THE AMERICAM BAPTIST HOME 
 
 L MISSION SOCIETY-^" NEW YORK 
 
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 PORTO RICO 
 
 A Descriptive Sketch of Baptist 
 Missions in the Island :: :: :: 
 
 By Henry L, Morehouse, D.D. 
 
 CORRESPONDING SECRETARY OF THE AMERICAN 
 BAPTIST HOME MISSION SOCIETY 
 
 “ Last week I organized the new church at Guzman Arriba with thirty 
 members, all of whom were baptized the 15th. A great work is going on up 
 there. . . . Since sending in the annual report I have baptized fifty-four 
 
 new brethren.”—From Rev. H. P. McCormick, San Juan, Porto Rico, April 23rd. 
 
HARBOR VIEW IN SAN JUAN, PORTO RICO—THE EXECUTIVE MANSION OF THE WHITE CITY 
 
FOREWORD 
 
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 THE OPEN DOOR 
 
 These things saith he that is holy, he that 
 openeth and no man shutteth; Behold, I 
 have set before thee an open door, and no 
 man can shut it.—Rev. 3:7, 8. : : 
 
 B 
 
 EHOLD the Open Door—open conspicuously and providentially—in 
 the island of Porto Rico. To show how open is the door, how great 
 and inviting the opportunity, how imperative the Divine summons, 
 how rich and certain the blessed results of entrance—that is the pur¬ 
 pose of this publication. 
 
 This purpose explains the indefatigable and incessant movement of Secre¬ 
 tary Morehouse during his two months’ trip of thorough investigation of these 
 islands. This explains the presentation of the conditions in sufficient detail to 
 set the opportunities fairly before our people. This explains also the fullness 
 of illustration, enabling us to see with him, through his faithful camera; to 
 appreciate contrasts of equipment for service that words could not describe; 
 and to feel a kind of personal acquaintance with scenes and workers. 
 
 Behold the Open Door. Divinely set before us, no man can shut it. But 
 the Baptists may fail to enter it. That is the one possible peril. Not fail to 
 enter altogether, for we have already entered and begun a possession full of 
 blessing. But we must enter and occupy fully, till gospel privileges are within 
 the reach of every inhabitant, and the gospel principles established everywhere. 
 
 The reading of Dr. Morehouse’s narrative recalls the missionary journeys 
 of Paul and Barnabas. The parallel does not obtain in the way of persecution 
 and frequent hardship, but it does in the eagerness on the part of many to hear 
 the simple gospel story, the establishing and strengthening of churches, the 
 going from place to place preaching and confirming faith, and the pioneer 
 methods of extending the kingdom of God in new regions. 
 
 The story leaves no question at all that this is the golden hour for the Bap¬ 
 tists in Porto Rico. Study the map on another page and note the sweep 
 through the island of the section we have made our own by aggressive and 
 statesmanlike plan and pursuit of the work. We follow and include the splen¬ 
 did military road, chief artery of commerce. But to hold the advantage we 
 must build houses of worship worthy of us and of the Porto Rican Baptists. 
 This and much more is made clear in what follows.—From the Home Mission 
 Monthly. 
 
MAP OF PORTO RICO; SHOWING OUR FIELD OF IMISSIONARY OPERATIONS 
 
 4 
 
 OUR WORK IN PORTO RICO 
 
 
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OUR WORK IN PORTO RICO 
 
 5 
 
 PORTO RICO 
 
 And Our Baptist Work in the Island 
 
 RAPID SURVEY OF OUR FIELD AND WORK AS SEEN BY 
 THE CORRESPONDING SECRETARY — NARRATIVE SKETCH 
 OF A TWENTY-FIVE DAYS’ TOUR IN THE ISLAND : : 
 
 L eaving New York Sat¬ 
 urday afternoon, Dec. 26, 
 1903, we reached the 
 wharf at San Juan, Friday 
 night the 31st. Ours was a 
 slow boat; another, of the same 
 line, makes the trip in about 
 four days. The next time we 
 go we propose to take that boat 
 and get there as soon as possi¬ 
 ble—the quicker the better. As 
 we left New York old Boreas 
 was blowing a fierce and biting 
 blast from the northwest. At 
 San Juan, after passing the towering Morro 
 Castle in the full moonlight, we were saluted 
 by balmy breezes, the blowing of horns, play¬ 
 ing of bands, fire crackers, roman candles, 
 rockets and steam whistles of the harbor 
 craft—concomitants of the incoming New 
 Year. The heavy winter clothing worn at 
 the beginning of the trip was discarded for 
 summer apparel before its end. 
 
 For three days or more the sea was very 
 rough; the pronounced motion of the boat 
 giving a new meaning to a favorite song of 
 the Negroes: 
 
 “Pm a rolling, I’m a rolling. 
 
