The large central plaza has pretty gardens and a cathedral.
There are three manufactories of chocolate for the use of the people in
the surrounding country. Sugar, coffee, oranges, pineapples and
cocoanuts are brought here to be shipped to the United States and other
countries.
Near the city are white-gypsum quarries; also medicinal baths, to which
many invalids and travelers go.
The only Protestant church in the West Indies is the Episcopal church
here.
On the outskirts of Ponce is an old cemetery, in which many famous
Puerto Ricans of an early day were buried. It is quite different from
our idea of a cemetery. It is one solid mass of masonry built into the
side of a hill. In this are narrow vaults, one above the other.
[Illustration: A FUNERAL PROCESSION.]
The openings of these vaults look much like bakers' ovens. The bottom
vaults are used first, and when a body is laid in one of them it is
sealed up and the name of the deceased graven on the outside. The next
member of the family who dies is placed in the vault above; and so on,
each family having a tier of vaults.
As carriages and hearses are rare objects in Ponce, the coffin is
sometimes carried on the shoulders of men. The procession is often
composed of those attracted by curiosity, rather than the friends and
relatives of the deceased.
The people of Ponce are wide-awake, progressive and anxious to better
their condition. They are also more hospitable and friendly than in
other towns.
It was here that the American army under General Miles proceeded in
1898, after landing at Guanica. The troops received a hearty welcome
from the inhabitants.
The people were glad to be relieved from Spanish rule, and wished to
have their land annexed to the United States.
A proclamation of welcome was issued to the soldiers, feasts were
spread, and the stars and stripes floated from many house tops.
THE MILITARY ROAD.
Now we are ready to return to San Juan, going northward over the great
military road, one of the finest highways in the world.
It is macadamized, is fifty feet wide, ninety-seven miles in length, and
smooth and even as a boulevard. It crosses mountains which reach a
height of almost four thousand feet. It winds in and out among the
coffee-covered hills, giving us a fine view of the green mountains and
the deep valleys below.
Looking down we see patches of sugar cane and tobacco; groves of
bananas, cocoanut, and palm trees; hedges of strange growth; unknown
plants and vines, and fern-covered rocks.
Here and there is a rude cabin surrounded by bread-fruit and banana
trees. We pass picturesque little towns with blue and yellow houses and
quaint churches, their spires towering upward. In fifteen hours we would
reach San Juan, but we delay our journey in order to obtain a closer
view of the scenery and of the homes of the people.
