It was in November of the year 1493, on his second voyage to the New World, that Columbus landed upon a strange island in quest of water for his ships. He found it in abundance, and called the place Aquadilla—the watering place. As he had done at Cuba the year before, the great discoverer held pleasant conferences with the natives, and with due ceremony took possession of the island for his benefactors and sovereigns—Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain. From that day until it was ceded to the United States in 1898, as a result of the Spanish-American War, Porto Rico remained one of the most attractive and valuable of Spain's West Indian possessions.
A MARKET GIRL, PORTO RICO.
The simple and friendly natives gladly welcomed their Spanish invaders, who, with the same promptness which was manifested in Cuba, proceeded to enslave and exterminate them. In 1510, Ponce de Leon founded the first settlement on the site of the present village of Puerto Viejo. The next year the noted invader founded San Juan, the present capital of the island. One of the most interesting sights of this old city to-day is the Casa Blanca, built at that period as the palatial residence of Ponce de Leon. It was there, perhaps, after he had finished his conquest of the island, that this famous old Spaniard listened to the wonderful story of the natives, who served him as slaves, concerning the mysterious country over the sea which had hidden in its forests a fountain wherein an old man might plunge and be restored to all the vigor of youth. It was there and thus, perhaps, while sitting at leisure in his palace, that de Leon planned the voyage in search of that "fountain of youth" which resulted in the discovery and exploration of Florida.
SAN JUAN, PORTO RICO.
This city, the capital of Porto Rico, was founded by Ponce de Leon in 1511. It is a fine specimen of an old walled town, having portcullis, gates, walls and battlements which cost millions of dollars. It is built on a long, narrow island, connected with the mainland by a bridge. Its population in 1899, estimated at 31,000.
ANCIENT INHABITANTS.
As to the number of natives in Porto Rico when the Spaniards came old chroniclers differ. Some say there were 500,000, others 300,000. It is all surmise. Probably the latter figure is an over-estimate, for Cuba, more than ten times as large, was not thought to contain more than half a million inhabitants at most. A detailed account of their manners and customs was written by one of the early Spaniards, and part of it is translated by the British Consul, Mr. Bidwell, in his Consular Report of 1880. Some of the statements in this old book are most peculiar and interesting. Within the last forty years archæologists have discovered many stone axes, spear-heads and knives, stone and clay images, and pieces of earthenware made by the aboriginal Porto Ricans, and these are preserved in the Smithsonian Institute at Washington, in Berlin, and elsewhere. It is curious that none of these remains had been found prior to 1856. On the banks of the Rio Grande there still stands, also, a rude stone monument, with strange designs carved upon its surface.