 I’m a rolling through an unfriendly world.” 
 It was aggravating to read this notice in 
 the state rooms : “Meals : Breakfast to or¬ 
 der, 7 to 9; regular breakfast, ii; lunch 3 
 P.M.; dinner, 6 P.M.”—for most of this 
 proved to be a superfluity to the passengers 
 generally. Sunday was indeed a day of rest 
 —most of the people being in their berths. 
 It was also a general fast day, and an air of 
 solemnity pervaded the ship. The Spanish 
 word, whose sound is more expressive than 
 its English equivalent in describing the trip, 
 is : “desagradable.” Our conclusion was this : 
 A sea-voyage of this character is a strain 
 upon good nature, good manners and good 
 morals, and upon human nature in general; 
 
 but doubtless has its disciplinary value to 
 those who are duly exercised thereby. 
 
 These experiences, however, were soon for¬ 
 gotten amid the novel and beautiful scenes of 
 this evergreen isle; and the early New Year’s 
 greeting by Rev. H. P. McCormick, who 
 came to the boat on which we had remained 
 all night, brought cheer and comfort. To 
 this was added for several days the delightful 
 hospitality of his pleasant home, which has 
 become quite a centre of attraction for many 
 American residents. 
 
 FROM START TO FINISH 
 
 Here at San Juan began our busy mission¬ 
 ary journey of fifty-si.x days—from Friday, 
 Jan. 1st, to Friday, Feb. 26th, when we left 
 behind us the visible wreck of the Maine and 
 looming Morro Castle at Havana. Twenty- 
 five days were devoted to Porto Rico; two- 
 and-a-half days were required for the trip 
 by steamer from Ponce to Santiago; and 
 twenty-eight days were given principally to 
 eastern Cuba. In the fifty-one days spent on 
 our mission fields we visited forty mission 
 stations—all there were of importance then 
 in the islands; though there are nearly as 
 many more minor ones. About 60 miles were 
 traversed on horseback, much of the way over 
 rugged trails; about 500 by wagon, mostly 
 over good roads, but for two days over ex¬ 
 ceedingly rough ones; about 1,200 miles by 
 boat, and 200 by rail; so that in this as in 
 many other respects we had the spice of life 
 that comes from variety. We spoke about 
 forty times to congregations aggregating over 
 5,000 people; participated in five dedication 
 services; negotiated for eight sites for 
 church edifices; held two missionary con¬ 
 ferences of our workers in these islands; and 
 throughout the entire trip, thanks to a kind 
 Providence, met with no mishap, nor were 
 laid aside a single day because of illness or 
 exhaustion. 
 
6 
 
 OUR WORK IN PORTO RICO 
 
 General Outline of the Field 
 
 F rom San Juan in the northeast to Ponce 
 in the southwest diagonally through the 
 island on and adjacent to the great military 
 road, is a section about loo miles long by 
 25 wide that is the particular field of the 
 American Baptist Home Mission Society. 
 The two chief cities are open to all denom¬ 
 inations, but the comity agreement between 
 representatives of missionary societies in the 
 island gives cities of less than 8,000 ex¬ 
 clusively to the denomination first occupying 
 and holding services there. In this district, 
 whose boundaries are not sharply defined, 
 there are eighteen towns and cities with a 
 population each from about 1,000 to 6,000, all 
 of which except two we have occupied. Here 
 is a population of about 240,000, or nearly 
 one-fourth of the whole island. There are 
 21 principal mission stations and 30 outsta- 
 tions, cared for by three American mission¬ 
 aries and eight native helpers, besides two 
 American women appointed by the Woman’s 
 Home Mission Society at Boston, and one by 
 the Society at Chicago. The three Ameri¬ 
 can missionaries at the chief centres are Rev. 
 H. P. McCormick, San Juan; Rev. E. L. 
 Humphrey, Cayey; Rev. A. B. Rudd, Ponce. 
 Bro. McCormick, in addition to the care of 
 a particular church, has the general manage¬ 
 ment of operations in the northern half, and 
 Bro. Rudd, likewise of the southern half of 
 this field; Bro. Humphrey, however, devot¬ 
 ing attention to a limited central portion be¬ 
 sides Cayey. For them to occupy and prop¬ 
 erly cultivate these numerous mission sta¬ 
 tions, to discover and utilize native helpers, 
 and attend to the multifarious matters inci¬ 
 
 dent to the prosecution of a new work where 
 long and tedious journeys are frequently 
 required, has been a tremendous task. Rec¬ 
 ognizing the necessity for more mission¬ 
 aries, the Society has appointed Rev. L. E. 
 Troyer, of the graduating class of the Roch¬ 
 ester Theological Seminary, as an associate 
 for Bro. Rudd, and Mr. H. W. Vodra 
 of the same class as an associate for Bro. 
 McCormick in his field. In the whole dis¬ 
 trict there are 15 churches, with 873 mem¬ 
 bers, and good congregations at the other 
 points; also Sunday Schools with an at¬ 
 tendance of about 1,000. There are two 
 church edifices, at Ponce and Corral Viejo, 
 and a third being erected at La Playa; other 
 congregations meeting, either in buildings 
 erected for residential or business purposes, 
 and, generally, rented to the Society. Con¬ 
 sidering the small force and the moderate 
 outlay of money, the results of five years' 
 tillage are exceedingly gratifying. It was my 
 privilege in the twenty-five days spent in 
 Porto Rico, to visit all of the 21 chief stations, 
 and to meet and address congregations ag¬ 
 gregating about 2,000 people. In this I had 
 the delightful companionship, for the north¬ 
 ern and central section, of Bro. McCormick, 
 and for the southern section, of Bro. Rudd: 
 also of Bro. Humphrey a few days in his 
 field. 
 
