The valleys are beautiful wide basins surrounded by triangular white hills of limestone. Porto Rico with its 

 splendid roads and many natural beauties, will always be attractive to the casual visitor — as well as to the inves- 

 tigator of its scientific resources 



As the approaching steamer nears the 

 northern shore of Porto Rico, where the 

 capital city of San Juan is situated, the 

 huge bulk of the island emerges from the 

 haze of the horizon, and displays the 

 jagged profile of the massive mountain 

 range that forms the interior highland 

 more than three thousand feet in alti- 

 tude. From this great backbone the 

 buttressed spurs drop somewhat sud- 

 denly, and irregularly for the most part, 

 to the coastal plain of greater or less 



64 



inland extent; the deep clefts of the 

 upland valleys disappear, and one may 

 judge how rapidly the swift mountain 

 rivers must change to slow, winding 

 streams upon the flat land of the island's 

 margin. Coming nearer, San Juan and 

 its buildings become visible and soon a 

 point at its eastern end detaches it- 

 self from the rest to stand out as the 

 cape surmounted by El Morro ("The 

 Castle"), which guards the entrance to 

 the harbor. Not imtil the fort is 



