Little Journey to Puerto Rico Part 4

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 cla.s.ses: the upper cla.s.s of white Puerto Ricans; the lower cla.s.s 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 cla.s.s of white Puerto Ricans is descended from Spanish stock, and in this cla.s.s 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 cla.s.ses 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 coa.r.s.e. The laboring men cut their hair short in the neck, and wear a thick bang on the forehead.

[Ill.u.s.tration: 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 bas.e.m.e.nt, 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.