical character, with the functions of a normal school. It was endowed with a modest library, but it only lived till the year 1860, when, in consequence of disagreement between the founder and the professors, the school was closed and the library passed into the possession of the Economic Society of Friends of the Country. This, and the library of the Royal Academy, which the society had also acquired, formed a small but excellent nucleus, and with, the produce of the public subscription of 1884 it was enabled to stock its library with many of the best standard works of the time in Spanish and French, and open to the Puerto Ricans of all classes the doors of the first long-wished-for public library. Since then it has contributed in no small degree to the enlightenment of the better part of the laboring classes in the capital, till it was closed at the commencement of the war. During the transition period the books were transferred from one locality to another, and in the process the best works disappeared, until the island's first civil governor, Charles H. Allen, at the suggestion of Commissioner of Education Martin G. Brumbaugh, rescued the remainder and made it the nucleus of the first _American_ free library. The second Puerto Rican public library was opened by Don Ramon Santaella, October 15, 1880, in the basement of the Town Hall. It began with 400 volumes, and possesses to-day 6,361 literary and didactic books in different languages. The Puerto Rican Atheneum Library was established in 1876. Its collection of books, consisting principally of Spanish and French literature, is an important one, both in numbers and quality. It has been enriched by accessions of books from the library of the extinct Society of Friends of the Country. It is open to members of the Atheneum only, or to visitors introduced by them. The Casino Español possesses a small but select library with a comfortable reading-room. Its collection of books and periodicals is said to be the richest and most varied in the island. It was founded in 1871. The religious association known under the name of Conferences of St. Vincent de Paul had a small circulating library of religious works duly approved by the censors. The congregation was broken up in 1887 and the library disappeared. The Provincial Institute of Secondary Education, which was located in the building now occupied by the free library and legislature, possessed a small pedagogical library which shared the same fate as that of the Society of Friends of the Country. The Spanish Public Works Department possessed another valuable collection of books, mostly on technical and scientific subjects. A number of books on other than technical subjects, probably from the extinct libraries just referred to, have been added to the original collection, and the whole, to the number of 1,544 volumes in excellent condition, exist under the care of the chief of the Public Works Department. Besides the above specified libraries of a public and collegiate character, there are some private collections of books in the principal towns of the island. Chief among these is the collection of Don Fernando Juncos, of San Juan, which contains 15,000 volumes of classic and preceptive literature and social and economic science, 1,200 volumes of which bear the author's autographs. The desire for intellectual improvement began to manifest itself in the interior of the island a few years after the establishment of the first public library in the capital. The municipality of Ponce founded a library in 1894. It contains 809 bound volumes and 669 pamphlets in English, German, French, and Spanish, many of them duplicates. The general condition of the books is bad, and the location of the library altogether unsuitable. There was a municipal appropriation of 350 pesos per annum for library purposes, but since 1898 it has not been available. Mayaguez founded its public library in 1872. It possesses over 5,000 volumes, with a small archeological and natural history museum attached to it. Some of the smaller towns also felt the need of intellectual expansion, and tried to supply it by the establishment of reading-rooms. Arecibo, Véga-Baja, Toa-Alta, Yauco, Cabo-Rojo, Aguadilla, Humacáo, and others made efforts in this direction either through their municipalities or private initiative. A few only succeeded, but they did not outlive the critical times that commenced with the war, aggravated by the hurricane of August, 1898. * * * * * Since the American occupation of the island, four public libraries have been established. Two of them are exclusively Spanish, the Circulating Scholastic Library, inaugurated in San Juan on February 22, 1901, by Don Pedro Carlos Timothe, and the Circulating Scholastic Library of Yauco, established a month later under the auspices of S. Egózene of that town. The two others are, one, largely English, the Pedagogical Library, established under the auspices of the Commissioner of Education, and the San Juan Free Library, to which Mr. Andrew Carnegie has given $100,000, and which is polyglot, and was formally opened to the public April 20, 1901. There is also a growing number of libraries in the public schools. From the above data it appears that, owing to the peculiar conditions that obtained in this island, the people of Puerto Rico were very slow in joining the movement of intellectual expansion which began in Spanish America in the eighteenth century. They did so at last, unaided and with their own limited resources, even before the obstacles placed in their way by the Government were removed. If they have not achieved more, it is because within the last few decades the island has been unfortunate in more than one respect. Now that a new era has dawned, it may reasonably be expected that the increased opportunities for intellectual development afforded them will be duly appreciated and taken advantage of by the people, and if we may judge from the eagerness with which the youth of the capital reads the books of the San Juan Free Library, it seems clear that the seed so recently sown has fallen in fruitful soil. * * * * * The history of the Press in Puerto Rico is short. The first printing machine was introduced by the Government in 1807 for the purpose of publishing the Official Gazette. No serious attempt at publication of any periodical for the people was made till the commencement of the second constitutional period (1820-'23), when, for the first time in the island's history, public affairs could be discussed without the risk of imprisonment or banishment. The right of association was also recognized. The Society of Liberal Lovers of the Country and the Society of Lovers of Science were formed about this time. The Investigator and the Constitutional Gazette were published and gave food for nightly discussions on political and social questions in the coffee-house on the Marina. The period of freedom of spoken and written thought was short, but an impulse had been given which could not be arrested. In 1865 there were eight periodicals published in the island. On September 29th of that year a law regulating the publication of newspapers indirectly suppressed half of them. It contained twenty articles, each more stringent than the other. To obtain a license to publish or to continue publishing a paper, a deposit of 2,000 crowns had to be made to cover the fines that were almost sure to be imposed. The publications were subject to the strictest censorship. They could not appear till the proofs of each article had been signed by the censor, and the whole process of printing and publishing was fenced in by such minute and annoying regulations, the smallest infraction of which was punished by such heavy fines that it was a marvel how any paper could be published under such conditions. These conditions were relaxed a decade or two later, and a number of publications sprang into existence at once. When the United States Government took possession of the island, there were 9 periodicals published in San Juan, 5 in Ponce, 3 in Mayaguez, 1 in Humacáo, and a few others in different towns of the interior. CHAPTER XXXVII THE REGULAR AND SECULAR CLERGY In Catholic countries the monastic orders constitute the regular clergy. The secular clergy is not bound by monastic rules. Both classes exercise their functions independently, the former under the authority of their respective superiors or generals, the latter under the bishops. When, after the return of Columbus from his first voyage, the existence of a new world was demonstrated and preparations for occupying it were made, the Pope, to assure the Christianization of the inhabitants, gave to the monks of all orders who wished to go the privilege, pertaining till then to the secular clergy exclusively, of administering parishes and collecting tithes without subjection to the authority of the bishops. The Dominicans and the Franciscans availed themselves of this privilege at once. There was rivalry for power and influence between these two orders from the time of their first installation, and they carried their quarrels with them to America, where their differences of opinion regarding the enslaving and treatment of the Indians embittered them still more. The Dominicans secured a footing in Santo Domingo and in Puerto Rico almost to the exclusion of their rivals, notwithstanding the king's recommendation to Ceron in 1511 to build a monastery for Franciscans, whose doctrines he considered "salutary." [Illustration: San Francisco Church, San Juan; the oldest church in the city.] Puerto Rico was scantily provided with priests till the year 1518, when the treasurer, Haro, wrote to Cardinal Cisneros: "There are no priests in the granges as has been commanded; only one in Capárra, and one in San German. The island is badly served. Send us a goodly number of priests or permission to pay them out of the produce of the tithes." The "goodly number of priests" was duly provided. Immediately after the transfer of the capital to its present site in 1521, the Dominicans began the construction of a convent, which was nearly completed in 1529, when there were 25 friars in it. They had acquired great influence over Bishop Manso, and obtained many privileges and immunities from him. Bishop Bastidas, Manso's successor, was less favorably disposed toward them, and demanded payment of tithes of the produce of their agricultural establishments. He reported to the king in 1548: "There is a Dominican monastery here large enough for a city of 2,000 inhabitants,[79] and there are many friars in it. They possess farms, cattle, negroes, Indians, and are building horse-power sugar-mills; meanwhile, I know that they are asking your Majesty for alms to finish their church ... It were better to oblige them to sell their estates and live in poverty as prescribed by the rules of their order." The Franciscans came to Puerto Rico in 1534, but founded no convent till 1585, when one of their order, Nicolas Ramos, was appointed to the see of San Juan. Then they established themselves in "la Aguáda," and named the settlement San Francisco de Asis. Two years later it was destroyed by the Caribs, and five of the brothers martyrized. No attempt at reconstruction of the convent was made. The order abandoned the island and did not return till 1642, when they obtained the Pope's license to establish themselves in the capital. Like the Dominicans, they soon acquired considerable wealth. The privilege of administering parishes and collecting tithes, which was the principal source of monastic revenues, was canceled by royal schedule June 13, 1757. The monks continued in the full enjoyment of their property till 1835, when all the property of the regular clergy throughout the Peninsula and the colonies was expropriated by the Government. In this island the convents were appropriated only after long and tedious judicial proceedings, in which the Government demonstrated that the transfer was necessary for the public good. Then the convents were used--that of the Dominicans as Audiencia hall, that of the Franciscans as artillery barracks. The intendancy took charge of the administration of the estate of the two communities, the mortmain was canceled, and the transfer duly legalized. A promised indemnity to the two brotherhoods was never paid, but in 1897 a sum of 5,000 pesos annually was added to the insular budget, to be paid to the clergy as compensation for the expropriated estate of the Dominicans in San German. Succeeding political events prevented the payment of this also. The last representatives in this island of the two dispossessed orders died in San Juan about the year 1865. Bishop Monserrate made an effort to reestablish the order of Franciscans in 1875-'76. Only three brothers came to the island and they, not liking the aspect of affairs, went to South America. * * * * * The first head of the secular clergy in Puerto Rico was nominated in 1511. The Catholic princes besought Pope Julius II to make it a bishopric, and recommended as its first prelate Alonzo Manso, canon of Salamanca, doctor in theology, a man held in high esteem at court. His Holiness granted the request, and designated the whole of the island as the diocese, with the principal settlement in it as the see. The subsequent conquests on the mainland kept adding vast territories to this diocese till, toward the end of the eighteenth century, it included the whole region extending from the upper Orinoco to the Amazon, and from Guiana to the plains of Bogotá. Manso's successors repeatedly represented to the king the absolute impossibility of attending to the spiritual wants of "the lambs that were continually added to the flock." They requested that the see might be transferred to the mainland or that the diocese might be divided in two or more. This was done in 1791, when the diocese of Guiana was created, and Puerto Rico with the island of Vieyques remained as the original one. The bishop came to San Juan in 1513, and at once began to dispose all that was necessary to give splendor and good government to the first episcopal seat in America. Unfortunately, he arrived at a time when dissension, strife, and immorality were rampant; and when it became known that he was authorized to collect his tithes _in specie_, the opposition of the quarrelsome and insubordinate inhabitants became so violent that the prelate could not exercise his functions, and was forced to return to the Peninsula in 1515. He came back in 1519, invested with the powers of a Provincial Inquisitor, which he exercised till 1539, when he died and was buried in the cathedral, where a monument with an alabaster effigy marked his tomb till 1625, when it was destroyed by the Hollanders. Rodrigo Bastidas, a native of Santo Domingo, was Manso's successor. He was appointed Bishop of Coro in Venezuela in 1532, but solicited and obtained the see of Puerto Rico in 1542. He was a man of great capacity, virtuous and benevolent. He advised the suppression of the Inquisition, asked the Government for facilities to educate the youth and advance the agricultural interests of his diocese, and commenced the construction of the cathedral. He died in Santo Domingo in 1561, very old and very rich. Friar Diego de Salamanca, of the order of Augustines, succeeded Bastidas. He continued the construction of the cathedral, but soon returned to the metropolis, leaving the diocese to the care of the Vicar-General, Santa Olaya, till 1585, when the Franciscan friar Nicolas Bamos was appointed to the see. He was the last Bishop of Puerto Rico who united the functions of inquisitor with those of the episcopate, and a zealous burner of heretics. After him the see remained vacant for fourteen years; since then, to the end of the eighteenth century there were 39 consecrated prelates, 9 of whom renounced, or for some other reason did not take possession. The most distinguished among the remaining 30 were: Bernardo Balbuena, poet and author, 1623-'27; Friar Manuel Gimenez Perez, pious, active, and philanthropist, 1770-'84; and Juan Alejo Arismendi, who, according to the Latin inscription on his tomb, was an amiable, religious, upright, zealous, compassionate, learned, decorous, active, leading, benevolent, paternal man. Of the rest little more is known than their names and the dates of their assumption of office and demise. * * * * * The year 1842 was, for the secular clergy, one of anxiety for the safety of their long and assiduously accumulated wealth. The members to the number of 17 individuals, including the bishop, drew annual stipends from the insular treasury to the amount of 36,888 pesos, besides which they possessed and still possess a capital of over one and a half millions of pesos, represented by: 1. Vacant chaplaincies. 2. Investments under the head Ecclesiastical Chapter. 3. Idem for account of the Carmelite Sisterhood. 4. Legacies to saints for the purpose of celebrating masses and processions in all the parishes of the island. 5. Pious donations. 6. Fraternities and religious associations for the worship of some special saint. 7. Revenues from an institution known by the name of Third Orders. 8. Capital invested by the founders of the Hospital of the Conception, the income of which is mostly consumed by the nuns of that order. And 9. The ecclesiastical revenues of different kinds in San German. All this was put in jeopardy by the following decree: "Doña Isabel II, by the grace of God and the Constitution of the Spanish Monarchy, Queen of Spain, and during her minority Baldomero Espartero, Duke of 'la Victoria' and Morella, Regent of the kingdom, to all who these presents may see and understand, makes known that the Cortes have decreed, and we have sanctioned, as follows: "ARTICLE I. All properties of the secular clergy of whatever class; rights or shares of whatever origin or denomination they may be, or for whatever application or purpose they may have been given, bought, or acquired, are national properties. "ART. II. The properties, rights, and shares corresponding in any manner to ecclesiastical unions or fraternities, are also national properties. "ART. III. All estates, rights, and shares of the cathedral, collegiate and parochial clergy and ecclesiastical unions and fraternities referred to in the preceding articles, are hereby declared _for sale_." * * * * * The 15 articles that follow specify the properties in detail, the manner of sale, the disposition of the products, administration of rents, etc. The law was not carried into effect. Espartero, very popular at first, by adopting the principles of the progressist party, forfeited the support of the conservatives--that is, of the clerical party, and the man is not born yet who can successfully introduce into Spain a radical reform of the nature of the one he sanctioned with his signature September 2, 1841. From that moment his overthrow was certain. Narvaez headed the revolution against him, his own officers and men abandoned him, and on July 30, 1843, he wrote his farewell manifesto to the nation on board a British ship of war. FOOTNOTES: [Footnote 79: San Juan had only about 100 "vecinos"--that is, white people.] CHAPTER XXXVIII THE INQUISITION 1520-1813 Bishop Manso, on his arrival in 1513, found Puerto Rico in a state bordering on anarchy, and after vain attempts to check the prevalent immorality and establish the authority of the Church, he returned to Spain in 1519. The account he gave Cardinal Cisneros of the island's condition suggested to the Grand Inquisitor the obvious remedy of clothing the bishop with the powers of Provincial Inquisitor, which he did. Diego Torres Vargas, the canon of the San Juan Cathedral, says in his memoirs: "Manso was made inquisitor, and he, being the first, may be said to have been the Inquisitor-General of the Indies; ... the delinquents were brought from all parts to be burned and punished here ... The Inquisition building exists till this day (1647), and until the coming of the Hollanders in 1625 many sambenitos could be seen in the cathedral hung up behind the choir." These "sambenitos" were sacks of coarse yellow cloth with a large red cross on them, and figures of devils and instruments of torture among the flames of hell. The delinquents, dressed in one of these sacks, bareheaded and barefooted, were made to do penance, or, if condemned to be burned, marched to the place of execution. It is said that in San Juan they were not tied to a stake but enclosed in a hollow plaster cast, against which the faggots were piled,[80] so that they were roasted rather than burned to death. The place for burning the sinners was outside the gate of the fort San Cristobal. Mr. M.F. Juncos believes that the prisons were in the lower part of the Dominican Convent, later the territorial audience and now the supreme court, but Mr. Salvador Brau thinks that they occupied a plot of ground in the angle formed by Cristo Street and the "Caleta" of San Juan. Of Nicolas Ramos, the last Bishop of Puerto Rico, who united the functions of inquisitor with the duties of the episcopate, Canon Vargas says: " ... He was very severe, burning and punishing, _as was his duty_, some of the people whose cases came before him ..." It seems that the records of the Inquisition in this island were destroyed and the traditions of its doings suppressed, because nothing is said regarding them by the native commentators on the island's history. Only the names of a few of the leading men who came in contact with the Tribunal have come down to us. Licentiate Sancho Velasquez, who was accused of speaking against the faith and eating meat in Lent, appears to have been Manso's first victim, since he died in a dungeon. A clergyman named Juan Carecras was sent to Spain at the disposition of the general, for the crime of practising surgery. In the same year (1536) we find the treasurer, Blas de Villasante, in an Inquisition dungeon, because, though married in Spain, he cohabited with a native woman--an offense too common at that time not to leave room for suspicion that the treasurer must have made himself obnoxious to the Holy Office in some other way. In 1537, a judge auditor was sent from the Española, but the parties whose accounts were to be audited contrived to have him arrested by the officers of the Inquisition on the day of his arrival. Doctor Juan Blazquez, having attempted to correct some abuses committed by the Admiral's employees in connivance with the Inquisition agents, suffered forty days' imprisonment, and was condemned to hear a mass standing erect all the time, besides paying a fine of 50 pesos. These are the only cases on record. Only the walls of the Inquisition building, could they speak, could reveal what passed within them from the time of Manso's arrival in 1520 to the end of the sixteenth century, when the West Indian Superior Tribunal was transferred to Cartagena, and a special subordinate judge only was left in San Juan. Bishop Rodrigo de Bastidas, who visited San Juan on a Government commission in 1533, perceiving the abuses that were committed in the inquisitor's name, proposed the abolition of the Holy Office; but the odious institution continued to exist till 1813, when the extraordinary Cortes of Cadiz removed, for a time, this blot on Spanish history. The decree is dated February 22d, and accompanied by a manifesto which is an instructive historical document in itself. It shows that the Cortes dared not attempt the suppression of the dreaded Tribunal without first convincing the people of the disconnection of the measure with the religious question, and justifying it as one necessary for the public weal. "You can not doubt," they say, "that we endeavor to maintain in this kingdom the Catholic, Apostolic, Roman religion, which you have the happiness to profess; ... the deputies elected by you know, as do the legislators of all times and all nations, that a social edifice not founded on religion, is constructed in vain; ... the true religion which we profess is the greatest blessing which God has bestowed on the Spanish people; we do not recognize as Spaniards those who do not profess it ... It is the surest support of all private and social virtues, of fidelity to the laws and to the monarch, of the love of country and of just liberty, which are graven in every Spanish heart, which have impelled you to battle with the hosts of the usurper, vanquishing and annihilating them, while braving hunger and nakedness, torture, and death." The Inquisition is next referred to. It is stated that in their constant endeavor to hasten the termination of the evils that afflict the Spanish nation, the people's representatives have first given their attention to the Inquisition; that, with the object of discovering the exact civil and ecclesiastical status of the Holy Office, they have examined all the papal bulls and other documents that could throw light on the subject, and have discovered that only the Inquisitor-General had ecclesiastical powers; that the Provincial Inquisitors were merely his delegates acting under his instructions; that no supreme inquisitorial council had ever been instituted by papal brief, and that the general, being with the enemy (the French troops), no Inquisition really existed. From these investigations the Cortes had acquired a knowledge of the mode of procedure of the tribunals, of their history, and of the opinion of them entertained by the Cortes of the kingdom in early days. " ... We will now speak frankly to you," continues the document, "for it is time that you should know the naked truth, and that the veil be lifted with which false politicians have covered their designs. "Examining the instructions by which the provincial tribunals were governed, it becomes clear at first sight that the soul of the institution was inviolable secrecy. This covered all the proceedings of the inquisitors, and made them the arbiters of the life and honor of all Spaniards, without responsibility to anybody on earth. They were men, and as such subject to the same errors and passions as the rest of mankind, and it is inconceivable that the nation did not exact responsibility since, in virtue of the temporal power that had been delegated to them, they condemned to seclusion, imprisonment, torture, and death. Thus the inquisitors exercised a power which the Constitution denies to every authority in the land save the sacred person of the king. "Another notable circumstance made the power of the Inquisitors-General still more unusual; this was that, without consulting the king or the Supreme Pontiff, they dictated laws, changed them, abolished them, or substituted them by others, so that there was within the nation a judge, the Inquisitor-General, whose powers transcended those of the sovereign. "Here now how the Tribunal proceeded with the offenders. When an accusation was made, the accused were taken to a secret prison without being permitted to communicate with parents, children, relations, or friends, till they were condemned or absolved. Their families were denied the consolation of weeping with them over their misfortunes or of assisting them in their defense. The accused was not only deprived of the assistance of his relations and friends, but in no case was he informed of the name of his accuser nor of the witnesses who declared against him; and in order that he might not discover who they were, they used to truncate the declarations and make them appear as coming from a third party. "Some one will be bold enough to say that the rectitude and the religious character of the inquisitors prevented the confusion of the innocent with the criminal; but the experiences of many years and the history of the Inquisition give the lie to such assurances. They show us sage and saintly men in the Tribunal's dungeons. Sixtus IV himself, who, at the request of the Catholic kings, had sanctioned the creation of the Tribunal, complained strongly of the innumerable protests that reached him from persecuted people who had been falsely accused of heresy. Neither the virtue nor the position of distinguished men could protect them. The venerable Archbishop of Grenada, formerly the confessor of Queen Isabel, suffered most rigorous persecutions from the inquisitors of Cordóva, and the same befell the Archbishop of Toledo, Friar Louis de Leon, the venerable Avila, Father Siguenza, and many other eminent men. "In view of these facts, it is no paradox to say that _the ignorance, the decadence of science, of the arts, commerce and agriculture, the depopulation and poverty of Spain, are mainly due to the Inquisition._ "How the Inquisition could be established among such a noble and generous people as the Spanish, will be a difficult problem for posterity to solve. It will be more difficult still to explain how such a Tribunal could exist for more than three hundred years. Circumstances favored its establishment. It was introduced under the pretext of restraining the Moors and the Jews, who were obnoxious to the Spanish people, and who found protection in their financial relations with the most illustrious families of the kingdom. With such plausible motives the politicians of the time covered a measure which was contrary to the laws of the monarchy. Religion demanded it as a protection, and the people permitted it, though not without strong protest. As soon as the causes that called the Inquisition into existence had ceased, the people's attorneys in Cortes demanded the establishment of the legal mode of procedure. The Cortes of Valladolid of 1518 and 1523 asked from the king that in matters of religion the ordinary judges might be declared competent, and that in the proceedings the canons and common codes might be followed; the Cortes of Saragossa asked the same in 1519, and the kings would have acceded to the will of the people, expressed through their representatives, especially in view of the indirect encouragement to do so which they received from the Holy See, but for the influence of those with whom they were surrounded who had an interest in the maintenance of the odious institution." The manifesto terminates with an assurance to the Spanish people that, under the new law, heresy would not go unpunished; that, under the new system of judicial proceedings, the innocent would no longer be confounded with the criminal. " ... There will be no more voluntary errors, no more suborned witnesses, offenders will henceforth be judged by upright magistrates in accordance with the sacred canons and the civil code ... Then, genius and talent will display all their energies without fear of being checked in their career by intrigue and calumny; ... science, the arts, agriculture, and commerce will flourish under the guidance of the distinguished men who abound in Spain ... The king, the bishops, all the venerable ecclesiastics will instruct the faithful in the Roman Catholic Apostolic religion without fear of seeing its beauty tarnished by ignorance and superstition, and, who knows, this decree may contribute to the realization, some day, of religious fraternity among all nations!" From this beautiful dream the Cortes were rudely awakened the very next year when King Ferdinand VII, replaced on his throne by the powers who formed the holy alliance, entered Madrid surrounded by a host of retrograde, revengeful priests. Then the Regency, the Cortes, the Constitution were ignored. The deputies were the first to suffer exile, imprisonment, and death in return for their loyalty and liberalism; the public press was silenced; the convents reopened, municipalities and provincial deputations abolished, the Jesuits restored, the Inquisition reestablished, and priestcraft once more spread its influence over the mental and social life of a naturally generous, brave, and intelligent people. FOOTNOTES: [Footnote 80: Neumann, p. 205.] CHAPTER XXXIX GROWTH OF CITIES The proceedings in the formation of a Spanish settlement in the sixteenth century were the same everywhere. For the choice of a site the presence of gold was a condition _sine quâ non_, without gold, no matter how beautiful or fertile the region, no settlement was made. When a favorable locality was found the first thing done was to construct a fort, because the natives, friendly disposed at first, were not long in becoming the deadly enemies of the handful of strangers who constituted themselves their masters. The next requisite was a church or chapel in which to invoke the divine blessing on the enterprise, or maybe to appease the divine wrath at the iniquities committed. Last, but certainly not least in importance, came the smelting-house, where the King of Spain's share of the gold was separated. Around these the settlers grouped their houses or huts as they pleased. The first settlement on this island was made in 1508, on the north coast, at the distance of more than a league from the present port of San Juan, the space between being swampy. Ponce called it Capárra. When the promising result of Ponce's first visit to the island was communicated to King Ferdinand by Ovando, the Governor of la Española, his Highness replied in a letter dated Valladolid, September 15, 1509: "I note the good services rendered by Ponce and that he has not gone to settle the island for want of means. Now that they are being sent from here in abundance, let him go at once with as many men as he can." To Ponce himself the king wrote: "I have seen your letter of August 16th. Be very diligent in the search for gold-mines. Take out as much as possible, smelt it in la Española and remit it instantly. Settle the island as best you can. Write often and let me know what is needed and what passes." Armed with these instructions, and with his appointment as governor _ad interim_, Ponce returned to San Juan in February, 1510, with his wife and two daughters, settled in Capárra, where, before his departure in 1509, he had built a house of stamped earth (tapia), and where some of the companions of his first expedition had resided ever since. Ponce's house, afterward built of stone, served as a fort. A church or chapel existed already, and we know that there was a smelting-house, because we read that the first gold-smelting took place in Capárra in October, 1510, and that the king's one-fifth came to 2,645 pesos. [Illustration: Plaza Alphonso XII and Intendencia Building, San Juan.] With the reinstatement of Ceron and Diaz, complaints about the distance of the settlement from the port, and its unhealthy location, soon reached the king's ears, accompanied by requests for permission to transfer it to an islet near the shore. No action was taken. In November, 1511, the monarch wrote to Ceron: "Ponce says that he founded the town of Capárra in the most favorable locality of the island. I fear that you want to change it. You shall not do so without our special approval. If there is just reason for moving you must first inform me." Capárra remained for the time the only settlement, and was honored with the name of "City of Puerto Rico." A municipal council was installed, and the king granted the island a coat of arms which differed slightly from that used by the authorities till lately. The next settlement was made on the south shore, at a place named Guánica, "where there is a bay," says Oviedo, "which is one of the best in the world, but the mosquitoes were so numerous that they alone were sufficient to depopulate it." [81] The Spaniards then moved to Aguáda, on the northwestern shore, and founded a settlement to which they gave the name of their leader Soto Mayor. This was a young man of aristocratic birth, ex-secretary of King Philip, surnamed "the Handsome." He had come to the Indies with a license authorizing him to traffic in captive Indians, and Ponce, wishing, no doubt, to enlist the young hidalgo's family influence at the court in his favor, made him high constable (_alguacil mayor_) of the southern division (June, 1510). The new settlement's existence was short. It was destroyed by the Indians in the insurrection of February of the following year, when Christopher Soto Mayor and 80 more of his countrymen, who had imprudently settled in isolated localities in the interior, fell victims of the rage of the natives. Diego Columbus proposed the reconstruction of the destroyed settlement, with the appellation of San German. The king approved, and near the end of the year 1512, Miguel del Torro, one of Ponce's companions, was delegated to choose a site. He fixed upon the bay of Guayanilla, eastward of Guánica, and San German became the port of call for the Spanish ships bound to Pária. Its proximity to the "pearl coast," as the north shore of Venezuela was named, made it the point of departure for all who wished to reach that coast or escape from the shores of poverty-stricken Puerto Rico--namely, the dreamers of the riches of Peru, those who, like Sedeño, aspired to new conquests on the mainland, or crown officers who had good reasons for wishing to avoid giving an account of their administration of the royal revenues. The comparative prosperity which it enjoyed made San German the object of repeated attacks by the French privateers. It was burned and plundered several times during the forty-three years of its existence, till one day in September, 1554, three French ships of the line entered the port and landed a detachment of troops who plundered and destroyed everything to a distance of a league and a half into the interior. From that day San German, founded by Miguel del Torro, ceased to exist. The town with the same name, existing at present on the southwest coast, was founded in 1570 by Governor Francisco Solis with the remains of the ill-fated settlement on the bay of Guayanilla. The Dominican friars had a large estate in this neighborhood, and the new settlement enhanced its value. Both the governor and the bishop were natives of Salamanca, and named the place New Salamanca, but the name of New San German has prevailed. In 1626 the new town had 50 citizens (vecinos). _San Juan_.--Licentiate Velasquez, one of the king's officers at Capárra, wrote to his Highness in April, 1515: " ... The people of this town wish to move to an islet in the port. I went to see it with the town council and it looks well"; and some time later: " ... We will send a description of the islet to which it is convenient to remove the town of Puerto Rico." Ponce opposed the change. His reasons were that the locality of Capárra was dry and level, with abundance of wood, water, and pasture, and that most of the inhabitants, occupied as they were with gold-washing, had to provide themselves with provisions from the neighboring granges. He recognized that the islet was healthier, but maintained that the change would benefit only the traders. The dispute continued for some time. Medical certificates were presented declaring Capárra unhealthy. The leading inhabitants declared their opinion in favor of the transfer. A petition was signed and addressed to the Jerome friars, who governed in la Española, and they ordered the transfer in June, 1519. Ponce was permitted to remain in his stone house in the abandoned town as long as he liked. In November, 1520, Castro wrote to the emperor expressing his satisfaction with the change, and asked that a fort and a stone smelting-house might be constructed, because the one in use was of straw and had been burned on several occasions. Finally, in 1521, the translation of the capital of Puerto Rico to its present site was officially recognized and approved. There were now two settlements in the island. There were 35 citizens in each in 1515, but the gold produced attracted others, and in 1529 the Bishop of la Española reported that there were 120 houses in San Juan, "some of stone, the majority of straw. The church was roofed while I was there." He says, "a Dominican monastery was in course of construction, nearly finished, with more than 125 friars in it." During the next five years the gold produce rapidly diminished; the Indians, who extracted it, escaped or died. Tempests and epidemics devastated the land. The Caribs and the French freebooters destroyed what the former spared. All those who could, emigrated to Mexico or Peru, and such was the depopulated condition of the capital, that Governor Lando wrote in 1534: "If a ship with 50 men were to come during the night, they could land and kill all who live here." With the inhabitants engaged in the cultivation of sugar-cane, some improvement in their condition took place. Still, there were only 130 citizens in San Juan in 1556, and only 30 in New San German. In 1595, when Drake appeared before San Juan with a fleet of 26 ships, the governor could only muster a few peons and 50 horsemen, and but for the accidental presence of the Spanish frigates, Puerto Rico would probably be an English possession to-day. It _was_ taken by the Duke of Cumberland four years later, but abandoned again on account of the epidemic that broke out among the English troops. When the Hollanders laid siege to the capital in 1625 there were only 330 men between citizens and jíbaros that could be collected for the defense. In 1646 there were 500 citizens and 400 houses in San Juan, and 200 citizens in New San German. Arecibo and Coámo had recently been founded. Scarcely any progress in the settlement of the country was made during the remaining years of the seventeenth century. Toward the middle of the eighteenth century great steps in this direction had been made. From Governor Bravo de Rivera's list of men fit for militia service, we discover that in 1759 there were 18 new settlements or towns in the island with a total of 4,559 men able to carry arms; exclusive of San Juan and San German, they were: Ponce with 356 men. Aguáda with 564 " Manatí " 357 " Añasco " 460 " Yauco " 164 " Coámo " 342 " La Tuna " 104 " Arecibo " 647 " Utuado " 126 " Loiza " 179 " Toa-Alta " 188 " Toa-Baja " 294 " Piedras " 104 " Bayamón " 256 " Cáguas " 100 " Guayama " 211 " Rio Piedras with 46 " Cangrejos with 120 " The oldest of these settlements is _La Aguáda_.--The name signifies "place at which water is taken," and _Aguadilla_, which is to the north of the former and the head of the province, is merely the diminutive of Aguáda. The first possesses abundant springs of excellent water, one of them distant only five minutes from the landing-place. In Aguadilla a famous spring rises in the middle of the town and runs through it in a permanent stream. In 1511 the king directed his officers in Seville to make all ships, leaving that port for the Indies, call at the island of San Juan in order to make the Caribs believe that the Spanish population was much larger than it really was, and thus prevent or diminish their attacks. The excellence of the water which the ships found at Aguáda made it convenient for them to call, and the Spanish ships continued to do so long after the need of frightening away the Caribs had passed. The first regular settlement was founded in 1585 by the Franciscan monks, who named it San Francisco de Asis. The Caribs surprised the place about the year 1590, destroyed the convent, and martyrized five of the monks, which caused the temporary abandonment of the settlement. It was soon repeopled, notwithstanding the repeated attacks of Caribs and French and English privateers. Drake stopped there to provide his fleet with water in 1595. Cumberland did the same four years later. The Columbian insurgents attempted a landing in 1819 and another in 1825, but were beaten off. Their valiant conduct on these occasions, and their loyalty in contributing a large sum of money toward the expenses of the war in Africa, earned for their town, from the Home Government, the title of "unconquerable" (villa invicta) in 1860. Aguáda, or rather the mouth of the river Culebrinas, which flows into the sea near it, is the place where Columbus landed in 1493. The fourth centenary of the event was commemorated in 1893 by the erection, on a granite pedestal, of a marble column, 11 meters high, crowned with a Latin cross. On the pedestal is the inscription: 1493 19th of November 1893 _Loiza._--Along the borders of the river which bears this name there settled, about the year 1514, Pedro Mexia, Sancho Arángo, Francisco Quinaós, Pedro Lopez, and some other Spaniards, with their respective Indian laborers. In one of the raids of the Indians from Vieyques or Aye-Aye, which were so frequent at the time, a cacique named Cacimár met his death at the hands of Arángo. The fallen chief's brother Yaureibó, in revenge, prepared a large expedition, and penetrating at night with several pirogues full of men by way of the river to within a short distance of the settlement, fell upon it and utterly destroyed it, killing many and carrying off others. Among the killed were Mexia and his Indian concubine named Louisa or Heloise. Tradition says that this woman, having been advised by some Indian friend of the intended attack, tried to persuade her paramour to flee. When he refused, she scorned his recommendation to save herself and remained with him to share his fate. In the relation of this episode by the chroniclers, figures also the name of the dog Becerrillo (small calf), a mastiff belonging to Arángo, who had brought the animal from the Española, where Columbus had introduced the breed on his second voyage. In the fight with the Indians Arángo was overpowered and was being carried off alive, when his dog, at the call of his master, came bounding to the rescue and made the Indians release him. They sprang into the river for safety, and the gallant brute following them was shot with a poisoned arrow.[82] _Arecibo_ is situated on the river of that name. It was founded by Felipe de Beaumont in 1616, with the appellation San Felipe de Arecibo. _Fajardo._--Governor Bravo de Rivero, with a view to found a settlement on the east coast, detached a number of soldiers from their regiment and gave to them and some other people a caballeria[83] of land each, in the district watered by the river Fajardo. Alexander O'Reilly, the king's commissioner, who visited the settlement in 1765, found 474 people, and wrote: " ...They have cleared little ground and cultivated so little that they are still in the very commencements. The only industry practised by the inhabitants is illicit trade with the Danish islands of Saint Thomas and Saint Cross. The people of Fajardo are the commission agents for the people there. What else could be expected from indolent soldiers and vagabonds without any means of clearing forests or building houses? If no other measures are adopted this settlement will remain many years in the same unhappy condition and be useful only to foreigners." In 1780 there were 243 heads of families in the district; the town proper had 9 houses and a church. With regard to the remaining settlements mentioned in Governor Bravo de Rivero's list, there are no reliable data. From 1759, the year in which a general distribution of Government lands was practised and titles were granted, to the year 1774, in which Governor Miguel Muesas reformed or redistributed some of the urban districts, many, if not most of the settlements referred to were formed or received the names they bear at present. FOOTNOTES: [Footnote 81: The first landing of the American troops was effected here on July 25, 1898.] [Footnote 82: These two episodes have given rise to several fantastic versions by native writers.] [Footnote 83: Ten by twenty "cuerdas." The cuerda is one-tenth less than an English acre.] CHAPTER XL AURIFEROUS STREAMS AND GOLD PRODUCED FROM 1509 TO 1536 If a systematic exploration were practised to-day, by competent mineralogists, of the entire chain of mountains which intersects the island from east to west, it is probable that lodes of gold-bearing quartz or conglomerate, worth working, would be discovered. Even the alluvium deposits along the banks of the rivers and their tributaries, as well as the river beds, might, in many instances, be found to "pay." The early settlers compelled the Indians to work for them. These poor creatures, armed with the simplest tools, dug the earth from the river banks. Their wives and daughters, standing up to their knees in the river, washed it in wooden troughs. When the output diminished another site was chosen, often before the first one was half worked out. The Indians' practical knowledge of the places where gold was likely to be found was the Spanish gold-seeker's only guide, the Indians' labor the only labor employed in the collection of it. As for the mountains, they have never been properly explored. The Indians who occupied them remained in a state of insurrection for years, and when the mountain districts could be safely visited at last, the _auri sacra fames_ had subsided. The governors did not interest themselves in the mineral resources of the island, and the people found it too difficult to provide for their daily wants to go prospecting. So the surface gold in the alluvium deposits was all that was collected by the Spaniards, and what there still may be on the bed-rocks of the rivers or in the lodes in the mountains from which it has been washed, awaits the advent of modern gold-seekers. The first samples of gold from Puerto Rico were taken to the Española by Ponce, who had obtained them from the river Manatuabón, to which the friendly cacique Guaybána conducted him on his first visit (1508). This river disembogues into the sea on the south coast near Cape Malapascua; but it appears that the doughty captain also visited the north coast and found gold enough in the rivers Cóa and Sibúco to justify him in making his headquarters at Capárra, which is in the neighborhood. That gold was found there in considerable quantities is shown by the fact that in August of the same year of Ponce's return to the island (he returned in February, 1509), 8,975 pesos corresponded to the king's fifth of the first _washings_. The first _smelting_ was practised October 26, 1510. The next occurred May 22, 1511, producing respectively 2,645 and 3,043 gold pesos as the king's share. Thus, in the three first years the crown revenues from this source amounted to 14,663 gold pesos, and the total output to 73,315 gold pesos, which, at three dollars of our money per peso, approximately represented a total of $219,945 obtained from the rivers in the neighborhood of Capárra alone. In 1515 a fresh discovery of gold-bearing earth in this locality was reported to the king by Sancho Velasquez, the treasurer, who wrote on April 27th: " ... At 4 leagues' distance from here rich gold deposits have been found in certain rivers and streams. From Reyes (December 4th) to March 15th, with very few Indians, 25,000 pesos have been taken out. It is expected that the output this season will be 100,000 pesos." The streams in the neighborhood of San German, on the south coast, the only other settlement in the island at the time, seem to have been equally rich. The year after its foundation by Miguel del Toro the settlers were able to smelt and deliver 6,147 pesos to the royal treasurer. The next year the king's share amounted to 7,508 pesos, and Treasurer Haro reported that the same operation for the years 1517 and 1518 had produced $186,000 in all--that is, 3,740 for the treasury. A good idea of the island's mineral and other resources at this period may be formed from Treasurer Haro's extensive report to the authorities in Madrid, dated January 21, 1518. " ... Your Highness's revenues," he says, "are: one-fifth of the gold extracted and of the pearls brought by those who go (to the coast of Venezuela) to purchase them, the salt produce and the duties on imports and exports. Every one of the three smeltings that are practised here every two years produces about 250,000 pesos, in San German about 186,000 pesos. But the amounts fluctuate. "The product of pearls is uncertain. Since the advent of the Jerome fathers the business has been suspended until the arrival of your Highness. Two caravels have gone now, but few will go, because the fathers say that the traffic in Indians is to cease and the greatest profit is in that ... On your Highness's estates there are 400 Indians who wash gold, work in the fields, build houses, etc.; ... they produce from 1,500 to 2,000 pesos profit every gang (demora).... I send in this ship, with Juan Viscaino, 8,000 pesos and 40 marks of pearls. There remain in my possession 17,000 pesos and 70 marks of pearls, which shall be sent by the next ship in obedience to your Highness's orders, not to send more than 10,000 pesos at a time. The pearls that go now are worth that amount. Until the present we sent only 5,000 pesos' worth of pearls at one time." The yearly output of gold fluctuated, but it continued steadily, as Velasquez wrote to the emperor in 1521, when he made a remittance of 5,000 pesos. Six or seven years later, the placers, for such they were, were becoming exhausted. Castellanos, the treasurer, wrote in 1518 that only 429 pesos had been received as the king's share of the last two years' smelting. Some new deposit was discovered in the river Daguáo, but it does not seem to have been of much importance. From the year 1530 the reports of the crown officers are full of complaints of the growing scarcity of gold; finally, in 1536, the last remittance was made; not, it may be safely assumed, because there was no more gold in the island, but because those who had labored and suffered in its production, had succumbed to the unaccustomed hardships imposed on them and to the cruel treatment received from their sordid masters. Besides the river mentioned, the majority of those which have their sources in the mountains of Luquillo are more or less auriferous. These are: the Rio Prieto, the Fajardo, the Espíritu Santo, the Rio Grande, and, especially, the Mameyes. The river Loiza also contains gold, but, judging from the traces of diggings still here and there visible along the beds of the Mavilla, the Sibúco, the Congo, the Rio Negro, and Carozal, in the north, it would seem that these rivers and their affluents produced the coveted metal in largest quantities. The Duey, the Yauco, and the Oromico, or Hormigueros, on the south coast are supposed to be auriferous also, but do not seem to have been worked. The metal was and is still found in seed-shaped grains, sometimes of the weight of 2 or 3 pesos. Tradition speaks of a nugget found in the Fajardo river weighing 4 ounces, and of another found in an affluent of the Congo of 1 pound in weight. _Silver_.--In 1538 the crown officers in San Juan wrote to the Home Government: " ... The gold is diminishing. Several veins of lead ore have been discovered, from which some silver has been extracted. The search would continue if the concession to work these veins were given for ten years, with 1.20 or 1.15 royalty." On March 29th of the following year the same officers reported: " ... Respecting the silver ores discovered, we have smolten some, but no one here knows how to do it. Veins of this ore have been discovered in many parts of the island, but nobody works them. We are waiting for some one to come who knows how to smelt them." The following extract from the memoirs and documents left by Juan Bautista Muñoz, gives the value in "gold pesos"[84] of the bullion and pearls, corresponding to the king's one-fifth share of the total produce remitted to Spain from this island from the year 1509 to 1536: In 1509, gold pesos 8,975 1510, " 2,645 1511, " 10,000 1512, " 3,043 1513, " 27,291 1514, " 18,000 1515, " 17,000 1516, " 11,490 1517-18, " 38,497 1519, " 10,000 1520, " 35,733 In 1521, " 10,000 1522, " 7,979 1523-29, " 40,000 1530, " 12,440 1531, " 6,500 1532, " 9,000 1533, " 4,000 1534, " 8,500 1535, " 1,848 1536, " 10,000 ______ Total, 15 share 277,941 The entire output for this period was 1,389,705 gold pesos, or $4,169,115 Spanish coin of to-day, as the total produce in gold and pearls of the island of San Juan de Puerto Rico during the first twenty-seven years of its occupation by the Spaniards. FOOTNOTES: [Footnote 84: Washington Irving estimates the value of the "gold peso" of the sixteenth century at $3 Spanish money of our day.] CHAPTER XLI WEST INDIAN HURRICANES IN PUERTO RICO FROM 1515 TO 1899 Whoever has witnessed the awful magnificence of what the primitive inhabitants of the West Indian islands called _ou-ra-cán,_ will never forget the sense of his own utter nothingness and absolute helplessness. With the wind rushing at the rate of 65 or more miles an hour, amid the roar of waves lashed into furious rolling mountains of water, the incessant flash of lightning, the dreadful roll of thunder, the fierce beating of rain, one sees giant trees torn up by the roots and man's proud constructions of stone and iron broken and scattered like children's toys. The tropical latitudes to the east and north of the West Indian Archipelago are the birthplace of these phenomena. According to Mr. Redfield[85] they cover simultaneously an extent of surface from 100 to 500 miles in diameter, acting with diminished violence toward the circumference and with increased energy toward the center of this space. In the Weather Bureau's bulletin cited, there is a description of the most remarkable and destructive among the 355 hurricanes that have swept over the West Indies from 1492 to 1899. Not a single island has escaped the tempest's ravages. I have endeavored in vain to make an approximate computation of the human life and property destroyed by these visitations of Providence. Such a computation is impossible when we read of entire towns destroyed not once but 6, 8, and 10 times; of crops swept away by the tempest's fury, and the subsequent starvation of untold thousands; of whole fleets of ships swallowed up by the sea with every soul on board, and of hundreds of others cast on shore like coco shards. To give an idea of the appalling disasters caused by these too oft recurring phenomena, the above-mentioned bulletin gives Flammarion's description of the great hurricane of 1780.[86] "The most terrible cyclone of modern times is probably that which occurred on October 10, 1780, which has been specially called the great hurricane, and which seems to have embodied all the horrible scenes that attend a phenomenon of this kind. Starting from Barbados, where trees and houses were all blown down, it engulfed an English fleet anchored before St. Lucia, and then ravaged the whole of that island, where 6,000 persons were buried beneath the ruins. From thence it traveled to Martinique, overtook a French transport fleet and sunk 40 ships conveying 4,000 soldiers. The vessels _disappeared_." Such is the laconic language in which the governor reported the disaster. Farther north, Santo Domingo, St. Vincent, St. Eustatius, and Puerto Rico were devastated, and most of the vessels that were sailing in the track of the cyclone were lost with all on board. Beyond Puerto Rico the tempest turned northeast toward Bermuda, and though its violence gradually decreased, it nevertheless sunk several English vessels. This hurricane was quite as destructive inland. Nine thousand persons perished in Martinique, and 1,000 in St. Pierre, where not a single house was left standing, for the sea rose to a height of 25 feet, and 150 houses that were built along the shore were engulfed. At Port Royal the cathedral, 7 churches, and 1,400 houses were blown down; 1,600 sick and wounded were buried beneath the ruins of the hospital. At St. Eustatius, 7 vessels were dashed to pieces on the rocks, and of the 19 which lifted their anchors and went out to sea, only 1 returned. At St. Lucia the strongest buildings were torn up from their foundations, a cannon was hurled a distance of more than 30 yards, and men as well as animals were lifted off their feet and carried several yards. The sea rose so high that it destroyed the fort and drove a vessel against the hospital with such force as to stave in the walls of that building. Of the 600 houses at Kingston, on the island of St. Vincent, 14 alone remained intact, and the French frigate Junon was lost. Alarming consequences were feared from the number of dead bodies which lay uninterred, and the quantity of fish the sea threw up, but these alarms soon subsided...." "The aboriginal inhabitants," says Abbad, "foresaw these catastrophes two or three days in advance. They were sure of their approach when they perceived a hazy atmosphere, the red aspect of the sun, a dull, rumbling, subterranean sound, the stars shining through a kind of mist which made them look larger, the nor'west horizon heavily clouded, a strong-smelling emanation from the sea, a heavy swell with calm weather, and sudden changes of the wind from east to west." The Spanish settlers also learned to foretell the approach of a hurricane by the sulphurous exhalations of the earth, but especially by the incessant neighing of horses, bellowing of cattle, and general restlessness of these animals, who seem to acquire a presentiment of the coming danger. "The physical features of hurricanes are well understood. The approach of a hurricane is usually indicated by a long swell on the ocean, propagated to great distances, and forewarning the observer by two or three days. A faint rise in the barometer occurs before the gradual fall, which becomes very pronounced at the center. Fine wisps of cirrus-clouds are first seen, which surround the center to a distance of 200 miles; the air is calm and sultry, but this is gradually supplanted by a gentle breeze, and later the wind increases to a gale, the clouds become matted, the sea rough, rain falls, and the winds are gusty and dangerous as the vortex comes on. Then comes the indescribable tempest, dealing destruction, impressing the imagination with the wild exhibition of the forces of nature, the flashes of lightning, the torrents of rain, the cold air, all the elements in an uproar, which indicate the close approach of the center. In the midst of this turmoil there is a sudden pause, the winds almost cease, the sky clears, the waves, however, rage in great turbulence. This is the eye of the storm, the core of the vortex, and it is, perhaps, 20 miles in diameter, or one-thirtieth of the whole hurricane. The respite is brief, and is soon followed by the abrupt renewal of the violent wind and rain, but now coming from the opposite direction, and the storm passes off with the several features following each other in the reverse order." [87] The distribution over the months of the year of the 355 West Indian hurricanes which occurred during the four hundred and six years elapsed since the discovery, to the last on the list, is as follows: Months. No of hurricanes. January 5 February 7 March 11 April 6 May 5 June 10 July 42 August 96 September 80 October 69 November 17 December 7 355 Puerto Rico has been devastated by hurricanes more than 20 times since its occupation by the Spaniards. But the records, beyond the mere statement of the facts, are very incomplete. Four stand out prominently as having committed terrible ravages. These are the hurricanes of Santa Ana, on July 26, 1825; Los Angeles, on August 2,1837; San Narciso, on October 29, 1867, and San Ciriaco, on August 8, 1899. The first mention of the occurrence of a hurricane in this island we find in a letter from the crown officers to the king, dated August 8, 1515, wherein they explain: " ... In these last smeltings there was little gold, because many Indians died in consequence of sickness caused by the tempest as well as from want of food ..." The next we read of was October 8, 1526, and is thus described by licentiate Juan de Vadillo: "On the night of the 4th of October last there broke over this island such a violent storm of wind and rain, which the natives call '_ou-ra-cán'_ that it destroyed the greater part of this city (San Juan) with the church. In the country it caused such damage by the overflow of rivers that many rich men have been made poor." On September 8, 1530, Governor Francisco Manuel de Lando reported to the king: "During the last six weeks there have been three storms of wind and rain in this island (July 26, August 23 and 31). They have destroyed all the plantations, drowned many cattle, and caused much hunger and misery in the land. In this city the half of the houses were entirely destroyed, and of the other half the least injured is without a roof. In the country and in the mines nothing has remained standing. Everybody is ruined and thinking of going away." _1537_.--July and August. The town officers wrote to the king in September: "In the last two months we have had three storms of wind and rain, the greatest that have been seen in this island, and as the plantations are along the banks of the rivers the floods have destroyed them all. Many slaves and cattle have been drowned, and this has caused much discouragement among the settlers, who before were inclined to go away, and are now more so." _1575_.--September 21 (San Mateo), hurricane mentioned in the memoirs of Father Torres Vargas. _1614_.--September 12, mentioned by the same chronicler in the following words: "Fray Pedro de Solier came to his bishopric in the year 1615, the same in which a great tempest occurred, after more than forty years since the one called of San Mateo. This one happened on the 12th of September. It did so much damage to the cathedral that it was necessary partly to cover it with straw and write to his Majesty asking for a donation to repair it. With his accustomed generosity he gave 4,000 ducats." _1678_.--Abbad states that a certain Count or Duke Estren, an English commander, with a fleet of 22 ships and a body of landing troops appeared before San Juan and demanded its surrender, but that, before the English had time to land, a violent hurricane occurred which stranded every one of the British ships on Bird Island. Most of the people on board perished, and the few who saved their lives were made prisoners of war. _1740_.--Precise date unknown. Monsieur Moreau de Jonnès, in his work,[88] says that this hurricane destroyed a coco-palm grove of 5 or 6 leagues in extent, which existed near Ponce. Other writers confirm this. _1772, August 28_.--Friar Iñigo Abbad, who was in the island at the time, gives the following description of this tempest: "About a quarter to eleven of the night of the 28th of August the storm began to be felt in the capital of the island. A dull but continuous roll of thunder filled the celestial hemisphere, the sound as of approaching torrents of rain, the frightful sight of incessant lightning, and a slow quaking of the earth accompanied the furious wind. The tearing up of trees, the lifting of roofs, smashing of windows, and leveling of everything added terror-striking noises to the scene. The tempest raged with the same fury in the capital till after one o'clock in the morning. In other parts of the island it began about the same hour, but without any serious effect till later. In Aguáda, where I was at the time, nothing was felt till half-past two in the morning. It blew violently till a quarter to four, and the wind continued, growing less strong, till noon. During this time the wind came from all points of the compass, and the storm visited every part of the island, causing more damage in some places than others, according to their degree of exposure." _1780, June 13, and 1788, August 16._--No details of these two hurricanes are found in any of the Puerto Rican chronicles. _1804, September 4._--A great cyclone, a detailed description of which is given in the work of Mr. Jonnés. _1818 and 1814_--Both hurricanes happened on the same date, that is, the 23d of July. Yauco and San German suffered most. A description of the effects of these storms was given in the Dario Económico of the 11th of August, 1814. _1819, September 21_.--(San Mateo.) This cyclone is mentioned by Jonnés and by Córdova, who says that it caused extraordinary damages on the plantations. _1825, July 26_.--(Santa Ana.) Córdova (vol. ii, p. 21 of his Memoirs) says of this hurricane: "It destroyed the towns of Patillas, Maunabó, Yabucóa, Humacáo, Gurabó, and Cáguas. In the north, east, and center of the island it caused great damage. More than three hundred people and a large number of cattle perished; 500 persons were badly wounded. The rivers rose to an unheard of extent, and scarcely a house remained standing. In the capital part of the San Antonio bridge was blown down, and the city wall facing the Marina on Tanca Creek was cracked. The royal Fortaleza (the present Executive Mansion) suffered much, also the house of Ponce. The lightning-conductors of the powder-magazine were blown down." _1837, August 2_.--(Los Angeles.) This cyclone was general over the island and caused exceedingly grave losses of life and property. All the ships in the harbor of San Juan were lost. _1840, September 16_.--No details. _1851, August 18_.--No details, except that this hurricane caused considerable damage. _1867, October 29_.--(San Narciso.) No details. [Illustration: Casa Blanca and the sea wall, San Juan.] _1871, August 23_.--(San Felipe.) No details. _1899, August 8_.--(San Ciriaco.) When this hurricane occurred there was a meteorological station in operation in San Juan, and we are therefore enabled to present the following data from Mr. Geddings's report: "The rainfall was excessive, as much as 23 inches falling at Adjuntas during the course of twenty-four hours. This caused severe inundations of rivers, and the deaths from drowning numbered 2,569 as compared with 800 killed by injuries received from the effects of the wind. This number does not include the thousands who have since died from starvation. The total loss of property was 35,889,013 pesos." The United States Government and people promptly came to the assistance of the starving population, and something like 32,000,000 rations were distributed by the army during the ten months succeeding the hurricane. * * * * * Such are the calamities that are suspended over the heads of the inhabitants of the West Indian Islands. From July to October, at any moment, the sapphire skies may turn black with thunder-clouds; the Eden-like landscapes turned into scenes of ruin and desolation; the rippling ocean that lovingly laves their shores becomes a roaring monster trying to swallow them. The refreshing breezes that fan them become a destructive blast. Yet, such is the fecundity of nature in these regions that a year after a tempest has swept over an island, if the debris be removed, not a trace of its passage is visible--the fields are as green as ever, the earth, the trees, and plants that were spared by the tempest double their productive powers as if to indemnify the afflicted inhabitants for the losses they suffered. FOOTNOTES: [Footnote 85: See Bulletin H, Weather Bureau, West Indian Hurricanes, by E.B. Garriott, Washington, 1900.] [Footnote 86: L'Atmosphère, p. 377 and following.] [Footnote 87: Enrique del Monte, Havana University, On the Climate of the West Indies and West Indian Hurricanes.] [Footnote 88: Histoire physique des Antilles Françaises.] CHAPTER XLII THE CARIBS The origin of the Caribs, their supposed cannibalism and other customs have occasioned much controversy among West Indian chroniclers. The first question is undecided, and probably will remain so forever. With regard to cannibalism, in spite of the confirmative assurances of the early Spanish chroniclers, we have the testimony of eminent authorities to the contrary; and the writings of Jesuit missionaries who have lived many years among the Caribs give us a not unfavorable idea of their character and social institutions. The first European who became intimately acquainted with the people of the West Indian Islands, on the return from his first voyage, wrote to the Spanish princes: " ... In all these islands I did not observe much difference in the faces and figures of the inhabitants, nor in their customs, nor in their language, seeing that they all understand each other, which is very singular." On the other hand the readiness with which the inhabitants of Aye-Aye and the other Carib islands gave asylum to the fugitive Boriquén Indians and joined them in their retaliatory expeditions, also points to the existence of some bond of kinship between them, so that there is ground for the opinion entertained by some writers that all the inhabitants of all the Antilles were of the race designated under the generic name of Caribs. The theory generally accepted at first was, that at the time of the discovery two races of different origin occupied the West Indian Archipelago. The larger Antilles with the groups of small islands to the north of them were supposed to be inhabited by a race named Guaycures, driven from the peninsula of Florida by the warlike Seminoles; the Guaycures, it is said, could easily have reached the Bahamas and traversed the short distance that separated them from Cuba in their canoes, some of which could contain 100 men, and once there they would naturally spread over the neighboring islands. It is surmised that they occupied them at the time of the advent of the Phoenicians in this hemisphere, and Dr. Calixto Romero, in an interesting article on Lucúo, the god of the Boriquéns,[89] mentions a tradition referring to the arrival of these ancient navigators, and traces some of the Boriquén religious customs to them. The Guaycures were a peacefully disposed race, hospitable, indolent, fond of dancing and singing, by means of which they transmitted their legends from generation to generation. They fell an easy prey to the Spaniards. Velasquez conquered Cuba without the loss of a man. Juan Esquivél made himself master of Jamaica with scarcely any sacrifice, and if the aborigines of the Española and Boriquén resisted, it was only after patiently enduring insupportable oppression for several years. The other race which inhabited the Antilles were said to have come from the south. They were supposed to have descended the Orinoco, spreading along the shore of the continent to the west of the river's mouths and thence to have invaded one after the other all the lesser Antilles. They were in a fair way of occupying the larger Antilles also when the discoveries of Columbus checked their career. In support of the theory of the south-continental origin of the Caribs we have, in the first place, the work of Mr. Aristides Rojas on Venezuelan hieroglyphics, wherein he treats of numerous Carib characters on the rocks along the plains and rivers of that republic, marking their itinerary from east to west. He states that the Acháguas, the aboriginals of Columbia, gave to these wanderers, on account of their ferocity, the name of Chabi-Nabi, that is, tiger-men or descendants of tigers. In the classification of native tribes in Codazzi's geography of Venezuela, he includes the Caribs, and describes them as "a very numerous race, enterprising and warlike, which in former times exercised great influence over the whole territory extending from Ecuador to the Antilles. They were the tallest and most robust Indians known on the continent; they traded in slaves, and though they were cruel and ferocious in their incursions, they were not cannibals like their kinsmen of the lesser Antilles, who were so addicted to the custom of eating their prisoners that the names of cannibal and Carib had become synonymous." [90] Another theory of the origin of the Caribs is that advanced by M. d'Orbigny, who, after eight years of travel over the South American continent, published the result of his researches in Paris in 1834. He considers them to be a branch of the great Guaraní family. And the Jesuit missionaries, Fathers Raymond and Dutertre, who lived many years among the Antillean Caribs, concluded from their traditions that they were descended from a people on the continent named Galibis, who, according to M. d'Orbigny, were a branch of the Guaranís. But the Guaranís, though a very wide-spread family of South American aborigines, were neither a conquering nor a wandering race. They occupied that part of the continent situated between the rivers Paraguay and Paraná, from where these two rivers join the river Plate, northward, to about latitude 22° south. This region was the home of the Guaranís, a people indolent, sensual, and peaceful, among whom the Jesuits, in the eighteenth century founded a religious republic, which toward the end of that period counted 33 towns with a total population of over one hundred thousand souls. A glance at the map will show the improbability of any Indian tribe, no matter how warlike, making its way from the heart of the continent to the Orinoco through 30° of primitive forests, mountains, and rivers, inhabited by hostile tribes.[91] The French missionaries who lived many years with the Caribs of Guadeloupe and the other French possessions, do not agree on the subject of their origin. Fathers Dutertre and Raymond believe them to be the descendants of the Galibis, a people inhabiting Guiana. Fathers Rochefort, Labat, and Bristol maintain that they are descended from the Apalaches who inhabited the northern part of Florida. Humboldt is of the same opinion, and suggests that the name Carib may be derived from Calina or Caripuna through transformation of the letters _l_ and _p_ into _r_ and _b_, forming Caribi or Galibi.[92] Pedro Martyr strongly opposes this opinion, the principal objection to which is that a tribe from the North American continent invading the West Indies by way of Florida would naturally occupy the larger Antilles before traveling east and southward. Under this hypothesis, as we have said, all the inhabitants of the Antilles would be Caribs, but in that case the difference in the character of the inhabitants of the two divisions of the archipelago would have to be accounted for. Most of the evidence we have been able to collect on this subject points to a south-continental origin of the Caribs. On the maps of America, published in 1587 by Abraham Ortellus, of Antwerp, in 1626 by John Speed, of London, and in 1656 by Sanson d'Abbeville in Paris, the whole region to the north of the Orinoco is marked Caribana. In the history of the Dutch occupation of Guiana we read that hostile Caribs occupied a shelter[93] constructed in 1684 by the governor on the borders of the Barima, which shows that the vast region along the Orinoco and its tributaries, as well as the lesser Antilles, was inhabited by an ethnologically identical race. * * * * * Were the Caribs cannibals? This question has been controverted as much as that of their origin, and with the same doubtful result. The only testimony upon which the assumption that the Caribs were cannibals is founded is that of the companions of Columbus on his second voyage, when, landing at Guadeloupe, they found human bones and skulls in the deserted huts. No other evidence of cannibalism of a positive character was ever after obtained, so that the belief in it rests exclusively upon Chanca's narrative of what the Spaniards saw and learned during the few days of their stay among the islands. Their imagination could not but be much excited by the sight of what the doctor describes as "infinite quantities" of bones of human creatures, who, they took for granted, had been devoured, and of skulls hanging on the walls by way of receptacles for curios. It was the age of universal credulity, and for more than a century after the most absurd tales with regard to the people and things of the mysterious new continent found ready credence even among men of science. Columbus, in his letter to Santangel (February, 1493), describing the different islands and people, wrote: "I have not yet seen any of the human monsters that are supposed to exist here." The descriptions of the customs of the natives of the newly discovered islands which Dr. Chanca sent to the town council of Seville were unquestioned by them, and afterward by the Spanish chroniclers; but there is reason to believe with Mr. Ignacio Armas, an erudite Cuban author, who published a paper in 1884 entitled the Fable of the Caribs, that the belief in their cannibalism originated in an error of judgment, was an illusion afterward, and ended by being a calumny[97]. Father Bartolomé de las Casas was the first to contradict this belief. "They [the Spaniards] saw skulls," he says, "and human bones. These must have been of chiefs or other persons whom they held in esteem, because, to say that they were the remains of people who had been eaten, if the natives devoured as many as was supposed, the houses could not contain the bones, and there is no reason why, after eating them, they should preserve the relics. All this is but guesswork." Washington Irving agrees with the reverend historian, and describes the general belief in the cannibalism of the Caribs to the Spaniards' fear of them. Two eminent authorities positively deny it. Humboldt, in his before-cited work, in the chapter on Carib missions, says: "All the missionaries of the Carony, of the lower Orinoco, and of the plains of Cari, whom we have had occasion to consult, have assured us that the Caribs were perhaps the least anthropophagous of any tribes on the new continent, ..." and Sir Robert Schomburgh, who was charged by the Royal Geographical Society with the survey of Guiana in 1835, reported that among the Caribs he found peace and contentment, simple family affections, and frank gratitude for kindness shown.[94] * * * * * The narratives of the French, English, and Dutch conquerors of the Guianas and the lesser Antilles accord with the observations of Humboldt in describing the Caribs as an ambitious and intelligent race, among whom there still existed traces of a superior social organization, such as the hereditary power of chiefs, respect for the priestly caste, and attachment to ancient customs. Employed only in fishing and hunting, the Carib was accustomed to the use of arms from childhood; war was the principal object of his existence, and the proofs through which the young warrior had to pass before being admitted to the ranks of the braves, remind us of the customs of certain North American Indians. They were of a light yellow color with a sooty tint, small, black eyes, white and well-formed teeth, straight, shining, black hair, without a beard or hair on any other part of their bodies. The expression of their face was sad, like that of all savage tribes in tropical regions. They were of middle size, but strong and vigorous. To protect their bodies from the stings of insects they anointed them with the juice or oil of certain plants. They were polygamous. From their women they exacted the most absolute submission. The females did all the domestic labor, and were not permitted to eat in the presence of the men. In case of infidelity the husband had the right to kill his wife. Each family formed a village by itself (carbet) where the oldest member ruled. Their industry, besides the manufacture of their arms and canoes, was limited to the spinning and dyeing of cotton goods, notably their hammocks, and the making of pottery for domestic uses. Though possessing no temples, nor religious observances, they recognized two principles or spirits, the spirit of good (boyee) and the spirit of evil (maboya). The priests invoked the first or drove out the second as occasion required. Each individual had his good spirit. Their language resembled in sound the Italian, the words being sonorous, terminating in vowels. By the end of the eighteenth century the missionaries had made vocabularies of 50 Carib dialects, and the Bible had been translated into one of them, the Arawak. A remarkable custom was the use of two distinct languages, one by the males, another by the females. Tradition says that when the Caribs first invaded the Antilles they put to death all the males but spared the females. The women continued speaking their own tongue and taught it to their daughters, but the sons learned their fathers' language. In time, both males and females learned both languages. "It is true," says the Jesuit Father Rochefort, in his Histoire des Antilles, "that the Caribs have degenerated from the virtues of their ancestors, but it is also true that the Europeans, by their pernicious examples, their ill-treatment of them, their villainous deceit, their dastardly breaking of every promise, their pitiless plundering and burning of their villages, their beastly violation of their girls and women, have taught them, to the eternal infamy of the name of Christian, to lie, to betray, to be licentious, and other vices which they knew not before they came in contact with us." Father Dutertre declares that at the time of the arrival of the Europeans the Caribs were contented, happy, and sociable. Physically they were the best made and healthiest people of America. Theft was unknown to them, nothing was hidden; their huts had neither doors nor windows, and when, after the advent of the French, a Carib missed anything in his hut, he used to say: "A Christian has been here!" Dutertre says that in thirty-five years all the French missionaries together, by taking the greatest pains, had not been able to convert 20 adults. Those who were thought to have embraced Christianity returned to their practises as soon as they rejoined their fellows. "The reason for this want of success," says the father, "is the bad impression produced on the minds of these intelligent natives by the cruelties and immoralities of the Christians, which are more barbarous than those of the islanders themselves. They have inspired the Caribs with such a horror of Christianity that the greatest reproach they can think of for an enemy is to call him a Christian." The reason the Spaniards never attempted the conquest of the Caribs is clear. There was no gold in their islands. They defended their homes foot by foot, and if, by chance, they were taken prisoners, they preferred suicide to slavery. Toward the end of the eighteenth century there still existed a few hundred of the race in the island of St. Vincent. They were known as the black Caribs, because they were largely mixed with fugitive negro slaves from other islands and with the people of a slave-ship wrecked on their coast in 1685. They lived there tranquil and isolated till 1795, when the island was settled by French colonists, and they were finally absorbed by them. They were the last representatives in the Antilles of a race which, during five centuries, had ruled both on land and sea. On the continent, along the Esequibo and its affluents, they are numerous still; but in their contact with the European settlers in those regions they have lost the strength and the virtues of their former state without acquiring those of the higher civilization. Like all aboriginals under similar conditions, they are slowly disappearing. FOOTNOTES: [Footnote 89: Revista Puertoriqueña, Tomo I, Año I, 1887.] [Footnote 90: The word "cannibal" is but a corruption of guaribó, is, "brave or strong," changed into Caribó, Caríba, and finally that Carib. The name Galibi, also applied to the Caribs, means equally strong or brave.] [Footnote 91: The author visited this region and sketched some of the ruins of these Jesuit-Guarani missions, of which scarcely one stone has remained on the other. They were destroyed by the Brazilians after the suppression of the Society of Jesus by Pope Clement XIV in 1773; the defenseless Indians were cruelly butchered or carried off as slaves. The sculptured remains of temples, of gardens and orchards grown into jungles still attest the high degree of development attained by these missions under the guidance of the Jesuit fathers.] [Footnote 92: Voyage aux Regions Equinoctiales du Nouveau Continent, Paris, 1826.] [Footnote 93: "Kleyn pleysterhuisye," small plaster house.] [Footnote 94: As an example of the credulity of the people of the period, see Theodore Bry's work in the library of Congress in Washington, in which there is a map of Guiana, published in Frankfort in 1599. On it are depicted with short descriptions the lake of Parmié and the city of Manáo, which represent El Dorado, in search of which hundreds of Spaniards and thousands of Indians lost their lives. There is a picture of one of the Amazons, with a short notice of their habits and customs, and there is the portrait of one of the inhabitants of the country Twai-Panoma, who were born without heads, but had eyes, nose, and mouth conveniently located in their breast.] BIBLIOGRAPHY The history of Puerto Rico has long since been a subject of study and research by native writers and others, to whose works we owe many of the data contained in this book. Their names, in alphabetical order, are: ABBAD, FRAY IÑIGO.--Historia geográfica, civil y natural de San Juan Bautista de Puerto Rico. Madrid, 1788. AGOSTA, D. JOSÉ JULIÁN.--New edition of Abbad's history, with notes and commentaries. Puerto Rico, 1866. BRAU, D. SALVADOR.--Puerto Rico y su historia. (Critical investigations.)Valencia, 1894. CEDÓ, D. SANTIAGO.--Compendio de geografía para instrucción de la juventud portoriqueña. Mayaguez, 1855. COELLO, D. FRANCISCO.--Mapa de la isla de Puerto Rico, ilustrado con notas históricas y estadísticas escritas por Don Pascual Madoz. Madrid, 1851. COLL Y TOSTE, D. CAYETANO.--Colón en Puerto Rico. (Disquisiciones histórico-filológicas.) Puerto Rico, 1894. Repertorio histórico de Puerto Rico. A monthly publication. CÓRDOVA, D. PEDRO TOMÁS.--Memorias geográficas, históricas, económicas y estadísticas de la isla de Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico, 1830. Memoria sobre todos los ramos de la administración de la isla de Puerto Rico. Madrid, 1838. CORTÓN, D. ANTONIO.--La separación de mandos en Puerto Rico. Discurso escrito y comenzado á leer ante la Comisión del Congreso de los Diputados. Habana, 1890. FLINTER, COLONEL.--An Account of the Present State of the Island of Puerto Rico. London, 1834. JIMENO AGIUS, J.--Puerto Rico. Madrid, 1890. LEDRU, ANDRÉ PIERRE.--Voyage aux iles Ténériffe, la Trinité, St. Thomas, Ste. Croix et Porto Rico, avec des notes et des additions par Sonnini, Paris, 1810. (A work full of fantastic and imaginary data, without any historical value.) MELENDEZ Y BRUNA, D. SALVADOR.--Puerto Rico. Representation of the Governor of the Island to the King. Cadiz, 1811. NAZARIO, D. JOSÉ MARÍA.--Guayanilla y la historia de Puerto Rico. Ponce, 1893. PÉREZ MORIS, D. JOSÉ, Y CUETO, D. LUIS.--Historia de la insurrección de Lares. SAMA, D. MANUEL MARÍA.--El desembarco de Colón en Puerto Rico y el Monumento de Culebrinas, Mayaguez, 1895. STAHL, D. AGUSTIN.--Los Indios Borinqueños. Puerto Rico, 1887. TAPIA, D. ALEJANDRO.--Biblioteca histórica de Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico, 1854. TORRES, D. LUIS LLORENS.--América. Estudios históricos y filológicos. Madrid y Barcelona, 1897. UBEDA Y DELGADO, D. MANUEL.--Isla de Puerto Rico, Estudio histórico-geográfico. Puerto Rico, 1878. VIZCARRONDO, D. JULIO.--Elementos de historia y geografía de la isla de Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico, 1863. There are other writings on subjects connected with the island's history by native authors, some published in book or pamphlet form, others, like those of Zeno Gandía, Neumann, Dr. Dominguez, and Navarrete, have appeared in the columns of periodicals at different times before the American occupation of the island. INDEX Abbad, Friar Iñigo, his history of Puerto Rico; cited; on state of agriculture in 1776. Abercrombie, Sir Ralph, attacks San Juan. Aborigines, see Indians. Agriculture, inhabitants of Puerto Rico forced to turn to; condition of, in 1776. Aguáda, its history. Albemarle, Earl of, captures Havana. Alexander VI, Pope, divides the world between Spain and Portugal. American army, landing of; recognized as liberators,; also see preface v. Americans, interest of, in the insurrection of Lares, 1868. Antigua, discovery of. Arecibo, town of. Armada, effects of destruction of. Autonomy granted to Puerto Rico. Bastidas, Bishop Rodrigo, charged with liberating Indian slaves in Puerto Rico. Beet-sugar, its injurious competition with cane-sugar, 228. Bemini (Florida), island of, King Ferdinand wants Ponce to explore it, 59; Indian reports of, 60; discovery of, 61. Blake, English admiral, captures Spanish galleons, 136. Blasquez, Juan, judge-auditor of Puerto Rico, 102. Boabdil, last of the Moorish kings. Boriquén, first known name of Puerto Rico; seat of Guaybána; Boriqueños restless; revolt in; last of the Boriquén Indians; the republic of, proclaimed; falls; native inhabitants of. Bowdoin, Hendrick, commands Dutch fleet in attack on San Juan. Brau, his history of Puerto Rico quoted. Bruckman, an American, takes active part in insurrection; shot. Buccaneers, their origin. Cacáo. Cannibals, supposed to be found among the Caribs. Capárra, first settlement of Spaniards in Puerto Rico; capital transferred from, to San Juan; the old capital. Capital, transferred from Capárra to Sun Juan. Caribs, supposed by Columbus to be on Guadeloupe; annoy Spaniards in Puerto Rico; assist the Boriquén Indians; raids in Puerto Rico; in Dominica punished by the Spaniards; in the Windward Islands; their extermination of aborigines of the West Indies; origin of; characteristics; were they cannibals?; disappearing. Castellano y Villaroya, Spanish Colonial Minister, intercedes in behalf of Puerto Rico. Castellanos, Juan, brings 75 colonists to Puerto Rico; attorney for Puerto Rico at the court of Spain. Castellanos, Juan de, treasurer of Puerto Rico. Castro, Baltazar, reports depredations of Caribs. Ceron, Juan, Governor of Puerto Rico; arrested by Juan Ponce; restored to office; returns to Puerto Rico as governor. Cervantes de Loayza, governor. Charles V, King of Spain; quarrels with Francis I of France; orders the fortification of San German. Cholera, epidemic of. Church, in general. Cities, growth of. Clergy; the island made a diocese; Alonzo Manso, first prelate; decree of Isabel II affecting clergy. Coco-palm introduced. Coffee. Columbus, Christopher, returns from his first voyage; received by the court at Barcelona; second expedition organized; his second expedition sails from Cadiz; discovers the Windward Islands; introduces system of enslaving the Indians by "distribution" of them among settlers. Columbus, Diego, with Christopher Columbus's second expedition; viceroy and admiral, in la Española; deposes Ponce; authority of, suspended; deprived of the power of appointing Governor of Puerto Rico. Commerce, its development; imports and exports. Cortéz, his conquest of Mexico. Cromwell, his alliance with France against Spain. Cuba, influence of Cuban revolution on Puerto Rico; reforms in, suggested by Sagasta. De la Gama, Antonio, charged with executing the royal decree against the "distribution" of Indians. Diaz, Bernal, de Pisa, with Columbus's second expedition. Diego, Rafael, organizer of the revolution of 1812. Distribution of Indians among the Spanish conquerors as slaves; system introduced by Columbus. Dominica, discovery of; Caribs in, aid Puerto Rico Indians against the Spaniards; Spanish expedition against Caribs in. Dominicans, order of. Drake, Francis, his expeditions in the Caribbean. Education; illiteracy and general ignorance; in hands of clergy; new interest in; first college; schools. Elective system. England contracts to take slaves into the Spanish-American colonies. English, ship visits Puerto Rico and alarms inhabitants; war with, fleet sent against Spaniards in West Indies; fleet anchors off "Caleta del Cabron," and is fired on by Spaniards; abandons the attack; alliance with France against Spain; capture Havana; attack San Juan. Española (Santo Domingo). Fajardo, town of. Ferdinand, King of Spain, his interest in Puerto Rico. Fetichism in the religion of the peasantry. Filibusters, origin of. Finance. Florida, discovery of; Ponce's last expedition to. Francis I, King of France, quarrel with Charles V of Spain. Franciscans, order of. French, send privateers to attack the Antilles; capture San German twice and destroy it; attack Guayama; fail in an attack on Puerto Rico; alliance with English against Spain; pirates in the Caribbean. Fuente, Alonso la, his letters to the Spanish Government. Ginger. Gold, in Puerto Rico; early search for; first discovery; gold-bearing streams; production of gold. Government of Puerto Rico, instructions by the King of Spain. Guadeloupe, discovery of; Caribs in, aid Puerto Rico Indians against the Spaniards. Guaybána, cacique in Puerto Rico; death of. Guaybána second, heads revolt against the Spaniards; massacres Spaniards; is defeated; killed. Haro, Juan de, governor, defends San Juan against the Dutch. Havana, captured by the English under the Earl of Albemarle and Admiral Pocock. Hawkyns, John, his freebooting voyages among the Antilles; his fleet captured; killed. Holland, Spain's war with; sends fleet against Puerto Rico; it is defeated. Hurricanes in the West Indies; in Puerto Rico. Indians, system of "distribution" of, introduced; in revolt; slaughter Spaniards; defeated by Ponce; number of, in Puerto Rico; "distribution" of; rapid decrease of; condition of; efforts to prevent extinction of; "distribution" of, among settlers forbidden; the last 80 survivors liberated from slavery; last report of the Boriquén Indians. Inquisition, the, in Puerto Rico; Nicolas Ramos, the last Inquisitor; abolition of the Inquisition; reestablished. Isabel II, her decree declaring property of the secular clergy national property. Jews, property of, confiscated to supply funds for Columbus's second expedition. Jíbaro, the Puerto Rican peasant; customs of. Lando, Governor of Puerto Rico, tries to prevent persons leaving the island. Lares, the insurrection of. Las Casas, Bartolomé de, his "Relations of the Indies" cited; seeks to prevent extinction of Indians; favors introduction of negro slaves. Laws, reform, promised; electoral. Leeward Islands, discovery of. Le Grand, Pierre, the French pirate. Libraries; since American occupation. Loiza, settlement of. l'Olonais, sobriquet of Sables d'Olone, _q.v._ Macias, Manuel, governor-general, declares the island in a state of war. Manso, Alonzo, first bishop of Puerto Rico. Marie-Galante, discovery of. Mayor, Soto, forms a settlement at Guánica; killed by Indians. McCormick, James, his report on Puerto Rico in 1880. Mestizos, or mixed races. Military service, number of men in Puerto Rico able to carry arms. Mixed races; prejudice against. Montbras, French pirate. Morals in the island under Spanish rule. Morgan, Sir Henry, the pirate. Mulattoes in the Spanish colony. Napoleon, his influence over Spain. Natives, see Indians. Negroes, introduced into Santo Domingo as slaves; into Puerto Rico; as slaves in Puerto Rico; introduced to save the Indians from extermination; intermix with Indians; number of, in the island; severe laws against. Newspapers. O'Daly, General, leads successful revolution in Puerto Rico. Palm, coco-, introduced. Papers, see Newspapers. Peasants of Puerto Rico. Peru, gold discoveries there serve to attract many settlers from Puerto Rico. Philip I, his character. Philip II, death of. Pirates, see Buccaneers and Filibusters. Pocock, English admiral, and the Earl of Albemarle, capture Havana. Political rights. Ponce, Juan, de Leon, with Columbus's second expedition; lands on Puerto Rico; appointed governor; deposed; restored; arrests Ceron; recalled by the King of Spain; defeats Guaybána with 5,000 to 6,000 Indians; deprived of his privileges; retires to Capárra; prepares for exploring the island of Bemini; discovers Florida; honored by the king; ordered to destroy the Caribs; accused of fomenting discord in Puerto Rico; last expedition to Florida, wounded, dies; monument to him in San Juan. Population, growth of. Portugal, Alexander VI divides world between Portugal and Spain. Press, the; first printing-press. Prim, John, Count of Reus, his severe proclamation against the negroes. Primitive inhabitants. Products. Puerto Rico, discovery of; first settlement, at Capárra; made a bishopric; name of Puerto Rico first used October, 1514; divided into two departments; capital transferred from Capárra to present location, San Juan; disease and pestilence; destructive storms; news of gold discoveries in Peru causes many settlers to leave; inhabitants try to leave the island for the Peru gold fields; devastated by French and Indians; the inhabitants turn to agriculture, 100; expedition sent against the French in Santa Cruz; English fleet, under the Earl of Estren, appears off San Juan; used as a "presidio," or place of banishment for political prisoners for three centuries; condition of, in 1765, described by Alexander O'Reilly; revolution headed by Rafael Diego and General O'Daly, 153; divided into seven judicial districts; political rights in the island; efforts of Spain to promote development of the island; state of society, 159; effects of Carlist troubles in Spain; resources of, diminished; description of the island in 1880; reform laws to relieve financial distress; promise of reforms; the new electoral law; conditions in the island immediately before the American occupation; becomes part of the United States; its advantageous situation; soil and products; harbors; climate; primitive inhabitants; present inhabitants; era of greatest prosperity under Spanish rule. Races in Puerto Rico. Ramirez, Francisco, President of the "Republic of Boriquén,". Reforms, promise of, by Spanish Government; granted too late. Religion of the peasantry. Republic of Boriquén proclaimed. Revolution, against Spanish oppression. Rodney, English admiral, attacks French West Indies. Sables d'Olone, French pirate. Sagasta, suggests reforms in Puerto Rico and Cuba. Sail. Salazar, Diego do, heroic conduct of; defeats Indians. San German founded. San Juan, only settlement in Puerto Rico not destroyed by the French; the fort, "Fortaleza," still used as governor's residence, built in 1540; fortification and improvement of; attacked by English fleet, under Drake; captured by English, 120; evacuated by the English; attacked by English; history of; replaces Capárra as the capital. San Juan Bautista, island of (Puerto Rico). Santa Cruz taken and held by the French. Santo Domingo, discovery of. Schools, number and attendance of, in 1889. Sedeño, Contador of Puerto Rico; his peculations and death. Slavery, Indians placed in, through the system of "distribution.". Slavery, negro, introduced into Santo Domingo; favored by Church and State; first negro slaves in Puerto Rico; discussion of its abolition; abolition of; its history in the island; introduced to replace lost labor of the Indians; England contracts to take 140,000 slaves into the Spanish-American colonies in thirty years; slaves emancipated. Spain, Alexander VI divides the world between Spain and Portugal; effects of her disastrous wars; sends fleet against pirates in the West Indies; abolishes the slave-trade. Spaniards, number of, in Puerto Rico; as colonists in Puerto Rico; no women among early settlers. Storms, damages by. Sugar; the industry injured by production of beet-sugar. Tiedra, Vasco de, Governor of Puerto Rico. Tobacco, its cultivation permitted by a special law. Trade, its growth. United States sends army to Puerto Rico; acquires the island. Weyler, General, his inhuman proceedings in Cuba. Windward Islands, discovered by Columbus. Women, none among early Spanish settlers; education of, neglected. Zambos, mixture of negro and Indian. 
30987	----	produced from scanned images of public domain material from the Google Print project.) [Illustration: book's cover] [Illustration: Map of Porto Rico] PORTO RICO. Its History, Products And Possibilities. BY A. D. HALL, Author of "Cuba" and "The Philippines." NEW YORK STREET & SMITH, PUBLISHERS 81 FULTON STREET Copyrighted 1898 BY STREET & SMITH. CONTENTS. CHAPTER PAGE I--The Aborigines of Porto Rico 7 II--Struggles of the Past 18 III--Topography and Climate 27 IV--Population and Towns 36 V--Resources 42 VI--Manners and Customs 53 VII--The Dawn of Freedom 69 VIII--Naval Lessons Taught by the War 77 IX--What Our Army Achieved 88 X--How the Porto Ricans Received Us 104 XI--Our Claim to Porto Rico 128 XII--What the Possession of Porto Rico Will Mean 143 PORTO RICO. CHAPTER I. THE ABORIGINES OF PORTO RICO. Porto Rico, or Puerto Rico, as it is sometimes called, has lately become of the first importance in the eyes of the world. To Americans it has assumed special interest, as it is now practically in the possession of the United States, and sooner or later will be represented by a new star in our beautiful flag, that flag which recently, by the magnificent exploits of our navy and army, has assumed a greater importance than ever among the standards of the universe. Uncle Sam will certainly find this beautiful and fertile island a most valuable possession, every foot of which he could sell at a large substantial price, if he chose to do so. Until recently there has been an impression in the United States that Porto Rico did not amount to much, that Cuba was the only island in the West Indies which was of any especial value. But this is the most grievous error, as we shall endeavor to show in the course of this little book. The island, without much exaggeration, can really be called the garden spot of the world, and there is no doubt but that when the Stars and Stripes wave permanently over it, and there is an influx of American enterprise and wealth, there will be a marvelous increase in values of all kinds. Like all Spanish colonies, Porto Rico has been wofully mismanaged. The Spaniards have looked upon it in the light of a more or less valuable cow from which every drop of milk must be squeezed. But now, under more fortuitous circumstances, under a more beneficent rule, the charming little island will undoubtedly "blossom as a rose"; for those who have looked into the subject have declared that more can be raised on an acre of land in Porto Rico than in any other portion of the globe. Later on we shall examine in detail the truth or falsehood of this statement. Porto Rico is older than the United States, for it was discovered by Columbus on November 16, 1493, during his second voyage to America. The great discoverer remained there only two days in the port of Aquadilla, but he did not come in contact with any of the ingenuous natives, for they fled in terror when they saw his ship. During their subsequent conquests in the West Indies, the Spaniards paid no attention to Porto Rico until 1509. At this time Ponce de Leon, then governor of Hispaniola, afterward known as Hayti, determined to extend his dominion. With the idea of obtaining fresh supplies of gold, he went to Porto Rico and made a long visit to the chief of the natives, by whom he was received and entertained with the greatest kindness and hospitality. The chief willingly pointed out to his Spanish guests all the great resources of the island, and when, with the greed which has ever distinguished the men of their country, they asked for gold, he took them to streams where the sands were loaded with the precious metal. Ponce de Leon was so delighted with the beauty and fertility of the island that he imagined he could find there the fountain of perpetual youth for which he so long sought in vain. In this chimerical idea, however, as in Florida, he was doomed to disappointment. The original name of the island is said to have been Borinquen, and the population of the natives, who were of the same race as the inhabitants of the other islands of the Greater Antilles, has been estimated at six hundred thousand. Dr. C. T. Bedwell, recently British consul at Porto Rico, has published a most interesting report in regard to the aborigines, and from this report we have obtained considerable of the information which follows. Among the Sibaros, or sallow people of to-day, one rarely sees a physical trace of Indian descent, although in their mode of living much of Indian character exists. Fray Inigo Abbad, who wrote a work on Porto Rico, published in Madrid in 1878, says that when the Spaniards first came to Porto Rico "it was as thickly populated as a beehive, and so beautiful that it resembled a garden." Fray Inigo says that the color of the Indians of Porto Rico was the copper color known to the aborigines of America, though they were of a sallow and somewhat darker complexion. They were shorter in stature than the Spaniards, stout and well-proportioned. They had flat noses with wide nostrils, bad teeth and narrow foreheads. Their heads were flat, both in front and at the back, "because," says the author, "they were pressed into this shape at the time of their birth." They had long, thin, coarse hair, and, according to Fray Inigo, they were without hair on their face or on other parts of their body. This, however, is disputed by some writers. The small quantity and little substance of the food they used, the facility with which they supplied material wants without labor, the excessive heat of the climate, and the absence of quadrupeds for the exercise of hunting, caused them, he says, to be weak and indolent, and averse to labor of all kinds. Anything that was not necessary to satisfy the pangs of hunger, or that did not afford amusement, such as hunting or fishing, was regarded with indifference. Neither the hope of reward nor the fear of punishment would tempt them to seek the one or to avoid the other. Fray Inigo admits, however, that there were some exceptions among them, and says that some of the Indians displayed much bravery and strength in the contests with the Spanish soldiers. Their forms were light and free, and there were no cripples among them. They were governed by Caciques, whose eldest sons inherited the succession. In the absence of a son the chief was succeeded by the eldest son of his sister, that there might be no doubt as to true descent. The tutelary deity was Cerni, who was made to speak by the Buhitis or medicine men, who were at the same time the priests. The Buhites hid themselves behind the statue of Cerni and declared war or peace, arranged the seasons, granted sunshine or rain, or whatever was required, according to the will of the Cacique. When announcements were not fulfilled the Buhites declared that the Cerni had changed his mind for wise reasons of his own, "without on this account," says Fray Inigo, "the power or credit of the pretended deity, or his mendacious ministers being doubted, such being the simplicity and ignorance of the Indians." The chiefdoms were divided into small provinces, which for the most part only comprised the inhabitants of a valley; but all were subject to the head Cacique, who at the time of the conquest was Aqueynoba. He was actually governor-in-chief, the others being his lieutenants, who carried out his orders in their respective districts. Men and unmarried women wore no clothing, but painted their bodies abundantly, and with much skill, drawing upon them many varieties of figures with the ores, gums and resins which they extracted from trees and plants. In this uniform they presented themselves in their military expeditious, public balls, and other assemblies. To be well painted was to be well dressed, and they learned from experience besides that the resinous matter and vegetable oils with which they painted their bodies served to preserve them from excessive heat and superabundant perspiration. The paint also served to protect them from the changes of atmosphere, the dampness of climate, and the plague of the numerous varieties of mosquitoes and other insects, which, without this precaution, constantly annoyed them. They wore headdresses made of feathers with exquisite colors. They put small plates of gold on their cheeks, and hung shells, precious stones and relics from their ears and noses, and the image of their god Cerni was never forgotten. The chiefs used as a distinctive emblem a large golden plate worn on their breasts. Married women wore an apron which descended to about half their leg; but no clothing was worn on the rest of the body. The wives of the Caciques wore their aprons to their ankles except at the national game of ball, when they also wore short ones. The men took two, three or more wives, according to their ability to support them. The chiefs possessed a larger number of wives than their subjects, but one of them was generally preferred over all others. The women, besides their domestic duties, had charge of the agricultural pursuits and worked in the fields. Those best loved were buried alive with their husband on his demise. The men did not intermarry with relatives of the first degree, from a belief that such marriages resulted in a bad death. Their huts were similar in structure and in character to those of the North American Indians. The hammock was the chief article of furniture of the aborigines, and the calabash shell their only cooking utensil. Their arms were a bow and arrow, in the use of which they were very skilful. They had canoes both for fishing and sea voyages. These were hewn out of the timber of enormous trees, the like of which, owing to fires and seasons of drouth, no longer exist upon the island. Some of the canoes were large enough to hold forty or fifty men. When the Indians saw that the sick were near to death they suffocated them. Even the chiefs did not escape. After death they opened and dried the body by fire, and buried it in a large cave, in which were interred also some live women, the arms of the deceased and provisions for the journey to the other world. Sticks and branches of trees were then placed on the top, and the whole was covered with earth, which was thus kept from the bodies of those interred. They were accustomed to perform a national dance which was called the areito. At the conclusion of this dance, all became intoxicated with drinks made by the women of fruit, maize and other ingredients, and with the smoke of tobacco which they inhaled in their nostrils. As has been said, at the time of the conquest the name of the native chief was Aqueynoba. He was friendly to the Spaniards at first and lived peaceably with them for some time. There is no doubt but that the aborigines were confiding, generous and peaceful. But, like all savages, they were very superstitious. They worshipped a vast quantity of idols, but believed in one superior deity. With the exception of the Caribs, who occupied the eastern part of the island, they were not cannibals. They were in the habit of practicing quite a large number of domestic arts, such as the cultivation of the soil, the carving in wood and stone, and the manufacture of pottery and furniture. The Spaniards have ever been treacherous, selfish and a nation of money-grubbers. Now followed an instance which is only one of many to prove the truth of this statement. After Ponce de Leon had won the confidence and had been the recipient of boundless hospitality from the islanders, he returned to Hayti and at once commenced to fit out an expedition for the invasion and subjugation of Porto Rico. From a purely selfish point of view, this was a most senseless proceeding on his part. He could have done much better without having any recourse to force, for at first the natives regarded the Spaniards as immortal visitors from Heaven, as superior beings whom they could not kill. But they speedily recognized their mistake and discovered the abominable character of the invaders. De Leon killed off all the natives that he could and made the rest slaves to work in the gold mines of Hayti. When any one resisted he was killed, and if he attempted to escape he was hunted down by bloodhounds. It is related that Ponce de Leon had a dog which became noted as a slave catcher. So valuable was he in this respect that his name was actually carried on the army payroll for the benefit of his master. When the natives found that they were being slain or deprived of their liberty they naturally became exasperated and turned against their dastardly oppressors. But from their point of view it was absolutely necessary to find out if the Spaniards were mortal. If they were not, it would be an act of impiety to resist them. This vital question must be settled, and therefore one of the native chiefs was detailed to try if he could kill a Spaniard. The trial was eminently successful. A young man named Salzedo was found alone and was drowned by the natives. The action is thus related in the words of a competent authority: "The guides conducted Salzedo to the bank of a small river through which they must pass, and to prevent his being exposed to the water one of the Indians kindly offered to take him on his shoulders and carry him over. Salzedo mounted to his high seat and was borne into the middle of the stream, when the Indian and his burden fell into the water. The other Indians immediately rushed into the river with the apparent purpose of rescuing their guest, but contrived, while professing to offer him assistance, to keep his head continually under water. The result of this practical biological experiment, so adroitly conducted, brought hope and joy to the despairing natives. The body was kept immersed until long after every sign of life had gone, but they still feared animation might return. Carrying the body to the bank, a new farce was acted; they lamented over him, they begged his pardon for the accident, and they protested their innocence of any design. In every way they provided themselves with a plausible defense in case he should recover or they should be suspected. After several days, putrefaction happily settled all their doubts about the mortality of their conquerors, and the glad news was communicated to their people." The natives then at once commenced to massacre the Spaniards. But this did not last long. Ponce de Leon immediately sent for reinforcements, and the Indians believed that these newcomers were the resurrected bodies of those they had killed. This idea caused them to lose all hope and courage, and they fell an easy prey to their enemies. It was not many years before the aboriginal population, large as it was originally, was completely exterminated. The Spaniards now began to colonize the island and the town of Capana was the first one settled by them. Its site was found, however, to be too high and inaccessible. It was therefore abandoned and in 1511 the present city of San Juan was founded. In this city Ponce de Leon built the governor's palace called Casa Blanca, a structure which is still in use. After de Leon's unsuccessful expedition to Florida, where he received a mortal wound at the hands of the Indians, his remains were brought to Porto Rico and interred in the Dominican church. The inscription upon his monument reads as follows: _Mole sub hac fortis requiescunt ossa Leonis Qui vicit factis nomina magna suis._ These words may be translated into English as follows: "This narrow grave contains the remains of a man who was a Lion by name, and much more so by his deeds." His cruel treatment of the gentle natives, inspired though it may have been and probably was by the home government, by no means causes him to deserve so flattering an epitaph. CHAPTER II. STRUGGLES OF THE PAST. Ever since the days of Ponce de Leon, Porto Rico has been a Spanish possession. It has never been captured, although many attempts have been made to take it both by external and internal forces. None of these attacks seriously affected Spanish authority on the island. But although the island has never been taken, it has been sacked. It may be said that it was pirates who did this, for while the commanders of several of the expeditions against the island bore great names, they were really little more or less than pirates. The first to attack was no less than the famous English commander, Sir Francis Drake, who had Elizabeth behind him. This was in 1595, and Drake then scored his first failure, in spite of the fact that when he left his ballast consisted of ducatoons, and the shops of San Juan were in ruins. It is rather a strange coincidence that Drake's failure was due to the fact that the Spaniards had recourse to the same scheme that was so daringly and successfully carried out by Lieutenant Hobson in the harbor of Santiago. They sunk a ship in the neck of San Juan harbor, thereby preventing Drake's fleet from obtaining an entrance. Dr. Griffin, the accomplished assistant librarian of the Congressional Library in Washington, has recently been making a study of Porto Rican literature which has been pregnant with interesting results. Dr. Griffin discovered the following in an old English chronicle: "Confession of John Austin, mariner of London, of the late company of Sir Francis Drake and Sir John Hawkins. "Directions were given that if any of the fleet lost company they should make for Guadaloupe in the Indies; his ship did so, but having lost her rudder failed, and was taken by five Spanish frigates and the crew imprisoned in the Isle of St. John de Porto Rico. Sir Francis, who lost company of Sir John Hawkins, was told of this by a bark which saw the fight. The prisoners were examined and threatened with torture to tell what the English forces were. The Spaniards sunk ships in the harbor to hinder their entrance. Sir Francis summoned the town, and on their refusing to yield sent fifteen vessels to burn the frigates in the harbor. Two were fired, but the light thus made enabled the Spaniards to fire on the English ships and drive them away. The English attacked the fort, but Sir John Hawkins was killed. Sir Francis sent back to the governor five prisoners whom he had taken, and begged that the English might be well treated and sent home, in which there was an improvement in their diet, etc. Sir Francis then went to the south of the island, got provisions and water and went to Carthagena. This was reported by two frigates that watched him, and then the treasure ships in Porto Rico with $4,000,000 on board sailed for Spain, and reached St. Lucas, bringing the English prisoners, who still remain in prison, but the examinante escaped. Two fleets, each of twenty-five ships, and 5,000 men, are said to be sent out to follow Sir Francis Drake, March 25, 1599." In Barrow's "Life of Drake," there are further particulars given of this unsuccessful attack on San Juan, which was under the command of Sir Francis Drake and Sir John Hawkins, the two greatest British naval commanders then living. Barrow says: "The fitting out and equipment of this grand expedition were not surpassed by that of 1585 to the West Indies under Sir Francis Drake, Vice Admiral Forbesher and Rear Admiral Knolles. Its destination, in the first place, was intended for Porto Rico, where the queen had received information that a vast treasure had been brought, and intended to be sent home from thence for the use of the King of Spain in completing the third grand armament (the second having been destroyed by Drake) which he had in contemplation for the invasion of England. The object of the present fleet was to intercept the treasure and thereby cut off the main supply of his navy and army destined for that purpose. "Their first intention, however, had been to land at Nombre de Dios and proceed direct from thence over the Isthmus of Panama in order to seize the treasure generally brought thither from the mines of Mexico and Peru; but in a few days before their departure from Plymouth they received letters sent by order of the queen informing them that advices had been received from Spain announcing the arrival of the West Indian or Plata fleet, but that one of them, a very valuable ship, had lost her mast and put into the Island of Puerto Rico, and it was therefore her majesty's recommendation that they should proceed direct to that island to secure the ship and treasure which was on her." The expedition left Plymouth, August 28, 1595. Before going to Porto Rico, Drake, against the protest of Hawkins, tried to take the Canaries and failed. The voyage was then continued. "On the 30th of September," the historian continues, "Captain Wegnot, on the Francis, a bark of thirty-five tons, being the sternmost of Sir John Hawkins' division, was chased by five of the king's frigates, or zobras, being ships of two hundred tons, which came with three other zobras for the treasure at San Juan de Puerto Rico. The Francis, mistaking them for companions, was taken in sight of our caraval. The Spaniards, indifferent to human suffering, left the Francis driving in the sea with three or four hurt and sick men, and took the rest of her people into their ships and returned to Porto Rico. "The squadron now intended to pass through the Virgin Islands, but 'here,' says Hakluyt, 'Sir John Hawkins was extreme sick, which his sickness began upon neues of the taking of the Francis.' Remaining here two days, they tarried two days more in a sound, which Drake, in his barge had discovered. They then stood for the eastern end of Porto Rico, where Sir John Hawkins breathed his last. "Sir Thomas Baskerville now took possession of the Garland as second in command. The fleet came to anchor at a distance of two miles, or less, at the eastern side of the town of San Juan de Porto Rico, where, says Hakluyt, 'we received from their forts and places, where they planted ordnance, some twenty-eight great shot, the last of which stroke the admiral's ship through the misen, and the last but one stroke through her quarter into the steerage, the general being there at supper, and stroke the stool from under him, but hurt him not, but hurt at the same table Sir Nicholas Clifford, Mr. Browne, Captain Stratford, with one or two more. Sir Nicholas Clifford, and Master Browne died of their hurts.' "Drake," continues Barrow, "was certainly imprudent in suffering the squadron to take up anchorage so near to the means of annoyance; but his former visit had no doubt taught the enemy the prudence of being better prepared for any future occasion, and it is somewhat remarkable that Drake should not have observed his usual caution. Browne was an old and particular favorite of Drake. "The following morning the whole fleet came to anchor before the point of the harbor without the town, a little to the westward, where they remained till nightfall, and then twenty-five pinnaces, boats and shallops, well manned, and furnished with fireworks and small shot, entered the road. The great castle, or galleon the object of the present enterprise, had been completely repaired, and was on the point of sailing, when certain intelligence of the intended attack by Drake reached the island. Every preparation had been made for the defense of the harbor and the town; the whole of the treasure had been landed; the galleon was sunk in the mouth of the harbor; a floating barrier of masts and spars was laid on each side of her, near to the forts and castles, so as to render the entrance impassable; within this breakwater were the five zabras, moored, their treasure also taken out; all the women and children and infirm people were moved to the interior, and those only left in the town who were able to aid in its defense. A heavy fire was opened on the English ships, but the adventurers persisted in their desperate attempt, until they had lost, by their own account, some forty or fifty men killed, and as many wounded; but there was consolation in thinking that by burning, drowning and killing, the loss of the Spaniards could not be less; in fact, a great deal more; for the five zabras and a large ship of 400 tons were burned, and their several cargoes of silk, oil and wine destroyed." After thus being defeated in his main object, Drake did not return to San Juan. He contented himself with laying tribute upon Porto Rico, and burning the towns on the Caribbean side of the island. He then sailed for Wombee de Dios, and, when the fleet was off the South American coast, he died on the 28th of January and was buried at sea. Drake was succeeded in command by Sir Thomas Baskerville. When the latter was on his way back to England he encountered a Spanish fleet and engaged in battle off the Isle of Pines. The victory was decidedly with the English, but the Spaniards were apparently the same then as they are to-day. Everybody remembers Blanco's famous dispatches, famous for their absurd falseness. So then the Spanish admiral issued a bulletin in which he claimed a magnificent triumph. Baskerville was so angry that he publicly declared the admiral to be a liar and challenged him to a duel. Nothing, however, ever resulted from this challenge. Three years later the Duke of Cumberland, who might also he called a corsair, but a private one, as he acted on his own hook, attacked San Juan, and after three days' fighting, laid the city in ruins. He was unable to follow up his victory, however, as the fever killed his men by the hundreds. The English tried to take it in 1615, and again in 1678. Once more in 1795, seeing the great advantage of owning the harbor of San Juan, the English attempted to capture it, but they were repulsed with great slaughter. Spain has never given as much attention to Porto Rico as she has to her other colonies, and therefore the government, while practically of the same character, has not been so intolerable as in Cuba and the Philippines. For nearly three hundred years the island was neglected. During all that time it was used chiefly as a watering station for ships and as a penal colony. In 1815 it was thrown open to colonization, and land was given free to all Spaniards who went there to settle. As a consequence a host of adventurers hastened to Porto Rico, as well as a number of Spanish loyalists, belonging to the better classes, who had been expelled by the decrees of other and rebellious colonies. About this time there was a large importation of negro slaves to work on the sugar plantations. For these reasons the wealth and population rapidly increased. Nevertheless there has been a large number of revolutions against the home government. As early as 1820, long before Cuba had made any attempt to throw off the Spanish yoke, the Porto Ricans made an effort to obtain their independence. After a short guerilla war, this first rebellion was suppressed, as were also several other abortive attempts. In 1868, the year of the great uprising in Cuba, the most formidable outbreak occurred in Porto Rico. After two mouths of severe fighting the Spanish regulars were victorious, and the leader of the rebels, Dr. Ramon E. Bentances, who has since resided most of the time in Paris, was captured, as was also J. J. Henna, afterward a New York physician. All the prisoners were sentenced to be shot, November 4, 1868. On the very day preceding that date news came to the island that Queen Isabella had been deposed, and in consequence the political prisoners were released. But they were afterward banished, and in their exile they have ever since been active in devising measures for the freedom of the island. There is no reason whatever to think that there will be any discontent in the future under the liberal and beneficent government of the United States. CHAPTER III. TOPOGRAPHY AND CLIMATE. Now that there is no doubt of the acquisition of Porto Rico by the United States, many of our people will be going there, and it is therefore of great interest to note how its general features will please and its climate be adapted to Americans. The island is most eastern of the Greater Antilles, and it is the fourth in size and importance of all the islands of the West Indies. In fact, in point of density of population and general prosperity, it takes the first place. On the east, the Lesser Antilles extend in a curve toward Trinidad, on the South American coast, inclosing on the westward the Caribbean sea. A strait of seventy miles separates Porto Rico from Hayti on the west, and the distances from San Juan, the capital, to other points are 2,100 miles to the Cape Verde Islands, 1,050 miles to Key West and 1,420 miles to Hampton Roads. Porto Rico lies near enough to the Gulf of Mexico to receive the benefit of the soft Gulf breezes and the very best and most desirable of the trade winds. The island is almost a rectangle in shape. Its length from east to west is 108 miles and its breadth from north to south about 37 miles. Its area, including its dependencies, the isles of Vieques, Culebra and Mona is 3,530 square miles. The coasts are generally regular, but there are a large number of bays and inlets, and the north coast is full of navigable lagoons. The principal capes are San Juan, Mala Pascua, Rojo and Bruquen. Generally speaking, the conformation of the island is slightly undulating, with the exception of a mountain range which traverses it from east to west, running through nearly its whole length in a zig-zag course, and on the average about twenty-five miles distant from the north coast. This range divides the island into two unequal portions. The largest is on the north, and the rivers flowing through that section are much the longer. A part of the main range is called Sierra Grande or Barros. The northeast spur is known as the Sierra de Luquillo and the northwest as the Sierra Larea. The general height of these mountains is about 1,500 feet above the sea, but there is one peak, Yunque, which reaches a height of 3,678 feet. This can be seen seventy miles at sea, and would be a magnificent place for a shore signal for the benefit of the ships that sail the South Atlantic seas. It is noticeable that there are no extensive lakes in the highlands of the interior, but there are many interesting caves in the mountains, the principal ones being those of Aguas Buenos and Ciales. The elevated ridge which crosses the island intercepts the northeast trade winds which blow from the Atlantic and deprives them of their moisture. The consequence of this is that the rainfall in the northern portion of the island is very copious. It also has the effect of reducing the rain south of the mountains, so that there is a prevalence of droughts in that section and agriculture can be advantageously carried on by irrigation. Up to the present, however, this work of irrigation has been very imperfect and unsystematic, and the results on the whole have not been satisfactory. The Luquillo range ends ten miles from San Juan. The capital is, therefore, to a certain degree sheltered by a mountain wall from the rain-bearing winds, which, in the warmest months blow mainly from easterly points. Still all the northern adjacent shores and lowlands are subject to flooding by torrents of rain. Taking it as a whole, the island is approximately roof-shaped, so that the rainfall is rapidly drained off. In the interior are extensive plains and there are level tracts from five to ten miles wide on the coast. The soil of Porto Rico is exceedingly fertile. In the mountains it is a red clay, colored with peroxide of iron, in the valleys it is black and less compact, and on the coasts it is sandy, but capable of some culture. The pasture lands in the northern and eastern parts of the island are superior to any others in the West Indies. Porto Rico is essentially a land of rivers and streams. Of course none of them are of any great length, but of the entire number, some thirteen hundred, forty are navigable for more or less distances for commercial purposes. Mr. John Beggs, a former planter of Porto Rico, says that the island is perfectly adapted for commerce. Sugar, coffee, cotton, corn and potatoes are constantly shipped down the navigable rivers, and were Porto Rico to be fully cultivated, many more streams could be opened and communication made between others by means of canals, so that the entire island would present a system of water ways which would make it an ideal place for the shipping of useful articles to the United States. The water of the rivers and brooks and lakes is remarkably pure, and there is quite an industry in its shipment for sale to other West India islands. It is stated that more than twenty of these islands send to Porto Rico for water. Little boats sail up the harbor of San Juan, fill their tanks with water and sail away again, Havana's chief scourge is the lack of fresh water, but Porto Rico has all the water it can use and enough to supply islands hundreds of miles away. The anchorages can not be said to be the best in the world, although a few of them are excellent, and most of them sufficiently deep for ordinary craft. Mayaguez Bay on the west coast admits vessels of any size and is the best anchorage on the island. Guanica is the best on the south coast, of which it is the most western port. It was here that the American troops first landed. Still Guanica is not visited by much shipping. The district immediately surrounding it is low and swampy, and the roads leading from it are not good. Guanica has been the outlet for the produce of San German Sabana Grande and, to some extent, of Yanco, which is on the railroad. The western and southwestern parts of the island have been particularly over-run by the Porto Rican rebels, and this has undoubtedly done much to injure its commerce. But with the advent of the Americans all this will be changed. The eastern coast is fairly indented and washed by a sea which is usually smooth. On the rugged north side, where the ocean currents set to southward, there are no good anchorages between Arecibo and San Juan. The port of San Juan, however, affords good shelter and will be an important centre for merchant shipping as well as an attractive rendezvous for yachts on a pleasure cruise. The harbor is deep enough to admit large vessels, but its channel communicating with the sea is winding and difficult, and can be navigated safely only with the aid of a pilot. One of the leading seaports of the island is Aquadilla on the west coast. This has the advantage of a spacious bay, which is sheltered from the trade winds. From this place are shipped the sugar and coffee produced in the northwest part of the island. There are seven or eight other ports of minor importance. The main highway of central Porto Rico runs from Ponce to San Juan, in a northeasterly direction, through Juana Diaz, Coamo and Abonito. From the latter place it proceeds almost eastward to Cayey, and there it takes a winding course to the north as far as Caquas. Thence it turns west to Aquas Buenos, and then goes straight north through Guaynola and Rio Piedras to San Juan. The entire length of this highway is about eighty-five miles. The distance from Ponce to San Juan, as the bird flies, is only forty-five miles. And now to take up a most important point--the climate. Of this much can be said in favor. On the whole, it may be stated that Porto Rico, for a tropical region, is very healthful; in fact, by far the most so of any of the West India islands. There have been no climatic observations which cover the whole of the Porto Rican territory, but the Spanish Weather Bureau has published certain observations which show the general conditions prevailing in San Juan and the vicinity. The climate, though hot, is agreeably tempered by the prevailing northeast winds. At night there is always a pleasant breeze which carries sweet fragrance along the northern coast. A temperature as high as 117 degrees has been recorded, but this is most unusual. At San Juan, the average temperature in August is about 81 degrees Fahrenheit; in September, 80.5 degrees, and in October, 79.3 degrees. At night it sinks to 68 or 69 degrees, which is more than it frequently does in New York or Chicago during heated spells. The most marked feature of the climate is that the summer's heat and rainfall keep up until late autumn. In the hottest months the calm days average not far from ten a month, and these have a very relaxing effect. For this reason it is advisable for residents of temperate climes not to visit Porto Rico until November, when the weather becomes beautifully fine and settled, and almost always continues good during the winter and early spring. The rainfall in San Juan, which can be taken as a fair index of that along the northeastern coast, averages about 6.65 inches during August, 5.30 during September and 7.10 during October. But in some years the heaviest fall was in September. Not infrequently the cultivated fields and plantations are inundated, and swamps are formed. As has been intimated, the southern part of the island is relatively much drier than the northern, though the former is apt to experience excessive rains during the passage of a hurricane. It is fortunate for Porto Rico that it does not lie directly in the track of West Indian cyclones. It has been visited, however, at long intervals by devastating hurricanes, notably those of 1742 and 1825, which destroyed a vast deal of property, and during the passage of which many lives were lost. The terrible tornadoes of the tropics are very erratic in their course, and are so apt to be deviated from their accustomed paths that it is unsafe to assume that danger has passed for Porto Rico until late in the autumn. Captains of all vessels during the summer mouths should therefore exercise extraordinary vigilance to avoid being caught in a hurricane. The prevailing diseases of the island are yellow fever, elephantiasis, tetanus, March fever and dysentery. There is no question but that a lack of proper sanitary measures is responsible for much of the illness. Even the most to be dreaded of these diseases, yellow fever, could in all probability be rooted out if proper precautions were taken and every available means employed to prevent its recurrence. As it is, yellow fever never scourges Porto Rico as it does parts of Cuba. In the winter and early spring Porto Rico is less subject than Cuba to those chilling winds that blow from the freezing anticyclones moving east from the American coast toward Bermuda. Under American auspices and enlightened systems of sanitation, there will doubtless spring up a number of attractive winter resorts, which will prove formidable rivals to those of Florida, especially if, as is not unlikely, San Juan Bay becomes the headquarters of the North Atlantic naval station from November until April. In this regard, the manager of a prominent life insurance company has spoken as follows: "Let me raise my voice in prophecy and then wait and see if events do not bear me out. I want to prophesy right now that five years from date that island will be a great popular winter resort. No one can appreciate its natural attractions unless he has been there, and when to them have been added a few good American hotels it is bound to become a popular resort. "I was in Porto Rico several years ago, and I then expressed surprise that it was not boomed as a winter resort. The Porto Ricans to whom I spoke shrugged their shoulders and smiled. The ground is high, the climate is fine, and the place is healthful. "It has many attractions of its own that are lacking in the other West Indies. "Close on the heels of the army will march some enterprising American hotel man, and then look out for results." CHAPTER IV. POPULATION AND TOWNS. According to the latest statistics, the entire population of the island of Porto Rico is estimated at 900,000. Of these about 140,000 are _peninsulares_, as the natives of Spain have been termed throughout her former colonies. From 12,000 to 14,000 are foreigners, mostly Frenchmen, Germans, Italians, Englishmen and Americans. Other nationalities have little or no representation. The so-called native population is composed of two-thirds whites who are descendants of Spaniards and people of other European countries, and one-third negroes and mulattoes or those of mixed blood, half castes, as they are denominated. It is valuable to note the large proportion of whites, which is very unusual for a tropical country. The census, which was taken December 31, 1887, states that the women outnumbered the men by about one thousand. As the immigrants from Spain are mostly men, however, the actual ratio between the two sexes, as far as the native population is concerned, would be greatly in favor of the feminine. The area of Cuba is thirteen times larger than that of Porto Rico, and yet even before the butcher Weyler exterminated a third of the native Cubans, it contained not quite double as many people as the smaller island. This will give some idea of the density of the population of Porto Rico. Thirty per cent. of the whites and seventy-five per cent. of the negroes were classed in the census of 1887 as laborers. The western part of the island is far more densely populated than the eastern. The reason for this probably lies in the fact that the east coast is on the windward side, and offers less protection for shipping. Consequently it is not so conveniently situated for trade. All the larger towns of the east are situated inland, or, at least, some distance from the coast. They are in the hilly portion of the island and surrounded by rich coffee plantations and grazing lands of large extent. The inhabitants of Porto Rico are scattered all over the country, and the land is greatly subdivided. The Spanish authorities have made many efforts to collect the people into villages, but the people themselves have frequently resisted a change which they considered would not suit the conditions of their lives or tend to improve their finances. Still, in the last fifty years more than half of the population has gravitated to and around the towns, especially those which are situated on the seashore. Most of these people live in comfortable houses, and have the means to provide themselves with all the necessities and many of the luxuries of life. The population, by the way, has been steadily increasing since the beginning of the present century. Ponce, named after Ponce de Leon, is the largest city and the one of the most commercial importance upon the island. It is beautifully situated about three miles north of the port of Ponce, in a fertile plain, and is surrounded by plantations and gardens. It is the terminus of one of the three short railroads which have been constructed, and along the beach in front of the port are large warehouses, where the produce, forwarded through Ponce, which is the trading centre, is stored for shipment. The population of Ponce has been estimated at 44,500 inhabitants, and this is probably not far from the actual truth. Ponce has quite a number of fine buildings, including the town hall, the theatre, two churches, the charity and the woman's asylums, the barracks, the Cuban House and the market. Between the city and the seashore is an excellent road which forms a beautiful promenade. Near Ponce are hot springs which are quite famous and held in high estimation by invalids. The capital of Porto Rico is San Juan, which in many respects has always been the most important city. It is on the north coast, and as has already been stated, was founded by Ponce de Leon in 1510. It now has a population of 31,250 inhabitants, which includes the town and its suburbs. The situation of San Juan is somewhat peculiar, as it is built on a high and narrow peninsula, which is separated from the mainland by shallow water spanned by a bridge known as the San Antonio. The town is about half a mile wide, inclosed by high walls of masonry, which are very picturesque, and with their portcullis gates and battlements recall vividly to one's mind the description of mediæval times. The bluff is crowned by Morro Castle, rendered familiar to Americans in the recent war. San Juan is really quite a beautiful place with straight and narrow streets and many imposing buildings. It has a number of public institutions and colleges, several churches, and seven small parks. Among the latter may be mentioned the Plazuela de Santiago, in which is an excellent statue of Columbus. It was on the western end of the island that Ponce de Leon built the governor's palace, which is enclosed within the Santa Catalina fortifications, where are also the cathedral, town house and theatre. This portion of the city is now known as Pueblo Viego, and is the seat of an Episcopal see, which is subordinate to the bishop of Santiago de Cuba. The city is lighted by gas, which is controlled by an English company, and it also has an electric plant under local management. There is a local telephone company. There are eleven newspapers of various descriptions, the chief one being La Correspondencia, a local political paper, which has a circulation of seven thousand copies, more than that of all the other papers put together. The water is obtained entirely from cisterns. About fifty years ago a project was formed to build a reservoir, and the plans were approved by the government. But, with that spirit of procrastination so characteristic of the Spanish, in all public and private walks of life, and which is known as manana, the reservoir has never been completed. The harbor of San Juan is in almost all respects a very fine one. On the east and south it is surrounded by swamps, and on the west it is protected by the islands of Cabra and Cabrita, which are practically connected to the mainland by sandbars. There are strong fortifications which guard the entrance to the outer harbor. The inner harbor is spacious and landlocked. It has been dredged to a uniform depth of twenty-nine feet from the docks to the anchorage. The old city is divided into four wards, three of which are outside of the fortifications. The houses are of stone, or brick, and from the roofs beautiful sea views may be obtained. In the patio or court of almost every house there is a garden. Besides Ponce and San Juan, the largest towns on the island are Arecibo (30,000 inhabitants), Utuado (31,000), Mauaguez (28,000), San German (20,000) Yanco (25,000), and Juana Diaz (21,000). There are also about a dozen other towns with a population of 15,000 or over. These figures are only approximate, as no regular census has been taken in ten years, and even then the Spanish officials were none too correct. Railways on the island can as yet be said to be only in their infancy. There is only about 150 miles of railroad, with about as much more in construction. It is intended to have stretches of railroad parallel with the coast, which shall make the entire circuit of the island. From these there will be short branches to all the seaports and inland markets. The cart roads are very primitive, some of them being little better than cattle tracks. There is, however, be it remembered, one fine road, which extends across the island from San Juan to Ponce. The telegraph system is also in a very incomplete state and is poorly managed. There is one line of cable which runs to Cuba, Mexico, Panama and the coasts of the South American continent, and another which connects the island with St. Thomas, Jamaica, and thus the rest of the world. CHAPTER V. RESOURCES. It is somewhat difficult to tell exactly what is the commercial value of the new colonial possessions which the Spanish-American war has placed at the disposal of the United States. The figures are naturally based upon the conditions which prevailed under Spanish rule. But, all for all, it may be said that Porto Rico, taking into consideration its area, has been the most valuable of all Spain's colonial possessions. For some reason, which seems to be inscrutable, Spain has given the inhabitants of Porto Rico far better treatment than she accorded to the natives of Cuba. She dealt with the island more as if it were a Spanish province than a colony to be bled to the fullest extent possible for the financial benefit of Spanish officials and the mother country. Quite the contrary has been the case in Cuba and the Philippines. It may be stated that, as a matter of fact, Porto Rico has been, in a political sense, a province of Spain for the past twenty years. Spain has paid but little attention to internal improvements, but this has been an advantage. For with her heavy hand relaxed, the people have had a certain opportunity to develop such spirit of enterprise as they possessed. Porto Rico, in proportion to its size, is immensely wealthy. It is very doubtful if the Philippines can equal it in richness, square foot for square foot. With the island in the possession of the United States and with the abolishment of the differential duties in favor of the Spanish government, its geographical position will undoubtedly cause most of its commerce to flow to and from the ports of the United States. There will be a market furnished for great quantities of food products, textile fabrics, iron, steel and coal. From the island the United States will chiefly receive coffee, tobacco and sugar. Indeed it may be said that in the line of coffee cultivation, the greatest development of Porto Rico may be expected in the near future. Mr. John Beggs, whom we have quoted before, says that Porto Rico is one of the finest pieces of property on the earth's surface. May it prove so in the hands of the United States! The soil of Porto Rico is of remarkable fertility. Its dominant industries may be said to be agriculture and lumbering. In the elevated regions, most of the vegetable productions of the temperate zone can be grown. More than five hundred varieties of trees can be found in the forests of the island, many of which are very valuable, and the plains are full of palms, oranges and other fruit-bearing trees. There are several very interesting trees, especially a beautiful _Talauma_, with immense white odorous flowers and silvery leaves. This tree is exceedingly ornamental. It is used for lumber and called Sabiuo. A _Kirtella_ with crimson flowers is also rather common. A tree which is called Ortegon by the natives is found at high altitudes, but chiefly near the coast. It has immense purple spikes, more than a yard long, and is very striking. It seems to be confined to Porto Rico and Hayti. There are many varieties of cabinet and dye woods, including mahogany, ebony, lignum vitæ, cedar and logwood. Plants valuable in the arts and pharmacy abound. Tropical fruits grow everywhere to perfection. The chief products of Porto Rico, outside of lumber, may be said to be sugar, coffee, tobacco, rice, honey and wax, and these have greatly enriched the island, making many of the people well-to-do. Sugarcane is cultivated on the fertile plains, yielding three hogsheads on an average per acre without any manure. An excellent grade of coffee is produced, and it does not appear that as yet any blight has perceptibly affected the shrubs. Rice is very commonly cultivated on the hills in the Sierra. It must be a kind of mountain variety, as no inundation or other kind of watering is used. Rice and plaintain are in fact the staple food of the natives. Cotton and maize are also raised to a certain extent. There should in the future be an industry from the manufacture of tannin extracts from the bark of Coccolala, Rhizophora and the pods of various acacias, the latter of which are a great nuisance on account of their rapid growth. There are a long number of fruits on the island, such as cherries, guava plums, juicy mangoes and bell apples. Edwin Emerson, Jr., a war correspondent, speaks of some of the fruits as follows: "The most astonishing and the best of all was a fruit called pulmo--in our language, sour-sap. It is about as large as a quart bowl, and so nourishing and full that a single fruit was enough for a good meal, although that did not deter my horse from eating four. Later I found that they are also relished by dogs. Of springs and streams there were so many that I had no fear of dying of thirst. If water was not handy, I could always climb a cocoanut tree and throw down the green nuts, which were filled with an abundance of watery milk, more than I could drink at one time. Other nuts there were in plenty; but many were more curious than edible, even to my willing appetite. One had a delicious odor. I tasted a little, and thought it ideal for flavoring candy. But it soon dissolved in my mouth in a fine dust, absorbing all the moisture, so that I had to blow it out like flour. Nothing ever made me so thirsty in my life, and even after rinsing out my mouth I felt for a long time as if I were chewing punk or cotton. The fruit of the tamarind only added to my torments by setting all my teeth on edge. When we reached the next spring I fell off my horse for fear he would get all the water. Only after I had satisfied my thirst would I let him drink." The poverty of the fauna and flora is remarkable, there being scarcely any wild animals, birds or flowers. There is a great deficiency of what may be called _native_ animals of any sort. The most troublesome quadruped is the wild dog, which chiefly attack pigs and other small domestic animals. Mice are probably the greatest pest of the island, but they are considerably kept down by their natural enemies, the snakes. The latter not infrequently reach a length of from six to nine feet. There are a good many mosquitoes, but they are no worse than they are in New Jersey. Numerous species of ants and bees exist as well as fireflies. The latter occasionally fly in great masses, producing beautiful effects in the tropical nights. It may be stated that, on the whole, Porto Rico is singularly free from those noxious reptiles and insects which seem to inherit the rest of the West Indies as their peculiar possession. Immense pastures occupy a part of the lowland, and feed large herds of cattle of an excellent quality. St. Thomas and the French islands all obtain their butcher's meat from Porto Rico. Even Barbadoes comes there for cattle. Sheep always thrive in a hot country, and they grow big and fat in Porto Rico. Fresh lamb and mutton are constantly shipped from there. A very numerous class of the people are shepherds, and these live upon mutton and the kind of highland rice, already alluded to, which is very easily prepared for food. Poultry is most abundant, and the seas and rivers are full of the finest fish. Agriculture has hitherto been almost exclusively in the hands of the natives, but most of the business and commerce have been controlled by foreigners and Spaniards from the Peninsula. Although the island is certainly well developed agriculturally, it certainly admits of considerable expansion in this direction. Under a different political system, and when it is freed from the oppressive and vexatious taxation, Porto Rico will certainly become far more productive and prosperous even than it is now. There is no question but that the island, richly endowed as it is by Nature, has been miserably governed. But agriculture in the near future will certainly not be the main industry of the island. For there are known to be gold, copper, iron, zinc and coal mines, which have never been developed. In fact, strange as it may appear, none of these valuable mines is worked at all. The vegetable productions have been considered so valuable that in order to cultivate them the minerals have been neglected. There are also extensive sponge fields, which are very valuable, but which have not been touched, owing to several causes, chiefly the lack of capital. The same can also be said of the quarries of white stone, granite and marble. Then there is the question of salt, which is sure to be of importance. There are large quantities of salt obtained from the lakes. Salt works have been established at Guanica and Salinas, on the south coast, and at Cape Rojo, on the west. This constitutes the principal mineral industry of Porto Rico. Hot springs and mineral waters are found at Juan Diaz, San Sebastian, San Lorenzo and Ponce, but the most famous are at Coamo, near the town of Santa Isabella. It is now interesting to see what the trade of Porto Rico has been with other countries, and especially the United States during recent years. A very large part of the island's trade has been carried on with the United States, where corn, flour, salt-meat, fish and lumber have been imported in return for sugar, molasses and coffee. The natives are not a sea faring people, and care little or nothing for ships of their own. Therefore, by far the larger part of their trade with other countries has been carried on by the means of foreign ships. Porto Rico has paid into the Spanish treasury about 4,000,000 pesos annually, which is equivalent to about $800,000. In normal years, that is, when no war was going on, the total value of imports into the island amounted to about $8,000,000, and the exports to about $16,000,000. The latest Spanish statistics, that is, during 1896, give the importations into Porto Rico as amounting to $18,945,793, and the exports to $17,295,535. The average entrances of ships into the ports have been 1919 vessels of an aggregate of 327,941 tons, of which 544 of 81,966 tons were British. Articles of import have been distributed by countries as follows: From Spain come wines, rice, oils, flour and textiles; from England, machinery, textiles, salted provisions, rice and coal; from France, a small amount of textiles, some jewelry and perfumery, and some fine wines and liquors; from Italy, wines, vermicelli and rice; from Germany, glass and porcelain wares, textiles, paper, cheese, candied fruits, beer and liquors; from Holland, cheese; from Cuba, rum, sugar and tobacco; from the United States, petroleum, ironware, glassware, chemicals, textiles, paper, lumber, barrels, machinery, carriages, dried and salted meats, butter, grease, codfish, flour, coal, fruits, vermicelli and cheese. A commercial arrangement was entered into between the United States and Spain in 1895, in consequence of which the following proclamation was issued by the Spanish Government: PROCLAMATION: The executive is authorized to apply to the products and manufactures of the United States which coming from the ports of the United States be admitted into the ports of Cuba and Porto Rico, the benefits of the second column of the tariffs in said islands; provided that the United States, in their turn apply their lowest rates of duty to the products of the soil and of the industry of Cuba and Porto Rico. This modus vivendi shall be in force until a permanent commercial treaty between the two parties concerned is concluded, or until one of them gives notice to the other, three months in advance of the day on which it wishes to put an end of it. Therefore, I command all the courts, justices, chiefs, governors and other authorities, civil, military and ecclesiastical, of all classes and dignities, to observe and cause to be observed, obeyed and executed this present law in all its parts. Given in the palace, February 4, 1895. I, the Queen Regent. Alejandro Groizard, Secretary of State. The above is translated from the Gaceta de Madrid of February 6, 1895. This agreement, if so it can be called, is of course now at an end. Hereafter Porto Rico will enjoy all the privileges of a colony of the United States. But still it is interesting to note the duty on the leading articles of export from the United States to Porto Rico, as expressed in the second column of the Spanish tariff. This was as follows: Wheat flour, rice flour, buckwheat flour, cornmeal, oatmeal, barleymeal, ryemeal, per 100 kilograms, gross, $4 00 Pork, per 100 kilograms, net 9 90 Beef and all other meats, per 100 kilograms, net 6 50 Sausage, per 100 kilograms, gross 20 Hay, per 100 kilograms, gross 80 Pig iron, per 100 kilograms, net 50 Bar iron, per 100 kilograms, net 2 15 Barb wire (for fencing), per 100 kilograms, net 40 Coal, per 100 kilograms, net 60 Patent medicines, including weight of container and wrapper 35 One hundred kilograms amounts to something over two hundred pounds. The people on the island are rather luxurious, so much so that in one year five million dollars worth of goods were carried there. These goods consisted principally of manufactured products, such as clothing and household wares. The principal exports from the United States have been flour, pork, lard, lumber and shooks. But, of course, all this will be largely increased now that Porto Rico is practically a portion of the United States, and the increased commerce will be to the advantage of both. During the five years from 1893 to 1897, the trade of Porto Rico with the United States has been as follows: Imports Exports to from United United States: States: 1893 $4,008,623 $2,510,007 1894 3,135,634 2,720,508 1895 1,506,512 1,833,544 1896 2,296,653 2,102,094 1897 2,181,024 1,988,888 Whatever disadvantages Porto Rico may possess, and when all is said and done, they are beyond question few, it is certainly lovely enough and prolific enough to make one forget them all. A writer in Ainslee's Magazine concludes his very clever article as follows, and undoubtedly every word he says is true: "Unfortunately for the development of Spanish countries the mental activity of the people is principally manifested in an exuberant imagination which finds expression in superlative and poetical language. If there were any corresponding creative genius and executive ability in material affairs such a fertile and well-watered land as Puerto Rico would be the home of one of the richest communities on the globe. By her situation she is adapted to become the centre of a flourishing commerce whose goods might be carried down dozens of navigable rivers from the interior of the island. Under a good government, with enterprising colonists, the natural resources of the island, some of which have been scarcely touched, would bring comfort and wealth to a large population." CHAPTER VI. MANNERS AND CUSTOMS. Let us examine briefly in the first place what has been the management of Porto Rico under Spanish rule, or, rather, perhaps we should call it mismanagement, for no one of Spain's colonies has ever been properly directed. Porto Rico has been governed under a constitution voted by the Spanish Cortes in 1869. The government has been administered by a captain-general, assisted by an administrative council appointed at Madrid. The revenue has been about four millions of dollars a year, considerably more than half of which has been derived from customs, and the rest from taxation, direct and indirect. The captain-general was president of the superior tribunals of justice and of the superior juntas of the capital; but the fiscal administration had a special chief called intendant. The supreme judicial power lay in a royal _audience_. Justice was administered in the cities and in the country by judges of the first instance and by alcaldes. There were nine special tribunals: civil, ecclesiastical, war, marine, artillery, engineers, administration, probate and commerce. Ecclesiastical affairs were presided over by a bishop chosen by the crown and approved by the pope. For administrative purposes the island and its dependencies were divided into nine districts: Porto Rico, Bayamon, Arecibo, Aquadilla, Mayaguez, Ponce, Humacoa, Guayama and Vieques. The Spanish administration in Porto Rico, although not so bad as in other colonies, has, nevertheless, been one of cruelty and oppression. The Spaniards, as will be remembered, began by exterminating the native Indian population in less than a century. There was not a branch of the administration which was not conducted under a system of corruption. The law was constantly violated by the Spaniards, and the natives deprived of their rights. When elections took place the Spanish or Conservative party always won, and this in spite of the fact that this party was in a large minority. No more corrupt and farcical elections have even been known to take place. Such a thing as liberty of the press was utterly unknown. Articles that had been printed in the Madrid or other Spanish papers attacking the government could not be reproduced in any Porto Rican papers, without the editors being arrested and punished. And this occurred even if the article in question had not been considered as offering ground for the prosecution by the authorities in Spain. The papers, by the way, were ridiculously inadequate in every sense of the word. Only one attempt was ever made to establish a magazine. This was about eleven years ago. It was called the _Revista Puertorriquena_ and was intended "to carry the highest expression of our intellectual culture to all the people of Europe and America where the magnificent Castilian language is spoken." The magazine was conducted by a committee composed of a director, two editors, "and other illustrious persons" elected by the subscribers. The founder of the magazine lamented that the "race of artists" who first settled in Puerto Rico "were so overwhelmed by the exuberant and pompous beauty of the tropics that the natural means of artistic expression were exaggerated to the detriment of ideas," and that the crying evil of the periodical press of the island was "the abundance of sonorous and high-sounding articles having nothing to say to the understanding." The founder of the magazine was Don Manuel Juncos, who is the author of several books of travel. He speaks of the Brooklyn bridge as "a magic vision of the Thousand and One Nights," while the smoke that rose from myriads of New York chimneys "formed the holy and blessed incense of a mighty and busy population, rising directly up to God from the fecund altar of labor." In the streets he was amazed at the "incessant avalanche of men, all having the purpose of certain or probable utility." No more than nineteen persons, under the old regime, were allowed to meet in any place of the island, without special permission from the government, and the mayor of the town was obliged to attend the meetings to see that nothing was said or done against "the integrity of the nation." Licenses were required for everything, even for an ordinary dancing party. The manner of life in the large towns of Porto Rico is not dissimilar from that of European countries, with the exception of some slight differences due to the heat of the climate. The fashions for men and women alike are imported, especially from Paris and London. Those who are in comfortable circumstances dress just like people in European countries. The men wear woolen clothes all the year round. The young women dress very elaborately and all wear hats, the Spanish mantilla being adopted by elderly women only. In the small towns, men dress after the fashion of the cities, except that their clothes are made of linen. Woolen fabrics are uncomfortable, and they are considered a luxury to be donned only on Sundays and holidays. Laborers and farm hands wear neither coats nor shoes. They do not care to do so, in the first place, and, in the second, they could not afford to, as their earnings are very small. In San Juan the streets are rectangular and are closely built with brick houses usually two or three stories, stuccoed on the outside, and painted in different colors. In one house live several families, and the degree of rent, as well as of social position, rises with the height of the floor above the ground. The lower floors, as a rule, are very dirty, and are crowded in a most unhealthful way by negroes and the servants of those who live above. Sanitary conditions, by the way, as in all Spanish possessions, are the very worst possible, and much will have to be done in this respect when the United States takes permanent possession. There is one feature which strikes every foreigner, and that is the roof gardens. In many parts of the island, especially in the smaller towns, the whole population enjoys itself at night on the housetops. The houses are built a little off the ground, and they look not unlike castles in the air which have been built for pleasure rather than for living purposes. In all tropical countries people have the habit of sleeping in the daytime, and do their shopping and attend to their social duties in the evening. In Porto Rico this custom is almost universal. Every man of any means is the possessor of two houses, a town house and a country house. At carnival times, or when any special celebration is going on, he takes his family to town and brings them back again when the sport is over. Poverty is almost unknown in Porto Rico, for almost every man owns his horse and every woman is the possessor of chickens. Horseback riding is an almost universal pastime. There are many fine horses on the island, and they are used daily by men and women. The inhabitants have but few wants which are not satisfied by Nature without any effort on their part. They lead a _dolce far niente_ existence, swinging to and fro in their hammocks all day long, smoking cigarettes and strumming guitars. Life at San Juan and the other principal towns is more or less monotonous, amusements being few. There is a _retreta_ or concert by the military bands twice a week and theatrical performances three or four evenings a week. Matinees are very seldom given. The theatres are owned by the cities and rented to European and American companies traveling through the island at so much an evening. Unlike Cuba, there are no bull fights, but cock fighting may be called the national sport, and is universally indulged in. Game cocks are the greatest attraction of the markets. Every Sunday there are public fights in the cockpit, and these are invariably accompanied by betting, often very large amounts being involved. Gambling, by the way, may be said to be universal. Every one, from the rich planter down to the lowest laborer and beggar, is given up to this vice, and will squander away every dollar if the mood takes him. There is nothing but hospitality on the island. The people are exceedingly polite to strangers, and the traveler who offers money deeply offends his host. A curious feature of the streets is the milk delivery, which is not unlike that prevailing in Cuba. This takes place before and during the noon, or breakfast, hour, breakfast being taken here between 12 and 2 o'clock. Sometimes the milk is still being sold at 4 or 5 o'clock. The milkman drives from door to door from one to four or five cows, each branded with a number and usually one or more of them accompanied by a calf. The driver cries his approach, and the customer fetches sends out a pan, pail, bottle, or cup, which he hands to the milkman. The milkman puts into the receptacle the quantity of milk paid for, which he induces the cow to yield after the usual manner. Mr. W. G. Morrisey gives an interesting description of how funerals are conducted in Porto Rico. He says that when a native dies preparations are immediately made for the burial. No women are allowed to attend the funeral and the casket is carried on the shoulders of four natives. The cemetery being reached, the remains are deposited in one of the many vaults in the place, provided the sum of four pesos per year is paid to the authorities. If this sum is not forthcoming the corpse is placed in a corner of the graveyard and left there to decay. Mr. Morrisey said it was a common occurrence to see seven or eight funerals pass by every day. Another thing that struck Mr. Morrisey was the railroad that runs from Ponce to Playo. The train is made up of an old-fashioned engine and three cars. There are first, second and third class coaches, the only difference between the first and second class being the seats in the first class coach, which are cushioned. It is first class in name only, and very few of the visitors and the better class of natives use it, because of the fact that the cushions are full of vermin. Everything seems to be filthy, from the Hotel Ingleterra, which is considered the best house in Ponce, to the most miserable of huts on the outskirts of the city. Mr. Morrisey said that it is not a question of one place being cleaner than the other, but one place not being as filthy as another. The facilities for lighting the city at night were investigated, and it was found that very little light is used. The stores are lighted with one or two incandescent lights, which are put in by the managers of a small electric light plant that has been in operation for some time. Kerosene oil cannot be bought for less than forty cents a pint, and consequently is not used to any great extent. An ice plant has also been established in Ponce, where they manufacture ice in small cakes about the size of a brick. This sells at $1.50 per hundred-weight. There is no public school system, and a large number of even the white population can neither read nor write. The daughters of the well-to-do are sent to convents on the island, while the sons go abroad to be educated. Among this latter class there is considerable culture and refinement, and most of them speak English. The women are of medium size, but exquisitely formed. They have all the coquetry which is typical of the women of the tropics, and no one who visits Porto Rico can fail to be impressed with their beauty, delicacy and grace. It has been affirmed that Porto Rico has been in the past a perfect Mecca for fugitives from justice. At one time no less than one hundred of this description were traced there. It is really possible to live on very little money there, and lives are prolonged to an incredible period. Fugitives therefore find it a haven in which to turn over a new leaf and begin a better life. The Porto Ricans are naturally Roman Catholics and are very devout. The manner of keeping Sunday would be apt to shock our New Englanders of Puritan descent. A correspondent of the New York Sun, who was with the army in Porto Rico speaks of this as follows: "Sunday at Ponce, if it continues as at present, will add still further variety to the somewhat different observances of the day which now characterize the territory of the United States. "'To-morrow,' said a native last Saturday, 'to-morrow I shall go to the theatre.' "'It's Sunday,' said his American soldier companion. 'You should be going to church.' "An elevation of the shoulders. "'The same thing,' said the native. "The show at the theatre that day, by the way, was given by an American troupe that has been touring the Indies. "There is, of course, nothing new in the custom in Catholic countries of giving Sunday mornings to church and Sunday afternoons to pleasure. In Ponce the merchants are not willing to close their stores for the religious observances of the day, but hold that it would be wholly wrong to mar the hours of pleasure by business attentions. The stores are all open Sunday mornings as on other days, but shut tight Sunday afternoons. Vesper services are all but unknown. There may be a change regarding services presently. The priests have not been paid since the arrival of the American army. It was the Spanish custom to pay them from the customs receipts. Colonel Hill has refused to give them any money since he has been in charge of the custom-house, and has told them that hereafter their people will have to support them voluntarily. What the people will say to this at the start it is hard to guess. They may not wholly understand it. Under existing laws they are taxed for the support of the church. What their voluntary support of it will be remains to be seen. Protestants have almost a clear field for mission work here. The only Protestant church on the island is at Ponce, and that was opened on the Sunday after the Americans' arrival, for the first time, it is said, in ten years. "The chief service at the cathedral is held at 9 o'clock Sunday mornings, mass being said hourly from 5 o'clock until then. At the 9 o'clock service many Americans drift in. Even the Catholics among the soldiers who have attended have appeared to drift in rather than go with the purpose of doing their devotions. It may be that there seemed something inconsistent in kneeling before the altar with a row of cartridges girded around the body. One man crept into the nave behind the seats, took off his cartridge belt and laid it beside him, and, kneeling, bowed his head very low, while he joined in the prayers. When the service was over he carried the war belt in his hand to the door and there stopped and buckled it on. Fifty yards from the door a company of the Nineteenth Infantry was encamped on guard duty in the principal public square, on one end of which the cathedral stands. "While the services were going on late comers of the native congregation edged their way in at the rear doors, and, passing round the screen beneath the choir loft, dropped to their knees on the marble floor, there remaining until the close. Noticeable among these worshippers were the old and widowed and the very poor. The last recked little or not at all of the filthy floor, trailed with dirt and spotted with tobacco juice. Some of the others brought with them prayer rugs, even though they were but ragged strips of carpeting." The same correspondent has also this to say about the shops, which is interesting: "One of the things revealed by a shopping tour is the absence from the shops of anything distinctly characteristic of Porto Rico. The tourist has not made the island a favorite stopping place, and the people seem to prefer when buying anything not edible to buy foreign-made articles. The only things that even bore a stamp indicative of Porto Rico found by several hunters after curios were fit relics of a Spanish city--case knives inscribed "Viva Ponce." Fortunate seekers after mementoes secured a few of the peculiar native musical instruments called guiros. It is straining courtesy as well as language to call them musical instruments, but they are used by the natives to make what to the natives is music, and one of them is included in each group of street or cafe musicians. The instrument is a gourd shaped like some of our long-necked squashes, hollowed out through two vents cut in one side, and the surface over half the perimeter slashed or furrowed so as to offer a file-like resistance to a metal trident, which is scraped over it in time to the music made by the guitar, or whatever other instrument or instruments make up the orchestra. There are times when the result is suggestive of the couchee-couchee music and scratching." For nearly three centuries slavery existed in Porto Rico, but it was finally abolished by the Spanish Cortes in March 1873. The New York Herald in its special correspondence has much to say about the inhabitants that is of undoubted interest, and from this article we have culled considerable that follows. The article in question was written after the virtual surrender of Porto Rico. These people have been accustomed to military rule all their lives, and to withdraw it in toto and tell them to go in and govern themselves is an experience which many regard as dangerous. Of a race excitable, with blood that courses quickly and with wrongs of many years' standing, the natives are intoxicated with their freedom. Their delirium has but one course--revenge--and when the entire population is fully awake to the opportunity offered there may come a break from all restraint, and then it may be shown that the depletion of our army was a blunder. Without the menace of the Spanish soldiery, without the fear of the Church, and without the guiding hand of a good American officer and wisely-located American army of occupation, there may be trouble ahead. With the going of the soldiers comes the influx of the mercantile classes. Salesmen are arriving in large numbers and promoters and speculators abound. Everything is being boosted from its former lethargic tropical calm. Prices of commodities are rising. Land has quadrupled in value in the owners' minds, and even the street gamins now demand twenty-five cents American money for a single button alleged to be cut from the coat of a Spanish soldier, which they formerly had trouble at disposing of at the rate of twelve and one-half cents per dozen. These commercial avant couriers are bright, active 'hustlers,' who make the native nabobs gasp at their breezy ways, but, all the same, these nabobs are pretty shrewd persons and know how to buy closely. There is one thing the native merchants have to learn, and that is to display their goods and wares. Not a single show window exists, and if some enterprising Yankee will just tear out the forbidding front of one of these business houses, replace it with one on the showcase style and set forth a dazzling array of merchandize, arranged by the deft hand of the artistic window decorator, there will be a revolution in trade in this place. Another portion of the business life to be renovated is the sugar industry. The crudest system exists for the transformation of the juice of the cane into the saccharine crystals of commerce. Machinery so ponderous that it requires a volume of steam all out of proportion to the energy actually needed, and wasteful methods in the extraction of the syrup residue after crystallization, obtain. Yankee machinery, coupled with Yankee push, will cause a wonderful difference in the cost of the finished product. "At the same time the manner of herding the hangs on these huge plantations must surely be changed. Such conditions exist in the quarters that a mere recital would be unprintable, and from an examination I made of the quarters of a very large estate I came away ill mentally and physically." Members of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals have a great field before them in this island. The inhabitants are the most cruel in their handling of beasts of burden and, in fact, of all living creatures below the grade of mankind that could be imagined. Oxen and bulls furnish the principal means of merchandise transportation. They are yoked together with a huge horn rising upon the neck just back of the horns and held in place by bandages around the forehead. The driver carries a goad about five feet in length, in the end of which is inserted a sharp steel point about one inch long. This is used so freely that it is common to see streams of blood running down the sides of the poor maltreated beasts. Not satisfied with using the sharp end, the inhuman drivers frequently deliver terrific blows with the butt across the tender noses of their charges. Many an American soldier has knocked down these cruel drivers for their abuse of the patient beasts, but the drivers do not improve with the thrashing. The American military authorities have imported several American yokes and an effort is to be made to compel their use instead of the timber of torture which now obtains. An author of the last century has this to say about the Porto Ricans: "They are well proportioned and delicately organized; at the same time they lack vigor, are slow and indolent, possess vivid imaginations, are vain and inconstant, though hospitable to strangers, and ardent lovers of liberty." Referring to the mixture of races, the same author continues: "From this variety of mixture has resulted a character equivocal and ambiguous, but peculiarly Porto Rican. The heat of the climate has made them lazy, to which end also the fertility of the soil has conduced; the solitary life of the country residents has rendered them morose and disputatious." A writer of more recent times declares that they are "affable, generous, hospitable to a fault, loyal to their sovereign, and will to the last gasp defend their island from invasion. The fair sex are sweet and amiable, faithful as wives, loving as sisters, sweethearts and daughters, ornaments to any society, tasteful in dress, graceful in deportment, and elegant in carriage. In fact, visitors from old Spain have frequently remarked their resemblance to the _doncellas_ of Cadiz, who are world-renowned for their grace and loveliness." "The truth is that they all have the Spanish _cortesia_," says Frederick A. Ober, in the Century Magazine, when commenting upon the above opinions, "and are more like the polite Andalusians of the south of Spain than the boorish Catalans of the northeast. Even the lowliest laborer, unless he be one of the four hundred thousand illiterates, signs his name with a _rubrica_, or elaborate flourish and styles himself 'Don,' after the manner of the Spanish grandees, and the humblest innkeeper, when receipting a bill, will admit he 'avails himself with intense pleasure of this occasion for offering to such a distinguished gentleman the assurance of his most distinguished consideration!' "This need not imply affectation, nor even insincerity, but merely a different conception of the social amenities from that of the all-conquering American, who, it is to be hoped, will not treat this foible with the contempt which, in his superior wisdom, he may think it merits." CHAPTER VII. THE DAWN OF FREEDOM. When the United States declared war against Spain for the purpose of freeing Cuba from Spanish misrule under which she had suffered for so long, and also with the desire to avenge the dastardly blowing up of the Maine, but little or no thought was given to Porto Rico. That island was an unknown quantity, but still one which was destined to play a considerable part in the near future. This was in the natural sequence of events. After the terrible havoc wrought by our navy at Manila and at Santiago de Cuba, attention was turned toward Porto Rico. The feeling became widespread throughout the United States that the war would fail in its object if Spain were not driven from the possession of all her colonies in the West Indies. Even those who in the beginning thought that the war was unnecessary, gradually came round to this point of view. It was quite sure that the expulsion of Spain from the western hemisphere would prevent the provoking of another war of the same character, and this desirable result could not be achieved so long as Spanish rule was maintained in any part of the West Indies. The demand for the freeing of Cuba, the possession of Porto Rico, as well as a protectorate over the Philippines, was just, and the nation demanded it. The Boston Herald aptly remarked: "This may well stand in the place of any exaction of money. The United States is much too rich to desire to compel money payment from an exhausted and practically beggared nationality. Such a course would be belittling the war in the eyes of the nations of the world, and it is not at all in accordance with ideas of our own national dignity. Here is the substantial concession of Spain, and it involves all and more than all for which the war was declared." The invasion of Porto Rico was not commenced until after the result of the war had been definitely decided. But the Spaniards with that unfailing belief in "manana" (to-morrow) behaved like true Orientals, as they are in part, and acted as if time gained was half-way toward victory. With scarcely an exception, they are all indolent and fatalists. The prime minister, Senor Sagasta, put off everything with that word which has proved so fatal to Spain, which undoubtedly precipitated the war, and which was at the bottom of all Senor Sagasta's policy--"manana." It is related that one day in the Cortes, a deputy criticized the idleness and indolence of Senor Sagasta, and the latter replied: "_A nadie le ha sucedido nado por no hacer nada._" A free translation of this is: "Nothing happens to him who does nothing." Both Sagasta and the Spaniards have doubtless found out by this time the falsity of the saying. To show the feeling prevailing in Spain, it may be well to quote a Madrid corresponded of the London Times: "Though peace is regarded as assured, it may not be attained so quickly as is generally expected. Senor Sagasta objects to be hustled, and insists upon everything being done in a quiet, orderly and dignified manner. He considers it necessary to have full and satisfactory explanations as to all doubtful points, in order to enable him best to protect the national interests against the aggressive tendencies of the Washington Cabinet. "He has also to examine very minutely the exigencies of the internal situation and home politics, so as to avoid popular dissatisfaction and political unrest. The Spanish people, though sincerely desirous of peace, are disposed to admire this hesitancy and tenacious holding out till the last, although aware that it implies greater sacrifices. "As an illustration of this feeling, while General Toral is blamed for capitulating at Santiago, Captain-General Augustin, in continuing a hopeless resistance at Manila, bids fair to be a popular hero." About this time, before any attack by the Americans, Macias, captain-general of Porto Rico, discovered a conspiracy, which if it had not been quickly checked would have placed the island in a state of insurrection. Eduardo Baselge and Danian Castillo, both prominent Porto Ricans, were active leaders in the incipient insurrection. The Spanish postal authorities discovered the conspiracy through a letter written by Castillo to Baselga. General Macias was informed of this discovery, and a quiet investigation disclosed the fact that there were involved in it all of the most prominent residents of the city of San Juan, both native and foreign. The headquarters of the conspirators were located and a quantity of dynamite, arms and provisions was found. It was the intention of the leaders, after their plans had been perfected, to give wide publication to a proclamation calling upon all native and patriotic Porto Ricans who hold liberty dearer than life, to join them and accomplish the overthrow of the Spanish government and the death of the governor and his officials. The plans of the conspirators were so carefully laid that had it not been for the accidental discovery of Castillo's letter, they would unquestionably have been carried out. The discovery of the conspiracy occurred about the time of the visit to Washington of Dr. J. J. Henna and Ramon Todd, both prominent Porto Ricans, of whom we have had occasion to speak before, and whose purpose in going there was to hold a conference with President McKinley relative to the establishment of a provisional United States government in the island after the Spaniards had been driven out. Within twenty-four hours after the arrest the two leaders, Baselga and Castillo, were shot. The residents became very much excited over the affair, and feeling against the Spanish officials ran high. From the very beginning the real Porto Ricans, as we shall see hereafter, were in favor of the Americans. The Spaniards, however, were most bitter, and as had been the case in Havana and Manila, kept up an absurd show of superior strength. This is well manifested by a proclamation which, signed by Jose Reyes, Celestins Dominguez and Genara Cautino, was issued to the people of Guayama on May 20, 1898. As one of the curiosities of the war, it can only be compared to the celebrated and laughable manifesto which Captain-General Augustin issued at Manila just before the appearance of Admiral Dewey's fleet. The Porto Rican proclamation ran as follows: "To the people of Guayama. Hurra for Spain! "A nation that is our enemy, by its history, by its race, and because she is the principal cause of our misfortunes in Cuba, having fomented in this island that is our sister a war in which she supplied all kinds of resources, taking away at last the mask with which she concealed her fictitious friendship, has excited us to-day to vowed war. "There is a deep abyss between the manner of being of that people and ours, which established antagonism that we should never be able to remove. Our sonorous language, our habits, the religion of our ancestors, and our necessities are conditions of our life so different from those of that race, so opposite to those of that people, that we are frightened in thinking that we should be constrained to accept a manner of being that is repugnant to our origin, our heart and our feelings. We are a people entirely Spanish, and we were born to a civilized life under a flag that was, and we hope ever will be, that of our wives and children. For four hundred years the warmth of the mother of our native country has given life to our organisms, ideas to our brains, majestic thoughts to our souls, and generous undertakings to our hearts, and in those four centuries the glories of the Spanish house have been our glories, her gayeties our gayeties, and her misfortunes our own misfortunes. "We have been full of haughtiness when, being considered as the Conqueror's sons, we know that we had participation in the heroic actions of our brothers, and that the laurels with which they crowned their hero's front were also our laurels. When in tranquil hours we heard in our hearths our predecessors' epopee, describing as superfluously exact their achievements; giving them lively color that always inspires our tropical fancy, our nerves felt the thrill produced by enthusiasm; at those moments, our being all affected, our breast with its strong aspirations and our fiery tears rolling down the cheeks reminded us, obliging the cords of patriotism to vibrate, that we were Spaniards, and we neither could nor would like any other thing than to remain Spaniards. "As if it could be that the country of Sergeant Diaz, of Andino, and Vascarrondo's, and all those conspicuous countrymen that irrigated with their blood Martin Pena and Rio Piedras camps could measure either the vigor or the haughtiness of an enemy who has not yet exhibited his face after so many ostentatious and angry vociferations. No! and thousand times no! The light fishermen of Porto Rico's shores, merchants, lawyers, musicians, mechanics, journeymen, all persons who may have strength to grasp a gun must ask for it. All united, with a solid front we shall go to intercept the invader. Behind us and as a reserve legion will come down from the highlands like a raging storm, if it is necessary, the _jibaros_, our fields' brothers, the most accomplished exemplar of abstinence, probity and bravery; the same that formed the urban militia; the same that were sent to Santo Domingo to defend gentile honor; they, who in number of more than 16,000, covered the plains of the north shore of the island, and compelled the Englishmen in 1797 to re-embark hastily, leaving their horses and artillery park. "Porto Ricans! the moment is rising when not a single man of this country gives a step backwards, as it is said commonly; the hour of organizing ourselves for defense is sounded. The Spanish lion has shaken his dishevelled mane, and our duties calls us around him. Our temper is to fight, and we shall fight. Our fate is to overpower, and we shall overpower. Honor imposes upon us the obligation of saving home, and we shall save it in this land of our loves. Before North American people carry their boldness so far as to tread our sea-coasts it is necessary that we must be ready to receive them; that they may find in every Porto Rican an inexorable enemy, in every heart a rock, in each arm a weapon to drive them away; that that people feels that here it is detested intensely, and that Porto Rica's spirit is Spanish, and she will ever be so; therefore, inhabitants of Guayama, we invite you for a meeting at the Town House next Tuesday and offer our kind offices to the government, who will give us arms. "It would be unworthy of our so gentle history, we should deny our blood, if in these moments of struggle we should endure indifferently. Let our enemies know that we are a brave people, and that if we are soft in peace days, we are also fit for war chances; that all his command, all his pride, and all his arrogance may fall out with a wall composed of all Porto Rican breasts." In the light of ulterior and posterior events, this document is really as comical as anything in opera-bouffe. "We have no means of knowing," says the New York Sun, in commenting upon this precious effusion, "whether Senor Jose Reyes, Senor Celestino Dominguez and Senor Genaro Cautino actually grasped their guns and immolated themselves upon the altar of four centuries and in the presence of the ostentatious and vociferous invader; or whether they prudently joined the light fishermen, merchants, lawyers, musicians and _jibaros_ of Porto Rico, to whom they had vainly appealed in the name of Spain in yelling themselves hoarse as the Stars and Stripes went up in town after town. Perhaps they took the latter course. Perhaps they will turn out good Americans. In Porto Rico, as elsewhere, times change, and men's minds change with the changes of time and destiny." CHAPTER VIII. NAVAL LESSONS TAUGHT BY THE WAR. After the remarkable victory at Santiago de Cuba, where Admiral Cervera's fleet, which attempted to steal out of the harbor, with the loss of but one man on the American side, Admiral Sampson, with a portion of his fleet, proceeded to San Juan in Porto Rico. This city he bombarded, directing his principal fire against Morro Castle. What followed bears strong testimony to the remarkable gunnery of our "jackies." Morro Castle and the buildings on the high ground in its rear were simply riddled. Great holes were in places blown out by our large shells and the walls were pitted by the hail of the smaller ones. There was one entire building which was blown to pieces, and a whole section of the Cuartel was laid in ruins. To be sure, many of our shells were wasted in the sea wall, but this is not to be wondered at, as the parapet had embrasures for guns, and from where our ships were lying, these would naturally be mistaken for a sea battery. Neither in Morro Castle nor in the more pretentious fortifications known as San Cristobal, were there any great number of modern guns. There were a few Krupp guns, but the remainder consisted of muzzleloaders of an ancient pattern; most of the latter were mounted upon parapets of masonry. It may be said that the defences of San Juan were opposed to every theory of modern military science. The defenses might have been considered impregnable some fifty years or so ago, but to-day they are by no means formidable. Our marvelous naval victories have taught a lesson to the entire world, and America to-day stands stronger than she ever did before. In fact, there is not a nation that does not respect us and fear us, which possibly could not have been said before the American-Spanish war. Prior to that, it was rather the fashion to sneer at the Yankee army and navy, but that will never be done again. Foreign nations know now what the United States really is. "Dewey's and Sampson's victories must be very depressing to French, German and Russian naval aspirations," observes a gentleman of Washington, who is a most competent authority. "For years they have been measuring up against England, and quietly calculating what combinations they could make to overthrow British sea power. France, particularly, has been building a navy which she hoped, in spite of past experience, might cope with England's. She has spent immense sums upon it, and relative to the interests it has to guard, it is larger and stronger than England's. But Spain's experience reiterates the old story that it is not so much the ships as the men on them who win victories. Had the Americans been on Spanish ships and the Spanish on the American there would have been a very different story to tell. While the French are very superior to the Spanish, they are of the same Latin blood, and there is just enough similiarity between the two peoples to hint at the success French ships would have in encountering with Anglo-Saxons, either sailing under the Star Spangled Banner or the Cross of St. George. Germany is likely to have the same sort of a chill. The Gentians have never been a maritime nation. A German war vessel has never fired a hostile shot, and Germans may well have solicitous thoughts as to the result of a struggle with men who have shown themselves past masters in the art of naval warfare. Russia is in the same situation. She has never actually fought anybody at sea but the Turks. The wiser among these peoples are very likely to begin thinking that their dreams of sea power are vain illusions, and that they had better save the money they have been spending on navies and resign the dominion of the sea to the English-speaking races." There is no doubt that our naval victories have taught many and valuable lessons, and it is perhaps proper to make a slight digression here and show what some of these lessons are. Let us then consider the deliberations of a board of naval officers, some of the ablest experts in the service, appointed by Admiral Sampson, after the battle of Santiago de Cuba, to report upon the condition of Cervera's sunken fleet, the extent of damages done by American shells and the lessons to be learned therefrom to guide the United States in its future ship construction. The conclusions reached by the board were as follows: The use of wood in the construction and equipment of war ships should be reduced to the utmost minimum possible. Loaded torpedoes above the water line are a serious menace to the vessels carrying them, and they should not be so carried by vessels other than torpedo boats. The value of rapid-fire batteries cannot be too highly estimated. All water and steam pipes should be laid beneath the protective deck and below the water line and fitted with risers at such points as may be considered necessary. The board also found that the ships Infanta Maria Teresa, Almirante Oquendo and Viscaya were destroyed by conflagration, caused by the explosion of shells in the interior, which set fire to the woodwork. The upper deck and all other woodwork on their ships was entirely consumed except the extremities. This shows the importance of fireproofing all woodwork on board ships. Many of the guns on board the burned ships were found loaded at the time of the board's visit, indicating the haste with which the crews were driven from the guns. With talks with experts the following was developed as to what the war showed: First--That the gun is still the dominating factor in war. Second--That rapid-fire guns are especially valuable, but that it is advisable to retain guns of large calibres. Third--That smokeless powder is absolutely essential for modern warfare. Fourth--That there should be a great reduction in the amount of woodwork on board ship and that that left on board should be fireproof, some going so far as to say that woodwork should be eliminated entirely, its place to be taken by some other substance. Fifth--That armor should be distributed over the entire ship rather than be limited to the section where its vitals are located. Sixth--That monitors are useless for cruising purposes or for fighting in rough waters. Seventh--That the United States should have a larger navy, with speedier battleships and fast armored cruisers, and with coaling stations in different sections of the globe, where men-of-war can procure supplies and make repairs if necessary. Captain Charles O'Neil, chief of the bureau of ordnance, gave his opinion as follows: "I do not think the battle off Santiago de Cuba demonstrated that we should abandon the heavy calibres of guns. Serious injury to an enemy's thickly-armored battleships can be inflicted only by large-calibre guns. "It is possible that with rapid-fire guns you may shoot away the lightly armored superstructure, but as long as the vitals are protected and the turret armor is intact the guns in the turret will be able to do execution, and large-calibred guns will be necessary to perforate the armor and disable those weapons. Even with her 12-inch guns the Texas can fire at the rate of one round per minute, and this record is as good as that made by any foreign ships. Rapid fire consists in good facilities for handling ammunition and loading the gun with a quick working breech mechanism. "We are now building at the Washington gun factory an experimental 6-inch rapid-fire gun, different from the rapid-fire guns we have now in service, which are supplied with what is termed fixed ammunition. The powder and projectile to be used in the experimental gun will be separate, and two operations consequently will have to be employed in loading. This can be done so quickly that it is expected that a very rapid fire will be obtained. "It is the policy of the Department to have our ships a little ahead of those of any other nation, to have them equipped with armor of greater resistive power, and guns capable of doing more execution. The 13-inch gun, as at present designed, is a more destructive gun than a 12-inch ordinarily, and its energy is very much greater, the result naturally being that it has superior armor-piercing powers. "I think we should keep the 13-inch gun on board of our battleships. On account of the light armor which protected the Spanish men-of-war, it is difficult to compare the ships and the effect of their fire, or to draw conclusions. We would have learned more if the Spanish fleet had been made up of battleships, and the fire of their gunners had been more accurate. As it is, the value of the secondary battery was certainly demonstrated. "The necessity of eliminating wood to the greatest extent possible and fireproofing what remains, was shown by the destruction of the Spanish men-of-war. Fire mains should be kept below the protective deck. The battle proved that ships moving rapidly can attack other vessels also under way and inflict serious injury. "The excellent gunnery of the American sailors is entirely due to the practice which they had undergone, but the target fired at was stationary, while their ship was moving. The conditions were different in action. The Spanish were under way, yet the American gunners fired as well as if they were merely practising." The New York Herald speaks as follows of our naval victories: "Ramming, that expedient of despair, was not attempted. Torpedoing, despite the opportunities afforded, was estopped by the quick service of rapid-fire guns on board an inferior but superbly handled construction, and that final effort, a 'charge through,' was never allowed to challenge the combined energies of our fleet. If audacity could have merited success, these Spaniards deserved much, but here the marrow of the war proverb was not with them. "Pitted against similar ships, even in superior numbers, some of the fleeing cruisers might have slipped seaward in hot haste for the breaking of the Havana blockade. Failing that, all might have concentrated an assault upon certain selected vessels and found consolation for final defeat in the foundering hulls of their enemy. But audacity did not count, individual bravery went for naught; because, while heavier constructions barred the way, and superior guns smashed the pathways of escape, energized skill overcame untrained courage and patient discipline crushed unorganized effort. "The battleships not only fought the armored cruisers in a long, stern chase down the shore, but destroying as they ran, finally forced them blazing in their own wrecks upon a hostile coast. The torpedo boat destroyers engaged single handed by the Gloucester succumbed so quickly to inferior armament and speed that their value in a day attack, or, indeed, their value at any time save as weapons of surprise, need no longer be reckoned with. This will be a rude awakening to the zealots who had seen in this weapon the downfall of the ship of the fighting line, but it will be a heart-cheering confirmation to the loyal seamen who in season and out have never ceased to proclaim that the integrity of sea nations rests on battleships and the well-served guns of a fleet." "I think sometimes if it had not been for the work of the Oregon the Colon might have got away," was the statement made by an admiral on the retired list. "I am not sure that the Brooklyn, with all her speed, could have stopped the Colon, but I think it quite likely that the New York would have finally overtaken the Colon and stopped her." More emphasis was laid upon the speed of the Oregon and the closeness of her position than upon her 13-inch shells, one of which played such havoc. The admiral was not seemingly impressed with the difference in effectiveness between the guns of large and small calibre, but continued to lay stress on the admirable speed of the Oregon. "But," he continued, "the war has proved nothing so far as the navy is concerned. The Spaniards showed no enterprise. If we had come up against the navy of England there would have been some basis for a conclusion, but shooting in the air, as the Spaniards did, proves nothing. They had a fine fleet, with most modern equipment, and yet they could kill only one man in the whole encounter." Admiral Sir George Elliot, of the British Navy, considers that at least five important lessons have been taught by the war. His opinions are as follows: "First, in state of peace be fully prepared for war in every respect; second, the value of adequately-protected coaling stations; third, the value of superior speed for the cruiser class, and especially for the more weakly-armored vessels; fourth, the naval defense of seaports by gunboats and the raising of the naval volunteer corps as an integral portion of the naval reserve forces; fifth, that great importance be attached to a steady gun platform for quick-firing guns, looking to the small number of hits compared with numerous shots fired. "In this connection," said Sir George Elliot, "I am informed that the Americans are likely to adopt Captain Hodgett's form of bottom for their new ships, which must give greater steadiness than bilge keels." Admiral Sir Henry Nicholson, who was captain of the Temeraire at the bombardment of Alexandria, and has since been commander in chief at the Cape of Good Hope and at the Nore, has spoken thus: "This war has taught us nothing. The state of the Spanish navy has been for years so hopelessly rotten that when the moment for action arrived its military value was nil. The Spanish gunners hardly seem to have got a hit in on any American ship. Nothing is taught us as to the relative value of the belt or deck armor." As regards ships versus forts, he said: "The Spanish forts seem to have been, probably from various reasons, as inefficient as their ships. Both the Spaniards and the Americans in their use of torpedo craft have shown very remarkable absence of dash. Practically neither side has made any use of this dreaded arm." Captain Montagu Burrow, who is professor of modern history at the University of Oxford, had this opinion to offer: "There are no new lessons to be learned, but only confirmation of some that are very old. The state of unreadiness in Spain when the war suddenly broke out might, from the unfortunate circumstances of that country, have been expected, but if the United States had had to deal with a Power anything like its own strength it would have found its own position intensely difficult. The war will probably have the effect of inducing their government to keep up a standing army and navy of a very superior kind to that of their present system. The recent warning of their admirable writer, Captain Mahau, will now have a chance of being listened to, but the Americans have only to expand what is already proved to be good. The training of their officers and men must have been of a superior kind to enable them to handle their ships and point their guns with such excellent effect. It was at one time considered doubtful whether modern guns could be as accurately fired at great distances as the old armament at shorter ranges, but they were laid quite as accurately, and were far more destructive." As the New York Herald declared at the time, the United States had now attained their majority. They were now of age, and their voice must be heard in the council of nations. There were misgivings all over Europe, especially in Germany and France, old and bitter foes though they are. A prominent Parisian thus summed up these misgivings: "The young American giant," he said, "is only trying his strength on Spain, but what if he should use it against us?" CHAPTER IX. WHAT OUR ARMY ACHIEVED. Now to turn from the navy to the army, and see what the latter achieved in Porto Rico. On July 21, 1898, General Miles sailed from Guantanamo Bay with a force of 3,415 men. General Wilson had sailed the day before from Charleston with 4,000 men, and General Schwan and his command sailed from Port Tampa two days later. The entire army of invasion numbered about eleven thousand men. The hardships on the transports were very great. The Massachusetts carried three troops of cavalry from New York and Pennsylvania to Porto Rico and the events of the voyage have been thus narrated by an eye-witness: "With the penetrating of the tropics come days of languor and nights of inactivity so delicious it seems profanation to move. More than one thousand men, who boarded the Massachusetts with the vigor of the North in their veins, have succumbed, one by one, to the lethargy of the soft breeze of the Bahamas. But an awakening is at hand. Pumps that have been running steadily day and night slow down and stop. Troopers had become so accustomed to the quick beating of the smaller machines that the cessation of throbs between the slower pulsations of the heavier engines is noticed instantly. A quick inquiry as to the cause brings the answer from one less well-informed: "Only the water pumps broken down." That is all, only eleven hundred parched horses awaiting the answer to the bugle call they had learned so well--"Water horses!"--which sounded at the moment of the fatal break in the pumps. Only a transport carrying ten hundred and thirty men, and no means of extinguishing a fire! Twenty minutes; one-half hour, and Captain Read, who has gone down into "the hole," asks for five Troop A men. "No hurry," so the order said. Somebody knew better, and the troopers go, hand over hand, down into the ship's hold. A few bales of hay come up and over the side of the ship, and sizzle as they strike the water. The troopers nurse a few burned fingers, and Captain Read reappears on deck, smoked, wet with perspiration, and makes his usual answer to a question, "What's the trouble?" with "Nothing at all." But five men of Troop A and Captain Read knows that a dangerous fire has been extinguished for the third time in one day with men's bare hands. "Three-quarters of an hour, and no sound from the engine-room, except the steady throb of the propeller. "'Thirty men from Troop A, thirty men from City Troop, and thirty men from Troop C!' and ninety men in three squads silently are lined around that entrance to Hades--the hole. 'Another fire,' was the quick alarm, but it was worse than that. 'Water! water! water!" the cry comes from the sunken eyes that look pleadingly at men; from harsh breathing; from parched throats; from hanging heads of eleven hundred horses and mules that had not been watered since receiving a scant quart eighteen hours before. 'Let's see,' said the United States cavalrymen, quietly, 'the pumps are hopeless, but we can draw up one bucketful every minute from the hold aft, and one every minute from the forward hatch. We ought to water all in ten hours. Form lines and water solid. The horse you skip will be dead in the morning.' "The horses stand with swollen legs far apart, instinctively to prevent a fall. Once down, they know they never can get up. Their heads hang low and their breathing comes in a whistle from parched lungs through a long, dry throat and dusty mouth. There is an occasional form in the black galleys. It is some trooper, his big arms around the neck of his beloved dying mount, with tears in his eyes, but petting and talking to the animal as if it understood. Then ropes over blocks begin to draw buckets of water from sixty feet below. Immediately each horse or mule has its draught, it is bathed in perspiration, and skin dry and shriveled becomes soft and pliable. One can feel in the dark, whether a horse has been missed or not. "There is a delay and an anxious inquiry from above: 'What's the matter?' 'Haul away,' is the response, and the bucket comes heavy this time. Oh, it's only a man, stark naked, fainting, with a rope beneath his arms, and head away to one side. 