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Show I, LIVES ON A MERE PITTANCE. Porto Rlcans Manage to Subsist Well - When Others Would Starve. BB I Tho coBt of living In Porto Rico is BB perhaps less, gauged from tho natives' BB j view of necessity, than In any other BB J quarter of tho globo whero modern BB j civilization has obtained a foothold. BB 1 Dr. Ryder, sccrotary of tho American BB Missionary association, who has re- BB ccntly returned from an inspection of, BB tho Island, tells the following story BB to lllustrato tho scalo of wages and BB living In tho Island. BB "I was riding through tho Interior BB ! ' on horseback, on my way to Ponco," BB j ( ' ho said, "when I saw ahead of mo In BB .( 3 j! tho road a natlvo carrying a log on his BB ft J head. It wan a log twolvo feet long, I BBI n ' and must havo weighed 200 pounds. Ho soemed to trot nlong with It on I his head without any trouble I asked my companion to stop uud ask mm 1 about it. Ho did so, and tho man said ho had cut and 'ripped' tho log, that Is, got it ready to split Into timber, tim-ber, although it was not loosened enough to fall apart, tho day be fore; ho had brought It fifteen miles 1 on his head that morning, and had I threo miles further to carry It Into 1 Ponce. i " 'And how much will you got for It?" asked my companion. ; " 'I hopo to get 15 cents,' replied tho H; i i man, 'hut I may got only 12.' H$ "But that sum would buy as much H, , , ns $--B0 would up hero," continued BBJi,; tho doctor, "so tho man was really BBBi' working for about 75 cents a day. It BBJjjj; .j i is estlmatod that a man car. Biipport BBKj ! n family by throe days' work a BBn j ' " month. Food Is practically tree. H' ' I Fruit Is to bo had for the taking, and BBJjni tho poorer classos practically live Hf-iL upon fruit. And as for n house, a con BBlff K ' vert borrowed a dollar lrom oro of Hi I our missionaries to put up c house BBBi? t when ho wnntod to get married, and BBJil ; it was plenty." |