 The purpose of the following sketches is 
 to portray the conditions of the various 
 fields, their prospects and needs, making of 
 them three groups, viz.: the Northern, the 
 Central and the Southern districts. First we 
 will look at the capital city. 
 
 The Capital of the Island and Its Suburbs 
 
 SAN JUAN, THE WHITE CITY 
 THE CAPITAL A STRATEGIC POINT 
 
 B eautiful for situation is this city in 
 its setting of ultra-marine blue on the 
 north, and across the bay on the south the 
 varied hues of green mingling in the dis¬ 
 tance with the bluish haze of the mountain 
 range. Its site is a promontory, somewhat 
 like the bowl of an inverted spoon, with a 
 slender connection to the main land. The 
 military reservation and large barracks ad¬ 
 jacent to Morro Castle on the west, and the 
 military grounds in proximity to the fortress 
 of San Cristobal on the east, hem in the city, 
 preventing under existing conditions much 
 expansion. Hence property is valuable for 
 every purpose. The overflow is making its 
 way to the charming suburb of San Turce, 
 eastward, where Americans have residences, 
 and further on southeasterly eight miles to 
 Rio Piedras, reached by electric trolley line. 
 About 33,000 people live in the city, the better 
 classes mostly in the second stories of build¬ 
 ings which are devoted below chiefly to busi¬ 
 
 ness purposes. The city is comparatively 
 clean, its narrow streets for the most part 
 well paved and with good sidewalks. Grim, 
 massive, multi-colored sustaining walls of 
 
OUR WORK IN PORTO RICO 
 
 7 
 
 masonry, rising high from near the ocean 
 line to the summit, encompass the western 
 portion. Prominent, and overlooking the 
 water, is tlie Governor’s mansion, part of 
 which with its partition-walls seven feet 
 thick was built in 1530; and on the south 
 overlooking the spacious harbor, rises the 
 casa blanca (white house) of Ponce de Leon, 
 whose statue and that of Columbus adorn 
 the plazas of the city. The Governor’s re¬ 
 ception, which we attended on New Year's 
 night, was a large and brilliant gathering. 
 
 OUR BAPTIST WORK 
 
 This greatest commercial and governmental 
 city of the island was occupied by the Home 
 Mission Society as its first station early in 
 1899. While a good work has been wrought 
 here and a fair foothold gained, yet under 
 better conditions more might have been and 
 may be accomplished. Here we have 71 
 members and a small Sunday School. Con¬ 
 siderations of health and of economy, as well 
 as the desirability of occupying Rio Piedras, 
 made it advisable for the missionary’s resi¬ 
 dence to be in that city; so that the work in 
 San Juan is done somewhat at arm’s length. 
 Bro. McCormick usually holds service here 
 twice a week, preaching twice a month on 
 Sunday nights; while he also gives as much 
 or more time to the church in Rio Piedras. 
 Miss Ida Hayes, an experienced and capable 
 missionary, likewise divides her time between 
 these fields, spending one day at least in 
 visiting in San Juan. It is simply impossible 
 for Bro. McCormick to do all that ought to 
 be done here, wdth the supervision of many 
 other fields, and now also editor of our 
 monthly Baptist paper for Porto Rico. In 
 this formative period in Porto Rico he has 
 wdsely and efficiently devoted attention to its 
 educational and philanthropic affairs. A 
 strong, capable man with a native assistant 
 should be appointed here without delay. He 
 could also preach to Americans without in¬ 
 terfering with the other work. Calvary Bap¬ 
 tist Church of Washington, D.C., presented 
 the San Juan church with a fine organ. 
 
 SUITABLE HOUSE A NECESSITY 
 
 The lack of a suitable house of worship 
 has been a great hindrance to our progress. 
 Our mission is housed in rented quarters, 
 formerly small double parlors now in one 
 room that seats about 100 persons, with a 
 baptismal tank at the rear of the platform in 
 the small room adjacent. Though tastefully 
 decorated with Scripture mottoes and palm 
 branches, at the best it looked small and mean 
 and utterly unsuited to attract people or to 
 make much of an impression on such a city. 
 A proper house of worship is an imperative 
 necessity. To find a suitable and available 
 site has been very difficult, for there are no 
 vacant lots and land with buildings thereon 
 is expensive. It is hoped that negotiations 
 for a location which we at last selected will 
 scon be consummated. For the purchase 
 thereof and the reconstruction of a part of 
 the excellent building probably about $20,000 
 
 will be required. But when secured, it will 
 be admirably adapted to church and Sunday 
 School and kindergarten purposes and for 
 the residence of the native worker. Never 
 shall we get large numbers and the kind of 
 people we ought to have while laboring under 
 present disadvantages. We must strike 
 
 A Characteristic Road in Porto Rico 
 
 quickly and strongly for better things, or, 
 what would be a disgrace, abandon the field. 
 