'Hospital case, overcome, haul away,' and another bucket swings upward." Of course the objective point of the whole campaign was the capital, San Juan, on the northeastern coast of the island. Nevertheless the troops were mostly landed on the southern coast not far from the southwestern corner. The plan was to drive all the Spanish troops upon the island into San Juan, where they could be captured upon the surrender of that city. The Spaniards abandoned precipitately the whole southern coast line, and this seemed to promise an easy march for the Americans across Porto Rico. But this was not exactly the case, as we shall proceed to demonstrate. There were several causes why the Spaniards fled before the invading Americans. One was that in the beginning the Spanish forces, from lack of knowledge as to where the Americans would land, were widely scattered. By retreating, the coast garrisons were brought together in bodies of more or less magnitude. More than this in the interior could be found stronger positions for defense, and there only land forces would have to be dealt with. It is probable that the Spaniards in Porto Rico, knowing as they must have, that the war was virtually over, hoped by a show of resistance at the end to come out with a certain degree of credit, and had resolved to give up the fight only when they received an order to do so from Madrid. At all events, the Spanish troops disputed the American advance at several points. At Fajardo the American forces raised the Stars and Stripes, but the Spaniards, several hundred in number, pulled it down and even sought to drive away the landing party that held the lighthouse on the shore. This attempt was most manifestly absurd, as in the harbor was a squadron, consisting of the monitor Amphitrite, the protected cruiser Cincinnati and the Leyden. No time was lost in landing men to support the lighthouse force, and to open fire from the ships. The Spaniards were driven back and suffered much from their foolish temerity. In the beginning the plan of campaign included an advance along three lines. The first division, under General Schwan, was to advance along the western coast to Aguadilla, in the north-western corner of the island, and then to push to the east until Arecibo, on the northern coast and about half-way between Aguadilla and San Juan, was reached. The second division, under General Henry, was to push directly to the north from Ponce, forming a union with Schwan at Arecibo. The main advance was to be along the military road from Ponce to San Juan. As this road runs for some distance parallel to the southern coast, a division was dispatched under General Brooke to land at Arroyo and capture Guayama, an important city on the military road, about forty miles east of Ponce. By this means, whatever detachments of Spanish troops might be stationed on the road between these two points were exposed to attack from both front and rear. Before any of these movements could be completed, however, came the armistice and the consequent cessation of hostilities. Much, though, had been accomplished before this, enough to show what American arms were capable of. In the east, General Brooke, after landing at Arroyo, had taken Guayama; in the centre, General Wilson had advanced on the military road, occupied Coamo, and had made a demonstration before Aibonito, where there was a large Spanish force; further to the west, General Henry had marched to within fifteen miles of Arecibo; in the extreme west, General Schwan had marched along the coast and taken Mayaguez, the principal port in that end of the island, after a sharp skirmish with a force that outnumbered his own. The slight opposition met by General Brooke at Guayama, General Wilson at Coamo, and General Schwan near Mayaguez, indicated that there would be little difficulty in reaching the capital, and officers and men alike felt that the capture of San Juan was a matter of but a few days. The third landing of American troops in Porto Rico took place on August 2, at Arroyo, from the St. Louis and the St. Paul. The army then took the place of the navy and accepted the surrender of the town. There was no defense and no Spanish flag was flying. The surrender of Arroyo was important, as there were a large number of manufacturing enterprises there. The attitude of the civil authorities and the ineffective character of the defense made by the Spanish troops, says the San Francisco Argonaut, was illustrated by the advance made by General Henry's division. General Roy Stone was sent in advance with a small body of about one hundred men to reconnoiter the road and determine its fitness for military operations. The character of the expedition may be gathered from the fact that General Stone and his officers rode in carriages. Yet town after town surrendered to these outposts until they were encamped before Arecibo, on the northern coast of the island. The main body had nothing to do but follow and furnish flags for the surrendered municipalities. One of the most extraordinary things in the whole campaign was the surrender of the city of Ponce. This was done in response to a telephone communication from Ensign Curtin. Not a single shot was fired. After the surrender of Ponce it was reported that a large Spanish force had gathered about ten miles in the interior. Two companies of soldiers were sent out by General Ernst to see what this meant. On the outskirts of the town a party of Spanish soldiers, loaded down with guns and swords, was met with. As soon as the Spaniards caught sight of the Americans they ran toward them crying, "Don't shoot!" They declared that they were coming in to surrender. Although the party was small, they had arms enough to stock a regiment. They were taken before General Wilson, gave up their arms and signed a parole. There was quite a strong resistance made at Coamo, a town on the main military road between Juana Diaz and the Spanish mountain stronghold at Aibonito. General Wilson effected the capture of this place with the most consummate skill. His plan was simple enough. It was nothing more nor less than an ordinary flank movement, such as Grant and Sherman used so successfully during the Civil War. General Wilson advanced against the town on the main road with sufficient infantry, cavalry and artillery to drive out the Spanish garrison. But when the latter attempted to retreat they found their way blacked by the Sixteenth Pennsylvania, under Colonel Hulings, which General Wilson had sent round to the rear of the town the night before. The attack in front was timed so as to allow this force to get into position. The Battle of Coamo, if indeed, it can be so called, for it was nothing more than a lively skirmish, has been thus described: "Just as darkness fell, the regiment left the military road and struck at a right angle for the hills to the northward. Porto Rican guides led the way over paths so rough and narrow that the men could move only in single file. It was toilsome progress. Absolute silence was enjoined; no smoking was permitted lest the fitful flash of a match should betray the movement to the watchful Spaniards on the hills. For hours the men toiled on. The officers were compelled to walk and lead their horses. Creeks and rivulets were waded; lofty hills were climbed or skirted; yawning ravines were crossed. The men dripped with perspiration, although the night air was chilly. "At dawn both General Wilson and General Ernest were in the saddle, and long before the shadows lifted from the valleys the main body of the army was in motion to drive the enemy out of the town and into Hulling's net. Nearer than the village and off to the right was the blockhouse of Llamo de Coamo. The blockhouse was the first place attacked. There was a heavy, jarring rumble over the macadam of the military road. Anderson's battery came along at a sharp trot. At a turn in the road where the blockhouse came into view it halted. Two minutes later the fight opened. For a few minutes the Spanish returned the fire with Mausers, but as shell after shell crashed through the blockhouse, they abandoned it and fell back toward Coamo. Soon flames leaped upward from the roof, and an hour later the fort was but a smoldering ruin. "Meanwhile the infantry was pressing rapidly forward. General Wilson was wondering what had become of Hulings. Not a warlike sound came from the village, a mile and a half away. Had the garrison escaped? Suddenly from beyond the town came the rattle of musketry. Soon the sound swelled into a steady roar, which the mountains echoed again and again." The same writer tells a story in regard to one whom he terms a real hero of the war, and he calls attention to the callous manner in which Spanish soldiers were sacrificed to protect political adventurers at home. To quote his own words: "His name was Don Rafael Martinez. There was no military justification for attempting to hold Coamo under the circumstances. Yet Major Martinez stayed. He was still in the prime of youth and in fine health. In Spain his family is aristocratic and influential, and could have protected him from the consequences of a quixotic court-martial. Martinez knew that resistance was utterly hopeless. But Colonel San Martian had been practically disgraced by Governor-General Macias for evacuating Ponce, and all commanders of garrisons in the path of the American army were ordered to fight. So Major Martinez kissed his young wife and children good-by one day last week and sent them into San Juan for safety. His scouts brought word that an American column of double the garrison's strength was slowly creeping around to his rear. Then Martinez knew that he was trapped, and decided to go out and meet the enemy. He rode in advance of his slender column until he sighted Hulings's men, who were immediately apprised of the enemy's presence by a volley. Soon bullets were flying like hail. Martinez, mounted upon a gray horse, rode up and down in front of his troops, uttering encouraging words. The soldier's death which Martinez sought was not long coming. For a while he reeled in his saddle, maintaining his seat with evident difficulty. Then his horse went to his knees, and Martinez slowly slid from the saddle, a lifeless form. When Major Martinez was found, five wounds, three of which were mortal, were discovered. His horse was shot in four places." The result of the attack on Coamo was the capture of about one hundred and eighty men, or most of the garrison except the cavalry who took to the mountains by paths better known to them than to the Americans. Of General Wilson's force, none was killed and only a few were wounded. The whole affair was splendidly managed. As has been said before, all General Miles's plans could be put into action, the war was practically ended. On the afternoon of August 12, Secretary of State Day and M. Cambou, the French ambassador, who was representing Spain, affixed their signatures to duplicate copies of a protocol establishing a basis upon which the two countries, acting through their respective commissioners, could negotiate terms of peace. The provisions of the protocol were practically as follows: 1. That Spain will relinquish all claim of sovereignty over and title to Cuba. 2. That Porto Rico and other Spanish islands in the West Indies, and an island in the Ladrones, to be selected by the United States, shall be ceded to the latter. 3. That the United States will occupy and hold the city, bay and harbor of Manila, pending the conclusion of a treaty of peace which shall determine the control, disposition and government of the Philippines. 4. That Cuba, Porto Rico and other Spanish islands in the West Indies shall be immediately evacuated, and that commissioners, to be appointed within ten days, shall, within thirty days from the signing of the protocol, meet at Havana and San Juan respectively, to arrange and execute the details of the evacuation. 5. That the United States and Spain will each appoint not more than five commissioners to negotiate and conclude a treaty of peace. The commissioners are to meet at Paris not later than October. 6. On the signing of the protocol, hostilities will be suspended and notice to that effect will be given as soon as possible by each Government to the commanders of its military and naval forces. The President at once signed the following proclamation, declaring an armistice: "By the President of the United States of America: "A PROCLAMATION. "Whereas, By a protocol concluded and signed August 12, 1898, by William R. Day, Secretary of State of the United States, and his Excellency Jules Cambon, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the republic of France at Washington, respectively representing for this purpose the Government of the United States and the Government of Spain, the United States and Spain have formally agreed upon the terms on which negotiations for the establishment of peace between the two countries shall be undertaken; and, "Whereas, It is in said protocol agreed that upon its conclusion and signature hostilities between the two countries shall be suspended, and that notice to that effect shall be given as soon as possible by each government to the commanders of its military and naval forces; "Now, therefore, I, William McKinley, President of the United States, do, in accordance with the stipulations of the protocol, declare and proclaim on the part of the United States a suspension of hostilities, and do hereby command that orders be immediately Driven through the proper channels to the commanders of the military and naval forces of the United States to abstain from all acts inconsistent with this proclamation. "In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed. "Done at the city of Washington, this 12th day of August, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and ninety-eight, and of the independence of the United States the one hundred and twenty-third. "William McKinley. "By the President. William R. Day, Secretary of State." It may be interesting to pause here for a moment and note what the London press had to say as to this suspension of hostilities. It will be observed that the comments were extraordinarily favorable to the United States. The Standard, commenting on the signing of the protocol by the representatives of Spain and the United States, said: "Thus ends one of the most swiftly decisive wars in history. Spanish rule disappears from the West. The conquerors have problems of great difficulty before them. Doubtless they will face them with patriotic resolution." The Daily News said: "August 12, 1898, will be a memorable day in the history of the world. It is the day which witnessed the death of one famous empire and the birth of another, destined perhaps to more enduring fame. It must be admitted that the results achieved are a substantial record for four mouths of war." The Morning Post said that the protocol leaves open the two questions regarding which future difficulties that may not concern the United States and Spain alone are likely to arise. It advises Spain, assuming that the United States only holds Manila, to sell the Philippines. The Daily Telegraph was impressed by the indifference of the bulk of the Spanish nation to the sentiment of national pride, which seems to be extinct. For this reason national life, in the true sense of the word, must sooner or later cease to exist. The paper discussed the decadence of Spain in connection with the contention that France and Italy have become stationary, and predicts the ultimate disappearance of the Latin race as a factor in the human drama. The Chronicle said that the American people will never regret the sacrifices they have made to remove the Spanish colonies from the map. It added that many more difficulties and sacrifices await them, but the result will be the growth of freedom and the extension of human happiness and prosperity. The Times said it hoped it was not a violation of neutrality to express the satisfaction felt by a great majority of Englishmen at the success of the United States. It added: "Historians will wrangle for a long time respecting the propriety of the methods by which the war was brought about, but once begun it was eminently desirable for the interests of the world, and even, perhaps, ultimately to the interests of Spain herself, that it should result in the success of the Americans. "The factor in the situation which is of the greatest immediate importance to ourselves is the fate of the Philippines." The Times thought it very remarkable that the New York newspapers discovered on the same day that the United States were bound to put themselves in the best possible position for defending the common interests of themselves and Great Britain in China. It concluded: "Providence in the nick of time has given them the Philippines." The armistice proclamation was followed at once by orders from the War Department to the several commanding generals in the field directing that all military operations be suspended. This was the text of the message to General Miles: "Adjutant-General's Office, Washington, Aug. 12, 1898. "Major-General Miles, Ponce, Porto Rico: "The President directs that all military operations against the enemy be suspended. Peace negotiations are nearing completion, a protocol having just been signed by representatives of the two countries. You will inform the commander of the Spanish forces in Porto Rico of these instructions. Further orders will follow. Acknowledge receipt. "By order Secretary of War. "H. C. Corbin, Adjutant-General." These orders, coming as they did, undoubtedly prevented the sacrifice of many valuable lives before San Juan. But they were anything but popular among the American troops, for they reached the various divisions just as each was about to strike a decisive blow. The Spaniards, however, it is said, received the news with loud manifestations of delight. In General Brook's division, a battery had just been advanced to position and the order to fire was about to be given, when a courier, his steed panting and covered with foam, dashed upon the field and informed the general that an armistice had been concluded. General Brooke's sole reply was: "Lieutenant, you arrived five minutes too soon. You should have been more considerate of your horse." While our army did not have a chance to show all that it was capable of accomplishing, it was proven conclusively that the Yankees are good and brave fighters. The sight of an army springing up out of nothing, the spectacle of the monumental work of military organization being pushed on to success in spite of mistakes, arrested the attention of all European nations. One thing is certain--a noble victory has been nobly won; and won, happily at a cost, which, deplorable though it actually was, was relatively small, as must be acknowledged by every student of the warfare of the past. CHAPTER X. HOW THE PORTO RICANS RECEIVED US. Whatever may have been the attitude and feelings of the Spanish officials and Spanish troops, there can be no doubt that the Porto Ricans themselves welcomed most enthusiastically the advent of the Americans and the dawn of a new era. The joy manifested at the sight of invaders in a conquered country was most extraordinary, and we can affirm with truth that it has no parallel in history. It was most fortunate that little or no fighting took place, as thus many valuable lives were saved. There was no question whatever as to the result. The number and location of the Spanish troops on the island just before the armistice was declared were as follows: Aibonito, 1,800 men, and two 4-inch field cannon; Cavey, 700 men; Caguas, 600; Rio Piedras, 180; Carolite, 320; Arecibo, 320, and two 4-inch field cannon; Aguadilla, 320; Crab Island, 100; Bayamon, 395; San Juan, 1,706, making a total of 5,441, to which may be added approximately 500 of the Guardia Civil, doing duty in their own villages all over the island, and 200 of the Orden Publico, doing similar police duty in San Juan. Many members of the Guardia Civil in or near the territory held by the American troops joined the Americans. It cannot be told with any certainty how much resistance the Spaniards would have offered had hostilities continued, but most of the fighting would have undoubtedly taken place within sight of San Juan. The Spaniards themselves believed this, as the preparations they made sufficiently indicated. The native people generally were thoroughly delighted with the news that the island was likely to be ceded to the United States. Wherever the American flag went up, it was cheered with a vigor that probably was never given to the Spanish flag during all the centuries it has been in evidence. Everywhere, the people rushed forward to welcome the invaders, and showered them with hospitable attentions. Pretty women dressed themselves in their richest garments and smiled their sweetest smiles to charm the conquerors. Food, cigars and wines were pressed upon the soldiers; the civil authorities issued florid proclamations over the glad event of becoming "Americanos," and the whole country blossomed with Star-Spangled banners. The only reason why even more of them were not displayed was because more of them could not be obtained. It was one of the most unlooked-for and surprising things of this most surprising war, as a writer in the National Tribune of Washington observes. The same writer goes on to say that really there is good reason for all this. "The substantial people of Puerto Rico know that it is immensely to their interest to cut loose from Spain, and be grafted on to the United States. The greater part of their trade is with this country, and Spain has been bleeding them for the privilege of carrying it on. Now they can send their coffee, sugar, tobacco, tropical fruits, etc., directly to this market, get American prices for them, and buy American goods in return at regular American prices. "They ought to be mighty glad to get into this country, but, being Spaniards, we hardly expected them to have so much sense." Guanica was the first town taken by our soldiers. The enthusiasm was unbounded, and numbers of the citizens called to pay their respects to the leading officers. At Guanica the following proclamation was issued to the people of the island under the signature of General Miles: "Guanica, Porto Rico, July 27, 1898. "To the Inhabitants of Porto Rico: "In the prosecution of the war against the Kingdom of Spain by the people of the United States, in the cause of liberty, justice and humanity, its military forces have come to occupy the islands of Porto Rico. They come bearing the banners of freedom, inspired by noble purposes, to seek the enemies of our government and of yours, and to destroy or capture all in armed resistance. "They bring you the fostering arms of a free people, whose greatest power is justice and humanity to all living within their fold. Hence they release you from your former political relations, and it is hoped this will be followed by the cheerful acceptance of the government of the United States. "The chief object of the American military forces will be to overthrow the armed authority of Spain and give the people of your beautiful island the largest measure of liberty consistent with this military occupation. "They have not come to make war on the people of the country, who for centuries have been oppressed; but, on the contrary, they bring protection, not only to yourselves, but to your property, promote your prosperity and bestow the immunities and blessings of our enlightenment and liberal institutions and government. It is not their purpose to interfere with the existing laws and customs, which are wholesome and beneficial to the people, so long as they conform to the rules of the military administration, order and justice. This is not a war of devastation and dissolution, but one to give all within the control of the military and naval forces the advantages and blessings of enlightened civilization." The mayor of Guanica also issued a proclamation, which was thus worded: "Citizens: God, who rules the destinies of nations, has decreed that the Eagle of the North, coming from the waters of a land where liberty first sprang forth to life, should extend to us his protecting wings. Under his plumage, sweetly reposing, the Pearl of the Antilles, called Porto Rico, will remain from July 25. "The starry banner has floated gayly in the valleys of Guanica, the most beautiful port of this downtrodden land. This city was selected by General Miles as the place in which to officially plant his flag in the name of his government, the United States of America. It is the ensign of grandeur and the guarantee of order, morality and justice. Let us join together to strengthen, to support and to further a great work. Let us clasp to our bosoms the great treasure which is generously offered to us while saluting with all our hearts the name of the great Washington. "Augustin Barrenecha, Alcalde. "Guanica, Porto Rico, U. S. A., July 26, 1898." Yauco was the next to surrender. When the troops took possession of the town the mayor promptly issued this proclamation: "Citizens: "To-day the citizens of Porto Rico assist in one of her most beautiful festivals. The sun of America shines upon our mountains and valleys this day of July, 1898. It is a day of glorious remembrance for each son of this beloved isle, because for the first time there waves over it the flag of the Stars, planted in the name of the Government of the United States of America by the major-general of the American Army, General Miles. "Porto Ricans, we are by the miraculous intervention of the God of the just given back to the bosom of our mother America, in whose waters Nature placed us as people of America. To her we are given back in the name of her government by General Miles, and we must send her our most expressive salutation of generous affection through our conduct toward the valiant troops represented by distinguished officers and commanded by the illustrious General Miles. "Citizens: Long live the Government of the United States of America! Hail to their valiant troops! Hail Porto Rico, always American! "Yauco, Porto Rico, United States of America. "El Alcalde, Francisco Megia." The alcalde is the judge who administers justice, and he also presides as mayor over the City Council. The citizens of the town hugged the Americans, and some fell upon their knees and embraced the legs of the soldiers. It was a most remarkable spectacle. On July 29, Ponce was formally given over to the Americans, without the firing of a single shot. The populace received the troops and saluted the flag with enthusiasm. When General Miles entered the city he was welcomed by the mayor, cheered to the echo by the citizens and serenaded by a band of music. The mayor of Ponce issued a proclamation of the same tenor as that of the mayor of Yauco, although not quite so enthusiastic. General Wilson was made military governor of Ponce. A day or two after the taking of Ponce several local judges were sworn into office. This was the first time in the history of the United States that the judges of a foreign, hostile but conquered country, swore to support the Constitution of the United States. The following was the form sworn to by the various officials: "I declare under oath that, during the occupation of the island of Porto Rico by the United States, I will renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to every foreign prince, potentate, state or sovereignty, particularly the Queen Regent and the King of Spain, and will support the constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign or domestic, and will bear true faith and allegiance to the same. "Further, I will faithfully support the Government of the United States, established by the military authorities in the island of Porto Rico, will yield obedience to the same and take the obligation freely, without mental reservation or with the purpose of evasion, so help me God." On July 31, the commanding general sent a message to the War Department, the first official one received from Ponce. It read as follows: "Secretary of War, Washington, D. C.: "Your telegrams 27th received and answered by letter. Volunteers are surrendering themselves with arms and ammunition; four-fifths of the people are overjoyed at the arrival of the army. Two thousand from one place have volunteered to serve with it. They are bringing in transportation, beef, cattle and other needed supplies. "The Custom House has already yielded $14,000. "As soon as all the troops are disembarked they will be in readiness to move. "Please send any national colors that can be spared, to be given to the different municipalities. "I request that the question of the tariff rates to be charged in the parts of Porto Rico occupied by our forces be submitted to the President for his action, the previously existing tariff remaining meanwhile in force. As to the government under military occupation, I have already given instructions based upon the instructions issued by the President in the case of the Philippine Islands, and similar to those issued at Santiago de Cuba. "Miles." When the soldiers entered Ponce the people sang the "Star-Spangled Banner" in a mixture of Spanish and English, and every time this tune was heard the police forced everybody to remove his hat! "The natives are, upon the whole, exceedingly friendly," says a correspondent of the New York Sun, "and almost all of them welcome the American army. The flag is voluntarily displayed from many of the principal stores. If there are any Spanish flags in the city they are kept carefully concealed. In the stores American goods are sometimes to be found, particularly in hardware stores. All fabrics, foods, and luxuries, however, have been imported from Europe, mostly from Spain. The Spanish Government forces its colonies to import from home by levying a heavy discriminating duty upon all goods not Spanish. Prices are very high, notwithstanding which fact business is brisk. "The soldiers are good customers and buy all sorts of curios as souvenirs for friends at home. The officers, too, buy considerable quantities of light underclothing. It is safe to say that there has never before been as much money in circulation here. All the merchants favor annexation." In an article in the National Magazine the following is said: "The Porto Ricans have taken very quickly and kindly to American occupation. Some have been so quick in changing that their conversion may be doubted. For instance, the editor of La Nueva Era, a daily which in two scraggy leaves purports to be a 'journal of news, travel, science, literature and freedom,' was only a few weeks ago raving at the 'American Pigs'; while now he luxuriates under the eagle's ægis and writes eulogies upon Benjamin Franklin, George Washington and William McKinley. Nor is he alone in his devotion to the American idea. The small boy curses his neighbor by calling him 'un Espanol,' and treats you with disdain if you suggest that he is simply a poor Porto Rican. 'No, no,' he says, pointing at himself. 'No, Espanol, Porto-Rican Americano.' His motives are not, however, always of the sincerest, for the boys have learned a trick of saying to the passing Yankee; 'Viva America,' and then putting up the forefinger with this half-asked question, 'one cent?'" A brilliant writer in one of the magazines says that in speaking with a leading merchant of Ponce, he asked him if the people were really so delighted with the new regime. "'Well, frankly, no,' he replied, 'the mass will welcome any change, but it is quite a question whether we shall gain by annexation to the United States. I have lived in America. Now the Spaniards taxed us heavily, but when they got their money they went off and let us alone. The custom-house officers stole nearly everything from the government. But then we have yet to see how the American custom-house officers will act. Spain knew us and we knew Spain; there were few complaints. The church tax was not heavy, and I never went to service. We do not want the negroes enfranchised till they are better educated. Then the money question is going to be bad for many of us here. We shall suffer dreadfully if the American government makes our dollar worth only fifty cents.' "The man who uttered these words is a highly respected citizen, speaks English well, and understands America as well as Spain. "While we were looking over the town we came upon the jail where there are about one hundred and sixty Spanish prisoners," the same writer goes on to say. "Many of these men were selling their chevrons and buttons and other marks of rank with an alacrity worthy of a better cause. One of our party, however, experienced a chill when upon asking one of the prisoners how much he would sell his chevrons for he got this reply, 'No, por el dinero en globo.' 'Not for all the money on earth." "There spoke the true spirit of Spain. The Spain which sent armies to Jerusalem, patronized Columbus, conquered the half of America with a handful of men--that Spain, with all her black tragedies, never sold her chevrons. Let us be merciful to a fallen foe; at least, let us be truthful. Thank God Spain's power in this hemisphere is crushed. Yet there was chivalry in the old regime. We can afford to be magnanimous now; he who bends above the fallen forever stands erect." On August 4, when rumors of Spain's submission reached Porto Rico, the editor of La Nueva Era wound up his leading editorial with these words: "Hurra por la anexion a los Estados Unidos!" He also gave this excellent sanitary advice to the invading army: "TO THE BOYS! "Keep away from fruit of every description and Rum, if you wish to keep your health in this climate." Moreover, he published this: "It is an undeniable fact that wherever the American forces have landed they have been welcomed by the people as liberators amid the greatest enthusiasm. "A new era has dawned for this country and is the advent of happier times. "The spectre of suspicion with which we were menaced has disappeared forever. We are now sure that the air we breathe is ours and we can breathe it to our fill. "The labor accomplished by the people of the United States in taking this island, and we say accomplished, as nothing can oppose their arms, is truly a labor of humanity and redemption, and will be one of the greatest glories of the great republic. "Let us render thanks to the Almighty for the blessing, and let us be well assured that Porto Rico has before it a future of unlimited progress and well-being." The most rabid Spanish publication of all, La Democracia, issued an address to the public announcing the demise of the paper under its former name, and giving notice that it would reappear under the name of the Courier with a portion printed in English. In making this announcement the editor promised in the new edition: "To explain our ideas of brothership and harmony, answering to the ideas proclaimed to the press by our new military authority, such as that the American army has not come as our enemies, but with the purpose of harmonizing with the citizens of Porto Rico. We are pleased to make known that these ideas have been respected, and that all the acts of the forces occupying our city have been characterized by the most exquisite correctness, and that the American troops fraternize with our people." At all events, these extracts serve to show the trend of public opinion. "Mr. Morrisey in speaking of the Ponce of to-day says that 'the city is in a horrible sanitary condition, and I wondered how the United States troops stood it. I learned there had been an improvement since the soldiers' arrival, but there is room for considerable more, I think. I went to the Hotel Ingleterra, which is considered the best one in Ponce, and engaged a room. My first meal there was breakfast, which was served at 11 o'clock. My meal consisted of rice, black beans and coffee, all of which was fair. At dinner, which is always served at 6 o'clock, I had the same fare. I tried to get eggs after the first day, but was successful on only two occasions, and then had to pay 7 cents each for them. I learned that the soldiers had made a corner in eggs and had bought nearly all of them, which, of course, made them scarce at the hotels and eating places. All the water used in the hotel is filtered through a huge block of brownstone and even then it is pretty poor.' "Mr. Morrisey visited the place known as the market in the heart of the city of Ponce, and saw some very interesting scenes. A few of the better class of the natives visited the market several times during the day and made their purchases. There are no butchers in the city, and it is a queer sight, Mr. Morrisey said, to see the way the merchants deliver meat to the purchasers. This article is bought by the penny and a piece about as long as one's finger is sold for 2 cents. The meat is not cut into steaks but in huge lumps. Another thing in reference to the meat is that it is all killed the day before used, which, of course, makes it very tough. The beer on the island is kept in a warm place without any ice and is served in that state. Most of the beer is imported from Germany, and it is only recently that American beer has found its way in the country. This is kept in bottles and when it is served to a customer a small piece of ice is dropped into it. The beer drinker may imagine the rest. The natives do not use much of the beer, but are satisfied with the black coffee and wine. "The money question has not assumed any large proportions in Porto Rico. Very little money is in circulation on the island. The better class of the natives who are supposed to have some money, spend most of their time and money in Spain, and the stores and merchants, as a result, do not get much of their money. These stores are plentifully supplied with goods, but there is no one to buy them. As soon as the United States soldiers arrived on the island the shopkeepers saw visions of money rolling into their pockets. The price on every article in the stores was increased, and what a native would buy for ten cents the American would be compelled to pay one dollar for the same article. The fare on the railroad running from Ponce to Playo, a distance of about three miles, is one dollar for an excursion trip. The natives make the same trip for twelve cents. Every scheme that can be thought of is practiced by the natives in order to get money from the Americans. In the street and at the entrances to the hotels numerous beggars can be found, all asking for money. Nearly all the inhabitants seemed to be engaged in this sort of work, and the sight of them lounging around, even inside the hotels, is disgusting, says Mr. Morrisey. It is a hard matter to get them to work, and their appearance in scarcely any clothes on the streets is a sight. "The women go about the roads and plantations smoking large cigars, and are not affected in any manner by the weed. Children of both sexes up to the age of twelve years are permitted to roam about the streets naked, while their parents are not much better off. Nothing but a skirt is worn by the women and the men wear ragged shirts and trousers. Shoes are rarely seen in Porto Rico and a native who is lucky enough to have them is the cynosure of all eyes. The women do not know what silks and satins are, and, it seems, are not desirous of knowing. When night comes the men prepare themselves for bed. This is not hard work, and takes very little time. They tie their heads up in large towels to protect them from the sting of the mosquito, and then lie down in the streets or roads and sleep. These people live mainly on the milk from the cocoanut. Bread is a stranger to them, and very little food is consumed by them, except the wild fruits and vegetables which abound in the outskirts of the cities. "Mr. Morrisey said the soldiers at Ponce were in a fairly good condition, but it is his opinion that it is no fit place for them under the present condition of the country. He said when the soldier is taken down with typhoid malaria or dysentery he loses flesh rapidly, and he can never regain it as long as he stays in that climate." All this, although it is in some respects different from some of the opinions we have quoted, is very interesting as it is from a recent eye witness, and shows how Porto Rico of the present impressed a very intelligent man. The fourth town to surrender, previous to the news of the armistice and therefore the general capitulation of the island, was Juan Diaz. There was a report that there were some Spanish soldiers there, and four companies of the Sixteenth Pennsylvania were sent to find them. Couriers announced the coming of the Americans to the people of the town, and a brass band came out to meet them. The vast majority of the citizens assembled on the outskirts of the town and as the American volunteers appeared the band played "Yankee Doodle" and other patriotic American airs, while the people cried: "Vivan los Americanos." A large number had presents of cigars, cigarettes, tobacco and various fruits which they loaded upon the soldiers, and many insisted upon taking the visitors to their homes. Everywhere, the American flag was waving. In the public square the mayor made a speech, in which he said that all the people of Juan Diaz were Americans now, and the crowd shouted: "Death to the Spaniards!" While speaking of Juan Diaz, perhaps it will prove of interest to insert the opinion of a correspondent of one of the New York papers as to the women of that town and of Porto Rico in general. He says: "No one ever walks in Porto Rico. The mule's the thing here. The women ride a great deal. The better class use the English side saddle, although a few prefer the more picturesque and safer, but less graceful, Spanish saddle. In the country districts the pillion is occasionally employed, while among the lower classes many women ride astride without exciting comment. When the natives are both pretty and good riders they display considerable coquetry in the saddle. "I noticed one rider near Juan Diaz who took my mind back to the old days of chivalry. She was a lovely girl of about fifteen or sixteen, with a face like a Madonna and a figure like an artist's model. One little foot crept out beneath her silk riding skirt, and to my surprise it was devoid of hosiery. The skin was like polished velvet, and was of a pinkish gold of an exquisite tint. It was shod with a slipper of satin or silk, embroidered in color and had an arched instep which made the foot all the more charming by its setting. "The time to see the women at their best is on Sunday morning, when they ride from their homes to mass in the nearest church or cathedral. On one Sunday morning, while riding leisurely into a small village on my way to this town, I met a crowd of worshippers on their way to mass. Nearly all the women were on mule back, and sat or lolled as if they were in an easy chair in their own homes. A few, probably wealthier than the others, or else delicate in health, were accompanied by little darky boys, who held over them a parasol or an umbrella. "On Sunday each woman wears a huge rosary, sometimes so large as to be uncomfortable. I saw several that were so unwieldy that they went over the shoulders and formed a huge line, larger indeed than a string of sleigh bells. These are ornamental rosaries and are not used for prayer. The praying rosary is as small and dainty as those used by fashionable women in our own Roman Catholic churches. Besides the fan and the rosary every woman was provided with a neat and often handsomely-bound prayer book and a huge lighted cigar or cigarette. "This is indeed the land for women who love the weed. A few smoke cigarettes and pipes, but the majority like partajas, perfectos, Napoleons and other rolls of the weed larger than those usually seen in our own land. They smoke them at home and in the streets, at the table or on the balcony, lying in hammocks, or lolling on their steeds, and only desist when within the sacred walls of the church. The moment mass is over and they emerge into the sunlight the first thing the women do is to light a fresh cigar and then climb into the saddle. "They make a beautiful picture upon the roads. Imagine an intensely blue sky above, with below rich green vegetables and startling dashes of scarlet, crimson, vermillion, orange and white from the flowers which seem to bloom the year through, setting off the bright hues of the costumes. It combines the picturesque side of New Orleans life, of Florida scenery, of the Maine lake country, and of the New Hampshire hills." At Guayama there was even a greater reception than at Juan Diaz. In fact, everywhere, as soon as the people heard of the landing of our soldiers, the American flag was hoisted and kept hoisted, while the Spaniards were driven from the towns where soldiers were stationed. A large number of Porto-Rican refugees now began to return to the island. These were men who had been engaged in revolution, and had been deported by the Spanish Government. Their progress to their homes was a continual ovation. The returned refugees had a conference with the leading citizens and there was no doubt in any one's mind but that ninety per cent. of the people was in favor of annexation. They felt that the United States was their deliverer, and they would rather join the American Republic than have self-government. There was also a conference between the most prominent citizens of Ponce, and Mr. Hanna, the American consul at San Juan. The Porto Ricans had views which they wished to have presented to the United States, and were anxious to play some part in the new order of things and to hold some of the offices themselves. They were particularly desirous to know about the American school system and as to the possibility of introducing it into the island. They wished that their children should learn to speak English. Mr. Hanna explained the public school system of the United States, and the Porto Ricans were greatly pleased at what they heard. Then they again brought up the question of how they could participate in the reorganization of the island. "Gentlemen," said Mr. Hanna, "the best thing you can do is to get together and find out just what you want. You have, of course, very good ideas as to what the American system of government is. You no doubt by this time know whether you desire to be attached to the United States as a territory, with a representative in our Congress. You may differ on the point of having Americans for your own officials here during the time that the government that is to prevail here is being put into shape. But you can safely leave your wishes in the hands of President McKinley." A New York Herald correspondent has some interesting things to say as to the new Ponce, a town which is representative of the entire island: "Ponce, only yesterday the base for our military invasion, is to-day the American capital in the West Indies. Ponce is deep in the second stage of political evolution. "Ponce is learning the English language. Ponce is mastering the mysteries of American money. Ponce is inquiring into the methods of American politics. Ponce is preparing to abandon the church schools and adopt our system of education. Papeti, the chambermaid in the Hotel Francais, has already been taught to say, "Vive l'Americano!" Papeti's brother was shot by the Spanish a few years ago. "El Capitan," the head waiter at the Hotel Inglaterra, has already mastered one hundred words of English, and his fortune is made. Passing down the street just now I heard a Porto Rican mother crooning her naked babe to sleep to the tune of 'Marching Through Georgia.' The Porto Ricans think that 'Marching Through Georgia' is a national anthem. "As I write the advance guard of the American prospector to this tropical Klondike of ours are pouring up the broad highway from the playa to the town. They came on the Sylvia, the first merchant ship to reach Ponce from the United States since the town surrendered. They seem to have come literally by hundreds. "I saw many familiar faces among the newcomers. "Nearly all these men have come here on commercial enterprises. Porto Rico is a fruitful field. Her agricultural resources, taking the American standard, are as little developed as those of Ohio seventy-five years ago. I imagine the coffee production of the island will be doubled in two years. "Much American capital will be put into sugar, tobacco and fruits. Many of these men are inquiring about estates in the interior that can be purchased or leased, and about facilities for transportation to the sea-board. This means the building of railroads. Banks are also to be opened in Ponce under our national banking law, and I fancy there will be the liveliest sort of race between rival capitalists as to who shall get the electric railway franchise for the city of Ponce. "The leading citizens of the island are as wideawake to American enterprise as are these eager gentlemen of the pocketbook who came on the Sylvia." Colonel Hill of General Wilson's staff was appointed Collector of the Port of Ponce, and he went very carefully into the subject of the probable resources of the island and what the new tariff should be. In an interview with the Herald, he said: "Most of my statistics are still incomplete, but I can give you a few facts, which will unquestionably be of great interest to the business men of the States. In Porto Rico everything is taxed, and most articles are taxed in several different ways. There is an impost duty on flour of $4 a barrel. I think that will be knocked off at once. As you know, this island paid no direct money to the former government of Spain. Everything in the way of salaries, pensions, etc., is paid directly out of the Custom House. The commander of the military forces on the island is a lieutenant-general, sent here from Spain. He gets an enormous salary. Many Spanish pensioners of prominence and rank have been sent to the island, and these pensions are paid by the island. Dignitaries of the church and priests are sent here in large numbers. They are paid out of the Custom House. "Only yesterday I had an application from the widow of a Spanish general, who is pensioned, for the payment of her usual stipend. I had to take that matter under advisement. The priests here in Ponce applied for their usual salary for July. This, under the Spanish law, is a fixed charge. The matter came before me in my capacity of judge-advocate on General Wilson's staff. I had to report that inasmuch as we were operating under the Spanish civil law, which made the salaries of the padres a proper payment from the customs funds, the money was due and should be paid or else the Spanish civil law in that respect should be annulled or suspended. "General Wilson refused to authorize the payment of the priests' salaries, and the matter went to General Miles, who sustained General Wilson. Now here is a very interesting and unprecedented question. As a matter of policy it might be well to pay these salaries for the present. The padres, of course, the next time they address the congregation will say: 'Here is this new American Government which you welcomed with such pleasure refusing to pay your priests. You thought you were going to be relieved of taxation. We must ask you to go into your pockets and pay us yourselves. Thus you have an additional tax placed upon you.'" But still the clergy, as a rule, were in favor of the United States. Father Janices, a well-known and most intelligent priest, had this to say in regard to the attitude of the Catholic Church in Porto Rico toward the United States: "We are neither cowards nor liars. We do not deny that we have always been loyal Spanish subjects, but it is the duty of the Church to save souls and not to mingle in international quarrels. "With all our hearts we welcome the Americans. Your constitution protects all religions. We ask only for the protection of our Church. The Archbishop of Porto Rico is now in Spain, and the Vicar General of San Juan is acting head of the Church in the island. But we no longer look to him as our ecclesiastical head; but as soon as possible we shall communicate with Cardinal Gibbons and we await his wishes. "Should any American soldier desire the administrations of a priest, they always shall be at his service. We have determined to become loyal Americans." Moreover, on September 23, Captain Gardner, in company of General Wilson, called upon the President and made a report in which he elaborated upon the relation of the Church to the government. He stated that while a large majority of the Porto Ricans were Catholics, by profession, they were not offensively zealous. He placed the number of priests at 240, and the annual cost to the public treasury of their support at about $120,000 in American money. Colonel Gardner, in addition to his report, also presented to President McKinley, an address signed by many of the leading Porto Ricans. The signers expressed their pleasure at the prospect of becoming citizens of the United States, and announced their hope that the Porto Rican people might some day become worthy to organize a State of the Union. In this hope we are sure all Americans will most heartily join. CHAPTER XI. OUR CLAIM TO PORTO RICO. One great question raised by the recent war was that of territorial expansion, and this question called forth many expressions of opinion both for and against. There is no doubt, however, but that Porto Rico is ours by the right of conquest, and that it would be a crime from every point of view for us not to retain it. That we shall retain it, too, now seems certain. Let us now, in the first place, look back and see what two of our most prominent statesmen have said in the past. They may be looked upon almost as prophets. The idea of territorial expansion is not a new one. In fact, it dates back half a century, and the thought of this expansion has been silently hatched ever since. In 1846, William H. Seward, afterward Secretary of State under the administration of Abraham Lincoln, published an open letter under the title, "We Should Carry Out Our Destiny." To carry out that destiny, said Mr. Seward in this letter, the United States should prepare themselves for their mission by getting rid of the Old World which still continued with ideas of another age upon portions of the American soil. In the same letter Mr. Seward also said that the monarchies of Europe could have neither peace nor truce as long as there remained to them one colony upon this continent. This Mr. Seward called buying out the foreigners. In 1846 he counted the ruler of Cuba and Porto Rico among the foreigners which should sell out their possessions to the United States. It was he who during his term of office purchased Alaska from the Czar of Russia for the sum of $7,200,000. He also negotiated for the acquisition of the Danish Antilles, but this project fell through, chiefly for the reason that at that time the President was opposed to it. In politics Mr. Seward favored a system which he compared to the ripe pear that detaches itself and falls into your hand. One thing seemed to him certain, and that was that the United States could not help annexing by force the people who would be too slow to come to them of their own free will. "I abhor war," he wrote. "I would not give one single human life for any portion of the continent which remains to be annexed; but I cannot get rid of the conviction that popular passion for territorial aggrandizement is irresistible. Prudence, justice and even timidity may restrain it for a time, but its force will be augmented by compression." It was a half century before the explosion occurred, but when it came its echoes resounded all over the world, carrying joy to some and fear to others, fear of this young giant of the New World. Again in 1852, in a speech made before the Senate upon the question of American commerce in the Pacific, Mr. Seward thus addressed his colleagues: "The discovery of this continent and of those islands and the organization upon their soil of societies and governments have been great and important events. After all, they are merely preliminaries, a preparation by secondary incidents, in comparison with the sublime result which is about to be consummated--the junction of the two civilizations upon the coast and in the islands of the Pacific. There certainly never happened upon this earth any purely human event which is comparable to that in grandeur and in importance. It will be followed by the levelling of social conditions and by the re-establishment of the unity of the human family. We now see clearly why it did not come about sooner and why it is coming now." At a reception given to his honor in Paris, just after the close of the Franco-Prussian war, Mr. Seward found himself the centre of a group, mostly composed of young Americans. He had just almost completed a tour around the world, and in answer to a question as to what had impressed him most during his travels, he answered practically as follows: "Boys, the fact is the Americans are the only nation that has and understands liberty. With us a man is a man, absolutely free and politically equal with all, with special privileges for none. Every one has a chance, whereas, wherever I have been I was impressed with the subjugation and oppression of the people. I had all my life talked in public and private of the greatness of our mission of civilization and progress, of the ideas we represented, and the lessons we were teaching the world, but I never realized how true it was that we were of all others the representatives of human progress. Now I know it. I am sure now, from what I have myself seen, that nothing I have ever said or others have said, as to the destiny of our country was exaggerated. I am an old man now and may not see it, but some of you boys may live to see American ideas and principles and civilization spread around the world, and lift up and regenerate mankind." The opinion of another old-time statesman, given some quarter of a century ago, is of vivid interest to-day. In 1872, when the Geneva Convention was holding its deliberations, Mr. William M. Evarts spoke words of wisdom to a company of distinguished guests at a luncheon given by him at the house in which he was then living. Among others present were Charles Francis Adams, Caleb Cushing, Morrison R. Waite, afterward Chief Justice; J. Bancroft Davis, Charles C. Beaman, and others of the American Commission. What Mr. Evarts said was in substance as follows: "Gentlemen, God has America in his direct keeping, and lets it work out its destinies in accordance with His own wishes and for His own purpose. When the time came and Europe needed an outlet for its surplus energy, God let down the bars and America was discovered. Then little colonies of enterprising and progressive men, seeking freedom from troubles and oppressions of their native land, founded homes along the Atlantic coast. He had let down the bars again for his own purposes. These men struggled and fought and progressed in civilization and liberty until the time came when again the bars were let down and we had the Revolution, and the colonies became a nation. Again the bars went down, and then came the Mexican war, giving the nation the room necessary for its expansion, the space necessary for the homes of the millions from the Old World who sought the freedom of the New. From Atlantic to Pacific that little fringe of people of the colonial times had evolved until they were a great nation. We needed the precious metals, and gold and silver were found sufficient for our purposes. God had let down the bars. But one thing remained, one canker and sore, one great evil which threatened and worried and troubled, but God in His own good time again let down the bars and it was forever swept away, for He allowed the rebellion. He gave humanity and justice and right the victory. He restored the Union, He will heal the sores, He will lead the people to its final destiny as the advance guard of civilization, progress and the upbuilding and elevation of mankind, and in good time the bars will be again let down for the benefit of humanity--when or why we know not, but He knows." In the light of recent events, the utterances of these two great men are certainly deserving of the utmost consideration. Both of them really seem to be seers, who, from their observations of the past, saw visions of the future for the native land they loved so well. The Paris Figaro, in a remarkable article, says that, willingly or forcibly, America must belong to the Americans. The New World must gird up its loins and be ready to fulfill its mission. And this must be done by force when persuasion is not sufficient. And when the Americans shall have rejoined Europe in some portion of Asia, concludes the Figaro, and closed the ring of white civilization around the globe, will they stop or can they stop? That is the secret of the future. Its solution will depend upon what they will find before them--a Europe torn and divided, or, as it has been said, the United States of Europe. At all events, they will have the right to be proud, because they will have carried out their destiny. Now to turn to an opinion by an Englishman, and be it remembered that England stood by us in a remarkable way from the very beginning of the Spanish-American war and undoubtedly prevented the other European nations from interfering. The opinion we are about to give is from the pen of Mr. Henry Norman, the special commissioner of the London Chronicle. Among other things, Mr. Norman says in an article entitled "A War-Made New America": "The vision of a new Heaven and a new earth is still unfulfilled, but there is a new America. The second American Revolution has occurred, and its consequences may be as great as those of the first. The American people are as sensitive to emotional or intellectual stimulus as a photographic film is to light, but they are also to a remarkable degree, a people of second thoughts. Their nerves are quick, but their convictions are slow. The apparent change was so great and so unexpected that at first I could not bring myself to believe in its reality or its endurance. Unless all signs fail, however, or I fail to interpret them, the old America, the America obedient to the traditions of the founders of the republic, is passing away, and a new America, an America standing armed, alert and exigent in the arena of the world-struggle, is taking its place. "The change is three-fold: "I. The United States is about to take its place among the great armed powers of the world. "II. By the seizure and retention of territory not only not contiguous to the borders of the republic, but remote from them, the United States becomes a colonizing nation, and enters the field of international rivalries. "III. The growth of good will and mutual understanding between Great Britain and the United States and the settlement of all pending disputes between Canada and America, now virtually assured, constitute a working union of the English-speaking people against the rest of the world for common ends, whether any formal agreement is reached or not." Mr. Norman goes on to say, after speaking of the possible American army and navy of the present and the future: "And look at the display of American patriotism. When the volunteers were summoned by the President they walked on the scene as if they had been waiting in the wings. They were subjected to a physical examination as searching as that of a life insurance company. A man was rejected for two or three filled teeth. They came from all ranks of life. Young lawyers, doctors, bankers, well-paid clerks are marching by thousands in the ranks. The first surgeon to be killed at Guantanamo left a New York practice of $10,000 a year to volunteer. As I was standing on the steps of the Arlington Hotel one evening a tall, thin man, carrying a large suitcase, walked out and got on the street car for the railway station on his way to Tampa. It was John Jacob Astor, the possessor of a hundred millions of dollars. Theodore Roosevelt's rough riders contain a number of the smartest young men in New York society. A Harvard class-mate of mine, a rising young lawyer, is working like a laborer at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, not knowing when he may be ordered to Cuba or Manila. He is a naval reserve man and sent in his application for any post 'from the stoke hole upward.' The same is true of women. When I called to say good-by to Mrs. John Addison Porter, the wife of the Secretary to the President, whose charming hospitality I had enjoyed, she had gone to Tampa to ship as a nurse on the Red Cross steamer for the coast of Cuba. And all this, be it remembered, is for a war in which the country is not in the remotest danger, and when the ultimate summons of patriotism is unspoken. Finally, consider the reference to the war loan. A New York syndicate offered to take half of it at a premium which would have given the Government a clear profit of $1,000,000. But the loan was wisely offered to the people and the small investor gets all he can buy before the capitalist is even permitted to invest. And from Canada to the Gulf, from Long Island to Seattle, the money of the people is pouring in." Mr. Norman concludes his article with these pregnant words, words which will force every man of any brains whatever to pause and think: "Here, then, is the new America in one aspect--armed for a wider influence and a harder fight than any she has envisaged before. And what a fight she will make! Dewey, with his dash upon Manila; Hobson and his companions, going quietly to apparently certain death, and ships offering the whole muster roll as volunteers to accompany him; Rowan, with his life in his hand at every minute of his journey to Gomez and back, worse than death awaiting him if caught; Blue, making his 70-mile reconnoissance about Santiago; Whitney, with compass and notebook in pocket, dishwashing his perilous way round to Porto Rico--this is the old daring of our common race. If the old lion and the young lion should ever go hunting side by side----!" Mr. Norman wisely leaves his last sentence unfinished. For no man can predict what the result would be. Would it be the subjugation of the entire world to the Anglo-Saxon race? After considering what the French and the English have to say, now let us turn to the utterances of the Hon. Andrew H. Green, who spoke purely in the interests of a private citizen, one who desired the retention of the territory acquired by the American Government solely because he wished that the people of the United States should not underestimate the value of their grand opportunities for national enrichment. "War with Spain," said Mr. Green, in the beginning of his interview in the Sun, "was declared by the authorized authorities, whether wisely or otherwise, it is not now of much profit to discuss. It has been prosecuted with vigor and brought to a successful issue with a dispatch unprecedented in conflicts of equal magnitude. What shall be done with its results? What, in this age of enlightenment and progress, shall we do with the territories and with their peoples and property that the fate of war has placed under our control and guardianship?" Mr. Green concludes his interview as follows: "As occasion offered heretofore the American people have insisted upon acquiring and holding territory when the interests of the country required it. Looking at all the precedents, at the present situation, at the signs and needs of the times, there is but little room to doubt that the permanent retention of all territory acquired from Spain will, in the interest of humanity and duty, be demanded with equal firmness. We shall go on in the same course of expansion which we have pursued from our earliest history as an independent nation. We have 'hoisted the mainsail' of the ship of state and started her about the world. While heeding Washington's warnings and the popular interpretation of the Monroe doctrine to keep the people of other nations from getting a foothold on this continent, we shall not pervert their spirit by stubbornly refusing to improve an opportunity to extend and increase our power and our commerce. Every extension of our territory hitherto made has been resisted by a spirit the same in essence as that which now timidly opposes our improving the wonderful opportunities put in our hands by the happy fortune of war; but such opposition has failed of its purpose invariably hitherto, and it will fail now with the American people. The sacrifices of the war will not have been in vain and the victories won by the valor of our navy and army will not fail of their legitimate and well-earned points." We are a practical people. There can be no doubt about that, but still we are occasionally moved by sentiment, as when we undertook to free Cuba from oppression, but at the bottom of every national action there is a sound practical idea. It was a pure and unselfish sentiment, however, that impelled us to prevent the extermination of the people of Cuba, a country so near to our own doors, and to demand for them by force of arms, the freedom and independence which was and is most unquestionably their right. With Cuba freed, the rule of Spaniards in Porto Rico would be both absurd and dangerous. It would be a menace to the perpetual peace between Spain and the United States, which the latter are determined on for the future. Moreover, as we have seen, Porto Rico wishes most strongly to become an integral portion of the Union, and we desire to receive her as such. The rule of common sense should be applied, and both sentiment and practicality are united in calling for the conditions which the American Government has demanded as to the former Spanish possessions in the Western Hemisphere. The war against Spain was inevitable, was just and necessary for the sake of humanity and the progress of the world. Both our army and navy have shown glorious bravery and heroism, and their marvelous achievements must not be allowed to bring forth no results. By the fortunes of war a great responsibility has been placed in the hands of the United States, and it would be criminal to shirk in any respect this responsibility. We must not give back to Spain any portion of the earth in which to continue her abominable misrule. Let the United States move forward to its manifest destiny. In a powerful editorial the New York Sun declares that our success will make for the world's peace. We alone were the nation to free Cuba and the other Spanish colonies. No one of the European powers could have come forward to the rescue of the colonies without provoking the enmity and jealousy of the other powers. If we had neglected to discharge our duty, then that duty would probably have fallen to a commission of the European nations. The consequence would have been that Spain would have been superseded in the Spanish Antilles by a strong European power, which would have led sooner or later to a partition of Spanish America. The United States alone could upset Spanish colonial rule without exciting an uncontrollable outburst of envy and greed in Europe, and occasion a general scramble for the spoils of the New World. Neither Cuba nor Porto Rico could have been kept by Spain with any assurance of the general safety of nations. So long as the so-called mother country exercised any power there, both the islands would have been firebrands, which, if not aflame, would surely have been smouldering. The Sun concludes its editorial with these words: "It is, in a word, for the interest of the whole civilized world that all of Spain's colonies, with the possible exception of the Canaries, should be turned over to us. It is for the world's interests because, in her hands, they always have been, and always would be, a menace to the general peace. If this be true, and that it is cannot be gainsaid, the sooner the transfer is made the better. The fire, which now is localized, should be put out quickly, lest it spread. A thousand accidents, contingencies, inadvertencies, may lead to the very complications which all of the European powers, except Spain, are anxious to avoid. We except Spain because, in putting off the evil day and in postponing submission to the terms which our duty to mankind compels us to impose, she can have no other hope, no other purpose, than to bring about such international entanglements as may cause a general war. Spain alone has anything to gain from such a contest; in it she would at least have allies, and would expect to see her thirst for revenge upon us gratified. The great powers of Europe, however, do not mean to risk an oecumenical convulsion for the sake of a decadent monarchy, which, considered as the trustee of colonies, has been tried in the balance and found wanting. They recognize that, in seeking to evade the sentence of rigorous isolation which the conscience of mankind has passed upon her, she is jeopardizing the peace of the world. For that reason they are exerting and will continue to exert all the means of moral pressure at their command to induce the Spaniards to accept promptly such terms as our Government may offer." The people of the United States, after the armistice was declared, were united in one thing, and that was, that apart from the question of indemnity, the one condition of peace, final and unvariable, would in the nature of the case be this: The surrender and cession to the United States, now and forever, of all Spain's possessions in the western waters of both Atlantic and Pacific. The fortune of a war begun for the liberation of one people has put it into the power of the United States to liberate several peoples. All this territory, which is ours by right, must henceforth be consecrated to freedom. Colonel Alexander McClure, in an address at the laying of the cornerstone of the new State Capitol of Pennsylvania, expressed most eloquently the true American feeling in regard to the possessions which our naval and military prowess won from Spain: "The same supreme power that demanded this war will demand the complete fulfillment of its purpose. It will demand, in tones which none can misunderstand and which no power or party can be strong enough to disregard, that the United States' flag shall never be furled in any Spanish province where it has been planted by the heroism of our army and navy. "Call it imperialism if you will; but it is not the imperialism that is inspired by the lust of conquest. It is the higher and nobler imperialism that voices the sovereign power of this nation and demands the extension of our flag and authority over the provinces of Spain, solely that 'government of the people by the people, and for the people shall not perish from the earth.' "Such is the imperialism that has become interwoven with the destiny of our great free Government, and it will be welcomed by our people regardless of party lines, and will command the commendation of the enlightened powers of the Old World, as it rears, for the guidance of all, the grandest monuments of freedom as the proclaimed policy and purpose of the noblest Government ever reared by a man or blessed by Heaven." CHAPTER XII. WHAT THE POSSESSION OF PORTO RICO WILL MEAN. The heading of this chapter presents a most difficult problem at this time. It would require an inspired prophet to answer the question, and all that we can do is to look at it as dispassionately as possible, and to show the opinions of those who are more or less informed upon the subject. From these opinions the reader must of necessity draw his own conjectures. Of course, from the very nature of conditions the land is at the present time of writing in a most unsettled state, from a political, commercial and social point of view. A new element has entered into the lives of the Porto Ricans, and this new element naturally brings with it an unknown future. The Spaniards and Porto Ricans have but little idea of political tolerance. They are enemies, now, and both seem to think that the opposite party is to be abused, persecuted and even tortured. Many of the Porto Ricans, on the word of a competent authority, believe that violence to the persons or property of the Spaniards will be acceptable to the Americans. The Spaniards, sharing this belief, live in a constant state of terror, fearing for their possessions and even for their lives. The withdrawal to an extent of the Spanish troops gave the guerillas full license, and they burned a number of plantations before our forces were put in charge. Both natives and Spanish, it might be said, were busy in cutting each other's throats. The people became more or less terrorized, and begged for American protection. About the first of September, Major-General Wilson met at dinner a large number of prominent islanders, and in response to a toast, he made a rather long speech. As this speech was and is of great interest, we make no apology for reproducing almost in full here. General Wilson said: "The great Republic, unlike the governments of Europe, has no subjects. It extends its rights and privileges freely and equally to all men, regardless of race or color or previous condition, who reside within its far-reaching dominions. It makes citizens of all who forswear their allegiance to foreign Powers, princes and potentates, and promise henceforth to bear true faith and allegiance to the United States. "The expulsion of the Spanish power from your beautiful and long-suffering island and the hoisting of the American flag will be followed shortly, let us hope, by the establishment of a stable civil administration, based on the American principle of local self-government. "The government now exercising supreme authority in the island, you will understand, is a government of conquest, in which the will of the military commander is substituted for that of the Spanish king and Cortes. It does not pretend to interfere with the local laws, except in so far as may be necessary to protect the army of the United States and maintain peace and good order among the people of the island. It looks to the local courts to do justice as between man and man, and to the moderation and good sense of the people themselves for the maintenance of public tranquility, and for the cultivation of that perfect respect for the rights of persons and property which constitutes the foundation of the American system of government. "It has been wisely said by one of the fathers of the republic that 'That government is best which governs least,' and this is the principle which Porto Rico should keep constantly in view. Government interference is necessary only when the people, instead of confining themselves exclusively to their own particular affairs, presume to interfere with the affairs of their neighbors. "If every one, high and low, rich and poor, Porto Rican and Spaniard, devotes himself strictly and exclusively to his own private or official business, eschewing politics and public affairs, for the next year, everybody will find at the end of that time that the island has been well governed and prosperous, and your American fellow citizens will proclaim you worthy of the good fortune which has united your destinies to those of the great Republic. "Permit me to add that as soon as the Spaniards have evacuated the island, and the sovereignty of the United States is fully established, a military governor will be appointed by the President, and he will govern in the main in accordance with the principles I have indicated. How long this military government will last must depend largely upon the people of Porto Rico themselves. "In the natural and regular course of events the military government should be followed by a territorial government established by act of Congress, and this in time should be followed in a few years by a government which shall make Porto Rico a sovereign State of the great Republic, and give it all the rights guaranteed by the constitution of the United States. "Permit me to add, before concluding, that you are likely to meet with delay in the realization of your hopes from two principal causes. "It is well known in the United States that Porto Rico is a Roman Catholic country, and there is grave objection on the part of many good people against the admission of a purely Roman Catholic State into the Union. This is based not so much on opposition to that particular religion as on the feeling that the domination of any sect would be prejudicial to our principles of government. We have, perhaps, ten millions of Roman Catholics in the United States, but they are scattered throughout the various States, and intermingled everywhere with the Protestant sects, so that no one has a majority. We have no established Church, and under our policy Congress can pass no act concerning religion or limiting the right of any citizen to worship God as he pleases. "The result is that all the churches are absolutely free, and none concerns itself with politics. Each watches to see that the other does not get control of the State. "Now that the Spanish government has been expelled, it can no longer support the Church in this island, hence the Church will necessarily have a hard struggle till it can establish itself on the basis of voluntary parochial support. Meanwhile the Protestant denominations in the United States will have the right to send their missionaries into this inviting field, where they will doubtless receive a hearty welcome, but still the advantage will remain with the Roman Catholic Church, in which the people have been born, married and buried for the last four hundred years. "Besides, it must not be forgotten that the Church, like every other institution of the island, will surely realize its full share of the benefits arising from the union of the island with the great Republic. It will, therefore, become more liberal and independent, as well as more powerful than it has ever been. "Fortunately for you, however, every other Christian denomination will from this time forth be free to make converts, establish churches, open schools and circulate religious books and newspapers, and generally to show that it is a worthy teacher and guide to a higher and better civilization than ever prevails where one Church holds undisputed sway. "The second great menace to the future of the Porto Rican people is the danger of an outbreak of violence and intolerance on the part of one section of your people against another; the danger of insular turning against peninsular; of Porto Rican turning against Spaniard, with the torch and dagger, to avenge himself for the wrongs and oppressions, real or imaginary, which have so long characterized the Spanish domination in this beautiful island. "It needs no argument to show that such an outbreak if it becomes general, cannot fail to bring discredit on your countrymen as a turbulent and law-breaking people who cannot be intrusted with the precious privilege of self-government, and must therefore be ruled by a military commander. "I firmly believe that the Porto Ricans are a docile, orderly and kindly people, well prepared for a better government than they have ever enjoyed, but you must lose no opportunity to impress upon the United States that you are tolerant and magnanimous as well. "Your wrongs, whatever they were, have been avenged by the expulsion of the Spanish flag and the Spanish dominion, without exertion or cost on your part, and the least you can do in return is to repress the spirit of revenge and resolve to live in peace and quietude with your Spanish neighbors, respecting their rights of persons and property, as you desire to have your own respected. "In this way, and in this way only, can you show yourselves to be worthy of the great destiny which has overtaken you, and which, let us hope, is to speedily clothe your island with sovereignty as a member of the great continental Republic. "Thus, and thus only, can we become fellow citizens indeed in perpetual enjoyment of our common and inestimable heritage as citizens of the freest, richest and most powerful nation in the world." The Hon. A. H. Green speaks as follows of the present condition of Porto Rico: "The problems that force themselves upon the attention at the outset are those of government and of finance. The first question that naturally arises is, what shall be done with these possessions? How shall they, with their unassimilated populations, be cared for? The presence of a military force will doubtless be an immediate necessity. It should be administered in the mildest form, unless riot and disorder otherwise require, and be controlled by officers humane and intelligent, inclined to encourage at the earliest practical time the inauguration of a civil rule which shall gradually and as rapidly as may be found wise invite an official participation of representatives of the indigenous populations. Can this be done? Let the doubting and the timid recall what has been done, and is now doing toward improving the conditions of the peoples of the East and ask themselves whether America is not likely to be equally successful in caring for those whose destinies she has assumed to direct; whether it is not her duty to enforce order and to keep the peace among peoples who by her acts have been left disorganized and defenseless, a prey to the internecine strifes of barbarous chiefs and to the intrigues of roaming banditti? And have not experiences in assimilating Spanish territories hitherto successfully annexed or conquered proved abundantly our ability to do all this? "It is natural enough that conservative minds should adhere to the traditions of the past, but times are changed, and the wisest of our forefathers were not able to foresee what the workings of centuries might effect. The atrocities to which the inhabitants of Cuba have been subjected in the past two or more years aroused the indignation of the civilized world. "'Their moans, the vales redoubled to the hills, And they to Heav'n.' "The financial problem, which is already commanding the serious attention of the Government, is next in order. How are the great expenditures of the war to be recouped? Shall we, in addition to territory acquired, demand cash indemnity? If the care of these acquisitions is to be as costly as some suppose, it would not be an unreasonable requirement. While we shall lose the revenues derived from imposts upon importations into the United States from these possessions, which were not large, this will be more than compensated by the duties which we can impose upon importations from other nations into them. In making up the estimates of the whole financial situation it will be safe to assume that at first our Government outlays will exceed income; our people, however, will have the profit of furnishing products of the United States to an added population of 10,000,000 to 12,000,000, freed from the duty that we can impose upon the imports of other nations. Of the $10,000,000 in value of imports into the Philippines from all countries, we supplied less than $200,000, while we took from them nearly $5,000,000. "The interests of the people who gain their living and manual labor are among the first to be considered and jealously guarded. Fortunately the far greater part of these in America are engaged in employments which will be benefited by annexation. A fresh and unrestrained market is to be opened for our products, and the indigenous products of these regions are to be brought here free of duty to give added employment to our factories. No competitions of labor are to arise." As to our new acquisition of new colonies by the United States, Theodore S. Wolsey, Professor of International Law at Yale University, has this to say, and every word he utters is pregnant with meaning, for no one could be a more capable judge: "It has already been said that England learned the lesson of the American Revolution, while Spain has never heeded it nor the loss of her own colonies. Yet it really was not until fifty years ago that their methods sharply diverged. As early as 1778 Spain had begun to open her dependencies to Foreign trade, and early in this century they were allowed to trade with one another. So, likewise, although great changes had been earlier made in the English colonies, the spirit of monopoly and of a restrictive policy was in force until about 1815. So far as relates to the evils of the colonial system, then, the two were not very unlike. But into the field of administrative reform and the grant of autonomous powers to her colonies, Spain never has entered. The abuses of the early part of the century characterize also its later years. Discrimination against the native-born, even of the purest Spanish stock; officials who regard the colony as a mine to be worked, not a trust to be administered; forced dependence upon the mother country for manufactures, even for produce, so far as duties can effect it; self-government stifled; representation in the Cortes denied or a nullity; a civil service unprogressive, ignorant, sometimes corrupt--compare these handicaps with the growth, the prosperity, the independence, above all, the decent and orderly administration, of the colonies of England. One of the wonderful things in this half century is that army of British youth, with but little special training or genius, or even, perhaps, conscious sympathy for the work, learning to administer the great and growing Indian and colonial empire honestly and wisely and well, with courage and judgment equal to emergencies, animated by an every-day working sense of duty and honor, but not very often making any fuss or phrases about it. It is not that Spanish colonial government is worse than formerly, which is costing it now so dear, but that it is no better, while the world's standard has advanced and condemns it. Never yet has Spain looked at her colonies with their own welfare uppermost in her mind. She has never outgrown the old mistaken theories. Her fault is medievalism, alias ignorance. "It is not a cause for wonder, therefore, quite apart from special sources of discontent, that Cuba, which, by position is thrown into contact with progressive peoples, should chafe at her leading strings. Without reference to the corruption and cruelty, arrogance, injustice and repression which are alleged against the mother country, without rhetoric and without animosity, we may fairly say that Spain is losing Cuba, perhaps all her colonies, simply because she has not conformed to the standard of the time in the matter of colonial government. If England had not altered her own methods, her colonies would long since have abandoned her as opportunity offered. The wonder really is that Spain has held hers so long; for Cuba, at least, owing to its exceptional fertility and position, has relatively outstripped its declining mother. "There remains the moral of the story. "If we are not mistaken as to the fundamental causes of Spain's colonial weakness, other colonial powers must take warning also, and the United States in particular, if it yields to the temptations, or, as many say, assumes the divinely-ordered responsibilities, of the situation. For its protective system is a derivative of the mercantile system, as the colonial system was. If it becomes a colonial power, but attempts by heavy duties to limit the foreign trade of its colonies, if it administers those colonies through officials of the spoils type, if it fails to enlarge the local liberties and privileges of its dependencies up to the limit of their receptive powers--if, in short, it holds colonies for its own aggrandizement, instead of their well-being--it will be but repeating the blunders of Spain, and the end will be disaster." Colonel Hill has declared that the heavy burdens under which the business world of Porto Rico has been staggering in the past have been almost inconceivable. Something of this has already been said, but it may be well to give Colonel Hill's views, as he is certainly a most competent judge. The colonel says that in the first place there has been a tax on every ship that comes in and goes out. There has been a heavy tax on all articles of impost and a special tax on all articles not enumerated in the tariff. In addition to that, an additional tax of ten per cent. on the bill was added. Each hackman who plied between the port and the town of Ponce had to pay a tax of eight dollars a month. No person could write a letter to an official without first going to the collector and purchasing a certain kind of official paper, for which he must pay fifty cents to one dollar a sheet. The price was regulated by the rank of the official who had to be written to. The effect of all this was rather to increase the number of complaints from citizens than to increase the revenues of the island. To General Ernst, who was the officer in command of the territory of Coamo, a large number of protests were made. In especial, a delegation of twelve to fifteen citizens called upon the general to request the removal of the alcalde, on the ground that he had been an officer in the Spanish volunteer army, and was unsatisfactory because of his former connections. The gentleman, however, had gracefully accepted the new condition of affairs and was performing the duties of his office earnestly and faithfully. These facts General Ernst was in possession of and he was forced in consequence to deny the request of the delegation. For his own protection and to remove any false impression there might be in the public mind, General Ernst issued the following proclamation, which was printed in both English and Spanish: "Headquarters 1st Brigade, 1st Div., 1st Army Corps, Camp Near Coamo, Porto Rico, September 3, 1898. To the People of Coamo and Neighboring Districts: "To prevent misunderstanding as to the rights and duties of the various members of this community, you are respectfully informed: "1. That no change has been made in the civil laws of Porto Rico, and that none can be made except by the Congress of the United States. The present civil authorities are to be obeyed and respected. "2. That no prejudice rests against any citizen, whether in office or not, for having served as a volunteer, if he now frankly accepts the authority of the United States. "3. That the persecution of persons simply because they are Spaniards, or Spanish sympathizers, will not be tolerated. They, as well as the Porto Ricans, are all expected to become good American citizens, and, in any event, they are entitled to the protection of the law until they violate it. O. H. Ernst, "Brigadier-General Commanding." About this time President McKinley promulgated through the War Department the revised customs tariff and regulations to be enforced by the military authorities in the ports of Porto Rico. In general, the regulations for Porto Rico were practically the same as those promulgated for Cuba and the Philippines. The one important difference was that trade between ports in the United States and ports and places in the possession of the United States in Porto Rico be restricted to registered vessels of the United States and prohibited to all others. It was provided that any merchandise transported in violation of this regulation should be subject to forfeiture, and that for every passenger transported and landed in violation of this regulation the transporting vessel should be subject to a penalty of $200. This regulation should not be construed to forbid the sailing of other than registered vessels of the United States with cargo and passengers between the United States and Porto Rico, provided that they were not landed, but were destined for some foreign port or place. It was further provided that this regulation should not be construed to authorize lower tonnage taxes or other navigation charges on American vessels entering the ports of Porto Rico from the United States than were paid by foreign vessels from foreign countries, nor to authorize any lower customs charges or tariff charges on the cargoes of American vessels entering from the United States than were paid on the cargoes of foreign vessels entering from foreign ports. The regulations as to entering and clearing vessels and the penalties for the violation were the same as those fixed for Cuban ports in the possession of the United States. The tonnage dues were reduced, as in Cuba, to twenty cents per ton on vessels entering from ports other than Porto Rican ports in the possession of the United States, and two cents a ton on vessels from other ports in Porto Rico. The landing charge of $1 per ton was abolished, and the special tax of fifty cents on each ton of merchandise landed at San Juan and Mayaguez for harbor improvement was continued. As in Cuba, the Spanish minimum tariff was to be collected. On most articles, however, this was much higher than the minimum tariff which was imposed by Spain in Cuba. The differential in Porto Rico imposed on goods imported from countries other than Spain was much smaller than in Cuba, so that under Spanish rule there was not a wide difference between duties on goods from countries other than Spain imported into the two islands. Under the operation of the President's orders imposing the minimum tariffs in both islands the effect would be to tax most articles much higher in Porto Rico than in Cuba. As in Cuba, a tariff was imposed on tobacco, manufactured tobacco, cigars and cigarettes equivalent to the internal revenue taxes imposed in the United States. Richard Harding Davis says that there will be no such complications in Porto Rico as those which exist in Cuba for the United States troops there were not allies. They were men who came, were seen and conquered. The revolutionary leaders had no share or credit in their triumphal progress. Now to examine into what Porto Rico offers for American enterprise and capital. In the first place, United States Consul Hanna has been flooded with letters from fortune hunters. He strongly advised all of them to remain at home until the Americans were in complete control. Now, let us examine what one or two competent authorities have to say of Porto Rico, so far as American enterprise is concerned. Here is the opinion of a man who has lived in Porto Rico for several years and who knows of what he is speaking: "We take Porto Rico, too, at a time when everything favors increased prosperity. It has not been ravaged and wrecked, like Cuba, by war. Its foreign trade in 1896, amounting to $36,624,120, was the largest in its history, the value of the exports then, for the first time in over ten years, exceeding that of the imports. Of course the main trade has always been with Spain, but the trade with us stands next, and during the year in question was over two-thirds of that with Spain. Of late, it is true, our trade with Porto Rico has been relatively declining, being far less than it was a quarter of a century ago. During the reciprocity period of a few years since it increased somewhat, but after that it fell off again. It is important to note, however, that our exports to Porto Rico have kept well up of late years, the falling off in total trade being due to the decline of our imports, so that now the exports are not far from equal to the imports, instead of being much inferior as formerly. It is a noteworthy fact that the exchange from both countries is mostly of products of the soil. That is the case with ninety-nine hundredths of Porto Rico's exports to us, sugar and molasses comprising 85 per cent., with coffee coming next, and it is also true of over three-fifths of our exports to Porto Rico, among which breadstuffs and meat foods are prominent. "But with Porto Rico fully ours, and the discriminations enforced by past laws in favor of Spanish trade wiped out, there must be a change in the currents of her commerce. We shall expect to furnish the chief markets for her products, and on the other hand to send to the island more food products than ever, more machinery, textile fabrics, iron and steel. Her capabilities will be developed, perhaps notably in coffee cultivation. Her peaceful and industrious people will welcome American enterprise and capital, American progressive methods, and free institutions. Indeed one of the most striking events of this year was the extraordinary enthusiasm with which American troops were greeted all along the southern shores of the island. It was as if the people could already forecast the great future in store for them, under American laws and the American flag." A correspondent of the New York Evening Post, who signs himself by the initials A. G. R., speaks with authority as follows: "The prominence given to the island by the events of recent months has led many of our people to think it of vastly greater importance, commercially, than it really is. Consul Hanna, who is back in his old quarters in San Juan, has a small wheelbarrow load of letters from all parts of the United States, asking detailed information upon all conceivable lines of trade, manufacture and profession. To answer them according to the terms of their requests would be the work of a short lifetime. But they indicate the widespread interest of American business men in Porto Rican mercantile affairs. Every steamer arriving here brings its group of American passengers. Some are visitors who make the trip only through curiosity. The majority come with an idea of some form of business, either in the shape of a speculative flyer, permanent investment, or a commercial or industrial establishment. "A large percentage of those who come are young men, who have just about enough money to get them here, to keep them here for a week or two, and then get them home again. These come in the hope of finding immediate employment, of catching on to something which will maintain them. They invariably go home again. The island is no place for such. None but the capitalist, the investor, or the business man with money for his business, should come to Porto Rico with anything more in view than an outing or a vacation. As things are at present, there is little enough to interest the capitalist or the investor. The man who is looking for a job should look for it at home; his chances are infinitely better than they are here. There is absolutely nothing for the position hunter, for the clerk, or for the workman. In time there may be something, but it will be, at the least, many months before such opportunities are open, and even then they will be few. Until then the case is hopeless, and those who come will but do as their predecessors have done--go home again, poorer and wiser men. If a young man can afford to spend a couple of hundred dollars in the purchase of that particular form of wisdom, the opportunity is open to him here on this island. If he cannot afford it, he will do better not to risk it. "Merchants will find nothing to do here, except to glean a certain amount of information of rather doubtful accuracy, until the question of tariff rates shall have been definitely settled. There is now nothing on which to base any plans or calculations for business operations. The native merchants are complaining seriously. They are waiting to place orders for hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of goods to replenish stocks which have been depleted through many mouths of uncertain trade conditions, and are losing business which they have been led to expect would be open to them almost immediately after the American occupation of the different cities in which they are located. Nor is it at all easy for an American to obtain any definite information or accurate details regarding any particular line of business and its possibilities. Local commercial methods are not reduced to the system which prevails among American business men. The Porto Rican merchant buys and sells, but I fail to find evidence of that close study of business and business methods by which the American merchant increases his trade and his profits. "The entire trade of the island is of no very great magnitude. The local trade in local products is chiefly confined to the morning market for table supplies, which is held in all the cities and larger towns. The total imports and exports hardly reach a gross amount of thirty millions of dollars a year, and the imports exceed the exports by a couple of millions. I have been unable to find any statistics which I was willing to accept as wholly reliable. So far as I can learn, no complete report has been submitted by the United States Consul, and there are discrepancies which I cannot reconcile in the published reports of the English Consul and those of the Dutch Consul. I can, therefore, only give figures which are approximate, though they are sufficiently close for general purposes. "Cotton goods appear to be the largest item among the imports, and they represent a trade of two or three millions of dollars, varying from year to year, according to the prices and the success or failure of the crop products of the island. Rice is imported to the value of one and a half to two millions of dollars. Flour, chiefly from the United States, approximates three-quarters of a million dollars. Dried, salt and pickled fish, of which Canada seems to obtain the lion's share of the trade, represents a million to a million and a quarter. The United States has the major portion of a trade in pork and pork products which about equals the fish business. "Woollen goods are, naturally, of but limited consumption in so warm a climate, and the trade is probably less than $150,000 in amount. Agricultural implements represent a business of three to four hundred thousand dollars. Boots and shoes, almost exclusively from Spain, represent some five or six hundred thousand. Chinaware, glassware, lumber, coal, soap, furniture and other articles of general use and consumption represent amounts varying from one to three or four hundred thousand dollars. "The most astonishing thing in the whole list of importations is the item of vegetable and garden products. These are imported into this country, which is in itself but a natural garden in which can and should be raised every form of vegetable necessary or desirable for consumption, and the annual value of the imports approximates $400,000 and the weight 7,000 tons. The island uses $150,000 worth of imported candles and $50,000 worth of imported butter yearly. It uses two to three hundred thousand dollars' worth of cheese, of which the Netherlands have, for the last few years, furnished much the greater part. Uruguay and the Argentine supply it with one to three thousand tons of jerked beef annually. Wines, beers, and liquors take something more than a half a million a year out of the country. "Among Porto Rican exports coffee is the heaviest item. This reaches an average valuation of some $10,000,000 a year. Sugar ranks next, and approximates three to four million dollars. Tobacco goes to the extent of some half a million, and molasses touches about the same figure. Hides, cattle, timber and fruit are represented in the list, but their value is comparatively inconsiderable. Guano to the extent of half a million a year appears in the reports for some years, but I am unable to account for either the article or the amount. Some corn has been sent to Cuba, some native rum to Spain, and some bay rum to France and to the United States. "It will thus be seen that, as yet, the island offers but a comparatively limited amount of business, either in buying or selling. Under wise laws, and a just and equitable system of taxation, with a suitable railway system and improved highways, and with the ports of the United States and of the islands open to the exchange of commodities, free of duty, a very material increase of the business of the island will inevitably follow. It is quite possible to double the trade within the next ten or fifteen years. There will be some wildcat speculation, some unwise investment and some loss to investors. The schemer and the promoter will find victims who will put their money into companies whose future is wholly hopeless. But along with that there may reasonably be expected a steady growth and improvement. But it will come by gradual increase and development, and not by a sudden bound." According to Mr. William J. Morrisey, a prominent real estate dealer of Brooklyn, who spent some time in Porto Rico, the island is no place for an American to invest any money at present. He says that the place can be made to pay, provided the United States Government clears the entire island of Spaniards and fills the towns and cities with the American people. Mr. Morrisey also states that the natives of the cities are desirous of becoming American citizens, but that out in the country, it is far different. These people are constantly in fear of the Americans, and their sole desire is to dispose of their property as soon as possible and return to Spain. The more enlightened of them are of the opinion that the United States Government will banish all the Spaniards from the island and thereby make it more agreeable for the residents. A dispatch of the Evening Post says that in view of representations made to the War Department that the municipal councils in Porto Rico were making hay while the sun shines, and granting business franchises right and left under the Spanish law empowering them to do so, orders were recently issued to General Brooke to put a stop to the practice forthwith, and the announcement was given out that on the evacuation by the Spaniards, and our assumption of military authority in the island, no more of these loose grants would be made. Meanwhile American shippers were in a state of mind over a lack of ships with which to conduct the normal commerce of this country with Porto Rico. The change of status for the island, from being a foreign possession to a port of the United States coast, had made the rigid regulations of our coasting trade applicable to it, and the purchase of so many of our coasting vessels by the government for use as transports, coalers, and the like, had embarrassed the progress of coast commerce not a little. The regulations had to be suspended on two or three occasions to let in ships which seemed absolutely necessary, and now the question came up whether it would be best to suspend the regulations altogether or to have each separate vessel which needed American papers apply to Congress for special legislation. There was another question, and a very important one, which came up, and that was how far Louisiana and other sugar-producing States would be affected by the annexation of Porto Rico. In no State in the Union does a single interest play so important and so peculiar a part as the sugar industry in Louisiana. Fully two-fifths of the inhabitants of the State are more or less interested in sugar, and any great disaster to the crop would injure ninety per cent. of the population in southern Louisiana. So far as Porto Rico goes, it is very doubtful if it will injure Louisiana in any way. As has been said before, the island is densely populated, small in area, and with little additional land available for sugar. It is by no means probable that it will increase materially in its sugar production. American laws will militate against the importation of contract labor, and will therefore prevent any undue competition. As the New York Sun very justly observes, the bugbear of the Louisiana sugar planter is not territorial expansion, but the war taxes and the possibility of their permanent adoption, bringing with it the reopening of the old tariff agitation, which they supposed was permanently closed. Taking it all in all, territorial expansion has certainly no terrors for the Louisiana planters. With the evidence we have given, it is easy to see what Porto Rico has to offer, or not to offer, to Americans. With their usual manana, the Spaniards have been slow to evacuate the island, but a decisive stand has been taken by the President. The chief intent of the administration is to clear the island of Spaniards, put at work American methods in sanitary, civic and economic administration, and, for the purpose of doing this without annoyance, to have forces enough for police duty. The day fixed for the hoisting of the American flag over San Juan and the complete and permanent occupation of Porto Rico by the military forces of the United States was October 18. It was possible for the Administration of the United States to take this step by virtue of war powers and of the establishment of the fact that Porto Rico is to be wholly and permanently American. At the present time of writing Porto Rico is still a foreign country, so far as the laws of the United States are concerned, and until changed by Congress, customs duties will be collected on imports from the island. So, too, with the navigation laws, and American ship-owners are warned to secure registers for foreign commerce before entering the Porto Rico trade, as vessels with only coasting enrollments and licenses will be subject to penalty on their return to the United States. On the 18th of October, promptly at noon, the flag was raised over San Juan. An excellent description of the proceedings has been given in the Boston Herald, and reads as follows: "The ceremony was quiet and dignified, unmarred by disorder of any kind. "The 11th regular infantry, with two batteries of the 5th artillery, landed. The latter proceeded to the fort, while the infantry lined up on the docks. It was a holiday for San Juan, and there were many people in the streets. "Rear Admiral Schley and General Gordon, accompanied by their staffs, proceeded to the palace in carriages. The 11th infantry regiment and band, with troop H of the 6th U. S. cavalry, then marched through the streets, and formed in the square opposite the palace. At 11.40 A. M. General Brooke, Admiral Schley and General Gordon, the United States evacuation commissioners, came out of the palace with many naval officers, and formed on the right side of the square. The street behind the soldiers was thronged with townspeople, who stood waiting in dead silence. "At last the city clock struck the hour of 12, and the crowds, almost breathless, and with eyes fixed upon the flag pole, watched for developments. At the sound of the first gun from Fort Morro, Major Dean and Lieutenant Castle of General Brooke's staff hoisted the stars and stripes, while the band played the 'Star Spangled Banner.' "All heads were bared, and the crowds cheered. Fort Morro, Fort San Cristobal and the United States revenue cutter Manning, lying in the harbor, fired 21 guns each. "Senor Munoz Rivera, who was president of the recent autonomist council of secretaries, and other officials of the late insular government were present at the proceedings. "Congratulations and handshaking among the American officers followed. Ensign King hoisted the stars and stripes on the Intendencia, but all other flags on the various public buildings were hoisted by military officers. Simultaneously with the raising of the flag over the captain-general's palace many others were hoisted in different parts of the city. "The work of the United States' evacuation commission was now over. The labors of both parties terminated with honor for all concerned." After the parade the bands and various trade organizations went to General Henry's headquarters. General Henry in a speech said: "Alcalde and Citizens: To-day the flag of the United States floats as an emblem of undisputed authority over the island of Porto Rico, giving promise of protection to life, of liberty, prosperity and the right to worship God in accordance with the dictates of conscience. The forty five States represented by the stars emblazoned on the blue field of that flag unite in vouchsafing to you prosperity and protection as citizens of the American Union. "Your future destiny rests largely with yourselves. Respect the rights of each other. Do not abuse the government which accords opportunities to the individual for advancement. Political animosities must be forgotten in unity and in the recognition of common interests. I congratulate you all on beginning your public life under new auspices, free from governmental oppression, and with liberty to advance your own country's interests by your united efforts." General Henry then introduced Colonel John B. Castleman, who spoke with great effect as an old Confederate. The alcalde replied in part: "We hope soon to see another star symbolic of our prosperity and of our membership in the great republic of States. Porto Rico has not accepted American domination on account of force. She suffered for many years the evils of error, neglect and persecution, but she had men who studied the question of government, and who saw in America her redemption and a guarantee of life, liberty and justice. "Then we came willingly and freely, hoping, hand in hand with the greatest of all republics, to advance in civilization and progress, and to become part of the republic to which we pledge our faith forever." When the Spanish flag was hauled down all over the island and the Stars and Stripes raised in its place, General Brooke became the chief executive of Porto Rico. Actually, but not in name, he was the military governor of the island. The plan of a military governor for Porto Rico, to hold until the Washington authorities deem it wise to substitute a purely civil administration, has not been fully arranged. From October 18 until the plan of the Government has been put into effect, General Brooke, or the military officer who will succeed him if he asks for detachment, will be in supreme control of civil and military affairs. It is the intention, however, of the Government here to have as little of the military element as possible in the administration of affairs, and so to all intents and purposes a civil administration will be in operation from the time the Spaniards surrendered authority. Still, when all has been said, it is perfectly sure that in the end Porto Rico will become one of the most important of our possessions. Superstition and tyranny will be driven from this most fertile island, and hope and peace, under the Stars and Stripes, will be brought to the thousands so long under foot. Hail, therefore to Porto Rico! And some day may it become a bright star in the flag that brings protection and freedom to all! (THE END.) 
33898	----	[Illustration: HAUNTED SENTRY BOX, SAN CRISTOBAL, SAN JUAN] THE HAUNTED SENTRY BOX OF PORTO RICO BY LEWIS MILLER The Knickerbocker Press NEW YORK 1916 Copyright, 1916 BY LEWIS MILLER The Haunted Sentry Box of Porto Rico By Lewis Miller Directly below the old fort of San Cristobal, in San Juan, Porto Rico, projecting out over the sea from a corner of the sea wall, is a sentry box. Years ago a sentry, placed on duty at this lonely post, utterly disappeared, leaving behind only his musket and side-arms. His disappearance was so mysterious that it was attributed to sea-devils, and the sentry box has ever since been given a wide berth by all superstitious natives. The same night of this strange incident, a priest, the best liked and most admired of his sect in the city, disappeared. The only clue discovered in regard to his disappearance was the small gold cross, which constantly hung suspended from a chain around his neck, found before the door of the corner sentry box. I heard many stories in regard to the disappearance of these two, but all were too preposterous to allow any thought of truth. At last, however, good luck brought me into the presence of a man who knew, and it is the story as I heard it from him which I am undertaking to recount. * * * * * The proprietor of one of the "tiendas" in Mayaguez, Juan Cordo by name, was a large, jovial old man full of stories of wild adventure, with which every Saturday night he entertained a gathering composed chiefly of the working men, who, their work over for the week, were ready to listen to any tale which would entertain them--and the old storekeeper was a good talker. It was at one of these gatherings, to which I was frequently drawn by a desire to hear the old man's ramblings, that I heard the story of the haunted sentry box. As usual, the old fellow, who loved to be urged, could for sometime think of nothing to tell about, but he finally decided on his subject and settling back in his chair, began. I noticed, however, that he carefully scrutinized the faces of his audience, that is, of all except one. But this one was really of little importance as he was a late arrival in town and scarcely known to any one. As I have said, his face was free from the scrutinizing eye of old Juan Cordo, for, coming in late, he had quietly seated himself behind the story-teller without attracting his attention. "My story begins back in the early seventies," began the old man in a thoughtful and his usual hesitating tone. "The capital was the scene of crimes, of immorality and of all sorts of disorders. There were good men, of course, but even these were often corrupted. An instance of this was young Pedro Delvarez, a soldier, who had enlisted in the army when he was but seventeen. He had had chances which most of his associates had not--fine parents, an education, money; but he proved unworthy of them all. He turned to gambling and fast living, finally marrying a young girl, far below him in social rank, who married him merely for his money. His love for this girl, however, partly cured him of his wild life and helped him to be a better fellow. "Although he might have had an officer's rank through his father's influence, he had enlisted as a mere common soldier due to some fool book-notion of working his way up. But his habits retarded his progress and at the end of six years of service he found himself still in the ranks. He made many enemies among his rough associates and chief among them was a great, strong, dastardly fellow named Torcas." There was a stir behind the old storekeeper as the stranger leaned forward with a gleam of interest in his eyes, but I thought with a twitching of anger around his mouth. The old man apparently did not hear him for he continued without looking around. "How this enmity began I do not know, but it increased daily and finally reached the boiling point when Torcas ran off with the flighty young wife of his enemy. Young Delvarez was heart-broken and attempted suicide, but was luckily saved from such an untimely death through the intervention of good Padre Suarez. This priest had for some reason or other taken a great liking to the young soldier and had endeavoured in every way to help him. It was due to the efforts of his clerical friend that Delvarez was led back into the straight road and it was the kindly advice of this same person which kept him from a search for, and probably the murder of, his enemy. "Life became a mere dream to the young fellow, who went to his soldier's duties, morose, bitter against the world, and shunning his companions who he thought detested him. He continued in this way for several months till one night a crisis was reached. He had been stationed on duty at the old sentry box with the accusation of 'murder' ringing in his ears. A few minutes before, in a quarrel, his antagonist had accused him of it; the murder of the young, fickle wife, who, the preceding morning, had been found dead in her bed. He was innocent, but he had no friends to take his side in case the law was against him, and he had no proofs of innocence. While he stood looking out over the sea, contemplating his troubles, he felt a hand placed on his shoulder and turning quickly could just discern in the darkness the face of the kindly padre. "It was a wild night and the noise of the sea and wind made hearing difficult, so that he could scarcely understand the priest as he leaned forward and shouted in his ear: 'I feel sure you're innocent' said the priest, 'but the others don't seem to think so. So slip over the wall here and get away; it's your only chance because they're coming for you soon. Go to some other place, live a clean, decent life, but remember, if you ever come up against that fellow Torcas don't do anything, for God will take vengeance on him.'" Again there was a stir behind the story-teller as the stranger leaned forward with the interest in his eyes gleaming brighter than before, while the twitching of anger around his mouth seemed to have changed to a slight smile. Again the old man, unconscious of the interest he was arousing, continued: "The good fellow had just finished speaking when a pistol shot rang out and a bullet burned a furrow across Delvarez's breast to bury itself in his friend's. Delvarez sank to the ground, but the rain quickly revived him and he got up, the wound on his breast, which was to trouble him through life, burning and throbbing. At first he thought he was again alone, but his foot encountered something, and stooping over he found the body of the dead priest. Suddenly he recalled his friend's advice and determined to flee. "Feverishly he undressed himself and exchanged clothing with the dead man. Next he laid his firearms on the little bench which ran around the sentry box, threw the body over the wall, and lowered himself down carefully after it. There was a spade at the foot of the wall, the presence of which at that time he did not stop to analyze; but later, when thinking over the events of that night, he determined it had been brought there to be used on him as he used it on the dead priest. With it he dug a deep hole where he laid the body of his only friend. Then he fled away into the night. "It was quite late when he reached the little house which he had bought when he married, and he was tired, but he thought he would now probably be accused of two murders, so he must get away. He changed quickly into his most ragged clothes and started off towards another city. How he fared for the next few years I shall not attempt to relate, but under an assumed name, and with the power of his early home-training and education, he slowly forged to the front. He heard the stories of the haunted sentry box and was pleased that his disappearance had been so explained. "Although to all outward appearance he was poor, his new life brought him money and in the solitude of his little home he lived in comfort. He likewise deceived the world as to his feelings; to his friends he seemed a jovial, care-free fellow, but at home he sank back into bitterness and thoughts of his wrongs. His thoughts often turned to Torcas, but he just as frequently turned them aside through a desire to follow the last words of his murdered friend. "It was not until years later when the world had nearly banished all thought of the sentry box episode that Delvarez, now an old man, again saw his bitter enemy. Torcas, to his delight, did not recognize him and Delvarez immediately started to plan the death of his tormentor. He waited and waited, but the right time never seemed to come and finally the last words of the long-dead friend again began to take effect. Delvarez became calmer; he looked at the unrecognizing man with pure disdain and a great confidence arose in him that his friend's words would come true, that God----" The story was interrupted by the stranger behind the old story-teller. With a gurgling cry of wrath he had sprung to his feet, his right hand, tightly clenched about the handle of a gleaming knife, shot upward, while his left hand tore the shirt from the storekeeper's shoulders, thus uncovering the old man's chest, which had a dark red scar across it. The knife started downward with terrific force toward Cordo's bared body, but not into it, for he, with a quick, instinctive, upward throw of his arm, so changed the course of the blade that it buried itself to the hilt in its owner's breast. The priest had spoken the truth: God had taken vengeance. 
45995	----	Our Little Porto Rican Cousin The Little Cousin Series [Illustration] Each volume illustrated with six or more full-page plates in tint. Cloth, 12mo, with decorative cover, per volume, 60 cents. [Illustration] =LIST OF TITLES= BY MARY HAZELTON WADE (unless otherwise indicated). =Our Little African Cousin= =Our Little Armenian Cousin= =Our Little Brown Cousin= =Our Little Canadian Cousin= By Elizabeth R. Macdonald =Our Little Chinese Cousin= By Isaac Taylor Headland =Our Little Cuban Cousin= =Our Little Dutch Cousin= By Blanche McManus =Our Little English Cousin= By Blanche McManus =Our Little Eskimo Cousin= =Our Little French Cousin= By Blanche McManus =Our Little German Cousin= =Our Little Hawaiian Cousin= =Our Little Indian Cousin= =Our Little Irish Cousin= =Our Little Italian Cousin= =Our Little Japanese Cousin= =Our Little Jewish Cousin= =Our Little Korean Cousin= By H. Lee M. Pike =Our Little Mexican Cousin= By Edward C. Butler =Our Little Norwegian Cousin= =Our Little Panama Cousin= By H. Lee M. Pike =Our Little Philippine Cousin= =Our Little Porto Rican Cousin= =Our Little Russian Cousin= =Our Little Scotch Cousin= By Blanche McManus =Our Little Siamese Cousin= =Our Little Swiss Cousin= =Our Little Turkish Cousin= (_In Preparation_) =Our Little Spanish Cousin= =Our Little Swedish Cousin= [Illustration] L. C. PAGE & COMPANY New England Building, Boston, Mass. [Illustration: MANUEL] Our Little Porto Rican Cousin By Mary Hazelton Wade _Illustrated by_ L. J. Bridgman [Illustration] Boston L. C. Page & Company Publishers _Copyright, 1902_ BY L. C. PAGE & COMPANY (INCORPORATED) _All rights reserved_ Published, June, 1902 Fifth Impression, March, 1906 Colonial Press Electrotyped and Printed by C. H. Simonds & Co. Boston, Mass., U. S. A. Preface THE beautiful island of Porto Rico lies, as you will see by looking at the map, near that great open doorway to North America and the United States which we call the Gulf of Mexico. Very near it looks, does it not? So the little cousin with whom we are going to become acquainted to-day is our near neighbour as well. To be sure, a schoolboy or girl from Massachusetts would have to travel a thousand miles or so to see his Porto Rican cousin; and even a child from Florida could not say good morning to his Porto Rican neighbour unless he were to take a sail of several hundred miles. However, we, who are used to taking little excursions over the world (between the covers of a book), so that we may learn to know our tiny Eskimo cousins who live near the icy pole, and our little African cousins south of the equator, as well as our Japanese cousins on the other side of the globe, think nothing of the distance between here and Porto Rico. We should expect to feel very much at home after we arrived there, especially now that Porto Rico has become part of our own country. We shall find our Porto Rican cousins and neighbours, with their dark skins, black hair, and soft black eyes, somewhat different in appearance, indeed, from ourselves; and we shall not be able to understand what they say unless we have learned the Spanish language; for, as we know, the parents or forefathers of our Porto Rican cousins came from Spain to Porto Rico, just as the parents and forefathers of most of us who speak English came from England. However, these are slight differences; and the Spanish people, from whom our black-eyed Porto Rican cousin is descended, belong to the same branch of the great human family as we do, who are descended, most of us, from English people. That is, the Spanish people and their descendants, the Porto Ricans, belong to the white race. Manuel is thus a nearer relative than the little black cousin, who belongs to the negro race; or the little Japanese cousin, who belongs to the yellow or Mongolian race; or the little Indian cousin, who belongs to the red race; or the little Malayan cousin, who belongs to the brown race. So we shall welcome the Porto Rican neighbours near our doorway into our nation's family. They were already our cousins by descent; they have become our adopted brothers in our nation. Contents CHAPTER PAGE I. MANUEL 9 II. DOLORES 15 III. LESSONS 21 IV. THROUGH THE WOODS 28 V. THE COFFEE-TREE 35 VI. SONGS AND STORIES 40 VII. A CRUEL SPORT 50 VIII. EARLY TIMES 56 IX. THE CARIBS 63 X. A SEASIDE PICNIC 68 XI. THE WONDERFUL CAVE 78 XII. THE HURRICANE 87 XIII. THE NEW BABY 93 XIV. THE CITY 98 List of Illustrations PAGE MANUEL _Frontispiece_ "A FOUNTAIN IS PLAYING IN THE CENTRE OF THE PAVED YARD" 12 DOLORES 17 "THE HOMES OF THE WORKMEN" 40 "ONE IS QUITE LARGE, AND IS FORMED IN THE SHAPE OF A FAN" 73 A STREET IN SAN JUAN 101 Our Little Porto Rican Cousin CHAPTER I. MANUEL. IT is a beautiful May day. The air is still, yet clear; the sun is shining brightly, but it is not too warm for comfort. There is not a cloud in the sky. And yet lazy little Manuel lies curled up in his comfortable bed, sound asleep at eight o'clock in the morning. See! A smile lights up his face. Perhaps he is dreaming of his newly adopted American brothers. Of the things he has read about, he longs to see a real New England snow-storm most of all. To built a snow fort, to make balls of snow and have a mock battle, what fun it must be! To slide down the icy hills, to ride over the snowy roads to the jingle of the sleigh-bells,--surely there is nothing in his island home to equal sport like that. And so in his dreams our little Manuel takes part in games he cannot play while awake, until they at last become quite real to him. But now the door opens, and old black Juana, Manuel's nurse ever since he was born, comes softly into the dark room, bringing a tray in her hand. She steps toward a little stand beside the bed, and sets down the tray. Then she goes to the casement and opens wide the wooden shutter. The sunlight pours into the room, and Manuel slowly opens his big black eyes. "Oh, it is you, mammy dear, is it?" he says, sleepily, and slowly stretches himself and sits up in bed. Juana brings a basin of fresh water and a towel for the boy to bathe his hands and face, then draws the stand closer to his side and hands him a cup of steaming chocolate and a roll. What thick, rich chocolate it is, and what a dainty little roll! This is all the boy ever cares to eat in the morning, for he is seldom hungry when first roused. His father and mother are having coffee in their own bedroom at the same time Manuel is drinking his chocolate. This is the way every one in the family takes the first meal of the day. Manuel is a creole. Many, many years ago his great-great-great (indeed I cannot tell you how many times great) grandfather left Spain and crossed the wide Atlantic Ocean. He came to this beautiful island of Porto Rico to live, and his children and grandchildren liked the place so well they never cared to go back to the mother country. Such people are called creoles; that is, people born in the West Indies of European parents. They set out great plantations of tobacco and sugar and became very rich. [Illustration: "A FOUNTAIN IS PLAYING IN THE CENTRE OF THE PAVED YARD"] Manuel's father has many acres of their land still, but the fortune of the family has been slowly lost; and, although there are many servants, and a large, comfortable home, there is not much money to spend. The house is at least a hundred years old. It is made of blocks of stone, built around the four sides of a square courtyard, where orange-trees and magnolias stand in immense pots. A fountain is playing in the centre of the paved yard and making soft music as the spray falls upon the stones. There is a large aquarium at one side, where Manuel's mother cares for many beautiful fishes. Vines climb up over the wide verandas; the stone work is nearly hidden by mosses which have made their home here; and, over all, the tall, graceful trees of the tropics sway gently to and fro. There are water-lemon and banana, cocoanut and tamarind trees growing close to the house, and underneath in the rose-bushes and acacias hundreds of brilliant humming-birds are glancing in and out. At first thought, it may seem strange to us that there are no windows fitted with glass in this old mansion. Our window is an opening in the wall of a building to let in or keep out light and air, as needed. In Porto Rico, where it is summer all the time, people need to have all the air possible in the house; they have no use for panes of glass such as we use. These are rarely seen anywhere in the island, but instead of them bars of iron are fastened across the casements, or else there are wooden shutters, as in Manuel's home. The slats of these shutters can be set open as much as one likes, or closed tightly when the heavy rains come. When Manuel has finished drinking his chocolate, old Juana prepares a bath for him. She does not bring any soap, for his mother believes it spoils the skin; but the bath is scented with Florida-water, and the sweet perfume fills the room. Manuel is soon dressed, for he wears only a little shirt and loose white trousers during the daytime at home. His feet are left bare, so he may be as cool as possible. What a handsome fellow he is now that he is wide awake! He is a little smaller than his American brothers of his own age, but he is well-shaped and graceful. People say he looks very much like his beautiful mother. His black eyes are tender and loving, his hair is black, but fine and soft; his skin is dark, yet clear; and his teeth are even and white. Yes, he is not only good-looking, but kind and lovable, we feel sure. CHAPTER II. DOLORES. AND now he goes from his room out into the courtyard, for the house is only one story high. His sister Dolores is there already, and runs to kiss him good morning. "Oh, Dolores," says Manuel, "do you think we have time before our lessons begin to go over to Salvador's and see if he got those fireflies yet? He was to bring them to me last night." "It's only nine o'clock now, we have an hour yet," answers Dolores, in her sweet voice. "I'm all ready, so let's go." Both children put on their broad white hats and take a shady path through the fields. They soon reach the huts of the coloured workmen, clustered together in a grove of pimento-trees. A "pimento-walk" such a grove is sometimes called, and it would be hard to find anything more beautiful. The trees are of nearly the same height, reaching up about thirty feet from the ground. The branches are covered with glossy green leaves. The berries are not yet ready to pick, but when they are still green the coloured boys on the place must climb the trees and break off the twigs; they will throw them down to their sisters on the ground, who will pick off the berries and store them in bags for their master to send to the United States mainland. We call these berries "allspice," and after they have been dried we buy them under that name. [Illustration: DOLORES] The huts of the workmen are scarcely more than sheds with roofs of thatched palm leaves. Some have sides and doorways, while others are quite open. What do these poor people care for that in this land of summer? If they have plantains enough to satisfy their hunger, plenty of cigars to smoke, and hammocks of the bark of the palm-tree to swing in, they are happy and contented. Within the huts one can see a few earthen pots and gourds; that is all that is needed in their simple housekeeping, whether they belong to the black race or are "jibaros," as the poor whites are called. And most of the people are poor in this beautiful land, although Mother Nature is so generous here in her gifts to men. But we must go back to Manuel and Dolores, who are quickly surrounded by a group of little children. They are of all colours: some black as jet, the whites of their eyes looking like windows; others of shades running from dark brown to pale yellow. But they are all noisy, all happy, all talking at the same time, and all naked. As for Dolores, herself, the dainty little maiden wears only a cotton slip at her play. Many another white child on the island goes about her home with no clothing, and feels very comfortable, too. It is only when the children get to be nine or ten years old that their parents make them dress; and that is a sad time for them, you may be sure. But Dolores lives in quite a grand way, you know, so she and Manuel were never allowed to go about naked since they were old enough to walk. But look! one of the little black boys is handing something to Manuel. It is a net filled with the fireflies or beetles he wished to get. "Come to the house to-night, Salvador," says Manuel, as he takes his treasures, "and I will pay you." Now what do you suppose Manuel cares for these beetles? They are not beautiful in the daytime. We would far rather watch those lovely green and blue butterflies flitting among the bushes. But Manuel is going to make pets of them. He will put them in a little wicker cage, feed them with sugar, and they will grow quite tame. At night they will be more beautiful than any precious gems owned by his mother. Let us examine them. They are of a dull drab colour, except around the eyes and underneath, where there are rings or bands that glow brightly in the dark, giving forth red and green lights. They gleam like diamonds. Manuel can read by their light, should he choose to do so. The fireflies of Porto Rico are the largest and most brilliant in the whole world. After the children have finished their lessons to-day, perhaps they will take some calabashes and bore holes in them. Then when night comes they can put the beetles inside and play outdoors with them for lanterns. Some of the poor people in Porto Rico use no other light at night, except these little creatures. Manuel carries the net very carefully as he and his sister return to the house. He does not wish a single beetle to be injured or frightened. "Mamma dear!" he calls as he sees his mother on the veranda, "you shall wear the most beautiful one I have in your lace dress to-night." What a strange idea this seems to us! but the smiling lady in her white wrapper does not seem at all surprised. She often fastens the living gems under the thin net of her evening gown; perhaps they will glisten on her shoulders, perhaps at her throat, or in her hair. She certainly could not wear more beautiful jewels than these. "Thank you, my precious child," she answers, "you are very thoughtful; but now your teacher is waiting for you in the schoolroom. Go to her, and give your studies good attention this morning." CHAPTER III. LESSONS. DOLORES and Manuel are soon busy with their lessons. Although Manuel is twelve years old and his sister ten, they are both learning to speak French and a little Italian. I fear you would think them rather backward in arithmetic and other grammar-school studies, but their parents do not see the need of knowing as much of such things as do American fathers and mothers. The children have always had a governess, and have never been in a public schoolroom in their lives. In fact, these are only now becoming common since our people have taken Porto Rico under their care. Think of it, children! In this beautiful island, only one person out of five can read and write at present. Most of these have been brought up in the towns and cities. Those who live out in the country seldom have had a chance to go to school. If they were too poor to hire a governess or study with the nuns in the convents, they grew up ignorant indeed. Dolores is taught to embroider and to play a little on the guitar, so her mother thinks her daughter is quite accomplished. Besides, both Manuel and his sister are very graceful dancers and can sing well. These are quite important studies, for wherever one goes in Porto Rico, there he will find music and dancing. At half-past eleven the books are closed, and the children join their parents for the first regular meal of the day. This is the real breakfast. It is served in the large, low dining-room, where for the first time we see the children's grown-up sister, Teresa. She is a lovely young lady of sixteen, slight and graceful. She has the same black eyes as Manuel and Dolores, soft and beautiful. She wears no stockings, but her feet are encased in dainty blue kid slippers. They are embroidered with pearl beads, and, no doubt, came from Paris. An ugly-looking woman takes her place beside Teresa at the table. This is her "duenna." It is her duty to go everywhere with the young girl. It would not be considered at all proper for Teresa to go driving, or even walking, alone. It would not do for her to go shopping to the town only three miles away unless her duenna were with her; and as for a party or any evening entertainment whatever, if Teresa were to go without her parents or this same duenna, every one in the country around would be terribly shocked. But now all are busy eating the breakfast the coloured waiter is serving. First, there is a nice omelet, cooked in olive oil. Then come pineapple jam, fish fried a delicate brown, fried bananas, fried chicken, and a salad made of many kinds of vegetables. We must not forget to mention the apricots stewed in honey, nor the tea steeped with the leaves of lemon verbena. It has a delicious odour, and Manuel's father and mother are very fond of it. There is no butter to eat on the rolls, but the fact is, almost all the butter in Porto Rico comes in tin cans from other countries. On account of the hot climate, it is often rancid, so it is seldom used in Manuel's home. The cooking is done with olive oil. Nearly everything is fried, instead of being broiled or roasted, and no one feels the need of butter. Manuel and Dolores, like some other boys and girls we know, are very fond of sweet things, so they eat a great deal of the cooked fruits on the table. But they also seem to like the salad very much, even though it is so hot with Cayenne pepper as to burn the mouth of any one not used to it. But the children are accustomed to highly spiced dishes. Our cooking would seem tasteless to them. Perhaps it is the hot climate all the year round that makes it necessary to have strongly flavoured foods to excite the appetite. After this second breakfast is over, cigarettes are served, and, would you believe it! our little Manuel, as well as his mother and older sister, joins in a smoke. Such is the custom of his country that even children of three or four years use tobacco. It is no wonder, then, that as the boys and girls grow up, they have so little strength. We are no longer surprised that Manuel does not care much for active play. It is now the hottest part of the day. The boy and his sister play a few games of dominoes and cards out on the veranda, and then sleepily stretch themselves in hammocks under the palms for an afternoon nap. Manuel's little dog, Ponce, lies on the ground by his side, ready to bark if any stranger should come near his master. But what do the poor children of Porto Rico do, while Manuel is taking his "siesta," as the afternoon nap is called? They, too, are probably having their siestas, for all classes of people rest during the hottest part of the day. Very little business is done in the cities; the time for work is in the early morning and late afternoon. The coloured children of the plantation would think it a perfect feast to have a breakfast like Manuel's. A bit of salt fish, with some breadfruit, plantains, and coffee,--these satisfy their hunger day after day. But in the sugar season, when the canes are ripe and full of juice, then indeed it is hard to make the people work, whether they are white or black. Oh, the delicious sugar-cane! there is nothing like the pleasure of sucking it. Here and there, in every nook and corner, one sees boys and girls, men and women, with joints of the cane in their hands, sucking away for dear life. Then is the time to stop all worry and grow fat. CHAPTER IV. THROUGH THE WOODS. WHEN Manuel and Dolores finish their siesta, it is nearly three o'clock. Old Juana appears on the veranda with a pitcher of limeade, made with fresh limes, and Manuel drinks glass after glass. It is very refreshing, and he begins to feel like moving about, so he orders his pet donkey to be brought. He says to Dolores: "I think I will ride through the woods and around the plantation. I will take my gun, as we may see some rabbits. Please come with me, Dolores." The little girl is always ready to oblige her brother, so she sends for her own donkey, and the children start for the woods, with Ponce following close behind. Dear little patient, long-eared donkeys! Just as slow and stupid and stubborn as other donkeys in other parts of the world. Manuel loves his Pedro, as he is called. Pedro has been his friend and companion ever since the boy was big enough to sit up straight. Pedro is not obliged to work very hard, and is now quite willing to set off on a gentle trot. Dolores holds a dainty little parasol over her head, but as they reach the deep shadow of the woods, she shuts it down; then in some magical way changes it into a fan, with which she brushes away the mosquitoes. What beautiful woods these are! Cocoanut, banana, sago, and palmetto trees grow here, as well as cedar, India-rubber, guava, and many other tall and stately trees belonging to the tropics. More than five hundred different kinds of trees are found on the one island of Porto Rico, every one of them growing over fifteen feet high. Just think of it, children! Manuel can pick lemons, oranges, bananas, limes, plantains, peaches, apricots, olives, tamarinds, and--dear me! I can't tell you how many other fruits, without stepping off the land owned by his father. "Listen!" says Dolores to her brother, "don't you hear that grinding, buzzing noise? It sounds like some one grinding a knife. I wonder what it can be." The children make the donkeys stop, and look all around them. No one is to be seen. Then turning their eyes up into the branches of a tree close by, they see a strange sight. It is a beetle at least six inches long. He is very busy sawing off a small branch. "Oh, I know what that is," says Manuel. "Father has told me all about him. Some people call him a razor-grinder because he makes a noise like the grinding of a razor. He is the largest beetle in the world. So come along, Dolores, I want to shoot some pigeons." "Aren't you afraid, Manuel, to go any farther into the woods?" whispers his sister. "I just heard a queer, rustling noise. Perhaps it is a wild dog. It may spring at us before we can get away." The children of Porto Rico have more fear of wild dogs than of anything else. They imagine all kinds of terrible things about them, and whenever they come to a dark place in the woods, they begin to fear an attack. The fact is that dogs, as well as cats, often leave their homes and run wild on account of the good times they can have in the woods. There are so many mice and birds to be caught that they need never go hungry, but there is little to fear from them. That is what Manuel thinks, sensible little fellow that he is, so he answers: "Oh, pshaw, Dolores, you never yet saw a wild dog in your life. So come along; I'll take care of you. You know I have my gun." Just at this moment Manuel spies a brown object behind a rock. Look! now a sharp-pointed nose is thrust straight up in the air, and a pair of bright eyes can be seen. "That is a dear little agouti. Please don't shoot him. See how shy he looks; he is too scared to run. Oh, what a beautiful glossy coat he has!" says Dolores. "I wish we had one to tame for a pet. Don't you, Manuel?" At first thought, Manuel was going to shoot the agouti, but he quickly thinks better of it. Any one would indeed be hard-hearted to wish to kill such a pretty, timid little creature. The agouti is a cousin of the hare and the rabbit, but lives in warmer lands than they. The children ride slowly along. Manuel shoots a couple of pigeons, and they are about to turn out of the woods when they spy a big hole in the ground near them. The appearance of the earth shows that it must have been freshly dug. "I know what that means," exclaims Manuel, "an armadillo is hiding from us. He heard us coming and at once burrowed under ground. I don't see how they can dig so fast. Do you? Now let's make our donkeys rest, and see if he will come out when all is quiet." The children get off and tie their donkeys to some trees, while they themselves sit down at quite a little distance from the hole. It is not long before Mr. Armadillo appears, reaching his head out from his shell as he climbs. He does not come very far, however, before Ponce spies him. The dog begins to bark furiously, and tries to get away from Manuel, who holds him by his collar. The armadillo flees back into his hole "as quick as a flash," as the saying is, and does not make his appearance again, although the children wait quite a while longer. What a curious looking animal it is, with its shell of horny plates, and a white horn on its back through which it blows and makes a loud noise! When in danger, it draws itself completely within its shell. The flesh is a great dainty, but the little animal is hard to catch. The negroes on some of the West Indian islands belonging to England call the armadillo "hog-in-armour." Not a bad name, is it? Manuel and Dolores, still mounted on their patient little donkeys, leave the woods, and come out upon a path leading through their father's coffee plantation. CHAPTER V. THE COFFEE-TREE. WHEN the first white people came to Porto Rico they did not find any coffee among the other tropical fruits. To-day it is the most valuable product of the island, yet all the trees growing now came from a few plants brought here nearly two hundred years ago. Perhaps you would like to hear the story. In the year 1714, all the coffee used in the civilised world was under the control of the Dutch. They were very jealous of other people growing it, but one of the governors of Amsterdam gave a single plant to the King of France. From this plant a few others were raised and sent across the ocean to Martinique, an island of the West Indies belonging to France. The voyage was long. The fresh water on board the ship nearly gave out, but the man who had the plants in his care shared his allowance with them. They were thus kept alive, and from them have come the coffee-trees that cover thousands of acres of land to-day in Porto Rico, Martinique, and the other islands. Manuel and Dolores delight in riding through the plantation at this season of the year; the rows of small, evenly trimmed trees, with their glossy green leaves, are always a pretty sight. But just now they are more beautiful than at other times, for each tree is a mass of snow-white blossoms, filling the air with their fragrance. Dolores's mother hires some of the coloured children to collect petals of the coffee flowers as they drop upon the ground. She will fill jars with them to scent her drawing-room with their perfume; but no one is allowed to pick the blossoms from the trees, for each flower means a berry later on in the season. As the fruit forms, it is first green, then a pale pink, and at last a bright red. Not all the berries ripen at the same time, as cherries do, so the autumn picking lasts several weeks. After they have been gathered, the berries are first washed and then hulled by machinery. Even then, however, they are not ready for market, for they must still be dried. At Manuel's home this is done by spreading them on floors paved with stones, where the sun can shine upon them; but on larger plantations it is usually done by steam or hot air. The men and women who work for Manuel's father are always busy, for there are many things to do besides attending to the coffee-trees. These stand in rows about fifteen feet apart, and between the rows there are "catch crops," as they are called. One can see sweet potatoes, pigeon pease, eddoes, and other vegetables. Coffee-trees are quite tender, and need a good deal of shade when they are young, so banana and plantain trees have been planted between the rows to protect them from the hot sun. Manuel's father does not pay his workmen in money; he gives them a certain number of plantains for each day's labour. They keep enough of this fruit to feed their families, and sell the rest in the towns near by. The children stop for a chat with the overseer, then ride onward to the house, for dinner must be ready. Just as the meal is over, and the family leave the dining-room, the convent bells begin to ring. It is six o'clock, the time for evening prayer, and all bow their heads in silence. Although Manuel is a little boy, he likes these quiet moments in the day. The air is filled with peace; it seems as though he feels God's love more fully than at any other time. CHAPTER VI. SONGS AND STORIES. NIGHT falls suddenly on this beautiful home. There is no long twilight as in northern lands; and soon the stars are shining, myriads of them. They do not twinkle, but give a strong, steady light. [Illustration: "THE HOMES OF THE WORKMEN"] This is the best part of the day. The planter sits on the veranda, smoking; his wife, in her delicate evening dress, keeps him company. Teresa plays some sweet tunes on her guitar and sings, while her duenna sits back in a rattan chair and dozes. Manuel and Dolores dance together along the garden paths or play with their fireflies. Hark! listen to that lively music coming from the homes of the workmen. We know there are mandolins among the instruments they are playing, but what is that strange, swishing noise we hear, keeping time with the other instruments? It is somewhat like the sound of shuffling feet. It is made upon gourds notched in many places, with holes in the shape of triangles cut in the necks. A few nights ago Manuel and Dolores begged their father to take them over to the "quarters," as the cabins of the coloured farm labourers are called. Manuel said: "We want to see the sport. They have such good times over there when their work is done, and do tell such funny stories. But, after all, papa, it's the way they tell them that I like best. Their black eyes are so solemn and look as though they believed every word that is said." When the planter and his children drew near, they found the coloured people squatting in a big circle in front of one of the huts. The sun was just setting in a great round ball in the west. There was still light enough in the sky to show the shining dark faces ranged around. Two rows of glistening ivory teeth could be plainly seen in each face as the workmen jumped up to bow and smile before "Massa, little Massa, and little Missus." They were quite proud to be honoured by a visit from these great people. And now the sun suddenly dropped below the horizon, and the air seemed filled with the darkness. It was the sign to begin, and the blacks, at a motion from their leader, started in with an old, old song not learned from books; it had been handed down from the time when their people lived in their native land of Africa. It was a song about a beautiful star, and before it was ended Dolores and Manuel felt as if the star itself were a living friend and helper of these ignorant, earnest people. Sing! The word does not begin to describe the music they not only heard but saw and felt. The voices of the singers were sweet and rich; their bodies swayed back and forth, keeping perfect time. Their great round eyes rolled from side to side, and as they sang verse after verse, they seemed to forget their company as well as themselves. Their faces shone with a smile of perfect happiness. When the song was ended a story was called for, and an old gray-haired man began to tell this tale of the elephant and the whale. "Once upon a time an elephant was walking on the shore. He saw a whale in the water. He spoke to the whale and said: "'Brother Whale, I can pull you up on to the shore.' "'Indeed you can't,' cried the whale. "'I bet three thousand dollars that I can,' the elephant answered. "'All right, let me see you try,' the whale said, quickly, and went away. "Soon afterward they met again. The whale spoke this time, and said: "'Brother Elephant, I can pull you into the sea.' "'What an idea!' said the elephant. 'No man in the world could pull me into the sea.' "Brother Rabbit heard the two talking, and said: "'I'll try it to-morrow at twelve o'clock.' "He went away and got a piece of rope. He tied one end of it around the whale's neck and the other around the elephant's neck. Then he said: "'When I speak the word you must both pull hard.' "Now when the whale pulled, he dragged the elephant into the sea. He said: "'You, Brother Elephant, think the little rabbit is doing all this.' "Then the elephant pulled hard, and brought the whale into the surf. The whale caught underneath a shelf of rock and the elephant found himself fastened to a big tree. "These two mightiest of creatures pulled and pulled, till at last the rope broke, and the elephant was jerked way back into the forest and the whale was jerked way out to sea. That is why you always see the whale in the ocean and the elephant in the woods." There was a great clapping of hands when the tale was ended. After that, there were other songs and stories, while the faces of the people grew more earnest and eager after each one. It was growing late, and Manuel's father said: "Come, children, we must go now. Your mother will be watching for you. It is long past your bedtime." As they walked homeward, Manuel was quiet for some time. Then he said: "Father, what nonsense many of these stories are! Yet I like them, too, because they seem to bring one so near all living things. Even the rabbit and the elephant are brothers to them. It's a little odd, though, that in their animal stories they always make the rabbit the wisest." Sometimes Manuel's father walks over to the "quarters" with his boy to see the dancing. It is wild and exciting; it fairly makes Manuel dizzy to watch the people twist and turn themselves about. It is so different from the slow, graceful steps he and Dolores have been taught. One wonders if the children are not afraid of snakes in the long grass at night. No, for in all Porto Rico, it is said, a poisonous serpent has never been seen. In two other islands of the West Indies the most deadly snake of the Western world is found. This is the terrible fer-de-lance whose bite is so much dreaded; but this serpent has never made its way into Porto Rico. It probably drifted on limbs of forest trees from South America to the other islands, but never reached Manuel's home. The boy should be very grateful that it did not. But there are other things for him to fear. When he goes to bed to-night, he will get Juana to look under his bed and in every corner of the room before he can settle himself to sleep. Is he afraid of burglars, do you suppose? He never thinks of them; but he knows that scorpions and centipedes can creep into the house, and even into his bed, without being seen. And oh! their sting means very great suffering. Manuel's mother was once stung by a scorpion's fiery tail, and the wound was very painful for a long time. It was only a few nights ago that Juana found a centipede snuggled away under a cushion in the sitting-room. Suppose some one had sat down upon it unawares and been bitten! It makes the shivers creep up and down Manuel's back to think of it. The word centipede, perhaps you know, means hundred-footed. These little insects travel quite rapidly, and although they do not cause death, they may make very painful wounds. There are other things, too, to trouble Manuel and Dolores, for mosquitoes and fleas are always plentiful, and sometimes the children are awakened at night by an attack from a small regiment of cruel little ants, and sleep no more till morning. There is a certain insect in the West Indies known as a "chico," "chigoe," or "jigger," and woe to the toes of the person whom it visits. It gets under the skin, and there lays many eggs and prepares to make itself very much at home. So if any person's toe begins to itch, he needs to have it examined at once, or there may be trouble. People have sometimes been obliged to have the toe, and even the foot and leg, cut off on account of the inflammation caused by a chico and her family. But the curious thing about it is that this insect seems to prefer the toes of white strangers, so that Manuel and Dolores, who were born on the island, are pretty safe in going barefooted. CHAPTER VII. A CRUEL SPORT. TO-MORROW there will be "lots of fun," as Manuel says. After the morning service in the church (for it will be Sunday) his father will take him and Dolores to a cock-fight. Manuel has been brought up to think there is no pleasure like it. When our government took charge of the island, after the war with Spain, they forbade any more cock-fighting. But all the people, black and white, loved the sport so dearly, and felt so bad on account of the new law, that it has been set aside for the present. Yes, Manuel, our gentle, kind-hearted little cousin, has seen many cock-fights. Sunday is the day his people take for the cruel pleasure. The boy's father has a very handsome cock he has been training for to-morrow's fight. He has bet quite a large sum on him, and is even more anxious than his little son for the next day to come. Why, this game-cock of his has been getting as much care and attention as a fine horse or pony generally receives from a loving master! And now it is Sunday. Not even a flea has disturbed Manuel's dreams all night. Late in the afternoon a carriage comes to the door, and the planter drives away to the town with his two younger children. His wife and Teresa do not go, as it is not considered proper; but it is thought to be all right for Manuel and Dolores, as it is the fashion of this country for boys and little girls to go. What a crowd there is around the entrance! Men and children, both black and white, are jostling each other, talking loudly, and quarrelling together. See that man elbow his way along! He has a cock under his arm, probably a contribution to the entertainment. Manuel's father beckons to a servant who has followed him on horseback with his precious game-cock in charge, and together they pass inside. Every one must pay for admission to the show. And what does one see within? There is a large cleared space covered with sawdust. This is for the cocks; all around are seats for the people who look on. Over at one side of the pit a man is lifting the cocks, one by one, and weighing them to find their fighting weight. See the care with which each skinny fowl is tied in a bandanna and handled; one would think it something very precious. And, indeed, they are precious, and cost their owners many dollars. Look! the men are fastening sharp knives to the spurs of the poor fowls, whose necks and backs are bare of feathers. These knives are sharper than the natural spurs, and will help to make the battle a deadly one. They are not always used, however. And now, in the midst of shouts and yells, the first battle begins. It means death to one or both of the birds. The two cocks enter into the fight as though they delight in it. See the feathers fly from their heads and sides! Ah! one of them is blinded by the dust. His owner rushes up and squirts alum water in his eyes. The fight goes on till one cock lies breathing his last on the ground, and the other stands beside him dizzy and tottering, yet hanging to him still. There is silence while the bets are paid; then the noise begins again, and two more cocks are brought in. Battle after battle is fought till night falls upon the cruel sport. There is no doubt that these game-cocks enjoy fighting, yet this is no reason they should be pitted against each other by human beings; nor that people should think it sport to watch suffering and bloodshed even among stupid fowls. It is hoped that Manuel and Dolores will learn better as they grow older. We cannot blame them now, for the customs of their country have made it seem quite right and proper. A still more cruel sport was brought by the Spaniards to Porto Rico, but it is now forbidden by American law. This is bull-fighting. It is not long, however, since the finest ladies in the land dressed themselves in their handsomest gowns, and with their husbands attended a bull-fight. You would have thought to see the rich jewels and fans, the fine silks and satins, that they were in a ballroom. Do not let us think of such sad things any longer, however. Those days are gone by for ever, let us hope. While Manuel and Dolores are giving their mother an exciting account of the Sunday's pleasure, let us go back to the Porto Rico of long, long ago. CHAPTER VIII. EARLY TIMES. WE find Columbus sailing into one of its harbours after his second trip across the great Atlantic Ocean. The trees and plants look very beautiful to him. But he notices other things; he sees rivers flowing down into the sea, and the natives tell him of stores of gold to be found in the beds of these streams. For this reason he calls it "Puerto Rico," or the "Rich Port," and so it has been called to this day. He and his men are full of interest in the strange sights around them. In the waters about Porto Rico are wonderful creatures they have never seen before. Among these is the manatee, which, rising up out of the water, looks at a distance somewhat like a human being. "It is a mermaid," cries Columbus, "but, alas! it is not as beautiful as I expected." He wrote of it in this way in the account of his voyage. In those days of long ago people had many queer ideas. One of these notions was that beings lived in the sea who had heads and arms like men and women, but the lower parts of their bodies were shaped like fishes. They were, therefore, half human and half fish. Their home was far down in cool groves at the bottom of the sea. A diver once said he had visited the very place. He found the water perfectly clear, and lighted up by crystal pyramids. There were gardens of beautiful sea-weeds, furniture all made of precious stones, and the strange beings dwelling there wore ornaments and combs of shining gold. They believed that these beings of the sea rose sometimes to the surface of the water. There they would sing sweet songs as they combed their long yellow hair. But they sang only to make the sailors forget their own homes and to lead them into harm. It was no wonder that Columbus was disappointed when he discovered the manatee, and believed he had at last seen the mermaids of whom he had read so many stories. The sea-cow is certainly not a beautiful creature. It looks somewhat like a small whale; it has a fat body, with small eyes and ears. It is very timid, and probably swam off as fast as it could when it found the vessels of Columbus near. Of course, the great sailor did not get a good view of it or he could not have believed it to be the mermaid described in song and story. Not many years after Columbus discovered Porto Rico, Ponce de Leon led a company of Spaniards to its shores and settled there. The Indian chief of the country was very kind to the strangers. He gave them provisions and rich presents, and showed them the fruits and vegetables which grew there. He shared his treasures with them, and, most important of all, he led them to a river where stores of gold could be found in its bed. Gold! It filled the Spaniards' hearts with greed. This was what they had longed for; now they could go back to their own country with great fortunes. How did they return the kindness of the gentle, trusting natives? By treating them like slaves! By making them do the hardest labour, and then rewarding them with cruelties. When they first came to the shores of the island they had said to the Indians: "We are immortal; we cannot die; we will live on for ever." But when the poor Indians had suffered for a long time at their hands, and when many of their kindred had died from the ill-treatment of the Spaniards, they said: "We will prove what these cruel strangers have told us." They seized a Spanish soldier and held his head under water for two hours. Then they carried his body to the shore of the river, and sat down beside it for two whole days. But it showed no signs of life. At the end of that time they took the body to their chief, who said: "They have deceived us, for this man has died, even as we would die." You can easily imagine what followed. There was war between the natives and the strangers. But the poor Indians had little chance. They had only bows and arrows, rough spears of wood, and battle-axes of stone. The Spaniards were armed with swords and guns. Those Indians who were not killed were made prisoners and set to work in the gold mines and sugar fields, where they rapidly died from their hard labour. Years passed by. Ponce de Leon was growing old. His hair was gray; his face was wrinkled; the top of his head was bald. He had many pains in his body and was often ill. Then he thought of the stories told by his Indian slaves of a wonderful fountain not far away. They declared that its waters were always fresh and pure; not only this, but each draught that a person swallowed would make him younger and happier. "Ah!" sighed the old man, "I wish I might find this spring of living water, and rid myself of stiff joints and rheumatism. I will start out in search of it at once. If I can only reach it, I shall become young and handsome again, and shall never die." This was the reason the conqueror of Porto Rico sailed away to find the wonderful Fountain of Eternal Youth of which the Indians had told him. You probably know the story of the coming of Ponce de Leon to Florida one beautiful Easter Sunday, which in the Spanish language is called _Pascua Florida_. So he called the country Florida, saying: "In this beautiful land must be the wondrous fountain." Soon afterward, while searching for it, he was shot with a poisoned arrow, and died on the voyage back to the island. CHAPTER IX. THE CARIBS. THE Indians whom Ponce de Leon and his followers treated so unkindly were gentle and generous, as I have said. They were not eager for war, like many of the tribes on the continent, nor savage in their habits. They wore short girdles of cotton cloth, raised crops of corn and manioc, and built large canoes in which they took quite long voyages. They wrought the gold found in the streams into ornaments. This tribe of Indians was very numerous at the time the Spaniards first came to the West Indies, but now there is not a single trace of them left. War with the Spaniards, hard work for their masters in the mines and fields,--these made the race die out rapidly. It is sad to think that the Spaniards tortured them also. Is it any wonder that the natives did not care to share the Spaniards' heaven, but died hating them with all their hearts? Long before Ponce de Leon came to Porto Rico, the poor Indians were attacked from time to time by other enemies; but although they suffered much, they were never conquered. These enemies were the Caribs, who seemed to love war better than anything else in the world. Sometimes the people would be strolling along the shores of the island when they would see something out on the ocean which looked like a mass of floating palm leaves. That did not frighten them, of course, and they would go on with their sports. When it was too late to give the alarm, they discovered that the mass of palm leaves was the covering of a boat-load of fierce warriors who were all ready to attack them. Or perhaps their foes would hide themselves from sight in some other clever way until they were all ready to spring out of their boats and take the peaceful islanders by surprise. You wonder, perhaps, where was the Caribs' home. They told legends of a far-distant land in the north, from which their own people had come. They had fought their way from Florida to South America, and feared no one in the world. They believed that their tribe had grown up out of the stones which had been planted in the soil. They belonged to the great Indian, or red, race, as did the natives of Porto Rico, but their customs and natures were very different. They painted their faces to make themselves look as fierce as they felt. They were trained to fight from the time when they were little children. They loved to sail upon the ocean, and guided their boats by studying the stars. When the Spaniards had settled in Porto Rico, the Caribs thought it would be an easy thing to master them in fight, and trouble them as they had troubled the poor natives. But the white men were a match for them, and, when they landed on the shores of the island, the Spaniards entrapped them and drove them over the side of a cliff down into the water below. Not one Carib lived to tell the story of that fearful day. Time passed by and many workers were needed, and as the natives became fewer the Spaniards sent ships to the coast of Africa and brought away the black people to be their slaves. To-day the negroes are all free and seem to be happy in their island home; but most of them are very, very poor, as are the greater part of the whites of Porto Rico. The rule of Spain has kept them so; and it was a glorious thing for these people when our soldiers, under General Miles, marched in triumph through the land. CHAPTER X. A SEASIDE PICNIC. SEVERAL weeks have passed since Manuel and Dolores went with their father to the cock-fight. It is a beautiful June evening, and the children are walking through the garden, planning a picnic at the seashore for to-morrow. Their mother comes out hastily on the veranda, and calls: "Manuel! Dolores! come in at once out of the moonlight! You know well enough that animals will never lie with the moon shining upon them; they are too wise. Oh, the evil I have seen that has come from the moon! Don't you remember poor little Sancho? He is feeble-minded because his careless nurse let him sleep in the moonlight when he was a baby. Come quickly, my darlings, to the shade of the veranda." Manuel and Dolores are a little frightened, and hurry toward the house, where they join the family in Spanish songs before going to rest. When Juana wakes them, early the next morning, they hear the rain falling in torrents outside. That will not prevent the picnic, however, for they feel sure it will not last long. It is the beginning of the spring rains, and there are showers every day, but they seldom continue more than an hour. But, oh, how the rain falls when it does come! It seems as though the heavens opened and all the water in the sky fell at once. By eight o'clock the shower is over, and Teresa, her duenna, Manuel, and Dolores are ready to start. The planter must be busy to-day, and his wife does not care to go. A low, comfortable carriage is drawn up in front, the lunch is packed away under the seats, and the coachman is told to start. Ponce tries to follow, but Manuel orders him back. They will drive at least ten miles, but the roads are fine, it is down-hill all the way, and the views are beautiful. The party soon cross a bridge over a little stream. There they see two women standing nearly knee-deep in the water. They are washing clothes and having a sociable chat at the same time. Two large, flat stones serve as scrubbing boards, and each one of the women holds a club in her hands. "What is that for?" one asks. To beat the dirt out of the clothes! The garments are spread on the stones, rubbed with some native berries (instead of soap), then pounded with the clubs. Not a delicate way to handle fine linen, to be sure; but the women seem to enjoy their work, and stop every few minutes to sit on the banks and smoke their pipes. When the party have nearly reached the seashore, the road leads through thick woods. Suddenly they hear a great scuttling among the trees. The driver stops his horses, and every one looks to see what is the matter. It is nothing more nor less than an army of land-crabs on their yearly journey from the mountains to the sea. The children have often found one of them in the garden or the woods near the house, but such a number as this, they have never seen or heard before. These land-crabs can fight, and can frighten the horses greatly, if they should choose to take the road. So Pedro very wisely uses the whip, and the party soon leave this queer army behind them. The crabs make a dainty dish when served with lime-juice and Cayenne pepper, and Manuel and Dolores are very fond of them served in this way. A turn in the road brings the ocean in view. Dolores claps her hands in delight, and cries: [Illustration: "ONE IS QUITE LARGE, AND IS FORMED IN THE SHAPE OF A FAN"] "Oh, what a lovely time we will have! I wonder who will find the most curiosities, Manuel, you or I." Even the sober-faced duenna looks pleased as they drive out upon a smooth beach. How beautiful the ocean looks to-day! It is such a wonderful blue; much like the colour of the sapphire, and not at all like the waters of the northern seas. The children take little baskets on their arms and trot about barefooted to see what they can find. It is a perfect paradise among beaches. Their American brothers and sisters would dance for joy at the sight of so many kinds of beautiful shells. And the starfish! Manuel finds one big fellow as much as ten inches across. It is not flat like those seen in the temperate zone, but at least six inches through the middle of his horny body. The little boy cannot get him off the rock to which he has fastened, but Pedro comes, and even he has to use all his strength to pull him away. A New York merchant is to visit the children's father very soon, and Manuel wants to send this starfish to his little son. But there are other kinds of starfish here that are pretty and delicate. Dolores finds a dear little daisy-star only half an inch across, with fringes on its sides, and, a moment after, her sister picks up a fern-star. What delights the children most of all are the bits of coral washed up by the waves. Some of the pieces are red, some black, and others white. One is quite large, and is formed in the shape of a fan, while another spray looks like a mushroom. After luncheon is over, Manuel says: "Dolores, let's try to find some sea-anemones. Do you see that rocky cliff at the end of the beach? Perhaps if we go there we can see some." The children start off once more, and soon are climbing up over the rock. They creep along till they are able to look over its edge as it juts out over the water. What a wonderful sight meets their eyes! It is the flower garden of the sea. Deep down under the clear waters they see many things living and growing that look for all the world like roses and marigolds, pinks and buttercups. What wonderful colours they have! Coral is indeed beautiful, but it cannot compare with the sea-anemones. Manuel and his sister fairly hold their breath with delight. "Oh, Dolores, isn't it strange that those lovely things are animals and not plants! There they stay in one place for ever, yet they are alive like the coral polyps. We must get Teresa to come and see them, too. She never saw them growing; I've heard her say so." Manuel whispers these words as though he fears the anemones may hear him and hide themselves from his sight. Dolores answers, in her soft voice: "Manuel, did you ever think about what our teacher told us, that the bottom of the ocean is like the land, with hills and valleys, mountains and caves? Many kinds of creatures live there, just as other kinds live on the earth; but it seems to me that the coral polyps and the sea-anemones are the strangest of all." When the children get back to the others, they beg Alfonso to get a boat and row them around to where the anemones are growing. Perhaps they can reach some of them. But he tells them that their father has forbidden him to take them out on the water, for the terrible blue shark dares to come quite close to the shore, and, even in a row-boat, they could not be sure of safety if a shark should follow them. He then tells them of adventures with sharks by people living near their own home. After these stories Manuel and Dolores are quite willing to give up a row after anemones, nor do they care to go in bathing, even close to the shore. The time comes all too soon to go home, and all enjoy the ride in the cool evening air. They have not travelled far before the moon rises and sends its light down through the tree-tops. Dolores happens to be looking out of the carriage, when she sees an ugly-looking animal peering out from behind a bush. It is an iguana, with jaws and mouth like an alligator. He looks fierce enough to devour any one, but Alfonso assures the party that he is really a very timid creature, and will not fight unless he is cornered and cannot get away. He likes to live quietly by himself in the trees and bushes, and no doubt is afraid of the horses. After awhile the children grow sleepy and doze in each other's arms till home is reached. Their father and mother are watching, and the dinner has been kept waiting until they should arrive. CHAPTER XI. THE WONDERFUL CAVE. THEY have so much to tell, it seems as though they had been gone a week. Their mother is most interested in hearing about the anemones, while their father wishes he could have been with them when they saw the land-crabs. "It makes me think," says he, "of a wonderful trip I made when I was quite a young man. I met land-crabs that day in a much stranger place than you ever saw them, Manuel. Did I ever tell you children about my visit to the 'Great Caves'?" Manuel and Dolores draw close to their father's side and exclaim together: "Why, no, papa. Oh, do tell us, please. I never even heard of them." The planter smiles and answers: "It is not strange, my dears, for there are people living within a much shorter distance of these caves who have never heard of them, as well as yourselves. It is, indeed, odd; but you will yet see the day when travellers from distant lands will visit our island for the sake of seeing the wonderful things hidden away in those very caverns. "When I was younger, I was always looking for adventures. My father was a rich man, and I was allowed to do very much as I liked. So when some friends of mine asked me to join them in a trip to the caves, I was much pleased. They told me the ride would be tiresome and perhaps dangerous, but I liked the idea far better for that very reason. "We started out early one morning. Two guides went with us. They were men who had been in the caves many times. They knew the best way to reach them. We carried coils of rope and a roll of pitch lights, as well as a good luncheon. "If we could have gone straight up the side of the mountain, it would have been a short trip; but the trail led up and down, in and out. Now we had to climb a narrow ridge, and then descend again into a valley. One of these ridges was so steep that I had to hold on to the pommel of the saddle with all my might. I shut my eyes at the same time. I feared I would grow dizzy and slip from the back of the horse down the side of the precipice. "But this was for only a short distance. Most of the road was very beautiful and lined with fruit-trees. Sometimes we could have picked great ripe oranges without dismounting; in many a narrow pass the clusters of bananas hung down so near us we had to bend our heads to keep from being knocked from the saddles. "At last we had climbed so high we found ourselves with mountain tops on every side. Far below lay an immense coffee plantation. We could see the great drying-pans near the buildings. Only a short distance ahead of us was a white cliff of limestone. Here lay the caves we had come to visit. "We tied our horses to some trees, and crept, hand and foot, up through a narrow gorge. Its sides were walls of rock, and its roof was made of vines, ferns, and overhanging fruit-trees. How sweet and cool the air seemed! "Yes, straight in front of us we could just see two great black holes. These were the doorways of the caves. And now the guides handed each one of us a lighted torch. The burning gum made a sweet incense as it sputtered. It gave the only light we should have for many hours. "The guides slowly led the way into the dark cavern ahead. The floor was wet and muddy, and we had to take care not to slip. "Ugh! there were numbers of great black spiders here. Their bite might be poisonous, and we took care not to lay our hands against the walls where they travelled up and down. The place was damp and slippery. There was certainly nothing beautiful to be seen yet. "Hark! There was a rustling sound over our heads. It grew louder and louder, until we could not hear each other's voices. As we looked up into the darkness, we could see we had startled an army of bats. There were thousands of them. Yes, surely, many thousands. You wouldn't have enjoyed their flying around you one bit, Manuel, good little huntsman even as you are. And as for you, my precious Dolores, I fear you would have screamed and begged to be taken home. "Over our heads we could hear the sound of running water all the time. We kept bravely on. It began to grow lighter, and we could see several openings in front of us. Choosing one of these, we crept through a narrow passage and found ourselves at once in a vast hall. It was like Aladdin's palace, which, you remember, was brilliant with beautiful gems. "I looked up to the high roof and saw hundreds of sparkling white pendants. Some of them were quite small, but others reached down so far that I could touch them. They shone like the finest marble. They were made by the water trickling through the roof and leaving particles of lime as it slowly made its way downward. Such pendants are called stalactites. Some of them were tinted a beautiful blue or green. This was because the water had passed through some mineral substance of those colours. "And the walls of that hall! Sparkling white columns reached from the floor to the very dome. They were fluted and worked in the most delicate patterns. I can never forget that wonderful picture. "But what ugly creatures made their home in this wonderful palace of Mother Nature? They were land-crabs, to be sure, that tried to get out of our way as fast as their clumsy feet would permit. It was your story of the crabs, Manuel, that made me think of that day's tramp. "You can hardly believe it, children, but we passed from one such hall to another until we had travelled at least a mile underground. Here and there were dark holes leading farther down yet. We could look over the edge sometimes and see other great hallways directly under where we were. The guides said: "'No, no, you must not try to reach them. You may never get back.' "But I insisted on going into one, at least. A stout rope was fastened about my waist; two men held it tightly, and gradually let me go. Down I went, down, down, down. Would I never reach the bottom? I was growing a little scared, when I found myself on the floor of another great hall, much like the one above it. I groped about and relighted my torch, which had gone out as I was lowered through the damp air. "I found myself beside a stream of running water. It was flowing right by the doorway into the cave. I had heard there was just such an entrance as this,--that down on the side of the mountain a person could get into the cavern by first passing through the water. "I had read a legend of this very place. It was about a young girl who had hidden herself from her enemies by swimming into the cave through the secret entrance below the surface of the river. "By this time my friends were getting worried about me. I felt a gentle pull at the rope and I heard them calling. Their voices seemed strange and far away. And now I was slowly lifted upward to find myself in the midst of my friends. "It was time to turn again toward the daylight. We said good-bye to the cave and its city of palaces. In another hour we were again in open air, looking at mountain tops. We asked ourselves if the day's wonderful sights really had been a dream or not." CHAPTER XII. THE HURRICANE. WEEKS pass by; it is August, and the midst of the rainy season. This is the time to be ready for hurricanes. No one feels safe, for at any moment he may be taken by surprise, and his home, with its massive stone walls, may be dashed to the ground. Such a thing never yet has happened to Manuel's family, but that does not keep fear away. Does not Manuel remember the story of Josephine, afterward the beautiful wife of Napoleon? She spent her young days on an island not far from Porto Rico. In a few hours the plantation on which she lived was wrecked by a hurricane and hardly a trace of her home was left. It is fearful to think of what she and her family suffered, but Manuel and Dolores cannot keep the story out of their minds when the midsummer storms arrive. They are kept in terror at least three months of the year, for the hurricane season begins the latter part of July, and the great winds may come at any moment from that time on to the end of October. If the children should visit the shore now, they would find all the boats drawn up high and dry in sheltered nooks. The fishermen are afraid to venture out to any distance for fear of sudden danger. This very morning Manuel's father looked at the barometer before he left the house, for that is the first thing to tell him a storm is approaching. Then he directed Alfonso to see if the iron bars were in good order for fastening the casements; everything must be in readiness for a sudden departure. After his ride around the plantation, he stopped at the hill-cave, or hurricane house, and directed one of the workmen to leave the door open for awhile, to air it. This cave was dug out of the side of a hill near the house when Manuel and Dolores were still babies. It is lined with a thick wall of stones; it has no windows or other opening except a low, narrow doorway. At the first sign of a hurricane, the whole family flee to this cave, and stay there till the storm is over. Look! the sky is overcast. And now it has become the colour of lead. How sultry it is! Not a leaf moves, except when a sudden gust of wind takes it by surprise. The barometer is falling rapidly. See the lightning flashing over the sky, with no sound of thunder to follow it. Dolores begins to tremble and cry. Even her mother grows pale, and often crosses herself in silent prayer. The planter moves quickly around, giving orders to the overseer about the workmen and the cattle. Stout-hearted little Manuel is very busy. He must not let Dolores think he is afraid. No, not for anything! He helps Alfonso carry the food and cushions out to the hurricane house, while the doors and shutters of the mansion are being locked and barred. There is no time to be lost. A man has just ridden by, telling of the strange appearance of the ocean. "It was perfectly still," he said, "but far out on the water long, quiet, sweeping waves rolled in toward the shore, then broke suddenly at a fearful height close to land." And now all hasten out to the cave. There is no laughing; every one is still and sober. The door is shut and made fast. It is as dark as a tomb within. The air is heavy. But no one thinks of fretting; all are too busy listening to the howling of the wind and the noise of falling trees. The planter steadily watches the barometer by the dim light of a lantern. Manuel and Dolores cling to their mother, one on each side. Teresa strives to appear calm, and her duenna is the only one who tries to talk. Hours upon hours pass by. Ah! what does that trembling of the ground mean? It makes one feel dizzy and strange. It is the shock of a slight earthquake. It is over now, and at the same time it becomes quiet outside. Papa once more looks at the barometer, and says it is rising, and it will soon be safe to venture out. When the door is opened, and they feel the fresh air on their faces once more, they look out on the darkness of night. But the stars are shining with their usual brightness, and the air is filled with peace and quiet. Was it all a dream? Oh, no! for broken trees and branches bar the pathway to the house, while pools of water are everywhere about. The dear old home is safe except that a part of the veranda has been torn away. The sunlight next morning shows that many of the roofs at the quarters have been blown off, while much damage was done to the coffee-trees. No human being or animal on the place has been injured, and all give thanks that the hurricane has passed. "Let us hope," says Manuel's father, "we shall not see another such storm this year. One bad storm is quite enough for a season, I am sure." The time of danger passes by, and although there are many severe storms, not one of them is so bad that the family are obliged to hide themselves in the hill-cave. The autumn rains are very heavy, and Manuel and Dolores spend much time in the house or on the verandas. CHAPTER XIII. THE NEW BABY. NOVEMBER comes, and early one morning Juana enters the children's rooms very much excited. She wakes them with the news that a little sister was born to them last night. "A baby! a dear, darling little baby in the house!" cries Dolores. "Oh! I have begged mother for one so often! Now we shall always have something to amuse us. Manuel, aren't you glad?" The children do not care for chocolate and rolls in bed this morning; that is certain. They must see the precious baby as soon as possible. It is such a dear little mite. It fills all hearts with joy. But it must be christened without delay. Who shall be godfather? The planter and his wife consider very carefully. At last they decide to ask a great friend of theirs, who is the owner of a sugar plantation not far from them. He is very wealthy, and will no doubt celebrate the christening in grand style. In the next place, what shall be the baby's name? Of course, she must be called "Maria" to begin with. Every girl-baby is named Maria, and if there are no girls in the family, the boy receives that name as his first. I suppose the name is in honour of Mary, the mother of Jesus. But what others must be added? Manuel suggests Christina, while Dolores begs that her baby sister be called Lucia. At length it is decided that this tiny tot shall bear the dignified name of Maria Francesca Christina Lucia, and every one is pleased. When the baby is just one week old, the christening takes place. Several beautiful carriages drive up to the house, and the friends and relatives take their places inside. The godfather is a fine-looking gentleman with piercing black eyes and black moustache. He has made Manuel and Dolores happy by presenting each of them with a gold piece strung on a ribbon. He has also given each one of the house servants a piece of silver. The children are dressed in white and look very pretty. The baby wears a beautiful robe, embroidered by the nuns. As she lies sleeping in her nurse's arms, she does not dream that this celebration is all in her honour. The christening party drives away to the church, while the mother lies in her chamber, quietly resting. She is not well enough to go with them. After the service is over, the godfather invites the guests to attend a dinner party in honour of his little godchild, at his own home; but the baby must now go back to her loving mother. She could scarcely appreciate the feast, and is much safer at home. So the nurse is driven off in one of the carriages with her precious charge, while the rest of the party go to the godfather's beautiful house. Such a feast as is spread before them! Such a display of silver and china! What a richly embroidered table cover! Course after course is served. First there is a rich soup, followed by fried chicken and rice coloured with tomato; there are salads, stews of game, fruits hot and cold, a dainty dessert, cheese and coffee. Soon after the feast is over, the children return home, for their dear mother must not get lonesome. The baby grows rapidly, and when she is two months old the planter proposes to take the whole family to San Juan, the capital of the island. Teresa is perhaps more joyful than any one else, for now she will have a chance to wear some lovely new dresses at the evening parties she will attend there. Manuel and Dolores are most pleased because they are to travel in a sailing vessel. They will, at last, have a chance to see live sharks as well as other strange creatures of the sea, of which they have heard. CHAPTER XIV. THE CITY. IT is a delightful trip. The weather is just cool enough for comfort, and no one is seasick. The children are never tired of sitting on deck and watching the views, changing hour by hour. They are never out of sight of land, but sail along the shores of their loved island. Here is a little village of palm-thatched huts, there a grove of breadfruit or cocoanut trees; again one meets another sailing vessel with all its men busy shark-fishing. The skin of the ugly monster is valuable, as well as its fins and tail, which are prized as food by many of the people of Porto Rico. Looking down beneath the clear blue waters Dolores descries the rainbow fish and claps her hands at its beauty. It is so called because of its many beautiful colours. And see! Here is a shoal of flying-fish darting over the waters. They do not really fly, as some people think, but dart up out of the water, with their long fins spread in such a way that they are carried through the air for quite a distance. Deep down in the water the children see a beautiful object. It is moving rapidly, and its back shines like burnished gold, then changes in the sunlight into many shades and tints of colour. "Papa, do please come quickly, and tell me what this is," calls Manuel. "That is a dolphin, my dear, one of the most beautiful of all creatures living in the sea," says his father, as he looks over the ship's side. "But he is always hungry, and if he sees those flying-fish ahead of him it will be a sad day for them." [Illustration: A STREET IN SAN JUAN] At this very moment the dolphin seems to get a view of his favourite prey. He darts to the surface of the water and leaps forward at the flying-fish with the speed of a bullet; at least it seems so to the watching children, who pity the little fellows with all their hearts. When they discover their foe it is too late for them to escape, for, although they flee with all their might, now in one direction, then in another, the dolphin gains upon them and snaps them up one by one in his great jaws. In their fright many of them throw themselves clear out of the water with their fins spread, and are carried many feet on the air. It is this that gives them the appearance of flying. The voyage seems only too short to Manuel and Dolores. When they arrive at San Juan there are so many new things to see that the days pass only too quickly. They have never been in the city before. The narrow streets, with the still narrower sidewalks, seem odd indeed to these children used to plantation life. Sometimes they cannot even walk side by side without one being pushed into the street. And the houses, although many of them are built of stone like their own, are so close together that Manuel says to his sister: "I wonder how people can like being so crowded together. I should think they would feel choked." The friends whom they visit live on the upper floor of their house. Although they are quite wealthy, they let the lower floor to a poor, dirty, and ignorant family with many children. Such an arrangement is often made in San Juan; but the two families do not mingle at all, although living in the same house. Balconies jut out from the upper story, and Manuel and Dolores like to sit here and watch the passers-by. It is so odd to see the milkman ride up to the house astride of his donkey, with his milk cans jostling against each other between his legs. Sometimes a cow is led through the streets, and her owner stops at neighbouring doorways to draw the milk as the people wish. Dolores thinks the milk must be much nicer when obtained in this way. "But look, now, Manuel," she says, "at that poor mule! He is almost smothered under an immense bundle of fodder; and, as though that were not enough for the poor beastie, his master is riding on top of the load." Sometimes the children rise as early as five o'clock in the morning. They like to go to the market held in a public square of the city. They see people of all shades of colour selling their goods. There is the baker with his bags of freshly baked bread and oddly twisted rolls; there is the poultry man with wicker cages full of live fowls hanging to the sides of his half-starved donkey; there, too, is the butcher with sides of beef hanging by hooks from his horse's harness; while crowded together are those who have brought their fruits and vegetables afoot many a long mile in early morning. There are great piles of yellow oranges; plantains, green, brown, and yellow; pineapples, melons, onions, guavas, and lemons; while behind them sit their owners, who laugh and joke and make love, and at the same time are busy shouting their wares and making bargains. Oh, but one must not forget the game-cocks fastened to stakes here and there in the midst of the busy crowd. Many a trade is made, many a bet laid on these ugly, skinny, but greatly admired cocks as they pull at their stakes. Later in the day no sign of this busy scene is left in the public square. One notices for the first time that there is a band stand, and when the evening comes, Manuel's father and mother are driven with their hosts to this square. Many other carriages, filled with richly dressed ladies and gentlemen, also arrive and take their places at one side of the band stand. Here they sit laughing and chatting or listening to the music; the ladies' black eyes sparkle as a favourite tune is played, and they keep time by gentle taps of their fans. Many of these fans are very beautiful. Manuel's mother has one made of the feathers of humming-birds. It is brilliant, even in the soft light of evening, and the dear lady herself looks very charming with a lace mantilla drawn over her head, its point reaching down over the forehead almost to her nose. To be sure, her cheeks are heavily powdered, but that is the fashion of all the ladies in her land, and so it seems quite natural. The rest of the square is filled with the crowd of poorer people who cannot afford to ride. They walk slowly about, and seem to enjoy the music and each other's company as much as those who sit in the carriages. There are many street processions in San Juan, and the children are on the lookout not to miss them. These processions are in honour of some saint. Dolores is out on the balcony one morning when she hears music. It is the voices of children singing. "O Manuel, Teresa, mamma, do come and see the pretty sight," she calls, as a procession draws near. People dressed in the costumes of different lands come marching by; then follows a cart, decked gaily with flowers, and in it stands a little girl dressed to represent the virgin mother of Jesus. There is a band of music playing sacred airs. The children take their hats and follow the procession to the public square, where the little girl in the flower-decked carriage recites a poem written in honour of the day. All business stops in the stores near by. All vehicles give way to the procession, and the passers-by stand still to admire and listen. It seems strange to the children to see the red, white, and blue of the American flag floating over the city, instead of the colours of Spain--the red and yellow they were formerly taught to love. "But this new flag means friendship, you know, Dolores," says her brother. "The poor will not be taxed so much as they used to be, and the good Americans will not allow any other people to harm us. At least father says so, and he is very wise. Dolores, he has promised to take us sometime to that wonderful city, New York, where we shall see so much we have never even dreamed of. I hope the time will come soon, for I want to get acquainted with my American cousins in their own land, our own land, now." THE LITTLE COUSIN SERIES The most delightful and interesting accounts possible of child-life in other lands, filled with quaint sayings, doings, and adventures. Each 1 vol., 12mo, decorative cover, cloth, with six full-page illustrations in color by L. J. Bridgman. Price per volume $0.60 _By MARY HAZELTON WADE_ =Our Little African Cousin= =Our Little Armenian Cousin= =Our Little Brown Cousin= =Our Little Cuban Cousin= =Our Little Eskimo Cousin= =Our Little German Cousin= =Our Little Hawaiian Cousin= =Our Little Indian Cousin= =Our Little Irish Cousin= =Our Little Italian Cousin= =Our Little Japanese Cousin= =Our Little Jewish Cousin= =Our Little Mexican Cousin= =Our Little Norwegian Cousin= =Our Little Philippine Cousin= =Our Little Porto Rican Cousin= =Our Little Russian Cousin= =Our Little Siamese Cousin= =Our Little Swiss Cousin= =Our Little Turkish Cousin= _By BLANCHE McMANUS_ =Our Little English Cousin= =Our Little French Cousin= _By ELIZABETH ROBERTS MacDONALD_ =Our Little Canadian Cousin= _By ISAAC HEADLAND TAYLOR_ =Our Little Chinese Cousin= _By H. LEE M. PIKE_ =Our Little Korean Cousin= ANIMAL TALES By Charles G. D. Roberts ILLUSTRATED BY Charles Livingston Bull as follows: =The Lord of the Air= (THE EAGLE) =The King of the Mamozekel= (THE MOOSE) =The Watchers of the Camp-fire= (THE PANTHER) =The Haunter of the Pine Gloom= (THE LYNX) =The Return to the Trails= (THE BEAR) =The Little People of the Sycamore= (THE RACCOON) Each 1 vol., small 12mo, cloth decorative, per volume, $0.50 Realizing the great demand for the animal stories of Professor Roberts, one of the masters of nature writers, the publishers have selected six representative stories, to be issued separately, at a popular price. Each story is illustrated by Charles Livingston Bull, and is bound in a handsome decorative cover. * * * * * Transcriber's Note: Page vii, Table of Contents, Chapter VII's page number was misprinted. "30" has been changed to "50" to match the text. Page 33, "themseves" changed to "themselves" (they themselves sit) Page 42, "hall" changed to "ball" (great round ball) 
