CITIES OF POliTO KICO 173 



Sail Juan Bautista de Puerto Rico, as the capital of the 

 island is officially designated, is situated near the east 

 end of the north coast, on an island united to the mainland 

 by the bridge of San Antonio. It is the oldest settlement 

 on the island, having been founded in 1511. The main 

 portion of the city lies on a long and narrow island shaped 

 much like an arm and a hand ; it is about two and a quarter 

 miles long, and averages less than one fourth of a mile in 

 width. The greatest width is a little over half a mile, in 

 the portion representing the hand, which also contains the 

 major part of the city. This is separated from the main- 

 land at one end by a shallow arm of the sea. A bridge 

 connects the city with the mainland, which runs out at 

 this point in a sand-spit, some nine miles in length. At 

 the other end, the island ends in a rugged bluff or prom- 

 ontory, some hundred feet high and three fourths of a 

 mile distant from the main shore. This promontory is 

 crowned by Morro Castle, the principal fortification. 



At the north the entrance to the harbor is a narrow 

 channel with rocky bottom, so close under the headland 

 that one can almost leap ashore from a passing vessel. 

 The water here is some thirty feet deep. To a mariner 

 unacquainted with the locality, or to any mariner when a 

 norther is blowing, this entrance is one of difficulty and 

 danger. After rounding the bluff, one finds a broad and 

 beautiful bay, landlocked and with a good depth of water, 

 which is being increased by dredging. It is by far the best 

 harbor in Porto Rico, but it has its drawbacks. Sailing- 

 vessels are frequently detained by the northerly winds 

 during the winter months, and even steamers with a draft 

 of over twenty feet are sometimes delayed; but these <<- 

 casions are rare. When these storms occur, the bocGj or 

 entrance to the harbor, is a mass of seething, foaming 

 water, and presents an imposing spectacle. To see steamers 

 of sixteen to eighteen feet draft enter in ;t severe norther 

 is a sight to be remembered, as the greal waves lift them 

 up and seem about to hurl them forward t<> destruction. 