 AT RIO PIEDRAS 
 
 At Rio Piedras, where our missionaries re¬ 
 side, and where we own a rangy house which 
 has been converted into a fairly good room 
 for public worship, is a flourishing church of 
 118 members, and an attendance of 84 at the 
 Sunday School wdien I was there. Congre¬ 
 gations are good, comprising people of in¬ 
 telligence and good standing. Mrs. McCor¬ 
 mick, an accomplished musician and imbued 
 with the missionary spirit, played the cabinet 
 organ given by the Sunday School of the 
 Baptist Church of Morristown, N. J. Ours 
 is the only evangelical church in the place. 
 
 This is recognized as one of the strategic 
 points which we must hold and develop; for 
 here, and near our church, at the north, is 
 the spacious and beautiful site for the insular 
 University, one building costing $27,000 hav¬ 
 ing been recently erected and others utilized 
 for a department now in operation. Here 
 soon should be erected a good church edifice, 
 attractive to students as well as to others, 
 so that we may thus lay hold so far as w’e 
 may of the coming intellectual forces of 
 Porto Rico. No other denomination has 
 such an opportunity as this, and we shall be 
 almost criminally remiss if we fail to im¬ 
 prove it. A suitable house, properly equipped, 
 will cost from $5,000 to $6,000. And when 
 it is built our present structure may be con¬ 
 verted into a dormitory for Baptist students 
 at the University, and some theological in¬ 
 struction be given also to those preparing for 
 
8 
 
 OUR WORK IN PORTO RICO 
 
 the gospel ministry. For very soon some¬ 
 thing must be done in this direction. 
 
 Here too, services should before long be 
 held for Americans who, near Rio Piedras, 
 are going into the cultivation of tropical 
 fruits and other enterprises. 
 
 In this vicinity, several miles away up in 
 the foothills of the mountains, are outstations 
 to which Bro. McCormick goes on horseback. 
 
 Chief of these is Trujillo Alto. The coming 
 of a Christian minister to these people, long 
 and utterly unvisited by Romish priests, is 
 a new thing under the sun. Eagerly they 
 listen to the messenger of good tidings, and 
 the work there is very hopeful. So here and 
 there the light is shining in the darkness and 
 the dawn of a brighter day. as we shall more 
 fully perceive, is breaking for Porto Rico. 
 
 1. Oar Work in the Northern District 
 
 MISSIONARY TOUR IN NORTHERN PORTO RICO —NEW 
 EXPERIENCES—A GREAT WORK AND ITS NEEDS : : 
 
 T he Northern District extends from San 
 Juan easterly about 30 miles, and from 
 the ocean south into the mountain range from 
 10 to 15 miles. In towns and rural com¬ 
 munities our work is established. 
 
 Easterly from San Juan (Hwan) and Rio 
 Piedras (Re-o Pe-a-dras) are several mis¬ 
 sion stations, chief of which are Carolina, 
 Rio Grande, Mediania and Ausubal. To 
 visit these Rev. H. P. McCormick and my¬ 
 self took the train ten miles to Carolina, 
 where we stayed over night, and proceeded 
 by team the next morning seven miles east to 
 Rio Grande, thence northerly to the ocean 
 and westerly to Mediania and near Ausubal 
 took horses over the hilly trail, then back to 
 the carriage, southerly to Carolina and on to 
 Rio Piedras, having travelled over 30 miles, 
 part of the way over roads so rough that 
 
 we walked for the sake of the team and our¬ 
 selves ; at one river crossing in a row boat, 
 while the team forded the stream, with the 
 water in the carriage; and also crossing an 
 arm of the sea after a native had waded it 
 to show that it was safe to do so. At times 
 the road ran through vast fields of sugar 
 cane, then through long stretches of cocoa- 
 nut groves—the trees generally, under the in¬ 
 fluence of the trade winds, inclined to the 
 southwest; to the north of us the Atlantic, 
 and to the south not many miles distant the 
 mountain range, which here attains a height 
 of 3,800 feet. After crossing the arm of the 
 sea we were refreshed by the contents of co- 
 coanuts obtained by a native in scanty cos¬ 
 tume climbing a tree and clipping them off 
 with his knife or machete. We got a very 
 good snapshot of him in the act, as the illus- 
 
 The Town of Carolina 
 
OUR WORK IN PORTO RICO 
 
 9 
 
 tration on a subsequent page shows. He was 
 a clever climber. 
 
 THE FIRST EVENING SERVICE 
 
 At Carolina, in our small rented room, we 
 held our first service at night. About 70 
 were present, a score or more standing at 
 the door and window for lack of accommoda¬ 
 tions within. They were mostly negroes, the 
 region being devoted largely to the sugar 
 cane industry. Our native missionary, Bro. 
 Marchan, a student in the Normal School at 
 Rio Piedras, where, by the way, he recently 
 took all but one of the athletic prizes, 
 preaches here and at other points in the vi¬ 
 cinity, and gives promise of great usefulness. 
 