42985	----	Transcriber's Notes: Italic text is denoted by _underscores_ and bold text by =equal signs=. Blank pages have been eliminated. Variations in spelling and hyphenation have been left as in the original. A few typographical errors have been corrected. SOCIAL PROBLEMS IN PORTO RICO BY FRED K. FLEAGLE DEAN, UNIVERSITY OF PORTO RICO D. C. HEATH & CO., PUBLISHERS BOSTON NEW YORK CHICAGO COPYRIGHT, 1917, BY D. C. HEATH & CO. 1 E 7 FOREWORD IT would seem presumptuous, even after ten years of residence in Porto Rico, to attempt to classify the social problems of the Island and offer suggestions as to their solution, were it not for the fact that this work does not claim to be a complete and final analysis of the situation, but is designed merely to gather up the material available, and present it in such form that it may be made the basis of class-room study. The absence of such a collection of data was a handicap to the author in his work in rural sociology in the University of Porto Rico, and this book represents, in a somewhat abbreviated form, the material covered. The fundamental principles of sociology are touched on but lightly, since there are already available many excellent books presenting this phase of the subject. It is expected that the instructor will supplement by references and discussions, using the facts presented here to bring out the general principles of theoretical sociology. It is to be understood that the facts and data presented here are not to be taken as a criticism of Porto Rico or of the Porto Ricans. They are merely an exposition of the social situation as it exists, and do not differ greatly, either in quantity or character, from similar facts which could be gathered relating to any country. It is necessary, however, to know our troubles if they are to be corrected, and we deceive no one if we claim a state of human perfection which does not exist. Neither do we relieve ourselves of responsibility for our own mistakes by calling attention to the fact that other people have made greater ones than we have. A frank facing of the situation, the acknowledgment of whatever there may be that is unpleasant in a social situation, and a sincere desire and attempt to make corrections, is the only honest thing to do. I have always been optimistic for the future of Porto Rico. It is an island endowed by Nature with more than the usual amount of beauty and brightness. My relations with the people of Porto Rico have been such as to convince me that they have absorbed much of the natural atmosphere of brightness and sunshine which is their heritage, and I believe them sons and daughters worthy of such a beautiful and pleasant island home as Porto Rico. It will be noted that the emphasis in the following pages has been placed on rural problems. This does not mean that there are more social problems in the country than in the towns, but so little has been done regarding country problems, and the course for which this material was used as a basis being devoted to rural social problems, no attempt was made to take up a discussion of the many topics which might be found in the urban situations. Special acknowledgment is made for the material used from the reports of Drs. Ashford and Gutierrez, and for the data from the reports of the Insular Bureau of Labor while under the direction of Mr. J. Clark Bills, Jr. Some of this material is quoted verbatim from the reports, and the author does not wish to claim it as his own. FRED K. FLEAGLE, _University of Porto Rico_ CONTENTS PAGE POPULATION 1 THE JÍBARO 6 OVERPOPULATION 19 THE FAMILY 28 RURAL HOUSING CONDITIONS 37 WOMAN AND CHILD LABOR 50 INDUSTRIES 56 THE LAND PROBLEM AND UNEMPLOYMENT 61 POVERTY 68 SICKNESS AND DISEASE 76 CRIME 84 INTEMPERANCE 93 JUVENILE DELINQUENTS 97 RURAL SCHOOLS 105 THE SCHOOL AND THE COMMUNITY 112 RELATION OF THE TEACHER TO THE COMMUNITY 119 PRESENT-DAY RURAL SCHOOL MOVEMENTS 125 PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT AND LONGEVITY 130 SOCIAL PROBLEMS IN PORTO RICO POPULATION THE Island of Porto Rico, covering an area of about 3,500 square miles, had in 1910 a total population of 1,118,012. The population was divided between the towns and country as follows: Urban population 224,620, or 20.1 per cent of the total number, and rural population 893,392, or 79.9 per cent of the total number. From these figures it is evident that the greatest problems of Porto Rico--those which affect nearly 80 per cent of the population--are problems connected with rural life. Of course, many of the people classified as rural inhabitants do not fall strictly within this class, as by urban centers we mean towns with a population of 2,500 inhabitants or more, and thus many of the smaller towns, which really have the advantages of town life, are classified officially as rural centers. The population of Porto Rico is 65.5 per cent, or nearly two thirds, white, 30 per cent mulatto, and 4.5 per cent black. It is 98.9 per cent native and 1.1 per cent foreign born. During the period from 1899 to 1910 there was an increase in the total population of the Island of 17.3 per cent, which covered an increase of 25 per cent for the native whites, a decrease of 14.5 per cent for the foreign born whites, a decrease of 15.4 per cent for the blacks, and an increase of 10.1 per cent for the mulattoes. The decrease in the number of foreign born whites is due to the fact that in the census of 1899 this group included persons born in the United States, while in 1910 these were classified as natives. The decrease in the number of blacks is doubtless due to intermarriage with other classes, and as a result we have the children of such marriages classified as mulattoes. If the number of such marriages were sufficiently great, the births of blacks would be insufficient to offset the deaths, and the number of blacks would, in that case, necessarily decrease. On this assumption we might very well prophesy that within a few generations the black population in Porto Rico will absolutely disappear, and that we shall have an increased number of mulattoes who, in their turn, will tend to disappear, as they mingle in marriage with people of less colored blood, and in time the black race will be practically absorbed by the whites. Of the foreign countries represented, Spain, with 56.3 per cent of the total foreign born, leads the list. Cuba and the other West Indies have 20.5 per cent to their credit, France 5.8 per cent, Italy 3.1 per cent, England 2.9 per cent, Germany 1.9 per cent, Denmark 1.6 per cent, while no other single country contributes so much as one per cent to the foreign born population. The total number of foreign born in 1910 was 11,766. The rural population of 893,392 was divided among the races as follows: Whites 604,541, blacks 32,918, mulattoes 255,923. Thus we see that the great majority of the rural population is of the white race, due no doubt, to the fact that the colder climate of the highlands of the interior does not agree with the hereditary love which the colored race has for a warm climate. The population of Porto Rico comprises a mixture of bloods and races that complicates the social problems of the Island. The French, Italian, and Spanish elements have tended to mix with the descendants of the Indians originally found here, and to this has been added in many cases a mixture of the blood of the colored race, introduced as slaves into the Island. In some cases the races from the north of Europe have also mingled, so that to-day it is inaccurate to speak of the Porto Ricans as a people of one blood, and the characteristics of the people might be called a composite of the various race elements which have entered into the formation of the native population. The geographical and geological formation of the Island renders it chiefly agricultural. Little is found in the way of mineral deposits, and manufacturing on a large scale will never be carried on, due to the lack of fuel supply and water power. The climate is agreeable and has no doubt tended to render the people less active than would have been the case in a colder climate. The prevalence of anemia and malaria throughout the Island has also weakened the productive ability of the people and has caused the casual observer to classify the Porto Rican countryman as unambitious and lazy. The loss of vitality caused by the diseases just mentioned, together with others which have visited the Island from time to time, is almost impossible to determine, but there is no doubt but that the laziness with which the Porto Rican countryman is credited, disappears with great rapidity when his system has been freed from the effects of disease. The Island imports a great part of its food supply, although food stuffs of a vegetable nature are easily produced and might be raised in sufficient quantity to maintain our present population. The Island is too small to provide grazing areas for large numbers of cattle. The problems of the rural population have been practically untouched up to the present time, as the dominating element in the social and political life of Porto Rico has come from the towns. The rural people have consequently lacked stimulus for self-improvement, inasmuch as there was nothing done to make them dissatisfied with their condition and lead them to try to better it. A system of rural schools has been established by the Department of Education, but not in sufficient number to accommodate all of the children of the country. The solution of the rural situation depends upon proper schooling, a system of instruction which will fit the children for living better rural lives and which shall not be simply the graded system of the towns transplanted to the country. The special problems of the country should be taken into consideration in working out the course of study for the schools, and specially trained teachers should be provided,--teachers who will look upon their work in the rural school as their profession in life, and who will make every effort to adapt themselves to the needs of the community in which they may be located. A continuation of the work which the Government has already started to improve the sanitary and hygienic conditions under which the country people live, the abolishing of anemia and malaria through continuous effort, and instruction as to proper diet and care of the body, together with instruction as to how to secure the necessary kinds of food seems to be the only solution to the rural situation. Certain other problems which relate to the rural family will solve themselves as the educational and economic situation is bettered. THE JÍBARO THE rural population of Porto Rico may be roughly divided into the landowners, or planters, and the wage-earning countrymen. The planters are usually people who in many ways closely resemble the country gentleman or squire of England. They are people of considerable importance in their communities, frequently well educated and widely traveled, men who do not hesitate to spend their money freely for their comfort and that of their families when the crops are plentiful and the prices good. They exercise a sort of patronage over the country people who work for them, many of whom live in houses on land provided by the landlord. The laborers look to the landlord for guidance and for advice in practically all matters pertaining to their economic life, and the planter usually reciprocates by caring for the welfare of the countryman to the best of his ability. Many of the planters, especially such as are located in the coffee districts, have been badly handicapped by the partial destruction of their coffee plantations through cyclones, and by the low price for their product, since they have had to compete with South American coffee in the European and American markets. In addition to this economic disadvantage, the planters are also handicapped by the infirmity of their laborers, most of whom are sufferers from anemia, and few of whom are able to work without the immediate direction of a foreman. The economic and social condition of the planters is not a matter of particular interest to us in this connection, inasmuch as they are so situated that they enjoy all of the advantages of an advanced stage of civilization. The problem that confronts the progress of Porto Rico is to be found in the day laborer of the country districts. The following is taken from the book on _Uncinariasis in Porto Rico_, by Doctors Ashford and Gutierrez: "Our patient has been in times past the _jíbaro_ and will be in time to come. As we have seen already, while all country districts furnish an incredible number of sick, the great breeding places of _necator americanus_ are the coffee plantations, and this is the home of _el palido_ (the pale man) of Porto Rico. "The _jíbaro_ is a type to be well studied before we essay to interest him in bettering his own condition. Many have written of his virtues, many of his defects, but few, even in Porto Rico, have seen through the mist of a pandemic the real man beyond. "Coll y Toste says that the origin of the word _jíbaro_ proceeds from a port in Cuba (Jibara), and that it is composed of two words of Indian origin, _jiba_, meaning mountain, and _ero_, man. We cannot see the necessity of invoking this port of Cuba with the excellently applicable philology he gives us. "Brau says that the term is applied to-day to a laborer, but that its true significance is 'a mountain dweller.' "Our understanding of the term, as it is applied to-day, is a peasant, a tiller of the soil, a man whose life is not that of the town, and who lacks its culture. And when we say that a man is a _jíbaro_, we put him in a separate and distinct class, a class of country laborers. These people 'live now as they lived 100 or 200 years ago, close to the soil.' The _jíbaro_ is a squatter and does not own the land upon which he builds his modest house, nor does that house cost him anything save the trouble of building it. It is a framework of poles, with walls of the bark of the royal palm (the _yagua_), with roof of the same material or of a tough grass which is used for thatching, and with a floor of palm boards. Generally the floor is well raised from the ground on posts, and the family is truly a poor and miserable one which is content to have an earthen floor. As a rule, there is but one room for a family, which rarely goes below five, and whose upper limit is measured by the accommodation afforded for sleeping. The cooking is done under a shed on a pile of stones. Weyl says that the house should be valued at about $20. "The food of the _jíbaro_ is poor in fats and the proteids are of difficult assimilation, being of vegetable origin, as a rule. "He arises at dawn and takes a cocoanut dipperful of _café puya_ (coffee without sugar). Naturally, he never uses milk. With this black coffee he works till about twelve o'clock, when his wife brings him his breakfast, corresponding to our lunch. This is composed of boiled salt codfish, with oil, and has one of the following vegetables of the island to furnish the carbohydrate element: banana, platano, ñame, batata or yautia. "At three in the afternoon he takes another dipperful of coffee, as he began the day. At dusk he returns to his house and has one single dish, a sort of stew, made of the current vegetables of the island, with rice and codfish. At rare intervals he treats himself to pork, of which he is inordinately fond, and on still rarer occasions he visits the town and eats quantities of bread, without butter, of course. "Of all this list of country food there are only three elements that are bought--rice, codfish, and condiments. Rice is imported from the United States and codfish from Nova Scotia. The bread he eats on his visits to town is made of American flour. "This is a normal _jíbaro_ diet. With the wage paid him he can get no better, but aside from this he is wedded to cheap bulky foods, chiefly for reasons to be stated, and is completely ignorant of the importance of certain foods which any hygienist would like to add to his bill of fare. If the normal food of the _jíbaro_, as stated, were his usual food, it would not be so serious a matter, nor would the _jíbaro_ complain so bitterly of his wretched ration, but the fact is he does not get the menu detailed above save when he can be said to be prosperous. Only a few cents difference in wages will cut out the small proportion of animal proteids he obtains, the codfish, and a cyclone will drive him in sheer desperation to the town. "Aside from all this, if wages were better, it is said, he would leave his ration as it now is and spend his surplus otherwise. This has not been given, however, a very earnest trial. He takes also more rum than he is given credit for by those who have accepted the formula that the _jíbaro_ does not drink, but it is true that he is not usually intemperate in this sense. One of his vices is _la mascaura_ (the wad of tobacco), and he believes the juice of the tobacco to be beneficial in warding off tetanus. "The _jíbaro_, mountain bred, avoids the town whenever possible, avoids the genteel life of a civilization higher than that of his own. He instinctively tucks his little hut away in the most inaccessible spots; he shrinks from the stranger and lapses into stolid silence when brought face to face with things that are foreign to his life. He does this because he has been made to feel that he must do all that he is told to do by established authority, and he knows that this authority never takes the trouble to look for him unless it expects to get something out of him; because he is suspicious of outsiders, having been too often led astray by false prophets and disappointed by broken promises; because he realizes that he is not a free agent anywhere save in the mountain fastnesses. In other words, he seeks liberty in his home, freedom from the constant repression of those he recognizes as his superiors, and exemption from a repetition of deceptions that have been so often practiced upon him. He has always been made to stay strictly in his class, in the _jíbaro_ class. Frequently when he tries to express himself he is laughed down, frowned down, or growled down. '_Tu eres un jíbaro_' is not a term of reproach exactly, but it means 'You are not in a position to express yourself, for you are only a mountaineer. You know nothing of our world; you are still a child. Your place is under the shade of the coffee tree; the mark you bear is clear to everyone; you are a _jíbaro_.' Thus there is a great difference between the _jíbaro_ and those who are not _jíbaros_, _i.e._, those who live in towns or those who command in the country. This distinction is neither made unkindly nor roughly. All the Porto Rican people are kindly and they love their _jíbaros_, but nevertheless they treat them as though they were children. And the _jíbaro_ loyally follows his educated, emancipated fellow citizen, perfectly satisfied to be guided as the latter sees fit. "Much of this guidance is excellent, and it is not our mission to seek to break down barriers which to-day, may be needful. The _jíbaro_ is respectful and obedient, fearful of the law and never defiant of his superiors; he is generous to a fault, sharing with any wayfarer his last plantain; he is devoted to his family and to his friends. Had he been ill treated by the educated and controlling class in the island he would be sullen and savage, but this has not been the case. If it is true that the _jíbaro_ is in many ways differentiated from the upper classes, it is equally true that there is no masonry so strong as that existing among the _jíbaros_ of Porto Rico. Bound to each other by the most intricate ties of relationship and by a still more potent one, the eternal bond conferred by the title _compadre_ or godfather, they share their troubles and shield each other as though they belonged to one great family. It is really wonderful to see how quickly and with what complete self-abnegation an orphaned child or widowed mother is gathered into some poor neighbor's hut and there cared for. For these very same reasons search for a miscreant in the mountains is a formidable undertaking. On inquiry no one knows him, never saw him, never even heard of him, and the closest scrutiny of their faces will not detect the faintest trace of interest or even of intelligence. "Care must be taken in deducing facts from questioning a group of _jíbaros_ even in the most unimportant matters. They are tremendously suspicious and generally let someone among them who is _leido_ (one who has established a local reputation for worldly wisdom) speak for them. One can be pretty sure that the rest will say 'amen' to all of his remarks. It is said that this deep suspicion of a strange investigator proceeds from the methods employed by the Spanish _guardia civil_ or rural guard, to run down those suspected of unfaithfulness to the administration, petty infringement of the law, etc. "The _jíbaro_ is equally superstitious and very quickly impressed by a supernatural explanation of any phenomena he cannot understand. The more outlandish the explanation of a disease the better he likes it, and for this reason the _curandero_ or local charlatan is so popular and powerful in the mountains. We very much fear that our abrupt tumbling in the dust of an ancient explanation of his for anemia, our assertion that it was due to 'worms' and our administration of 'strong medicine' which practically put him _hors de combat_ for the day, accounts for part of our early success. In spite of this lack of knowledge of the world above him he has one quality which is his ever ready defense, his astuteness. There is one phrase much used in describing the _jíbaro's_ acuteness of observation. Referring to a trade it is said: '_Para un jíbaro, otro, y para los dos, el demonio_,' which means, 'To get the best of a jíbaro, employ another, and to catch both, Satan himself must take charge of them.' "This astuteness, despite all of the great obstacles in the path of our work among them, was what chiefly led to success in bringing these people under treatment. They soon saw that we got results, and with a fact capable of sensational proof in our hands, the _jíbaro_ accepted us and we joined the 'order' to which we have made reference. From that time he has been our friend, and better friends no man ever had, for his entire support is given us; he preaches our 'new medicine' and wherever we have expounded these things to him by word of mouth and by virtue of proof he takes pride in explaining, better than any representative of the upper classes, how the disease is acquired and how it may be prevented. "The prime fact, however, is that he has, until recently, been much neglected, neglected by those who are not of his class, neglected by the authorities. There are municipalities whose town forms but a tenth of the population of the outlying country, whose taxes are collected to support it, yet which seem to forget the submerged mass in the mountains. This being so for the towns which are surrounded by these people, how attenuated the interest becomes in the capital and larger cities of the island, and how extremely diluted that of the continental American who neither knows his needs nor even what _jíbaro_ means. "Education will transform this _jíbaro_ into something much better or much worse, for he will not remain content as he is when he can read, write, and see the world with his own eyes. In this education the respect he bears his more fortunate compatriots, the power for good they have over him, and the confidence he reposes in them must be preserved. The labor he must perform to enrich the island must be dignified by his employer and by himself, or else the hills will be deserted and the _jíbaro_ will become a vicious hanger-on of towns. Better homes, better means of communication with towns, now becoming an accomplished fact, better food, education, in which remarkable progress is being made at this day, better habits of life, especially in the modern prevention of disease, must form a part of any plan adopted to improve his condition. The planter who to-day sees the laborer must see in him the man whose bodily, mental, and moral development will make the plantation a success. The planter is the man of all men in Porto Rico who must begin to help the _jíbaro_ upward in order to emerge from his own present industrial depression. This lack of mental contact, of a common ground of interest between the _jíbaro_ and the better class of Porto Ricans drives the former to charlatans for his medical advice, to the wild fruits and vegetables of the interior for his food, and to weird creeds for his religious comfort. "His dependency causes him to look for protection, for direction and for ideas from the planter, from the municipality, and from the Insular Government. He considers himself a ward of his employer and of those placed in authority over him. He does not care to accept any responsibility for the simple reason that he has always been made to feel that he is not a responsible person. Therefore, how can we blame him when we find him without shoes, knowing that by wearing them he will protect himself against a dangerous infirmity; without bacon and corn, without household furniture, with but one room for his entire family. "It is a specious excuse, nothing more nor less, which avers that the _jíbaro_ is born the way he is and cannot be changed at this late day, that we must await a new generation, etc. On that principle we could expect very little from the antituberculosis crusades in New York. The truth is that to change the _jíbaro_, we must convince him that he will be bettered by the change, and he is sharp enough to change then, but the gist of all is that these changes must be begun by the men to whom the _jíbaro_ has always looked for light, and this means good hard work and much perseverance, tact, and genuine personal interest. From our acquaintance with the men to whom this burden will fall we should say that they are not only sufficiently good business men to realize the benefit they would get out of a healthy laboring class, but that the innate patriotism of the Porto Rican agriculturist and the deeper underlying sympathy for his _jíbaro_ will some day bring about reforms that they alone can make possible. "Agricultural laborers, in spite of the small wages they receive, are nearly if not quite as expensive as those in the United States, for with 50 per cent less of efficiency from disease and wasteful methods of work, the difference in wage is of small advantage. Weyl states: 'The small equity which the planter holds in the estate which he cultivates does not permit him to pay any higher wages, and the poverty of the planter prevents him from making the outlay necessary for the proper cultivation of his land.' "Few coffee planters have anywhere near a reasonable amount of their land under cultivation for the reason that with the poor help and methods now existent they are unable to extend their plant. The regular labor, employed all the year round, the peons--who form a relatively small percentage of the entire number available for work--are paid for a full day's work, and their degree of anemia is such as to prevent their doing but about 50 per cent of what they are paid for doing. Our estimate of the relative efficiency of labor was made from what the planter himself told us and by a simple experiment which we tried upon about 500 adult workers in different parts of the interior. We questioned each one as to the amount of coffee he could pick in a day and found that from two to three _almudes_ was the utmost the majority could do, and that one _almud_ was too much for many. Some stated that after picking a sack full in a remote part of the plantation they were unable to get it in to the mill without a mule, on account of the fact that their limbs refused to bear them up. When these people were working at light work, and at a time when the more they picked, the greater the profit to themselves, is it reasonable to suppose that when working for a wage without this incentive this 50 or 60 per cent labor would be any more efficient? This reduction in laboring capacity demonstrates what a heavy toll is paid by both employer and employee to uncinariasis in Porto Rico. "As to absentee landlords, Weyl says: 'Many of the absentee owners of Porto Rican properties and many of their agents in Porto Rico consider the island and its population as equally fit for the crassest exploitation, and are as contemptuous of the people as they are enthusiastic about the island. The current use by many Americans of an opprobrious epithet for Porto Ricans bespeaks an attitude which takes no account of the human phase of the problem, but considers the population as composed merely of so many laborers willing to work for such and such a price.' "Thus the poor laborer, his earning capacity cut down by his disease, with employment which is at best very irregular, with his sick wife and children for whom he has to buy 'iron tonics' that cost all that he can rake and scrape together, without money for clothes, much less for shoes, with a palm-bark hut not too well protected against the damp cold of the grove in which he lives, with not a scrap of furniture save, perhaps, a hammock, and, worst of all, with a miserable diet lacking in proteids and fats, lives from day to day, saving nothing, knowing nothing of the world beyond his plantation, working mechanically simply because he is not the drone he has been too frequently painted outside of Porto Rico, but without any object save to keep on living as generations have done before him. It has been our experience that when he is asked 'Why have you sought our dispensary?' the answer has almost invariably been, 'Because I can no longer work.' The _jíbaro_, nevertheless, has ever been the lever which has raised the bank account of Porto Rico, and with an average of 40 per cent of hemoglobin and two and a half millions of red corpuscles per cubic millimeter he has labored from sun to sun in the coffee plantation of the mountains, in the sugar estate of the coast land, and in the tobacco field of the foothills, in addition to his personal coöperation in other industries and commercial enterprises. He is a sick man and deserves our highest respect, and merits our most careful attention as a vital element in the economic life of the island. The American people should take seriously into account his future, which is at present anything but promising." OVERPOPULATION WHEN we say that a country is overpopulated we speak in relative terms, inasmuch as the overpopulation of a country does not depend upon the density of the population alone, but also upon the ability of that country to produce a sufficient amount of foodstuffs to maintain its population. Thus a country which has a relatively small population and a still smaller ability to produce foodstuffs would be more overpopulated than a country of similar size with a larger population and a still greater production of foodstuffs. In considering the case of Porto Rico, we find that the Island contains 8,317 square kilometers of land. The estimated population at the present time is 1,200,000. This gives about 140 persons to the square kilometer as compared with 72 persons in France, 237 persons in Belgium, and 252 in Saxony. If the productive ability of the soil of Porto Rico is as great as that of Belgium and Saxony, we must conclude that Porto Rico is not overpopulated. If for any reason it is less, then the extent of overpopulation increases directly as the soil grows less in productive ability. Porto Rico has about ten times as many inhabitants per square acre as the average throughout the United States; but the conditions of climate do a great deal to equalize this difference. In the first place, the soil is available in Porto Rico for the production of crops throughout the twelve months of the year, whereas in parts of the United States and in northern Europe the soil is usable for only a portion of the year on account of its unproductive condition during the winter months. Another matter that must be taken into consideration in the question of overpopulation, is the severity of the climate. Where the climate is severe, the country will maintain in comfort a much smaller population than where the climate is as friendly to the human race as we find it in Porto Rico. Of the population of Porto Rico in 1910, about 75 per cent lived in communities that had less than 500 inhabitants, showing conclusively that the great majority of the people of Porto Rico should be classified as rural inhabitants and that the problems which affect the rural people of Porto Rico are the problems which would affect, to a great extent, the entire Island. Only two cities in the Island have a population of more than 25,000, while only 30 would fall under the head of urban territory, that is, towns which have a population of 2,500 or more. The rate of increase of population in Porto Rico is far in excess of the rate of increase in the United States, and this is one of the things that must be taken into consideration in considering the question of overpopulation. In the United States the rate of increase among the class of people whose salaries range from $700 to $2,500 is from ten to twelve per thousand. In Porto Rico, the rate of increase is about twenty per thousand. The following table shows a comparison between the birth rate, death rate, and rate of increase in the United States and Porto Rico, the figures given representing the birth and death rate for every thousand of the population in each country. UNITED STATES Birth rate Death rate Increase _Poor Class_: 35 to 40 25 to 35 5 to 10 _Intermediate class_: 25 to 30 15 to 18 10 to 12 _Well-to-do class_: 12 to 18 12 to 15 4 to 6 PORTO RICO (1914-15) Birth rate Death rate Increase 39.12 19.72 19 to 20 In order to maintain the population of a country, there must be about 400 children between the ages of one and five years for every thousand women between the ages of fifteen and forty-five. The following table shows how Porto Rico compares in this respect with other countries. United States 492 children per thousand women France 409 " " " " Germany 535 " " " " England 429 " " " " Sweden 522 " " " " Porto Rico 725 " " " " Thus we see that the rate of increase of the population of Porto Rico is much greater than that of the United States. When we take into consideration the advancement being made in sanitary science in Porto Rico and in the elimination of disease, as well as the increased facilities for caring for sickness, we may expect that the rate of increase here will be augmented each year. The general opinion is that Porto Rico is so thickly populated that a crisis is inevitable, unless some means is found for remedying the present situation. It does not seem, however, that we are justified in coming to such a conclusion when we consider the much more densely populated countries of Belgium and Saxony. Increased production of the soil due to intensive agriculture, and modern methods of farming, as well as the breaking up of the land into small farms, have been the means of taking care of the vast populations of European countries where climatic conditions are not as favorable as they are in Porto Rico. Of the total acreage of Porto Rico about 94 per cent is in farms, and we find that only 30,000 people are directly dependent upon these farms for their support. Of the total number of acres included in farm land, about 75 per cent is improved and under cultivation, so that there is still about one quarter of the land that can be devoted to agriculture when it has been connected with markets, or by other means rendered available for this purpose. There are in Porto Rico more than 58,000 farms, 46,779 of which are operated by their owners. These, in the great majority of cases, are small farms and are of the kind which bring the greatest amount of benefit to the Island. Some 10,000 farms are operated by tenants, and these farms also are usually small. The following table shows the number of farms of various sizes in the Island to-day: Farms under 5 acres 20,650 Farms from 5 to 9 acres 11,309 Farms from 10 to 19 acres 10,045 Farms from 20 to 49 acres 8,872 Farms from 50 to 99 acres 3,728 Farms from 100 to 174 acres 1,726 Farms from 175 to 499 acres 1,502 Farms from 500 to 999 acres 332 Farms of 1000 acres or more 207 Of the owners and tenants of these farms 44,521 are white and 13,850 are colored. About 95 per cent of all the owned farms are free from mortgage. The average size of the farms in Porto Rico is about 35¾ acres. The experience of European countries has been that large farms, in a densely populated country are detrimental to the community welfare, because the holding of such farms by a few condemns a large percentage of the population to a dependent condition. As the number of farms decreases, the number of salaried laborers must increase, and as this floating population increases, there is also a tendency for crime to increase, as the man who has no responsibilities as a proprietor of land often lacks the fundamental stimulus to make him observe the laws of his country. The landowner, having obtained even a small parcel of land, has an incentive for hard work, wishing to better his financial condition, while the dependent salaried man, with no visible stimulus for saving, tends to spend his money as fast as it is earned and seldom accumulates any property. To such an extent is the possession of land regarded as a benefit to the individual and an incentive toward good citizenship, that in some European countries the government has made arrangements to loan money to worthy young men for the purchase of small farms on the ground that the government gains a desirable citizen every time that it creates a landholder. The Government of Porto Rico might well take some steps to encourage dependent laborers to accumulate property, either by means of loans to those who desire to purchase property, or by opening up government land for settlement under the Homestead Act. The rise in the price of land and the fact that the greater part of the land of Porto Rico is devoted to industries which are most productive when conducted on a fairly large scale, has tended to the accumulation of large tracts of land, and legal measures should be enacted against the accumulation of tracts of land of more than 100 or 200 acres, and providing for the distribution of any large tracts in case of the death of the present owner: At the present time a good deal of the foodstuffs of Porto Rico is imported into the Island while if there were more widely extended division of the land into a large number of small farms, the production of these foodstuffs could be greatly increased, although, of course, this would tend to decrease the production of certain other crops which at present claim the chief attention of the people of Porto Rico. According to the Report of the Governor of Porto Rico for 1914-15, the division of land among the various industries, as well as the average value per acre of land for each of the industries, is shown by the following table: Average value Crop Acreage per acre Cane 211,110 $106.95 Coffee 165,170 61.60 Tobacco 18,040 80.81 Pineapples 3,761 105.24 Citrus fruits 5,274 121.78 Coconuts 6,088 118.33 Minor fruits 102,274 27.53 From this table we see that certain industries, such as the cultivation of pineapples or citrus fruits, which can be carried on successfully on relatively small farms, bring practically as high a return per acre as does the production of sugar cane, which is essentially a large farm product. This argument would not necessarily do away with the cultivation of sugar cane, but would tend to increase the cultivation of other crops wherever and whenever the soil and climatic conditions would permit. An increase in the number of owned farms and a consequent decrease in the number of dependent wage earners, together with the increased production of foodstuffs which such a system of land management would necessarily bring as a result, providing the management of the farms was carried on under modern scientific methods, would, to a great extent, relieve the situation of overpopulation which we now face. Porto Rico can support twice the population which she now has with comparative ease, providing some means is found to relieve the economic situation of the greater part of the people and to prevent the accumulation of wealth in the hands of a comparatively small number. It is estimated at the present time that the wealth of Porto Rico is in the hands of less than 15 per cent of the population, and the remaining 85 per cent are dependent for their living upon daily or monthly wages. Such a situation must be changed or else the question of overpopulation will become indeed serious. There is no particular reason to fear that the population will increase to such an extent that we shall be unable to support ourselves on what the Island may produce; but with the increase of population under present conditions, trouble between capital and labor and between workmen and their employers cannot be avoided. Emigration as a means of relief to the overpopulation of Porto Rico will not solve the question. In the first place, the Porto Rican people are essentially a home-loving people, clinging closely to family ties and not at all disposed to migrate to other countries. A few cases of Porto Rican families who have moved to other countries have shown that in the majority of instances the migration was not successful. In the second place, in order to relieve the situation at all it would be necessary to provide for the emigration of a large number of families. The removal of 100 or 500 families from Porto Rico would not make any appreciable difference in the economic situation that we find to-day. The average family consists of five people, and the removal of 5,000 unskilled laborers from the Island would not tend to relieve the situation. The only means of meeting the situation of overpopulation is through increasing the food production of the Island by means of division into small farms, intensive cultivation, and modern methods of farming. The school must do its share in the teaching of small-farm and garden farming, and the Government should assume the responsibility for fostering the increase of the number of small farms as well as for assisting in the educational work to improve the methods of cultivation. THE FAMILY THE family is the simplest combination of individuals that we find in organized society and is the basis of social group forms. It ranks in importance as a social institution with the church, the state, and the school, coming into existence before any of these three institutions. It existed in a complete form, consisting of father, mother, and children long before there was such an institution as civil or religious marriage. In the history of mankind, the family and marriage grew up together, the importance of the family requiring certain marriage customs by which the members of the family could be held together to protect the interests of the children. In Porto Rico we find the average family consisting of five people, and according to the census of 1910, in the total population 15 years of age and over, 43.7 per cent of the males and 38 per cent of the females were single; 36.2 per cent of the males of the total population and 35.4 per cent of the females were married, while 16 per cent of the males (or a total of 50,113), and 15.7 per cent of the females (or a total of 51,073), were consensually married, that is, living together by mutual consent, but without the benefit of a civil or ecclesiastical marriage.[1] This proportion is somewhat lower than it was in 1899, as the percentage of consensual marriages in comparison with the population at that time was 16.3 per cent for the males and 15.2 per cent for the females. The difference, however, does not exceed one half of one per cent, and there were actually 17,046 more people living together consensually in 1910 than in 1899. The seriousness of the situation may be seen when we consider that of the total population of the Island over 15 years of age, 31.7 per cent, nearly one third, representing 101,186 people, are living together without any form of marriage ceremony. [1] The difference in numbers between men and women living together consensually is doubtless due to the fact that many men who have legitimate wives also have consensual wives or mistresses. Many reasons have been given for the prevalence of the consensual marriage in Porto Rico, among which are to be found the necessity of the ecclesiastical marriage with its complicated forms and the relatively costly ceremonies which prevailed before the institution of civil marriage under the American Government. It seems quite probable, however, that this custom is a relic of the consensual marriage form, which was established by the early colonizers of Porto Rico, many of whom came to the Island, leaving their families behind, and entered into consensual marriage relations with the native women of the Island. In this way the custom was established, and there was a lack of public opinion against it which has existed down to the present time, and until, through the influence of the schools, public opinion against this form of union can be roused, very little progress will be made in changing conditions. There is no doubt but that many of the consensual marriages are considered by the parties concerned just as permanent as those performed by civil or ecclesiastical authorities, and the question of immorality does not enter into their view of the situation. It is a question of mutual consent, and especially in the country districts, the knowledge of the law in regard to these matters is very vague. The greatest harm in cases of marriage of this sort lies in the tendency to prevent the spread of public opinion against the custom and in the ease with which the family relations can be broken at the will of either member of the family, with the resulting unprotected condition of the children which may have been born into the family. The number of persons of illegitimate birth in the Island of Porto Rico, as given by the census of 1899 and that of 1910, is as follows: White illegitimates 1899 66,855 White illegitimates 1910 76,695 Colored illegitimates 1899 81,750 Colored illegitimates 1910 78,554 Thus we see that there was an actual increase of nearly 10,000 white illegitimate children from the year 1899 to 1910, or an increase of 14.7 per cent; but during the same time the white population had increased 24.7 per cent, so that there was an actual decrease in the percentage, according to population, of nearly 10 per cent. During the same period the colored population had increased 5.9 per cent, but the number of colored illegitimate children had decreased 3.9 per cent, there being actually a less number of colored illegitimate children in 1910 than in 1899, although the population had increased. It seems very probable that this is due to the fact that the great majority of the colored population in Porto Rico is to be found in the towns, where the school system is more efficient than in the country districts and where customs change more easily, due to wider associations and to more frequent and continued intercourse with people of other points of view. In the country the custom has remained, with little change, due to the fact that the isolation of the country people and the comparatively small number of children in the rural schools has given little opportunity to work against the existing situation. Of the children from the ages of one to ten years there was only an increase of 1,397 white illegitimate children between 1899 and 1910, which was not anywhere near the rate of increase of the white population as a whole. During the same period there was an actual decrease in the number of colored illegitimate children between the ages of one and ten years, amounting to 7,717, or a total decrease of illegitimate children under 10 years of age of 6,320, which would lead us to believe that within the last ten years the births of consensual marriage and the number of illegitimate children have decreased much more rapidly than the total census figures would indicate. In addition to the question of consensual marriages, we find that under the Spanish administration, when ecclesiastical marriage was the only form recognized, there were no divorces registered in the Island of Porto Rico. With the introduction of the civil marriage after the American occupation, and the institution of divorce laws and the recognition of divorce by the civil authorities, the question of divorce began to demand attention, and in 1910 we find a total of 1,246 divorces among the people in the Island of Porto Rico. About two thirds of these were women,[2] and the divorce question will undoubtedly in time bring as many problems in Porto Rico as it has in the United States. [2] This would indicate that many of the divorced men had remarried and were listed in the census as married instead of divorced. According to the last report of the Insular Chief of Police, it is estimated that there are in the Island of Porto Rico at the present time about 10,000 homeless children under 12 years of age who live by whatever means they are able, many of them begging or stealing, and most of them having no permanent lodging place, sleeping at night in boxes or on doorsteps, or wherever they happen to find a lodging place secure from the rain. These children are, for the most part, deserted and abandoned children of illegitimate parentage, or orphan children whose parents have left no provision for their care and education, and they constitute a fertile soil for the implanting of criminal tendencies and are ready material for older people of criminal habits. They constitute a danger to the security of the community, and if it were not for the relatively high death rate that is found among people of this class, the Island would soon be overrun by citizens brought up under these criminal-forming conditions. The Insular Government should take measures to reduce this danger by means of the compulsory industrial education of this class of boys and girls. There is enough Government land available to colonize them in different parts of the Island under the care of people trained in reformatory and industrial methods, and this should be done in order that they may become self-supporting individuals who will contribute to the comfort of the community, rather than parasites who live on the charity of others. There are any number of small industries in which they might be trained, as well as along agricultural lines, and the trades which lack skilled workmen in Porto Rico would be much benefited by adding to their number graduates of industrial trade schools, taken from children of this class; these schools should be operated by the Government, at Government expense, but could be made largely self-supporting by means of the sale of the services of the boys, or through the sale of the products turned out. The living accommodations of the average rural family are very unsatisfactory, consisting, as they do, of a dwelling house of one room, or at the most, two. This reduced house space makes it necessary to eat and live and sleep in the same room, rendering impossible any degree of privacy on the part of any of the family. This condition in the case of growing boys and girls is very undesirable, particularly since it is a custom to take in as members of the family relatives, sometimes of a rather remote degree of relationship, in case they are left unprotected. Another feature of family life which tends toward degeneration and which is found to a great extent in Porto Rico, is the intermarriage between relatives within comparatively close degrees of consanguinity. The civil laws of Porto Rico prohibit the marriage of persons of closer degrees of relationship than first cousins, and the ecclesiastical laws of the Roman Church prohibit marriage within eight degrees of consanguinity. In the record of one family which produced 25 cases of insanity in two generations, it was found that there had been a considerable amount of intermarriage between relatives, one of the grandparents marrying a person who was prohibited by the ecclesiastical law on four different grounds on account of consanguinity. Ecclesiastical permission had been obtained to overcome these difficulties and the marriage took place. There is no doubt that close intermarriage and the failure to introduce new stock into the family tends to both mental and physical degeneration. And where families intermarry for generations, as we find to be the custom in a great many instances in Porto Rico, there can be no doubt of the ultimate disastrous outcome from this custom. The average Porto Rican family lives very happily and contentedly, the parents displaying great affection for the children and for relatives even of a remote degree of relationship. In the case of the death of parents, relatives usually adopt or take charge of the children which may be left and bring them up as carefully as they would children of their own. The family group is naturally closer among Latin peoples than among Anglo-Saxon races, and this has tended to do away with some of the vices of family life which are found among Anglo-Saxon peoples, while the same circumstances have tended to increase other unsatisfactory conditions of family life peculiar to Latin races. One of the features which, from the standpoint of society, may have an unfortunate result is the mixture of races in the family life. While this has not taken place to such an extent in the country districts as it has in the towns, nevertheless, a great many families in Porto Rico are composed of mixed races. The biological tendency in cases of mixed races, according to most authorities, is a decrease in the number of children in the family as generation succeeds generation, unless there is an addition of new blood to a considerable extent. This may possibly be one of the means which Nature has provided for solving the problem of overpopulation in Porto Rico, but there is the added fact that usually as the succeeding generations become fewer in regard to numbers, they also become less capable mentally and physically. The race question in Porto Rico will undoubtedly come to be one of the problems that has to be solved, and it will be more difficult of solution than the race problem in the United States, where the races are becoming more widely separated every year and where it is very infrequent to find persons of the two races in the same family. In Porto Rico the problem will be intensified because it is not merely a problem between races, but a race problem which involves the family organization in many cases. The government of Brazil has predicted that in a hundred years there will be no black inhabitants in the Brazilian republic, that they will be entirely assimilated by the white race or carried off by disease. The census report for Porto Rico shows a falling off in the black race of about 9,000 in the last ten years, and an increase of about 30,000 in the mixed or mulatto population. Thus the assimilation of the black population is gradually taking place, and whether this will in time lead to a complete assimilation, or whether the mixed race will become weakened through this racial intermarriage to such an extent that it will eventually refuse to propagate, is a question which only time can answer. There is no doubt, however, that this is one of the problems that must be confronted in Porto Rico. RURAL HOUSING CONDITIONS THE housing of a people is always a matter of prime importance in their social life and development. There is little progress until the housing conditions are comfortable and hygienic, and the development of the home and the family life depends to a great extent on the conditions under which a people lives. The housing conditions in Porto Rico, especially for the poorer classes, are far from satisfactory. The dwellings of the country people are described as follows, in the Report on the Housing Conditions in Porto Rico, published by the Insular Bureau of Labor in 1914: "There are five general problems which the laborer or employer in tropical countries, who is anxious to build cheap but proper houses, has to meet. The first is to provide adequate protection against the heat. As in northern countries it is necessary to shut out the cold winds and generate and conserve artificial heat within the house, so in tropical countries it is equally important to let in the breezes and to clear out any artificial heat that may arise. "The second problem is to provide protection against the frequent tropical rains. This is especially important in tropical countries that have a protracted rainy season, as it is often difficult to shut out the rain without also shutting out the fresh air. "The third problem is the provision of adequate sanitary facilities. Due to the heat in southern countries and to the humidity that prevails during certain seasons of the year, this problem is more difficult of solution and likewise more important than in countries farther north. "The fourth problem is that of securing cheap and durable building materials. In a land like Porto Rico where tropical shrubs and the palm are practically the only woods that the laborers are able to obtain, we must not expect the same solid, commodious habitations which are found in northern countries where the pine and hemlock abound. "The fifth problem, perhaps as important as any of the preceding and certainly as difficult to remedy, arises partly from the generosity of nature herself. People can live in tropical countries in almost any form of habitation. Cold winters have not obliged the poorer classes to be adepts in house construction. Poverty has forced them to live as cheaply as possible. Naturally, the laboring classes engaged in tilling the soil still make their homes in the cheapest forms of huts. This problem has, therefore, three aspects--an over-indulgent climate, poverty, and a lack of opportunity by the poorer classes to learn better methods of house construction. "In Porto Rico we have, in addition to the problems mentioned above, two special conditions which have influenced the form and quality of our laborers' houses. The first is that the seasonal character of many of our agricultural industries forces the laborers to migrate from one section to another in order to find work and, naturally, they are not inclined to go to the expense and exertion of building substantial homes. The second, and more important, arises from the fact that the greater part of our laborers do not own the land their houses are placed upon and, being subject to ejection at the will of their landlords, they have no incentive to beautify or improve their homes. "According to the census of 1910, the urban territory of Porto Rico--that is, the places of 2,500 inhabitants or more--contained 224,620 inhabitants, or 20.1 per cent of the total population, while 893,392 inhabitants, or 79.9 per cent, lived in places of less than 2,500 inhabitants, and of these, 837,725 lived in strictly rural territory. Needless to state, the greater part of the rural inhabitants belong to the laboring classes and live in the types of rural homes described in this section. "We have divided the habitations of rural laborers, according to their construction, into the following types: (1) Single houses of thatch, (2) single houses of wood and zinc, (3) tenements of wood and zinc. "Most of the thatched huts in the rural sections have been built by the laborers who live in them. The land upon which these houses are built is, however, usually the property of some plantation or landowner. Only in the more inaccessible sections inland do the laborers who have built these thatched houses also own the land they are placed upon. It is the custom among the landowners to allow laborers who work for them to take the necessary materials--grass, sticks, palm-bark, etc.--from the land and build their huts. This is done, of course, with the consent of the landowner, and the huts so built are legally attached to the land and become the property of the landowner. As a matter of fact, the laborers who have built these huts claim them as their property and are allowed to live in them without charge or molestation so long as they work for the landowner when their services are needed. When a laborer who has built a hut leaves it and moves to another's land, the hut is claimed by the landowner and some other laborer is allowed to move into it. There are also some of these huts that have been built by the landowners at their own expense, but the plantation owners and other landowners who have gone into the business of building houses for their workmen usually construct a better type of house. The thatched hut, therefore, while it is legally a plantation house, is not usually so considered, either by the landowner or the laborer. "If we judge the importance of a type of house from the number of people who live in it, this thatched hut is far more important than any other rural or urban type. The great mass of the rural laborers live in houses of this type and, as has been shown, fully three-fourths of the total laborers of the Island live in rural sections. "The homes of the wealthy in all parts of the world are constructed to conform to the standards of the age and place in which they are erected, and to the personal desires of the occupants, regard being taken only of the absolutely necessary conditions of environment. The houses of the poor, on the other hand, are the direct product of local environment. The hut of the inland laborer of Porto Rico, the _jíbaro_, is a striking illustration of the effect of environment upon the type of house in which the poor live. "The problem of obtaining cheap and durable building materials is a very difficult one for the poor laborers of Porto Rico. Hard woods are extremely scarce, and the poor inland laborer cannot afford to buy imported lumber, and, therefore, he has been obliged to utilize the coarse grasses and the products of the palm trees that are accessible at little or no expense except the labor necessary in their preparation. Furthermore, many of these people have not the skill nor the necessary tools to use materials such as stone and clay which they might be able to obtain. Also, the migratory character of many of these inland laborers, and the fact that they do not own the land their houses are built upon, have been fundamental influences in preventing the development of better house types. The principal agricultural industries, _i.e._, coffee, sugar, and tobacco, have a busy and a dull season, and many of the inland laborers are obliged to migrate from one section to another in order to find work. For this reason hundreds of laborers pass annually from the inland hills where coffee is grown down to the sugar plantations on the coast, and then back again to the hills, the busy seasons of sugar and coffee being at different times of the year. Of course, these laborers cannot move their houses with them about the Island, and they naturally tend to build the cheapest kind of temporary structures. Also very few of them own the land their houses are placed upon. They are mere squatters, or tenants at will, and the land owner may eject them at any time for little or no cause, so that there is no incentive to build substantial structures, and there is no chance of developing that pride in the home which is so essential to the building of good houses. "The inland laborers who live in these huts have been their own architects and builders, and they model their homes after the old type that has prevailed among the hills for centuries. The framework of these huts is of poles and small sticks cut from shrub trees and nailed or tied together at the corners with native fiber ropes. The roofs are generally thatched with a long, tough grass, and the walls are constructed by binding leaves of the royal palm (_yaguas_) with sticks and fiber. The floor is of boards or slabs and is raised from one to two feet above the ground. In some sections _yaguas_ are also used for the roofs, and in the inland there are many huts with walls of slabs from the trunk of the palm trees. These huts are usually divided into two rooms by a flimsy partition of _yaguas_, one room being used as a bedroom and the other as a combined living and dining room. The kitchen is a separate room or shed at the rear, and, probably because of the danger of fire, is usually without floor. The furniture consists of hammocks, boxes for chairs, a rough table, and a few dishes, all made from gourds, except the iron pot used in cooking. The value of such furniture is usually from $4 to $6, and the value of such a house from $10 to $20. "This hut of the inland laborer with its thatched roof and open construction is, in many respects, a much better house than the casual observer is likely to believe. A well-constructed thatch roof, when it is new, offers sufficient protection against rain and excellent protection from the heat of the tropic sun. New palm bark walls are also adequate to keep out the rains. Furthermore, almost without exception, the floors are raised above the ground, so that the surface waters after a shower run freely under the hut and wash away any refuse that may have accumulated, and then the sunlight and winds quickly dry the remaining dampness. In other words, a new well-built hut of this type is a properly ventilated, cool, and reasonably sanitary habitation, and represents the best effort of the laborers to adapt themselves, in their poverty-stricken condition, to the circumstances of their environment. On the other hand, these huts deteriorate very rapidly. Within six months or a year, a dozen varieties of insects have made their nests in the thatched roof, the palm-leaves have cracked, and the floor sags. "One who stands on some projecting point high up on a mountain side in the interior of the Island and carefully scans the hillsides about and the valley beneath, will be amazed at the number of small huts of this type that lie within his view. There are hundreds of them. Every knoll is crowned by its hut; every hillside is dotted by them. No two are ever placed together; each family seeks its own free life. It is practically true that one cannot shout in any part of our Island and not be heard by the occupants of one or more of these huts. "To say that these people are contented and prefer to live as they do, is not true. Customs clinch themselves upon a people so that they appear contented, and these inland laborers have lived under the same conditions for three centuries. Their standards of living are modest, and their desires are few. In this sense they are contented. Yet there is a deep and powerful change coming over them. They are going to the cities in greater number than ever before; their children are attending the little schools in the hills. New ambitions are awakening. When the dull season comes, they cannot find work. There are times when many of them are hungry. They are not contented. "That the Porto Rican laborer is of cheerful disposition is especially true of the so-called _jíbaro_. He has been obliged to find his joy in simple things. He greets you with a smile; he welcomes you to his house and cheerfully divides his cup of coffee with you; he dances with a show of gayety on a Sunday afternoon. He is ever cheerful, but not happy. There may be some customs and prejudices of minor importance that he is loath to change, but in the main he prefers to live as he does because he is obliged so to live. Those who adhere to the _laissez faire_ policy and believe that conditions are good enough as they are, do not know the real heart of these people. They need and deserve and must ultimately receive the opportunity to improve their living and working conditions. "There are two important causes for the erection of plantation houses: (1) For the employer, the practical advantage of having a resident supply of labor on his land; (2) for the laborer, the necessity of living near his work. Laborers who live in plantation houses are more largely dependent upon the plantation than are laborers who live in their own homes. One of the conditions of occupying a plantation house is that the occupants will work for the plantation whenever their services are required. Laborers living in plantation houses, can, therefore, be depended upon by their employers, and this is a great advantage to the plantation owner. Furthermore, such houses are usually much better than the laborers who live in them could afford to build for themselves. Frequently, also, the holdings of the plantation are so extensive that it would not be possible for the laborers, even if they had the money, to buy land upon which to build their houses within walking distance of their work. "There are great differences between the single houses of wood and zinc erected by the various plantations. The better types have been built by employers who wished to provide healthful and comfortable quarters--increase the efficiency of their laborers as well as to hold their labor supply. Unfortunately, at present, such houses are not being erected by the plantations in all parts of the Island. The majority of these houses have been built with the sole purpose of holding as large a labor supply as possible at the least expense. "The houses of this type are usually roofed with large strips of zinc, nailed directly upon the rafters. These roofs are low, unceiled and, as a result, the houses are extremely hot. The walls are of imported lumber, sometimes the boards being matched and in other cases clapboarded. The better houses are painted to diminish the depreciation and to awaken the pride of the occupants in their homes. The walls are six or seven feet high. The floors are of boards and raised from one to two feet above the ground. The houses are set upon posts so that there is a clear space under them that can be easily cleaned. On the interior they are divided by half partitions into two or three rooms and are usually provided with separate kitchens, frequently one kitchen serving for from one to four houses. These houses cost from $70 to $150, the average being about $80, according to their size and construction. This description refers to the better houses of this type and, unfortunately, the majority of the single plantation houses are not so well constructed. "These tenements represent the older type of plantation houses and fortunately very few of them are being built at the present time. Their construction has been prompted by the same reason that has induced employers to build the single type of plantation house--the desire to hold a resident supply of labor on the plantation. They are, however, far inferior to the single houses. "The better rural tenements are built with zinc roofs, board walls and floors, and are raised from one to two feet above the ground. They are unceiled and have no windows. In the inland many of them have zinc walls. The poorer ones are located on low, swampy land and are built of oil cans, pieces of boxes, and other odds and ends. Some of them have separate kitchens and sanitary facilities, but many have nothing except such temporary and inadequate structures as the occupants have themselves built. The first reason for building tenements of this type has been, of course, to house the greatest number of laborers at the least expense. They are long structures, one or two rooms wide, each room an apartment, and crowded with people. Although these rural tenements are not usually being built at present, there are still hundreds of them in use. "The worst housing conditions upon the plantations prevail in the buildings, usually tenements of this type, set aside as sleeping quarters for unmarried laborers. This type of labor is transient, coming for a few months during the busy season and then passing on to another section of the Island. Consequently, they are crowded into whatever quarters may be available at the time. The leaky rooms of the old sugar mills, the worst rooms in the tenements, single houses that have been unused for six months and are out of repair and filthy, are usually used for the emergency--an emergency that lasts from three to six months. Six, eight, or ten hammocks are hung up between bare walls in a room 10 feet by 15 feet and are all filled each night. Conditions of ventilation and general sanitation are frightful. "There is one notable exception. One of the largest centrals of our Island has constructed a large, well-ventilated, and comfortable men's apartment. The floor is of matched boards, solid and clean. The walls are also of matched boards, but there is an open space two feet wide at the top of the walls extending around the building. Overhanging eaves prevent the rain from beating in through this opening. The roof is of heavy paper nailed to a thick wooden ceiling. Frames are arranged in the interior of the building for hanging hammocks, and around the walls are large individual lockers for the use of those sleeping there. Finally, the building is cleaned thoroughly every day. "No description of the housing conditions of rural laborers would be complete without mention of the gardens cultivated by the occupants of the houses. It is safe to say that nine out of every ten laborers in the rural sections, with the exception of those who live in plantation houses where there is no land that they are permitted to cultivate, have planted some sort of garden. It is also true that these gardens are, in most cases, of very little practical use. Well cultivated and productive gardens belonging to rural laborers are hard to find. "The average garden consists of two or three plantain or banana trees, a few tubers, and some medicinal plants. Frequently, there are many and beautiful flowers. Whatever vegetables there may be are poorly cared for and do not produce more than a third of a proper yield. "This subject is of tremendous importance. The soil and climate of Porto Rico are such that it should be able, even with its dense population, to produce most of its food. There are unused plots of ground around practically every hut in the interior of the Island. The decrease in the production of sugar is going to throw many laborers out of work and they will be obliged to raise most of their own food or suffer. Many reasons have been advanced to explain the absence of good small gardens. The laborers themselves say that they do not plant and cultivate gardens because they do not own the land and they are allowed to plant only on condition that they give the greater part of their produce to the landowners. They claim also that it does not pay to break up the ground for one crop and that after they have got plantains, etc., growing they may be obliged to move. It is also true that in most cases they have not money enough to buy the seed or hire the oxen and implements needed for breaking up the ground. "Also, in some parts of the south coast, it is too dry for profitable gardening. On the other hand, landowners frequently say that the reasons why laborers in the rural sections do not plant gardens are lack of knowledge of gardening methods, lack of realization of the benefits that they could derive from good gardens, and custom. Without discussing the relative merits of these reasons, there are two things that must be faced--such laborers must be educated, so far as possible by example, and they must be offered the opportunity to hold land with some fixity of tenure, either by purchasing it on the installment plan or by obtaining leases from the present landowners." WOMAN AND CHILD LABOR FORTUNATELY, the factory system has not been introduced to any great extent into Porto Rico, nor in all probability will woman and child labor in factory employment ever constitute a serious problem. The census of 1910 gives only a total of 1912 woman wage earners in various industries of the Island. This, of course, does not include the woman who works throughout the rural districts, and whose condition constitutes the problem which must be studied and remedied in the Island. The average unskilled laborer in the country districts of Porto Rico does not earn a sufficient sum to enable him to maintain his family in comfort. As a result, the wife, and frequently the children, must contribute to the support of the family as much as they can. In some parts of the Island, the tasks of the country women are largely limited to their housework and the cultivation of whatever garden products they may raise, because such crops as sugar cane do not call to any great extent for the use of woman labor. In other sections of the Island, however, particularly those parts where coffee growing is the chief industry, the gathering and caring for the coffee crop is left, to a great extent, to the women and children. This, of course, results in a financial saving to the coffee grower, as the wages for woman and child labor are much less than for the services of men. The unhealthful results, however, more than offset the advantages gained by adding the mother's wages to the family income. The harmful results from woman labor may be classified as direct and indirect. Under the directly harmful results are the weakened physical condition of the mother, the increased susceptibility to diseases which are especially common in the coffee districts, particularly anemia, and such diseases as are the results of exposure. The larva of the hookworm lives and finds a fertile field for action in the damp and shady regions devoted to the production of coffee, and as the majority of the women laborers are not accustomed to wear shoes, they easily permit contact and contagion from this disease. The strength of children and their ability to withstand disease depends to a great extent upon whether or not they are physically strong at the period of their birth and during the time they are under the direct care of the mother. A mother whose system has been weakened by the debilitating effects of anemia, cannot nourish her child and provide him with the necessary amount of food, and as a result, the child is either anemic, or a victim to malnutrition as a result of introducing solid food into his system before the digestive organs are prepared to take care of such food. Among the indirectly harmful results of woman labor is the necessary separation of the mothers from the children of the family. The mother on going to work, either leaves her children in the care of a neighbor, or leaves them at home where the older children take care of the younger. This deprives the children of the mother's influence and allows them liberty to associate with children who may be undesirable companions, which would be avoided to a great extent if the mother were present to take care of them. The Juvenile Court records in the United States show that 85 per cent of the delinquent children brought before the court have been led into bad habits through the failure of one or both of the parents to take care of their supervision during play hours. Divorce in the United States has been strongly attacked for the reason that it deprives the child of one of his legal protectors. From the same point of view, woman and child labor, which deprives the child of the care of his mother, must inevitably produce bad results in the growing generation. The use of child labor in Porto Rico is not particularly preferred except in coffee districts and in certain agricultural sections where boys are used at certain times of the year to help drive the oxen, or to help in planting the crop. As this is outdoor work it does not have the devitalizing effect upon the child's body which factory work would have, and as it does not require concentrated attention, it is relieved from the monotony which would tend to lower the child's mental ability. The evil results which must be guarded against are those arising from overwork and from association with undesirable characters while the child is not under the supervision of his parents. In addition to this, the child who is engaged at work must lose the benefits which he should be receiving from attendance at school. During the last year, the Department of Education has attempted to solve this problem by changing the vacation period, so that the long vacation of three months will fall at the coffee-picking season in such sections of the Island as are devoted to the production of this crop, and where previously there was a great decrease in school attendance at the time when the harvesting of the coffee was in progress. This, undoubtedly, will greatly help to do away with the harmful results which formerly were the consequences of irregular attendance or non-attendance at school on the part of a great many of the children in the coffee-growing districts. An increase in the number of rural schools so that all of the children of the rural districts can be accommodated, is also necessary before this problem is entirely solved. At the present time, a large number of the children in the country cannot attend school, either because the school in the neighborhood is overcrowded, or because the nearest school is at too great a distance for them to attend with regularity. The removal of these conditions unfortunately depends upon an added appropriation for the maintenance of the Department of Education, and it is doubtful whether the income of the Island will be sufficient to supply the needed increase for years to come. With the gradual improvement of roads, consolidated schools may help to solve the problem, and a half-day enrollment for each group will tend to increase the number of children that can be taken care of. Children who find that they cannot obtain a place in the school will naturally be made use of by their parents for wage-earning purposes whenever possible, but the great majority of parents would not put their children at work if the children were enrolled in school and if irregularity of attendance were to lead to dismissal from the school. Another thing that would help to relieve the situation, as far as woman and child labor is concerned, would be the establishment of a minimum wage for unskilled farm labor, such wage to be sufficient to enable the laborer to maintain his family without the help of money earned by the wife or children. The time of the wife could be occupied in poultry raising and in caring for the family garden, which would also tend to reduce the cost of living for the family and could easily be established, if the landowner were to provide sufficient garden space with each house in addition to the regular wages paid his laborers. Of course, methods of gardening would have to be included in the rural school programs, and the rural teacher should act as a supervisor of these gardens and advisor to the people of the community in which he is employed. The important things to guard against in the life of the family, from the standpoint of the welfare of both the family and the community, are that the mother need not be obliged to dissipate the strength, through outside labor, which she needs in the raising and caring for her family. The lack of proper supervision of the children through the absence of the mother from the home must also be guarded against. In case it can be proved that a father is unable through his own efforts to earn sufficient to maintain his family, a system of mothers' pensions carried on by the government should be established in order that the mother may be safeguarded from want in case of the death of her husband, and that she may not be obliged to help him in the maintenance of the family through the performance of such labor as would interfere with her regular family obligations. INDUSTRIES THE principal industries of Porto Rico are necessarily of an agricultural character, and their importance to the Island financially is shown by the fact that during the year 1914-15 exports to the value of $49,356,907 left for the United States and foreign countries. The imports for the same period reached the amount of $33,884,296, thus giving a good surplus to the Island after the total imports had been paid for. The principal classes of imports are the foodstuffs which might be produced in sufficient quantities to maintain the population of Porto Rico. This is a situation which should receive attention, inasmuch as the Island is capable of producing all of the foodstuffs which it needs for its own consumption. The principal article of export from Porto Rico is sugar and other products of the sugar cane. The article of export second in value is tobacco in its various forms. Third comes coffee; and these three products make up the chief source of wealth. The chief criticism in regard to the agricultural situation of Porto Rico at the present time, is that there has been very little development of small farm products which would tend to make it possible and profitable for the landholder who is in possession of only a few acres to earn a comfortable living. The climate and soil of Porto Rico would, undoubtedly, lend themselves to the production of many fruits and vegetables which could be raised with profit on farms limited in size, and which would enable the small farmer to maintain his family. In addition to the introduction of agricultural products fitted for small farm production, an opportunity should be given and efforts encouraged for the establishment and improvement of such lines of work as can be carried on in the homes or by a small group of people working independently. Among these kinds of work are several, such as the hat-making and basket-making industries, the production of handmade lace and embroidery, and other forms of needlework, which might be carried on by women working independently during the time they have free from the occupations of their household work. These handmade articles of Porto Rico are much sought after by tourists, and there is no doubt but that a large and profitable market could be opened for them in the United States, if efforts were made to establish the production on a commercial basis. The individual living in a small town who devotes himself to hat making is handicapped because he has no steady market for his goods and is obliged to sell them or trade them for whatever he can obtain from retail dealers, who themselves attempt to secure only the limited trade which enters their stores. In order to make industries of this sort profitable to the producers, it will be necessary to secure a new and permanent market for the goods, and either the government or some group of individuals who will not exploit the workers, should act as middlemen to see that the work is uniform in character, and to attend to the handling of the finished products and the supplying of a market for it in the United States. Working as individuals, the countrymen or dwellers in small towns have turned out products which differ in quality and in design, and very frequently the lack of resources has obliged them to construct their products from unsuitable or cheap materials. They have been accustomed to ask for their products as high a price as they thought they could obtain, and often this price is too high for the quality of the article, while sometimes it does not pay for the labor and time which has been expended in the production of the article. By systematizing the work and putting it under the direction of competent supervisors who would specify the quality of material to be used in the production of the articles, and who would fix a price which would fairly represent the time and labor expended by the producer, and who would be able to reject work that did not meet the standard set, the value of the goods would be increased. An equally necessary step in this matter would be the providing of a regular market for the goods and the supervision of production, so that the market would not be overloaded with certain articles and lacking in others. Experiments already carried out have proved the existence of a market for Porto Rican goods in the United States, and the matter should be taken up under the supervision of the Insular Government. In order to produce trained workers for the production of these articles, it would be necessary to establish schools for their instruction which might well be under the direction of the Department of Education. These schools would not necessarily last throughout the year, nor would they require any great expenditure of money for their maintenance. The character of the school should depend upon the locality in which it was established and should be designed only for the training of skilled workmen, either child or adult, in particular lines of work. Short courses of two or three months in these industrial schools should be offered, and the people who attend them should be assured of a market for their goods when they have arrived at a point where they can produce goods of the proper standard. The money expended in the establishment and maintenance of these schools would more than double the earning capacity of the unskilled worker, and the general welfare of the community would be increased by the changing of unskilled and unproductive citizens into trained, productive laborers. It is a well established fact that the trained workman is the most desirable kind of citizen. The unskilled laborer has no steady market for his labor and is the first victim in the wage system whenever a financial crisis causes the employer to lessen his expenses. The unskilled laborer has for sale a product which the average employer is not anxious to obtain, whereas the skilled worker can find a much more steady and regular market for his labor. The lawless, irresponsible class of citizens in any community is always composed to a great extent of the unskilled laborers, and any country which has an overwhelming proportion of its population composed of this class of people is in constant danger of labor disturbances and conflicts between employers and employees. The great majority of the men in penal institutions are unskilled laborers, and if the proportion of this type of citizens is sufficiently large, it may constitute a real danger to the community. With increased ability to earn wages comes the desire to improve living conditions and to rise higher in the social scale. This demands added education, more hygienic surroundings, and better food and clothing. The man who earns fifty cents a day, and that at irregular periods, is an early victim to dissatisfaction and is easily made to believe that life has not much for him in the future, and that he has not been fairly treated by his employer. The skilled laborer who earns double this amount or more, begins to take a new interest in life, as he can see the results which have come from his directed efforts, and values the benefit to his family; he educates his children, sees to it that they are well clothed and fed, and he himself becomes interested in the life and problems of the community as he becomes gradually a person of some importance in its economic and social life. A dependent wage-earning population usually lacks ideals of self-improvement, but the steady-working, independent producer of marketable goods is constantly striving to improve the amount and quality of his products. THE LAND PROBLEM AND UNEMPLOYMENT ONE of the most difficult problems to solve in the case of a small country such as Porto Rico, and one which has a definite bearing on both the economic and the social life of the people, is the land situation. This is especially true when the chief industries are such as lend themselves more readily to large plantation farming rather than to small industries or crops which can be raised profitably on small areas. The most important products of Porto Rico to-day are large-farm products, and they naturally tend to develop a small number of large landowners and a large number of landless citizens. There were in 1910, 46,799 farms operated by their owners, and it was estimated that 600,000 people or 117,647 families in rural sections belonged to the landless class. An equally large proportion of landless citizens is found in urban centers. Of the 10,936 people in Puerta de Tierra in 1913, only 178 or about 30 families owned the land on which their houses were located. It is estimated that there are at least 800,000 people or 156,860 landless families in Porto Rico. In addition to the tendency toward lawlessness that is always found where there is an overproportion of landless citizens, the systems of land rental in Porto Rico have certain unfortunate economic aspects which call for consideration. Part of the renters live in houses which are owned by the proprietor of the land upon which their houses are located, and here the case resolves itself simply into the ordinary relations of renters and householders. This system does not differ to any great extent from the ordinary rent system in the States and has the same disadvantages, both economical and social, which are to be found wherever the rental system is in operation. A second system which has been known as the "Land Rent System" is somewhat different. Under this system a man rents a lot from the owner of the property and proceeds to erect his own house upon the land. He then owns the house but not the land upon which it is located. Usually he rents from the proprietor from month to month or from year to year and has no definite lease of the land, and there is nothing to prevent the owner from raising the rental price or from demanding the house of the renter whenever he feels so inclined. As a matter of fact, it frequently happens that the land is rented to householders at fifty cents or a dollar monthly for the purpose of building houses, and within a short time after the completion of the house the owner of the land advances the price of rent, so that the house owner finds himself unable to meet the increased cost. He then has no choice except to move out and leave his house, together with the amount of work and invested money which it represents, or to sell the house to another person. Usually the house is sold to the owner of the land himself, who thus comes into possession, at a very reduced price, of a house which he, in turn, rents to another individual. This system is extremely unfortunate for the renter and should be abolished by the passing of legislation which would require the granting of a lease for a certain definite period to every person who builds upon land owned by another. A modification of this system is frequently found in the cases where employees build their houses upon the land which belongs to the plantation. In many cases the employer does his utmost to make the life of his tenants as pleasant as possible, granting them garden plots and trying to make them permanent employees by offering them certain advantages. In many cases, however, the employer maintains a company store and requires his employees to purchase all their provisions from the store, thus making a double profit from them, and frequently charging them higher prices than they would have to pay elsewhere. In other cases the employer guarantees the credit of his workmen at a given local store, and on pay day he turns over to the local storekeeper the amount due the workmen and the storekeeper deducts from this the amount which is owing him for provisions and hands over to the workmen what may be left. As the average countryman has little idea of business and is lacking in knowledge of how to keep accurate accounts, and, moreover, since a credit system always tends to extravagance, it frequently happens that the workman is never entirely out of debt. There is a law approved in 1908 which makes it unlawful "for any corporation, company, firm or person engaged in any trade or business, whether directly or indirectly, to issue, sell, give or deliver to any person employed by such corporation, company, firm or person, payments of wages to such laborers, or as an advance for labor not due, in any script, token, draft, check or other evidence of indebtedness payable or redeemable otherwise than in lawful money." Section 2 of the same law provides that "if any corporation, company, firm or person shall coerce or compel or attempt to coerce or compel an employee to purchase goods or supplies in payment of wages due him from any corporation, company, firm or person, such said named corporation, company, firm or person shall be guilty of a misdemeanor." In this way attempts have been made to protect the laborer from exploitation, but violations of the law are not uncommon. There is need for legislation to provide opportunity for the man of small means to purchase sufficient land to establish a home. In Porto Rico there are about 121,346 acres of government lands located in various parts of the Island which might well be opened to settlement at a nominal price. Legislation should also be passed which would provide that private land which is not used for produce for a given term of years might be opened to settlement and sold to people who would occupy it and use it for production. There are many acres of private land in Porto Rico which are not used at all and have not been used for years. The accumulation of land by an individual or a corporation for purposes of speculation or for purposes other than cultivation and use for the production of crops should be discouraged, because the limited amount of land in the Island does not permit such accumulation except at the expense of the poorer class of people. There is at present a law preventing the accumulation of more than 500 acres of land by any company or corporation, but no penalty has been provided for the violation of this law, and it is practically useless as it stands at present. In addition to providing means by which people would be encouraged to own and manage small farms, coöperative organizations for providing a market for the products of these farms should be established. Undoubtedly, the government should start such a movement. The spirit of coöperation is not strong in Porto Rico at the present time, and the small farm holder finds himself at a disadvantage when he has to compete with the larger producer and when he is obliged to find a market for his goods. Some such system as exists in Denmark, where the farmers of a community have joined themselves into coöperative associations for selling their products and the purchase of necessary supplies, might very well be introduced into Porto Rico. This would tend not only to improve the economic situation by bringing better prices and a steady market for the farm products, and by making possible the purchase of necessary supplies in larger quantities, but it would also help to encourage a sense of unity and mutual confidence among the people of a given community, which would be of immense value in raising the standard of citizenship. Community pride and a definite desire for improvement would necessarily follow such a movement. Farming is one of the few occupations which is not influenced by seasons, so far as unemployment is concerned. Practically all of the trades have their busy seasons and their idle seasons, and any movement which would tend to make employment more permanent by providing small farms for a larger number of people, would be of immense benefit to the Island as a whole. The Bureau of Labor of Porto Rico in an investigation which covered the last five months of the year 1913, found that of the total number of union men reported, 27 per cent were unemployed during the month of August, 26 per cent during September, 38 per cent during October, 34 per cent during November, and 46 per cent during December. The men reporting were engaged in various occupations. It was estimated that 28 per cent of all the laborers who reported were unemployed on account of lack of work and not on account of not desiring work. The different trades represented are as follows: among the dock laborers 62 per cent were unemployed, 56 per cent of the carpenters, 47 per cent of the agricultural laborers, 23 per cent of the cigar makers, and 10 per cent of the typesetters reported that they could not find employment. Thus it will be seen that when the individual workman is at the mercy of the employer, he has no independent status such as he would have were he the owner of even a very modest piece of property, and it is inevitable that he will find employment only part of the year. Part time employment tends to low standards of living, because during the period of reduced financial income the standards of living are lowered, and when it is found that the family can exist on the reduced income there is little inducement for seeking work since the desire for economy and saving is not greatly developed among the working classes of Porto Rico. We find a gradual lowering of the moral standard as the necessary accompaniment of low standards of living, and if continued long enough, this low moral standard gradually leads to moral and social degeneration. The necessary steps should be taken by the legislature to provide for the relief of the landless and unemployed classes, as otherwise these people will constitute a serious handicap for the economic and social development of a competent body of citizens. POVERTY THE meaning of the word poverty is relative and depends upon the class of people to whom the word is applied. Poverty, technically, is the lack of an income sufficient to maintain the individual as the society in which he lives demands that he should live. Thus a wealthy man may live in relative poverty if he is in a circle of acquaintances who are much more wealthy than he is. The amount of income necessary to keep one from being classed in the poverty-stricken group decreases with the simplicity of individual, family, and community life. The amount of property necessary to keep one from poverty in the country is not as great as the amount of property necessary to keep one from poverty in the cities, due to the fact that the standards of living in the country are much simpler and require less expenditure of money to conform to the social standards. Pauperism is not the same as poverty. Poverty may be only temporary, depending upon unfavorable conditions which have reduced the income of the family, such as sickness, accident, lack of employment, or other factors beyond the control of the individual. Poverty does not necessarily involve any moral degeneration, while the pauper is entirely dependent on society and is a moral degenerate. Poverty, in general, however, is a dangerous condition, because it generally leads to pauperism. Poverty perpetuates itself if not taken care of; and if the poor man should give up the struggle against poverty, the general effect on society would be injurious, because, through contact, standards of living, social disease, and bad morals are contagious. The competition between capital and labor, which often leads to poverty, is not fair if it is limited to the individual members of society. As the individual capitalist has more influence than the individual laborer, labor must be organized in order to equalize the situation. The competitive process between capital and labor, and between industrial organizations, should be controlled so that people should not be compelled to compete on an unfair basis. The existing conditions in any community are largely responsible for poverty and often for pauperism. They are especially responsible for the attitude of the individual in regard to poverty as to whether he will make a fight to gain a place in society above the poverty-stricken class, or whether he simply resigns himself to his fate and continues to live in a poverty-stricken condition. In this situation, the well-to-do class is more responsible for poverty than any other class, because they have the most power, both legislative and moral, and they must assume for this reason a greater share of responsibility regarding the conditions in any given community. Poverty can be alleviated, but probably not entirely eliminated, and some of the means of combating poverty are the following: First.--Education. By this means the efficiency of the individual in adjusting himself to trade environment is increased. Second.--The self-support of weaker classes through voluntary associations among themselves, such as labor movements. Third.--The proper kind of legal protection, such as factory, and woman and child labor laws, safeguards in factory work, the minimum wage, and accident laws. Fourth.--Rational charity, by which cases of unusual necessity can be cared for. This charity should act as a temporary agency and should not become permanent, as in that case it tends to pauperism. Fifth.--Eugenics, by which the physically and mentally unfit, who contribute largely to the pauper class, may be eliminated from society and prevented from propagating a second generation. Modern charity is more democratic than older charity, and in its workings material aid is made subordinate to moral aid. It is optimistic and believes that radical improvements in social conditions are possible. It believes that the family should always be a self-supporting group, that charity should try to make the poverty-stricken family self-supporting, and that the family should be kept together. One of the improvements in modern charity is what is known as organized charity, which is a sort of clearing house for the charities of a community. Organized charity does not extend material aid so much as it attempts to find work for needy individuals and thus do away with poverty by putting the family on a self-supporting basis. Organized charity would do away with the begging pauper and require him to present his case at the headquarters of the society, where an investigation of the necessities of his particular case could be made and an effort to find suitable employment for him undertaken. The individual who wished to contribute to charity would contribute to the central organization instead of to the wandering beggar. This would have two distinct benefits to society, as it would prevent the disagreeable sights often encountered where begging is allowed in public, and it would prevent the individual member of society from being imposed upon by a beggar who might be in sufficiently good physical condition to undertake work which would bring in enough to maintain himself and his family. The question of organized charity in Porto Rico has been suggested at different times, but it has never met with any great popular response, due to the customs and traditions of a charity-giving people. The Island to-day has a large number of paupers who are entirely dependent upon the charity which they receive through begging, and the custom of giving in response to the requests of these beggars is so widespread, that at the present time organized charity would have a most difficult field of work to undertake. The Island of Porto Rico is prosperous. In the last fiscal year there was a surplus of about $15,000,000 of exports over the imports into the Island; but the distribution of wealth in Porto Rico is not equalized. It has been estimated that the wealth of the Island is in the hands of about 15 per cent of the population, and that the remaining 85 per cent are practically dependent upon uncertain labor and wage conditions for their maintenance. The per capita wealth of a country determines to a great degree the financial situation as far as the average individual is concerned. From the following list of per capita wealth in some of the leading countries, it will be possible to estimate how the average Porto Rican compares with the average citizen of other countries in this regard. The following list is based on statistics of 1909: Great Britain per capita wealth $1,442 France " " " 1,257 Australia " " " 1,228 United States " " " 1,123 Denmark " " " 1,104 Canada " " " 949 Belgium " " " 734 Germany " " " 707 Spain " " " 548 Austria Hungary " " " 499 Greece " " " 485 Italy " " " 485 Portugal " " " 417 Russia " " " 296 Porto Rico " " " 182 From the above table it will be seen that the average individual in Porto Rico is comparatively poor. The economic situation in Porto Rico is giving rise to the formation of classes based on wealth. With the introduction of available markets and modern methods of commerce and industry which followed the American occupation, the land values rapidly increased. The small landholder, seeing the increase in price which came about and believing that it was to his best advantage to sell his land, disposed of it to the representatives of large landholding concerns for what, to him, was a fabulous price. As soon as the money from this sale was expended, the original landholder found himself absolutely dependent upon the mercy of a wage-paying employer. In this way a great part of small landholdings passed into the hands of representatives of large landholdings and caused the formation of the two groups, the capitalistic group, which is limited to a comparatively small number of people, and the wage-earning group, which comprises probably 90 per cent of the population of Porto Rico. As a result we lack in Porto Rico the great middle class of financially independent farmers which constitutes the strength of the United States and the more prosperous European countries. A serious and systematic effort to build up a prosperous and independent middle class, either by encouraging small-farm or other industries, is necessary if the majority of the people are to attain the advantages which they should enjoy, and if the social and economic status of the Island is to be made equitable and stable. The reduced wage system and the absolute dependence of the wage-earning group has given rise to a great many labor disturbances within the last few years. These labor disturbances have included both city and country groups and have in nearly all cases been caused by an effort to better the working conditions and to secure an increase of wages. In the great majority of the cases there is no doubt but that the laborers were justified in asking for better conditions than those which actually existed. That the disturbances sometimes ended in riots and led to the destruction of property is the fault of the educational condition of the people, who are easily excited and led to believe that only by the use of violence can they secure the things which they demand. The relation between poverty and health and poverty and morals is very close. The poverty-stricken family cannot be led to take any great amount of interest in society or health betterment until means have been produced by which the economic situation of the family group can be bettered. The expense of living uses up the daily wage of the ordinary unskilled laborer in Porto Rico, who averages fifty or sixty cents per day for the time that the weather and his physical condition permit him to work. There is also a close relation between sickness and poverty, the average countryman of Porto Rico being only partly as efficient a worker as he should be, due to physical weakness caused by anemia or malaria. Poverty is closely related to degeneration and crime, especially when it descends into pauperism and absolute dependence upon charity. The climate and geographical conditions of Porto Rico have never provided the laborer with any incentive to economize, inasmuch as he has no need for providing against a period of cold, and Nature produces some form of plant or vegetable food throughout the entire year. Clothing and lodging may be of the simplest and still prevent much suffering under such conditions, and with physical weakness caused by disease, the tendency is to live for the present, and to take little care for the future through a system of saving and economy. The average manual laborer saves nothing and makes little effort to accumulate property. Incentive must be provided through education which will accustom the countryman to the idea of accumulation of property in a small way, so that dependence upon charity will not be necessary in the case of a financial or economic crisis. That there is a movement toward saving is evident from the fact that on June 30, 1915, there were savings accounts to the amount of $1,909,969.34 in the various banks in the Island. This, however, is a comparatively small amount, and the younger generation should be given definite instruction and incentives along the line of savings. The introduction of the Postal Savings Bank has been of great value in this respect, and the school savings banks have also done their share in inculcating the principles of economy. SICKNESS AND DISEASE THE Island of Porto Rico is more free from disease than the average tropical or semi-tropical country, due to the active efforts of the medical profession and of the special commissions and departments created for the elimination of disease within the last few years. Nevertheless, a great deal of sickness which might be avoided, part of which is responsible for death, and part of which merely incapacitates the sufferers or renders them less useful citizens, is to be found. The elimination of such diseases as smallpox and yellow fever, which formerly were responsible for a great number of deaths and which descended upon the Island as epidemics with considerable regularity, has been accomplished, and if similar care were taken in the case of less dreaded diseases, there is reason to believe that they could also be wiped out of existence in the Island. For the year 1915-16 there was a total of 26,572 deaths in Porto Rico. Most of these deaths were from diseases classified as transmissible, and, consequently, from diseases which could be prevented by complete quarantine. Following is a list of the number of deaths from the diseases which took the heaviest toll in the Island: Rickets 1,271 Tuberculosis (lungs) 2,125 Malaria 1,290 Typhoid fever 94 Whooping cough 167 Tetanus 109 Cancer 365 Meningitis 344 Epilepsy 57 Acute bronchitis 1,015 Chronic bronchitis 309 Bronco-pneumonia 822 Pneumonia 569 Diarrhea and enteritis under two years 3,485 Diarrhea and enteritis two years and over 870 Infantile tetanus 729 Lack of care in infancy 117 Congenital debility in children 1,145 Uncinariasis 479 Smallpox 9 Diphtheria 26 The two diseases which are of most vital importance to the people of Porto Rico at present are undoubtedly tuberculosis and anemia. The ravages of tuberculosis are more noticeable in the cities, and it has been stated that in 1912, on one street in San Juan, 12 out of every 100 residents died of this disease. Anemia is prevalent throughout the Island, but is more noticeable in the country districts than in the cities, and while the death rate for anemia is not so high as the death rate of some other diseases, yet by reason of weakening the vitality of the sufferers it tends to offer a fertile spot for the incubation of germs of other diseases, and the working and producing power of the individual is lessened with the acuteness of the disease. It has been claimed that anemia was introduced into Porto Rico by the negroes who were brought here as slaves in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, and the identity of the disease with the anemia existing in about 20 per cent of all the negroes of the Gold Coast has been determined. The disease was for a long time limited to the coast land and was propagated on the sugar plantations, but after the introduction of coffee, which has come to be the chief product of the mountain regions, the disease was propagated throughout the entire Island. This disease has left its trace among the country people and they have been accused of laziness and idleness when it is probable that the cause of the apparent disinclination for work is due to the weakened physical condition which is a result of the anemia. In this connection, Drs. Gutierrez and Ashford in their work on _Uncinariasis in Porto Rico_ quote Col. George D. Flinter, an Englishman in the service of Spain, who published in 1834 "An account of Porto Rico," as follows: "The common white people, or lowest class (called _jíbaros_), swing in their hammocks all day long, smoking cigars and scraping their native guitars.... Most of these colonists are inconceivably lazy and indifferent. Lying back in their hammocks, the entire day is passed praying or smoking. Their children, isolated from the cities, without education, live in social equality with the young negroes of both sexes, acquiring perverted customs, only to later become cruel with their slaves." Commenting on this statement, Drs. Gutierrez and Ashford speak as follows: "What if these people were merely innocent victims of a disease, modern only in name? What if the brand placed by the Spaniard, the Englishman, and the Frenchman in olden times upon the _jíbaro_ of Porto Rico were a bitter injustice? The early reports savor strongly of those touristic impressions of the Island which from time to time crop out in the press of modern America, in which 'laziness and worthlessness' of the 'natives' are to be inferred, if, indeed, these very words are not employed to describe a sick workingman, with only half of the blood he should have in his body." "True, Col. Flinter, Field Marshall Count O'Reilly, and the rest of the long list of early 'observers' did not know what uncinariasis was. But is it necessary that we have a record of microscopic examinations of the feces of the people they describe to realize what can be read between the lines? Convicts, adventurers, and gypsies may have formed part of the element that colonized Porto Rico, but we cannot believe that these were all, nor that their descendants were 'lazy' and 'worthless.' "We cannot believe that vicious idleness comes natural to the Spanish colonist, even in the Tropics, for the very reason that we have seen these descendants at their very worst, after the neglect of four centuries by their mother country, and after the laborious increase of an anemic population in the face of a deadly disease, whose nature was neither known nor studied, work from sunrise to sunset and seek medical attention, not because they felt sick, but because they could no longer work. "We strongly feel that these writers have unconsciously described uncinariasis. Are the Spanish people considered 'lazy' by those who know them? Were those Spaniards who conquered Mexico, Peru, and all South America, who formed so formidable a power in the Middle Ages, a lazy people? "Is it 'laziness' or disease that is this very day attracting the attention of the United States to the descendant of the pure-blooded English stock in the Southern Appalachian Range, in the mountains of Carolina and Tennessee, the section of our country where the greatest predominance of 'pure American blood' occurs, despised by the negro who calls him 'poor white trash'?" During the year 1914-15 there were 6,644 deaths of children under two years of age, which constituted 28.8 per cent of the total mortality of the Island. Approximately 14 out of every 100 children born, died in infancy, and the death rate for the total population was 5.55 per cent for children under one year of age, and 7.71 per cent for children under two years of age. Diarrhea and enteritis were responsible for 33.8 per cent of infant mortality; congenital debility for 13.14 per cent; infantile tetanus for 10.32; while disease of the respiratory organs caused 16.17 per cent of the infant mortality. It has never been definitely determined just what losses, from the point of view of days of labor, or from the point of view of vitality of the laborer, have been caused by malaria. Mr. D. L. Van Dine, in an article in the _Southern Medical Journal_ for March, 1915, gives the result of some of his investigations among the laboring class in Louisiana. In this study, which was made on one of the large plantations and which covered 74 tenant families with a total of 299 individuals, he shows the losses which occurred from May to October 15, 1914. There were 970 days of actual illness of such a nature that the illness was reported to the physician. Forty-eight out of the seventy-four families were reported to the doctor for malaria. According to Mr. Van Dine, this does not take into consideration mild attacks of malaria which were not reported to the physician, especially in the cases of children. He has estimated that there were at least 487 days lost in cases which were not reported to the doctor. He also estimates that there was a loss of 385 days on the part of the adults who assisted in caring for the malaria patients. It is estimated that there was a loss in days of labor equal to nearly six days and a half for each case of malaria. It will easily be seen that this may be a serious loss of time as far as the production of crops is concerned, and even thus it does not fairly represent the loss, as it does not take into consideration the weakened energy of the man just before or just after the malarial attack. Undoubtedly, there is as great a loss in Porto Rico from malaria as is indicated in the statements just made. It has been reported that in some sections of the Island, 85 per cent of the people were found to have malaria germs in their blood. Between the two diseases of malaria and anemia, there is no doubt that the physical condition of the Porto Rican countrymen is gradually debilitated. Since the American occupation, stress has been laid upon the attempts to eliminate anemia, and this work has received special attention since 1906. During the year 1914-15 there were 32,278 new cases of anemia treated in different parts of the Island, and 15,497 cases were discharged as cured. Undoubtedly a great deal of the illness in Porto Rico is the result of improper food, or food prepared in an improper manner. Malnutrition among children is frequent and leads to such diseases as rickets, which we find has an exceptionally high death rate. In the recent measurements given at the University among university students, it has been found that there was an average depth of chest of nearly half an inch more than is found in the American boy or girl of the same age, and this has been considered as an indication of malnutrition and general softening of the bones in early childhood. A hemoglobin test which was given to the students of the University this year showed that the average among the men was 80.04 per cent, and only 77.6 per cent among the women. The average for Porto Rico should not fall below 85 per cent, and the anemic conditions indicated by the low average is an indication that the disease is to be found not only among the country people, but also among people of the best conditions of life. It will be impossible to settle the economic and social problems of Porto Rico until the question of personal health has been more nearly solved than it is to-day. With a large proportion of the country people sick from anemia and malaria, and with tuberculosis as prevalent as it is at the present time, the weakened vitality will not permit strenuous or continued work sufficient to improve economic conditions to any great extent. Social conditions, depending as they do upon the economic situation, must also be slow of improvement, and the most important work facing the Government of Porto Rico at present is the elimination of such diseases as impair the physical condition of the people and thus interfere with economic and social progress. CRIME GENERALLY speaking, criminals may be divided into three classes: first, those who direct crime but who take no active part in the commission of the crime themselves; second, those who commit crimes which require a considerable amount of personal courage; third, those who commit crimes which do not necessarily involve any great amount of personal courage. There might be added a fourth class, which would consist of those who commit crime through ignorance of the law or carelessness in informing themselves of exact legal measures and in heeding this knowledge when once obtained. During the year 1915-16 there was a total of 53,006 arrests in the Island of Porto Rico. Of this number, nearly 47,000 were men and the rest were women. On the basis of a population of 1,200,000, this would give one arrest for every 22 persons in the Island. Of this total number of arrests, however, only 438 were cases of felony. There were a great many arrests for the infraction of municipal ordinances,--something over 11,000 in all,--and more than 8,000 arrests for disturbance of the peace. Over 9,000 were for gambling, and over 2,000 for petty larceny; about 5,000 arrests were for infraction of the sanitary laws, and nearly 2,000 arrests were for infraction of road laws. This shows that the greater number of arrests was for comparatively unimportant crimes; by unimportant meaning, of course, those crimes which do not directly involve the loss of life or of any great amount of property. The felonies committed during the year were as follows: Murders 41 Homicides 26 Attempt at murder 30 Robbery 5 Rape 15 Seduction 24 Crime against nature 3 Arson 5 Burglary 148 Forgery 6 Counterfeiting 1 Grand larceny 10 Cattle stealing 25 Smuggling 5 Extortion 2 Crime against the public health and security 55 Mayhem 11 Violation of postal laws 5 Violation of graves 1 Conspiracy 8 Falsification 7 giving a total of 438, which includes not only those sentenced but also those indicted and acquitted. From this table it will be seen that a relatively small number of the actual felonies committed are felonies involving loss of life or an attempt against life. In support of this table, and in proof of the fact that crimes of violence are relatively few in Porto Rico, the following table is given, which is a record of the convictions of the district courts of the Island of Porto Rico in criminal cases, for the years 1913-14 and 1914-15, and of the convicts in the penitentiary June 30, 1915: Number of Percentage In peni- Per cent convictions of crimes tentiary in prison 1913- 1914- 1913- 1914- 14 15 14 15 Violation of laws enacted in exercise of police powers 220 842 .23 .45 142 .10 Against persons 286 432 .30 .23 371 .25 Against property 329 312 .34 .17 779 .53 Against the administration of public justice 29 142 .03 .08 21 .01 Against decency 40 51 .04 .03 97 .06 Against good morals 36 35 .04 .02 20 .01 Against reputation 9 16 .01 .01 ... ... Unclassified 10 7 .01 .01 38 .03 --- ----- ----- Totals 959 1,837 1,468 From the above table it will be seen that crimes against persons constitute 23 to 30 per cent of the crimes committed. Of the total number of convicts in the penitentiary for the commission of crime, 25 per cent, during the year 1914-15, were there for crimes against persons. Thus we may definitely state that about 25 per cent of the crimes carried to the district courts of Porto Rico are those which involve attempts against the life or well-being of another person. It will be noticed from the above table that with few exceptions the percentages of crimes for the two years are very nearly equal. In 1913-14, 34 per cent of the crimes were against property, which was not strange when we consider that this was a year of financial crisis, due to the sugar situation. In the same year 23 per cent of the crimes were in violation of laws enacted in exercise of police powers. These crimes included breach of the peace. In the following year, 1914-15, when we had about 17,000 laborers engaged in strikes throughout the Island, and when in addition to this there was a general Insular election, we find that the number of crimes against property dropped to 17 per cent, whereas the number of crimes in violation of laws enacted in exercise of police powers rose from 23 per cent to 45 per cent. This would tend to prove that the average lawbreaker in Porto Rico is easily influenced by economic circumstances and by social surroundings, and that at such a period as that of strikes or elections criminal tendencies take the direction of breach of the peace and violation of municipal ordinances, rather than such crimes as arson, burglary, embezzlement, or forgery. The influence of the election year is also noticeable in the group of crimes prejudicial to the administration of public justice, which includes contempt of court, bribery, and perjury. During the year 1913-14, 3 per cent of the convictions fell under this head, while during the year 1914-15, the amount was 8 per cent. It will be noticed that of the prisoners in the penitentiary the percentage of those convicted for violation of laws enacted in exercise of police power is only 10 per cent, much less than the percentage of those convicted in the district courts. This, of course, is accounted for by the fact that the great majority of violations of these laws are punishable by fines rather than by imprisonment. In the same way, the percentage of prisoners for crimes against property is much larger than the percentage of convictions in the district courts for this crime, due, of course, to the fact that these crimes are more frequently punished by a prison sentence than by a fine, thus giving an accumulation from year to year of convicts, which overbalances the per cent of the court convictions for any single year. According to the report of the Insular Chief of Police, the town which had the greatest number of arrests, in proportion to its population, for the year 1915-16, was Arroyo, where there was one arrest for every 8.47 persons. This was followed by Salinas, with one arrest for every 8.82 persons. The town with the best record was Las Marías, where there was one arrest for every 162.03 persons. On the basis of the records of the municipal courts for the three years of 1912-13, 1913-14, and 1914-15, the judicial districts stand in the following relation as far as the number of criminal cases presented during that time is concerned. The table given shows one criminal case presented every three years for the number of inhabitants indicated in each judicial district. San Juan, one case for every 17.79 persons Rio Piedras " " " " 18.42 " Patillas " " " " 19.94 " Vieques " " " " 19.98 " Salinas " " " " 23.34 " Guayama " " " " 24.62 " Yauco " " " " 24.14 " Mayaguez " " " " 27.50 " Vega Baja " " " " 28.74 " Humacao " " " " 27.31 " San Lorenzo " " " " 30.66 " Ciales " " " " 31.07 " Fajardo " " " " 31.40 " Juana Diaz " " " " 33.00 " Cáguas " " " " 33.01 " Yabucoa " " " " 33.24 " Añasco " " " " 36.29 " Ponce " " " " 36.92 " Manatí " " " " 37.89 " Arecibo " " " " 38.23 " Cayey " " " " 38.29 " Lares " " " " 40.83 " Rio Grande " " " " 40.90 " Barros " " " " 41.09 " Bayamón " " " " 43.87 " San Germán " " " " 44.70 " Adjuntas " " " " 44.97 " Coamo " " " " 45.19 " Camuy " " " " 47.13 " San Sebastián " " " " 48.55 " Aguadilla " " " " 50.22 " Utuado " " " " 54.61 " Carolina " " " " 57.63 " Cabo Rojo " " " " 64.99 " The great proportion of crime in San Juan, as compared with the rest of the Island, is of course largely due to social conditions, inasmuch as it is the largest city in the Island and to a great extent the resort of undesirable characters for this reason. In the second place, as a coast town and the most important shipping and commercial center, it has a more or less shifting population, and a population composed to a great extent of an uneducated type among the working classes. Every seaport town offers opportunities for criminal classes which inland towns do not possess. The second town in the list, Rio Piedras, is the natural outlet between San Juan and the rest of the Island, which undoubtedly accounts for its large percentage of crime. The rest of the towns where crime is found in large proportion will be discovered to have a large floating population, people who are day laborers and who have no particular interest in the community, except as it provides them with an opportunity for earning daily wages. This class of population is always unfavorable to a community and is always to be found where large industries exist which employ a great number of men; and this is especially true when little attempt is made on the part of the employer to render the permanence of the job desirable by furnishing well-provided living facilities for the employee. It is noticeable that in Cabo Rojo, where the percentage of criminal cases is lowest, the population depends chiefly upon the hat-making industry for its support. This is added proof of the value of small industries from the point of view of community welfare. It is noteworthy that there was an immense increase in the number of crimes committed in the following districts: Ciales, where the number of cases increased from 431 in 1912 to 754 in 1915; Lares, where the increase was from 352 to 853; Vieques, where the increase was from 341 to 684; Yabucoa, where the increase was from 589 to 831; Yauco, where the increase was from 867 to 1,490. In the rest of the districts the number of crimes did not vary greatly from year to year, even decreasing in the case of Rio Piedras from 1,101 in 1912 to 911 in 1915. Of course, the difference in crime percentage might depend upon the efficiency of the police force or upon the severity of the Municipal Judge, but undoubtedly it will be found more often to depend upon local conditions such as strikes, or the introduction of large numbers of workingmen from another district to take part in agricultural or industrial work. The change of location and the resulting necessity of accommodation to local surroundings is apt to be dangerous to the morals of the individual. The great majority of the arrests were for crimes which would be termed city crimes. The average countryman of Porto Rico is a man who has a great deal of respect for the law and is inclined to obey it unless led into trouble in a moment of passion or while under the influence of alcoholic drinks. Throughout the country districts premeditated crime is rare, and from the standpoint of improvement of the community, the cities and large towns should be the chief points of attack. A great deal of carelessness exists as to complying with local laws and municipal ordinances, and it is estimated that on June 30, 1915, there were confined in the Insular jails and detention houses, prisoners in the relation of one to every 7.17 inhabitants of the Island. The chief work of the schools along the line of prevention of crime should be the explanation of laws, both Insular and municipal, and the explanation of the reasons for such laws, in order that the individual may be led by his own volition to avoid lawbreaking. Parents should also be impressed with the necessity of inculcating in their children a respect for constituted authority and the necessary obedience to it in order that as the children develop into men and women they may have the proper respect for the laws and those who have been appointed to enforce them. INTEMPERANCE IT is unnecessary to say anything about the evil effects of the use of alcoholic drinks, whether it be from the physical, moral, or economic point of view. The recent agitation in favor of the prohibition of the manufacture and sale of alcoholic beverages in Porto Rico, however, has caused more discussion regarding the situation here than has ever before been the case, and a brief statement of facts may not be unwarranted. The Porto Ricans are not given to the overconsumption of alcoholic drinks. They are not heavy drinkers, and drunkenness is not at all common. Probably every village has its unfortunate inhabitants, few in number, who live usually under the influence of intoxicants. But the great majority of the people are not given to the excessive use of alcohol. The use of wines is common, a custom characteristic of most Latin peoples. Porto Rico produces a great deal of alcohol, it being one of the by-products of the sugar cane. Data are not available to show just how much of the rum and alcohol produced is used in the Island, and how much is exported, or how much is used for drinking purposes and how much for commercial uses. During the fiscal year 1915-16, a total revenue of $1,111,834.30 was paid to the Insular government on alcoholic liquors manufactured in Porto Rico or imported into the Island. This gives a per capita revenue of nearly one dollar, and this revenue was paid on 3,886,705 liters of alcoholic liquors either manufactured here or imported--a per capita allowance of more than three liters for every inhabitant of the Island. It is probably true that a great deal of the alcohol manufactured in Porto Rico was exported, but even granting that one half was not used here, the amount of one and a half liters for every inhabitant is excessive. The average grocery store carries a complete line of bottled drinks, and often beer in the keg, as well. This is one of the first things which impresses the visitor from the States when he enters a grocery store and sees the shelves packed with all kinds of bottles. There is a constant sale for goods of this sort, usually to the workingmen and poorer class of people, who purchase in small quantities, a drink at a time, for three or five cents; many of them, no doubt, attempting to keep up their physical strength by the use of such a stimulant, since a more noticeable stimulating effect is produced by five cents' worth of rum than could be obtained through the consumption of five cents' worth of food. When this custom becomes as prevalent as it is in Porto Rico, it involves serious evil effects. There are few drug users in the Island, and the strict enforcement of the Harrison Drug Law will prevent drug using from becoming the menace to health and morals to the extent that we find to be the case in many of the cities of the United States. There is, however, a large quantity of patent medicines used, many of which have a sufficient amount of alcohol or narcotic drug element to render them dangerous from the point of view of habit formation. Many of the poorer people do not have the money to pay the fees of a doctor and to purchase at a drug store the medicine which he prescribes. Moreover, many medical men do not listen with as much patience as they might, to the detailed list of complaints which the countryman has to offer. As a consequence, the countryman buys a bottle of medicine which has been recommended to him by a friend, or perhaps by the druggist, who often serves as a consulting physician in the smaller towns. If the medicine makes him feel better, he becomes a firm believer in its power to cure. Whether the result produced is actually a bettering of his physical condition, or merely a deadening of the nerves by means of a narcotic, he does not stop to ask. He recommends the medicine to his friends as a sure remedy for all their illnesses, and probably makes of it a household remedy, to be used by all members of the family when they feel indisposed. The author has known of many instances in which medicine has been purchased from patent medicine firms in the States, because of advertisements in the newspapers, and of several cases, where the money was returned by federal authorities with the statement that the company addressed had been closed by the post office authorities because it was found that their claims were not legitimate and that their medicines were valueless. The average Porto Rican places a great deal of confidence in what he reads in the newspapers, and the papers are not as careful as they should be regarding the question of admitting advertising matter. There is no great amount of public opinion against the use of alcohol in Porto Rico, and until, through the schools, the press, or some other agency, the people as a whole can be brought to see the disadvantage of its use, there can be but little accomplished in the direction of temperance and prohibition. The prohibition movement in the United States is not a matter of the moment alone, it is a movement which has been growing for years, and at the present time seems to have the majority of the population behind it. This is not the case in Porto Rico, and it is doubtful whether an abrupt change, unless backed up by strong public opinion, and the authority of the great majority of the people, would accomplish much in the way of betterment of conditions. JUVENILE DELINQUENTS ONE of the most difficult problems that faces organized society to-day is the disposal of delinquent children, and in order to meet this problem, the Juvenile Court system has been established in the United States, and by a law approved March 11, 1915, the Juvenile Court system was introduced into Porto Rico to take effect on June 1, 1915. Up to within recent times juvenile offenders have been subjected to the same laws and the same penalties as hardened criminals, and there is no doubt but that a great many boys and girls who had broken some law or local ordinance, often through carelessness or ignorance, were placed in detention houses with older criminals and in this way became accustomed to the criminal classes and frequently were induced to enter upon a life of crime. The prevailing idea of criminal law is to punish the offender for the offense committed against the laws of the state. Modern social science teaches that it is unfair to boys or girls of tender age to visit a punishment of this sort upon them, especially when it may lead to a continuance of crime, rather than to an avoidance of it in the future. Consequently, with the introduction of the Juvenile Court system the cases are taken out of criminal procedure and placed under the jurisdiction of courts of equity. The trials are usually informal, although the child has a right to a trial by jury in case he is accused of a serious offense, and he has the right to legal counsel, if he so desires. These rights, however, are very seldom exercised, inasmuch as it is coming to be recognized that the judges represent an actual attempt to do what is best for the child and do not represent in any way the prosecuting power of the state. The principal figure in a Juvenile Court is the judge of the court, and wherever it is possible to do so, men especially trained in juvenile psychology should be appointed to this office. A knowledge of children and an understanding and appreciation of their feelings is necessary on the part of the judge, and he should be a person of sufficiently magnetic personality to win the sympathies of the children and to enable him to gain their confidence. To what an extent the influence of a single man may reach in the case of juvenile offenders and how far his influence may prevent crime among children, is well seen in the case of Judge Lindsey, of Denver, Colorado. The second official in the court is the probation officer, who is under the authority of the judge, makes the necessary investigations when cases are reported to him, and presents the facts in the case to the judge of the court. He also must look after the children who have passed through the court to see that the sentences of the court are carried out; and if the children are placed on probation under the guardianship of relatives or friends, he must make visits sufficient in number and often enough so that he can be sure that the best interests of the child are being safeguarded, and if he finds the case to be otherwise, to report the facts to the judge of the court. As the financial situation in Porto Rico did not permit the establishment of a completely new judicial system, it was decided to appoint the judge of each of the seven district courts of the Island to act as judge of the Juvenile Court. The prosecutors and municipal court judges are also probation officers _ex officio_, and the justices of the peace and others appointed by the district judges may be asked to serve as special probation officers. The Juvenile Courts in Porto Rico have original jurisdiction over juvenile offenders, and any case appealed from the Juvenile Courts may go directly to the Supreme Court of the Island. The courts are courts of record and the judges have authority to set the dates and places when and where sessions of the court will be held, to summon witnesses and compel them to appear in court. The jurisdiction of the Juvenile Courts in Porto Rico extends to all children under 16 years of age who are accused of any crime whatsoever, and it also applies to all people under 21 years of age, if they have ever been under the jurisdiction of the Juvenile Court before they were 16. The Juvenile Court also has jurisdiction over adults who have been responsible for the abandonment of children or who have contributed in any way to the delinquency of the child. Of course, this situation is not an ideal one for the best working out of the problems that confront a Juvenile Court system. In the first place, it is practically impossible for men who act as criminal judges or criminal prosecutors to adopt the attitude so necessary for the fulfillment of the work of a juvenile court officer, as their training has been such as to influence them to believe that the prisoner is an offender and that violations of the law must be punished with sufficient severity to prevent a repetition of the offense on the part of the prisoner, and to serve as a warning for others who might be tempted to commit the same offense. The Juvenile Court officer, on the other hand, should regard only the best future interests of the child, and the question with him should not be as to whether a proper punishment may be inflicted for what the child has done, but as to how the future conduct of the child may be bettered after a due consideration of all the influences of heredity and environment in each particular case. From July 1, 1915, to January 1, 1916, a total of 164 cases came before the Juvenile Courts. Of these, three cases were girls accused of petty larceny, and two were charged with being abandoned. The remaining 159 cases were boys. The cause given in nearly every case for the bad conduct of the children was one of the four following: 1. Lack of parental authority. 2. Bad environment. 3. Ignorance. 4. Poverty. Of the total number, 83 boys were accused of larceny, 25 were abandoned children, 18 were accused of fighting, 9 were accused of gambling, 7 were accused of breach of the peace, 4 were accused of attempts at larceny, 3 were accused of stoning buildings, and the rest were accused of various minor offenses. An investigation of the home conditions of these boys brings out some pertinent facts in connection with the influence of a broken home upon the actions of the children. Of the total number of cases presented, 21 lived with their parents, 54 lived with their mothers, 23 lived with their fathers, and 22 lived with relatives, 13 lived with guardians, 13 had absolutely no homes and existed as best they might, with no permanent dwelling place, while 8 lived with friends. Thus we see that in the great majority of cases the children came from homes where they lacked the guidance and authority of at least one parent. Only 50 of the 164 had attended school, and only 15 had succeeded in passing the third grade in the public schools. Of the total number, 85 were illegitimate children, and 15 did not know whether their parents were married or not. It is estimated that the city of San Juan alone has 500 homeless children and that there are at least 10,000 children in the Island who have absolutely no home and who are entirely without the influence of parental control. Doubtless, a great majority of these children are the result of illegitimate unions. What that means to the future of Porto Rico can very easily be imagined when we consider that they are growing up absolutely without control and without respect for authority of any sort. In very few cases do they attend the public schools, and they must remain in this homeless condition, living as best they can, stealing or begging, when honest means of obtaining food do not avail. Thus they grow up learning the vice that can be found among the most poverty-stricken and criminal classes with whom they associate, and forming a group of people with criminal tendencies, and in their turn causing to be produced another generation of children who will be handicapped by the environment and the training which their fathers have received. The Government should colonize these homeless children on government lands where they may be taught a trade and where an attempt should be made to give them some idea of what life may mean to the educated, industrious citizen. The results would more than justify the necessary expenditure of money. The Juvenile Court in Porto Rico has three means at its disposal for taking care of children that fall under its jurisdiction. It may send them to the Reform School at Mayaguez, in case they are boys. (There is no Reform School for girls in the Island.) It may also send them to one of the two charity schools in existence, or it may place them under the supervision of a friend or relative who must respond to the probation officer for their good conduct. The Reform School at Mayaguez will accommodate only 100 inmates, and as these are usually required to complete a rather long term of years in the institution, the number of vacancies occurring in the school each year is very small. The charity schools, both for boys and girls, are also overcrowded, and there is very little chance of the Juvenile Court being able to send any of its cases to either of these institutions. As a result, special wards have been prepared in the Insular penitentiary, and the most serious cases are assigned to these wards until such a time as there is a possibility of their being placed in the Reform School. An attempt is made to give the inmates of these special wards industrial work and some academic instruction, and they are kept absolutely separate from adult prisoners. Of the 164 cases mentioned, the following disposition was made of the children: 34 were sent to correctional institutions (most of these were sent to the special wards in the penitentiary), 38 were placed under the care of their mothers, 24 were placed under the care of their fathers, 9 were placed under the care of both parents, 8 under the care of friends, 12 under the care of guardians, 17 under the care of relatives, and 6 were sent to the charity schools. The problem of juvenile offenders is more acute in Porto Rico than in the United States, due to the fact that there are more opportunities open in Porto Rico for juvenile offenders than are to be found, possibly with the exception of the largest cities, in the United States. The early physical development of the tropics adds to the difficulties of the situation, and also the temptations that surround homeless children even at a comparatively early age. In addition to this, we have many instances of consensual marriages, which offer a temptation to even the very young to lower the standards of morality and to become careless regarding the marriage relation. The large number of poverty-stricken and homeless undoubtedly contributes a great deal to physical as well as mental and moral degeneration, and the combination of these factors may perhaps account for the large number of weak-minded and insane that we find at large in the majority of the towns of the Island. In addition, promiscuous sexual relations undoubtedly contribute to this degeneracy, and if active steps are not taken to prepare these homeless children for better living and to enable them to earn an honest living, they will serve as the propagators of another generation of equally homeless, pauperized, and degenerate citizens. RURAL SCHOOLS ONE of the most perplexing problems which the Department of Education has to face in Porto Rico is the problem of the rural schools. In addition to a school budget too small to provide the number of rural schools necessary for all of the children of school age, there are added difficulties in the way of poverty and sickness among the country people which lead to irregular attendance on the part of the children, poor roads, and the keeping of children out of school in order to help earn money to support the family, especially in districts where child labor may be used profitably; and above all these difficulties is the great difficulty of furnishing the rural schools with teachers who are adequately trained and who have a comprehensive view of their mission as teachers and of the duty of the school to the community in which it is located. The rural school problem will never be solved until we are able to provide teachers who are thoroughly prepared for the work which they have to do, and who look upon this work as being as important as any other profession. At present the rural school teachers fall into two rather large classes: first, the young, inexperienced, and often untrained teacher; and, second, the old, often out-of-date teacher, who has been unable to keep step with the progress of the town schools and has been pushed out into the country. Neither of these classes is fitted to give the best instruction in the rural schools; neither of them considers the position of a rural teacher as a permanent one, and in order to accomplish his best work the rural teacher should be expected to live in one community for a term of years so that he may fully understand and appreciate the problems of that community and become thoroughly acquainted with the patrons of his school. The wages of the rural teacher should be such as will enable him to live in comfort, and as part of his wages the Government might very well assign him a parcel of land, together with living quarters, which would tend to make his residence in the district more permanent and which would enable him to carry on experimental work in agriculture at his own home. There is no doubt but that the time will come when consolidated schools will be established in each _barrio_ for the benefit of the children of the community. In this way, better teachers, better school buildings, better equipment, and a better arranged schedule of studies can be provided, as an untrained teacher who works with poor facilities and who has to handle two different groups of children in the day and who may have six grades to teach, is working under a disadvantage which greatly handicaps the work. This is especially true when the teacher has no permanent interest in the rural school problem and regards his term of office there simply as a stepping-stone to a place in the graded school system of the town. In the annual report of the Commissioner of Education for 1914-15 we find the following data in regard to the rural schools of Porto Rico: "The rural schools are located in the _barrios_ or rural subdivisions of the municipalities. Of the 1,200,000 inhabitants which comprise the total population of the Island, about 79 per cent live in this rural area and about 70 per cent of them are illiterate. At the present time there are approximately 331,233 children of school age (between 5 and 18 years) living in the barrios. Of these only 91,966 or 27 per cent were enrolled in the rural schools at any time during the past year. This shows a decrease from the figures reported last year, but the fact is accounted for by an order issued from the central office prohibiting rural teachers from enrolling more than 80 pupils. In some of the populous barrios the teachers were enrolling 150 pupils and sometimes more. Inasmuch as neither the material conditions of the school buildings nor the professional equipment of the teachers justified such a burden, it was deemed wise, even in the face of an overwhelming school population for which no provision is made, to limit the enrollment to a size compatible with a semblance of efficiency. The average number of pupils belonging during the year to the rural schools was 76,341. The average number of teachers at work in these schools was 1,243. This figure includes a number of teachers whose salary was paid by the school boards from their surplus funds. The corps of teachers for the entire Island is fixed by the legislature each year when the appropriations to pay their salaries are made, the commissioner being charged with its distribution among the various municipalities, but the school boards may, within certain limitations, increase the number allotted to them provided they pay their salaries from any surplus funds at their disposal. The average number of pupils taught by each teacher was about 63. The average daily attendance was 69,786, or 89.7 per cent, which gives an average of about 58 pupils receiving instruction daily from each teacher. About 59 per cent of the pupils were boys and 41 per cent girls. The average age of all pupils in the rural schools was 10.1 years. "The above figures show, in a way, the magnitude of the problem to be solved before the people of Porto Rico can assume in full the duties and privileges of self-government. That enormous mass of illiterates, in its primitive, uncured condition, is not safe timber to build the good ship of state. We realize that there are serious social and economic problems to be solved before the people of Porto Rico reach the desired goal. But the pioneer work must be done by the rural school. Those people must be brought to a realization of their condition and to wish to improve it. The rural school, adapted more and more to actual conditions, is the one agency that can bring this about. At present, we are making provision for less than one third of the rural school population. It is as if we had an enormous debt and our resources did not permit us to pay the interest on it. The problem calls for heroic measures. "Of the 1,243 teachers in charge of the rural schools during the past year, 1,217 or 91 per cent had double enrollment, i.e., one group of 40 pupils or less in the morning for three hours, and another similar group in the afternoon for the same period. The distribution of time among the various subjects of the curriculum depends, of course, on whether the school has double enrollment or not, as well as on the number of grades grouped in any one session. "The course of study of the rural schools extends over a period of six years. Of the 91,966 different pupils enrolled during the year, 49.1 per cent were found in the first grade, 25.7 per cent in the second, 15.9 per cent in the third, 8.4 per cent in the fourth, and the remaining 0.9 per cent in the fifth and sixth grades. Of the total enrollment 93.2 per cent were on half time, the remaining 6.8 per cent receiving instruction six hours daily. "Any enrichment of the rural course of study has been necessarily conditioned by the meager professional equipment of the rural teaching force, many of whom entered the service with nothing more than a common-school education and a few scraps of information about school management gotten together for the examination. Up to the present the academic requirements for admission to the examinations for the rural license have been limited to the eighth-grade diploma or its equivalent, and the examinations for the obtention of the license have covered the following subjects: English, Spanish, arithmetic, history of the United States and of Porto Rico, geography, elementary physiology and hygiene, nature study, and methods of teaching. It has been announced already that in all probability candidates for the rural license will have to present four high-school credits for admission to the examinations. The excess of teachers now obtaining and the increasing output of the Normal School will afford opportunity for selection and will raise the standard of efficiency of the force. At its last quarterly meeting the board of trustees of the University of Porto Rico voted to raise the entrance requirements of the Normal Department from four high-school credits to eight. In view of this, the Department of Education will probably increase the requirements for admission to the examinations for the rural license sufficiently to bring them up to the standard established by the board of trustees for admission to the Normal Department of the University. "The rural teachers are elected by the school boards, subject to the approval of the Commissioner of Education, who pays their salaries from an Insular appropriation. The teachers are divided into three salary classes, as follows: First class, $40; second class, $45; third class, $50. All rural teachers begin at the $40 salary, and after three years of experience pass to the $45 class and after five years to the $50 class. Last year all rural teachers received a salary of $38 only, due to financial embarrassment. "The rural schools were housed in 1,193 separate buildings, containing a total of 1,250 classrooms. Of these 1,193 rural buildings, 320 are owned by the school boards and were especially constructed for school purposes from plans approved by the Department of Education and the sanitary officials. Most of the rural school buildings contain but one room, although not a few have two, three, and even four, the tendency toward the centralized school growing steadily. In all, 24 new rural school buildings have been erected during the year. Most of these are frame structures, but some are built of reënforced concrete and have a very pleasing appearance." THE SCHOOL AND THE COMMUNITY THE movement toward using the schoolhouse as a center for the social activities of the community is gaining ground every year and through this movement the school, as an organization consisting of the teacher and pupils, is rapidly coming to have much more influence in the community life than was formerly the case when the school was considered as merely an organization for the teaching of academic subjects. The need of a social center in the country districts is especially marked, inasmuch as there is a decided tendency among the country people to gather in small groups, based upon relationship or intimate friendship, to the exclusion of the wider interests of the community. Little attempt is usually made to direct in any way the outside activities or the recreation hours of the young people and often their activities take a direction which is distinctly unsocial. The school in adapting itself to the community in order that it may serve as a social center must make certain investigations, because the need of social service and the kind of service which shall be instituted, depends upon existing local conditions. Some of the most necessary lines of investigation to be made by the teacher and pupils before the most effective aid can be rendered, are those which follow: First.--The number of farmers who own the farms upon which they live and the number of tenant farmers. Second.--The average size of the farms; the number of well-arranged homes; the total number of acres devoted to each of the important crops. Third.--The distance to the nearest market, and the number of miles of well-kept roads. These three points will determine largely the direction which any social movement must take, because upon them is based the economic situation of the community. In addition to considering the community from the economic point of view, we may also consider the sanitary conditions that prevail in the district, and the teacher and pupils should make a survey of the district with the following points in mind: First.--The sources of water supply. If water is from open wells, where are they located, and what is the distance from barns and outhouses; are they built in accordance with specifications from the Department of Sanitation? Second.--How is garbage disposed of in the neighborhood; are common drinking cups and the common towel prohibited in the schoolroom? Is the school furnished with a covered water tank, and does it have facilities for washing the hands and face? Do the people of the neighborhood know the regulations of the Department of Sanitation in regard to sanitary conditions; is there much preventable illness in the district, and to what extent are patent medicines used by the patrons of the school? Third.--Are the houses, including the schoolhouses, well ventilated and well located as far as distance from standing water or other mosquito-breeding places is concerned? Is the floor of the schoolhouse swept every night, and are foot scrapers and doormats provided? Does the teacher inspect the outhouses, and are they built according to specifications from the Department of Sanitation? A union of all the patrons of the district is necessary if any movement is to be carried out with telling effect, and the teacher should find out if there is or has been any organization of the men, women, girls, or boys in the district of a social or civic type; has the school done anything up to the present time to improve the social life in the district, and has it ever encouraged local fairs or exhibits of school or agricultural products, and has it founded boys' or girls' agricultural or home economics clubs? How does the religious condition affect the community, and what is the attitude of the community toward these matters and toward social affairs? How do the young men and young women spend their leisure time? Has the school any magazines or farm papers in its library, and how many homes in the district have any library, or any musical instruments? What has been the attitude of the previous teachers in the district toward the affairs of the community; how long has each remained in the district? Are changes in the position of the teachers frequent, and if so, what is the reason? Have previous teachers actually resided in the community or have they lived in the nearest town? Have the previous teachers been professionally trained, and have they taken any interest in the affairs of the community outside of their regular school duties? When the school has succeeded in getting together the information noted in the above paragraphs, it will then be in a position to determine what lines of social activity will be best for the particular community. The organization of men's clubs and women's clubs for the discussion of topics of general interest and for the purpose of arousing a feeling of community interest should be undertaken as soon as possible, the teacher always remembering that the management of these organizations should be in the hands of the members who compose them, and that the teacher should act only as an adviser in case advice may be necessary. The people should feel that on them rests the responsibility of developing the civic and social life of the community, and the teacher should not allow them to shift this responsibility. The organization of boys' clubs and girls' clubs will present no difficulties to the teacher who has made a study of the situation and who is prepared for his work. The boys and girls are in the most easily influenced period of their lives, and whether or not they will develop a sense of civic and social responsibility, depends very largely upon the attitude which their teachers take in regard to these matters. Rural life in any community has a tendency to be monotonous and deadening to the finer qualities. Uninterrupted and unduly prolonged physical labor tends to the detriment of both the physical and the mental abilities of the individual. The isolation of the country home tends to narrow and restrict social intercourse, and the difficulty of travel and communication increases the monotony of country life. These circumstances do a great deal to offset the advantage of living in the country and have contributed a great deal to the stigma that has always been attached to the countryman. If there is to be any reform in this isolated social life of the community, the reform must come about through the schools. The Government can aid to a great extent through the provision of well-kept roads and by the establishment of means of communication such as the telephone and the telegraph. The man who is in touch with the large affairs of life forgets his own petty annoyances in the contemplation of problems of greater importance, while the man who has nothing to think about except the annoyances of his own life tends to become self-centered and narrow. Rural social center work in the United States has made great progress within the last few years and has been successful in practically all the places where it has been tried, especially if the teacher is a person of tact and intelligence. A great deal depends upon the attitude which the teacher has in this work, and it is not enough that the teacher should undertake such work as a burden added to the already overcrowded curriculum of the day, but the teacher should enter into the movement with a sincere desire to improve the condition of the community and bring the patrons of the district to a higher degree of efficiency as workmen and as citizens. In every community there are many young women and young men who are above the average school age who are compelled to work during the day, and who are fast becoming fixed in the monotonous life that has surrounded the older people of the community, who might easily be interested by the teacher and influenced through the formation of social clubs, so that they would form the nucleus for a better coming generation of citizens. The meetings of young people should partake of recreation as well as of serious study, and while the avowed intention of new clubs formed by the school should be for the purpose of bettering the social and civic condition of the people of the community, they must be placed in as favorable a light as possible, for it should be remembered that people will often undertake a movement which will have decidedly beneficial results if it is disguised under the form of recreation, when they would hesitate to give their continued assistance to such a movement if it partook entirely of the nature of serious study. The Department of Education in the Island of Porto Rico is making a special effort at the present time to interest the older girls and the women of the towns in social betterment through the medium of mothers' clubs and girls' clubs, organized under the direction of the teachers of home economics. These clubs have been organized in practically all of the towns of the Island and are meeting with general success. In many cases the girls' clubs assume an aspect of economic improvement in that they undertake the production of certain salable articles such as embroidery or handwork, and the teacher in charge of the group provides the market for the articles produced. Little has been done up to the present in organizing the men and boys into social groups. Boy scout organizations were widely established through the Island several years ago, but on account of the lack of some individual to devote his time to the organizing side of the movement they have decreased in number and in influence. Anyone who is at all familiar with the social situation in Porto Rico, especially in the rural districts, will see at once the necessity of organizations of the kind mentioned above and will be impressed with the possibilities for good in a community which can be exercised by the rural school under the direction of an efficient, well trained, enthusiastic teacher. The democratic form of government which the Island enjoys demands the highest possible development of civic and social ideas and obligations, and in order to fulfill its highest mission the school should undertake such lines of work as will tend to develop not only better educated people of academic attainments, but also better trained citizens in the social and civic sense. RELATION OF THE TEACHER TO THE COMMUNITY IN rural sections the school should be a factor of much more importance than it is in the urban centers for the reason that the country people are almost entirely shut off from other educative institutions such as public libraries, free lectures, and association with their fellow-citizens, privileges which the urban resident is able to use to great advantage. To carry out effectively the mission of the rural school in a community and to make it a center from which there may be spread an influence for social betterment, as well as for intellectual improvement, the teacher is the all-important factor. There are certain duties which a teacher owes to his profession, in case he is working in the country, which cannot be neglected if he is to obtain the results which he should obtain. Following are some of the most important of these duties: First.--The teacher should visit all homes and get acquainted with the patrons. This is important in order that he may get an insight into the conditions under which the people are living, and that he may know the particular difficulties of the pupils with whom he has to deal. Moreover, acquaintance on the part of the parents with the teacher will often aid in avoiding disciplinary difficulties, inasmuch as the parents come to have increasing confidence in him and his work as their acquaintance with him increases. Second.--The teacher should study conditions from all angles so as to adapt the school work to the needs of the community. Even in so small an island as Porto Rico, we have distinctly different occupations centered in different parts of the Island, and the teacher should remember that the majority of his pupils will undoubtedly grow up to take a part in the prevailing industry of the community in which they are born and raised. The schedule and work of the rural school should not be an attempt to imitate the plan of study of the urban schools, inasmuch as the problems are entirely different, and until a teacher has convinced himself of this fact and has made an attempt to model his work on the needs of the community, the school will not accomplish its full mission. Third.--The teacher should live in the district seven days in the week during the school term. More and more the idea is becoming prevalent that rural teachers should be provided with a house and a small plot of ground near the school in order to become permanent residents of the district. The average farmer is very conservative and needs visual demonstration of the merits of new ideas before he will accept them. No amount of theoretical teaching will improve farming conditions to any great extent, and unless the teacher is able to become a demonstrator of his ideas by actually putting them into practice on the plot of ground which he himself manages, he cannot expect to influence to any great extent the agricultural movements of the community in which he works. The school should aim not only for the education of the children who are actually enrolled, but also for the betterment of the agricultural and social conditions of the community. Fourth.--The rural teacher should be loyal to his pupils and patrons. The teacher who feels himself an individual superior to the members of the community whom he is serving and allows this feeling to express itself in his attitude toward them, loses the greater part of his influence through this action. The countryman likes to be met on equal terms and does not enjoy a condescending attitude any more than does his brother who lives in the town. The teacher should have in mind only the benefits which he may bring to the community, and if he actually and actively takes part in the social movements of the place he will come to learn that human nature is the same in the country as in the town, and he will be able to acquire a sincere liking for the people with whom he works. Fifth.--The teacher should so conduct himself outside of the school as to win respect for himself and for his profession. The idea that a teacher's duty to the school ends with the closing of the actual school day is a mistaken one. Any action on the part of the teacher outside of his school work which would tend to lower him in the estimation of his pupils or their parents, inevitably tends to reduce the amount of influence which he can exert. A teacher is on duty constantly and cannot limit his working hours or his working habits to certain defined periods of time. Sixth.--The teacher should stay more than one year in a district, unless a change means decided professional and financial advancement. Short term teachers are often of more harm than benefit to the children of a community. The advent of a new teacher means a change in plans and usually a change in methods of work. These changes tend to upset the minds of the children who naturally like to follow well-defined lines of work. The constant change of teachers also means that none of them stays sufficiently long to learn the needs of the community and the best method of meeting these needs. School boards should offer inducements to rural teachers in the way of increasing the salary for increased length of service, and thus there would be less desire on the part of the teacher to move from one district to another. Seventh.--The teacher should arouse an interest in the school and do his part to convince the patrons of the need of a better school to meet the demands of the present day. A great part of the teacher's work lies outside of his actual teaching, and more and more we are coming to conceive the school as a social as well as an educational institution, and by means of parents' meetings, using the school as a social center and making the schoolhouse a gathering place for the patrons of the district, where they may meet and discuss the problems with which they are confronted, the present-day teacher supplements his actual teaching duties. There are few other ways in which the social needs of the country people can be better met than through the rural school. Moreover, by means of these meetings it is possible to show parents the progress which is being made by their children in the school work and to impress them with the necessity of regular and punctual attendance. One of the surest ways to win the approval of men and women is by interesting them in the progress of their children, and the wise teacher will take advantage of every opportunity which presents itself, and go to great lengths to make opportunities for cultivating the interest of the parents in the school, through this means. Eighth.--The teacher in a rural school should have as the aim of rural education "better men, better farming, and better living." The country teacher who appreciates and realizes this is aware of the chief factors in the solution of the farm problem. He must also remember that he is a public servant and that the public has a right to expect him to put his whole soul into the welfare of the community. The schools are held to be largely responsible for ineffective farming and the low ideals of country life. A great many of our rural teachers are not at all in sympathy with rural ideals and rural customs. They regard their position as merely temporary, and express, even though it may be involuntary on their part, the idea that the town is much preferable to the country, and in this way inculcate in the children a distaste for the life of the country, when it should be their duty to present the best features of rural life in order to persuade the children to remain on the farms. Ninth.--The teacher should be able to discriminate between essentials and non-essentials and omit the latter, thus giving more time to the problems of country life. He should get away from the formalism of textbooks, using them only as tools, and adapt all his work to the needs and interests of the community. He should not attempt to be too scientific, but should teach in terms of child life. And even in his intercourse with the patrons of the school he should put himself, in manners and conversation, on terms of equality with them. The teacher should learn to use his energy for better and more definite planning, and in the schoolroom should do for the children fewer of those things that may be done by the pupils themselves. There is no reason why pupils should not be taught to study and work independently, and the school that fulfills its highest mission trains children to become independent workers. Especially is this true in the country, where pupils should work as well as study and recite. Mere academic training in the rural school will defeat the purpose of the school and will be very apt to produce young men and young women who are dissatisfied with the conditions under which they must live after leaving school. PRESENT-DAY RURAL SCHOOL MOVEMENTS WITHIN the last few years, rural education in the United States has received a great deal of attention, and many plans have been suggested for the betterment of rural teaching. Conferences of state and national educators have been held for the purpose of discussing the rural school question, and out of the mass of school movements, discussions, and ideas which have been presented, there are some which might be made applicable to the situation as it exists in Porto Rico. The following ideas seem to indicate the spirit which underlies rural education of the present day. They are the result of a conference held in Kentucky in 1914 by people who were especially interested in rural school problems: First.--The greatest social need of the century is the organization and consequent up-building of the rural life of America. Second.--This must be the outgrowth of the self-activity of rural life forces. Third.--Outside forces can only assist in the work. Fourth.--There is a need of raising the general level of living in the country in order to keep the brightest and best people from leaving the country in too great numbers. Fifth.--To educate the young in the schools, to elevate their ideals, to arouse their ambitions without raising the level of living and offering them a broader field for the exercise of their talents, may do as much harm as good. Sixth.--The school is only one of the agencies for community up-building. Seventh.--There must be coöperation among the rural life forces, all working together for a common end. Eighth.--The farmer, the country woman, the country teacher, the country editor, the country doctor, and the country business man must all join hands for better living along every line in the country. Ninth.--The community is the proper unit for rural development. Tenth.--The community must learn how to educate, to organize, and to develop itself. In attempting to carry out the ideas expressed in the statements quoted above, emphasis has been laid upon educational rallies, school farms, farmers' Chatauquas, and other means which have as their aim the idea of arousing community pride and community coöperation, not only for the benefit and betterment of the school, but also for the benefit and betterment of the members of the community who are not of school age. A great deal of emphasis has been laid upon rural school extension work, that is, work carried on under the supervision of school officers but which really devotes its main efforts to adults who are living in rural communities. One of the most recent steps in this direction was the passing of the bill known as the "Smith Lever Act" by the Federal Congress in 1914, which ultimately carries with it an appropriation of over $4,500,000 for agricultural extension and rural welfare. Under this bill, Porto Rico receives $10,000 per year for extension work among the farmers, the work being carried out under the supervision of the Federal Experiment Station located at Mayaguez. Another movement which is prominent in rural school affairs at present, is the tendency toward a larger unit of organization for taxation and administration. The rural schools of Porto Rico are already under the municipal unit of school administration, which probably will not be changed, as close supervision demands rather small units of organization. In the report of the Commissioner of Education for 1915-16 a suggestion is made that the appropriation of money for schools throughout the Island be determined by the school population in a given community and not by the taxable wealth of that community. It frequently happens that the wealthiest municipalities are the ones which are least in need of additional school facilities, and this recommendation tends to make the unit for school taxation and appropriation of funds an Insular rather than a municipal unit, as we have to-day. The idea, of course, is based upon the fact that Porto Rico is small enough so that every citizen should be interested in the education of all the children of the Island, and that the movements in education should be Insular in unit rather than municipal. Demonstration schools for rural communities have been organized with a view to showing the people in a definite and concrete way what a school can do for a community. These demonstration schools are usually placed in a central location and put under the charge of the teachers of greatest experience and ability. All of the children in the different grades included in the rural school course have a course of study to complete in the schoolroom, and another equally emphasized course of study to complete in the home and on the farm. Experiments and studies are being carried on which involve the use of every day throughout the year. To accomplish this end, the father and mother have become the assistant supervisors of the home work and the farm work, and they receive the advice, the suggestion, and the instruction of the rural supervisors of schools. While working to get the best possible results from the efforts made, and to establish the facts by samples, by photographs, and by financial relations of cost and return, these undertakings are accompanied by neighborhood meetings of many kinds which have had the effect of enlarging community interest, community support, and community improvement. Out of these efforts have come better social conditions, more harmonious relations, a development of better ideals, and a higher conception of life. These demonstration schools, in addition to being a force among the people in the community where they are located, also serve as educational centers which are to be visited by the other rural teachers of the community in order that the inexperienced and untrained teacher may receive the benefit of the teacher of more experience. In addition, these schools also serve the purpose of experimental schools where many ideas are worked out and put into effect, and new methods of teaching as well as untried methods of farming are given a trial. The rural school situation is being studied more to-day than ever before, for it is being realized that our country schools are not functioning to the best advantage. The social side of the task, extension work among the patrons of the district, consolidated and more efficient schools, and better trained teachers are only a few of the phases of this movement toward making the rural school a real force throughout the country. The movement is gaining ground each year, and though there are many problems to be solved and many difficult situations to be met, yet there is every reason to believe that out of this mass of experiments there will evolve the rural school of the future, which will be a more vital factor in the community than has been the case up to the present day. PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT AND LONGEVITY THE anthropometric examinations given in the University of Porto Rico during the last two years have provided data from which to determine the physical development of the Porto Rican. A total of 1,412 examinations has been made, including 616 men and 796 women. These students ranged in age from fifteen to thirty years. A comparison of the physical development of American and Porto Rican boys and girls of the same age shows that the Porto Rican surpasses the American in nearly every point, at the ages of fifteen, sixteen, and seventeen. At eighteen the physical development is about the same, but from that time there seems to be little additional growth on the part of the Porto Rican, while the American continues to develop up to and including the twenty-second year. This seems to confirm the generally accepted theory that a person matures earlier in the tropics than he does in a temperate climate. That the slighter physical development is the effect of geographic or climatic conditions, and is not entirely due to race, is proved by the fact that measurements of Chilean boys, who are of Spanish blood, more nearly approximate those of North American boys than they do those of Porto Ricans. The following tables show a comparison of the development of the Porto Rican students with the average development of American men and women. The measurements are in pounds and inches. TABLE I ==================================================================== |Average measurements | Average | of Porto Rican male |measurements of |students from 16 to 28 | American men | years of age |from 17 to 30 | | years of age ---------------------------+-----------------------+---------------- Height | 64.94 | 67.6 Weight | 110.67 | 138.6 Chest, transversal | 10.26 | 10.8 Chest, anterior-posterior | 7.92 | 7.5 Shoulders | 15.06 | 16.1 Neck | 13.05 | 13.9 Chest, contracted | 30.63 | 33.7 Chest, expanded | 33.25 | 36.7 Waist | 27.92 | 29.1 Right forearm | 9.33 | 10.4 Left forearm | 9.20 | 10.4 Right arm up | 9.61 | 11.9 Right arm down | 8.45 | 10.4 Left arm up | 9.42 | 11.8 Left arm down | 8.22 | 10.3 Right thigh | 17.97 | 20.3 Left thigh | 17.83 | 20.2 Right calf | 12.64 | 13.8 Left calf | 12.66 | 13.8 ---------------------------+-----------------------+---------------- TABLE II ==================================================================== | Average measurements | Average | of Porto Rican women | measurements of | students from 16 to | American women | 28 years of age | from 17 to | | 30 years of age --------------------------+-----------------------+------------------ Height | 61.78 | 62.9 Weight | 107.82 | 116. Chest, transversal | 9.35 | 10. Chest, anterior-posterior | 6.93 | 6.8 Shoulders | 13.64 | 14.4 Neck | 11.98 | 12.1 Chest, natural | 29.19 | 29.7 Chest, contracted | 28.57 | 29.6 Chest, expanded | 31.29 | 32. Waist | 25.14 | 24.3 Hips | 33.76 | 35.7 Right forearm | 8.71 | 8.8 Left forearm | 8.61 | 8.6 Right arm down | 8.44 | 9.8 Left arm down | 8.40 | 9.7 Right arm up | 8.99 | 10.8 Left arm up | 8.82 | 10.6 Right thigh | 18.79 | 21.1 Left thigh | 18.65 | 21. Right calf | 12.66 | 13. Left calf | 12.64 | 13. --------------------------+-----------------------+----------------- If it is true that the Porto Rican reaches the height of physical development at the age of eighteen, then we may consider that an average of the measurements of the men and women from and after that age will give us what is practically the representative physical development of the Porto Rican adult. These averages are found in the following table. TABLE III _Representative development of Porto Rican students at the University of Porto Rico, of more than 18 years of age._ =============================================== | Men | Women ---------------------------+----------+-------- Height | 65.87 | 61.83 Weight | 116.21 | 107.93 Shoulders | 15.39 | 13.67 Chest, transversal | 10.39 | 9.34 Chest, anterior-posterior | 8.07 | 6.98 Neck | 13.32 | 12.01 Chest, muscular | 32.74 | 30.27 Chest, natural | 31.87 | 29.45 Chest, expanded | 33.84 | 31.30 Chest, contracted | 31.36 | 28.23 Waist | 27.96 | 25.08 Hips | 32.13 | 33.45 Right arm down | 8.62 | 8.49 Right arm up | 9.79 | 8.95 Right forearm | 9.53 | 8.61 Left arm down | 8.43 | 8.36 Left arm up | 9.61 | 8.83 Left forearm | 9.46 | 8.29 Right thigh | 18.38 | 18.76 Left thigh | 18.15 | 18.61 Right calf | 12.85 | 12.68 Left calf | 12.90 | 12.64 ---------------------------+----------+-------- For the purpose of comparing the Porto Rican boys with boys of Spanish blood, but of another climate, Table IV, which shows the comparative development of Porto Rican and Chilean boys from 16 to 20 years of age, is given. The measurements for the Chilean boys were furnished by the Museo Nacional of Santiago, Chili. TABLE IV --------------------------+------------+---------- Sixteen years | Porto Rico | Chili --------------------------+------------+---------- Number observed | 16. | 340. Height | 64.42 | 64.49 Weight | 105.44 | 123.64 Chest | 31.01 | 33.09 Chest, transversal | 9.69 | 10.34 Chest, anterior-posterior | 7.79 | 7.66 Waist | 27.28 | 25.11 | | Seventeen years | | | | Number observed | 75. | 248. Height | 64.41 | 65.43 Weight | 113.41 | 128.48 Chest | 32.06 | 33.52 Chest, transversal | 10.11 | 10.72 Chest, anterior-posterior | 7.99 | 7.97 Waist | 25.05 | 25.54 | | Eighteen years | | | | Number observed | 92. | 138. Height | 65.72 | 65.86 Weight | 118.43 | 133.32 Chest | 32.61 | 34.33 Chest, transversal | 10.36 | 11.04 Chest, anterior-posterior | 8.14 | 8.09 Waist | 28.08 | 26.09 | | Nineteen years | | | | Number observed | 107. | 65. Height | 65.47 | 65.94 Weight | 111.53 | 133.98 Chest | 32.33 | 34.66 Chest, transversal | 10.27 | 11.35 Chest, anterior-posterior | 8.15 | 8.17 Waist | 27.15 | 26.13 | | Twenty years | | | | Number observed | 78. | 18. Height | 65.91 | 66.18 Weight | 113.32 | 113.52 Chest | 32.36 | 34.71 Chest, transversal | 10.39 | 11.43 Chest, anterior-posterior | 7.77 | 8.33 Waist | 27.58 | 26.44 --------------------------+------------+---------- A study of the census of 1910 showing the distribution of the population of Porto Rico by race and by age periods gives some interesting information. If the situation given there is taken to be typical of general conditions, by considering the number of children of each class under one year of age, we find that the highest birth rate is among the mulattoes; next in order come the native whites of native parentage, next the blacks, and last the native whites of foreign or mixed parentage. The actual percentage of each class under one year of age is as follows: mulattoes, 3.9 per cent; native whites of native parentage, 3.6 per cent; blacks, 2.5 per cent; native whites of foreign or mixed parentage, 2 per cent. The percentage of the population under five years of age in each class tends to confirm this statement. It is as follows: mulattoes 17.9 per cent; native whites of native parentage, 14.7 per cent; blacks, 12.2 per cent; native whites of foreign or mixed parentage, 9.5 per cent. While the mulattoes have the highest birth rate, it is also true that, as a general thing, they are the shortest lived of any of the classes mentioned. The class which generally has greatest longevity consists of the negroes; next in order come the native whites of mixed or foreign parentage, then the native whites of native parentage, and last, the mulattoes. Thus the order, as regards length of life, is nearly the reverse of what it is as regards birth rate. It is observed also that while native whites of foreign or mixed parentage have a comparatively great length of life and a comparatively low birth rate, their children, who fall in the class of native whites of native parentage, have shorter lives and tend to produce larger families, than did the parents. In each class the females outnumber the males, the proportion being 100 females to 99.4 males for the total population, which, however, includes the foreign-born whites, where the males outnumber the females. In the classes of native-born citizens, the difference between the numbers of the sexes is greater than the ratio for the total population would indicate, being the greatest among the mulattoes, where the ratio is 93.6 males for every 100 females. In each class it is found that the women enjoy greater length of life than do the men. The following table shows what proportion of the total number of each class of the population falls under the age groups designated. Transcriber's Note: The following abbreviations were used to keep this table to a reasonable width: M = Males F = Females TABLE V ===================================================================== | | | | Native | | | | Native | white | | Negroes | Mulattoes | white | of foreign| Foreign | | | of native | or mixed | born white | | | parentage | parentage | +-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+----- | M | F | M | F | M | F | M | F | M | F ---------+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+----- Under | | | | | | | | | | 5 years | 12.9| 11.6| 18.3| 17.4| 17.1| 16.4| 10.1| 8.9| .8| 2.1 5 to 24 | 42.3| 42.5| 48.2| 47.1| 46.2| 46.4| 45.6| 45.9| 18.8| 20.8 25 to 54 | 34.4| 34.8| 29. | 30.1| 31.7| 31.5| 36.6| 35.6| 64.6| 57.2 55 to 84 | 9.7| 10.5| 4.4| 5.3| 5. | 5. | 7.4| 9.3| 15.6| 19.2 85 years | | | | | | | | | | and over | .7| .8| .1| .2| .1| .2| .1| .3| .2| .8 ---------+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+----- It will be noticed that above the age of 55 there is a larger proportion of women than men in each class. Judging the median age for each group to be the year which divides the total number of that group into two equal divisions, so far as number is concerned, we find the following median ages: blacks, 23; mulattoes, 18; native whites of native parentage, 20; native whites of foreign or mixed parentage, 22; foreign-born whites, 37. These results correspond exactly with the statements previously made regarding the longevity of each group. This would, of course, only give the median age for each class at the time the census was taken, in 1910, but as practically the same age distribution is also found in the census of 1899, it may be concluded that the results are approximately correct. This means that 50 per cent of each group does not live beyond the age indicated, and is sometimes known as the "mean length of life." Data for calculating the average length of life are not available. A comparison of the age groups in the United States and in Porto Rico shows that the proportion in the younger ages is greater in Porto Rico than it is in the United States. TABLE VI ==================+==============+=============== | Native white | Colored +------+-------+------+-------- | Porto| United| Porto| United | Rico | States| Rico | States ------------------+------+-------+------+-------- Under 5 years | 16.5 | 13.5 | 17.1 | 12.9 5 to 14 years | 26.3 | 23. | 27.1 | 24.4 15 to 24 years | 20. | 20.3 | 19.8 | 21.3 25 to 44 years | 25.4 | 26.5 | 24.2 | 26.8 45 to 64 years | 9.6 | 13. | 9.4 | 11.3 65 years and over | 2.2 | 3.6 | 2.4 | 3. ------------------+------+-------+------+-------- Undoubtedly the work of the Department of Sanitation and of the Institute of Tropical Medicine will do much to change the death rate within the next few years, and to prolong life. We may well expect the next census to show a much larger percentage of the population in the higher age groups. 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9995	----	_THE PLAN BOOK SERIES_ A LITTLE JOURNEY TO PUERTO RICO for intermediate and upper grades BY MARIAN M. GEORGE A LITTLE JOURNEY TO PUERTO RICO Do you know what people mean when they speak of "Our New Possessions"? What are they? Where are they? Why are men, in the streets, in the shops, everywhere, talking about them? Why are the newspapers full of articles in regard to them? Why are our lawmakers at the capital devoting so much time and attention to them? Can you tell? Some of these things you can easily ascertain for yourselves. Others we will speak of here. The new territory which has lately come into the possession of the United States, consists of the islands of Puerto Rico, Hawaii and the Philippines. Cuba is not included in this list; it is soon to be an independent country. Since Puerto Rico and these other islands have come to be parts of the United States, everyone is anxious to learn something more of them. The best way to learn the geography of a country and the customs of the people is to visit the country and see with your own eyes. That would be a difficult thing for most of us. The next best way is to make the journey in imagination, and that all of us can do. The island nearest us is Puerto Rico, the most eastern island of the Greater Antilles. Let us visit that first and the other islands later on. We must find out something of the climate, however, before we start on this journey. This may not be the right season of the year to go. We must know, too, what kind of clothing to take with us. In order to plan our route wisely, we must know something of the geography of the island. We should also know the past history of Puerto Rico, in order to understand the customs of the people and the conditions that exist there. * * * * * LOCATION, SIZE, SURFACE. If you will find a map of the West Indies in your atlas or geography, you will also find Puerto Rico. It is one of the four Greater Antilles Islands, and lies east of Haiti and farthest out in the Atlantic Ocean. It is over four hundred miles from the east coast of Cuba, one thousand miles from Havana, and about one thousand four hundred and fifty miles from New York. In size it is the smallest of the group. Its area is about three thousand five hundred and fifty square miles. Its average length is about ninety-five miles; its average breadth about thirty-five miles. In shape it resembles the State of Connecticut, though it is only three-fourths the size of that State. [Illustration: THE ISLAND OF PUERTO RICO.] Puerto Rico, in English, means Rich Harbor. But Puerto Rico is not rich in harbors. There are not more than six good harbors, but it has less than three hundred and fifty miles of coast line. The surface of Puerto Rico is mountainous. A range of hills traverses the island from east to west. The hills are low and their sides are covered with vegetation. The hills are not rocky and barren, but are cultivated to their very tops. [Illustration: AN AFTERNOON SIESTA.] The lower valleys are rich pasture lands or cultivated plantations. The knolls have orchards of cocoanuts and other trees. Coffee, protected by the shade of other trees, grows to the summits of the green hills. The ground is covered everywhere with a thick carpeting of grass. The soil is remarkably fertile. This is due partly to the fine climate, partly to abundant moisture. The island has many fast flowing rivers. There are over twelve hundred of these. In the mountains are numerous springs and water falls, but these are hidden by the overhanging giant ferns and plants. * * * * * BRIEF HISTORY OF PUERTO RICO. Puerto Rico was discovered by Christopher Columbus November 17, 1493. He made a landing at a bay, where he found springs of pure water, which was much needed on his ships. This place he named Aguadilla, which means "the watering place." [Illustration: PONCE DE LEON.] In 1508 Ponce de Leon, a Spanish navigator, visited the island, and was much pleased with its beautiful scenery and with the hospitality of the natives. A year or two later he returned, and founded the town of Caparra. In 1509 he founded the city of San Juan on the island that guards the entrance on the east. When Ponce de Leon came to the island, he found it inhabited by a happy, harmless people who received him with delight. They brought gifts to him, and showed him and his soldiers gold, which was found in the river beds. The kindness of the natives was rewarded by cruelty on the part of the Spaniards. They were ruthlessly murdered or reduced to slavery, and compelled to work in the mines. A revolution followed in which the greater number of the natives were killed. The severe work required of those remaining so shortened their lives that very soon all had disappeared. Not a descendant of this race is now living, but many curious and interesting relics, left by them, may be found. One of these is a stone collar, shaped like a horse collar, and skillfully carved. This was placed upon the breast of the native after his death, and was supposed to keep him from harm. Ponce de Leon built for himself a castle on the point of land above the mouth of the harbor of San Juan, and here he lived until he sailed on the voyage which resulted in the discovery of Florida. After his departure, Puerto Rico was left alone for a long time. After some years, Spain sent peasants to colonize the island, and slaves were introduced to cultivate the plantations. In 1870 the island was made a province of Spain, instead of a colony. In 1873 slavery was abolished. Puerto Rico came into the possession of the United States as the result of the recent war with Spain. It was ceded to the United States Sept. 6, 1898. Gen. George R. Davis is now Military Governor of the island. The form of government for Puerto Rico has not yet been decided upon. It is one of the problems that Congress is now working out. * * * * * CLIMATE--PERPETUAL JUNE. Puerto Rico is a very beautiful island. Its climate and scenery attract many visitors, and erelong it will be a popular winter resort for people from many countries. It has been called the land of perpetual June. Flowers bloom and plants and trees yield fruit the year round. There is no winter; but during the season which is our winter, their skies are beautifully clear and blue. The air is neither dry nor moist, but perfect. The nights are always cool, and the trade winds keep the hottest days from being unpleasant. The average temperature is only 80°. It is the coolest and the healthiest place in the West Indies. [Illustration: GATHERING COFFEE IN PUERTO RICO.] There are two seasons, the rainy and the dry. The rainy season lasts from July to December; the dry, from January to June. From November to June the climate is more than usually delightful and healthful. In the summer months it is somewhat warm, and the heat and dampness are oppressive in August and September. In September and October the rain comes in torrents, but it rains in the mountains almost every day in the year. The daily showers of the rainy season usually come late in the afternoon, but the sky clears up with the setting sun. The people pay little attention to drainage or to securing a supply of good water. As a result, fevers are common during the summer months among the people who live in crowded quarters in the city or in the marshes. Hurricanes occasionally occur between the months of July and October. These are sometimes accompanied by earthquake shocks. People may be injured or killed and their homes destroyed during these violent storms. Puerto Rico, however, is freer from them than other islands of the West Indies. A HURRICANE. It is easy to tell when a hurricane is approaching. The wind dies away and a deathly stillness falls over everything. Not a breath of air moves. The leaves droop on the trees and the heat almost smothers one. The sky becomes copper-colored, and tints everything with a ghastly hue. The cattle and other animals seem to know that danger is near, and rush about in a terrified way. Far out in the ocean the water is calm and smooth; but near the shore the waves rush furiously upon the beach with a mighty roar. By and by the wind begins to rise, just a little; first from one direction, and then from another. This is a sign that the storm is near at hand. Very soon a fearful roar is heard, and all at once the hurricane descends upon the island. The work of destruction begins. Trees are uprooted, growing crops are laid waste, and houses are torn down and scattered in every direction. Sometimes whole villages are destroyed and many people killed or wounded. When the barometer tells of the approach of a storm, the people prepare for it. They hunt some hole, cave, or cellar into which to crawl. They take with them, when there is time to do so, a supply of cane juice and food, to last until the storm subsides. "The people guard as much as possible from the hurricanes by building their houses of stone with massive walls. They provide strong bars for doors and windows. When the barometer gives notice of the approach of a storm, these bars are brought out, and everything is at once made fast. "Doors and window-shutters are closed, barred, and double locked, and the town looks as if it were deserted by all human beings. The state of suspense, while the hurricane lasts, is dreadful, for no one knows when the house may fall and bury all beneath its ruins. "Add to this the howling of the blasts, the crash of falling trees, the piercing cries for help from the wounded and dying, and one may faintly picture the terrible scene. To venture out is almost certain death, the air is so filled with flying missiles, such as boards, bricks, tiles, stones, and branches of trees." It is indeed fortunate that the people of Puerto Rico are largely free from these desolating storms. Some idea of their power for destruction may be gathered from the pictures in our papers of Galveston, Texas, after the recent hurricane there. PREPARATIONS FOR THE TRIP. The best time for us to visit Puerto Rico, then, is after the hurricane season, in the winter. January, February, and March are the favorite months of travelers. But if we wish to celebrate the four hundred and seventh anniversary of the discovery of the island, we must go in November. It was the 17th day of this month that Columbus first visited Puerto Rico. We will need to take our thinnest clothing for use on the island, but we should have light wraps for the cool evenings. We should also go well provided with umbrellas, rubber overshoes, and rain coats, if we do not wish to spend many afternoons indoors. Now the best way to reach Puerto Rico is not, as many people think, from Cuba. San Juan, the capital, is nearly as far from Havana as from New York. We will take the steamer from New York that goes directly to San Juan. If the weather is good, we may expect to make the voyage in four days. * * * * * THE VOYAGE. What a busy crowd it is through which we pass to the New York wharf! Dozens of large ships and hundreds of small vessels and sailboats crowd the harbor. There is a large steamer just going out. It is loaded with hardware, kerosene, pine lumber, and codfish, and is probably bound for South America. Crowds of people are going on deck with departing friends. Many of the friends have brought or sent flowers and steamer-letters, to be enjoyed by the travelers, during the voyage. [Illustration: OUR OCEAN STEAMER.] Now the bell sounds a warning to our visitors to say good-by. They leave the boat, and soon we are off. As we leave the harbor we listen to the band playing "America" and the "Star Spangled Banner," and take the last glimpse of our native land which we shall have for a month. It is not far from the dinner hour, so we now visit the dining-room for the purpose of securing our place at the table from the head steward. We next secure a steamer chair, and have the deck steward place it in a comfortable, sheltered place on deck. It is well, before long, to visit our staterooms, and put our clothes and other belongings in order for the trip. By the time this is done dinner is announced. Somehow we do not feel very hungry. The vessel rolls about so that we begin to feel dizzy. We think we would rather go to bed, and we try to do so, but find it rather difficult. The stewardess comes in just then, and asks if she may help us. With her assistance we climb into our berths. Rock, rock, rock! If the boat would only be quiet one moment! We are very seasick by this time, and feel as if we never wish to eat another meal. The motion of the boat lulls us to sleep by and by, and the next thing we know it is morning. The air in our stateroom seems close and "stuffy," so we gladly leave it and go on deck, where we remain for the rest of the day. The steward serves our meals to us here, and we spend the time in our steamer chairs, watching the white-capped waves, the sea gulls over us, and the porpoises following the boat for food. After the first day out we sail into smoother seas and warmer weather. We throw aside our wraps and put on lighter clothing. We also don broad shade-hats to protect our eyes from the glare of the light upon the water. A favorable wind bears us southward to the tropical sea, which many people consider among the most beautiful things in the world. The water of the Bahama sea is wonderful because of its clearness and its deep purple color. A cloud shadow changes the purple into emerald. Looking down into the clear depths, we see the dolphins as distinctly as the birds overhead. Shoals of flying fish dart out of the water, their fins serving as sails for an instant; then they drop back again. Many other new and interesting objects and scenes add to the pleasure of our voyage from the great northern metropolis to the capital of the island in the southern seas. These we can not tell about now. * * * * * SAN JUAN. While we are learning of the plant and animal life about and beneath us, the good ship bears us swiftly on, and all too soon we are at our journey's end. We seem hardly to have left the shadow of Liberty's towering torch in New York harbor, before the gray walls of Morro Castle appear above the horizon. Far out at sea, this massive stone fort with its beacon light attracts our attention. Across the harbor entrance the white-capped waves rush furiously over each other in a mad race toward the shore. Passing through this narrow channel, the ship glides into the harbor under the guns of the two picturesque old forts which guard it, and we get our first glimpse of San Juan. [Illustration: STATUE OF LIBERTY--NEW YORK HARBOR.] Our first view of this beautiful old city fills us with anticipations of pleasure. We find that the ground upon which the city lies slopes upward from the calm, broad harbor to the forts that guard its heights. Here and there a tall palm-tree rears its graceful head above the tops of the gayly colored buildings that glisten in the sunlight. Our guide tells us that San Juan is one of the most perfectly fortified cities in the world. It is easy to believe this when, from the ocean and from the bay, we see the massive walls and battlements of the forts that guard the north and east. We learn that they are cut from the solid rock which crowns the crest of the narrow peninsula. The steep walls of the vast castle of San Cristobal overshadow the whole city. The city is built on an island, connected with the mainland by a bridge. It is surrounded by a high, thick stone wall: that is, it was once upon a time; but the city is now extended far beyond the walls. Inside is the city proper, or old San Juan. Outside are the more modern buildings and the suburbs. San Juan is not only the seat of government, but it is considered the first city of Puerto Rico in interest and in importance. Ponce, however, disputes this claim. It has the best harbor, and the best public buildings, churches and schools on the island. The palace of the governor-general and the headquarters of the American administration we find located in San Juan. Over thirty thousand people make their homes in this city, and a goodly number of them we find at the shore to meet our vessel. They do not wait for us to land. They come out to meet us. Dusky natives in landing boats are soon alongside, and we learn to our surprise that our ship does not go to the dock. We are to go ashore in these small awning-covered boats. This is a new experience for us, but it is an old Spanish custom. [Illustration: LANDING FROM OUR STEAMER AT SAN JUAN.] The steward of the ship tells us that we may retain our rooms and use the ship as a hotel during the stay in port, going ashore for sight-seeing when we like. We have heard that the hotels in San Juan are very poor; but of course we wish to see for ourselves what they are like, and so we decide to give them a trial. We are in no hurry to seek the hotels, however. The streets of San Juan present so many novel sights to our wandering eyes that we wish to look about first. STREET SCENES. We have been told that we could walk all over the town in an hour, and we resolve to try it. [Illustration: A STREET IN SAN JUAN.] The streets are narrow and dark, but well paved and clean. They ought to be clean, for they are swept by hand every day. The sidewalks are so narrow that only two of us can walk abreast, so we take to the road. This is used as a highway for people as well as vehicles. Naked little children of all ages and colors play about the streets and on the sidewalks. Colored men and women, smoking black cigars, saunter idly about. Street venders carrying their stores upon their heads or backs, or in large panniers upon tiny ponies, fill the air with cries announcing their wares. Judging from the number of the venders of drinks we see on the streets, every one in San Juan is thirsty. We are, at any rate, and very delicious we find their ices and sherbets, their iced orange, lemon and strawberry waters, iced cherries, milk, coffee and chocolate. [Illustration: DULCE (SWEETMEAT) SELLERS IN PUERTO RICO.] Fruit sellers under the arcades and in stalls tempt us with their attractive wares; but the fruits are new and strange to us, and we hesitate about buying. The hack drivers are asleep on closed carriages at the hack stand. Long lines of clumsy carts, with high wheels, rumble over the cobblestone pavements with a dreadful clatter. In the open doorways of shops we see men and women manufacturing articles for sale. Some are making chairs, some shoes, some jewelry, some boxes, and, in one place, we see a number of workmen making coffins. We are interested in observing that flags of different colors are used as signs, and that the walls are painted with brilliant pictures. In the quarter near the sea, the brandy stores, built of reeds, have round them swarms of beggars of every degree. The laundry shop we find just outside the city, beside a large creek. A laundry not built by hands! Here women stand knee-deep in the stream, with the hot sun beating down upon their heads. They are doing their laundry work. The clothes are cleaned by soaking them in water and pounding them with stones. We wonder if there are any buttons left on the clothes after this treatment, and resolve not to trust our clothes to this laundry. We note outside the city wall a broad concrete walk; along this walk seats, trees, and rude statues; and between the walk and the wall an ornamental garden. Having now taken a general stroll, we will rest up preparatory to our visit to the points of special interest. POINTS OF INTEREST IN SAN JUAN. We are now ready to visit the places of unusual interest about the capital city. The most noted buildings are the governor's palace, the cathedral, the city hall, the arsenal, the buildings used as quarters for the troops, the forts, the castles of Morro and San Cristobal, the house which Ponce de Leon built, the palace of the bishop, the theater, the hospital, the orphan asylum, the poorhouse, the jail, the library, and the colleges. In the heart of the town, facing the City Hall, the guide shows us a public plaza; and under the frowning walls of San Cristobal, on the outskirts of the city, he points out another. These plazas are flat, open spaces, paved with cement and surrounded by rows of shade trees. In the plaza of Columbus, on the outskirts of the city, is a handsome statue of Columbus. Facing this plaza is the grand theater. In the cool of the evening, the people gather in these plazas, and listen to the music of the band. One of the most interesting buildings in the, city to us is the "White House of Ponce de Leon." It is still standing where it looked northward over the sea so long ago. On the side toward the bay is an old wall, and beyond this is a beautiful garden and rows of palm trees. From the windows we get a fine view of the bay. The people of San Juan have honored its founder with a statue, which stands in the center of one of its plazas. His remains are preserved in a leaden box in the church of Santo Domingo. We find the famous Morro Castle to be a small military town in itself, with houses, chapel, barracks, dungeons, water tanks, warehouses, and also a light tower, a signal station, and a light-saving station. This ancient fort is the beginning of the wall which surrounds the city. THE MARKET PLACE. Look at these people coming in from the country! Our guide says they are going to the market place. Let us follow them and see what a Puerto Rican market place is. Here it is, situated near the ocean. The court is formed with stones, and it contains booths for fruits, vegetables, and produce of all kinds. [Illustration: GOING TO MARKET.] Dear me! what a busy, noisy place! People from every race and nation seem to be gathered here. Big people, little people, babies, roosters, dogs, donkeys, horses! What talking, shouting, laughing, crying, crowing, barking, and braying! Men are smoking, lounging about, and bragging about their game-cocks; women are making small purchases and gossiping with neighbors; babies are tumbling about on the ground, devouring bits of fruit that come in their way: but all are good-natured. Each market man or woman has a place assigned, and within this space or in a booth are piled high heaps of fruits and vegetables. And such fruits and vegetables we never in our lives beheld or even dreamed of! Heaps and heaps of golden, luscious oranges are offered us by the thousand, or two for a penny. Bananas are sold five for a cent, or a bunch of a hundred bananas for twenty-five cents. Think of it! In New York it would cost us three to five dollars. There are ever and ever so many kinds of fruits of which we do not even know the name. But we make a list of those whose names we do know, and here they are: oranges, bananas, plantains, limes, lemons, cocoanuts, bread-fruit, bread nuts, pomegranates, dates, figs, pawpaws, the tamarind, sugar apple, grosella, mammee, guava, granadilla, naseberry, alligator pears, shaddocks, and Indian plums. Could you find so many in a New York, New Orleans, Chicago, or San Francisco market, do you think? Then here are the vegetables. They would make even a longer list, but we note a few of those with whose names and forms we are acquainted: yams, sweet potatoes, Irish potatoes, carrots, turnips, celery, beets, egg plant, radishes, peas, beans, tomatoes, cabbage, pumpkins, cantaloupes, watermelons, squashes, peppers, cassava, yantias, and okra. [Illustration: A POULTRY DEALER.] The people in the market, seeing that we are Americans, try to charge us many times what each article is worth. If we travel very far, we will find that this is a custom of the people in many countries. They think all Americans are rich. [Illustration: THE MARKET PLACE AT PONCE, PUERTO RICO.] Now this is a great mistake, and so we decline very firmly to buy anything at all. This offends the market people. They wish us to make them an offer. They offer us their fruits for half the first price. Again we refuse. A fourth of the original price. We shake our heads. Our guide now offers to make our purchases for us, and does so for a very small sum. And the market people and venders are quite satisfied. It is all they expected. * * * * * HOMES AND HOME LIFE. A narrow, shaded street tempts us to leave the noisy, business part of the town and the throng that crowds these streets and plazas, and stray into the suburbs. No matter which way we turn, some new picture meets our eyes. Wandering along, we peep into doorways, courtyards and pleasant patios. Some of the houses have crosses upon their summits, to show the devotion of the inmates to their religion. Others have a palm branch twined among the iron bars of their balconies, or placed aloft, to protect the house from evil. This branch was one of those blessed at the cathedral the last Palm Sunday. A piece of white paper floating from the iron railing of a balcony tells us that the house is to let. Here buildings can be rented by the day or week, as well as by the month or year. The dwellings and other buildings are of gray stone or brick, stuccoed over and tinted blue, yellow, drab or any other color but pink. About half the houses are two stories in height, the others one story; but all are flat-roofed and without chimneys. The main or upper story has iron balconies which project over the narrow streets and darken them. The houses have no windows of glass, but the window openings are provided with heavy shutters. We enter these houses through interior courts or patios. Many of the rich Puerto Ricans have fountains, trees, and flowers in these open central courts; a few have roof gardens. Here the family sits in the evening to catch the cool sea breezes. Others sit on their balconies along the outside of the house, or along the inner court or patio. The patio is the coolest place about the house during the heated hours of the day. Here the women bring their sewing or embroidery, and chat. It is also the favorite playground of the children, and in its shade the men of the household take their afternoon nap. There are no yards or gardens attached to these houses. The only green spots to be found are the inner courts, the public squares or plazas, and the garden of the Governor-General's palace. There is no portion of the city set aside for the rich or the poor. People of means, of education, and of refinement live in the upper stories. The poor live in crowded rooms and patios, and in basements or in dirty alleys. Many of the wealthy, fashionable people live in the pretty suburban towns. Others, who are engaged in business in the cities, live over their stores, on the second floor. The lower floors are occupied by servants, or poor people. To reach the upper stories of these buildings, we must pass through a crowd of children, dogs, and poultry in the courtyard below. Upstairs the rooms are large and the ceilings lofty. The windows reach to the floor, and the shutters are kept open to admit the air. The homes of even the wealthy seem to us plainly furnished. There is no upholstered furniture. It is too warm for this, they tell us. But wood furniture, wickerwork, and willow ware are used. The floors in the best houses are tiled or are made of hard wood. Carpets are never used, but rugs are seen occasionally in the center of a room. The bedrooms are small and not well ventilated. The beds are canopied and trimmed with fine handmade lace. The walls are usually bare; but here and there a fine painting may be seen. Giant ferns and broad-spreading palm leaves are used to festoon the walls and arched doorways. These are cut fresh and renewed from day to day, and they make the dark, cool rooms attractive and inviting. Within and without the house, potted tropical plants are found. Peeping into the bath room of one of these homes we see, not a bath tub, but a swimming pool large enough to accommodate a young whale. We think this an improvement on our bath tubs at home, and of the joy it would give the average United States boy to add such a feature to his own home. FOOD AND DRINK. For water the people have, until quite recently, been dependent upon cisterns, in which the rain that falls upon the flat roofs is collected. These cisterns are in the patio, or courtyard, and an open drain runs through the same place. [Illustration: THE BREAD SELLER.] Much of the cooking is done here by the poorer people. It seems to us that cooking in houses without chimneys would be rather difficult, but then these people do not use stoves or coal. They cook over a small pot, or brazier, or furnace of charcoal. They cook less food, too, than people who live in the North. They live largely on fruits and vegetables and have little meat. Ice is used only by the families of the wealthy, and it is impossible to keep milk or fresh meat for any length of time. In place of ice-water the people store water in porous jars, and in this way it is kept cool. They prepare many refreshing drinks to be used in place of water by using oranges, lemons, limes, cocoanuts, and the milk of almonds. They also indulge very often in little ices, which the venders bring to the doors many times a day. The poorer people, who can not afford to indulge in such expensive drinks and ices, use barley water, or water with toasted corn and sugar in it. The people have coffee or chocolate and biscuits for the first or early breakfast. The second breakfast is eaten between eleven and twelve o'clock, and corresponds to our lunch. Dinner is eaten at six or seven o'clock in the evening. Many of the business men take the morning meal with their clerks at a long table on a veranda, or in a room of the establishment. From three to four o'clock in the afternoon everyone indulges in a siesta or nap. Along the wharves and in the outskirts of the city, the houses are but one story high, and many of them are built of wood. These houses have but one window and are dark and poorly ventilated; yet they are crowded with poor people. Some of them have patches of garden separated by rows or hedges of cactus. Here we see brown mothers sitting in the sun mending fish nets. Their naked little children are at play near them. * * * * * THE PEOPLE OF PUERTO RICO. The people of Puerto Rico, on a casual glance, appear to us to come from every nation on earth. The first person you meet will be black, the next brown, the third yellow, and the fourth white. After a time we are able to divide them into five classes: the upper class of white Puerto Ricans; the lower class of whites, or peasants; the negroes; the mixed people of negro and Indian or other blood; and the foreigners. Among these last are Germans, Swedes, Danes, Russians, Frenchmen, descendants of Moorish Jews and of natives of the Canary Islands. All of these people speak Spanish, however, and have the Spanish customs, manners, and religion. Of the 850,000 people, less than one half are colored or of mixed blood. The upper class of white Puerto Ricans is descended from Spanish stock, and in this class are found the wealthy planters and stock raisers, the merchants, and the professional men. They are a happy, good-looking, hospitable, polite, and prosperous people. Many of them are fairly well educated. In appearance these people resemble the Cubans, having regular features and dark hair and eyes. The men are not large, but are well built, erect and graceful. The women have clear complexions, delicate features, and small hands and feet. Heavy clothing is not worn. The men dress in white (light linen or cotton), and the women in cotton or other thin material. The ladies of the family are secluded very closely. They spend much of their time in the patios or on the balconies of their homes, embroidering, making lace, and gossiping. They care little for reading or for study. The Puerto Rican is generous and hospitable. He tells you, as does the Cuban, that his house and all it contains, his servants, his horses, his possessions, are yours to use and to have. But of course he does not mean that you shall accept these gifts. He means that he expects you to use them freely so long as you are a guest in his house. By these well-to-do people, any sort of labor is regarded as degrading and altogether out of the question; so they keep many servants. Some are paid and some receive only their board and clothes. But all are content. The working people are of one color, a light brown, with black eyes and straight hair. They are rather small and thin; and many of those living in the cities are ill-fed and diseased. They are ignorant and somewhat indolent, but are gentle, quick of wit, and teachable. Though cruel to their animals, they are kind to their children. There are many beautiful girls in the lower classes as well as in the upper, and these we see on the streets and in the market places. Many of them use long scarlet shawls and wear black satin slippers on their bare, pretty little feet. They are as proud of their little feet as of their hands. Some of the girls in the market have hair three-quarters the length of their body; but while it is so black and abundant, it is extremely coarse. The laboring men cut their hair short in the neck, and wear a thick bang on the forehead. [Illustration: A BEGGAR OF PUERTO RICO.] In many parts of the island beggars appeal to us with outstretched hand. Even the little children are taught to add their mite to the family income by begging. In Ponce these beggars secure a special license to pursue this profession and have a regular system. In certain houses, on certain days, a little table is placed in the doorway and a row of copper cents or coins upon it. The beggars who are privileged to come to these homes, come at the right time, take their pennies, and with a "Thank you!" shamble off. CHILD LIFE. Formerly lessons never bothered the small Puerto Rican, or indeed any other Puerto Rican child. He played "hookey" all day long, and no truant officer disturbed him, or dragged him off to school. He never saw a schoolhouse or the inside of a schoolroom. He never saw a book. But, for that matter, neither did his father or mother. They can neither read nor write; nor can many of their neighbors. The Puerto Rican city child often lives in a crowded basement, with many brothers and sisters. The child of poor parents in the cities is not usually very clean; but then he has very few opportunities for bathing, and his only playground is the courtyard and the streets. His little country cousins, who live where pools and streams are found, spend much of their time in the water. They find it pleasanter to paddle in cool streams, beneath overhanging tree ferns and banana trees, than to roll in the dirt. They object, however, to wearing clothes, and are allowed to go without any until they are ten or twelve years of age. Even at this age they shed briny tears when compelled to put on one cotton garment. These little country children learn to be helpful at a very early age. They fish and catch crabs; weed the garden; dig potatoes; gather fruit, vegetables and coffee; and do errands. But they have one bugaboo, and that is the wild dog. This animal is very fierce. It sometimes leaves its hiding place in the forest, with a pack of companions, and carries off sheep, pigs, and calves. If very hungry, it may attack a child; and so the children keep a sharp lookout for it. Children in Puerto Rico sleep on the floor or in a hammock, and they eat whenever or wherever they can find fruit or vegetables within their reach. Sometimes they smoke, too. They have no toys, no books, no pictures, no fine clothes or homes; yet, for all that, they are cheerful and contented. They have little, but they seem to want little. The children of the wealthy and well-to-do dress and look very much like the children in our Southern States; though the babies and very young children sometimes wear no clothes. These children are sent to school, or are taught by a governess or tutor at home, until they are old enough to be sent away to school. Then they are sent to Spain, France, or the United States, to complete their education. The girls study and read very little. It is not considered necessary for them to be well educated. They are not allowed to walk about the streets alone, but must have a servant, nurse, or attendant from the time they leave their cradles until they are married. EDUCATION IN PUERTO RICO. Not more than one seventh of the 850,000 people in Puerto Rico can read or write. Only one child in twelve, between the ages of six and sixteen, attends school. (In 1897, of 125,000 children of school age, only about 28,000 attended school--about 19,000 boys and 9,000 girls.) The buildings used for school purposes are seldom anything more than thatched huts. Sometimes two or three rooms are given to the school in the house where the teacher lives. Many of the country districts are without schools, and no school privileges are provided for three fourths of the people. The schools are of the old-fashioned, ungraded, district-school type, and are for pupils from seven to thirteen years of age. Pupils are supposed to study arithmetic, geography, grammar, the history of Spain, and religion. There are few schoolbooks used. The pupils write down what the teacher dictates, or copy what the teacher has written. The one book they use is the one from which they learn to read. Arithmetic problems are often worked out on the floor with bits of clay. There are from fifty to one hundred and twenty-five pupils in each room, and two or three teachers. The pupils sit on long benches or on the floor. The boys and girls have separate schools; but the white and the colored pupils attend the same school. The pupils are bright and quick to learn, but there is no discipline in the schoolroom. They come and go as they please. They stay at home if they wish, and no truant officer disturbs them. Many remain away from school because of a lack of clothing. Others remain away because they prefer to play in the streets. Their parents are careless and indifferent to the advantages of an education, and make no effort to induce their children to attend school, or to study. This unfavorable state of things is soon to disappear. The United States is now rapidly introducing schools and capable teachers into every part of the island. The people seem very glad to take advantage of the better order of things. RELIGION. The established church of the country is the Roman Catholic; but other religions are tolerated, and a few Protestant churches are to be found scattered over the island. The people seem to be little interested in religion or in their churches, and Sunday with them is only a fête day or a holiday. HOW THE PEOPLE AMUSE THEMSELVES. The people of Puerto Rico have two hundred holidays or feast days in their calendar. They are always ready to welcome new ones, however, and have within the past year added Washington's birthday and the Fourth of July to the list. Last year they celebrated the Fourth for the first time. In all the cities there were speeches in the daytime and fireworks at night. In the country there were races and processions in honor of the new "feast day," or holiday. The people show their patriotism and loyalty to the flag of the United States in many ways. They are eager and quick to adopt American manners and customs. Just before sunset, the band comes into the Plaza at Ponce and plays the "Star Spangled Banner" in front of headquarters as the American flag is drawn down for the night. The Puerto Ricans noticed that the American men took off their hats and stood with uncovered heads while the flag made its descent; and now they, too, show their loyalty by doffing their hats when the flag comes down. The people of Puerto Rico are extremely fond of music. Strolling bands of guitar and mandolin players are numerous; and at evening time the air is filled with music. Each peasant makes his own guitar. It is a very curious instrument. This guitar music is usually accompanied by music from another instrument called a guida. This is made from the great curve-necked gourd. The music or sound is made by passing a piece of umbrella wire up and down a series of notches cut from end to end on the outside curve of the gourd. The sound produced is much like that made by rubbing together two pieces of sandpaper. We would not call it music at all, but the natives seem to like it. No orchestra is complete without it, and one can hear the scratching of this instrument almost any time, at any home in Puerto Rico. Sunday is a day not of rest, but of merry making. During the early morning hours the Puerto Ricans go to church. After church, they hurry away to the cockpit or to the bull ring in the suburbs of the town. Very early in the morning we see numbers of roosters staked out by short strings to pegs driven in the sidewalks. These are the game-cocks which furnish to the Puerto Rican his favorite amusement and opportunity for gambling. They seem to realize their importance and keep up a great crowing, sending challenges of defiance back and forth to each other. Their owners take good care of them and endeavor to keep them in good condition for fighting. In the market places we see these fowls in wicker coops. Many venders of food and other articles have game-cocks tied by strings to their stools and stations. When their owners have nothing else to do, they devote themselves to training these birds; or they try to find some one willing to match them in a contest. The buildings where these fights take place are to be found in every town and village. They are considered next in importance to the cathedral and the town hall, and more important than the schools. The cock fights are usually held on Sundays and holidays, and last the greater part of the day. On the day set for these fights, the birds are taken to the arena, descriptions given and amounts wagered. One fight follows another, and large sums of money are lost and won. BURDEN BEARING. If a country is without good roads, it must employ human burden-carriers; and many of these we see in Puerto Rico. Men and women walk long distances through the country bearing heavy burdens upon their heads, shoulders or backs. The banana and plantain men carry their fruit fastened to poles. They move along quite easily with two hundred pounds or more of fruit. On the street and in the market place we hear the singsong notes of the vegetable man telling us of the excellence of his wares. These he carries on his head on an immense board, sometimes five feet long. The dulce seller, too, carries his tray of cocoanut dulces, guava jelly and other sweets on his woolly pate; as do also the sellers of fruits, bread, cakes, bottled cocoanut milk and trinkets. The hat weaver and the broom maker carry their wares on a shoulder pole, with a load fastened to each end so as to balance it. The milkman carries an open-mouthed ten-gallon milk can on his head. From this dangle the ladles and measures he uses. But he does not always deliver milk in this way. Sometimes he rides up in front of the door astride his horse, and shouts "milk" at the top of his voice. On each side of his horse are fastened milk cans, and from these cans he ladles without dismounting. Sometimes he drives his cows before him and milks them at his customer's door. This is the favorite method, because the milk is then sure to be sweet. [Illustration: A PUERTO RICAN HAT WEAVER.] This is not always the case if the milk is carried some distance in the hot sun, in uncovered tin cans. The milkman always comes very early in the morning, and so does the baker. If the baker is not on time, we must wait for our breakfast; for bread is not baked in the house. It is always bought. We can hear him long before he reaches our door, for he keeps up a plaintive cry in order to attract our attention. Sometimes our human bread wagon carries a great board or basket on his head, and in this are as many as fifty loaves. (See illustration, page 26). The butcher, on horseback, brings meat hanging from hooks in frames. Much of the poultry is brought to town in great odd wicker coops strung across the backs of ponies. Here is a poultry vender at the street corner, with his inverted and excited merchandise suspended by strings from his shoulder. (See page 22). HOW THE PEOPLE TRAVEL. Puerto Rico is a very delightful place to visit, but we do not care to go there to live until there are better roads. There is but one good road on the island, the one leading from San Juan to Ponce. There is only one line of street cars (in the city of Mayaguez); and there are only one hundred and forty-seven miles of railroad in the whole island. The best roads run along the coast from town to town. There is one exception. This is the wonderful military road which connects Ponce, on the south shore, with San Juan on the north shore. (See map, page 4). Parts of the country away from the coasts are reached by bridle paths; but the roads outside the cities and towns are impassable during the rainy season. Sometimes there is only a bridle path or trail overgrown with tangled vegetation, and crossed by streams without bridges. The means of transportation employed by the people are the pony carriage or surrey, the saddle horse, the ox-cart and the foot. The beast of burden is either the donkey or the pony. These animals are employed to carry goods in packs over the trails, in place of using the wagon. The ponies are usually small, half-starved, badly treated animals. They carry great burdens, that look heavy enough to crush them to the ground. Their food consists of green corn and grass. One of the commonest sights on the road, street, or marketplace is the pony with his load of green