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).