 At the close of the meeting Bro. McCor¬ 
 mick very impressively united a couple in 
 matrimony. There was no fee for the bene¬ 
 fit of the minister’s wife. Bro. Rudd, of 
 Ponce, stated that for more than a hundred 
 couples that he had married he had received 
 $4 /5 in cash and two pineapples! Many 
 have only money for their daily needs, and 
 this on a most economical basis. Is it any 
 wonder, therefore, that when the priests of 
 the Roman Catholic Church charged from 
 ten to fifty dollars for the marriage cere¬ 
 mony, the poor people generally assumed do¬ 
 mestic relationships without its sanction, in 
 the most primitive and informal way? And 
 so it comes to pass that one of the first things 
 to be done in many cases where converts 
 apply for church membership is to marry 
 those who have thus lived together and 
 reared families. 
 
 THE E.\STERN MOST FIELDS 
 
 After our first night at a so-called hotel—- 
 where by mistake in the dim light of the bed¬ 
 room one of our number emptied his wash 
 bowl into a waste basket, evidently disturb¬ 
 ing the occupant of the room below, and 
 where, with very scanty bedding above and 
 below our bodies, we got some sleep—we 
 left for Rio Grande, our easternmost mission 
 field in this part of the island. Though it 
 was too early in the day, upon our arrival 
 there, for a service, we visited some of our 
 people, and found here an interesting illus¬ 
 tration of the zeal and devotion of the new 
 converts, in the person of a comparatively 
 well-to-do Negro woman, who has fitted up 
 a part of her house for our meetings and 
 has done likewise at another mission station. 
 Her face fairly glowed with satisfaction and 
 delight in rendering this service. 
 
 Alediania, reached after about three hours’ 
 ride, is a thickly settled hamlet rather than 
 a compact village, the small one-story houses 
 constructed of light material with heavy 
 thatched roofs. In the largest of three rooms 
 of the residence of Bro. Ramon Biron, the 
 preacher, our services are held. Verily, here 
 is an illustration of the Scripture—“the 
 church in the house” of one of the believers. 
 It was too early for services here, besides 
 they had not received word of our coming. 
 But we saw and heard many things of inter¬ 
 est. Entering the house, posted on the par¬ 
 
 tition was the notice of the weekly services 
 and underneath, in Spanish: “Go into all 
 the world and preach the gospel to every 
 creature.” That was the warrant for the 
 work there and for telling the good news to 
 others. Another paper, near the first, con¬ 
 tained the names of five persons who had 
 formally expressed their wish to unite with 
 the church. Several weeks, indeed several 
 months, might pass before they would be 
 baptized, and meantime everybody had the 
 opportunity to study them and judge whether 
 they were worthy of membership. Since my 
 return a letter has been received from Bro. 
 IMcCormick stating that he had just made a 
 very arduous trip to Mediania, where he bap¬ 
 tized eleven persons in the ocean. Another 
 notice excited our curiosity, namely this: 
 “Let your women keep silence in the 
 churches.” The novel explanation given me 
 for this was that there was too much of a 
 tendency among the women when they came 
 together to indulge in social gossip that 
 was detrimental to reverence and piety. Evi¬ 
 dently they believe in having things done 
 “decently and in order” in the house of God. 
 Since our visit, Bro. McCormick has baptized 
 eleven persons here. 
 
 At Medi.xnia we must have a chapel, 
 
 TASTEFUL BUT INEXPENSIVE, TO ACCOMM0D.4TE 
 ABOUT 150 PEOPLE. It CAN BE BUILT FOR $700 
 
 OR $800. Who will build it? 
 
 BIBLE INQUIRY 
 
 Passing along to Loiza, where by the kind¬ 
 ness of a storekeeper we got a light lunch 
 while the team rested, we saw a man at the 
 door of his little store in the front room of 
 his residence, reading a book. Halting, we 
 inquired what he was reading, and as he 
 came out to the carriage he showed us the 
 New Testament, in which he was greatly in¬ 
 terested. With some words of commenda¬ 
 tion and exhortation, we passed on, rejoic¬ 
 ing in the spirit of inquiry that has got into 
 the hearts of the people to whom the Bible 
 has been an unknown book. 
 
 ON HORSEBACK TO AUSUBAL 
 
 Last and best of all was the visit to Ausu- 
 bal. This could not be reached by wagon; 
 so, mounting horses that were sent to us, we 
 ascended a rough hilly trail, then descended 
 on the opposite side to an extended valley, 
 dotted here and there with thatched cabins. 
 As we came in sight of these the ringing 
 sound of a conch shell blown by a lusty- 
 lunged native, greeted our ears. It was the 
 summons for the .people to gather. From all 
 quarters they came and many were the warm 
 greetings we received. .They were mostly col¬ 
 ored people of various shades of complexion, 
 many of them of fine appearance. This church 
 takes care of itself without any aid from the 
 Society, but doing it in a very simple, humble 
 way. They worship in the principal room of 
 the residence of one of their members, which 
 is fitted up with rude benches, where between 
 60 and 70 persons were crowded in the room 
 and about the door during our services. The 
 
lo 
 
 OUR WORK IN PORTO RICO 
 
 Our Mission House Rio Piedras 
 
 Mission House at Ausubal 
 
 Normal School at Rio Piedras 
 
 Mission House at Mediania Type of finer village residence 
 
 These Mission Houses are also residences What could better illustrate the need of appropriate chapels? 
 