fodder. This is usually so large that it covers the animal entirely, but the master is always in plain view, sitting astride the moving corn-stack. [Illustration: A PUERTO RICAN PONY LOADED.] The planters and farmers have an odd-looking saddle, which they use on these ponies. It is a leather pad to which are attached wicker baskets. The well-to-do farmers who own ponies carry fruit and vegetables in these baskets. Sometimes two hogs are brought to market in the baskets, with all four feet tied together. When the farmer takes his family to market, he and his wife ride the pony, and the children ride in the baskets. The ponies also carry bales of grass, trunks, and all kinds of household goods, and furniture. The principal draught animals are oxen. The heavy two-wheeled ox cart is used to convey great loads of sugar, coffee, and tobacco or fruit, over the good roads. Great, strong, patient beasts they are. They are yoked by a bar of heavy wood fastened to their horns. They are driven, not with words or whip, but with a goad. The driver or teamster walks in front of his team and waves his arms and goad the way he wishes them to go. If they do not follow fast enough to please him, he urges them along by prodding them. The end of the goad is shod with a sharp spike of steel, three inches or more long. Often we see these oxen dripping with blood, and seamed and scarred with wounds. Besides the pain of this constant goading, they suffer from flies upon their face, nose and eyes. Since their heads are bound, they can not shake the flies off. All day they stand or travel in the hot sun without water or food. Even when they stop or rest, no one thinks of putting them in the shade. Almost all the people are cruel to their animals, yet they seem not to realize that they are doing wrong. It is a custom, that is all. It makes us wish we might organize a society for the prevention of cruelty. It is, perhaps, the only thing that could change this custom. * * * * * THE FARMER AND HIS HOME. Puerto Rico is a country of farmers. Nearly five-sixths of the people live in the country. Their homes are scattered along the valleys, on the hills, and even on the mountain tops; for the land is fertile everywhere. [Illustration: THE PUERTO RICAN FARMER IN TOWN.] We have seen the homes and home life of the people in the city. Now let us take a jaunt out into the country to see how the farmers and the plantation laborers live. Here is a farmer now, coming down the street. He is on his way to the market. His horse is a thin, mean-looking little beast. His produce is carried in baskets, and his machete is sticking out of one of these. This machete he always carries with him. He could not get along without it. It is a large, long, clumsy knife, something like a corn-cutter. Sometimes he uses it to cut a way for himself and pony through the forest, or on the bridle paths overgrown with plants and vines after the rainy season. When he has sold his load of vegetables and fruit, we will ride out with him to his home and visit some of the plantations. We saw many peasant farmers and laborers in the market place, and found them polite, shrewd, bright in conversation, but very ignorant and somewhat indolent. They are quite content with their way of living, and take no thought for the future. A Puerto Rican farmer thinks himself rich and fortunate if he owns a horse, a cow, some game-cocks, a gun and an acre of land. He is simple in his tastes and buys little in the market. His rice flour, corn meal and coffee he has prepared at home, by pounding in wooden mortars or grinding between stones. His patch of land he plants with corn, sweet potatoes and other vegetables. Bananas, plantains and other fruits grow wild and may be had for the picking. His vegetables, fruit and poultry he takes to the market and sells, but only when compelled to do so by necessity. This money is spent for clothing or other articles, or perhaps lost in gambling. Only the lightest kind of clothing is necessary; for the coldest days are not so cold as our mild autumn days. The dress of the farmer consists of a cotton jacket, white shirt and check pantaloons. His head is protected from the hot rays of the sun by a large broad-brimmed hat. This is made from the grass which grows around his doorway. No shoes are needed. The dress of his wife is a simple white cotton gown, and his children wear no clothes at all. [Illustration: HOME OF A PEASANT FARMER OF THE BETTER CLASS.] The houses or homes of the peasant farmers are nearly all alike. They are built in a few days, from poles and royal palm bark. They are thatched with leaves of the palm or with grass. These huts are usually divided into two rooms. There are no chimneys, often no windows, and but one door. A very poor house, you think; but then it is only intended for a shelter. It shields them from the damp and cool winds of night and the daily rains of the rainy season. At other times they live outside. There is no stove, and of cooking utensils there are few. The cooking is done for the most part outside the house, when the weather is dry, on a sheet of iron or in an iron kettle. The food is served in gourd dishes and eaten with gourd spoons. During the rainy season the people live in great discomfort. The cooking must be done inside the hut at this time. As there is no chimney, the room is soon filled with smoke, which can only escape through the openings under the eaves. Would you like to see the furniture of one of these poor cabins? It consists of a few calabash shells used for eating vessels; some rude earthen pots; a tin cup, perhaps; two or three hammocks made of the bark of the palm tree, and a machete. Bunches of dried herbs and gourds dangle on the walls, but there are no pictures, curtains, or ornaments of any kind. At night the people sleep on the floor, or in hammocks. They spend much of the day also in swinging to and fro in their hammocks, smoking, and playing on their guitars and other native musical instruments. By the door the family dog and the naked babies tumble in the dirt. Perhaps there is a pig and some poultry; but there is sure to be a game-cock or two. Near the house is the garden. In this are raised sweet potatoes, beans, squashes, muskmelons, peppers, gourds, calabashes, bananas and plantains. The farmers we see at work have their oxen harnessed to rude plows by the horns. The ground is so rich it is not necessary to plow it very deep. An acre of good land here will produce more vegetables and fruit than in most other countries. Riding through the country we see plantations of coffee, sugar cane or tobacco, and also stock farms. Puerto Rico is fertile from the mountain tops to the sea. It is rich in pasture lands, shaded with groves of palm trees, and watered by hundreds of streams. Here and there herds of horses and cattle and flocks of sheep graze on the plains. When we approach the flocks of sheep, we discover a very curious thing. The wool on these sheep is not at all like the wool on the sheep raised in our own country. It is more like the hair of the goat. Cattle are highly valued by the people, not only for dairy and food purposes, but as beasts of burden and draft. Outside of the large plantations, crops are raised on a small scale; and modern implements and machinery are almost unknown. [Illustration: A MOUNTAIN VILLAGE IN PUERTO RICO.] Most of the land is divided up into very small farms or garden patches, or is taken up by groves. In the interior of the country are many little villages, shut out from the rest of the world. We reach them by the narrow horse-trails that wind in and out among the mountains. THE LABORER'S HILLSIDE HOME. Perched on the hilltops and sides, shaded by banana trees, are the picturesque little huts of the laborers. Most of them pay no rent. Land owners give them small patches of ground on the hillsides, which they themselves do not care to till, in order to have the laborers near or on the plantations to assist in cultivating or harvesting the sugar cane, tobacco and coffee crops. Here the peasant laborers build their cabins; and, when there is no work for them on the plantations, they tend their gardens in a haphazard way. By working a little each day they manage to make a scant living. Five months of the year they labor for their landlords, receiving about fifty cents a day. The laborer is often paid in plantains. Fifty plantains are a day's pay. On this he feeds his family, for the plantain is the Puerto Rican peasant's bread. The plantains left are taken to market and sold. One day a week is lost in this way, for the market is often twenty miles away. Near a stream on the mountain side we see a group of women. Some of them are sitting on stones by the bank; others are standing in the hot sun in midstream, and all are washing. It is wash day, and they have brought their clothes here to wash them. They have no tubs, wash-boards, clothes-pins, or clothes-lines. Sometimes they have no soap. In place of this, they use the seed or roots of the soapberry tree. The soap-seed tree bears several months in the year. The seed is inclosed in a yellow skin, and is black, and about the size of a marble. The leaf of a vine, called the soap vine is also used for the purpose of washing clothes. The clothes are first soaked in the stream or pond, and then spread upon a broad, smooth stone; after which they are pounded with clubs or stones. When they are clean, they are spread out upon the bushes to dry and bleach. [Illustration: COOKING THE EVENING MEAL.] Then the tired women rest under the trees, and chat, and perhaps smoke until evening. When the hot sun has gone down in the west, they make their damp and dry clothes up into huge bundles, lift them to their heads, and plod homeward. Let us follow them to their homes up on the mountain side. Some of the huts are built closely together. Others are scattered about on lonely ledges. Shall we go inside one of these huts? The woman who has just returned has thrown her burden into a corner. The fire has been carefully smoldered, and this she now blows into a flame and then proceeds to prepare the evening meal. About the other cottages are women squatting on their heels, gossiping with one another. In the ditch near by little children paddle about. Their voices are soft and pleasant, and their play merry and good-natured. We hear no quarreling. Now their mother calls them to bring in some sticks for the fire. When these are added to the flame, the firelight shines out in the darkness and guides the father on his homeward way. He has been working on the coffee plantation near, and is now climbing the narrow, winding path up the hill with his load of plantains. Perhaps the wife will cook some for supper. The children satisfy their hunger, and then creep into their corner or hammock and are soon fast asleep. Out in the darkness we hear the tinkle of a homemade guitar. Now another, and then another, takes up the Spanish or Indian air. Perhaps the beater of a drum is added to the little band of musicians which has gathered in an open space near the small village. The natives compose much of their own music, and wild, strange melody it is. It seems to inspire one with a wish to dance. The Puerto Ricans are very fond of this amusement, and when they hear the music of the band, they gather around for a frolic. Once a week, at least, they gather for a dance; and this, with their cock-fighting and gambling, is almost their only form of amusement. Few of these people can write or read. They have no books and can not afford to buy even a newspaper. The life of the peasant in Puerto Rico, you see, is not an easy or pleasant one; but he does not suffer from cold or hunger, as do the poor in northern countries. * * * * * GLIMPSES OF OTHER CITIES. We have now a very good idea of San Juan and of rural life in districts near it. So let us travel about the island a bit, for glimpses of other parts of the country, and of the other important cities. The most comfortable way to do this would be to make the voyage around the island on board the ship, going ashore for sight-seeing when the ship makes port for freight. But this would give us no opportunity to see the interior of the island; so we make up our minds to endure poor roads in order to enjoy the mild adventures that fall to our lot (as all good travelers should do). We decide to celebrate the seventeenth of November, the anniversary of the discovery of the island, at the place where the ship of Columbus first touched land over four hundred years ago. We find no Pullman cars on the railroad which leaves San Juan for Aguadilla; but the novelty of the ride takes the place of the luxuries to which we are accustomed at home. [Illustration: SENDING SUGAR ABROAD.] The train goes leisurely along at the rate of sixteen miles an hour. We are glad that it goes no faster, for it gives us an opportunity to see the beautiful country through which we are passing. The line follows the coast most of the way. Upon one side are frequent views of the ocean, and upon the other a constant panorama of wonderful scenery. ARECIBO. A ride of four or five hours brings us to Arecibo, a town of 7,000 people, on the north coast. It is the headquarters of the sugar industry, and the chief town of one of the most fruitful regions on the island. The harbor is very poor, being little more than an open roadstead. Into this harbor empties a small stream called the Arecibo. Goods are transported on this river, to and from the town, in flat-bottomed boats, with the aid of long poles and by much patient pushing. Along the river are valuable plantations of sugar and coffee, as also fine pastures. Arecibo boasts one of the most handsome and artistic plazas on the island. These plazas are usually paved with stone and devoid of vegetation; but this one has a small park in its center, surrounding a beautiful fountain. The cathedral, which faces the plaza, is larger than usual, and more modern than most of the church buildings in the West Indies. [Illustration: CATHEDRAL AT ARECIBO.] AGUADILLA. After a night spent in Arecibo we wish to hasten on to Aguadilla, but the railroad, we find, will not carry us so far. It ends at Camuy, a few miles west of Arecibo. Here we take a carriage for the remainder of the journey. [Illustration: DRYING AND HULLING COFFEE.] The old-fashioned coaches are drawn by small ponies, and these brave little animals carry us up hill and down hill, through deep mud holes, over rocks, into and out of ruts, at a terrific pace. We wonder that the carriage does not break and spill us out. The driver lashes the poor beasts until it seems as if his arms must be lame, but our protests have no effect on him. Aguadilla, a quiet, peaceful little city of 5,000, lies on the western coast. Here Columbus landed in search of water when he made his second voyage. He found a clear, rippling spring, with the water filled his casks, and continued on his way. On the shore stands a cross marking the spot where his boat's keel touched the sand. The town has beautiful trees, and is surrounded by choice grazing-lands. It is noted for its fish, sugar-cane, sweet oranges, and lemons. The cultivation of sugar-cane, coffee, tobacco and cocoanuts furnishes the industries of the neighborhood. We find the three establishments for the preparation of coffee for market very interesting places to visit. MAYAGUEZ. Leaving Aguadilla for Mayaguez, we take the tramway which connects the two towns. It is the only one on the island, and the people are very proud of it. But oh, what a ridiculous little road! It is a narrow gauge, not more than forty-seven inches wide. The cars are quite diminutive, and do not carry more than ten or twelve people. We can ride the length of the road, about two miles, for five cents. We see long lines of patient oxen plodding their way to the city, pulling clumsy carts piled high with oranges. Mayaguez is the market to which the best oranges in Puerto Rico come. Large, sweet, and luscious we find this fruit, the principal food of many of the people. It grows wild by the roadside, in the valleys, everywhere except on the hillsides. Such quantities of oranges! It seems as if enough of the fruit is grown in Puerto Rico to supply the whole of the United States. Yet very few oranges are sent away from the island. They can not be shipped profitably until good roads are built. The city of Mayaguez claims a population of 20,000 people. It has, probably, 12,000 to 15,000. It is the great western shipping port, is the third largest city, and the prettiest and most attractive city in Puerto Rico. Mayaguez is very different in appearance and customs from the other cities. We can scarcely realize that we are on the same island. The streets are macadamized, wide, shaded by trees, and lined with handsome shops and residences. The sidewalks are narrow,--only two can walk abreast on them. The town is well provided with public buildings. It has also three hospitals, a home for the destitute, a public library, good waterworks, is lighted by electricity, and possesses the only street-car line on the island. The principal plaza is a park of grand old shade trees. It contains a majestic statue of Columbus. The citizens are, many of them, coffee planters who have estates near the city. Each family of the better class dwells in a home of its own, instead of living in second stories. The poor people of the town are not so poor, or unclean, or shiftless, as the poorer classes at the capital. [Illustration: A VIEW IN PONCE, PUERTO RICO.] PONCE. To reach Ponce, the next city we wish to visit, we must use carriages as well as railways. It is on the southern side of the island. Ponce is the largest city in Puerto Rico, having a population of over thirty-seven thousand people. The main part is built on a plain about three miles from the seashore. A fine road connects it with Playa, the port, where are found a good harbor, large wharves and the more important government offices. Ponce has wide, clean streets, handsome buildings, and attractive homes. Many quaint and picturesque old buildings line its avenues; but in the newer parts of the town and in the suburbs the buildings are modern. It has a military hospital and barracks, two other hospitals, a home for the old and poor, gas works, and an ice machine. There are also establishments for hulling coffee, drying coffee, distilling rum, manufacturing carriages, and grinding sugar. (See illustrations on pages 54 and 69). The large central plaza has pretty gardens and a cathedral. There are three manufactories of chocolate for the use of the people in the surrounding country. Sugar, coffee, oranges, pineapples and cocoanuts are brought here to be shipped to the United States and other countries. Near the city are white-gypsum quarries; also medicinal baths, to which many invalids and travelers go. The only Protestant church in the West Indies is the Episcopal church here. On the outskirts of Ponce is an old cemetery, in which many famous Puerto Ricans of an early day were buried. It is quite different from our idea of a cemetery. It is one solid mass of masonry built into the side of a hill. In this are narrow vaults, one above the other. [Illustration: A FUNERAL PROCESSION.] The openings of these vaults look much like bakers' ovens. The bottom vaults are used first, and when a body is laid in one of them it is sealed up and the name of the deceased graven on the outside. The next member of the family who dies is placed in the vault above; and so on, each family having a tier of vaults. As carriages and hearses are rare objects in Ponce, the coffin is sometimes carried on the shoulders of men. The procession is often composed of those attracted by curiosity, rather than the friends and relatives of the deceased. The people of Ponce are wide-awake, progressive and anxious to better their condition. They are also more hospitable and friendly than in other towns. It was here that the American army under General Miles proceeded in 1898, after landing at Guanica. The troops received a hearty welcome from the inhabitants. The people were glad to be relieved from Spanish rule, and wished to have their land annexed to the United States. A proclamation of welcome was issued to the soldiers, feasts were spread, and the stars and stripes floated from many house tops. THE MILITARY ROAD. Now we are ready to return to San Juan, going northward over the great military road, one of the finest highways in the world. It is macadamized, is fifty feet wide, ninety-seven miles in length, and smooth and even as a boulevard. It crosses mountains which reach a height of almost four thousand feet. It winds in and out among the coffee-covered hills, giving us a fine view of the green mountains and the deep valleys below. Looking down we see patches of sugar cane and tobacco; groves of bananas, cocoanut, and palm trees; hedges of strange growth; unknown plants and vines, and fern-covered rocks. Here and there is a rude cabin surrounded by bread-fruit and banana trees. We pass picturesque little towns with blue and yellow houses and quaint churches, their spires towering upward. In fifteen hours we would reach San Juan, but we delay our journey in order to obtain a closer view of the scenery and of the homes of the people. Many happy hours we spend on the plantations in the country. During these country rides and visits we get our knowledge of the animal and plant life of the island. Let us stop, then, for a few days, at a country home by the seashore. A COUNTRY HOME. The residence of this home we find to be of good size and divided into rooms by partitions that reach only half way up to the roof. This is to give a free circulation of air. The house is thatched with palm leaves, and has a wide veranda running around it. Mosquito curtains are used to keep out the swarms of sand flies and mosquitoes that make the night uncomfortable. All doors and windows are closed before sunset and not opened until the moon is well up. Then large fires are lighted around the house to drive the mosquitoes away. This is for our benefit, for the natives do not mind these insects as much as we do. But we have other midnight visitors. Large fireflies fly in at the open windows and light up the room with their fairy lamps. And such wonderful fireflies, over an inch long! The people, the children especially, are very fond of these fireflies and frequently keep little cages of them for pets. They feed them on sugar-cane juice and bathe them as if they were birds. [Illustration: COUNTRY HOME OF THE BETTER CLASS.] Little crabs rattle gaily over the floor and sometimes crawl into our shoes, where we find them in the morning; friendly but ugly lizards croak from the walls and roof, where they pass the night hours in catching insects. These lizards are found in and about most of the houses and are harmless, useful little fellows. They are six or seven inches long, of a pale, yellowish color, mottled with brown. Instead of taking a morning bath in our rooms, we take a dip in the warm sea water. We find it hot, even very early in the morning; and as we walk to the shore in our bathing suits, we make a large palm leaf do duty as a sunshade. When we dress for breakfast we examine our clothes very closely, for the centipedes have a disagreeable way of taking strolls over one's clothing and the bedding. Our breakfast consists of turtle eggs, bread fruit, plantain and cocoanut milk. Our meals are served on the veranda, and there we spend the most of the day. Hammocks are swung from the beams, and, lying in them, we drink in the cool sea air and feast our eyes upon the beautiful surroundings. In the shallow water near the shore we find great pink conch shells. The fish in them we have made into soup for our dinner, and very good soup we find it. Sometimes we go out in the mountains with our host hunting for game, or for mountain cabbage for our dinner. Perhaps others would like to know what this mountain cabbage is, and we will tell them. It is the bud of a palm tree, a part of the trunk of which, when young, is edible. When cooked, it looks like very white cabbage; but the flavor is finer and more delicate. It is sometimes eaten raw, as a salad. The meat for our dinner consists of fish, and the flesh of the armadillo, the agouti and the iguana. These animals are queer looking creatures. As we wish to see them in their haunts in the woods and fields, we will accompany our host on some long walks and drives, in order to find out more about them. * * * * * ANIMAL LIFE. When Columbus visited the West Indies, he was delighted by the beauty in and about them. "I know not," he said, "where first to go; nor are my eyes ever weary with gazing on the wonderful verdure. The singing of the birds is such as to make one wish never to depart." The wonderful beauty of the country of which he spoke is unchanged; but we listen and look in vain for the singing birds. The hunter's gun has caused the disappearance of large numbers of the birds. Those remaining are found only in the forests. Columbus spoke also of the flocks of parrots "whose bright wings obscured the sun"; but we seldom see the brilliant plumage of these birds on our excursions. BIRDS. There are said to be about one hundred and fifty kinds of birds on the island of Puerto Rico. Among these are the mocking bird, the wild canary, the sugar bird, the thrush, the humming bird, the owl, the hawk, the dove, the cuckoo, the oriole, the nightingale, and the Guinea bird. During the migrating season, many other birds fly over from other islands. Flamingoes and other water birds are numerous on the coast. There is a parrot market in every port, however, and this is a popular place of resort. Here are cool trees and drinking stands, or booths, where cocoanut milk and cool drinks are sold. The birds are not usually confined to cages, but are left to climb about the booths. The natives love these birds and make great pets of them. The birds are tame and quite accomplished in the art of begging. When the passer-by extends his hand, they walk into it for the sake of the gifts which they know will come. But the bird which is oftenest seen is the fighting or game-cock. The streets and market places are full of these. They are the pets and often the most valued possessions of their owners. OTHER ANIMAL LIFE. [Illustration: THE ARMADILLO] The scorpions, centipedes, wasps, sand flies, fleas and mosquitoes manage to make things lively for us much of the time. One enterprising and annoying insect, the chigoe, or "jigger," is able to bore a hole through the sole of a shoe and attack the foot. There are no poisonous serpents or dangerous wild animals in the country; so we travel about through field and forest without fear. The boa, which is occasionally seen, is huge and alarming in appearance; but it is looked upon as a friend rather than an enemy. It is of great service to the farmer in clearing his place of rats. The largest native animals we find to be the armadillo, the agouti, and the iguana. The agouti is a little animal resembling a rabbit. It lives on vegetable food, and finds a home in the rocky hillsides and on the borders of the woods. As game is not plentiful, it is sometimes used for food. The armadillo and iguana are preferred for food, however. It is not an easy matter to catch an armadillo. It has a shell on its back, and into this it promptly retreats at the first sign of danger. It has a long, pointed snout and strong, sharp claws. It can dig a hole in the ground almost as fast as a man can dig with a pick and spade; so, when an enemy appears, it digs a hole and buries itself from sight. It is not a troublesome animal. It lives chiefly upon beetles, grubs and worms, which it hunts by night. The iguana is a lizard which feeds on fruits and vegetables. It grows to three or four feet in length, and is an ugly looking creature. It will not fight unless you compel it to do so. It does not live in the water, but in trees, bushes, and in the cracks and fissures of rocks. Sometimes hunters build fires at the entrance of their hiding places and smoke them out. The flesh, when cooked, resembles chicken or veal, and is a popular dish with the natives. But the most delicious meat of all comes from the land crabs and the crayfish. These are caught in great numbers when the crabs migrate from the mountains to the coast. Once a year they make this journey, for the purpose of depositing their eggs in the sand. The sea fisheries are important to the people of Puerto Rico. The coast waters and fresh water streams swarm with fishes of strange shapes and gaudy colors. Among these are the shad, sardines, Spanish mackerel, dolphins, flying fish, sting rays and sharks. The sponge, the manatee and the whale are also found near the island. Suppose some one were to ask you to what kingdom the sponge belonged. Could you tell? Many years ago people believed that it belonged to the vegetable kingdom; but it is now known to belong to the animal kingdom. The animals attach themselves to rocks, shells and other hard substances below water. Mussels, clams and sponges are cultivated to some extent. Mollusks are useful in many other ways than as food. Their shells are used for making buttons, parasol handles and shirt studs. Sometimes they are used for making roads. Many shiploads of these shells are brought to New York from Puerto Rico and other parts of the West Indies every year. * * * * * PLANT LIFE. Puerto Rico seems to us to be one big flower garden. All kinds of fruit grow wild and most wild plants blossom and bear fruit several times a year. Cultivated fruits, flowers and vegetables are planted several times a year in order that a fresh supply may always be at hand. Flowers bloom every month of the year, but are most plentiful in June. Ferns, in some instances, grow to spreading trees, with graceful drooping fronds. Many plants have colored leaves which are as brilliant as the flowers themselves. [Illustration: BRANCH AND FRUIT OF THE CACAO TREE.] Everywhere grow trees and shrubs valuable for their fruit or for their medicinal qualities. The leading crops are sugar cane, coffee and tobacco. Over one-half of the exports consists of coffee, and a little less than one-fourth, of sugar. Cacao and fruits make a large part of the remainder. [Illustration: A PUERTO RICAN SUGAR MILL.] Rice forms the chief food of the laboring classes, and this grows, not on the wet lowlands, as in our country, but on the mountain sides. Bananas and plantains are two of the important food products. Next to these, the yam and the sweet potato form the diet of the natives. Among the fruit trees we find cocoanut palms, tamarinds, prickly pears, guavas, mangoes, bananas, oranges, limes, cacao (or cocao) trees and lemons. Among the spices found here are the pimento, or allspice, nutmeg, clove, pepper, mace, cinnamon, ginger, and vanilla. The hills are covered with forests, which, yield valuable timber and dye woods. Among these are mahogany, cedar, ebony, and lignum-vitae trees. Logwood and other dye materials are common. Many varieties of the palm flourish here,--the cocoanut palm producing fruit in greater abundance than in any other country of the West Indies. THE COCOA PALM. The most abundant cocoanut groves in the world are said to be found on Puerto Rico and the other islands of the Antilles. This tree usually grows near the coast, for it loves the salt water; but it is sometimes found on the hill slopes a short distance inland. "The tree grows to a height of from sixty to eighty feet, lives a hundred years, bears a hundred nuts each year, and is said to have a hundred uses for man." The trees bear such heavy burdens of fruit that it seems impossible that so slender a trunk could hold such a weight of fruit in the air. The fruit is expensive when it comes to us, because of the difficulty in climbing the trees, gathering the nuts, and removing from them the heavy fibrous husks. [Illustration: GATHERING COCOANUTS.] Here is a negro gathering cocoanuts. Let us watch him. He climbs the tall tree, dragging a rope after him. About his waist is a belt in which is thrust a machete. He hacks off a bunch of the nuts and attaches it to the end of the rope. It is then lowered to another negro or to the ground. The nuts are in bunches of a dozen or two, and are covered with a green, smooth, shining covering. After the bunches of nuts are all removed from the tree, the climber throws down the rope and comes down hand over hand. These nuts are so large that a single one often yields two glasses of milk. We found that the natives made boats and furniture, as well as houses, from the trunk of this palm tree. They extract from its roots a remedy for fever. The foot stalks of the leaves are made into combs. The leaves are used for thatching huts and in making baskets, mats and hats. The fibrous material at the base of the foot stalks is used for sieves, and woven into clothing. A medicine is made from the flowers, and from the flower-stalks palm wine is made. From the juice is made sugar and vinegar. From the fruit or nut, water, jelly and meat are obtained. Oil is extracted from the kernel; and the refuse is used for food for fowls and cattle, as well as for manure. From the husks ropes, brooms, brushes, and bedding are made. The shells are used as lamps, cups, spoons, and scoops. It has been called the poor man's tree because it gives him food, drink, medicine and material with which to build his home. The tropics could not do without the palm. It is more to that region than the pine is to the north. THE CALABASH TREE. Another very useful tree to the natives is the calabash, or gourd tree. It provides him with many household utensils. In height and size it resembles an apple tree. Its leaves are wedge-shaped and its flowers are large, whitish and fleshy. The fruit is something like a gourd and often a foot in diameter. The shell of the fruit is so hard that it is not easily broken by rough usage or burnt by exposure to fire. It is used instead of bottles, cups, basins, dishes, pots and kettles, and to make musical instruments. Sometimes the calabashes are polished, carved, dyed or otherwise ornamented. The pulp of the fruit is used as a medicine. THE TRAVELER'S TREE. One of the most curious and beautiful trees on the island is the traveler's tree. It is so named because it contains in its leaves and at their bases a large quantity of pure water. By piercing the leaves with a spear or pike the water is drawn out, and found cool and refreshing. It often relieves the thirst of the traveler in this warm country. BREAD FRUIT. Among the fruit products used in large quantities are the bread-fruit and bread-nuts. These trees grow very large and have wide-spreading branches about fifty feet from the ground. The leaves are, very broad, and the fruit looks something like an ovoid osage orange as large as one's head. [Illustration: BREADFRUIT.] The fruit is best when picked green, and baked in an oven or in the ashes, after paring away the outer skin or rind. When done it resembles a browned loaf of bread. It is very good and, wholesome, too; but it tastes more like baked plantain than bread. The bread-nuts look on the outside like the bread-fruit, but the inside contains a great mass of closely packed nuts like large chestnuts. These are not good raw, but are fine when baked or boiled. ANNOTTO. We have often heard people speak of butter and cheese being colored, but did not know that the dairyman was obliged to send to the West Indies for his dye. The bush which provides it is called the annotto or annatto. It grows to the size of the quince tree. The leaves are heart-shaped; and the rosy flowers are followed by fuzzy red-and-yellow pods, something like chestnut burs. These small burs are filled with a crimson pulp containing many seeds. This pulp is immersed in water a few weeks, strained and boiled to a paste. The paste is made into cakes and dried in the sun. Then it comes to our country and appears upon our tables in butter or cheese. Can you tell me where bay rum comes from? We have often wondered, and find here an answer to the question. It is furnished by the bay tree, which grows here. The leaves are distilled and the oil extracted from them to furnish this perfume for the bath. SPICES. Spices, in some form, are served every day upon our table; yet few of us know where they come from, or where, how, or upon what they grow. We have heard of the Spice Islands, perhaps, and we just take it for granted that they all grow there. We are very much surprised, then, to find many of the spices in Puerto Rico. ALLSPICE, OR PIMENTO. The pimento spice is native to this soil. The groves of these trees are beautiful. The trees grow to a height of thirty feet, their stems are smooth and clean, and their leaves glossy. [Illustration: BRANCH AND BUD OF PIMENTO (ALL-SPICE).] The trees bear fruit when about seven years old. The berries are gathered green and dried in the sun. The branches to which the berries are attached are broken off by boys and thrown to girls and women, who pick off the berries, and take them to the drying places. One tree sometimes bears a hundred pounds. The tree likes the hills and mountains along the sea, a hot climate and a dry atmosphere. THE NUTMEG TREE. The nutmeg tree grows to a height of thirty to fifty feet. The ripe fruit looks somewhat like the apricot on the outside. It bursts in two and shows the dark nut covered with mace, a bright scarlet. This is stripped off and pressed flat. The shells are broken open when perfectly dry, and the nuts powdered with lime to prevent the attacks of worms. The tree bears the sixth or seventh year,--the nuts becoming ripe six months after the flower appears. Twenty thousand nuts are sometimes gathered from one tree. Other important growths we find to be pepper, which begins to bear when five years old and may bear for thirty years; the vanilla bean, which proves to be very profitable when properly cared for; and cacao, which requires eight years to come to full fruitage, but is an invaluable plant. MINERALS. Puerto Rico has no mines or minerals of any consequence, except a little iron. Foundries for magnetic iron have been established at Ponce, San Juan and Mayaguez. Gold, silver, copper and coal are known to exist in small quantities beneath the surface, but not in sufficient amount to be mined. The island is well supplied with limestone, which makes an excellent building material. Marble, also, is easily obtained. Along the coast are occasional marshes where salt is prepared for market. OUR JOURNEY'S END. Our month in Puerto Rico is drawing to a close, and the good ship which is to bear us homeward is waiting in the harbor. We make a last farewell tour of the shops in San Juan, and buy a few gifts for the friends at home: a green parrot to please sister; a tortoise-shell comb for mother; a cane for father, a native hat for brother, and a calabash drinking bowl for the school museum. It is with reluctant steps that we make our way to the ship. The clear sky, the perfect climate, the constant verdure, the wonderful plants and trees, and the beautiful mountain scenery make Puerto Rico one of the most attractive lands to be found anywhere. Although the roads are in a deplorable condition, a new system has been planned, and will probably be soon completed. Though the country may lack school buildings, the cities and towns are better provided with other public buildings than most places of the same size in the United States. And the eagerness with which the people seize upon the statements that their children are to be given the same opportunity for an education as children in the United States have, indicates that the schoolhouses will soon dot the island. The streets of the smallest villages are paved, and all contain some place of recreation and attempts at ornamentation. Each village has one or more public squares laid out with trees, walks, flowers, seats, and usually with a band stand in the center. We do not find these improvements in all our own small towns. But the people need better schools, more nourishing food, and improved methods of farming. Sanitary measures need to be introduced into the homes and communities. Harbors need to be dredged, that ships may come closer to land. The water power of many rushing streams needs to be chained and made to generate electricity, to grind corn, to hull coffee, to cook food, to pull cars, and to light cities. There should also be fountains, baths, and sewers; the land in certain sections should be irrigated, and the streams should be bridged, that means for travel and transportation may be afforded. Perhaps all this will be done, ere we visit this island again. At any rate, we sincerely hope that this may be the beginning of a new and better day for Puerto Rico. [Illustration: PRONOUNCING VOCABULARY.] * * * * * REFERENCE BOOKS. "Our New Possessions," by Trumbull White. Cloth, 676 pp........$2.00 "Puerto Rico and Its Resources," by Frederick A. Ober.......... 1.50 "The West Indies," by A. K. Fisk. 414 pp....................... 1.50 "Porto Rico," Hall............................................. 1.00 "Porto Rico," Rector........................................... 1.25 "Porto Rico," Dinwiddie........................................ 2.50 "Porto Rico," Robinson......................................... 1.50 "The West Indies and the Main"................................. 1.75 "At Last" and "A Christmas in the West Indies," Kingsley....... "Three Cruises of the Blake," Alexander Agassiz. 2 vol......... 8.00 "Down the Islands," Palon...................................... 2.50 "The West Indies," Fiske....................................... 1.50 "In the Wake of Columbus," Ober................................ 2.00 "Due South," Ballou............................................ 1.50 "The Foreign Commerce of Our Possessions," etc., Treasury Department, Washington..................................... "Porto Rico," National Geographic Magazine, '99, 25 cts. a number; per year......................................... 2.00 These books may be obtained from A. FLANAGAN Co., Chicago, Ill., at price given. Considerable reductions may be secured, if several volumes are purchased at one time. TEACHER'S SUPPLEMENT * * * * * A LITTLE JOURNEY TO PUERTO RICO * * * * * SPECIAL SUGGESTIONS. Children love to read or hear of the people of other lands, and the tactful teacher will wrap her information about the natural features of a country in the "sugared pill of stories." Books of travel are helpful and interesting in linking together fact and story. From them the child comes to feel a sympathetic interest in the ways of people unlike those he knows. By emphasizing the idea of continuity of beliefs and customs, we impress the child with the most important lesson history and geography hold for him,--that all countries and peoples are closely related and have mutual interests. "The acquisition of this feeling of the inter-relationship of the nations of the world, while starting the child out with a broad view of life, will in no wise lessen his love for his own country." Too often the lonely little stranger in our midst--the foreigner--is viewed with heartless curiosity, or contempt, and subjected to ridicule. Patriotism to many a child means nothing more than a belief that our own country is the best, our own people the smartest, and that we can whip any and every other nation on the globe. Do the children know that the "blood that boils so hotly against other countries is drawn from the very same sources that feed the veins of our seemingly alien neighbors"? If any teacher imagines that her pupils have a definite idea of the meaning of patriotism because they are able to sing "America" and the "Star-Spangled Banner," let her read Marion Hill's story, entitled "The Star-Spangled Banner," in McClure's Magazine for July (1900). THE TRAVEL CLASS. Nothing in the study of geography is more interesting or helpful to pupils than the taking of imaginary journeys. It makes geography a _live_ subject. Suggest that your pupils organize a Travel Club, and that some of the trips be personally conducted. Maps and a globe should be in constant use. The home should be the starting point. Railroad circulars, maps, and time-cards for free distribution will be found valuable. Pupils should be taught _how to use_ these maps and time cards. Give pupils a choice as to routes or roads over which they are to travel. Each pupil, however, should be able to give a reason for his preference for any particular road, and must know the number of miles and the time required for the journey. The road or route voted upon by the majority may then be decided upon, and preparations made for the trip. Find out the best time to go to each particular country, and the reason. What clothes it will be best to wear and to take with one. About how much money it will be necessary to spend on such a trip, and when and where this money should be changed into the coin or currency used in the country we expect to visit. A _Guide_ may be appointed to obtain time-tables, maps, railroad guides, the little books of travel, or other descriptions of routes and of the parts of the country that are to be visited. (Further suggestions in regard to these "helps" will be found elsewhere in this book.) The principal features of the country passed through may be described, if time permits; also the more important cities. Note the population, occupations, productions, together with anything of special interest or historical importance associated with the city or locality. The _Guide_ takes charge of the class in the same way that a tourist guide would do. He escorts us from the home depot to the city, state, or country, pointing out the route on a map suspended before the class. Arriving at the city or country, he takes us to the various points of interest, telling as much about each as he is able, and answering questions pupils may wish to ask. If the guide can not answer all questions, the teacher or some other member of the party may. When the guide has finished with a topic or section, other members of the party may give items of interest concerning it. A different pupil may act as guide to each city or part of the country visited, and each pupil should come to the class with a list of questions about the places. Every pupil in the class may take some part, either as guide, or as the class artist, musician, librarian, historian, geographer, geologist, botanist, zoologist, or man of letters. A _Historian_ may tell us of the history of the country, and answer all questions of historical interest. A _Geographer_ may tell of the location on the globe, of the natural land formations of mountains, cañons, prairies, rivers, etc., and of the climate resulting from these. He should illustrate his remarks. A _Geologist_ may assist, and show specimens of minerals and fossils, or pictures of these. A _Botanist_ may tell us of native plants, useful or ornamental, and show pictures of these if possible. A _Zoologist_ tells of the native animals, their habits and uses. The geographer, geologist, botanist, and zoologist direct the work at the sand table, and assist in reproducing the country in miniature. The _Merchants_ and _Tradesmen_ tell us of the products for which their country is noted, and show samples of as many as it is possible to secure. They also tell what they import, and why. A _Librarian_ or Correspondent may visit the library for information sought by the club. He must be able to give a list of books of travel, and be ready to read or quote extracts referring to the places visited on the tour. He or his assistant may also clip all articles of interest from papers, magazines, and other sources, and arrange these, as well as the articles secured by other pupils, in a scrapbook, devoted to each country. The _Artist_ and his assistant may tell us about the famous artists and their works, if any. He may illustrate his remarks with pictures, if he can obtain or make them. The _Club Artist_ may also place upon the board in colored crayons the flag, the coat of arms, and the national flower of the country. A _Photographer_ may be appointed to provide or care for the photographs and pictures used in the class talks. The photographs may often be borrowed from tourists or others. Pictures may be obtained from magazines, railroad pamphlets, the illustrated papers, or from the Perry Pictures, and mounted on cardboard or arranged by the artist in a scrapbook with the name of the country on the cover. If the members of the travel or geography class are not provided with the "LITTLE JOURNEYS," the teacher should have at least two copies. The pictures from one of these books should be removed and mounted for class use. They may be mounted on a screen, or on cardboard, and placed about the room or grouped in a corner. They should be allowed to remain there during the month, that all the pupils may have an opportunity to examine them. Another pupil may collect curiosities. Many families in each neighborhood will be able to contribute some curio. Pupils in other rooms in the building will be interested in collecting and loaning material for this little museum and picture gallery. Coins and stamps may be placed with this collection. Begin a stamp album, and collect the stamps of all the countries studied. The stamps of many countries show the heads of the rulers. One of the most attractive of these is the United States postage stamp showing "Columbus in Sight of Land." The album should be kept on the reading table with the scrapbooks, in order that pupils may have access to it during their periods of leisure. Dolls may be dressed in the national costume or to represent historical personages. This form of construction work may be done outside of school hours by pupils under the direction of the historian and artist. The dolls, when dressed, may be made the centers of court, home, field or forest scenes arranged on the sand table. A _Musician_ or musicians may tell us of the characteristic music of the country, and of famous singers or composers. She may also sing or play the national song or air of the country, if there be one. The singer should be dressed in national costume, if it is possible to secure it, or to make it out of calico, paper, or some other cheap material. A _Man of Letters_ may tell of the famous men and women of the country through which we are traveling, and may visit their homes with us. He may call attention to the literature of the people and give selections from noted writers, from or about the places visited. PREPARATIONS FOR THE TRIP. With maps, guide-books, time-tables and notebooks before us, we look up the steamer lines and routes and decide when, where, and how to go. (Good maps will be found in the railroad guide-books). City newspapers publish once a week the lines of steamboats and their times of sailing. The steamboat agents also furnish advertising matter giving other necessary and interesting information. When we have decided upon our route, we telegraph ahead for our staterooms. Now let us plan for our baggage. What kind of a trunk must we take? Why a steamer trunk? How large must this be? What will we do with this trunk when we leave the boat? (We are advised to leave it and part of its contents at the ship company's office. They will store it until we are ready to take the return trip). How many pounds of baggage are we allowed on the steamer? What other baggage shall we take (hand bags)? Why not small trunks? (Because every pound of baggage must be paid for in some countries.) Many countries have not our convenient system of checking baggage. What else will we need? (Traveling rugs.) What clothes must we take? First, we must take warm clothes for steamer wear, which may be packed away when we arrive. Then we must take traveling suits for train wear, and thin clothing to use after arriving at our destination. We have promised friends at home that we will inform them of our safe arrival immediately. How can we do this? By mail? Is there not a quicker way? How many know of the cable? How many have ever sent a cablegram? Can we cable from Puerto Rico? How much will it cost? Our guide-books give us all this information. We must have guide-books, phrase books, toilet articles and writing materials. These should be packed in linen or canvas bags, because more easily carried about than heavy leather satchels. Our guide must be able to speak Spanish, for that is the language of the Puerto Rican people. If one of our party acts as guide, we must be careful to select a polite, tactful, and, above all, a patient and good-natured person. Why?--Because his patience will be severely taxed many times during this trip. Arriving at the city from which we are to sail, we visit points of interest, the docks especially, and compare our steamer with others, learning what we can about all the ships in the harbor. If our lesson is well planned, we can accomplish a great deal the day we sail. CLASS WORK. After two or three conversational lessons, let pupils begin their diaries (composition books). In these may be written descriptions of what they see, hear, or read about the place being studied or visited. In most schools will be found one or more pupils who have been upon or crossed the ocean. Let them give both oral and written descriptions of the voyage. In giving accounts of these journeys, have pupils describe the incidents and details of everyday life on ship-board. They may tell of the ship, its furnishings, rigging, engines, officers and crew. Let them also describe the dining room, the meals, and the manner of serving. They may further describe a stateroom or berth, and picture their fellow passengers in words or drawings. It will greatly cultivate their power of expression to tell how the time on board the vessel was passed, and to narrate any interesting occurrences of the voyage. They may describe the ocean by day and by night; also its appearance in a storm. Many will be interested in descriptions of the birds that were met and of the fishes that swarmed about the ship. If time will not permit each pupil to give oral descriptions or to write compositions on each topic, assign a different topic to each pupil. Bind all papers together, when finished, to keep with scrap-books devoted to the country visited. These diaries or reproduction stories may be illustrated with pictures clipped from illustrated papers and other sources or by original drawings. Try to secure specimens of seaweed to be exhibited to pupils during the lesson on the sea voyage. Ask pupils to secure ocean shells, sponges, pictures of sea birds, and specimens or pictures of other animal and plant life in the ocean. AFTERNOONS ABROAD. At the conclusion of the study of a country, a topic may be assigned to each pupil, or selected by him. With this topic he is to become thoroughly familiar. In place of the old-time review, invitations may be issued by the pupils, and the results of the month's work be summed up in the form of an entertainment, called-- AFTERNOONS OR EVENINGS ABROAD. When a class, club, or school has been studying a country, the work may be brought to a close in a way that pupils and their parents and friends will enjoy and remember, by giving _An Afternoon or Evening Abroad_. This form of geography review would be appreciated more particularly in villages, or in country districts, where entertainments, books, pictures, and opportunities for study and social intercourse are rarer than in cities. At the conclusion of an afternoon talk or entertainment, any pictures used may be placed on the chalk tray along the blackboard, that visitors may examine them more closely. If the entertainment is given in the evening, the teacher may be able to use stereopticon views. These will prove a very great attraction to both pupils and parents, and should be secured if possible. The lantern with oil lamp may be easily operated by the teacher while the pupils give the descriptions of the pictures or give talks about the country. The lanterns and slides may be rented for the evening or afternoon at reasonable rates, and the cost covered by an admission fee of from ten to twenty-five cents. In sending for catalogue and terms, ask for the paper used to darken windows if the lantern is to be used in the afternoon. Two of the largest dealers in stereopticon views and lanterns are T. H. McAllister, 49 Nassau St., New York, and the McIntosh Stereopticon Co., 35 Randolph St. Chicago. SUGGESTIONS. For the afternoons abroad, given as geography reviews, or as a part of the Friday afternoon exercises, invitations may be written out by the pupils, or mimeographed, or hectographed, and carried to friends and parents. If given as an evening entertainment and illustrated by stereopticon views, handbills may be printed and circulated, at least a week beforehand. The following form may be used:-- * * * * * SCHOOL ENTERTAINMENT. A TRIP TO PUERTO RICO FOR TEN CENTS. You are invited by the pupils of the _____________ school [or the members of the Travel Class or Club] to spend _an evening_ [_or afternoon_] _in Puerto Rico_. The party starts promptly at 1.30 P.M. [or 8 P.M.], November 1st. Those desiring to take this trip should secure tickets before the day of sailing, as the party is limited. Guides are furnished free. The proceeds of this entertainment are to be used in the purchase of a library, and of pictures and stereopticon views for the school. * * * * * A PUERTO RICAN MARKET PLACE. Decorate the room with ferns, potted palms and other tropical plants, or pictures of them. (Exact reproductions in paper or other material can now be procured at small cost.) On one side of the room have one table devoted to Puerto Rican curios; another to fruits and vegetables; and a third to other products from the island. (Or fit up one end or corner as a market place in San Juan or Ponce.) Explain your plan for the entertainment to your groceryman and other merchants most convenient to your school, and enlist their aid. They will usually be willing to lend products imported from or native to the country. For a list of the fruits and vegetables to be exhibited in the market place, see the list given when on a visit to the market place at San Juan. (See p. 22). On the product-tables arrange pieces of sugar cane, samples of raw, loaf, granulated, and powdered sugar, and of molasses. If possible to secure the stalks of sugar cane, have short lengths to be sold for consumption--as in Puerto Rico. Near the table, tack up pictures of sugar plantations and mills. Have the coffee-berry and beans, ground coffee, cups of coffee prepared as a drink, and pictures of the tree, fruit, and coffee plantations; also secure specimens of the fruit of the cacao tree, a cake of solid chocolate, chocolate candy, and a cake containing chocolate layers. Cups of cacao or chocolate may be prepared as a drink. Have near pictures of the cacao tree and fruit. Secure, if possible, samples of rice, allspice, nutmeg, mace, cinnamon, pepper, cloves, ginger and vanilla; bottles of clove oil and bay rum; packages of the annatto and logwood dyes; sponges, tortoise-shell combs, and articles made of cedar, ebony, or mahogany, or pieces of these woods. The tables and booths in the market places should be presided over by pupils dressed as Puerto Ricans, and venders should go about the room, after the entertainment is over, with native wares to sell. Among these venders will be the bread man, the milk man, the fruit and vegetable man, the dulce seller, and the vender of ices. These venders should, if possible, carry their wares as the Puerto Ricans do. COSTUMES. The girls may be costumed in very simply made white dresses. Handkerchiefs may be tied about the head, for head coverings. The boys may be dressed in loose white trousers, girdled at the waist by a belt of leather, a white shirt, and a silk or cotton handkerchief around the neck. A broad brimmed hat may be worn. The dulce seller carries guava, pieces of pineapple, preserved fruits, chocolate candy, fresh cocoanut meat, grated cocoanut, etc. The bread vender carries small rolls on his tray. The milk man carries his can upon his head, ready to serve milk from tin cups which are tied to the sides of the can. REFRESHMENTS. These may be served during an intermission or at the close of the entertainment, and may consist of the national drinks, orangeade, lemonade, chocolate, coffee, cocoanut milk, and of rolls, cheese, native fruits and confectionery. The pupils who serve these refreshments should be prepared to tell something of the way in which these refreshments are prepared and served in Puerto Rico. One of the favorite drinks of the people of Puerto Rico is orangeade. This is made as we make lemonade, except that the juice of the orange is used in place of that of the lemon. In making lemonade they use limes more frequently than lemons. Coffee and chocolate are drinks also very much in use. The chocolate is made about the consistency of thick gruel and served with a light, thin cake. The coffee is made very strong and only a small amount placed in the cup. The cup is then filled with boiling milk. Among the favorite sweetmeats are the guava jelly and marmalade. The jelly looks much like our currant jelly; the marmalade resembles quince marmalade. It is usually served with cheese. Secure some of these sweetmeats for the booth or shop, and serve bits to those who wish to buy. The small, flat boxes are the best for this purpose. Fresh cocoanut meat should be removed from the shell and divided into penny squares, that the pupils may be able to buy a bit for a penny. AN AFTERNOON IN PUERTO RICO. PROGRAMME. 1. Introductory remarks by the guide, who explains our plan of celebrating the anniversary of the discovery of Puerto Rico by Columbus, Nov. 17, 1493, by a journey to that island, Nov. 17, 1900, to be spent at Aguadilla, the first landing place of Columbus on Puerto Rico. 2. Another pupil gives a short talk on the location, size and surface of Puerto Rico, using a large map. 3. History of Puerto Rico by the class historian. 4. Climate of Puerto Rico, with description of a West Indies hurricane. 5. Preparation for the trip. 6. Recitation--"Southern Seas" (given on the following pages). 7. Song,--"Life on the Ocean Wave." 8. Description of our voyage, by a pupil who has made an ocean voyage. 9. Harbor and city of San Juan. 10. Points of interest in the city. 11. Homes and home life of the people of the island. 12. Characteristics of the people of Puerto Rico. 13. Child life and education. 14. Amusements. 15. Burden-Bearing. 16. Travel. 17. The farmer. 18. The laborer. 19. Glimpses of cities in Puerto Rico. 20. A country home. 21. Animal life. 22. Plant life. 23. Recitation, "Puerto Rico," poem. 24. Conclusion. 25. Announcements. 26. Song--"America." Before the concluding song, announcement may be made of the plan for a series of afternoons or evenings abroad. Speak of the purpose of these entertainments and express a hope that all those present will attend the next entertainment--"An Afternoon [or Evening] in Hawaii." SOUTHERN SEAS. Yes! let us mount this gallant ship, Spread canvas to the wind;-- Up! we will seek the glowing South,-- Leave care and cold behind. Let the shark pursue, through the waters blue, Our flying vessel's track; Let the strong winds blow, and rocks below Threaten,--we turn not back. See, where those shoals of dolphins go! A glad and glorious band, Sporting amongst the roseate woods Of a coral fairy land. See on the violet sands beneath How the gorgeous shells do glide! O sea! old sea! who yet knows half Of thy wonders and thy pride? Look how the sea-plants trembling float, As it were like a mermaid's locks, Waving in thread of ruby red Over those nether rocks,-- Heaving and sinking, soft and fair, Here hyacinth, there green, With many a stem of golden growth, And starry flowers between. But oh, the South! the balmy South! How warm the breezes float! How warm the amber waters stream From off our basking boat! And what is that? "'Tis land! 'Tis land! 'Tis land!" the sailors cry. Nay! 'tis a long and narrow cloud Betwixt the sea and sky. And now I mark the rising shores! The purple hills! the trees! O what a glorious land is here, What happy scenes are these! See how the tall palms lift their locks From mountain clefts,--what vales, Basking beneath the noontide sun, That high and hotly sails. Yet all about the breezy shore, Unheedful of the glow, Look how the children of the South Are passing to and fro! What noble forms! what fairy place! Cast anchor in this cove, Push out the boat, for in this land A little we must rove! We'll wander on through wood and field, We'll sit beneath the vine; We'll drink the limpid cocoa-milk, And pluck the native pine. The bread-fruit and cassava-root And many a glowing berry, Shall be our feast; for here, at least, Why should we not be merry? WILLIAM HOWITT. * * * * * NOTE.--The following poem may be given as a recitation by changing the title to "Puerto Rico." The words apply to this island as well as to the island which is described. SANTA CRUZ. Betwixt old Cancer and the midway line, In happiest climate lies this envied isle: Trees bloom throughout the year, soft breezes blow, And fragrant Flora wears a lasting smile. Cool, woodland streams from shaded cliffs descend, The dripping rock no want of moisture knows, Supplied by springs that on the skies depend, That fountain feeding as the current flows. Sweet, verdant isle! through thy dark woods I rove And learn the nature of each native tree, The fustic hard; the poisonous manchineel, Which for its fragrant apple pleaseth thee; The lowly mangrove, fond of watery soil; The white-barked palm tree, rising high in air; The mastic in the woods you may descry; Tamarind and lofty bay-trees flourish there; Sweet orange groves in lonely valleys rise, And drop their fruits unnoticed and unknown; The cooling acid limes in hedges grow, The juicy lemons swell in shades their own. Soft, spongy plums on trees wide-spreading hang; Bell apples here, suspended, shade the ground; Plump granadillas and guavas gray, With melons, in each plain and vale abound. * * * * * But chief the glory of these Indian isles Springs from the sweet, uncloying sugar-cane; Hence comes the planter's wealth, hence commerce sends Such floating piles, to traverse half the main. Whoe'er thou art that leaves thy native shore, And shall to fair West India climates come; Taste not the enchanting plant,--to taste forbear, If ever thou wouldst reach thy much-loved home. --PHILIP FREEMAN. HELPFUL BOOKS * * * * * SONGS IN SEASON Special songs for each season, and special songs for each noted day in each season. There are twenty Songs of Springtime, eight Flower Songs, thirteen Bird Songs, twenty-six Songs of Autumn, thirty Winter Songs, and twenty Miscellaneous Songs. The general arrangement is by Miss George. Words by Lydia Avery Coonley and others. Music by Mary E. Conrade, Jessie L. Gaynor, Frank Atkinson, and others. It is a charming song book, and will be used in all seasons. Contains 160 pages. Paper, 50c.; cloth, 75c. STORIES IN SEASON. Contains stories suitable for reading by the teachers: eighteen about Autumn, sixteen on Winter, twenty-one on Spring. Several poems on each season of the year, etc. They have been selected from a variety of sources and put in usable form by Miss George, and will be welcomed by all teachers. Suitable for Primary and Intermediate Grades. 160 pages. Paper; price, 50c. CHRISTMAS IN OTHER LANDS. First-class entertainments for Primary and Intermediate Grades. Contains full-page pictures, Boyhood of Christ, Christ Blessing the Little Children, Three Madonnas, thirteen full-page pictures showing costumes of the children of as many different nations, such as Russia, Italy, Germany, etc. Sixteen pages of music, besides a large amount of original recitations, suggestions, accounts, and descriptions of how Christmas is observed in other countries. Price, 25c. WASHINGTON AND LINCOLN. By Miss George and Mrs. Avery Coonley. Wholly original. Mrs. Coonley has written in rhyme descriptions of the early homes of these patriots, their mothers, their school days, the particular work of each, their particularly good qualities, etc., etc. These are excellent for readings and recitations. Miss George has given, in several pages of particularly good matter, plans for observing the birthdays of each. Songs and pictures complete the book. Price, 25c. 
12409	----	The Story of the Philippines and Our New Possessions, Including The Ladrones, Hawaii, Cuba and Porto Rico. The Story of the Philippines. Natural Riches, Industrial Resources, Statistics of Productions, Commerce and Population; The Laws, Habits, Customs, Scenery and Conditions of the Cuba of the East Indies and the Thousand Islands of the Archipelagoes of India and Hawaii, With Episodes of Their Early History The Eldorado of the Orient Personal Character Sketches of and Interviews with Admiral Dewey, General Merritt, General Aguinaldo and the Archbishop of Manila. History and Romance, Tragedies and Traditions of our Pacific Possessions. Events of the War in the West with Spain, and the Conquest of Cuba and Porto Rico. By Murat Halstead, _War Correspondent in America and Europe, Historian of the Philippine Expedition_. Splendidly and Picturesquely Illustrated with Half-Tone Engravings from Photographs, Etchings from Special Drawings, and the Military Maps of the Philippines, Prepared by the War Department of the United States. _Our Possessions Publishing Co._ 1898 The engravings in this volume were made from original photographs, and are specially protected by copyright; and notice is hereby given, that any person or persons guilty of reproducing or infringing upon the copyright in any way will be dealt with according to law. Inscribed To the Soldiers and Sailors of The Army and Navy of the United States, With Admiration for Their Achievements In the War With Spain; Gratitude for the Glory They Have Gained for the American Nation, And Congratulations That All the People of All the Country Rejoice in the Cloudless Splendor of Their Fame That is the Common and Everlasting Inheritance of Americans. Author's Preface. The purpose of the writer of the pages herewith presented has been to offer, in popular form, the truth touching the Philippine Islands. I made the journey from New York to Manila, to have the benefit of personal observations in preparing a history for the people. Detention at Honolulu shortened my stay in Manila, but there was much in studies at the former place that was a help at the latter. The original programme was for me to accompany General Merritt, Commander-in-Chief of the Philippine Expedition, but illness prevented its full realization, and when I arrived in Manila Bay the city had already been "occupied and possessed" by the American army; and the declaration of peace between the United States and Spain was made, the terms fully agreed upon with the exception of the settlement of the affairs of the Philippines. While thus prevented from witnessing stirring military movements other than those attending the transfer of our troops across the Pacific Ocean, an event in itself of the profoundest significance, the reference of the determination of the fate of the Philippine Islands to the Paris Conference, and thereby to the public opinion of our country, in extraordinary measure increased the general sensibility as to the situation of the southern Oriental seas affecting ourselves, and enhanced the value of the testimony taken on the spot of observers of experience, with the training of journalism in distinguishing the relative pertinence and potency of facts noted. Work for more than forty years, in the discussion from day to day of current history, has qualified me for the efficient exercise of my faculties in the labor undertaken. It has been my undertaking to state that which appeared to me, so that the reader may find pictures of the scenes that tell the Story that concerns the country, that the public may with enlightenment solve the naval, military, political, commercial and religious problems we are called upon by the peremptory pressure of the conditions local, and international, to solve immediately. This we have to do, facing the highest obligations of citizenship in the great American Republic, and conscious of the incomparably influential character of the principles that shall prevail through the far-reaching sweep of the policies that will be evolved. I have had such advantages in the assurance of the authenticity of the information set forth in the chapters following, that I may be permitted to name those it was my good fortune to consult with instructive results; and in making the acknowledgments due. I may be privileged to support the claim of diligence and success in the investigations made, and that I am warranted in the issue of this Story of the Philippines by the assiduous improvement of an uncommon opportunity to fit myself to serve the country. Indebtedness for kind consideration in this work is gratefully acknowledged to Major-General Merritt, commanding the Philippine Expedition; Major-General Otis, who succeeds to the duties of military and civil administration in the conquered capital of the islands; Admiral George Dewey, who improved, with statesmanship, his unparalleled victory in the first week of the war with Spain, and raised the immense questions before us; General F.V. Greene, the historian of the Russo-Turkish war, called by the President to Washington, and for whose contributions to the public intelligence he receives the hearty approval and confidence of the people; Major Bell, the vigilant and efficient head of the Bureau of Information at the headquarters of the American occupation in the Philippines; General Aguinaldo, the leader of the insurgents of his race in Luzon, and His Grace the Archbishop of Manila, who gave me a message for the United States, expressing his appreciation of the excellence of the behavior of the American army in the enforcement of order, giving peace of mind to the residents in the distracted city of all persuasions and conditions, and of the service that was done civilization in the prevention, by our arms, of threatened barbarities that had caused sore apprehension; and, I may add, the Commissioner of the Organized People of the Philippines, dispatched to Washington accompanying General Greene; and of the citizens of Manila of high character, and conductors of business enterprises with plants in the community whose destiny is in the hands of strangers. These gentlemen I may not name, for there are uncertainties that demand of them and command me to respect the prudence of their inconspicuity. This volume seems to me to be justified, and I have no further claim to offer that it is meritorious than that it is faithful to facts and true to the country in advocacy of the continued expansion of the Republic, whose field is the world. Steamship China, Pacific Ocean, September 20, 1898. The Origin of this Story of the Philippines. The letter following is the full expression by the author of this volume of his purposes and principles in making the journey to the East Indies. _Going to the Philippines_. Washington City, D.C., July 18. With the authorization of the Military Authorities, I shall go to the Philippine Islands with General Merritt, the Military Governor, and propose to make the American people better acquainted with that remarkable and most important and interesting country. The presence of an American army in the Philippines is an event that will change broad and mighty currents in the world's history. It has far more significance than anything transpiring in the process of the conquest of the West India possessions of Spain, for the only question there, ever since the Continental colonies of the Spanish crown won their independence, has been the extent of the sacrifices the Spaniards, in their haughty and vindictive pride, would make in fighting for a lost Empire and an impossible cause with an irresistible adversary. That the time was approaching when, with the irretrievable steps of the growth of a living Nation of free people, we would reach the point where it should be our duty to accept the responsibility of the dominant American power, and accomplish manifest Destiny by adding Cuba and Porto Rico to our dominion, has for half a century been the familiar understanding of American citizens. Spain, by her abhorrent system, personified in Weyler, and illustrated in the murderous blowing up of the Maine with a mine, has forced this duty upon us; and though we made war unprepared, the good work is going on, and the finish of the fight will be the relegation of Spain, whose colonial governments have been, without exception, disgraceful and disastrous to herself, and curses to the colonists, to her own peninsula. This will be for her own good, as well as the redemption of mankind from her unwholesome foreign influences, typified as they are in the beautiful city of Havana, which has become the center of political plagues and pestilential fevers, whose contagion has at frequent intervals reached our own shores. In the Philippine Islands the situation is for us absolutely novel. It cannot be said to be out of the scope of reasonable American expansion and is in the right line of enlarging the area of enlightenment and stimulating the progress of civilization. The unexpected has happened, but it is not illogical. It must have been written long ago on the scroll of the boundless blue and the stars. The incident of war was the "rush" order of the President of the United States to Admiral Dewey to destroy the Spanish fleet at Manila, for the protection of our commerce. The deed was done with a flash of lightning, and lo! we hold the golden key of a splendid Asiatic archipelago of a thousand beautiful and richly endowed islands in our grip. This is the most brilliant and startling achievement in the annals of navies. Never before had the sweep of sea power, ordered through the wires that make the world's continents, oceans and islands one huge whispering gallery, such striking exemplification. There was glory and fame in it, and immeasurable material for the making of history. We may paraphrase Dr. Johnson's celebrated advertisement of the widow's brewery by saying: Admiral Dewey's victory was not merely the capture of a harbor commanding a great city, one of the superb places of the earth, and the security of a base of operations to wait for reinforcements commensurate with the resources of the United States of America--the victorious hero fixed his iron hand upon a wonderful opportunity it was the privilege of our Government to secure at large, according to the rights of a victorious Nation for the people thereof--a chance for the youth of America, like that of the youth of Great Britain, to realize upon the magnificence of India; and this is as Dr. Johnson said of the vats and barrels of the Thrale estate--"the potentiality of wealth beyond the dreams of avarice." It is a new departure, but not a matter for the panic or apprehension of conservatism, that the Stars and Stripes float as the symbol of sovereignty over a group of islands in the waters of Asia, that are equal to all the West Indies. If we are strangers there now we shall not be so long. We have a front on the Pacific Ocean, of three great States--Washington, equal to England; Oregon, whose grandeur rolls in the sound of her famous name, and incomparable California, whose title will be the synonym of golden good times forever. The Philippines are southwest from our western front doors. They have been the islands of our sunsets in the winter. Now they look to us for the rosy dawn out of which will come the clear brightness of the white light of mornings and the fullness of the ripening noons, all the year around. With our bulk of the North American continent bulging into both the great oceans, it was foreordained since the beginning when God created the earth, that we, the possessors of this imperial American zone, should be a great Asiatic Power. We have it now in evidence, written in islands among the most gorgeous of those that shine in the Southern seas--islands that are east from the Atlantic and west from the Pacific shores of the One Great Republic--that we may personify hereafter, sitting at the head of the table when the empires of the earth consult themselves as to the courses of empire. Our Course of Empire is both east and west. The contact of American and Asiatic civilization in the Philippines, with the American army there, superseding the Spaniards, will be memorable as one of the matters of chief moment in the closing days of the nineteenth century, and remembered to date from for a thousand years. It is my purpose to write of this current history while it is a fresh, sparkling stream, and attempt something more than the recitation of the news of the day, as it is condensed and restrained in telegrams; to give it according to the extent of my ability and the advantages of my opportunity, the local coloring, the characteristic scenery; the pen pictures of the people and their pursuits; sketches of the men who are doers of deeds that make history; studies of the ways and means of the islanders; essays to indicate the features of the picturesque of the strange mixture of races; the revolutionary evolutions of politics; the forces that pertain to the mingling of the religions of the Occident and the Orient, in a chemistry untried through the recorded ages. It is a tremendous canvas upon which I am to labor, and I know full well how inadequate the production must be, and beg that this index may not be remembered against me. It is meant in all modesty, and I promise only that there will be put into the task the expertness of experience and the endeavor of industry. _Murat Halstead._ Contents. AUTHOR'S PREFACE THE ORIGIN OF THIS STORY OF THE PHILIPPINES CHAPTER I. ADMIRAL DEWEY ON HIS FLAGSHIP. A Stormy Day on Manila Bay--Call on Admiral Dewey--The Man in White--He Sticks to His Ship--How He Surprised the Spaniards--Every Man Did His Duty on May-Day--How Dewey Looks and Talks--What He Said About War With Germany in Five Minutes--Feeds His Men on "Delicious" Fresh Meat from Australia--Photography Unjust to Him CHAPTER II. LIFE IN MANILA. Character of the Filipinos--Drivers Lashing Laboring Men in the Streets--What Americans Get in Their Native Air--The Logic of Destiny--Manila as She Fell Into Our Hands--The Beds in the Tropics--A Spanish Hotel--Profane Yells for Ice--Sad Scenes in the Dining Room--Major-General Calls for "Francisco"--A Broken-Hearted Pantry Woman CHAPTER III. FROM LONG ISLAND TO LUZON. Across the Continent--An American Governor-General Steams Through the Golden Gate--He is a Minute-Man--Honolulu as a Health Resort--The Lonesome Pacific--The Skies of Asia--Dreaming Under the Stars of the Scorpion--The Southern Cross CHAPTER IV. INTERVIEW WITH GENERAL AGUINALDO. The Insurgent Leader's Surroundings and Personal Appearance--His Reserves and Ways of Talking--The Fierce Animosity of the Filipinos Toward Spanish Priests--A Probability of Many Martyrs in the Isle of Luzon CHAPTER V. THE PHILIPPINE MISSION. Correspondence with Aguinaldo About It--Notes by Senor Felipe Agoncillo--Relations Between Admiral Dewey and Senor Aguinaldo--Terms of Peace Made by Spanish Governor-General with Insurgents, December, 1897--Law Suit Between Aguinaldo and Arlacho--Aguinaldo's Proclamation of May 21, 1898 CHAPTER VI. THE PROCLAMATIONS OF GENERAL AGUINALDO. June 16th, 1898, Establishing Dictatorial Government--June 20th, 1898, Instructions for Elections--June 23d, 1898, Establishing Revolutionary Government--June 23d, 1898, Message to Foreign Powers--June 27th, 1898, Instructions Concerning Details--July 23d, 1898, Letter from Senor Aguinaldo to General Anderson--August 1st, 1898, Resolution of Revolutionary Chiefs Asking Recognition--August 6th, 1898, Message to Foreign Powers Asking Recognition CHAPTER VII. INTERVIEW WITH ARCHBISHOP OF MANILA. Insurgents' Deadly Hostility to Spanish Priests--The Position of the Archbishop as He Defined It--His Expression of Gratitude to the American Army--His Characterization of the Insurgents--A Work of Philippine Art--The Sincerity of the Archbishop's Good Words CHAPTER VIII. WHY WE HOLD THE PHILIPPINES. The Responsibility of Admiral Dewey--We Owe It to Ourselves to Hold the Philippines--Prosperity Assured by Our Permanent Possession--The Aguinaldo Question--Character Study of the Insurgent Leader--How Affairs Would Adjust Themselves for Us--Congress Must Be Trusted to Represent the People and Firmly Establish International Policy CHAPTER IX. THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS AS THEY ARE. Area and Population--Climate--Mineral Wealth--Agriculture--Commerce and Transportation--Revenue and Expenses--Spanish Troops--Spanish Navy--Spanish Civil Administration--Insurgent Troops--Insurgent Civil Administration--United States Troops--United States Navy--United States Civil Administration--The Future of the Islands CHAPTER X. OFFICIAL HISTORY OF THE CONQUEST OF MANILA. The Pith of the Official Reports of the Capture of Manila, by Major-General Wesley Merritt, Commanding the Philippine Expedition; General Frank V. Greene, General Arthur McArthur, and General Thomas Anderson, with the Articles of Capitulation, Showing How 8,000 Americans Carried an Intrenched City with a Garrison of 13,000 Spaniards, and Kept Out 14,000 Insurgents--The Difficulties of American Generals with Philippine Troops CHAPTER XI. THE ADMINISTRATION OF GENERAL MERRITT. The Official Gazette Issued at Manila--Orders and Proclamation of Major-General Wesley Merritt, Who, as Commander of the Philippine Expedition, Became, Under the Circumstances of the Capture of Manila, the Governor of That City CHAPTER XII. THE AMERICAN ARMY IN MANILA. Why the Boys Had a Spell of Homesickness--Disadvantages of the Tropics--Admiral Dewey and His Happy Men--How Our Soldiers Passed the Time on the Ships--General Merritt's Headquarters--What Is Public Property--The Manila Water Supply--England Our Friend--Major-General Otis, General Meritt's Successor CHAPTER XIII. THE WHITE UNIFORMS OF OUR HEROES IN THE TROPICS. The Mother Hubbard Street Fashion in Honolulu, and That of Riding Astride--Spoiling Summer Clothes in Manila Mud--The White Raiment of High Officers--Drawing the Line on Nightshirts--Ashamed of Big Toes--Dewey and Merritt as Figures of Show--The Boys in White CHAPTER XIV. A MARTYR TO THE LIBERTY OF SPEECH. Dr. Jose Rizal, the Most Distinguished Literary Man of the Philippines, Writer of History, Poetry, Political Pamphlets, and Novels, Shot on the Luneta of Manila--A Likeness of the Martyr--The Scene of His Execution, from a Photograph--His Wife Married the Day Before His Death--Poem Giving His Farewell Thoughts, Written in His Last Hours--The Works That Cost Him His Life--The Vision of Friar Rodriguez CHAPTER XV. EVENTS OF THE SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR. No Mystery About the Cause of the War--The Expected and the Inevitable Has Happened--The Tragedy of the Maine--Vigilant Wisdom of President McKinley--Dewey's Prompt Triumph--The Battles at Manila and Santiago Compared--General Shafter Tells of the Battle of Santiago--Report of Wainwright Board on Movements of Sampson's Fleet in the Destruction of Cervera's Squadron--Stars and Stripes Raised Over Porto Rico--American and Spanish Fleets at Manila Compared--Text of Peace Protocol CHAPTER XVI. THE PEACE JUBILEE. The Lessons of War in the Joy Over Peace in the Celebrations at Chicago and Philadelphia--Orations by Archbishop Ireland and Judge Emory Speer--The President's Few Words of Thrilling Significance--The Parade of the Loyal League, and the Clover Club Banquet at Philadelphia--Address by the President--The Hero Hobson Makes a Speech--Fighting Bob Evans' Startling Battle Picture--The Destruction of Cervera's Fleet--The Proclamation of Thanksgiving CHAPTER XVII. EARLY HISTORY OF THE PHILIPPINES. The Abolishment of the 31st of December, 1844, in Manila--The Mystery of the Meridian 180 Degrees West--What Is East and West?--Gaining and Losing Days--The Tribes of Native Filipinos--They Had an Alphabet and Songs of Their Own--The Massacre of Magellan--His Fate Like That of Captain Cook--Stories of Long-Ago Wars--An Account by a Devoted Spanish Writer of the Beneficent Rule of Spain in the Philippines--Aguinaldo a Man Not of a Nation, But of a Tribe--Typhoons and Earthquakes--The Degeneracy of the Government of the Philippines After It Was Taken from Mexico--"New Spain"--The Perquisites of Captain-Generals--The Splendor of Manila a Century Ago CHAPTER XVIII. THE SOUTHERN PHILIPPINES. Important Facts About the Lesser Islands of the Philippine Archipelago--Location, Size and Population--Capitals and Principal Cities--Rivers and Harbors--Surface and Soil--People and Products--Leading Industries--Their Commerce and Business Affairs--The Monsoons and Typhoons--The Terrors of the Tempests and How to Avoid Them CHAPTER XIX. SPECIFICATIONS OF GRIEVANCES OF THE FILIPINOS. An Official Copy of the Manifesto of the Junta Showing the Bad Faith of Spain in the Making and Evasion of a Treaty--The Declaration of the Renewal of the War of Rebellion--Complaints Against the Priests Defined--The Most Important Document the Filipinos Have Issued--Official Reports of Cases of Persecution of Men and Women in Manila by the Spanish Authorities--Memoranda of the Proceedings in Several Cases in the Court of Inquiry of the United States Officers CHAPTER XX. HAWAII AS ANNEXED. The Star Spangled Banner Up Again in Hawaii, and to Stay--Dimensions of the Islands--What the Missionaries Have Done--Religious Belief by Nationality--Trade Statistics--Latest Census--Sugar Plantation Laborers--Coinage of Silver--Schools--Coffee Growing CHAPTER XXI. EARLY HISTORY OF THE SANDWICH ISLANDS. Captain James Cook's Great Discoveries and His Martyrdom--Character and Traditions of the Hawaiian Islands--Charges Against the Famous Navigator and Effort to Array the Christian World Against Him--The True Story of His Life and Death--How Charges Against Cook Came to Be Made--Testimony of Vancouver, King and Dixon, and Last Words of Cook's Journal--Light Turned on History That Has Become Obscure--Savagery of the Natives--Their Written Language Took Up Their High Colored Traditions and Preserved Phantoms--Scenes in Aboriginal Theatricals--Problem of Government in an Archipelago Where Race Questions Are Predominant--Now Americans Should Remember Captain Cook as an Illustrious Pioneer CHAPTER XXII. THE START FOR THE LAND OF CORN STALKS. Spain Clings to the Ghost of Her Colonies--The Scene of War Interest Shifts from Manila--The Typhoon Season--General Merritt on the Way to Paris--German Target Practice by Permission of Dewey--Poultney Bigalow with Canoe, Typewriter and Kodak--Hongkong as a Bigger and Brighter Gibraltar CHAPTER XXIII. KODAK SNAPPED AT JAPAN. Glimpses of China and Japan on the Way Home from the Philippines--Hongkong a Greater Gibraltar--Coaling the China--Gangs of Women Coaling the China--How the Japanese Make Gardens of the Mountains--Transition from the Tropics to the Northern Seas--A Breeze from Siberia--A Thousand Miles Nothing on the Pacific--Talk of Swimming Ashore CHAPTER XXIV. OUR PICTURE GALLERY. Annotations and Illustrations--Portraits of Heroes of the War in the Army and Navy, and of the Highest Public Responsibilities--Admirals and Generals, the President and Cabinet--Photographs of Scenes and Incidents--The Characteristics of the Filipinos--Their Homes, Dresses and Peculiarities in Sun Pictures--The Picturesque People of Our New Possessions CHAPTER XXV. CUBA AND PORTO RICO. Conditions In and Around Havana--Fortifications and Water Supply of the Capital City--Other Sections of the Pearl of the Antilles--Porto Rico, Our New Possession, Described--Size and Population--Natural Resources and Products--Climatic Conditions--Towns and Cities--Railroad and Other Improvements--Future Possibilities CHAPTER XXVI. THE LADRONES. The Island of Guam a Coaling Station of the United States--Discovery, Size and Products of the Islands CHAPTER XXVII. THE OFFICIAL TITLE TO OUR NEW POSSESSIONS IN THE INDIES. Full Text of the Treaty of Peace with Spain Handed the President of the United States as a Christmas Gift for the People, at the White House, 1898--The Gathered Fruit of a Glorious and Wonderful Victory CHAPTER XXVIII. BATTLES WITH THE FILIPINOS BEFORE MANILA. The Aguinaldo War Upon the Americans--The Course of Events in the Philippines Since the Fall of Manila--Origin of the Filipino War--Aguinaldo's Insolent and Aggressive Acts, Including Treachery--His Agent's Vanity and Duplicity in Washington--Insurgents Under Aguinaldo Attack American Forces--Battle of Manila, February 4 and 5--Heroism of American Troops in Repelling the Insurgents--Aguinaldo's Proclamations--Agoncillo's Flight to Canada--The Ratification of the Treaty of Peace with Spain by the American Senate Followed the Fighting--The Gallantry and Efficiency of the American Volunteers--Another Glorious Chapter of Our War History CHAPTER XXIX. THE AGUINALDO WAR OF SKIRMISHES. The Filipino Swarms, After Being Repulsed with Slaughter, Continue Their Scattering Efforts to Be Assassins--They Plan a General Massacre and the Burning of Manila--Defeated in Barbarous Schemes, They Tell False Tales and Have Two Objects, One to Deceive the People of the Philippines, the other to Influence Intervention--The Peril of Fire--Six Thousand Regulars Sent to General Otis--Americans Capture Iloilo, and Many Natives Want Peace--The People of the Isla of Negros Ask that They May Go with Us--Dewey Wants Battleships and Gunboats, Gets Them, and Is Made an Admiral--Arrival of Peace Commissioners, with Their School Books, Just Ahead of the Regulars with Magazine Rifles--The Germans at Manila Salute Admiral Dewey at Last ILLUSTRATIONS. 1. Frontispiece ... Major-General Merritt, First Governor-General of the Philippines. 2. The President and His Cabinet 3. President McKinley 4. Secretary of State Hay 5. Secretary of the Treasury Gage 6. Secretary of War Alger 7. Secretary of the Navy Long 8. Attorney General Griggs 9. Postmaster General Smith 10. Secretary of the Interior Bliss 11. Secretary of Agriculture Wilson 12. Admiral Dewey, the Hero of Manila 13. Map of the Philippine Islands 14. Photograph and Autograph of Aguinaldo, as Presented by Him to Mr. Halstead, the Author 15. Archbishop of Manila. His Photograph and Autograph Presented to Mr. Halstead, the Author 16. Ex-Consul General Fitzhugh Lee, Now Major-General Commanding 17. Captain Sigsbee, Commander of the Ill-fated Maine 18. Brigadier-General F.V. Greene 19. Government Building in Pampanga 20. Church at Cavite 21. Masacue--Town in Cavite 22. Natives Taking Refreshments 23. Official Map of the Isle of Luzon, Prepared by War Department 24. Official Map by the War Department of the Seat of War in the Philippines 25. Murat Halstead, the Author, at Manila 26. Cathedral of Manila After Earthquake 27. Spanish Re-inforcements Crossing Bridge Over Pasig River 28. Oriental Hotel, Manila 29. The Sultan of Jolo in Mindanao 30. A Beheaded Spaniard--Sign of the Order of Katipunan 31. San Juan del Monte, Where Revolution Started 32. Brigadier-General E.S. Otis 33. Brigadier-General Thomas M. Anderson 34. Military Heroes of Santiago and Porto Rico 35. Major-General Miles 36. Major-General Shafter 37. Major-General Wheeler 38. Major-General Brooke 39. Brigadier-General Wood 40. Colonel Roosevelt 41. Naval Heroes of Santiago 42. Admiral Sampson 43. Admiral Schley 44. Captain Chadwick, of the New York 45. Captain Cooke, of the Brooklyn 46. Captain Clarke, of the Oregon 47. Captain Evans, of the Iowa 48. Captain Higginson, of the Massachusetts 49. Captain Philip, of the Texas 50. Commander Wainwright, of the Gloucester 51. Lieutenant R.P. Hobson 52. General Greene's Headquarters at Manila 53. Manila and Its Outskirts, Showing Malate 54. Principal Gate to the City 55. Loading Buffaloes with Produce in Luzon 56. Filipina Preparing for a Siesta 57. Philippine Author-Martyr, His Wife and His Execution 58. Dr. Rizal 59. Dr. Rizal's Execution 60. Dr. Rizal's Wife 61. The Seat of War in Cavite 62. Attack on Manila, Showing Position of Our Ships and Troops 63. Fortifications of Manila 64. United States Peace Commissioners 65. Senator Frye 66. Senator Gray 67. Ex-Secretary of State Day 68. Senator Davis 69. Whitelaw Reid 70. Flowers of the Philippines 71. Interior of the Fortifications of Manila 72. Fort Santiago at Manila, Where the American Flag Was Raised 73. Dining Room in General Merritt's Palace at Manila 74. An Execution Entertainment on the Luneta 75. Victims Reported Dead After the Execution 76. Aguinaldo and His Compatriots 77. Senor Aguinaldo 78. Senor Montsusgro 79. Senor Natividah 80. Senor Ninisgra 81. Senor Rins 82. Senor Belavinino 83. Senor Covinbing 84. Senor Mascordo 85. Senor Arbacho 86. Senor Pilar 87. Senor Viola 88. Senor Francisco 89. Senor Llansoo 90. Savage Native Hunters 91. Girl's Costume to Show One Shoulder 92. Public Buildings in Manila 93. Fort Weyler, Built by General Weyler When Governor of the Philippines 94. The Destruction of Cervera's Spanish Squadron at Santiago 95. The Luneta--Favorite Outing Grounds of Manila, and a Place for Executing Insurgents 96. Admiral Dewey's Fleet That Won the Battle of Manila Bay 97. The Flagship Olympia 98. The Baltimore 99. The Concord 100. The Raleigh 101. The Boston 102. The Petrel 103. The Monument of Magellinos in the Walled City 104. A Railroad Station North of Manila--Spaniards Airing Themselves 105. The Battle of Manila Bay--In the Heat of the Raging Fight 106. A Suburb of Manila, Showing a Buffalo Market Cart 107. The Cathedral at Manila 108. An Insurgent Outlook Near Manila 109. Display in Manila Photograph Gallery, Insurgent Leaders 110. Group of Filipinos Who Want Independence 111. The Principal Gate to the Walled City 112. A Public Square in Manila 113. A Bit of Scenery in Mindanao, Showing Tropical Vegetation 114. Parade of Spanish Troops on One of Their Three Annual Expeditions to the Southern Islands 115. After an Execution--Prostrate Forms are Men Shot 116. Spaniards Ready to Execute Insurgent Prisoners 117. A Group of the Unconquerable Mohammedans 118. A Native House 119. Riding Buffaloes Through Groves of Date Palms 120. Natives Fishing from a Canal Boat 121. Great Bridge at Manila 122. Southern Islanders--Showing Cocoanut Palms and the Monkey Tree 123. A Review of Spanish Filipino Volunteers 124. A Spanish Festival in Manila 125. Spanish Troops Repelling an Insurgent Attack on a Convent 126. Business Corner in Manila 127. A Native in Regimentals 128. A Country Pair 129. Peasant Costumes 130. Woodman in Working Garb 131. Map of Hawaii 132. Official Map of the Hawaiian Islands 133. Map of Cuba 134. Map of Porto Rico 135. Outline Map of the Philippine Islands 136. A Spanish Dude--An Officer at Manila 137. The Harbor at Manila 138. General E.S. Otis and Staff on Porch of Malacanan Palace, Manila 139. Malacanan Palace and Pasig River, Manila 140. General Otis and Staff, Dining Room, Malacanan Palace, Manila 141. Views in Manila, Philippine Islands 142. View from My Office Window in Palace, Sept. 8, 1898 143. Fountain, Manila, August, 1898 144. Door of Hospital De San Juan Di Dios, Intramuros, Manila, Aug. 29, 1898 145. Sentry Box in Old Manila Wall, August, 1898 146. Dungeons in Old Manila Wall, Sept. 7, 1898 147. Door of Jesuit Church, Manila, Sept. 3, 1898 148. Court Yard of Palace, Manila, Sept, 3, 1898 149. View of Tower of Iglisia De Sta Grum, Manila, Sept. 9, 1898 150. Corner of Old Manila Wall, August, 1898 151. Interior in Palace, Manila, Sept. 4, 1898 152. View of Church of August 30, Manila 153. General Hughes' Temporary Office in Palace 154. Puerto De Gabel, Old Manila Wall, Aug. 29, 1898 155. Views in Manila, Philippine Islands 156. Wash Lady in the River, Manila 157. Soldiers Washing Their Persons and Clothes, Manila 158. Man Rowing Small Boat, Manila 159. Ferry in Canal, Manila 160. Group of Native Women on Canal Bank, Manila 161. Government Launch, Manila 162. View of Canal in New Manila 163. View From My Ferry Crossing River Looking Toward New Town, Manila 164. View of Intramuros From the Water, Manila 165. Women Washing, Manila 166. Barge in Canal, New Town, Half Barge, Half House Boat, Manila 167. Canal Scene in Neuva, Manila 168. Stern of Lighter in Canal, Manila 169. Views in Manila, Philippine Islands 170. Native Woman, with Fruit and Child 171. Native Woman 173. Fruit Woman on Main Bridge 173. Small Boy, With Pup 174. Native Woman on Canal Bank 175. Buffalo, Wagon and Two Coolies 176. Beggar on Main Bridge 177. Views in Honolulu and Manila 178. Leaving Honolulu, Aboard U.S.S. Peru for Manila 179. A Soldier on Deck of Oakland Ferry 180. Three College Men, Corporal Morrow in Center 181. U.S.S. Philadelphia Entering Honolulu Harbor 182. In Camp at Manila 183. Leaving Honolulu, U.S.S. Peru, for Manila 184. U.S.S. Philadelphia, Honolulu Harbor 185. Bridge Over River Naig, Cavite, Connecting Santa Cruz Road with Town of Naig 186. Highway in the Philippines 187. Native House in Suburb of Calamba, Philippines 188. Front and Back View of Native Woven Shirt 189. Malay Women of Jolo Pounding Rice 190. Ancient Cannon Taken from Insurgents 191. Arsenal Grounds in Cavite, Chapel in Front of Commandant's House 192. Bridge Crossing the River at Tambobeng, Manila Province 193. Cane Bridge Over Arm of Bay at Ilo-Ilo, Philippines 194. Sergeant Dan Hewitt, Hero of Caloocan 195. View on Pagsanjan River in the Province of La Laguna 196. Royal Street in Ilo-Ilo, Island of Panay, Philippines 197. Native Dwelling in the Suburbs of Manila 198. The Insurgent Leaders in the Philippines 199. Isabelo Artacho 200. Baldomero Aguinaldo 201. Severino de las Alas 202. Antonio Montenegro 203. Vito Belarmino 204. Pedro Paterno 205. Emilio Aguinaldo 206. Church of San Augustin, Manila 207. Schooner Anchored in Ilo-Ilo Harbor, Philippines 208. Major-General Thomas M. Anderson and Staff, in Command of 1st Division, 8th Army Corps, at Manila 209. Major-General Thomas M. Anderson, Commander of 1st Division, 8th Army Corps, at Manila CHAPTER I Admiral Dewey on His Flagship. A Stormy Day on Manila Bay--Call on Admiral Dewey--The Man in White--He Sticks to His Ship--How He Surprised Spaniards--Every Man Did His Duty on May-Day--How Dewey Looks and Talks--What He Said About War with Germany in Five Minutes--Feeds His Men on "Delicious" Fresh Meat from Australia--Photography Unjust to Him. Steaming across Manila Bay from Cavite to the city on an energetic ferry-boat, scanning the wrecks of the Spanish fleet still visible where the fated ships went down, one of them bearing on a strip of canvas the legible words "Remember the 'Maine,'" the talk being of Dewey's great May-day, we were passing the famous flag-ship of the squadron that was ordered to destroy another squadron, and did it, incidentally gathering in hand the keys of an empire in the Indies for America, because the American victor was an extraordinary man, who saw the immensity of the opportunity and improved it to the utmost, some one said: "There is the Admiral now, on the quarter-deck under the awning--the man in white, sitting alone!" The American Consul at Manila was aboard the ferry-boat, and said to the captain he would like to speak to the Admiral. The course was changed a point, and then a pause, when the Consul called, "Admiral!" And the man in white stepped to the rail and responded pleasantly to the greeting--the Consul saying: "Shall we not see you ashore now?" "No," said the man in white, in a clear voice; "I shall not go ashore unless I have to." Some one said: "This would be a good chance to go. Come with us." The man in white shook his head, and the ferryman ordered full speed, the passengers all looking steadily at the white figure until it became a speck, and the fresh arrivals were shown the objects of the greatest interest, until the wrecks of the Oriental fleet of the Spaniards were no longer visible, and there was only the white walls to see of Cavite's arsenal and the houses of the navy-yard, and the more stately structures of Manila loomed behind the lighthouse at the mouth of the Pasig, when the eyes of the curious were drawn to the mossback fort that decorates as an antiquity the most conspicuous angle of the walls of "the walled city." There was a shade of significance in the few words of the Admiral that he would not go ashore until he must. He has from the first been persistent in staying at Manila. There has been nothing that could induce him to abandon in person the prize won May 1st. His order from the President was to destroy the Spanish fleet. It was given on the first day of the legal existence of the war, counting the day gained, in crossing the Pacific Ocean from the United States to the Philippines, when the 180th degree of longitude west from Greenwich is reached and reckoned. It was thus the President held back when the war was on; and the next day after Dewey got the order at Hongkong he was on the way. The Spaniards at Manila could not have been more astonished at Dewey's way of doing, if they had all been struck by lightning under a clear sky. They had no occasion to be "surprised," having the cable in daily communication with Madrid, and, more than that, a Manila paper of the last day of April contained an item of real news--the biggest news item ever published in that town! It was from a point on the western coast of the island of Luzon, and the substance of it that four vessels that seemed to be men-of-war, had been sighted going south, and supposed to be the American fleet. What did the Spaniards suppose the American fleet they knew well had left Hongkong was going south for? If Admiral Dewey had been a commonplace man he would have paused and held a council of war nigh the huge rock Corregidor at the mouth of Manila Bay. There is a channel on either side of that island, and both were reputed to be guarded by torpedoes. The Spaniards had an enormous stock of munitions of war--modern German guns enough to have riddled the fleet of American cruisers--and why did they not have torpedoes? They had the Mauser rifle, which has wonderful range, and ten millions of smokeless powder cartridges. Marksmen could sweep the decks of a ship with Mausers at the distance of a mile, and with the smokeless cartridges it would have been mere conjecture where the sharpshooters were located. There are rows of armor-piercing steel projectiles from Germany still standing around rusting in the Spanish batteries, and they never did any more than they are doing. It is said--and there is every probability of the truth of the story--that some of these bolts would not fit any gun the Spaniards had mounted. The Admiral paid no attention to the big rock and the alleged torpedoes, but steamed up the bay near the city where the Spaniards were sleeping. He was hunting the fleet he was ordered to remove, and found it very early in the morning. Still the thunder of his guns seems to thrill and electrify the air over the bay, and shake the city; and the echoes to ring around the world, there is no question--not so much because the Americans won a naval victory without a parallel, as that Dewey improved the occasion, showing that he put brains into his business. They say--that is, some people seem to want to say it and so do--that Dewey is a strange sort of man; as was said of Wolfe and Nelson, who died when they won immortality. Dewey lives and is covered with glory. It has been held that there were not enough Americans hurt in the Manila fight to make the victory truly great. But the same objection applies to the destruction of Cervera's fleet when he ran away from Santiago. General Jackson's battle at New Orleans showed a marvelously small loss to Americans; but it was a good deal of a victory, and held good, though won after peace with England had been agreed upon. The capture of Manila is valid, too. Spain surrendered before the town did. If Dewey had been an every-day kind of man, he would have left Manila when he had fulfilled the letter of his orders, as he had no means of destroying the Spanish army, and did not want to desolate a city, even if the Spaniards held it. He remained and called for more ships and men, and got them. "How is it?" "Why is it?" "How can it be?" are the questions Admiral Dewey asks when told that the American people, without exception, rejoice to celebrate him--that if one of the men known to have been with him May 1st should be found out in any American theater he would be taken on the stage by an irresistible call and a muscular committee of enthusiasts, and the play could not go on without "a few words" and the "Star Spangled Banner," "Hail Columbia," "Yankee Doodle," "Dixey" and "My Country, 'tis of Thee"; that the hallelujah note would be struck; that cars are chalked "for Deweyville"; that the board fences have his name written, or painted, or whittled on them; that there are Dewey cigars; that blacksmith-shops have the name Dewey scratched on them, also barn doors; and that if there are two dwelling-houses and a stable at a cross-roads it is Deweyville, or Deweyburg or Deweytown; that there is a flood of boy babies named Dewey, that the girls sing of him, and the ladies all admire him and the widows love him, and the school children adore him. The Admiral says: "I hear such things, and altogether they amaze me--the newspapers, the telegrams, the letters become almost unreal, for I do not comprehend what they say of my first day's work here. There was not a man in the fleet who did not do his duty." The Admiral is told that he need not think to stay away until the people who have him on their minds and in their hearts are tired of their enthusiasm; that he cannot go home undiscovered and without demonstrations that will shake the earth and rend the skies; that the boys will drag the horses from his carriage, and parade the streets with him as a prisoner, and have it out with him, giving him a good time, until it will be a hard time, and he might as well submit to manifest destiny! His country wanted another hero, and he was at the right place at the right time, and did the right thing in the right way; and the fact answers all questions accounting for everything. Still he has a notion of staying away until the storm is over and he can get along without being a spectacle. Why, even the ladies of Washington are wild about him. If he should appear at the White House to call on the President, the scene would be like that when Grant first met Abraham Lincoln. One rough day on the bay I took passage in a small steam-launch to visit the Olympia, where the Admiral's flag floated, to call on him. There was plenty of steam, and it was pleasant to get out a good way behind the breakwater, for the waves beyond were white with anger, and the boat, when departing from partial shelter, had proceeded but two or three hundred yards when it made a supreme effort in two motions--the first, to roll over; the second, to stand on its head. I was glad both struggles were unsuccessful, and pleased with the order: "Slow her up." The disadvantages of too much harbor were evident. The slow-ups were several, and well timed, and then came the rise and fall of the frisky launch beside the warship, the throwing of a rope, the pull with a hook, the stand off with an oar, the bounding boat clearing from four to ten feet at a jump; the clutch, the quick step, the deft avoidance of a crushed foot or sprained ankle, with a possible broken leg in sight, the triumphant ascent, the safe landing, the sudden sense that Desdemona was right in loving a man for the dangers he had passed, the thought that there should be harbors less fluctuating, a lively appreciation of the achievements of pilots in boarding Atlantic liners. The broad decks of the Olympia, built by the builders of the matchless Oregon, had a comforting solidity under my feet. The Admiral was believed to be having a nap; but he was wide awake, and invited the visitor to take a big chair, which, after having accompanied the launch in the dance with the whitecaps, was peculiarly luxurious. The Admiral didn't mind me, and had a moment's surprise about an observer of long ago strolling so far from home and going forth in a high sea to make a call. I confessed to being an ancient Wanderer, but not an Ancient Mariner, and expressed disapprobation of the deplorable roughness of the California Albatross, a brute of a bird--a feathered ruffian that ought to be shot. The Admiral would be picked out by close attention as the origin of some millions of pictures; but he is unlike as well as like them. Even the best photographs do not do justice to his fine eyes, large, dark and luminous, or to the solid mass of his head with iron-brown hair tinged with gray. He is a larger man than the portraits indicate; and his figure, while that of a strong man in good health and form and well nourished, is not stout and, though full, is firm; and his step has elasticity in it. His clean-shaven cheek and chin are massive, and drawn on fine lines full of character--no fatty obscuration, no decline of power; a stern but sunny and cloudless face--a good one for a place in history; no show of indulgence, no wrinkles; not the pallor of marble, rather the glint of bronze--the unabated force good for other chapters of history. It would be extremely interesting to report the talk of the Admiral; but there were two things about him that reminded me of James G. Blaine, something of the vivid personality of the loved and lost leader; something in his eye and his manner, more in the startling candor with which he spoke of things it would be premature to give the world, and, above all, the absence of all alarm about being reported--the unconscious consciousness that one must know this was private and no caution needed. A verbatim report of the Admiral would, however, harm no one, signify high-toned candor and a certain breezy simplicity in the treatment of momentous matters. Evidently here was a man not posing, a hero because his character was heroic, a genuine personage--not artificial, proclamatory, a picker of phrases, but a doer of deeds that explain themselves; a man with imagination, not fantastic but realistic, who must have had a vision during the night after the May-day battle of what might be the great hereafter; beholding under the southern constellations the gigantic shadow of America, crowned with stars, with the archipelagoes of Asia under her feet and broad and mighty destinies at command. It was the next day that he anchored precisely where his famous ship was swinging when I sat beside him; and his words to the representative of three centuries of Spanish misrule had in them an uncontemplated flash from the flint and steel of fixed purpose and imperial force. "Fire another gun at my ships and I will destroy your city." We can hardly realize in America how flagrant Europeanism has been in the Manila Bay; how the big German guns bought by Spain looked from their embrasures; how a powerful German fleet persisted in asserting antagonism to Americanism, and tested in many ways the American Admiral's knowledge of his rights and his country's policy until Admiral Dewey told, not the German Admiral, as has been reported, but his flag lieutenant, "Can it be possible that your nation means war with mine? If so, we can begin it in five minutes." The limit had been reached, and the line was drawn; and Dewey's words will go down in our records with those of Charles Francis Adams to Lord John Russell about the ironclads built in England for the Confederacy: "My Lord, I need not point out to your lordship that this is war." Perhaps the German Admiral had exceeded the instructions of his Imperial Government, and the peremptory words of the American Admiral caused a better understanding, making for peace rather than for war. Next to the Americans the English have taken a pride in Admiral Dewey, and they are in the Asiatic atmosphere our fast friends. They do not desire that we should give up the Philippines. On the contrary, they want us to keep the islands, and the more we become interested in those waters and along their shores, the better. They know that the world has practically grown smaller and, therefore, the British Empire more compact; and they find Russia their foe. They see that with the Pacific Coast our base of operations looking westward, we have first the Hawaiian Islands for producers and a coal station, naval arsenal, dockyards for the renovation and repair and replenishment of our fleets; and they see that we have reserved for ourselves one of the Ladrones, so that we will have an independent route to the Philippines. The Japanese have cultivated much feeling against our possession of Hawaii, the animus being that they wanted it for themselves; and likewise they are disturbed by our Pacific movement, anticipating the improvement of the most western of the Alutian Islands, an admirable station overlooking the North Pacific; all comprehending with Hawaii, the Alutian Island found most available, the Ladrone that we shall reserve and the Philippines, we shall have a Pacific quadrilateral; and this is not according to the present pleasure and the ambition for the coming days, of Japan. England would have approved our holding all the islands belonging to the Spanish, including the Canaries, and Majorca and Minorca and their neighboring isles in the Mediterranean, and take a pride in us. She has been of untold and inestimable service to us in the course of the Spanish War, and her ways have been good for us at Manila, while the Germans have been frankly against us, the Russians grimly reserved, and the French disposed to be fretful because they have invested in Spanish bonds upon which was raised the money to carry on the miserable false pretense of war with the Cubans. One day while I was on the fine transport Peru, in the harbor of Manila, the American Admiral's ship saluted an English ship-of-war coming in that had saluted his flag, and also displayed American colors in recognition that the harbor of Manila was an American port. That was the significance of the flashes and thundering of the Admiral's guns and the white cloud that gathered about his ship that has done enough for celebrity through centuries. Admiral Dewey created the situation in the Philippines that the President wisely chose by way of the Paris Conference to receive the deliberate judgment of the Senate and people of the United States. Dewy has been unceasingly deeply concerned about it. His naval victory was but the beginning. He might have sailed away from Manila May 2d, having fulfilled his orders; but he had the high and keen American spirit in him, and clung. He needed a base of operations, a place upon which to rest and obtain supplies. He had not the marines to spare to garrison a fort save at Cavite, twelve miles from Manila; and he needed chickens, eggs, fresh meat and vegetables; and it was important that the Spanish Army should be occupied on shore. Hence, Aguinaldo, who was in Singapore, and the concentration of insurgents that had themselves to be restrained to make war on civilized lines. One of the points of the most considerable interest touching the Filipinos is that the smashing defeat of the fleet of Spain in Manila Bay heartened them. They have become strong for themselves. The superiority of the Americans over the Spaniards as fighting men is known throughout the islands Spain oppressed; and the bonds of the tyrants have been broken. It should not be out of mind that the first transports with our troops did not reach Manila for six weeks, and that the army was not in shape to take the offensive until after General Merritt's arrival, late in July. All this time the American Admiral had to hold on with the naval arm; and it was the obvious game of Spain, if she meant to fight and could not cope with the Americans in the West Indies, to send all her available ships and overwhelm us in the East Indies. At the same time the German, French, Russian and Japanese men-of-war represented the interest of the live nations of the earth in the Philippines. As fast as possible Admiral Dewey was re-enforced; but it was not until the two monitors, the Monterey and Monadnock, arrived, the latter after the arrival of General Merritt, that the Admiral felt that he was safely master of the harbor. He had no heavily armored ships to assail the shore batteries within their range, and might be crippled by the fire of the great Krupp guns. It was vital that the health of the crews of his ships should be maintained, and the fact that the men are and have been all summer well and happy is not accidental. Admiral Dewey took the point of danger, if there was one, into his personal keeping, by anchoring the Olympia on the Manila side of the bay, while others were further out and near Cavite; and throughout the fleet there was constant activity and the utmost vigilance. There was incessant solicitude about what the desperate Spaniards might contrive in the nature of aggressive enterprise. It seemed incredible to Americans that nothing should be attempted. How would a Spanish fleet have fared for three months of war with us in an American harbor? There would have been a new feature of destructiveness tried on the foe at least once a week. The Spaniards ashore seemed to be drowsy; but the Americans were wide awake, ready for anything, and could not be surprised; so that we may commend as wisdom the Spanish discretion that let them alone. The ship that was the nearest neighbor of Admiral Dewey for months of his long vigil flew the flag of Belgium. She is a large, rusty-looking vessel, without a sign of contraband of war, or of a chance of important usefulness about her; but she performed a valuable function. I asked half a dozen times what her occupation was before any one gave a satisfactory answer. Admiral Dewey told the story in few words. She was a cold-storage ship, with beef and mutton from Australia, compartments fixed for about forty degrees below zero. Each day the meat for the American fleet's consumption was taken out. There was a lot of it on the deck of the Olympia thawing when I was a visitor; and the beef was "delicious." I am at pains to give Dewey's word. While the Spaniards ashore were eating tough, lean buffalo--the beasts of burden in the streets, the Americans afloat rejoiced in "delicious" beef and mutton from Australia. It was explained that the use of cold-storage meat depended upon giving it time to thaw, for if it should be cooked in an icy state it would be black and unpalatable, losing wholly its flavor and greatly its nourishing quality. Australia is not many thousand miles from the Philippines--and one must count miles by the thousands out there. The Belgians have a smart Consul at Manila who is a friend of mankind. One of the incidents in the battle of Manila--all are fresh in the public memory--is that Admiral Dewey did not make use of the conning-tower--a steel, bomb proof, for the security of the officer in command of the ship--the Captain, of course, and the commander of the fleet, if he will. This retreat did not prove, in the battle of Yalu and the combats between the Chileans and Peruvians, a place of safety; but as a rule there is a considerable percentage of protection in its use. Admiral Dewey preferred to remain on the bridge--and there were four fragments of Spanish shells that passed close to him, striking within a radius of fifteen feet. The Admiral, when told there had been some remark because he had not occupied the conning-house in the action, walked with me to the tower, the entrance to which is so guarded that it resembles a small cavern of steel--with a heavy cap or lid, under which is a circular slit, through which observations are supposed to be made. "Try it," the Admiral said, "and you find it is hard to get a satisfactory view." He added, when I had attempted to look over the surroundings: "We will go to the bridge;" and standing on it he annotated the situation, saying: "Here you have the whole bay before you, and can see everything." I remarked: "The newspaper men are very proud of the correspondent of the Herald who was with you on the bridge;" and the Admiral said: "Yes; Stickney was right here with us." There were many reasons for the officer commanding the American fleet that day to watch closely the developments. The Spaniards had, for their own purposes, even falsified the official charts of the bay. Where our vessels maneuvered and the flagship drew twenty-two feet of water and had nine feet under the keel, the chart called for fifteen feet only! It is not a secret that the President wanted Admiral Dewey, if it was not in his opinion inconsistent with his sense of duty, to go to Washington. Naturally the President would have a profound respect for the Admiral's opinion as to the perplexing problem of the Philippines. The Admiral did not think he should leave his post. He could cover the points of chief interest in writing, and preferred very much to do so, and stay right where he was "until this thing is settled." The opinion of the Admiral as to what the United States should do with, or must do about, the political relations of the Philippines with ourselves and others, have not been given formal expression; but it is safe to say they are not in conflict with his feeling that the American fleet at Manila should be augmented with gunboats, cruisers and two or three battle-ships. It was, in the opinion of the illustrious Admiral, when the Peace Commission met in Paris, the time and place to make a demonstration of the sea power of the United States. The personal appearance of Admiral Dewey is not presented with attractive accuracy in the very familiar portrait of him that has been wonderfully multiplied and replenished. The expression of the Admiral is not truly given in the prints and photos. The photographer is responsible for a faulty selection. The impression prevails that the hero is "a little fellow." There is much said to the effect that he is jaunty and has excess of amiability in his smile. He weighs about 180 pounds, and is of erect bearing, standing not less than five feet ten inches and a quarter. His hair is not as white as the pictures say. The artist who touched up the negative must have thought gray hair so becoming that he anticipated the feast of coming years. The figure of the Admiral is strong, well carried, firm, and his bearing that of gravity and determination, but no pose for the sake of show, no pomp and circumstance, just the Academy training showing in his attitude--the abiding, unconscious grace that is imparted in the schools of Annapolis and West Point--now rivaled by other schools in "setting up." The Admiral is of solidity and dignity, of good stature and proportions; has nothing of affectation in manners or insincerity in speech; is a hearty, stirring, serious man, whose intensity is softened by steady purposes and calm forces, and moderated by the play of a sense of humor, that is not drollery or levity, but has a pleasing greeting for a clever word, and yields return with a flash in it and an edge on it. CHAPTER II Life in Manila. Character of the Filipinos--Drivers Lashing Laboring Men in the Streets--What Americans Get in Their Native Air--The Logic of Destiny--Manila as She Fell into Our Hands--The Beds in the Tropics--A Spanish Hotel--Profane Yells for Ice--Sad Scenes in the Dining Room--Major-General Calls for "Francisco"--A Broken-Hearted Pantry Woman. The same marvelous riches that distinguish Cuba are the inheritance of Luzon. The native people are more promising in the long run than if they were in larger percentage of the blood of Spain, for they have something of that indomitable industry that must finally work out an immense redemption for the eastern and southern Asiatics. When, I wonder, did the American people get the impression so extensive and obstinate that the Japanese and Chinese were idlers? We may add as having a place in this category the Hindoos, who toil forever, and, under British government, have increased by scores of millions. The southern Asiatics are, however, less emancipated from various indurated superstitions than those of the East; and the Polynesians, spread over the southern seas, are a softer people than those of the continent. However, idleness is not the leading feature of life of the Filipinos, and when they are mixed, especially crossed with Chinese, they are indefatigable. On the Philippine Islands there is far less servility than on the other side of the sea of China, and the people are the more respectable and hopeful for the flavor of manliness that compensates for a moderate but visible admixture of savagery. We of North America may be proud of it that the atmosphere of our continent, when it was wild, was a stimulant of freedom and independence. The red Indians of our forests were, with all their faults, never made for slaves. The natives of the West Indies, the fierce Caribs excepted, were enslaved by the Spaniards, and perished under the lash. Our continental tribes--the Seminoles and the Comanches, the Sioux and Mohawks, the Black Feet and the Miamis--from the St. Lawrence to Red River and the oceans, fought all comers--Spaniards, French and English--only the French having the talent of polite persuasion and the gift of kindness that won the mighty hunters, but never subjugated them. We may well encourage the idea that the quality of air of the wilderness has entered the soil. When, in Manila, I have seen the men bearing burdens on the streets spring out of the way of those riding in carriages, and lashed by drivers with a viciousness that no dumb animal should suffer, I have felt my blood warm to think that the men of common hard labor in my country would resent a blow as quickly as the man on horseback--that even the poor black--emancipated the other day from the subjugation of slavery by a masterful and potential race, stands up in conscious manhood, and that the teachings of the day are that consistently with the progress of the country--as one respects himself, he must be respected--and that the air and the earth have the inspiration and the stimulus of freedom. The Chinese and Japanese are famous as servants--so constant, handy, obedient, docile, so fitted to minister to luxury, to wait upon those favored by fortune and spurred to execute the schemes for elevation and dominance, and find employment in the enterprise that comprehends human advancement. It must be admitted that the Filipinos are not admirable in menial service. Many of them are untamed, and now, that the Americans have given object lessons of smiting the Spaniards, the people of the islands that Magellinos, the Portuguese, found for Spain, must be allowed a measure of self-government, or they will assert a broader freedom, and do it with sanguinary methods. As Americans have heretofore found personal liberty consistent with public order--that Republicanism was more stable than imperialism in peaceable administration, and not less formidable in war, it seems to be Divinely appointed that our paths of Empire may, with advantage to ourselves, and the world at large, be made more comprehensive than our fathers blazed them out. But one need not hesitate to go forward in this cause, for we have only gone farther than the fathers dreamed, because, among their labors of beneficence, was that of building wiser than they knew, and there is no more reason now why we should stop when we strike the salt water of the seas, and consent to it that where we find the white line of surf that borders a continent we shall say to the imperial popular Republic, thus far and no farther shalt thou go, and here shall thy proud march be stayed--than there was that George Washington, as the representative of the English-speaking people, should have assumed that England and Virginia had no business beyond the Allegheny Mountains, and, above all, no right to territory on the west of the Allegheny and Kanawha, and north of the Ohio river, a territory then remote, inhabited by barbarians and wanted by the French, who claimed the whole continent, except the strip along the Atlantic possessed by the English colonies. Washington was a believer in the acquisition of the Ohio country. He was a man who had faith in land--in ever more land. It is the same policy to go west now that it was then. Washington crossed the Allegheny and held the ground. Jefferson crossed the Mississippi, and sent Louis and Clark to the Pacific; and crossing the great western ocean now is but the logic of going beyond the great western rivers, prairies and mountains then. We walk in the ways of the fathers when we go conquering and to conquer along the Eastward shores of Asia. One of the expanding and teeming questions before the world now, and the authority and ability to determine it, is in the hands of the Commander-in-Chief of the Army of the United States, is whether Manila shall become an American city, with all the broad and sweeping significance attaching thereto. Manila was not dressed for company when I saw her, for she had just emerged from a siege in which the people had suffered much inconvenience and privation. The water supply was cut off, and the streets were not cleaned. The hotels were disorganized and the restaurants in confusion. The trees that once cast a grateful shade along the boulevards, that extended into the country, rudely denuded of their boughs, had the appearance of the skeletons of strange monsters. The insurgent army was still in the neighborhood in a state of uneasiness, feeling wronged, deprived, as they were, of an opportunity to get even with the Spaniards, by picking out and slaying some of the more virulent offenders. There was an immense monastery, where hundreds of priests were said to be sheltered, and the insurgents desired to take them into their own hands and make examples of them. The Spaniards about the streets were becoming complacent. They had heard of peace, on the basis of Spain giving up every thing, but the Philippines, and there were expectations that the troops withdrawn from Cuba might be sent from Havana to Manila, and then, as soon as the Americans were gone, the islanders could be brought to submission by vastly superior forces. There were more rations issued to Spanish than to American soldiers, until the division of the Philippine Expedition with Major-General Otis arrived, but the Americans were exclusively responsible for the preservation of the peace between the implacable belligerents, and the sanitary work required could not at once be accomplished, but presently it was visible that something was done every day in the right direction. There was much gambling with dice, whose rattling could be heard far and near on the sidewalks, but this flagrant form of vice was summarily suppressed, we may say with strict truth, at the point of the bayonet. The most representative concentration of the ingredients of chaos was at the Hotel Oriental, that overlooked a small park with a dry fountain and a branch of the river flowing under a stone bridge, with a pretty stiff current, presently to become a crowded canal. It is of three lofty stories and an attic, a great deal of the space occupied with halls, high, wide and long. The front entrance is broad, and a tiled floor runs straight through the house. Two stairways, one on either side, lead to the second story, the first steps of stone. In the distance beyond, a court could be seen, a passable conservatory--but bottles on a table with a counter in front declared that this was a barroom, as it was. The next thing further was a place where washing was done, then came empty rooms that might be shops; after this a narrow and untidy street, and then a livery stable--a sort of monopolistic cab stand, where a few ponies and carriages were to be found--but no one understood or did anything as long as possible, except to say that all the rigs were engaged now and always. However, a little violent English language, mixed with Spanish, would arouse emotion and excite commotion eventuating in a pony in harness, and a gig or carriage, and a desperate driver, expert with a villainous whip used without occasion or remorse. The cool place was at the front door, on the sidewalk, seated on a hard chair, for there was always a breeze. The Spanish guests knew where the wind blew, and gathered there discussing many questions that must have deeply interested them. But they had something to eat, no authority or ability to affect any sort of change, and unfailing tobacco, the burning of which was an occupation. The ground floor of the hotel, except the barroom, the washroom, the hall, the conservatory and the hollow square, had been devoted to shop keeping, but the shop keepers were gone, perhaps for days and perhaps forever! Stone is not used to any great extent in house interiors, except within a few feet of the surface of the earth. Of course, there is no elevator in a Spanish hotel. That which is wanted is room for the circulation of air. Above the first flight of stairs the steps have a deep dark red tinge, and are square and long, so that each extends solidly across the liberal space allotted to the stairway. The blocks might be some stone of delightful color, but they are hewn logs, solid and smooth, of a superb mahogany or some tree of harder wood and deeper luxuriance of coloring. The bedrooms are immensely high, and in every way ample, looking on great spaces devoted to wooing the air from the park and the river. The windows are enormous. Not satisfied with the giant sliding doors that open on the street, revealing windows--unencumbered with sash or glass, there are sliding doors under the window sills, that roll back right and left and offer the chance to introduce a current of air directly on the lower limbs. One of the lessons of the tropics is the value of the outer air, and architecture that gives it a chance in the house. It is a precious education. The artificial light within must be produced by candles, and each stupendous apartment is furnished with one tallowy and otherwise neglected candle stick, and you can get, with exertion, a candle four inches long. There is a wardrobe, a wash stand, with pitcher and basin, and a commode, fans, chairs, and round white marble table, all the pieces placed in solitude, so as to convey the notion of lonesomeness. The great feature is the bed. The bedstead is about the usual thing, save that there is no provision for a possible or impossible spring mattress, or anything of that nature. The bed space is covered with bamboo, platted. It is hard as iron, and I can testify of considerable strength, for I rested my two hundred pounds, and rising a few pounds, on this surface, with no protection for it or myself for several nights, and there were no fractures. There is spread on this surface a Manila mat, which is a shade tougher and less tractable than our old style oilcloth. Upon this is spread a single sheet, that is tucked in around the edges of the mat, and there are no bed clothes, absolutely none. There is a mosquito bar with only a few holes in it, but it is suspended and cannot under any circumstances be used as a blanket. There is a pillow, hard and round, and easy as a log for your cheek to rest upon, and it is beautifully covered with red silk. There is a small roll, say a foot long and four inches in diameter, softer than the pillow, to a slight extent, and covered with finer and redder silk, that is meant for the neck alone. The comparatively big red log is to extend across the bed for the elevation it gives the head, and the little and redder log, softer so that you may indent it with your thumb, saves the neck from being broken on this relic of the Spanish inquisition. But there is a comforter--not such a blessed caressing domestic comforter as the Yankees have, light as a feather, but responsive to a tender touch. This Philippine comforter is another red roll that must be a quilt firmly rolled and swathed in more red silk; and it is to prop yourself withal when the contact with the sheet and the mat on the bamboo floor of the bedstead, a combination iniquitous as the naked floor--becomes wearisome. It rests the legs to pull on your back, and tuck under your knees. In the total absence of bed covering, beyond a thin night shirt, the three red rolls are not to be despised. The object of the bed is to keep cool, and if you do find the exertion of getting onto--not into--the bed produces a perspiration, and the mosquito bar threatens suffocation, reliance may be had that if you can compose yourself on top of the sheet (which feels like a hard wood floor, when the rug gives way on the icy surface and you fall) and if you use the three rolls of hard substance, covered with red silk, discreetly and considerately, in finding a position, and if you permit the windows--no glass--fifteen feet by twelve, broadcast, as it were, to catch the breath of the river and the park; if you can contrive with infinite quiet, patience and pains to go to sleep for a few hours, you will be cool enough; and when awakened shivering there is no blanket near, and if you must have cover, why get under the sheet, next the Manila mat, and there you are! Then put your troublesome and probably aching legs over the bigger red roll, and take your repose! Of course, when in the tropics you cannot expect to bury yourself in bedclothing, or to sleep in fur bags like an arctic explorer. The hall in front of your door is twelve feet wide and eighty long, lined with decorative chairs and sofas, and in the center of the hotel is a spacious dining room. The Spaniard doesn't want breakfast. He wants coffee and fruit--maybe a small banana--something sweet, and a crumb of bread. The necessity of the hour is a few cigarettes. His refined system does not require food until later. At 12 o'clock he lunches, and eats an abundance of hot stuff--fish, flesh and fowl--fiery stews and other condolences for the stomach. This gives strength to consider the wrongs of Spain and the way, when restored to Madrid, the imbeciles, who allowed the United States to capture the last sad fragments of the colonies, sacred to Spanish honor, shall be crushed by the patriots who were out of the country when it was ruined. It will take a long time for the Spaniards to settle among factions the accounts of vengeance. One of the deeper troubles of the Spaniards is that they take upon themselves the administration of the prerogatives of him who said "Vengeance is mine." The American end of the dining room contains several young men who speak pigeon Spanish, and Captains Strong and Coudert are rapidly becoming experts, having studied the language in school, and also on the long voyage out. There are also a group of resident Englishmen and a pilgrim from Norway, but at several tables are Americans who know no Spanish and are mad at the Spaniards on that provocation among other things. There is, however, a connecting link and last resort in the person of a young man--a cross between a Jap and Filipino. He is slender and pale, but not tall. His hair is roached, so that it stands up in confusion, and he is wearied all the time about the deplorable "help."' It is believed he knows better than is done--always a source of unhappiness. His name is Francisco; his reputation is widespread. He is the man who "speaks English"--and is the only one--and it is not doubted that he knows at least a hundred words of our noble tongue. He says, "What do you want?" "Good morning, gentlemen"; "What can I do for you?" "Do you want dinner?" "No, there is no ice till 6 o'clock." He puts the Americans in mind of better days. Behind this linguist is a little woman, whose age might be twenty or sixty, for her face is so unutterably sad and immovable in expression that there is not a line in it that tells you anything but that there is to this little woman a bitterly sad, mean, beastly world. She must be grieving over mankind. It is her duty to see that no spoon is lost, and not an orange or banana wasted, and her mournful eyes are fixed with the intensity of despair upon the incompetent waiters, who, when hard pressed by wild shouts from American officers, frantic for lack of proper nourishment, fall into a panic and dance and squeal at each other; and then the woman of fixed sorrow, her left shoulder thin and copper-colored, thrust from her low-necked dress, her right shoulder protected, is in the midst of the pack, with a gliding bound and the ferocity of a cat, the sadness of her face taking on a tinge of long-suffering rage. She whirls the fools here and there as they are wanted. Having disentangled the snarl, she returns to the door from which her eyes command both the pantry and the dining-room to renew her solemn round of mournful vigilance. The Americans are outside her jurisdiction. She has no more idea what they are than Christopher Columbus, when he was discovering America, knew where he was going. When Francisco does not know what the language (English) hurled at him means he has a far-away look, and may be listening to the angels sing, for he is plaintive and inexpressive. He looks so sorry that Americans cannot speak their own language as he speaks English! But there are phrases delivered by Americans that he understands, such as, "Blankety, blank, blank--you all come here." Francisco does not go there, but with humble step elsewhere, affecting to find a pressing case for his intervention, but when he can no longer avoid your eye catching him he smiles a sweet but most superior smile, such as becomes one who speaks English and is the responsible man about the house. There never was one who did more on a capital of one hundred words. His labors have been lightened slightly, for the Americans have picked up a few Spanish words, such as, "Ha mucher, mucher--don't you know? Hielo, hielo!" Hielo is ice, and after the "mucher" is duly digested the average waiter comes, by and by, with a lump as big as a hen's egg and is amazed by the shouts continuing "hielo, hielo!" pronounced much like another and wicked word. "Oh, blanketination mucher mucher hielo!" The Filipinos cannot contemplate lightly the consumption of slabs of ice. The last words I heard in the dining-room of the Hotel Oriental were from a soldier with two stars on each shoulder: "Francisco, oh, Francisco," and the little woman with left shoulder exposed turned her despairing face to the wall, her sorrow too deep for words or for weeping. CHAPTER III From Long Island To Luzon. Across the Continent--An American Governor-General Steams Through the Golden Gate--He Is a Minute-Man--Honolulu as a Health Resort--The Lonesome Pacific--The Skies of Asia--Dreaming Under the Stars of the Scorpion--The Southern Cross. Spain, crowded between the Mediterranean and the Atlantic, was the world's "West" for many centuries, indeed until Columbus found a further West, but he did not go far enough to find the East Indies. The United States is now at work in both the East and West Indies. Our Manila expeditions steamed into the sunsets, the boys pointing out to each other the southern cross. The first stage of a journey, to go half round the world on a visit to our new possession, was by the annex boat from Brooklyn, and a rush on the Pennsylvania train, that glimmers with gold and has exhausted art on wheels, to Washington, to get the political latitude and longitude by observation of the two domes, that of the Capitol, and the library, and the tremendous needle of snow that is the monument to Washington, and last, but not least, the superb old White House. The next step was across the mountains on the Baltimore and Ohio, the short cut between the East and the West, traversed so often by George Washington to get good land for the extension of our national foundations. The space between Cincinnati and Chicago is cleared on the "Big Four" with a bound through the shadow of the earth, between two rare days in June, and the next midnight, the roaring train flew high over the Missouri River at Omaha, and by daylight far on the way to Ogden. The country was rich in corn and grass, and when one beholds the fat cattle, lamentations for the lost buffalo cease. It is a delight to see young orchards and farmhouses, and cribs and sheds fortified against tornadoes by groves, laid out with irritating precision to confront the whirling storms from west and south. The broad bad lands in which the tempests are raised devour the heart of the continent. I made note of the 888-mile post beyond Omaha, but the 1,000-mile telegraph pole and tree glided away while I was catching the lights and shadows on a fearfully tumbled landscape. The alkali has poisoned enormous tracts, and the tufts of sagebrush have a huge and sinister monotony. Looking out early in the morning there was in our track a "gaunt grey wolf" with sharp ears, unabashed by the roar of the train. His species find occasional scraps along the track and do not fear the trains. Then I saw something glisten in the herbage, and it was a rattlesnake, if it were not a whisky bottle. The gigantic lumps of tawny earth, with castellated crags of stone, ghostly ruins one would say of cities that perished thousands of years before the bricks were made for Babylon. Profound beds for vanished torrents yawned into a scrap of green valley, and the glitter of a thread of water. A town blossomed from a coal mine, and there was an array of driven wells with force pumps to quench the thirst of seething and raging locomotives. A turn in the line and a beautiful cloud formation like billows of white roses, massive, delicately outlined fantastic spires like marble mountains, carved--ah! the cloud comes out clear as if it were a wall of pearl, and there are the everlasting mighty hills with their brows of exquisite snow! These are lofty reservoirs from which the long days glowing with sunshine send down streams of water at whose touch the deserts bloom. The eye is refreshed as we make a closer acquaintance of the mountains. Where water flows and trees "wag their high tops" there is hope of homes. There are canyons that cause one to smile at remembrances of what were considered the dizzy gorges of the Alleghenies. There is a glow as of molten lead in one corner of a misty valley far away. It is Salt Lake, the Dead Sea of America. Beyond this at an immense elevation is a lake with the tinge of the indigo sky of the tropics. If one could stir a portion of the Caribbean Sea into Lake Geneva, the correct tint could be obtained. Thirty miles of snow sheds announce progress in the journey to the Pacific. There is still heat and dust, but beside the road are villages; and there are even fountains. Each stream is a treasure, and its banks are rich with verdure. There are sleek cows on bright grass. The mountains are no longer forbidding. They take on robes of loveliness. The valleys broaden and on the easy slopes there are orchards where the oranges glisten. There are clusters of grapes. We have come upon that magic land, California. There is golden music in the name. This is a conquest. The war in which it was won was not one of philanthropy. We gathered an empire. General Merritt never minded the weather, whether the wind blew or not, and instead of holding his ship for several hours after the appointed time, wanted to know five minutes after 10 o'clock whether the time for starting was not 10 o'clock and by whom the boat was detained. At ten minutes after 10 the gangplank was swung free, with a desperate man on it who scrambled on with the help of long legs and a short rope. As the ship swung from the dock and got a move on there were thousands of men and women exalted with emotion, and there were crowded steamers and tugs toppling with swarming enthusiasts resounding with brass bands and fluttering with streaming flags. The ladies were especially frantic. Spurts of white smoke jetted from forts and there were ringing salutes. Steam whistles pitched a tune beyond the fixed stars. The national airs with thrilling trumpet tones pierced the din, and a multitude of voices joined with the bands giving words and tone to the magnetic storm. How many miles the Newport was pursued I cannot conjecture. There were tall ladies standing on the high decks of tugs that were half buried in the foam of the bay, but as long as they could hold a "Star Spangled Banner" in one hand, and a few handkerchiefs in another, their skirts streaming in grace and defiance before the rising gale, they sang hosannas, and there were attitudes both of triumph and despair as the fair followers, dashed with spray, gave up the chase, passionately kissing their hands god-speed and good-by. This was going to the Indies through the Golden Gate! A breakage of dishes, that sounded as though the ship were going to pieces, belied the prophesy that beyond the bar there was to be no moaning; and the Pacific would not be pacified. However, the reputation of the ocean was good enough to go to sleep on, but the berths squirmed in sympathy with the twisting and plunging ship. It was not a "sound of revelry by night," to which the wakeful listened through the dismal hours, and in the morning there was a high sea--grand rollers crowned with frothy lace, long black slopes rising and smiting like waves of liquid iron. The Pacific was an average North Atlantic, and it was explained by the tale that the peaceful part of this ocean is away down South where the earth is most rotund, and the trade winds blow on so serenely that they lull the navigators into dreams of peace that induce a state of making haste slowly and a willingness to forget and be forgotten, whether-- Of those who husbanded the golden grain Or those who flung it to the winds like rain, The gulls are not our snowy birds of the Atlantic. We are lonesome out here, and the Albatross sweeps beside us, hooded like a cobra, an evil creature trying to hoodoo us, with owlish eyes set in a frame like ghastly spectacle glasses. General Merritt's blue eyes shone like diamonds through the stormy experiences while the young staff officers curled up as the scientists did on the floor, and smiled a sort of sickly smile! The highest compliment that can be paid them is that the group of officers and gentlemen surrounding the commander of the expedition to the Philippines, express his own character. It was funny to find that the private soldiers were better served with food than the General and his staff. There was reform, so as to even up the matter of rations, but the General was not anxious and solicitous for better food. His idea of the correct supper after a hard day's service is a goodly sized sliced onion with salt, meat broiled on two sticks, hard tack, a tin cup of coffee, for luxuries a baked potato, a pipe of tobacco, a nip of whisky, a roll in a blanket and a sleep until the next day's duties are announced by the bugle. As the gentlemen of the staff got their sea legs, and flavored the narration of their experiences with humor, I found myself in a cloudy state and mentioned a small matter to the brigadier surgeon, who whipped out a thermometer and took my temperature, and that man of science gave me no peace night or day, and drove me from the ship into Paradise--that is to say I was ordered to stay at Honolulu. Through a window of the Queen's hospital I saw lumps of tawny gold that were pomegranates shaking in the breeze, another tree glowed with dates, and a broad, vividly green hedge was rich with scarlet colors. I was duly examined by physicians, who were thorough as German specialists. I had, in the course of a few hours, a nap, a dish of broth, a glass of milk, a glass of ice water and an egg nog. That broth flowed like balm to the right spot. It was chicken broth. When I guzzled the egg nog I would have bet ten to one on beating that fever in a week, and the next morning about 4:30, when there was competitive crowing by a hundred roosters, I was glad of the concert, for it gave assurance of a supply of chickens to keep up the broth and the eggs that disguised the whiskey. Two days later I gave up the egg nog because it was too good for me. I knew I did not deserve anything so nice, and suspected it was a beneficence associated with a cloud on my brow. I had the approval of the hospital physician as to egg nog, and he cut off a lot of dainties sent by the Honolulu ladies, who must have imagined that I was one of the heroes of the war. Their mission is to make heroes happy. I was detained under the royal palms, and other palms that were planted by the missionaries, four weeks, and got away on the ship Peru with Major-General Otis, and when we had gone on for a fortnight, as far as from the Baltic to Lake Erie, we saw some rocks that once were Spanish property. As we left Honolulu the air was already a-glitter with Star Spangled Banners. There are three great points to be remembered as to the annexation of Hawaii: 1. There is not to be a continuance of the slavery of Asiatics in the new possession. 2. "Manhood suffrage" is not to be extended to Asiatics, often actually as under strictly conventional constitutional construction. 3. The archipelago is to be a United States territory, but not a State of the United States. Ex-President Harrison says in his most interesting book: "This Country of Ours," which should be one of our national school books: "Out of the habit of dealing with the public domain has come the common thought that all territory that we acquire must, when sufficiently populous, be erected into States. But why may we not take account of the quality of the people as well as of their numbers, if future acquisitions should make it proper to do so? A territorial form of government is not so inadequate that it might not serve for an indefinite time." It is to be remarked of the Hawaiian Islands that they did not possess the original riches of timber that distinguished the West Indies, especially Cuba, where Columbus found four varieties of oranges. One of the features of Hawaiian forestry is the Royal Palm, but it was not indigenous to the islands. The oldest of the stately royalists is not of forty years' growth, and yet they add surprising grace to many scenes, and each year will increase their height and enhance their beauty. Hawaiians will be saved from extinction by miscegenation. There will be no harm done these feeble people by the shelter of the flag of the great republic. The old superstitions prevail among them to an extent greater than is generally understood. I had the privilege of visiting an American home, the background of which was a rugged mountain that looked like a gigantic picture setting forth the features of a volcanic world. Far up the steep is a cave in which the bones of many of the old savages were deposited in the days of civil war and inhuman sacrifices. The entrance was long ago--in the days the Hawaii people describe as "Before the Missionaries." The hole going to the holy cavern was closed, but there is still pious watching over the place of bones, and if there are climbers of the mountain not to be trusted with the solemn secrets of ancient times, they are stalked by furtive watchmen of the consecrated bones, and no doubt the ever alert sentinels would resist violation of the sepulchre in the rocks; and the natives are careful to scatter their special knowledge that the spot is haunted by supernatural shapes and powers. The Americans living in the midst of these mysteries are rather proud of the ghosts they never see, but have to put up with the haunting guard still ministering to the gods that dwelt in the shrines where the shadows of extinct volcanoes fall, long before the masterful missionaries planted their first steps in the high places. After twenty-two days' steaming from San Francisco--Queen's Hospital time not counted--we were directly south of China's Yellow Sea, and within a few hours of sighting the isle of Luzon. Only at Honolulu, all the way from San Francisco, was there a sail or a smoke not of a vessel of the Philippine expedition. All the long days and nights the eye swept the horizon for companionship, finding only that of our associates in adventure, and very little of them. Even the birds seem to shrink from the heart of the watery world spread between America and Asia; and the monsters of the deep are absent. One day, about a thousand miles from California, a story spread of a porpoise at play, but the lonely creature passed astern like a bubble. Bryant sang of the water fowl that flew from zone to zone, guided in certain flight on the long way over which our steps are led aright, but the Pacific zones are too broad for even winged wanderers. The fish that swarm on our coast do not seem to find home life or sporting places in this enormous sea. Only the flying fish disturb the silky scene and flutter with silver wings over the sparkling laces that glisten where the winds blow gently, and woo the billows to cast aside the terrors of other climes and match the sky of blue and gold in beauty; but, unlike the stars, the waves do not differ in glory, and the spread of their splendor, when they seem to roll over a conquered universe, appeals to the imagination with the solemn suggestion not that order rules but that old chaos settles in solemn peace. The days terminate on this abyss in marvelous glories. The glowing spectacle is not in the west alone, but the gorgeous conflagration of the palaces we build in dreams spreads all around the sky. The scene one evening in the vicinity of the sun departing in Asia to light up the morning of the everlasting to-morrow touching America with magical riches, was that of Niagara Falls ten thousand times magnified and turned to molten gold, that burned with inconceivable luster, while the south and north and east were illuminated with strange fires and soft lights, fading and merged at last in the daffodil sky. Then the west became as a forest of amazing growth, and the ship entered its dusky recesses like a hunter for game such as the world never saw--and we looked upon the slow-fading purple islands that are the northern fringes of the greater one of the Philippines, and studied the rather faint and obscure Southern Cross and the stately sheen of the superb constellation of the Scorpion. It is a pity to have to say that the Cross of the South is a disappointment--has to be explained and made impressive by a diagram. It is more like a kite than a cross; has a superfluous star at one corner, and no support at all of the idea of being like a cross unless it is worked up and picked into the fancy. The North Star shines on the other side of the ship, and the Great Dipper dips its pointers after midnight, into the mass of darkness that is the sea when the sun and moon are gone. The voyage from Honolulu to the farther Pacific was not so long that we forgot the American send-off we got in that Yankee city. The national airs sounded forth gloriously and grand. Flags and hankerchiefs fluttered from dense masses of spectators, and our colors were radiant above the roofs. There was, as usual, a mist on the mountains, and over Pearl Harbor glowed the arch of the most vivid rainbow ever seen, and Honolulu is almost every day dipped in rainbows. This was a wonder of splendor. The water changed from a sparkling green to a darkly luminous blue. From the moment the lofty lines of the coast--our mountains now--faded, till the birds came out of the west, the Pacific Ocean justified its name. The magnificent monotony of its stupendous placidity was not broken except by a few hours of ruffled rollers that tell of agitations that, if gigantic, are remote. The two thousand and one hundred miles from California to Honolulu seemed at first to cover a vast space of the journey from our Pacific coast to the Philippines, but appeared to diminish in importance as we proceeded and were taught by the persistent trade winds that blew our way, as if forever to waft us over the awful ocean whose perpetual beauty and placidity were to allure us to an amazing abyss, from which it was but imaginative to presume that we, in the hands of infinite forces, should ever be of the travelers that return. Similar fancies beset, as all the boys remember--the crews of the caravels that carried Columbus and his fortunes. There were the splendors of tropical skies to beguile us; the sea as serene as the sky to enchant us! What mighty magic was this that put a spell upon an American army, seeking beyond the old outlines of our history and dreams, to guide us on unfamiliar paths? What was this awakening in the soft mornings, to the thrilling notes of the bugle? The clouds were not as those we knew in other climes and years. We saw no penciling of smoke on the edges of the crystal fields touched up with dainty ripples too exquisite to be waves--that which is a delight for a moment and passes but to come again, in forms too delicate to stay for a second, save in those pictures that in the universe fill the mind with memories that arc like starlight. The glancing tribes of flying fish became events. We followed the twentieth parallel of longitude north of the equator, right on, straight as an arrow's flight is the long run of the ship--her vapor and the bubbles that break from the waters vanishing, so that we were as trackless when we had passed one breadth after another of the globe, as the lonesome canoes of the Indians on the Great Lakes. CHAPTER IV Interview with General Aguinaldo. The Insurgent Leader's Surroundings and Personal Appearance--His Reserves and Ways of Talking--The Fierce Animosity of the Filipinos Toward Spanish Priests--A Probability of Many Martyrs in the Isle of Luzon. Practically all persons in the more civilized--and that is to say the easily accessible--portions of the Philippine Islands, with perhaps the exception of those leading insurgents who would like to enjoy the opportunities the Spaniards have had for the gratification of greed and the indulgence of a policy of revenge, would be glad to see the Americans remain in Manila, and also in as large a territory as they could command. Spaniards of intelligence are aware that they have little that is desirable to anticipate in case the country is restored to them along with their Mausers and other firearms, great and small, according to the terms of capitulation. They get their guns whether we go and leave them or we stay and they go. It is obvious that the insurgents have become to the Spaniards a source of anxiety attended with terrors. The fact that they allowed themselves to be besieged in Manila by an equal number of Filipinos is conclusive that their reign is over, and they are not passionately in favor of their own restoration. Their era of cruel and corrupt government is at an end, even if we shall permit them to make the experiment. Their assumed anxiety to stay, is false pretense. They will be hurt if they do not go home. The exasperation of the Filipinos toward the church is a phenomenon, and they usually state it with uncandid qualifications of the inadequate definition of the opinions and policy made by General Aguinaldo. Representations of my representative character as an American journalist, that gave me an importance I do not claim or assume to have, caused the appearance at my rooms, in Manila, of insurgents of high standing and comprehensive information, and of large fortunes in some cases. I was deeply impressed by their violent radicalism regarding the priests. At first they made no distinction, but said flatly the priests were the mischiefmakers, the true tyrants, and next to the half-breed Filipinos crossed with Chinese--who are phenomenal accumulators of pecuniary resources--the money-makers, who profited wrongfully by the earnings of others. And so "the priests must go," they said, and have no choice except that of deportation or execution. In few words, if they did not go away they would be killed. When close and urgent inquiry was made, the native priests were not included in the application of this rule. The Spanish priests were particularly singled out for vengeance, and with them such others as had been "false to the people" and treacherous in their relations to political affairs. The number to be exiled or executed was stated at 3,000. The priests are panicky about this feeling of the natives, as is in evidence in their solicitude to get away. They at least have no hope of security if the Spaniards should regain the mastery of the islands. Two hundred and fifty of them in vain sought to get passage to Hongkong in one boat. I was informed on authority that was unquestionable that the eviction or extermination of the Spanish priests was one of the inevitable results of Filipine independence--the first thing to be done. It was with three objects in view that I had an interview with General Aguinaldo: (1) To ascertain exactly as possible his feeling and policy toward the United States and its assertion of military authority; (2) to inquire about his position touching the priests, (3) and to urge him to be at pains to be represented not only at Washington, but at Paris. As regards the latter point, it was clear that the people of the Philippines, whatever they might be, ought to be represented before the Paris conference. No matter what their case was, it should be personally presented, even if the representatives were witnesses against rather than for themselves. In the interest of fair play and the general truth the Philippine population should put in an appearance at the seat of the government of the United States for the information of the President, and at the scene of the conference to testify; and I was sure it would appear in all cases that they were at least better capable of governing themselves than the Spaniards to govern them. There could be no form of government quite so bad as that of the fatal colonial system of Spain, as illustrated in the Philippines and in the Americas. General Aguinaldo was neither remote nor inaccessible. His headquarters were in an Indian village, just across the bay, named Bacoor, and in less than an hour a swift steam launch carried Major Bell, of the bureau of information, a gallant and most industrious and energetic officer, and myself, to water so shallow that we had to call canoes to land in front of a church that before the days of Dewey was riddled by the fire of Spanish warships because occupied by insurgents. The walls and roof showed many perforations. The houses of the village were of bamboo, and there were many stands along the hot and dusty street on which fruit was displayed for sale. The General's house was about as solid a structure as earthquakes permit, its roof of red tile instead of the usual straw. His rooms were in the second story, reached by a broad stairway, at the top of which was a landing of liberal dimensions and an ante-room. The General was announced at home and engaged in writing a letter to General Merritt--then his rather regular literary exercise. There were a dozen insurgent soldiers at the door, and as many more at the foot and head of the stairs, with several officers, all in military costume, the privates carrying Spanish Mausers and the officers wearing swords. We were admitted to an inner room, with a window opening on the street, and told the General would see us directly. Meanwhile well-dressed ladies of his family passed through the audience room from the General's office to the living rooms, giving a pleasant picture of domesticity. The door from the study opened and a very slender and short young man entered with a preoccupied look that quickly became curious. An attendant said in a low voice, "General Aguinaldo." He was unexpectedly small--could weigh but little over 100 pounds--dressed in pure white, and his modesty of bearing would have become a maiden. The first feeling was a sort of faint compassion that one with such small physical resources should have to bear the weighty responsibilities resting upon him. Major Bell had often met him, and introduced me. The General was gratified that I had called, and waited for the declaration of my business. He had been informed of my occupation; the fact that I had recently been in Washington and expected soon to be there again; was from Ohio, the President's state, a friend of his, and had written a book on Cuba, a task which gave me, as I had visited the Island of Cuba during the war, an acquaintance with the Spanish system of governing colonies. The interpreter was a man shorter than the General, but not quite so slight. His hair was intensely black and he wore glasses. He is an accomplished linguist, speaks English with facility and is acknowledged by the priests to be the equal of any of them in reading and speaking Latin. It is to be remarked that while Aguinaldo is not a man of high education he has as associates in his labors for Philippine independence a considerable number of scholarly men. It is related that in a recent discussion between a priest and an insurgent, the latter stated as a ground of rebellion that the Spaniards did nothing for the education of the people, and was asked, "Where did you get your education?" He had been taught by the Jesuits. My first point in talking with Aguinaldo was that the people of the Philippines ought to be strongly represented in Paris, and of the reasons briefly presented, the foremost was that they sought independence, and should be heard before the commission by which their fate would be declared for the present, so far as it could be, by a tribunal whose work was subject to revision. The general's information was that the Paris conference would be opened September 15, an error of a fortnight, and his impression was that the terms regarding the Philippines would be speedily settled, so that there could not be time to send to Paris, but there had been a determination reached to have a man in Washington. It is to be taken into account that this interview was before anything had been made known as to the mission which General Merritt undertook, and that in a few days he set forth to perform, and that the terms of the protocol had not been entirely published in Manila. I told the general it was not possible that the Philippine problem could speedily be solved, and made known to him that the transport China, which holds the record of quick passage on the Pacific, was to sail for San Francisco in three days, and he would do well to have his men for Washington and Paris go on her if permission could be obtained, as there was no doubt it could, and I mentioned the time required to reach Washington and Paris--that one could be on a trans-Atlantic steamer in New York six hours after leaving Washington, that the Philippine commissioners going to Paris should make it a point to see the President on the way, and the whole matter one of urgency, but it was certainly not too late to act. The General said it had been thought a representative of the islands and of the cause of the people should go to Washington, but the man was in Hongkong. He could, however, be telegraphed, so that he could catch the China at Nagasaka, Japan, where she would have to stop two days to take coal. The Washington commissioner might go to Paris, but instructions could not reach him before he left Hongkong, as it would not be desirable to telegraph them. Upon this I stated if it suited his convenience and he would send instructions by me, I was going on the China, and would charge myself with the special confidential care of his dispatches and deliver them to the commissioner at the coaling station, when he should join the ship; and if it was the desire of the General to have it done I would telegraph the President that Philippine commissioners were on the way. These suggestions were received as if they were agreeable, and esteemed of value. The conversation turned at this point to the main question of the future government of the Philippines, and I inquired what would be satisfactory to the General, and got, of course, the answer, "Philippine independence." But I said after the United States had sent a fleet and destroyed the Spanish fleet and an army in full possession of Manila she was a power that could not be ignored; and what would be thought of her assuming the prerogative of Protector? She could not escape responsibility. His views as to the exact line of demarkation or distinction between the rights of the United States and those of the people of the islands should be perfectly clear, for otherwise there would be confusion and possibly contention in greater matters than now caused friction. I endeavored to indicate the idea that there might be an adjustment on the line that the people of the Philippines could manage their local matters in their own way, leaving to the United States imperial affairs, the things international and all that affected them, the Filipinos looking to the administration of localities. I had asked questions and stated propositions as if it were the universal consent that General Aguinaldo was the dictator for his people and had the executive word to say; but when it came to drawing the fine lines of his relations with the United States as the embodiment of a revolutionary movement, he became shy and referred to those who had to be consulted. His words were equivalent to saying his counselors must, in all matters of moment, be introduced. It came to the same thing at last as to his commissioner or commissioners to Washington or Paris, one or both, and he also asserted the purpose of having the congress elected assemble at a railroad town--Moroles, about fifty miles north of Manila--a movement it is understood that is under the guidance of others than the General, the bottom fact being that if there should be a Philippine Republic Aguinaldo's place, in the judgment of many who are for it, would be not that of chief magistrate, but the head of the army. There are others and many of them of the opinion that he is not a qualified soldier. The congress assembled at Moroles, and has made slow progress. It may as well be remembered, however, that the distinctions of civil and military power have been always hard to observe, in Central and South American states, whose early Spanish education has been outgrown gradually, and with halting and bloody steps. General Aguinaldo, then engaged in evolving a letter to General Merritt, has since issued proclamations that yield no share to the United States in the native government of the islands. But there are two things definitely known, as if decreed in official papers, and probably more so; that the Filipinos of influential intelligence would be satisfied with the direction of local affairs and gladly accept the protectorate of the United States on the terms which the people of the United States may desire and dictate. The greater matter is that whenever it is the fixed policy of the United States to accept the full responsibility of ruling the Philippines, neither Aguinaldo nor any other man of the islands would have the ability to molest the steady, peaceable, beneficent development of the potentiality of our system of justice to the people, and the preservation by and through the popular will of the union of liberty under the law, and order maintained peaceably or forcibly according to needs. In continuation of his explanation that he had to refer matters to others called his counselors, disclaiming the presumption in my questions of his personal responsibility for the conduct of the native insurrection, General Aguinaldo said with the greatest deliberation and the softest emphasis of any of his sayings, that the insurgents were already suspicious of him as one who was too close a friend of the Americans, and yielded too much to them, and that there was danger this feeling might grow and make way with his ability to do all that he would like in the way of keeping the peace. There were, he said, inquiries to the effect: What had the insurgents got for what they had done in the capture of Manila? Were they not treated by the Americans with indifference? Major Bell interposed to say that the Americans were in the Philippines not as politicians, but as soldiers, and had the duty of preserving order by military occupation, and it was not possible there could be maintained a double military authority--two generals of equal powers in one city under martial law. There must be one master and no discussion. The United States could take no secondary attitude or position--would treat the insurgents with great consideration, but they of necessity were exclusively responsible for the carrying out of the provisions of the capitulation. This was exactly to the point, and the interpreter cut his rendering of it, using but few words, and they did not cheer up the General and those about him. Evidently they want to know when and where they realize. It had been noticeable that the greater importance Aguinaldo attaches to what he is saying the lower his voice and the more certainly he speaks in a half whisper with parted lips, show-in teeth and tongue; and he has a surprising faculty of talking with the tip of his tongue, extended a very little beyond his lips. There was something so reserved as to be furtive about his mouth, but his eyes were keen, straight and steady, showing decision, but guarding what he regarded the niceties of statement. However, his meaning that there were insurgents who were finding fault with him was not so much indicative of a rugged issue as a confession of impending inabilities. He had nothing to say in response to Major Bell's explicit remark about the one-man and one-country military power, but the action of the insurgents in removing their headquarters--or their capital, as they call it--to a point forty miles from Manila, proves that they have come to an understanding that the soldiers of the United States are not in the Philippines for their health entirely, or purely in the interest of universal benevolence. The Filipinos must know, too, that they could never themselves have captured Manila. It is not inapt to say that the real center of the rebellion against Spain is, as it has been for years, at Hongkong. I reserved what seemed the most interesting question of the interview with the Philippine leader to the last. It was whether a condition of pacification was the expulsion of the Catholic priests as a class. This was presented with reference to the threats that had been made in my hearing that the priests must go or die, for they were the breeders of all trouble. Must all of them be removed in some way or another? If not, where would the line be drawn? The lips of the General were parted and his voice quite low and gentle, the tongue to a remarkable degree doing the talking, as he replied, plainly picking words cautiously and measuring them. The able and acute interpreter dealt them out rapidly, and his rendering gave token that the Filipinos have already had lessons in diplomacy--even in the Spanish style of polite prevarication--or, if that may be a shade too strong, let us say elusive reservation--the use of language that is more shady than silence, the framing of phrases that may be interpreted so as not to close but to continue discussion and leave wide fields for controversy. The General did not refer to his counselors, or the congress that is in the background and advertised as if it were a new force. The words of the interpreter for him were: "The General says the priests to whom objection is made, and with whom we have a mortal quarrel, are not our own priests, but the Spaniards' and those of the orders. We respect the Catholic church. We respect our own priests, and, if they are friends of our country, will protect them. Our war is not upon the Catholic church, but upon the friars, who have been the most cruel enemies. We cannot have them here. They must go away. Let them go to Spain. We are willing that they may go to their own country. We do not want them. There is no peace until they go." I said my information was that the objectionable Orders expressly proscribed by the insurgents were the Dominicans, Augustines, Franciscans and Recollects, but that the Jesuits were not included. This was fully recited to the General, and with his eyes closing and his mouth whispering close to the interpreter's cheek he gave his answer, and it was quickly rendered: "The Jesuits, too, must go. They also are our enemies. We do not want them. They betray. They can go to Spain. They may be wanted there, not here; but not here, not here." The question whether the friars must make choice between departure and death was not met directly, but with repetitions--that they might be at home in Spain, but could not be a part of the independent Philippines; and, significantly, they should be willing to go when wanted, and would be. Two Catholic priests--Americans, not Spaniards--were at this moment waiting in the ante room, to ask permission for the priests Aguinaldo has in prison to go back to Spain, and the General could not give an answer until he had consulted his council. Probably he would not dare to part with the priests, and an order from him would be disregarded. They have many chances of martyrdom, and some of them have already suffered mutilation. Something had been said about my cabling the President as to the Filipinos' determination to send a representative to Paris, and I had tendered my good offices in bearing instructions to a commissioner from Hongkong to meet the China at Nagasaki, the Japanese railway station, where the American transports coal for their long voyage across the Pacific. But that matter had been left in the air. General Aguinaldo had said he would be obliged if I would telegraph the President, and I thought if the decision was that there was to be a Philippine representative hurried to Paris, it was something the President would be glad to know. I was aware there might be a difficulty in getting permission for a special messenger to go on the China to Japan to meet the commissioners going from Hongkong, and I would be willing to make the connection, as I had offered the suggestion. But it was necessary to be absolutely certain of General Aguinaldo's decision before I could cable the President; therefore, as I was, of course, in an official sense wholly irresponsible, I could communicate with him without an abrasion of military or other etiquette. It was the more needful, as it would be a personal proceeding, that I should be sure of the facts. Therefore I asked the General, whose time I had occupied more than an hour, whether he authorized me to telegraph the President that a commission was going to Paris, and desired me to render any aid in conveying information. The General was troubled about the word "authorized," and instead of saying so concluded that I must have a deep and possibly dark design and so he could not give me the trouble to cable. The assurance that it would not be troublesome did not remove the disquiet. I could not be troubled, either, as a bearer of dispatches. The General could not authorize a telegram without consulting. In truth, the General had not made up his mind to be represented in Paris, holding that it would be sufficient to have an envoy extraordinary in Washington. Others, without full consideration, in my opinion, concur in this view. I can imagine several situations at Paris in which a representative Filipino would be of service to the United States, simply by standing for the existence of a state of facts in the disputed islands. I dropped the matter of being a mediator, having planted the Paris idea in the mind of the Philippine leader, who is of the persuasion that he is the dictator of his countrymen, for the sake of his country, until he wishes to be evasive, and then he must consult others who share the burdens of authority, and told him when taking my leave I would like to possess a photograph with his autograph and the Philippine flag. In a few minutes the articles were in my hands, and passing out, there were the American priests in the ante-room, the next callers to enter the General's apartment. Their business was to urge him to permit the Catholic priests held as prisoners by the insurgents--more than 100, perhaps nearly 200 in number--to go home. When the news came that General Merritt had been ordered to Paris, and would pass through the Red sea en route, taking the China to Hongkong to catch a peninsular and oriental steamer, I telegraphed the fact to General Aguinaldo over our military wires and his special wire, and his commissioner, duly advised, became, with General Merritt's aid, at Hongkong a passenger on the China. He is well known to the world as Senor Filipe Agoncillo, who visited Washington City, saw the President and proceeded to Paris. CHAPTER V The Philippine Mission. Correspondence With Aguinaldo About It--Notes by Senor Felipe Agoncillo--Relations Between Admiral Dewey and Senor Aguinaldo--Terms of Peace Made by Spanish Governor-General with Insurgents, December, 1897--Law Suit Between Aguinaldo and Artacho--Aguinaldo's Proclamation of May 24, 1898. When General Merritt decided to hold the China for a day to take him to Hongkong on the way to Paris, I telegraphed Aguinaldo of the movements of the ship, arid received this dispatch from the General: "War Department, United States Volunteer Signal Corps, sent from Bakoor August 29, 1898.--To Mr. Murat Halstead, Hotel Oriente, Manila: Thankful for your announcing China's departure. We are to send a person by her if possible, whom I recommend to you. Being much obliged for the favor. "_A. G. Escamilla_," "Private Secretary to General Aguinaldo." On the same day the General sent the following personal letter: "Dear Sir: The bearer, Dr. G. Apacible, is the person whom was announced to you in the telegram. "I am desirous of sending him to Hongkong, if possible, by the China, recommending him at the same time to your care and good will. Thanking you for the favor, I'm respectfully yours, _Emilio Aguinaldo y Famy_. "Mr. Murat Halstead, Manila. "Bakoor, 29th August, 1898." General Aguinaldo proceeded vigorously to make use of his knowledge that the China would go to Hongkong for General Merritt and sent his secretary and others to me at the Hotel Oriente, but they arrived after I had left the house. They came to the China and General Merritt had not arrived and did not appear until within a few minutes of the start. Then the deputation from the insurgent chieftain had an interview with him, asking that two of their number should go to Hongkong on the China to express fully the views of the insurgent government to to the commissioner, Don Felipe Agoncillo, chosen to represent the Filipinos at Washington and Paris and to ask that he be allowed to go to the United States on the China. When the committee saw General Merritt he was taking leave of Admiral Dewey, and the General, who had not heard of this movement until that moment--the question being entirely new--invited the opinion of the Admiral, who said there was "certainly no objection," and on the contrary, it would be very well to permit the passage of the deputation to Hongkong and of the commissioner appointed from that city to Washington. General Merritt at once in half a dozen words gave the order, and the journey began. General Greene, who reads and translates Spanish with facility and whose Spanish speech is plain, treated with marked courtesy the Filipino committee to Hongkong and thence the commissioner and his secretary from Hongkong to San Francisco, on the way to Washington and Paris. General Greene, while according distinction to the representatives of the insurgents, stated to them that his attentions were personal and he could not warrant them official recognition at Washington or anything more than such politeness as gentlemen receive from each other. The commissioner was Don Felipe Agoncillo, and his secretary, Sixto Lopez. Saturday, September 24, the Salt Lake newspapers contained stories to the effect that the Germans had entered into an alliance offensive and defensive with the Aguinaldo government and would furnish equipments for an army of 150,000 men. We were on the Union Pacific Railroad at the time, and I called the attention of Don Felipe Agoncillo to this remarkable intelligence and asked him what he thought of it. He said emphatically that it was "Nothing," "No true," "Nothing at all," and he laughed at the comic idea. There was also in the Salt Lake newspapers a statement that the Aguinaldo 'government' had sent to President McKinley a letter strongly expressing good-will and gratitude. There did not seem to be much news in this for Don Felipe, but it gave him much pleasure, and he, not perhaps diplomatically but enthusiastically, pronounced it good. _What Agoncillo Approved_. The dispatch marked with his approbation by the Philippine commissioner was the following from Washington, under date of September 23: "The President doubtless would be glad to hear any views these Filipinos might care to set forth, being fresh from the islands and thoroughly acquainted with the wishes of the insurgents. But it would be plainly impolitic and inconsistent for the President, at this date and pending the conclusion of the peace conference at Paris, to allow it to be understood, by according a formal reception to the delegates, that he had thereby recognized the Philippine government as an independent nationality. His attitude toward the Filipinos would be similar to that assumed by him toward the Cubans. As the Filipinos have repeatedly, by public declaration, sought to convey the impression that the United States representatives in Manila have at some time during the progress of the war recognized Aguinaldo as an independent ally, and entered into formal co-operation with him, it may be stated that the government at Washington is unaware that any such thing has happened. Admiral Dewey, who was in command of all the United States forces during the most critical period, expressly cabled the Secretary of the Navy that he had entered into no formal agreement with Aguinaldo. If General Otis followed his instructions, and of that there can be no doubt, he also refrained from entering into any entangling agreements. As for Consul-General Wildman, any undertaking he may have assumed with Aguinaldo must have been upon his own personal and individual responsibility, and would be without formal standing, inasmuch as he has not the express authorization from the State Department absolutely requisite to negotiations in such cases. Therefore, as the case now stands, the peace commissioners are free to deal with the Philippine problem at Paris absolutely without restraint beyond that which might be supposed to rise from a sense of moral obligation to avoid committing the Filipinos again into the hands of their late rulers." Senor Agoncillo, the commissioner of the Philippine insurgents at Paris, made, in conversations on the steamer China, when crossing the Pacific Ocean from "Nagasaka to San Francisco, this statement in vindication of Aguinaldo, and it is the most complete, authoritative and careful that exists of the relations between Admiral Dewey and the insurgent leader: _Brief Notes By Senor Agoncillo_. "On the same day that Admiral Dewey arrived at Hongkong Senor Aguinaldo was in Singapore, whither he had gone from Hongkong, and Mr. Pratt, United States Consul-General, under instructions from the said Admiral, held a conference with him, in which it was agreed that Senor Aguinaldo and other revolutionary chiefs in co-operation with the American squadron should return to take up arms against the Spanish government of the Philippines, the sole and most laudable desire of the Washington government being to concede to the Philippine people absolute independence as soon as the victory against the Spanish arms should be obtained. "By virtue of this argument Senor Aguinaldo proceeded by the first steamer to Hongkong for the express purpose of embarking on the Olympia and going to Manila; but this intention of his was not realized, because the American squadron left Hongkong the day previous to his arrival, Admiral Dewey having received from his government an order to proceed immediately to Manila. This is what Mr. Wildman, United States Consul-General in Hongkong, said to Senor Aguinaldo in the interview which took place between them. A few days after the Spanish squadron had been totally destroyed in the Bay of Manila by the American squadron, the latter obtaining a most glorious triumph, which deserved the fullest congratulations and praise of the Philippine public, the McCullough arrived at Hongkong and her commander said to Senor Aguinaldo that Admiral Dewey needed him (le necesitaba) in Manila and that he brought an order to take him on board said transport, as well as other revolutionary chiefs whose number should be determined by Senor Aguinaldo, and, in fact, he and seventeen chiefs went to Cavite on the McCullough. "Senor Aguinaldo began his campaign against the Spaniards the very day that he received the 1,902 Mauser guns and 200,000 cartridges, which came from Hongkong. The first victory which he obtained from the Spaniards was the surrender or capitulation of the Spanish General, Senor Pena, who was the Military Governor of Cavite, had his headquarters in the town of San Francisco de Malabon, and his force was composed of 1,500 soldiers, including volunteers. "The revolutionary army in six days' operations succeeded in getting possession of the Spanish detachments stationed in the villages of Bakoor, Imus, Benakayan, Naveleta, Santa Cruz de Malabon, Rosario and Cavite Viejo. "On June 9 last the whole province of Cavite was under the control of the provisional revolutionary government, including many Spanish prisoners and friars, 7,000 guns, great quantities of ammunition and some cannon. "At the same time that the province of Cavite was being conquered other revolutionary chiefs were carrying on campaigns in the Batangas, Laguna, Tayabas, Nueva Eziza, Bulcau, Batangas, Pampanga and Morong, which were under control of the revolutionary army by June 12, and such progress was made by the Philippine revolution in the few days of campaign against the Spaniards that by August 3 last it held under conquest fifteen important provinces of the island of Luzon; these provinces are being governed by laws emanating from the provisional revolutionary government and in all of them perfect order and complete tranquility reign. "It is to be noted that the Spanish government has sent to Senor Aguinaldo various emissaries, who invited him to make common cause with Spain against the United States, promising him that the government of the Spanish nation would concede to him anything he might ask for the Philippine people. But Senor Aguinaldo has invariably replied to those emissaries, that it was too late and that he could not consider any proposition from the Spanish government, however beneficial it might be to the Philippines, because he had already pledged his word of honor in favor of certain representatives of the government at Washington. "In view of this positive resolution of Senor Aguinaldo there began forthwith the intrigues of the Spanish enemy directed against the life of Senor Aguinaldo. _Peace Convention of December, 1896._ "Senor Aguinaldo, in his own name and in that of the other chiefs and subordinates, obligated himself to lay down their arms, which, according to an inventory, were to be turned over to the Spanish government, thus terminating the revolution. His Excellency the Governor and Captain-General, Don Fernando Primo de Rivera, as the representative of His Majesty's government in the Philippines, obligated himself on his side (1) to grant a general amnesty to all those under charges or sentenced for the crime of rebellion and sedition and other crimes of that category; (2) to introduce into the Philippines all reforms necessary for correcting in an effective and absolute manner the evils which for so many years had oppressed the country, in political and administrative affairs; and (3) an indemnity of $800,000, payable at the following dates: A letter of credit of the Spanish Filipine Bank for $400,000 against the Hongkong and Shanghai Bank in Hongkong was to be delivered to Senor Aguinaldo on the same day that he should leave Biak-va-Bato, where he had established his headquarters, and should embark on the steamer furnished by the Spanish government (this letter of credit was in point of fact delivered); $200,000 was to be paid to the said Senor Aguinaldo as soon as the revolutionary general, Senor Ricarte, should receive his telegram ordering him to give up his arms, with an inventory thereof, to the commissioner designated by his excellency the Governor and Captain-General, Don Fernando Primo de Rivera; and the remaining $200,000 should be due and payable when the peace should be a fact, and it should be understood that peace was a fact when the Te Deum should be sung by order of his excellency the Governor and Captain-General of the Philippines. "Senor Aguinaldo complied in every respect, so far as he was concerned, with the peace agreement. But the Spanish government did not observe a similar conduct, and this has been deplored and still is deeply deplored by the Philippine people. The general amnesty which was promised has remained completely a dead letter. Many Filipinos are still to be found in Fernando Po and in various military prisons in Spain suffering the grievous consequences of the punishment inflicted upon them unjustly and the inclemencies of the climate to which they are not accustomed. Some of these unfortunates, who succeeded in getting out of those prisons and that exile, are living in beggary in Spain, without the government furnishing them the necessary means to enable them to return to the Philippines. "In vain has the Philippine public waited for the reforms also promised. After the celebration of the compact of June and the disposition of the arms of the revolutionists the Governor-General again began to inflict on the defenseless natives of the country arbitrary arrest and execution without judicial proceedings solely on the ground that they were merely suspected of being secessionists; proceedings which indisputably do not conform to the law and Christian sentiments. "In the matter of reforms the religious orders again began to obtain from the Spanish government their former and absolute power. Thus Spain pays so dearly for her fatal errors in her own destiny! "In exchange for the loftiness of mind with which Senor Aguinaldo has rigidly carried out the terms of the peace agreement, General Primo de Rivera had the cynicism to state in the congress of his nation that he had promised no reform to Senor Aguinaldo and his army, but that he had only given them a piece of bread in order that they might be able to maintain themselves abroad. This was reechoed in the foreign press, and Senor Aguinaldo was accused in the Spanish press of having allowed himself to be bought with a handful of gold, selling out his country at the same time. There were published, moreover, in those Spanish periodicals caricatures of Senor Aguinaldo which profoundly wounded his honor and his patriotism. "Senor Aguinaldo and the other revolutionists who reside in Hongkong agreed not to take out one cent of the $400,000 deposited in the chartered bank and the Hongkong and Shanghai Bank, the only amount which Senor Aguinaldo received from the Spanish government on account of the stipulated indemnity, but to use it for arms in order to carry on another revolution in the Philippines, in case the Spanish government should fail to carry out the peace agreement, at least in so far as it refers to general amnesty and reforms. All the above named revolutionists, Senor Aguinaldo setting the example, resolved to deny themselves every kind of comfort during their stay in Hongkong, living in the most modest style, for the purpose of preventing a reduction by one single cent of the above named sum of $400,000, which they set aside exclusively for the benefit of their country. _Law Suit between Don J. Artacho and Don E. Aguinaldo._ "Senor Artacho, induced by the father solicitor of the Dominicans and the Consul-General of Spain, filed in the courts of that colony a summons against Don E. Aguinaldo, asking for a division of the above-mentioned $400,000 between those revolutionary chiefs who resided in Hongkong. Artacho and three others, who joined the revolution in its last days and rendered little service to it, were the only ones who desired a division of this money; whereas forty-seven revolutionaries, many of whom were most distinguished chiefs, were opposed to it, supporting the resolution which Senor Aguinaldo had previously taken in regard to it. Senor Aguinaldo, in order to avoid all scandal, did everything possible to avoid appearing in court answering the summons of Artacho, who, realizing that his conduct had made himself hated by all Filipinos, agreed in a friendly arrangement to withdraw his suit, receiving in exchange $5,000; in this way were frustrated the intrigues of the solicitor of the Dominican order and of the Spanish Consul, who endeavored at any cost to destroy the $400,000 by dividing it up. "Artacho is now on trial before a judicial court on charges preferred by various revolutionists for offenses which can be proved; he has no influence in the revolutionary party." _Proclamation of General Aguinaldo_. _May 24th_, 1898. Filipinos: The Great Nation North America, cradle of true liberty and friendly on that account to the liberty of our people, oppressed and subjugated by the tyranny and despotism of those who have governed us, has come to manifest even here a protection which is decisive, as well as disinterested, towards us considering us endowed with sufficient civilization to govern by ourselves this our unhappy land. To maintain this so lofty idea, which we deserve from the now very powerful Nation North America, it is our duty to detest all those acts which belie such an idea, as pillage, robbery and every class of injury to persons as well as to things. With a view to avoiding international conflicts during the period of our campaign, I order as follows: Article I. The lives and property of all foreigners, including Chinese and all Spaniards who either directly or indirectly have joined in taking arms against us are to be respected. Article II. The lives and property of those who lay down their arms are also to be respected. Article III. Also are to be respected all sanitary establishments and ambulances, and likewise the persons and things which may be found either in one or the other, including the assistants in this service, unless they show hostility. Article IV. Those who disobey what is prescribed in the preceding articles will be tried by summary court and put to death, if such disobedience shall cause assassination, fire, robbery and violation. Given at Cavite, the 24th of May, 1898. _Emilio Aguinaldo._ It is to be remarked of this semi-official statement that Admiral Dewey did not make any promises he could not fulfill to Aguinaldo; did not assume to speak for the President or the army of the United States, but gave guns and ammunition to the insurgents, who aided him in maintaining a foothold on the shore. The insurgents did not win Dewey's victory, but aided to improve it. Without the aid of the American army Manila might have been destroyed, but could not have been captured intact. General Merritt settled the question of the status of the insurgent army with respect to the capture of Manila in a summary and sound way when he said there could be but one military authority in a military government, and as the commanding general of the Philippine expedition of the United States, he was that authority. CHAPTER VI The Proclamations of General Aguinaldo. June 16th, 1898, Establishing Dictatorial Government--June 20th, 1898, Instructions for Elections--June 23d, 1898, Establishing Revolutionary Government--June 23d, 1898, Message to Foreign Powers--June 27th, 1898, Instructions Concerning Details--July 23d, 3898, Letter From Senor Aguinaldo to General Anderson--August 1st, 1898, Resolutions of Revolutionary Chiefs Asking for Recognition--August 6th, 1898, Message to Foreign Powers Asking Recognition. One of the most critical questions in the situation of the Philippines is the precise position of the leader of the insurgents, General Aguinaldo. His utterances in his official character of leader of the natives who for years have been in rebellion against Spain, have been but fragmentary, as they have come before the people. We give for the public information the consecutive series of proclamations. No. 1. To the Philippine Public: Circumstances have providentially placed me in a position for which I can not fail to recognize that I am not properly qualified, but since I can not violate the laws of Providence nor decline the obligations which honor and patriotism impose upon me, I now salute you, Oh, My Beloved People! I have proclaimed in the face of the whole world that the aspiration of my whole life, the final object of all my efforts and strength is nothing else but your independence, for I am firmly convinced that that constitutes your constant desire and that independence signifies for us redemption from slavery and tyranny, regaining our liberty and entrance into the concert of civilized nations. I understand on the other hand that the first duty of every government is to interpret faithfully popular aspirations. With this motive, although the abnormal circumstances of the war have compelled me to institute this Dictatorial Government which assumes full powers, both civil and military, my constant desire is to surround myself with the most distinguished persons of each Province, those who by their conduct, deserve the confidence of their province to the end that the true necessities of each being known by them, measures may be adopted to meet these necessities and apply the remedies in accordance with the desires of all. I understand moreover the urgent necessity of establishing in each town a solid and robust organization, the strongest bulwark of public security and the sole means of securing that union and discipline which are indispensable for the establishment of the Republic, that is Government of the people for the people, and warding off the international conflicts which may arise. Following out the foregoing considerations I decree as follows: Article I. The inhabitants of every town where the forces of the Spanish government still remain, will decide upon the most efficacious measures to combat and destroy them, according to the resources and means at their disposal, according to prisoners of war the treatment most conformable to humanitarian sentiments and to the customs observed by civilized nations. Article II. As soon as the town is freed from Spanish domination, the inhabitants most distinguished for high character, social position and honorable conduct both in the center of the community and in the suburbs, will come together in a large meeting in which they will proceed to elect by a majority of votes, the chief of the town and a head man for each suburb, considering as suburbs not only those hitherto known as such, but also the center of the community. All those inhabitants who fulfill the conditions above named, will have the right to take part in this meeting and to be elected, provided always that they are friendly to Philippine independence and are twenty years of age. Article III. In this meeting shall also be elected by a majority of votes, three Delegates; one of police and internal order, another of justice and civil registry and another of taxes and property. The delegate of police and internal order will assist the Chief in the organization of the armed force, which for its own security each town must maintain, according to the measure of its resources and in the preservation of order, government and hygiene of its population. The delegate of justice and civil registry will aid the Chief in the formation of courts and in keeping books of registry of births, deaths and marriage contracts, and of the census. The delegate of taxes and property will aid the chief in the collection of taxes, the administration of public funds, the opening of books of registry of cattle and real property, and in all work relating to encouragement of every class of industry. Article IV. The Chief, as President, with the head men and the above mentioned delegates, will constitute the popular assemblies who will supervise the exact fulfillment of the laws in force and the particular interests of each town. The head man of the center of the community will be the Vice President of the assembly, and the delegate of justice its secretary. The head men will be delegates of the Chief within their respective boundaries. Article V. The Chiefs of each town after consulting the opinion of their respective assemblies, will meet and elect by majority of votes the Chief of the Province and three councilors for the three branches above mentioned. The Chief of the Province as President, the Chief of the town which is the capital of the Province, as Vice President, and the above named councilors will constitute the Provincial Council, which will supervise the carrying out of the instructions of this government in the territory of the Province, and for the general interest of the Province, and will propose to this government the measures which should be adopted for the general welfare. Article VI. The above named chiefs will also elect by majority of votes three representatives for each one of the Provinces of Manila and Cavite, two for each one of the Provinces classified as terminal in Spanish legislation, and one for each one of the other Provinces and Politico-Military commands of the Philippine Archipelago. The above named representatives will guard the general interests of the Archipelago and the particular interests of their respective Provinces, and will constitute the Revolutionary Congress, which will propose to this government the measures concerning the preservation of internal order, and external security of these islands, and will be heard by this government on all questions of grave importance. The decision of which will admit of delay or adjournment. Article VII. Persons elected to any office whatsoever in the form prescribed in the preceding article can not perform the functions of the same without the previous confirmation by this government, which will give it in accordance with the certificates of election. Representatives will establish their identity by exhibiting the above named certificates. Article VIII. The Military Chiefs named by this government in each Province will not intervene in the government and administration of the Province, but will confine themselves to requesting of the Chiefs of Provinces and towns the aid which may be necessary both in men and resources, which are not to be refused in case of actual necessity. Nevertheless, when the Province is threatened or occupied by the enemy in whole or in part, the military chief of highest rank therein may assume powers of the Chief of the Province, until the danger has disappeared. Article IX. The government will name for each Province a commissioner, specially charged with establishing therein the organization prescribed in this decree, in accordance with instructions which this government will communicate to him. Those military chiefs who liberate the towns from the Spanish domination are commissioners by virtue of their office. The above named commissioners will preside over the first meetings held in each town and in each Province. Article X. As soon as the organization provided in the decree has been established all previous appointments to any civil office, whatsoever, no matter what their origin or source, shall be null and void, and all instructions in conflict with the foregoing are hereby annulled. Given at Cavite, the 18th of June, 1898. _Emilio Aguinaldo_. No. 2. For the execution and proper carrying out of what is prescribed in the decree of this government concerning the management of the Provinces and towns of the Philippine Archipelago, I decree as follows: _Instructions_. Concerning the Management of the Provinces and towns. (Then follow 45 rules concerning the elections, formation of the police, the courts and the levying and collection of taxes.) Given at Cavite, 20th of June, 1898. _Emilio Aguinaldo_. No. 3. _Don Emilio Aguinaldo y Famy_, President of the Revolutionary Government of the Philippines, and General in Chief of Its Army. This government desiring to demonstrate to the Philippine people that one of its ends is to combat with a firm hand the inveterate vices of the Spanish administration, substituting for personal luxury and that pompous ostentation which have made it a mere matter of routine, cumbrous and slow in its movements, another administration more modest, simple and prompt in performing the public service: I decree as follows: _Chapter I._ _Of the Revolutionary Government_. Article I. The dictatorial government will be entitled hereafter the revolutionary government, whose object is to struggle for the independence of the Philippines until all nations, including the Spanish, shall expressly recognize it, and to prepare the country so that a true republic may be established. The dictator will be entitled hereafter President of the Revolutionary Government. Article II. Four secretaryships of government are created; one of foreign affairs, navy and commerce; another of war and public works; another of police and internal order, justice, education and hygiene; and another of finance, agriculture, and manufacturing industry. The government may increase this number of secretaryships, when it shall find in practice that this distribution is not sufficient for the multiplied and complicated necessities of the public service. Article III. Each secretaryship shall aid the President in the administration of questions concerning the different branches which it comprises. At the head of each one shall be a secretary who shall not be responsible for the decrees of the Presidency, but shall sign them with the President, to give them authority. But if it shall appear that the decree has been promulgated on the proposition of the secretary of the department, the latter shall be responsible conjointly with the President. Article IV. The secretaryship of foreign affairs will be divided into three bureaus, one of diplomacy, another of navy and another of commerce. The first bureau will study and dispose of all questions pertaining to the management of diplomatic negotiations with other powers and the correspondence of this government with them. The second will study all questions relating to the formation and organization of our navy and the fitting out of such expeditions as the necessities of the revolution may require; and the third will have charge of everything relating to internal and external commerce, and the preliminary work which may be necessary for making treaties of commerce with other nations. Article V. The secretaryship of war will be divided into two bureaus; one of war, properly speaking, and the other of public works. The first bureau will be subdivided into four sections: One of campaigns, another of military justice, another of military administration, and another of military health. The section of campaigns will have charge of the appointment and formation of the certificates of enlistment and service of all who serve in the revolutionary militia; of the direction of campaigns; the preparation of plans, works of fortification, and preparing reports of battles; of the study of military tactics for the army and the organization of the general staff, artillery and cavalry; and finally, of the determination of all other questions concerning the business of campaigns and military operations. The section of military justice will have charge of everything relating to courts of war and military tribunals; the appointment of judges and counsel and the determination of all questions of military justice; the section of military administration will he charged with the furnishing of food and other supplies necessary for the use of the army; and the section of military health will have charge of everything relating to the hygiene and healthfulness of the militia. Article VI. The other secretaryships will he divided into such bureaus as their branches may require and each bureau will be subdivided into sections according to the nature and importance of the work it has to do. Article VII. The secretary will inspect and supervise all the work of his secretaryship and will determine all questions with the President of the government. At the head of each bureau will be a director and in each section an officer provided with such number of assistants as may be specified. Article VIII. The President will appoint the secretaries of his own free choice and in concert with them will appoint all the subordinate officials of each secretaryship. In order that in the choice of persons it may be possible to avoid favoritism, it must be fully understood that the good name of the country and the triumph of the revolution require the services of persons truly capable. Article IX. The secretaries may be present at the revolutionary congress in order that they may make any motion in the name of the President or may be interpolated publicly by any one of the representatives; but when the question which is the object of the motion shall be put to vote or after the interpolation is ended they shall leave and shall not take part in the vote. Article X. The President of the government is the personification of the Philippine people, and in accordance with this idea it shall not he possible to hold him responsible while he fills the office. His term of office shall last until the revolution triumphs, unless, under extraordinary circumstances, he shall feel obliged to offer his resignation to congress, in which case congress will elect whomsoever it considers most fit. _Chapter II._ _Of the Revolutionary Congress._ Article XI. The Revolutionary Congress is the body of representatives of the Provinces of the Philippine Archipelago elected in the manner prescribed in the decrees of the 18th, present month. Nevertheless, if any Province shall not be able as yet to elect representatives because the greater part of its towns shall have not yet succeeded in liberating themselves from Spanish domination, the government shall have power to appoint as provisional representatives for this Province those persons who are most distinguished for high character and social position, in such numbers as are prescribed by the above named decree, provided always that they are natives of the Province which they represent or have resided therein for a long time. Article XII. The representatives having met in the town which is the seat of the revolutionary government, and in the building which may be designated, will proceed to its preliminary labors, designating by plurality of votes a commission composed of five individuals charged with examining documents accrediting each representative, and another commission, composed of three individuals, who will examine the documents which the five of the former commission exhibit. Article XIII. On the following day the above named representatives will meet again and the two commissions will read their respective reports concerning the legality of the said documents, deciding by an absolute majority of votes on the character of those which appear doubtful. This business completed, it will proceed to designate, also by absolute majority, a President, a Vice President, and two secretaries, who shall be chosen from among the representatives, whereupon the congress shall be considered organized, and shall notify the government of the result of the election. Article XIV. The place where congress deliberates is sacred and inviolable, and no armed force shall enter therein unless the President thereof shall ask therefor in order to establish internal order disturbed by those who can neither honor themselves nor its august functions. Article XV. The powers of congress are: To watch over the general interest of the Philippine people, and the carrying out of the revolutionary laws; to discuss and vote upon said laws; to discuss and approve prior to their ratification treaties and loans; to examine and approve the accounts presented annually by the secretary of finance, as well as extraordinary and other taxes which may hereafter be imposed. Article XVI. Congress shall also be consulted in all grave and important questions, the determination of which admits of delay or adjournment; but the President of the government shall have power to decide questions of urgent character, but in that case he shall give account by message to said body of the decision which he has adopted. Article XVII. Every representative shall have power to present to congress any project of a law, and every secretary on the order of the President of the government shall have similar power. Article XVIII. The sessions of congress shall be public, and only in cases which require reserve shall it have power to hold a secret session. Article XIX. In the order of its deliberations, as well as in the internal government of the body the instructions which shall be formulated by the congress itself shall be observed. The President shall direct the deliberations and shall not vote except in case of a tie, when he shall have the casting vote. Article XX. The President of the government shall not have power to interrupt in any manner the meeting of congress, nor embarrass its sessions. Article XXI. The congress shall designate a permanent commission of justice which shall be presided over by the auxilliary vice president or each of the secretaries, and shall be composed of those persons and seven members elected by plurality of votes from among the representatives. This commission shall judge on appeal the criminal cases tried by the Provincial courts; and shall take cognizance of and have original jurisdiction in all cases against the secretaries of the government, the chiefs of Provinces and towns, and the Provincial judges. Article XXII. In the office of the secretary of congress shall be kept a book of honor, wherein shall be recorded special services rendered to the country, and considered as such by said body. Every Filipino, whether in the military or civil service, may petition congress for notation in said book, presenting duly accredited documents describing the service rendered by him on behalf of the country, since the beginning of the present revolution. For extraordinary services, which may be rendered hereafter, the government will propose said notation accompanying the proposal with the necessary documents justifying it. Article XXIII. The congress will also grant, on the proposal of the government rewards in money, which can be given only once to the families of those who were victims of their duty and patriotism, as a result of extraordinary acts of heroism. Article XXIV. The acts of congress shall not take effect until the President of the government orders their fulfillment and execution. Whenever the said President shall be of the opinion that any act is unsuitable or against public policy, or pernicious, he shall explain to congress the reasons against its execution, and if the latter shall insist on its passage the President shall have power to oppose his veto under his most rigid responsibility. _Chapter III._ _Of Military Courts and Justice._ Article XXV. When the chiefs of military detachments have notice that any soldier has committed or has perpetrated any act of those commonly considered as military crimes, he shall bring it to the knowledge of the commandant of the Zone, who shall appoint a judge and a secretary, who shall begin suit in the form prescribed in the instructions dated the 20th of the present month. If the accused shall be of the grade of lieutenant or higher, the said commandant shall himself be the judge, and if the latter shall be the accused, the senior commandant of the Province shall name as judge an officer who holds a higher grade, unless the same senior commandant shall himself have brought the suit. The judge shall always belong to the class of chiefs. Article XXVI. On the conclusion of the preliminary hearing, the senior commandant shall designate three officers of equal or higher rank to the judge and the military court shall consist of the said officers, the judge, the councilor and the President. The latter shall be the commandant of the Zone, if the accused be of the grade of sergeant or less, and the senior commandant if he be of the grade of lieutenant or higher. This court shall conduct the trial in the form customary in the Provincial courts, but the judgment shall be appealable to the higher courts of war. Article XXVII. The superior court shall be composed of six members, who shall hold rank not less than brigadier generals, and the judge advocate. If the number of generals present in the capitol of the revolutionary government shall not be sufficient the deficiency shall be supplied by representatives designated and commissioned by congress. The president of the court shall be the general having the highest rank of all, and should there be more than one having equal rank, the president shall be elected from among them by absolute majority of votes. Article XXVIII. The superior court shall have jurisdiction in all cases affecting the higher commandants, the commandants of Zones and all officers of the rank of major or higher. Article XXIX. Commit Military Crimes: 1st. Those who fail to grant the necessary protection to foreigners, both in their persons and property, and those who similarly fail to afford protection to hospitals and ambulances, including persons and effects which may be found in possession of one or the other, and those engaged in the service of the same, provided always they commit no hostile act. 2d. Those who fail in the respect due to the lives, money and jewels of enemies who lay down their arms, and of prisoners of war. 3d. Filipinos who place themselves in the service of the enemy acting as spies or disclosing to them secrets of war and the plans of revolutionary positions and fortifications, and those who present themselves under a flag of truce without justifying properly their office and their personality; and 4th, those who fail to recognize a flag of truce duly accredited in the forms, prescribed by international law. Will Commit also Military Crimes: 1st. Those who conspire against the unity of the revolutionists, provoking rivalry between chiefs and forming divisions and armed bands. 