Read Ebook: Little Journey to Puerto Rico For Intermediate and Upper Grades by George Marian Minnie

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Ebook has 611 lines and 23619 words, and 13 pages

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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