Ol^R WORK IN PORTO RICO 
 
 11 
 
 unction with wliich some of them prayed 
 and the spirit in which they sang carried con¬ 
 viction to our hearts of the genuineness and 
 strength of their Christian experience. 
 
 A BAPTISMAL INCIDENT 
 
 This was attested in a striking manner at 
 the baptism by Bro. McCormick of a man 
 who had been a very wicked character. 
 While in the water he asked the privilege of 
 saying a few words to the large assemblage 
 gathered there, and thereupon told them they 
 had known of his wickedness in the past, 
 and called upon them to witness his public 
 profession of Christ, his renunciation of the 
 old life, and his purpose to be as zealous for 
 Christ and his cause as he had been for evil. 
 He has stood fast and been a power for 
 
 good. Ten more were baptized here by Bro. 
 McCormick in March, making now a church 
 of 45 members. 
 
 A SCENE TO REMEMBER 
 AND A CALL FOR A GIFT 
 
 It was truly touching to see the fervent, 
 joyous spirit of these people who five years 
 ago were in spiritual darkness. As we re¬ 
 mounted our horses to wend our way home¬ 
 ward, the company, clad mostly in white, 
 stood out in front of the house and sang us 
 their Christian songs, until we disappeared 
 from sight in the tropical foliage and behind 
 the hills. And the echoes of their song are 
 ringing in our hearts yet. 
 
 VVlLL SOMEBODY GIVE $500 FOR A SIMPLE 
 CHAPEL FOR THESE SAINTS AT AuSUBAL? 
 
 II. Our Fields in Central Porto Rico 
 
 MISSION STATIONS—BAPTISMS—DEDICATIONS— 
 
 A ROUND OF INTERESTING EXPERIENCES: : 
 
 '^PHE principal towns and cities where our 
 1 work is established in Central Porto Rico 
 are Caguas, (Kah-wass), Aguas Buenas 
 (Ah-was Bu-a-nas), Gurabo, San Lorenzo, 
 Cidra (Se-dra) and Cayey (Kai-ay). Leav¬ 
 ing Rio Piedras Saturday afternoon, Jan. gth, 
 in three hours we were at Caguas, and after 
 changing teams pushed on to Cidra, where 
 we arrived soon after six o’clock. The car¬ 
 riage ride over this military road to the junc¬ 
 tion where we diverged to Cidra was superb, 
 as we wound in and out of narrow mountain 
 ravines, going two or three miles to make 
 one in a direct line, up and up along the edge 
 of precipitous slopes, with beautiful land¬ 
 scapes far below and far away. Cidra it¬ 
 self, at the terminus of the new road, nestles 
 in a mountain vale at an altitude delightfully 
 cool. One attraction was the profusion and 
 excellence of its oranges—two dozen for 
 three cents. We materially reduced the crop 
 while there. 
 
 Unusual events called us to Cidra just then 
 —our first baptisms, dedication of our place 
 of worship, and the first observance of the 
 Lord’s Supper. This field is in charge of 
 Rev. E. L. Humphrey, of Cayey, who comes 
 about seven miles on horseback over a moun¬ 
 tain trail. 
 
 FIRST BAPTISMS IN CIDRA 
 
 The baptism of nineteen converts on Sat¬ 
 urday evening excited great interest in the 
 community which had never seen anything 
 of the kind. About 200 people crowded the 
 house and stood at the open doors and win¬ 
 dows. Bro. McCormick preached; I fol¬ 
 lowed, Bro. Humphrey interpreting; and 
 then in a baptistery back of the platform in 
 a room at the rear he administered the ordi¬ 
 nance, the congregation being very respectful 
 throughout the service. Among the number 
 
 were some of the best people of the place, 
 who are Porto Ricans without any negro ele¬ 
 ment, of a light-brown complexion, and very 
 neatly dressed. 
 
 A MEMORABLE SUNDAY 
 
 Sunday was a great day for our cause 
 there. Bro. McCormick preached the dedi¬ 
 cation sermon, and after some remarks by 
 myself the congregation, at the instance of 
 one of their number, extended a vote of 
 thanks to the American Baptist Home Mis¬ 
 sion Society for purchasing and fitting up 
 this place of worship. It is a large, fine two- 
 
 story building fronting the plaza, and is said 
 to have cost when erected about ten years 
 ago not less than $5,000. It cost the Society 
 $600, to which must be added nearly $200 
 for changes and equipment. It would have 
 cost more but for the personal attention given 
 to the improvements by Bro. Humpbrey, who 
 has the knack of doing almost anything that 
 needs to be done and the disposition also to 
 do it. The audience room is light and pleas¬ 
 ant ; and a pastor when settled here can oc- 
 
OUR WORK IN PORTO RTCO 
 
 I 2 
 
 VIEWS IN CAGUAS, \YIIERE WE SHOULD BUILD 
 
 Street fronting on Plaza Carmelo Diaz and Family Our Rented Room 
 
 cupy other rooms as his residence. Only a 
 short distance away is the unfinished Roman 
 Catholic Church, which was badly damaged 
 in the cyclone a few years ago. It was silent 
 and unoccupied while we were there. The 
 priest from Cayey, who comes here occasion¬ 
 ally, had recently charged a dollar each for 
 the baptism of children, and said those who 
 could not pay it should not have their chil¬ 
 dren “regenerated” (?). A small bell, 
 COSTING PERHAl’S $100, WOULD BE VERY SER¬ 
 VICEABLE HERE. 
 