2d. Those who solicit contributions without authority of the government and misappropriate the public funds. 3d. Those who desert to the enemy, or are guilty of cowardice in the presence of the enemy, being armed; and, 4th, those who seize the property of any person who has done no wrong to the revolution, violate women and assassinate or inflict serious wounds on unarmed persons and commit robberies or arson. Article XXX. Those who commit the crimes enumerated will be considered as declared enemies of the revolution, and will incur the penalties prescribed in the Spanish penal code, and in the highest grade. If the crime shall not be found in the said code, the offender shall be imprisoned until the revolution triumphs unless the result of this shall be an irreparable damage, which in the judgment of the tribunal shall be a sufficient cause for imposing the penalty of death. _Additional Clauses._ The government will establish abroad a revolutionary committee, composed of a number not yet determined of persons most competent in the Philippine Archipelago. This committee will be divided into three delegations; one of diplomacy, another of the navy and another of the army. The delegation of diplomacy will manage and conduct negotiations with foreign cabinets with a view to the recognition of the belligerency and independence of the Philippines. The delegation of the navy will be charged with studying and organizing the Philippine navy and preparing the expenditures which the necessities of the revolution may require. The delegation of the army will study military tactics and the best form of organization for the general staff, artillery and engineers and whatever else may be necessary in order to fit out the Philippine Army under the conditions required by modern progress. Article XXXII. The government will issue the necessary instructions for the proper execution of the present decree. Article XXXIII. All decrees of the dictatorial government in conflict with the foregoing are hereby annulled. Given at Cavite, the 23d of June, 1898. _Emilio Aguinaldo._ _Instructions._ Desiring to bring about a proper execution of the decree dated the 23d of the present month, and to provide that the administrative measures shall not result hereafter in the paralysis of public business, but that, on the contrary, it shall constitute the best guarantee of the regularity, promptitude and fitness in the transaction of public business, I give the following instructions and decree: (Then follow ten rules concerning the details of installing the government.) Cavite, the 27th of June, 1898. _Emilio Aguinaldo._ _Message of the President of the Philippine Revolution._ If it is true, as it is true, that political revolutions properly understood, are the violent means which people employ to recover the sovereignty which naturally belongs to them, usurped and trampled upon by a tyrannical and arbitrary government, no revolution can be more righteous than that of the Philippines, because the people have had recourse to it after having exhausted all the pacific means which reason and experience could suggest. The ancient Kings of Castile felt obliged to consider the Philippines as a brother people, united to the Spanish in a perfect participation of aims and interests, so much so that when the Constitution of 1812 was promulgated, at Cadiz, on account of the War of Spanish Independence, these islands were represented in the Spanish Cortez; but the interests of the Monastic corporations which have always found unconditional support in the Spanish Government, overcame this sacred duty and the Philippines remained excluded from the Spanish Constitution, and the people at the mercy of the discretionary or arbitrary powers of the Governor-General. In this condition the people claimed justice, begged of the metropolis the recognition and restitution of their secular rights by means of reforms which should assimilate in a gradual and progressive manner, the Philippines to the Spaniards; but their voice was quickly throttled and their sons received as the reward of their self-denial, deportation, martyrdom and death. The religious corporations with whose interests, always opposed to those of the Philippine people, the Spanish Government has been identified, scoffed at these pretensions and answered with the knowledge of that Government that Spanish liberties have cost blood. What other recourse then remained to the people for insisting as in duty bound on regaining its former rights? No alternative remained except force and, convinced of that, it has had recourse to revolution. And now it is not limited to asking assimilation to the Spanish Political Constitution, but it asks a definite separation from it; it struggles for its independence in the firm belief that the time has arrived in which it can and ought to govern itself. There has been established a Revolutionary Government, under wise and just laws, suited to the abnormal circumstances through which it is passing, and which, in proper time, will prepare it for a true Republic. Thus taking as a sole model for its acts, reason, for its sole end, justice, and, for its sole means, honorable labor, it calls all Filipinos its sons without distinction of class, and invites them to unite firmly with the object of forming a noble society, not based upon blood nor pompous titles, but upon the work and personal merit of each one; a free society, where exist neither egotism nor personal politics which annihilate and crush, neither envy nor favoritism which debase, neither fanfaronade nor charlatanism which are ridiculous. And it could not be otherwise. A people which has given proofs of suffering and valor in tribulation and in danger, and of hard work and study in peace, is not destined to slavery; this people is called to be great, to be one of the strongest arms of Providence in ruling the destinies of mankind; this people has resources and energy sufficient to liberate itself from the ruin and extinction into which the Spanish Government has plunged it, and to claim a modest but worthy place in the concert of free nations. Given at Cavite the 23d of June, 1898. _Emilio Aguinaldo._ _To Foreign Governments._ The Revolutionary Government of the Philippines, on its establishment, explained, through the message dated the 23d of June last, the true causes of the Philippine Revolution, showing, according to the evidence, that this popular movement is the result of the laws which regulate the life of a people which aspires to progress and to perfection by the sole road of liberty. The said Revolution now rules in the Provinces of Cavite, Batangas, Mindoro, Tayabas, Laguna, Morong, Bulacan, Bataan, Pampanga, Neuva-Ecija, Tarlac, Pangasinan, Union, Infanta, and Zambales, and it holds besieged the capital of Manila. In these Provinces complete order and perfect tranquility reign, administered by the authorities elected by the Provinces in accordance with the organic decrees dated the 18th and 23d of June last. The Revolution holds, moreover, about 9,000 prisoners of war, who are treated in accordance with the customs of war between civilized nations and humane sentiments, and at the end of the war it has more than 30,000 combatants organized in the form of a regular army. In this situation the chiefs of the towns comprised in the above mentioned Provinces, interpreting the sentiments which animate those who have elected them, have proclaimed the Independence of the Philippines, petitioning the Revolutionary Government that will entreat and obtain from foreign Governments recognition of its belligerency and its independence, in the firm belief that the Philippine people have already arrived at that state in which they can and ought to govern themselves. This is set forth in the accompanying documents, subscribed by the above named chiefs. Wherefore, the undersigned, by virtue of the powers which belong to him as President of the Revolutionary Government of the Philippines and in the name and representation of the Philippine people, asks the support of all the powers of the civilized world, and earnestly entreats them to proceed to the formal recognition of the belligerency of the Revolution and the Independence of the Philippines; since they are the means designated by Providence to maintain the equilibrium between peoples, sustaining the weak and restraining the strong, to the end that by these means shall shine forth and be realized the most complete justice in the indefinite progress of humanity. Given at Bacoor, in the Province of Cavite, the 6th day of August, 1898. The President of the Revolutionary Government, _Emilio Aguinaldo_. _Statement_. The undersigned chiefs of towns comprising the Provinces hereinafter named, elected as such in the manner prescribed by the decree of the 18th and the instructions dated the 20th of June last, after having been confirmed in their respective offices by the President of the Government and having taken the prescribed oath before him, have met in full assembly previously called for that purpose for the purpose of discussing the solemn proclamation of Philippine independence. The discussion took place with the prudence and at the length which so important a question demands and, after suitable deliberation, the following declarations were unanimously adopted: The Philippine Revolution records on the one hand brilliant feats of arms, realized with singular courage by an improvised army almost without arms, and on the other the no less notable fact that the people, after the combat, have not entered upon great excesses nor pursued the enemy further; but have treated him, on the contrary, with generosity and humanity, returning at once to their ordinary and tranquil life. Such deeds demonstrate, in an indisputable manner, that the Philippine people was not created, as all believed, for the sole purpose of dragging the chains of servitude, but that it has a perfect idea of order and justice, shuns a savage life, and loves a civilized life. But what is most surprising in this people is that it goes on giving proofs that it knows how to frame laws, commensurate with the progress of the age, to respect them and obey them, demonstrating that its national customs are not repugnant to this progress; that it is not ambitious for power nor honors nor riches aside from the rational and just aspirations for a free and independent life, and inspired by the most lofty idea of patriotism and national honor; and that in the service of this idea and for the realization of that aspiration it has not hesitated in the sacrifice of life and fortune. These admirable--and more than admirable, these wonderful--deeds necessarily engender the most firm and ineradicable convictions of the necessity of leaving the Philippines free and independent, not only because they deserve it, but because they are prepared to defend, to the death, their future and their history. Filipinos are fully convinced that if individuals have need of material, moral and intellectual perfection in order to contribute to the welfare of their fellows peoples require to have fullness of life; they need liberty and independence in order to contribute to the indefinite progress of mankind. It has struggled and will struggle, with decision and constancy, without ever turning back or retrograding before the obstacles which may arise in its path, and with unshakable faith that it will obtain justice and fulfill the laws of Providence. And neither will it be turned aside from the course it has hitherto followed by the unjustifiable imprisonment, tortures, assassinations, and the other vandal acts committed by the Spaniards against the persons of peaceful and defenseless Filipinos. The Spaniards believe themselves released from every legal obligation toward the Filipinos for the sole reason that the belligerency of the Revolution has not been recognized, taking no account of the fact that over and above every law, whether written or prescriptive, are placed with imprescriptible characters, culture, national honor and humanity. No; the Filipinos have no need ever to make use of reprisals because they seek independence with culture, liberty with unconditional respect for the law, as the organ of justice, and a name purified in the crucible of human sentiments. In virtue of the foregoing considerations the undersigned, giving voice to the unanimous aspiration of the people whom they represent, and performing the offices received from them and the duties pertaining to the powers with which they are invested, Proclaim solemnly in the face of the whole world the Independence of the Philippines; Recognize and respect Senor Don Emilio Aguinaldo y Famy as President of the Revolutionary Government, organized in the manner prescribed by decree of the 23d and instructions of the 27th of June last, and beg the said President that he will ask and obtain from foreign Governments the recognition of its belligerency and independence, not only because this act constitutes a duty of justice, but also because to no one is it permitted to contravene natural laws nor stifle the legitimate aspiration of a people for its amelioration and dignification. Given in the Province of Cavite the 1st day of August, of the year of our Lord 1898, and the first year of Philippine independence. Follow the signatures of the local Presidents of the Provinces of Cavite and many others. The undersigned, Secretary of the Interior, certifies, That the present document is a literal copy of the original, which is deposited in the Secretaryship under his charge; in proof of which he signs it, with the approval of the President of the Revolutionary Government in Bacoor, the 6th day of August, 1898. El Presidente del G. R., _Emilio Aguinaldo_. El Secretano del Interior, _Leandro Ibarra_. _Letter from Senor Aguinaldo to General Anderson._ July 23d, 1898. To Brigadier-General T. M. Anderson, U. S. A., etc., etc., Cavite. In answer to the letter of your Excellency dated the 22nd of the present month, I have the honor to manifest to you the following: That even supposing that the effects existing in the storehouse of Don Antonio Osorio were subject to capture, when I established myself in the plaza (town) of Cavite, Admiral Dewey authorized me to dispose of everything that I might find in the same, including the arms which the Spanish left in the arsenal. But as he was aware that said effects belonged to the personal property (ownership) of a Filipino, who traded with them by virtue of a contribution to the Spanish Government, I would not have touched them had not the owner placed them at my disposition for the purposes of the war. I came from Hong Kong to prevent my countrymen from making common cause with the Spanish against the North Americans, pledging, before, my word to Admiral Dewey to not give place to (to allow) any internal discord because (being) a judge of their desires I had the strong conviction that I would succeed in both objects; establishing a government according to their desires. Thus it is that at the beginning I proclaimed the dictatorship, and afterwards, when some of the Provinces had already liberated themselves from Spanish domination, I established a revolutionary government that to-day exists, giving it a democratic and popular character, as far as the abnormal circumstances of war permitted, in order that they (the Provinces) might be justly represented and administered to their satisfaction. It is true that my government has not been acknowledged by any of the foreign powers; but we expect that the great North American nation, which struggled first for its independence and afterwards for the abolition of slavery, and is now actually struggling for the independence of Cuba, would look upon it with greater benevolence than any other nation. Because of this we have always acknowledged the right of preference as to our gratitude. Debtor to the generosity of the North Americans, and to the favors which we have received through Admiral Dewey, and being more desirous than any other of preventing any conflict which would have as a result foreign intervention which must be extremely prejudicial not alone to my nation, but also to that of Your Excellency, I consider it my duty to advise you of the undesirability of disembarking North American troops in the places conquered by the Filipinos from the Spanish, without previous notice to this government, because as no formal agreement yet exists between the two nations, the Philippine people might consider the occupation of its territories by North American troops as a violation of its rights. I comprehend that without the destruction of the Spanish squadron the Philippine revolution would not have advanced so rapidly; because of this I take the liberty of indicating to Your Excellency the necessities that before disembarking troops you should communicate in writing to this government the places that are to be occupied, and also the object of the occupation, that the people may be advised in due form and (thus) prevent the commission of any transgression against friendship. I can answer for my people, because they have given me evident proofs of their absolute confidence in my government, but I cannot answer for that which another nation, whose friendship is not well guaranteed, might inspire in it (the people); and it is certain that I do this not as a menace, but as a further proof of the true and sincere friendship which I have always professed to the North American people in the complete security that it will find itself completely identified with our cause of liberty. I am, with respect, Your obedient servant, _Emilio Aguinaldo_. CHAPTER VII Interview with the Archbishop of Manila. Insurgents' Deadly Hostility to Spanish Priests--The Position of the Archbishop as He Defined It--His Expression of Gratitude to the American Army--His Characterization of the Insurgents--A Work of Philippine Art--The Sincerity of the Archbishop's Good Words. The intense feeling by the Philippine insurgents against the Spanish priests made it seem very desirable to see the Archbishop of Manila, and he informed two American priests that he would have pleasure in making an expression of his views to me to be placed before the people of the United States. He had been charged with extreme vindictiveness and the responsibility of demanding that the city should be defended to the last extremity, when actually, in the consultation of dignitaries that took place, and the surrender of the capital was demanded by General Merritt and Admiral Dewey, he declared the situation hopeless and that it was a plain duty to prevent the sacrifice of life. He was overruled by the peculiar folly that has caused Spain in the course of the war to inflict heavy and avoidable losses upon herself. Indeed, the war originated in the Spanish state of mind that it was necessary to open fire and shed blood for the honor of the arms of Spain. The Spanish officers knew they could not save Manila from the hands of the Americans while the command of the sea by our fleet was indisputable and we had unlimited reserves to draw upon to strengthen the land forces, irrespective of the swarms of insurgents pressing in the rear and eager to take vengeance for centuries of mismanagement and countless personal grievances. It was the acknowledgment of the Spanish Captain-General, when he received the peremptory summons from Merritt and Dewey to give up the city, that there was no place of refuge for the women and children, the sick and the wounded; and yet it was insisted that the honor of Spain required bloodshed--not much, perhaps, but enough to prove that the army of Spain was warlike. When the American army had been reinforced so as to have 8,000 men ready to take the field, General Merritt and Admiral Dewey had a conference and agreed to send the Spaniards in authority a formal notification that in forty-eight hours they would bombard and assail the defenses of the city of Manila if it were not surrendered. The Spanish reply was that the Americans could commence operations at once, but there was no place where the women and children, the wounded and the sick could go to find a place of security. This was tantamount to a declaration that the Spaniards were sliding into a surrender, but wanted to make a claim to the contrary. The residence of the Archbishop is within the walled city and a very substantial edifice, the stone work confined to the lower story and hardwood timber freely used in massive form instead of stone. His grace was seated at a small table in a broad hall, with a lamp and writing material before him. He is imposing as a man of importance and his greeting was cordial to kindliness. He said his acknowledgments were personally due the American people for the peace of mind he had enjoyed during the occupation of the city by the army of the United States, for its establishment of order and the justice in administration that relieved good citizens from oppression and alarm. He was glad to have Americans know his sensibility on this subject, and wanted me to convey his sentiments to the President. When asked what it was that caused the insurgents to be so ferocious against the priests and resolved on their expulsion or destruction he said the rebels were at once false, unjust and ungrateful. They had been lifted from savagery by Catholic teachers, who had not only been educators in the schools but teachers in the fields. The same Catholic Orders that were singled out for special punishment had planted in the islands the very industries that were sources of prosperity, and the leaders of the insurgents had been largely educated by the very men whom now they persecuted. Some of the persecutors had been in Europe and became revolutionists in the sense of promoting disorder as anarchists. It was the antagonism of the church to murderous anarchy that aroused the insurgents of the Philippines to become the deadly enemies of priests and church orders. It was true in Spain, as in the Philippines, that the anarchists were particularly inflamed against the church. His grace did not seem to have heard of the American anarchist, but the European revolutionist has received a large share of his attention. He produced a box of cigars, also a bottle of sherry, and chatted comfortably and humorously. There was one thing then that he had in his heart--that his anxiety for peace and appreciation of order as enjoyed under the American military government should be recorded and responsibly reported to the people of the United States. The American priests had informed him that I was a friend of long standing of President McKinley, and he again enjoined that I should declare his sentiments to the President. A beautiful work of wood carving was shown on an easel, which had a frame of hard wood, the whole, easel and frame, with elaborately wrought ornamentation, cut out of one tree. It was at once strong and graceful, simple and decorative. The picture was a gold medallion, raised on a plate of silver, an excellent likeness of his grace. It was evident that the refinements of art were known to "these barbarians of the Philippines," for their works testified. His grace announced that he would return my call, and his convenience being consulted, the time was fixed for him to appear at 11 o'clock the next day, Sunday, and he came accordingly, accompanied by three priests, the chaplain of the First California, Father Daugherty who sailed with General Merritt to Manila, and Father Boyle, the superintendent of the famous observatory founded by the Jesuits, who was a typical Irishman of a strong and humorously hearty type. Father Boyle had one of the most perfect methods of speaking English in the Irish way that I have ever heard, and admitted that he had resided in England long enough to be born there; and this was great fun. It is not too much to say that the institution he represented is illustrious. The cathedral of Manila is within the walled city and of immense proportions. It was shattered by an earthquake, and in its reconstruction wood rather than marble was used for the supporting pillars within, but no one would find out that the stately clusters of columns were not from the quarries rather than the forests, unless personally conducted to the discovery. Here 2,000 Spanish soldiers, held under the articles of capitulation, were quartered, consumed their rations and slept, munching and dozing all around the altar and pervading the whole edifice. The other great churches, five in number, in the walled city, were occupied in the same way. The Archbishop was anxious to have the soldiers otherwise provided with shelter, and if not all of them could be restored to their ordinary uses it was most desirable, in his opinion, the cathedral should be. It is estimated that 2,000 of the American soldiers in the expeditionary force are Catholics, and Father Daugherty was anxious to preach to them in English. During the call upon me by the Archbishop this subject was discussed, and the suggestion made that the Americans had tents in great number that they did not occupy and that would probably not be preserved by keeping them stored in that hot and trying climate. They might be pitched on the Luneta, which is beside the sea, and the town thus relieved of 13,000 men, who, herded in churches, produced unsanitary conditions. This seemed reasonable, and the policy of the change would have a tendency to develop an element of good-will not to be despised and rejected. It might be that the cathedral alone could be cleared without delay or prejudice with a pleasant effect, and if so why not? His grace was certainly diplomatic and persuasive in stating the case, and his attendants were animated with zeal that the Americans should have the credit of re-opening the cathedral for worship. It was true the Spanish garrison first occupied it, but if the necessity that its ample roof should protect soldiers from the torrential rains had existed perhaps it had ceased to be imperative. The matter was duly presented to the military authorities, and the objection found to immediate action that the Spanish prisoners of war should not for the time be located outside the walled city. They must be held where they could be handled. Coincident with the call of the Archbishop came Captain Coudert, of the distinguished family of that name in New York, and his grace was deeply interested in that young man and warmly expressed his gratification in meeting an American officer of his own faith. The Archbishop is a man of a high order of capacity, and his influence has been great. His position is a trying one, for it would be quite impossible for him to remain in Manila if the insurgents should become the masters of the situation. The claim of hostile natives that the Spanish priests have an influence in matters of state that make them a ruling class is one that they urge when expressing their resolve that the Friars must go. The Spanish policy, especially in the municipal governments, has been to magnify the office of the priests in political functions. The proceedings of a meeting of the people in order to receive attention or to have legal standing must be certified by a priest. It is the Spanish priest that is wanted in matters of moment, and the laws make his presence indispensable. The Spanish priests are, therefore, identified in the public mind with all the details of misgovernment. The civilized Filipinos profess christianity and faith in the native priests, carefully asserting the distinction. In his conversation with me, General Aguinaldo repeatedly referred to the necessity of consulting his advisers, and said he had to be careful not to offend many of his followers, who thought he had gone very far in his friendship for the United States. He gave emphasis to the assertion that they were "suspicious" of him on that account. It was my judgment at first that the General, in stopping short when a question was difficult and referring to the Council he had to consult, was showing a capacity for finesse, that he really had the power to do or to undo, though he has not a personal appearance of possible leadership. Now this, even, has been modified. His Council seems to be the real center of power. When I was talking with Aguinaldo there were two American priests waiting to propose the deportation of his prisoners who were priests, and he had to refer that question. The Council has decided to keep the priests in confinement, and it is remarked that the General desired to give up his prisoners and was false in saying he favored sending them to Spain. There are misapprehensions in this association. He has no doubt thought well of holding fast his most important hostages. If he personally desired to release the priests, he probably would not venture to do it. He is not so silly as to believe in his own inviolability by bullets, and digestion of poisons; and those who are such savages as to confide in these superstitions are not unlikely to try experiments just to strengthen their faith. The potentiality of Aguinaldo as a personage is not so great as has been imagined, and if he attempts a rally against the American flag he will be found full of weakness. The Archbishop, I was told, had much pleasure in meeting an American he was assured would attempt to be entirely just, and present him according to his own declarations to the people of the United States. He knew very well, unquestionably, the stories circulated in the American camps, that his voice had been loudest and last in urging hopeless war, in telling impossible tales of visionary Spanish reinforcements, and denouncing the Americans as "niggers" and "pigs." It is a fact that Spaniards have cultivated the notion among the rural Filipinos, that Americans are black men, and pigs is their favorite epithet for an American. The radical enemies of His Grace are, no doubt, responsible for unseemly stories about his animosities, for that he and those around him were sincere in their respect for, and gratitude toward the American army of occupation, for its admirable bearing and good conduct, was in itself too obviously true to be doubted. CHAPTER VIII Why We Hold the Philippines. The Responsibility of Admiral Dewey--We Owe It to Ourselves to Hold the Philippines--Prosperity Assured by Our Permanent Possession--The Aguinaldo Question--Character Study of the Insurgent Leader--How Affairs Would Adjust Themselves for Us--Congress Must Be Trusted to Represent the People and Firmly Establish International Policy. If Admiral Dewey, after obeying the order of the President to destroy the Spanish fleet at Manila, had steamed away and sought a station to get coal to drive him somewhere else, there would have been no Philippine question on the other side of the world from Washington City. The Admiral desired to keep open telegraphic communication, and made a proposition to that effect, but the Spanish authorities curtly refused. Then the cable was cut by order of the Admiral, a section removed, and both ends marked by buoys. Reflection caused the Spaniards to regret that they had not consented to keep open the cable, that it might be used under restrictions by both belligerents. They mentioned their change of mind, and were told they were too late. The American Admiral may have been apprehensive, and he had reason to be, that the Spaniards, knowing they would be crushed in the West Indies if they risked a decisive naval engagement there, might send all their available ships of war to the Philippines, and secure a superiority of force, possibly to destroy their enemies at Manila. It is clear now that this is what the Spaniards ought to have tried to do. The Americans were committed to the blockade of Cuba, occupying all the vessels of war they had at hand, and the whole fleet of Spain could have been in the Suez Canal, on the way to Manila when the movement was known to our navy department. Then Admiral Dewey would, of course, have been warned by way of Hong Kong and a dispatch boat, that he should put to sea and take care of his men and ships. The result might have been the temporary restoration of the Philippines to Spain. Our Admiral, six hundred miles from Hongkong, the closest cable connection, could not afford to leave Manila in direct communication with Madrid. It was for this reason and not that he desired to keep out of way or orders, as some able publicists have kindly promulgated, that the Admiral cut the cable. The gravest of his responsibilities came upon him after his victory freed the harbor of declared enemies, and placed the great city at his mercy. If the Spaniards used their big Krupp guns against his ships, he could bombard the city and burn it. He held the keys to the Philippines, with Manila under his guns, and the question before him then was the same before the country now. The question that incessantly presses is, whether the Dewey policy is to be confirmed, and the logic of the stay in the harbor, and the dispatch of troops to take the town made good. We hold the keys of the Philippines. Shall we continue to do so? This question transcends in immediate importance--inevitable consequence--remote as well as near, all the war with Spain has raised. So broad a matter should not be rested on narrow grounds, nor decided with haste. It ought to be scrutinized in all its bearings, and all susceptibilities and material affairs regarded, for it will affect all the people for all time. What are the Philippines? They are the richest prize of soil and climate that has been at hazard in the world for many years--one that would be seized, if it could be done without war, by any of the great nations other than our own without hesitation. The only scruple we need entertain, the sole reason for deliberation, is because it is a duty of the government to be sure when there are imperial considerations to be weighed, that the people should be consulted. It was on this account distinctly, that the President knew the issue of the permanency of the possession of the Philippines was one of peculiar novelty and magnitude, that he permitted it to exist. Spain must have been as acquiescent in this as in yielding the independence of Cuba, and the concession to us without any intermediate formality of Porto Rico. It is not inconsistent with the policy of magnanimity that is generally anticipated after the victory of a great power over a lesser one, that we should hold the Philippines. We have only to keep the power we have in peace, and let it work as a wholesome medicine, and all the islands of the group of which Manila is the central point, will be ours without conflict. In our system there is healing for wounds, and attraction for the oppressed. The holding of the islands by Spain would signify the continued shedding of blood, and drainage of the vital resources of the peninsula. As against Spain the Philippines will be united and desperate unto death, while they would without coercion walk hand in hand with us, and become the greatest of our dependencies--not states, but territories. It would be an act of mercy to Spain to send her soldiers and priests from the Philippines, home. Even if we consent that she may keep her South Sea possession, she will lose it as she has all the rest, for the story of the Philippines is that of Spanish South and Central America, and the modern story of Cuba is the old one of all countries South and West of the Gulf of Mexico and around by way of the Oceans to Argentina, Mexico, Venezuela, Peru, Chili, and the rest had the same bloody stream of history to trace, and sooner or later the tale must all be told. Since Spain has already surrendered Cuba and Porto Rico, the record of the Philippines is the last chapter of her colonial experiences, by which she has dazzled and disgusted the world, attaining from the plunder of dependencies wealth that she invested in oppressive warfare to sustain a depraved despotism and display a grandeur that was unsound, sapping her own strength in colonial enterprises that could not be other than without profit, because the colonies were the property of the crown, and the prey of caste. The Spanish nation was forbidden by their government, not of the people or for the people, to profit by the colonies, and the viceroys, the captain-generals, and the whole official class were corrupted, and inefficient in all things, except methods of tyranny to procure a harvest of gold and silver not from the mines of the metals alone, but from the industries, whatever they were. The people at large were allowed no share in their own earnings, beyond a subsistence so scanty that deep humiliation and grievous hardship were the fateful rewards of labor. It was because the colonial policy of Spain impoverished and degraded the Spaniards at home, through the injustice, greed and profligacy of those abroad, that the huge structure, once so great an imposition upon mankind, a rotten fabric so gilt that the inherent weakness was disguised, has finally fallen into universal and irretrievable ruin. It is well Spain should retain the Canaries and the Balearic group, for they are as Spanish as any peninsular province, and legitimately belong therefore to the kingdom. The application of this principle excludes Spain from the Philippines, and their des- [NOTE: gap in original] been committed by the failure of war to our hands. There is no nation that will dispute our peaceable possession of the Philippines. Any other nation's proprietorship will be challenged. Our authoritative presence in the islands will be a guarantee of peace. Any other assertion of supremacy will be the signal for war. Our assumption of sovereignty over the islands would quickly establish tranquility. Any other disposition of the burning questions now smoldering will cause an outburst of the flames of warfare. The Spaniards in Manila have been transient. They are not rooted in the soil. They all come and go like Captain-Generals, a mere official class, with the orders of the Church participating actively in secular concerns, more active as politicians than as teachers of religion. In the view of the native population it is as indispensable that the priests of Spain shall return to their native land as that the soldiers should go. The deportation of these people would remove classes of consumers and not affect unfavorably a productive industry, or the prosperity of a self-sustaining community, and there would be but rare instances of the severance of family ties. It will be said of the affirmation that, the avowal of the possession of the Philippines as a responsibility without end would be a peace measure, and anything else make for war, does not take into account the attitude of the Philippine Dictator, by proclamation, General Aguinaldo, and his followers. We desire to speak with respect of the General, for he has shown in trying times, under strong temptations, the presence in his character of personal integrity in public matters, and reference is made to his refusal to consent to the division among insurgents alleged to be leaders, of the money paid by the Spaniards for the disarmament of the rebels, when two years ago there was an agreement upon the terms of a truce. This money transaction has been referred to as the sale of their cause by Aguinaldo and his associates, as if they, as individuals, had pocketed the usufruct of the bargain. The money was paid by Spain as an earnest of her sincerity, the Captain-General representing the force and good faith of the kingdom, in granting reforms to the Philippines. On condition of insurgent disarmament the people of the island were to be allowed representation in the Spanish Cortes, the orders of the Church were to be removed from relations to the Government that were offensive to the people. There was a long list of articles of specification of the reforms that were to be granted, the usual liberality of words of promise always bestowed by Spain upon her colonists. The representatives of Spain denied nothing that was asked; and to give weight to the program of concessions, there was paid in hand to Aguinaldo, through a transaction between banks in Manila and Hongkong, four hundred thousand dollars, the first installment of eight hundred thousand dollars agreed upon. [1] The Spaniards probably understood that they were bribing the insurgents and paying a moderate sum to cheaply end the war; and it did not cost the authorities of Spain anything, for they exacted the money from the Manila Bank of Spain, and still owe the bank. Aguinaldo's understanding, acted upon, was different. He accepted the money as a war fund, and has held and defended it for the purchase of arms, and resumed hostilities when all promises of reform were broken, and nothing whatever done beyond the robbery of the bank to bribe the rebel chiefs, which was the Spanish translation. Of course, it was claimed by the enemies of Aguinaldo that he was bought and paid for, but he has maintained the fund, though there were those professors of rebellion, who made claims to a share of the money. The second installment of the money that the rebels were to have been paid is yet an obligation not lifted, and the hostilities were revived as soon as the craft of the Spanish negotiators in promising everything because they meant to do nothing, became obvious. The actual proceedings in this case can be summed up in a sentence: The Spaniards took four hundred thousand dollars out of the Bank of Spain and gave it to the insurgents, for a temporary armistice. General Aguinaldo, though he appears very well in refusing to employ the money paid by Spain as a bribe for himself, has not the elements of enduring strength as the leader of the insurgents. As against the Spaniards he can keep the field, and carry on a destructive guerilla warfare, hopeless on both sides, like that going on in Cuba, when that island was invaded by the American army. But as against American rule the Philippines would cease to be insurgents. The islanders will not be controlled by sentimentalism. Government by the United States would differ from that by Spain, as the two nations are different in character, in the nature of their political institutions, in their progressive movement. America is all active and free, and her freedom would be extended to the islanders. The transformation would be one from the paralysis of despotism to the life of liberty. The words despotism and freedom would instantly have a distinct business meaning. Make known in the city of Manila that the Americans will abandon it, and the reviving hopes of the men of affairs would be instantly clouded, and the depression deepen into despondency and despair. Let it be the news of the day that the Americans will stay, and the intelligence of the city would regard its redemption as assured, every drooping interest revive, and an era of prosperity unknown under the dismal incompetency of Spain, open at once. It is legitimate that there should be freedom of speech as to the details of the proceedings. If our Government should do what Admiral Dewey did when he was the master of Manila, because he had annihilated the Spanish fleet and had the power to destroy the city--cast anchor and stay where we are already in command--the task is neither so complex nor costly as its opponents claim. Our territorial system is one easy of application to colonies. We have had experience of it from the first days of our Government. There is no commandment that a Territory shall become a State in any given time, or ever. We can hold back a Territory, as we have Arizona and New Mexico, or hasten the change to Statehood according to the conditions, and the perfect movement of the machinery requires only the presence in Congress of dominant good sense. Congress is easily denounced, but no one has found a substitute for it, and it is fairly representative of the country. Congress will never gamble away the inheritance of the people. It will probably, in spite of all shortcomings, have its average of ability and utility kept up. Congress may go wrong, but will not betray. Our outlying possessions must be Territories until they are Americanized, and we take it Americans know what that word means. If a specification is wanted as a definition, we have to say the meaning is just what has happened in California since our flag was there. In the case of the Philippines, if we stick, and we do not see how we can help doing so, the President will, in regular course, appoint a Territorial Governor, and as a strong Government capable of quick and final decisions must be made, the Governor should be a military man, and have a liberal grant, by special Act of Congress, of military authority. He should be a prompt, and all around competent administrator. He will not have to carry on war offensive or defensive. He need not be in a hurry to go far from Manila. He will not be molested there. The country will gravitate to him. The opponents of the Republican form of Government, as it is in the United States and the Territories of the Nation will become insignificant in the Philippines. They will have no grievances, except some of them may not be called at once to put on the trappings of personal potentiality. General Aguinaldo would find all the reforms the Spanish promised when they paid him four hundred thousand dollars to prove their good intentions, free as the air. He could not make war against the benignancy of a Government, Republican in its form and its nature, which simply needs a little time, some years maybe, before erasing the wrongs that have had a growth of centuries. The American Governor-General need not send out troops to conquer districts, coercing the people. The people will soon be glad to see the soldiers of the United States, the representatives of the downfall and departure of the instruments of Spain. Aguinaldo and his party have a Congress. It might be an approved beginning of a Territorial Legislature, and the insurgent General might be the presiding officer. There would be abundant reason for the auspicious exercise of all his rights in the public service. As for the cost of the Philippines under our Government, that would fall upon the treasury of the United States. There can be no doubt that it would be for several years a considerable sum, but the public men who favored peace for the liberation of Cuba, did not make counting the cost the most prominent feature of the war they advocated, but accepted the fact that the national honor and fame, the glory of heroism and deeds of daring and sacrifice, are priceless, and their achievement beyond price. There is to be said under this head, that the Philippine Islands are of natural riches almost without parallel. The great isle of Luzon teems with productions that have markets the world over, and it is commonplace for the savages in the mountains to come out of their fastnesses with nuggets of gold to make purchases. Cotton, sugar, rice, hemp, coffee and tobacco, all tropical fruits and woods, are of the products. There is profusion of the riches that await the freedom of labor and the security of capital, and the happiness of the people. Under American government the Philippines would prosper, and it would be one of our tasks to frame legislation. The laws of Congress would be the higher code of law, and the Philippines would desire, and be invited, of course, to send their ablest men to be Territorial representatives in the Congress of the United States. In the name of peace, therefore, and in behalf of the dignity and authority of this Nation--in mercy to the Spaniards, in justice to the Filipinos, it is due ourselves, and should have the favor of all who would see our country expand with the ages, and walking in the footsteps of Washington and Jefferson, finding the path of empire that of freedom and taking our place as a great Power, accepting the logic of our history, and the discharge of the duties of destiny--we should hold on to the Philippines--and when the great distance of those islands from this continent is mentioned, remember that the Pacific may now be crossed in as few days as was the Atlantic forty years ago. The labor questions and the silver questions even come into the Philippines problem to be scanned and weighed. In Eastern Asia, which we have invaded, and a part of which we have appropriated for a time, the people use silver for the measure of value, and in the islands that interest us, as they do not deal in the mysteries of rupees, but in dollars, the facts in the case are plainly within the common understanding. In Manila the Mexican dollar goes in ordinary small exchanges, payment of wages and settlement of bills, for fifty cents; but the banks sell the Mexicans twenty-one of them for ten gold dollars--an American eagle! So far as the native people go, labor and produce are counted in silver, and the purchaser, or employer gets as much for a silver dollar as for a gold dollar. The native will take ten dollars in gold for ten dollars only in all settlements of accounts, and would just as willingly--even more so, accept ten Mexican dollars as ten American dollars in gold coin. Salaries are paid and goods delivered according to the silver standard. Of course, in due time this state of things will pass away, if we hold to the gold standard, but as the case stands the soldiers and sailors of our army and fleet, paid under the home standard, receive double pay, and get double value received for clothing, tobacco and whatever they find they want--indeed, for the necessaries and luxuries of life. The double standard in this shape is not distasteful to the boys. We have both theories and conditions confronting us in these aspects of the silver and labor questions. The Oriental people are obdurate in their partiality for silver. It is the cheaper labor that adheres to the silver standard, partially, it is held, because silver is the more convenient money for the payment of small sums. But labor cannot be expected, at its own expense, to sustain silver for the profit of capital, or rather of the middle man between labor and capital. Labor, so far as it is in politics in this country, should not, without most careful study and deliberation, conclude that its force in public affairs would be abated, and its policy of advancing wages antagonized by the absorption of the Philippines in our country. On the contrary, the statesmanship that is representative of labor may discover that it is a great fact, one of the greatest of facts, that the various countries and continents of the globe are being from year to year more and more closely associated, and that to those intelligently interested, without regard to the application of their views of justice or expediency, in the labor and silver questions--the convictions, the fanaticisms, of the vast silver nations--and enormous multitudes of the people of Asia, touching the silver standard--and the possible progress of labor, as a guiding as well as plodding ability increases incessantly in interest, and must grow in inheritance. As the conditions of progressive civilization are developed our interests cannot be wholly dissevered from those of the Asiatics. We would be unwise to contemplate the situation of to-day as one that can or should perpetuate itself. Suppose we accept, the governing responsibility in the Philippines. It is not beyond the range of reasonable conjecture that American labor can educate the laborers of the Philippines out of their state of servitude as cheap laborers, and lead them to co-operate rather than compete with us, and not to go into the silver question further than to consent that it exists, and is in the simplest form of statement, whether the change in the market value of the two money metals is natural or artificial. It is necessary in common candor to state that the most complete solution of the money metal embarrassments would be through the co-operation of Asia and America. Europe is for gold, Asia for silver, and the Americas divided. Japan is an object lesson, her approximation to the gold standard has caused in the Empire an augmentation of the compensation of labor. This is not wholly due to the change in the standard. The war with China, the increase in the army and navy, and the absorption of laborers in Formosa, the new country of Japan, have combined with the higher standard of value, to elevate wages. All facts are of primary excellence in the formation of the policies of nations. CHAPTER IX The Philippine Islands As They Are. Area and Population--Climate--Mineral Wealth--Agriculture--Commerce and Transportation--Revenue and Expenses--Spanish Troops--Spanish Navy--Spanish Civil Administration--Insurgent Troops--Insurgent Civil Administration--United States Troops--United States Navy--United States Civil Administration--The Future of the Islands. General Frank V. Greene made an exhaustive study of all reports of an official character regarding the area, population, climate, resources, commerce, revenue and expenses of the Philippines Islands, and prepared a memorandum for the general information that is the most thorough and complete ever made, and is the latest and highest authority on all the subjects to which it relates, and they include the solid information the business men of the United States want respecting our Asiatic associations. The memorandum is herewith submitted in substance, and all the particulars of public concern. Area and Population. These islands, including the Ladrones, Carolinas and Palaos, which are all under the Government of Manila, are variously estimated at from 1,200 to 1,300 in number. The greater portion of these are small and of no more value than the islands off the coast of Alaska. The important islands are less than a dozen in number, and 90 per cent. of the Christian population live on Luzon and the five principal islands of the Visayas group. The total population is somewhere between 7,000,000 and 9,000,000. This includes the wild tribes of the mountains of Luzon and of the islands in the extreme south. The last census taken by the Spanish Government was on December 31, 1887, and this stated the Christian population to be 6,000,000 (in round numbers). This is distributed as follows: Per Area. Population. Sq. Mile. Luzon 44,400 3,426,000 79 Panay 4,700 735,000 155 Cebu 2,400 504,000 210 Leyte 3,300 279,000 71 Bohol 1.300 245,000 188 Negros 3,300 242,000 73 ====== ========= === 59,800 5,422,000 91 The density of population in these six islands is nearly 50 per cent. greater than in Illinois and Indiana (census of 1890), greater than in Spain, about one-half as great as in France, and one-third as great as in Japan and China, the exact figures being as follows: Area. Population. Per Sq. Mile. Illinois 56,000 3,826,351 68 Indiana 35,910 2,192,494 61 ------ --------- --- 91,910 6,018,755 64 Spain 197,670 17,565,632 88 France 204,092 38,517,975 189 Japan 147,655 42,270,620 286 China 1,312,328 383,253,029 292 The next most important islands, in the order of population, are: Area. Population. Per Sq. Mile. Mindanao 34,000 209,000 6 Samar 4,800 186,000 38 Mindoro 4,000 67,000 17 Nomblon 600 35,000 58 Masbate 1,400 21,000 15 ------ ------- -- 44,800 518,000 11 Various smaller islands, including the Carolinas, Ladrones and Palaos, carry the total area and Christian population to-- 140,000 6,000,000 43 This is considerably greater than the density of population in the States east of the Rocky Mountains. Owing to the existence of mountain ranges in all the islands, and lack of communication in the interior, only a small part of the surface is inhabited. In many provinces the density of population exceeds 200 per square mile, or greater than that of any of the United States, except Massachusetts and Rhode Island. The total area of the Philippines is about the same as that of Japan, but its civilized population is only one-seventh. In addition to the Christian population, it is estimated (in the Official Guide) that the islands contain the following: Chinese (principally in Manila) 75,000 Moors or Mohametans in Paragon and Jok 100,000 Moors or Mohametans in Mindanao and Basilan 209,000 Heathen in the Philippines 830,000 Heathen in the Carolinas and Palaos 50,000 --------- 1,264,000 The Official Guide gives a list of more than thirty different races, each speaking a different dialect; but five-sixths of the Christian population are either Tagalos or Visayas. All the races are of the Malay type. Around Manila there has been some mixture of Chinese and Spanish blood with that of the natives, resulting in the Mestizos or Half-breeds, but the number of these is not very great. As seen in the provinces of Cavite and Manila, the natives (Tagalos) are of small stature, averaging probably 5 feet 4 inches in height, and 120 pounds in weight for the men, and 5 feet in height, and 100 pounds in weight for the women. Their skin is coppery brown, somewhat darker than that of the mulatto. They seem to be industrious and hard-working, although less so than the Chinese. By the Spaniards they are considered indolent, crafty, untruthful, cowardly and cruel, but the hatred between the Spaniards and the native races is so intense and bitter that the Spanish opinion of the natives is of little or no value. To us they seem industrious and docile, but there are occasional evidences of deceit and untruthfulness in their dealings with us. The bulk of the population is engaged in agriculture, and there were hardly any evidences of manufactures, arts or mining. The greater number seemed to be able to read and write, but I have been unable to obtain any exact figures on this subject. They are all devout Roman Catholics, although they hate the monastic orders. In Manila (and doubtless also in Cebu and Iloilo) are many thousands of educated natives, who are merchants, lawyers, doctors and priests. They are well informed and have accumulated property. They have not traveled much, but there is said to be quite a numerous colony of rich Filipinos in Madrid, as well as in Paris and London. The bibliography of the Philippines is said to number 4,500 volumes, the greater part of which have been written by Spanish priests and missionaries. The number of books on the subject in the English language is probably less than a dozen. Climate. The climate is one of the best known in the tropics. The islands extend from 5 to 21 deg. north latitude, and Manila is in 14d. 35m. The thermometer during July and August rarely went below 79 or above 85. The extreme ranges in a year are said to be 61 and 97, and the annual mean, 81. There are three well-marked seasons, temperate and dry from November to February, hot and dry from March to May, and temperate and wet from June to October. The rainy season reaches its maximum in July and August, when the rains are constant and very heavy. The total rainfall has been as high as 114 inches in one year. Yellow fever appears to be unknown. The diseases most fatal among the natives are cholera and smallpox, both of which are brought from China. Low malarial fever is brought on by sleeping on the ground or being chilled by remaining, without exercise, in wet clothes; and diarrhea is produced by drinking bad water or eating excessive quantities of fruit. Almost all of these diseases are preventable by proper precautions, even by troops in campaign. The sickness in our troops was very small, much less than in the cold fogs at camp in San Francisco. Mineral Wealth. Very little is known concerning the mineral wealth of the islands. It is stated that there are deposits of coal, petroleum, iron, lead, sulphur, copper and gold in the various islands, but little or nothing has been done to develop them. A few concessions have been granted for working mines, but the output is not large. The gold is reported on Luzon, coal and petroleum on Cebu and Iloilo, and sulphur on Leyte. The imports of coal in 1894 (the latest year for which the statistics have been printed) were 91,511 tons, and it came principally from Australia and Japan. In the same year the imports of iron of all kinds were 9,632 tons. If the Cebu coal proves to be good quality there is a large market for it in competition with the coal from Japan and Australia. Agriculture. Although agriculture is the chief occupation of the Philippines, yet only one-ninth of the surface is under cultivation. The soil is very fertile, and even after deducting the mountainous areas, it is probable that the area of cultivation can be very largely extended, and that the islands can support a population equal to that of Japan (42,000,000). The chief products are rice, corn, hemp, sugar, tobacco, cocoanuts and cacao. Coffee and cotton were formerly produced in large quantities--the former for export and the latter for home consumption; but the coffee plant has been almost exterminated by insects, and the home made cotton clothes have been driven out by the competition of those imported from England. The rice and corn are principally produced in Luzon and Mindoro, and are consumed in the islands; the rice crop is about 765,000 tons; it is insufficient for the demand and 45,000 tons of rice were imported in 1894, the greater portion from Saigon, and the rest from Hongkong and Singapore; also 8,669 tons (say 60,000 barrels) of flour, of which more than two-thirds came from China and less than one-third from the United States. The cacao is raised in the southern islands, the best quality of it in Mindanao. The production amounts to only 150 tons, and it is all made into chocolate and consumed in the islands. The sugar cane is raised in the Visayas. The crop yielded, in 1894, about 235,000 tons of raw sugar, of which one-tenth was consumed in the islands and the balance, or 210,000 tons, valued at $11,000,000, was exported, the greater part to China, Great Britain and Australia. The hemp is produced in southern Luzon, Mindoro, the Visayas and Mindanao. It is nearly all exported in bales. In the year 1894 the amount was 96,000 tons, valued at $12,000,000. Tobacco is raised in all the islands, but the best quality and the greatest amount in Luzon. A large amount is consumed in the islands, smoking being universal among the women as well as the men, but the best quality is exported. The amount, in 1894, was 7,000 tons of leaf tobacco, valued at $1,400,000, and 1,400 tons of manufactured tobacco, valued at $1,750,000. Spain takes 30 per cent, and Egypt 10 per cent of the leaf tobacco. Of the manufactured tobacco, 70 per cent, goes to China and Singapore, 10 per cent. to England, and 5 per cent. to Spain. Cocoanuts are grown in southern Luzon and are used in various ways. The products are largely used in the islands, but the exports, in 1894, were valued at $2,400,000. Cattle, goats and sheep have been introduced from Spain, but they are not numerous. Domestic pigs and chickens are seen around every hut in the farming districts. The principal beast of burden is the carabac or water buffalo, which is used for ploughing rice fields, as well as drawing heavy loads on sledges or on carts. Large horses are almost unknown, but there are great numbers of native ponies, from nine to twelve hands high, but possessing strength and endurance far beyond their size. Commerce and Transportation. The internal commerce between Manila and the different islands is quite large, but I was unable to find any official records giving exact figures concerning it. It is carried on almost entirely by water, in steamers of 500 to 1,000 tons. There are regular mail steamers, once in two weeks, on four routes, viz.; Northern Luzon, Southern Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao; also a steamer every two months to the Carolines and Ladrones, and daily steamers on Manila Bay. These lines are all subsidized. To facilitate this navigation extensive harbor works have been in progress at Manila for several years, and a plan for lighting the coasts has been made, calling for forty-three principal lights, of which seventeen have already been constructed in the most substantial manner, besides sixteen lights of secondary importance. There is only one line of railway, built by English capital, running from Manila north to Dagupan, a distance of about 120 miles. The roads in the immediate vicinity of Manila are macadamized and in fairly good order; elsewhere they are narrow paths of soft, black soil, which becomes almost impassable in the rainy season. Transportation is then effected by sledges, drawn through the mud by carabacs. There are telegraph lines connecting most of the provinces of Luzon with Manila, and cables to the Visayas and southern islands, and thence to Borneo and Singapore, as well as a direct cable from Manila to Hongkong. The land telegraph lines are owned by the Government, and the cables all belong to an English company, which receives a large subsidy. In Manila there is a narrow gauge street railway, operated by horse-power, about eleven miles in total length; also a telephone system, and electric lights. Communications with Europe are maintained by the Spanish Trans-Atlantic Company (subsidized), which sends a steamer every four weeks from Manila and Barcelona, making the trip in about twenty-seven days. The same company also sends an intermediate steamer from Manila to Singapore, meeting the French Messagoric each way. There is also a non-subsidized line running from Manila to Hongkong every two weeks, and connecting there with the English, French and German mails for Europe, and with the Pacific mail and Canadian Pacific steamers for Japan and America. There has been no considerable development of manufacturing industries in the Philippines. The only factories are those connected with the preparation of rice, tobacco and sugar. Of the manufactures and arts, in which Japan so excels, there is no evidence. The foreign commerce amounted, in 1894, to $28,558,552 in imports, and $33,149,984 in exports, 80 per cent, of which goes through Manila. About 60 per cent. of the trade is carried in British vessels, 20 per cent. in Spanish and 10 per cent. in German. The value of the commerce with other countries in 1894 was as follows: In Millions of Dollars (Silver). Imports. Exports. Spain 10.5 2.9 Great Britain 7.1 8.7 China 4.6 6.8 Germany 1.9 --- Saigon .9 --- United States .7 7.4 France .7 1.2 Singapore .4 1.7 Japan .2 1.2 Australia .1 2.6 Other Countries 1.5 .6 ---- ---- 25.6 33.1 It is interesting to note that next to Great Britain we are the largest customers of the Philippines, and that they export to us nearly three times as much as to Spain. On the other hand Spain sells to the Philippines fifteen times as much as we do. The articles of import and their value in 1894 were as follows: In Millions of Dollars (Silver). Spain. Great China. Germany. United Other Total. Britain. States. Countries Cotton Goods 3.9 4.O .4 .3 -- .7 9.3 Cotton Yarns 1.2 .9 .2 .1 -- .1 2.5 Wines 1.8 -- -- -- -- .1 1.9 Russia. Mineral Oils -- -- .2 -- .4 .8 1.4 Iron .2 .7 -- .2 -- .1 1.2 Rice -- -- 1.0 -- -- .1 1.1 Flour -- -- .7 -- .2 -- .9 Sweet Meats .5 -- -- -- -- .3 .8 Paper .4 -- -- .1 -- .2 .7 Linen Goods .1 .1 .1 -- -- .3 .6 Hats .1 -- -- .3 -- .2 .6 Other Articles 2.3 1.4 2.O .9 .1 .9 7.6 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 10.5 7.1 4.6 1.9 .7 3.8 28.6 The articles of export and their value in 1894 were as follows: In Millions of Dollars (Silver). Spain Great China United Austra- Other Total Britain States lia Countries Hemp -- 5.3 .9 6.6 .6 1.1 [2] 14.5 Sugar .4 2.7 4.O .7 1.9 1.3 [3] 11.O Man'f. Tobacco .2 .1 .7 .. .1 .7 [4] 1.3 Leaf Tobacco 1.1 .. .. .. .. .3 1.4 Coffee .3 .. .1 .. .. .. .4 Cocoanuts .. .6 .1 .. .. .. .7 Other Articles .9 .. 1.O .1 .. 1.3 3.3 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 2.9 8.7 6.8 7.4 2.6 4.7 33.16 With these islands in our possession and the construction of railroads in the interior of Luzon, it is probable that an enormous extension could be given to this commerce, nearly all of which would come to the United States. Manila cigars of the best quality are unknown in America. They are but little inferior to the best of Cuba, and cost only one-third as much. The coffee industry can be revived and the sugar industry extended, mainly for consumption in the far East. The mineral resources can be explored with American energy, and there is every reason to believe that when this is done the deposits of coal, iron, gold and lead will be found very valuable. On the other hand, we ought to be able to secure the greater part of the trade which now goes to Spain in textile fabrics, and a considerable portion of that with England in the same goods and in iron. Revenue and Expenses. The budget for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1897, was as follows: Income. 1st. Direct Taxes $8,496,170 2nd. Indirect Taxes (Customs) 6,200,550 3rd. Proceeds of Monopolies 1,222,000 4th. Lottery 1,000,000 5th. Income of Government Property 257,000 6th. Sundry Receipts 298,300 ----------- Total $17,474,020 Expenses. 1st. General Expenses, Pensions and Interest $1,506,686 2nd. Diplomatic and Consular Service 74,000 3rd. Clergy and Courts 1,876,740 4th. War Department 6,035,316 5th. Treasury Department 1,392,414 6th. Navy Department 3,562,716 7th. Civil Administration 2,195,378 8th. Education 614,395 ----------- Total $17,258,145 The Direct Taxes were as follows: 1st. Real Estate, 5 per cent, on income $ 140,280 2nd. Industry and Commerce 1,400,700 3rd. Cedalas (Poll Tax) 5,600,000 4th. Chinese Poll Tax 510,190 5th. Tribute from Sultan of Jolo 20,000 6th. Railroads, 10 per cent. of Passenger Receipts 32,000 7th. Income Tax, 10 per cent. on Public Salaries 730,000 8th. Sundry Taxes 63,000 ---------- Total $8,496,170 Indirect Taxes were as follows: 1st. Imports $3,600,000 2nd. Exports 1,292,550 3rd. Loading Tax 410,000 4th. Unloading Tax 570,000 5th. Fines and Penalties 27,000 6th. Special Tax on Liquors, Beer, Vegetables, Flour, Salt and Mineral Oils 301,000 ---------- Total $6,200,550 Monopolies: 1st. Opium Contract $ 576,000 2nd. Stamped Paper and Stamps 646,000 ---------- Total $1,222,000 Lottery: 1st. Sale of Tickets, Less Cost of Prizes $ 964,000 2nd. Unclaimed Prizes 30,000 3rd. Sundry Receipts 6,000 ---------- Total $1,000,000 Income of Government Property: 1st. Forestry Privileges $170,000 2nd. Sale and Rent of Public Land and Buildings 85,000 3rd. Mineral Privileges 2,000 -------- Total $257,000 Sundry Receipts: 1st. Mint (Seignorage) $200,000 2nd. Sundries 98,300 -------- Total $298,300 The largest source of income is the Cedala or Poll Tax. Every man and woman above 18 years of age, residing in the Philippines, whether Spanish subject or foreigner, is required to have in his or her possession a paper stating name, age, and occupation, and other facts of personal identity. Failure to produce and exhibit this when called upon renders anyone liable to arrest and imprisonment. This paper is obtained from the internal revenue office annually, on payment of a certain sum, varying, according to the occupation and income of the person from $0.75 to $20.00, and averaging about $3.00 for each adult. An extra sum of 2 per cent. is paid for expense of collection. The tax is collected at the Tribunal in each pueble, and 20 per cent. is retained for expenses of local administration, and 80 per cent. paid to the General Treasury. This tax falls heavily on the poor and lightly on the rich. The tax on industry and commerce is similarly graded according to the volume of business transacted by each merchant or merchantile corporation. The tax on real estate is absurdly low and levied only on municipal property and on the rent, not the value. The tax on imports is specific and not ad valorum; it amounts to about 13 per cent. of estimated values. The free list is very small, nearly everything of commercial value which is imported being subject to duty. The revenue from imports has increased from $566,143 in 1865, to $3,695,446 in 1894. It was about the same in 1897. On the other hand the export tax, which was nothing in 1892, the loading tax, which was nothing in 1893, and the unloading tax, which was nothing in 1894, have all been increased in the last few years in order to meet the expenses of suppressing the insurrection. These three items yielded nearly $2,700,000 in 1897. The monopoly of importing and selling opium is sold, by auction, to the highest bidder for a term of three years. The present contract runs until 1899, and yields $48,000 per month. Every legal document must be drawn up on paper containing a revenue stamp, engraved and printed in Spain, and every note, check, draft, bill of exchange, receipt or similar document must bear a revenue stamp in order to be valid. These stamps and stamped paper yielded a revenue of $646,000 in 1897. The lottery is conducted by the Government--the monthly drawings taking place in the Treasury (Hacienda) Department. The sale of tickets yielded $1,000,000 over and above prizes in 1897. In a report to General Merritt, on August 29th, I recommended that the opium contract be cancelled and the lottery abandoned during our occupation of Manila; and as the poll tax and the tax on industry and commerce had been paid for the most part in the early part of the year, our chief sources of revenue were from the custom house, the sale of stamps and stamped paper, and the sale of such licenses as the law allowed (amusements, liquor saloons, etc.), for the benefit of the city of Manila as distinguished from the general revenue. I estimated the total at about $500,000 per month. The expenses of administering the military government of occupation (apart from the expenses of the army) will consist of the current expenses of the office at the Provost Marshal General's office and its various bureaus--at the custom house, internal revenue office, and other offices--and the salaries of interpreters and minor employes who are anxious to resume work as soon as they dare do so. An estimate of these expenses was being prepared at the time I left, but was not completed. It can hardly exceed $200,000 per month and may be much less. This should leave $300,000 (silver) excess of income per month, to go towards the military expenses of occupation. As soon as it is decided that we are to retain the islands it will be necessary to make a careful study of the sources of revenue and items of expenses for all the islands, with a view to thoroughly understanding the subject, before introducing the extensive changes which will be necessary. Currency. The standard of value has always, until within a few years, been the Mexican milled dollar. The Spanish dollar contains a little less silver and, in order to introduce it and profit by the coinage, the Spaniards prohibited the importation of Mexican dollars a few years since. Large numbers of Mexican dollars remained in that country, however, and others were smuggled in. The two dollars circulate at equal value. All valuations of goods and labor are based on the silver dollar, and a change to the gold standard would result in great financial distress and many failures among the banks and mercantile houses in Manila. Their argument is that while an American ten-dollar gold piece will bring twenty-one silver dollars at any bank or house having foreign connections, yet it will not buy any more labor or any more hemp and sugar from the original producer than ten silver dollars. The products of the country are almost entirely agricultural, and the agricultural class, whether it sells its labor or its products, would refuse to accept any less than the accustomed wages or prices, on account of being paid in the more valuable coin. The result of the change would be that the merchant or employe would have to pay double for what he buys, and would receive no increase for what he sells. While trade would eventually adjust itself to the change, yet many merchants would be ruined in the process and would drag some banks down with them. The Mexican dollar is the standard also in Hongkong and China, and the whole trade of the Far East has, for generations, been conducted on a silver basis. Japan has, within the last year, broken away from this and established the gold standard, but in doing so the relative value of silver and gold was fixed at 32 1/2 to 1, or about the market rate. Public Debt. I was unable to obtain any precise information in regard to the colonial debt. The last book on statistics of imports and exports was for the fiscal year 1894, and the last printed budget was for 1896-7, which was approved by the Queen Regent in August, 1896. Subsequent to this date, according to the statements made to me by foreign bankers, the Cortes authorized two colonial loans of $14,000,000 (silver) each, known as Series A and Series B. The proceeds were to be used in suppressing the insurrection. Both were to be secured by a first lien on the receipts of the Manila custom house. Series A is said to have been sold in Spain and the proceeds to have been paid into the Colonial Office; but no part of them has ever reached the Philippines. Possibly a portion of it was used in sending out the 25,000 troops which came from Spain to the Philippines in the autumn of 1896. Series B was offered for sale in Manila, but was not taken. An effort was then made to obtain subscribers in the Provinces, but with little or no success. The Government then notified the depositors in the Public Savings Bank (a branch of the Treasury Department similar to the postal savings bureaus in other countries) that their deposits would no longer be redeemed in cash, but only in Series B bonds. Some depositors were frightened and took bonds, others declined to do so. Then came the blockade of Manila and all business was practically suspended. No printed report has been made concerning the debt, and I was unable to obtain any satisfactory statement of the matter from the treasury officials. The exact in regard to the Series A bonds can be learned in Madrid; but it will be difficult to learn how many of Series B were issued and what consideration was received for them. As already stated, both series of bonds rest for security on the receipts of the Manila custom house. Spanish Troops. The Spanish prisoners of war number about 13,000, including about 400 officers. The infantry arms are about 32,000, the greater part Mauser model 1895, caliber 28, and the others Remingtons, model 1889, caliber 43. The ammunition is about 22,000,000 rounds. The field artillery consists of about twelve breech-loading steel guns, caliber 3 5-10 inches, and ten breech-loading mountain guns, caliber 3 2-10 inches. There are six horses (ponies) for each gun, but the harness is in bad order. Ammunition, about sixty rounds per gun, with possibly more in the arsenals. There are about 500 cavalry ponies, larger than the average of native horses, with saddles and equipments complete. There is also a battalion of engineers. The fortifications of the walled city are a fine sample of the Vauban type, on which military engineers expended so much ingenuity 150 years ago, and of which Spain possessed so many in her Flemish dominions. The first walls of Manila were built about 1590, but the present fortifications date from a short time after the capture and occupation of the place by the English, in 1762-64. They consist of bastions and curtains, deep, wet ditch, covered way, lunettes, demilunes, hornworks, and all the scientific accessories of that day. They are in a good state of preservation, and mount several hundred bronze guns, but they are chiefly of interest to the antiquarian. On the glacis facing the bay, and also on the open space just south of the walls, are mounted 9-inch breech loaders, four in all, made at Hoatoria, Spain, in 1884. They are well mounted, between high traverses, in which are bomb-proof magazines. These guns are practically uninjured, and Admiral Dewey has the breech blocks. While not as powerful as the guns of the present day of the same caliber, they are capable of effective service. Their location, however, is very faulty, as they are on the shore of the bay, with all the churches, public buildings and most valuable property immediately behind them. On the day after the naval battle Admiral Dewey sent word to the Governor-General that if these guns fired a shot at any of his vessels he would immediately reply with his whole squadron. Owing to their location, this meant a bombardment of the city. This threat was effective; these guns were never afterward fired, not even during the attack of August 13th, and in return the navy did not fire on them, but directed all their shells at the forts and trenches occupied by the troops outside of the suburbs of the city. Within the walled city are the cathedral and numerous churches, convents and monasteries, the public offices, civil and military, military workshops and arsenals, barracks for artillery, cavalry and engineers, storehouses and a few dwellings and shops. The infantry barracks are outside of the walls, four in number; viz.: Neysing, Fortin, Calzada and Fruita. They are modern and well constructed, and will accommodate about 4,000 men. They are now occupied by the United States troops. Under the terms of the armistice the arms laid down by the Spanish troops on August 14th are to be returned to them whenever they evacuate the city, or the American army evacuates it. All other public property, including horses, artillery, public funds, munitions, etc., is surrendered to the United States unconditionally. The question of sending back the troops to Spain is left absolutely to the decision of the authorities in Washington. They are all within the walled city, but as the public buildings are insufficient to accommodate them, they are quartered in the churches and convents. These buildings are not adapted for this purpose; they have no sinks, lavatories, kitchens or sleeping apartments, and there is great danger of an epidemic of sickness if the troops are not soon removed. Pending their removal they are being fed with rations furnished by the United States Commissary Department, and the officers receive from the United States sufficient money for their support. Spanish Navy. At the outbreak of the war the naval force in the Philippines consisted of 10 Cruisers. 19 Gunboats. 4 Armed Launches. 3 Transports. 1 Survey Boat. 37 Of these Admiral Dewey destroyed, on May 1st, ten cruisers and one transport, and he has since captured two gunboats. The Spaniards have sunk one transport and two or three gunboats in the Pasig River. There remain thirteen or fourteen gunboats, which are scattered among the islands. They are of iron, from 140 to 200 tons each, are armed with one breech-loading rifle, caliber 3 6-10 inches, and two to four machine guns, each caliber 44-100 to 1 inch. One of the captured boats, the Callao, under command of Lieutenant Tappan, United States Navy, and a crew of eighteen men, rendered very efficient service in the attack of August 13th. These boats would all be useful in the naval police of the islands. They will, however, probably be scuttled by the Spaniards before the islands are surrendered. The Navy Yard at Cavite has barracks for about 1,500 men (now occupied by United States troops) and has shops and ways for light work and vessels of less than 1,000 tons. Many of the gunboats above mentioned were built there. The shallow depth of water in Canacoa or Cavite Bay would prevent the enlargement of this naval station to accommodate large vessels, and the plan of the Spaniards was to create a large naval station in Subig Bay, on which considerable money has already been spent. Spanish Civil Administration. The Government of the Philippine Islands, including the Ladrones, Carolinas and Palaos, is vested in the Governor-General, who, in the language of the Spanish Official Guide, or Blue Book, "is the sole and legitimate representative in these islands of the supreme power of the Government of the King of Spain, and, as such, is the supreme head of all branches of the public service, and has authority to inspect and supervise the same, not excepting the courts of justice." The office is held by a Lieutenant-General in the Spanish army, and he is also Vice Royal Patron of the Indies, exercising in these islands the ecclesiastical functions conferred on the King of Spain by various Bulls of the Popes of Rome, Captain-General-in-Chief of the Army of the Philippines, Inspector-General of all branches of the service, Commander-in-Chief of the Naval Forces, and President of all corporations and societies which partake of an official character. What corresponds to his Cabinet, or Ministry, consists of (a) The Archbishop of Manila and four Bishops, who administer ecclesiastical affairs in the five dioceses into which the islands are divided for this purpose; the appointment of parish priests and curates, however, is vested in the Governor-General. The various religious orders which exercise so large an influence in the politics and business of the islands, viz.: Augustinians, Dominicans, Recollects. Franciscans, Capuchins, Benedictines and Jesuits, are all under the management of the Bishops, subject to the supervision of the Pope, and the prerogatives of the King as Royal Patron, which prerogatives are exercised by the Governor-General as Viceroy. (b) The High Court of Justice in Manila, which is the Court of Appeals in civil and governmental cases for all the islands. There are two principal criminal courts in Cebu and Vigan (northern Luzon) and appeal in criminal cases lies to these courts or to the High Court of Manila. In every Province there is a court of primary jurisdiction in both civil and criminal cases. (c) The General, second in command, who is a General of Division in the Spanish army. He is the sub-inspector of all branches of the military service, is Military Governor of the Province and city of Manila and commands all the troops stationed therein, and in the absence or sickness of the Captain General he commands all the military forces in the islands. (d) The General Commandant of Dock Yards and Squadron. This post is filled by a Vice Admiral in the Spanish navy, and he commands the naval forces, ships and establishments in the islands. (e) The Minister of Finance, or Intendente General de Hacienda, who is charged with the collection of customs and internal taxes, the expenditures of public money, and the audit and control of public accounts. (f) The Minister of the Interior, or Director General of Civil Administration, who is charged with all public business relating to public instruction, charities, health, public works, forests, mines, agriculture, industry and commerce, posts and telegraphs and meteorology. For the purpose of local administration the islands are divided into Provinces and Districts, classified as follows: 19 Civil Governments. 24 Political-Military Governments. 23 Political-Military Commands. 15 Military Commands. The most important of the Provinces are Manila, with a population of 400,238 (of which 10 per cent. are Chinese), and Cebu, with 501,076; and the least important districts are Balabas and Corregidor, with 420 and 320 respectively. The governor or commandant has supreme control within his province or district of every branch of the public service, including the Courts of Justice, and each reports to the Governor General. The Guardia Civil or Gendarmerie, is subject only to his orders, and for arrests and imprisonment for political offenses, he is responsible, not to the law, but to the Governor General and the King. The Civil Governments are governed by Civil Governors, of the rank in the Spanish Civil Service of Chiefs of Administration of the second class. The Political Military Governments and Commands are in charges of military and naval officers of various grades, according to their size and importance; ranging from General of Division at Mindanao, Brigadier-Generals at Cebu and Iloilo, Captain in the navy at Paragua, down to Lieutenant at Balabas and Corregidor. The Civil or Military Governor is assisted by a secretary, a judge, an administrator of finances, a postmaster and a captain of police. The affairs of cities are managed by a council (Ayuntamiento) consisting of a president, a recorder (Sindico), one or more mayors (Alcaldo), six to ten aldermen (Regidores) and a secretary. Outside of the cities each province or district is divided into a number of villages or parishes (Pueblos); the total number of these is 1,055; in each there is a parish priest, a municipal captain, a justice of the peace, a school master and school mistress. The number of cities is very small, and the social life of the community depends almost wholly on the form of government of the Pueblos, or villages. In 1893 this was reorganized with the alleged intention of giving local self-government. The scheme is complicated and curious and only an outline of it can be given here. It is contained in full in the Royal Decree of May 19, 1893, a long document, supplemented by still longer regulations for carrying the same into effect. In brief every Pueblo in which there are paid more than 1,000 Cedulas (poll tax) shall have a municipal tribunal consisting of five members, by whom its local affairs and funds shall be managed. The members are a Municipal Captain. Senior Lieutenant. Lieutenant of Police. Lieutenant of Agriculture. Lieutenant of Cattle. And the Village Priest is required to attend all the important meetings. The Captain holds office for four years, and is eligible for indefinite re-election; the Lieutenants hold office for four years also, one-half of them going out of office every two years, and they are ineligible for re-election until two years after the expiration of their term. Both Captains and Lieutenants are elected, on a day designated by the Governor, and in presence of the village priest, and out going Captain, by the Principalia, or body of principal men of the village. The village is subdivided into Barangayes, or group of about 100 families each, and for each Barangay there is a Chief or Headman (Cabeza), who is appointed by the Governor, on the recommendation of the Municipal Tribunal. The Principalia is made up of Former Municipal Captains. Former Municipal Lieutenants. Former Gobernadorcilles. Chiefs of Barangayes. All inhabitants paying more than $50 annually in taxes. The Principalia choose the 12 electors as follows: 6 from the Chiefs of Barangayes. 3 from Former Municipal Captains. 3 from the largest taxpayers. The electors hold office for six years, and one-third go out of office every two years. The municipal Captain must be a resident of the village, more than 25 years of age, read and speak Spanish and be a Chief of Barangay. While the Municipal Tribunal nominally controls the local affairs, yet the Captain has the right to suspend all its acts which he considers against the public welfare, and report the matter to the Provincial Governor, who has power to rescind them; the Captain appoints all village employes, and removes them at will; he can also fine and punish them for petty offenses; he issues orders to the police and collects the taxes. He holds a commission as Delegate or Representative of the Governor General, and, in fact, he exercises within his little bailiwick the same supreme power that the governor exercises in the province, and the Governor General in the whole Archipelago. In each province there is a Junta or Council, whose membership consists of The Administrator of Finance. Two Vicars. The Public Physician. The latter Four Members must be residents of the Capital of the Province, and they are elected by the Municipal Captains, from a list of names submitted to them by the Junta with the approval of the Governor. The functions of this Junta or Council are solely those of inspection and advice. It watches over affairs of the Municipal Tribunals, and reports to the Governor its advice and recommendations concerning them. The Municipal Captain is obliged to deposit the taxes in the Provincial Treasury, the keys of which are held by three members of the Council; he draws out the money in accordance with the municipal budget, and his accounts must be approved by his lieutenants, countersigned by the village priest, passed upon by the Provincial Council, and finally approved by the Governor. The Governor has power to suspend the Municipal Captain or any of his colleagues for a period of three months, and the Governor General can remove one or all of them from office at will; and "in extraordinary cases or for reasons of public tranquility, the Governor shall have power to decree, without any legal process, the abolition of the Municipal Tribunals." (Article 45.) In December, 1896, General Polavieja issued a decree, suspending the elections which were to take place that month for one-third of the municipal electors, and directed the Governors of Provinces to send in names of persons suitable for appointment, together with the recommendations of the village priest in each case. An examination of this unique scheme of village government shows that one-half of the electors are to be chosen from persons holding a subordinate office and appointed by the Governor; that the village priest must be present at all elections and important meetings; that the Captain has all the responsibility, and he must also be of the class holding a subordinate office by appointment of the governor; that the acts of Municipal Tribunal can be suspended by the Captain and rescinded by the Governor; and, finally, if the Municipal Tribunal is offensive to the Governor General he can either remove its members and appoint others in their place or can abolish it altogether. Such is the Spanish idea of self-government; the Minister of the Colonies, in submitting the decree to the Queen Regent, expatiated on its merits in giving the natives such full control of their local affairs, and expressed the confident belief that it would prove "most beneficent to these people whom Providence has confided to the generous sovereignty of the Spanish monarchs." This scheme of government by Municipal Tribunals was highly approved by the natives, except that feature of it which placed so much power in the hands of the Governor and Governor General. This, however, was the essence of the matter, from the Spanish standpoint, and these portions of the Decree were the ones most fully carried out. The natives complained, on the one hand, of the delay in putting the Decree into operation, and on the other hand that so much of it as was established was practically nullified by the action of the Governors. Seeing that the Tribunals had really no power, the members soon turned their sessions (which the Decree required to be secret) into political meetings in favor of the insurrection. So the whole project is thus far a failure: and the local administration is in considerable disorder, apart from that caused by the insurgents. In point of fact self-government and representation are unknown in these islands. The Archbishop and the four Bishops are appointed by the Pope; the Governor General, military and naval officers and all officials with a salary exceeding about $2.000 (silver) are appointed by the King or the Minister of the Colonies. Yet all the expenses are paid from the Philippine Treasury; the salaries of all officials, military, naval, civil and ecclesiastical, the expenses and pensions of the army, navy and church, the cost of the diplomatic and consular service in Japan, China and Singapore, even a portion of the expenses of the Colonial office, Madrid, and of pensions paid to the descendants of Columbus--all come out of the taxes raised in the islands. The natives have no place in the government, except clerks in the public offices at Manila and the petty positions in the villages and the Ayentamientos of cities, where their powers and responsibilities, as we have seen, are at all times limited and subject to revocation whenever disapproved by the Governor. Though the population of the islands is 40 per cent. of that of Spain, they have no representation in the Cortes. There is a widespread report, almost universally believed by native Filipinos and by foreign merchants, and even acknowledged by many Spaniards, that pecuniary dishonesty and corruption exist throughout the whole body of Spanish office-holders, from the highest to the lowest. Forced contributions are said to be levied on the salaries of minor officials; the Regimental Paymasters and Commissaries are said to have sold part of the regimental stores for their own profit, the Collector of Customs and the Minister of Finance to have imposed or remitted fines at the Custom House and Internal Revenue Office, according to payment or non-payment of presents by merchants, the judges and court officials to have "borrowed" from attorneys large sums which are never paid, and even the Governor General is reported to have organized a regular system of smuggling in Mexican dollars, the importation of which was prohibited by law, on a fixed scale of payment to himself. The current report is that Weyler carried away over $1,000,000 as his savings during the three years from 1888 to 1891 that he held the office of Governor General, on a salary of $40,000 a year. Of the proof of these reports I have naturally no personal knowledge, but they are matters of common talk and belief, and they have been stated to me by responsible persons, who have long resided in the islands. As above stated, the Governor General is supreme head of every branch of the public service, not excepting the Courts of Justice. How this power was exercised is shown in the hundreds of executions for alleged political offenses, which took place during the years 1895, 1896 and 1897, by the thousands deported to Mindanao and Fernando Po, and by the number of political prisoners in jail at the time of our entry into Manila. On the first examination which General McArthur, as Military Governor, made of the jail, about August 22nd, he released over 60 prisoners confined for alleged political offenses. One of them was a woman who had been imprisoned for eleven years, by order of the Governor General, but without any charges ever having been presented against her; another was a woman who had been in jail for three years on a vague charge, never formulated, of having carried a basket of cartridges to an insurgent. The day of reckoning for three centuries of this sort of government came when Admiral Dewey destroyed the Spanish squadron on May 1st, 1898. An insurrection had been in progress from August, 1896, to December, 1897. Unable to suppress it the Government had made a written treaty with the insurgent leaders, paying them a large sum of money and promising to introduce various reforms on condition that they would leave the country. Hardly had the Spanish officials recovered from this when the appalling disaster of the destruction of their fleet occurred under their very eyes. Then followed in rapid succession the naval blockade, the arrival of the insurgent leaders from Hongkong, the raising of the insurgent army, which blockaded Manila on the land side, and finally, the American troops. At the end of 104 days after the destruction of the Spanish fleet, the city surrendered to a combined land and naval attack of the American forces. On the day after the capitulation, the American Commander in Chief issued his proclamation establishing a military government, appointed a Military Governor, a Minister of Finance, a Collector of Customs, Collector of Internal Revenue, Postmaster and Judge of the Provost Court; took possession of all public funds (about $900,000), and all public offices, and as rapidly as possible put this government in operation. The machinery of the Spanish Government was thoroughly disorganized when we entered Manila. The Courts of Justice, except the inferior criminal courts, had not been in session since early in May; the officials had been cut off from communication with the other islands and with Spain for over three months; there had been no customs to collect, and, owing to the entire suspension of business, but little internal revenue; a forced loan of $2,000,000 for military purpose had been extracted from the Spanish-Philippine Bank, and yet the troops were several months in arrears of pay; all government offices outside the walled city had been moved to temporary quarters within the walls and their records had been lost or thrown into confusion; the officials seeing the inevitable end in sight, were intent only on planning for their return to Spain. This disorganization was completed when the American Military officers took charge of the Government, and every Spanish official, without exception, refused absolutely to continue in service. They were immediately dismissed and dispersed. The situation thus created is without precedent in American history. When Scott captured the City of Mexico it was acknowledged on both sides that his occupation was only to be temporary, and there were no insurgents to deal with. When the Americans entered California they found only a scanty population, who were soon outnumbered by the American immigrants. But in the Philippine Islands there is a population of more than 7,000,000, governed by an alien race, whose representatives present in the Islands, including military and naval forces, clergy and civil employes do not exceed 30,000 in number. Against this Government an insurrection is in progress, which claims to have been successful in provinces containing a population of about 2,000,000. The city and province of Manila, with a population of 400,000 more, have been captured and occupied by a foreign army, but whether its occupation is to be temporary or permanent has not yet been decided. Finally, the Government officials of all classes refuse to perform their functions; the desire of most of them is to escape to Spain. It was stipulated in the capitulation that they should have the right to do so at their own expense, and numbers of them, as well as friars, have already taken their departure. The Spanish officials have intense fear of the Insurgents; and the latter hate them, as well as the friars, with a virulence that can hardly be described. They have fought them with success, and almost without interruption for two years, and they will continue to fight them with increased vigor and still greated prospects of success, if any attempt is made to restore the Spanish Government. In its present disorganized condition the Spanish Government could not successfully cope with them; on the other hand, it would not surrender to them. The result, therefore, of an attempted restoration of Spanish power in any of the islands would simply be civil war and anarchy, leading inevitably and speedily to intervention by foreign nations whose subjects have property in the islands which they would not allow to be destroyed. Insurgent Troops. It is very difficult to give figures for the exact numbers of insurgent troops. In his message to foreign governments of August 6th, asking for recognition of belligerency and independence, Aguinaldo claims to have a force of 30,000 men, organized into a regular army. This included the force in the provinces of Luzon outside of Manila. What was in evidence around Manila varied from 10,000 to 15,000. They were composed of young men and boys, some as young as fifteen years of age, recruited in the rural districts, having no property and nothing to lose in a civil war. They have received no pay and, although Aguinaldo speaks in his proclamation of his intention and ability to maintain order wherever his forces penetrate, yet the feeling is practically universal among the rank and file that they are to be compensated for their time and services and hardships by looting Manila. Their equipment consists of a gun, bayonet and cartridge box; their uniform of a straw hat, gingham shirt and trousers and bare feet; their transportation of a few ponies and carts, impressed for a day or week at a time; for quarters they have taken the public building in each village or pueblo, locally known as the Tribunal, and the churches and convents; from these details are sent out to man the trenches. Their food while on duty consists of rice and banana leaves, cooked at the quarters and sent out to the trenches. After a few days or a week of active service they return to their homes to feed up or work on their farms, their places being taken by others to whom they turn over their guns and cartridges. Their arms have been obtained from various sources, from purchases in Hongkong, from the supply which Admiral Dewey found in the arsenal at Cavite, from capture made from the Spaniards. They are partly Mausers and partly Remingtons. Their ammunition was obtained in the same way. They have used it freely and the supply is now rather short. To replenish it they have established a cartridge factory at the village of Imus, about ten miles south of Cavite, where they have 400 people engaged in re-loading cartridges with powder and lead found at Cavite, or purchased abroad. They have no artillery, except a few antique Columbiads obtained from Cavite, and no cavalry. Their method of warfare is to dig a trench in front of the Spanish position, cover it with mats as a protection against the sun and rain, and during the night put their guns on top of the trench above their heads and fire in the general direction of the enemy. When their ammunition is exhausted they go off in a body to get a fresh supply in baskets and then return to the trenches. The men are of small stature, from 5 feet to 5 feet 6 inches in height, and weigh from 110 to 130 pounds. Compared with them our men from Colorado and California seemed like a race of giants. One afternoon just after we entered Manila a battalion of the insurgents fired upon the outposts of the Colorado regiment, mistaking them, as they claimed, for Spaniards. The outpost retreated to their support, and the Filipinos followed; they easily fell into an ambush and the support, numbering about fifty men, surrounded the 250 Filipinos, wrenched the guns out of their hands and marched them off as unarmed prisoners--all in the space of a few minutes. Such a force can hardly be called an army, and yet the service which it has rendered should not be underestimated. Between 2,000 and 3,000 Spanish native troops surrendered to it during the months of June and July. It constantly annoyed and harrassed the Spaniards in the trenches, keeping them up at night and wearing them out with fatigue; and it invested Manila early in July so completely that all supplies were cut off and the inhabitants as well as the Spanish troops were forced to live on horse and buffalo meat, and the Chinese population on cats and dogs. It captured the water works of Manila and cut off the water supply, and, if it had been in the dry season, would have inflicted great suffering on the inhabitants for lack of water. These results, it is true, were obtained against a dispirited army, containing a considerable number of native troops of doubtful loyalty. Yet, from August, 1896, to April, 1897, they fought 25,000 of the best regular troops sent out from Spain, inflicting on them a loss of over 150 officers and 2,500 men, killed and wounded, and they suffered still greater losses themselves. Nevertheless, from daily contact with them for six weeks, I am very confident that no such results could have been obtained against an American army, which would have driven them back to the hills and reduced them to a petty guerilla warfare. If they attack the American army this will certainly be the result, and, while these guerilla bands might give some trouble so long as their ammunition lasted, yet, with our navy guarding the coasts and our army pursuing them on land, it would not be long before they were reduced to subjection. Insurgent Civil Administration. In August, 1896, and insurrection broke out in Cavite, under the leadership of Emilio Aguinaldo, and soon spread to other provinces on both sides of Manila. It continued with varying successes on both sides, and the trial and execution of numerous insurgents, until December, 1897, when the Governor-General, Primo de Rivera, entered into written agreement with Aguinaldo, the substance of the document, which is in possession of Senor Felipe Agoncillo, who accompanies me to Washington, being attached hereto and marked "A." In brief, it required that Aguinaldo and the other insurgent leaders should leave the country, the Government agreeing to pay them $800,000 in silver, and promising to introduce numerous reforms, including representation in the Spanish Cortes, freedom of the press, amnesty for all insurgents, and the expulsion of secularization of the monastic orders. Aguinaldo and his associates went to Hongkong and Singapore. A portion of the money, $400,000, was deposited in banks at Hongkong, and a lawsuit soon arose between Aguinaldo and one of his subordinate chiefs, named Artacho, which is interesting on account of the very honorable position taken by Aguinaldo. Artacho sued for a division of the money among the insurgents, according to rank. Aguinaldo claimed that the money was a trust fund and was to remain on deposit until it was seen whether the Spaniards would carry out their promised reforms, and if they failed to do so it was to be used to defray the expenses of a new insurrection. The suit was settled out of court by paying Artacho $5,000. No steps have been taken to introduce the reforms, more than 2,000 insurgents who had been deported to Fernando Po and other places are still in confinement, and Aguinaldo is now using the money to carry on the operations of the present insurrection. On the 24th day of April Aguinaldo met the United States Consul and others at Singapore and offered to begin a new insurrection in conjunction with the operations of the United States navy at Manila. This was telegraphed to Admiral Dewey and, by his consent, or, at his request, Aguinaldo left Singapore for Hongkong on April 26th, and, when the McCullough went to Hongkong early in May to carry the news of Admiral Dewey's victory, it took Aguinaldo and seventeen other revolutionary chiefs on board and brought them to Manila Bay. They soon after landed at Cavite, and the Admiral allowed them to take such guns, ammunition and stores as he did not require for himself. With these and some other arms which he had brought from Hongkong Aguinaldo armed his followers, who rapidly assembled at Cavite and, in a few weeks, he began moving against the Spaniards. Part of them surrendered, giving him more arms, and the others retreated to Manila. Soon afterwards two ships, which were the private property of Senor Agoncillo and other insurgent sympathizers, were converted into cruisers and sent with insurgent troops to Subig Bay and other places, to capture provinces outside of Manila. They were very successful, the native militia in Spanish service capitulating with their arms in nearly every case without serious resistance. On the 18th of June Aguinaldo issued a proclamation from Cavite establishing a Dictatorial Government, with himself as Dictator. In each village or pueblo a Chief (Jefe) was to be elected, and in each ward a Nendrum (Cabeza); also in each pueblo three delegates, one of Police, one of Justice, and one of Taxes. These were to constitute the Junta, or Assembly, and after consulting the Junta the Chiefs of pueblos were to elect a Chief of Province and three Counsellors, one of Police, one of Justice, and one of Taxes. They were also to elect one or more Representatives from each Province to form the Bevolutionary Congress. This was followed on June 20th by a decree giving more detailed instructions in regard to the elections. On June 23d another decree followed, changing the title of the Government from Dictatorial to Revolutionary, and of the chief officer from Dictator to President; announcing a Cabinet with a Minister of Foreign Affairs, Marine and Commerce, another of War and Public Works, another of Police and Internal Order, Justice, Instruction and Hygiene, and another of Taxes, Agriculture and Manufactures; the powers of the President and Congress were defined, and a code of military justice was formulated. On the same date a manifesto was issued to the world explaining the reasons and purposes of the Revolution. On June 27th another decree was issued containing instructions in regard to elections. On August 6th an address was issued to Foreign Governments, stating that the Revolutionary Government was in operation and control in fifteen Provinces, and that in response to the petition of the duly elected Chiefs of these Provinces an appeal is made for recognition of belligerency and independence. Translations of these various documents are all apended, marked "B," "C," "D," "E," "F," "G" and "H." The scheme of Government is set forth in the decree of June 23d, marked "D." An examination of this document shows that it provides a Dictatorship of the familiar South American type. All power is centered in the President, and he is not responsible to any one for his acts. He is declared to be "the personification of the Philippine public, and in this view cannot be held responsible while he holds office. His term will last until the Revolution triumphs." He appoints not only the heads of the departments, but all their subordinates, and without reference to Congress. This body is composed of a single Chamber of Representatives from each Province. The election is to be conducted by an agent of the President, and the qualifications of electors are "those inhabitants most distinguished for high character, social position and honorable conduct." If any Province is still under Spanish rule its Representative is to be appointed by the President. Congress is to deliberate on "all grave and transcendental questions, whose decision admits of delay and adjournment, but the President may decide questions of urgent character, giving the reasons for his decision in a message to Congress." The acts of Congress are not binding until approved by the President, and he has power of absolute veto. Congress was to hold its first session at Saloles about September 28th. While this scheme of Government is a pure despotism, yet it claims to be only temporary, and intended to "prepare the country so that a true Republic may be established." It also provides a rude form of governmental machinery for managing the affairs of the Provinces. To what extent it has actually gone into operation it is difficult to say. Aguinaldo claims, in his address of August 6th, that it is in force in fifteen Provinces, whose aggregate population is about 2,000,000. They include the island of Mindoro and about half of Luzon. None of those (except Cavite) have yet been visited by Americans, and all communication with them by the Spanish Government at Manila has been cut off since May 1st. In the province of Cavite and that portion of the Province of Manila outside of the city and of its suburbs, which was occupied by the insurgent troops as well as those of the United States, their military forces, military headquarters, etc., were very much in evidence, occupying the principal houses and churches in every village and hamlet, but there were no signs of Civil Government or administration. It was reported, however, that Aguinaldo's agents were levying taxes or forced contributions not only in the outside villages, but (after we entered Manila) by means of secret agents, in the market places of the city itself. At Aguinaldo's headquarters, in Bacoor, there were signs of activity and business, and it was reported that his Cabinet officers were in constant session there. Aguinaldo never himself failed to claim all the prerogatives due to his alleged position as the de facto ruler of the country. The only general officer who saw him or had any direct communication with him was General Anderson. He did much to thwart this officer in organizing a native wagon train and otherwise providing for his troops, and he went so far, in a letter of July 23d (copy herewith marked "J"), as to warn General Anderson not to land American troops on Philippine soil without his consent--a notice which, it is hardly necessary to say, was ignored. The day before the attack on Manila he sent staff officers to the same General, asking for our plans of attack, so that their troops could enter Manila with us. The same request had previously been made to me by one of his Brigade Commanders, to which I replied that I was not authorized to give the information desired. Aguinaldo did not call upon General Merritt on his arrival, and this enabled the latter to avoid any communication with him, either direct or indirect, until after Manila had been taken. General Merritt then received one of Aguinaldo's staff officers in his office as Military Governor. The interview lasted more than an hour. General Merritt referred to his proclamation as showing the conditions under which the American troops had come to Manila and the nature of the Military Government, which would be maintained until further orders from Washington. He agreed upon the lines outside of the city of Manila, up to which the insurgent troops could come, but no further with arms in their hands. He asked for possession of the water works, which was given, and, while expressing our friendship and sympathy for the Philippine people, he stated very positively that the United States Government had placed at his disposal an ample force for carrying out his instructions, and even if the services of Aguinaldo's forces had been needed as allies he should not have felt at liberty to accept them. The problem of how to deal with Aguinaldo's Government and troops will necessarily be accompanied with embarrassment and difficulty, and will require much tact and skill in its solution. The United States Government, through its Naval Commander, has, to some extent, made use of them for a distinct military purpose, viz.: to harass and annoy the Spanish troops, to wear them out in the trenches, to blockade Manila on the land side, and to do as much damage as possible to the Spanish Government prior to the arrival of our troops, and for this purpose the Admiral allowed them to take the arms and munitions which he had captured at Cavite, and their ships to pass in and out of Manila Bay in their expeditions against other Provinces. But the Admiral has been very careful to give Aguinaldo no assurances of recognition and no pledges or promises of any description. The services which Aguinaldo and his adherents rendered in preparing the way for attack on Manila are certainly entitled to consideration, but, after all, they were small in comparison with what was done by our fleet and army. There is no reason to believe that Aguinaldo's Government has any elements of stability. In the first place, Aguinaldo is a young man of twenty-three years. Prior to the insurrection of 1896 he had been a schoolmaster, and afterward Gobernadorcillo and Municipal Captain in one of the pueblos in the Province of Cavite. He is not devoid of ability, and he is surrounded by clever writers. But the educated and intelligent Filipinos of Manila say that not only is he lacking in ability to be at the head of affairs, but if an election for President was held he would not even be a candidate. He is a successful leader of insurgents, has the confidence of young men in the country districts, prides himself on his military ability, and if a Republic could be established the post he would probably choose for himself would be General-in-Chief of the Army. In the next place, Aguinaldo's Government, or any entirely independent Government, does not command the hearty support of the large body of Filipinos, both in Manila and outside, who have property, education and intelligence. Their hatred of the Spanish rule is very keen and they will co-operate with Aguinaldo or any one else to destroy it. But after that is done they fully realize that they must have the support of some strong nation for many years before they will be in a position to manage their own affairs alone. The nation to which they all turn is America, and their ideal is a Philippine Republic, under American protection--such as they have heard is to be granted to Cuba. But when it comes to defining their ideas of protection and the respective rights and duties of each under it, what portion of the Government is to be administered by them and what portion by us; how the revenues are to be collected, and in what proportion the expenses are to be divided; they have no clear ideas at all; nor is it expected that they should have, after generations of Spanish rule without any experience in self government. The sentiment of this class, the educated native with property at stake, looks upon the prospect of Aguinaldo's Government and forces entering Manila with almost as much dread as the foreign merchants or the Spaniards themselves. Finally, it must be remembered that this is purely a Tagalo insurrection. There are upwards of thirty races in the Philippines, each speaking a different dialect, but five-sixths of the entire Christian population is composed of the Tagalos and Visayas. The former live in Mindoro and the southern half of Luzon, and the latter in Cebu, Iloilo and other islands in the center of the group. The Tagalos are more numerous than the Visayas, but both races are about equal in civilization, intelligence and wealth. It is claimed by Aguinaldo's partisans that the Visayas are in sympathy with his insurrection and intend to send representatives to the congress. But it is a fact that the Visayas have taken no active part in the present insurrection nor in that of 1896, that the Spanish Government is still in full control at Cebu and Iloilo, and in the Viscayas islands, and that Aguinaldo has as yet made no effort to attack them. The Visayas number nearly 2,000,000, or about as many as the population of all the Tagalo Provinces, which Aguinaldo claims to have captured. There is no evidence to show that they will support his pretensions, and many reasons to believe that on account of racial prejudices and jealousies and other causes they will oppose him. Upon one point all are agreed, except possibly Aguinaldo and his immediate adherents, and that is that no native government can maintain itself without the active support and protection of a strong foreign government. This being admitted it is difficult to see how any foreign government can give this protection without taking such an active part in the management of affairs as is practically equivalent to governing in its own name and for its own account. United States Troops and Navy. I assume that the reports received at the War and Navy Departments give all the desired information in regard to the military forces of the United States. At the time I left (August 30th) the Eighth Corps consisted of two divisions, numbering in all about 12,000 men, with 16 field guns and 6 mountain guns. No wagons or animals had then arrived. One regiment was stationed within the walled city guarding its gates, and the captured guns and ammunition; a small force was at Cavite, and the bulk of the troops were in Manila, outside of the walled city. They were quartered in the Spanish barracks, which were all in good condition, and in convents and private houses. The health of the troops was excellent, notwithstanding the extraordinary hardships to which they had been subjected in the trenches before entering Manila. Admiral Dewey had under his command the Charleston, Monterey and Monadnock, which arrived in July and August, the Callao and Leyte, which had been captured from the Spaniards, and the ships which were in the battle of May 1st, viz: Olympia, Boston, Baltimore, Raleigh, Concord, Petrel and McCullough. The health of the squadron was excellent. The Olympia and Concord were being docked and cleaned at Hongkong. Permission to use the docks at Nagansaki during the suspension of hostilities had been declined. United States Civil Administration. We entered Manila on the afternoon of August 13th. On the 14th the capitulation was signed, and the same day General Merritt issued his proclamation establishing a Military Government. On the 15th General McArthur was appointed Military Commander of the walled city and Provost Marshal General of the City of Manila and its suburbs, and on the 17th I was appointed to take charge of the duties performed by the intendente General de Hacienda, or Minister of Finance, and all fiscal affairs. Representatives of the Postoffice Department had arrived on the Steamship China in July and they immediately took charge of the Manila Post-office, which was opened for business on the 16th. The Custom House was opened on the 18th, with Lieutenant-Colonel Whittier as Collector, and the Internal Revenue office, with Major Bement as Collector on the 22nd. Captain Glass of the Navy was appointed Captain of the Port, or Naval Officer, and took charge of the office on August 19th. The collections of customs during the first ten days exceeded $100,000. The collection of internal revenue was small owing to the difficulty and delay in ascertaining what persons had or had not paid their taxes for the current year. The administration of Water Works was put in charge of Lieutenant Connor, of the Engineers, on August 25th, the Provost Court with Lieutenant-Colonel Jewett, Judge Advocate United States Volunteers, sitting as Judge, was appointed and held its first session on August 23rd. The Provost Marshal General has charge of the Police, Fire, Health and Street Cleaning Departments, and the issuing of licenses. The Guardia Civil, or Gendarmerie of the City, proving indifferent and inefficient, they were disarmed and disbanded; the 13th Minnesota regiment was detailed for police duty, and one or more companies stationed in each Police Station, from which patrolmen were sent out on the streets to take the place of the sentries who had constantly patrolled them from the hour of entering the city. The shops were all closed when we entered on Saturday afternoon, the 13th; on Monday some of them opened, and by Wednesday the Banks had resumed business, the newspapers were published, and the merchants were ready to declare goods at the Custom House, the tram cars were running and the retail shops were all open and doing a large business. There was no disorder or pillage of any kind in the city. The conduct of the troops was simply admirable, and left no ground for criticism. It was noted and commented upon by the foreign naval officers in the most favorable terms, and it so surprised the Spanish soldiers that a considerable number of them applied for permission to enlist in our service. At the time I left General McArthur fully established his office as Provost Marshal General, and was organizing one by one the various bureaus connected with it, all with United States military officers in charge; the Provost Court was in daily session, sentencing gamblers and persons guilty of petty disturbances, and a military commission had just been ordered to try a Chinaman accused of burglary. In various public offices I collected the following Spanish funds: At the General Treasury $795,517.71 At the Mint 62,856.08 At the Internal Revenue Office 24,077.60 ----------- $882,451.39 Of this amount there was in Gold Coin $ 4,200.00 Gold Bars 3,806.08 Silver Coin 190,634.81 Copper Coin 297,300.00 Spanish Bank Notes 216,305.00 Accepted Checks 170,205.50 ----------- $882,451.39 The money was counted by a board of officers and turned over to Major C. H. Whipple, Paymaster U. S. A as custodian of Spanish Public Funds. A few thousand dollars in other public offices were still to be collected. The money received at the Custom House and other offices is turned in daily, at the close of business, to Major Whipple. Money for current expenses is furnished to heads of departments on their requisition, by warrant drawn by the Intendente General on the Custodian of Spanish Public Funds. The heads of the departments are to submit their vouchers and accounts monthly to an auditing department, which was being organized when I left. All these public offices and funds were surrendered to me only on threat of using force and on granting permission to file a formal written protest. None of these had been received at the time I left, but the ground of verbal protest was that the officials recognized no authority in these islands but the Governor General appointed by the King of Spain, and without his order they were unwilling to surrender them. On the other hand, I recognized no authority of the Spanish Governor General who was merely a prisoner of war; I acted under the orders of General Merritt as the United States Military Governor, and in accordance with the terms of capitulation. The claim will probably be made by the Spanish officials that as we captured Manila a few hours after the peace protocol had been signed at Washington, this property still belongs to the Spaniards. But I believe that the law in such cases was clearly defined in decisions made by the United States Supreme Court in 1815. We captured Manila, and the capitulation (under which these funds became United States property) was signed by both parties, before either had received any notice of the protocol of suspension of hostilities. On the opening of the Custom House several important questions arose for immediate decision. The first was in regard to Mexican dollars. The importation of these has for several years been prohibited, with a view of forcing the Spanish coinage (which contains less silver) into circulation. The large English banks represented that there was a scarcity of currency, owing to the amount which had been hoarded and sent away during the seige, and they agreed in consideration of being allowed to import Mexican dollars free of duty, to guarantee the notes and accepted checks of the Spanish bank, which should be received by us in payment of customs up to $200,000 at any one time. The Spanish bank was in difficulty, owing to the enormous amount which the Government had taken from it under the form of a forced loan, and any discrimination on our part against it would result in its failure, entailing widespread financial disturbance. As there seemed no reason against allowing the importation of Mexican dollars and many in favor of it, I recommended that the Custom House continue to receive the notes and checks of this bank in payment of customs (for which we were amply protected by the guarantee of the strong English banks) and with General Merrill's approval wrote to these banks authorizing them to import Mexican dollars free of duty until further notice. The next question was in regard to the rate of duties on imports and exports. After a careful consideration of the matter, I recommended that the tariff be not changed until the question had been fully studied and ample notice given. General Merritt approved this and the customs are being collected on the Spanish tariff. About a week after the Custom House was opened certain parties came to me representing that Consul General Wildman, of Hongkong, had informed them that United States goods would be admitted free of duty in Manila, that acting on this they had purchased a cargo of American illuminating oil in Hongkong, and that the payment of the heavy duty on it ($30 per ton, or about 8c per gallon) would ruin them. On consulting Lieutenant Colonel Crowder, Judge Advocate of the Eighth Army Corps, he pointed out the language of paragraph 5 of General Merritt's proclamation, which followed literally the instructions of the President, viz: "The Port of Manila will be open while our military occupation may continue, to the commerce of all neutral nations as well as our own, in articles not contraband of war, and upon payment of the prescribed rates of duty which may be in force at the time of the importation." Under this there was clearly no authority for discriminating in favor of American goods, either coming direct from a United States Port or by transshipment at Hongkong. The Collector of Customs was directed to act accordingly. Another question was in regard to the importation of Chinamen into Manila. The Consul at Hongkong telegraphed to know if they would be admitted. As there had been no time for examining the treaties and laws in force on this subject, I replied with General Merritt's approval that for the present it was not practicable to admit Chinese laborers into Manila. Another very important question which arose was in regard to trade with the other Philippine islands. Nearly all the hemp and the greater part of the sugar is grown in the Visayas. The hemp is bought by foreign merchants in Manila, who bring it there from the other islands, and export it, paying large duties to the Manila Custom House. These merchants were anxious to bring up their stock, of which a large amount had accumulated during the war, and ship it abroad. The ships engaged in this island trade were idle in the Pasig. They belonged to a Spanish corporation, owned entirely by Scotch capital, and had a Spanish Register. The owners were ready to transfer them to the American flag. Could these vessels be allowed to clear for the ports of Cebu and Iloilo, which were in Spanish possession? The Judge Advocate advised me that they could not, without the express authority of the President. I so notified the owners of the ships and the hemp merchants. The day before I left Manila, however, Admiral Dewey received a cable from the Navy Department stating that Spanish ships had been granted the privilege of trading to American ports during the suspension of hostilities, and that American ships could be granted a similar privilege for Spanish ports. I understood that on the strength of this cable General Otis intended to allow the United States Consul at Manila to grant these vessels an American Register and then allow them to clear for the other islands. I do not know what the arrangement, if any was made, in regard to the payment of export duties at Iloilo. Clearly the hemp cannot pay export duties at both Iloilo and Manila, and the Spaniards are not likely to allow it to leave Iloilo free while we collect an export duty on it at Manila. Incidentally, this illustrates the complications and loss that will arise if the islands are subdivided. The principal merchants for all the islands are at Manila, and 90 per cent, of the duties in imports and exports are collected at its Custom House. A large part of the imports are redistributed through the islands; and all the hemp and sugar, which form the principal exports, come to Manila from other islands. If, then, we retain Luzon and give the other islands back to Spain or some other nation, that nation will impose import and export duties on everything coming from or to Manila. The foreign trade of that city as a distributing and collecting point for all the islands will be lost, and its prosperity will be destroyed; moreover, the Government revenue from that trade will be lost. In view of the fact that Spanish officials declined to co-operate or assist in any way in the American government of Manila, the ease and rapidity with which order was maintained, the machinery of government put in operation and business reestablished, after our entry into Manila is very remarkable. For every position in the Government service, legal, administrative, financial, mechanical, clerical, men could be found in our volunteer ranks who were experienced in just that class of work at home, and they took charge of their Spanish positions with promptness and confidence. Even in the matter of language no serious difficulty was encountered, for no less than 30 good interpreters were found in the California and Colorado regiments. The Military Government as now organized and administered, fulfills all the requirements of preserving order and collecting the public revenue. The civil courts, however, have yet to be organized, and their organization will present many difficulties. CHAPTER X Official History of the Conquest of Manila. The Pith of the Official Reports of the Capture of Manila, by Major-General Wesley Merritt, Commanding the Philippine Expedition; General Frank V. Greene, General Arthur McArthur, and General Thomas Anderson, With the Articles of Capitulation, Showing How 8,000 Americans Carried an Intrenched City With a Garrison of 13,000 Spaniards, and Kept Out 14,000 Insurgents--The Difficulties of American Generals With Philippine Troops. One of the most interesting events in the records of the fall of cities, that carried with them decisive factors affecting nations, is that of the conquest of Manila, by the army and navy of the United States in the memorable year of 1898. The victory of Admiral George Dewey May 1st, in the bay of Manila, nigh Cavite, has been celebrated in every clime and in all languages, and the great story if related in this book as one of universal fame, and given in outline and also in pen pictures meant to show the local coloring, and these are incidents most illustrative that are not familiar. The names of the ships and the officers of the victorious fleet, and the force of the contending squadrons in men and guns are herewith presented as an indisputable record. Admiral Dewey held on to his command of the bay and city of Manila, braving all dangers--and they were many--and as fast as the army could be organized and equipped, reinforcements were forwarded. General Wesley Merritt was appointed the Commander in Chief of the expedition to the Philippines, and arrived at Cavite, July 25th. The official history of the operations that forced the surrender of the old Spanish capital in the East Indies has not received the public attention its unusual and instructive character demands, because the reports were not received in the States and given to the public until the Paris peace commission was assembling, and this singularly suggestive detail has been almost neglected. It is here for the first time consecutively arranged, annotated and adjusted, so as to tell the whole story. The part played by the insurgents is one that has not been stated by authority and with precision combining narrative form with the internal evidence of authenticity. The first expeditionary force of the United States to arrive was that of General Thomas Anderson, on June 30, sixty days after Dewey's victory. The second expeditionary force, under General Frank V. Greene, arrived July 17, and the third, under General McArthur, July 30th, five days later than General Merritt, who found Rear Admiral George Dewey's war ships "anchored in line off Cavite, and just outside of the transports and supply vessels engaged in the military service." He was "in full control of the navigation of the bay, and his vessels passed and repassed within range of the water batteries of the town of Manila without drawing the fire of the enemy." This immunity of protected cruisers from the fire of nine-inch Krupp guns with an abundance of ammunition that was, and some that was not serviceable, was due to the terrible prestige of the American Admiral and the consequent power of his word that if fired upon he would destroy the city. Anderson's Americans were, General Merritt reports, disposed as follows: The Second Oregon, detachments of California Heavy Artillery, Twenty-third Infantry, and Fourteenth Infantry occupied the town of Cavite; while Brigadier General F.V. Greene, United States Volunteers, was encamped with his brigade, consisting of the Eighteenth Infantry, Third United States Artillery, Company A, Engineer Battalion, First Colorado, First California, First Nebraska, Tenth Pennsylvania, and Batteries A and B of the Utah Artillery, along the line of the bay shore near the village of Paranaque, about five miles by water and twenty-five miles by the roads from Cavite. The Major General commanding visited General Greene's camp and made a reconnaissance of the position held by the Spanish, and also the opposing lines of the insurgent forces, finding General Greene's command encamped on a strip of sandy land running parallel to the shore of the bay and not far distant from the beach, but owing to the great difficulties of landing supplies "the greater portion of the force had shelter tents only, and were suffering many discomforts, the camp being in a low, flat place, without shelter from the heat of the tropical sun or adequate protection during the terrific downpours of rain so frequent at this season." The General commanding was at once struck "by the exemplary spirit of patient, even cheerful, endurance shown by the officers and men under such circumstances, and this feeling of admiration for the manner in which the American soldier, volunteer and regular alike, accept the necessary hardships of the work they have undertaken to do, has grown and increased with every phase of the difficult and trying campaign which the troops of the Philippine expedition have brought to such a brilliant and successful conclusion." The left or north flanks of General Green's camp extended to a point on the "Calle Real," about 3,200 yards from the outer line of Spanish defenses of the city of Manila. This Spanish line began at the powder magazine, or old fort San Antonio, within a hundred yards of the beach and just south of the Malate suburb of Manila, and stretched away to the Spanish left in more or less detached works, eastward, through swamps and rice fields, covering all the avenues of approach to the town and encircling the city completely." General Merritt defines with firmness and perspicuity his position regarding the Filipinos in these terms: "The Filipinos, or insurgent forces at war with Spain, had, prior to the arrival of the American land forces, been waging desultory warfare with the Spaniards for several months, and were at the time of my arrival in considerable force, variously estimated and never accurately ascertained, but probably not far from 12,000 men. These troops, well supplied with small arms, with plenty of ammunition and several field guns, had obtained positions of investment opposite to the Spanish line of detached works throughout their entire extent; and on the particular road called the "Calle Real," passing along the front of General Greene's brigade camp and running through Malate to Manila, the insurgents had established an earthwork or trench within 800 yards of the powder-magazine fort. They also occupied as well the road to the right, leading from the village of Passay, and the approach by the beach was also in their possession. This anomalous state of affairs, namely, having a line of quasi-hostile native troops between our forces and the Spanish position, was, of course, very objectionable, but it was difficult to deal with, owing to the peculiar condition of our relations with the insurgents, which may be briefly stated as follows: "Shortly after the naval battle of Manila Bay, the principal leader of the insurgents, General Emilio Aguinaldo, came to Cavite from Hongkong, and, with the consent of our naval authorities, began active work in raising troops and pushing the Spaniards in the direction of the city of Manila. Having met with some success, and the natives flocking to his assistance, he proclaimed an independent government of republican form, with himself as president, and at the time of my arrival in the islands the entire edifice of executive and legislative departments and subdivision of territory for administration purposes had been accomplished, at least on paper, and the Filipinos held military possession of many points in the islands other than those in the vicinity of Manila. "As General Aguinaldo did not visit me on my arrival, nor offer his services as a subordinate military leader, and as my instructions from the President fully contemplated the occupation of the islands by the American land forces, and stated that "the powers of the military occupant are absolute and supreme and immediately operate upon the political condition of the inhabitants," I did not consider it wise to hold any direct communication with the insurgent leader until I should be in possession of the city of Manila, especially as I would not until then be in a position to issue a proclamation and enforce my authority, in the event that his pretensions should clash with my designs. "For these reasons the preparations for the attack on the city were pressed, and military operations conducted without reference to the situation of the insurgent forces. The wisdom of this course was subsequently fully established by the fact that when the troops of my command carried the Spanish intrenchments, extending from the sea to the Pasay road on the extreme Spanish right, we were under no obligations, by prearranged plans of mutual attack, to turn to the right and clear the front still held against the insurgents, but were able to move forward at once and occupy the city and suburbs." General Anderson was the first officer of the American army to arrive, and says Admiral Dewey gave him "every possible assistance," and favored him "with a clear statement of the situation." On the second day after he appeared at Cavite, which was one day after General Merritt's departure from San Francisco, he had "an interview with the insurgent chief, Aguinaldo, and learned from him that the Spanish forces had withdrawn, driven back by his army as he claimed, to a line of defense immediately around the city and its suburbs. He estimated the Spanish forces at about 14,000 men, and his own at about the same number. He did not seem pleased at the incoming of our land forces, hoping, as I believe, that he could take the city with his own army, with the co-operation of the American fleet. "Believing that however successful the insurgents may have been in guerilla warfare against the Spaniards, that they could not carry their lines by assault or reduce the city by siege, and suspecting, further, that a hearty and effective co-operation could not be expected, I had at once a series of reconnaissances made to exactly locate the enemy's lines of defense and to ascertain their strength." The date of the impression made on General Anderson's mind as to the displeasure of Aguinaldo is important. The insurgent chief would have preferred the military distinctions to have been reserved for himself. General Anderson says of the Spanish attacks on General Greene's lines: "These conflicts began on the night of July 31, as soon as the enemy had realized that we had taken the places of the Filipinos, and began a system of earthworks to the front of their old line. It may have been merely coincident, but these attacks and sorties began at the time the Captain General of Manila was relieved by his second in command. For more than six weeks the insurgents had kept up a bickering infantry fire on the Spanish trenches, firing occasionally some old siege pieces captured by Admiral Dewey at Cavite and given to Aguinaldo. These combats were never serious, and the Spaniards, so far as I know, made no sorties upon them. But there is no doubt of the fact that the Spaniards attacked our lines with force and vindictiveness, until they were informed that the bringing on of a general engagement would lead to a bombardment of the city. After this there was for several days a tacit suspension of hostilities." As to the situation of General Greene, Brigadier General Merritt says: "The difficulty in gaining an avenue of approach to the Spanish line lay in the fact of my disinclination to ask General Aguinaldo to withdraw from the beach and the 'Calle Real,' so that Greene could move forward. This was overcome by instructions to General Greene to arrange, if possible, with the insurgent brigade commander in his immediate vicinity to move to the right and allow the American forces unobstructed control of the roads in their immediate front. No objection was made, and accordingly General Greene's brigade threw forward a heavy outpost line on the "Calle Real" and the beach and constructed a trench, in which a portion of the guns of the Utah batteries was placed. "The Spanish, observing this activity on our part, made a very sharp attack with infantry and artillery on the night of July 31. The behavior of our troops during this night attack was all that could be desired, and I have, in cablegrams to the War Department, taken occasion to commend by name those, who deserve special mention for good conduct in the affair. Our position was extended and strengthened after this and resisted successfully repeated night attacks, our forces suffering, however, considerable loss in wounded and killed, while the losses of the enemy, owing to the darkness, could not be ascertained. "The strain of the night fighting and the heavy details for outpost duty made it imperative to re-enforce General Greene's troops with General MacArthur's brigade, which had arrived in transports on the 31st of July. The difficulties of this operation can hardly be overestimated. The transports were at anchor off Cavite, five miles from a point on the beach where it was desired to disembark the men. Several squalls, accompanied by floods of rain, raged day after day, and the only way to get the troops and supplies ashore was to load them from the ship's side into native lighters (called 'cascos') or small steamboats, move them to a point opposite the camp, and then disembark them through the surf in small boats, or by running the lighters head on to the beach. The landing was finally accomplished, after days of hard work and hardship; and I desire here to express again my admiration for the fortitude and cheerful willingness of the men of all commands engaged in this operation. "Upon the assembly of MacArthur's brigade in support of Greene's, I had about 8,500 men in position to attack, and I deemed the time had come for final action. During the time of the night attacks I had communicated my desire to Admiral Dewey that he would allow his ships to open fire on the right of the Spanish line of intrenchments, believing that such action would stop the night firing and loss of life, but the Admiral had declined to order it unless we were in danger of losing our position by the assaults of the Spanish, for the reason that, in his opinion, it would precipitate a general engagement, for which he was not ready. Now, however, the brigade of General MacArthur was in position and the Monterey had arrived, and under date of August 6 Admiral Dewey agreed to my suggestion that we should send a joint letter to the Captain General notifying him that he should remove from the city all non-combatants within forty-eight hours." The joint note of General Merritt and Admiral Dewey was as follows: _Headquarters U.S. Land and Naval Forces_, Manila Bay, Philippine Islands, August 7, 1898. The General in Chief Commanding Spanish Forces in Manila. Sir: We have the honor to notify your excellency that operations of the land and naval forces of the United States against the defenses of Manila may begin at any time after the expiration of forty-eight hours from the hour of receipt by you of this communication, or sooner if made necessary by an attack on your part. This notice is given in order to afford you an opportunity to remove all non-combatants from the city. Very respectfully, _Wesley Merritt_, Major-General, United States Army, Commanding Land Forces of the United States. _George Dewey_, Rear-Admiral, United States Navy, Commanding United States Naval Forces on Asiatic Station. The notable words in this are those "against the defenses of Manila," instead of against the city itself--the usual way--the city was to be spared if possible. Manila, August 7, 1898. The Governor-General and Captain-General of the Philippines to the Major-General of the Army and the Rear Admiral of the Navy, commanding, respectively, the Military and Naval Forces of the United States. Gentlemen: I have the honor to inform your excellencies that at half-past 12 to-day I received the notice with which you favor me, that after forty-eight hours have elapsed you may begin operations against this fortified city, or at an earlier hour if the forces under your command are attacked by mine. As your notice is sent for the purpose of providing for the safety of non-combatants, I give thanks to your excellencies for the humane sentiment you have shown, and state that, finding myself surrounded by insurrectionary forces, I am without places of refuge for the increased numbers of wounded, sick, women, and children who are now lodged within the walls. Very respectfully, and kissing the hands of your excellencies, _Formire Jaudenes_, Governor-General and Captain-General of the Philippines. The second paragraph of the Governor-General and Captain-General's letter indicates a sense of helplessness, and credits the insurgents with surrounding the city so that there was no refuge. August 9th there was a second joint note from Major-General Merritt and Rear Admiral Dewey, in the terms following: "The Governor-General and Captain-General of the Philippines. "Sir: The inevitable suffering in store for the wounded, sick, women, and children, in the event that it becomes our duty to reduce the defenses of the walled town in which they are gathered, will, we feel assured, appeal successfully to the sympathies of a general capable of making the determined and prolonged resistance which your excellency has exhibited after the loss of your naval forces and without hope of succor. "We therefore, submit, without prejudice to the high sentiments of honor and duty which your excellency entertains, that surrounded on every side as you are by a constantly increasing force, with a powerful fleet in your front and deprived of all prospect of reinforcement and assistance, a most useless sacrifice of life would result in the event of an attack, and therefore every consideration of humanity makes it imperative that you should not subject your city to the horrors of a bombardment. Accordingly, we demand the surrender of the city of Manila and the Spanish forces under your command." The Captain-General wanted time to hear from Madrid, and was refused. The language of General Greene, in stating the fact that he took possession of the intrenchments of the insurgents, is in these words: "On the morning of July 29, in compliance with verbal instructions received the previous day from the Adjutant-General of the Eighth Army Corps, I occupied the insurgent trenches, from the beach to the Calle Real, with one battalion Eighteenth United States Infantry, one battalion First Colorado Infantry, and four guns--two from each of the Utah batteries--these trenches being vacated at my request by the insurgent forces under Brigadier-General Noriel. As these trenches were badly located and insufficient in size and strength, I ordered another line constructed about 100 yards in advance of them, and this work was completed, mainly by the First Colorado, during the night of July 29-30. The length of this line was only 270 yards, and on its right were a few barricades, not continuous, occupied by the insurgents, extending over to the large rice swamp, just east of the road from Pasay to Paco (shown on the accompanying map). Facing these was a strong Spanish line, consisting of a stone fort, San Antonio de Abad, near the beach, intrenchments of sandbags and earth about seven feet high and 10 feet thick, extending in a curved direction for about 1,200 yards and terminating in a fortified blockhouse, known as No 14, beyond our right on the Pasay road. It faced our front and enveloped our right flank." General Greene, reporting the fighting on his front, says of the Spanish position and first attack. Mounted in and near the stone fort were seven guns in all, viz., three bronze field guns of 3.6 inches caliber, four bronze mountain guns of 3.2 inches caliber, and in the vicinity of Blockhouse No. 14 were two steel mountain guns of 3.2 inches caliber. The line was manned throughout its length by infantry, with strong reserves at Malate and at the walled city in its rear. Shortly before midnight of July 31-August 1 the Spaniards opened a heavy and continuous fire with both artillery and infantry from their entire line. Our trenches were occupied that day by the two battalions of the Tenth Pennsylvania Infantry, one foot battery (H), nearly 200 strong, of the Third Artillery, and four guns, two of Battery A and two of Battery B, Utah Artillery. For about an hour and a half the firing on both sides, with artillery and infantry, was very heavy and continuous, our expenditure of ammunition being 160 rounds of artillery and about 60,000 rounds of infantry. That of the Spaniards was nearly twice as much. The American loss was ten killed and forty-three wounded. General Greene says: "Major Cuthbertson, Tenth Pennsylvania, reports that the Spaniards left their trenches in force and attempted to turn our right flank, coming within 200 yards of his position. But as the night was intensely dark, with incessant and heavy rain, and as no dead or wounded were found in front of his position at daylight, it is possible that he was mistaken and that the heavy fire to which he was subjected came from the trenches near Block House 14, beyond his right flank, at a distance of about 700 yards. The Spaniards used smokeless powder, the thickets obscured the flash of their guns, and the sound of the Mauser bullets penetrating a bamboo pole is very similar to the crack of the rifle itself. "This attack demonstrated the immediate necessity of extending our intrenchments to the right and, although not covered by my instructions (which were to occupy the trenches from the bay to Calle Real, and to avoid precipitating an engagement), I ordered the First Colorado and one battalion of the First California, which occupied the trenches at 9 a. m., August 1, to extend the line of trenches to the Pasay road. The work was begun by these troops, and continued every day by the troops occupying the trenches in turn, until a strong line was completed by August 12, about 1,200 yards in length, extending from the bay to the east side of the Pasay road. Its left rested on the bay and its right on an extensive rice swamp, practically impassible. The right flank was refused, because the only way to cross a smaller rice swamp, crossing the line about 700 yards from the beach, was along a cross-road in rear of the general line. As finally completed the works were very strong in profile, being five to six feet in height and eight to ten feet in thickness at the base, strengthened by bags filled with earth. "The only material available was black soil saturated with water, and without the bags this was washed down and ruined in a day by the heavy and almost incessant rains. The construction of these trenches was constantly interrupted by the enemy's fire. They were occupied by the troops in succession, four battalions being usually sent out for a service of twenty-four hours, and posted with three battalions in the trenches, and one battalion in reserve along the crossroad to Pasay; Cossack posts being sent out from the latter to guard the camp against any possible surprise from the northeast and east. The service in the trenches was of the most arduous character, the rain being almost incessant, and the men having no protection against it; they were wet during the entire twenty-four hours, and the mud was so deep that the shoes were ruined and a considerable number of men rendered barefooted. Until the notice of bombardment was given on August 7, any exposure above or behind the trenches promptly brought the enemy's fire, so that the men had to sit in the mud under cover and keep awake, prepared to resist an attack, during the entire tour of twenty-four hours. "After one particularly heavy rain a portion of the trench contained two feet of water, in which the men had to remain. It could not be drained, as it was lower than an adjoining rice swamp, in which the water had risen nearly two feet, the rainfall being more than four inches in twenty-four hours. These hardships were all endured by the men of the different regiments in turn, with the finest possible spirit and without a murmur of complaint." This is a vivid picture of hard service. General Greene continues: "August 7 the notice of bombardment after forty-eight hours, or sooner if the Spanish fire continued, was served, and after that date not a shot was fired on either side until the assault was made on August 13. It was with great difficulty, and in some cases not without force, that the insurgents were restrained from opening fire and thus drawing the fire of the Spaniards during this period. "Owing to the heavy storm and high surf it was impossible to communicate promptly with the division commander at Cavite, and I received my instructions direct from the major-general commanding, or his staff officers, one of whom visited my camp every day, and I reported direct to him in the same manner. My instructions were to occupy the insurgent trenches near the beach, so as to be in a good position to advance on Manila when ordered, but meanwhile to avoid precipitating an engagement, not to waste ammunition, and (after August 1) not to return the enemy's fire unless convinced that he had left his trenches and was making an attack in force. These instructions were given daily in the most positive terms to the officer commanding in the trenches, and in the main they were faithfully carried out. "More ammunition than necessary was expended on the nights of August 2 and 5, but in both cases the trenches were occupied by troops under fire for the first time, and in the darkness and rain there was ground to believe that the heavy fire indicated a real attack from outside the enemy's trenches. The total expenditure of ammunition on our side in the four engagements was about 150,000 rounds, and by the enemy very much more. "After the attack of July 31-August I, I communicated by signal with the captain of the U. S. S. Raleigh, anchored about 3,000 yards southwest of my camp, asking if he had received orders in regard to the action of his ship in case of another attack on my troops. He replied: "Both Admiral Dewey and General Merritt desire to avoid general action at present. If attack too strong for you, we will assist you, and another vessel will come and offer help. "In repeating this message, Lieutenant Tappan, commanding U. S. S. Callao, anchored nearer the beach, sent me a box of blue lights, and it was agreed that if I burned one of these on the beach the Raleigh would at once open fire on the Spanish fort." General Merritt speaks of the Colorado skirmishers leaving their breastworks when the navy ceased firing on the 13th of August, and advancing swiftly, finding the Spanish trenches deserted, "but as they passed over the Spanish works they were met by a sharp fire from a second line, situated in the streets of Malate, by which a number of men were killed and wounded, among others the soldier who pulled down the Spanish colors still flying on the fort and raised our own." General Greene is complimentary to the officers and who conducted the reconnaissances while he was at Camp Dewey twenty-five days, and states: "Captain Grove and Lieutenant Means, of the First Colorado, had been particularly active in this work and fearless in penetrating beyond our lines and close to those of the enemy. As the time for attack approached, these officers made a careful examination of the ground between our trenches and Fort San Antonio de Abad, and, finally, on August 11, Major J. F. Bell, United States Volunteer Engineers, tested the creek in front of this fort and ascertained not only that it was fordable, but the exact width of the ford at the beach, and actually swam in the bay to a point from which he could examine the Spanish line from the rear. With the information thus obtained it was possible to plan the attack intelligently. The position assigned to my brigade extended from the beach to the small rice swamp, a front of about 700 yards. "After the sharp skirmish on the second line of defense of the Spaniards, and after Greene's brigade moved through Malate, meeting a shuffling foe, the open space at the luneta, just south of the walled city, was reached about 1 p. m. A white flag was flying at the southwest bastion, and I rode forward to meet it under a heavy fire from our right and rear on the Paco road. At the bastion I was informed that officers representing General Merritt and Admiral Dewey were on their way ashore to receive the surrender, and I therefore turned east to the Paco road. The firing ceased at this time, and on reaching this road I found nearly 1,000 Spanish troops who had retreated from Santa Ana through Paco, and coming up the Paco road had been firing on our flank. I held the commanding officers, but ordered these troops to march into the walled city. At this point, the California regiment a short time before had met some insurgents who had fired at the Spaniards on the walls, and the latter in returning the fire had caused a loss in the California regiment of 1 killed and 2 wounded. "My instructions were to march past the walled city on its surrender, cross the bridge, occupy the city on the north side of the Pasig, and protect lives and property there. While the white flag was flying on the walls yet, very sharp firing had just taken place outside, and there were from 5,000 to 6,000 men on the walls, with arms in their hands, only a few yards from us. I did not feel justified in leaving this force in my rear until the surrender was clearly established, and I therefore halted and assembled my force, prepared to force the gates if there was any more firing. The Eighteenth Infantry and First California were sent forward to hold the bridges a few yards ahead, but the second battalion, Third Artillery, First Nebraska, Tenth Pennsylvania, and First Colorado were all assembled at this point. While this was being done I received a note from Lieutenant-Colonel Whittier, of General Merritt's staff, written from the Captain-General's office within the walls, asking me to stop the firing outside, as negotiations for surrender were in progress." And General Greene continues: "I then returned to the troops outside the walls and sent Captain Birkhimer's battalion of the Third Artillery down the Paco road to prevent any insurgents from entering. Feeling satisfied that there would be no attack from the Spanish troops lining the walls, I put the regiments in motion toward the bridges, brushing aside a considerable force of insurgents who had penetrated the city from the direction of Paco, and were in the main street with their flag expecting to march into the walled city and plant it on the walls. After crossing the bridges the Eighteenth United States Infantry was posted to patrol the principal streets near the bridge, the First California was sent up the Pasig to occupy Quiapo, San Miguel, and Malacanan, and with the First Nebraska I marched down the river to the Captain of the Port's office, where I ordered the Spanish flag hauled down and the American flag raised in its place." The insurgents were disposed to disregard the white flag and the process of the capitulation, but "a considerable force" of them was "brushed aside." General Greene's losses before Manila were 16 killed and 66 wounded: his force 5,100. He remarks: "The resistance encountered on the 13th was much less than anticipated and planned for, but had the resistance been greater the result would have been the same, only the loss would have been greater. Fortunately, the great result of capturing this city, the seat of Spanish power in the East for more than three hundred years, was accomplished with a loss of life comparatively insignificant." Captain T.B. Mott, detached from General Merritt's temporarily, served on General Greene's staff, and received this mention: "In posting troops in the trenches, in making reconnaissances, in transmitting orders under fire, and in making reports, he has uniformly exhibited courage, military ability, and sound judgment, the qualities, in short, which are most valuable in a staff officer." Captain Bates, Lieutenant Schieflie, and Captain D.F. Millet, artist and author, are praised for activity, intelligence and valuable service. Millet was with Greene before Plevna, during the Russo-Turkish campaign. Greene was appointed the senior member of the committee to arrange the terms of the capitulation. General Anderson had instructions to extend his line to crowd the insurgents out of their trenches with their consent, but this was not attempted, for that would have brought on an engagement prematurely. Anderson had purchased wire-cutters with insulated handles in San Francisco, and they were useful! Anderson had his trenches with the insurgents. McArthur's division was before a "circulated line of earthworks faced with sand bags," and the problem of the advance was made difficult because "we could not be sure whether our first attack was to be tentative or serious, this depending on action of the navy; second, from our orders not to displace the insurgents without their consent from their position to the right of their guns on the Pasay road. This to the very last the insurgent leaders positively refused to give. Yet, if we could not go far enough to the right to silence their field guns and carry that part of their line, they would have a fatal cross fire on troops attacking blockhouse No. 14. I therefore directed General MacArthur to put the three 2.10 inch guns of Battery B, Utah Volunteer Artillery, in the emplacement of the insurgent gun and to place the Astor Battery behind a high garden wall to the right of the Pasay road, to be held there subject to orders. "I assumed that when the action became hot at this point, as I knew it would be, that the insurgents would voluntarily fall back from their advanced position, and that the Astor Battery and its supports could take position without opposition." General Anderson got a message from General MacArthur. "I knew from this that he wished to push the insurgents aside and put in the Astor Battery. I then authorized him to attack, which he did, and, soon after, the Twenty-third Infantry and the Thirteenth Minnesota carried the advance line of the enemy in the most gallant manner, the one gun of the Utah Battery and the Astor Battery lending most effective assistance." It was General Anderson's opinion that MacArthur should counter march and go to Malate by the beach, but he had gone too far, for "the guns of the Astor Battery had been dragged to the front only after the utmost exertions, and were about being put into battery. At the same time I received a telegram stating that the insurgents were threatening to cross the bamboo bridge on our right; and to prevent this and guard our ammunition at Pasay, I ordered an Idaho battalion to that point." Again the insurgents were making mischief, and General Anderson, as well as General Greene had the experience of the continuance of fire when the white flag was flying. The loss of General Anderson in the taking of the city was nineteen men killed and one hundred and three wounded. He concludes by saying: "The opposition we met in battle was not sufficient to test the bravery of our soldiers, but all showed bravery and dash. The losses show that the leading regiments of the First Brigade--Thirteenth Minnesota, Twenty-third Infantry, and the Astor Battery--met the most serious opposition and deserve credit for their success. The Colorado, California, and Oregon regiments, the Regulars, and all the batteries of the Second Brigade showed such zeal that it seems a pity that they did not meet foemen worthy of their steel." General MacArthur says: "Several hours before the operations of the day were intended to commence, there was considerable desultory firing from the Spanish line, both of cannon and small arms, provoked no doubt by Filipino soldiers, who insisted upon maintaining a general fusilade along their lines." General MacArthur's personal mention is remarkably spirited, and makes stirring reading. We quote: "The combat of Singalong can hardly be classified as a great military event, but the involved terrain and the prolonged resistance created a very trying situation, and afforded an unusual scope for the display of military qualities by a large number of individuals. "The invincible composure of Colonel Ovenshine, during an exposure in dangerous space for more than an hour, was conspicuous and very inspiring to the troops; and the efficient manner in which he took advantage of opportunities as they arose during the varying aspects of the fight was of great practical value in determining the result. "The cool, determined, and sustained efforts of Colonel Reeve, of the Thirteenth Minnesota, contributed very materially to the maintenance of the discipline and marked efficiency of his regiment. "The brilliant manner in which Lieutenant March accepted and discharged the responsible and dangerous duties of the day, and the pertinacity with which, assisted by his officers and men, he carried his guns over all obstacles to the very front of the firing line, was an exceptional display of warlike skill and good judgment, indicating the existence of many of the best qualifications for high command in battle. "The gallant manner in which Captain Sawtelle, brigade quartermaster, volunteered to join the advance party in the rush; volunteered to command a firing line, for a time without an officer, and again volunteered to lead a scout to ascertain the presence or absence of the enemy in the blockhouse, was a fine display of personal intrepidity. "The efficient, fearless, and intelligent manner in which Lieutenant Kernan, Twenty-first United States Infantry, acting assistant adjutant-general of the brigade, and Second Lieutenant Whitworth, Eighteenth United States Infantry, aid, executed a series of dangerous and difficult orders, was a fine exemplification of staff work under fire. "The splendid bravery of Captains Bjornstad and Seebach, and Lieutenant Lackore, of the Thirteenth Minnesota, all wounded, and, finally, the work of the soldiers of the first firing line, too, all went to make up a rapid succession of individual actions of unusual merit." Major General Merritt's account of the capture of the city must be given in full, for there are no words wasted, and he clears the field of all confusion. "The works of the second line soon gave way to the determined advance of Greene's troops, and that officer pushed his brigade rapidly through Malate and over the bridges to occupy Binondo and San Miguel, as contemplated in his instructions. In the meantime the brigade of General MacArthur, advancing simultaneously on the Pasay road, encountered a very sharp fire, coming from the blockhouses, trenches, and woods in his front, positions which it was very difficult to carry, owing to the swampy condition of the ground on both sides of the roads, and the heavy undergrowth concealing the enemy. With much gallantry and excellent judgment on the part of the brigade commander and the troops engaged these difficulties were overcome with a minimum loss (see report of brigade commander appended), and MacArthur advanced and held the bridges and the town of Malate, as was contemplated in his instructions. "The city of Manila was now in our possession, excepting the walled town, but shortly after the entry of our troops into Malate a white flag was displayed on the walls, whereupon Lieutenant-Colonel C. A Whittier, United States Volunteers, of my staff, and Lieutenant Brumby, United States Navy, representing Admiral Dewey, were sent ashore to communicate with the Captain-General. I soon personally followed these officers into the town, going at once to the palace of the Governor-General, and there, after a conversation with the Spanish authorities, a preliminary agreement of the terms of capitulation was signed by the Captain-General and myself. This agreement was subsequently incorporated into the formal terms of capitulation, as arranged by the officers representing the two forces, a copy of which is hereto appended and marked. "Immediately after the surrender the Spanish colors on the sea front were hauled down and the American flag displayed and saluted by the guns of the navy. The Second Oregon Regiment, which had proceeded by sea from Cavite, was disembarked and entered the walled town as a provost guard, and the colonel was directed to receive the Spanish arms and deposit them in places of security. The town was filled with the troops of the enemy driven in from the intrenchments, regiments formed and standing in line in the streets, but the work of disarming proceeded quietly and nothing unpleasant occurred. "In leaving the subject of the operations of the 13th, I desire here to record my appreciation of the admirable manner in which the orders for attack and the plan for occupation of the city were carried out by the troops exactly as contemplated. I submit that for troops to enter under fire a town covering a wide area, to rapidly deploy and guard all principal points in the extensive suburbs, to keep out the insurgent forces pressing for admission, to quietly disarm an army of Spaniards more than equal in numbers to the American troops, and finally by all this to prevent entirely all rapine, pillage, and disorder, and gain entire and complete possession of a city of 300,000 people filled with natives hostile to the European interests, and stirred up by the knowledge that their own people were fighting in the outside trenches, was an act which only the law-abiding, temperate, resolute American soldier, well and skillfully handled by his regimental and brigade commanders, could accomplish. The trophies of Manila were nearly $900,000,000, of which $240,000,000 were copper coin, 13,000 prisoners and 22,000 arms. Three days after the surrender, General Merritt received news of the protocol, and soon was ordered to Paris. In parting he says of the insurgent chief that he had written communication with him on various occasions, and "he recognized my authority as military governor of the town of Manila and suburbs, and made professions of his willingness to withdraw his troops to a line which I might indicate, but at the same time asking certain favors for himself. The matters in this connection had not been settled at the date of my departure. Doubtless much dissatisfaction is felt by the rank and file of the insurgents that they have not been permitted to enjoy the occupancy of Manila, and there is some ground for trouble with them owing to that fact, but notwithstanding many rumors to the contrary, I am of the opinion that the leaders will be able to prevent serious disturbances, as they are sufficiently intelligent and educated to know that for them to antagonize the United States would be to destroy their only chance of future political improvement. The Commanding General's personal acknowledgments are very handsome, as follows: "Brigadier-General E.P. Hughes, my inspector-general at San Francisco, was especially noticeable in accomplishing the instruction of the green troops that came to the city, many of them without arms, clothing, or equipment of any kind. His services will undoubtedly be duly recognized by Major-General Otis, with whom I left him to continue the good work. "I desire especially to express my acknowledgments to Brigadier-General Babcock, my adjutant-general and chief of staff, for his most valuable services from the inception of the campaign in San Francisco to the close of the work at the present time. This officer is too well known to require special mention of his services in any one direction. He was my right arm, not only in the office but in the field, and much of the success that has attended the expedition is due to his individual efforts. "I desire especially to mention Major McClure and Major Whipple, of the pay department, who volunteered their services after they had completed their legitimate duties, and performed excellent work whenever called upon. Major McClure was especially important in his services immediately after the surrender, taking long rides under my orders to the Spanish lines, and bearing instructions to them which resulted in effecting their withdrawal in such manner as to prevent the incursion of the insurgents in the northern portions of the city. Other officers have been named in my special reports and have been recommended for brevets and promotion. "I especially call attention to the services of Captain Mott, as mentioned in the report of Brigadier-General Greene. He was cheerful, willing, intelligent, and energetic in the discharge of the multifarious duties imposed upon him in connection with our troops and trenches during the rainy season, and in the final action showed these rare characteristics which stamp him as a very superior soldier." _The Terms of Capitulation_ The undersigned having been appointed a commission to determine the details of the capitulation of the city and defenses of Manila and its suburbs and the Spanish forces stationed therein, in accordance with the agreement entered into the previous day by Major General Wesley Merritt, United States Army, American commander in chief in the Philippines, and His Excellency Don Fermin Jaudenes, acting General in chief of the Spanish Army in the Philippines, have agreed upon the following: 1. The Spanish troops, European and native, capitulate with the city and its defenses, with all the honors of war, depositing their arms in the places designated by the authorities of the United States, and remaining in the quarters designated and under the orders of their officers, and subject to the control of the aforesaid United States authorities, until the conclusion of a treaty of peace between the two belligerent nations. All persons included in the capitulation remain at liberty, the officers remaining in their respective homes, which shall be respected as long as they observe the regulations prescribed for their government and the laws in force. 2. Officers shall retain their side arms, horses, and private property. 3. All public horses and public property of all kinds shall be turned over to staff officers designated by the United States. 4. Complete returns in duplicate of men by organizations, and full lists of public property and stores shall be rendered to the United States within ten days from this date. 5. All questions relating to the repatriation of officers and men of the Spanish forces and of their families, and of the expenses which said repatriation may occasion, shall be referred to the Government of the United States at Washington. Spanish families may leave Manila at any time convenient to them. The return of the arms surrendered by the Spanish forces shall take place when they evacuate the city or when the American Army evacuates. 6. Officers and men included in the capitulation shall be supplied by the United States, according to their rank, with rations and necessary aid as though they were prisoners of war, until the conclusion of a treaty of peace between the United States and Spain. All the funds in the Spanish treasury and all other public funds shall be turned over to the authorities of the United States. 7. This city, its inhabitants, its churches and religious worship, its educational establishments, and its private property of all descriptions are placed under the special safeguard of the faith and honor of the American Army. _F.V. Greene_, Brigadier-General of Volunteers, United States Army. _B.P. Lamberton_, Captain, United States Navy. _Charles A. Whittier_, Lieutenant-Colonel and Inspector-General. _E.H. Crowder_, Lieutenant-Colonel and Judge-Advocate. _Nicholas de la Petra_, Auditor General Excmo. _Carlos_, Coronel de Ingenieros. _Jose_, Coronel de Estado Major. The Spaniards wanted a long array of specifications as to what the Americans might and should not do, but finally were struck with the sufficiency of the shining simple words, "under the special safeguard of the faith and honor of the American Army." CHAPTER XI The Administration of General Merritt. The Official Gazette Issued at Manila--Orders and Proclamations Showing the Policy and Detail of the Administration of Major-General Wesley Merritt, Who, as Commander of the Philippine Expedition, Became, Under the Circumstances of the Capture of Manila, the Governor of That City. _General Merritt's Proclamation to the Filipinos._ Headquarters Department of the Pacific, August 14, 1898. To the People of the Philippines: I. War has existed between the United States and Spain since April 21 of this year. Since that date you have witnessed the destruction by an American fleet of the Spanish naval power in these islands, the fall of the principal city, Manila, and its defenses, and the surrender of the Spanish army of occupation to the forces of the United States. II. The commander of the United States forces now in possession has instructions from his Government to assure the people that he has not come to wage war upon them, nor upon any part or faction among them, but to protect them in their homes, in their employments, and in their personal and religious rights. All persons who, by active aid or honest submission, co-operate with the United States in its efforts to give effect to this beneficent purpose, will receive the reward of its support and protection. III. The government established among you by the United States is a government of military occupation; and for the present it is ordered that the municipal laws such as affect private rights of persons and property, regulate local institutions, and provide for the punishment of crime, shall be considered as continuing in force, so far as compatible with the purposes of military government, and that they be administered through the ordinary tribunals substantially as before occupation, but by officials appointed by the government of occupation. IV. A Provost-Marshal-General will be appointed for the city of Manila and its outlying districts. This territory will be divided into sub-districts, and there will be assigned to each a Deputy-Provost-Marshal. The duties of the Provost-Marshal-General and his deputies will be set forth in detail in future orders. In a general way they are charged with the duty of making arrests of military, as well as civil offenders, sending such of the former class as are triable by courts-martial to their proper commands, with statements of their offenses and names of witnesses, and detaining in custody all other offenders for trial by military commission, provost courts, or native criminal courts, in accordance with law and the instructions hereafter to be issued. V. The port of Manila, and all other ports and places in the Philippines which may be in the actual possession of our land and naval forces, will be open, while our military occupation may continue, to the commerce of all neutral nations as well as our own, in articles not contraband of war, and upon payment of the prescribed rates of duty which may be in force at the time of the importation. VI. All churches and places devoted to religious worship and to the arts and sciences, all educational institutions, libraries, scientific collections, and museums are, so far as possible, to be protected; and all destruction or intentional defacement of such places or properly, of historical monuments, archives, or works of science and art, is prohibited, save when required by urgent military necessity. Severe punishment will be meted out for all violations of this regulation. The custodians of all property of the character mentioned in this section will make prompt returns thereof to these headquarters, stating character and location, and embodying such recommendations as they may think proper for the full protection of the properties under their care and custody, that proper orders may issue enjoining the co-operation of both military and civil authorities in securing such protection. VII. The Commanding General, in announcing the establishment of military government, and in entering upon his duty as Military Governor in pursuance of his appointment as such by the government of the United States, desires to assure the people that so long as they preserve the peace and perform their duties toward the representatives of the United States they will not be disturbed in their persons and property, except in so far as may be found necessary for the good of the service of the United States and the benefit of the people of the Philippines. _Wesley Merritt_, Major-General, United States Army, Commanding. The general orders following are full of curious interest, as they declare the true intent and meaning of the Philippine Expedition, and define the situation at Manila, with extraordinary precision, and are in the strictest sense by authority: _Headquarters Department of the Pacific and Eighth Army Corps_ Manila Bay, August 9th, 1898. _General Orders_, No. 3. 1. In view of the extraordinary conditions under which this Army is operating, the Commanding General desires to acquaint the officers and men composing it, with the expectations which he entertains as to their conduct. You are assembled upon foreign soil situated within the western confines of a vast ocean separating you from your native land. You have come not as despoilers and oppressors, but simply as the instruments of a strong free government, whose purposes are beneficent and which has declared itself in this war, the champion of those oppressed by Spanish misrule. It is therefore the intention of this order to appeal directly to your pride in your position as representatives of a high civilization, in the hope and with the firm conviction that you will so conduct yourselves in your relations with the inhabitants of these islands, as to convince them of the lofty nature of the mission which you come to execute. It is not believed that any acts of pillage, rapine, or violence will be committed by soldiers or other in the employ of the United States, but should there be persons with this command who prove themselves unworthy of this confidence, their acts will be considered not only as crimes against the sufferers, but as direct insults to the United States flag, and they will be punished on the spot with the maximum penalties known to military law. By Command of Major-General Merritt: _J.B. Babcock_, Adjutant-General. Official: _Bentley Mott_, Aid. _Headquarters Department of the Pacific and Eighth Army Corps._ Manila, P. I., August 15th, 1898. _General Orders_, No. 4. 1. In addition to his duties as Division Commander, Brigadier-General T.M. Anderson, U. S. Vols., is hereby assigned to the command of the District of Cavite and will remove his headquarters to that point. The garrison of the District of Cavite will be augmented upon the arrival of the next transports containing troops for this command. 2. In addition to his duties as Brigade Commander, Brigadier-General Arthur MacArthur, U. S. Vols., is hereby appointed Military Commandant of the walled city of Manila, and Provost-Marshal-General of the City of Manila, including all the outlying districts within the municipal jurisdiction. General MacArthur will remove his headquarters within the walled city and will bring with him one strong regiment of his command to take station within the walled town. The Commanding Officer of the 2nd Oregon Vol. Inf., now stationed in the walled city, will report to General MacArthur, and the Companies of the 2nd Oregon Vol. Inf., now at Cavite, will, upon being relieved by other troops, be sent to Manila to join the regiment. General MacArthur will relieve the Civil Governor of his functions, and take possession of the offices, clerks and all machinery of administration of that office, retaining and employing the present subordinate officers of civil administration until, in his judgment, it is desirable to replace them by other appointments. 3. Colonel James S. Smith, 1st California Vol. Inf., in addition to his duties as Regimental Commander, is appointed Deputy Provost-Marshal for the Districts of the city north of the Pasig River, and will report to General MacArthur. Colonel S. Ovenshine, 23rd U. S. Inf., is appointed Deputy Provost-Marshal for the districts of the city, including Ermita and Malate, outside of the walled town and south of the Pasig River, and will report to General MacArthur. 4. Under paragraphs "3" and "4" of the terms of capitulation, full lists of public property and stores, and returns in duplicate of the men by organizations, are to be rendered to the United States within ten days, and public horses and public property of all kinds are to be turned over to the staff officers of the United States designated to receive them. Under these paragraphs the Chief of Artillery at these headquarters, and the Chiefs of the Staff Departments, will take possession of the public property turned over as above, pertaining to their respective departments. The returns of the prisoners will be submitted to the Military Commandant of the City, who will assign the men for quarters in such public buildings and barracks as are not required for the use of United States troops. The horses and private property of the officers of the Spanish forces are not to be disturbed. The Chief Paymaster at these headquarters will turn over such portion of the Spanish public funds received by him, by virtue of this order, to the administration of his office. 5. All removals and appointments of subordinate officers of civil administration, and transfers of funds authorized by this order, must receive the approval of the Commanding General, before action is taken. 6. The Chief Quartermaster and Chief Commissary of Subsistence at these headquarters will establish depots of supply in Manila with as little delay as possible. Quartermaster and Subsistence depots will also be retained at Cavite. By Command of Major-General Merritt: _J. B. Babcock_, Adjutant-General. Official: _Bentley Mott_, Aid. _Headquarters Department of the Pacific and Eighth Army Corps._ Manila, P. I., August 17th, 1898. _General Orders_ No. 5. 1. In addition to the command of his Brigade, Brigadier-General F. V. Greene, U. S. Vols., will perform the duties hitherto performed by the Intendente General de Hacienda, and will have charge, subject to instructions of the Major General Commanding, of all fiscal affairs of the Government of Manila. 2. Lieutenant-Colonel C. A. Whittier, U. S. Vols., is appointed Collector of Customs, and the Chief Paymaster, Department of the Pacific, will designate a bonded officer of the Pay Department as custodian of all public funds. Both of these officers will report to Brigadier-General Greene for instructions. By Command of Major-General Merritt: _J. B. Babcock_, Adjutant-General. Official: _Bentley Mott_, Aid. _Headquarters Department of the Pacific and Eighth Army Corps._ Manila, P. I., August 17th, 1898. _General Orders_, No. 6. The Major-General Commanding desires to congratulate the troops of this command upon their brilliant success in the capture, by assault, of the defenses of Manila, on Saturday, August 13, a date hereafter to be memorable in the history of American victories. After a journey of seven thousand miles by sea, the soldiers of the Philippine Expedition encountered most serious difficulties in landing, due to protracted storms raising high surf, through which it was necessary to pass the small boats which afforded the only means of disembarking the army and its supplies. This great task, and the privations and hardships of a campaign during the rainy season in tropical lowlands, were accomplished and endured by all the troops, in a spirit of soldierly fortitude, which has at all times during these days of trial, given the Commanding General the most heartfelt pride and confidence in his men. Nothing could be finer than the patient, uncomplaining devotion to duty which all have shown. Now it is his pleasure to announce that within three weeks after the arrival in the Philippines of the greater portion of the forces, the capital city of the Spanish possessions in the East, held by Spanish veterans, has fallen into our hands, and he feels assured that all officers and men of this command have reason to be proud of the success of the expedition. The Commanding General will hereafter take occasion to mention to the Home Government, the names of officers, men and organizations, to whom special credit is due. By Command of Major-General Merritt: _J. B. Babcock_, Adjutant-General Official: _Bentley Mott_, Aid. _Headquarters of the Provost-Marshal-General and Military Commandant._ City of Manila, P. I., August 18th, 1898. _General Orders_, No. 1. 1. In obedience to the provisions of General Orders, No. 3, dated Headquarters Department of the Pacific and Eighth Army Corps, Manila, P. I., August l5th, 1898, the undersigned hereby assumes the office and duties of Military Commandant of the walled city of Manila; Provost-Marshal-General of the city of Manila, including the outlying districts within the municipal jurisdiction, and also the functions of Civil Governor. 2. Until further orders the preservation of law and order throughout the city will be maintained according to the arrangements which now obtain. 3. The location of these Headquarters will be at the office of the Civil Governor, corner of San Juan de Letran and Anda Streets, and to the above address will be referred all papers requiring action by the undersigned. To insure prompt investigation, all claims, complaints, and petitions should be presented in the English language. 4. Major Harry C. Hale, Assistant Adjutant-General U. S. Volunteers; aide de camp to the Commanding General, having been assigned for temporary duty at these Headquarters, is hereby appointed Adjutant-General to the undersigned. 5. Colonel S. Overshine having been appointed by proper authority Deputy Provost-Marshal of the districts of the city (including Ermita and Malate) outside of the walled town and south of the Pasig river, will organize and establish his office as soon as possible, and report the location thereof to these Headquarters. 6. Colonel James S. Smith, 1st California Volunteer Infantry, having been appointed by proper authority Deputy Provost-Marshal of the districts of the city north of the Pasig river, will organize and establish his office as soon as possible and report location thereof to these Headquarters. (Sgd.) _Arthur MacArthur_, Brigadier-General U. S. Volunteers. Military Commandant and Provost-Marshal-General. The Official Gazette of Aug. 23 is a record of the organization of the Military Government of Manila. _Office Chief of Police._ _Manila_, P. I. _Order_ No. 1. By command of Brigadier-General MacArthur and Military Commandant, the Thirteenth Regiment Minnesota Volunteer Infantry is designated to perform the police duty of this city and the commanding officer thereof is appointed Chief of Police, and Major Ed. S. Bean, Inspector of Police. Companies D, G, J and S are hereby detailed to at once take charge of the police stations and perform the necessary duties pertaining to the position of police and maintenance of order. C. McC. _Reeve_, Colonel 13th Regiment Minnesota Volunteer Infantry and Chief of Police. Aug. 22d. 1898. _Office Chief of Police._ _Manila_, P. I. _Order_ No. 2. 1. The following is published for the information of the police of this city: 2. Bulletin hoards will be kept in all stations and all orders issued from this office will be posted thereon. 3. Armed native and Spanish soldiers must be disarmed before being allowed to pass through gates, either way. 4. Arrest drunk and disorderly persons. 5. Spanish officers are allowed to wear their side arms. 6. Commanding officers will have their respective districts patroled at least once each hour during the day and night. 7. Shoes must be blacked and all brasses bright and shining at all times. 8. Be courteous in your contact with both natives and Spaniards and see that all soldiers of other commands observe this rule. 9. Particular attention must be given by men at the gates to the saluting of officers in passing through, and particularly so to the general officers. Ed. S. Bean, Major 13th Regiment Minnesota Volunteer Infantry, and Inspector of Police. Aug. 22d, 1898. Approved, _Reeve_, Colonel 13th Regiment Minnesota Volunteer Infantry and Chief of Police. _Headquarters of the Provost-Marshal and Military Commandant._ Adjutant-General's Office, City of Manila, P. I., August 22nd, 1898. _General Orders_, No. 3. Colonel McC. Reeve, 13th Minnesota Volunteer Infantry, is hereby directed to relieve the Commandante of the Guardia Civil Veterana of his functions, and will take possession of his office and will employ such officers and soldiers of his regiment _as may_ be necessary for the adequate police protection of this city. By Command of Brigadier-General MacArthur, Provost-Marshal-General and Military Commandant, Harry C. Hale, Assistant Adjutant-General. _Order_ No. 3. _Office Chief of Police. Manila_, P.I. To Commanding Officer. _Stations_. Notify all livery stables and other places in your districts, depositing large quantities of manure and other refuse in the streets, that they must cart it away daily, themselves. Failure to do so will result in the arrest of the offending party. _Ed. S. Bean_, Major 13th Minnesota Volunteers, and Inspector of Police. August 22d, 1898. Approved _Reeve_, Colonel 13th Minnesota Volunteers, and Chief of Police. _Headquarters Department of the Pacific and Eighth Army Corps._ Manila, Philippine Islands, August 22nd, 1898. _General Orders_, No. 8. I. For the maintenance of law and order in those portions of the Philippines occupied or controlled by the Army of the United States, and to provide means to promptly punish infraction of the same, Military Commissions and Provost Courts, composed and constituted in accordance with the laws of war, will be appointed from time to time as occasion may require. II. The local courts, continued in force for certain purposes in proclamation from these headquarters, dated August 14th, 1898, shall not exercise jurisdiction over any crime or offense committed by any person belonging to the Army of the United States, or any retainer of the Army, or person serving with it, or any person furnishing or transporting supplies for the Army; nor over any crime or offense committed on either of the same by any inhabitant or temporary resident of said territory. In such cases, except when Courts Martial have jurisdiction, jurisdiction to try and punish is vested in Military Commissions and the Provost Court, as hereinafter set forth. III. The crimes and offenses triable by Military Commission are murder, manslaughter, assault and battery with intent to kill, robbery, rape, assault and battery with intent to rape, and such other crimes, offenses, or violations of the laws of war as may be referred to it for trial by the Commanding General. The punishment awarded by Military Commission shall conform, as far as possible, to the laws of the United States, or the custom of war. Its sentence is subject to the approval of the Commanding General. IV. The Provost Court has jurisdiction to try all other crimes and offenses, referred to in Section II of this order; not exclusively triable by Courts Martial or Military Commission, including violations of orders or the laws of war, and such cases as may be referred to it by the Commanding General. It shall have power to punish with confinement, with or without hard labor, for not more than six (6) months, or with fine not exceeding Two Hundred and Fifty Dollars ($250.00) or both. Its sentence does not require the approval of the Commanding General, but may be mitigated or remitted by him. V. The Judge of the Provost Court will be appointed by this Commanding General. When in the opinion of the Provost Court its power of punishment is inadequate, it shall certify the case to the Commanding General for his consideration and action. By Command of Major-General Merritt: _J.B. Babcock_, Adjutant-General. Official: _Bentley Mott_, Aid. _Headquarters Department of the Pacific and Eighth Army Corps._ Manila, P.I., August 22nd, 1898. _Special Orders_, No. 32. 1. Upon the recommendation of the Intendente General de Hacienda, Major R.B.C. Bement, Engineer Officer, U.S. Volunteers, is hereby appointed Administrator de Hacienda (Collector of Internal Revenue), and will report without delay to Brigadier-General F.V. Greene, U.S. Volunteers, Intendente General, Manila. 2. The following orders are confirmed: Special Orders No. 5, Headquarters Second Division, Eighth Army Corps, August 6th, 1898, placing First Lieutenant W.G. Haan, 3rd U. S. Artillery, in command of a separate battery to be organized by details from batteries of 3rd U.S. Artillery, to man the Hotchkiss revolving cannon brought on the transport Ohio. 3. Private H.J. Green, Company E, 2nd Oregon Volunteer Infantry, detailed on special duty at these headquarters, will be paid commutation of rations at the rate of seventy-five cents per diem, it being entirely impracticable for him to cook or utilize rations. He will also be paid commutation of quarters at the usual rate. Both commutations to be paid while this man is employed on his present duty and stationed in this city, and to date from and inclusive of the 16th inst. 4. Corporal Jerome Patterson, Company H, 23rd U.S. Infantry, Corporal James Maddy, Company F, 2nd Oregon Volunteer Infantry, Private Emmett Manley, Company D, 23rd U.S. Infantry, Private Robert M. Nichols, Company A, 1st Idaho Volunteer Infantry, Private P.H. Sullivan, Company F, 23rd U.S. Infantry, are hereby detailed on special duty at these Headquarters., and will report at once to the Adjutant-General for duty. 5. Lieutenant-Colonel Charles L. Jewett, Judge Advocate, U.S. Volunteers, is hereby appointed Judge of the Provost Court, for the city of Manila. He will hold the sessions of his court at the headquarters of the Provost-Marshal-General. The Quartermaster Department will provide the necessary offices and office furniture. The Provost Court will be attended by one or more Assistant Provost-Marshal, to be detailed by the Provost-Marshal-General, who will be charged with the duty of enforcing its orders and executing its processes. The form of accusation in the Provost Court will be substantially the same as that used in Courts Martial, and a record of all cases tried, assimilated to that of the summary court, will be kept. 6. Upon the recommendation of the Chief Commissary of the Department of the Pacific, the issue to Spanish Prisoners by Major S.A. Cloman, C.S., U.S. Vols., Depot Commissary, Cavite, P.I., of one (1) box of soap (60 lbs. net) is hereby confirmed. 7. Sergeant Charles H. Burritt, Company C, 1st Wyoming Volunteer Infantry, will report to Lieutenant Morgareidge, 1st Wyoming Volunteer Infantry, on board Steamer Ohio, for temporary duty in unloading commissary supplies. Upon completion of this duty Sergeant Burritt will rejoin his Company. 8. Lieutenant Charles H. Sleeper, 1st Colorado Volunteer Infantry, is hereby appointed Deputy Collector of Internal Revenue, and will report to Major R.B.C. Bement, U.S. Vols., Administrator de Haciena (Collector of Internal Revenue), for instructions. 