Spanish is the language spoken, and education is but little esteemed.

Every man, no matter how poor, owns a horse and three or four gamecocks.

The small planter is called “Xivaro.”  He is the proud possessor of a sweet-heart, a gamecock, a horse, a hammock, a guitar and a large supply of tobacco.  He is quick tempered but not revengeful, and he is proverbially lazy.

Hospitality is the rule of the island.  The peasants are astonished and hurt when offered money by travellers.  San Juan Harbor is one of the best in the West Indies, and is said to be the third most strongly fortified town in the world, Halifax being the strongest and Cartagena, Spain, the second.

Ponce de Leon, between 1509 and 1518 killed off the natives.

The De Leon palace, built in 1511, is of great interest to tourists.

The climate is warm but pleasant.  At night thick clothing is found comfortable.

All visiting and shopping are done after sundown.

Slavery was abolished in 1873.

The women are rather small and delicately formed.  Many of them are pretty and they are all given to flirtation.

Men and women ride horseback alike.  Wicker baskets to carry clothes or provisions, are hung on either side of the horse’s shoulders.  Back of these baskets the rider sits.

It is the custom of travellers on horseback to carry a basket handled sword a yard and a quarter long, more as an ornament than as a means of defense.

The observance of birthdays is an island fashion that is followed by every one.

A Governor, appointed by the Crown, manages affairs.  His palace is at San Juan, the capital, a town that has 24,000 inhabitants.

Upon the Rio Grande are prehistoric monuments that have attracted the attention of archaeologists.

Following the Spanish custom, men are imprisoned for debt.

In the towns houses are built with flat roofs, both to catch water and to afford the family a small roof garden.

All planters have town houses where they bring their families during the carnival season.

San Juan is filled with adventurers, gamblers, speculators and fugitives from justice.—­New York World.

CHAPTER VII.

LIST OF COLORED REGIMENTS THAT DID ACTIVE SERVICE IN THE SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR,—­AND VOLUNTEER REGIMENTS.

Regulars.—­Section 1104 of the Revised Statutes of the United States Congress provides that “the enlisted men of two regiments of Cavalry shall be colored men,” and in compliance with this section the War Department maintains the organization of the Ninth and Tenth Cavalry, both composed of colored men with white officers.

Section 1108 of the Revised Statutes of Congress provides that “the enlisted men of two regiments of Infantry shall be colored men;” and in compliance with this section the War Department maintains the organization of the Twenty-fourth and Twenty-fifth Infantry, both composed of colored men with white officers.