 At the Sunday School in the afternoon 74 
 were present. The teacher of the Bible class 
 is a man who nine montlis before was in 
 spiritual darkness, having become disgusted 
 with Romanism and spiritualism. Our na¬ 
 tive worker, Gabriel de Santiago, was in¬ 
 strumental in leading him into the light. 
 Procuring a New Testament he invited his 
 rural neighbors to his house in the hills a 
 mile away from town, reading and explain¬ 
 ing to them the Scriptures; frequently going 
 to their homes for this purpose, praying for 
 and pleading with them, entirely without 
 the promise or expectation of compensation 
 from any source for his services. At a 
 church prayer meeting, when asked to take 
 part, he excused himself for the reason that 
 he was too hoarse as a result of two days’ 
 work of this sort. This converted man, 
 Ilennogenes Quiles, is a conspicuous ex¬ 
 ample of the evangelistic spirit that charac¬ 
 terizes many Porto Rican converts. 
 
 The first proper observance of the Lord’s 
 Supper, Sunday night, after a discourse on 
 its significance, was witnessed by an over- 
 llowing congregation. After the hand of fel¬ 
 lowship had been given to those recently 
 baptized, the broken bread on a common 
 plate and the wine in a common cup were 
 passed to the members, a new thing to 
 people who had only received a wafer from 
 priestly hands. A sm.\ll communion serv¬ 
 
 ice IS MUCH NEEDED NOT ONLY FOR THIS BUT 
 FOR OTHER CHURCHES. All ill all, it .was a 
 great day for our cause in Cidra. 
 
 SALUTING THE AMERICAN FLAG 
 
 The salutation of the flag by the children 
 of the public school, on Monday morning, 
 was an interesting sight and suggestive of 
 the process of Americanization that is going 
 on here. Floating over the building was 
 the star-spangled banner, toward which the 
 brown and bright faces and outstretched 
 hands were turned, as in unison they heartily 
 said: “I pledge allegiance to my flag and to 
 the nation for which it stands; one nation 
 indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.” 
 Then, after singing “The Red, White and 
 Blue,” they marched into the school room. 
 The leading teacher here, Mr. Segarra, is a 
 Baptist. A colored teacher from Nebraska, 
 and the only American in the place, gives 
 instruction in English to the various classes 
 who are quite eager to acquire a knowledge 
 of it. 
 
 A PRINCIPAL CITY THAT MUST 
 
 HAVE A GOOD MEETING HOUSE 
 
 Back to Caguas we go for a service at 
 night in our small rented house in the prin¬ 
 cipal city of all this region, with fine build¬ 
 ings and a population of about 6,000. The 
 room, 14 X 22, was packed and a score or 
 two listened at the open door and windows. 
 After preaching, members of the church 
 arose and repeated Scripture verses, and 
 after the benediction, here, as elsewhere, 
 there was a general handshaking with their 
 visitors. Indeed, common courtesy requires 
 people to shake hands at meeting and part¬ 
 ing, though together for but a moment. But 
 these Christian salutations had warmth and 
 soul in them. This church of 62 members 
 must soon have a house of worship, built of 
 the usual material, brick or stone and ce- 
 
OUR WORK IN PORTO RICO 
 
 
 THREE OF OUR NATIVE PORTO RICAN MISSIONARIES 
 
 Gabriel de Santiago Dionisio Hernandez 
 
 Carmelo Diaz 
 
 meat, for which $4,000 will be needed. This 
 city, as will be seen, is to be the base of op¬ 
 erations for a large adjacent region. While 
 we were engaged for an hour, the next 
 morning, in exposition of the Scriptures for 
 our native workers, and particularly when 
 at prayer, the crowing of a lot of game cocks, 
 for sale in a store directly across the nar¬ 
 row street, seriously diverted the mind from 
 spiritual things. 
 
 NATIVE MISSIONARIES AND WORKERS 
 
 Our forceful and successful native mission¬ 
 ary here, Senor Carmelo Diaz, who preaches 
 also at several other points, is 48 years of age, 
 with a fine physique, a leader, a fluent and 
 engaging speaker, with a remarkable appre¬ 
 hension of the great truths of the gospel. As¬ 
 sociated with him in a minor capacity is 
 Senor Delfino kluler, formerly prominent on 
 the police force, now with a sort of martial 
 spirit enlisted in the Church militant. Bold 
 as a lion and quick-witted, he confronts the 
 priests, goes out on evangelizing tours in the 
 
 country, says to the people: “You all know 
 me, know what I was; you can see now what 
 Christ has done for me.” Everywhere the 
 gospel is his theme. 
 