9. Lieutenant-Colonel Charles L. Potter, U.S. Vols., Chief Engineer Officer, Eighth Army Corps, will assume charge of the water supply of this city, and will report to Brigadier-General Arthur MacArthur, U.S. Vols., Military Commandant of Manila, for instructions. By Command of Major-General Merritt: _J.B. Babcock_, Adjutant-General. Official: _Bentley Mott_, Aid. The responsibilities of General Merritt in his Manila, campaign were graver than the country understands, and his success was regarded as so much a matter of course that there has been forgetfulness to take into account the many circumstances that gave anxiety preceding decisions that seem easy now that they have been vindicated by events. The departure from San Francisco of the Major-General commanding the Philippine expedition was as well known to the Spanish as to the American cabinet, and there is reason to think there were no important particulars of the sailing of the third division of our Philippine soldiers unknown to enemies. There were in gold coin, a million and a half dollars in the strong box of Merritt's ship, the Newport. The Spanish spies were not as well posted as an average hackman, if they did not report the shipment of gold. It would have been a triumph for Spain to have captured the commanding general and the gold, the Astor Battery and the regular recruits with the headquarters ship, The Spanish were known to have a gunboat or two lurking in the islands within striking distance of our transports, unarmed vessels--except a few deck pieces of field artillery--with more than a thousand men on each. General Merritt wanted the escort of ships of war to make all secure, and application to Admiral Dewey to send one of his war boats, brought the statement that he could not spare a ship. Just at that time he heard of the run by Camara with the Cadiz fleet Eastward on the Mediterranean, and soon he had word that the Pelayo and her companions were in the Suez canal. General Greene had not arrived at Manila at that time, and the monitors Monterey and Monadnock were getting along slowly. Dewey knew he would have to evacuate the scene of his victory in case Camara was fully committed to go to Manila, and wait for the Monitors, and when he got them he said he would return and sink another Spanish fleet, but that was something it might be critical to explain, and General Merritt, after leaving San Francisco, did not get any news for twenty-six days. All that time he would have had no justification for surprise if he had been attacked by a Spanish gunboat, and if the Spaniards had pushed on their Rapide--the converted German liner the Normania--she could have been handled to cut off the American reinforcements on the way to the camps of the little American army already landed. When General Merritt reached Cavite, he found the situation difficult for the army and pushed things as the only way to get out of trouble. He had two armies to deal with, one the Spaniards, fiercely hostile, and the other, the Filipinos, factional and jealous, each outnumbering by five thousand the American forces with which the city was assailed and finally captured. There was no time lost, and if there had been any delay, even two days, the peace protocol would have found our army in the trenches, and the city belonging to the Spaniards. It was the energy of General Merritt, heartily shared by his division commanders, that prevented this embarrassment, which would have been a moral and military misfortune. We have given the General's orders to his troops and the Filipinos after the fall of the city--also his original statement of policy, and noted how cleverly they supported each other, and how smoothly the work of organization and administration is carried on the world is well aware. The orders deputing the officers to discharge certain duties are plain business. There was no departure from the strict, straight line of military government, and the threatened entanglements firmly touched passed away. There was nothing omitted, or superfluous, and the purpose and programme of policy was made clear by events. The confusion overcome by the genius of common sense there was order, all rights respected, the administration was a success from the beginning and continued, and is to be continued--security is established, there is public confidence in the air--the "faith and honor of the army" are inviolable, Manila is ours, and there is peace. If war comes in that quarter of the globe we shall stand on ground that earthquakes cannot shake. CHAPTER XII The American Army in Manila. Why the Boys Had a Spell of Home Sickness--Disadvantages of the Tropics--Admiral Dewey and his Happy Men--How Our Soldiers Passed the Time on the Ships--General Merritt's Headquarters--What Is Public Property--The Manila Water Supply--England Our Friend--Major-General Otis, General Merritt's Successor. The American soldiers in the Philippines were most devoted and cheerful, patient under hardship and pleasantly satisfied that they were as far to the front as anybody and seeing all there was to see during the siege of Manila. They were out in tropical rains, and the ditches they waded were deep with mud unless filled with water. They were harassed by the Spanish with the long-range Mausers at night and insufficiently provided a part of the time with rations. At best they had a very rough experience, but kept their health and wanted to go into the city with a rush. They would rather have taken chances in storming the place than sleep in the mud, as they did for twenty days. When the defenders of Manila concluded that the honor of Spain would be preserved by the shedding of only a little blood in a hopeless struggle and fell back from very strong positions before the advance of skirmish lines, and the American columns entered the city, keeping two armies--the Spaniards and the insurgents--apart, and, taking possession, restored order and were sheltered in houses, it soon began to occur to the boys, who came out of the wet campaign looking like veterans and feeling that they had gained much by experience, that they were doing garrison duty and that it was objectionable. The soldiers who arrived on the Peru, City of Pueblo and Pennsylvania were shocked that they had missed the fight and disgusted with the news of peace. They had made an immense journey to go actively into war, and emerged from the ocean solitude to police a city in time of peace. It was their notion that they lacked occupation; that their adventure had proved an enterprise that could not become glorious. The romance of war faded. Unquiet sensations were produced by the stories that there was nothing to do but go home, and they would soon be placed aboard the transports and homeward bound. Besides, the climate was depressing. The days were hot and the nights were not refreshing. The rations were better and there were dry places to sleep, but there was no inspiring excitement, and it was not a life worth living. War--"the front"--instead of offering incomparable varieties, became tedious--it was a bore, in fact. How could a crowded city and thronged streets be attractive in a military sense, or the scene of patriotic sacrifice, when the most arduous duty was that of police? Was it for this they had left homes in Oregon, Montana, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Tennessee, Nebraska, Utah, California and Colorado? There came an episode of homesickness. It was about time in a soldier's life to contrast it with the farms and the villages, the shops, mines and manufactories. They were kept busy on guard and in caring for themselves, in activities as the masters of a strange community, but the novelties of the tropics lost their flavor. What did a man want with oranges when there were apples? What was a rice swamp compared with a corn field? Think of the immeasurable superiority, as a steady thing, of an Irish potato to a banana, or a peach to a pineapple! What was a Chinese pony alongside a Kentucky horse, or a water buffalo with the belly of a hippopotamus and horns crooked as a saber and long as your arm to one who had seen old-fashioned cows, and bulls whose bellowing was as the roaring of lions? The miserable but mighty buffaloes were slower than oxen and, horns and all, tame as sheep--the slaves of serfs! As for the Chinese, if there were no other objection, they should be condemned because too numerous--faithful, perhaps, in a way, but appearing with too much frequency in the swarming streets. And the women, with hair hanging down their backs, one shoulder only sticking out of their dresses, the skin shining like a scoured copper kettle; a skirt tight around the hips and divided to show a petticoat of another tint, a jacket offering further contrasts in colors, slippers flapping under naked heels, faces solemn as masks of death heads--oh, for the rosy and jolly girls we left behind us in tears! How beautiful were the dear golden-haired and blue-eyed blondes of other days! The boys wanted at least tobacco and aerated waters to soothe themselves with, and if there was not to be any more fighting, what was the matter with going home? They also serve, however, who only stand and wait--there are no soldiers or sailors in the world who are in a position of greater interest and usefulness than those of the American army and navy who hold fast with arms the capital city of the Philippines. The army, though much exposed, has not suffered severely from sickness. There has been an intense and protracted strain upon the men of the ships, but they have recovered from the amiable weakness for home, and they are not merely well; they are more than plain healthy--they are hearty and happy! There is the light of good times in their faces. One thing in their favor is they have not been allowed to eat unwholesome food, and the floors of the warboats and every piece of metal or wood that is in sight is polished and glistening with cleanliness. The soldiers will feel better when the postoffice is in working order and they will do better by their organs of digestion when they are not deluged with fizz--that is, pop, and beer made without malt, and the strange, sweetish fruits that at first were irresistible temptations. "Come with me and see the men of the Olympia," said Admiral Dewey, "and see how happy they are, though they have been shut up here four months." And the men did look jolly and bright, and proud of the Admiral as he of them, and they were pleased when he noticed, kindly, the hostile little monkey, who is the mascot, and the other day bit the Captain. The health of the boys was preserved at sea by systematic exercise. Not a transport crossed the Pacific that was not converted into a military school, and each floating schoolhouse had about 1,000 pupils. They were put through gymnastics and calisthenics when, as a rule, they were barefooted and wore no clothes but their undershirts and trousers. There was even a scarcity of suspenders. The drill-masters were in dead earnest, and their voices rang out until the manifestation of vocal capacity excited admiration. The boys had to reach suddenly for heaven with both hands and then bring their arms to their sides with swinging energy. Then they had to strike out right and left to the order "Right!" "Left!" until the sergeant was satisfied. Next each foot had to be lifted and put down quickly at the word of command; then it was needful that the legs should he widely separated in a jump and closed up with vigor; then the spinal columns swayed forward and back and all the joints and muscles had something to do. This was no laughing matter to any one, though it was funny enough from the ordinary standpoint of civil life. This medicine was taken day after day, and seemed to vindicate itself. It was esteemed a good thing for the boys to perspire from exercise. There was no trouble, though, when south and west of Honolulu, in having substantially Turkish baths in the bunks at night, and there were queer scenes on deck--men by hundreds scantily clothed and sleeping in attitudes that artists might have chosen to advantage for life studies. It was necessary for those who walked about, during the hours thus given to repose, where the enlisted men took their rest with their undershirts and drawers around them, to be careful not to tramp on the extended limbs. Once I feared I had hit a soldier's nose with my heavy foot when stepping over him in a low light, and was gratified that my heel had merely collided with a big boy's thumb. He had gone to sleep with his head protected by his hand. I paused long enough to note that the sheltering hand if clinched would have been a mighty and smiting fist; and I was doubly pleased that I had not tramped on his big nose. Not infrequently, when we were steaming along the 20th parallel of north latitude--that is to say, well in the torrid zone--and were wafted by the trade winds that were after us at about our own speed, heavy showers came up in the night and spoiled the luxurious content of those who were spread on the decks. The boys got in good form through the longest journey an army ever made--for the distance is greater from the United States to the Philippines than from Spain--and every week the skill of a soldier in acquiring the lessons of the climate and the best methods of taking care of himself will become more useful, and the tendency will be to settle down to the business of soldiering, make the best of it and accept it as educational--an experience having in it the elements of enduring enjoyments. "The days when I was in Manila, away down in the south seas, but a little way from the island from which came the wild man of Borneo," will be pleasant in remembrance, and there will be perpetually an honorable distinction in identification with an ambitious yet generous enterprise, one of the most remarkable a nation can undertake--not excepting the Roman conquests all around the Mediterranean, and that touched the northern sea, invading England. In the later days of August there were in the prisons of Manila, which answer to the penitentiary and jail in the American States, 2,200 prisoners, one of whom was a Spaniard! The prisons are divided only by a high wall and contain many compartments to assist in classification. There are considerable spaces devoted to airing the prisoners, and one in which the privileged are permitted to amuse themselves with games. The guard consisted, when I visited the place, of sixty-three soldiers from Pennsylvania. There were many women imprisoned. One who had been shut up for more than a year was taken into custody because she had attempted rather informally to retake possession of a house of which she had been proprietor and out of which she had been fraudulently thrown. Her crime was a hysterical assertion of her rights and her uninvited tenants were Spaniards. One of the buildings contained the criminals alleged to be desperate, and as they stood at the windows the chains on their right legs were in sight. It was plainly seen in several cases that the links of the chains used were about three inches long and that three or four turns were taken around the right ankle. In a group of prisoners waiting for supper to be handed them in pans in the open air a large number wore chains. Many of the prisoners were incarcerated as insurgents, having offended by refusing to espouse the Spanish cause or by some other capital criminality in that line of misconduct! A commission was investigating their cases and the Filipinos who had not satisfied the Spanish requirements were represented by an able lawyer who was well informed and disposed to do justice. Sixty-two of the inmates of the penitentiary held for discontent with the Spanish system of government were to be discharged as soon as the papers could be made out. Many most interesting questions arise in connection with the capitulation of the Spanish army. It was agreed that the Spaniards, upon surrendering and giving up the public property, should be entitled to the honors of war. It was expressly understood that the arms the troops gave up were to be retained. In case the Americans abandoned the islands or the Spaniards departed the rifles should be given them, and usage would seem to determine that this return of weapons must include the Mausers in the hands of the troops now prisoners of war and the cartridges they would carry if they took the field. Then arises a difficulty as to the precise meaning of the words "public property." There were laid down by the Spaniards about 12,000 Mausers and Remingtons, and there were 10,000 in the arsenals--22,000 in all. It is admitted that 12,000 personally surrendered rifles go back to the Spaniards, whether they or we go away from the islands--as one or the other is sure to do--but the 10,000 stand of arms in the arsenals come under the head of "public property," and so should be retained permanently by the Americans. The number of ball cartridges a soldier starting out to make a march carries is 100. There were surrendered more than 500 rounds to the man. The public money was public property, of course, and General Greene demanded the keys to the vault containing it. The Spanish authorities objected, but yielded after presenting a written protest. The money consisted of Spanish and Mexican dollars, a lot of silver bars and change fused into one mass, and some gold in the same state, also $247,000 in copper coin, which was regarded, under the old dispensation, good stuff to pay poor wages to poor men and women. There are some fine points about customs. The American flag floats over the city, and the importers and exporters want to know what the charges are and how much the private concessions must be. Some of these people ran around for several days with the object of placing a few hundred Mexican dollars in the hands of officials, where they would do the most good, and could not find anybody ready to confer special favors for hard cash. These pushing business men had been accustomed to meet calls for perquisites, and did not feel safe for a moment without complying with that kind of formality. They turned away embarrassed and disappointed, and were surprised to learn that they were on a ground floor that was wide enough to accommodate everybody. It should be mentioned in this connection, also, a Mexican dollar passes in Manila for 50 cents American. The price of Mexican dollars in the banks of San Francisco and Honolulu is 46 and 47 cents. The way it works is illustrated in paying in a restaurant for a lunch--say for two. If the account is $2 you put down a $5 United States gold piece and receive in change eight Mexican dollars. If you buy cigars at $40 per 1,000 a $20 American gold piece pays the $40 bill. There is now pretty free coinage of Mexican dollars and they answer admirably as 50-cent coins. That is one of the ways in which free coinage of silver removes prejudices against the white metal; no one thinks of objecting to a Mexican dollar as a half-dollar, and our boys, paid in American gold, have a feeling that their wages are raised because all over the city one of their dollars counts two in the settlement of debts. These useful American dollars are admitted free of duty. The headquarters of the American administration in Manila are in the city hall, situated in the walled city, with a park in front that plainly has been neglected for some time. It also fronts upon the same open square as the cathedral, while beyond are the Jesuit College and the Archbishop's palace. Just around the corner is a colossal church, and a triangular open space that has a few neglected trees and ought to be beautiful but is not. A street railroad passes between the church and the triangle, and the mule power is sufficient to carry at a reasonable rate a dozen Spanish officers and as many Chinamen. The fare is 1 cent American--that is, 2 cents Philippine--and the other side of the river you are entitled to a transfer, but the road is short and drivers cheap. There is a system of return coupons that I do not perfectly understand. The truth about the street railway system is that there is very little of it in proportion to the size of the city, but the average ride costs about 1 cent. If the Americans stay there is an opening for a trolley on a long line. There is no matter of business that does not depend upon the question: Will the Americans stay? If they do all is well; if they do not all is ill, and enterprise not to be talked of. The most important bridge across the Pasig is the bridge of Spain. The street railway crosses it. The carriages and the coolies, too, must keep to the left. It is the thoroughfare between the new and old cities, and at all hours of the day is thronged. It is a place favored by the native gig drivers to whip heavily laden coolies out of the way. A big Chinaman with powerful limbs, carrying a great burden, hastens to give the road to a puny creature driving a puny pony, lashing it with a big whip, and scrambles furiously away from a two-wheeler whirling along a man able to pay a 10-cent fare. In other days when one passed this bridge he faced the botanical gardens, which had a world-wide reputation, an attraction being a wonderful display of orchids. There were also beautiful trees; now there are only stumps, disfigurements and desolation--some of the horrors of war. The gardens were laid waste by the Spaniards as a military precaution. As they seem to have known that they could not or would not put up a big fight for the city, what was the use of the destructiveness displayed in the gardens, parks and along the boulevards? The fashion of taking a garden and making a desert of it and calling it one of the military necessities of war is, however, not peculiar to the chieftains of Spain. Crossing the bridge of Spain to the walled city and turning to the right there are well-paved streets bordered with strips of park beside the river, that is rushing the same way if you are going to headquarters; and the object that tells where to turn off to find the old gateway through the wall, with a drawbridge over the grassy moat, is a Monument to Alphonse, whose memory it is the habit of these people to celebrate. Approaching the city hall (headquarters) there is a white-walled hospital to note; then comes a heavy mass of buildings on a narrow street, and the small square already styled in this article a park, and we arrive at the grand entrance of the official edifice. The room devoted to ceremony is so spacious that one must consent that magnitude is akin to grandeur. There is the usual double stairway and a few stone steps to overcome. On the right and left under the second lift of stairs were corded the Spanish Mausers and Remingtons and many boxes of cartridges. I have several times noticed soldiers tramping on loose cartridges as though they had no objection at all to an explosion. You can tell the Mauser ammunition, because the cartridges are in clips of five, and the little bullets famous for their long flight are covered with nickel. The Remington bullets are bigger and coated with brass. Something has been said to the effect that the Remington balls used by the Spaniards are poisonous and that it is uncivilized to manufacture them. The object of the Mauser and Remington system in covering the bullets, the one with nickel and the other with brass, is not to poison, but to prevent the lead from fouling the rifles. The point is almost reached in modern guns of 2,000 and 3,000 yards range where the friction of the gun barrel and the speed of the missile at the muzzle are sufficient to fuse unprotected lead, and at any rate so much of the soft material would soon he left in the grooves as to impair accuracy and endanger the structure of the arm. Right ahead when the first stairs are cleared is a splendid hall, with a pair of gilded lions on a dais, and some of the boys had adorned these beasts with crowns of theatrical splendor. The arms of Spain are conspicuous, and in superb medallions illustrious warriors, statesmen, authors, artists and navigators, look down from the walls upon desks now occupied by American officers. Above this floor the stairs are blocks of hardwood, the full width of the stairway and the height of the step, and this earthquake precaution does not detract from the dignity of the building, for the woodwork is massive and handsome. A marvelous effect might be produced in some of the marble palaces of private citizens in our American cities by the construction of stairways with the iron-hard and marble-brilliant wood that is abundant in Puerto Rico, Cuba and Luzon. The hall in which the city council met, now the place of the provost-marshal's court, is furnished in a style that puts to shame the frugality displayed in the council chambers of our expensively governed American cities, where men of power pose as municipal economists. In the elevated chair of the President, faced by the array of chairs of the Spanish councilmen, or aldermen, sits the provost-marshal judge, and before him come the soldiers who have forgotten themselves and the culprits arrested by the patrol. On the wall above him is a full-length likeness of the Queen Regent--a beautiful, womanly figure, with a tender and anxious mother's solicitous face. She looks down with sad benignity upon the American military government. There is also a portrait of the boy king, who becomes slender as he gains height, and rather sickly than strong. It may be that too much care is taken of him. In the corner room at the end of the corridor Major-General Otis received at his desk the news that Generals Merritt and Greene were ordered home, and that he was the major-general commanding and the chief of the civil, as well as the military department of the government. He had already found much to do and tackled the greater task with imperturbable spirit and a habit of hard work with, his friends say, no fault but a habit that is almost impracticable of seeing for himself almost everything he is himself held responsible for. If he has a weakness of that sort he has a rare opportunity to indulge it to the full extent of his personal resources. He certainly dispatches business rapidly, decides the controverted points quickly and has a clear eye for the field before him. His record is a good one. When the war of the States came on he was a New York lawyer--his home is at Rochester. Near the close of the war he was wounded on the Weldon road, along which Grant was extending his left wing to envelop Petersburg. He was struck by a musket ball almost an inch from the end of the nose, and the course of it was through the bones of the face under the right eye, passing out under the right ear. He was "shot through the head," and suffered intensely for a long time, but maintained his physical vitality and mental energy. His face is but slightly marked by this dreadful wound. He has been a hard student all his life, and is an accomplished soldier, as well as an experienced lawyer. His judicial services in court-martials have been highly estimated. Altogether he is well equipped for executing the various duties of his position. He will "hold the fort in good shape." In an adjacent room, Assistant Adjutant-General Strong, son of the ex-mayor of New York, a young man of much experience in the national guard and a sharp shooter, sticks to business with zeal and knowledge, and in a very few days established a reputation as a helper. So much has been said in disparagement of the "sons of somebodies" that it is a pleasure to put in evidence the cleverness and intelligent industry of Captain Strong, late of the 69th New York, and of Captain Coudert, of New York. General Merritt took possession of the palace of the governor-general, overlooking the river, a commodious establishment, with a pretentious gate on the street, a front yard full of shrubbery and rustling with trees, a drive for carriages and doors for their occupants at the side and a porte cochere, as the general said with a twinkle of his eye, for the steam launch which was a perquisite of the Governor. The commanding general of the Philippine expedition enjoyed the life on the river, along which boats were constantly passing, carrying country supplies to the city and returning. The capacity of canoes to convey fruit and vegetables and all that the market called for was an unexpected disclosure. There were unfailing resources up the river or a multitude of indications were inaccurate. The General's palace is more spacious than convenient; the dining room designed for stately banquets, but the furniture of the table was not after the manner of feasts, though the best the country afforded, and the supply of meat improved daily, while the fruit told of the kindly opulence of the tropics. There was a work of art in the palatial headquarters that the commanding general highly appreciated--a splendid but somber painting of the queen regent in her widow's weeds, holding the boy king as a baby on her right shoulder, her back turned to the spectator, gloomy drapery flowing upon the carpet, her profile and pale brow and dark and lustrous hair shown, her gaze upon the child and his young eyes fixed upon the spectator. This picture has attracted more attention than any other in Manila, and the city is rich in likenesses of the queen mother and the royal boy, who, without fault have upon them the heavy sorrows of Spain in an era of misfortune and humiliation; and it will take some time for the Spanish people, highly or lowly placed, to realize that the loss of colonies, as they have held them, is a blessing to the nation and offers the only chance of recuperation and betterment in Spain's reputation and relations with the world. The governor-general's palace, with General Merritt for General, was a workshop, and the highly decorated apartments, lofty and elaborate, were put to uses that had an appearance of being incongruous. The cot of the soldier, shrouded in a mosquito bar, stood in the midst of sumptuous furniture, before towering mirrors in showy frames, and from niches looked down marble statues that would have been more at home in the festal scenes of pompous life in the sleepy cities of dreamy lands. There was no more striking combination than a typewriting machine mounted on a magnificent table, so thick and resplendent with gold that it seemed one mass of the precious metal--not gilt, but solid bullion--and the marble top had the iridescent glow of a sea shell. This was in the residence of the General, his dining and smoking rooms and bedrooms for himself and staff, the actual headquarters being next door in the residence of the secretary-general. Here was a brilliant exhibition of mirrors, upon some of which were paintings of dainty design and delicate execution, queerly effective. The tall glasses stood as if upon mantles. There were other glasses that duplicated their splendors; through the open doors down the street, which was the one for the contemplation of the gorgeous--and down the street means into the modern end of the city--was the residence of the Spanish Admiral of the annihilated fleet, Montijo. It had been the property of and was the creation of a German, who got rich and got away in good time with $1,000,000 or more, selling his house to one of the rich Chinese, who had the fortune, good, bad or indifferent, to become the landlord of the Admiral whose ships disappeared in a vast volume of white vapor on the May morning when the Americans came and introduced themselves. General Greene's headquarters were in the house the German merchant built, the Chinese millionaire bought, and the Admiral, without a fleet since the 1st of May, rented. The furnishing was rich; there were frescoes that were aglow with the tropic birds and window curtains that were dreams. The vast mansions of the ex-officials were not, however, such as would have been sought as accommodations for the management of the military and other affairs, and there was much lacking to comfort; but as the hotels after the siege were not tolerable, the officers had to discover houses in which they could develop resources, and the public property was that of those who conquered to the extent to which it had belonged to those displaced. The Americans got out of the chaotic hotels soon as possible, for there were some things in them simply not endurable. They rent houses and employ servants and set up housekeeping. The newspaper correspondents have been driven to this, and they are comparatively happy. They have found ponies almost a necessary of life, and food that is fair is attainable, while the flowing hydrants remove a good deal of privation and apprehension. The water is from an uncontaminated stream, and though slightly soiled after heavy rainfalls, it is not poisonous, and that is what many American and European cities cannot truthfully say of their water supplies. The demand for houses by the Americans has raised the views of the proprietors. The street on which the official Spaniards meant to flourish, as Weyler, Blanco and others had done before them, and had not time to reap a harvest of plunder before the days of doom came, would be called by the citizens of Cleveland, O., the Euclid avenue of the town. It runs out to the old fort where the Spaniards made their stand "for the honor of the arms of Spain." The English and German and Chinese successful men reside in this quarter. The majority of those who have provided themselves with houses by the river and fronting on the street most approved, looking out through groves and gardens, are Chinese half-castes, claiming Chinese fathers and Philippine mothers. These are the most rapacious and successful accumulators, and they would all be glad to see the Americans stay, now that they are there, and have shown themselves so competent to appreciate desirable opportunities and understand the ways and means, the acquirements and the dispensations of prosperity as our troops entered the city by the principal residence street, it was noticed that guards were left at all the houses that displayed the British flag--a reward for English courtesy, and the feeling of the troops that the British are our friends. CHAPTER XIII The White Uniforms of Our Heroes in the Tropics. The Mother Hubbard Street Fashion in Honolulu, and That of Riding Astride--Spoiling Summer Clothes in Manila Mud--The White Raiment of High Officers--Drawing the Line on Nightshirts--Ashamed of Big Toes--Dewey and Merritt as Figures of Show--The Boys in White. Recent experiences of the United States excite attention to the fashions of the tropics. In Florida our soldiers who invaded Cuba were in a degree and sense acclimated for the temperature of the island that has been for so long "so near, and yet so far," so wet and yet so hot. But the troops of the Philippine expedition were not prepared by the chilly blasts from the mountains of California for the exceedingly soft airs of Hawaii, though Honolulu was a pleasant introductory school to Manila. Our new possession two thousand miles from the continent, has been preparing for the destiny realized for two generations, and the American ladies who dwell in the islands of perpetual summer in the Pacific, have not submitted wholly to the dominion of the climate and composed themselves to languish in loose and gauzy garments when on the streets. But the Honolulu women, in general, who largely are in the possession of luxuriant proportions, are enveloped in the blandishments of Mother Hubbards, and do not even tie strings about themselves to show where they would have spectators to infer their waists ought to be. They go about flowing and fluttering in freedom, and have all the advantages due the total abandonment of corsets, and suffer none of the horrors of tight lacing recorded in medical publications. The Mother Hubbard gown is not without its attractions, but we can hardly say they are too obvious, and slender figures are lost in voluminous folds that are billowy in the various ways and means of embracing the evolutions of beauty. And the native singers seem fully justified in throwing the full force of their lungs and the rapture of their souls into the favorite chorus, "The Honolulu Girls Are Good Enough for Me." The refrains of the Hawaiian songs are full of a flavor of pathos, and there is the cry of sorrows, that seem to be in the very air, but belong to other ages. The Honolulu females of all races have flung away side saddles with their corsets, and bestride horses and mules with the confidence in the rectitude of their intentions that so besets and befits the riders of bicycles. People would stare with disapproval in Honolulu to see a woman riding with both legs on the same side of a horse, and those wandering abroad in the voluminous folds of two spacious garments disapprove the unusual and unseemly spectacle. It is as hot in some parts of Texas, Arizona and California as in any of the islands of the seas of the South, but we had not been educated in the art of clothing armies for service in the torrid zone, until the Philippine expedition was undertaken, and we were making ready for challenging the Spaniards in their Cuban fastnesses, when it speedily was in evidence that we wanted something more than blue cloth and blankets. The Spanish white and blue stuff and straw hats were to our eyes unsightly and distasteful, and we began with a variety of goods. Our army hats were found good, but we tried nearly all things before holding onto anything as sufficient for trousers and coats. The officers on long journeys speedily resolved, if we may judge from the results, that the suit most natty and nice for wear within twenty degrees of the Equator was the perfect white, and so the snowy figures below shoulder straps became familiar. This did not, of course, indicate acute stages of active service. Never were campaigns more destructive of good looks in clothing, than those in assailing Santiago and Manila, in which the thin stuffs were tested in torrential rain and ditches full of mud. The compensation was that the volunteers fresh from the camps of instruction, put on in a few days the appearance of veteran campaigners. In Manila there was an edifying contrast between the Spaniards who had surrendered and the Americans who did not pause when the Mausers were fired into their ranks, not with the faintest hope of successful resistance, but for the "honor of Spain." The Spanish soldiers had been well sheltered and came out in fairly clean clothes, while the soldiers of our nation closed up dingy ranks, suited for hunting in swamps and thickets, their coats, hats and trousers the color of blasted grass and decayed leaves. The passage of the line from the new to the old clothes was sudden, and the gallant boys in blue were not in the least disconsolate over the discoloration of their uniforms, having reached the stage where it was a luxury to sleep on a floor or pavement, without wasting time to find a soft or quiet spot. The sombre taste of the Spanish ladies in dress, so famous and effective that the black mantillas and skirts, and the fans that do such execution in the hands of the dark-eyed coquettes, as to have sway where empires have been lost and won--control Cuba, but does not dominate the Philippines. The Pope of the period, it will be remembered, divided the new worlds discovered by the navigators of Spain and Portugal, awarding to the best of his knowledge, by a line drawn south from the southern shore of the Caribbean Sea. Portugal holding that to the eastward and Spain that to the westward. Hence the separation of South America between Brazil and the rest of the central and south American states, to await the inevitable end of the evolutions that were the revolutions of independence. Magellines, a Portuguese, who, being slighted in his own country, went over to the Spaniards, and pointed out that by sailing west the east would be attained, and so found the straits that bear his name, and the Ladrones and Philippines, annihilating the Papal boundary line by taking and breaking it from the rear. The conquest of the Philippines by the Spaniards has not been complete as a military achievement or the enforcement of the adoption of customs and costumes according to the habits and taste of the conquerors, who have nibbled at the edges of the vast archipelago, greater in its length and breadth and its natural riches than the West Indies. The Spanish ladies in the Philippines are dressed as in the ancient cities of their own renowned peninsula. The Filipinos are of the varied styles that adorn Africans and the Asiatics. They are gay in colors and curious in the adjustment of stuffs, from the flimsy jackets to the fantastic skirts. The first essential in the dress of a Filipino is a jacket cut low, the decolette feature being obscured to some extent by pulling out one shoulder and covering the other, taking the chances of the lines that mark the concealment and disclosure of breast and back. There is no expression of immodesty. The woman of the Philippines is sad as she is swarthy, and her melancholy eyes are almost always introspective, or glancing far away, and revising the disappointed dreams of long ago. Profounder grief than is read in the faces of bronze and copper no mourning artist has wrought nor gloomy poet written. Below the jacket, the everlasting blazer, is a liberal width of cloth tightly drawn about the loins, stomach and hips, making no mistake in revelations of the original outline drawings, or the flexibilities which the activities display. There are two skirts, an outer one that opens in front, showing the tunic, which is of a color likely to be gaudy and showing strangely with the outer one. The feet are exposed, and if not bare, clothed only in clumsy slippers with toe pieces, and neither heels nor uppers. Women carry burdens on their heads, and walk erect and posed as if for snap photographs. The young girls are fond of long hair, black as cannel coal, and streaming in a startling cataract to the hips. It seems that the crop of hair is unusually large, and it shines with vitality, as the breeze lifts it in the sunshine. The Philippine boys are still more lightly clad than the girls, who have an eye to queer combinations of colors, and the revelation of the lines that distinguish the female form without flagrant disclosure. There is much Philippine dressing that may under all the surroundings be called modest, and the prevalent expression of the Filipino is that of fixed but bewildered grief. The males are rather careless, and display unstinted the drawings of legs, that are copper-colored and more uniform in tint than symmetry. Two or three rags do a surprisingly extensive service, and all the breezes cause the fluttering of fantastic but scanty raiment. It is a comfort to return to a country where people wear clothing not as a flimsy and inadequate disguise. What will be the influence of our armies bent to the tropics, upon the dress of Americans? It is a question that may be important. The "wheel" has introduced knickerbockers and promises to result in knee breeches. On the transports that have traversed the Pacific the soldiers were fond of taking exercise in undershirts and drawers only and they swarmed from their bunks at night, to sleep on deck, sometimes condescending to spread blankets to take the edge off the cruelty of the hard wood, but reluctant to be encumbered with undershirts. Their favorite night dress was drawers only, and they acted upon the false theory that one cannot take cold at sea. The authority of officers was often necessary to impress the average soldier that he ought to have an undershirt between his skin and the sky. The boys were during their long voyage very sparing in the use of shoes and stockings, and it has perhaps never before occurred in American experiences that there was such an opportunity to study the infinite variety of the big toe, and, indeed, of all the toes. In active army service the care of the feet is essential. The revelations on shipboard disclose the evils of ill-fitting shoes to be most distrusting. One of the claims of West Point for high consideration is in teaching the beauty of white trousers, and our tropical army experiences will extend the fashion. When General Merritt and Admiral Dewey parted on the deck of the China in Manila harbor, both were clad in spotless white, their caps, coats and trousers making a showy combination. There was also a group of sea captains who had gathered to give the Captain of the China a good send-off, and they with the staff officers, were all in radiant white. There was not a boy in blue among them. The illustrious General and Admiral reminded me of Gabriel Ravel, when in his glory as The White Knight. It would be hard to say which wore the nattier cap, but that of the Admiral was of the more jaunty cut, while the General--gold cord for a band and gold buttons, especially became his blue eyes. If the officers of the army, navy and transports could be photographed as they stood in dazzling array, as if hewn from marble, the fashion plate resulting would be incomparably attractive, and in the summers to come we shall find among the influences of our tropical adventure and possessions a heightening of the colors worn by American ladies, and a whitening of the suits of gentlemen, involving the necessity of "calling in" white coats, as well as straw hats on stated days in early September. CHAPTER XIV A Martyr to the Liberty of Speech. Dr. Jose Rizal, the Most Distinguished Literary Man of the Philippines, Writer of History, Poetry, Political Pamphlets, and Novels, Shot on the Luneta of Manila--A Likeness of the Martyr--The Scene of His Execution, from a Photograph--His Wife Married the Day Before His Death--Poem Giving His Farewell Thoughts, Written in His Last Hours--The Works That Cost Him His Life--The Vision of Friar Rodriguez. There is history, romance and tragedy in the martyrdom of Dr. Rizal, whose execution by shooting on the Luneta two years ago is a notable incident of the cruelties of Spanish rule. This was on account of the scholarship, the influence, the literary accomplishments, and the personal distinction of the man. Dr. Rizal was easily the foremost writer his race and country has produced. He was a poet, novelist, political essayist, and historian, and his execution was for the crime of loving his country, opposing the Spaniards, criticising and lampooning the priests. He is called the Tagalo Martyr, for he was of the tribe of Malay origin, the most numerous and rebellious in the Philippine Islands. His fate was shocking. He was an intelligent, learned man, an enthusiastic patriot, who had been educated in Spain and France. For writing a book against Spanish oppression he was exiled to the Island of Dapitan. There he met a young woman of Irish parentage, with whom he fell in love. They were engaged to be married, when, on some pretext, the Doctor was brought back to Manila, sent to Madrid to be tried, and then sent back to Manila. The unhappy girl to whom he was betrothed tells the rest of the story: "Everyone knew that Dr. Rizal was innocent. All that could be brought against him was the publication of his book, and the Spanish officials who tried him had never even read it. Nevertheless, he was condemned to death. I then asked permission to be married to him, and they granted my request, thinking to add to the horror of his martyrdom. The marriage was celebrated by a friar the same day on which he was sentenced. I passed the whole night on my knees in prayer before the prison door, which shut my husband from me. When morning dawned, the Doctor came out, surrounded by soldiers, his hands bound behind his back. They took him to the Luneta, the fashionable promenade of the city, where all military executions take place. The lieutenant in command of the firing party asked my husband where he would prefer to be shot. He replied 'Through the heart.' 'Impossible,' said the lieutenant. 'Such a favor is granted only to men of rank. You will be shot in the back.' A moment after my husband was dead. The soldiers shouted, 'Hurrah for Spain,' and I, 'Hurrah for the Philippines and death to Spain.' I asked for the body. It was refused me. Then I swore to avenge his death. I secured a revolver and dagger and joined the rebels. They gave me a Mauser rifle, and the Philippines will be free." In his poem, filled with his last thoughts--his exalted dreams that had faded, his patriotic sentiments that were bloody dust and ashes, his love for the woman he was allowed to marry a few hours before he was shot, his woeful love for his troop of devoted friends, who would have died for him and with him if the sacrifice then and there had not been hopeless--it will be discovered that he was a true poet, and we give one of his stories that was hostile to the orders of the Church, and a satire on Spanish rule, showing why he was a martyr. The following is a prose translation from the Spanish of the poem Dr. Rizal wrote the night before he was executed: _My Last Thoughts._ Farewell! my adored country; region beloved of the sun; pearl of the Orient sea; our lost Eden! I cheerfully give for thee my saddened life, and had it been brighter, happier and more rosy, I would as willingly give it for thy sake. Unhesitatingly and without regret others give thee their lives in frenzied fight on the battlefield. But what matter the surroundings! Be they cypress, laurel or lilies, scaffold or open country, combat or cruel martyrdom, it is all the same, when for country and home's redress. I die while watching the flushing skies announce through dark mantle the advent of a day. Should it need purple to tint its dawn, here is my blood; I gladly will shed it if only it be gilded by a ray of new-born light. My dreams while only a boy, and when of vigor full, a youth, were always to see thee, jewel of the Orient sea! thy black eyes dry, thy frownless face uplifted, and spotless thine honor. Dream of my life! My fervent anxiety! Shouts the soul that soon is to depart, Hail! It is glorious to fall to give thee flight; to die to give thee life; to die under thy Skies, and in thy maternal bosom eternally to sleep. Shouldst thou find some day over my grave, a lonesome, humble flower, blossoming through the dense foliage, take it to your lips and kiss my soul. Let me feel upon my forehead under the cold tomb your warm and tender breath. Let the moon with her soft and silent light watch over me; let dawn spread its fulgent splendor; let the wind moan with solemn murmur. And should a bird descend and repose upon my cross, let it there proclaim a canticle of peace. Let the burning sun evaporate the dew, spreading through space the notes of my songs. Let a friendly being mourn my early end, praying on calm evenings, when thou also, oh, dear country! should pray to God for me. Pray for all those who died unhonored; for those who suffered unequaled torments; for our poor mothers who silently grieve; for orphans and for widows; for prisoners in torture; and pray for thyself that thou mayest attain thy final redemption. And when the dark shades of night enwrap the cemetery, and the dead are left alone to watch, do not disturb their rest, do not disturb their mystery. Shouldst thou hear chords of a zither, it is I, beloved country! who sings to thee. And when my grave, by all forgotten, is marked by neither cross nor stone, let the ploughman scatter its mould; and my ashes before returning to nothing will become the dust of your soil. Then, I will not mind if thou castest me into oblivion. Thy atmosphere, thy space, thy valleys I will cross. A vibrating, limpid note I will be in your ear; aroma, color, rumor, song, a sigh, constantly repeating the essence of my faith. My idolized country! grief of my griefs! My adored Philippines! Hear my last farewell. I leave them all with thee; my fathers and my loves. I go where there are no slaves, no oppressors, no executioners; where faith is not death; where He who reigns is God. Farewell! fathers and brothers, parts of my soul! Friends of my infancy in the lost home. Give thanks that I should rest from the fatiguing day. Farewell, sweet stranger, my friend, my joy. Farewell, beloved beings. To die is to rest. _Jose Rizal._ _The Vision of Friar Rodriguez._ Comfortably seated in an arm chair one night, satisfied with himself as well as with his supper, Friar Jose Rodriguez dreamed of the many pennies that the sale of his little books was drawing from the pockets of the Filipinos, when suddenly, and as if by enchantment, the yellow light of the lamp gave a brilliant, white flash, the air was filled with soft perfume, and without his being able to explain how or wherefrom, a man appeared. This was an old man of medium height, dark complected and thin, whose white beard was a contrast to his glittering vivacious eyes, which gave his face extreme animation. Over his shoulder he wore a long cape; a mitre on his head and a crosier in his hand gave him the aspect of a Bishop. At sight of him, Friar Rodriguez yawning, murmured: "Dreams of my fertile imagin--!" The vision did not permit him to finish the exclamation, but gave him a whack between the shoulders. "Eh! This is no joke!" exclaimed Friar Rodriguez, stroking with one hand the afflicted part while with the other he rubbed his eyes. "I see! It is no dream! But partner!" Incensed at such familiarity, the strange personage began poking Friar Rodriguez severely with his crosier on the stomach. The latter, satisfied by this time that the thrashing was in earnest, exclaimed: "Here! Here! Friar Pedro (Peter)--Is that the way you cancel indulgencies? That was not the agreement." The strange Bishop, aroused to a high pitch of anger, stopped his poking and started to knock Friar Rodriguez on the head, believing it to be a more sensitive part. Unfortunately, Friar Rodriguez's head was too hard for anything, and the crosier fell, broken in two pieces. At last! said the poor friar, who, pale and deadly frightened, had fallen on his knees and was trying to creep away on all fours. At sight of his pitiful condition, the stranger seeded satisfied, and, placing on a table the broken crosier, said with contempt: "Homo sine homine, membra sine spiritu! Et iste appellatur filius meus!" At the sound of that potent voice and language, unknown to him, Friar Rodriguez appeared confounded. The stranger could not be Friar Pedro (Peter) nor any brother in disguise! Impossible! "Et tamen (the stranger continued), tanta est vanita vestra, ut ante me Patrem vestrum--sed video, loguor et non audis!" And shaking in disgust his head, the vision continued speaking in Castillian, but with a foreign accent. "And are you they who call themselves my sons? Has your haughtiness reached such a degree that you not only pretend to be feared and worshiped by governors and governed, but neither recognize nor respect me, whose name you dishonor, and whose condignity you abuse? How do I find you? Insolent with the unfortunate and cowardly towards those who do not fear you! Surge et audi!" His voice was so imperative and his command so expressive, that Friar Rodriguez, although shaking with tremor, made every effort to stand against a corner of the room. Moved by this proof of obedience, so rarely found amongst those who make a vow of humility, the stranger, full of contempt, repressed a sigh and proceeded in a more familiar manner, but without losing dignity. "For you and for your nonsense I have been obliged to leave that region, and come here! And what trouble I had to distinguish and find you amongst the others! With but little difference, you are all alike. 'Empty heads and replete stomachs!' _Up There_, they did not cease to tease me about you all and most especially on your account. It was useless to appear unconcerned. It was not only Lopez de Recalde (Ignatius of Loyole) who with his eternal smile and humble looks made fun of me; nor Domingo (Dominic) with his aristocratic pretensions and little stars of false jewelry on his forehead, who laughed at me; but even the great simpleton of Francisco (Francis), do you understand? tried to poke fun at me; at me, who has thought, argued and written more than all of them together! "Your order is great and powerful," said Ignatius, bending his head. "It resembles one of the Egyptian pyramids; great at the base (you are the base), but the higher it goes the smaller it becomes--what a difference between the base and the apex!" he murmured, while walking away. "Doctor," said Dominic, "why did you not do with your science as I did with the nobility I left as inheritance to my sons? We would all be better off!" "Mon ami, came and said Francis. If God should order me again to earth, to preach as before amongst brutes and animals, I would preach in your convents." And after saying this he roared in such a manner that although small and thin, it seemed as though he would burst. "In vain I answered them that their sons were no better than you are, and that were we to look for skeletons in the closets, we had better wall every crevice. But of no use. How could I argue against three, moreover, having you to defend! Three, did I say? Why! Even Peter, the old fisherman, attracted by the laughter, left his porter's lodge and came to upbraid me for the trick you have played on his priests, taking away from them all their parishes, regardless of the fact that they had been in these islands long before you, and that they were the first to baptise in Cebu and in Luzon. "Of course," he said, "as my sons are lazy and in dissension among themselves, and yours lie and shout louder, they make themselves believed by the ignorant. But I shall be glad when my descendants are extinct." "And so shall I! And I! I wish it was all over with mine!" shouted at once several voices. "But old Peter's revenge did not stop at that. Yesterday he played a hard joke on me. He not only confiscated a package that a Tagalo [5] brought with him, but instead of directing him to the imbecile's department, he took him where we all were. The poor Tagalo carried with him a large collection of little books written by you, which were given him by his Priest, who told him they represented so much indulgency for his next life. As soon as the Indian had arrived everyone _Up There_ knew he had brought books written by an Augustinian monk, and they were snatched away. I tried to hide myself, but I could not. What laughter and what jokes! The little angels came in a body; the Celestial Father's Orchestra lost its time; the Virgins, instead of watching their music sheets read the books and sang most discordantly, and even old Anthony's little pig began grunting and twisting his tail. "I felt ashamed; I could see every one point their finger at me and laugh. But, in spite of all this Zarathustra, the grave and serious Zarathustra, did not laugh. With a humiliating pride he asked me: "'Is that your son, he who pretends that my religion is paganish, and that I am a pagan? Have your sons degenerated to such a degree as to confound my pure religion, root of the most perfect creeds, with Polytheism and Idolatry? Do they know that paganism is derived from pagani, which means inhabitant of the fields, who always were faithful to the Greek and Roman Polytheism? You may answer that they do not know Latin! If so, make then speak more modestly. Tell them that paganus comes from pagus, from which the words pages, payes, paien, paese, pais (country), are derived. Tell those unfortunate that the Zend-Avesta religion was never professed by the rural inhabitants of the Roman country. Tell them that my religion is monotheist, even more so than the Roman Catholic religion, which not only accepted the dualism of my creed, but has deified several creatures. Tell them that Paganism in its widest and most corrupted sense, duly meant Polytheism; that neither my religion nor that of Moses nor Mohammed were ever Pagan religions. Tell them to read your own works, where in every page you refer to the Pagans. Repeat to them that which you said in speaking of the religion of the Manechees (a corruption of my doctrine by you professed) which influenced your works and prevails yet in your religion, and which at one time caused the Roman Catholic Church to vacillate. Yes: I linked the principle of Good and Evil together--Ahura-Mazda; God! But this is not to admit of two Gods, as you, yourself said. To speak of health and sickness is not to admit two healths. And what? Have they not copied my principle of evil in Satan, prince of darkness? Tell them that if they do not know Latin to at least study the religions, since they fail to recognize the true one!' "Thus spoke Zarathustra, or Zoroaster. Then, Voltaire--Voltaire, who had heard what you were saying about his death, accosted me, and grasping me by the hand, effusively thanked me. "'Why so?' I asked him. "'Your sons, mon cher Docteur de l'Eglise,' he answered, 'have proved and continue proving by facts, that which I maintained. And what was it that you maintained? That besides being ignorant, they were liars.' "To this I could not reply, for he was right. You should know that he died when 84 years of age, possessed of all his faculties, and with so lucid a mind that when nearing his end and being importuned to make confession, he said: 'Let me die in peace'--and died. But the worst of it all is, that Voltaire has been pleading with God to take you to Heaven alive and clothed, and when asked why so, he answered 'So that we may have some fun.' "On learning of all the indulgences that the Archbishop had allowed on your books, to allure buyers, old Peter, thumping his bald head, exclaimed: "'Why did I not think of granting indulgencies with the fish I sold, when a fisherman? We would have been rich, and Judas, instead of selling the Master, would have sold sardines and tinapa! [6] I would not have been obliged to cowardly apostatize, and would not have suffered martyrdom. Verily, I say, that my friend down _Below_ leaves me behind in the matter of knowing how to make money; and yet I am a Jew.' "'Of course, don't you know that your friend _Below_ is a Gallego?' [7] Said a little old man who had been _Up There_ but a few years. His name was Tasio, and, addressing himself to me, he continued: "'You are a great Doctor, and although you have contradicted yourself many times, I hold you as a privileged character of vast erudition, for, having written your books, Retractationum, and Confesiones; and since you are so different from your sons who try, when defending themselves, to make black appear white, and white green, I will state my complaints, so that you, as their Father, may put a stop to it all. "'There exists on earth an unfortunate, who, amongst many foolish acts, has committed the following: "'1st. He holds solidary of all that I have said during my earthly life, an Indian called Rizal, only because said Indian has quoted my words in a book that he wrote. As you can see, should we follow such a system of reasoning, Rizal would also agree with the views expressed by friars, policemen, etc., and you, yourself, Holy Doctor, would also be solidary of all that you ascribe to heretics, Pagans, and above all, to Manichees. "'2nd. He wants me to think as he himself does, since he quotes me as saying 'The Bible and the Holy Gospel.' It may be well that he, as all fanatics, should believe that these are one and the same thing. But I, having studied the original Hebraic Bible, know, that it does not contain the Gospel. That the Jewish Bible, being a history of creation, treasure and patrimony of Jewish people, the Jews, who do not accept the Gospel, should be authority. That as the Latin translation is incorrect, the Catholics could not lay down the Law, notwithstanding their habit of appropriating everything to themselves, and of misconstruing to their advantage the translation of the original text. Besides, the Gospels, with the exception of that written by Saint Mathew, were written in Greek later than the Bible, and conflict in every respect with the Law of Moses, as proved by the enemity between Jews and Christians. How, then, could I, knowing all this, express myself as a fanatic, or as an ignorant monk? I do not exact from any monk the speech of a free-thinker and therefore, they should not exact that I express myself as a monk would. Why do they want me to consolidate under one name two distinct things, which, to a certain extent contradict each other? Let the Christians do so, but I must not, and cannot. If I call them separately, it is in accordance with the thought inspiring two works, two legislations, two religions, on which they want to found the Catholic Religion. Your son, moreover, reasons finely, when he says: 'I did not know that the Gospels were different from the Bible, and not a principal part of it.' Tell him, Holy Father, that in every country a part, no matter how principal may it be, is always different from the whole, for instance: The principal thing in Friar Rodriguez is his habit: but his habit is different from Friar Rodriguez, as otherwise there would be one dirty Friar Rodriguez, another shining, another creased, another wide, short, long, greasy, etc. On the other hand, the habit is different from the monk, because a piece of cloth, no matter how dirty, could never be presumptuous, despotic, ignorant or obscurantistic. "'3d. To prove the existence of a Purgatory, he quotes: 'Saint Mathew says in Chapter twelfth, thirty-sixth verse----.' But he quotes wrongly, as from that verse cannot be derived the existence of a Purgatory, nor anything of its kind. The Hebrew text says: 'Wa 'ebif 'omar lakam kij 'al kal abar reg ashar idabbru 'abaschim yittbu heschboun biom hammischphat'; the Greek text, 'Lego de hynun hote pan rema argon, ho ean lalesosin hoi anthropoi, apodosousi peri auton logon en hemera kriseos.' All these translated into Latin say: 'Dicto autem vobis, quoniam omne verbum otiosum quod locuti fucrint homines, reddent rationem de co in die judicii,' which, translated into English means, '_And I say to you, that on the Day of Judgment, men shall have to account for every idle word_.' From all these texts, you can see, Holy Doctor, that the only thing to be derived is that on the Day of Judgment, Friar Rodriguez will have to give such an account of himself, that very likely it will take him two days to account for all the nonsense he has said. "'I imagine that your son, instead of the thirty-sixth verse, meant to quote the thirty-second, which says: "And all who shall say word against the son of man will be forgiven; but he who says word against the Holy Ghost, shall not be pardoned; neither in this life nor in the next." From this they have tried to derive the existence of a Purgatory. What a fertile imagination! "'4th. Because Saint Ireneus, St. Clement of Alexandria, and Origenes, three in all, although not being the first Christian, had some remote idea of Purgatory, it does not follow that the Christians of the first century did believe in it, unless it could be previously established that three persons represent a totality, even if amongst such a totality existed, contradictory ideas. But, as a proof that was it not so, you, yourself, Holy Doctor, being their father, having flourished in the fourth and fifth century, and supposed to be the greatest amongst the Fathers of the Church, denied most emphatically, in various instances, the existence of a Purgatory. In your CCXCV cermon, beginning by: 'Frecuenter charitatem vestra,' etc., you said very decidedly: 'Nemo se slecipiat fratres; _Duo_ cuim _loca_ sunt et _terius_ non est ullus. Qui cum Christo reguare non meruerit, cum diabolo _absque dubitatione ulla_ perebit.' This translated means, 'Do not deceive yourselves, brethren; there are but two places for the soul and there is no third place. He who should not deserve to live with Christ, _undoubtedly_ will perish.' "'Further on, in de Consolatione mortuorum, you say: 'Sed recedus anima quoe carnalibus oculis non videtur, ab angelis susciptur et collocatur, aut in sinu, Abrahae, si fidelis est, aut in carcerio inferni custodia si peccatrix est.' This means, 'But at the departure of that soul which the eyes of the flesh cannot see, the angels will receive and carry it to the Bosom of Abraham, if it has been faithful; or to Hell, if sinful.' On the other hand, I could quote a large number of your own texts showing that for you, Purgatory was not an impossibility. Add to all this what Saint Fulgentius, who flourished after you during the fifth and sixth century, says in Chapter XIV., of his 'de incarnatione et gratia,' etc.: 'Quicumque regnum Dei non ingreditur, poenis oeternis cruciatur.' That is to say, 'He who could not enter the Kingdom of God, will suffer eternal punishment.' "'5th. Your son either cannot read, or else acts in bad faith; otherwise, how could he, from my estatement, 'The Protestants _do not believe_ in it; neither do the Greek Fathers, because they miss,' etc., try to make 'The Greek Fathers DID NOT believe in a Purgatory?' "'How could he deduct from a present, a past tense and twist the sentences to make from it 'The Holy Greek Fathers?' "'I used '_believe_,' the present tense, although in my time the _Holy Greek Fathers_ did not exist, but simply the fathers belonging to the Greek Church. Moreover, as I was following an historical order, how could I refer to the Protestants, first, and to the _Holy Greek Fathers_ afterwards, who believed what they wished, and who at the time of my earthly life were a past to me? "'And enwrapped in such bad faith, he dares to qualify as a slanderer, imposter and ignoramus, the man who only quoted me! "'But such proceeding is worthy of Friar Rodriguez, who, following his system of confusing a part with the whole, tries to condemn another's book, and mistakes the rays of the sun for the sun itself, all with the purpose of slandering the author and calling him Freemason. "'Tell me, Holy Doctor, after what I have told you, who is the real ignoramus, impostor and slanderer? "'6th. Instead of accusing others of ignorance, and presuming to know everything, he should be careful, because he has not even read your books, notwithstanding you are his father, and that it is his duty to know what you have said. Should he have done so, he would neither have written so much nonsense nor would he have shown the shallowness of his knowledge, which, by the way, he derives from some little books, which, to propagate and maintain obscurantism, were published in Cataluna, [8] by Sarda y Salvany.' "Thus was old Tasio expressing himself, when the voice of the Almighty was heard summoning me to His presence. "Trembling, I approached, and prostrated myself at His feet.' "'Go to Earth,' said the voice, 'and tell those who call themselves your sons that I, having created millions of suns, around which, thousands of worlds, inhabited by millions of millions of beings, created by my infinite Mercy, gyrate, cannot be an instrument to the fulfilment of a few ungrateful creatures' passions, simply handfuls of dust carried away by a gust of wind; insignificant particles of the inhabitants of one of my smallest worlds!' "'Tell them that my Name must not be used to extend the misery or ignorance of their brothers, nor shall they restrain in my Name, intelligence and thought, which I created free. That they must not commit abuses in my Name, cause a tear, nor a single drop of blood to be shed. That they must not represent me as being cruel, revengeful, subject to their whims and executor of their will. Not to represent me, The Fountain of Goodness, as a tyrant, or an unkind Father, pretending that they are the only possessors of Light and Eternal Life. How? I, who have given to each being air, light, life and love, that he may be happy, could I deny to one of the most transcendental, true happiness, for the sake of others? Impious! Absurd! Tell them that I, who am All, and apart from whom nothing exists, nor could exist, I have not and cannot have enemies. Nothing equals me, and no one can oppose my will! "'Tell them that their enemies are not my enemies; that I have never identified myself with them, and that their maxims are vain, insensible, blasphemous! Tell them that I pardon error, but punish iniquity; that I will forgive a sin against me, but will prosecute those who should torture an unfortunate. That being infinitely Powerful, all the sins of all the inhabitants of all the worlds, thousands of times centuplicated, can never dim an atom of my glory. But the least injury to the poor and oppressed I will punish, for I have not created man to make him unhappy nor the victim of his brothers. I am the Father of all existent; I know the destiny of every atom; let me love all men, whose miseries and needs I know. Let each one perform his duty, that I, The God of Mercy, know my own will.' "Thus spoke the Almighty; and I came here to fulfill his command. Now, I say to you: "That the miseries of the unhappy Indian whom you have impoverished and stupefied, have reached the Throne of the Highest. _There_ have arrived so many intelligences obscured and impaired by you! The cry of so many exiles, tortured, and killed at your instigation! The tears of so many mothers and the miseries of so many orphans, combined with the noise of your orgies! Know that there is a God, (perhaps you doubt His existence, and only use His name to advance your ends) who will some day call you to account for all your iniquities. Know that He needs not the money of the poor, nor is it necessary to worship Him by burning candles and incense, saying masses or believing blindly what others say, contrary to common sense. "No! His luminary is greater than your own sun; His flowers more fragrant than those on earth. He suffices to Himself. He created intelligence for no subservient purpose; but that with its use, man could be happy in raising himself to Him. He needs no one. He created man, not for His sake, but for man's own. He is happy for all eternity! "You obstinately uphold the existence of a Purgatory, using even the most ignoble weapons and means to defend your belief. Why, instead of wasting your time in affirming the existence of that which you never saw, do you not preach and practice love and charity amongst yourselves? Why not preach words of comfort and hope, to somewhat soothe the miseries of life, instead of frightening your brothers by tales of future punishment? Why? Because Christ's True Doctrine would bring you no earthly wealth, and all that you look for is gold, and gold! And to satisfy your end and bleed the timid souls, of money, you have invented a Purgatory! Why afflict orphans and widows with dreadful tales of the next life, only to extort from them a few cents? Have you forgotten what the Apostle said? 'Nolo vos ignorare, fratres, de dormientibus, ut non contristenuni, sicut qui spem non habent,' which means, 'I do not wish you to ignore, brethren, that which concerns those who sleep, that you may not be saddened, like those who have lost all hope.' Also, that I, myself, have said? 'Hoec enim est Christianoe fidei summa: vitam veram expectare post mortem,' that is 'Here is then the summary of the Christian faith: to hope for a true life after death.' But you, lacking in charity, and for a vile, greedy interest, live in opposition to Christ, and pretend to be able to mould Divine Judgment. All the strength of your philosophy seems to be derived from your own theory, which denies the existence of souls sufficiently sinners to be condemned, or pure enough to enter the Kingdom of God! By whose authority do you pretend to oppose the judgment of Him who weighs and considers the smallest thought? Who knows it is impossible to expect perfection from beings made of clay, subject to the miseries and oppressions of earthly life? Who told you that He will judge as you, with your narrow, limited intelligence, do? That the miseries of this life are not expiations of sins? "Cease in your avaricious hoarding of wealth! You have now enough. Do not wrench from the poor his last mouthful of bread. "Remember what Saint Fulgentius said: 'Et si mithetur in stagnum ignis et sulphuris qui nudum vestimento non tegit, quid passures est qui vestimento crudelis expoliat? Et si rerum suarem avarus possessor requiem non habebit, quomodo aliaenarum rerum insatiabilis raptor?' Meaning, 'And if he who never clothed the naked is sent to the pond of fire and sulphur, where will he, who cruelly stripped them, go? And if the greedy possessor of his own wealth may never rest, how shall it be with the thief, insatiable in his greed for the wealth of others?' "Preach then, the religion of Hope and Promises, as you, above all, are in need of pardon and forgiveness. Do not speak of rigor, nor condemn others, lest God should hear and judge you according to the laws by you formulated. Bear always in mind Christ's words, 'Vae vobis scribae et Pharisae hypocrite qui clauditis regnum coelorum ante homines; vos non intratis, nec introeunts sinitis intrare!' This means, 'Woe to you, Scribes and Pharisees, who close to men the Kingdom of God, and neither enter nor allow others to enter!' "Now, to you personally, I will say: You are an unfortunate fool, who speak numberless absurdities, although I could not expect aught else from you, and would not punish you for them. But you have had the audacity of not only insulting others, by which you forgot truth and charity, but praised yourself and called attention to your own praise. "Referring to yourself, you said. This Father, whom I well know (liar, you do not even know yourself), although he may appear a little hard headed (a little hard-headed? Ask my crosier if your head is not harder than stone), never speaks in vain (this is true; every word you say causes as much laughter on earth as in Heaven), nor uses words without first thinking (if such is true, your intelligence is very limited). "For such foolish vanity I ought to punish you severely, so that you would stop forever your senseless writings, saving me the trouble of coming to reprimand you at every instance. "Were I to judge you according to your own theory, you should at least go to your Purgatory. But, after all, you are not so bad, as many learned persons are made to laugh at your writings. "It would be well for your pride if you allowed the Indians to pass by you without taking off their hats or kissing your hand. But then, they would be imprisoned or exiled, and it would not do to increase the wrong you do them. "Shall I make you lame and dumb? No! Your brothers would claim it was a trial of your forbearance, to which God had submitted you. No; you won't catch me on that! "What shall I do with you?" The old Bishop meditated for a few moments, and then, he exclaimed: "Ah! Now I know! Your own sin shall be your punishment! "I condemn you to continue saying and writing nonsense for the rest of your life, so that the world may laugh at you, and also, that on the Day of Judgment you may be judged according to your deserts!" "Amen!" replied Friar Rodriguez. The vision then disappeared; the light of the lamp regained its yellowish flame, and the soft perfume dispersed. On the following day Friar Rodriguez started writing greater nonsense, with renewed energy. Amen! _Jose Rizal._ Note.--The foregoing admirable translations from the writings of Dr. Rizal were made by Mr. F.M. de Rivas, of Chicago. CHAPTER XV Events of the Spanish-American War. No Mystery About the Cause of the War--The Expected and the Inevitable Has Happened--The Tragedy of the Maine--Vigilant Wisdom of President McKinley--Dewey's Prompt Triumph--The Battles at Manila and Santiago Compared--General Shafter Tells of the Battle of Santiago--Report of Wainwright Board on Movements of Sampson's Fleet in the Destruction of Cervera's Squadron--Stars and Stripes Raised Over Porto Rico--American and Spanish Fleets at Manila Compared.--Text of Peace Protocol. The war between Spain and the United States was a long time coming, and there is no more mystery about its cause than doubt as to its decisions. It was foretold in every chapter of the terrible stories of the conflicts between the Spaniards and their colonists, largely of their blood, in Central and South America. The causes of war in Cuba, and the conduct of warfare by Spain in that island were the same that resulted in revolutionary strife in Mexico and Peru, and, indeed, all the nations in the Americas that once were swayed by the sovereignty of Spain. The last of the islands of the Spanish possessions in the hemisphere introduced to the civilized world by Columbus were lost by the western peninsula of Europe, symbolized and personified in the Crown, as the first crumbling fragments of the colonial empires of Spain fell away from her. Only in the case of Cuba there was the direct intervention of the United States to establish "a stable government" in the distracted island, desolated by war, pestilence and famine, that had evolved conditions, of terrible misery incurable from within, and of inhumane oppression that should be resented by all enlightened people. It had long been realized by the thoughtful men of Spain capable of estimating the currents of events, that the time must come, and was close at hand, when the arms of the United States would be directed to the conquest of Cuba. It was not only in the air that this was to be, it was written in the history of Spanish America, and more than that, there was not an Atlas that did not proclaim in the maps of the continents of the Western world, that Cuba would and in the largest sense of right should, become a part of the United States, and must do so in order to be redeemed from the disabilities deeply implanted, and released from having the intolerable burdens imposed by the rule of Spain. The consciousness of the Spaniards, that the shadow of the United States lowered over the misgovernment of Cuba, and that there was a thunder-cloud in the north that must burst--with more than the force of the hurricanes that spin on their dizzy way of destruction from the Caribbean Sea--aroused the fury of passion, of jealous hatred and thirst for revenge, in anticipation of the inevitable, that caused the catastrophe of the blowing up of the Maine, and kindled with the flame of the explosion, the conflagration of warfare in the Indies West and East, that has reddened the seas and the skies with the blood of Spain and the glow of America's victory both in the Antilles and the Philippines, wiping from the face of the earth the last vestiges of the colonial imperialism of Spain that gave her mediaeval riches and celebrity, for which--as the system always evil became hideous with malignant growth, so that each colony was a cancer on the mother country--there has been exacted punishment of modern poverty, and finally the humiliation of the haughty, with no consolation for defeat, but the fact that in desperate and forlorn circumstances there were seen glimpses of the ancient valor in Spanish soldiers, that was once their high distinction among the legions of embattled Europe. The United States was not ready for war. Our regular army was a 16 to 120 Spanish troops in Cuba, our field guns 1 to 6 of Blanco's batteries, our siege train nowhere, and fortified cities to assail; and the ability and industry of the Spaniards as well as their skill and strength in surveying and fortifying military lines, and their food resources were dangerously undervalued. The war was rushed upon the country, contrary to the calm executive judgement of the President. The army and navy were admirable but faulty in hasty equipment, the navy a perfect machine in itself, but without docks and arsenals in the right place for the supply of a fleet in the old battle field of European navies, the West Indies. The energies of the Government were put forth as soon as the war was seriously threatened, and the mighty people arose and swiftly as the aptitudes of Americans in emergencies could be applied, deficiencies were supplied. The first stroke of arms came as a dazzling flash from the far southwest, in the story of the smashing victory of Dewey at Manila. That splendid officer, gentleman and hero did not signal his fleet as Nelson at Trafalgar, that every man was expected to do his duty, but he reported that every man did his duty; and the East Indian fleet of Spain vanished, smashed, burned and sunken by a thunderbolt! The theory of war countenanced by the impetuous and demanded by the presumptuous, was that our aggressive forces must attack Havana. In and around that city were an enormous garrison, abundant military stores, forty miles of trenches defended by sixty thousand men; and far more to be dreaded the deadly climate, the overwhelming rains, the deep rank soil soaked under the tropical sun and the dense vegetation, and still more the pestilence--the ghastly Yellow Fever, and scarcely less poisonous and fatal pernicious malarial fevers, and dysenteries that exhausted as fast as fever consumed. Fortunately, it was decided that the place to attack Havana was Santiago, and there the regular army, with the exception of the regiments sent to the Philippines, was ordered and in due time reinforced by volunteers, safely embarked and disembarked, to become the winners on bloody fields and receive the surrender of the Spanish garrisons of the city and province of Santiago. The vaunted fleet of Cervera, having attempted flight, perished--the wrecks of his fine ships strewing the southern coast of Cuba, where they remain as memorials, like and unlike the distorted iron that was the Maine, in the harbor of Havana, and as the shattered and charred remnants of the fleet of Montejo, at Manila, still cumber the waters of the bay off Cavite, telling the story of the glory of our victorious heroes there. The responsibility of the Chief Magistrate of the United States in the late war was remarkable. Everything of moment was referred to him from the Cabinet officers of the Government, and he gave all the closest attention, making, after conscientious consideration, the decisions that determined the course of action taken. This was true in unusual measure of the Treasury, State, War and Navy Departments. It is well the President resisted while he could the "rush line" in Congress, that strove headlong for war, and strenuously urged in the time gained essential preparations, and that he pressed the war the day it was declared with a hurry message to Admiral Dewey, who won his immortal victory on the other side of the world within a week of his orders by cable to "destroy" the squadron of the enemy that might be found somewhere on the west coast of Luzon. Nearer home there was a harder task. The Spanish army in Cuba was much more formidable on the defensive than in the offensive. There were greater numbers of soldiers of a better class in the service of Spain on the island, than had been supposed, and they did not lack, in the degree believed, discipline, ammunition or provisions. The Spaniards had an effective field artillery, more than one hundred guns, and their Mauser rifles were excellent, far-reaching; and, in field ammunition, they were ahead of us in smokeless powder. Our regiments would have given way before the Spanish rifles, that told no tales except with bolts, that flew invisible, fatal arrows, from the jungles, if the American soldier had not been of stuff that was like pure steel, and marched unflinchingly through the deadly hail, regarding the bitter pelting as a summons to "come on" and carry the trenches and ambuscades by storm. The incapacity of the Spaniards to put down the Cuban Rebellion caused grave misapprehensions, both as to the Spanish and Cuban soldiery, for few Americans understand the conditions of the interminable guerilla warfare, the particular military accomplishment of the Spanish race, impotent in all save the destructive effect upon those not engaged in it. In Congress no impression could be made of the real feebleness of the Cubans, except in bushwhacking, and it is still a puzzle that the immense masses of Spanish troops should be so helpless against the insurgents, and yet so troublesome in harassing invaders. The Cuban army was not a myth, certainly, but it has been a disappointment to those who were swift in shouting its praises, upon information given by the Cuban Key West Bureau of News novelettes. It was well that the attack on Spain in the West Indies was directed upon Santiago and Porto Rico. The former manifestly was a point that commanded the central waters of the West Indies; recently there have been expressions of surprise that the expedition to Porto Rico, finally and handsomely led by Major General Miles, commanding the army of the United States, was so delayed. Investigation from the inside will duly determine that no harm was done in that case by loss of time. Santiago was pointed out by many circumstances as the vital spot of Spanish power in America, where a mortal blow might be delivered. It was in the province where the insurgents had greater strength than in any other part of the island. It was so situated that our fleet in that locality was close to the Windward Passage, east of Cuba, where Columbus was at once perplexed and triumphant, and to Hayti, Jamaica and Porto Rico; and there were several landings where it would be possible to disembark troops, protected by the fire of our ships. More than that, Santiago is the old capital of Cuba, the place where the head of the Cuban church abides, and the scene of the Virginius Massacre--altogether having a place in history almost equal to that of Havana. It was not doubted the sanitary situation of the east end of Cuba was better than that of the west end. Experience shows that this easy assumption was questionable. If we omit the great plague spot, the city of Havana, it will appear that Santiago is in a region as pestilential as can be found in the provinces of Havana and Pinar del Rio. More than all other associations and conspicuities, the attention of the world was directed to Santiago because Cervera's elusive fleet, short of coal and provisions, and overmatched by the United States navy, took refuge in the deep harbor, hoping to clean his ships, get supplies and escape with coal enough to open a new career. The Spaniards were too slow, and the only ships of Spain that showed a sign of the spirit of enterprise and the capacity of adventure, were bottled up by a relentless blockade. Lieutenant Hobson became famous in a night in his most hazardous effort to use the Merrimac as a cork for the bottle, but fortunately left a gap through which the Spaniards made haste to their doom. When the second fleet of Spain was destroyed, all chance of disputing our supremacy at sea, or of doing anything to guard Spanish interests either in the East or West Indies, was extinguished. There has been no marked features of contention as to the battles of Manila, except in the case of the gratuitous observations of critical persons, whose feelings have been disturbed, that the storming of the town was not bloody enough. The victory, however, was all the greater, for the casualty lists were not long, owing to the management of the Commanding General and the heroic Admiral, who won a battle famous as that at New Orleans, with less bloodshed, but as Jackson's victory was not belittled because he lost but half a dozen men killed, the victories at Manila should not be slighted. The Santiago battles, however, have stirred controversies, and there is a great mass of literature, official and other, subject to endless examination, and perhaps so voluminous as to confuse readers for some generations. The leading and indisputable facts are, that the Spaniards fought well on land, but were ineffectual afloat, in their attempts to inflict injuries, though they put to sea in dashing style, and did not flinch in efforts to evade a superior force, until the fire of the Americans crushed them. In the incidents of warfare on the hills around and the waves before Santiago, it is fair to say that the Spaniards redeemed themselves from imputation of timidity, and fought in a manner not unworthy of the countrymen of the Garrison of Morro Castle, Havana, whose gallantry in resisting the army and fleet of England, in 1762, commanded the respectful regard of their conquerors, and is a glorious chapter in the story of Spain. The Santiago events were most honorable to American arms, and it would lessen the splendor of the reputation of the American soldiers if one failed to do justice to the sturdy fighters they overcame. It is too early or too late for participation in the debates whether civil or acrimonious, as to the merits or faults of those engaged at Santiago, further than to quote that golden sentence from the report of Commodore Schley, that there was "glory enough to go around." We, whatever is said, remember what was done on those hills that have an everlasting place in history. There forever is to be application of marvelous propriety, of the mournful and noble lines of Kentucky's poet, Theodore O'Hara: "On Fame's eternal camping ground Their silent tents are spread, And Glory guards with solemn round The bivouac of the dead." There was a speedy realization by the country, and all the intelligent peoples of the earth, when our troops were embarked for the Santiago campaign, that the crisis of the war was at hand. No American thought of failure. The only questions were as to the power of the defense of Cuba by Spain, and the cost to us in men and money to overcome the defenders. Those who knew the most about the conditions in Cuba had the least confidence in the efficiency of the Cuban Army. The only body of organized Cubans of importance was that under command of Garcia, and it was the province of which he was in partial occupation that we invaded in force. The public had been considerably interested and entertained by the rousing accounts of the various naval bombardments of Spanish shore fortresses. But the firing from our ships had not materially shaken the Spanish defenses. The sea power had not shattered the shore lines, but found abundant occupation in guarding transports and protecting the troops when landing. It would have been an act of the most gross imprudence and incompetency to have put an army ashore unless the supremacy of the navy on the sea was absolute. More than that, our own cities had to be assured that they were secure from attack. On the 31st of May orders were issued for the embarkation of the army of invasion as follows: 1. The Fifth Army Corps. 2. The Battalion of Engineers. 3. The detachment of the Signal Corps. 4. Five squadrons of cavalry, to be selected by the commanding general of the cavalry division, in accordance with instruction previously given. 5. Four batteries of light artillery, to be commanded by a major, to be selected by the commanding officer of the light artillery brigade. 6. Two batteries of heavy artillery, to be selected by the commanding officer of the siege artillery battalion, with eight (8) siege guns and eight (8) field mortars. 7. The Battalion of Engineers, the infantry, and cavalry, will be supplied, with 500 rounds of ammunition per man. 8. All troops will carry, in addition to the fourteen (14) days' field rations now on hand, ten (10) days' travel rations. 9. The minimum allowance of tentage and baggage as prescribed in General Orders 54, A.G.O., current series, will be taken. 10. In addition to the rations specified in paragraph 8 of this order, the chief commissary will provide sixty (60) days' field rations for the entire command. 11. All recruits and extra baggage, the latter to be stored, carefully piled and covered, will be left in camp, in charge of a commissioned officer, to be selected by the regimental commander. Where there are no recruits available the necessary guard only will be left. 12. Travel rations will be drawn, at once, by the several commands, as indicated in paragraph 8. This was by command of Major-General Shafter. There were delays on account of inadequate facilities for embarkation at Tampa and Port Tampa. Orders for General Shafter to move with not less than 10,000 men were issued on the 7th, and there was delay on account of reports of Spanish ships of war ready to strike a blow at the transports. Twelve squadrons of cavalry not mounted were added to the troops designated in the general order, and June 14th the expedition sailed with 815 officers and 16,072 enlisted men, and had a smooth and uneventful passage. There were several demonstrations for the deception of the enemy, in one of which 500 Cubans were employed. General Shafter was committed by the movements and the ground, as he says in his official report: "To approach Santiago from the east over a narrow road, at first in some places not better than a trail, running from Daiquiri through Siboney and Sevilla, and making attack from that quarter, was, in my judgment, the only feasible plan, and subsequent information and results confirmed my judgment." The disembarkation commenced June 22nd, and all men were ordered to carry "on the person the blanket roll (with shelter tent and poncho), three days' field rations (with coffee, ground), canteens filled, and 100 rounds of ammunition per man. Additional ammunition, already issued to the troops, tentage, baggage, and company cooking utensils left under charge of the regimental quartermaster, with one non-commissioned officer and two privates from each company," Two days were occupied in getting the troops ashore, and the first engagement was on the morning of the 24th, General Young's brigade taking the advance, and finding a Spanish force strongly intrenched on the Santiago road three miles from Siboney. Young's force was 964 officers and men. The enemy were driven from the field. Our loss, 1 officer and 15 men killed, and 6 officers and 46 men wounded. Spanish loss reported 9 killed and 27 wounded. General Shafter says the engagement had "an inspiring effect" upon the men, and "gave us a well-watered country further to the front, on which to encamp our troops," and the rest of the month was occupied in attempting to land rations enough to have a reserve, and "it was not until nearly two weeks after the army landed that it was possible to place on shore three days' supplies in excess of those required for the daily consumption." General Shafter reconnoitered, and formed his plan of battle June 30th, and reports that in the opening of the engagement on July 1st "the artillery fire from El Pozo was soon returned by the enemy's artillery. They evidently had the range of this hill, and their first shells killed and wounded several men. As the Spaniards used smokeless powder it was very difficult to locate the position of their pieces, while, on the contrary, the smoke caused by our black powder plainly indicated the position of our battery." The advantages the Spaniards had in the use of smokeless powder were conspicuous throughout the scenes of fighting both at Santiago and Manila. We had, however, at Santiago a war balloon of the actual service, of which General Shafter says: "General Kent forced the head of his column alongside of the cavalry column as far as the narrow trail permitted, and thus hurried his arrival at the San Juan and the formation beyond that stream. A few hundred yards before reaching the San Juan the road forks, a fact that was discovered by Lieutenant-Colonel Derby of my staff, who had approached well to the front in a war balloon. This information he furnished to the troops, resulting in Sumner moving on the right-hand road, while Kent was enabled to utilize the road to the left." General Shafter officially makes the following reference to his illness at the time: "My own health was impaired by overexertion in the sun and intense heat of the day before, which prevented me from participating as actively in the battle as I desired; but from a high hill near my headquarters I had a general view of the battlefield, extending from El Caney on the right to the left of our lines on San Juan Hill. My staff officers were stationed at various points on the field, rendering frequent reports, and through them by the means of orderlies and the telephone, I was enabled to transmit my orders. "After the brilliant and important victory gained at El Caney, Lawton started his tried troops, who had been fighting all day and marching much of the night before, to connect with the right of the cavalry division. Night came on before this movement could be accomplished. In the darkness the enemy's pickets were encountered, and the Division Commander being uncertain of the ground and as to what might be in his front halted his command and reported the situation to me. This information was received about 12:30 a. m., and I directed General Lawton to return by my headquarters and the El Pozo House as the only certain way of gaining his new position. "This was done, and the division took position on the right of the cavalry early next morning, Chaffee's brigade arriving first, about half-past 7, and the other brigades before noon." Of the hottest of the fight on the 1st of July, General Shafter reports: "Great credit is due to Brigadier-General H. S. Hawkins, who, placing himself between his regiments, urged them on by voice and bugle calls to the attack so brilliantly executed. "In this fierce encounter words fail to do justice to the gallant regimental commanders and their heroic men, for, while the generals indicated the formations and the points of attack, it was, after all, the intrepid bravery of the subordinate officers and men that planted our colors on the crest of San Juan Hill and drove the enemy from his trenches and blockhouses, thus gaining a position which sealed the fate of Santiago. "In this action on this part of the field most efficient service was rendered by Lieutenant John H. Parker, Thirteenth Infantry, and the Gatling gun detachment under his command. The fighting continued at intervals until nightfall, but our men held resolutely to the positions gained at the cost of so much blood and toil. "I am greatly indebted to General Wheeler, who, as previously stated, returned from the sick list to duty during the afternoon. His cheerfulness and aggressiveness made itself felt on this part of the battlefield, and the information he furnished to me at various stages of the battle proved to be most useful." The report of the General Commanding of the further fighting is a model of forcible brevity, in these paragraphs: "Soon after daylight on July 2 the enemy opened battle, but because of the intrenchments made during the night, the approach of Lawton's division, and the presence of Bates' brigade, which had taken position during the night on Kent's left, little apprehension was felt as to our ability to repel the Spaniards. "It is proper here to state that General Bates and his brigade had performed most arduous and efficient service, having marched much of the night of June 30-July 1, and a good part of the latter day, during which he also participated in the battle of El Caney, after which he proceeded, by way of El Pozo, to the left of the line at San Juan, reaching his new position about midnight. "All day on the 2d the battle raged with more or less fury, but such of our troops as were in position at daylight held their ground, and Lawton gained a strong and commanding position on the right. "About 10 p..m., the enemy made a vigorous assault to break through my lines, but he was repulsed at all points. "On the morning of the 3d the battle was renewed, but the enemy seemed to have expended his energy in the assault of the previous night, and the firing along the lines was desultory;" and this was stopped by a letter sent by General Shafter, saying he would be obliged to "shell Santiago," if not surrendered, and non-combatants would be given until 10 o'clock July 4th to leave the city. The reply of the Spanish General was that he would not surrender. Then foreign consuls came within our lines asking more time to remove the women and children. The language of General Shafter reporting the situation at the time and the events following, is here reproduced as of permanent interest: "My first message went in under a flag of truce at 12:30 p.m. I was of the opinion that the Spaniards would surrender if given a little time, and I thought this result would be hastened if the men of their army could be made to understand they would be well treated as prisoners of war. Acting upon this presumption, I determined to offer to return all the wounded Spanish officers at El Caney who were able to bear transportation, and who were willing to give their paroles not to serve against the forces of the United States until regularly exchanged. This offer was made and accepted. These officers, as well as several of the wounded Spanish privates, 27 in all, were sent to their lines under the escort of some of our mounted cavalry. Our troops were received with honors, and I have every reason to believe the return of the Spanish prisoners produced a good impression on their comrades. "The cessation of firing about noon on the 3d practically terminated the battle of Santiago. "A few Cubans assisted in the attack at El Caney, and fought valiantly, but their numbers were too small to materially change the strength, as indicated above. The enemy confronted us with numbers about equal to our own; they fought obstinately in strong and intrenched positions, and the results obtained clearly indicate the intrepid gallantry of the company, officers and men, and the benefits derived from the careful training and instruction given in the company in recent years in rifle practice and other battle exercises. Our losses in these battles were 22 officers and 208 men killed, and 81 officers and 1,203 men wounded; missing, 79. The missing, with few exceptions, reported later. "The arrival of General Escario on the night of July 2, and his entrance into the city was not anticipated, for although it was known, as previously stated, that General Pando had left Manzanillo with reinforcements for the garrison of Santiago, it was not believed his troops could arrive so soon. General Garcia, with between four and five thousand Cubans, was intrusted with the duty of watching for and intercepting the reinforcements expected. This, however, he failed to do, and Escario passed into the city along on my extreme right and near the bay." On the 11th, when the firing ceased and was not resumed "the sickness in the army was increasing very rapidly, as a result of exposure in the trenches to the intense heat of the sun and the heavy rains. Moreover, the dews in Cuba are almost equal to rains. The weakness of the troops was becoming so apparent I was anxious to bring the siege to an end, but in common with most of the officers of the army I did not think an assault would be justifiable, especially as the enemy seemed to be acting in good faith in their preliminary propositions to surrender. "July 12 I informed the Spanish Commander that Major-General Miles, Commander-in-Chief of the American army, had just arrived in my camp, and requested him to grant us a personal interview on the following day. He replied he would be pleased to meet us. The interview took place on the 13th." The Spanish raised many points, as is their habit, and were tenacious about retaining their arms, but yielded, and "the terms of surrender finally agreed upon included about 12,000 Spanish troops in the city and as many more in the surrendered district." July 17th "we met midway between the representatives of our two armies, and the Spanish Commander formally consummated the surrender of the city and the 24,000 troops in Santiago and the surrendered district. "After this ceremony I entered the city with my staff and escort, and at 12 o'clock noon the American flag was raised over the Governor's palace." The men and material surrendered by the Spaniards at Santiago largely exceeded the two English armies and their equipments at Saratoga and Yorktown. The yellow fever appeared in the American camp at Siboney July 4th, and the fact was soon known to the army. General Shafter says of the wounded and sick: "They received every attention that it was possible to give them. The medical officers without exception worked night and day to alleviate the suffering, which was no greater than invariably accompanies a campaign. It would have been better if we had more ambulances, but as many were taken as was thought necessary, judging from previous campaigns." General Joe Wheeler's report of the action of July 1st is a paper full of striking points. The movement into battle began in wading the San Juan river under heavy fire, and the General says: "We were as much under fire in forming the line as we would be by an advance, and I therefore pressed the command forward from the covering which it was formed. It merged into open space, in full view of the enemy, who occupied breastworks and batteries on the crest of the hill which overlooked Santiago, officers and men falling at every step. The troops advanced gallanty, soon reached the foot of the hill and ascended, driving the enemy from their works and occupying them on the crest of the hill. "Colonel Carroll and Major Wessels were both wounded during the charge, but Major Wessels was enabled to return and resume command. General Wyckoff, commanding Kent's Third Brigade, was killed at 12:10. Lieutenant-Colonel Worth took command and was wounded at 12:15. Lieutenant-Colonel Liscum then took command and was wounded at 12:20, and the command then devolved upon Lieutenant-Colonel Ewers, Ninth Infantry. "Upon reaching the crest I ordered breastworks to be constructed, and sent to the rear for shovels, picks, spades, and axes. The enemy's retreat from the ridge was precipitate, but our men were so thoroughly exhausted that it was impossible for them to follow. Their shoes were soaked with water by wading the San Juan River; they had become drenched with rain, and when they reached the crest they were absolutely unable to proceed further. Notwithstanding this condition these exhausted men labored during the night to erect breastworks, furnished details to bury the dead and carry the wounded back in improvised litters." Wheeler's loss was 6 officers and 40 men killed, 29 officers and 288 men wounded, and 10 men missing--total 372, out of a force of 127 officers and 2,536 men. General Bates says that after his brigade remained for some time in the first cross road after wading the San Juan river: "We moved to the right to assault a small hill, occupied upon the top by a stone fort and well protected by rifle pits. General Chaffee's brigade charged them from the right, and the two brigades, joining upon the crest, opened fire from this point of vantage, lately occupied by the Spanish, upon the village of El Caney. "From this advantageous position the Spanish were easily driven from place to place in the village proper, and as fast as they sought shelter in one building were driven out to seek shelter elsewhere. The sharpshooters of my command were enabled to do effective work at this point. The town proper was soon pretty thoroughly cleaned out of Spanish, though a couple of blockhouses upon the hill to the right of the town offered shelter to a few, and some could be seen retreating along a mountain road leading to the northwest. A part of these made a stand in a field among some bowlders. General Lawton observes: "The light battery first opened on a column of Spanish troops, which appeared to be cavalry moving westward from El Caney, and about 2 miles range, resulting, as was afterwards learned, in killing 16 in the column." The General has much to say of a pleasing personal nature. The report of General Kent is of extraordinary merit for the exact detail and local color. Colonel McClernand, he says, "pointed out to me a green hill in the distance which was to be my objective on my left," and as he moved into action, "I proceeded to join the head of my division, just coming under heavy fire. Approaching the First Brigade I directed them to move alongside the cavalry (which was halted). We were already suffering losses caused by the balloon near by attracting fire and disclosing our position. "The enemy's infantry fire, steadily increasing in intensity, now came from all directions, not only from the front and the dense tropical thickets on our flanks, but from sharpshooters thickly posted in trees in our rear, and from shrapnel apparently aimed at the balloon. Lieutenant-Colonel Derby, of General Shafter's staff, met me about this time and informed me that a trail or narrow way had been discovered from the balloon a short distance back leading to the left to a ford lower down the stream. I hastened to the forks made by this road, and soon after the Seventy-first New York Regiment of Hawkins' brigade came up. I turned them into the by path indicated by Lieutenant-Colonel Derby, leading to the lower ford, sending word to General Hawkins of this movement. This would have speedily delivered them in their proper place on the left of their brigade, but under the galling fire of the enemy the leading battalion of this regiment was thrown into confusion and recoiled in disorder on the troops in the rear." The Second and Third Battalions "came up in better order," but there was some delay, and General Kent says: "I had received orders some time before to keep in rear of the cavalry division. Their advance was much delayed, resulting in frequent halts, presumably to drop their blanket rolls and due to the natural delay in fording a stream. These delays under such a hot fire grew exceedingly irksome, and I therefore pushed the head of my division as quickly as I could toward the river in column files of twos parallel in the narrow way by the cavalry. This quickened the forward movement and enabled me to get into position as speedily as possible for the attack. Owing to the congested condition of the road, the progress of the narrow columns was, however, painfully slow. I again sent a staff officer at a gallop to urge forward the troops in rear." The Second Brigade and Third "moved toward Fort San Juan, sweeping through a zone of most destructive fire, scaling a steep and difficult hill, and assisting in capturing the enemy's strong position (Fort San Juan) at 1:30 p.m. This crest was about 125 feet above the general level, and was defended by deep trenches and a loop-holed brick fort surrounded by barbed-wire entanglements." General Hawkins, after General Kent reached the crest, "reported that the Sixth and Sixteenth Infantry had captured the hill, which I now consider incorrect. Credit is almost equally due the Sixth, Ninth, Thirteenth, Sixteenth, and Twenty-fourth regiments of infantry. Owing to General Hawkins' representations, I forwarded the report sent to corps headquarters about 3 p.m. that the Sixth and Sixteenth infantry regiments captured the hill. The Thirteenth Infantry captured the enemy's colors waving over the fort, but, unfortunately, destroyed them, distributing the fragments among the men, because, as was asserted, 'It was a bad omen,' two or three men having been shot while assisting private Arthur Agnew, Company H, Thirteenth Infantry, the captor. All fragments which could be recovered are submitted with this report. "I have already mentioned the circumstances of my Third Brigade's advance across the ford, where in the brief space of ten minutes it lost its brave commander (killed) and the next two ranking officers by disabling wounds. Yet, in spite of these confusing conditions the formations were effected without hesitation, although under a stinging fire, companies acting singly in some instances, and by battalion and regiments in others, rushing through the jungle, across the stream waist deep, and over the wide bottom thickly set with barbed wire." General Kent says: "The bloody fighting of my brave command can not be adequately described in words. The following list of killed, wounded, and missing tells the story of their valor: "July 1st the loss was 12 officers and 77 men killed, 32 officers and 463 men wounded, 58 men missing. Total loss, 642." The following day the Spaniards resumed the battle, and the losses of Kent's command on the 2nd and 3d of July made up a total loss in three days of 99 killed and 597 wounded, and 62 missing. General Shafter said that before closing his report he desired to dwell upon "the natural obstacles I had to encounter, and which no foresight could have overcome or obviated. The rocky and precipitous coast afforded no sheltered landing places, the roads were mere bridle paths, the effect of the tropical sun and rains upon unacclimated troops was deadly, and a dread of strange and unknown diseases had its effect on the army. "The San Juan and Aguadores rivers would often suddenly rise so as to prevent the passage of wagons, and then the eight pack trains with the command had to be depended upon for the victualing of my army, as well as the 20,000 refugees, who could not in the interests of humanity be left to starve while we had rations." During the Chicago Peace Jubilee, General Shafter made an address at the Armory of the First Illinois Volunteers, and, released from the continual forms of official reports, added much of interest to the story of Santiago. He says of the send-off: "We were twice embarked and twice taken back to Tampa and disembarked. On the first occasion the cause was the appearance of Admiral Cervera's fleet; it requiring the entire navy that was disposable to go after that fleet, and the second time by a report that afterwards turned out to be incorrect, that in the St. Nicholas channel, through which we would have to go, some Spanish cruisers had been seen." When ordered to Tampa to command the first Cuban expedition, he continued: "I took the troops that I thought best fitted and prepared for that service. There were some magnificent regiments of volunteers, but to part of them I had issued arms only two or three days before. They were not properly equipped, and lacked experience. As I had the choice, I took all of the regulars that were there, and with them three regiments of volunteers. They were magnificent men, as perfect as men could be, but, as you know who served in '61, poorly prepared to take care of themselves at first. You recollect it was months before we were prepared, and we made numerous mistakes that led to sickness and death. The same things have occurred again, and they always will continue with troops that are not used to the field, and in this campaign men were taken directly from their camps immediately after being mustered in, and put into the most difficult campaign of modern military history. "I practically had the entire regular army of the United States, twenty of the twenty-five regiments of infantry, five of the ten regiments of cavalry, and five batteries of artillery, with three regiments of volunteers, the Seventy-first New York, the Second Massachusetts, and the regiment known as Roosevelt's rough riders. The last were practically seasoned soldiers. They were men from the frontier, men who had been accustomed for years to taking a little sack of corn meal on their saddles, and a blanket, and going out to sleep out of doors for a week or a month at a time. Of course, they knew how to care for themselves in camp. "Early in June I was called to the telephone in Tampa, and told from the President's mansion in Washington to proceed immediately with not less than 10,000 men to Santiago; that news had been received that day that the fleet of Cervera was surely within that harbor, and that if 10,000 men could be placed there at once the fleet and the city could be captured in forty-eight hours. The horses and mules had been taken off from the ships as well as the men, and the time consumed in reloading the horses and mules allowed me to embark 17,000 men nearly. That was very fortunate for me and our cause." On arrival off Santiago, he, "with Admiral Sampson, went down the coast about twenty miles, and saw General Garcia, and asked him his opinion of the country, what his force was, and whether he was disposed to assist. I found him very willing and very glad to offer his services at once, with 3,000 men that he had with him and another thousand that he had up the country a little further, which were to join us immediately. In sailing along the coast, looking for a landing place, I selected two places--Siboney, a little indentation in the coast about twelve or thirteen miles east of Santiago, and another little bay about eight miles further east, where small streams entered into the sea, making a valley and a sandbar about 150 to 200 yards in extent. All the rest of the coast is abrupt, perpendicular walls of rock from ten to thirty feet high, against which the waves were dashing all the time, and where it is utterly impossible to land. "We had the earnest and able support of the navy and their assistance in disembarking, and the next morning were bombarding the two little places and driving the few hundred Spanish soldiers, that were there away. We began disembarking, and before the end of the day the men were on shore, with 2,000 horses and mules that we had to throw overboard to get ashore, and the artillery." The General noted the loss of 17,000 troops out of 24,000 in the English army that besieged Havana in 1762, at the same time of year that he landed at Santiago, and remarked: "I knew that my entire army would be sick if it stayed long enough; that it was simply a question of getting that town just as soon as possible. I knew the strength, the courage, and the will of my men, or I thought I did, and the result shows that I was not mistaken. It was a question of starting the moment we landed and not stopping until we reached the Spanish outposts, and, therefore, as soon as a division was put on shore it was started on the march. "On the 24th the first engagement took place, in which we had between 800 and 900 men on the American side and probably 1,000 or 1,200 on the Spanish. The enemy was strongly intrenched, showing only their heads, while the American forces had to march exposing their whole bodies to the fire of the enemy. "It is announced by military experts as an axiom that trained troops armed with the present breech-loading and rapid-firing arm cannot be successfully assailed by any troops who simply assault. Of course you can make the regular approaches and dig up to them. The fallacy of that proposition was made very manifest that day when the men composing the advance marched as deliberately over those breastworks as they ever did when they fought with arms that you could only load about twice in a minute and of the range of only 200 or 300 yards. "This army was an army of marksmen. For fifteen years the greatest attention has been paid to marksmanship, and I suppose four-fifths of all the men in that army wore on their breasts the marksman's badge. I had given orders, knowing that the noise of firing is harmless and that shots put in the air are harmless--I had given the strictest orders to all officers that their men should be told not to fire a shot unless they could see something moving, and the firing was to be by individuals, what is called file firing, individual firing. The Spanish troops, not so well drilled in firing as ours, used volley firing, which is very effective against large bodies of troops massed and moving over a plain, but utterly inefficient when used against skirmishers moving over a rough country. In that battle, which lasted two hours, less than ten rounds of ammunition per man was fired by my men, and the losses, notwithstanding my men were exposed, their whole bodies, while the enemy were in trenches, where only their heads could be seen, were about equal. "I saw the commander of that force a few days later in Santiago, and in talking about it he said to me: 'Your men behaved very strange. We were much surprised. They were whipped, but they didn't seem to know it; they continued to advance (laughter and applause), and we had to go away.' He was quite right about it. They did have to go away. "On the 29th we had reached the immediate vicinity of the peaks in front of Santiago, about a mile and a half from the city. On the 30th I carefully reconnoitered the ground as much as one could in the dense undergrowth, and determined where I would make my attack, which was simply directed in front, and to make a direct assault. There was no attempt at strategy, and no attempt at turning their flanks. It was simply going straight for them. In that I did not misjudge my men, and that is where I succeeded so well. (Applause.) If we had attempted to flank them out or dig them out by regular parallels and get close to them my men would have been sick before it could have been accomplished, and the losses would have been many times greater than they were. "The only misfortune, as I judged it, of the first day's fight,but which I have since learned was for the best, was that immediately on our right, and what would be in our rear when we attacked the town, was a little village called El Caney, four miles and a half from Santiago, and whence the best road in the country connected with Santiago. I did not know the exact force there, but it was estimated to be 1,000, and perhaps a little more, and it would, of course, have been very hazardous to have left that force so near in our rear. "Instead of finishing the affair by 9 o'clock, as we expected, it took until 4:30 o'clock in the afternoon before the last shot was fired, and then after a loss of nearly a hundred killed and 250 wounded on our side and the almost total annihilation of the force opposed to us. They had an idea that they would be killed, and when men believe that it is hard to capture them. Just at the close of the battle three or four hundred did attempt to escape, but ran out in front of a brigade that they did not see, and in the course of about three or four hundred yards most of them were dead or mortally wounded, so that probably not more than twenty men on the other side escaped from that battle. It was a most desperate struggle. "Men were killed in the trenches by being knocked on the head with muskets, and one man I was shown two days later with what would be called a tremendous head on him, and the interpreter asked him how that had occurred, and he doubled up his fist and spoke of the soldier that had hit him as a black man, that he had dropped his gun and hit him in the head with his fist. That was pretty close work. "Meanwhile the battle in front of Santiago progressed, with three divisions on our side, one of dismounted cavalry and two of infantry. It was beautifully fought. Every man knew what he had to do, and so did every officer. The orders were that Immediately upon being deployed they were to attack. They did it. Every man kept going, and when one's comrade dropped the rest kept going. The result was that in about two hours the line was taken, and practically that afternoon the battle of Santiago was ended, for those men never advanced beyond that point. "During the night I brought up the division of General Lawton that had been on the right at Caney and put them on the extreme right, where I had intended to have them the day before, and where, had they been, we should probably have taken the town and have gotten only the men that were there, and not the 12,000 that were far beyond our reach who were surrendered a few days later. "On the morning of the 2d a weak attempt was made upon our lines. In that the Spaniards had to expose themselves, while my men were covered. The fight lasted but a little while, and they retreated. "On the morning of July 3 I thought we had so much of an advantage that I could notify the enemy, first, that I wanted a surrender, and, second, if they declined to surrender that they could have twenty-four hours to get the women and children out of town. Of course, civilized people do not fire on towns filled with women and children if they will come out if it can be avoided. The Spanish commander declined very promptly to surrender, but said he would notify the women and children and those that desired to go, but he wanted twenty-four hours more, and said there were a great many people to go out. They began to stream out at once, and for forty-eight hours old men, women, and children poured out until it was estimated that at least 20,000 people passed through our lines and out into the woods in the rear. Of course, there was an immense amount of suffering, and numbers died, especially of the old. Fortunately we were enabled to give them some food, enough so that they existed, but at that time, with the Cuban forces that I had, I was issuing daily 45,000 rations. Forty-five thousand people are a good many to feed when you have such fearful roads and food could only be carried on the backs of mules. "On that morning of the 3d, about an hour after the time for surrendering, Cervera's fleet left the harbor, and went out, as you know, to total annihilation. It was not more than twenty or thirty minutes after they left the mouth of the harbor before, so far as we could hear, the firing had ceased, and 1,700 men were prisoners, 600 were killed, and three or four battleships and some torpedo boats were either on the rocks or in the bottom of the sea--a most wonderful victory, never equaled before in naval history, and due mainly to the magnificent marksmanship of our men, which covered the Spanish decks with such a hail of iron that no sailors on earth could stand against it. "Two days after this I saw General Toral, and I was convinced from conversation with him that he was going to surrender. I had no one but myself to take the responsibility, in fact, I did not want anyone else to do it, but while I was convinced myself it was hard to convince others. I knew that we could capture the town at any time, that we had it surrounded so that they could not possibly get away, although on the night of July 2 2,800 men marched in. I had understood there were 8,000, but when we counted them a few days afterward there were only 2,800. I knew that if we carried that town by force a thousand men at least would be lost to the American army, and a thousand good American men are a good many to expend in capturing a Spanish town (applause), and I did not propose to do it if I could possibly talk them out of it. "General Toral knew just as well as I did that I knew just what he had--that he was on his last rations, and that nothing but plain rice, that we had his retreat cut off, that we had the town surrounded, that he could not hurt us, while we could bombard him and do some little damage, perhaps, and that it was only a question of a few days. "I found out a few days later what the hitch was which caused the delay, for General Toral had told me that he had been authorized by Blanco, the Governor-General, to enter into negotiations and make terms for surrender, and in Cuba you know General Blanco was in supreme command. His authority was such that he could even set aside a law of Spain. Knowing that, I felt sure that after very little delay they would surrender. They desired to get permission from the Madrid government to return to Spain. It was that that delayed them. Immediately upon receiving the permission to return to Spain they surrendered. "I had in line when the fighting was going on, about 13,000 men--not more than that at any time. Inside the Spanish trenches there were about 10,000. There were 11,500 surrendered, and I think about 1,500 of them were sick. The disproportion, considering the difference of situation, is not very great. In fact, I think that 10,000 American soldiers could have kept 100,000 Spaniards out had they been in the same position (applause), although I do not wish to disparage the bravery of the Spanish troops. They are gallant fellows, but they have not the intelligence and do not take the initiative as do the American soldiers; and they have not the bull-dog pluck that hangs on day after day. "Toral made the first proposition to surrender. He said if I would let him take his men and such things as they could carry on their persons and on a few pack mules that they had and guarantee him safe conduct to Holguin, which was fifty-two miles away to the north and in the interior, they would march out. I told him, of course, that was out of the question; that I could not accept any such terms as that, but I would submit it to the President. I did so, and was very promptly informed that only unconditional surrender would be received, but I was at liberty to say to General Toral that if they would surrender they would be carried, at the expense of the United States government, back to Spain. When that proposition was made to him I could see his face lighten up and the faces of his staff, who were there. They were simply delighted. Those men love their country intensely, they had been brought to Cuba against their will, and had stayed there three years, poorly clad, not paid at all, and not well fed, and the prospect of going back to their homes had as much to do with conforming their views to our wishes as anything that was done during the campaign. "Meanwhile ten or twelve days had elapsed and I had received quite a number of volunteer regiments--two from Michigan, the First District of Columbia, a Massachusetts regiment, and an Ohio regiment, the Eighth Ohio--all splendid troops and well equipped, and while they were not there at the hardest of the fighting they were there during the suffering, and everything that soldiers were called upon to do they did like men. "It is a great deal harder to stand up day after day and see companions go from sickness and disease than it is to face the perils of battle. "When I told General Toral that we would carry his men back he said: 'Does that include my entire command?' I said: 'What is your command and where are they?' He replied the Fourth Army Corps; 11,500 men in the city, 3,000 twenty miles in the rear of us; 7,500 he said were up the coast less than sixty miles, and about 1,500 125 to 150 miles off on the northeastern coast. "There were 3,440 odd, and at a place less than sixty miles east there were 7,500 and a few over, because we counted them and took their arms. The result of that surrender was as unexpected to us as probably it was to every person in the United States. There was simply a little army there, which had gone down to assist the navy in getting the Spanish fleet out and capturing that town, and we expected no other result from it than victory at the spot at the utmost, but in attacking the limb we got the whole body. It was expected that, beginning about the first of October, the objective point of the campaign was to be Havana, where we knew there were from 125,000 to 150,000 men, and it was expected that about the first of October a large army would be sent over there, and the battle that would decide the war would be fought in the vicinity of Havana. I think that was the universal feeling. The loss of that city and of those 24,000 men--23,376, to be accurate--so dispirited them that within a week the proposition of Spain to close the war was made, and, happily, the war was ended. "The difficulties of that campaign were not in the fighting. That was the easiest part of it. The difficulties were in getting food and medicine to the front. There was but a single road, a muddy and terrible road, and with five or six wagons going over it the sixth wagon would be on the axle tree, and in taking up some artillery I had fourteen horses on one battery that was usually drawn by four, and even with that number it went out of sight, and we had to leave it and dig it out after the water had subsided." Admiral Sampson's report, dated August 3d, was published October 23d, and covers the conduct of the fleet under his command, in its operations in the West Indies, for about two months prior to the destruction of Admiral Cervera's ships on July 3. It was made up largely of official dispatches and the movements of the fleet, with explanations and comment by the Admiral, and begins with a statement of the determination reached by the Navy department to send a squadron to the Windward Passage for the purpose of observation, because of the information received of the sailing, on April 29, of Admiral Cervera's squadron from the Cape Verde Islands. On the voyage eastward from the naval base at Key West, which began on May 4, Admiral Sampson reports there was experienced endless trouble and delay because of the inefficiency of the two monitors accompanying the other ships, and which had to be taken in tow. Their coal supply was so small that it was at once evident that they must either frequently coal or be towed. The Admiral says: "Had the sea been rough, or had the enemy appeared at this juncture, the squadron would have been in a much better position for an engagement had the monitors been elsewhere. Subsequently, when engaging the batteries of San Juan, it was evident that their shooting was bad. "Owing to the quick rolling of these vessels, even in a moderate sea, they were unable to fire with any degree of accuracy." Among the telegrams received by the Admiral from the department at Washington when off Cape Haytien was the following: Washington, D.C., May 6.--Do not risk or cripple your vessels against fortifications as to prevent from soon afterwards successfully fighting Spanish fleet, composed of Pelayo, Carlos V., Oquendo, Vizcaya, Maria Teresa, Cristobal Colon, four deep sea torpedo boats, if they should appear on this side. _Long_. It was determined to go to Porto Rico, and the squadron arrived off San Juan on the morning of the 12th and the bombardment of that place ensued. Regarding his action at this place the Admiral says: "It was clear to my own mind that the squadron would not have any great difficulty in forcing the surrender of the place, but the fact that we should be held several days in completing arrangements for holding it; that part of our force would have to be left to await the arrival of troops to garrison it; that the movements of the Spanish squadron, our main objective, were still unknown; that the flying squadron was still north and not in a position to render any aid; that Havana, Cervera's natural objective, was thus open to entry by such force as his, while we were a thousand miles distant, made our immediate movement toward Havana imperative. "I thus reluctantly gave up the project against San Juan and stood westward for Havana." Several telegrams are here presented, based on reports that Cervera's squadron had returned to Cadiz and they had in view "to return and capture San Juan, the desire to do so and occupy the place being assured in the event of Admiral Cervera's failure to cross the Atlantic." Shortly after news was received that the Spanish fleet had appeared off Curacao, West Indies, and the squadron under orders from the department proceeded to Key West, to which place the flying squadron under Commodore (now Admiral) Schley had already been ordered. Arrangements were then hurriedly made and the flying squadron, augmented by the other vessels under Commodore Schley, was sent off Cienfuegos, where it was believed the enemy would go, in which case an effort was to be made to engage and capture him. Sampson was given the choice either of the command of the blockading squadron off Havana or at Cienfuegos, Schley in either case to remain with his own squadron. From messages received by the Admiral from the department about May 20 it appears that reports had reached the United States that the Spanish fleet was at Santiago, so the department advised Sampson to send immediately word to Schley to proceed to that place, leaving one small vessel off Cienfuegos. On May 21 instructions were written by Samnson for Commodore Schley and sent to him via the Marblehead regarding the possibility of the Spanish fleet being at Santiago. They are in part as follows: United States Flagship New York, First Rate, Key West, Fla., May 21.--Sir: Spanish squadron is probably at Santiago de Cuba--four ships and three torpedo boat destroyers. If you are satisfied they are not at Cienfuegos proceed with all dispatch, but cautiously, to Santiago de Cuba, and if the enemy is there blockade him in port. You will probably find it necessary to establish communication with some of the inhabitants--fishermen or others--to learn definitely that the ships are in port, it being impossible to see into it from the outside. The Admiral said he felt much concerned as to the delivery of these orders and sent a duplicate by the Hawk with an additional memorandum. The Admiral suggested that if the information did not reach Commodore Schley before daylight of May 23 to mask the real direction he should take as much as possible. He adds: "Follow the Spanish squadron whichever direction they take." The Admiral off Havana gives copies of orders of battle which were to be followed in the event that Cervera left Santiago on the approach of Schley's fleet from Cienfuegos and attempted to cruise around the coast to Havana, in which case the Havana squadron would attempt to intercept him by going east about 200 miles beyond the junction of Santiren and Nicholas Channels. Strict orders were given for screening lights and to see that none were accidentally shown. The squadron was to cruise generally to the eastward in the day and westward during the night. On May 23, as shown by the report, Commodore Schley expressed the belief that the Spaniards were at Cienfuegos. On the 27th the Admiral sent word to Schley, directing him to proceed with all possible speed to Santiago because of information received that the Spaniards were there. The same time orders were sent to have the collier Sterling dispatched to Santiago with an expression of opinion that the Commodore should use it to obstruct the channel at its narrowest part leading into the harbor. The details of the plan were left to the Commodore's judgment, as he (Sampson) had "the utmost confidence in his ability to carry this plan to a successful conclusion, and earnestly wished him good luck." Sampson apparently felt certain of the presence of the Spaniards at Santiago and urged that the harbor must be blockaded at all hazards. Schley in the meantime had proceeded to Santiago, although it appears not the same day Admiral Sampson expected. At one time Commodore Schley contemplated going to Key West with the squadron for coal, but this was abandoned, his collier having been temporarily repaired, and the necessity for a trip to Key West being avoided Santiago was then blockaded. Admiral Sampson arrived at Santiago June 1st. June 8 the Admiral urged upon the department, as he had previously done, to expedite the arrival of the troops for Santiago, the difficulty of blockading the Spanish ships daily increasing. In a memorandum dated June 15, the Admiral says: "The Commander-in-Chief desires again to call the attention of the commanding officers to the positions occupied by the blockading fleet, especially during the daytime, and it is now directed that all ships keep within a distance of the entrance to Santiago of four miles, and this distance must not be exceeded. "If the vessel is coaling or is otherwise restricted in its movements it must nevertheless keep within this distance. If at any time the flagship makes signal which is not visible to any vessel, such vessel must at once approach the flagship or retreating vessel to a point where it can read the signal. "Disregard of the directions which have already been given on this head has led to endless confusion. Many times during the day the fleet is so scattered that it would be perfectly possible for the enemy to come out of the harbor and meet with little opposition. "The Commander-in-Chief hopes that strict attention will be given this order." In the order of battle incidental to the landing of Shafter's army corps June 22, when ships were sent to shell the beach and cover the landing of the men" the following occurs: "The attention of commanding officers of all vessels engaged in blockading Santiago de Cuba is earnestly called to the necessity of the utmost vigilance from this time forward, both as to maintaining stations and readiness for action and as to keeping a close watch upon the harbor mouth. If the Spanish Admiral ever intends to attempt to escape that attempt will be made soon." The Admiral says trouble was experienced in the landing of Shafter's army on account of the wandering proclivities of some of the transports. The progress of the disembarkation was rendered somewhat difficult by a heavy sea, the heaviest during the three weeks the fleet had been stationed there, owing to a stiff blow off the coast of Jamaica. According to a dispatch to Secretary Long, dated June 26, the channel at Santiago not having been obstructed by the sinking of the Merrimac, Admiral Sampson was preparing a torpedo attack to hasten the destruction of the Spanish vessels, although he regretted resorting to this method because of its difficulties and small chance of success. He would not do this, he says, were the present force to be kept there; as it then insured a capture, which he believed would terminate the war. There was contemplated at this time sending a fleet to the Spanish coast; and this expedition was to consist of the Iowa, Oregon, Newark, Yosemite, Yankee, and Dixie, and they were to go to the Azores for orders, en route to Tangier, Morocco. The colliers were to join the fleet at the Azores. On June 30 the Admiral received a communication from Major-General Shafter announcing that he expected to attack Santiago the following morning, and asking that he (Sampson) bombard the forts at Aguadores in support of a regiment of infantry, and make such demonstrations as he thought proper at the harbor's mouth, so as to keep as many of the enemy there as possible. This request was complied with, and on July 1 General Shafter asked that the Admiral keep up his fight on the Santiago water front. On July 2 the following was received from General Shafter. "Terrible fight yesterday, but my line is now strongly intrenched about three-fourths of a mile from town. I urge that you make effort immediately to force the entrance to avoid future losses among my men, which are already heavy. You can now operate with less loss of life than I can. Please telephone answer." A reply was telephoned General Shafter from Admiral Sampson, through Lieutenant Stanton, which said the Admiral had bombarded the forts at the entrance of Santiago and also Punta Gorda battery inside, silencing their fire, and asked whether he (Shafter) wanted further firing on the Admiral's part. The explanation was made that it was impossible to force an entrance until the channel was cleared of mines--a work of some time after the forts were taken possession of by the troops. To this General Shafter replied: "It is impossible for me to say when I can take batteries at entrance of harbor. If they are as difficult to take as those which we have been pitted against it will be some time and at great loss of life. I am at a loss to see why the navy cannot work under a destructive fire as well as the army. My loss yesterday was over 500 men. By all means keep up fire on everything in sight of you until demolished. I expect, however, in time and with sufficient men to capture the forts along the bay." On the 2nd of July, Sampson wrote to Shafter. "An officer of my staff has already reported to you the firing which we did this morning, but I must say in addition to what he told you that the forts which we silenced were not the forts which would give you any inconvenience in capturing the city, as they cannot fire except to seaward. They cannot even prevent our entrance into the harbor of Santiago. Our trouble from the first has been the channel to the harbor is well strewn with observation mines, which would certainly result in the sinking of one or more of our ships if we attempted to enter the harbor, and by the sinking of a ship the object of attempting to enter the harbor would be defeated by the preventing of further progress on our part. "It was my hope that an attack on your part of these shore batteries from the rear would leave us at liberty to drag the channel for torpedoes. "If it is your earnest desire that we should force our entrance I will at once prepare to undertake it. I think, however, that our position and yours would be made more difficult if, as is possible, we fail in our attempt. "We have in our outfit at Guantanamo forty countermining mines, which I will bring here with as little delay as possible, and if we can succeed in freeing the entrance of mines by their use I will enter the harbor. "This work, which is unfamiliar to us, will require considerable time. "It is not so much the loss of men as it is the loss of ships which has until now deterred me from making a direct attack upon the ships within the port." The Admiral says he began making preparations to countermine, and, with the object of arranging an attack upon the batteries at the entrance a visit was arranged to General Shafter, so that the matter might be thoroughly discussed, and combined action take place. He adds: "I had in view the employment of the marines for an assault an either the Morro or Socapa battery, while at the same time assaulting the defenses at the entrance with the fleet." The Admiral says of the sortie and destruction of Cervera's fleet: "This event closes the purely naval campaign, crowning with complete success the anxious work of almost exactly two months." The error of Commodore Schley as to the location of Cervera's fleet, his hesitation in accepting the report of the Spaniards' presence at Santiago, appears to have caused the advancement of Admiral Sampson and subordinated Schley. Out of this came differences of opinion about facts among the close friends of the two distinguished officers. Schley was close at hand when Cervera's run from Santiago took place, while Sampson was out of the way on other duty, and Schley has been charged with an evasive movement of the New York just then that lost valuable time. It is related by the Washington staff correspondent of the Chicago Times-Herald that just after the battle of Santiago, Commodore Schley went aboard the Iowa and hailed Captain Evans with the remark that it had been a great day for the American navy. "But why didn't you obey orders and close in on the mouth of the harbor instead of heading out to sea?" inquired Evans. Commodore Schley's reply was that he was afraid the Vizcaya would ram the Brooklyn. This colloquy referred to a striking maneuver of the flagship Brooklyn early in the engagement at Santiago, which has been commented on before. In justice to Commodore Schley the navy department officers admit the Spanish officers after the battle said that it had been their purpose, on emerging from the harbor, to have the Vizcaya ram the Brooklyn, believing that the Spanish cruisers could outrun the remaining vessels in the American fleet, most of which were battleships, supposed to be of a lower rate of speed than the Spanish cruisers. The action of the Vizcaya as she headed toward the Brooklyn indicated her determination to carry out this programme. But the remark of Captain Evans to the nominal commander of the squadron would under ordinary circumstances have been an act of insubordination and only illustrates the feeling of some of the captains of the fleet toward the Commodore. It has been said that Schley, being ordered to Key West when Cervera appeared in Cuban waters, "proceeded to Cienfuegos, which was thought to be the destination of the Spanish warships. That port commanded the only direct railroad connection with Havana, and had the Spanish fleet gone there Admiral Cervera could have relieved General Blanco with money and munitions of war and received in return supplies necessary for his squadron. It is believed even now that had the Spanish ships been properly supplied and equipped they would have gone to Cienfuegos instead of to Santiago. But subsequent developments have shown that Admiral Cervera was permitted to take only enough coal to carry him to the nearest port, Santiago." Schley credited Cervera with knowing enough to know that Cienfuegos was the better port for his purposes, and therefore adhered to his opinion, and Sampson was made his superior officer. So important have the differences seemed that the Wainwright Board was convened to investigate the parts taken in the Santiago naval battle respectively by Admiral Sampson and Admiral Schley. But in official phrase this board was convened for the purpose of determining the position and courses of the ships engaged in the action at Santiago July 3, and reporting to the Secretary of the Navy. The report is: "U.S.F.S. New York, First Rate, Navy Yard, New York, Oct. 8, 1898.--Sir: In obedience to your order of Sept. 2, 1898, appointing us a board to plot the positions of the ships of Admiral Cervera's squadron and those of the United States fleet in the battle of July 3, off Santiago de Cuba, we have the honor to submit the following report, accompanied by a chart, showing the positions of the ships at seven different times. "These times, as taken by the United States ships engaged, with the incidents noted, are as follows: "No. 1, 9:35 a.m.--Maria Teresa came out of the harbor. "No. 2, 9:50 a.m.--Pluton came out. "No. 3, 10:15 a.m.--Maria Teresa turned to run ashore. "No. 4, 10:20 a.m.--Oquendo turned to run ashore. "No. 5, 10:30 a.m.--Furor blew up and Pluton turned to run ashore. "No. 6, 11:05 a.m.--Vizcaya turned to run ashore. "No. 7, 1:15 p.m.--Colon surrendered. "The chart selected by the board for plotting is H.O. chart No. 716, 1885, West Indies, eastern part of Bahama Islands, with part of Cuba and north coast of San Domingo. This selection was made after a careful comparison with all other charts at hand, as the positions of the principal headlands and inlets and the distances between them on it agree more nearly with the observation of members of the board than those given by any other. "The positions of the United States ships were established by known bearings and distances from the Morro at No. 1, with the exception of the New York, whose position is plotted by the revolutions of its engines during a run of forty-five minutes cast from its position, southeast half south of the Morro, 6,000 yards. Position at No. 2 is plotted by all ships according to their relative bearings from each other, the operations of their engines from 9:35 to 9:50, the evidence of the officers on board them, and the ranges used in firing at the Spanish ships. Position No. 3 is plotted from observations of the officers of the United States ships, with regard to their nearness to each other, and relative bearings of themselves from Teresa, with ranges in use at the time, the performance of the engines, and general heading of the ships. Position No. 4 same as No. 3, substituting Oquendo for Teresa. Position Nos. 5, 6, and 7 are plotted on the same general plan. "Before plotting these positions the board took each ship separately and discussed the data for the position under consideration--this data being obtained from the report of the commanding officers, notes taken during the action, and the evidence of the members of the board. In reconciling differences of opinion in regard to distances, bearings, ranges, etc., full liberty was given to the representative of the ships under discussion to bring in any argument or data he considered necessary, and the board submits this report with a feeling that, under the circumstances, it is as nearly correct as is possible so long after the engagement. Very respectfully, "_Richard Wainwright_, "Lieutenant Commander, U.S.N., Senior Member. "_S.P. Comly_, "Lieutenant, U.S.N. "_L.C. Heilner_, "Lieutenant, U.S.N. "_W.H. Schuetze_, "Lieutenant, U.S.N. "_A.C. Hodgson_, "Lieutenant, U.S.N. "_W.H. Allen_, "Lieutenant, U.S.N. "_Edward E. Capehart_, "Lieutenant, U.S.N. "To the Commander-in-Chief." Measurements upon the chart showing the positions of the vessels at the specified times named in the report will give as fair an idea of the work of the board as can be made without the chart itself. "Position No. 1, 9:35 a.m. When the Maria Teresa came out of the harbor the New York was nine miles east of Morro, accompanied by the Hist and Ericsson. The Brooklyn was three miles southwest of Morro, being two and two-tenths miles from the shore west of the mouth of the harbor. The Texas was eight-tenths of a mile east of the Brooklyn; the Iowa one and eight-tenths miles east and south of the Brooklyn, and the Oregon a half mile east of the Iowa, the Iowa being three miles directly south of Morro. The Indiana was two and two-tenths miles southwest of Morro and the Gloucester one mile almost directly north of the Indiana, a mile and four-tenths from Morro. "Position No. 2, 9:50 a.m. When the Pluton came out all the Spanish vessels had come out of the harbor and their positions were: Maria Teresa two and a half miles southwest of Morro, the Vizcaya, Colon and Oquendo, in the order named, behind the Teresa and from four-tenths to half a mile apart. The position of the American vessels were: The New York had moved up two and one-tenth miles westward. The Brooklyn had started north, swerved to the northeast and toward the mouth of the harbor, and was turning east on the swing it made to the right and around to the westward course; it was eight-tenths of a mile from the Vizcaya. At position No. 2 the Texas first went east a half mile, swinging toward the harbor, then turning to the left it is at No. 2 a half mile directly north of the first position. The Iowa moved by a varying course northwest and was a mile and four-tenths from the Vizcaya, the Oregon being two-tenths of a mile behind the Iowa, the Indiana three-tenths behind the Iowa. The Gloucester's first start was half a mile directly away from the harbor, but swinging to the right, had advanced toward the Spanish ships, being one and seven-tenths miles from the nearest, the Oquendo. "Position No. 3, 10:15 a.m. Maria Teresa turned to run ashore. It was five and one-half miles from Morro. The Vizcaya was two and three-tenths miles westward from the Teresa, the Oquendo one and two-tenths miles, and the Colon one and four-tenths miles in advance of the Teresa. The American vessels were as follows: The New York had come within three miles of Morro, being southeast of that point. The Brooklyn had made its swing to the westward, crossing its track, and was two and one-half miles south and west of the Teresa, and one and three-tenths miles directly south of the Colon, and one and one-tenth miles and a little behind the Vizcaya, one and three-tenths miles and a little in advance of the Oquendo. The Texas was one and two-tenths miles from the Teresa, a little behind it, and one and four-tenths miles from and behind the next Spanish ship, the Oquendo. The Iowa was one and one-tenth miles from the Teresa and a little closer in, but not quite as far west as the Texas. The Oregon had pulled up and passed the Texas and Iowa, being a little further in shore than the Texas and a little further out than the Iowa. It was in advance of the Teresa, being one and seven-tenths miles from that vessel, six-tenths of a mile from and directly in the line of the Oquendo, seven-tenths of a mile from the Colon, and one and two-tenths miles behind the Vizcaya. The Indiana was two miles from the Texas and two and six-tenths miles from the Oquendo, the nearest Spanish vessel. The Gloucester had moved up six-tenths of a mile and was just a mile directly south of Morro. "Position No. 4, 10:20 a. m. Oquendo turned to run ashore. Only five minutes elapsed from position No. 3. All vessels had been running westward without material changes in their positions. The Colon had run one and three-tenths miles, the Vizcaya about one-tenth of a mile less, and swerved to the left, bringing it to within one and one-tenth miles of the Brooklyn. The Iowa was the same distance, but almost directly astern, and the Oregon was one and three-tenths miles from the Vizcaya, but farther out to sea. The Iowa was eight-tenths of a mile from the Oquendo, the Oregon nine-tenths of a mile from the same vessel, and both somewhat in advance of the doomed Spanish ship. The Indiana had advanced eight-tenths of a mile and was two and six-tenths miles away from the Oquendo, the nearest Spanish ship. The New York had advanced nearly a mile, but was not yet abreast of Morro. The Gloucester had run over two miles and was now well west of Morro, but five miles east of the Oquendo. "Position No. 5, 10:30 a. m. Furor blew up and Pluton turned to run ashore. This is ten minutes later than position No. 4. The Gloucester had run a little more than two miles, and was four-tenths of a mile from the Furor and but little further from the Pluton. The New York had run two and two-tenths miles, and was three and three-tenths miles from the Furor, the nearest Spanish ship, and two and two-tenths miles south and a little west of Morro. The Colon had run two and nine-tenths miles, and the Vizcaya two and seven-tenths miles. The Brooklyn had run two and three-tenths miles, and was one and two-tenths miles from the Vizcaya and one and six-tenths miles from the Colon, which was running nearer the shore. The Oregon had sailed two and a half miles, and was one and one-half miles from the Vizcaya, and about the same distance from the Colon. The Texas was one and two-tenths miles astern of the Oregon, two and four-tenths miles from the Oregon. The Indiana was one and one-half miles astern of the Texas. "Position No. 6, 11:05 a.m. Vizcaya turned to run ashore. In thirty-five minutes the Vizcaya had sailed about seven miles, and was off the mouth of the Aserradero River. The Colon had run five and one-half miles further, and was more than that distance in advance of any of the American vessels. The Brooklyn was one and three-tenths miles distant from the Vizcaya and slightly behind it. The Oregon was one and a half miles from the Vizcaya, but nearer the shore and somewhat more astern of the enemy. The Texas was two and seven-tenths miles from the Vizcaya and directly astern of the Oregon. The Iowa was three and two-tenths miles directly astern of the Vizcaya. The New York was five miles behind the Iowa. The Ericsson had kept along with the New York all the time, and was, at this position, one-half a mile in advance of it. The Indiana was nearly four miles behind the Iowa. "Position No. 7, 1:15 p.m. The Colon surrendered. In the two hours and ten minutes from the last position given the vessels had coursed westward a great distance. The Colon had run twenty-six and one-half miles and was off the Tarquino River. The Brooklyn was the nearest American vessel. It had sailed twenty-eight and one-half miles and was three and four-tenths miles from the Colon. The Oregon was four and one-half miles from the Colon and more in shore than the Brooklyn. The Texas was three and four-tenths miles behind the Oregon. The New York was nine and one-half miles from the Colon. No one of the other vessels had come up save the Vixen, which was abreast of the New York. This little vessel in the beginning of the fight steamed out to sea and sailed westward on a course about two and one-quarter miles from that of the nearest Spanish ships. "The tracings of the chart show that the Spanish vessels sailed on courses not more than three-tenths of a mile apart until the Oquendo ran ashore. Then the Vizcaya veered out to sea and the Colon kept nearer the shore, their courses being about seven-tenths of a mile apart. Up to the time the Oquendo went ashore the Iowa, Indiana, Oregon, and Texas sailed on courses within three-tenths of a mile of each other, the Iowa being the nearest and the Texas the farthest from the course of the Spanish ships. The Brooklyn's course was from three-tenths to one-half of a mile outside that of the Texas. The swing to the right which the Brooklyn made at the beginning of the engagement shows an oval four-tenths of a mile across. It crossed the courses of the Texas, Oregon, and Indiana twice while making the turn, but before these vessels had gone over them. The course of the New York after passing Morro was nearer the shore than any other United States vessel except the Gloucester, and a mile behind where the Oquendo turned to run ashore it passed inside the courses of the Spanish vessels. Ten miles west of the Vizcaya disaster it crossed the Colon's track, but followed close the course of that vessel until the latter surrendered. "The Iowa, Indiana, and Ericsson did not go further west than where the Vizcaya ran ashore. The Gloucester stopped by the Maria Teresa and Oquendo, as also did the Hist. The latter vessel was not able to keep pace with the New York and Ericsson, the vessels it was with at the beginning of the battle." Major General Nelson A. Miles was carrying on, as master of the art and science of war, a prospering campaign in Porto Rico, when the protocol of peace between the United States and Spain was signed, and "the war drum throbbed" no longer. It is the testimony of those who have studied the management of the invasion of Porto Rico by the military head of the army, that it was going on guided with consummate skill when the war closed. The American forces had the pleasure in Porto Rico of moving in a country that had not been desolated as Cuba was. The island was a tropical picture of peace, only the glitter of armies breaking the spell. The defenders had the help of good roads, by which they could, on the inner lines, shift their columns with rapidity and ease. But the Porto Rico people were largely favorable to United States sovereignty--just as the Cubans would be if it were not for the selfishness and jealousies, hatreds and scheming, regardless of the favor or prosperity of the people, that the most deplorable warfare known in the later years of the earth has engendered. It was on October 18, 1898, that the American flag was raised over San Juan de Porto Rico. The telegram of the Associated Press contained this announcement of the ceremony and symbol by which was announced the glorious initial chapter of a new dispensation that adds to America's territory one of the loveliest islands of the sea: San Juan de Porto Rico, Oct. 18.--Promptly at noon to-day the American flag was raised over San Juan. The ceremony was quiet and dignified, unmarred by disorder of any kind. The Eleventh Regular Infantry, with two batteries of the Fifth Artillery, landed this morning. The latter proceeded to the forts, while the infantry lined up on the docks. It was a holiday for San Juan, and there were many people in the streets. Rear Admiral Schley and General Gordon, accompanied by their staffs, proceeded to the palace in carriages. The Eleventh infantry Regiment and band, with Troop H of the Sixth United States Cavalry, then marched through the streets and formed in the square opposite the palace. At 11:40 a. m. General Brooke, Admiral Schley, and General Gordon, the United States Evacuation Commissioners, came out of the palace, with many naval officers, and formed on the right side of the square. The streets behind the soldiers were thronged with townspeople, who stood waiting in dead silence. At last the city clock struck the hour of 12 and the crowds, almost breathless and with eyes fixed upon the flagpole, watched for developments. At the sound of the first gun from Fort Morro, Major Dean and Lieutenant Castle, of General Brooke's staff, hoisted the Stars and Stripes, while the band played the "Star Spangled Banner." All heads were bared and the crowds cheered. Fort Morro, Fort San Cristobal, and the United States revenue cutter Manning, lying in the harbor, fired twenty-one guns each. Senor Munoz Rivera, who was President of the recent autonomist council of secretaries, and other officials of the late insular government, were present at the proceedings. Congratulations and handshaking among the American officers followed, Ensign King hoisted the Stars and Stripes over the intendencia, but all other flags on the various public buildings were hoisted by military officers. Simultaneously with the raising of the flag over the Captain General's palace many others were hoisted in different parts of the city. Washington, D. C., Oct. 18.--The War Department has received the following to-day: "San Juan, Porto Rico, Oct. 18.--Secretary of War, Washington, D. C.: Flags have been raised on public buildings and forts in this city and saluted with national salutes. The occupation of the island is now complete. "_Brooke_, Chairman." The two Spanish fleets--of the East and West Indies, were annihilated, the former May 1st, and the latter July 2nd, two months and two days between the events. The respective fleets in Manila bay were as follows: _American Fleet_. Name Class Armanent Men and Officers Olympia Protected Cruiser Four 8-in., ten 5-in., 24 R.F. 466 Baltimore Protected Cruiser Four 8-in., six 6-in., 10 R.F. 395 Boston Par. Ptd. Cruiser Two 8-in., six 6-in., 10 R.F. 272 Raleigh Protected Cruiser One 6-in., ten 5-in., 14 R.F. 295 Concord Gunboat Six 6-in., 9 R.F. 150 Petrel Gunboat Four 6-in., 7 R.F. 100 McCulloch Revenue Cutter Four 4-in 180 _Spanish Fleet_. Name. Class. Armament. Men and Officers *Rema Cristina Steel Cruiser Six 6.2-in., two 2.7, 13 R.F. 370 Castilla Wood Cruiser Four 5.9, two 4.7, two 3.4, two 2.9, 12 R.F. 300 Don Antonio de Ulloa Iron Cruiser Four 4.7, 5 R.F. 173 Don Juan de Austria Iron Cruiser Four 4.7, two 2.7, 21 R.F. 173 Isla de Luzon Steel Ptd. Cruiser Six 4.7, 8 R.F 164 Isla de Cuba Steel Ptd. Cruiser Six 4.7, 8 R.F 164 Velasco Iron Cruiser Three 6-in., two 2.7, two R.F. 173 Marques del Duero Gunboat One 6.2, two 4.7, 1 R.F. 98 General Lezo Gunboat One 3.5, 1 R.F. 97 El Correo Gunboat Three 4.7, 4 R.F. 116 Quiros Gunboat 4 R.F. 60 Villalobos Gunboat 4 R.F. 60 Two torpedo boats and two transports. The American squadron was thus officered: Acting Rear Admiral George Dewey, Commander-in-Chief. Commander B.P. Lamberter, Chief-of-Staff. Lieutenant L.M. Brumby, Flag Lieutenant. Ensign H.H. Caldwell, Secretary. _Olympia_ (Flagship). Captain, Charles V. Gridley. Lieutenant-Commander, S. C. Paine. Lieutenants: C.G. Calkins, V.S. Nelson, G.S. Morgan, S.M. Strite. Ensigns: M.M. Taylor, F.B. Upham, W.P. Scott, A.G. Kavanagh, H.V. Butler. Medical Inspector, A.F. Price; Passed Assistant Surgeon, J.E. Page; Assistant Surgeon, C.H. Kindleberger; Pay Inspector, D.A. Smith; Chief Engineer, J. Entwistle; Assistant Engineer, S.H. DeLany; Assistant Engineer, J.F. Marshall, Jr.; Chaplain, J.B. Frazier; Captain of Marines, W.P. Biddle; Gunner, L.J.G. Kuhlwein; Carpenter, W. Macdonald; Acting Boatswain, E.J. Norcott. _The Boston_. Captain, F. Wildes. Lieutenant-Commander, J.A. Norris. Lieutenants: J. Gibson, W.L. Howard. Ensigns: S.S. Robinson, L.H. Everhart, J.S. Doddridge. Surgeon, M.H. Crawford; Assistant Surgeon, R.S. Balkeman; Paymaster, J.R. Martin; Chief Engineer, G.B. Ransom; Assistant Engineer, L.J. James; First Lieutenant of Marines, R. McM. Dutton; Gunner, J.C. Evans; Carpenter, L.H. Hilton _U. S. Steamship Baltimore_. Captain, N. M. Dyer. Lieutenant-Commander, G. Blocklinger. Lieutenants: W. Braunersreuther, F. W. Kellogg, J. M. Ellicott, C. S. Stanworth. Ensigns: G. H. Hayward, M. J. McCormack, U. E. Irwin. Naval Cadets, D. W. Wurtsbaugh, I. Z. Wettersoll, C. M. Tozer T. A. Karney; Passed Assistant Surgeon, F. A. Heiseler; Assistant Surgeon, E. K. Smith; Pay Inspector, E. Bellows; Chief Engineer, A. C. Engard; Assistant Engineers, H. B. Price, H. I. Cone; Naval Cadet (engineer), C. P. Burt; Chaplain. T. S. K. Freeman; First Lieutenant of Marines, D. Williams; Acting Boatswain, H. R. Brayton; Gunner, L. J. Connelly; Acting Gunner, L. J. Waller; Carpenter, O. Bath. _U. S. Steamship Raleigh_. Captain, J. B. Coghlan. Lieutenant-Commander, F. Singer. Lieutenants: W. Winder, B. Tappan, H. Rodman, C. B. Morgan, Ensigns: F. L. Chidwick, P. Babin. Surgeon, E. H. Marsteller; Assistant Surgeon, D. N. Carpenter; Passed Assistant Paymaster, S. E. Heap; Chief Engineer, F. H. Bailey; Passed Assistant Engineer, A. S. Halstead; Assistant Engineer, J. E. Brady; First Lieutenant of Marines, T. C. Treadwell; Acting Gunner, G. D. Johnstone; Acting Carpenter, T. E. Kiley. _The Concord_. Commander, A. S. Walker. Lieutenant-Commander, G. P. Colvocoreses. Lieutenants: T. B. Howard, P. W. Hourigan. Ensigns: L. A. Kiser, W. C. Davidson, O. S. Knepper. Passed Assistant Surgeon, R. G. Broderick; Passed Assistant Paymaster, E. D. Ryan; Chief Engineer, Richard Inch; Passed Assistant Engineer, H. W. Jones; Assistant Engineer, E. H. Dunn. _The Petrel_. Commander, E. P. Wood. Lieutenants: E. M. Hughes, B. A. Fiske, A. N. Wood, C. P. Plunkett. Ensigns: G. L. Fermier, W. S. Montgomery. Passed Assistant Surgeon, C. D. Brownell; Assistant Paymaster, G. G. Siebells; Passed Assistant Engineer, R. T. Hall. The marvel of the naval engagements that disarmed Spain in both the Indies, is that only one American was killed in the Santiago action, and the only man who lost his life on Dewey's fleet was overcome by heat. The Spaniards were deceived as well as surprised at Manila, the deception being their dependence upon the belief that the Americans would take it for granted that the falsified official charts were correct, and stand off. The course of the American fleet, finding with the lead on the first round 32 feet of water where the chart said 15, dismayed the enemy. The Spanish had but one chance to cripple Dewey, and that was by closing with him, but they never seem, except in the case of the flagship, to have contemplated taking the offensive. In the course of the war crowded with victory, two Spanish fleets were destroyed, two Spanish armies surrendered, thirty-six thousand soldiers and sailors of Spain made prisoners of war, the only heavy losses of Americans were at Santiago, and they happened because in the terrible climate of Cuba in summer, for those unaccustomed to it and forced to be in the rain and sleep on the ground, it was necessary to carry the enemy's lines of defense by assault, because it was certain that delay would be destruction of the troops. The campaign was hurried and short, but such was the effect of the few weeks spent in Cuba that, bloody as were the first days of July, the weeks succeeding witnessed the death from sickness of more soldiers than fell in battle. Not until November 5,1898, did the State Department make public the complete text of the Protocol between the United States and Spain for the preliminary settlement of the war. A copy was cabled to this country from the French translation, but the department here never gave out the text of the document in official form. The Protocol textually is as follows: "Protocol of agreement between the United States and Spain, embodying the terms of a basis for the establishment of peace between the two countries, signed at Washington Aug. 12, 1898. Protocol: William R. Day, Secretary of State of the United States, and his Excellency, Jules Cambon, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of France at Washington, respectively possessing for this purpose full authority from the government of the United States and the government of Spain, have concluded and signed the following articles, embodying the terms on which the two governments have agreed in respect to the matters hereinafter set forth, having in view the establishment of peace between the two countries--that is to say: _Article_ I. "Spain will relinquish all claim of sovereignty over and title to Cuba. _Article_ II. "Spain will cede to the United States the Island of Porto Rico and other islands now under Spanish sovereignty in the West Indies, and also an island in the Ladrones, to be selected by the United States. _Article_ III. "The United States will occupy and hold the City, Bay, and Harbor of Manila, pending the conclusion of a treaty of peace, which shall determine the control, disposition, and government of the Philippines. _Article_ IV. "Spain will immediately evacuate Cuba, Porto Rico, and other islands now under Spanish sovereignty in the West Indies, and to this end each government will, within ten days after the signing of this protocol, appoint commissioners, and the commissioners so appointed shall, within thirty days after the signing of this protocol, meet at Havana for the purpose of arranging and carrying out the details of the aforesaid evacuation of Cuba and the adjacent Spanish islands; and each government will, within ten days after the signing of this protocol, also appoint other commissioners, who shall, within thirty days after the signing of this protocol, meet at San Juan, Porto Rico, for the purpose of arranging and carrying out the details of the aforesaid evacuation of Porto Rico and other islands now under, Spanish sovereignty in the West Indies. _Article_ V. "The United States and Spain will each appoint not more than five commissioners to treat of peace, and the commissioners so appointed shall meet at Paris not later than Oct. 1, 1898, and proceed to the negotiation and conclusion of a treaty of peace, which treaty shall be subject to ratification according to the respective constitutional forms of the two countries. _Article_ VI. "Upon the conclusion and signing of this protocol hostilities between the two countries shall be suspended, and notice to that effect shall be given as soon as possible by each government to the commanders of its military and naval forces. "Done at Washington in duplicate, in English and in French, by the undersigned, who have hereunto set their hands and seals, the 12th day of August, 1898. "William R. Day. Jules Cambon." CHAPTER XVI The Peace Jubilee. The Lessons of War in the Joy Over Peace in the Celebrations at Chicago and Philadelphia--Orations by Archbishop Ireland and Judge Emory Speer--The President's Few Words of Thrilling Significance--The Parade of the Loyal League, and Clover Club Banquet at Philadelphia--Address by the President--The Hero Hobson Makes a Speech--Fighting Bob Evans' Startling Battle Picture--The Destruction of Cervera's Fleet--The Proclamation of Thanksgiving. The lessons of war--that which has been through it accomplished for the country--the new lands over which our sovereignty is established--the gain in the national character--the increased immensity of the outlook of destiny, found impressive expression in the peace jubilee, the President of the United States participating, and interpreting history with dignity, in great Chicago, the giant of the West and North, and Philadelphia, the holy city of Independence Hall and the liberty bell. Of the celebrations of Peace with honor and victory, the first was that at Chicago, and it will be memorable for remarkable speeches in which many orators rose to the height of the occasion, their speeches worthy of celebrity and certain to give imperishable passages to the school books of the future. We have to pass over much of meritorious distinction, and confine ourselves in the selections for these pages, to the utterances of the President--Archbishop Ireland, whose golden periods of Americanism ring through the land, and the Southern orator, Judge Emory Speer, of Georgia, whose patriotism springs forth and elevates the nobility of his thought, and touches with sacred fire the ruddy glow of his eloquence. "Lead, my country, in peace!" was Archbishop Ireland's passionate exclamation, the key-note of his oration. He said: "War has passed; peace reigns. Stilled over land and sea is the clang of arms; from San Juan to Manila, fearless and triumphant, floats the star spangled banner. America, 'Be glad and rejoice, for the Lord hath done great things.' America, with whole heart and soul, celebrate thy jubilee of peace. "Welcome to America, sweet, beloved peace; welcome to America, honored, glorious victory. Oh, peace, thou art heaven's gift to men. When the Savior of humanity was born in Bethlehem the sky sang forth, 'Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace and good will to men.' Peace was offered to the world through Christ, and when the spirit of Christ is supreme, there is universal peace--peace among men, peace among nations. "Oh, peace, so precious art thou to humanity that our highest ideal of social felicity must ever be thy sovereignty upon earth. Pagan statesmanship, speaking through pagan poetry, exclaims: 'The best of things which it is given to know is peace; better than a thousand triumphs is the simple gift of peace.' The regenerated world shall not lift up sword against sword; neither shall they he exercised any more in war. "Peace is the normal flow of humanity's life, the healthy pulsation of humanity's social organism, the vital condition of humanity's growth and happiness. "'O first of human blessings and supreme, Fair Peace! how lovely, how delightful thou. Oh peace! thou soul and source of social life, Beneath whose calm inspiring influence Science his views enlarges, art refines, And swelling commerce opens all her ports. Blessed be the man divine who gave us thee.' "The praise of peace is proclaimed beyond need of other words, when men confess that the only possible justification of war is the establishment of peace. Peace, we prize thee. "'But the better thou, The richer of delight, sometime the more Inevitable war.' "'Pasis imponero morem'--to enforce the law of peace: this, the sole moral argument which God and humanity allow for war. O peace, welcome again to America. "War--how dreadful thou art! I shall not, indeed, declare thee to be immoral, ever unnecessary, ever accursed. No; I shall not so arraign thee as to mete plenary condemnation to the whole past history of nations, to the whole past history of my own America. But that thou art ever dreadful, ever barbarous, I shall not deny. War! Is it by cunning design--in order to hide from men thy true nature--that pomp and circumstance attend thy march; that poetry and music set in brightest colors, the rays of light struggling through thy heavy darkness, that history weaves into threads of richest glory the woes and virtues of thy victims? Stripped of thy show and tinsel, what art thou but the slaying of men?--the slaying of men by the thousands, aye, often by the tens, by the hundreds of thousands. "With the steady aim and relentless energy tasking science to its utmost ingenuity, the multitudes of men to their utmost endurance, whole nations work day and night, fitting ourselves for the quick and extensive killing of men. This preparation for war. Armies meet on the field of battle; shot and shell rend the air; men fall to the ground like leaves in autumnal storms, bleeding, agonizing, dying; the earth is reddened by human blood; the more gory the earth beneath the tread of one army the louder the revel of victory in the ranks of the other. This, the actual conflict of war. From north to south, from east to west, through both countries whose flags were raised over the field of battle, homes not to be numbered mourned in soul-wrecking grief, for husband, father, son or brother who sank beneath the foeman's steel or yielded life within the fever tent, or who, surviving shot and malady, carries back to his loved ones a maimed or weakened body. This, the result of war. "Reduced to the smallest sacrifice of human life the carnage of the battlefields, some one has died and some one is bereft. 'Only one killed,' the headline reads. The glad news speeds. The newsboys cry: 'Killed only one.' 'He was my son. What were a thousand to this one--my only son.' "It was Wellington who said: 'Take my word for it, if you had seen but one day of war you would pray to Almighty God that you might never see such a thing again.' It was Napoleon who said: 'The sight of a battlefield after the fight is enough to inspire princes with a love of peace and a horror of war.' "War, be thou gone from my soul's sight! I thank the good God that thy ghastly specter stands no longer upon the thresholds of the homes of my fellow countrymen in America, or my fellow beings in distant Andalusia. When, I ask heaven, shall humanity rise to such heights of reason and of religion that war shall be impossible, and stories of battlefields but the saddening echoes of primitive ages of the race? "And yet, while we await that blessed day, when embodied justice shall sit in judgment between peoples as between individuals, from time to time conditions more repellant than war may confront a nation, and to remove such conditions as the solemn dictates of reason and religion impose was as righteous and obligatory. Let the life of a nation or the integrity of its territory be menaced, let the honor of a nation be assailed, let the grievous crime against humanity be perpetrated within reach of a nation's flag or a nation's arm, reiterated appeals or argument and diplomacy failing, what else remains to a nation which is not so base as to court death or dishonor but to challenge the fortunes of war and give battle while strength remains in defense of 'its hearthstones and its altars'? War, indeed, is dreadful; but let it come; the sky may fall, but let justice be done. War is no longer a repudiation of peace, but the means to peace--to the soul peace a self-sacrificing people may enjoy--peace with honor. "A just and necessary war is holy. The men who at country's call engage in such a war are the country's heroes, to whom must be given unstinted gratitude and unstinted praise. The sword in their hands is the emblem of self-sacrifice and of valor; the flag which bears them betokens their country and bids them pour out in oblation to purest patriotism the life blood of their hearts; the shroud which spreads over the dead of the battlefield is the mantle of fame and of glory. "Happy the nation which has the courage of a just war, no less than that of a just peace, whose sons are able and willing to serve her with honor alike in war and in peace. Happy the nation whose jubilee of peace, when war has ceased, is also a jubilee of victory. "'We love peace, not war, but when we go to war we send it the best and bravest of the country.' These words, spoken a few days ago by the chief magistrate of America, embody a great principle of American life. Six months ago the congress of the United States declared that in the name of humanity war should be waged in order to give to the island of Cuba a stable and independent government. Magnificent patriotism of America. The people of the United States at once rose in their might. They argued not, they hesitated not. America had spoken; theirs was not to judge but to obey. In a moment the money of America, the lives of America, were at the disposal of the chief magistrate of the nation, whose embarrassment was the too generous response to his appeal for means to bring victory to the nation's flag. America had spoken. Partisan politics, sectional disputes instantly were stilled beneath the majesty of her voice. Oft it had been whispered that we had a North and a South. When America spoke we knew that we were but one people; that all were Americans. It had been whispered that social and economic lines were hopelessly dividing the American people, and that patriotism was retreating before the growth of class interests and class prejudices. "But when America spoke there was no one in the land who was not an American; the laborer dropped his hammer; the farmer turned from his plow; the merchant forgot his counting-room; the millionaire closed the door of his mansion; and side by side, equal in love of country; their resolve to serve her, they marched to danger and to death. America can never doubt the united loyalty of her whole population, nor the power which such united loyalty puts into her hand. "And what may I not say in eulogy of the sentiment of humanity, that in union with their patriotism swayed the hearts of the American people, and in their vision invested the war with the halo of highest and most sacred duty to fellow-men? I speak of the great multitude, whom we name the American people. They had been told of dire suffering by neighboring people--struggling for peace and liberty; they believed that only through war could they acquit themselves of the sacred duty of rescuing that people from their sufferings. I state a broad, undeniable fact. The dominating, impelling motive of the war in the depths of the national heart of America was the sentiment of humanity. The people of America offered their lives through no sordid ambition of pecuniary gain, of conquest of territory, of national aggrandizement. Theirs was the high-born ambition to succor fellowmen. "What strength and power America was found to possess. When war was declared, so small was her army, so small her navy that the thought of war coming upon the country affrighted for the moment her own citizens and excited the derisive smiles of foreigners. Of her latent resources no doubt was possible; but how much time was needed to utilize them, and, meanwhile, how much humiliation was possible. The President waved his wand; instantly armies and navies were created as by magic. Within a few weeks a quarter of a million of men were formed into regiments and army corps; vessels of war and transport ships were covering the seas; upon water and land battles were fought and great victories won, from one side of the globe to the other. I know not of similar feats in history. What if in this bewildering rush of a nation to arms one department or another of the national administration was unable to put in a moment its hand upon all the details which a thoroughly rounded equipment required? The wonder is that the things that were done could at all have been done, and that what was done so quickly could have been done so well. The wonder is that this sudden creation of such vast military forces was possible, even in America. "What prowess in action, what intellect in planning, what skill in execution, were displayed by soldiers and seamen, by men and officers. Magnificent the sweep of Dewey's squadron in Manila harbor. Magnificent the broadsides from Sampson's fleet upon Cervera's fleeing ships. Magnificent the charge of regiments of regular infantry, and of Roosevelt's riders up the hills of El Caney. Never daunted, never calculating defeat, every man determined to die or conquer, every man knowing his duty, how to do it--the soldiers and seamen of America were invincible. Spanish fleets and Spanish armies vanished before them as mists before the morning sun; the nations of the earth stood amazed in the presence of such quick and decisive triumphs, at what America had done and at what, they now understood, America could do. The war is ended. It would ill become me to say what details shall enter into the treaty of peace which America is concluding with her vanquished foe. I stand in the presence of the chief magistrate of the republic. To him it belongs by right of official position and of personal wisdom to prescribe those details. The country has learned from the acts of his administration that to his patriotism, his courage, his prudence, she may well confide her safety, her honor, her destiny, her peace. Whatever the treaty of Sapin, America will be pleased when appended to this treaty is the name of William McKinley. "What I may speak of on this occasion is the results of the war, manifest even in this hour to America and to the world, transcending and independent of all treaties of peace, possessing for America and the world a meaning far mightier than mere accumulation of material wealth or commercial concessions or territorial extension. "To do great things, to meet fitly great responsibilities, a nation, like a person, must be conscious of its dignity and its power. The consciousness of what she is and what she may be has come to America. She knows that she is a great nation. The elements of greatness were not imparted by the war; but they were revealed to her by the war, and their vitality and their significance were increased through the war. "To take its proper place among the older nations of the earth a nation must be known as she is to those nations. The world to-day as ne'er before knows and confesses the greatness and the power of America. The world to-day admires and respects America. The young giant of the West, heretofore neglected and almost despised in his remoteness and isolation, has begun to move as becomes his stature; the world sees what he is and pictures what he may be. "All this does not happen by chance or accident. An all-ruling Providence directs the movements of humanity. What we witness is a momentous dispensation from the master of men. 'Magnus ab integro saeclorum nascitur ordo--with the revolution of centuries there is born to the world a new order of things,' sang the Mantuan poet at the birth of the Augustan age. So to-day we proclaim a new order of things has appeared. "America is too great to be isolated from the world around her and beyond her. She is a world power, to whom no world interest is alien, whose voice reaches afar, whose spirit travels across seas and mountain ranges to most distant continents and islands--and with America goes far and wide what America in the grandest ideal represents--democracy and liberty, a government of the people, by the people, for the people. This is Americanism more than American territory, or American shipping, or American soldiery. Where this grandest ideal of American life is not held supreme America has not reached, where this ideal is supreme America reigns. The vital significance of America's triumphs is not understood unless by those triumphs is understood the triumph of democracy and of liberty. "If it was ever allowed to nations to rejoice over the result of their wars, America may rejoice to-day. Shall we then chant the praises of war and change this jubilee of peace into a jubilee of war? Heaven forbid! "'We love peace, not war.' The greatness of America makes it imperative upon her to profess peace--peace to-day, peace to-morrow. Her mission as a world power demands that she be a messenger, an advocate of peace before the world. Fain would we make her jubilee of peace a jubilee of peace for all nations. At least the message from it to the world shall be a message of peace. "That at times wonderful things come through war, we must admit; but that they come through war and not through the methods of peaceful justice, we must ever regret. When they do come through war, their beauty and grandeur are dimmed by the memory of the sufferings and carnage which were their price. "We say in defense of war that its purpose is justice; but is it worthy of Christian civilization that there is no other way to justice than war, that nations are forced to stoop to the methods of the animal and savage? Time was when individuals gave battle to one another in the name of justice; it was the time of social barbarism. Tribunals have since taken to themselves the administration of justice, and how much better it is for the happiness and progress of mankind. "It is force, or chance, that decides the issue of the battle. Justice herself is not heard; the decision of justice is what it was before the battle, the judgment of one party. Must we not hope that with the widening influence of reason and of religion among men, the day is approaching when justice shall be enthroned upon a great international tribunal, before which nations shall bow, demanding from it judgment and peace? Say what we will, our civilization is a vain boast. "'Till the war drum throbs no longer, and the battle flags are furled In the parliament of man, the federation of the world. There the common sense of most shall hold a fretful realm in awe, And the kindly earth shall slumber, wrapt in universal law.' "It is America's great soldier who said: "'Though I have been trained as a soldier, and have participated in many battles, there never was a time when, in my opinion, some way could not have been found of preventing the drawing of the sword. I look forward to an epoch when a court, recognized by all nations, will settle international differences, instead of keeping large standing armies, as they do in Europe.' Shall we not allow the words of General Grant to go forth as the message of America? "Some weeks ago the Czar of Russia said: 'The maintenance of general peace and possible reduction of the excessive armaments which weigh upon all nations present themselves in the existing condition of the whole world as an ideal towards which the endeavors of all governments should be directed,' and in accordance with those views he invited all nations to send representatives to an international peace congress, in which the question of reducing the armaments of the several countries of the world and otherwise preparing some plan for the prevention of wars might be discussed. "Shall not America send to St. Petersburg a message of good will, a promise of earnest co-operation? America, great and powerful, can afford to speak of peace. Words of peace from her will be the more gracious and timely, as they who do not know her say that, maddened by her recent triumphs, she is now committed beyond return to a policy of militarism and of conquest. "Lead, my country, in peace--in peace for thyself, in peace for the world. When war is necessary, lead, we pray thee, in war; but when peace is possible, lead, we pray thee yet more, lead in peace; lead in all that makes for peace, that prepares the world for peace. "America, the eyes of the world are upon thee. Thou livest for the world. The new era is shedding its light upon thee, and through thee upon the whole world. Thy greatness and thy power daze me; even more, thy responsibilities to God and to humanity daze me--I would say affright me. America, thou failing, democracy and liberty fail throughout the world. "And now know, in the day of thy triumphs and victories, what guards democracy and liberty, what is thy true grandeur. Not in commerce and industry, not in ships and in armies, are the safety and the grandeur of nations, and, more especially, of republics. Intelligence and virtue build up nations and save them; without intelligence and virtue, material wealth and victorious armies bring corruption to nations and precipitate the ruin of liberty. "And now, America, the country of our pride, our love, our hope, we remit thee for to-day and for to-morrow into the hands of the Almighty God, under whose protecting hand thou canst not fail, whose commandments are the supreme rules of truth and righteousness." The Archbishop was followed by Judge Speer, of Georgia: "Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen: Spain had long been our near and dangerous neighbor. Its people have a degree of reverence almost superstitious for monarchy, and regard republican institutions with great disfavor. It has been said of Spain that some incurable vice in her organization, or it may be in the temper of her people, neutralizes all of the advantages she ought to derive from her sturdy hardihood, her nearly perfect capacity for endurance and the somber genius alike for war, for art and for literature, which has so often marked her sons. While this seems to be true, the Spaniard is not only a formidable antagonist, but there is a wealth of interest and charm in his rich, romantic history which commands the admiration of a generous foeman. This must be accorded, whether we contemplate that ancient people as they alternately resist the aggressions of Carthage and of Rome, the fierce cavalry of Hamilcar, the legions of Scipio, of Pompey and of Caesar, or in more recent times the achievements of their renowned infantry which broke to fragments the best armies of Europe, or the infuriated people in arms against the hitherto unconquered veterans of Napoleon, or but now as with patient and dogged courage, with flaming volleys, they vainly strive to hold the works of Caney and San Juan against the irresistible and rushing valor of the American soldier. In art the Spaniard has been not less famous. In the royal collection of Madrid, in the venerable cathedrals of Seville, in the Louvre, in the London National Gallery, the lover of the beautiful may be charmed by the warmth of color, the accuracy of technique, the rounded outline and saintly salvation of Murillo. "Many a quaint moralist, many a stately poet, many a priestly chronicler attests the genius of Spanish literature, but if these had not been, Don Quixote and Sancho Panza had been its title to immortality. The admirable attributes of Spanish character nowhere found warmer appreciation than with our own countrymen. What Prescott did for the statecraft, and stern martial renown of the Spaniards, Washington Irving, with melodious prose and gentle humor, surpassed in his kindly portrayal of Spanish character in his charming romance, The Conquest of Granada. It is perhaps due to the drollery and Addisonian humor of that gifted American that we have never been able to estimate the Spaniard quite so seriously as he estimates himself, or, indeed, as his stern and uncompromising nature deserves. The truth is, Spanish policy has ever been insidiously and persistently inimical to the American people, and has culminated in deeds more atrocious than those which have rendered infamous the baleful memory of Pedro the Cruel. "We all know how in 1492 his holiness, Alexander VI., in order to prevent unseemly collisions between Christian princes, published a bull by which he assigned to Spain all discoveries lying west of an imaginary line drawn 300 leagues to the westward of the Cape Verde islands. All discoveries to the east were confined to Portugal. "All of South America save Brazil and the two Guineas, all Central America, Mexico, the entire territory west of the Mississippi, now embraced by the United States, beautiful Cuba, from whose eastern province of Santiago Ponce de Leon across the lucent waves of the tropical sea coveted the ambrosial forests and fertile meadows of Porto Rico, whence he was to sail to the floral empire of Florida. But this was not all of Spain's magnificent domain. Far across the waters of the South Pacific was the now famous cluster of islands bearing the name of the Spanish king. And from their great cities, via Guam, and Hawaii, and San Francisco, to Acapulco, sailed the famous Manila fleet, huge galleons, loaded to the gunwales with the silken and golden wealth of the orient. Where are her colonies now? The declaration of the senior senator from the noble state of Illinois has been fulfilled: No race outside of her own borders, even if Spanish by origin, has ever been able to endure her reign, and every race which has resisted her ultimately succeeded in withdrawing from her control. "In the meantime the Americans, as declared by the German philosopher, Lessing, were building in the new world the lodge of humanity. The determined malignity of the Spaniard toward the adventurous men of our race who were fringing the Atlantic coast with sparsely peopled and widely separated settlements was promptly disclosed. They had threatened to send an armed ship to remove the Virginia planters. They laid claim to Carolina, and they directed powerful armed expeditions against the young colony of Georgia. They were now to meet, not the helpless savages who had been their victims, but men of that same fighting strain who in this good year breasted the hail of death, swarmed up the heights and planted the colors on the intrenchments of Santiago. "That field where the Georgian and Spaniards on that momentous day in 1742 met is yet called the Blood Marsh. The commander of our colonial forces was James Edward Oglethorpe. To his military genius and the heroism of his slender force is due the fact that the southern territory of the United States was not added to the dependencies of Spain. That illustrious Englishman should ever live in the memory and veneration of the American people. He did more to exclude the Spaniards from American soil than any other man of the English speaking race, save that successor of Washington, the president, who evinces his fervid love of country and graces the occasion by his presence to-day. "Defeated in their scheme of invasion, the Spaniards remained intensely inimical to our fathers. What more striking demonstration of that superintending providence, which administers justice, not only to individuals, but to nations, than the spectacle in this mighty city, builded on the heritage of which Spain would have deprived this people of this gathering of Americans to mark the epoch when the last Spanish soldier has been driven from the last foot of soil of that hemisphere discovered by Columbus. May we not justly exclaim with the psalmist of old: 'Oh, clap your hands, all ye people; shout unto God with the voice of triumph.' "It is perhaps impossible for Americans of this day and time to conceive how vast was the control Spain might have exerted over the destinies of our republic. The independence of the United States had been recognized, the constitution had been adopted and the government organized, and yet for many years she claimed without dispute the peninsula of Florida, thence a strip along the gulf extending to and including the city of New Orleans, and she held all of that territory west of the Mississippi extending from the Father of Waters to the Pacific ocean, and from the Gulf of Mexico northward to the undefined boundaries of the British possessions. "Even as it is to-day, that empire mentioned in Bishop Berkely's prophetic stanza, 'Westward the course of empire takes its way,' which sprang into being with the first shot of the simple, God-fearing husbandmen on the green at Lexington extends more than half way across the Pacific ocean, and the miner or the fisherman standing on the ultimate island of Alaska and gazing eastward across the icy waters may with the naked eye behold the dominions of the czar. Nor in this do we include those distant islands, where one May morning, ever to be famous in the annals of our race, the spicy breezes that blow o'er Manila bay were rent by the guns of the noble Dewey as they proclaimed that the genius of liberty had come to rid of cruelty and avarice and crime that charming land 'where every prospect pleases and only man is vile.' "In this connection may it not be well for us and for some of our distinguished representatives now in Paris to consider if it can be ever possible for men with the American and Spanish ideas of government to live in proximity and in peace? Contrast the character of the average American citizen with that of the Spaniard. The native and distinctive modesty of the national character forbids me to pronounce an extravagant eulogium upon the American citizen, but behold him and see what he has done and can do. "While the human intellect has been making prodigious and unheard-of strides, while the world is ringing with the noise of intellectual achievements, Spain sleeps on untroubled, unheeding, impassive, receiving no impression upon it. There she lies at the farther extremity of the continent, a huge and torpid mass, the sole representative now remaining of the feelings and knowledge of the middle ages. And, what is the worst symptom of all, she is satisfied with her own condition. Though she is the most backward country in Europe she believes herself to be the foremost. She is proud of everything of which she ought to be ashamed. "How incompatible is the temperament of the American and the Spaniard. "May the worn and wasted followers of Gomez and Garcia come to appreciate the blessings of liberty under the law. No other wish is in consonance with the aims of the American people. We would not, if we could, be their masters. The gigantic power of the country has been put forth for their salvation and for their pacification. Connected with them by bonds of genuine sympathy and indissoluble interest, we will labor with them to secure for them established justice, domestic tranquility, general welfare and the blessings of liberty to themselves and to their posterity. For the common defense, in the blue ether above the beautiful island of Cuba is poised the eagle.' 'Whose golden plume Floats moveless on the storm and in the blaze Of sunrise gleams when earth is wrapt in gloom.' "It was not enough, however, for the American people to recognize the independence of the Spanish-American republics. It soon became our duty to notify the world that in certain eventualities it was our purpose to defend their national existence. The holy alliance, as it was termed, had been formed. The great powers who signed the famous compact declared its purpose to maintain as Christian doctrine the proposition that useful or necessary changes in legislation, or in the administration of states, can only emanate from the free will and well-weighed convictions of those whom God has rendered responsible for power. Whom had God made responsible for power? What is a well-weighed conviction? These are questions about which the irreverent Americans might perchance differ with royalty. We had been lead to believe, and yet believe, that the voice of the people is the voice of God. When, therefore, the absolution of the holy alliance, not content with smothering a feeble spark of liberty in Spain, initiated a joint movement of their arms against the Spanish-American republics, it gave the people of our country the gravest concern. In the meantime our relations with Great Britain had grown cordial. That they may grow ever stronger and more cordial should be the prayer of every man of the English speaking race. An unspeakable blessing to mankind of the struggle from which we are now emerging is the genuine brotherly sympathy for the people of the United States flowing from that land. "And it is returned in no unstinted measure. But two months ago the flagship of Admiral Dewey steamed slowly into the battle line at Manila. As she passed the British flagship Immortalite its band rang out the inspiring air 'See the Conquering Hero Comes,' and as the gorgeous ensign of the republic was flung to the breeze at the peak of the Olympia there now came thrilling o'er the waters from our kinsmen's ship the martial strains of the 'Star Spangled Banner.' "Finally, when our gallant seamen, reposing in fancied security in the scorching blast of the treacherous explosion were cruelly and remorselessly slain, and calm investigation had developed the truth, we had been despicable on the historic page had we not appealed to the god of battle for retribution. The pious rage of seventy millions of people cried aloud to heaven for the piteous agony, for the shameful slaughter of our brethren. Our noble navy was swiftly speeding to its duty. Poetic genius bodied forth the spirit of our gallant seamen as the mighty ships sped on their way. "Let the waters of the orient as they moan through the shell-riven wrecks at Cavite, the booming waves of the Caribbean as fathoms deep it sweeps over Pluton and Furor and breaks into spray on the shapeless and fire-distorted steel of Vizcaya and Oquendo, tell how the navy has paid our debt to Spain. Nor is the renown which crowns the standards of our army one whit less glorious. Nothing in the lucid page of Thucydides nor in the terse commentaries of Caesar, nothing in the vivid narrative of Napier or the glowing battle scenes of Allison, can surpass the story how, spurning the chapparal and the barbed wire, pressing their rifles to their throbbing hearts, toiling up the heights, and all the while the machine guns and the Mausers mowing the jungle as if with a mighty reaper, on and yet right on, they won the fiery crests, and Santiago fell. Well may we exclaim with the royal poet of Israel: "'Oh, sing unto the Lord a new song, for he hath done marvelous things; his right hand and his holy arm hath gotten him the victory.' "America! Humane in the hour of triumph, gentle to the vanquished, grateful to the Lord of Hosts, a reunited people forever: "'Great people. As the sands shalt thou become; Thy growth is swift as morn, when night must fade The multitudinous earth shall sleep beneath thy shade.'" The band burst into the strains of "Dixie" in honor of the Southern birth of Judge Speer, as he concluded his oration. President McKinley, as on other occasions during the program, joined in the hearty applause. Cries of "McKinley," "McKinley," "The President," "The President," were heard all over the hall, and in a moment it was seen that the President was going to respond. Every one stood up. Ex-Governor Oglesby approached the front of the box, and said, "I have the honor to introduce the guest of the occasion, the President." "Leaning forward," we quote the Tribune, "from his box in the earnestness of his utterance, speaking in the tones of emotion having birth in the fullness of heart, President William McKinley, at the Auditorium jubilee meeting yesterday morning gave to the people a message of simple thanks and significant augury. Save for a wave of applause at the mention of American charity, the terse, reverent address was heard in silence. An added hush fell upon the intent throng when the President began the portentous concluding paragraph, and when he ceased speaking and stood before them grave and masterful, the quiet was breathless, tense under the force of repression. Then the meaning of the words of the Executive coursed from heart to brain, and men's minds grasped the fact that they had heard the President's lips declare that he had seen the direction of the flow of the currents of destiny, that he recognized their majesty, and that his purpose was in harmony with the common will--the force working for the retention of the conquered islands in the distant Pacific and for the policy of national growth. "The applause broke the louder for the preceding calm and the deeper for the inspiring motive. Hats were swung and handkerchiefs waved. Men climbed on chairs to lead the cheering and women forgot gloved hands and applauded with energy. At the last, ex-Governor Richard J. Oglesby, who had a seat in the President's box, led in three cheers." The message of the President was: "My Fellow Citizens: I have been deeply moved by this great demonstration. I have been deeply touched by the words of patriotism that have been uttered by the distinguished men so eloquently in your presence. It is gratifying to all of us to know that this has never ceased to be a war of humanity. The last ship that went out of the harbor of Havana before war was declared was an American ship that had taken to the suffering people of Cuba the supplies furnished by American charity, and the first ship to sail into the harbor of Santiago was another American ship bearing food supplies to the suffering Cubans. "I am sure it is the universal prayer of American citizens that justice and humanity and civilization shall characterize the final settlement of peace as they have distinguished the progress of the war. "My countrymen, the currents of destiny flow through the hearts of the people. Who will check them? Who will divert them? Who will stop them? And the movements of men, planned by the master of men, will never be interrupted by the American people." The Philadelphia celebration was a scene of a demonstration of popular interest and patriotic feeling amazing in its multitudinous enthusiasm. The Loyal League was out in full force, the parade was a prodigy of display, and the Clover Club gave a brilliant dinner, and the cleverness of the President's speech carried the club by storm. He said: "I cannot forego making acknowledgment to this far-famed club for the permission it has granted me to meet with you here to-night. You do not seem half so bad at this stage as you have been pictured. No one can unfold the future of the Clover Club. (Laughter.) It has been so gratifying to me to participate with the people of the city of Philadelphia in this great patriotic celebration. It was a pageant the like of which I do not believe has been seen since the close of the great Civil War, when the army of Grant, Sherman and Sheridan, and the navy of Dupont, Dahlgren and Porter gave the great review in the capital city of the nation. And I know of no more fitting place to have a patriotic celebration than in this great city, which witnessed the first consecration of liberty and of the Republic. As I stood on the great reviewing stand, witnessing the soldiers and sailors passing by, my heart was filled only with gratitude to the God of battles, who has so favored us, and gratitude to the brave soldiers and sailors who had won such signal victories on land and on sea, and had given a new meaning to American valor. "It has been especially gratifying to me to participate not only with the people of Philadelphia, but with the people of the great West, where I have recently visited, in doing honor to the American army and the American navy. No nobler soldiers or sailors ever assembled under any flag. You had with you to-day the leaders of Santiago, Porto Rico and Guantanamo. We unfortunately had none of the heroes of Manila with us. But I am sure that our hearts go out to them to-night and to the brave Dewey and Otis and Merritt, and all the other gallant men that are now sustaining the flag in the harbor city of Manila." (A voice, "How about Hobson?") "The American people are always ready for any emergency, and if the Merrimac is to be sunk there is an American officer to do it. He succeeded in doing what our foe has been unable to do, sink an American ship. (Applause.) "I ask you, gentlemen of the Clover Club, to unite with me in toasting the Army and Navy of the United States, without whose valor and sacrifice we could not celebrate the victory we have been celebrating to-day. Not only the men at the front, not only the men on the battleships and in the battle line, but the men at home with ambition to go to fight the battles of American civilization, should be the recipients of the gratitude of the American people." Hobson and his men were a great feature of the parade in the four-in-hand. Hobson, during this visit to Philadelphia was caught, surrounded and captured at his hotel and was forced to make a speech, of which there is this report: "The young officer was plainly embarrassed. His red face suggested it, his trembling voice told it. In a low tone and frequently pausing, as if from a loss of a word, he said: "'Your reception has been so very kind that it seems almost as if I had lost the power to say anything.' "Someone called out: 'Never mind, you had nerve enough to go into Santiago Harbor,' and then the crowd gave three cheers for Hobson. "He began again. 'The incident you have referred to is one you unduly magnify. Believe me, it was really nothing more than a little bit of work, which came to my men and to me to do in the ordinary course of strategy in warfare. That was all it was, a little bit of work, and it is sheer exaggeration to say anything else.' "'Can't agree with you! Can't agree with you!' was the shouted answer from the crowd." At the Clover Club jubilee dinner, Captain "Fighting Bob" Evans gave a wonderfully interesting account of the destruction of Cervera's fleet, closing with a grim picture of war the celebration of peace. He had been speaking of the blockade of Cuba, and insistently called upon to tell about Santiago, said: "Of our little scrap, it was the prettiest mix-up that was ever seen. I want to say that no fleet ever met a braver enemy than we did at Santiago. Those Spaniards stood up and got killed in the best possible shape. Six hundred of them died in less than thirty minutes, so you can see that there was very little flinching on Cervera's ships. "During the fight there were two very interesting moments, the first when the four big cruisers of the enemy came outside of the harbor, firing away with mechanical regularity and presenting a most magnificent spectacle. They were not hitting anything, but that made little difference at that time, they tried hard enough. As we closed in, there came a moment when the fleeing Spanish ships had an almost perfect chance to use their rams on our vessels. I submit now that not a single one changed his course a single inch. They came out of that harbor and ran away, and that was all they attempted to do, fighting as they went. "The second point was when 'Dick' Wainwright misread a signal. I know he won't admit that he did misread it; however, I'll tell you the incident. In the Gloucester Wainwright was just off the harbor mouth when the two Spanish torpedo boat destroyers were noticed making straight at him. The Indiana signaled 'The enemy's torpedo boats are coming out.' Wainwright read it 'Close in and attack enemy's torpedo boats,' and you know the rest of the story. "There was a dramatic picture which I want to call your attention to. It was after the Vizcaya had run ashore, and I had to stop the Iowa, some 400 yards away. I saw the survivors on a sand bar, which was merely a narrow strip of about 200 yards from shore, on either side of a small inlet. On one side a school of hungry sharks were making fierce rushes toward the men, and on the other, the Cubans were shooting away, utterly regardless of the fact that they were fighting a helpless foe. Out in front we were not supposed to be very friendly. "Finally, I saw Captain Eulate, of the destroyed ship, coming toward my vessel in a small boat. Now Eulate is what you call a black Spaniard, one of those fellows that would cry as though his heart would break every few minutes when in trouble. He sat in the stern of a small boat that had belonged to his vessel. She was partly stove in and had about a foot of water, or I should say blood and water, in her bottom. "As I looked down in the gangway I think it was the most horrible sight that I ever witnessed. In the bottom of the boat lay two dead Spaniards, one with his head completely shot away. The Spanish Captain was wounded in three places, and each of the four men who rowed his boat was more or less cut up. We slung a chair over the side and carefully hauled him on board. "As he came up to the starboard gangway the marine guard saluted and he was received with all the honors of his rank. As he stepped toward me he burst into tears, threw his hands up in the air, and then, with a gesture of utter despair, but with all the grace of the pretty gentleman, loosed his sword belt and pressing a fervent kiss on the hilt of the weapon he extended it toward me. Every man on that ship knew that that Spaniard was giving up something of value equal to his life. I am not very good-natured, but I could not take that sword." This met with loud cries of "You did right, Bob," and one lusty-lunged individual announced that there was not a man in the country that would take it. Captain Evans, who recognized the speaker, a friend from the rural districts, answered: "Oh, you don't know what some of those up-country Pennsylvanians would do. It was a pretty good sword." Continuing, Captain Evans said: "I didn't know exactly what to do with the Spanish Captain to get him into our sick bay. As I was about to ask him of his wound he stepped toward the gangway and looked shoreward. About a quarter of a mile off lay the once magnificent vessel in which he had boasted he would tow the Brooklyn back to Spain. "She was burning fore and aft, terrific columns of flame shooting up around her, and suddenly, with a burst of tears, Captain Eulate kissed his hand and bade fond farewell to the burning hulk and said with impassioned voice, 'Adios Viscaya.' As he did this the very same instant there came a tremendous roar and the Vizcaya's magazine blew her superstructure hundreds of feet into the air. Had the incident occurred that way on the stage anybody would have said it was too well timed. "He turned back and we got him into the ship's hospital, where the surgeons placed him on his stomach to shave the hair around a small cut on the back of his head. I stood alongside of him, and rolling his eyes into the starboard corner he said to me, with a rather comical expression, 'I think I have heard of you before.' I told him I did not know how that could have been, and he asked: 'Did you not command the Indiana?' 'Yes,' I said; then he said, shaking his head as well as circumstances would permit, 'Yes, I have heard of you. You are "Bob" Evans.' "I have often wondered just what he referred to. I have a notion that it would fit certain remarks regarding certain language that I was credited with having used in reference to an attack on Havana; language, by the way, which I never used. As I said before, the battle before Santiago was the prettiest imaginable kind of effect. Why, two torpedo boat destroyers came out, and inside of ten minutes we had them sounding. One sounded in 200 fathoms of water and sunk to rest there. The other preferred a berth with her nose on the beach. "The Maria Teresa and Admiral Oquendo were on fire inside of five minutes after the fight had started. They made beautiful sweeps toward the shore, and were regular Fourth of July processions as they swept in on the beach. We helped them along a bit by landing a few shells in the stern. It was a pretty fight, but it should never be forgotten that the Spaniards fought their ships as hard and with as much valor as any men in any ships ever fought." After the first cabinet meeting succeeding the peace jubilee, the President issued his annual Thanksgiving proclamation: "_By the President of the United States_. _A Proclamation_. "The approaching November brings to mind the custom of our ancestors, hallowed by time and rooted in our most sacred traditions, of giving thanks to Almighty God for all the blessings he has vouchsafed to us during the past year. "Few years in our history have afforded such cause for thanksgiving as this. We have been blessed by abundant harvests, our trade and commerce have been wonderfully increased, our public credit has been improved and strengthened, all sections of our common country have been brought together and knitted into closer bonds of national purpose and unity. "The skies have been for a time darkened by the cloud of war; but as we were compelled to take up the sword in the cause of humanity, we are permitted to rejoice that the conflict has been of brief duration and the losses we have had to mourn, though grievous and important, have been so few, considering the great results accomplished, as to inspire us with gratitude and praise to the Lord of Hosts. We may laud and magnify His holy name that the cessation of hostilities came so soon as to spare both sides the countless sorrows and disasters that attend protracted war. "I do, therefore, invite all my fellow citizens, as well those at home as those who may be at sea or sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe Thursday, the twenty-fourth day of November, as a day of national thanksgiving, to come together in their several places of worship, for a service of praise and thanks to Almighty God for all the blessings of the year, for the mildness of seasons and the fruitfulness of the soil, for the continued prosperity of the people, for the devotion and valor of our countrymen, for the glory of our victory and the hope of a righteous peace, and to pray that the Divine guidance, which has brought us heretofore to safety and honor, may be graciously continued in the years to come. "In witness whereof, etc. (Signed) "_William M'Kinley_. "By the President: "_John Hay_, Secretary of State." CHAPTER XVII Early History of the Philippines. The Abolishment of the 31st of December, 1844, in Manila--The Mystery of the Meridian 180 Degrees West--What Is East and West?