The city of San Juan lies upon an island connected with the mainland
by a bridge and a causeway. The streets are narrow, the houses are
low, mostly of a single story, and are built in the old-fashioned
Spanish style, with thick walls around the courtyard. The fronts are
ugly and are painted all sorts of brilliant colors--pink, blue,
purple and yellow. There are heavy shutters in the windows for
protection, but there are no panes of glass in the town. Behind the
gloomy walls are splendid gardens and courtyards, with splashing
fountains, shaded by palms. The city contains a cathedral, a theatre,
a city hall, the Governor-General's palace, and several fine churches,
and in the center is quite a large park, with concrete walks and
seats, as with us. There is no turf, however. All around this park the
market women gather every morning, selling poultry, eggs, vegetables
and flowers, and in the evening there is music by a military band.

It was thought that the Spanish fleet, which had caused our Government
so much anxiety, might go to San Juan, the capital of the island, and
so, before the Oregon arrived, and before any of the Spanish ships had
been seen, Admiral Sampson took some of his vessels from Cuba to Porto
Rico in hope of meeting Admiral Cervera, the Spanish commander, and
his fleet. Our ships reached San Juan in the evening of May 11th, but
could see nothing of the Spanish ships. Next morning our ships fired
upon the forts guarding the harbor, to try the strength of the enemy.
But finding the forts stronger than he thought they were, Admiral
Sampson drew off his fleet. He could not spare the time, or spend his
powder and shells, upon San Juan then. The important thing to do was
to find the Spanish fleet. So Admiral Sampson again sailed toward
Havana.