"I was in Porto Rico several years ago, and I then expressed surprise that it was not boomed as a winter resort. The Porto Ricans to whom I spoke shrugged their shoulders and smiled. The ground is high, the climate is fine, and the place is healthful.
"It has many attractions of its own that are lacking in the other West Indies.
"Close on the heels of the army will march some enterprising American hotel man, and then look out for results."
CHAPTER IV.
POPULATION AND TOWNS.
According to the latest statistics, the entire population of the island of Porto Rico is estimated at 900,000. Of these about 140,000 are peninsulares, as the natives of Spain have been termed throughout her former colonies. From 12,000 to 14,000 are foreigners, mostly Frenchmen, Germans, Italians, Englishmen and Americans. Other nationalities have little or no representation. The so-called native population is composed of two-thirds whites who are descendants of Spaniards and people of other European countries, and one-third negroes and mulattoes or those of mixed blood, half castes, as they are denominated.
It is valuable to note the large proportion of whites, which is very unusual for a tropical country.
The census, which was taken December 31, 1887, states that the women outnumbered the men by about one thousand. As the immigrants from Spain are mostly men, however, the actual ratio between the two sexes, as far as the native population is concerned, would be greatly in favor of the feminine.
The area of Cuba is thirteen times larger than that of Porto Rico, and yet even before the butcher Weyler exterminated a third of the native Cubans, it contained not quite double as many people as the smaller island.
This will give some idea of the density of the population of Porto Rico.