--Gaining and Losing Days--The Tribes of Native Filipinos--They Had an Alphabet and Songs of Their Own--The Massacre of Magellan--His Fate Like That of Captain Cook--Stories of Long Ago Wars--An Account by a Devoted Spanish Writer of the Beneficent Rule of Spain in the Philippines--Aguinaldo a Man Not of a Nation, But of a Tribe--Typhoons and Earthquakes--The Degeneracy of the Government of the Philippines After It Was Taken from Mexico--"New Spain"--The Perquisites of Captain-Generals--The Splendor of Manila a Century Ago. The 31st of December was abolished in Manila in 1844. Up to that time it had been retained as the discoverers fixed it by pure piety and patriotism. Pope Alexander VI had issued a bull on the 4th of May, 1493, dividing the world into two hemispheres, which was quite correct, though it did not correspond to the secular lines of more modern days. The gracious object of His Holiness was to keep the peace of the world by dividing the lands taken from the heathen between the Spaniards and Portuguese. The East was to belong to Portugal. The line was drawn to include Brazil. The west was the hunting ground for heathen of Spain. The claim of Spain for the Philippines was that they were west. That was the way Magellenas (Magellan), the Portuguese navigator sailed through the straits named for him, and westward found the alleged Oriental islands, in which we, the people of the United States, are now so much interested. When sailing into the sunset seas he picked up a day, and never discovered his error for he did not get home, and the Captain who navigated his ship did not know he was out of time with the European world until he got as far around as the Cape Verde Islands. An added day was held in Manila, as a kind of affirmation of clear title, or trade mark of true righteousness, on the part of Spain. It is one of the enduring puzzles in going around the world that a day is gained or lost, and it is not always a sure thing whether there is a loss or gain. The perplexing problem is increased in its persistence if one sails westward over the 180 Meridian west from Greenwich, and goes beyond that line (which is not the one drawn by Alexander VI)--say to the Philippines, and turns back, as is done in the voyage from San Francisco to Manila, and vice versa. In this case, the mystery of the meridian becomes something dreadful. One loses a day going west and gains one coming east, and it is a difficulty for a clear mind not to become cloudy over the account of loss and gain--or perhaps we may say profit and loss, when the account is closed. "The historian of the Philippine Expedition" lost a Wednesday going out, jumping from Tuesday to Thursday, and found an extra Thursday on the return--celebrated his birthday on another day than that on which he was born, and had to correct the ship account of his board bill, by adding a day. The Captain's clerk had forgotten it because it was not in the Almanac. Ship time begins a day at noon (and ends another), so when we crossed the meridian 180 degrees west at 2 p. m. by the sun, and the day was Thursday and to-morrow was Thursday also, the forenoon was yesterday by the ship. Therefore, Thursday was yesterday, to-day and to-morrow on the same day. The forenoon was yesterday--from 12 to 2 p. m. was to-day--and from 2 p. m. to midnight was to-morrow! It is no wonder "the historian," whose birthday was September the 2nd, found as he was on the west side of the meridian with the mystery that the folks at home in the states had celebrated it for him two days ago--one day he had lost, and the other they had gained. Jagor, the historian of the Philippines, before the days when Admiral Dewey grasped the reins of a thousand islands, and a thousand to spare, says in his "Philippine Islands," that "when the clock strikes 12 in Madrid, it is 8 hours 18 minutes and 41 seconds past 8 in the evening at Manila. The latter city lies 124 degrees 40 min. 15 sec. east of the former, 7 h. 54 min. 35 sec. from Paris. But it depends upon whether you measure time by moving with the sun or the other way. If westward the course of empire takes its way, Manila is a third of a day catching up with Madrid time. If we face the morning and go to meet it Manila is ahead. The absence of the right day for Sunday has long been gravely considered by the missionaries who have gone to heathen lands beyond the mysterious meridian that spoils all the holidays. One might establish a bank on that line and play between days, but there is only one little speck of land on the 180 degree meridian from pole to pole. It may be very well worth considering whether the United States should not reestablish the 31st of December in Manila, and assert that we hold title to the Philippines not only by the victories of the fleet and armies of the United States, but by the favor of Alexander VI, whose bull the Spaniards disregarded after it had grown venerable with three centuries of usage. We quote a Spanish historian who colors his chapters to make a favorable show for his country on this subject, as follows: "From the Spaniards having traveled westwards to the Philippines, there was an error of a day in their dates and almanacs. This was corrected in 1844, when, by order of the Captain-General and the Archbishop, the 31st of December, 1844, was suppressed, and the dates of Manila made to agree with those of the rest of the world. A similar correction was made at the same time at Macao, where the Portuguese who had traveled eastward had an error of a day in an opposite direction." It will be noticed that the authority of the Archbishop was carefully obtained and quoted, but it was beyond his prerogative. The early history of the Philippines bears few traces of the traditions and romances of the natives, but they were in possession of an alphabet when "discovered," and were then, as now, fond of music, singing their own melodies. The Hawaiians were enabled to get their old stories into print because they suddenly fell into the hands of masterful men who had a written language. The Icelanders were too literary for their own good, for they spoiled their history by writing it in poetry and mixing it with fiction, losing in that way the credit that belongs to them of being the true discoverers of America. The Filipinos were spared this shape of misfortune, not that they lacked imagination within a narrow range of vision, but they were wanting in expression, save in unwritten music. Their lyrical poetry was not materialized. The study of the natives must be studied as geology is. Geology and native history have been neglected in the Tagala country. The rocks of the Philippines have not been opened to be read like books. More is known of the botany of the islands than of the formation of the mountains and their foundations. The original inhabitants were Negritos--a dwarfish race, very dark and tameless, still in existence, but driven to the parts of the country most inaccessible. They are of the class of dark savages, who smoke cigars holding the fiery ends between their teeth! The islands were invaded and extensively harassed by Malay tribes--the most numerous and active being the Tagala. Of this tribe is General Aguinaldo, and it is as a man with a tribe not a nation that he has become conspicuous. The other tribes of Malays will not sustain him if he should be wild enough to want to make war upon the United States. The Tagalas are cock fighters and live on the lowlands. They eat rice chiefly, but are fond of ducks and chickens, and they have an incredibly acute sense of smell, not a bad taste in food, and do not hanker to get drunk. The Visayas are also a tribe. The Igolatas are next to the Tagala in numbers and energy. They show traces of Chinese and Japanese blood. There are no Africans in the Philippines, no sign of their blood. This may be attributed to Phillip's prohibition of negro slavery. General Greene, of New York, took with him to Manila a full-blooded black manservant, and he was a great curiosity to the Filipinos. When the English conquered Manila in 1762 they had Sepoy regiments, and held the city eighteen months. A good deal of Sepoy blood is still in evidence. The Chinese have been growing in importance in the Philippines. Their men marry the women of the islands and have large families, the boys of this class being wonderfully thrifty. The children of Englishmen by the native women are often handsome, and of strong organization. The females are especially comely. The early history of the islands consists of accounts of contests with frontier rebels, attacks by pirates, and reprisals by the Spaniards, great storms and destructive earthquakes. It is remarkable that Magellan was, like Captain Cook, a victim of savages, whose existence he made known to civilized people, falling in a sea-side contest. Magellan had converted a captive chief to Christianity and baptised him as King Charles. More than two thousand of his subjects were converted in a day, and the great navigator set forth to conquer islands for the dominion of the Christian King, who lived on the isle of Zebu. The Christian monarch was entertained and received many presents, making return in bags of gold dust, fruit, oil and wine. His Queen was presented with a looking glass, and then she insisted upon baptism, and so great was the revival that Magellan set out to capture more people for the newly made Christian couple--invaded the island of Matau, and with forty-two men landed where the water was shallow, his allies remaining afloat by invitation of Magellan, to see how the Spaniards disposed of enemies. The Spanish landed at night, and on the morning found a great multitude of savages opposed to them, and fought for life, but were overwhelmed by thousands of warriors. The Admiral was in white armor, and fighting desperately, was at last wounded in his sword arm, and then in the face, and leg. He was deserted by his men, who sought to save themselves in the water, and killed many of his enemies, but his helmet and skull were crushed at one blow by a frantic savage with a huge club. There were thirty-two Spaniards killed, and one of the squadron of three ships was burned as there were not men enough to sail all the vessels. There is in Manila, in the walled city, where it is seen every day by thousands of American soldiers, a stately monument to the navigator who found the Philippines, and whose adventurous discoveries insured him immortality. His first landing on the Philippines was March 12th, 1521, less than thirty years after Columbus appeared in the West Indies, believing that he was in the midst of the ancient East Indies, and judging from the latitude in the neighborhood of the island empire of the Great Kahn. [9] "After the death of Magellan, Duarte Barbosa took the command and he and twenty of his men were treacherously killed by the Christian King, with whom they had allied themselves, one Juan Serrano was left alive amongst the natives. Magellan's 'Victory' was the first ship that circumnavigated the globe. "Magellanes passed over to the service of the King of Castile, from causes which moved him thereto; and he set forth to the Emperor Charles V., our sovereign, that the Islands of Maluco fell within the demarcation of his crown of Castile, and that the conquest of them pertained to him conformably to the concession of Pope Alexander; he also offered to make an expedition and a voyage to them in the emperor's name, laying his course through that part of the delimitation which belonged to Castile, and availing himself of a famous astrologer and cosmographer named Ruyfarelo, whom he kept in his service. "The Emperor (from the importance of the business) confided this voyage and discovery of Magellanes, with the ships and provisions which were requisite for it, with which he set sail and discovered the straits to which he gave his name. Through these he passed to the South Sea, and navigated to the islands of Tendaya and Sebu, where he was killed by the natives of Matan, which is one of them. His ships went on to Maluco, where their crews had disputes and differences with the Portuguese who were in the island of Terrenate; and at last, not being able to maintain themselves there, they left Maluco in a ship named the Victory, which had remained to the Castilians out of their fleet, and they took as Chief and Captain Juan Sebastian del Cano, who performed the voyage to Castile, by the way of India, where he arrived with very few of his men, and he gave an account to His Majesty of the discovery of the islands of the great archipelago, and of his voyage." The work of De Morga has value as a novelty, as it is more than a defense--a laudation of the Spanish rule in the Philippines in the sixteenth century. The title page is a fair promise of a remarkable performance, and it is here presented: The Philippine Islands, Moluccas, Siam, Cambodia, Japan and China, at the close of the Sixteenth Century By _Antonio de Morga_. Translated from the Spanish, with Notes and a Preface, and a Letter from Luis Vaez De Torres, Describing His Voyage Through the Torres Straits, by the _Hon. Henry E. J. Stanley_. The original work of De Morga was printed in Mexico in 1609, and has become extremely rare; there is no copy of it in the Bibliotheque Imperiale of Paris. This translation is from a transcription made for the Hakluyt Society from the copy in the Grenville Library of the British Museum; the catalogue of which states that "this book, printed at Mexico, is for that reason probably unknown to Bibliographers, though a book of great rarity." The translator gives a new view to Americans of the part that Spaniards have played in the Philippines. He plunges deep into his subject, saying: "The great point in which Manila has been a success, is the fact that the original inhabitants have not disappeared before the Europeans, and that they have been civilized, and brought into a closer union with the dominant race than is to be found elsewhere in similar circumstances. The inhabitants of the Philippines previous to the Spanish settlement were not like the inhabitants of the great Indian peninsula, people with a civilization as old as that of their conquerors. Excepting that they possessed the art of writing, and an alphabet of their own, they do not appear to have differed in any way from the Dayaks of Borneo as described by Mr. Boyle in his recent book of adventures amongst that people. Indeed, there is almost a coincidence of verbal expressions in the descriptions he and De Morga give of the social customs, habits, and superstitions of the two peoples they are describing; though many of these coincidences are such as are incidental to life in similar circumstances, they are enough to lead one to suppose a community of origin of the inhabitants of Borneo and Luzon." Mr. Consul Farren, Manila, March 13th, 1845, wrote and is quoted in support of this view as follows: "The most efficient agents of public order throughout the islands are the local clergy, many of whom are also of the country. There are considerable parts of these possessions in which the original races, as at Ceylon, retain their independence, and are neither taxed nor interfered with; and throughout the islands the power of the government is founded much more on moral than on physical influence. The laws are mild, and peculiarly favorable to the natives. The people are indolent, temperate and superstitious. The government is conciliatory and respectable in its character and appearance, and prudent, but decisive in the exercise of its powers over the people; and united with the clergy, who are shrewd, and tolerant, and sincere, and respectable in general conduct, studiously observant of their ecclesiastical duties, and managing with great tact the native character." March 29, 1851, Mr. Consul Farren wrote: "Without any governing power whatever, the greatest moral influence in these possessions is that which the priests possess, and divide among the monastic orders of Augustines, Recoletos, Dominicans, and Franciscans (who are all Spaniards), and the assistant native clergy. A population exceeding 3,800,000 souls is ranged into 677 pueblos or parishes, without reckoning the unsubdued tribes. In 577 of those pueblos there are churches, with convents or clerical residences attached, and about 500 of them are in the personal incumbency of those Spanish monks. The whole ecclesiastical subdivisions being embraced in the archbishopric of Manila and three bishoprics." "The Philippines were converted to Christianity and maintained in it by the monastic orders, energetically protected by them (and at no very past period) against the oppressions of the provincial authorities, and are still a check on them in the interests of the people. The clergy are receivers in their districts of the capitation tax paid by the natives, and impose it; they are the most economical agency of the government." The Archbishop of Manila is substantially of this judgment. De Morga opens his address to the reader: "The monarchy of Kings of Spain has been aggrandized by the zeal and care with which they have defended within their own hereditary kingdoms, the Holy Catholic Faith, which the Roman Church teaches, against whatsoever adversaries oppose it, or seek to obscure the truth by various errors, which faith they have disseminated throughout the world. Thus by the mercy of God they preserve their realms and subjects in the purity of the Christian religion, deserving thereby the glorious title and renown which they possess of Defenders of the Faith. Moreover, by the valor of their indomitable hearts, and at the expense of their revenues and property, with Spanish fleets and men, they have furrowed the seas, and discovered and conquered vast kingdoms in the most remote and unknown parts of the world, leading their inhabitants to a knowledge of the true God, and to the fold of the Christian Church, in which they now live, governed in civil and political matters with peace and justice, under the shelter and protection of the royal arm and power which was wanting to them. This boast is true of Manila, and of Manila alone amongst all the colonies of Spain or the other European states. If the natives of Manila have been more fortunate than those of Cuba, Peru, Jamaica, and Mexico, it has been owing to the absence of gold, which in other places attracted adventurers so lawless that neither the Church nor Courts of justice could restrain them." It is against the orders named as worthy exalted praise that the insurgents are most inflamed, and whose expulsion from the islands is certain in case of Philippine jurisdiction. The truth appears to be that the Spanish Colonial system was slower in the East Indies than in the West Indies and South America in producing the revolutionary rebellion that was its logical consequence, and the friars more and more became responsible for official oppression and gradually became odious. It was New Spain--Mexico--that ruled the Philippines, until Mexican independence restricted her sovereignty. When a Commander-in-Chief died in the Philippines, it was sufficient to find amongst his papers a sealed dispatch, as Morga records, "From the high court of Mexico, which carried on the government when the fleet left New Spain, naming (in case the Commander-in-Chief died) a successor to the governorship." It was in virtue of such an appointment that Guido de Labazarris, a royal officer, entered upon those duties, and was obeyed. He, with much prudence, valor, and tact, continued the conversion and pacification of the islands, and governed them, and Morga states that in his time there came the corsair Limahon from China, with seventy large ships and many men-at-arms, against Manila. He entered the city, and having killed the master of the camp Martin de Goiti, in his house, along with other Spaniards who were in it, he went against the fortress in which the Spaniards, who were few in number, had taken refuge, with the object of taking the country and making himself master of it. The Spaniards, with the succor which Captain Joan de Salzado brought them from Vigan, of the men whom he had with him (for he had seen this corsair pass by the coast, and had followed him to Manila), defended themselves so valiantly, that after killing many of the people they forced him to re-embark, and to leave the bay in flight, and take shelter in the river of Pangasinam, whither the Spaniards followed him. There they burned his fleet, and for many days surrounded this corsair on land, who in secret made some small boats with which he fled and put to sea, and abandoned the islands. The change of the name of the islands from Lazarus, which Magellan called them, to the Philippines and the capture of the native town of Manila and its conversion into a Spanish city is related by Morga in these words: "One of the ships which sailed from the port of Navidad in company with the fleet, under the command of Don Alonso de Arellano, carried as pilot one Lope Martin, a mulatto and a good sailor, although a restless man; when this ship came near the islands it left the fleet and went forward amongst the islands, and, having procured some provisions, without waiting for the chief of the expedition, turned back to New Spain by a northerly course; either from the little inclination which he had for making the voyage to the isles, or to gain the reward for having discovered the course for returning. He arrived speedily, and gave news of having seen the islands, and discovered the return voyage, and said a few things with respect to his coming, without any message from the chief, nor any advices as to what happened to him. Don Alonzo de Arellano was well received by the High Court of Justice, which governed at that time, and was taking into consideration the granting of a reward to him and to his pilot; and this would have been done, had not the flagship of the Commander-in-Chief arrived during this time, after performing the same voyage, and bringing a true narrative of events, and of the actual condition of affairs, and of the settlement of Sebu; also giving an account of how Don Alonzo de Arellano with his ship, without receiving orders and without any necessity for it, had gone on before the fleet on entering among the isles, and had never appeared since. It was also stated that, besides these islands, which had peacefully submitted to His Majesty, there were many others, large and rich, well provided with inhabitants, victuals and gold, which they hoped to reduce to subjection and peace with the assistance which was requested; and that the Commander-in-Chief had given to all these isles the name of Philippines, in memory of His Majesty. The succor was sent to him immediately, and has been continually sent every year conformably to the necessities which have presented themselves; so that the land was won and maintained. "The Commander-in-Chief having heard of other islands around Sebu with abundance of provisions, he sent thither a few Spaniards to bring some of the natives over in a friendly manner, and rice for the camp, with which he maintained himself as well as he could, until, having passed over to the island of Panay, he sent thence Martin de Goiti, his master of the camp, and other captains, with the men that seemed to him sufficient, to the side of Luzon, to endeavor to pacify it and bring it under submission to His Majesty; a native of that island, of importance, named Maomat was to guide them. "Having arrived at the Bay of Manila, they found its town on the sea beach close to a large river, in the possession of, and fortified by a chief whom they called Rajamora; and in front across the river, there was another large town named Tondo; this was also held by another chief, named Rajamatanda. These places were fortified with palms, and thick arigues filled in with earth, and a great quantity of bronze cannon, and other large pieces with chambers. Martin de Goiti having began to treat with the chiefs and their people of the peace and submission which he claimed for them, it became necessary for him to break with them; and the Spaniards entered the town by force of arms, and took it, with the forts and artillery, on the day of Sta. Potenciana, the 19th of May, the year 1571; upon which the natives and their chiefs gave in, and made submission, and many others of the same island of Luzon did the same. "When the Commander-in-chief, Legazpi, received news in Panay of the taking of Manila, and the establishment of the Spaniards there he left the affairs of Sebu, and of the other islands which had been subdued, set in order; and he entrusted the natives to the most trustworthy soldiers, and gave such orders as seemed fitting for the government of those provinces, which are commonly called the Visayas de los Pintados, because the natives there have their whole bodies marked with fire. He then came to Manila with the remainder of his people, and was very well received there; and established afresh with the natives and their chiefs the peace, friendship and submission to His Majesty which they had already offered. The Commander-in-Chief founded and established a town on the very site of Manila (of which Rajamora made a donation to the Spaniards for that purpose), on account of its being strong and in a well provisioned district, and in the midst of all the isles (leaving it its name of Manila, which it held from the natives). He took what land was sufficient for the city, in which the governor established his seat and residence; he fortified it with care, holding this object more especially in view, in order to make it the seat of government of this new settlement, rather than considering the temperature or width of the site, which is hot and narrow, from having the river on one side of the city, and the bay on the other, and at the back large swamps and marshes, which make it very strong. "From this post he pursued the work of pacification of the other provinces of this great island of Luzon and of the surrounding districts; some submitting themselves willingly, others being conquered by force of arms, or by the industry of the monks who sowed the Holy Gospel, in which each and all labored valiantly, both in the time and governorship of the adelantado Miguel Lopez de Legazpi, and in that of other governors who succeeded him. The land was entrusted to those who had pacified it and settled in it, and heads named, on behalf of the crown, of the provinces, ports, towns, and cities, which were founded, together with other special commissions for necessities which might arise, and for the expenses of the royal exchequer. The affairs of the government, and conversion of the natives, were treated as was fit and necessary. Ships were provided each year to make the voyage to New Sapin, and to return with the usual supplies; so that the condition of the Philippine Islands, in spiritual and temporal matters, flourishes at the present day, as all know. "The Commander-in-Chief, Miguel Lopez de Legazpi, as has been said, discovered the islands, and made a settlement in them, and gave a good beginning to their subjection and pacification. He founded the city of the Most Holy Name of Jesus in the provinces of the Pintados, and after that the city of Manila in the island of Luzon. He conquered there the province of Ylocos; and in its town and port, called Vigan, he founded a Spanish town, to which he gave the name of Villa Fernandina. So also he pacified the province of Pangasinan and the island of Mindoro. He fixed the rate of tribute which the natives had to pay in all the islands, and ordered many other matters relating to their government and conversion, until he died, in the year of 1574, at Manila, where his body lies buried in the monastery of St. Augustine. "During the government of this Guido de Labazarris, trade and commerce were established between great China and Manila, ships coming each year with merchandise, and the governor giving them a good reception; so that every year the trade has gone on increasing." The Encyclopaedia Britannica says that the Island Samai was called Filipina by Vellalohos, who sailed from Mexico in February, 1543. The capital was fixed at Manila in 1571, a distinction enjoyed three hundred and twenty-seven years. It was in a letter of Lagozpis in 1567 that the name Ilas Filipinos appeared for the first time. The Dutch became very enterprising and venturesome in the Asiatic archipelagoes and gave the Philippines much attention, having many fights with the Spaniards. The Ladrones became well known as a resting place between the islands of Philip and New Spain--Mexico. The Chinese Pirates were troublesome, and the Spaniards, between the natives, the pirates and the Dutchmen, kept busy, and had a great deal of naval and military instruction. There were other varieties of life of an exciting character, in terrible storms and earthquakes. The storm season is the same in the Philippines as in the West Indies, and the tempests have like features. October is the cyclone and monsoon month. The most destructive storm in the island of Luzon of record was October 31st, 1876. Floods rolled from the mountains, and there was a general destruction of roads and bridges, and it is reported six thousand persons were killed. So extensive and exposed is the Bay of Manila, it is one hundred and twenty knots in circumference--that it is not properly a harbor, but a stormy sheet of water. Admiral Dewey's fleet has had low steam in the boilers all the while to quickly apply the power of the engines for safety in case of a visitation from the dreaded typhoon, which comes on suddenly as a squall and rages with tornado intensity. There are many volcanoes in the islands, and they exist from the North of Luzon to the Sulus in the extreme South, a distance as great as from Scotland to Sicily. There is one on Luzon that bears a close resemblance both in appearance and phenomena to Vesuvius. The likeness in eruptions is startling. The city of Manila has repeatedly suffered from destroying shocks, and slight agitations are frequent. Within historic times a mountain in Luzon collapsed, and a river was filled up while the earth played fountains of sand. The great volcano Taal, 45 miles south of Manila, is only 850 feet high, and on a small island in a lake believed to be a volcanic abyss, having an area of 100 square miles. Monte Cagua, 2,910 feet high, discharges smoke continually. In 1814 12,000 persons lost their lives on Luzon, the earth being disordered and rent in an appalling way. There were awful eruptions July 20 and October 24, 1867, forests of great trees buried in discharges of volcanoes. June 3, 1863, at 31 minutes after 7 in the evening, after a day of excessive heat, there was a shock at Manila lasting 30 seconds, in which 400 people were killed, 2,000 wounded, and 26 public and 570 private houses seriously damaged. The greater structures made heaps of fragments. That these calamities have taught the people lessons in building is apparent in every house, but one wonders that they have not taken even greater precautions. The forgetfulness of earthquake experiences in countries where they are familiar, always amazes those unaccustomed to the awful agitations and troubled with the anticipations of imagination. However, there never has been in the Philippines structural changes of the earth as great as in the center of the United States in the huge fissures opened and remaining lakes in the New Madrid convulsions. In a surprising extent the Spanish government in the Philippines has been in the hands of the priests, especially the orders of the church. In the early centuries there was less cruel oppression than in Mexico and Peru. And yet there is in the old records a free-handed way of referring to killing people that shows a somewhat sanguinary state of society even including good citizens. Blas Ruys de Herman Gonzales wrote to Dr. Morga from one of his expeditions, addressing his friend: "To Dr. Antonio de Morga, Lieutenant of the Governor of the Filipine isles of Luzon, in the city of Manila, whom may our Lord preserve. From Camboia." This was in Cochin China, one of the Kings being in trouble, called upon Gonzales, who sympathized with him and wrote of the ceremony in which he assisted: "I came at his bidding, and he related to me how those people wished to kill him and deprive him of the kingdom, that I might give him a remedy. The Mambaray was the person who governed the kingdom, and as the king was a youth and yielded to wine, he made little account of him and thought to be king himself. At last I and the Spaniards killed him, and after that they caught his sons and killed them. After that the capture of the Malay Cancona was undertaken, and he was killed, and there was security from this danger by means of the Spaniards. We then returned to the war, and I learned that another grandee, who was head of a province, wished to rise up, and go over to the side of Chupinanon; I seized him and killed him; putting him on his trial. With all this the King and kingdom loved us very much, and that province was pacified, and returned to the King. At this time a vessel arrived from Siam, which was going with an embassy to Manila, and put in here. There came in it Padre Fray Pedro Custodio. The King was much delighted at the arrival of the priest, and wished to set up a church for him." Unquestionably there was degeneracy that began to have mastery in high places, and this can be distinctly made out early in this century, becoming more obvious in depravity, when Spain fell into disorder during the later years of the Napoleonic disturbances, and the authority and influence of Mexico were eliminated from Spain. I may offer the suggestion and allow it to vindicate its own importance, that if we have any Philippine Islands to spare, we should turn them over to the Republic of Mexico, taking in exchange Lower California and Sonora, and presenting those provinces to California to be incorporated in that State as counties. It was under Mexican rule that the Philippines were most peaceable and flourishing. The late Government of the islands as revealed to the American officers who came into possession of Manila, was fearfully corrupt. It was proven by documents and personal testimony not impeachable, that a Captain-General's launch had been used to smuggle Mexican dollars, that the annual military expedition to the southern islands was a stated speculation of the Captain-General amounting to $200,000, in one case raised to $400,000, that the same high official made an excursion to all the custom houses on the islands ordered the money and books aboard his ship and never returned either, that one way of bribery was for presents to be made to the wives of officials of great power and distinction; one lady is named to whom business men when presenting a splendid bracelet, waited on her with two that she might choose the one most pleasing, and as she had two white arms, she kept both. The frequent changes in Spanish rulers of the islands are accounted for by the demand for lucrative places, from the many favorites to whom it was agreeable and exemplary to offer opportunities to make fortunes. It goes hard with the deposed Spaniards that they had no chance to harvest perquisites, and must go home poor. This is as a fountain of little tears. The city of Manila is not lofty in buildings, because it has been twice damaged to the verge of ruin by earthquakes and many times searched and shaken by tremendous gales, and is situated on the lands so low that it is not uplifted to the gaze of mankind--is not a city upon a hill, and yet it is "no mean city." Antonio de Morga says: "The entrance of the Spaniards into the Philippines since the year 1564, and the subjection and conversion which has been effected in them, and their mode of government, and that which during these years His Majesty has provided and ordered for their good, has been the cause of innovation in many things, such as are usual to kingdoms and provinces which charge their faith and sovereign. The first has been that, besides the name of Philippines, which they took and received from the beginning of their conquest, all the islands are now a new kingdom and sovereignty, to which His Majesty Philip the Second, our sovereign, gave the name of New Kingdom of Castile, of which by his royal privilege, he made the city of Manila the capital, giving to it, as a special favor among others, a coat of arms with a crown, chosen and appointed by his royal person, which is a scutcheon divided across, and in the upper part a castle on the red field, and in the lower part a lion of gold, crowned and rampant, with a naked sword in the dexter hand, and half the body in the shape of a dolphin upon the waters of the sea, signifying that the Spaniards passed over them with arms to conquer this kingdom for the crown of Castile. "The Commander-in-Chief, Miguel Lopez de Legazpi, first governor of the Philippines, founded the city of Manila, in the isle of Luzon, in the same site in which Rajamora had his town and fort (as has been said more at length), at the mouth of the river which pours out into the bay, on a point which is formed between the river and the sea. He occupied the whole of it with this town and divided it among the Spaniards in equal building plots, with streets and blocks of houses regularly laid out, straight and level leaving a great place, tolerably square, where he erected the cathedral church and municipal buildings; and another place of arms, in which stood the fort and there also the royal buildings; he gave sites to the monasteries and hospital and chapels, which would be built, as this was a city which would grow and increase every day, as has already happened; because in the course of time which passed by, it has become as illustrious as the best cities of all those parts. "The whole city is surrounded by a wall of hewn stone of more than two and a half yards in width, and in parts more than three, with small towers and traverses at intervals; it has a fortress of hewn stone at the point, which guards the bar and the river, with a ravelin close to the water, which contains a few heavy pieces of artillery which command the sea and the river, and other guns on the higher part of the fort for the defense of the bar, besides other middling-sized field guns and swivel guns, with vaults for supplies and munitions, and a powder magazine, with its inner space well protected, and an abundant well of fresh water; also quarters for soldiers and artillerymen and a house for the Commandant. It is newly fortified on the land side, in the place of arms, where the entrance is through a good wall, and two salient towers furnished with artillery which command the wall and gate. This fortress named Santiago, has a detachment of thirty soldiers, with their officers, and eight artillerymen, who guard the gate and entrance in watches, under the command of an alcalde who lives within, and has the guard and custody of it. "There is another fortress, also of stone, in the same wall, at the ditance of the range of a culverin, at the end of the wall which runs along the shore of the bay; this is named Nuestra Senora de Guia; it is a very large round block, with its courtyard, water and quarters, and magazines and other workshops within; it has an outwork jutting out towards the beach, in which there are a dozen of large and middle-sized guns, which command the bay, and sweep the walls which run from it to the port and fort of Santiago. On the further side it has a large salient tower with four heavy pieces, which command the beach further on, towards the chapel of Nuestra Senora de Guia. The gate and entrance of this is within the city, it is guarded by a detachment of twenty soldiers, with their officers, and six artillerymen, a commandant, and his lieutenant, who dwell within. "On the land side, where the wall extends, there is a bastion called Sant Andres, with six pieces of artillery, which can fire in all directions, and a few swivel guns; and further on another outwork called San Gabriel, opposite the parian of the Sangleys, with the same number of cannon, and both these works have some soldiers and an ordinary guard. "The wall is sufficiently high, with battlements and turrets for its defense in the modern fashions; they have a circuit of a league, which may be traversed on the top of the walls, with many stairs on the inside at intervals, of the same stonework, and three principal city gates, and many other posterns to the river and beach for the service of the city in convenient places. All of these gates are shut before nightfall by the ordinary patrol, and the keys are carried to the guard-room of the royal buildings; and in the morning, when it is day, the patrol returns with them and opens the city. "The royal magazines are in the parade; in them are deposited and kept all the munitions and supplies, cordage, iron, copper, lead, artillery, arquebuses, and other things belonging to the royal treasury, with their special officials and workmen, who are under the command of the royal officers. "Close to these magazines is the powder magazine, with its master, officials, and convicts, in which, on ordinary occasions, thirty mortars grind powder, and that which is damaged is refined. "In another part of the city, in a convenient situation, is the cannon foundry, with its moulds, furnaces, and instrument founders, and workmen, who carry on the works. "The royal buildings are very handsome, with a good view, and very roomy, with many windows opening seaward and to the parade; they are all of hewn stone, with two courts and high and low corridors with thick pillars." The city of to-day verifies the descriptive talent and accuracy of this writer. CHAPTER XVIII The Southern Philippines. Important Facts About the Lesser Islands of the Philippine Archipelago--Location, Size and Population--Capitals and Principal Cities--Rivers and Harbors--Surface and Soil--People and Products--Leading Industries--Their Commerce and Business Affairs--The Monsoons and Typhoons--The Terrors of the Tempests and How to Avoid Them. The island and province of Mindoro lies in the strait of its name and south of Luzon. It has in the center an elevated plain, we quote from the military notes issued by the War Department, from which many sierras extend in different directions to the coast, making the latter rugged and dangerous. The island is of an oval form, with a prolongation of the northern portion toward the west. Though an easy day's sail from Manila, it is one of the least populous islands of the archipelago, being extremely mountainous, covered with dense forests, and in the more level parts near the coast full of marshes, and very unhealthful. The inhabitants of the coast are Tagals, but in the interior there is a low tribe of the Malayan race, probably the indigenes of the island, and called Manguianos, speaking a peculiar language and living in a very miserable manner on the products of a rude agriculture. There are also said to be some Negritos, but of these very little is known. There are many short streams. The island is 110 miles long and has an area of 3,087 square miles. The population is 106,170. There is little known of the mountains of the interior, as the inhabitants dwell mainly on the coasts. Mindoro constitutes one of the provinces of the Philippines under an alcalde. The capital is Calapan, with a population of 5,585. It is situated to the north, on the harbor of its name, defended by a fort of regular construction; it has about 500 houses, among the notable stone ones being the parish, court house and jail, and casa real. It is the residence of the alcalde mayor and several public functionaries. The city is situated 96 miles from Manila. Mount Kalavite is a long-backed promontory, the western slope of which forms Cape Kalavite, and the northern slope Point del Monte; the summit, about 2,000 feet high, appears dome-shaped when seen from the west, but from the north or south it shows a long ridge fairly level; the western end of this ridge is the highest part. The capital of the province, Calapan, is a coast town. The inhabitants are occupied in hunting, fishing, and ordinary weaving. The commerce is insignificant. Sand banks extend in front of the town to a distance of one-half mile. To clear these, the northern Silonai islet should not be shut out by Point Calapan. On this line, near the north edge of the banks, the soundings are 36 to 46 fathoms. The Semirara Islands form a group of eight islands, all surrounded by reefs. Semirara, the largest of the group, is hilly, about 512 feet high at the highest part. The west coast includes several little bays almost entirely obstructed by reefs, on the edge of which are depths of 4 3/4 to 13 fathoms; and off the town of Semirara, which stands on the top of the hill facing the largest bay, the anchorage is very bad, even for coasters. The east coast is bordered by a reef, which extends about a mile from the northeast part of the island; on coming from the north this coast of the island must not be approached within three miles until the town of Semirara bears full west. There is anchorage at the south of the island in 5 to 8 fathoms, sand, during the northeast monsoon. Good coal for steaming purposes was found on the island by Captain Villavicencio, of the Spanish navy. Tablas Island is, mountainous, and on its northern extremity is the peak Cabezo de Tablas, 2,405 feet high; generally the coasts are clear and steep-to. Off the north end are two rocky islets, distant one cable from the coast; the larger one is clear and steep, the smaller one has rocks around it. The west coast of Mindoro Island has no soundings off it excepting in the bays, or within one or two miles of the shore in some places. In the interior double and treble chains of mountains extend through the island, and some low points of land project from them into the sea. Paluan Bay affords excellent shelter in the northeast monsoon, and is also a convenient place for vessels to obtain supplies when passing through Mindoro Strait. The bay is five miles wide at the entrance, of a semi-circular form, running back three miles in a northerly direction. There are no dangers in it. A small river disembogues where good water can be obtained with facility; and on the beach there is plenty of driftwood. The coral projects one-half mile from the entrance of the river, and has 10 and 12 fathoms close to its edge. Care must be taken when working into Paluan Bay, for the squalls come violently off the high land, and very sudden, and at night do not give the least warning. The Calamianes are a group of high islands lying between the northeast end of Palawan and Mindoro, and extending between the parallels of 11 degrees 39 minutes and 12 degrees 20 minutes N., and the meridians of 119 degrees 47 minutes and 120 degrees 23 minutes E. Busuanga, the largest island of the group, is about 34 miles in extent NW. by W. and SE. by E., and 18 miles broad. It is very irregular in form, being indented with numerous deep bays. The islands and reefs which front its northeast side form the western side of Northumberland Strait. These islands form, with the northern part of Palawan and the Cuyos Islands, a province, the capital of which is at Port Tai Tai. The climate of these islands is in general hot and unhealthful. Intermittent fevers and cutaneous diseases prevail, attributable, in all probability, to the great moisture and the insalubrious quality of the drinking water. All these islands are, generally speaking, hilly and broken. The industry of the locality is in collecting Salanganes (edible birds' nests), honey, and wax; but cultivation is not practiced to any great extent. The forests produce good timber for building or cabinet work. Tara Island, when seen from the northward, shows a triple summit to its northwest end; while its southern part looks like a separate island, saddle-shaped. The island does not appear to be permanently inhabited; in March, 1885, it was occupied by parties from Busuanga, burning the grass and digging cassava. Lagat is a small island 334 feet high, surrounded by a reef with a narrow passage between it and the reef off the south of Tara. Botak Island, 800 feet high, is fairly well cultivated. Off its northern end there is a queer pin-shaped rock, and off its southern end are same sharp-pointed rocks. The vicinity has not been sounded. The space included between the Sulu Archipelago to the south and Mindoro to the north, and having the Philippine Islands on the east and Palawan on the west, is distinguished by the name of the Sulu Sea. Although of great depth, 2,550 fathoms, this sea, which is in connection with the China and Celebes seas, and also with the Pacific by San Bernardino and Surigao straits, has a minimum deep-sea temperature of 50.5 degrees, reached invariably at 400 fathoms. As this temperature in the China Sea is at the depth of 200 fathoms, and in the Celebes Sea at 180 fathoms, and in the Pacific at 230 fathoms, it may be inferred that the Sulu Sea is prevented from freely interchanging its waters with those seas by ridges which do not exceed those depths. In the Sulu Sea easterly winds with fine weather prevail in October, and the northeast monsoon is not established until November. In January and February it blows hardest, but not with the force of the China seas, and it is felt strongest before the openings between Panay and Negros, and Negros and Mindanao. At the end of May southwest winds begin to blow, and in a month become established, to terminate in October, bringing with them a season made up of rain squalls and tempests, which take place principally in July and August. In September a heavy mist hangs about the coast of Mindanao. The island and province of Paragua is the most western of the Philippine Archipelago, and is situated to the north of Borneo. It is long and narrow, following a northeast direction, and nearly closes on the southwest the Sea of Mindanao, which enters from the China Sea by Balabac Strait on the south and between Mindoro and Paragua on the north. A chain of high mountains, some 6,560 feet high, runs lengthwise of the narrow belt formed by the island, whose length is 266 miles. The northwest and northeast slopes are narrow. The island has extensive and well protected harbors and bays. The area is 2,315 square miles and the population 45,000. The capital is Puerto Princesa, with a population of 1,589. Panay is divided into three provinces, viz: Capiz to the north, Iloilo to the southeast, and Antique to the southwest. In general it is wild, with very high coasts, except in the northeastern part, where the latter are somewhat marshy. A mountain chain crosses the island from Point Juraojurao on the south as far as Point Potol on the north, following a direction almost parallel to the western coast. Large groups of sierras branch out to the right and left of the central chain; on the eastern slope begins another chain, running northeast to the extreme northeasterly point of the island. Owing to its cragginess, it has a great number of streams running in different directions. The area is 4,540 square miles. The town of Iloilo stands on a low sandy flat on the right bank of a river; at the end of this flat is a spit on which a fort is built, and close to which there is deep water. Vessels of moderate draft (15 feet) can ascend the river a short distance and lie alongside wharves which communicate with the merchant houses, but large vessels must anchor outside near the spit. It is a town of great commercial importance, and a brisk coasting trade is carried on from it. The better class of houses in Iloilo are built on strong wooden posts, 2 or 3 feet in diameter, that reach to the roof; stone walls to the first floor, with wooden windows above, and an iron roof. The poorer class of dwellings are flimsy erections of nipa, built on four strong posts. The roads and bridges are in a deplorable condition and almost impassable in the rainy season. The chief imports are Australian coal, and general merchandise from Europe, but most sailing ships arrive in ballast. The exports are sugar, tobacco, rice, coffee, hides, and hemp; it is also the principal place of manufacture of pina, juse, and sinamoya, a tissue greatly in use among the Philippines. In 1883, 93,750 tons of sugar were exported, principally to America. Typhoons do not occur regularly, but in most years the tail of one passes over the place, which suffers also from the visitations of locusts. Provisions of all kinds can be obtained, but the prices are higher than at Manila. In 1886 beef was 12 1/2 cents per pound, bread 11 cents, vegetables 11 cents, fowls $2 per dozen. Water is scarce and is brought across from Guimaras in tank boats; it is supplied to the shipping at the rate of $1 per ton; the Europeans depend mainly upon rain water. There are generally about 500 tons of coal in store, chiefly Australian; it is kept for the supply of local steamers that take in what they require alongside the wharves. Vessels in the roads can have it brought off in bulk in lighters or schooners at a cost of 50 cents a ton. Coolies can be hired at 75 cents per ton, but they will not coal vessels if they can get other work. Notice is required the day before coaling, as men are not kept in readiness. The price of coal in 1886 was $11.00 per ton. There is regular weekly communication with Manila, which is 250 miles distant. The Province of Capiz is bounded on the north by the Archipelago Sea, on the east by the District of Concepcion, on the south by the ridge separating it from Iloilo, and on the southwest by the mountains, separating it from the Province of Antique. Its very high mountains are covered with luxuriant vegetation, and give rise to many rivers which water the valleys of the province. There are gold and copper mines, and much tobacco, sugar, rice, and abaca is raised. During the year three fairs are held, in which articles of the country are bartered. The province is divided into two parts, called Ilaya and Aclan, which are irrigated by the rivers Panay and Adan, respectively. The area is 1,543 square miles and the population 189,171, distributed among 36 pueblos and 287 barrios. The capital is Capiz, with a population of 13,676. It is situated 290 miles from Manila. It has a harbor for vessels of ordinary draft, and highroads to Iloilo, Antique, and the District of Concepcion. There is a steamer kept by the state, stopping at the harbor every 28 days and keeping up communication with Manila, Romblon, Iloilo, and Cebu. The Province of Iloilo is to the southeast of the Province of Capiz and west of Antique. The ground is generally level, and, being irrigated by numerous rivers, is fertile, so that tobacco, cacao, sugar cane, abaca, rice, and maize are grown; besides, there is good pasturage for raising herds of cattle and horses, and gold and other mines are known. The principal industry is the manufacture of fabrics of sinamay, pina, jusi, etc., requiring over 30,000 looms. The dimensions are 99 miles in length by 27 miles in width, and the population is 472,728. The capital is Iloilo, with a population of 10,380. It is situated 355 miles from Manila, and is the residence of the governor, captain of port, and a number of treasury, justice, and fomento officials. It has a pretty cathedral, a seminary, casa real, and court house. It is one of the most mercantile towns of the Visaya group, and has some industries, among which are a machine shop and foundry, a carriage factory, and a hat factory. The Province of Bohol is bounded on the north by the sea between Cebu and Leyte, on the east by the Surigao Sea, on the south by the Sea of Mindanao, and on the west by the channel separating it from Cebu. The province is composed of the islands of Bohol and Dauis. They are somewhat mountainous and well wooded, and coffee, abaca, sugar cane, and tobacco are raised. In the mountains of Bohol game is plenty, and many coal and phosphate of iron mines are supposed to exist. Manufactures consist in fabrics of sinamay and other materials. The area is 1,617 square miles and the population 247,745. The capital is Tagbilaran, with a population of 8,638. It is situated 365 miles from Manila. The island and province of Cebu are the most important of the Visayas, on account of the central position, nature of the soil, and the industry of its numerous inhabitants. It is bounded on the north by the sea separating it from Masbate and Leyte, on the east by the sea separating it from Leyte and Bohol, on the south by the Mindanao Sea, and on the west by the Tanon Channel and the island of Negros. The area is 2,092 square miles and the population 504,076. Great mountain chains cross the island; the chief of these starts at the extreme north between Point Marab on the west and Baluarte on the east, and, continuing south between the two coasts, ends almost in the center of the island. Two other chains run along the coast, and one starts near Carcas, to the southwest of the city of Cebu, terminating on the south in Tanon Point. The coasts are high and the rivers of little importance. The capital is Cebu, with a population of 35,243. It is the mercantile center of the islands, and is situated 460 miles from Manila. It is an Episcopal see, and has a good cathedral, Episcopal palace, casa real, court house, and private edifices, simple but tasty; there is also a post office and telegraph station. On the south, and at the entrance of the channel, is the castle of Point Cauit, and north of this the tower of Mandaui; both these fortifications communicate with the capital by means of a wagon road, the city being midway between them. At the capital reside the politico-military governor, a secretary, judge and attorney-general, a number of public functionaries, a captain of engineers, and the captain of the port. Maktan Island consists of an old coral reef, raised a few feet (8 or 10 at most) above the present sea level. At the northern part of the island, where a convent stands, a low cliff fringes the shore, being an upper stratum of the upheaved reef. The raised reef is here preserved, but over the portion of the island immediately fronting Cebu it has been removed by denudation, with the exception of a few pillar-like blocks which remain, and which are conspicuous from the anchorage. The surface is scooped out into irregular basins and sharp projecting pinnacles and covered in all directions with mud, resulting from the denudation. Nearly all the island is covered by mangroves, but on the part left dry there are plantations of cocoanuts. The only town on the island is Opon, on the west coast, SW. of Mandaui Point in Cebu. It was here that Magellan was killed in 1521, after making the first passage across the Pacific. The town of Cebu is the most ancient in the Philippines; it is the seat of government of the Visayan Islands, which include Cebu, Bohol, Panay, Negros, and Leyte, and it is the residence of a bishop. It is built on a large plain at the foot of the chain of hills that traverse the island throughout its length, and is a well-constructed, thriving place; the merchants' quarter is situated along the port, and includes some well-built stone houses, though many are of old construction. The huts of the Malays, for the most part fishermen, are on the beach, and form the west part of the city. The fort is a triangular edifice of stone, painted red, with an open square in front. The island of Leyte is bounded on the north by the canal separating it from Samar, on the east by the Pacific Ocean, on the west by the sea separating it from Bohol and Cebu, and on the south by the one separating it from Mindanao. It is extensive and irregular, having an area of 3,087 square miles and a population of 270,491. A high and abrupt mountain chain crosses the island nearly parallel to the west coast; the coasts are high, with good natural harbors. In the northern part and on the western slopes of the great sierras, streams of potable water and also many lagoons abound. This is different from the eastern part, where the latter are scarce. The principal product of the island is abaca, but rice is also raised and cocoanut oil is extracted. There are unworked mines of gold, magnetite, and sulphur. The capital is Tacloban, with a population of 5,226. It is situated 338 miles from Manila. Among the important towns are Baru, population 12,222; Borauen, 21,290; Cauyaia, 13,732; Dagami, 25,000; Hilongos, 13,713; Jaio, 12,475; Massiu, 18,499; Palo, 17,736; Tauauau, 18,509. The island of Negros is mountainous and wild; its coasts are difficult of access, and the breakers strong, except on the west coast from Point Bulucabo on the north of Palompon on the west, where it is marshy. A high mountain chain crosses it from Point Doong on the north to the harbor and point Bombonon on the south; from the last third extend several ramifications of high mountains, terminating on the coast at the extreme south and in the Sierra Dumaguete. Its streams are not important, being short and of little value. The ground is uneven but fertile. The natives irrigate their estates, and produce tobacco, coffee, sugar cane, and wheat. Manufactures consist in fabrics of abaca and canonegro, of which boat cables are made. The interior of the island, covered with thick forests, is almost unexplored, being inhabited by a few savages. The Province of Western Negros is situated on Negros Island, it is bounded on the north by the Visayas Sea, on the west by the Paragua Sea, and on the south and east by the Province of Eastern Negros. The area is 1,929 square miles, and the population 226,995. The capital is Bacolod, with a population of 6,268. It is the residence of the politico-military governor, the secretary, judge, attorney-general, and several public functionaries. It is situated 379 miles from Manila. The Province of Negros has a population of 94,782--the capital, Dumaguete, 13,613. The Province of Romblon consists of the following six islands: Romblon (the principal one), Tablas, Sibuyan, Banton, Simara, and Maestre Campo. It is bounded on the north by the Tayabas Sea, on the south by the Visayas Sea, on the east by the Sea of Masbate, and on the west by the Sea of Mindoro. The area is 813 square miles, and the population 38,633, distributed among 13 barrios and 3 rancherias of infieles. The capital is Romblon, with a population of 6,764. It is situated on the harbor of the same name at the north of the island, 204 miles from Manila, and is the residence of the politico-military commander. The Island and Province of Samar is situated to the southeast of Luzon, it is bounded en the north by the Strait of San Bernardino, on the south by the Jahanetes Canal, separating it from Leyte Island, on the east by the Pacific Ocean, and on the west by the Visayas Sea. It is very mountainous, with high, steep coasts. A number of sierras and mountains extend in various directions, forming valleys and glens fertilized by numerous rivers, which, however, have little current and volume. The length of the island is 155 miles. The chief products are abaca, rice, and cocoanuts, oil being extracted from the latter. Among the medicinal plants the most highly valued is the catbalonga seed. Commerce is quite active in spite of the few means of communication and the dangerous coasts. The island is visited yearly by tornadoes which devastate crops and cause much damage to agriculture. The high mountains and thick forests of the interior are inhabited by a great number of savages who have sought refuge here. The area is 4,699 square miles, and the population 200,753, distributed among 43 pueblos, 208 visitas, and 3 rancherias of subdued infieles. The capital is Catbalogan, population of 6,459, situated on the harbor and bay of like name on the west of the island 338 miles from Manila, and is the residence of the politico-military governor. The Jolo Archipelago, formed of some 160 islands, is situated southwest of Mindanao and south of Basilan. It is bounded on the south by the Jolo Sea, on the northeast by Mindanao and on the west and southwest by Borneo. The small islands are covered with mangroves, while the large ones have thick forests of good timber, and the natives raise rice, maize, and various alimentary roots, ambergris being found on the coasts. The principal island, called Sulu, or Jolo (ch. 47, 48, 49, 50, p. 285), is occupied in a military way by the Spanish forces, whose chief, or governor, resides in the old capital, which has well-constructed and armed forts, a pier, etc. By royal decree of November 13, 1877, the sultanship was transformed into a civico-military government. The population consists of 500 aborigines, 612 Chinese traders, and 16,000 negroes. Next to Luzon, the island of Mindanao is the most extensive and important of the Philippines. By decree of July 30, 1860, the territorial division of this island was definitely established, and a civico-military government, under the denomination of Mindanao and adjacent islands, was created. It is divided into eight districts. The island is situated between Visayas on the north and Borneo on the south; it is bounded on the east by the Pacific Ocean, and on the west by the island of Paragua, the Strait of Balabac, and Borneo. The area is 16,595 square miles, and the population 611,300, of which 211,000 are Christians and the rest Mohammedans and Pagans. It is very extensive and irregular in form, possessing high and extended mountain chains, which have not been entirely explored, and which are grown over with very rich woods. It is inhabited almost throughout the interior by savages. Its rivers, some of great volume, are as follows: On the north coast and Butuan Bay, the Jabonga and Butuan: on the Macajalar coast, the Cagayan; in Eligan Bay, the Malanao and others of minor importance; in the cove of Dapitan, the Palaven. In Port Kakule the greatest rise of tide is seven feet. In Surigao Strait the flood tide sets to the west, and the ebb to the east. The velocity of the stream in the strait reaches six knots at springs. There is a difference of about two hours between the time of high water at Surigao and in Surigao Strait. Fishermen roughly estimate that when the moon rises the ebb tide commences to run in Surigao Strait. From January to June there is but one high water during the twenty-four hours, in Surigao Strait, which occurs during the night. From July to December the same phenomenon takes place, but the time of high water is by day. From observations made by the Spanish surveyors, it appears that the highest tide on the west coasts of the islands of the strait takes place at the same hour as the lowest tide on the east coasts. The Mindanao river disembogues five miles to the south of Palak Harbor by two wide arms, on the northernmost of which is the town of Kota-batu, about 5 1/2 miles from the mouth. The river is navigable for 60 miles by vessels of 3 1/2 feet draught; it flows through a beautiful valley 30 miles in width, which scarcely shows any change of level; the valley is capable of producing tobacco, cacao, sugar, maize, and cotton; but this is only known at present by specimens produced. The course of the river lies SE. for 45 miles from its mouth to the lake Ligauasan, out of which it is seen to flow; from the other side of the lake the direction of the river is NNE. to its source in the Sugut Mountains. At 21 miles from the northern mouth the river divides into two arms, which enter the sea 4 1/2 miles apart. In the northern part of Mindanao is the province of Surigao, bordered on the north by the Surigao Sea, on the east by the Pacific, on the south by the District of Davao, and on the west by the territory of the infieles. It is mountainous, but the Christian population resides on the coasts and in the northern point of the territory. The population is 95,775, distributed among 45 pueblos, 10 barrios, and 30 rancherias of subdued infieles. Abaca and palay are raised, and in the gold washings considerable gold of good quality is found. Military notes on the Philippines affirm that the islands are, in many respects, Spain's best possessions, due to the abundance and variety of products, numerous and good ports, character of inhabitants, and on account of the vicinity of certain countries of eastern Asia, which are now entering upon a stage of civilization and commerce. The group is composed of some 2,000 islands. In 1762 Manila was taken and held by the English for a ransom of 1,000,000 pounds sterling. This, however, was never paid, and the islands were finally returned to Spain. The archipelago extends from 5 degrees 32 minutes to 19 degrees 38 minutes, north latitude, and from 117 degrees to 126 degrees, east longitude. It thus covers about 1,000 miles north and south and 600 east and west. The whole surface of the Philippines is essentially mountainous, the only plains that occur being alluvial districts at the river mouths and the spaces left by the intersection of the ranges. The principal ranges have a tendency to run north and south, with a certain amount of deflection east and west, as the case may be, so that the orographic diagram of the archipelago, as a whole, has a similarity to a fan, with northern Luzon as its center of radiation. While none of the mountain peaks greatly exceed 8,000 feet in height, Apo, in Mindanao, is over 9,000 feet; Halson, in Mindoro, is over 8,900 feet; and Mayon, in Luzon, over 8,200. The latter is an active volcano, which has been the scene of several eruptions during the present century. Extinct or active craters are relatively as numerous in the Philippines as in the eastern archipelago, and as a consequence of these subterranean forces earthquakes are frequent and violent. In 1627 one of the most elevated mountains of Cagayan disappeared, and on the island of Mindanao, in 1675, a passage was opened to the sea and a vast plain emerged. The more recent of the convulsions occurred in 1863 and in 1880. The destruction of property was great, especially in Manila. The general belief is that the Philippines once formed a part of an enormous continent from which it was separated by some cataclysm. This continent probably extended from Celebes to the farthest Polinesian islands on the east, to New Zealand on the south, and the Mariana and Sandwich islands on the north. These islands, according to Ramon Jordana, are divided into two volcanic regions, the eastern and the western. The principal point is the volcano Taal, located in the northeastern portion of the province of Batangas. It is situated on a small island in the center of the Bombon laguna, and has an altitude of 550 feet above sea level. Its form is conical, and the rock is composed of basalt feldspar with a small quantity of augite. The crater is supposed to be 232 feet deep. Its sides are almost vertical, and there are two steaming lagunas at its bottom. In the regions embracing the provinces of Manila, Bulacan, Pampanga, Tarlac, and Pangasinan the soil is mostly composed of clay containing remnants of sea shells, a circumstance which gives rise to the belief that the coast of Manila has risen from the sea in not so remote an epoch. Smooth, dark gray tophus predominates; it forms the bed of the Rio Pasig, and rising forms hillocks in the vicinity of the city of Binangonan. Farther on, trachyte and banks of conchiferous sand predominate. The vast plain of Panpanga extends to the north of Manila Bay, to the south of which is situated Mount Arayat, of doleritic nature. The disposition of the mountain ranges in parallel chains affords space for the development of streams both in Luzon and Mindanao. The larger islands contain inland seas, into which pour countless small streams from the inland hills. Many of them open out into broad estuaries, and in numerous instances coasting vessels of light draft can sail to the very foot of the mountains. Rivers and inland lakes swarm with varieties of fish and shellfish. By reason of Spanish restrictions, but little can be said as to the character of the stream banks and beds. Four of the rivers are navigable, and, by the statements of those who have spent some little time on the islands, most are fordable. Drinking water is obtained by many of the towns from the rivers at points just above tide limits, and the water is said to be good. Bridges are few and crude, but are generally built to withstand heavy strain. The island of Luzon abounds in rivers and streams. The following are the principal water courses: Rio Grande de Cagayan, the source of which is in the northern slope of the Caraballo Norte. It has numerous affluents, among others the Magat and Bangag, and, after a course of about 200 miles, falls into the China Sea in the vicinity of Aparri. Agro Grande starts in the north, in the neighborhood of the ranch of Loo, receives the affluents Tarlag and Camiling, as well as many others, has a course of about 112 miles, and falls into the Gulf of Lingayen. Abra has its origin on the opposite slope to that where Agno Grande takes its rise; runs for about 87 miles, and, after receiving the affluent Suyoc, divides into three arms and falls into the China Sea over the sand bars of Butao, Nioig, and Dile. Rio Grande de la Pampanga is called Rio Chico up to the lake of Canasen, near Arayat, where it changes its name after its junction with Rio Gapan. Its course is a little over 38 miles; it receives the Rio de San Jose and divides into a multitude of arms as it falls into the sea to the north of Manila Bay. Rio Pasig has its source in the Bay Lagoon, and falls after a course of 19 miles into Manila Bay. The military notes on the climate of the Philippines, the official record of the temperature and the gales and typhoons, and directions regarding the handling of ships in the peculiar tempests that prevail at certain seasons around the islands, are of absorbing popular interest, and of striking special usefulness. Climate.--In the region of Manila, the hottest season is from March to June, the greatest heat being felt in May before the rains set in, when the maximum temperature ranges from 80 degrees to 100 degrees in the shade. The coolest weather occurs in December and January, when the temperature falls at night to 60 or 65 degrees, and seldom rises in the day above 75 degrees. From November to February the sky is bright, the atmosphere cool and dry, and the weather in every way delightful. Observations made at the Observatortio Meteorologico de Manila have been compiled by the United States Weather Bureau, covering a record of from seventeen to thirty-two years, from which the following is an extract: Temperature, degrees F.: Mean annual 80 degrees Warmest month 82 degrees Coolest month 79 degrees Highest 100 degrees Lowest 60 degrees Humidity: Relative per cent 78 Absolute grains per cubic foot 8.75 Wind movements in miles: Daily mean 134 Greatest daily 204 Least daily 95 Prevailing wind direction--N.E., November to April; SW., May to October. Cloudiness, annual per cent 53 Days with rain 135 Rainfall in inches: Mean annual 75.43 Greatest monthly 120.98 Least monthly 55.65 The following is the mean temperature for the three seasons, at points specified: Cold. Hot. Wet. Manila 72 degrees 87 degrees 84 degrees Cebu 75 degrees 86 degrees 75 degrees Davao 86 degrees 88 degrees 87 degrees Sulu 81 degrees 82 degrees 83 degrees Seasons vary with the prevailing winds (monsoons or trade winds) and are classed as "wet" and "dry." There is no abrupt change from one to the other, and between periods there are intervals of variable weather. The Spanish description of seasons is as follows: Seis meses de lodo--six months of mud. Seis meses de polvo--six months of dust. Seis meses de todo--six months of everything. The northern islands lie in the track of the typhoons which, developing in the Pacific, sweep over the China Sea from NE. to SW. during the southwest monsoon. They may be looked for at any time between May and November, but it is during the months of July, August, and September that they are most frequent. Early in the season the northern region feels the greatest force, but as the season advances the typhoon gradually works southward and the dangerous time at Manila is about the end of October and the beginning of November. Typhoons rarely, if ever, pass south of 9 degrees N. latitude. Sometimes the typhoon is of large diameter and travels slowly, so far as progressive movement is concerned; at others it is of smaller dimensions, and both the circular and progressive motions are more rapid. However they are always storms of terrific energy and frequently cause terrible destruction of crops and property on shore and of shipping at sea. Thunderstorms, often of great violence, are frequent in May and June, before the commencement of the rainy season. During July, August, September, and October the rains are very heavy. The rivers and lakes are swollen and frequently overflow, flooding large tracts of low country. At Manila the average rainfall is stated to be from 75 to 120 inches per annum, and there the difference between the longest and shortest day is only 1 hour 47 minutes and 12 seconds. This rainfall, immense though it be, is small as compared with that of other parts of the archipelago; e.g., in Liano, NE. of Mindanao, the average yearly downpour is 142 inches. Gales.--The gales of the Philippines may be divided into three classes, known by the local names of Colla, Nortada, and Baguio. The Colla is a gale in which the wind blows constantly from one quarter, but with varying force and with alternations of violent squalls, calms, and heavy rains, usually lasting at least three days; these gales occur during the southwest monsoon and their direction is from the southwest quarter. The Nortada is distinguished from the Colla, in that the direction is constant and the force steady, without the alternations of passing squalls and calms. The Nortada is generally indicative that a typhoon is passing not very far off. These gales occur chiefly in the northern islands, and their direction, as the name implies, is from the northward. Baguio is the local name for the revolving storm known as the typhoon, which, being the more familiar term, will be used in these notes. Typhoons.--These storms have their origin to the east or to the southeast of the Philippines, whence their course is westward, with a slight divergence to the north or south, the average direction appearing to be west by north. They occur in all months of the year, but the greater number take place about the time of the equinoxes. The most violent ones occur at the autumnal equinox, and on an average, two or three occur every year, and sometimes one follows another at a very short interval. It is believed that when one of these typhoons passes a high latitude in September there will be another in October of that year, and one may be looked for in November in a lower latitude. These tempests are not encountered in latitudes below 9 degrees N. The rate of progress of these storms is about 13 miles an hour; in none of those observed has it exceeded 14 miles nor fallen below 11 miles. The diameter of the exterior revolving circle of the storm varies from 40 to 130 miles, and the diameter of the inner circle or calm region, may be estimated at from 8 to 15 miles. The duration of the true typhoon at any one place is never longer than ten hours and generally much less. These storms are always accompanied by abundant rain, with low, dense clouds, which at times limit the horizon to a few yards distance, and are generally accompanied by electrical discharges. The barometer falls slowly for some days before the typhoon, then falls rapidly on its near approach, and reaches its lowest when the vortex is but a little way off. It then rises rapidly as the vortex passes away, and then slowly when it has gained some distance. Near the vortex there are usually marked oscillations. The typhoon generally begins with a northerly wind, light drizzling rain, weather squally and threatening, a falling barometer and the wind veering to the eastward, when the observer is to the northward of the path of the storm, and backing to the westward when he is to the southward of it; the wind and rain increase as the wind shifts, and the storm generally ends with a southerly wind after abating gradually. The following warnings of the approach of a typhoon, and directions for avoiding the most dangerous part of it, are taken from the China Sea Directory: The earlier signs of a typhoon are clouds of a cirrus type, looking like fine hair, feathers or small white tufts of wool, traveling from east or north, a slight rise in the barometer, clear and dry weather, and light winds. These signs are followed by the usual ugly and threatening appearance of the weather which forbodes most storms, and the increasing number and severity of the gusts with the rising of the wind. In some cases one of the earliest signs is a long heavy swell and confused sea, which comes from the direction in which the storm is approaching and travels more rapidly than the storm's center. The best and surest of all warnings, however, will be found in the barometer. In every case there is great barometric disturbance. Accordingly, if the barometer falls rapidly, or even if the regularity of its diurnal variation be interrupted, danger may be apprehended. No positive rule can be given as to the amount of depression to be expected, but at the center of some of the storms the barometer is said to stand fully 2 inches lower than outside the storm field. The average barometric gradient, near the vortex of the most violent of these storms, is said to be rather more than 1 inch in 50 nautical miles. As the center of the storm is approached the more rapid become the changes of wind, until at length, instead of its direction altering gradually, as is the case on first entering the storm field, the wind flies around at once to the opposite point, the sea meanwhile breaking into mountainous and confused heaps. There are many instances on record of the wind suddenly falling in the vortex and the clouds dispersing for a short interval, though the wind soon blows again with renewed fury. In the northern hemisphere when the falling barometer and other signs create suspicion that a typhoon is approaching, facing the wind and taking 10 or 12 points to the right of it, will give the approximate bearing of its center. Thus, with the wind NE., the center will probably be from S. to SSE. of the observer's position. However, it is difficult to estimate the center of the vortex from any given point. This partly arises from the uncertainty as to the relation between the bearing of the center and the direction of the wind, and greatly from there being no means of knowing whether the storm be of large or small dimensions. If the barometer falls slowly, and the weather grows worse only gradually, it is reasonable to suppose that the storm center is distant; and conversely, with a rapidly falling barometer and increasing bad weather the center may be supposed to be approaching dangerously near. Practical Rules.--When in the region and in the season of revolving storms, be on the watch for premonitory signs. Constantly observe and carefully record the barometer. When on sea and there are indications of a typhoon being near, heave to and carefully observe and record the changes of the barometer and wind, so as to find the bearing of the center, and ascertain by the shift of the wind in which semicircle the vessel is situated. Much will often depend upon heaving to in time. When, after careful observation, there is reason to believe that the center of the typhoon is approaching, the following rules should be followed in determining whether to remain hove to or not, and the tack on which to remain hove to: In the northern hemisphere, if the right-hand semicircle, heave to on the starboard tack. If in the left-hand semicircle, run, keeping the wind if possible, on the starboard quarter, and when the barometer rises, if necessary to keep the ship from going too far from the proper course, heave to on the port tack. When the vessel lies in the direct line of advance of the storm--which position is, as previously observed, the most dangerous of all--run with the wind on the starboard quarter. In all cases increase as soon as possible the distance from the center, bearing in mind that the whole storm field is advancing. In receding from the center of a typhoon the barometer will rise and the wind and sea subside. It should be remarked that in some cases a vessel may, if the storm be traveling slowly, sail from the dangerous semicircle across the front of the storm, and thus out of its influence. But as the rate at which the storm is traveling is quite uncertain, this is a hazardous proceeding, and before attempting to cross the seaman should hesitate and carefully consider all the circumstances of the case, observing particularly the rate at which the barometer is falling. Northward of the Equator the current is divided into north and south equatorial currents by the equatorial counter-current, a stream flowing from west to east throughout the Pacific Ocean. The currents in the western part of the Pacific, to the northward of the Equator, are affected by the monsoons, and to the southward of the Equator they are deflected by the coast of Australia. The trade drift, which flows to the westward between the parallels of 9 degrees and 20 degrees N., on reaching the eastern shores of the Philippine Islands again turns to the northward, forming near the northern limit of that group the commencement of the Japan stream. The main body of the current then flows along the east coast of Formosa, and from that island pursues a northeasterly course through the chain of islands lying between Formosa and Japan; and sweeping along the southeastern coast of Japan in the same general direction, it is known to reach the parallel of 50 degrees N. The limits and velocity of the Japan stream are considerably influenced by the monsoons in the China. Sea, and by the prevailing winds in the corresponding seasons in the Yellow and Japan seas; also by the various drift currents which these periodic winds produce. Admiral Dewey has forwarded to the navy department a memorandum on mineral resources of the Philippines prepared at the admiral's request by Professor George W. Becker of the United States geological survey. Only about a score of the several hundred islands, he says, are known to contain deposits of valuable minerals. He includes a table showing the mineral bearing islands and their resources. This table follows: "Luzon, coal, gold, copper, lead, iron, sulphur, marble, kaolin; Sataanduanes, Sibuyan, Bohol and Panaoan, gold only; Marimduque, lead and silver; Mindoro, coal, gold and copper; Carraray, Batan, Rapu Rapu, Semarara, Negros, coal only; Masbete, coal and copper; Romblon, marble; Samar, coal and gold; Panay, coal, oil, gas, gold, copper, iron and perhaps mercury; Biliram, sulphur only; Leyte, coal, oil and perhaps mercury; Cebu, coal, oil, gas, gold, lead, silver and iron; Mindanao, coal, gold, copper and platinum; Sulu archipelago, pearls." The coal, Mr. Becker says, is analogous to the Japanese coal and that of Washington, but not to that of the Welsh or Pennsylvania coals. It might better be characterized as a highly carbonized lignite, likely to contain much sulphur as iron pyrites, rendering them apt to spontaneous combustion and injurious to boiler plates. Nevertheless, he says, when pyrites seams are avoided and the lignite is properly handled, it forms a valuable fuel, especially for local consumption. Not least among the promising resources of the Philippines is a curious natural product. Several vegetable growths appear to possess the faculty of secreting mineral concretions, in all respects resembling certain familiar precious stones. The famous James Smithson was the first to give any real attention to these curious plant gems, but, though there can be no doubt of their authenticity, neither scientist nor merchant has followed this lead. One of the jewels, the bamboo opal, rivals the best stones in its delicate tints of red and green, but it is among the rarest, and 1,000 stems may be cut up before a single specimen be found. CHAPTER XIX Specifications of Grievances of the Filipinos. An Official Copy of the Manifesto of the Junta Showing the Bad Faith of Spain in the Making and Evasion of a Treaty--The Declaration of the Renewal of the War of Rebellion--Complaints Against the Priests Defined--The Most Important Document the Filipinos Have Issued--Official Reports of Cases of Persecution of Men and Women in Manila by the Spanish Authorities--Memoranda of the Proceedings in Several Cases in the Court of Inquiry of the United States Officers. The pages following, showing a cynical disregard of a solemn treaty by the Spaniards, a complete exposure of the reasons the Filipinos had for renewing the war, and the particulars of cases of individual wrongs suffered, as they were made known in the course of legal investigation, have been received direct from Manila, and enable us to complete the story of the Philippines with the testimony that the depravity of bad faith in regard to treaties, and incidents of personal cruelties in Spanish colonial governments, have illustrations in the Philippines as in Cuba, and demand of the American Nation in the hour of victory that Spain shall lose now and forever all her possessions in the East and West Indies, and be restricted to the peninsula and islands--the Canary and Balearic groups--that is, in two words to home rule. The circumstances of the treaty between the Philippine Junta--the treaty of Biyak--and the Spanish authorities, are of great notoriety, but the Philippine story has not until now reached the English speaking peoples. We give it from the official paper: "On signing the Treaty of Biyak na bato, we, the natives of the Philippines and the government of Spain, agreed that between our armies be established an armistice which was to last three years from the date of the mentioned treaty. "The natives were to lay down their arms and turn them over to the Spanish authorities with all their depot (maestranza, a manufactory of ammunition, for repairs of rifles, etc., etc.) their ammunitions and forts. "The Spanish authorities, on the other hand, bound themselves to consent to the reforms (of public opinion amongst) the natives of the country claim; reforms which, according to the text of the decree of 9th August, 1897, the Captain and Guberno General assured us were granted and the execution of which was suspended on account of the insurrection. "The reforms asked for and granted were the following: 1. Expulsion or at least exclaustration of the religious orders. 2. Representation of the Philippines in the Spanish Cortes. 3. Application of real justice in the Philippines, equal for the Indian and for the Peninsular. Unity of laws between Spain and the Philippines. Participation of the Indians in the chief offices of the Civil Administration. 4. Adjustment of the property of the Parishes (church property) and of contributions in favor of the Indians. 5. Proclamation of the individual rights of the Indians, as also of the liberty of the press and of association. "The same Spanish government agreed to pay the liberating government a war indemnity, reduced to the limited sum of 600,000 pesos, in payment of the arms, ammunitions, depots and forts which were surrendered, and in order to indemnify those who were to be obliged to live abroad during the term of the armistice, as an assistance to stay out of the Philippines while they were trying to establish themselves and looking for legitimate and decorous means of existence. "It was agreed in like manner that General Don Fernando Primo de Rivera, Goberno General of the islands, should remain in his post during the time of the armistice, as a guarantee that the reforms be established. "And, finally, said authority promised that he would propose and there would be conceded a very ample amnesty. "Contrary to what was stipulated, the mentioned General was removed from his post shortly after the agreement was signed; and although the liberating government had fulfilled the laying down and delivery of the arms, ammunitions, depot and forts of its general encampment, the reforms were not established, only part of the offered indemnity has been paid and the amnesty remains a project only, some pardons being given. "The government of Madrid, deriding the natives, and with contempt of what had signed as a gentleman the General Commander of their army in the field, tried, instead of carrying out the expulsion or exclaustration of the Priests, to elevate them more, nominating at once for the two bishoprics, vacant in the colonies, two Priests of those same religious orders that oppressed the country and were the first cause of the insurrection, the disorder and the general dissatisfaction in the islands; thus ridiculing the virtue, knowledge and worth of the numerous secular Spanish clergy, and especially of that of the Philippines. "Not contented with this, they have raised and rewarded those Peninsulars who in the Philippines, as in Madrid, more cowardly and miserable still, because they abused their position and the protection of those same authorities who signed the treaty, insulted at banquets, assemblies and through the press, with epithets and jokes offensive and vulgar, the patient natives; as happened with the Peninsular Rafael Comenge, the protege and farcical table companion of the Priest, who amongst us performs the duties of the Archbishopric of Manila; the Minister of War has just conceded the said Comenge the grand cross of military merit, for shouting against us and imputing to us every kind of baseness and vices, knowing that he was lying, and for exacting from the gamblers of the Casino Espanol of Manila, as their president; the contribution of 30,000 pesos, to present General Primo de Rivera with a golden statute of that value, and, a curious coincident, this brave was one of the first who escaped from Manila, full of fear when the news arrived there that an American squadron would attack that port and that the risk he would run was real. "You have seen before now, how that insect Wencestao Retana was rewarded with a cooked up deputyship to the Cortes, that salaried reptile of the Philippine convents, who, with the aid of that tyrant General Weyler, his worthy godfather, the despotic incendiary of the town of Calamba, of ominous memory amongst us, does nothing but vomit rabid foam, insulting us by day and night with calumnies and shrieks, in that paper whose expenses the Procurators of the Manila convents pay. "Prepare yourselves also for seeing that a titled nobility be given to the well known 'Quioguiap' (fecer y Temprado), writer in the 'El Liberat,' of Madrid, who, to be in unison with the priests, does not cease to call us inferior race, troglodytes, without human nature or understanding, big boy; the same who, in order to deprive the rich 'Abellas' (father and son) of Carnarines, of the position they had conquered by their industry, economy and intelligence as almost exclusive purchasers of the Abaco (Manila hemp) of that region, tried and succeeded villainously in having them accused and shot in the camp of Bagumbayan; the same who afterwards sought in vain the reward of his criminal attempts, although conscious of his perverseness, to deliver to himself the produce of their harvest and their labor. "Peace was hardly made, when General Primo de Rivera denied the existence of the agreement and shot day after day those same persons whom he had promised to protect, believing foolishly that, the nucleus of the revolution once destroyed, the insurgents would need thirty or forty years in order to reunite themselves; but he accepted freely the pension of the grand cross of San Fernando, which, as a reward for the peace, he was given. "The same happened with bloodthirsty Monet, the author of the hecatomb of Zambales, who was promoted to the rank of a general and honored by a grand cross; also with his competitor in brutal deeds, General Tejeirs, the assassin of the Bisayos, and with the Vice Admiral Montojo, so severely punished later on, by whose orders the city of Cebu was destroyed and demolished, to revenge the death of an impure Recoleto Priest. "In eloquent contrast with what the natives had to expect, there has not been one single concession or reward for the credulous Pedro A. Paterno, a Filipino, the only real agent of the miracle of the Peace, to whom they have denied even the modest historical title 'Maguinong' (Don). "Add to all these infamies and indignities the removal of General Primo de Rivera, who, we repeat, was bound to remain in Manila during the three years of the armistice, and the nomination in his stead of another governor, General Augusti, who, completely without knowledge of the country, brought with him as his counsellor the unworthy Colonel Olive, the same who had proceeded with the utmost haste and greatest partiality and passion against the pretended chieftains, authors, protectors and followers of the sacred movement begun in August, 1896; who had, as military prosecutor for the 'Captain General,' exacted with insolent cynicism, and with the knowledge and consent of his superior officers, considerable sums of money from those who wished to be absolved, in order to imprison them again when they did not comply with all his extortions; the same who, with shameless partiality worked and used his influence all he could towards the shooting of the immortal Tagalo martyr, Dr. Jose Rizal; the same finally, who, during the command of weak General Blanco and of bloodthirsty and base General Polariyi demanded continually the imprisoning of the so-called 'Sons of the Country,' the descendants of the Europeans, that is, who had amongst us any importance by their learning, their industry, their fortunes or their lineage, and who were not willing to bribe him so as to be left in liberty. "In view of this series of acts of faithlessness, of contempt, of insults, of crimes, and before all, the forgetting of the treaty, so recently as well as solemnly entered upon, those same who signed the treaty of Biyak na bato, have considered themselves free of the obligation to remain abroad and of keeping any longer the promised armistice. "And, taking advantage of the Providential coming to the Philippines of the revenging squadron of the Great Republic of the United States of North America, they come back to their native soil proud and contented, to reconquer their liberty and their rights, counting on the aid and protection of the brave, decided, and noble Admiral Dewey, of the Anglo-Saxon squadron which has succeeded in beating and destroying the forces of the tyrants who have been annihilating the personality and energy of our industrious people, model of noble and glorious qualities. "The moment has come, therefore, for the Filipinos to count themselves and to enter into rank and file in order to defend with zeal and resolution and with a virility of strong men, the soil that saw their birth as well as the honor of their name, making publicly and universally known their competence, ability and their civic, political and social virtues. "Let us all fight united; seconding the revenging and humanitarian action of the North American Republic; and let us learn from her, accepting her counsels and her system, the way of living in order, peace and liberty, copying her institutions, which are the only adequate ones for the nations who wish to reconquer their personality in history, in the period we are passing. "On going to battle, let us inscribe on our flag with clearness and accuracy the sacred legend of our aspirations. "We want a stable government, elected by the people themselves; the laws of which are to be voted for by those same who have to keep them faithfully, conserving or modifying their present institutions in the natural times in the life of nations, but modeling them and taking us their own, the democratic ones of the United States of North America. "We want the country to vote its taxes; those necessary for public services and to satisfy (pay in full) the assistance North America and the corporations, organizations and individuals who help us to rise out of our lethargic state, are rendering us; taking care at the same time to abolish all those which have for basis a social vice or an immoral action, like the lottery, the tax on gambling dens, on galleras (arenas for fights of game cocks) and the farming out of the sale of opium. But before all, may there nevermore appear again that repugnant tax levied on Pederasty, which, to get two thousand pesos offended the universal conscience and the chaste name of 'Chinese Comedies.' "We want plainest liberty in all its bearings, including that of ideas, association and the press, without arriving at lawlessness and disorder; just as it is established in that great, so well regulated Republic. "We want to see the religion of the natives and of those that come to this country rigorously respected by the public powers and by the individuals in particular. "We want Christianism, the basis of present civilization, to be the emblem and solid foundation of our religious institutions, without force or compulsion; that the native clergy of the country be that which direct and teach the natives in all the degrees of the ecclesiastical hierarchy. "We want the maintenance of this clergy to be effected as the different regional governments may see fit, or, as the city councils or popular elective institutions established in every locality may determine. "We want personal property to be absolutely and unconditionally respected; and, as a consequence, the recognition to the land holder of the property he cultivates and has improved by his labor, of the so-called Haciendas of the religious orders, who have usurped them and robbed them by the perverse acts of the confessionary, beguiling the fanaticism of ignorant women and or more than timid aged man, afraid of the vengeance the priests in their innate wickedness might meditate against their families, who extorted from them dues at the last moments of their existence denying them spiritual aid and divine rewards without the cession of their material interests before departing from this earth. "We want the possessions of these land holders to be respected without their being obliged to pay any canon, lease or tax whatsoever of religious character, depressive or unjust, ceasing thus their detainment, anti-juridicial and anti-social, on the part of monarchial orders, rapacious orders whom, on the strength of their being a 'necessary evil,' the ignorant functionaries of Spanish administration, like themselves insatiable extortioners, have been aiding, in disdain of right, reason and equity. "We want in order to consolidate the property, the ominous 'Inspection de Montes,' to disappear and cease in its actual functions, as a disorganizing and fiscalizing center of the titles of property of the natives, which on pretense of investigating and discovering the detainment of State lands, had the custom of declaring the property of the State or of others, such as was already cultivated and producing by the improvements made by the poor peasant, awarding such to their friends or to those who bribe them if the legitimate proprietor refused to give them, in shameless auction, what they asked for as a remuneration for what they called 'shutting their eyes,' as has happened lately, amongst other scandalous cases, in Mindoro, when staking out the limits of the new Hacienda adjudged there to the Recoleto Priests. "We want public administration to be founded and to act on a basis of morality, economy and competence, in the charge of natives of the country or of such others who by their experience and learning can serve us as guides and teach us the basis and the system of those countries who have their economical, political and administrative offices and proceedings simplified and well organized. "We want the recognition of all the substantive rights of the human personality; guaranteed by judicial power, cemented in the principles in force in all the cultured nations; that the judicial authorities, when applying the laws, be penetrated by and identified with the spirit and the necessities of the locality; that the administration of justice be developed by simple, economical and decisive proceedings; and that judges and magistrates have their attributions limited by the functions of a jury and by verbal and public judgment, making thus disappear the actual state of affairs, of which prevarication and crooked dealings are the natural and necessary mark. "We want sensible codes, adapted to our manner of being without differentiation of races and without odious privileges contrary to the principle of equality before the law. "We want the increase and protection of our industries by means of subventions and of local and transient privileges without putting barriers to the general exchange of produce and of mercantile transactions with all the nations of the globe without exception. "We want liberty of banking business, liberty of mercantile and industrial societies and companies, commercial liberty, and that the Philippines cease to be shut up amongst the walls of its convents, to become again the universal market, like that of Hongkong, that of Singapore, that of the Straits, that of Borneo, that of the Moluccas, and that of some of the autonomous colonies of Australia, countries which surround us; and that capital may with confidence develop all the elements of wealth of this privileged soil, without more duties or charges on import and export than those the circumstances of each epoch may require for determined purposes. "We want roads, canals and ports, the dredging of our rivers and other waterways, railroads, tramways and all the means of locomotion and transport, on water and earth, with such help and assistance as may be needed to carry them out within a certain time and develop them conveniently. "We want the suppression of the so-called 'Guardia Civil,' this pretorian and odious institution in whose malignment and inhuman meshes so many Philippine martyrs have suffered and expired; that center of tortures and iniquities, those contemptible flatterers of small tyrants and of the concupiscense of the priests, those insatiable extortioners of the poor native; those hardened criminals animated constantly in their perverseness by the impunity with which their accomplices, the representatives of despotism and official immorality, covered them. "In their stead we want a judicial and gubernatorial police, which is to watch over and oblige the fulfillment of existing laws and regulations without tortures and abuses. "We want a local army, composed of native volunteers, strictly limited to what order and natural defense demands. "We want a public instruction less levitical and more extensive in what refers to natural and positive sciences; so that it may be fitted to industrate woman as well as man in the establishment and development of the industries and wealth of the country, marine and terrestrial mining, forestal and industrial of all kinds, an instruction which is to be free of expenses in all its degrees and obligatory in its primary portion, leaving and applying to this object all such property as is destined to-day to supply the sustainment of the same; taking charge of the administration of such property a Council of Public Instruction, not leaving for one moment longer in the hands of religious institutions, since these teach only prejudice and fanaticism, proclaiming, as did not long since a rector of the university of Manila, that 'medicine and physical sciences are materialistic and impious studies,' and another, that 'political economy was the science of the devil.' "We want to develop this public instruction, to have primary schools, normal schools, institutes of second degree, professional schools, universities, museums, public libraries, meteorological observatories, agricultural schools, geological and botanical gardens and a general practical and theoretical system of teaching agriculture, arts and handicraft and commerce. All this exists already in the country, but badly organized and dispersed, costing the contributors a good deal without practical results, which might have been expected, by the incompetency of the teachers and the favoritism employed in their nominations and remunerations. "We want laws for hunting and fishing, and teaching and regular vigilance for the faithful carrying on of pisciculture, well-known already to the natives, for the advantageous disposing of their marine products, such as conch shell, mother of pearl, pearls, bichi de mer, ray skins, fish lime, etc., and for the raising of all kinds of animals useful for agricultural and industrial purposes and as victuals for the natives and for export. "We want liberty of immigration and assistance for foreign settlers and capitalists, with such restrictions only, when there be an opportunity, as limit actually Chinese immigration, similar to legislature on this point in North America and Australia. "We want, finally, anything that be just, equitable and orderly; all that may be basis for development, prosperity and well being; all that may be a propelling element of morality, virtue and respect to the mutual rights of all the inhabitants, in their minor relations and in those with the foreigner. "Do not believe that the American nation is unbelieving or fanatically protestant, that it take to the scaffold or to the fire those who do not believe determined principles and practice special religious creeds; within that admirable organization, masterly and living model of perfection for the old nations of Europe and Asia, lives and prospers the Roman Catholic Church. "There are some seven million inhabitants who profess that religion directed by natural clergy with their proper ministers, taken from that fold of Christ. "Then there are bishops, archbishops, cardinals of the Roman Church, American subjects, beloved faithful of the Pope Leo XIII. "There then is a Temporal Apostolical Delegate representative of the legitimate successor of St. Peter; there are parsons, canons, dignitaries and provisors, who live and teach in order peace and prosperity, respected by one and all, as you yourselves will be the day the American flag will influence in the spiritual direction of the Philippine people. "Then there are cathedrals, parish churches, temples and chapels, sumptuous and admired, where they adore the same God of the Sinai and Golgotha, where severs and ostensive cult is rendered to Immaculate Virgin Mary and to the Saints you have on your altars and none dare to destroy, attack or prostitute them. "There then are seminaries, convents, missions, fraternities, schools, everything Catholic, richly furnished, well kept up and perfectly managed to the glory of the religion. "There resides His Eminence Cardinal Gibbons, a wise Roman Catholic prelate, American citizen, who recently and on occasion of the present war, has ordered, with consent of His Sanctity, that all the catholic clergy of the American nation raise daily prayers to the Most High to obtain the triumph of the arms of their country, for the good of religion and humanity, which cause, in the present conflict legitimately and unquestionably represents that government. "And just as Christ, to be Messiah, had to be according to the prophecies, Jew and of the Tribe of Judah, that is: By right of his political fatherland, as by that of his native soil, of the chosen people, thus amongst you who ever wants to be a clergyman or merit being canon, dignitary, provisor, bishop, archbishop and cardinal, must as an indispensable condition, have been born on your proper soil, as is occurring absolutely in all the civilized nations of the old and new world, with the only exception of the Philippines. "There may be priests, religious congregations, nuns and convents, but submissive to the laws of the country and obliged to admit in their bosom as formerly happened in these isles, as estimable and superior members of such institutions, those feel a vocation for a conventual life, as the noble and generous people of North America will demand, and will, do not doubt it, recognize these your legitimate rights. _Filipinos and Countrymen._ "The protection of the great American Republic will make you respected and considered before the cultured powers, legitimately constituted; and your personality will be proclaimed and sanctioned everywhere. "We have the duty to exact the rights we have just proclaimed and the 'natives' in all the isles and in all their different races, as well as the 'Mestizo Sangley,' as the 'Mestizo Espanol,' and the 'Son of the Country,' we all have the honorable duty of defending ourselves against the whip and the contempt of the Spaniards, accepting the protection and direction of the humane North American nation. _Viva Filipinos_ Hurrah for liberty and right. Hurrah for the Grand Republic of the United States of North America. Hurrah for President McKinley and Rear Admiral Dewey. [ERROR: unhandled comment start] -->_The Junta Patriotica_. "Hongkong, April, 1898." Under the authority of the United States there have been inquiries by a court into the causes of the imprisonment of the inmates of the penitentiary and common jail at Manila, and others who have suffered from the enmities of the members of the government that ceased when the Spanish flag was taken down and the American flag raised. The memoranda following were made in the court proceedings, and state the facts as judicially established. _Fulgencia Tuazon_. This lady was confined in Bilibid seven years ago (though the record shows July 11, 1898,) by order of the Governor-General, on a charge of selling counterfeit stamps. She was tried, and sentenced to six years' confinement; but the Judge accepted a bribe of $900 and released her about a week after her trial. A year afterwards she was again arrested by a new judge on the same charge, and $3,000 was demanded as the price of her liberty. This was refused, and imprisonment followed. She claims to have bought the stamps (which were telegraph stamps), from the Government. _Dorotea Arteaga_. This young lady, who was a school teacher in her native province, Montinlupa, Manila province, was confined in Bilibid, August 8th, 1895, charged with "sacrilege and robbery," and insurrection. She came to Malate to see about her license as a school teacher, and was arrested by the civil guard on the above charge. She claims her arrest was instigated by a priest who had made overtures to her to have carnal intercourse with him, and had attempted the same, and had been repulsed and refused. To cover up his ill-doing he caused her arrest on the charge of having stolen part of the vessels used in the communion service of the Roman Catholic church. She has never been married and the Alcalde says, "Her conduct in prison has been very good." _Senora Maxima Guerrera_. This woman was born in Santa Cruz, in 1838, and has been confined in Bilibid since 1890, though the record shows that she was imprisoned July 11, 1898, by order of the Governor-General. This date, however, is admitted to be an error by the Alcalde, without any explanation of the error. The record shows that she was imprisoned because she objected to the Government taking wood off her property without paying for it. She claims that since her imprisonment, the Government has confiscated $10,000 worth of her property. _Felipe Rementina_. This prisoner was confined in the year 1889, when only 12 years old. At that time a revolution was in progress in the province in which he resided, and he was "captured" by the Spanish forces and sent to Bilibid Carcel. He did not know with what he was charged, and while he was tried, he never received any sentence. _Jose David_. "I was put in here June 13th, 1898. Am a civilian and a 'Katipunan.' Was tried, but never sentenced." The foregoing is the testimony of the prisoner Jose David, and is quoted here as an example of the testimony of some hundreds of others, which is almost identical. Large numbers of the natives seem to be members of the "Katipunan" society, which appears to be a revolutionary brotherhood of some kind. They have been imprisoned for terms varying from one or two months to several years (in some cases ten or twelve years), upon the charge of belonging to this society; in very many cases without trial, and in the majority with no sentence whatever, and, very largely, simply "on suspicion." _Agapito Calibugar_. This man was arrested by the Civil Guard, in July, 1889, in his own house, and was tried but not sentenced, or rather did not know what his sentence was. He was told that his sentence was served out, but he could not be returned to his own province of Negros because the Governor had no ships available for that purpose. He had no idea why he was arrested and tried. There are several other cases similar to this one, in which the charge is "resisting armed forces"--most of which were tried by court martial, and never sentenced. _Gregorio Domingo_. This prisoner was confined in Bilibid Carcel on the 25th of November, 1896, the entry on the prison record against his name being "no se espresa"--"no charge expressed." He was, of course, neither tried nor sentenced, but had been in prison almost two years, with absolutely no reason attempted to be made for his confinement. This case is also cited as an example of many similar ones. _Jose Trabado_. This is the case of a man who was a member of the Katipunan society, but who was tried and sentenced. He was imprisoned in Bilibid Carcel, May 5th, 1898, his sentence being confinement "cardena perpetua"--"in chains forever." He was one of five men who received the same sentence for a like offence. He, with the others, was set free August 31st, 1898. _Silvino De Castro_. In this case the prisoner, who was formerly employed as a clerk in a grocery store, was imprisoned in Bilibid Carcel on the 25th of December, 1897, charged with having stolen $4.50 (Spanish, which represents about $2.25 American). His story was that he was sent out to collect a bill, but lost the said bill, and was therefore accused by his employer of stealing the money, and was imprisoned, He was tried, but never received any sentence. _Don Fernando Sierra_. The prisoner above named is a full-blooded Spaniard, thirty-eight years of age, married, and has one child, three months old. He was confined in Bilibid, May 28, 1893, for "insulting" a civil guard, while drunk, and was tried and sentenced to six years and six months imprisonment. He had already served over five years of this sentence, when he was released September 2nd, 1898. _Cristan del Carmen_. This man was confined in the Carcel De Bilibid, the "common prison," May 4th, 1898, and his offense was that he was "suspected of being an American!" For this heinous crime he was neither tried nor sentenced. _Julian Soriano_. In this case the prisoner was confined in Bilibid, March 25th, 1895, after having been in prison one year in his province on suspicion of being implicated in the killing of a civil guard at a place colled Balauga. He was tried by a sergeant of the civil guard, who caused him to be tortured in order to wring a confession from him. This torture was inflicted by means of a thin rope or cord, tied very tightly around the muscles of the arm above the elbow (cutting into the flesh deeply), and left there in some instances for thirty days. In some cases the men were also hung up, the weight of the body being sustained by the cords around the arms. Several of the prisoners have deep scars on their arms caused by the torture. This man was never sentenced. _Leon Bueno_. The charge against this man was that he had stolen a pig, and he was confined in Bilibid, March 21st, 1893, after being tried and sentenced to eight years' imprisonment. He had already served over five years when released Sept. 3, 1898. _Jose Castillo_. This man was confined in Bilibid Carcel, December loth, 1894, charged with "insulting the armed forces of Spain." His version of the reason for his imprisonment is as follows: His cousin and a lieutenant in the guardia civile were very close friends, and the said cousin, wishing to present a cow to the lieutenant, applied to the prisoner for one, which was given to him. Later on the cousin thought he would like to present his friend with another cow, so applied to the prisoner for cow No. 2, and was this time refused. In order to take vengeance on the prisoner, the cousin denounced him to the civil guard lieutenant as a "bandit," and he was arrested and imprisoned as above. The prisoner was sixty years of age. _Anastacio de Mesa_. The story of this prisoner seems to be particularly sad. He was a chorister or sacristan in a Roman Catholic church, with several others, and was arrested, with his companions, by the civil guard, charged with "sacrilege." The truth of the matter, however, seems to be as follows: The prisoner had a sweetheart with whom a lieutenant of the civil guard, named de Vega, appears to have been infatuated. After imprisoning Anastacio de Mesa and his companions upon the above charge, which seems to be without foundation entirely, de Vega took the girl, and compelled her by force and against her will to live with him as his mistress. The girl soon died, her end, no doubt, being hastened by the brutal cruelty of de Vega. These young men, hardly more than boys, were imprisoned on August 3, 1895, after having been tried by court martial, but not sentenced. They have now been liberated. It should be stated that de Vega himself constituted the "court martial" before which these boys were tried. Note.--There are several cases of arrests for "insulting and resisting the armed forces of Spain." In the case of Pedro Javier, the accused was over seventy years old, and in that of Miguel de la Cruz, he was seventy-five years old; while in one or two other cases boys of ten or twelve years of age were arrested on the same charge. CHAPTER XX Hawaii As Annexed. The Star Spangled Banner Up Again in Hawaii, and to Stay--Dimensions of the Islands--What the Missionaries Have Done--Religious Belief by Nationality--Trade Statistics--Latest Census--Sugar Plantation Laborers--Coinage of Silver--Schools--Coffee Growing. The star spangled banner should have been waving in peaceful triumph over our central possessions in the Pacific for five years. Now Old Glory has ascended the famous flag-staff, from which it was mistakenly withdrawn, and is at home. Its lustrous folds are welcomed by a city that is strangely American, in the sense that it is what the world largely calls "Yankee," and does not mean bad manners by the most expressive word that has so vast a distinction. The shops of Honolulu are Americanized. There is a splendid blossoming of the flag of the country. The British parties of opposition have faded out. There is the wisdom in English statesmanship to be glad to see us with material interest in the Pacific Ocean. In this connection there is something better than a treaty. Do not mispronounce the name of the capital city of the Hawaiian Islands. Call it Hoo-noo-luu-luu and let it sing itself. Remember that this city is not on the larger of the islands, but the third in size. The area of Hawaii, the greater island, is 4,210 square miles. Oahu, the Honolulu island, has 600 square miles, with a population of 40,205, and Hawaii has 33,285 people. The area of the islands, told in acres is, Hawaii, 2,000,000; Nani, 400,000; Oahu, 260,000; Kauai, 350,000; Malokai, 200,000; Lauai, 100,000; Nichan, 70,000; Kahloolawe, 30,000. The dimensions of the tremendous volcanoes that are our property now are startling: _Dimensions of Kilauea, Island of Hawaii._ (The largest active Volcano in the World.) Area, 4.14 square miles, or 2,650 acres. Circumference, 41,500 feet, or 7.85 miles. Extreme width, 10,300 feet, or 1.95 miles. Extreme length, 15,500 feet, or 2.93 miles. Elevation, Volcano House, 1,040 feet. _Dimensions of Mokuaweoweo_. (The Summit Crater of Mauna Loa, Island of Hawaii.) Area, 3.70 square miles, or 2,370 acres. Circumference, 50,000 feet, or 9.47 miles. Length, 19,500 feet, or 3.7 miles. Width, 9,200 feet, or 1.74 miles. Elevation, 13,675 feet. _Dimensions of Haleakala_. (The great Crater of Maui, the Largest in the World.) Area, 19 square miles, or 12,160 acres. Circumference, 105,600 feet, or 20 miles. Extreme length, 39,500 feet, or 7.48 miles. Extreme width, 12,500 feet, or 2.37 miles. Elevation of summit, 10,032 feet. Elevation of principal cones in crater, 8,032 and 7,572 feet. Elevation of cave in floor of crater, 7,380 feet. _Dimensions of Iao Valley, Maui._ Length (from Wailuku) about 5 miles. Width of valley, 2 miles. Depth, near head, 4,000 feet. Elevation of Puu Kukui, above head of valley, 5,788 feet. Elevation of Crater of Eke, above Waihee Valley, 4,500 feet. Honolulu's importance comes from the harbor, and the favor of the missionaries. As to the general judgment of the work of the missionaries, there is nothing better to do than to quote Mr. Richard H. Dana's "Two Years Before the Mast." He said in that classic: "It is no small thing to say of the missionaries of the American Board, that in less than forty years they have taught this whole people to read and write, to cipher and to sew. They have given them an alphabet, grammar and dictionary; preserved their language from extinction; given it a literature and translated into it the Bible, and works of devotion, science and entertainment, etc. They have established schools, reared up native teachers, and so pressed their work that now the proportion of inhabitants who can read and write is greater than in New England. And, whereas, they found these islanders a nation of half-naked savages, living in the surf and on the sand, eating raw fish, fighting among themselves, tyrannized over by feudal chiefs and abandoned to sensuality, they now see them decently clothed, recognizing the law of marriage, knowing something of accounts, going to school and public worship more regularly than the people do at home, and the more elevated of them taking part in conducting the affairs of the constitutional monarchy under which they live, holding seats on the judicial bench and in the legislative chambers, and filling posts in the local magistracies." Take away the tropical vegetation and the gigantic scenery and we have here, in our new Pacific possessions, a new Connecticut. The stamp of New England is upon this lofty land, especially in Honolulu, where the spires of the churches testify. There is much that is of the deepest and broadest interest in the possible missionary work here, on account of the remarkable race questions presented. Here are the nations and the people of mixed blood--the Chinese, Japanese and Portuguese--a population immensely representative of Oriental Asia. The measure of success of the missionaries under our flag in dealing with these people can hardly fail to be accepted by the world as a test of the practical results of the labor with the Asiatica. In this connection, the figures following, from the Hawaiian Annual of 1898, furnish a basis of solid information for study: _Table of Religious Belief, By Nationality_. (So Far as Reported in Census Returns, 1896.) Roman Nationalities. Protestants. Catholics. Mormons. Hawaiians................... 12,842 8,427 4,368 Part Hawaiians.............. 3,242 2,633 396 Hawaiian born foreigners.... 1,801 6,622 15 Americans................... 1,404 212 34 British..................... 1,184 180 7 Germans..................... 592 83 2 French...................... 6 57 ..... Norwegians.................. 154 8 ..... Portuguese.................. 146 7,812 1 Japanese.................... 711 49 4 Chinese..................... 837 67 49 South Sea Islanders......... 178 42 3 Other nationalities......... 176 171 7 ====== ====== ===== Totals............... 23,273 26,363 4,886 _Note_.--This table shows but 54,522 of the population (just about one-half) to have made returns of their religious belief. With 21,535 Japanese and 18,429 Chinese (probably Buddhists and Confucians) unreported because not provided for in the schedules, the great difference is largely accounted for. The latest census returns show that of the whole population, 109,020, there are: Males, 72,517; females, 36,503. The latest information of labor, under contract for sugar-making, make the number of males on the island more than double that of the females. There has been an increase of population of more than 50,000 in the eighteen years from 1878 to 1896. The census of the several islands, taken September 27, 1896, shows: Population. Dwellings. Unin- Male. Female. Total. Inhab- habi- Build- Total. ited. ted. ing. Oahu.... 26,164 14,041 40,205 6,685 1,065 60 7,010 Hawaii.. 22,632 10,653 33,285 5,033 955 35 6,027 Molokai. 1,335 972 2,307 651 92 3 746 Lanai... 51 54 105 23 13 .. 36 Maui.... 11,435 6,291 17,726 3,156 650 18 3,824 Niihau.. 76 88 164 31 3 .. 34 Kauai .. 10,824 4,404 15,228 2,320 299 8 2,627 ====== ====== ======= ====== ===== === ====== 72,517 36,503 109,020 17,099 3,081 124 21,104 Hawaii's annual trade balance since 1879 is a notable record: Excess Export Custom House Year Imports. Exports. Values. Receipts. 1880 $3,673,268.41 $4,968,444.87 $1,295,176.46 $402,181.63 1881 4,547,978.64 6,885,436.56 2,337,457.92 423,192.01 1882 4,974,510.01 8,299,016,70 3,324,506.69 505,390.98 1883 5,624,240.09 8,133,343.88 2,509,103.79 577,332.87 1884 4,637,514.22 8,184,922.63 3,547,408.41 551,739.59 1885 3,830,544.58 9,158,818.01 5,328,273.43 502.337.38 1886 4,877,738.73 10,565,885.58 5,688,146.85 580,444.04 1887 4,943,840.72 9,707,047.33 4,763,206.61 595,002.64 1888 4,540,887.46 11,903,398.76 7,362,511.30 546,142.63 1889 5,438,790.63 14,039,941.40 8,601,150.77 550,010.16 1890 6,962,201.13 13,142,829.48 6,180,628.35 695,956.91 1891 7,438,582.65 10,395,788.27 2,957,205.62 732,594,93 1892 4,028,295.31 8,181,687.21 4,153,391.90 494,385.10 1893 4,363,177.58 10,962,598.09 5,599,420.51 545,754.16 1894 5,104,481.43 9,678,794.56 4,574,313.13 524,767.37 1895 5,714,017.54 8,474,138.15 2,760,120.61 547,149.40 1896 7,164,561.40 15,515,230.13 8,350,668.73 656,895.82 The percentage of imports from the United States in 1896 was 76.27; Great Britain, 10.54; Germany, 2.06; France, .25*; China, 4.17; Japan, 3.86. In 1895 the export of sugar was 294,784,819 pounds; value, $7,975,500.41. Nationality of Vessels Employed in Foreign Carrying Trade, 1889-1896. 1889. 1890. 1891. 1892. Nations. No. Tons. No. Tons. No. Tons. No. Tons. American 185 125,196 224 153,098 233 169,472 212 160,042 Hawaiian 44 56,670 35 43,641 21 26,869* *21 4,340 British 22 21,108 16 22,912 33 52,866 30 58,317 German 5 3,337 9 7,070 9 9,005 5 5,978 Japanese .. ....... ... ....... 5 8,239 3 4,701 All others 9 12,268 9 9,980 10 8,401 11 8,201 === ======= === ======= === ======= === ======= Total 269 218,579 293 236,701 311 274,852 722 242,579 Bonded Debt, Etc., Hawaiian Islands, June 30, 1897. Per Cent. Under Loan Act of 1876 7 $ 1,500.00 " " " 1882 6 67,400.00 " " " 1886 6 2,000,000.00 " " " 1888 6 190,000.00 " " " 1890 5 and 6 124,100.00 " " " 1892 5 and 6 82.100.00 " " " 1893 6 650,000.00 " " " 1890 5 222,000.00 ============= 3,337,100.00 Due Postal Savings Bank Depositors 782,074.25 ============= $4,119,174.25 Number and Nationality of Sugar Plantation Laborers. (Compiled from latest Report of Secretary Bureau of Immigration, December 31, 1897.) Hawaii- Portu- Japan- S. S. All Islands. ans. guese. ese. Chinese. Isl'ders. Others. Total. Hawaii 594 980 6,245 2,511 24 232 10,586 Mauai 580 526 2,010 1,114 45 110 4,385 Oahu 197 211 1,331 973 16 55 2,783 Kauai 244 551 3,307 1,691 30 203 6,026 ===== ===== ====== ===== === === ====== Tot.1896 1,615 2,268 12,893 6,289 115 600 23,780 Tot.1895 1,584 2,497 11,584 3,847 133 473 20,120 ===== ===== ====== ===== === === ====== Inc.1896 31 ..... 1,309 2,442 ... 127 3,660 Dec.1899 ..... 231 ...... ..... 18 ... ...... The number of day laborers, 11,917, or a little over one-half of the total force engaged. The Japanese and South Sea Islanders are about evenly divided in their numbers as to term and day service, while Hawaiians and Portuguese show each but a small proportion of their numbers under contract. Minors are reducing in number. Women laborers, numbering 1,024 in all, show a gain of 89 over 1875. Only thirty Hawaiian females are engaged among all the plantations, and confined to one plantation each in Oahu, Kauai and Maui. The Hawaiian Annual of 1898 makes this annotation: During the year various changes have occurred in the labor population of the country; and under the working of the present law, requiring a proportion of other than Asiatic of all immigrant labor introduced, there has already arrived one company of Germans, comprising 115 men, 25 women and 47 children, all of whom found ready engagements with various plantations. Chinese arrivals in 1897 to take the place of Japanese whose terms were expiring, will alter the proportions of these nationalities of plantation labor, and by the new law Asiatic laborers must return to their country at the expiration of their term of service, or re-engage; they cannot drift around the country, nor engage in competition with artizans or merchants. The islands comprising the Hawaiian territory are Hawaii, Mauai, Oaha, Kauai, Molokai, Lauai, Niihau, Kahaalawe, Lehua and Molokini, "The Leper Prison," and, in addition, Nihoa, or Bird Island, was taken possession of in 1822; an expedition for that purpose having been fitted out by direction of Kaahumanu, and sent thither under the charge of Captain William Sumner. Laysan Island became Hawaiian territory May 1st, 1857, and on the 10th of the same month Lysiansky Island was added to Kamehameha's realm by Captain John Paty. Palmyra Island was taken possession of by Captain Zenas Bent, April 15th, 1862, and proclaimed Hawaiian territory in the reign of Kamehameha IV., as per "By Authority" notice in the "Polynesian" of June 21st, 1862. Ocean Island was acquired September 20th, 1886, as per proclamation of Colonel J.M. Boyd, empowered for such service during the reign of Kalakaua. Neeker Island was taken possession of May 27th, 1894, by Captain James A. King, on behalf of the Hawaiian Government. French Frigate Shoal was the latest acquisition, also by Captain King, and proclaimed Hawaiian territory July 13th, 1895. Gardener Island, Mara or Moro Reef, Pearl and Hermes Reef, Gambia Bank, and Johnston or Cornwallis Island are also claimed as Hawaiian possessions, but there is some obscurity as to the dates of acquisition, and it is of record in the Foreign Office articles of convention between Hen. Charles St. Julien, the Commissioner and Political and Commercial Agent of His Majesty the King of the Hawaiian Islands, and John Webster, Esq., the Sovereign Chief and Proprietor of the group of islands known as Stewart's Islands (situated near the Solomon Group), whereby is ceded to the Hawaiian Government--subject to ratification by the King--the islands of Ihikaiana, Te Parena, Taore, Matua Awi and Matua Ivoto, comprising said group of Stewart's Islands. But the formalities do not seem to have been perfected, so that we are not certain that the Stewart's Islands are our possessions. The latest thorough census of the Hawaiian Islands was taken in September, 1896, but the population was closely estimated July 1st, 1897. Japan- Portu- All Other Natives. Chinese. ese. guese. Foreigners. Total Population as per Census, September, 1896 39,504 21,616 24,407 15,191 8,302 109,020 Passengers-Arrivals- Excess over departures, 4th quarter, 1896 ...... 1,377 1,673 ...... 339 3,389 Excess over departures, 6 mos. to July 1, 1897. ...... 2,908 396 58 207 3,569 ====== ====== ====== ====== ====== ====== Total 39,504 25,901 26,476 15,249 8,848 115,978 The following denominations of Hawaiian silver were coined during the reign of Kalakaua, at the San Francisco mint, and imported for the circulating medium of the islands in 1883 and 1884. They are of the same intrinsic value as the United States silver coins and were first introduced into circulation January 14th, at the opening of the bank of Clans Spreckles & Co. in Honolulu. The amount coined was $1,000,000, divided as follows: Hawaiian Dollars...................................$ 500,000 " Half Dollars.............................. 350,000 " Quarter Dollars........................... 125,000 " Dimes..................................... 25,000 Total..............................................$ 1,000,000 Schools, Teachers and Pupils for the Year 1896. ==Teachers.== ==Pupils.== Schools. Male. Female. Total. Male. Female. Government 132 111 169 280 5,754 4,435 Independent 63 72 130 202 1,994 1,840 ==== ==== ==== ==== ====== ====== 195 183 299 482 7,748 6,275 Nationality of Pupils Attending Schools for the Year 1896. Nationality. Male. Female. Hawaiian 3,048 2,432 Part-Hawaiian 1,152 1,296 American 219 198 British 105 151 German 152 136 Portuguese 2,066 1,534 Scandinavian 51 47 Japanese 242 155 Chinese 641 280 South Sea Islanders 15 13 Other foreigners 57 33 ===== ===== 7,748 6,275 Of the Japanese, 8.5 per cent. were born on the islands; of the Chinese, percentage born here, 10.3. Of a total of 41,711 Japanese and Chinese, 36,121 are males and 5,590 females. The figures show that the Asiatics are not at home. The sugar industry in our new possessions has had great prominence agriculturally. The sugar interest of these islands has had a formidable influence in the United States. Recent events and the ascertained certainties of the future show that the people of the United States will soon raise their sugar supply on their own territory. The annexation of these sugar islands was antagonized because there was involved the labor contract system. As a matter of course, the United States will not change the labor laws of the nation to suit the sugar planters of Hawaii, who have been obtaining cheap labor through a system of Asiatic servitude. There is but one solution--labor will be better compensated in Hawaii than it has been, and yet white men will not be largely employed in the cultivation of sugar cane in our tropical islands. The beet sugar industry is another matter. There will be an end of the peculiar institution that has had strength in our new possessions, that brings, under contract, to Hawaii a mass of forty thousand Chinese and Japanese men, and turns over the majority of them to the plantations, whose profits have displayed an unwholesome aggrandizement. Once it was said cotton could not be grown in the cotton belt of our country without slave labor, but the latter trouble is, the cotton producers claim, there is too much of their product raised. A ten-million bale crop depresses the market. Already experiments have been tried successfully to pay labor in the sugar fields by the tons of cane delivered at the mills for grinding. This is an incident full of auspicious significance. A general feeling is expressed in the current saying that coffee raising is "the coming industry." The confidence that there is prosperity in coffee amounts to enthusiasm. Here are some of the statistics of coffee growers, showing number of trees and area, trees newly planted and trees in bearing: No. of Trees or Area. Newly 1 to 3 Trees in Planted. year old. Bearing. J. C. Lenhart, Kaupo 2,000 trs. 4,000 trs. .... Mokulau Coffee Co., Kaupo 2,000 trs. 10,000 trs. 2 acres E. E. Paxton, Kaupo 5,000 trs. 7,000 trs. .... Native Patches throughout Kaupo 10 acres .... .... Lahaina Coffee and Fruit Co., Ltd., Lahaina 10,000 trs. 100,000 trs. 30,000 trs. H. P. Baldwin, Honokahua 35,947 trs. 4,669 trs. 2,641 trs. Waianae Coffee Plantation Co., Waianae 7,500 trs. 23,000 trs. 36,000 trs. C. A. Wideman, Waianae 10,000 trs. 8,500 trs .... Makaha Coffee Co., Ltd., Waianae 112 acres .... .... Lanihau Plantation, Kailua 20,700 trs. 25,000 trs. 10,000 trs. Kona Coffee Co., Ltd., Kailua .... .... 35 acres Geo. McDougal & Sons, Kailua .... 176 acres 105 acres H. C. Achi, Holualoa .... .... 10,000 trs. E. W. Barnard, Laupahoehoe .... .... 30,000 trs. J. M. Barnard, Laupahoehoe .... 5,000 trs. .... John Gaspar, Napoopoo .... 33,000 trs. 16,000 trs. Manuel Sebastian, Kealakekua .... .... 8,000 trs. J. G. Henriques, Kealakekua .... .... 3,000 trs. C. Hooper, Kauleoli .... 2 acres 12 acres J. Keanu, Keei 5 acres 10 acres 16 acres A. S. Cleghorn 3 acres .... 100 acres Mrs. E. C. Greenwell .... 8 acres 25 acres J. M. Monsarrat, Kolo .... 38 acres 40 acres Queen Emma Plantation .... .... 25,000 trs. L. M. Staples Plantation .... 25,000 trs. 12,000 trs. Olaa Coffee Co., Ltd 50 acres 90 acres .... Grossman Bros 100 acres 30 acres .... B. H. Brown 2,260 trs. 2,000 trs. 3,225 trs. Herman Eldart 40,000 trs. 20,000 trs. 7,000 trs. The list of coffee growers is very long. That which is of greater interest is the showing made of the immense number of new trees. The coffee movement steadily gains force and the pace of progress is accelerated. Everybody has not been pleased with annexation. The Japanese are not in a good humor about it. The minister of Japan got his orders evidently to leave for Japan when the news arrived that the question had been settled in Washington, and he left for Yokohama by the boat that brought the intelligence. Japanese journals of importance raise the question as to the propriety of our establishing a coal station here. There is some dissatisfaction among the Hawaiians, who are bewildered. They are children who believe stories in proportion as they are queer. Many of them feel that they have a grievance. The young princess who is the representative of the extinguished monarchy is affable and respected. If the question as to giving her substantial recognition were left to the Americans here, they would vote for her by a large majority. It would not be bad policy for the government to be generous toward her. She is not in the same boat with the ex-Queen. The Americans who have been steadfast in upholding the policy that at last has prevailed are happy, but not wildly so, just happy. Now that they have gained their cause, their unity will be shaken by discussions on public questions and personal preferments. There should be no delay in understanding that in this Archipelago the race questions forbid mankind suffrage, and that our new possessions are not to become states at once, or hurriedly; that it will take generations of assimilation to prepare the Hawaiian Islands for statehood. The objection to the climate of the marvelous islands of which we have become possessed is its almost changeless character. There is no serious variation in the temperature. There is a little more rain in "winter" than in "summer." There is neither spring nor fall. The trade winds afford a slight variety, and this seems to be manipulated by the mountains, that break up the otherwise unsparing monotony of serene loveliness. The elevations of the craters, and the jagged peaks are from one thousand to thirteen thousand feet. If you want a change of climate, climb for cold, and escape the mosquitos, the pests of this paradise. There are a score of kinds of palms; the royal, the date, the cocoanut, are of them. The bread fruit and banana are in competition. The vegetation is voluptuous and the scenery stupendous. There is a constellation of islands, and they differ like the stars in their glories and like human beings in their difficulties. CHAPTER XXI Early History of the Sandwich Islands. Captain James Cook's Great Discoveries and His Martyrdom--Character and Traditions of the Hawaiian Islands--Charges Against the Famous Navigator, and effort to Array the Christian World Against Him--The True Story of His Life and Death--How Charges Against Cook Came to Be Made--Testimony of Vancouver, King and Dixon, and Last Words of Cook's Journal--Light Turned on History That Has Become Obscure--Savagery of the Natives--Their Written Language Took Up Their High Colored Traditions, and Preserved Phantoms--Scenes in Aboriginal Theatricals--Problem of Government in an Archipelago Where Race Questions Are Predominant--Now Americans Should Remember Captain Cook as an Illustrious Pioneer. Regarding the islands in the Pacific that we have for a long time largely occupied and recently wholly possessed, the Hawaiian cluster that are the stepping stone, the resting place and the coal station for the golden group more than a thousand leagues beyond, we should remember Captain Cook as one of our own Western pioneers, rejoice to read his true story, and in doing so to form a correct estimate of the people who have drifted into the area of our Protection, or territory that is inalienably our own, to be thoroughly Americanized, that they may some day be worthy to become our fellow-citizens. Sunday, January 18th, 1778, Captain Cook, after seeing birds every day, and turtles, saw two islands, and the next day a third one, and canoes put off from the shore of the second island, the people speaking the language of Otaheite. As the Englishmen proceeded, other canoes appeared, bringing with them roasted pigs and very fine potatoes. The Captain says: "Several small pigs were purchased for a six-penny nail, so that we again found ourselves in a land of plenty. The natives were gentle and polite, asking whether they might sit down, whether they might spit on the deck, and the like. An order restricting the men going ashore was issued that I might do everything in my power to prevent the importation of a fatal disease into the island, which I knew some of our men now labored under." Female visitors were ordered to be excluded from the ships. Captain Cook's journal is very explicit, and he states the particulars of the failure of his precautions. This is a subject that has been much discussed, and there is still animosity in the controversy. The discovery of the islands that he called the Sandwich, after his patron the Earl of Sandwich, happened in the midst of our Revolutionary war. After Cook's explorations for the time, he sailed in search of the supposed Northwest passage, and that enterprise appearing hopeless, returned to the summer islands, and met his fate in the following December. Captain George Vancouver, a friend and follower of Cook, says, in his "Voyage of Discovery and Around the World." from 1790 to 1795: "It should seem that the reign of George the Third had been reserved by the Great Disposer of all things for the glorious task of establishing the grand keystone to that expansive arch over which the arts and sciences should pass to the furthermost corners of the earth, for the instruction and happiness of the most lowly children of nature. Advantages so highly beneficial to the untutored parts of the human race, and so extremely important to that large proportion of the subjects of this empire who are brought up to the sea service deserve to be justly appreciated; and it becomes of very little importance to the bulk of our society, whose enlightened humanity teaches them to entertain a lively regard for the welfare and interest of those who engage in such adventurous undertakings for the advancement of science, or for the extension of commerce, what may be the animadversions or sarcasms of those few unenlightened minds that may peevishly demand, "what beneficial consequences, if any, have followed, or are likely to follow to the discoverers, or to the discovered, to the common interests of humanity, or to the increase of useful knowledge, from all our boasted attempts to explore the distant recesses of the globe?" The learned editor (Dr. Douglas, now Bishop of Salisbury) who has so justly anticipated this injudicious remark, has, in his very comprehensive introduction to Captain Cook's last voyage, from whence the above quotation is extracted, given to the public not only a complete and satisfactory answer to that question, but has treated every other part of the subject of discovery so ably as to render any further observations on former voyages of this description wholly unnecessary, for the purpose of bringing the reader acquainted with what had been accomplished, previously to my being honored with His Majesty's commands to follow up the labors of that illustrious navigator Captain James Cook; to whose steady, uniform, indefatigable and undiverted attention to the several objects on which the success of his enterprises ultimately depended, the world is indebted for such eminent and important benefits." Captain George Vancouver pays, in the introduction of his report, a remarkable tribute to Captain Cook, that should become familiar to the American people, for it is one of the features of prevalent Hawaiian literature that the great navigator is much disparaged, and denounced. One of the favorite theories of the missionaries has been that Cook's death at the hands of the savages was substantially the punishment inflicted by God, because the Captain allowed himself to be celebrated and worshipped as a god by the heathen, consenting to their idolatry when he should have preached to them, as was done with so much efficiency nearly half a century later. The fact is the natives had a great deal of "religion" of their own, and defended their superstitions with skill and persistence before yielding to the great simplicities of the Christian faith. Captain Cook, it must be admitted, did not attempt to preach the gospel. The gentleness of the natives turned out to contain a great deal that was most horrible. The closing years of the last century were those of rapid progress in the art of navigation, and Captain Vancouver gives this striking summary of testimony: "By the introduction of nautical astronomy into marine education, we are taught to sail on the hypothenuse, instead of traversing two sides of a triangle, which was the usage in earlier times; by this means the circuitous course of all voyages from place to place is considerably shortened; and it is now become evident that sea officers of the most common rate abilities who will take the trouble of making themselves acquainted with the principles of this science, will, on all suitable occasions, with proper and correct instruments, be enabled to acquire a knowledge of their situation in the Atlantic, Indian or Pacific Oceans, with a degree of accuracy sufficient to steer on a meridianal or diagonal line, to any known spot, provided it be sufficiently conspicuous to be visible at any distance from five to ten leagues. "This great improvement, by which the most remote parts of the terrestrial globe are brought so sasily within our reach, would nevertheless have been of comparatively little utility had not those happy means been discovered for preserving the lives and health of the officers and seamen engaged in such distant and perilous undertakings; which were so peacefully practiced by Captain Cook, the first great discoverer of this salutary system, in all his latter voyages around the globe. But in none have the effect of his wise regulations, regimen and discipline been more manifest than in the course of the expedition of which the following pages are designed to treat. To an unremitting attention, not only to food, cleanliness, ventilation, and an early administration of antiseptic provisions and medicines, but also to prevent as much as possible the chance of indisposition, by prohibiting individuals from carelessly exposing themselves to the influence of climate, or unhealthy indulgences in times of relaxation, and by relieving them from fatigue and the inclemency of the weather the moment the nature of their duty would permit them to retire, is to be ascribed the preservation of the health and lives of sea-faring people on long voyages." "Those benefits did not long remain unnoticed by the commercial part of the British nation. Remote and distant voyages being now no longer objects of terror, enterprises were projected and carried into execution, for the purpose of establishing new and lucrative branches of commerce between Northwest America and China; and parts of the coast of the former that had not been minutely examined by Captain Cook became now the general resort of the persons thus engaged." The special zeal and consistency with which Cook is defended by the English navigators who knew him and were competent to judge of the scope of his achievements is due in part to the venom of his assailants. The historian of the Sandwich Islands, Sheldon Dibble, says: "An impression of wonder and dread having been made, Captain Cook and his men found little difficulty in having such intercourse with the people as they chose. In regard to that intercourse, it was marked, as the world would say, with kindness and humanity. But it cannot be concealed that here and there at this time, in the form of loathsome disease, was dug the grave of the Hawaiian nation; and from so deep an odium it is to be regretted that faithful history cannot exempt even the fair name of Captain Cook himself, since it was evident that he gave countenance to the evil. The native female first presented to him was a person of some rank; her name was Lelemahoalani. Sin and death were the first commodities imported to the Sandwich Islands." We have already quoted Captain Cook's first words on this subject. He had much more to say giving in detail difficulties rather too searching to be fully stated. As for the charge that Cook personally engaged in debauchery, it rests upon the tradition of savages, who had no more idea than wild animals of the restraint of human passion. It was debated among the islanders whether the white men should be assailed by the warriors, and it was on the advice of a native queen that the women were sent to make friends with the strangers; and this was the policy pursued. As for the decline of the natives in numbers, and the "digging the grave of the nation." the horror of the islands was the destruction of female infants, and also the habit of putting aged and helpless men and women to death. The general indictment against Captain Cook is that this amiable race was just about prepared for Christianity when he thrust himself forward as a god, and with his despotic licentiousness destroyed immediate possibilities of progress. In Sandwich Island notes by "a Haole" (that is to say, a white person) we see what may be said on the other side of the picture: "It becomes an interesting duty to examine their social, political and religious condition. The first feature that calls the attention to the past is their social condition, and a darker picture can hardly be presented to the contemplation of man. They had their frequent boxing matches on a public arena, and it was nothing uncommon to see thirty or forty left dead on the field of contest. "As gamblers they were inveterate. The game was indulged in by every person, from the king of each island to the meanest of his subjects. The wager accompanied every scene of public amusement. They gambled away their property to the last vestige of all they possessed. They staked every article, of food, their growing crops, the dollies they wore, their lands, wives, daughters, and even the very bones of their arms and legs--to be made into fishhooks after they were dead. These steps led to the most absolute and crushing poverty. "They had their dances, which were of such a character as not to be conceived by a civilized mind, and were accompanied by scenes which would have disgraced even Nero's revels. Nearly every night, with the gathering darkness, crowds would retire to some favorite spot, where, amid every species of sensual indulgence they would revel until the morning twilight. At such times the chiefs would lay aside their authority, and mingle with the lowest courtesan in every degree of debauchery. "Thefts, robberies, murders, infanticide, licentiousness of the most debased and debasing character, burying their infirm and aged parents alive, desertion of the sick, revolting cruelties to the unfortunate maniac, cannibalism and drunkenness, form a list of some of the traits in social life among the Hawaiians in past days. "Their drunkenness was intense. They could prepare a drink, deadly intoxicating in its nature, from a mountain plant called the awa (Piper methysticum). A bowl of this disgusting liquid was always prepared and served out just as a party of chiefs were sitting down to their meals. It would sometimes send the victim into a slumber from which he never awoke. The confirmed awa drinker could be immediately recognized by his leprous appearance. "By far the darkest feature in their social condition was seen in the family relation. Society, however, is only a word of mere accommodation, designed to express domestic relations as they then existed. 'Society' was, indeed, such a sea of pollution as cannot be well described. Marriage was unknown, and all the sacred feelings which are suggested to our minds on mention of the various social relations, such as husband and wife, parent and child, brother and sister, were to them, indeed, as though they had no existence. There was, indeed, in this respect, a dreary blank--a dark chasm from which the soul instinctively recoils. There were, perhaps, some customs which imposed some little restraint upon the intercourse of the sexes, but those customs were easily dispensed with, and had nothing of the force of established rules. It was common for a husband to have many wives, and for a wife also to have many husbands. The nearest ties of consanguinity were but little regarded, and among the chiefs, especially, the connection of brother with sister, and parent with child, were very common. For husbands to interchange wives, and for wives to interchange husbands, was a common act of friendship, and persons who would not do this were not considered on good terms of sociability. For a man or woman to refuse a solicitation was considered an act of meanness; and this sentiment was thoroughly wrought into their minds, that, they seemed not to rid themselves of the feeling of meanness in a refusal, to feel, notwithstanding their better knowledge, that to comply was generous, liberal, and social, and to refuse reproachful and niggardly. It would be impossible to enumerate or specify the crimes which emanated from this state of affairs. Their political condition was the very genius of despotism, systematically and deliberately conducted. Kings and chiefs were extremely jealous of their succession, and the more noble their blood, the more they were venerated by the common people." Mr. Sheldon Dibble is a historian whose work was published in 1843. He complains most bitterly that the natives bothered the missionaries by trying to give them the benefit of native thought. They wanted to do some of the talking, and said very childish things, and were so intent on their own thoughts that they would not listen to the preachers. But it ought not to have been held to be an offense for a procession of heathen to march to a missionary's house and tell him their thoughts. That was an honest manifestation of profound interest--the slow ripening of a harvest field. Mr. Dibble's book is printed by the Mission Seminary, and Mr. Dibble says, page 21: "We know that all the inhabitants of the earth descended from Noah," therefore, the Hawaiians "must once have known the great Jehova and the principles of true religion." But the historian says on the next page that the Hawaiians were heathen from time immemorial, for, "Go back to the very first reputed progenitor of the Hawaiian race, and you find that the ingredients of their character are lust, anger, strife, malice, sensuality, revenge and the worship of idols." This is the elevation upon which Mr. Dibble places himself to fire upon the memory of the English navigator Captain James Cook. The first paragraph of the assault on Cook is this: "How unbounded the influence of foreign visitors upon the ignorant inhabitants of the Pacific! If the thousands of our countrymen who visit this ocean were actuated by the pure principles of the religion of Jesus, how immense the good they might accomplish! But, alas! how few visitors to the Western hemisphere are actuated by such principles." This is preparatory to the condemnation of Cook in these terms: "Captain Cook allowed himself to be worshipped as a god. The people of Kealakeakua declined trading with him, and loaded his ship freely with the best productions of the island. The priests approached him in a crouching attitude, uttering prayers, and exhibiting all the formalities of worship. After approaching him with prostration the priests cast their red kapas over his shoulders and then receding a little, they presented hogs and a variety of other offerings, with long addresses rapidly enunciated, which were a repetition of their prayers and religious homage. "When he went on shore most of the people fled for fear of him, and others bowed down before him, with solemn reverence. He was conducted to the house of the gods, and into the sacred enclosure, and received there the highest homage. In view of this fact, and of the death of Captain Cook, which speedily ensued, who can fail being admonished to give to God at all times, and even among barbarous tribes, the glory which is his due? Captain Cook might have directed the rude and ignorant natives to the great Jehovah, instead of receiving divine homage himself. "Kalaniopuu, the king, arrived from Maui on the 24th of January, and immediately laid a tabu on the canoes, which prevented the women from visiting the ship, and consequently the men came on shore in great numbers, gratifying their infamous purposes in exchange for pieces of iron and small looking-glasses. Some of the women washed the coating from the back of the glasses much to their regret, when they found that the reflecting property was thus destroyed. "The king, on his arrival, as well as the people, treated Captain Cook with much kindness, gave him feather cloaks and fly brushes and paid him divine honors. This adoration, it is painful to relate, was received without remonstrance. I shall speak here somewhat minutely of the death of Captain Cook, as it develops some traits of the heathen character, and the influence under which the heathen suffer from foreign intercourse." After setting forth the horrible character of the natives, Captain Cook is condemned and denounced because he did not refuse the homage of the ferocious savages, paid him as a superior creature. One of Cook's troubles was the frantic passion the islanders had to steal iron. The common people were the property of the chiefs, and they had no other sense of possession. They gave away what they had, but took what they wanted. Mr. Dibble shows his animus when he charges that Cook did not give the natives the real value of their hogs and fruit, and also that he had no right to stop pilferers in canoes by declaring and enforcing a blockade. This is a trifling technicality much insisted upon. Dibble's account of the death of Cook is this: "A canoe came from an adjoining district, bound within the bay. In the canoe were two chiefs of some rank, Kekuhaupio and Kalimu. The canoe was fired upon from one of the boats and Kalimu was killed. Kekuhaupio made the greatest speed till he reached the place of the king, where Captain Cook also was, and communicated the intelligence of the death of the chief. The attendants of the king were enraged and showed signs of hostility, but were restrained by the thought that Captain Cook was a god. At that instant a warrior, with a spear in his hand, approached Captain Cook and was heard to say that the boats in the harbor had killed his brother, and he would he revenged. Captain Cook, from his enraged appearance and that of the multitude, was suspicious of him, and fired upon him with his pistol. Then followed a scene of confusion, and in the midst Captain Cook being hit with a stone, and perceiving the man who threw it, shot him dead. He also struck a certain chief with his sword, whose name was Kalaimanokahoowaha. The chief instantly seized Captain Cook with a strong hand, designing merely to hold him and not to take his life; for he supposed him to be a god and that he could not die. Captain Cook struggled to free himself from the grasp, and as he was about to fall uttered a groan. The people immediately exclaimed, "He groans--he is not a god," and instantly slew him. Such was the melancholy death of Captain Cook. "Immediately the men in the boat commenced a deliberate fire upon the crowd. They had refrained in a measure before, for fear of killing their Captain. Many of the natives were killed." "Historian Dibble does not notice the evidence that Cook lost his life by turning to his men in the boats, ordering them not to fire. It was at that moment he was stabbed in the back. Dibble represents the facts as if to justify the massacre of the great navigator, because he allowed the heathen to think he was one of their gang of gods. But this presumption ought not to have been allowed to excuse prevarication about testimony. The importance of Dibble's history is that it is representative. He concludes with this eloquent passage: "From one heathen nation we may learn in a measure the wants of all. And we ought not to restrict our view, but, look at the wide world. To do then for all nations what I have urged in behalf of the Sandwich Islands, how great and extensive a work! How vast the number of men and how immense the amount of means which seem necessary to elevate all nations, and gain over the whole earth to the permanent dominion of the Lord Jesus Christ! Can 300,000,000 of pagan children and youth be trained and instructed by a few hands? Can the means of instructing them be furnished by the mere farthings and pence of the church? Will it not be some time yet before ministers and church members will need to be idle a moment for the want of work? Is there any danger of our being cut off from the blessed privilege either of giving or of going? There is a great work yet to be done--a noble work--a various and a difficult work--a work worthy of God's power, God's resources, and God's wisdom. What Christendom has as yet done is scarcely worthy of being called a commencement. When God shall bring such energies into action as shall be commensurate with the greatness of the work--when he shall cause every redeemed sinner, by the abundant influence of His Holy Spirit, to lay himself out wholly in the great enterprise, then there will be a sight of moral sublimity that shall rivet the gaze of angels." We quote this writer as to what became of the remains of Cook: "The body of Captain Cook was carried into the interior of the island, the bones secured according to their custom, and the flesh burned in the fire. The heart, liver, etc., of Captain Cook, were stolen and eaten by some hungry children, who mistook them in the night for the inwards of a dog. The names of the children were Kupa, Mohoole and Kaiwikokoole. These men are now all dead. The last of the number died two years since at the station of Lahaina. Some of the bones of Captain Cook were sent on board his ship, in compliance with the urgent demands of the officers; and some were kept by the priests as objects of worship." The "heart, liver, etc.," were of course given to the children to eat! The bones are still hidden, and presumably not much worshiped. The first of the remains of Captain Cook given up was a mass of his bloody flesh, cut as if from a slaughtered ox. After some time there were other fragments, including one of his hands which had a well known scar, and perfectly identified it. Along with this came the story of burning flesh, and denials of cannibalism. Mr. Dibble speaks of Cook's "consummate folly and outrageous tyranny of placing a blockade upon a heathen bay, which the natives could not possibly be supposed either to understand or appreciate." That blockade, like others, was understood when enforced. The historian labors to work out a case to justify the murder of Cook because he received worship. As to the acknowledgment of Cook as the incarnation of Lono, in the Hawaiian Pantheon, Captain King says: "Before I proceed to relate the adoration that was paid to Captain Cook, and the peculiar ceremonies with which he was received on this fatal island, it will be necessary to describe the Morai, situated, as I have already mentioned, at the south side of the beach at Kakooa (Kealakeakua). It was a square solid pile of stones, about forty yards long, twenty broad, and fourteen in height. The top was flat and well paved, and surrounded by a wooden rail, on which were fixed the skulls of the captives sacrificed on the death of their chiefs. In the center of the area stood a ruinous old building of wood, connected with the rail on each side by a stone wall, which next divided the whole space into two parts. On the side next the country were five poles, upward of twenty feet high, supporting an irregular kind of scaffold; on the opposite side toward the sea, stood two small houses with a covered communication. "We were conducted by Koah to the top of this pile by an easy ascent leading from the beach to the northwest corner of the area. At the entrance we saw two large wooden images, with features violently distorted, and a long piece of carved wood of a conical form inverted, rising from the top of their heads; the rest was without form and wrapped round with red cloth. We were here met by a tall young man with a long beard, who presented Captain Cook to the images, and after chanting a kind of hymn, in which he was joined by Koah, they led us to that end of the Morai where the five poles were fixed. At the foot of them were twelve images ranged in a semicircular form, and before the middle figure stood a high stand or table, exactly resembling the Whatta of Othaheiti, on which lay a putrid hog, and under it pieces of sugar cane, cocoanuts, bread fruit, plantains and sweet potatoes. Koah having placed the Captain under the stand, took down the hog and held it toward him; and after having a second time addressed him in a long speech, pronounced with much vehemence and rapidity, he let it fall on the ground and led him to the scaffolding, which they began to climb together, not without great risk of falling. At this time we saw coming in solemn procession, at the entrance of the top of the Morai, ten men carrying a live hog and a large piece of red cloth. Being advanced a few paces, they stopped and prostrated themselves; and Kaireekeea, the young man above mentioned, went to them, and receiving the cloth carried it to Koah, who wrapped it around the Captain, and afterwards offered him the hog, which was brought by Kaireekeea with the same ceremony. "Whilst Captain Cook was aloft in this awkward situation, swathed round with red cloth, and with difficulty keeping his hold amongst the pieces of rotten scaffolding, Kaireekeea and Koah began their office, chanting sometimes in concert and sometimes alternately. This lasted a considerable time; at length Koah let the hog drop, when he and the Captain descended together. He then led him to the images before mentioned, and, having said something to each in a sneering tone, snapping his fingers at them as he passed, he brought him to that in the center, which, from its being covered with red cloth, appeared to be in greater estimation than the rest. Before this figure he prostrated himself and kissed it, desiring Captain Cook to do the same, who suffered himself to be directed by Koah throughout the whole of this ceremony. "We were now led back to the other division of the Morai, where there was a space ten or twelve feet square, sunk about three feet below the level of the area. Into this we descended, and Captain Cook was seated between two wooden idols, Koah supporting one of his arms, whilst I was desired to support the other. At this time arrived a second procession of natives, carrying a baked hog and a pudding, some bread fruit, cocoanuts and other vegetables. When they approached us Kaireekeea put himself at their head, and presenting the pig to Captain Cook in the usual manner, began the same kind of chant as before, his companions making regular responses. We observed that after every response their parts became gradually shorter, till, toward the close, Kaireekeea's consisted of only two or three words, while the rest answered by the word Orono. "When this offering was concluded, which lasted a quarter of an hour, the natives sat down fronting us, and began to cut up the baked hog, to peel the vegetables and break the cocoanuts; whilst others employed themselves in brewing the awa, which is done by chewing it in the same manner as at the Friendly Islands. Kaireekeea then took part of the kernel of a cocoanut, which he chewed, and wrapping it in a piece of cloth, rubbed with it the Captain's face, head, hands, arms and shoulders. The awa was then handed around, and after we had tasted it Koah and Pareea began to pull the flesh of the hog in pieces and put it into our mouths. I had no great objection to being fed by Pareea, who was very cleanly in his person, but Captain Cook, who was served by Koah, recollecting the putrid hog, could not swallow a morsel; and his reluctance, as may be supposed, was not diminished when the old man, according to his own mode of civility had chewed it for him. "When this ceremony was finished, which Captain Cook put an end to as soon as he decently could, we quitted the Moral." Evidently the whole purpose of Captain Cook in permitting this performance, was to flatter and gratify the natives and make himself strong to command them. The Captain himself was sickened, and got away as quickly as he could without giving offense. This was not the only case in which the native priests presented the navigator as a superior being. Perhaps the view the old sailor took of the style of ceremony was as there were so many gods, one more or less did not matter. Cook never attached importance to the freaks of superstition, except so far as it might be made useful in keeping the bloody and beastly savages in check. Bearing upon this point we quote W.D. Alexander's "Brief History of the Hawaiian People," pages 33-34: "Infanticide was fearfully prevalent, and there were few of the older women at the date of the abolition of idolatry who had not been guilty of it. It was the opinion of those best informed that two-thirds of all the children born were destroyed in infancy by their parents. They were generally buried alive, in many cases in the very houses occupied by their unnatural parents. On all the islands the number of males was much greater than that of females, in consequence of the girls being more frequently destroyed than the boys. The principal reason given for it was laziness--unwillingness to take the trouble of rearing children. It was a very common practice for parents to give away their children to any persons who were willing to adopt them. "No regular parental discipline was maintained, and the children were too often left to follow their own inclinations and to become familiar with the lowest vices. "Neglect of the helpless. Among the common people old age was despised. The sick and those who had become helpless from age were sometimes abandoned to die or put to death. Insane people were also sometimes stoned to death." Again we quote Alexander's History, page 49: "Several kinds of food were forbidden to the women on pain of death, viz., pork, bananas, cocoanuts, turtles, and certain kinds of fish, as the ulua, the humu, the shark, the hihimanu or sting-ray, etc. The men of the poorer class often formed a sort of eating club apart from their wives. These laws were rigorously enforced. At Honannau, Hawaii, two young girls of the highest rank, Kapiolani and Keoua, having been detected in the act of eating a banana, their kahu, or tutor, was held responsible, and put to death by drowning. Shortly before the abolition of the tabus, a little child had one of her eyes scooped out for the same offense. About the same time a woman was put to death for entering the eating house of her husband, although though she was tipsy at the time." Captain Cook seems to have committed the unpardonable sin in not beginning the stated work of preaching the gospel a long generation before the missionaries arrived, and the only sound reason for this is found in Dibble's History, in his statement that the islanders steadily degenerated until the missions were organized. Writers of good repute, A. Fornander, chief of them, are severe with Captain Cook on account of his alleged greed, not paying enough for the red feathers woven into fanciful forms. Perhaps that is a common fault in the transactions of civilized men with barbarians. William Penn is the only man with a great reputation for dealing fairly with American Red Men, and he was not impoverished by it. Cook gave nails for hogs, and that is mentioned in phrases that are malicious. Iron was to the islanders the precious metal, and they were not cheated. A long drawn out effort has been made to impress the world that Cook thought himself almost a god, and was a monster. The natives gave to the wonderful people who came to them in ships, liberally of their plenty, and received in return presents that pleased them, articles of utility. Beads came along at a later day. The natives believed Cook one of the heroes of the imagination that they called gods. He sought to propitiate them and paid for fruit and meat in iron and showy trifles. His policy of progress was to introduce domestic animals. Note the temper of Mr. Abraham Fornander, a man who has meant honesty of statement, but whose information was perverted: "And how did Captain Cook requite this boundless hospitality, that never once made default during his long stay of seventeen days in Kealakeakua, these magnificent presents of immense value, this delicate and spontaneous attention to every want, this friendship of the chiefs and priests, this friendliness of the common people? By imposing on their good nature to the utmost limit of its ability to respond to the greedy and constant calls of their new friends; by shooting at one of the king's officers for endeavoring to enforce a law of the land, an edict of his sovereign that happened to be unpalatable to the new comers, and caused them some temporary inconvenience, after a week's profusion and unbridled license; by a liberal exhibition of his force and the meanest display of his bounty; by giving the king a linen shirt and a cutlass in return for feather cloaks and helmets, which, irrespective of their value as insignia of the highest nobility in the land, were worth, singly at least from five to ten thousand dollars, at present price of the feathers, not counting the cost of manufacturing; by a reckless disregard of the proprieties of ordinary intercourse, even between civilized and savage man, and a wanton insult to what he reasonably may have supposed to have been the religious sentiments of his hosts." This is up to the mark of a criminal lawyer retained to prove by native testimony that Captain James Cook was not murdered, but executed for cause. The great crime of Cook is up to this point that of playing that he was one of the Polynesian gods. Fornander says: "When the sailors carried off, not only the railing of the temple, but also the idols of the gods within it, even the large-hearted patience of Kaoo gave up, and he meekly requested that the central idol at least, might be restored. Captain King failed to perceive that the concession of the priests was that of a devotee to his saint. The priests would not sell their religious emblems and belongings for "thirty pieces of silver," or any remuneration, but they were willing to offer up the entire Heiau, and themselves on the top of it, as a holocaust to Lono, if he had requested it. So long as Cook was regarded as a god in their eyes they could not refuse him. And though they exhibited no resentment at the request, the want of delicacy and consideration on the part of Captain Cook is none the less glaring. After his death, and when the illusion of godship had subsided, his spoliation of the very Heiau in which he had been deified was not one of the least of the grievances which native annalists laid up against him." Contrast this flagrancy in advocacy of the cause of the barbarous natives with the last words Cook wrote in his journal. We quote from "A Voyage to the Pacific Ocean," by Captain James Cook, F.R.S., (Vol. II., pages 251-252): "As it was of the last importance to procure a supply of provisions at these islands; and experience having taught me that I could have no chance to succeed in this, if a free trade with the natives were to be allowed; that is, if it were left to every man's discretion to trade for what he pleased, and in what manner he pleased; for this substantial reason, I now published an order prohibiting all persons from trading, except such as should be appointed by me and Captain Clarke; and even these were enjoined to trade only for provisions and refreshments. Women were also forbidden to be admitted into the ships, except under certain restrictions. But the evil I intended to prevent, by this regulation, I soon found had already got amongst them. "I stood in again the next morning till within three or four miles of the land, where we were met with a number of canoes laden with provisions. We brought to, and continued trading with the people in them till four in the afternoon, when, having got a pretty good supply, we made sail and stretched off to the northward. "I had never met with a behavior so free from reserve and suspicion in my intercourse with any tribe of savages as we experienced in the people of this island. It was very common for them to send up into the ship the several articles they brought for barter; afterward, they would come in themselves and make their bargains on the quarter-deck. "We spent the night as usual, standing off and on. It happened that four men and ten women who had come on board the preceding day still remained with us. As I did not like the company of the latter, I stood in shore toward noon, principally with a view to get them out of the ship; and, some canoes coming off, I took that opportunity of sending away our guests. "In the evening Mr. Bligh returned and reported that he had found a bay in which was good anchorage, and fresh water in a situation tolerably easy to be come at. Into this bay I resolved to carry the ships, there to refit and supply ourselves with every refreshment that the place could afford. As night approached the greater part of our visitors retired to the shore, but numbers of them requested our permission to sleep on board. Curiosity was not the only motive, at least with some, for the next morning several things were missing, which determined me not to entertain so many another night. "At eleven o'clock in the forenoon we anchored in the bay, which is called by the natives Karakaooa, (Kealakeakua), in thirteen fathoms water, over a sandy bottom, and about a quarter of a mile from the northeast shore. In this situation the south point of the bay bore south by west, and the north point west half north. We moored with the stream-anchor and cable, to the northward, unbent the sails and struck yards and topmasts. The ships continued to be much crowded with natives, and were surrounded by a multitude of canoes. I had nowhere, in the course of my voyages, seen so numerous a body of people assembled in one place. For, besides those who had come off to us in canoes, all the shore of the bay was covered with spectators, and many hundreds were swimming around the ships like shoals of fish. We could not but be struck with the singularity of this scene, and perhaps there were few on board who lamented our having failed in our endeavors to find a northern passage homeward last summer. To this disappointment we owed our having it in our power to revisit the Sandwich Islands, and to enrich our voyage with a discovery which, though the last, seemed in many respects to be the most important that had hitherto been made by Europeans, throughout the extent of the Pacific Ocean." This is the end of Cook's writing. His murder followed immediately. He fell by the hands of people for whom his good will was shown in his last words. The concluding pages of the journal answer all the scandals his enemies have so busily circulated. There is a gleam of humor that shows like a thread of gold in the midst of the somber tragedies of the Sandwich Islands, and we must not omit to extract it from "The Voyage of Discovery Around the World" by Captain George Vancouver, when he spent some time in Hawaii, and gives two bright pictures--one of a theatrical performance, and the other the happy settlement of the disordered domestic relations of a monarch. _A Gifted Native Actress and Some Royal Dramatists._ "There was a performance by a single young woman of the name of Puckoo, whose person and manners were both very agreeable. Her dress, notwithstanding the heat of the weather, consisted of an immense quantity of cloth, which was wreaths of black, red and yellow feathers; but, excepting these, she wore no dress a manner as to give a pretty effect to the variegated pattern of the cloth; and was otherways disposed with great taste. Her head and neck were decorated with wreaths of black, red and yellow feathers; but, excepting these, she wore no dress from the waist upwards. Her ankles, and nearly half way up her legs, were decorated with several folds of cloth, widening upwards, so that the upper parts extended from the leg at least four inches all round; this was encompassed by a piece of net work, wrought very close, from the meshes of which were hung the small teeth of dogs, giving this part of her dress the appearance of an ornamented funnel. On her wrists she wore bracelets made of the tusks of the largest hogs. These were highly polished and fixed close together in a ring, the concave sides of the tusks being outwards; and their ends reduced to a uniform length, curving naturally away from the center, were by no means destitute of ornamental effect. Thus equipped, her appearance on the stage, before she uttered a single word, excited considerable applause. "These amusements had hitherto been confined to such limited performances; but this afternoon was to be dedicated to one of a more splendid nature, in which some ladies of consequence, attendants on the court of Tamaahmaah, were to perform the principal parts. Great pains had been taken, and they had gone through many private rehearsals, in order that the exhibition this evening might be worthy of the public attention; on the conclusion of which, I purposed by a display of fireworks, to make a return for the entertainment they had afforded us. "About four o'clock we were informed it was time to attend the royal dames; their theatre, or rather place of exhibition, was about a mile to the southward of our tents, in a small square, surrounded by houses, and sheltered by trees, a situation as well chosen for the performance, as for the accommodations of the spectators; who, on a moderate computation, could not be estimated at less than four thousand, of all ranks and descriptions of persons. "The dress of the actresses was something like that worn by Puckoo, though made of superior materials, and disposed with more taste and elegance. A very considerable quantity of their finest cloth was prepared for the occasion; of this their lower garment was formed, which extended from their waist half down their legs, and was so plaited as to appear very much like a hoop petticoat. This seemed the most difficult part of their dress to adjust, for Tamaahmaah, who was considered to be a profound critic, was frequently appealed to by the women, and his directions were implicitly followed in many little alterations. Instead of the ornaments of cloth and net-work, decorated with dogs' teeth, these ladies had each a green wreath made of a kind of bind weed, twisted together in different parts like a rope, which was wound round from the ankle, nearly to the lower part of the petticoat. On their wrists they wore no bracelets nor other ornaments, but across their necks and shoulders were green sashes, very nicely made, with the broad leaves of the tee, a plant that produces a very luscious sweet root, the size of a yam. This part of their dress was put on the last by each of the actresses; and the party being now fully attired, the king and queen, who had been present the whole time of their dressing, were obliged to withdraw, greatly to the mortification of the latter, who would gladly have taken her part as a performer, in which she was reputed to excel very highly. But the royal pair were compelled to retire, even from the exhibition, as they are prohibited by law from attending such amusements, excepting on the festival of the new year. Indeed, the performance of this day was contrary to the established rules of the island, but being intended as a compliment to us, the innovation was permitted. "As their majesties withdrew, the ladies of rank and the principal chiefs began to make their appearance. The reception of the former by the multitude was marked by a degree of respect that I had not before seen amongst any inhabitants of the countries in the Pacific Ocean. The audience assembled at this time were standing in rows, from fifteen to twenty feet deep, so close as to touch each other; but these ladies no sooner approached in their rear, in any accidental direction, than a passage was instantly made for them and their attendants to pass through in the most commodious manner to their respective stations, where they seated themselves on the ground, which was covered with mats, in the most advantageous situation for seeing and hearing the performers. Most of these ladies were of a corpulent form, which, assisted by their stately gait, the dignity with which they moved, and the number of their pages, who followed with fans to court the refreshing breeze, or with fly-flaps to disperse the offending insects, announced their consequence as the wives, daughters, sisters, or other near relations of the principal chiefs, who, however, experienced no such marks of respect or attention themselves; being obliged to make their way through the spectators in the best manner they were able. "The time devoted to the decoration of the actresses extended beyond the limits of the quiet patience of the audience, who exclaimed two or three times, from all quarters, "Hoorah, hoorah, poaliealee," signifying that it would be dark and black night before the performance would begin. But the audience here, like similar ones in other countries, attending with a pre-disposition to be pleased, was in good humor, and was easily appeased, by the address of our faithful and devoted friend Trywhookee, who was the conductor of the ceremonies, and sole manager on this occasion. He came forward and apologized by a speech that produced a general laugh, and, causing the music to begin, we heard no further murmurs. "The band consisted of five men, all standing up, each with a highly polished wooden spear in the left, and a small piece of the same material, equally well finished, in the right hand; with this they beat on the spear, as an accompaniment to their own voices in songs, that varied both as to time and measure, especially the latter; yet their voices, and the sounds produced from the rude instruments, which differed according to the place on which the tapering spear was struck, appeared to accord very well. Having engaged us a short time in this vocal performance, the court ladies made their appearance, and were received with shouts of the greatest applause. The musicians retired a few paces, and the actresses took their station before them. "The heroine of the piece, which consisted of four or five acts, had once shared the affections and embraces of Tamaahmaah, but was now married to an inferior chief, whose occupation in the household was that of the charge of the king's apparel. This lady was distinguished by a green wreath round the crown of the head; next to her was the captive daughter of Titeeree; the third a younger sister to the queen, the wife of Crymamahoo, who, being of the most exalted rank, stood in the middle. On each side of these were two of inferior quality, making in all seven actresses. They drew themselves up in a line fronting that side of the square that was occupied by ladies of quality and the chiefs. These were completely detached from the populace, not by any partition, but, as it were, by the respectful consent of the lower orders of the assembly; not one of which trespassed or produced the least inaccommodation. "This representation, like that before attempted to be described, was a compound of speaking and singing; the subject of which was enforced by gestures and actions. The piece was in honor of a captive princess, whose name was Crycowculleneaow; and on her name being pronounced, every one present, men as well as women, who wore any ornaments above their waists, were obliged to take them off, though the captive lady was at least sixty miles distant. This mark of respect was unobserved by the actresses whilst engaged in the performance; but the instant any one sat down, or at the close of the act, they were also obliged to comply with this mysterious ceremony. "The variety of attitudes into which these women threw themselves, with the rapidity of their action, resembled no amusement in any other part of the world within my knowledge, by a comparison with which I might be enabled to convey some idea of the stage effect thus produced, particularly in the three first parts, in which there appeared much correspondence and harmony between the tone of their voices and the display of their limbs. One or two of the performers being not quite so perfect as the rest, afforded us an opportunity of exercising our judgment by comparison; and it must be confessed, that the ladies who most excelled, exhibited a degree of graceful action, for the attainment of which it is difficult to account. "In each of these first parts the songs, attitudes and actions appeared to me of greater variety than I had before noticed amongst the people of the great South Sea nation on any former occasion. The whole, though I am unequal to its description, was supported with a wonderful degree of spirit and vivacity; so much indeed that some of their exertions were made with such a degree of agitating violence as seemed to carry the performers beyond what their strength was able to sustain; and had the performance finished with the third act, we should have retired from their theatre with a much higher idea of the moral tendency of their drama, than was conveyed by the offensive, libidinous scene, exhibited by the ladies in the concluding part. The language of the song, no doubt, corresponded with the obscenity of their actions; which were carried to a degree of extravagance that were calculated to produce nothing but disgust, even to the most licentious." From "A Voyage of Discovery," by Captain George Vancouver: _The Reconciliation by Strategy of a King With One of His Queens._ "Tahowmotoo was amongst the most constant of our guests; but his daughter, the disgraced queen, seldom visited our side of the bay. I was not, however, ignorant of her anxious desire for a reconciliation with Tamaahmaah; nor was the same wish to be misunderstood in the conduct and behavior of the king, in whose good opinion and confidence I had now acquired such a predominancy that I became acquainted with his most secret inclinations and apprehensions. "His unshaken attachment and unaltered affection for Tahowmannoo was confessed with a sort of internal self conviction of her innocence. He acknowledged with great candor that his own conduct had not been exactly such as warranted his having insisted upon a separation from his queen; that although it could not authorize, it in some measure pleaded in excuse for her infidelity; and for his own, he alleged, that his high rank and supreme authority was a sort of license for such indulgences. "An accommodation which I considered to be mutually wished by both parties was urged in the strongest terms by the queen's relations. To effect this desirable purpose, my interference was frequently solicited by them; and as it concurred with my own inclination, I resolved on embracing the first favorable opportunity to use my best endeavors for bringing a reconciliation about. For although, on our former visit, Tahowmannoo had been regarded with the most favorable impressions, yet, whether from her distresses, or because she had really improved in her personal accomplishments, I will not take upon me to determine, but certain it is that one or both of these circumstances united had so far prepossessed us all in her favor, and no one more so than myself, that it had long been the general wish to see her exalted again to her former dignities. This desire was probably not a little heightened by the regard we entertained for the happiness and repose of our noble and generous friend Tamaahmaah, who was likely to be materially affected not only in his domestic comforts, but in his political situation, by receiving again and reinstating his consort in her former rank and consequence. "I was convinced beyond all doubt that there were two or three of the most considerable chiefs of the island whose ambitious views were inimical to the interests and authority of Tamaahmaah; and it was much to be apprehended that if the earnest solicitations of the queen's father (whose condition and importance was next in consequence to that of the king) should continue to be rejected, that there could be little doubt of his adding great strength and influence to the discontented and turbulent chiefs, which would operate highly to the prejudice, if not totally to the destruction, of Tamaahmaah's regal power; especially as the adverse party seemed to form a constant opposition, consisting of a minority by no means to be despised by the executive power, and which appeared to be a principal constituent part of the Owhyean politics. "For these substantial reasons, whenever he was disposed to listen to such discourse, I did not cease to urge the importance and necessity of his adopting measures so highly essential to his happiness as a man, and to his power, interest and authority as the supreme chief of the island. All this he candidly acknowledged, but his pride threw impediments in the way of a reconciliation, which were hard to be removed. He would not himself become the immediate agent; and although he considered it important that the negotiation should be conducted by some one of the principal chiefs in his fullest confidence with disdain, was equally hard to reconcile to his feelings. I stood nearly in the same situation with his favorite friends; but being thoroughly convinced of the sincerity of his wishes, I spared him the mortification of soliciting the offices he had rejected, by again proffering my services. To this he instantly consented, and observed that no proposal could have met his mind so completely; since, by effecting a reconciliation through my friendship, no umbrage could be taken at his having declined the several offers of his countrymen by any of the individuals; whereas, had this object been accomplished by any one of the chiefs, it would probably have occasioned jealousy and discontent in the minds of the others. "All, however, was not yet complete; the apprehension that some concession might be suggested, or expected, on his part, preponderated against every other consideration; and he would on no account consent, that it should appear that he had been privy to the business, or that it had been by his desire that a negotiation had been undertaken for this happy purpose, but that the whole should have the appearance of being purely the result of accident. "To this end it was determined that I should invite the queen, with several of her relations and friends, on board the Discovery, for the purpose of presenting them with some trivial matters, as tokens of my friendship and regard; and that, whilst thus employed, our conversation should be directed to ascertain whether an accommodation was still an object to be desired. That on this appearing to be the general wish, Tamaahmaah would instantly repair on board in a hasty manner, as if he had something extraordinary to communicate; that I should appear to rejoice at this accidental meeting, and by instantly uniting their hands, bring the reconciliation to pass without the least discussion or explanation on either side. But from his extreme solicitude lest he should in any degree be suspected of being concerned in this previous arrangement, a difficulty arose how to make him acquainted with the result of the proposed conversation on board, which could not be permitted by a verbal message; at length, after some thought, he took up two pieces of paper, and of his own accord made certain marks with a pencil on each of them, and then delivered them to me. The difference of these marks he could well recollect; the one was to indicate that the result of my inquiries was agreeable to his wishes, and the other that it was contrary. In the event of my making use of the former, he proposed that it should not be sent on shore secretly, but in an open and declared manner, and by way of a joke, as a present to his Owhyhean majesty. The natural gaiety of disposition which generally prevails among these islanders, would render this supposed disappointment of the king a subject for mirth, would in some degree prepare the company for his visit, and completely do away with every idea of its being the effect of a preconcerted measure. "This plan was accordingly carried into execution on the following Monday. Whilst the queen and her party, totally ignorant of the contrivance, were receiving the compliments I had intended them, their good humor and pleasantry were infinitely heightened by the jest I proposed to pass upon the king, in sending him a piece of paper only, carefully wrapped up in some cloth of their own manufacture, accompanied by a message; importing, that as I was then in the act of distributing favors to my Owhyhean friends, I had not been unmindful of his majesty. "Tamaahmaah no sooner received the summons, than he hastened on board, and, with his usual vivacity, exclaimed before he made his appearance that he was come to thank me for the present I had sent him, and for my goodness in not having forgotten him on this occasion. This was heard by everyone in the cabin before he entered; and all seemed to enjoy the joke except the poor queen, who appeared to be much agitated at the idea of being again in his presence. The instant that he saw her his countenance expressed great surprise, he became immediately silent, and attempted to retire; but, having posted myself for the especial purpose of preventing his departure, I caught his hand and, joining it with the queen's, their reconciliation was instantly completed. This was fully demonstrated, not only by the tears that involuntarily stole down the cheeks of both as they embraced each other and mutually expressed the satisfaction they experienced; but by the behavior of every individual present, whose feelings on the occasion were not to be repressed; whilst their sensibility testified the happiness which this apparently fortuitous event had produced. "A short pause, produced by an event so unexpected, was succeeded by the sort of good humor that such a happy circumstance would naturally inspire; the conversation soon became general, cheerful and lively, in which the artifice imagined to have been imposed upon the king bore no small share. A little refreshment from a few glasses of wine concluded the scene of this successful meeting. "After the queen had acknowledged in the most grateful terms the weighty obligations which she felt for my services on this occasion, I was surprised by her saying, as we were all preparing to go on shore, that she had still a very great favor to request; which was, that I should obtain from Tamaahmaah a solemn promise that on her return to his habitation he would not beat her. The great cordiality with which the reconciliation had taken place, and the happiness that each of them had continued to express in consequence of it, led me at first to consider this entreaty of the queen as a jest only; but in this I was mistaken, for, notwithstanding that Tamaahmaah readily complied with my solicitation, and assured me nothing of the kind should take place, yet Tahowmannoo would not be satisfied without my accompanying them home to the royal residence, where I had the pleasure of seeing her restored to all her former honors and privileges, highly to the satisfaction of all the king's friends, but to the utter mortification of those who by their scandalous reports and misrepresentations had been the cause of the unfortunate separtion. "The domestic affairs of Tamaahmaah having thus taken so happy a turn, his mind was more at liberty for political considerations; and the cession of Owhyhee to his Britannic Majesty now became an object of his serious concern." Captain Cook makes a strong plea in his journal that he was the very original discoverer of the Sandwich Islands. Referring to the wonderful extent of the surface of the earth in which the land is occupied by the Polynesial race, he exclaims: "How shall we account for this nation's having spread itself, in so many detached islands, so widely disjoined from each other, in every quarter of the Pacific Ocean! We find it, from New Zealand in the South, as far as the Sandwich Islands, to the North! And, in another direction, from Easter Islands to the Hebrides! That is, over an extent of sixty degrees of latitude, or twelve hundred leagues, North and South! And eighty-three degrees of longitude, or sixteen hundred and sixty leagues, East and West! How much farther, in either direction, its colonies reach, is not known; but what we know already, in consequence of this and our former voyage, warrants our pronouncing it to be, though perhaps not the most numerous, certainly, by far, the most extensive, nation upon earth. "Had the Sandwich Islands been discovered at an early period by the Spaniards, there is little doubt that they would have taken advantage of so excellent a situation, and have made use of Atooi, or some other of the islands, as a refreshing place to the ships, that sail annually from Acapulco for Manilla. They lie almost midway between the first place and Guam, one of the Ladrones, which is at present their only port in traversing this vast ocean; and it would not have been a week's sail out of their common route to have touched at them; which could have been done without running the least hazard of losing the passage, as they are sufficiently within the verge of the easterly trade wind. An acquaintance with the Sandwich Islands would have been equally favorable to our Buccaneers, who used sometimes to pass from the coast of America to the Ladrones, with a stock of food and water scarcely sufficient to preserve life. Here they might always have found plenty, and have been within a month's sure sail of the very part of California which the Manilla ship is obliged to make, or else have returned to the coast of America, thoroughly refitted, after an absence of two months. How happy would Lord Anson have been, and what hardships he would have avoided, if he had known that there was a group of islands half way between America and Tinian, where all his wants could have been effectually supplied; and in describing which the elegant historian of that voyage would have presented his reader with a more agreeable picture than I have been able to draw in this chapter." And yet there seems to be reason for believing that there was a Spanish ship cast away on one of the Hawaiian group, and that their descendants are distinctly marked men yet: There was also a white man and woman saved from the sea at some unknown period, of course since Noah, and they multiplied and replenished, and the islanders picked up somewhere a knack for doing things in construction of boats and the weaving of mats that hint at a crude civilization surviving in a mass of barbarianism. Captain George Dixon names the islands discovered by Captain Cook on his last voyage: "Owhyhee (Hawaii), the principal, is the first to the southward and eastward, the rest run in a direction nearly northwest. The names of the principals are Mowee (Maui), Morotoy (Molokai), Ranai (Lanai), Whahoo (Oahu), Attooi (Kauai), and Oneehow (Niihau)." This account Dixon gives of two curious and rather valuable words: "The moment a chief concludes a bargain, he repeats the word Coocoo thrice, with quickness, and is immediately answered by all the people in his canoe with the word Whoah, pronounced in a tone of exclamation, but with greater or less energy, in proportion as the bargain he has made is approved." The great and celebrated Kamehameha, who consolidated the government of the islands, did it by an act of treachery and murder, thus told in Alexander's history: "The Assassination of Keoua.