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.]