isa-normaladvance-1903-00174

Description:	174THE NOEMAL ADVANCE.pugulistic, or monetary, could lure those clothesout of the possession of the laundress before thenext Saturday.Fleas and beggars were our constant companions, and flesh and spirit soon acquired a highlyirritated condition that strained our amiability tothe breaking point. The beggars came singly orin parties and camped on the entrance steps. Theyfrequently remained for an hour at a time evenwhen we paid not the slightest attention to them,and at regular intervals came the mendicant wail,Alms, for the love of Mary! As for the fleas,they camped on our persons day in and day outuntil we feared our minds would give way underthe strain.All of this filth and degreclation rendered intolerable a town which nature has adorned in beautybeyond way comparison. From the beach thetown extends up to the tops of the foothills, whoseslopes are always green with grass and shrubs.The banana and cocoanut palms, most picturesque of tropical trees, are to be found everywhere.Scattered up the hill sides the flamboyant trees,gorgeous with scarlet blossoms, give a touch ofvivid color to the landscape. Then when the hillsgrow dim and ghostly as twilight conies, the oceanreceives into her embrace the setting sun, whichtransforms the blue sea into a mass of moltencolor that no painter would dare attempt. Dotted here and there are sail boats that loom upspecter-like on the distant horizon. As the colorsfade, the moon, white and luminous as she alwaysshows herself in the tropics, floods the whole scenewith a pure white radiance that penetrates withsoothing touch into the very depths of the troubledsoul.We left Aguadilla on a little Spanish steamer,The Vasco. The engineer was the only person onboard who could talk to us in English. He hadspent some years in New York and had an excellent command of English with only an occasionalforeign idiom or accent. The vessel was small,but well ballasted, and the trip was a keen delightto our warm, flea-ridden bodies and our tired, disgusted minds. One or two English books belong-in? to the engineer, we devoured the first day ortwo out. Our meals were served on the upperdeck and here we walked or lounged all day andlate into the night, When the afternoon rainscame a big canvas awning was spread to protectus. Three Porto Eican dogs with white, soft hair,pointed sensitive ears and noses, and bright, intelligent eyes won our admiration at the first glance.But alas for our frienedly overtures, they couldunderstand no English. We skirted the shorealong which we saw an occasional town. Thehouses, clustering under the protecting hills,looked clean and quiet from that distance. Thecocoanut palms grew close down to the shore, theirlong, frond like leaves stirring in. the ocean breeze.As the rains came on the clouds settled down between the hills covering the landscape with a softgray mist which toned the bright greens to anolive hue and shrouded the crimson flamboyantsin a misty veil through which they shown a paleroseate hue.The engineer gave us an account of the Spanish-American war from the standpoint of theaverage Spaniard, and we listened in respectfulsilence because he had been so very kind to us.But it was a strain on our risibles when he gravelyassured us that the outcome of the war has beenpre-arranged by the heads of the governments,that Spain had found Porto Eico a financial burden for some years past and was glad to unloadher onto the United States. After a six monthssojourn on the Island, I am inclined to credit thatstatement in part, for that would have been a revenge worthy even of Spain, the mother of theInquisition.Wc anchored at Mayaguez, Saturday eveningand remained there over Sunday. Sunday evening we went ashore in the captains boat, A shortwalk brought us to the street car line. The carsare short and wide with but six seats arrangedacross the car, the two middle rows arranged inpairs with one back to two seats. They are drawnby horses and managed by natives. We boardedthe car and went to the Plaza or public square.Here, on Sunday evenings, are to be found theyouth and beauty of the town promenadingaround the square before their admiring elders
Source:	http://indstate.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/isuarchive/id/33988
Collection:	Indiana State University Archives

Further information on this record can be found at its source.