--Toward the end of the year 1791 two of Kamehameha's chief counsellors, Kamanawa and Keaweaheulu, were sent on an embassy to Keoua at Kahuku in Kau. Keoua's chief warrior urged him to put them to death, which he indignantly refused to do. "By smooth speeches and fair promises they persuaded him to go to Kawaihae, and have an interview with Kamehameha, in order to put an end to the war, which had lasted nine years. Accordingly he set out with his most intimate friends and twenty-four rowers in his own double canoe, accompanied by Keaweaheulu in another canoe, and followed by friends and retainers in other canoes. "As they approached the landing at Kawaihae, Keeaumoku surrounded Keoua's canoe with a number of armed men. As Kamakau relates: 'Seeing Kamehameha on the beach, Keoua called out to him, "Here I am," to which he replied, "Rise up and come here, that we may know each other."' "As Keoua was in the act of leaping ashore, Keeaumoku killed him with a spear. All the men in Keoua's canoe and in the canoes of his immediate company were slaughtered but one. But when the second division approached, Kamehameha gave orders to stop the massacre. The bodies of the slain were then laid upon the altar of Puukohola as an offering to the blood-thirsty divinity Kukailimoku. That of Keoua had been previously baked in an oven at the foot of the hill as a last indignity. This treacherous murder made Kamehameha master of the whole island of Hawaii, and was the first step toward the consolidation of the group under one government." This is one of those gentle proceedings of an amiable race, whose massacre of Captain Cook has been so elaborately vindicated by alleged exponents of civilization. There is found the keynote of the grevious native government in an incident of the date of 1841 by which "the foreign relations of the government became involved with the schemes of a private firm. The firm of Ladd & Co. had taken the lead in developing the agricultural resources of the islands by their sugar plantation at Koloa and in other ways, and had gained the entire confidence of the king and chiefs. On the 24th of November, 1841, a contract was secretly drawn up at Lahaina by Mr. Brinsmade, a member of the firm, and Mr. Richards, and duly signed by the king and premier, which had serious after-consequences. It granted to Ladd & Co. the privilege of "leasing any now unoccupied and unimproved localities" in the islands for one hundred years, at a low rental, each millsite to include fifteen acres, and the adjoining land for cultivation in each locality not to exceed two hundred acres, with privileges of wood, pasture, etc. These sites were to be selected within one year, which term was afterwards extended to four years from date." Of course there are many safeguards, particularly in this case, but the points of the possession of land conceded, the time for the people to recover their rights never comes. One of the difficulties in the clearing up of the foggy chapters of the history of the Hawaiian islands is that within the lifetime of men who were young at the close of the last century, the Hawaiian tongue became a written language, and made the traditions of savages highly colored stories, in various degrees according to ignorance, prejudice and sympathy, accepted as historical. The marvels accomplished by the missionaries influenced them to deal gently with those whose conversion was a recognized triumph of Christendom, and there was an effort to condemn Captain Cook, who had affected to nod as a God, as a warning to blasphemers. Still, the truth of history is precious as the foundations of faith to men of all races and traditions, and the Englishman who surpassed the French, Spaniards and Portuguese in discoveries of islands in the vast spaces of the Pacific Ocean, should have justice at the hands of Americans who have organized states and built cities by that sea, and possess the islands that have been named its paradise because endowed surpassingly with the ample treasures of volcanic soil and tropical climate. There the trade winds bestow the freshness of the calm and mighty waters, and there is added to the bounty of boundless wealth the charms of luxuriant beauty. All Americans should find it timely to be just to Captain Cook, and claim him as one of the pioneers of our conquering civilization. CHAPTER XXII The Start for the Land of Corn Stalks. Spain Clings to the Ghost of Her Colonies--The Scene of War Interest Shifts from Manila--The Typhoon Season--General Merritt on the Way to Paris--German Target Practice by Permission of Dewey--Poultney Bigelow with Canoe, Typewriter and Kodak--Hongkong as a Bigger and Brighter Gibraltar. When Spain gave up the ghosts of her American colonies, and the war situation was unfolded to signify that the fate of the Philippines was referred to a conference, and Aguinaldo announced the removal of his seat of government to Molones, one hour and a half from Manila, the scene of greatest interest was certainly not in the city and immediate surroundings. Then it was plain the American army must remain for some time, and would have only guard duty to perform. The Spaniards had succumbed and were submissive, having laid down their arms and surrendered all places and phases of authority. The insurgents' removal of their headquarters declared that they had abandoned all claim to sharing in the occupation of the conquered city, and their opposition to the United States, if continued in theory, was not to be that in a practical way. Between the American, Spanish and Philippine forces there was no probability of disputed facts or forms that could be productive of contention of a serious nature. There was but one question left in this quarter of the world that concerned the people of the United States, and that whether they would hold their grip, snatched by Dewey with his fleet, and confirmed by his government in sending an army, making our country possessors of the physical force to sustain our policy, whatever it might be, on the land as well as on the sea. Whether we should stay or go was not even to be argued in Manila, except in general and fruitless conversation. Then came the intelligence that General Merritt had been called to Paris and General Greene to Washington, and there was a deepened impression that the war was over. It was true that the army was in an attitude and having experiences that were such as travelers appreciate as enjoyable, and that no other body of soldiers had surroundings so curious and fascinating. The most agreeable time of the year was coming on, and the sanitary conditions of the city, under the American administration, would surely improve constantly, and so would! the fare of the men, for the machinery in all departments was working smoothly. The boys were feeling pretty well, because they found their half dollars dollars--the Mexican fifty-cent piece, bigger and with more silver in it than the American standard dollar, was a bird. A dollar goes further if it is gold in Manila than in an American city, and if our soldiers are not paid in actual gold they get its equivalent, and the only money question unsettled is whether the Mexican silver dollar is worth in American money fifty cents or less. One of the sources of anxieties and disappointment and depression of the American soldiers in Manila has been the irregularity and infrequency with which they get letters. If one got a letter or newspaper from home of a date not more than six weeks old he had reason to be congratulated. The transports trusted with the mails were slow, and communications through the old lines between Hongkong and San Francisco, Yokohama and Vancouver, were not reliably organized. There were painful cases of masses of mail on matter precious beyond all valuation waiting at Hongkong for a boat, and an issue whether the shorter road home was not by way of Europe. This is all in course of rapid reformation. There will be no more mystery as to routes or failures to connect. The soldiers, some of whom are ten thousand miles from home, should have shiploads of letters and papers. They need reading matter almost as much as they do tobacco, and the charming enthusiasm of the ladies who entertained the soldier boys when they were going away with feasting and flattery, praise and glorification, should take up the good work of sending them letters, papers, magazines and books. There is no reason why soldiers should be more subject to homesickness than sailors, except that they are not so well or ill accustomed to absence. The fact that the soldiers are fond of their homes and long for them can have ways of expression other than going home. A few days after the news of peace reached Manila, the transports were inspected for closing up the contracts with them under which they were detained, and soon they began to move. When the China was ordered to San Francisco, I improved the opportunity to return to the great republic. There was no chance to explore the many islands of the group of which Manila is the Spanish Capital. General Merritt changed the course of this fine ship and added to the variety of the voyage by taking her to Hongkong to sail thence by way of the China Sea, the Indian Ocean, the Arabian Gulf, the Red Sea, the Suez Canal and the Mediterranean, to Paris. Our route to San Francisco, by way of Hongkong, Nagasaki, Sunanaski, Kobe and the Yokohama light, was 6,905 knots, about seven thousand seven hundred statute miles, and gave us glimpses of the Asia shore, the west coast of Formosa and the great ports of Hongkong and Nagasaki. The first thing on the Sea of China, in the month of September, is whether we shall find ourselves in the wild embrace of a typhoon. It was the season for those terrible tempests and when we left Manila the information that one was about due was not spared us. We heard later on that the transport ahead of us four days, the Zealandia, was twenty-eight hours in a cyclone and much damaged--wrung and hammered and shocked until she had to put into Nagasaki for extensive repairs. The rainfall was so heavy during the storm that one could not see a hundred yards from the ship, and she was wrung in so furious a style in a giddy waltz, that the Captain was for a time in grave doubt whether she would not founder. The rule is when one is in the grasp of the oriental whirl to run through it, judging from the way of the wind, the shortest way out. There is a comparatively quiet spot in the center, and if the beset navigator can find the correct line of flight, no matter which way as relates to the line of his journey, he does well to take it. Often in this sea, as in this case, there were uncertainties as to directions. The rain narrowed observation like a dense fog, and there was danger of running upon some of the islands and snags of rocks. The battered vessel pulled through a cripple, with her boats shattered, her deck cracked across by a roller, and her crew were happy to find a quiet place to be put in order. "To be or not to be" an American instead of a Spanish or Asiatic city was the parting thought as the China left Manila Bay, and the dark rocks of Corrigedor faded behind us, and the rugged rocks that confront the stormy sea loomed on our right, and the violet peaks of volcanic mountains bounded our eastern horizon. The last view we had of the historic bay, a big German warship was close to the sentinel rock, that the Spaniards thought they had fortified, until Dewey came and saw and conquered, swifter than Caesar, and the Germans, venturing some target practice, by permission of Dewey, who relaxes no vigilance of authority. Hongkong is 628 miles from Manila, and the waters so often stirred in monstrous wrath, welcomed us with a spread of dazzling silk. The clumsy junks that appeared to have come down from the days of Confucius, were languid on the gentle ripples. The outstanding Asian islands, small and grim, are singularly desolate, barren as if splintered by fire, gaunt and forbidding. Hongkong is an island that prospers under the paws of the British lion, and it is a city displayed on a mountain side, that by day is not much more imposing than the town of Gibraltar, which it resembles, but at night the lights glitter in a sweeping circle, the steep ascent of the streets revealed by many lamps, and here and there the illumination climbs to the tops of the mountains that are revealed with magical efforts of color and form. The harbor is entered by an ample, but crooked channel, and is land-locked, fenced with gigantic bumps that sketch the horizon, and with their heads and shoulders are familiar with the sky. Here General Merritt, with his personal staff, left us, and between those bound from this port east and west, we circumnavigated the earth. Mr. Poultney Bigelow, of Harper's Weekly, who dropped in by the way just to make a few calls at Manila, and has a commission to explore the rivers and lagoons of China with his canoe, left us, in that surprising craft, plying his paddle in the fashion of the Esquimaux, pulling right and left, hand over hand, balancing to a nicety on the waves and going ashore dry and unruffled, with his fieldglass and portfolio, his haversack and typewriter machine that he folds in a small box as if it was a pocket comb, and his kodak, with which he is an expert. He has not only ransacked with his canoe the rivers of America, but has descended the Danube and the Volga. He puts out in his canoe and crosses arms of the sea, as a pastime, makes a tent of his boat if it rains, fighting the desperadoes of all climes with the superstition, for which he is indebted to their imagination for his safety in running phenomenal hazards, that he is a magician. Marco Polo was not so great a traveler or so rare an adventurer as Bigelow, and, having left Florida under a thunder cloud of the scowl of an angry army for untimely criticisms, he has invaded the celestial empire in his quaint canoe, and he can beat the Chinese boatmen on their own rivers, and sleep like a sea bird on the swells of green water, floating like a feather, and safe in his slumbers as a solon goose with his head under his wing. However, he has not a winged boat, a bird afloat sailing round the purple peaks remote, as Buchanan Reed put it in his "Drifting" picture of the Vesuvian bay, for Bigelow uses a paddle. There has been a good deal of curiosity as well as indignation about his papers on the handling of our Cuban expedition before it sailed, and it is possible he was guilty of the common fault of firing into the wrong people. He was in Washington in June, and he and I meeting on the Bridge of Spain over the Pesang in Manila in August, we had, between us, put a girdle about the earth. Some say such experiences are good to show how small the earth is, but I am more than ever persuaded that it is big enough to find mankind in occupation and subsistence until time shall be no more. In the dock at Hongkong was Admiral Dewey's flagship Olympia, and while she had the grass scratched from her bottom, the gallant crew were having a holiday with the zest that rewards those who for four months were steadily on shipboard with arduous cares and labors. H.B.M.S. Powerful, of 12,000 tons displacement, with four huge flues and two immense military masts, presided at Hongkong under orders to visit Manila. The mingling of the English and Chinese in Hongkong is a lively object lesson, showing the extent of the British capacity to utilize Asiatic labor, and get the profit of European capital and discipline, an accumulation that requires an established sense of safety--a justified confidence in permanency. The contrast between the city of Hongkong and that of Manila is one that Americans should study now, to be instructed in the respective colonial systems of England and Spain. Hongkong is clean and solid, with business blocks of the best style of construction, the pavements excellent in material and keeping, shops full of goods, all the appliances of modern times--a city up to date. There are English enough to manage and Chinese enough to toil. There are two British regiments, one of them from India, the rank and file recruited from the fighting tribes of northern mountaineers. There are dark, tall men, with turbans, embodiment of mystery, and Parsees who have a strange spirituality of their own, and in material matters maintain a lofty code of honor, while their pastime is that of striving while they march to push their heads into the clouds. There are no horses in Hongkong, the coolies carrying chairs on bamboo poles, or trotting with two-wheelers, an untiring substitute for quadrupeds, and locomotion on the streets or in the boats is swift and sure. I had an address to find in the city, on a tip at Manila of the presence, of a literary treasure, and my chairmen carried me, in a few minutes, to a tall house on a tall terrace, and the works of a martyr to liberty in the Philippines were located. The penalty for the possession of these books in Manila was that of the author executed by shooting in the back in the presence of a crowd of spectators. The cost of the carriers was thirty cents in silver--fifteen cents in United States money--and the men were as keen-eyed as they were sure-footed, and the strength of their tawny limbs called for admiration. They were not burdened with clothes, and the play of the muscles of their legs was like a mechanism of steel, oiled, precise, easy and ample in force. The China took on a few hundred tons of coal, which was delivered aboard from heavy boats by the basketful, the men forming a line, and so expert were they at each delivery, the baskets were passed, each containing about half a bushel--perhaps there were sixty baskets to the ton--at the rate of thirty-five baskets in a minute. Make due allowances and one gang would deliver twenty tons of coal an hour. The China was anchored three-quarters of a mile from the landing, and a boat ride was ten cents, or fifteen if you were a tipster. The boats are, as a rule, managed by a man and his wife; and, as it is their own, they keep the children at home. The average families on the boats--and I made several counts--were nine, the seven children varying from one to twelve years of age. The vitality of the Chinese is not exhausted, or even impaired. CHAPTER XXIII Kodak Snapped at Japan. Glimpses of China and Japan on the Way Home from the Philippines--Hongkong a Greater Gibraltar--Coaling the China--Gangs of Women Coaling the China--How the Japanese Make Gardens of the Mountains--Transition from the Tropics to the Northern Seas--A Breeze from Siberia--A Thousand Miles Nothing on the Pacific--Talk of Swimming Ashore. Formosa was so far away eastward--a crinkled line drawn faintly with a fine blue pencil, showing as an artistic scrawl on the canvass of the low clouds--we could hardly claim when the sketch of the distant land faded from view, that we had seen Japan. When Hongkong, of sparkling memory, was lost to sight, the guardian walls that secluded her harbor, closing their gates as we turned away, and the headlands of the celestial empire grew dim, a rosy sunset promised that the next day should be pleasant, our thoughts turned with the prow of the China to Japan. We were bound for Nagasaki, to get a full supply of coal to drive us across the Pacific, having but twelve hundred tons aboard, and half of that wanted for ballast. It was at the mouth of the harbor of Nagasaki that there was a settlement of Dutch Christians for some hundreds of years. An indiscreet letter captured on the way to Holland by a Portuguese adventurer and maliciously sent to Japan, caused the tragic destruction of the Christian colony. The enmity of Christian nations anxious to add to their properties in the islands in remote seas was so strong that any one preferred that rather than his neighbors might aggrandize the heathen should prevail. The first as well as the last rocks of Japan to rise from and sink into the prodigous waters, through which we pursued our homeward way, bathing our eyes in the delicious glowing floods of eastern air, were scraggy with sharp pinnacles, and sheer precipices, grim survivals of the chaos that it was, before there was light. I have had but glimpses of the extreme east of Asia, yet the conceit will abide with me that this is in geology as in history the older world, as we classify our continents, that a thousand centuries look upon us from the terrible towers, lonesome save for the flutter of white wings, that witness the rising of the constellations from the greater ocean of the globe. But there are green hills as we approach Nagasaki, and on a hillside to the left are the white walls of a Christian church with a square tower, stained with traditions of triumphs and suffering and martyrdom long ago. Nagasaki is like Hongkong in its land-locked harbor, in clinging to a mountain side, in the circle of illumination at night and the unceasing paddling of boats from ship to ship and between the ships and landings. One is not long in discovering that here are a people more alert, ingenious, self-confident and progressive than the Chinese. As we approached the harbor there came to head us off, an official steam launch, with men in uniform, who hailed and commanded us to stop. Two officers with an intense expression of authority came aboard, and we had to give a full and particular account of ourselves. Why were we there? Coaling. Where were we from? Manila and Hongkong. Where were we going? San Francisco. Had we any sickness on board? No. We must produce the ship doctor, the list of passengers, and manifest of cargo. We had no cargo. There were a dozen passengers. It was difficult to find fault with us. No one was ill. We wanted coal. What was the matter? We had no trouble at Hongkong. We could buy all the coal we wanted there, but preferred this station. We had proposed to have our warships cleaned up at Nagasaki, but there were objections raised. So the job went to the docks at Hongkong, and good gold with it. Why was this? Oh yes; Japan wanted, in the war between the United States and Spain, to be not merely formally, but actually neutral! The fact is that the Japanese Empire is not pleased with us. They had, in imperial circles, a passion for Honolulu, and intimated their grief. Now they are annoyed because that little indemnity for refusing the right to land Japanse labor was paid by the Hawaiian Government before the absorption into the United States. As the Hawaiian diplomatic correspondence about this was conducted with more asperity than tact, if peace were the purpose, it was a good sore place for the Japanese statesmen to rub, and they resent in the newspapers the facile and cheap pacification resulting from the influence of the United States. In addition the Japanese inhabitants, though they have a larger meal than they can speedily digest in Formosa, are not touched with unqualified pleasurable feeling because we have the Philippines in our grasp. If Japan is to be the great power of the Pacific, it is inconvenient to her for us to hold the Hawaiian, the Aleutian and the Philippine groups of islands. The Philippines have more natural resources than all the islands of Japan, and our Aleutian Islands that are waiting for development would probably be found, if thoroughly investigated, one of our great and good bargains. The average American finds himself bothered to have to treat the Japanese seriously, but we must, for they take themselves so, and are rushing the work on new ships of war so that they will come out equal with ourselves in sea power. They have ready for war one humdred thousand men. If we did not hold any part of the Pacific Coast, this might be a matter of indifference, but we have three Pacific States, and there is no purpose to cede them to the Japanese. It would not be statesmanship to give up the archipelagoes we possess, even if we consider them as lands to hold for the hereafter. It is not deniable that the Japanese have good reason to stand off for strict examination the ships of other nations that call at their ports. The British and Chinese have had an experience of the bubonic plague at Hongkong, and the Japanese are using all the power of arms and the artifice of science they possess to keep aloof from the disastrous disease, which is most contagious. The China had called at Hongkong, and hence the sharp attentions at a coaling station where there are about seventy-five thousand inhabitants of the Japanese quarters, which are an exhibit of Old Japan, and most interesting. Nagasaki has, indeed, the true Japanese flavor. If there had been a sick man on our ship we should have been quarantined. Further on we were halted in the night off the city of Kobe, to the sound of the firing of a cannon, for we had dropped there a passenger, Mr. Tilden, the Hongkong agent of the Pacific Mail line, and if our ship had been infected with plague he might have passed it on to Japan! I had gone to bed, and was called up to confront the representative of the Imperial Government of the Japanese, and make clear to his eyes that I had not returned on account of the plague. Authorities of Japan treat people who are quarantined in a way that removes the stress of disagreeableness. All are taken ashore and to a hospital. There is furnished a robe of the country, clean and tidy in all respects. The common clothing is removed and fumigated. It is necessary for each quarantined person to submit to this and also to a bath, which is a real luxury, and after it comes a cup of tea and a light lunch. There was an actual case of plague on an American ship at this city of Kobe not long ago, at least, it was so reported with pretty strong corroborative evidence. The symptom in the case on the ship was that of a fever, probably pneumonia. The man was landed and examined. The plague fever resembles pneumonia at an early stage. The Japanese physicians found signs of plague and the end came soon. The sick man, taken ashore in the afternoon, at nine o'clock was dead, transferred at once to the crematory, in two hours reduced to ashes, and the officers of the ship informed that if they wanted to carry the "remains" to America they would be sealed in a jar and certified. The ship's officers did not want ashes, and the Japs hold the jar. They are so "advanced" that cremation is becoming a fad with them. It would not be surprising to find that the impending danger of the Japanese is excessive imitative progress, which is not certain to be exactly the right thing for them. They have reached a point where it is worth while to examine the claim of new things with much care before adopting them. We have very high authority to examine all things for goodness sake, before committing ourselves to hold them fast. We had to take aboard eighteen hundred tons of coal at Nagasaki. A fleet of arks with thirty tons of Japanese coal approached and gathered around the ship, which has sixteen places to throw coal into the bunkers. So the coal business was carried on by from twelve to fifteen gangs, each of about ten men and twenty women! The latter were sturdy creatures, modestly attired in rough jackets and skirts. There were not far from thirty bamboo baskets to the gang. One man stood at the porthole, and each second emptied a coal basket, using both hands, and throwing it back into the barge with one hand, the same swing of the arm used to catch the next basket hurled to him with a quick, quiet fling. There were three men of a gang next the ship, the third one standing in the barge, served with baskets by two strings of women. At the end of the string furthest from the ship the coal was shoveled into the baskets by four men, and there were two who lifted and whirled them to the women. The numbers and order of the laborers varied a little at times from this relation, yet very little, but frequently a lump of coal was passed without using a basket. The work of coaling was carried on all night, and about thirty-six hours of labor put in for a day. There was a great deal of talking among the laborers during the few moments of taking places, and some of it in tones of high excitement, but once the human machine started there was silence, and then the scratching of the shovels in the coal, and the crash of the coal thrown far into the ship were heard. It is, from the American contemplation, shocking for women to do such work, but they did their share with unflinching assiduity, and without visible distress. When the night work was going on they were evidently fatigued, and at each change that allowed a brief spell of waiting, they were stretched out on the planks of the boats, the greater number still, but some of the younger ones talking and laughing. There did not seem to be much flirtation, nothing like as much as when both sexes of Europeans are engaged in the same wheat or barley field harvesting. There were, it is needful to remark, neither lights nor shadows to invite the blanishments of courting. The coal handling women were from fifteen to fifty years of age, and all so busy the inevitable babies must have been left at home. I have never seen many American or European babies "good" as weary mothers use the word, as the commonest Japanese kids. They do not know how to cry, and a girl of ten years will relieve a mother of personal care by carrying a baby, tied up in a scarf, just its head sticking out (I wish they could be induced to use more soap and water on the coppery heads, from which pairs of intent eyes stare out with sharp inquiry, as wild animals on guard). The girl baby bearer, having tied the child so that it appears to be a bag, slings it over her shoulder, and it interferes but slightly with the movements of the nurse; does not discernibly embarrass her movements. The men colliers, it must be admitted, are a shade reckless in the scarcity of their drapery when they are handling baskets in the presence of ladies. They do usually wear shirts with short tails behind, and very economical breechcloths, but their shirts are sleeveless, and the buttons are missing on collar and bosom. The only clothing beneath the knees consists of straw sandals. The precipitation of perspiration takes care of itself. There are no pocket handkerchiefs. Nagasaki has good hotels, a pleasant, airy European quarter, and shops stored with the goods of the country, including magnificent vases and other pottery that should meet the appreciation of housekeepers. There is no city in Japan more typically Japanese, few in which the line is so finely and firmly drawn between the old and the new, and that to the advantage of both. It is hardly possible for those who do not visit Japan to realize what a bitter struggle the people have had with their native land, or how brilliant the victory they have won. The passage of the China through the inner sea and far along the coast gave opportunity to see, as birds might, a great deal of the country. The inner sea is a wonderfully attractive sheet of water, twice as long as Long Island Sound, and studded with islands, a panorama of the picturesque mountains everywhere, deep nooks, glittering shoals, fishing villages by the sea, boats rigged like Americans, flocks of white sails by day, and lights at night, that suggest strings of street lamps. The waters teem with life. Evidently the sea very largely affords industry and sustenance to the people, for there is no botlom or prairie land, as we call the level or slightly rolling fields in America. There was not a spot from first to last visible in Japan, as seen from the water, or in an excursion on the land, where there is room to turn around a horse and plow. The ground is necessarily turned up with spades and mellowed with hoes and cakes, all, of course, by human hands. This is easy compared with the labor in constructing terraces. The mountains have been conquered to a considerable extent in this way, and it is sensational to see how thousands of steep places have been cut and walled into gigantic stairways, covering slopes that could hardly answer for goat pasture, until the shelves with soil placed on them for cultivation have been wrought, and the terraces are like wonderful ladders bearing against the skies. So rugged is the ground, however, that many mountains are unconquerable, and there are few traces of the terraces, though here and there, viewed from a distance, the evidences that land is cultivated as stairways leaning against otherwise inaccessible declivities. I have never seen elsewhere anything that spoke so unequivocably of the endless toil of men, women and children to find footings upon which to sow the grain and fruit that sustain life. It is not to be questioned that the report, one-twelfth, only of the surface of Japan is under tillage, is accurate. The country is more mountainous than the Alleghenies, and some of it barren as the wildest of the Rockies on the borders of the bad lands, and it is volcanic, remarkably so, even more subject to earthquakes than the Philippines. The whole of Japan occupies about as much space as the two Dakotas or the Philippines, and the population is forty-two millions. With work as careful and extensive as that of the agricultural mountaineers of Japan, the Dakotas would support one hundred million persons. But they would have to present the washing away of the soil and the waste through improvident ignorance or careless profligacy of any fertilizer, or of any trickle of water needed for irrigation. One of the features of the terraces is that the rains are saved by the walls that sustain the soil, and the gutters that guide the water conserve it, because paved with pebbles and carried down by easy stages, irrigating one shelf after another of rice or vegetables, whatever is grown, until the whole slope not irreclaimable is made to blossom and the mountain torrents saved in their descent, not tearing away the made ground, out of which the means of living grows, but percolating through scores of narrow beds, gardens suspended like extended ribbons of verdure on volcanic steeps, refreshing the crops to be at last ripened by the sunshine. This is a lesson for the American farmer--to be studied more closely than imitated--to grow grass, especially clover, to stop devastation by creeks, with shrubbery gifted with long roots to save the banks of considerable streams, and, where there is stone, use it to save the land now going by every freshwater rivulet and rivers to the seas, to the irreparable loss of mankind. It is the duty of man who inherits the earth that it does not escape from him, that his inheritance is not swept away by freshets. We are growing rapidly, in America, in the understanding of this subject, beginning to comprehend the necessity of giving the land that bears crops the equivalent of that which is taken from it, that the vital capital of future generations may not be dissipated and the people grow ever poor and at last perish. A ride in a jinrikisha, a two-wheeler, with a buggy top and poles for the biped horse to trot between, from Nagasaki to a fishing village over the mountains, five miles away, passing at the start through the Japanese quarter, long streets of shops, populous and busy, many diligent in light manufacturing work, and all scant in clothing--the journey continuing in sharp climbs alongside steep places and beside deep ravines, the slopes elaborately terraced, and again skirting the swift curves of a rapid brook from the mountains, that presently gathered and spread over pretty beds of gravel, providing abundant fresh water bathing, in which a school of boys, leaving a small guard for a light supply of clothing ashore--the ride ending in a village of fishermen that, by the count of the inhabitants, should be a town--permitted close observation of the Japanese in a city and a village, on their sky-scraping gardens and in the road, going to and coming from market, as well as in places of roadside entertainment; and at last a seaside resort, in whose shade a party of globetrotters were lunching, some of them, I hear, trying to eat raw fish. There could hardly have been contrived a more instructive exhibit of Japan and the Japanese. The road was obstructed in several places by cows bearing bales of goods from the city to the country, and produce from the hanging gardens to the streets, an occasional horse mustered in, and also a few oxen. The beast of burden most frequently overtaken or encountered was the cow, and a majority of the laborers were women. There were even in teams of twos and fours, carrying heavy luggage, men and women, old, middle-aged and young, barefooted or shod with straw, not overloaded, as a rule, and some walking as if they had performed their tasks and were going home. On the road it was patent there was extraordinary freedom from care as to clothing, and no feeling of prejudice or dismay if portions of it esteemed absolutely essential in North America and Europe had been left behind or was awaiting return to the possessor. This applies to both sexes. The day was warm, even hot, and the sun shone fiercely on the turnpike--for that is what we would call it--making walking, with or without loads, a heating exercise. Even the bearing of baskets, and the majority of the women carried them, was justification under the customs of the country for baring the throat and chest to give ample scope for breathing, and there is no restriction in the maintenance of the drooping lines of demarkation, according to the most liberal fashionable allowances, in dispensing with all the misty suggestions of laces to the utmost extent artists could ask, for the study of figures. Beauty had the advantage of the fine curves of full inhalations of the air that circulated along the dusty paths between the sea and the mountains. It is a puzzle that the artists of Japan have not better improved the unparalleled privilege of field and wall sketching, that they enjoy to a degree not equalled within the permission of the conventional construction of that which is becoming in the absence of the daylight habilaments of any great and polite people. The art schools of Japan, out of doors, on the highway, even, cannot fail to produce atmospheric influences of which the world will have visions hereafter, and the Latin quarter of Paris will lose its reputation that attracts and adjusts nature to inspiration. When we had succeeded, at Kobe, in convincing the authorities that none of the passengers on the China had picked up the plague at Hongkong, we put out into the big sea, and shaped our course for the fairer land so far away, not exactly a straight line, for the convexity of the earth that includes the water, for the ocean--particularly the Pacific--is rounded so that the straightest line over its surface is a curved line, if astronomically mentioned. We struck out on the great Northern circle, purposing to run as high as the forty-eighth parallel, almost to our Alutian Islands, and pursued our course in full view, the bald cliffs of Japan changing their color with the going down of the sun. When morning came the purple bulk of the bestirring little empire still reminded us of the lights and shadows of Asia and the missionary labors of Sir Edwin Arnold, which have a flavor of the classics and a remembrance of the Scriptures. "Yonder," said the Captain, "is the famous mountain of Japan, Fugeyana. It is not very clearly seen, for it is distant. Oh, you are looking too low down and see only the foot-hills--that is it, away up in the sky!" It was there, a peak so lofty that it is solitary. We were to have seen it better later, but as the hours passed there was a dimness that the light of declining day did not disperse, and the mountain stayed with us in a ghostly way, and held its own in high communion. As we were leaving Asian waters there came a demand for typhoons that the Captain satisfied completely, saying he was not hunting for them, but the worst one he ever caught was five hundred miles east of Yokohama. The tourists were rather troubled. The young man who had been in the wild waltz of the Zealandia did not care for a typhoon. We had been blessed with weather so balmy and healing, winds so soft and waves so low, that the ship had settled down steady as a river steamboat. We pushed on, but the best the China could do was fourteen knots and a half an hour, near 350 knots a day, with a consumption of 135 tons of coal in twenty-four hours. So much for not having been cleaned up so as to give the go of the fine lines. The China had been in the habit of making sixty miles a day more than of this trip, burning less than 100 tons of coal. As we climbed in the ladder of the parallels of latitude, we began to notice a crispness in the air, and it was lovely to the lungs. It was a pleasure, and a stimulant surpassing wine, to breathe the north temperate ozone again, and after a while to catch a frosty savor on the breeze. We had forgotten, for a few days, that we were not in a reeking state of perspiration. Ah! we were more than a thousand miles north of Manila, and that is as far as the coast of Maine to Cuba. The wind followed us, and at last gained a speed greater than our own; then it shifted and came down from the northwest. It was the wind that swept from Siberia, and Kamschatka's grim peninsula pointed us out. The smoke from our funnels blew black and dense away southeast, and did not change more than a point or two for a week. The Pacific began to look like the North Atlantic. There came a "chill out of a cloud" as in the poetic case of Annabel Lee. There had been, during our tropical experience, some outcries for the favor of a few chills, but now they were like the typhoons. When it was found that they might be had we did not want them. After all, warm weather was not so bad, and the chills that were in the wind that whistled from Siberia were rather objectionable. It was singular to call for one, two, three blankets, and then hunt up overcoats. White trousers disappeared two or three days after the white coats. Straw hats were called for by the wind. One white cap on an officer's head responded alone to the swarm of white caps on the water. The roll of the waves impeded our great northern circle. We could have made it, but we should have had to roll with the waves. We got no higher than 45 degrees. We had our two Thursdays, and thought of the fact that on the mystical meridian 180, where three days get mixed up in one! The Pacific Ocean, from pole to pole, so free on the line where the dispute as to the day it is, goes on forever, that only one small island is subject to the witchery of mathematics, and the proof in commonplace transactions unmixed with the skies that whatever may be the matter with the sun--the earth do move, is round, do roll over, and does not spill off the sea in doing so. At last came shrill head winds, and as we added fifteen miles an hour to this speed, the harp strings in the rigging were touched with weird music, and we filled our lungs consciously and conscientiously with American air, experiencing one of the old sensations, better than anything new. It was figured out that we were within a thousand miles of the continent, and were getting home. When one has been to the Philippines, what's a thousand miles or two! "Hello, Captain Seabury! It is only about a thousand miles right ahead to the land. You know what land it is, don't you? Well, now, you may break the shaft or burst the boilers, fling the ship to the sperm whales, like the one that was the only living thing we saw since Japan entered into the American clouds of the West. We are only a thousand miles away from the solid, sugary sweet, redolent, ripe American soil, and if there is anything the matter we do not mind, why we will just take a boat and pull ashore." But we would have had a hard time if the Captain had taken us up in the flush of the hilarity that laughed at a thousand miles, when the breeze brought us the faint first hints that we were almost home, after a voyage of five thousand leagues. The wind shifted to the south and increased until it roared, and the waves were as iron tipped with blue and silver, hurling their salty crests over our towering ship; and we were in the grasp-- On the Pacific of the terrific Storm King of the Equinox. Mr. Longfellow mentioned the storm wind gigantic, that shook the Atlantic at the time of the equinox--the one that urges the boiling surges bearing seaweed from the rocks; and all those disappointed because they had not bounded on the billows of the briny enough for healthy exercises, were satisfied in the reception by the tremendous Pacific when nigh the shore, which was once the western boundary, but is so no more, of that blessed America, of which her sons grow fonder the farther they roam. God's country, as the boys and girls call it reverently, when they are sailing the seas, was veiled from us in a fog that blanketed the deep. For five thousand miles our ship had been in a remorseless solitude. No voice had come to us; no spark of intelligence from the universe touched us, save from the stars and the sun, but at the hour of the night, and the point of the compass, our navigator had foretold, we should hear the deep-throated horn on Reyes point--it came to us out of the gloomy abyss--and science had not failed. Across the trackless waste we had been guided aright, and there was music the angels might have envied in the hoarse notes of the fog-horn that welcomed the wanderers home. CHAPTER XXIV Our Picture Gallery. Annotations and Illustrations--Portraits of Heroes of the War in the Army and Navy, and of the Highest Public Responsibilities--Admirals and Generals, the President and Cabinet--Photographs of Scenes and Incidents--The Characteristics of the Filipinos--Their Homes, Dresses and Peculiarities in Sun Pictures--The Picturesque People of Our New Possessions. The portrait of President McKinley is from the photograph that seems to his friends upon the whole the most striking of his likenesses. That of the Secretary of State, the Honorable John Hay, is certainly from the latest and best of his photos. The Postmaster General, the Honorable Charles Emory Smith, and Secretary Bliss, are presented in excellent form and the whole Cabinet with unusual faithfulness. Our naval and military heroes in the war that has introduced the American nation to the nations of the earth as a belligerent of the first class, cannot become too familiar to the people, for they are of the stuff that brightens with friction, and the more it is worn gives higher proof that it is of both the precious metals in war, gold and steel. Admiral Dewey, as we have set forth in this volume, is not thus far fairly dealt with in the pictures that have been taken. He is a surprise to those who meet him face to face--so far has photography failed to adequately present him, but the portrait we give is the best that has been made of him. Major-General Merritt retains the keen, clear cut face, and the figure and bearing of an ideal soldier that has characterized him since, as a youth just from West Point, he entered the army and won his way by his courage and courtesy, his brilliant conduct and excellent intelligence, his dashing charges and superb leadership, to a distinguished position and the affectionate regard of the army and the people. In the Indian wars, after the bloody struggle of the States was over, he outrode the Indians on the prairies and was at once their conqueror and pacificator. He ranks in chivalry with the knights, and his work at Manila was the perfection of campaigning that produced conclusive results with a comparatively small shedding of blood. The likeness of the Archbishop of Manila was presented me by His Grace at the close of a personal interview, and represents him as he is. The chapter devoted to him is meant to do him simple justice as a man and priest. The fact that he bestowed upon me in the inscription with which he greatly increased the value of his portrait a military dignity to which I have no title is an expression only of his friendliness. He frankly stated his pleasure in meeting an American who would convey to the President of the United States the message he gave me about the American army, to which he was indebted for security and peace of mind. General Aguinaldo gave me his photograph, and the flag of the Filipinos with him in the effort to establish an independent government, republican in form. One is not always sure of that which happens in the Philippines, even when one reads about it. I am prepared to believe that there is much truth in the dispatch saying a majority of the Congress of the insurgents at Molores favor annexation to the United States. The whole truth probably is that they would gladly have this country their Protector at large, supreme in the affairs international, they to legislate in respect to local affairs. They need to know, however, that their Congress must become a territorial legislature, and that the higher law for them is to be the laws of Congress. The Philippine flag is oriental in cut and color, having red and blue bars--a white obtuse angle--the base to the staff, and a yellow moon with fantastic decorations occupying the field. This flag is one that Admiral Dewey salutes with respect. General Aguinaldo is giving much of his strength to the production of proclamations, and his literary labors should be encouraged. On a September morning two years ago, Dr. Jose Rizal was shot by a file of soldiers on the Manila Luneta, the favorite outing park, bordering on the bay. The scene was photographed at the moment the Doctor stood erect before the firing squad, and the signal from the officer in command awaited for the discharge of the volley killing the most intellectual man of his race. Dr. Rizal is known as the Tagalo Martytr. The Tagalos are of the dominant tribe of Malays. General Aguinaldo is of this blood, as are the great majority of the insurgents. The Doctor is more than the martyr of a tribe. He is the most talented and accomplished man his people and country has produced. A history of Luzon from his pen is a hulky volume full of facts. I was not able to procure all of his books. Anyone in Manila found in possession of one of them during Spanish rule, would have been taken to the ground selected for human butchery in the appointed place of festivity, and shot as he was, making a holiday for the rulers of the islands. He wrote two novels, "Touch Us Not" and "The Filibusters," the latter a sequel of the former. These are books using the weapons put into the hand of genius to smite oppressors in command of the force of arms. The novels are said to be interesting as novels,--rather sensational in their disregard of the personal reputation of his foes, the friars, but all along between the lines there was argument, appeals for the freedom of the Filipinos, for freedom of speech, conscience and country. There are pamphlets printed the size of an average playing card, from thirty to forty pages each, one "Don Rodriguez," and another "The Telephone." These I obtained in Hongkong from the hands of the niece--daughter of the sister of the Doctor,--and she presented me also his poem written when in the shadow of death, of which this volume gives a prose translation. The poem is the farewell of the author to his friends, his country and the world. It is given in prose because in that style the spirit of the poet, indeed the poetry itself, can be rendered with better results, than by striving to sustain the poetic form. The poem would be regarded as happy and affecting in the thought that is in it, the images in which the ideas gleam, the pathos of resignation, the ascendency of hope, if there were nothing in the attendant circumstances that marked it with the blood of historic tragedy. This poetry that it would have been high treason to own in Manila, for it would not have been safe in any drawer however secret, was treasured by the relatives of the martyr at Hongkong. The niece spoke excellent English, and there was at once surprise and gratification in the family that an American should be interested in the Doctor who sacrificed himself to the freedom of his pen, so much as to ascend the steep places of the city to seek his writings for the sake of the people for whose redemption he died. On the page showing the face of the Doctor and the scene of his execution, there are two men in black, the victim standing firm as a rock to be shot down, and the priest retiring after holding the crucifix to the lips of the dying; and the portrait of the beautiful woman to whom the poet was married a few hours before he was killed. It is said that Rizal wanted to go to Cuba, but Captain-General Weyler answered a request from him that he might live there, that he would be shot on sight if he set foot on Cuban soil. Rizal, hunted hard, attempted to escape in disguise on a Spanish troop ship carrying discharged soldiers to Spain, but was detected while on the Red Sea, returned to Manila and shot to death. I stood on the curbstone that borders the Luneta along the principal pleasure drive, between the whispering trees and the murmuring surf of the bay, just where the martyred poet and patriot waited and looked over the waters his eyes beheld, the last moment before the crash of the rifles that destroyed him, and in the distance there was streaming in the sunshine the flag of our country--the star spangled banner, and long, long may it wave, over a land of the free and home of the brave! The picture of the cathedral shows a tower that was shattered from the foundation to the cross by the earthquake of 1863. Ambitious architecture must conform to the conditions imposed by such disasters, and the great edifice is greatly changed. In our gallery we treat Admirals Sampson and Schley as the President set the example. As there was glory for all at Santiago, there was advancement for both. We present them together. The wholesome, manly face of General Lee is in the gallery. His country knows him and thinks of him well. The bombarded church of Cavite shows that shells spare nothing sacred in their flights and concussions. The Bridge of Spain is the one most crossed in passing between the old walled city and the newer town that was not walled, but was formidably intrenched where rice swamps were close to the bay. The public buildings are commodious and would be higher, but the earth is uncertain, and sky-scrapers are forbidden by common prudence. Our picture of the principal gate of the walled city is taken truly, but does not give the appearance of extreme antiquity, of the reality. The wall looks old as one that has stood in Europe a thousand years. Naturally the gallery has many works of art representative of Manila. The shipping in the harbor is an advertisement of a commerce once extensive. Each picture that shows a woman, a man, or tree; a wood-cutter, a fisherman, or a house, opens for the spectator a vista that may be interpreted by the intelligent. A veritable picture is a window that reveals a landscape. That which is most valuable in a gallery like this is the perfect truth not everywhere found, for the eyes that see a picture that is really representative, setting forth the colors, the light, and the substance of things find that which does not fade when the story is told. There is one most hideous thing in our gallery--that of the head of a Spaniard, bleeding, just severed from the body--the weapon used, a naked dagger in a clenched hand--around the ghastly symbol a deep black border. This is one of the ways of the Katapuna society--the League of Blood--have of saying what they would have us understand are their awful purposes. There are terrible stories about this Blood League--that they bleed themselves in the course of their proceedings, and each member signs his name with his own blood--that they establish brotherhood by mingling their blood and tasting it. They are the sworn enemies of the Spaniards, and particularly of the priests. I inquired of Senor Agoncillo, the Philippine commissioner to Paris, whether those bloody stories were true. He scoffed at the notion that they might be so, and laughed and shouted "No, no!" as if he was having much fun. But Agoncillo is a lawyer and a diplomat, and I had heard so much, of this horrid society I did not feel positive it was certain that its alleged blood rites were fictitious. Of one thing I am sure--that the dreadful picture is no joke, and was not meant for a burlesque, though it might possibly be expected to perform the office of a scarecrow. It cannot be doubted that there are oath-bound secret societies that are regarded by the Spaniards as fanatical, superstitious, murderous and deserving death. There is a good deal of feeble-minded credulity among the Filipinos, that is exhibited in the stories told by Aguinaldo. He has many followers who believe that he has a mighty magic, a charm, that deflects bullets and is an antidote for poison. Intelligent people believe this imbecility is one of the great elements of his power--that his leadership would be lost if the supernaturalism attached to him should go the way of all phantoms. Aguinaldo is said not to have faith in the charm, for he takes very good care of himself. We give several views of executions at Manila. As a rule, these pictures are not fine productions of art. They are taken under such conditions of light and background that they are somewhat shadowy. This sinister addition to our gallery seems to be the first time the photographs of executions have been reproduced. The photos were not furtively taken. There is no secrecy about the process, no attempts to hide it from the Spaniards. Executions in the Philippines were in the nature of dramatic entertainments. There were often many persons present, and ladies as conspicuous as at bull fights. There is no more objections offered to photographing an execution than a cock fight, which is the sport about which the Filipinos are crazily absorbed. It is the festal character to the Spaniard of the rebel shooting that permits the actualities to be reproduced, and hence these strange contributions to our gallery. Many of our pictures are self-explanatory. They were selected to show things characteristic, and hence instructive, peasants' customs--women riding buffaloes through palm groves--native houses, quaint costumes. "The insurgent outlook" reveals a native house--a structure of grasses. This is a perfect picture. The southern islanders, and the group of Moors, the dressing of the girls, work in the fields, the wealth of vegetation, the dining room of the Governor-General prepared for company, General Merritt's palatial headquarters before he had taken the public property into his care and suited it to his convenience; the Spanish dude officer, showing a young man contented in his uniform, and a pony pretty in his harness. We reproduce the war department map of the Philippine islands. It will be closely studied for each island has become a subject of American interest. The imprint of the war department is an assurance of the closest attainable accuracy. The map of the Hawaiian islands clearly gives them in their relative positions and proportions as they are scattered broadcast in the Pacific. The Philippine and Hawaiian groups as they thus appear will be found more extensive than the general fancy has painted them. The Philippine Archipelago has been held to resemble a fan, with Luzon for the handle. The shape is something fantastic. It is worth while to note that the distance between the north coast of Luzon and the Sulu Archipelago is equal to that from England to Southern Italy. There are pictures in our gallery that could only be found at the end of a journey of ten thousand miles, and they go far to show the life of the people of a country that is in such relations with ourselves the whole world is interested. There is truthtelling that should be prized in photography, and our picture gallery is one of the most remarkable that has been assembled. CHAPTER XXV Cuba and Porto Rico. Conditions In and Around Havana--Fortifications and Water Supply of the Capital City--Other Sections of the Pearl of the Antilles--Porto Rico, Our New Possession, Described--Size and Population--Natural Resources and Products--Climatic Conditions--Towns and Cities--Railroads and Other Improvements--Future Possibilities. There was the fortune of good judgment in attacking the Spaniards in Cuba at Santiago and Porto Rico, the points of Spanish possession in the West Indies farthest south and east, instead of striking at the west, landing at Pinar del Rio, the western province, and moving upon the fortifications of Havana, where the difficulties and dangers that proved so formidable at Santiago would have been quadrupled, and our losses in the field and hospital excessive. The unpreparedness of this country for war has not even up to this time been appreciated except by military experts and the most intelligent and intent students of current history. The military notes prepared in the War Department of the United States at the beginning of the war with Spain, contain the following of Santiago de Cuba: This city was founded in 1514, and the famous Hernando was its first mayor. It is the most southern place of any note on the island, being on the twentieth degree of latitude, while Havana, the most northern point of note, is 23 degrees 9 minutes 26 seconds north latitude. The surrounding country is very mountainous, and the city is built upon a steep slope; the public square, or Campo de Marte, is 140 to 160 feet above the sea, and some of the houses are located 200 feet high. The character of the soil is reported to be more volcanic than calcareous; it has suffered repeatedly from earthquakes. It is the second city in the island with regard to population, slightly exceeding that of Matanzas and Puerto Principe. So far as American commerce is concerned, it ranks only ninth among the fifteen Cuban ports of entry. It is located on the extreme northern bank of the harbor of Santiago de Cuba, a harbor of the first class and one of the smallest; hence, as is believed, the great liability of its shipping to infection. According to the chart of the Madrid hydrographic bureau, 1863, this harbor is, from its sea entrance to its extreme northern limit, 5 miles long, the city being located 4 miles from its entrance, on the northeastern side of the harbor. The entrance is for some little distance very narrow--not more than 220 yards wide--and may be considered about 2 miles long, with a width varying from one-eighth to five-eighths of a mile. For the remaining 3 miles the harbor gradually widens, until at its northern extremity it is about 2 miles wide. The city is so situated in a cove of the harbor that the opposite shore is only about one-half mile distant. At the wharves from 10 to 15 feet of water is found, and within 300 to 500 yards of the shore from 20 to 30 feet. This, therefore, is probably the anchorage ground. Three or more so-called rivers, besides other streams, empty into this harbor, and one of these, the Caney River, empties into the harbor at the northern limit of the city, so that its water flows from one island extremity through the whole harbor into the sea. The difference here, as elsewhere in Cuba, between low and high tide is about 2 feet. Population in 1877 was 40,835, and 5,100 houses. This city is one of the most noted yellow-fever districts in the island. The population in 1896 was 42,000. The following has been reported: Preparations for mounting new and heavy ordnance is now going on at the entrance of the bay (March 5, 1898). New and heavier guns are also ordered for Punta Blanca, on the right of the bay near Santiago City. Plans have been made for constructing two batteries in the city of Santiago, one about 25 yards in front of the American consulate and the other about two blocks in rear. Cayo Rolones, or Rat Island, located near the middle of the bay, is the Government depository for powder, dynamite, and other explosives. The elevation on the right of the entrance, where stands Castle Morro, is 40 yards above the sea level, while the hill on the left is 20 yards. "La Bateria Nueva de la Estrella" is mounted with four revolving cannons. The fortifications of Havana were carefully covered in the military notes, and thus enumerated: There are fifteen fortifications in and about the city of Havana, more or less armed and garrisoned, besides a work partly constructed and not armed, called Las Animas, and the old bastions along the sea wall of the harbor. These works are as follows: Nos. 1 and 2 are earthen redans on the sea coast, east of Havana. Velazo Battery, just east of, and a part of, El Morro. El Morro, a sea coast fort, with flanking barbette batteries, east of harbor entrance. The Twelve Apostles, a water battery lying at the foot of Morro, with a field of fire across the harbor's mouth. It is a part of Morro. La Cabana, a stone-bastioned work with both land and water front, in rear of El Morro, and directly opposite the city of Havana. San Diego, a stone-bastioned work with only land fronts, east of Cabana. Atares, a stone-bastioned work on hill at southwestern extremity of Havana Bay, near the old shipyard called the arsenal. San Salvador de la Punta, a stone-bastioned work west of harbor entrance, with small advanced and detached work, built on a rock near harbor mouth. La Reina, a stone work, in shape the segment of a circle, placed on the seacoast, at western limits of city, on an inlet called San Lazardo. Santa Clara, a small but powerful seacoast battery of stone and earth, placed about 1 1/2 miles west of harbor. El Principe, a stone-bastioned redoubt west of Havana. Nos. 3 A, 3 B, and 4 are earthen redans on the seacoast west of Havana. There are, in addition, several works built for defense, but now used for other purposes or abandoned. These are: The Torreon de Vigia, a martello tower placed on the inlet of San Lazaro opposite La Reina. The old fort called La Fuerza, built three hundred and fifty years ago, near the present Plaza de Armas, and now used for barracks and public offices. The work called San Nazario, situated north of El Principe, but now used in connection with the present cartridge factory, abandoned for defensive purposes. The partially constructed fort called Las Animas, southeast of Principe, lying on a low hill, partly built but useless and unarmed. The old sea wall extending from near La Punta to the Plaza de Armas, unarmed, and useless except as a parapet for musketry. The old arsenal, on the west of the inner bay, now used as repair works for ships, useless for defense. The old artillery and engineer storehouses near La Punta, probably once used as strongholds, now mere storehouses for munitions of war. There are, besides, in the vicinity of Havana, three old and now useless stone works--one at Chorrera, the mouth of the Almendarez River, about 4 miles from Havana harbor; another at Cojimar, on the coast, about 3 miles eastward of Cabana, and the third at the inlet called La Playa de Mariano, about 7 miles west of Havana. Batteries Nos. 1 and 2 were equipped with, No. 1, four Hontoria 6-inch guns; two Nordenfeldt 6-pounders; No. 2, two Krupp 12-inch guns; four Hontoria 3-inch mortars. The 12-inch Krupps were to stand off battleships attempting to force the harbor, or to bombard the Morro. The Valago battery, a part of the Morro, an out-work on the edge of the cliff, mounting four 11-inch Krupp guns separated by earth traverses. The Morro, commenced in 1589 and finished in 1597, is important for historical associations. It is a most picturesque structure, and is useful as a lighthouse and prison, and is mounted with twelve old 10-inch, eight old 8-inch, and fourteen old 4-inch guns. Cabana, finished in 1774 at a cost of $14,000,000, lies some 500 yards southeast of El Morro, on the east side of Havana Bay. Toward the city it exposes a vertical stone wall of irregular trace, with salients at intervals. Toward the Morro is a bastioned face protected by a deep ditch, sally port, and drawbridge. Eastward and southward a beautifully constructed land front incloses the work. This front is protected by ditches 40 or more feet deep, well constructed glacis, stone scarp, and counterscarp. Cabana is a magnificent example of the permanent fortifications constructed a century ago. Probably 10,000 men could be quartered in it. The entrance to Cabana is by the sally port that opens upon the bridge across the moat lying between Cabana and El Morro. Upon entering, the enormous extent of the work begins to be perceived, parapet within parapet, galleries, casemates, and terrepleins almost innumerable, all of stone and useless. There are no earth covers or traverses, and no protection against modern artillery. Cabana is the prison for offenders against the State, and the scene of innumerable executions. From an exterior or salient corner of the secretary's office of the headquarters there leads a subterranean passage 326 meters long, 2.5 meters wide, and 1.86 high, excavated in the rock. It conducts to the sea, debouching at the mouth of a sewer, 87 meters from the Morro wharf. At exactly 132 meters along the road rising from the Morro pier or wharf to the Cabana, there will be found by excavating the rock on the left of the road, at a depth of 3 meters, a grating, on opening which passage will be made into a road 107 meters long, 1.6 high, and 1.42 wide, leading to the same exit as the Cabana secret way. These passages are most secret, as all believe that the grating of the sewer, seen from the sea, is a drain. The battery of Santa Clara is the most interesting of the fortifications of Havana, and one of the most important. It lies about 100 yards from the shore of the gulf, at a point where the line of hills to the westward runs back (either naturally or artificially) into quarries, thus occupying a low salient backed by a hill. Here are three new Krupp 11-inch guns, designed to protect El Principe, the land side of Havana. It is 187 feet above sea level and completely dominates Havana, the bay, Morro, Cabana, the coast northward, Atares, and from east around to south, the approaches of the Marianao Road, Cristina, and the Western Railroad for about 3 kilometers, i.e., between Cristina and a cut at that distance from the station. Principe gives fire upon Tulipan, the Cerro, the Hill of the Jesuits, and the valley through which passes the Havana Railroad, sweeping completely with its guns the railroad as far as the cut at Cienaga, 2-1/2 to 3 miles away. It dominates also the hills southward and westward toward Puentes Grandes and the Almendarez River, and country extending toward Marianao, also the Calzada leading to the cemetery and toward Chorrera; thence the entire sea line (the railroad to Chorrera is partly sheltered by the slope leading to Principe. This is by all means the strongest position about Havana which is occupied. Lying between it and the hill of the Cerro is the hill of the Catalan Club, right under the guns of the work and about one-half mile away. The Marianao Road is more sheltered than the Havana, as it runs near the trees and hill near the Cerro. The only points which dominate the hill of the Principe lie to the south and southeast in the direction of Jesus del Monte and beyond Regla. On its southern, southeastern, and southwestern faces the hill of Principe is a steep descent to the calzada and streets below. The slope is gradual westward and around by the north. From this hill is one of the best views of Havana and the valley south. El Principe lies about one-half mile from the north coast, from which hills rise in gradual slopes toward the work. It is Havana gossip that El Principe is always held by the Spanish regiment in which the Captain-General has most confidence. The military notes pronounce El Principe undoubtedly the strongest natural position about Havana now occupied by defensive works. Its guns sweep the heights of the Almendares, extending from the north coast southward by the hills of Puentes Grandes to the valley of Cienaga, thence eastward across the Hill of the Jesuits and the long line of trees and houses leading to the Cerro. The country beyond the Cerro is partly sheltered by trees and hills, but eastward El Principe commands in places the country and the bay shore, and gives fire across Havana seaward. The most vulnerable spot in the defenses of Havana is the aqueduct of Isabella II, or the Vento. The water is from the Vento Springs, pure and inexhaustable, nine miles out of Havana. All three of the water supplies to Havana, the Zanja and the two aqueducts of Ferdinand VII and of the Vento, proceed from the Almendares and run their course near to each other, the farthest to the west being the Zanja and to the east the Vento. At Vento Springs is constructed a large stone basin, open at the bottom, through which springs bubble. From this reservoir the new aqueduct leads. It is an elliptical tunnel of brick, placed under ground, and marked by turrets of brick and stone placed along its course. From the Vento Reservoir the new aqueduct crosses the low valley south of Havana, following generally the Calzada de Vento, which becomes, near the Cerro, the Calzada de Palatino, to a point on the Western Railway marked 5 kilometers (about); hence the calzada and the aqueduct closely follow the railway for about a mile, terminating at a new reservoir. The Vento water is the best thing Havana has, and indispensable. The old sources of supply are intolerable. The main water supply is the Zanja. Throughout the most of its course this river flows through unprotected mud banks; the fluids of many houses, especially in the Cerro ward which it skirts, drain into them; men, horses, and dogs bathe in it; dead bodies have been seen floating in it, and in the rainy season the water becomes very muddy. In fine, the Zanja in its course receives all which a little brook traversing a village and having houses and back yards on its banks would receive. The water can not be pure, and to those who know the facts the idea of drinking it is repulsive. This supply had long been insufficient to the growing city, and in 1835 the well-protected and excellent aqueduct of Ferdinand VII was completed. It taps the Almendares River a few hundred yards above filters mentioned, hence carried by arches to the east El Cerro, and for some distance nearly parallel to the Calzada del Cerro, but finally intersecting this. These works are succeeded by the Famous Vento. When Havana is fought for hereafter the fight will be at the Vento Springs. This remark is not made in the military notes, but the military men know it well. When General Miles expected to attack Havana he procured all the accessible surveys and detail of information, official and through special observation and personal knowledge obtainable of the water works. Life could not be sustained many days in the city of Havana without the water of the adorable Vento. A special interest attaches to Havana, as it is to be a city under the control of the United States. The surface soil consists for the most part of a thin layer of red, yellow, or black earths. At varying depths beneath this, often not exceeding 1 or 2 feet, lie the solid rocks. These foundation rocks are, especially in the northern and more modern parts of the city toward the coast of the sea and not of the harbor, Quarternary, and especially Tertiary, formations, so permeable that liquids emptied into excavations are absorbed and disappear. In other parts of the city the rocks are not permeable, and pools are formed. In proportion as the towns of Cuba are old, the streets are narrow. In Havana this peculiarity is so positive that pedestrians cannot pass on the sidewalks, nor vehicles on the streets. Less than one-third of the population live on paved streets, and these are as well paved and kept as clean, it is believed cleaner, than is usual in the United States. The remainder live on unpaved streets, which, for the most part, are very filthy. Many of these, even in old and densely populated parts of the city, are no better than rough country roads, full of rocks, crevices, mud holes, and other irregularities, so that vehicles traverse them with difficulty at all times, and in the rainy season they are sometimes impassible for two months. Rough, muddy, or both, these streets serve admirably as permanent receptacles for much decomposing animal and vegetable matter. Finally, not less, probably more, than one-half the population of Havana live on streets which are constantly in an extremely insanitary condition, but these streets, though so numerous, are not in the beaten track of the pleasure tourist. In the old intramural city, in which live about 40,000 people, the streets vary in width, but generally they are 6.8 meters (about 22 feet) wide, of which the sidewalks occupy about 7.5 feet. In many streets the sidewalk at each side is not even 18 inches wide. In the new, extramural town, the streets are generally 10 meters (32.8 feet) wide, with 3 meters (nearly 10 feet) for the sidewalks, and 7 meters (23 feet) for the wagonway. There are few sidewalks in any except in the first four of the nine city districts. More than two-thirds of the population live in densely inhabited portions of the city, where the houses are crowded in contact with each other. The average house lot does not exceed 27 by 112 feet in size. There are 17,259 houses, of which 15,494 are one-story, 1,552 are two stories, 186 are three stories, and only 27 are four stories, with none higher. At least 12 in every 13 inhabitants live in one-story houses; and as the total civil, military, and transient population exceeds 200,000 there are more than 12 inhabitants to every house. Tenement houses may have many small rooms, but each room is occupied by a family. Generally the one-story houses have four or five rooms; but house rent, as also food and clothing, is rendered so expensive by taxation, by export as well as import duties, that it is rare for workmen, even when paid $50 to $100 a month, to enjoy the exclusive use of one of these mean little houses; reserving one or two rooms for his family, he rents the balance. This condition of affairs is readily understood when it is known that so great a necessity as flour cost in Havana $15.50 when its price in the United States was $6.50 per barrel. In the densely populated portions of the city the houses generally have no back yard, properly so called, but a flagged court, or narrow vacant space into which sleeping rooms open at the side, and in close proximity with these, at the rear of this contracted court are located the kitchen, the privy, and often a stall for animals. In the houses of the poor, that is, of the vast majority of the population, there are no storerooms, pantries, closets, or other conveniences for household supplies. These are furnished from day to day, even from meal to meal, by the corner groceries; and it is rare, in large sections of Havana, to find any one of the four corners of a square without a grocery. The walls of most of the houses in Havana are built of "mamposteria" or rubble masonry, a porous material which freely absorbs atmospheric as well as ground moisture. The mark of this can often be seen high on the walls, which varies from 2 to 7 feet in the houses generally. The roofs are excellent, usually flat, and constructed of brick tiles. The windows are, like the doors, unusually high, nearly reaching the ceiling, which, in the best houses only, is also unusually high. The windows are never glazed, but protected by strong iron bars on the outside and on the inside by solid wooden shutters, which are secured, like the doors, with heavy bars or bolts, and in inclement weather greatly interfere with proper ventilation. Fireplaces with chimneys are extremely rare, so that ventilation depends entirely on the doors and windows, which, it should be stated, are by no means unusually large in most of the sleeping rooms of the poor. Generally in Havana, less generally in other cities, the entrances and courtyards are flagged with stone, while the rooms are usually floored with tile or marble. With rare exceptions the lowest floor is in contact with the earth. Ventilation between the earth and floor is rarely seen in Cuba. In Havana the average height of the ground floor is from 7 to 11 inches above the pavement, but in Havana, and more frequently in other Cuban towns, one often encounters houses which are entered by stepping down from the sidewalk, and some floors are even below the level of the street. In Havana some of the floors, in Matanzas more, in Cardenas and Cienfuegos many are of the bare earth itself, or of planks raised only a few inches above the damp ground. The narrow entrance about 400 yards in width and 1,200 in length, opens into the irregular harbor, which has three chief coves or indentations, termed "ensenadas." The extreme length of the harbor from its sea entrance to the limit of the most distant ensenada is 3 miles, and its extreme breadth 1-1/2 miles; but within the entrance the average length is only about 1, and the average breadth about two-thirds of a mile. However, because of the irregularly projecting points of land which form the ensenadas, there is no locality in the harbor where a vessel can possibly anchor farther than 500 yards from the shore. Its greatest depth is about 40 feet, but the anchorage ground for vessels drawing 18 feet of water is very contracted, not exceeding one-half the size of the harbor. The rise and fall of the tide does not exceed 2 feet. The Cuban city next in celebrity to Havana is Matanzas, and it is one likely to become a favorite of Americans, as the country in the vicinity is distinguished by beauty as well as remarkable for fertility. Matanzas was first regularly settled in 1693. It is in the province of Matanzas, 54 miles west of Havana, by the most direct of the two railroads which unite these two cities, and is situated on the western inland extremity of the bay of Matanzas, a harbor of the first class. Matanzas is divided into three districts, viz, the central district of Matanzas, which, about half a mile in width across the center of population, lies between the two little rivers, San Juan to the south, and the Yumuri to the north; the Pueblo Nuevo district, south of the San Juan, and around the inland extremity of the harbor; and the district of Versalles, north of the Yumuri, nearest to the open sea, as also to the anchorage ground, and, sanitarily, the best situated district in the city. About two-thirds of the population are in the district of Matanzas, and the Pueblo Nuevo district has about double the population of Versalles. Pueblo Nuevo stands on ground originally a swamp, and is low, flat, and only 3 or 4 feet above the sea. The Matanzas district has many houses on equally low ground, on the harbor front, and on the banks of the two rivers which inclose this district; but from the front and between these rivers the ground ascends, so that its houses are from 2 to even 100 feet above the sea; however, the center of population, the public square, is only about 20 feet above sea level. Versalles is on a bluff of the harbor, and its houses are situated, for the most part, from 15 to 40 feet above the sea. The district of Matanzas has ill constructed and useless sewers in only two streets, and no houses connected therewith. So much of this district and of Versalles as is built on the hill slope is naturally well drained, but the Pueblo Nuevo district, and those parts of Matanzas built in immediate proximity to the banks of the river, are very ill drained. Since 1872 Matanzas has had an aqueduct from the Bello spring, 7 miles distant. The supply is alleged to be both abundant and excellent. But of the 4,710 houses in the city 840 stand on the hills outside the zone supplied by the waterworks, while of the remaining 3,870 houses within this zone only about 2,000 get their water from the waterworks company. Hence more than half of the houses of Matanzas (2,710) do for the most part get their supply in kegs by purchase in the streets. There are a few public fountains, as also some dangerous wells. The streets are 30 feet wide, with 24 feet wagon way. Few of them are paved, some are very poor roads, but, for the most part, these roads are in good condition. In the Matanzas district some of the streets are of solid stone, and natural foundation rock of the place, for the superficial soil is so thin that the foundation rocks often crop out. Of this very porous rock most of the houses are built. The houses have wider fronts, larger air spaces in rear, are not so crowded, and are better ventilated than the houses of Havana. As is usual in Cuba, the ground floors are generally on a level with the sidewalk, and some are even below the level of the streets. A heavy rain floods many of the streets of Matanzas, the water running back into and beneath the houses. The porous limestone of which the houses are built greatly favors absorption. The population of Matanzas and suburbs was about 50,000 at the beginning of the war. Porto Rico is not quite as large as Connecticut, but larger than the States of Delaware and Rhode Island. The climate of the island is delightful, and its soil exceedingly rich. In natural resources it is of surpassing opulence. The length of the island is about one hundred miles, and its breadth thirty-five, the general figure of it being like the head of a sperm whale. The range of mountains is from east to west, and nearly central. The prevalent winds are from the northwest, and the rainfall is much heavier on the northern shores and mountain slopes than on the southern. The height of the ridge is on the average close to 1,500 feet, one bold peak, the Anvil being 3,600 feet high. The rainy north and the droughty south, with the lift of the land from the low shores to the central slopes and rugged elevations, under the tropical sun, with the influence of the great oceans east, south and north, and the multitude of western and southern islands, give unusual and charming variety in temperature. Porto Rico is, by the American people, even more than the Spaniards, associated with Cuba. But it is less than a tenth of Cuban proportions. Porto Rico has 3,600 square miles to Cuba's 42,000, but a much greater proportion of Porto Rico than of Cuba is cultivated. Less than one-sixteenth of the area of Cuba has been improved, and while her population is but 1,600,000, according to the latest census, and is not so much now, Porto Rico, with less than a tenth of the land of Cuba, has half the number of inhabitants. Largely Porto Rico is peopled by a better class than the mass of the Cubans. Cuba is wretchedly provided with roads, one of the reasons why the Spaniards were incapable of putting down insurrections. If they had expended a fair proportion of the revenues derived from the flourishing plantations and the monopolies of Spanish favoritisms that built up Barcelona and enriched Captain-Generals, and in less degree other public servants, the rebellions would have been put down. The Spanish armies in Cuba, however, were rather managed for official speculation and peculation, were more promenaders than in military enterprise and the stern business of war. With Weyler for an opponent, Gomez, as a guerilla, could have dragged on a series of skirmishes indefinitely. The story of the alleged war in Cuba between the Spaniards and the Cubans was on both sides falsified, and the American people deceived. Porto Rico does not seem to have appealed so strongly to the cupidity of the Spaniards as Cuba did, and to have been governed with less brutality. The consequence is there has not been a serious insurrection in the smaller island for seventy years, and it falls into our possession without the impoverishment and demoralization of the devastation of war--one of the fairest gems of the ocean. It was October 18th that the American flag was raised over San Juan. The following dispatch is the official record: "San Juan, Porto Rico, Oct. 18.--Secretary of War, Washington, D.C.: Flags have been raised on public buildings and forts in this city and saluted with national salutes. The occupation of the island is now complete. "_Brooke_, Chairman." On the morning of the 18th, the 11th regular infantry with two batteries of the 5th artillery landed. The latter proceeded to the forts, while the infantry lined up on the docks. It was a holiday for San Juan and there were many people in the streets. Rear-Admiral Schley and General Gordon, accompanied by their staffs, proceeded to the palace in carriages. The 11th infantry regiment and band with Troop H, of the 6th United States cavalry then marched through the streets and formed in the square opposite the palace. At 11:40 a. m., General Brooke, Admiral Schley and General Gordon, the United States evacuation commissioners, came out of the palace with many naval officers and formed on the right side of the square. The streets behind the soldiers were thronged with townspeople, who stood waiting in dead silence. At last the city clock struck 12, and the crowds, almost breathless and with eyes fixed upon the flagpole, watched for developments. At the sound of the first gun from Fort Morro, Major Dean and Lieutenant Castle, of General Brooke's staff, hoisted the stars and stripes, while the band played "The Star Spangled Banner." All heads were bared and the crowds cheered. Fort Morro, Fort San Cristobal and the United States revenue cutter Manning, lying in the harbor, fired twenty-one guns each. Senor Munoz Rivera, who was president of the recent autonomist council of secretaries, and other officials of the late insular government were present at the proceedings. Many American flags were displayed. Acknowledgment has been made of the better condition of Porto Rico than of Cuba, but the trail of the serpent of colonial Spanish government appears. Mr. Alfred Somamon writes in the Independent: "The internal administration of the island disposes of a budget of about $3,300,000, and is a woeful example of corrupt officialism. Of this sum only about $650,000 is expended in the island, the remainder being applied to payment of interest on public debt, salaries of Spanish officials, army, navy, and other extra-insular expenditures. But the whole of the revenue is collected in the island." An article of great value by Eugene Deland, appeared in the Chatauquan of September, on the characteristics of Porto Rico, and we present an extract, showing its admirable distinction of accurate information well set forth: "The mountain slopes are covered with valuable timbers, cabinet and dye-woods, including mahogany, walnut, lignum vitae, ebony, and logwood, and various medicinal plants. Here, too, is the favorite zone of the coffee tree, which thrives best one thousand feet above sea level. The valleys and plains produce rich harvests of sugar-cane and tobacco. The amount of sugar yielded by a given area is said to be greater than in any other West Indian island. Rice, of the mountain variety and grown without flooding, nourishes almost any place and is a staple food of the laboring classes. In addition to these products cotton and maize are commonly cultivated, and yams, plantains, oranges, bananas, cocoanuts, pineapples, and almost every other tropical fruit are grown in abundance. Among indigenous plants are several noted for their beautiful blossoms. Among these are the coccoloba, which grows mainly along the coasts and is distinguished by its large, yard-long purple spikes, and a talauma, with magnificent, ororous, white flowers. "Of wild animal life Porto Rico has little. No poisonous serpents are found, but pestiferous insects, such as tarantulas, centipedes, scorpions, ticks, fleas, and mosquitos, supply this deficiency in a measure. All sorts of domestic animals are raised, and the excellent pasture-lands support large herds of cattle for export and home consumption, and ponies, whose superiority is recognized throughout the West Indies. "The mineral wealth of the island is undeveloped, but traces of gold, copper, iron, lead, and coal are found. Salt is procured in considerable quantities from the lakes. "Porto Rico carries on an extensive commerce, chiefly with Spain, the United States, Cuba, Germany, Great Britain, and France. In 1895 the volume of its trade was one-half greater than that of the larger British colony--Jamaica. The United States ranks second in amount of trade with the island. During the four years from 1893-96 Spain's trade with the colony averaged $11,402,888 annually, and the United States, $5,028,544. The total value of Porto Rican exports for 1896 was $18,341,430, and of imports, $18,282,690, making a total of $36,624,120, which was an excess over any previous year. The exports consist almost entirely of agricultural products. In 1895 coffee comprised about sixty per cent, and sugar about twenty-eight per cent, of their value; leaf tobacco, molasses, and honey came next. Maize, hides, fruits, nuts, and distilled spirits are also sent out in considerable quantities. Over one-half of the coffee exported goes to Spain and Cuba, as does most of the tobacco, which is said to be used in making the finest Havana cigars; the sugar and molasses are, for the most part, sent to the United States. Among imports, manufactured articles do not greatly exceed agricultural. Rice, fish, meat and lard, flour, and manufactured tobacco are the principal ones. Customs duties furnish about two-thirds of the Porto Rican revenue, which has for several years yielded greater returns to Spain than that of Cuba. "The climate of Porto Rico is considered the healthiest in the Antilles. The heat is considerably less than at Santiago de Cuba, a degree and a half farther north. The thermometer seldom goes above 90 degrees. Pure water is readily obtained in most of the island. Yellow fever seldom occurs, and never away from the coast. The rainy season begins the first of June and ends the last of December, but the heavy downpours do not come on until about August 1st. "In density of population also this island ranks first among the West Indies, having half as many inhabitants as Cuba, more than eleven times as large. Of its 807,000 people, 326,000 are colored and many of the others of mixed blood. They differ little from other Spanish-Americans, being fond of ease, courteous, and hospitable, and, as in other Spanish countries, the common people are illiterate, public education having been grievously neglected. The natives are the agriculturists of the country, and are a majority in the interior, while the Spaniards, who control business and commerce, are found mainly in the towns and cities. "The numerous good harbors have naturally dotted the seaboard with cities and towns of greater or less commercial importance. San Juan, Ponce, Mayaguez, Aguadilla, Arecibo and Fajardo all carry on extensive trade. Intercourse between coast towns is readily had by water, but is to be facilitated by a railroad around the island, of which 137 miles have been built and 170 miles more projected. The public highways of the island are in better condition than one might expect. According to a recent report of United States Consul Stewart, of San Juan, there are about one hundred and fifty miles of good road. The best of this is the military highway connecting Ponce on the southern coast with San Juan on the northern. This is a macadamized road, so excellently built and so well kept up that a recent traveler in the island says a bicycle corps could go over it without dismounting. Whether it is solid enough to stand the transportation of artillery and heavy army trains we shall soon know. Of telegraph lines Porto Rico has four hundred and seventy miles, and two cables connect it with the outside world, one running from Ponce and the other from San Juan." Mr. Alfred Solomon, already quoted as an instructive contributor to the Independent, writes: "The population of Porto Rico, some 800,000, is essentially agricultural. A varied climate, sultry in the lowlands, refreshing and invigorating in the mountain ranges, makes possible the cultivation of almost every variety of known crop--sugar, tobacco, coffee, annatto, maze, cotton and ginger are extensively grown; but there are still thousands of acres of virgin lands awaiting the capitalist. Tropical fruits flourish in abundance, and the sugar-pine is well known in our market, where it brings a higher price than any other pine imported. Hardwood and fancy cabinet wood trees fill the forests, and await the woodman's ax. Among these are some specimens of unexampled beauty, notably a tree, the wood of which, when polished, resembles veined marble, and another, rivaling in beauty the feathers in a peacock's tail. Precious metals abound, although systematic effort has never been directed to the locating of paying veins. Rivers and rivulets are plenty, and water-power is abundant; and the regime should see the installation of power plants and electric lighting all over the island, within a short time after occupation. On the lowlands, large tracts of pasturage under guinea grass and malojilla feed thousands of sleek cattle, but, as an article of food, mutton is almost unknown. The native pony, small, wiry and untirable, has a world-wide reputation, and for long journeys is unequaled, possessing a gait, as they say in the island, like an arm-chair. "Perhaps a third of the population of the island is of African descent; but, strangely enough, the colored people are only to be found on the coast, and are the fishermen, boatmen and laborers of the seaports. The cultivation of the crops is entirely in the hands of the jibaro, or peasant, who is seldom of direct Spanish descent, while the financiering and exportation is conducted almost entirely by peninsulares, or Spanish-born colonists, who monopolize every branch of commerce to the exclusion of the colonian-born subject. "Coffee planting is largely engaged in, returning from ten to fifteen per cent. on capital. Improved transportation facilities, abolition of export dues and the consolidation of small estates would, doubtless, help toward better results. This crop is marketed in Europe--London, Havre and Barcelona--where better prices are obtainable than in New York. With the exception of a few plantations in strong hands, most of this property could be purchased at a fair valuation, and would prove to be a very profitable investment. "Cocoa grows wild on the lowlands, but has not been cultivated to any appreciable extent. Small consignments sent to Europe have been pronounced superior to the Caracas bean. The tree takes a longer period than coffee to come to maturity and bear fruit; but once in bearing the current expenses are less and the yield far greater. The same remarks apply to the cultivation of rubber, which, although a most profitable staple with an ever-increasing market, has received no attention whatever. "Corn is raised in quantities insufficient for home consumption. Of this cereal three crops can be obtained in two years; sometimes two a year. The demand is constant, and the price always remunerative. "In Porto Rico, as in most other West Indian islands, sugar is king. In the treatment of this product the lack of capital has been sadly felt. Planters possess only the most primitive machinery, and in the extraction of the juice from the cane the proportion of saccharine matter has been exceedingly small. Great outlay is necessary for the installation of a complete modern crushing and centrifugal plant." A flattering picture of our new possessions is drawn in McClure's Magazine, by Mr. George B. Waldron. "Here, then, are Cuba and Porto Rico in the Atlantic, and the Hawaiian and Philippine groups in the Pacific, whose destiny has become intertwined with our own. Their combined area is 168,000 square miles, equaling New England, New York, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. Their population is about 10,000,000, or perhaps one-half of that of these nine home States. The Philippines, with three-quarters of the entire population, and Porto Rico, with 800,000 people, alone approach our own Eastern States in density. Cuba, prior to the war, was about as well populated as Virginia, and the Hawaiian group is as well peopled as Kansas. What, then, can these islands do for us? "Americans use more sugar in proportion to population than any other nation of the world. The total consumption last year was not less than 2,500,000 tons. This is enough to make a pyramid that would overtop the tallest pyramid of Egyptian fame. Of this total, 2,200,000 tons came from foreign countries, the Spanish possessions and Hawaii sending about twenty-five per cent. Five years earlier, when our imports were less by half a million tons, these islands supplied double this quantity, or nearly two-thirds of the nation's entire sugar import. But that was before Cuba had been devastated by war and when she was exporting 1,100,000 tons of sugar to other countries. Restore Cuba to her former fertility, and the total sugar crop of these islands will reach 1,500,000 tons, or two-thirds our present foreign demand." There is much more in Mr. Waldron's summary of the vast addition that has been made to our resources, by the occupation and possession of the islands that have recently been gathered under our wings by the force of our arms. It is enough to know that with the tropical islands we have gained, we have in our hands the potentialities, the luxuries, the boundless resources including, as we may, and must, Alaska, of all the zones of the great globe that we inhabit in such ample measure. The following notes were compiled for the information of the army, and embody all reliable information available. The notes were intended to supplement the military map of Porto Rico. The following books and works were consulted and matter from them freely used in the preparation of the notes: Guia Geografico Militar de Espana y Provincias Ultramarinas, 1879; Espana, sus Monumentos y Artes, su Naturaleza e Historia, 1887; Compendio de Geografia Militar de Espana y Portugal, 1882; Anuario de Comercio de Espana, 1896; Anuario Militar de Espana, 1898; Reclus, Nouvelle Geographic Universelle, 1891; Advance Sheets American Consular Reports, 1898; An Account of the Present State of the Island of Porto Rico, 1834; The Statesman's Year Book, 1898. Situation.--Porto Rico is situated in the Torrid Zone, in the easternmost part of the Antilles, between latitude 17 deg. 54 min. and 18 deg. 30 min. 40 sec. N. and longitude 61 deg. 54 min. 26 sec. and 63 deg. 32 min. 32 sec. W. of Madrid. It is bounded on the north by the Atlantic, on the east and south by the sea of the Antilles, and on the west by the Mona Channel. Size.--The island of Porto Rico, the fourth in size of the Antilles, has, according to a recent report of the British consul (1897), an extent of about 3,668 square miles--35 miles broad and 95 miles long. It is of an oblong form., extending from east to west. Population.--Porto Rico is the first among the Antilles in density of population and in prosperity. The Statesman's Year Book, 1898, gives the population (1887) at 813,937, of which over 300,000 are negroes, this being one of the few countries of tropical America where the number of whites exceeds that of other races. The whites and colored, however, are all striving in the same movement of civilization, and are gradually becoming more alike in ideas and manners. Among the white population the number of males exceeds the number of females, which is the contrary of all European countries. This is partly explained by the fact that the immigrants are mostly males. On an average the births exceed the deaths by double. The eastern portion of the island is less populous than the western. Soil.--The ground is very fertile, being suitable for the cultivation of cane, coffee, rice, and other products raised in Cuba, which island Porto Rico resembles in richness and fertility. Climate.--The climate is hot and moist, the medium temperature reaching 104 degs. F. Constant rains and winds from the east cool the heavy atmosphere of the low regions. On the heights of the Central Cordillera the temperature is healthy and agreeable. Iron rusts and becomes consumed, so that nothing can be constructed of this metal. Even bronze artillery has to be covered with a strong varnish to protect it from the damp winds. Although one would suppose that all the large islands in the Tropics enjoyed the same climate, yet from the greater mortality observed in Jamaica, St. Domingo, and Cuba, as compared with Porto Rico, one is inclined to believe that this latter island is much more congenial than any of the former to the health of Europeans. The heat, the rains, and the seasons are, with very trifling variations, the same in all. But the number of mountains and running streams, which are everywhere in view in Porto Rico, and the general cultivation of the land, may powerfully contribute to purify the atmosphere and render it salubrious to man. The only difference of temperature to be observed throughout the island is due to altitude, a change which is common to every country under the influence of the Tropics. In the mountains the inhabitants enjoy the coolness of spring, while the valleys would be uninhabitable were it not for the daily breeze which blows generally from the northeast and east. For example, in Ponce the noonday sun is felt in all its rigor, while at the village of Adjuntas, 4 leagues distant in the interior of the mountains, the traveler feels invigorated by the refreshing breezes of a temperate clime. At one place the thermometers is as high as 90 deg., while in another it is sometimes under 60 deg. Although the seasons are not so distinctly marked in this climate as they are in Europe (the trees being always green), yet there is a distinction to be made between them. The division into wet and dry seasons (winter and summer) does not give a proper idea of the seasons in this island; for on the north coast it sometimes rains almost the whole year, while sometimes for twelve or fourteen months not a drop of rain falls on the south coast. However, in the mountains at the south there are daily showers. Last year, for example, in the months of November, December, and January the north winds blew with violence, accompanied by heavy showers of rain, while this year (1832) in the same months, it has scarcely blown a whole day from that point of the compass, nor has it rained for a whole month. Therefore, the climate of the north and south coasts of this island, although under the same tropical influence, are essentially different. As in all tropical countries, the year is divided into two seasons--the dry and the rainy. In general, the rainy season commences in August and ends the last of December, southerly and westerly winds prevailing during this period. The rainfall is excessive, often inundating fields and forming extensive lagoons. The exhalations from these lagoons give rise to a number of diseases, but, nevertheless, Porto Rico is one of the healthiest islands of the archipelago. In the month of May the rains commence, not with the fury of a deluge, as in the months of August and September, but heavier than any rain experienced in Europe. Peals of thunder reverberating through the mountains give a warning of their approach, and the sun breaking through the clouds promotes the prolific vegetation of the fields with its vivifying heat. The heat at this season is equal to the summer of Europe, and the nights are cool and pleasant; but the dews are heavy and pernicious to health. The following meteorological observations, carefully made by Don Jose Ma. Vertez, a Captain of the Spanish navy, will exhibit the average range of temperature: Ds of heat observed in the capital of Porto Rico, taking a medium of five years. Degrees of Heat Observed in the Capital of Porto Rico, Taking a Medium of Five Years. Hours of the Day. Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May. June. July. Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. Seven in the morning 72 72 1/2 74 78 78 82 85 86 80 1/2 77 75 75 Noon 82 81 82 83 85 86 90 92 88 85 84 80 Five in the evening 78 74 78 80 81 84 87 90 83 82 80 79 The weather, after a fifteen or twenty days' rain, clears up and the sun, whose heat has been hitherto moderated by partial clouds and showers of rain, seems, as it were, set in a cloudless sky. The cattle in the pastures look for the shade of the trees, and a perfect calm pervades the whole face of nature from sunrise till between 10 and 11 o'clock in the morning, when the sea breeze sets in. The leaves of the trees seem as if afraid to move, and the sea, without a wave or ruffle on its vast expanse, appears like an immense mirror. Man partakes in the general languor as well as the vegetable and brute creation. The nights, although warm, are delightfully clear and serene at this season. Objects may be clearly distinguished at the distance of several hundred yards, so that one may even shoot by moonlight. The months of June and July offer very little variation in the weather or temperature. In August a suffocating heat reigns throughout the day, and at night it is useless to seek for coolness; a faint zephyr is succeeded by a calm of several hours. The atmosphere is heavy and oppressive, and the body, weakened by perspiration, becomes languid; the appetite fails, and the mosquitos, buzzing about the ears by day and night, perplex and annoy by their stings, while the fevers of the tropics attack Europeans with sudden and irresistible violence. This is the most sickly season for the European. The thermometer frequently exceeds 90 deg. The clouds exhibit a menacing appearance, portending the approach of the heavy autumnal rains, which pour down like a deluge. About the middle of September it appears as if all the vapors of the ocean had accumulated in one point of the heavens. The rain comes down like an immense quantity of water poured through a sieve; it excludes from the view every surrounding object, and in half an hour the whole surface of the earth becomes an immense sheet of water. The rivers are swollen and overflow their banks, the low lands are completely inundated, and the smallest brooks become deep and rapid torrents. In the month of October the weather becomes sensibly cooler than during the preceding months, and in November the north and northeast winds generally set in, diffusing an agreeable coolness through the surrounding atmosphere. The body becomes braced and active, and the convalescent feels its genial influence. The north wind is accompanied (with few exceptions) by heavy showers of rain on the north coast; and the sea rolls on that coast with tempestuous violence, while the south coast remains perfectly calm. When the fury of the north wind abates, it is succeeded by fine weather and a clear sky. Nothing can exceed the climate of Porto Rico at this season; one can only compare it to the month of May in the delightful Province of Andalusia, where the cold of winter and the burning heat of summer are tempered by the cool freshness of spring. This is considered to be the healthiest season of the year, when a European may visit the tropics without fear. The small islands, destitute of wood and high mountains, which have a powerful effect in attracting the clouds, suffer much from drought. It sometimes happens that in Curacao, St. Bartholomews, and other islands there are whole years without a drop of rain, and after exhausting their cisterns the inhabitants are compelled to import water from the rivers of other islands. "The land breeze" is an advantage which the large islands derive from the inequality of their surface; for as soon as the sea breeze dies away, the hot air of the valleys being rarified, ascends toward the tops of the mountains, and is there condensed by cold, which makes it specifically heavier than it was before; it then descends back to the valleys on both sides of the ridge. Hence a night wind (blowing on all sides from the land toward the shore) is felt in all the mountainous countries under the torrid zone. On the north shore the wind comes from the south, and on the south shore from the north. Storms.--The hurricanes which visit the island, and which obey the general laws of tropical cyclones, are one of the worst scourges of the country. For hours before the appearance of this terrible phenomenon the sea appears calm; the waves come from a long distance very gently until near the shore, when they suddenly rise as if impelled by a superior force, dashing against the land with extraordinary violence and fearful noise. Together with this sign, the air is noticed to be disturbed, the sun red, and the stars obscured by vapor which seems to magnify them. A strong odor is perceived in the sea, which is sulphureous in the waters of rivers, and there are sudden changes in the wind. These omens, together with the signs of uneasiness manifested by various animals, foretell the proximity of a hurricane. This is a sort of whirlwind, accompanied by rain, thunder and lightning, sometimes by earthquake shocks, and always by the most terrible and devastating circumstances that can possibly combine to ruin a country in a few hours. A clear, serene day is followed by the darkest night; the delightful view offered by woods and prairies is diverted into the deary waste of a cruel winter; the tallest and most robust cedar trees are uprooted, broken off bodily, and hurled into a heap; roofs, balconies, and windows of houses are carried through the air like dry leaves, and in all directions are seen houses and estates laid waste and thrown into confusion. The fierce roar of the water and of the trees being destroyed by the winds, the cries and moans of persons, the bellowing of cattle and neighing of horses, which are being carried from place to place by the whirlwinds, the torrents of water inundating the fields, and a deluge of fire being let loose in flashes and streaks of lightning, seem to announce the last convulsions of the universe and the death agonies of nature itself. Sometimes these hurricanes are felt only on the north coast, at others on the south coast, although generally their influence extends throughout the island. In 1825 a hurricane destroyed the towns of Patillas, Maunabo, Yabucoa, Humacao, Gurabo, and Caguas, causing much damage in other towns in the east, north, and center of the island. The island was also visited by a terrible hurricane in 1772. Earthquakes.--Earthquakes are somewhat frequent, but not violent or of great consequence. The natives foretell them by noticing clouds settle near the ground for some time in the open places among the mountains. The water of the springs emits a sulphurous odor or leaves a strange taste in the mouth; birds gather in large flocks and fly about uttering shriller cries than usual; cattle bellow and horses neigh, etc. A few hours beforehand the air becomes calm and dimmed by vapors which arise from the ground, and a few moments before there is a slight breeze, followed at intervals of two or three minutes by a deep rumbling noise, accompanied by a sudden gust of wind, which are the forerunners of the vibration, the latter following immediately. These shocks are sometimes violent and are usually repeated, but owing to the special construction of the houses, they cause no damage. Tides.--For seven hours the tide runs rapidly in a northwest direction, returning in the opposite direction with equal rapidity for five hours. Orography.--The general relief of Porto Rico is much inferior in altitude to that of the rest of the Great Antilles, and even some of the Lesser Antilles have mountain summits which rival it. A great chain of mountains divides the islands into two parts, northern and southern, which are called by the natives Banda del Norte and Banda del Sur. This chain sends out long ramifications toward the coasts, the interstices of which form beautiful and fertile valleys, composed in the high parts of white and red earths, on the spurs of black and weaker earths, and near the coasts of sand. To the northwest and following a direction almost parallel with the northern coast, the Sierra of Lares extends from Aguadilla to the town of Lares, where it divides into two branches, one going north nearly to the coast, near Arecibo harbor, and the other extending to the spurs of the Sierra Grande de Banos; this latter starting from Point Guaniquilla, crosses the island in its entire length, its last third forming the Sierra of Cayey. The whole island may be said to form a continuous network of sierras, hills, and heights. Of these the Sierra del Loquillo is distinguished for its great altitude (the highest peak being Yunque, in the northeast corner of the island and visible from the sea, a distance of 120 kilometers), as is also Laivonito Mountain, near the south coast. The following are the four highest mountains, with their heights above the sea level: Yunque, in Luquillo, 1,290 yards; Guilarte, in Adjuntas, 1,180 yards; La Somanta, in Aybonito, 1,077 yards; Las Teras de Cerro Gordo, in San German, 860 yards. All are easily ascended on foot or horseback, and there are coffee plantations near all of them. Approximate Height of Towns Above the Sea Level.--Aybonito, with its acclimatization station, 970 yards; Adjuntas, an almost exclusively Spanish town, 810 yards; Cayey, with a very agreeable climate, 750 yards; Lares, with a very agreeable climate, 510 yards; Utuado, with a very agreeable climate, 480 yards; Muricao, an exclusively Spanish town, 480 yards. To ascend to all these towns there are very good wagon roads. There are no fortifications of any kind in them, but they are surrounded on all sides by mountains. Hydrography.--Few countries of the extent of Porto Rico are watered by so many streams. Seventeen rivers, taking their rise in the mountains, cross the valleys of the north coast and empty into the sea. Some of these are navigable 2 or 3 leagues from their mouths for schooners and small coasting vessels. Those of Manati, Loisa, Trabajo, and Arecibo are very deep and broad, and it is difficult to imagine how such large bodies of water can be collected in so short a course. Owing to the heavy surf which continually breaks on the north coast, these rivers have bars across their embouchures which do not allow large vessels to enter. The rivers of Bayamo and Rio Piedras flow into the harbor of the capital, and are also navigable for boats. At high water small brigs may enter the river of Arecibo with perfect safety and discharge their cargoes, notwithstanding the bar which crosses its mouth. The rivers of the north coast have a decided advantage over those of the south coast, where the climate is drier and the rains less frequent. Nevertheless, the south, west, and east coasts are well supplied with water; and, although in some seasons it does not rain for ten, and sometimes twelve months on the south coast, the rivers are never entirely dried up. From the Cabeza de San Juan, which is the northeast extremity of the island, to the cape of Mala Pascua, which lies to the southeast, 9 rivers fall into the sea. From Cape Mala Pascua to Point Aguila, which forms the southwest angle of the island, 16 rivers discharge their waters on the south coast. On the west coast 3 rivers, 5 rivulets, and several fresh-water lakes communicate with the sea. In the small extent of 330 leagues of area there are 46 rivers, besides a countless number of rivulets and branches of navigable water. The rivers of the north coast are stocked with delicious fish, some of them large enough to weigh two quintals. From the river of Arecibo to that of Manati, a distance of 5 leagues, a fresh-water lagoon, perfectly navigable for small vessels through the whole of its extent, runs parallel to the sea at about a mile from the shore. In the fertile valley of Anasco, on the western coast, there is a canal formed by nature, deep and navigable. None of the rivers are of real military importance; for, though considering the shortness of their course, they attain quite a volume, still it is not sufficient for good-sized vessels. The rivers emptying on the north coast are Loisa, Aguas Prietas, Arecibo, Bayamon, Camuy, Cedros, Grande, Guajaraca de la Tuna, Lesayas, Loquillo, Manati, Rio Piedras, Sabana, San Martin, Sibuco, Toa, and Vega. Those emptying on the east coast are Candelero, Dagua, Fajardo, Guayanes, Majogua, and Maonabo. On the south coast: Aquamanil, Caballon, Cana, Coamo, Descalabrado, Guanica, Guayama, Guayanilla, Jacagua, Manglar, Penuela, Ponce and Vigia. On the west coast: Aguada, Boqueron, Cajas, Culebrina, Chico, Guanajibo, Mayaguez, and Rincon. The limits of the Loisa river are: On the east, the sierra of Luquillo (situated near the northeast corner of the island); on the south, the sierra of Cayey, and on the west, ramifications of the latter. It rises in the northern slopes of the sierra of Cayey, and, running in a northwest direction for the first half of its course and turning to northeast in the second half, it arrives at Loisa, a port on the northern coast, where it discharges its waters into the Atlantic. During the first part of its course it is known by the name of Cayagua. The Sabana river has, to the east and south, the western and southern limits of the preceding river, and on the west the Sierra Grande, or De Barros, which is situated in the center of the general divide, or watershed. It rises in the sierra of Cayey, and, with the name of Pinones river, it flows northwest, passing through Aibonito, Toa Alta, Toa Baja, and Dorado, where it discharges into the Atlantic to the west of the preceding river. The Manati river is bounded on the cast and south by the Sierra Grande and on the west by the Siales ridge. It rises in the Sierra Grande, and parallel with the preceding river, it flows through Siales and Manati, to the north of which latter town it empties into the Atlantic. The Arecibo river is bounded on the east by the Siales mountain ridge, on the south by the western extremity of the Sierra Grande, and on the west by the Lares ridge. It rises in the general divide, near Adjuntas, and flows north through the town of Arecibo to the Atlantic, shortly before emptying into which it receives the Tanama river from the left, which proceeds from the Lares Mountains. The Culebrina river is bounded on the south and east by the Lares mountain ridge, and on the north by small hills of little interest. From the Lares Mountains it flows from east to west and empties on the west coast north of San Francisco de la Aguada, in the center of the bay formed between Point Penas Blancas and Point San Francisco. The Anasco river is formed by the Lares mountain ridge. It rises in the eastern extremity of the mountains called Tetas de Cerro Gordo, flowing first northwest and then west, through the town of its name and thence to the sea. The Guanajivo river has to its north the ramifications of the Lares ridge, to the east the Tetas de Cerro Gordo Mountains, and on the south Torre Hill. In the interior of its basin is the mountain called Cerro Montuoso, which separates its waters from those of its affluent from the right, the Rosaria river. It rises in the general divide, flowing from east to west to Nuestra Senora de Montserrat, where it receives the affluent mentioned, the two together then emptying south of Port Mayaguez. The Coamo river is bounded on the west and north by the Sierra Grande, and on the west by the Coamo ridge. It rises in the former of these sierras, and flowing from north to south it empties east of Coamo Point, after having watered the town of its name. The Salinas river is bounded on the west by the Coamo ridge, on the north by the general divide, and on the east by the Cayey ridge. It rises in the southern slopes of the Sierra Grande and flowing from north to south through Salinas de Coamo, empties into the sea. Coasts, Harbors, Bays, and Coves.--The northern coast extends in an almost straight line from east to west, and is high and rugged. The only harbors it has are the following: San Juan de Porto Rico, surrounded by mangrove swamps and protected by the Cabras and the Cabritas islands and some very dangerous banks; the anchoring ground of Arecibo, somewhat unprotected; and the coves of Cangrejos and Condado. During the months of November, December, and January, when the wind blows with violence from the east and northeast, the anchorage is dangerous in all the bays and harbors of this coast, except in the port of San Juan. Vessels are often obliged to put to sea on the menacing aspect of the heavens at this season, to avoid being driven on shore by the heavy squalls and the rolling waves of a boisterous sea, which propel them to destruction. During the remaining months the ports on this coast are safe and commodious, unless when visited by a hurricane, against whose fury no port can offer a shelter, nor any vessel be secure. The excellent port of San Juan is perfectly sheltered from the effects of the north wind. The hill, upon which the town of that name and the fortifications which defend it are built, protects the vessels anchored in the harbor. The entrance of this port is narrow, and requires a pilot; for the canal which leads to the anchorage, although deep enough for vessels of any dimensions, is very narrow, which exposes them to run aground. This port is several miles in extent, and has the advantage of having deep canals to the east, among a wood of mangrove trees, where vessels are perfectly secure during the hurricane months. Vessels of 250 tons can at present unload and take in their cargoes at the wharf. Harbor improvements have been recently made here. On the northwest and west are the coves of Aguadilla, the town of this name being some 4 kilometers inland. There are the small coves of Rincon, Anasco, and Mayaguez, the latter being protected and of sufficient depth to anchor vessels of moderate draft; the harbor of Real de Cabo Rojo, nearly round, and entered by a narrow channel; and the cove of Boqueron. The spacious bay of Aguadilla is formed by Cape Borrigua and Cape San Francisco. When the north-northwest and southwest winds prevail it is not a safe anchorage for ships. A heavy surf rolling on the shore obliges vessels to seek safety by putting to sea on the appearance of a north wind. Mayaguez is also an open roadstead formed by two projecting capes. It has good anchorage for vessels of a large size and is well sheltered from the north winds. The port of Cabo Rojo has also good anchorage. It is situated S. one-fourth N. of the point of Guanajico, at a distance of 5 1/2 miles. Its shape is nearly circular, and it extends from east to west 3 to 4 miles. At the entrance it has 3 fathoms of water, and 16 feet in the middle of the harbor. The entrance is a narrow canal. The south coast abounds in bays and harbors, but is covered with mangroves and reefs, the only harbor where vessels of regular draft can enter being Guanica and Ponce. The former of these is the westernmost harbor on the southern coast, being at the same time the best, though the least visited, owing to the swamps and low tracts difficult to cross leading from it to the interior. The nearest towns, San German, Sabana Grande, and Yauco, carry on a small trade through this port. In the port of Guanica, vessels drawing 21 feet of water may enter with perfect safety. Its entrance is about 100 yards wide, and it forms a spacious basin, completely landlocked. The vessels may anchor close to the shore. It has, in the whole extent, from 6 1/2 to 3 fathoms, the latter depth being formed in the exterior of the port. The entrance is commanded by two small hills on either side, which if mounted with a few pieces of artillery would defy a squadron to force it. This port would be of immense advantage in time of war. The national vessels and coasters would thus have a secure retreat from an enemy's cruiser on the south coast. There are no wharves, but vessels could disembark troops by running alongside the land and running out a plank. Coamo Cove and Aguirre and Guayama are also harbors. The port of Jovos, near Guayama, is a haven of considerable importance. It is a large and healthy place, and the most Spanish of any city on the island after San Juan. There are good roads to the capital. Vessels of the largest kind may anchor and ride in safety from the winds, and the whole British navy would find room in its spacious bosom. It has 4 fathoms of water in the shallowest part of the entrance. However, it is difficult to enter this port from June to November, as the sea breaks with violence at the entrance, on account of the southerly winds which reign at that season. It has every convenience of situation and locality for forming docks for the repair of shipping. The large bay of Anasco, on the south coast, affords anchorage to vessels of all sizes. It is also safe from the north winds. Although on the eastern coast there are many places for vessels to anchor, yet none of them are exempt from danger during the north winds except Fajardo, where a safe anchorage is to be found to leeward of two little islands close to the bay, where vessels are completely sheltered. The island of Vieques has also several commodious ports and harbors, where vessels of the largest size may ride at anchor. On the east coast is Cape Cabeza de San Juan, Points Lima, Candeleros, and Naranjo, and Cape Mala Pascua; on the south coast, Point Viento, Tigueras, Corchones, Arenas, Fama or Maria, Cucharas, Guayanilla, Guanica, and Morillos de Cabo Rojo; on the west coast, points San Francisco, Cadena, Guanijito, Guaniquilla, and Palo Seco. Highways.--There are few roads or ways of communication which are worthy of mention, with the exception of the broad pike which starts from the capital and runs along the coast, passing through the following towns: Aguadilla, Bayamon, Cabo Rojo, Ilumacao, Juana Diaz, Mayaguez, Ponce, and San German. It has no bridges; is good in dry weather, but in the rainy season is impassible for wagons and even at times for horsemen. For interior communication there are only a few local roads or paths. They are usually 2 yards in width, made by the various owners, and can not be well traveled in rainy weather. They are more properly horse and mule trails, and oblige people to go in single file. In late years much has been attempted to improve the highways connecting the principal cities, and more has been accomplished than in Spanish colonies. There is a good made road connecting Ponce on the southern coast with San Juan the capital. Other good roads also extend for a short distance along the north coast and along the south coast. The road from Guayama is also said to be a passably good one. There are in the island about 150 miles of excellent road, and this is all that receives any attention, transportation being effected elsewhere on horse back. In the construction of a road level foundation is sought, and on this is put a heavy layer of crushed rock and brick, which, after having been well packed and rounded, is covered with a layer of earth. This is well packed also, and upon the whole is spread a layer of ground limestone, which is pressed and rolled until it forms almost a glossy surface. This makes an excellent road here where the climate is such that it does not affect it, and when there is no heavy traffic, hut these conditions being changed, the road, it is thought, would not stand so well. From Palo Seco, situated about a mile and a half from the capital, on the opposite side of the bay, a carriage road, perfectly level, has been constructed for a distance of 22 leagues to the town of Aguadilla on the west coast, passing through the towns of Vegabaja, Manati, Arecibo, Hatillo, Camuy, and Isabella. This road has been carried for several leagues over swampy lands, which are intersected by deep drains to carry off the water. The road from Aguadilla to Mayaguez is in some parts very good, in other parts only fair. From Aguadilla to Aguada, a distance of a league, the road is excellent and level. From thence to Mayaguez, through the village of Rincon and the town of Anasco, the road is generally good, but on the seashore it is sometimes interrupted by shelving rocks. Across the valley of Anasco the road is carried through a boggy tract, with bridges over several deep creeks of fresh water. From thence to the large commercial town of Mayaguez the road is uneven and requires some improvement. But the roads from Mayaguez and Ponce to their respective ports on the seashore can not be surpassed by any in Europe. They are made in a most substantial manner, and their convex form is well adapted to preserve them from the destruction caused by the heavy rains of the climate. These roads have been made over tracts of swampy ground to the seacoast, but with little and timely repair they will last forever. A road, which may be called a carriage road, has been made from Ponce to the village of Adjuntas, situated 5 leagues in the interior of the mountains. The road along the coast, from Ponce to Guayama, is fairly good; from thence to Patillas there is an excellent carriage road for a distance of 3 leagues; from the latter place to the coast is a high road well constructed. From Patillas to Fajardo, on the eastern coast, passing through the towns of Maimavo, Yubacao, Ilumacao, and Naguabo, the roads are not calculated for wheel vehicles, in consequence of being obliged to ascend and descend several steep hills. That which crosses the mountain of Mala Pascua, dividing the north and east coasts, is a good and solid road, upon which a person on horseback may travel with great ease and safety. The road crossing the valley of Yubacao, which consists of a soft and humid soil, requires more attention than that crossing the mountain of Mala Pascua, which has a fine, sandy soil. From Fajardo to the capital, through the towns of Luquillo, Loisa, and Rio Piedras, the road is tolerably good for persons on horseback as far as Rio Piedras, and from thence to the city of San Juan, a distance of 2 leagues, is an excellent carriage road, made by the order and under the inspection of the Captain-General, part of it through a mangrove swamp. Over the river Loisa is a handsome wooden bridge, and on the road near Rio Piedras is a handsome stone one over a deep rivulet. One of the best roads in the island extends from the town of Papino, situated in the mountains, to the town of Aguadilla on the coast, distant 5 1/2 leagues, through the village of La Moca; in the distance of 3 leagues from the latter place, it is crossed by 10 deep mountain rivulets, formerly impassable, but over which solid bridges have now been built, with side railings. In the mountainous district within the circumference of a few leagues no less than 47 bridges have been built to facilitate the communication between one place and the other. The following are the roads of 6 meters width, 4 1/2 in center of pounded stone. They have iron bridges and are in good shape for travel all the year. (1) San Juan to the Shore near Ponce.--From San Juan to Ponce the central road is exactly 134 kilometers. Distances along the line are: Rio Piedras, 11 Caguas, 25; to Cayei, 21; Aybonito, 20; Coamo, 18; Juana Diaz, 20; to Ponce, 13; and to the shore, 3. Exact. (2) San Juan to Bayamon.--By ferry fifteen minutes to Catano, and from there by road to Bayamon 10 kilometers. This passes alongside the railway. (3) Rio Piedras to Mameyes, 36 kilometers; from Rio Piedras to Carolina, 12; to Rio Grande, 19; to Mameyes, 5. (4) Cayei to Arroyo, 35 kilometers; from Cayei to Guayama, 25; to Arroyo, 8; from San Juan to Arroyo, via Cayei, is 95 kilometers. (5 Ponce to Adjuntas, 32 kilometers. (6) San German to Anasco, 33 kilometers; from San German to Mayaguez, 21 kilometers; Mayaguez to Anasco, 12; Mayaguez to Mormigueros, 11; Mayaguez to Cabo Eojo, 18; Mayaguez to Las Marias, 23; Mayaguez to Maricao, 35; Hor- migueras to San German, 14. Near Mayaguez the roads are best. There are good roads in all directions. (7) Aguadilla to San Sebastian, 18. (8) Arecibo to Utuado, 33. Highways of first class in the island, 335 kilometers. Along these roads are, at a distance of 8 to 10 kilometers, a fort, stone, and brick barracks, or large buildings, where the Spanish troops stop and rest when on the march. Railroads.--In 1878 a report was presented to the minister of the colonies on a study made by the engineer and head of public works of the island in view of constructing a railroad which should start from the capital and, passing through all the chief towns and through the whole island, return to the point of departure. Of this railroad the following parts have been completed: San Juan, along the coast through Rio Piedras, Bayamon, Dorado, Arecibo, and Hatillo, to Camuy; Aguadilla, through Aguado, Rincon, Anasco, and Mayaguez, to Hornigueros. A branch of this railroad from Anasco, through San Sebastian, to Lares. Ponce, through Guayanilla, to Yauco. This latter railroad follows the southern coast line and is followed by a wagon road throughout its course. In one place the railroad and road run within a few hundred yards of the coast line. According to the Statesman's Year Book for 1898 there are in operation 137 miles of railroad, besides over 170 miles under construction. All the railroads are single track, and the gauge is 1 meter 20 centimeters, or 3 feet 11 1/4 inches. The following are the railways of 1-meter gauge: (1) San Juan to Rio Piedras, 11 kilometers. (2) Catano to Bayamon, 10 kilometers. (3) Anasco to San Sebastian and Lares, 35 kilometers. Total of three lines, 56 kilometers. The lines are all in good shape; have plenty of engines and cars; speed, 20 kilometers per hour; use coal for fuel imported from the United States; supply usually large, may be small now; hard coal; fine stations; plenty of water, and everything in shape for business. Telegraphs.--The capital communicates with the principal towns of the coast and interior by means of a well-connected telegraph system. There are in all some 470 miles of telegraph. Telephones.--The British Consular Report says that the telephone system of San Juan, Ponce, and Mayaguez have recently been contracted for by local syndicates. In Ponce a United States company obtained the contract for the material. There are 100 stations already connected, and it is expected that 200 more will be in operation shortly. Administration.--From an administrative standpoint, Porto Rico is not considered as a colony, but as a province of Spain, assimilated to the remaining provinces. The Governor-General, representing the monarchy, is at the same time Captain-General of the armed forces. In each chief town resides a military commander, and each town has its alcalde, or mayor, appointed by the central power. The provincial deputation is elected by popular suffrage under the same conditions as in Spain. The regular peace garrison is composed of about 3,000 men, and the annual budget amounts to some 20,000,000 pesos. Education.--In 1887 only one-seventh of the population could read and write, but of late years progress in public instruction has been rapid. Agriculture, Industry, and Commerce.--In 1878 there arrived in the harbors of the island 1,591 vessels of different nationalities and 1,534 departed. The value of products imported was 14,787,551 pesos, and that of articles exported was 13,070,020 pesos. The following are the relative percentages of values: Flags. Relation. Per Cent. Spanish 49.91 American 13.47 English 21.43 Various Nations 15.19 ======= Total 100.00 Navigation is very active, but the part the inhabitants take in the commercial fleet is small. The Porto Ricans are not seagoing people. The eastern part of the island offers less advantage to commerce than the western, being to the windward and affording less shelter to vessels. Porto Rico has more than seventy towns and cities, of which Ponce is the most important. Ponce has 22,000 inhabitants, with a jurisdiction numbering 47,000. It is situated on the south coast of the island, on a plain, about 2 miles from the seaboard. It is the chief town of the judicial district of its name, and is 70 miles from San Juan. It is regularly built, the central part almost exclusively of brick houses, and the suburbs of wood. It is the residence of the military commander, and the seat of an official chamber of commerce. There is an appellate criminal court, besides other courts; 2 churches, one Protestant, said to be the only one in the Spanish West, Indies; 2 hospitals besides the military hospital, a home of refuge for old and poor, 2 cemeteries, 3 asylums, several casinos, 3 theaters, a market, a municipal public library, 3 first-class hotels, 3 barracks, a park, gas works, a perfectly equipped fire department, a bank, thermal and natural baths, etc. Commercially, Ponce is the second city of importance on the island. A fine road leads to the port (Playa), where all the import and export trade is transacted. Playa has about 5,000 inhabitants, and here are situated the custom house, the office of the captain of the port, and all the consular offices. The port is spacious and will hold vessels of 25 feet draft. The climate, on account of the sea breezes during the day and land breezes at night, is not oppressive, but very hot and dry; and, as water for all purposes, including the fire department, is amply supplied by an aqueduct 4,442 yards long, it is said that the city of Ponce is perhaps the healthiest place in the whole island. There is a stage coach to San Juan, Mayaguez, Guayama, etc. There is a railroad to Yauco, a post office, and a telegraph station. It is believed that Ponce was founded in 1600; it was given the title of villa in 1848, and in 1877 that of city. Of its 34 streets the best are Mayor, Salud, Villa, Vives, Marina, and Comercio. The best squares are Principal and Las Delicias, which are separated by the church of Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe. The church, as old as the town itself, began to be reconstructed in 1838 and was finished in 1847. It is 86 yards long by 43 broad, and has two steeples, rich altars, and fine ornaments. The theater is called the Pearl, and it deserves this name, for it is the finest on the island. It has a sculptured porch, on the Byzantine order, with very graceful columns. It is mostly built of iron and marble and cost over 70,000 pesos. It is 52 yards deep by 29 wide. The inside is beautiful, the boxes and seats roomy and nicely decorated. It may, by a mechanical arrangement, be converted into a dancing hall. About 1 1/8 miles northeast of the town are the Quintana thermal baths, in a building surrounded by pretty gardens. They are visited by sufferers from rheumatism and various other diseases. San Juan is a perfect specimen of a walled town, with portcullis, moat, gates, and battlements. The wall surrounding this town is defended by several batteries. Facing the harbor are those of San Fernando, Santa Catalina, and Santa Toribio. Looking toward the land side is Fort Abanico, and toward the ocean the batteries of San Antonio, San Jose, and Santa Teresa, and Fort Princesa. The land part has two ditches, or cuts, which are easy to inundate. The fort and bridge of San Antonio that of San Geronimo, and the Escambron battery situated on a tongue of land which enters the sea. Built over two hundred and fifty years ago, the city is still in good condition and repair. The walls are picturesque, and represent a stupendous work and cost in themselves. Inside the walls the city is laid off in regular squares, six parallel streets running in the direction of the length of the island and seven at right angles. The peninsula on which San Juan is situated is connected with the mainland by three bridges. The oldest, that of San Antonio, carries the highway across the shallow San Antonio Channel. It is a stone-arched bridge about 350 yards long including the approaches. By the side of this bridge is one for the railroad and one for the tramway which follows the main military highway to Rio Piedras. Among the buildings the following are notable: The palace of the Captain-General, the palace of the intendencia, the town hall, military hospital, jail, Ballaja barracks, theater, custom house, cathedral, Episcopal palace, and seminary. There is no university or provincial institute of second grade instruction, and only one college, which is under the direction of Jesuit priests. The houses are closely and compactly built of brick, usually of two stories, stuccoed on the outside and painted in a variety of colors. The upper floors are occupied by the more respectable people, while the ground floors, almost without exception, are given up to the negroes and the poorer class, who crowd one upon another in the most appalling manner. The population within the walls is estimated at 20,000 and most of it lives on the ground floor. In one small room, with a flimsy partition, a whole family will reside. The ground floor of the whole town reeks with filth, and conditions are most unsanitary. In a tropical country, where disease readily prevails, the consequences of such herding may be easily inferred. There is no running water in the town. The entire population depend upon rain water, caught upon the flat roofs of the buildings and conducted to the cistern, which occupies the greater part of the inner court-yard that is an essential part of Spanish houses the world over, but that here, on account of the crowded conditions, is very small. There is no sewerage, except for surface water and sinks, while vaults are in every house and occupy whatever remaining space there may be in the patios not taken up by the cisterns. The risk of contaminating the water is very great, and in dry seasons the supply is entirely exhausted. Epidemics are frequent, and the town is alive with vermin, fleas, cockroaches, mosquitoes, and dogs. The streets are wider than in the older part of Havana, and will admit two carriages abreast. The sidewalks are narrow, and in places will accommodate but one person. The pavements are of a composition manufactured in England from slag, pleasant and even, and durable when no heavy strain is brought to bear upon them, but easily broken, and unfit for heavy traffic. The streets are swept once a day by hand, and, strange to say, are kept very clean. From its topographical situation the town should be healthy, but it is not. The soil under the city is clay mixed with lime, so hard as to be almost like rock. It is consequently impervious to water and furnishes a good natural drainage. The trade wind blows strong and fresh, and through the harbor runs a stream of sea water at a speed of not less than three miles an hour. With these conditions no contagious diseases, if properly taken care of, could exist; without them the place would be a veritable plague spot. Besides the town within the walls there are small portions just outside, called the Marina and Puerta de Tierra, containing two or three thousand inhabitants each. There are also two suburbs, one, San Turce, approached by the only road leading out of the city, and the other, Catano, across the bay, reached by ferry. The Marina and the two suburbs are situated on sandy points or spits, and the latter are surrounded by mangrove swamps. The entire population of the city and suburbs, according to the census of 1887, was 27,000. It is now (1896) estimated at 30,000. One-half of the population consists of negroes and mixed races. There is but little manufacturing, and it is of small importance. The Standard Oil Company has a small refinery across the bay, in which crude petroleum brought from the United States is refined. Matches are made, some brooms, a little soap, and a cheap class of trunks. There are also ice, gas, and electric light works. CHAPTER XXVI The Ladrones. The Island of Guam a Coaling Station of the United States--Discovery, Size and Products of the Islands. When the Philippine expedition on its way to Manila incidentally ran up the Stars and Stripes over the Island of Guam, there was perhaps no thought of the island becoming a permanent part of our domain. However, the fortunes of war are such that the island is likely to become ours permanently as a coaling station in the Pacific. Magellan named these islands the Ladrones from the Latin word "latro," meaning a robber, because of the thievish propensities of the natives. According to Magellan's reports, the native people of these islands had reduced stealing to a science of such exactness that the utmost vigilance could not prevail against their operations. The group was named the Mariana Islands by the Jesuits, who settled in them in 1667. The Ladrone group consists of twenty islands, of which five are inhabited. The group extends forty-five miles from north to south, and is located between 13 deg. and 21 deg. north latitude, and between 144 deg. and 146 deg. east longitude. The principal islands are Guam, Rota and Linian. They were discovered by Magellan in 1521, and have belonged to Spain ever since. Their population is 11,000. The soil is fertile and densely wooded. The climate is temperate. Guam, the southernly and principal island, is 100 miles in circumference, and has a population of 8,100, of which 1,400 are Europeans. Its central part is mountainous, and it has a small volcano. The products are guacas, bananas, cocoa, oranges and limes. The natives are noted as builders of the most rapidly sailing canoes in the world. With Guam as a part of the territory of the United States, we have a direct line of possessions across the Pacific, in the order of Hawaii, Guam and the Philippines; while in a northwesterly direction from our Pacific coast we have the islands forming a part of Alaska. By holding all these islands we will be prepared to control practically the commerce of the Pacific, the future great commercial highway of the world. CHAPTER XXVII The Official Title to Our New Possessions in the Indies. Full Text of the Treaty of Peace with Spain Handed the President of the United States as a Christmas Gift for the People, at the White House, 1898--The Gathered Fruit of a Glorious and Wonderful Victory. On an August midnight the good ship Peru, Major-General Otis with his staff and General Hughes, and a thousand regular cavalry and "the historian of the Philippines" aboard, approached within a few miles, an immense mass of darkness. About where the mouth of Manila Bay should be there was, deep in the east and at a considerable elevation, a spark of white, and in a few seconds a red light, keener than stars, and in half a minute there were the sharp flashes again, and we knew that there were friends watching and waiting--that "our flag was still there," that Admiral Dewey and General Merritt of the Navy and Army of the United States had upheld the symbol of the sovereignty of the Great Republic of North America, that the lights glowed down from the massive rock of Corregidor, that through the shadows that fell on these darksome waters the American squadron had entered into immortality less than four months before, and that with the morning light we should look upon the famous scene of triumphant Americanism. We had been fifteen days out of the world, for there were only the southern constellations to tell us, the southern cross so high and the north star so low, and the dazzling scorpion with diamond claws touching the central blue dome, to say how far down into the tropics we were, while the clouds of flame rested on the serenities of the matchless sea; and what had the great deep in its mysterious resplendence been whispering along the enchanting shores of the islands of Asia--the true Indies, Oriental or Occidental as might be--what had the wild waves that beat against the volcanic coasts made known in the boats wafted by the welcoming winds? We knew of the bloody days on the hills of Santiago, and the fate of the fleet of Admiral Cervera, and there must be news of other victories! Our ship turned away from the looming rock that sent forth flashes as if to say all is well, in the universe that we in our vast adventure had almost abandoned. And when the day dawned and the green hills and blue mountains and the silvery waters were revealed we turned to the left, where Dewey led his squadron to the right, and there was the bay hundred and twenty knots in circumference. Yonder were the white walls of Cavite, and further along domes and steeples, masts and heavy lines of buildings, a wide spread city crouching on a plain rising a few feet above the tides. It was Manila. Presently a boat swept near, and what was that, a dozen words repeated here and there--Merritt in possession of the city--of course, that was what he was there for,--but who said "there was a declaration of peace?" The strange statement was made. What--could it be that Spain had surrendered? Surely the President would not stop pushing things until he had gathered the fruits of victory? No, there was a protocol, and that was a treaty in fact! France had been the medium of negotiation. Spain had sued for peace, and terms were granted. Cuba was surrendered. Porto Rico was ceded to us. The Spaniards claimed that they had given up Manila after peace was settled, and they must repossess it. But Merritt was ashore was he not, and going to stay? Dewey had not given up anything, had he? Surely not! But there was to be a conference, a meeting of joint commissioners held at Paris to provide a treaty, that was to say the details--all the important points were fixed irrevocably except the fate of the Philippines! At this point the news of the morning gave out, all except the particulars of the seige, the high claims of the Spaniards, the dissatisfaction of the insurgents. It was some days before the realization of the situation was perfected. The full terms of the protocol were not made known at once. Spain gave up the West Indies and a Ladrone island, and the United States was to hold the city, bay and harbor of Manila pending the conclusion of a treaty of peace which should determine the control, disposition and government of the Philippines. Certainly this was the conclusive surrender of Spain! General Merritt was ordered to Paris, and there represented the army of the United States, and its faith and honor and glory. Our Peace Commissioners were Wm. R. Day, Cushman K. Davis, William P. Frye, George Gray and Whitelaw Reid, who started for Paris September 18. The Spanish Commissioners made a long struggle, and protracted their unhappy task for more than two months, using all arts of procrastination and persuasion, claiming that the United States should pay the Cuban debt, and striving for allowances of indemnity, yielding at last to the inevitable. The text of the treaty is in seventeen articles as follows: Article I.--Spain renounces all right of sovereignty over Cuba. Whereas said isle when evacuated by Spain is to be occupied by the United States, the United States, while the occupation continues, shall take upon themselves and fulfill the obligations which, by the fact of occupation, international law imposes on them for the protection of life and property. Article II.--Spain cedes to the United States the Island of Porto Rico and the other islands now under her sovereignty in the West Indies and the Isle of Guam in the archipelago of the Marianas or Ladrones. Article III.--Spain cedes to the United States the archipelago known as the Philippine Islands, which comprise the islands situated between the following lines: A line which runs west to east near the twentieth parallel of north latitude across the center of the navigable canal of Bachi, from the 118th to the 127th degrees of longitude east of Greenwich, from here to the width of the 127th degree of longitude east to parallel 4 degrees 45 minutes of north latitude. From here following the parallel of north latitude 4 degrees 45 minutes to its intersection with the meridian of longitude 119 degrees 35 minutes east from Greenwich. From here following the meridian of 119 degrees 35 minutes east to the parallel of latitude 7 degrees 40 minutes north. From here following the parallel of 7 degrees 40 minutes north to its intersection with 116 degrees longitude east. From here along a straight line to the intersection of the tenth parallel of latitude north with the 118th meridian east, and from here following the 118th meridian to the point whence began this demarcation. The United States shall pay to Spain the sum of $20,000,000 within three months after the interchange of the ratifications of the present treaty. Article IV.--The United States shall, during the term of ten years, counting from the interchange of the ratifications of the treaty, admit to the ports of the Philippine Islands Spanish ships and merchandise under the same conditions as the ships and merchandise of the United States. Article V.--The United States, on the signing of the present treaty, shall transport to Spain at their cost the Spanish soldiers whom the American forces made prisoners of war when Manila was captured. The arms of these soldiers shall be returned to them. Spain, on the interchange of the ratifications of the present treaty, shall proceed to evacuate the Philippine Islands, as also Guam, on conditions similar to those agreed to by the commissions named to concert the evacuation of Porto Rico and the other islands in the Western Antilles according to the protocol of Aug. 12, 1898, which shall continue in force until its terms have been completely complied with. The term within which the evacuation of the Philippine Islands and Guam shall be completed shall be fixed by both Governments. Spain shall retain the flags and stands of colors of the warships not captured, small arms, cannon of all calibers, with their carriages and accessories, powders, munitions, cattle, material and effects of all kinds belonging to the armies of the sea and land of Spain in the Philippines and Guam. The pieces of heavy caliber which are not field artillery mounted in fortifications and on the coasts shall remain in their places for a period of six months from the interchange of the ratifications of the present treaty, and the United States may during that period buy from Spain said material if both Governments arrive at a satisfactory agreement thereon. Article VI.--Spain, on signing the present treaty, shall place at liberty all prisoners of war and all those detained or imprisoned for political offences in consequence of the insurrections in Cuba and the Philippines and of the war with the United States. Reciprocally the United States shall place at liberty all prisoners of war made by the American forces, and shall negotiate for the liberty of all Spanish prisoners in the power of the insurgents in Cuba and the Philippines. The Government of the United States shall transport, at their cost, to Spain, and the Government of Spain shall transport, at its cost, to the United States, Cuba, Porto Rico and the Philippines, conformably to the situation of their respective dwellings, the prisoners placed or to be placed at liberty in virtue of this article. Article VII.--Spain and the United States mutually renounce by the present treaty all claim to national or private indemnity, of whatever kind, of one Government against the other, or of their subjects or citizens against the other Government, which may have arisen from the beginning of the last insurrection in Cuba, anterior to the interchange of the ratifications of the present treaty, as also to all indemnity as regards costs occasioned by the war. The United States shall judge and settle the claims of its citizens against Spain which she renounces in this article. Article VIII.--In fulfilment of Articles I., II. and III. of this treaty Spain renounces in Cuba and cedes in Porto Rico and the other West Indian isles, in Guam and the Philippine archipelago, all buildings, moles, barracks, fortresses, establishments, public roads and other real property which by custom or right are of the public domain, and as such belong to the crown of Spain. Nevertheless, it is declared that this renouncement or cession, as the case may be, referred to in the previous paragraph, in no way lessens the property or rights which belong by custom or law to the peaceful possessor of goods of all kinds in the provinces and cities, public or private establishments, civil or ecclesiastical corporations or whatever bodies have judicial personality to acquire and possess goods in the above-mentioned, renounced or ceded territories, and those of private individuals, whatever be their nationality. The said renouncement or cession includes all those documents which exclusively refer to said renounced or ceded sovereignty which exist in the archives of the peninsula. When these documents existing in said archives only in part refer to said sovereignty, copies of said part shall be supplied, provided they be requested. Similar rules are to be reciprocally observed in favor of Spain with respect to the documents existing in the archives of the before-mentioned islands. In the above-mentioned renunciation or cession are comprised those rights of the crown of Spain and of its authorities over the archives and official registers, as well administrative as judicial, of said islands which refer to them and to the rights and properties of their inhabitants. Said archives and registers must be carefully preserved, and all individuals, without exception, shall have the right to obtain, conformably to law, authorized copies of contracts, wills and other documents which form part of notarial protocols or which are kept in administrative and judicial archives, whether the same be in Spain or in the islands above mentioned. Article IX.--Spanish subjects, natives of the peninsula, dwelling in the territory whose sovereignty Spain renounces or cedes in the present treaty, may remain in said territory or leave it, maintaining in one or the other case all their rights of property, including the right to sell and dispose of said property or its produces; and, moreover, they shall retain the right to exercise their industry, business or profession, submitting themselves in this respect to the laws which are applicable to other foreigners. In case they remain in the territory they may preserve their Spanish nationality by making in a registry office, within a year after the interchange of the ratifications of this treaty, a declaration of their intention to preserve said nationality. Failing this declaration they will be considered as having renounced said nationality and as having adopted that of the territory in which they may reside. The civil rights and political status of the native inhabitants of the territories hereby ceded to the United States shall be determined by Congress. Article X.--The inhabitants of the territories whose sovereignty Spain renounces or cedes shall have assured to them the free exercise of their religion. Article XI.--Spaniards residing in the territories whose sovereignty Spain cedes or renounces shall be subject in civil and criminal matters to the tribunals of the country in which they reside, conformably with the common laws which regulate their competence, being enabled to appear before them in the same manner and to employ the same proceedings as the citizens of the country to which the tribunal belongs must observe. Article XII.--Judicial proceedings pending on the interchange of the ratifications of this treaty in the territories over which Spain renounces or cedes sovereignty shall be determined conformably with the following rules: First, sentences pronounced in civil cases between individuals or in criminal cases before the above-mentioned date, and against which there is no appeal or annulment conformably with the Spanish law, shall be considered as lasting, and shall be executed in due form by competent authority in the territory within which said sentences should be carried out. Second, civil actions between individuals which on the aforementioned date have not been decided shall continue their course before the tribunal in which the lawsuit is proceeding or before that which shall replace it. Third, criminal actions pending on the aforementioned date before the supreme tribunal of Spain against citizens of territory which, according to this treaty, will cease to be Spanish, shall continue under its jurisdiction until definite sentence is pronounced, but once sentence is decreed its execution shall be intrusted to competent authority of the place where the action arose. Article XIII.--Literary, artistic and industrial rights of property acquired by Spaniards in Cuba, Porto Rico, the Philippines and other territories ceded on the interchange of ratifications of this treaty shall continue to be respected. Spanish scientific, literary and artistic works which shall not be dangerous to public order in said territories shall continue entering therein with freedom from all customs duties for a period of ten years dating from the interchange of the ratifications of this treaty. Article XIV.--Spain may establish consular agents in the ports and places of the territories whose renunciation or cession are the object of this treaty. Article XV.--The Government of either country shall concede for a term of ten years to the merchant ships of the other the same treatment as regards all port dues, including those of entry and departure, lighthouse and tonnage dues, as it concedes to its own merchant ships not employed in the coasting trade. This article may be repudiated at any time by either Government giving previous notice thereof six months beforehand. Article XVI.--Be it understood that whatever obligation is accepted under this treaty by the United States with respect to Cuba is limited to the period their occupation of the island shall continue, but at the end of said occupation they will advise the Government that may be established in the island that it should accept the same obligations. Article XVII.--The present treaty shall be ratified by the Queen Regent of Spain and the President of the United States, in agreement and with the approval of the Senate, and ratifications shall be exchanged in Washington within a period of six months from this date or earlier if possible. The treaty of peace will he ratified by the Senate. It appears before ratification, as was the case of the protocol, through the favor of the French translations. The treaty fitly crowns the triumphs of the war. The payment of the small indemnity of twenty million dollars only covers at a reasonable estimate the public property of Spain, in territory ceded to us, that was beyond the lines of the areas that formally submitted to our arms. CHAPTER XXVIII Battles with the Filipinos before Manila. The Aguinaldo War Upon the Americans--The Course of Events in the Philippines Since the Fall of Manila--Origin of the Filipino War--Aguinaldo's Insolent and Aggressive Acts, Including Treachery--His Agent's Vanity and Duplicity in Washington--Insurgents Under Aguinaldo Attack American Forces--Battle of Manila, February 4 and 5--Heroism of American Troops in Repelling the Insurgents--Aguinaldo's Proclamations--Agoncillo's Flight to Canada--The Ratification of the Treaty of Peace With Spain by the American Senate Followed the Fighting--The Gallantry and Efficiency of the American Volunteers--Another Glorious Chapter of Our War History. When Manila fell, August 13th, the insurgents made demonstrations of their purpose to insist upon the occupation of the city as part of their business, and were so excited by the prohibition of the indulgence of their passion for looting and revenge, that they fired several volleys in the direction of the Americans. The way they were prevented from executing their purposes is stated in the 10th chapter of this volume,--"The Official History of the Conquest of Manila." The Filipino forces were excluded from the city unless unarmed, and Aguinaldo made various claims to high consideration, asserting that the Spaniards could have escaped from the city if it had not been for his army. He was, in his conversations before the destruction of the Spanish fleet, and while he was on his way to Cavite, a professed friend of the annexation of the Philippines to the United States, and constantly a very voluble creature. The American Consul at Manila, writing from Manila Bay, opposite to the city, May 12th, 1898, said: "These natives are eager to be organized and led by United States officers, and the members of their cabinet visited me and gave assurance that all would swear allegiance to and cheerfully follow our flag. They are brave, submissive, and cheaply provided for. "To show their friendliness for me as our nation's only representative in this part of the world, I last week went on shore at Cavite with British Consul, in his launch, to show the destruction wrought by our fleet. As soon as natives found me out, they crowded around me, hats off, shouting "Viva los Americanos," thronged about me by hundreds to shake either hand, even several at a time, men, women, and children striving to get even a finger to shake. So I moved half a mile, shaking continuously with both hands. The British Consul, a smiling spectator, said he never before saw such an evidence of friendship. Two thousand escorted me to the launch amid hurrahs of good feeling for our nation, hence I must conclude." Nov. 3, 1897, the American Consul at Hong Kong gave this account of Mr. Agoncillo, who is an interesting person because of his celebrity for insistent and vain letters written at Washington, and his flight to Canada when the Filipinos attacked the Americans at Manila: Mr. Wildman to Mr. Day. No. 19.] Hongkong, November 3, 1897. Sir: Since my arrival in Hongkong I have been called upon several times by Mr. F. Agoncillo, foreign agent and high commissioner, etc., of the new republic of the Philippines. Mr. Agoncillo holds a commission, signed by the president, members of cabinet, and general in chief of the republic of Philippines, empowering him absolutely with power to conclude treaties with foreign governments. Mr. Agoncillo offers on behalf of his government alliance offensive and defensive with the United States when the United States declares war on Spain, which, in Mr. Agoncillo's judgment, will be very soon. In the meantime he wishes the United States to send to some port in the Philippines 20,000 stand of arms and 200,000 rounds of ammunition for the use of his government, to be paid for on the recognition of his government by the United States. He pledges as security two provinces and the custom-house at Manila. He is not particular about the price--is willing the United States should make 25 per cent or 30 per cent profit. He is a very earnest and attentive diplomat and a great admirer of the United States. On his last visit he surprised me with the information that he had written his government that he had hopes of inducing the United States to supply the much-needed guns, etc. In case Senor Agoncillo's dispatch should fall into the hands of an unfriendly power and find its way into the newspapers, I have thought it wise to apprise the State Department of the nature of the high commissioner's proposals. Senor Agoncillo informs me by late mail that he will proceed at once to Washington to conclude the proposed treaty, if I advise. I shall not advise said step until so instructed by the State Department. I have the honor to be, sir, your obedient servant, _Rounseville Wildman_, Consul. The offensive impertinence of Mr. Agoncillo is quite conspicuous in this consular communication. On the money question he was very peculiar. Mr. Wildman was instructed by Assistant Secretary Cridler to "briefly advise Mr. Agoncillo" that the United States "does not negotiate such treaties," and that he "should not encourage any advances on the part of Mr. Agoncillo." Mr. Wildman busied himself with sending tenders of allegiance to the United States from influential families of Manila. Mr. Williams cabled the following: Manila, September 5, 1898, (Received 10.20 a.m.) To-day delegation from 4,000 Viscayan soldiers, also representing southern business interests, came to me pledging loyalty to annexation. Several insurgent leaders, likewise. Spain can not control; if we evacuate, anarchy rules. _Williams._ Mr. Wildman, writing from Hongkong, July 18th, said: "I believe I know the sentiments of the political leaders and of the moneyed men among the insurgents, and, in spite of all statements to the contrary, I know that they are fighting for annexation to the United States first, and for independence secondly, if the United States decides to decline the sovereignty of the islands. In fact I have had the most prominent leaders call on me and say they would not raise one finger unless I could assure them that the United States intended to give them United States citizenship if they wished it." August 9th, Mr. Wildman gave the following character sketch of Aguinaldo, writing of the position Consul Williams, of Manila, and himself took toward the insurgents, says: "I tried to briefly outline the position Consul Williams and myself have taken toward the insurgents. We believed that they were a necessary evil, and that if Aguinaldo was placed in command, and was acceptable to the insurgents as their leader, that Admiral Dewey or General Merritt would have some one whom they could hold responsible for any excesses. The other alternative was to allow the entire islands to be overrun by small bands bent only on revenge and looting. We considered that Aguinaldo had more qualifications for leadership than any of his rivals. We made him no pledges and extracted from him but two, viz., to obey unquestioning the commander of the United States forces in the Philippine Islands, and to conduct his warfare on civilized lines. He was in and out of the consulate for nearly a month, and I believe I have taken his measure and that I acquired some influence with him. I have striven to retain his influence and have used it in conjunction with and with the full knowledge of both Admiral Dewey and Consul Williams. "Aguinaldo has written me by every opportunity, and I believe that he has been frank with me regarding both his actions and his motives. I do not doubt but that he would like to be President of the Philippine Republic, and there may be a small coterie of his native advisers who entertain a like ambition, but I am perfectly certain that the great majority of his followers, and all the wealthy educated Filipinos have but the one desire--to become citizens of the United States of America. As for the mass of uneducated natives, they would be content under any rule save that of the friars. My correspondence with Aguinaldo has been strictly of a personal nature, and I have missed no opportunity to remind him of his ante-bellum promises. His letters are childish, and he is far more interested in the kind of cane he will carry or the breastplate he will wear than in the figure he will make in history. The demands that he and his junta here have made upon my time is excessive and most tiresome. He is a man of petty moods, and I have repeatedly had letters from Consul Williams requesting me to write to Aguinaldo a friendly letter congratulating him on his success, and reminding him of his obligations. I do not care to quote Admiral Dewey, as his letters are all of a strictly personal nature, but I feel perfectly free to refer you to him as to my attitude and actions." Mr. Pratt, the United States Consul General at Singapore, took in hand Aguinaldo--this was April 28--and got him off to Hong Kong, having had this correspondence by cable with Admiral Dewey: Aguinaldo, insurgent leader, here. Will come Hongkong arrange with Commodore for general co-operation insurgents Manila if desired. Telegraph. _Pratt._ The Commodore's reply reading thus: Tell Aguinaldo come soon as possible. _Dewey_. Mr. Pratt says of this: I received it late that night, and at once communicated to General Aguinaldo, who, with his aid-de-camp and private secretary, all under assumed names, I succeeded in getting off by the British steamer Malacca, which left here on Tuesday, the 26th. And Mr. Pratt made the following report to the Secretary of State of the United States: Consulate-General of the United States, Singapore, April 30, 1898. Sir: Referring to my dispatch No. 212, of the 28th instant, I have the honor to report that in the second and last interview I had with Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo on the eve of his departure for Hongkong, I enjoined upon him the necessity, under Commodore Dewey's direction, of exerting absolute control over his forces in the Philippines, as no excesses on their part would be tolerated by the American Government, the President having declared that the present hostilities with Spain were to be carried on in strict accord with modern principles of civilized warfare. To this General Aguinaldo fully assented, assuring me that he intended and was perfectly able, once on the field, to hold his followers, the insurgents, in check and lead them as our commander should direct. The general further stated that he hoped the United States would assume protection of the Philippines for at least long enough to allow the inhabitants to establish a government of their own, in the organization of which he would desire American advice and assistance. These questions I told him I had no authority to discuss. I have, etc., _E. Spencer Pratt_, United States Consul-General. June 16th Secretary Day cabled Consul Pratt: "Avoid unauthorized negotiations with the Philippine insurgents," and the Secretary wrote the consul on the same day: "The Department observes that you informed General Aguinaldo that you had no authority to speak for the United States; and, in the absence of the fuller report which you promise, it is assumed that you did not attempt to commit this Government to any alliance with the Philippine insurgents. To obtain the unconditional personal assistance of General Aguinaldo in the expedition to Manila was proper, if in so doing he was not induced to form hopes which it might not he practicable to gratify. This Government has known the Philippine insurgents only as discontented and rebellious subjects of Spain, and is not acquainted with their purposes. While their contest with that power has been a matter of public notoriety, they have neither asked nor received from this Government any recognition. The United States, in entering upon the occupation of the islands, as the result of its military operations in that quarter, will do so in the exercise of the rights which the state of war confers, and will expect from the inhabitants, without regard to their former attitude toward the Spanish Government, that obedience which will be lawfully due from them. "If, in the course of your conferences with General Aguinaldo, you acted upon the assumption that this Government would co-operate with him for the furtherance of any plan of his own, or that, in accepting his co-operation, it would consider itself pledged to recognize any political claims which he may put forward, your action was unauthorized and can not be approved. Respectfully yours, _William E. Day_. The following letter is a valuable link in the chain of the story of the Philippines: Hongkong, August 4, 1898. Sir: By request I have the honor to confirm the following telegram sent you on the 2d instant: Cortes family, representing wealthy educated families Manila, implore you through Consul-General Wildman, in name humanity and Christianity, not to desert them, and aid to obtain annexation Philippines to America. Please see the President. I may add in explanation of this telegram that there is a large colony of wealthy Filipinos who have been driven out of Manila, and the bulk of whose fortunes have been confiscated, resident here. They are people of education as well as wealth, and they are intensely loyal to the United States. The Cortes family are particularly so, and they have contributed money liberally to aid Aguinaldo on the understanding that he was fighting for annexation of the Philippines to the United States. Naturally I sympathize with them in their desire to become a part of the United States, and have advised them that you would give their cablegram your kindly consideration. I have the honor to be, sir, your obedient servant, _Rounsevelle Wildman_, Consul-General. Hon. Marcus Hanna, United States Senate, Washington. Mr. Andre, the Belgian Consul at Manila, an important man, wrote the American Commission in Paris, that "everybody in the Philippines, even Spanish merchants," begged the Americans for protection, and added: "The Indians do not desire independence. They know that they are not strong enough. They trust the United States, and they know that they will be treated risditly. The present rebellion only represents a half per cent, of the inhabitants, and it would not be right to oblige 6,000,000 inhabitants to submit to 30,000 rebels. Luzon is only partly held by them, and it is not to be expected that a civilized nation will make them present with the rest of the island, which is hostile to the Tagals of Luzon. The Spanish officers refuse to fight for the sake of the priests, and if the Spanish Government should retain the Philippines their soldiers will all fall prisoners in the hands of the Indians in the same way as they did already, and this is because the army is sick of war without result, and only to put the country at the mercy of the rapacious empleados and luxurious monks. "The monks know that they are no more wanted in the Philippines, and they asked me to help them go away as soon as possible, and it is principally for them that I asked for the transports to the United States Government, and to send them to Hongkong. The Indians will be delighted to see them go, and will be grateful to the United States. "If some chiefs of the rebellion will be a little disappointed in their personal pride, they will be convinced that it is better for them to submit in any case, for most of these chiefs prefer American authority." Aguinaldo became swollen with the conceit of greatness, and flattered to believe he had a commanding destiny, he took on airs of extravagant consequence in his correspondence with General Anderson, who commanded the first expedition of the United States troops to the Philippines, and dared to assume to have authority as to the disembarkation of the soldiers of the United States. July 24th Aguinaldo wrote to Anderson: "I came from Hongkong to prevent my countrymen from making common cause with the Spanish against the North Americans, pledging before my word to Admiral Dewey to not give place [to allow] to any internal discord, because, [being] a judge of their desires, I had the strong conviction I could succeed in both objects." After this false and foolish presumption, he proceeded in a pompous way to observe that "without the destruction of the Spanish squadron the Philippine revolution would not have advanced so rapidly." He claimed, in a letter dated August 1st to Consul Williams, that if he did not assert himself as he was doing he would be held by his people to be a traitor. His point at Singapore was that he could wield his people at his pleasure. His observation was: "I have done what they desire, establishing a government in order that nothing important may be done without consulting fully their sovereign will, not only because it was my duty, but also because acting in any other manner they would fail to recognize me as the interpreter of their aspirations and would punish me as a traitor, replacing me by another more careful of his own honor and dignity." On the day after the storming of Manila, Aguinaldo wrote to Anderson: "My troops, who have been for so long besieging Manila, have always been promised that they could appear in it, as you know and can not deny, and for this reason and on account of the many sacrifices made of money and lives, I do not consider it prudent to issue orders to the contrary, as they might be disobeyed against my authority. Besides, I hope that you will allow the troops to enter, because we have given proofs many times of our friendship." On the day of occupancy of Manila Aguinaldo wrote Anderson: "I received a telegram. My interpreter is in Cavite; in consequence of this I have not answered till now. My troops are forced by yours, by means of threats of violence, to retire from positions taken. It is necessary, to avoid conflicts, which I should lament, that you order your troops that they avoid difficulty with mine, as until now they have conducted themselves as brothers to take Manila." General Merritt did not tolerate any folly about "joint occupation," and sharply demanded the insurgents should restore the city the water supply from the mountain stream that is diverted from the Pasig to the city, and Aguinaldo claimed credit on the water question in these terms of prevarication and presumption. "Since I have permitted the use of water before the formal declaration of the treaty, you can easily see that I am disposed to sacrifice to friendship everything not greatly prejudicial to the rights of the Philippine city. "I comprehend, like yourself, the inconvenience of a double occupation of the city of Manila and its environs, considering the conditions of the capitulation with the Spaniards, but you must also understand that without the wide blockade maintained by my forces you would have obtained possession of the ruins of the city, but never the surrender of the Spanish forces, who would have been able to retire to the interior towns. "Now, do not make light of the aid formerly given by us to secure the capitulation mentioned. Greatly though justice may suffer, and risking well-founded fears in regard to my city, I do not insist upon the retention of all the positions conquered by my forces within the environs at the cost of much bloodshed, unspeakable fatigue, and much money." At the same time this Dictator was strutting with the powerful persuasion that the United States must be subordinate to his will, he was ambitious to live in the palace of the Governor General, putting an impertinance to that effect in his correspondence, but General Merritt told him he wanted it for himself and had already occupied and taken it into possession. It has been made clear that Aguinaldo was from the first appearance of Americans writhing with the pangs of wounded vanity, conspiring to initiate the ignorant and inflate the insignificant, exciting a considerable force to share his sentiments. Unquestionably the news communicated by Agoncillo to Aguinaldo of the sailing of the regular troops to reinforce the army in Manila caused the desperate assault upon our lines, and it may be accepted as the measurement of the Filipino ignorance of American character, that the insurgent calculation was that the combat designed and its influence estimated, was expected to cause the defeat of the ratification of the treaty in the Senate. General Merritt assumed the Governor's duties on August 23, at Matacanan palace. Insurgents seemed more pacific, and business was resumed. On August 25, Aguinaldo sent the following cablegram to the American press: Manila, August 24.--I am satisfied with America's occupation. The Filipinos are disbanding. _Aguinaldo_. Head of the Philippine Insurgent Army. The same day Aguinaldo issued orders for his soldiers to return to their homes. The order was obeyed, and the insurgents expressed willingness to surrender if assured that the islands would remain under American or British control. In a clash at Cavite between United States soldiers and insurgents on August 25, George Hudson, a member of the Utah regiment, was killed, and Corporal William Anderson, of the same battery, was mortally wounded. Four troopers of the Fourth Cavalry were slightly wounded. Aguinaldo expressed his regret and promised to punish the offenders. Complaint of the conduct of Aguinaldo was reported by insurgents a few days later, and he said many of his compatriots accused him of endeavoring to sell out their cause. This story was his standing excuse for insolence to Americans, and the commission of savage injustice. He announced his intention to send peace commissioners to Paris. On September 5, Aguinaldo effected an important alliance with the Santiaglesia party in the northern Provinces of Pangasinan Zamballes. This party commanded 5,000 troops which hitherto had resisted Aguinaldo's claims to dictatorship. At a meeting of twenty leaders of the Filipinos on September 5, eighteen of them declared in favor of annexation to the United States. Aguinaldo, on September 10, demanded the right to occupy part of Manila. His demand was refused by General Otis, who ordered him to remove his forces by a given day to avoid trouble. Aguinaldo removed his headquarters to Malolos on the railroad forty miles north of Manila. It was on October 10 that the open arrogance of Aguinaldo asserted itself. He refused to permit a burial party from the British ship Powerful to pass into the city carrying arms. For this he was reproved by the American commanders, and he apologized. October 16 Aguinaldo again took the offensive, refusing to permit the American schooner Mermanos to load. Following that report came the report of a battle between Americans and insurgents, which was exaggerated, but showed the seriousness of the situation. The same day the Czar of Russia suggested a joint note from the powers to the United States on the Philippine question. Later Aguinaldo refused the request of General Otis for the release of Spanish priests held as captives by the Filipinos, and General Otis reported the entire island of Panay, with the exception of the City of Iloilo, in the hands of insurgents. On November 14, the Filipino Junta at Hongkong issued a long statement and petition directed to President McKinley, demanding recognition of the insurgents. On November 18, President McKinley issued orders to General Otis to occupy the Islands of Panay and Negros, and for this purpose troops were later sent from Manila on an unsuccessful mission. January 1 came the serious news from Manila that the American forces before Iloilo, under the command of General Miller, were confronted by 6,000 armed Filipinos, who refused them permission to land. The Spanish had yielded Iloilo to the insurgents for the purpose of troubling the Americans. Agoncillo, on January 6, filed a request with the authorities at Washington for an interview with the President to discuss affairs in the Philippines. The next day the government officials were surprised to learn that messages to General Otis to deal mildly with the rebels and not to force a conflict had become known to Agoncillo, and cabled by him to Aguinaldo. At the same time came Aguinaldo's protest against General Otis signing himself "Military Governor of the Philippines." Agoncillo expressed still more violent sentiments during the second week in January. On the 8th of the month he gave out this statement: "In my opinion the Filipino people, whom I represent, will never consent to become a colony dependency of the United States. The soldiers of the Filipino army have pledged their lives that they will not lay down their arms until General Aguinaldo tells them to do so, and they will keep that pledge, I feel confident." On the day after Aguinaldo issued his second proclamation in Manila, in which he threatened to drive the Americans from the islands, called the Deity to witness that their blood would be on their own heads if it was shed, and detailed at greater length the promises he claimed were made by the Americans as to the part of the insurgents in the campaign. The Filipino committees in London, Paris and Madrid about this time telegraphed to President McKinley as follows: "We protest against the disembarkation of American troops at Iloilo. The treaty of peace still unratified, the American claim to sovereignty is premature. Pray reconsider the resolution regarding Iloilo. Filipinos wish for the friendship of America and abhor militarism and deceit." The threats that Manila must be taken never ceased in the rebel camp, and they hung around with sweltering venom, cultivating grievances, like a horde of wolves and panthers, hungry and rabid. At the beginning of February the situation at Manila was regarded as serious, but the officials saw no reason why they could not command it for a time at least. General Otis reported, in connection with some matters pertaining to the shipment home of sick Spanish soldiers, that he could hold out beyond a doubt until his reinforcements arrived, and added that as the news had reached Manila that there was every prospect that the peace treaty would soon be ratified, the effect on the natives had been satisfactory. Sunday morning, February 5, reports were received by the American press that the Filipino insurgents under Aguinaldo had attacked the American lines before Manila, and that a battle had been fought, in which many on both sides had been killed or wounded. When news of the attack of the Filipinos was received at Washington, Agoncillo, the special representative of Aguinaldo, immediately left the capital, taking the first train for Canada. He reached Montreal February 6. In an interview at the latter place he professed not to know that an attack on the American forces at Manila had been planned by his people. Furthermore, he stated it as his belief that no attack had been made as described in the reports. His manner and somewhat evasive statements indicated that he knew more than he cared to tell. His action in fleeing from Washington indicated complicity. One of the immediate results of the Filipinos' attack on Manila was the hastening of the ratification by the Senate of the peace treaty. At 2:45 o'clock, Monday afternoon, February 6, the Senate met in executive session, and three-fourths of an hour later the vote on the ratification of the treaty was announced. It stood 57 for, and 27 against, the absent and paired being six. The treaty was ratified by a majority of 1. The Senators who voted for the treaty were: Aldrich, Allen, Allison, Baker, Burrows, Butler, Carter, Chandler, Clark, Clay, Cullom, Davis, Deboe, Elkins, Fairbanks, Faulkner, Foraker, Frye, Gallinger, Gear, Gray, Hanna, Hansbrough, Harris, Hawley, Jones (Nev.), Kenney, Kyle, Lindsay, Lodge, McBride, McEnery, McLaurin, McMillan, Mantle, Mason, Morgan, Nelson, Penrose, Perkins, Pettus, Platt (Conn.), Platt (N.Y.), Pritchard, Quay, Ross, Sewell, Shoup, Simon, Spooner, Stewart, Sullivan, Teller, Thurston, Warren, Wellington, Wolcott. The Senators who voted against the treaty were: Bacon, Bate, Berry, Caffery, Chilton, Cockrell, Daniel, Gorman, Hale, Heitfeld, Hoar, Jones (Ark.), Mallory, Martin, Mills, Mitchell, Money, Murphy, Pasco, Pettigrew, Rawlins, Roach, Smith, Tillman, Turley, Turner, Vest. Those who were absent and paired were: Cannon and Wilson for, with White against; Proctor and Wetmore for, with Turpie against. The ratification of the treaty was not a party question. Thirty-nine Republicans, ten Democrats, and eight Silver men voted for the treaty, and two Republicans, twenty-two Democrats and three Silver men voted against it. On February 4, Aguinaldo issued the following proclamation: "I order and command: 1. That peace and friendly relations with the Americans be broken and that the latter be treated as enemies, within the limits prescribed by the laws of war. 2. That the Americans captured be held as prisoners of war. 3. That this proclamation be communicated to the consuls and that congress order and accord a suspension of the constitutional guarantee, resulting from the declaration of war." February 5th, Aguinaldo issued a second proclamation in which he said that the outbreak of hostilities was "unjustly and unexpectedly provoked by the Americans." He also spoke of "the constant outrages and taunts which have been causing misery to the Manilans," and referred to the "useless conferences" and contempt shown for the Filipino government as proving a "premeditated transgression of justice and liberty." He called on his people to "sacrifice all upon the altar of honor and national integrity," and insisted that he tried to avoid as far as possible an armed conflict. He claimed that all his efforts "were useless before the unmeasured pride of the Americans," whom he charged as having treated him as a rebel "because I defended the interests of my country and would not become the instrument of their dastardly intentions." He concluded by saying: "Be not discouraged. Our independence was watered freely by the blood of martyrs, and more will be shed in the future to strengthen it. Remember that efforts are not to be wasted that ends may be gained. It is indispensable to adjust our actions to the rules of law and right and to learn to triumph over our enemies. We have fought our ancient oppressors without arms, and we now trust to God to defend us against the foreign foe." _The Official Battle Bulletins_. The messages following were received in the order given. "Manila, February 5.--Adjutant-General, Washington: Have established our permanent lines well out and have driven off the insurgents. The troops have conducted themselves with great heroism. The country about Manila is peaceful, and the city is perfectly quiet. List of casualties to-morrow. _Otis_." "Manila, February 5.--To the Adjutant-General: Insurgents in large force opened attack on our outer lines at 8:45 p. m. last evening; renewed attack several times during night; at 4 o'clock this morning entire line engaged; all attacks repulsed; at daybreak advanced against insurgents, and have driven them beyond the lines they formerly occupied, capturing several villages and their defense works; insurgent loss in dead and wounded large; our own casualties thus far estimated at 175, few fatal. Troops enthusiastic and acting fearlessly. Navy did splendid execution on flanks of enemy; city held in check, and absolute quiet prevails; insurgents have secured a good many Mauser rifles, a few field pieces and quick-firing guns, with ammunition, during last month. _Otis_." "Manila, February 5.--To Adjutant-General: Situation most satisfactory. No apprehension need be felt. Perfect quiet prevails in city and vicinity. List of casualties being prepared, and will be forwarded as soon as possible. Troops in excellent health and spirits. _Otis_." "Manila, February 7.--Adjutant-General, Washington: The insurgent army concentrated around Manila from Luzon provinces, numbered over 20,000, possessing several quick-firing and Krupp field guns. Good portion of enemy armed with Mausers, latest pattern. Two Krupp and great many rifles captured. Insurgents fired great quantity of ammunition. Quite a number of Spanish soldiers in insurgent service who served artillery. Insurgents constructed strong intrenchments near our lines, mostly in bamboo thickets. These our men charged, killing or capturing many of the enemy. Our casualties probably aggregate 250. Full reports to-day. Casualties of insurgents very heavy. Have buried some 500 of their dead and hold 500 prisoners. Their loss, killed, wounded, and prisoners, probably 4,000. "Took waterworks pumping station yesterday, six miles out. Considerable skirmish with enemy, which made no stand. Pumps damaged; will be working in a week. Have number of condensers set up in city, which furnish good water. Troops in excellent spirits. Quiet prevails. _Otis_." "Manila, February 3.--Adjutant-General, Washington: Situation rapidly improving. Reconnaissance yesterday to south several miles; to east to Laguna Bay; to northeast eight miles, driving straggling insurgent troops in various directions, encountering no decided opposition. "Army disintegrated, and natives returning to village, displaying white flag. "Near Caloocan, six miles north, enemy made stand behind entrenchments. Charged by Kansas troops, led by Colonel Funston; close encounter, resulting in rout of enemy, with very heavy loss. "Loss to Kansas troops, Lieutenant Alford killed, six men wounded. "Night of 4th, Aguinaldo issued flying proclamation, charging Americans with initiative, and declared war. "His influence throughout this section destroyed. Now applies for cessation of hostilities and conference. Have declined to answer. "Insurgents' expectation of rising in city on night of 4th unrealized. Provost Marshal-General, with admirable disposition of troops, defeated every attempt. "City quiet. Business resumed. Natives respectful and cheerful. "The fighting qualities of American troops a revelation to all inhabitants. Signed, _Otis_." Secretary Alger sent the following cablegram to General Otis, at Manila: "Accept my best congratulations upon your magnificent victory of Sunday, all the more creditable because you were not the aggressor." "Manila, February 10.--Adjutant-General: Insurgents collected considerable force between Manila and Caloocan, where Aguinaldo is reported to be, and threatened attack and uprising in city. "This afternoon swung left of McArthur division, which is north of Pasig River, into Caloocan, driving enemy easy. "Our left now at Caloocan. Our loss slight; that of insurgents considerable. Particulars in morning. "Attack preceded by one-half hour's firing from two of Admiral Dewey's vessels. "_Otis_." "Manila, February 13.--Adjutant-General, Washington: Everything quiet this morning; business in city resuming former activity. _Otis_." "Manila, February 13.--General Miller reports from Iloilo that that town was taken on the 11th inst., and is held by troops. Insurgents given until evening of 11th to surrender, but their hostile actions brought on an engagement during the morning. Insurgents fired the native portion of town, but little losses to property of foreign inhabitants. No casualties among United States troops reported. "_Otis_." The legal situation, while the treaty was not ratified, and seemed gravely in doubt, was an embarrassment to the executive of the United States. The Philippine question was by the act of the President a special reservation, and it was submitted to the people as too great in scope and various in detail, to be determined by one man, especially as the Philippine Archipelago was so far away from our Pacific shore as to be, according to the average citizen's information, a new departure; and the novelties in a Republic need much consideration. Really the departure is not new--it is in the direct line of the logic of our history. The President exceedingly desired to preserve the peace with the Filipinos, and gave orders not to attack them. He trusted this anxious care would prevent bloodshed. Hence the annoying attitude of waiting acquiesence at Iloilo, and at Manila under almost intolerable provocation. A personal letter from Manila, dated December 8th, and written by a general officer contains this. "Aguinaldo has sent for a new hatter with inflated blocks, and has his people dragging up field guns in face of our outposts. You can draw your own inferences." There is a flavor of bitter humor in this, but the fact is prominent that the desperadoes were quite wild, and had no understanding of themselves or of us, and could acquire it only by getting themselves whipped by us. We quote again from the letter of which we have taken the passage above: "The able and thinking men in this country tell me in unmistakable language that they are in no way prepared to take up the government of these islands. They insist upon the fact that tribunals will have, through lack of native material, to be mixed bodies. They say that with all the harshness that must accompany occupancy, the people here never had as much liberty as they have now, and that they show a strong inclination to abuse what is given them." This is the true story of the Philippine people wherever there has been a free and intelligent expression. Our army did not go to Manila to harm the Filipinos who have the misfortune to become infatuated with the malicious vanity of those who have surrounded themselves with a cloud of superstition and all the inventions of falsehood. It was necessary that Americans should protect themselves, or yield the country to the destructiveness of barbarism, and they have defended Americanism and civilization. The dragging of field pieces to bear upon our pickets was with the purpose of bringing American soldiers into contempt, at once, and to force fighting ultimately. The poor men who became victims were deluded and carried their defiance to an intolerable pitch. In the same style employed when he demanded that General Anderson should consult him about getting on Philippine soil, Aguinaldo attempted to intimidate General Otis by inviting a conference, and avowing that he would make war if any more troops were sent to Manila. He would have bloodshed, and is responsible for it, so far as he is an accountable being. It is of the horrors of war that the blood of brave men is shed on both sides of a controversy that has been appealed to the arbitrament of arms, though the origin of the affray may be obscure and the issue uncertain. In the bloodshed around Manila the case is clear and the conclusion certain, and there is the compensation that the heroism, enterprise, activity and dash and continuance of the American soldiers under the most trying circumstances, flame forth, and the glory of our soldiers is equal to that of our sailors in the judgment of the men of all nations. There is something more in this second clash of arms at Manila. It is difficult to find ground harder to carry in offensive movements than the sultry thickets in which the Filipinos were hidden, but our soldiers obeyed all orders to advance with alacrity, energy and enthusiasm, and were eager for their work. The men who can do what ours did at Manila can do anything that may rationally be dared. And in this story of Manila is the testimony that after the volunteers have been seasoned, they do keep step with the dread music of war with the regulars of any race or people, and there can be no national retreat from the duty destiny defines in the Philippines, any more than from the States of the valley that is the heart of the country--the valley watered by the Ohio, the noblest river in the world, that flows westward in the course of empire. The dispatches of General Otis are clear and striking in tone, and may at once be classified as model bulletins of history. He is a most energetic, careful, studious and laborious soldier, bearing himself with the dignity of a man modest as brave, and full of kindliness, but determined in discipline, knowing it to be for the common good. He is resolute in demanding that the requisitions shall be according to the forms, and those associated with him must respect the regulations. The objection to him of those who seek one is that he attends too much to details, but that is well when the commander is absolute in duty and has an appetite for hard work before which the small matters disappear as by magic and the greater ones are conquered by force of habit. The scenery of the battle fields around Manila should be carefully regarded and remembered. The bay is a vast sheet nearly thirty miles in length, with a width exceeding twenty miles. The shores of the bay are low--not more than six feet at most, above high tide. They are also sandy and soft, resembling in some respects the banks of Louisiana rivers, but no levees are attempted. The famous Pasig river is only twenty miles long, and drains a large lake, in which there is an immense multiplication of vegetable growth that floats perpetually to the Bay, and is called "lilies," though having the look of small cabbages. The stream is almost as broad as the Ohio, and, in its snaky turns, crooked as the Mississippi. The banks seem to be prevented from washing away by the dense matting of grasses, and the overhanging thickets, imposing in luxuriance. The houses are close to the water, for the tidal river does not rise and fall enough to disturb the inhabitants. There are mountains a few miles away east and south--big lumps of blue. The stream that furnishes pure water to Manila is from the mountains, and tapped near the mouth, where it empties into the Pasig, seven miles from the city. Manila is widespread, and of structures whose height has been moderated by experience of earthquakes. There is a great deal of marshy land, and rice fields, and the jungles, so thick and thorny, and the grasses so tall, fibrous, and rasping, that the marching of columns of soldiers is excessively fatiguing. It was a terrible task that was cut out for our men, by the delay in the Senate, mischievously elongated, the insurgents having fortified themselves in a way that they knew would have been utterly impervious by Spaniards. The military leaders of the Filipinos have the explanation to offer, if they have the enlightenment to comprehend their own predicament, as a discomfited mass of fugitives, that they never, before the American regulars and volunteers charged them, met soldiers who would not have retreated in dismay from the fiery ambuscades. The achievement of the Americans in confronting, rushing and routing the array, formidable in numbers, of natives, gathered with great expectations of a victory that would convert them into the barbaric conquerors of a civilized community--the consecutive and conclusive victories over them that covered our arms, will have honorable distinction, of putting soldiers to the proof and finding them pure steel, for a long time to come. Our boys, weary of the aggressive attitude of the still insurgent crowds, though the power of Spain had been broken, welcomed with cheers the order to charge; and it has been many days since there has been a trial of manliness more severe, or testimony of devotion more true, and of the staunch fighting quality of the troops whose only way out of difficulty was to find the enemy and drive them headlong. It is not to be forgotten, while the flag of the nation flies, that the brave regiments that will bear upon their banners the name Manila, with the dates of February, 1899, are from all sections of the country, from the Alleghenies to the Pacific. They come from western Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Wisconsin, the Dakotas, Oregon, Washington, Wyoming, Utah, Montana, Idaho, and California, and as Admiral Dewey said so well of the crews of his ships on his immortal May day, "There was not a man in the fleet who did not do his duty, and no man did more." It is, as Admiral Schley said of the famous naval victory on the Southern Cuban coast, "There is glory enough to go around." Take the list of regiments and batteries and troops in the Eighth Army Corps, under the command of Major-General E.S. Otis, and there is but one record--each officer and enlisted man was in his place, and all are worthy to be glorified, for their dashing rushes through the swamps and the hideous tropic tangles, they penetrated to find the foe, equally with those heroes who mounted with unquailing ardor that only death could quench and that victory crowned the bloody hills of Santiago. The easy capture of Iloilo proves the inadequacy of the followers of Aguinaldo to do any mischief beyond bushwhacking, and it will not be found worth while to pursue the natives who made an occupation of war far into the jungles. The complete possession of the railroad by our troops will be necessary, and the navy will have business for light vessels in preventing the smuggling of Japanese arms, which are, no doubt, furnished at low rates for special purposes. Two proclamations have appeared in the Philippines--one by General Otis, the American General commanding the Eighth Army Corps, and the other by Aguinaldo, that make clear in a few words the policy of those engaged in the war that has followed the downfall of the sovereignty of Spain over the bits of the archipelago they occupied. General Otis said, January 4th, that the "United States forces came to give the blessings of peace and individual freedom to the Philippine people. We are here as friends of the Filipinos to protect them in their homes, their employments, their individual and religious liberty. All persons who, either by active aid or honest endeavor, co-operate with the government of the United States to give effect to these beneficient purposes will receive the reward of its support and protection." The General quoted the instructions of the President, and remarked: "I am fully of the opinion that it is the intention of the United States government, while directing affairs generally, to appoint the representative men now forming the controlling element of the Filipinos to civil positions of trust and responsibility, and it will be my aim to appoint to these such Filipinos as may be acceptable to the supreme authorities at Washington. "It is also my belief that it is the intention of the United States Government to draw from the Filipino people so much of the military force of the islands as possible and consistent with a free and well-constituted government of the country, and it is my desire to inaugurate a policy of that character. "I am also convinced that it is the intention of the United States government to seek the establishment of a most liberal government for the islands, in which the people themselves shall have as full representation as the maintenance of order and law will permit, and which shall be susceptible of development on lines of increased representation and the bestowal of increased powers into a government as free and independent as is enjoyed by the most favored provinces of the world. "It will be my constant endeavor to co-operate with the Filipino people, seeking the good of the country, and I invite their full confidence and aid." Aguinaldo, on this conciliatory definition of American purposes, objects to General Otis calling himself "Military Governor," and cries out, with "all the energy of his soul against such authority," and alludes to the policy of the President referring to the Philippine annexation, adding: "I solemnly protest, in the name of God, the root and fountain of all justice and of all right, and who has given to me power to direct my dear brothers in the difficult work of our regeneration, against this intrusion of the government of the United States in the sovereignty of these islands. "And so, you must understand, my dear brothers, that, united by bonds which it will be impossible to break, such is the idea of our liberty and our absolute independence, which have been our noble aspirations, all must work together to arrive at this happy end, with the force which gives conviction, already so generally felt, among all the people, to never turn back in the road of glory, on which we have already so far advanced." President McKinley, on the evening of February l5th, addressed at the Boston Home Market Club banquet, all civilized nations, setting forth the policy of the United States in the Philippines, saying: "The Philippines, like Cuba and Porto Rico, were intrusted to our hands by the war, and to that great trust, under the providence of God and in the name of human progress and civilization, we are committed. It is a trust from which we will not flinch. "There is universal agreement that the Philippines shall not be turned back to Spain. No true American would consent to that. "The suggestions that they should be tossed into the arena for the strife of nations or be left to the anarchy or chaos of no protectorate at all were too shameful to be considered. The treaty gave them to the United States. Could we have required less and done our duty? "Our concern is not for territory, or trade, or empire, but for the people whose interests and destiny were put in our hands. "It is not a good time for the liberator to submit important questions to the liberated while they are engaged in shooting down their rescuers. "The future of the Philippine Islands is now in the hands of the American people. "I know of no better or safer human tribunal than the people. "Until Congress shall direct otherwise, it will be the duty of the executive to possess and hold the Philippines. "That the inhabitants of the Philippines will be benefited is my unshaken belief. "No imperial designs lurk in the American mind. They are alien to American sentiment." There is a directness of purpose and precision of statement about this that bears the stamp of sincerity, is impressive with the power of authority, and shines with the spirit of patriotism. CHAPTER XXIX The Aguinaldo War of Skirmishes. The Filipino Swarms, After Being Repulsed with Slaughter, Continue Their Scattering Efforts to Be Assassins--They Plan a General Massacre and the Burning of Manila--Defeated in Barbarous Schemes, They Tell False Tales and Have Two Objects, One to Deceive the People of the Philippines, the Other to Influence Intervention--The Peril of Fire--Six Thousand Regulars Sent to General Otis--Americans Capture Iloilo and Many Natives Want Peace--The People of the Isla of Negros Ask That They May Go with Us--Dewey Wants Battleships and Gunboats, Gets Them, and Is Made an Admiral--Arrival of Peace Commissioners, with Their School Books, Just Ahead of the Regulars with Magazine Rifles--The Germans at Manila Salute Admiral Dewey at Last. The activity of the Aguinaldo insurgents was persisted in, while their commissioners were on the way to us, and ours to them. While Congress was in a reactionary state owing to political games, and many members tearful on the side of the barbarians, there was a desperate conspiracy to massacre the white people of Manila and destroy the city by fire; and fighting was going on along our extended lines, the Filipinos shooting at Americans from the jungles. On February 15th the California Volunteers abandoned Guadalupe church and retired to San Pedro Macati, and the Filipinos held ambuscades near the Pasig River. It was reported that on the night of the 14th the retirement of General King's advance posts upon San Pedro Macati had evidently been construed by the rebels as a sign of weakness, as they pressed forward along both sides of the river, persistently harassing the occupants of the town. The rebels poured volley after volley into San Pedro Macati from the brush on the adjacent ridge, but without effect. General King's headquarters, in the center of the town, was the target for scores of bullets. The rebels were using smokeless powder and it was extremely difficult to locate individual marksmen. The heat was intense and increasing perceptibly. It was impossible to provide shade for the troops in parts of the line. On the 21st the following remarkable dispatch was received from General Otis: "Manila, Feb. 21.--Adjutant-General, Washington: Following issued by an important officer of insurgent government at Malolos February 15, 1899, for execution during that evening and night in this city: "'You will so dispose that at 8 o'clock at night the individuals of the territorial militia at your order will be found united in all of the streets of San Pedro, armed with their bolos and revolvers or guns and ammunition, if convenient. "'Philippine families only will be respected. They should not be molested, but all other individuals, of whatever race they may be, will be exterminated without any compassion after the extermination of the army of occupation. "'The defenders of the Philippines in your command will attack the guard at Bilibid and liberate the prisoners and "presidiarios," and, having accomplished this, they will be armed, saying to them: "'"Brothers, we must avenge ourselves on the Americans and exterminate them, that we may take our revenge for the infamy and treachery which they have committed upon us; have no compassion upon them; attack with vigor. All Filipinos en masse will second you. Long live Filipino independence." "'The order which will be followed in the attack will be as follows: The sharpshooters of Tondo and Santa Ana will begin the attack from without and these shots will be the signal for the militia of Troso Binondo, Quiata and Sampaloe to go out into the street and do their duty; those of Pake, Ermita and Malate, Santa Cruz and San Miguel will not start out until 12 o'clock unless they see that their companions need assistance. "'The militia of Tondo will start out at 3 o'clock in the morning; if all do their duty our revenge will be complete. Brothers, Europe contemplates us; we know how to die as men, shedding our blood in defense of the liberty of our country. Death to the tyrants. "'War without quarter to the false Americans who have deceived us. "'Either independence or death.'" There is not sufficient reason to assume that this paper setting forth an order to carry out a conspiracy of house burning and assassination is beyond belief. It is characteristic of the Filipino literature that relates to Americans. General Otis is a man whose communications may be relied upon absolutely. He is a believer in the exact truth and has shown exemplary care in stating it. The Filipino faction of warriors are habitually false, and wherever they have an agent, are circulating falsehoods manufactured to order. The Junta of the Aguinaldo pretenders, issued at Hongkong a statement as follows: "Information which has leaked through the Pinkertons, sent by President McKinley to investigate the shipment of arms to the Filipinos, shows that the first shipments to Aguinaldo were made by order of the American government, through Consul Wildman, hence the shipment per the Wing Foi. The American government subsequently telegraphed to cease this, coincident with the change of policy to annexation. "Mr. Wildman and Rear Admiral Dewey promised to pay, but have not yet paid, for a subsequent expedition by the Abbey, authorized by Admiral Dewey, who afterward seized the steamer, and it is still held. Papers respecting this are now in the possession of the Secretary of the Navy. "The protestations of Admiral Dewey and other Americans that they made no promises are ridiculous. In view of these facts let the American people judge how the nation's word of honor was pledged to the Filipinos and confided in by them, and violated by the recent treachery of General Otis." There may be an occasional member of Congress who cannot help believing this, but he does not allow his ignorance to be moderated by any ingredient of information. On the same day the above publication appeared there was given at Hongkong to the American Consul, Wildman, news of the "discovery of 20,000 rifles and 2,000,000 cartridges stored on lighters at Nankin by Filipinos and ready for shipment to the islands. The American Minister promptly induced the Chinese authorities to impound the munitions, thus inflicting a hard blow to Aguinaldo. "The extraordinary thing is that the Japanese government sold the arms to the regular agent of the Filipinos at Yokohama, although, for the sake of appearances, a form of auction was used. The Japanese officials, it develops, offered 100,000 rifles, with machinery for loading and ammunition, to the Filipinos in September. "Traitorous Americans here are aiding the insurgents to smuggle arms. Agoncillo's dispatches are leading the Filipinos to believe President McKinley intends to treat with them." The official correspondence of the American Consuls at Singapore, Manila and Hongkong with the State Department, proves that there was no treaty with Aguinaldo, no deception so far as our Government was concerned, and that he was a professor of Americanism, talking of annexation and a protectorate and his gratitude; and then a sulking and swollen little creature; as Wildman wrote, a spoiled child, requiring flatteries to keep him in a good humor. Admiral Dewey was very careful never to promise Aguinaldo anything--giving him some old guns and encouraging him to keep the Spaniards busy, but never presuming or allowing it to be assumed that he was speaking for our Government. By way of Seattle we have an extract of a letter written by an insurgent officer at Hongkong in these terms: "More than 25,000 families have left Manila since we began our war on the Americans. American soldiers are deserting and presenting themselves to our officers. In order to get the American troops who were ordered to Iloilo on board the transport many of the men had first been made drunk, others were embarked forcibly. They all protested against going, saying that they had come to fight Spaniards, not Filipinos. After the boat got under way the men mutinied. Many jumped overboard and swam ashore. Those who remained began to wreck all parts of the vessel." The intensity of the folly of the Filipinos making war upon the United States is on exhibition in this letter, and it is serviceable as a measure of their intelligence. It is with this equipment of elementary knowledge that Agoncillo is in Europe to solicit the intervention of the great powers for his country and asserts that he lost Dewey's letters in a shipwreck. He should exploit his mission in Madrid. It was on the nights of the 22nd and 23d of February that an effort was made by the Filipinos to burn Manila. The attempt to destroy property closely resembled in the stealthy preliminaries, and desperate strife to burn the city, the cunningly prepared first attack upon the American army, repulsed with a slaughter that has moved deeply the sympathies of our statesmen opposed to the administration of our Government the growth of the country and the public honor. The fact is they are sentimentalists in decay or degenerates running for a decline and fall. There was some fighting in the streets during the night, but the Americans quickly quelled the uprising. A number of the insurgents were killed and several American soldiers severely wounded. A large market place was the first to burn. Between six and seven hundred residences and business houses were destroyed. Fires started at several points simultaneously, and, spreading with great rapidity, resisted efforts to control them. Hundreds of homeless natives were huddled in the streets, making the patrol duty of the Americans difficult. The fire was started in three places. Native sharpshooters were concealed behind corner buildings. They shot at every American in sight. Flames burst forth simultaneously from Santa Cruz, San Nicolas and Tondo. From these points the fire spread. In a short time a great part of the city was burning. Notwithstanding the continual activity of the hidden sharpshooters the American garrison turned out and fought the fire. In many cases they had first to drive away the lurking assassins. No one of our troops was killed, but seven members of the Minnesota regiment ere wounded making a rush into the burning Tondo quarter. Captain C. Robinson of Company C was one of the wounded. The troops were rallied from some of the outlying encampments, quickly spread through all parts of the city and subdued what was evidently planned for a general uprising and massacre. The fire lasted all night. The native rebels in the city have been completely checked by the prompt work of General Otis and the other commanders. It is evident that the incendiaries and assassins believed that the entire town would be destroyed and with it the foreign residents and the American soldiers. General Otis telegraphed Adjutant-General Corbin February 23d: "Determined endeavors to burn city last night. Buildings fired in three different sections of city. Fires controlled by troops, after severe labor. "A considerable number of incendiaries shot and a few soldiers wounded. "Early this morning a large body of insurgents made a demonstration off MacArthur's front, near Caloocan, and were repulsed. Loss of property by fire last night probably $500,000." February 21st, 9:35 P. M.--"The natives of the village of Paco made a bold attempt last night to burn the quarters of the First Washington Volunteers by setting fire to the huts adjoining their quarters in the rear. "Fortunately the wind changed at the moment the fire was discovered, and, fanned by a stiff breeze, the flames spread in the opposite direction, destroying fully twenty shacks and houses opposite the ruins of the church. The incendiaries escaped. "Mysterious signals were frequently made along the enemy's lines during the night." From the high points in the city fires were seen in a dozen places, and a cloud of smoke hovered over the city, conveying the impression to people about the bay and in the outside districts that the whole city was burning. On the 21st of February the Nebraska troops drove a force of 300 insurgents three miles to Pasig. Twenty-one of them were found dead on the field and many more were believed to have been killed. The Americans had three wounded. A most serious problem confronts General Otis in the protection of Manila and the suburban towns from fire, not only because of the treacherous character of the rebel Filipinos, but also because outside of the business establishments the houses are built of the flimsiest bamboo, hung with matting screens. Even the floors are made of strips of bamboo, separated so as to allow the free circulation of air. It is within the power of almost any person to set fire to these houses from without or within in a few seconds, and, as they are closely built, the ravages of a single fire in a quarter so closely constructed might easily reach the $500,000 point mentioned by General Otis. The foreign quarter is of better construction, but still includes many of these light bamboo houses, which the older residents seem to find cooler than those of more solid construction. The walled town, which the insurgents threaten to burn, is said to be of substantial structures, and probably is more easily defended against such an attempt than any other section of the town. February 26th, 6:30 A. M., a dispatch was received from Colombo, Island of Colon, as follows: "The United States transport Grant, which sailed from New York for Manila January 19 with troops under command of Major-General Henry W. Lawton on board, arrived here to-day. General Lawton received a cablegram from Major-General Otis saying: "'Situation critical. Your early arrival necessary.' "He also received from General Corbin, United States Adjutant-General, a cable dispatch urging him to hurry. "General Lawton ordered his officers to buy supplies regardless of expense, and the transport is taking on coal and water hurriedly. She will try to reach Manila without further stop." March 4th a dispatch from General Lawton on the Grant at Singapore was received as follows: "Arrived here to-night. Will stop six hours for coal. Have no serious illness to report. Favorable conditions still continue. "We shall probably reach Manila early on morning of March 10. Have so informed Otis." This shows the strong impression the Manila news made in the War Department, of the attempt to burn the city, which was part of the announced plan of the insurgents. Filipino spies and sympathizers had been watched by the American troops day and night seeking to locate places of weakness. Many were captured. Some of them were disguised in women's clothing. Plots of all kinds were rife. There had been constant fear for weeks in the city that a massacre and conflagration would be attempted. General Otis warned his officers to be ever vigilant. Since the first battle our troops have guarded all quarters within the lines. The conclusion of the very serious phase of the incendiary period was announced by General Otis in this dispatch: "Manila, Feb. 24.--To Secretary of War, Washington: Scandia arrived last night. On nights 21st and 22d and yesterday morning insurgent troops gained access to outskirts of city behind our lines. Many in hiding and about 1,000 intrenched themselves. Completely routed yesterday, with loss of killed and wounded about 500 and 200 prisoners. Our loss was slight. City quiet, confidence restored, business progressing. _Otis_." On the afternoon of February 25th it was stated in a Manila cablegram that the military police had raided several suspected houses in various districts, capturing small bodies of twenty or thirty prisoners in each place. This and the 7 o'clock order effectually dispelled the fears of a threatened outbreak of the natives, who do not dare singly, or collectively, to appear on the streets after dark. The feeling in the city decidedly improved, although the Chinese were timorous. Hundreds of applicants for cedulus besiege the register's office, the natives apparently being under the impression that their possession insures them from interference and the ignominy of being searched for arms on the streets. There was a mystery lasting a day or two about this unusual cable communication: "Manila, Feb. 24.--To Secretary of Navy, Washington: For political reasons the Oregon should be sent here at once. _Dewey_." It was not a secret, however, in Manila Bay in August that Admiral Dewey wanted two battleships, just as he wanted and had needed two monitors, and that he then preferred the Oregon and the Iowa. He has deemed it of the utmost importance that he should have a force at Manila Bay superior to that of any other power. The German fleet had for a considerable part of the time since the destruction of the Spanish squadron been in a menacing attitude. The Germans were ostentatious in discourtesy during Admiral Diedrich's personal presence. The Congress of the United States that was so divided and distracted about the Philippine question was unanimous as to the pre-eminent merits as a naval commander of George Dewey, though he was the embodiment of all the anti-Americans railed at. This is the official paper that proclaims Dewey's promotion: "_President_ of the United States of America. "To All Who Shall See These Presents: Greeting: "Know ye, that, reposing special trust and confidence in the patriotism, valor and fidelity and abilities of "_George Dewey_. I have nominated, and by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, do appoint him Admiral of the Navy from the second day of March, 1899, in the service of the United States. "He is, therefore, carefully and diligently to discharge the duties of Admiral by doing and performing all manner of duties thereto belonging. "And I do strictly charge and require all officers, seamen and marines under his command to be obedient to his orders as Admiral. "And he is to observe and follow such orders and directions from time to time as he shall receive from me or the future President of the United States of America. "Given under my hand at Washington the second day of March, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and ninety-nine, and in the one hundred and twenty-third year of the independence of the United States. "By the President: _William M'Kinley_. "_John D. Long_, Secretary of the Navy." The Admiral personally responded, cabling to the Secretary of the Navy: "Manila, March 4.--Please accept for yourself, the President and Congress and my countrymen my heartfelt thanks for the great honor which has been conferred upon me. _Dewey_." He will draw from the Government $14,700 a year, including allowances, and is entitled to a larger staff. His direct pay is $13,000 per annum, a rise of $7,000. He outranks any officer in the United States army, the fact being that Rear Admirals rank with the Major-Generals, who are the highest officers at present in the army, and Dewey is a full Admiral. This is the result of not being afraid of torpedoes or to risk ships in front of shore batteries. On the 3rd of March the President nominated Brigadier-General Elwell S. Otis, U.S.A., to be Major-General by brevet, to rank from February 4, 1899, for military skill and most distinguished service in the Philippine Islands. The nomination was confirmed by the Senate. Secretary Alger sent the following congratulatory message to General Otis: "You have been nominated and confirmed a Major-General by brevet in the Regular Army. The President wishes this message of congratulations sent you, in which I cordially join." The Spanish way of dealing with unfortunate officers appears in this: "Madrid, Friday.--Admiral Montojo, who was in command of the Spanish squadron destroyed by Admiral Dewey in the battle of Manila Bay, and the commander of the Cavite arsenal were this evening incarcerated in the military prison pending trial for their conduct at Manila. Admiral Cervera has also been imprisoned, along with General Linares, the two men in the Spanish service who gave the Americans trouble. The Colon Gazette on the 23d of February publishes extracts from a private letter dated Iloilo, January 12, that prior to the conclusion of peace Lieutenant Brandeis, formerly of the Twenty-first Baden Dragoons, with 800 Spanish troops, held the town against 20,000 to 30,000 Filipinos, who were monkeying about and assuming to be conducting a siege, just as the Aguinaldo crowd was doing at Manila when General Merritt arrived. When peace was declared the Iloilo Spaniards presently surrendered and the Filipinos rushed in as conquering heroes. The pacific policy of the President prevented the United States troops from taking the place from the swarm of islanders until the outbreak in front of Manila, when our strict defensive was unavailable and General Miller quietly occupied and possessed Iloilo, the important sugar-exporting town of the Philippines. The natives of the Island of Negros sent a delegation to General Miller, after he had captured Iloilo, to offer their allegiance to the United States, and the General holds Jaro and Molo, where there has been skirmishing recently. The insurgents have 2,000 men at Santa Barbara. The governor of Camarines, in the interior of Luzon, has issued a proclamation declaring that the Americans intend to make the Filipinos slaves. March 4th the United States cruiser Baltimore arrived at Manila having on board the civil members of the United States Philippine Commission. On the same day the rebels of the village of San Jose fired on the United States gunboat Bennington and the warship shelled that place and other suburbs of Manila in the afternoon. At daylight General Wheaton's outposts discovered a large body of rebels attempting to cross the river for the purpose of re-enforcing the enemy at Guadalupe. A gunboat advanced under a heavy fire and poured shot into the jungle on both sides of the river and shelled the enemy's position at Guadalupe, effectually but temporarily scattering the rebels. The enemy's loss was heavy. American loss, one killed and two wounded. General Otis cabled: "The transport Senator just arrived; troops in good health. One casualty, accidental drowning. _Otis_." The Senator carried Companies A, B, C, D, H and K of the Twenty-second Infantry and sailed from San Francisco on February 1. The remainder of this regiment arrived at Manila on the transport Ohio, which followed the Senator. The transport Valentia sailed from San Francisco March 4th, carrying in addition to 150 soldiers, stores and supplies, $1,500,000 to pay the soldiers now in the Philippines. March 3d general order No. 30 was issued from the Adjutant-General's office, War Department of the United States: "The following regiments will be put in readiness for service in the Philippine Islands without delay, the movement to take place from time to time under instructions to be communicated hereafter: Sixth Artillery, Sixth Infantry, Ninth Infantry, Thirteenth Infantry, Sixteenth Infantry and Twenty-first Infantry. "The following troops will he put in readiness for early departure for station in Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands: "Twenty-fourth Infantry, one field officer and four companies; one company from Fort Douglas, Utah, and three companies from Fort D. A. Russell, Wyoming. "The department commanders are charged with the preparation of their commands for these movements. The Quartermaster-General will make timely arrangements for the transportation of the various commands. The Commissary-General of Subsistence and the Surgeon-General will make necessary provision for proper subsistence and medical supplies and attendance." This means that our army at Manila will he re-enforced by 6,000 regulars. Recent advices show that Aniceto Lanson, President of Negros Island, called on General Otis with his fellow-delegates, Pose De Luzuriago, President of Negros Congress; Gosebio Luzuriago, Secretary of Finance, and Deputy Andries Azcoule. They assured General Otis of the hearty support of the Visayas except those few who have been stirred into revolt by the agents of Aguinaldo on the Island of Panay. The government of Negros, they declared, was in favor of American rule, and there was no adverse sentiment whatever among the natives. The stars and stripes are now floating over all the official buildings on the island. The commission offered to raise an army of 100,000 Visayans to fight the Tagalos on the Island of Luzon. The commissioners represent large sugar-interests in Negros. The Negros Island deputation was greatly pleased with its reception. Admiral Dewey's flag as a full American Admiral was saluted becomingly by all the warships of foreign nations at Manila, even including the Germans, who had not until then showed the Americans any significant courtesy. The English led the function with an Admiral's salute. There was no novelty in this, for they long ago in every friendly way recognized Manila as an American port. The Germans have given signal manifestation of their desire to promote the most cordial relations between Germany and the United States by ordering the withdrawal of all vessels of their navy from Philippine waters and placing the lives and property of their subjects there under the protection of the United States Government. A Hongkong dispatch of February 28 contained this information: "Professors Schurman and Worcester to-day, after a long consultation with Wildman, who is looked upon as one of the best-posted men in the Orient in regard to Philippine affairs, expressed themselves as satisfied with the outlook. "They are especially pleased with the action of President McKinley in restoring to the wealthy Cortes family the great estates illegally confiscated by the Spaniards. "'It is good politics,' said a leading member of the Hongkong colonial cabinet to-day. 'It will seal to America every Filipino who possesses property. It is the hardest blow Aguinaldo has suffered.'" Admiral Dewey is strengthened by gunboats enough to keep out the Filipino supplies of arms picked up in Asia, and Congress may not be making a noise agreeable to our enemies for the rest of this year. There is compensation in the omission. There will be no European or American interference in the process of pacificating the military faction of Filipinos, who are ungrateful and murderous, during the rest of the last year of the century. Hugh Brown, an Englishman, who arrived at Hongkong from Manila February 11, gives in detail evidence of the conspiracy of the insurgent swarms in attacking the American army. He was at a circus where there were no natives when our soldiers were called out. They behaved nobly, disarming natives, but not killing them. There was mysterious shooting going on in the city "when an American shell struck a tree 200 yards away, and four natives dropped to the ground. The trees were found to be full of hiding natives, using smokeless powder." Aguinaldo was fifty miles away and telegraphed Admiral Dewey that he was not to blame, and for God's sake to stop the firing of the fleet. Captain Frazer of London, late of the Imperial British forces, arrived at Vancouver direct from Hongkong March 8th, and gave this account of the declining health of Admiral Dewey: "The war at Manila will have to end soon or the life of the great American Admiral will be worth nothing. "I dined with him at Manila within a month, and am convinced that if he is not relieved of the terrible strain imposed upon him he cannot last a month longer. As he sat at the banquet table, surrounded by his staff, he looked to me like a dying man. His hair is snowy white, his face ashen, and he ate hardly anything. "I had the pleasure of a few minutes' conversation with him when we retired to the smoking-room. Having in mind his enfeebled appearance., I asked him if he thought of returning to America soon. "'I would like to, but my work is by no means finished here. When it is, and only then, will I return.' "I am thoroughly convinced that only the Admiral's indomitable will has kept him up so long. The strain on him is terrible, and the climatic conditions have reduced him to a shadow. "One of his officers said to me just before I left Manila: "'The war will be ended by the Admiral soon or it will end him. No man can stand such a strain as he does in this climate and live long.'" If this is to be literally accepted, and we may hope that it is overstated, there has been a distressingly unfavorable change within five months in the Admiral. His trouble is said to be with his liver. There is no question the strain upon him has been more wearing than the public have realized. Last summer his anxieties afflicted him with insomnia at night, and he has not for a day since he left Hongkong in April been free from burdens of harrassing care. His last words on the deck of the China to the Author of this Book were that the President had invited him to go home and counsel with him, but he had written the substance of what he held to be the way to deal with the Philippines, and would not leave Manila Bay "without peremptory orders to go, until all things here are settled--settled--settled," a characteristic repetition of the important word. He had already stated he wanted "two battleships" and the Oregon and Iowa were accordingly ordered to join him. Instead of anticipating pleasure from the ovations that thousands of letters and all callers assure him he could not avoid in this country he sincerely dreads them, and when told what the inevitable was whenever he put his foot on his native shore he said: "That would be very distasteful to me." He is human, and, of course, not insensible of the boundless compliment of the endless enthusiasm of the public regarding him, but he habitually insists that every man in his fleet did his duty on the day of battle and victory, and it would be "injustice to brave men if one man got all the glory." The Admiral knows the President's invitation to him to come home is a standing one, and no limit on it, but the sense of duty of the Admiral, in whose judgment there is perfect confidence, forbids. The information of his declining health will certainly result in his recall overruling his personal feeling and official purpose, if it is believed that there is danger he is sacrificing himself. NOTES [1] In another chapter of this story of the Philippines will be found Senor Filipe Agoncillo's personal account of this affair. [2] Principally to Singapore. [3] Principally to Japan. [4] Principally to Singapore. [5] Tagalo.--Name of one of the tribes of Indians inhabiting the Philippine Islands.--Trans. Note. [6] Tinapa.--Small white-bait fish, which, mixed with rice, constitutes the daily diet of the lower class of natives in the Philippine Islands.--Trans. Note. [7] Gallego.--Native of Galicia, northwestern Province in Spain. On account of their healthy and robust constitution, the lower class of Gallego are found employed in the hardest work throughout the country, where physical strength is necessary, although they are considered slow and lazy. Their predominant characteristic seems to be an insatiable greed of hoarding money.--Trans. Note. [8] Cataluna.--Province of Spain, which capital is Barcelona.--Trans. Note. [9] This account of Magellan is from Antonio de Marga's rare volume published in Mexico.