oduce, forwarded through Ponce, which is the trading centre, is stored
for shipment. The population of Ponce has been estimated at 44,500
inhabitants, and this is probably not far from the actual truth.

Ponce has quite a number of fine buildings, including the town hall, the
theatre, two churches, the charity and the woman's asylums, the
barracks, the Cuban House and the market. Between the city and the
seashore is an excellent road which forms a beautiful promenade.

Near Ponce are hot springs which are quite famous and held in high
estimation by invalids.

The capital of Porto Rico is San Juan, which in many respects has always
been the most important city. It is on the north coast, and as has
already been stated, was founded by Ponce de Leon in 1510. It now has a
population of 31,250 inhabitants, which includes the town and its
suburbs.

The situation of San Juan is somewhat peculiar, as it is built on a high
and narrow peninsula, which is separated from the mainland by shallow
water spanned by a bridge known as the San Antonio.

The town is about half a mile wide, inclosed by high walls of masonry,
which are very picturesque, and with their portcullis gates and
battlements recall vividly to one's mind the description of mediaeval
times.

The bluff is crowned by Morro Castle, rendered familiar to Americans in
the recent war.

San Juan is really quite a beautiful place with straight and narrow
streets and many imposing buildings. It has a number of public
institutions and colleges, several churches, and seven small parks.
Among the latter may be mentioned the Plazuela de Santiago, in which is
an excellent statue of Columbus.

It was on the western end of the island that Ponce de Leon built the
governor's palace, which is enclosed within the Santa Catalina
fortifications, where are also the cathedral, town house and theatre.
This portion of the city is now known as Pueblo Viego, and is the seat
of an Episcopal see, which is subordinate to the bishop of Santiago de
Cuba.

The city is lighted by gas, which is controlled by an English company,
and it also has an electric plant under local management.

There is a local telephone company.

There are eleven newspapers of various descriptions, the chief one being
La Correspondencia, a local political paper, which has a circulation of
seven thousand copies, more than that of all the other papers put
together.

The water is obtained entirely from cisterns. Abou