 On our way to San Lorenzo, about ten 
 miles southeasterly from Caguas, we met 
 three native brethren, one a school teacher, 
 another a w'orkman on the highway who en¬ 
 gages in evangelistic work at night, the third 
 a timekeeper for the workmen, who was 
 reading his New Testament, and is active in 
 evangelistic work. Thus, by the impelling 
 pow'er of the new life in these and in many 
 others, Christ is being made known to mul¬ 
 titudes. And at San Lorenzo one of our 
 brethren, a shoemaker, had Scripture texts 
 and other gospel sentiments in large type 
 posted up in his place of business, a very 
 prominent one being: “Salvacion del Alma 
 
 San Lorenzo—Main 
 Street—Our Mission 
 Quarters, Unworthy 
 of such 
 a Community 
 
14 
 
 OUR WORK TN RORTO RICO 
 
 ^■IE\VS IX AGUAS BUEXAS 
 
 no puede ser comprado,”—the salvation of the 
 soul cannot be bought. It was suggestive 
 of William Carey, the cobbler. In our 
 cburch here were three public-school teachers 
 and others of influence in the city. A good 
 congregation welcomed us at night. Since 
 then there has been a great religious awaken¬ 
 ing in the city. 
 
 San Lorenzo, with its red tile roofs and 
 old houses, in contrast to some costly mod¬ 
 ern residences, half encircled by the Rio 
 Grande river and mountain ranges beyond, 
 is very attractive. Late at night, after delay 
 by an accident while fording a river, we re¬ 
 turned to Caguas. 
 
 A TRIP TO THE HILLS 
 
 To Aguas Buenas, five miles westward up 
 in the hills, we went the next morning, met 
 and addressed a company of our people 
 there in a rented room on the principal busi¬ 
 ness street. Several quite influential people 
 are members of the cliurch. A young man 
 converted here about three years ago proved 
 his fidelity to Christ by withstanding the 
 powerful persuasions and threats of his 
 Catholic fiancee and her influential friends, 
 to renounce his new faith under penalty of 
 loss of her love and loss of business position. 
 Getting a position elsewhere, he is also ac¬ 
 tively engaged in the work of evangelization. 
 
 Aguas Buenas, most picturesquely situated, 
 is likely to become a summer resort for resi¬ 
 dents of San Juan. Some Americans have 
 large tobacco interests, and considerable cof¬ 
 fee is raised here. After the berries are well 
 dried by exposure to the sun, the process of 
 hulling is performed in a primitive way by 
 means of large wooden pestles and mortars. 
 
 Back to Caguas, thence five or six miles 
 northeasterly, we went to Gurabo for a meet¬ 
 ing that night, the congregation here, as else¬ 
 where, exceeding the capacity of our rented 
 quarters. In this vicinity are large sugar¬ 
 cane interests. For a time, the outlook for 
 our cause here was quite discouraging, but 
 suddenly and almost inexplicably just be¬ 
 fore our visit there was a marked develop¬ 
 ment of interest, and many who had made 
 profession of faith in Christ had presented 
 themselves for baptism. Late at night we 
 returned to Caguas. 
 
 MILITARY HEADQUARTERS 
 
 Cayey, about midway between San Juan 
 and Ponce, derives much of its importance 
 from the establishment there of extensive 
 military headquarters for the island—bar¬ 
 racks. hospital and spacious tracts for field 
 practice. In itself it is a bright and inter¬ 
 esting place, while its mountain environment 
 is superb. From the high summit of El 
 Torito, at the south, reached by a steep sinu¬ 
 ous road, the city looks like a pearl in a set¬ 
 ting of brilliant green ; northward about 20 
 miles is seen San Juan and the Atlantic 
 ocean; southwesterly the Caribbean sea and 
 the islands near the port of Ponce, while east 
 and west appears the broad expanse of a 
 thousand verdant hills; the whole scene most 
 entrancing. 
 
 I. IIuIlinR coffee. 2. Street on which our 
 Mission is. 3. Our poor rented premises. 
 4. Group of school children. 
 
VIEWS IN CAYEY, CENTRAL DISTRICT OF PORTO RICO 
 
 Q 
 
 bfi 
 
 c 
 
 > 
 
 o 
 
 O 
 
 to 
 
 c 
 
 3 
 
 XI 
 
 3 
 
 CL, 
 
 •3 
 
 C 
 
 (C 
 
 V 
 
 X 
 
 H 
 
 Our Rented Mission House The Catholic Church View from the Road at a Distance 
 
i6 
 
 OUR WORIC IN PORTO RICO 
 
 After vigorous driving of four-and-a-half 
 hours we were heartily welcomed at Cayey 
 by Rev. E. L. Humphrey, and soon afterward 
 by Bro. Rudd, from Ponce, who, with Bro. 
 McCormick and myself, composed a Baptist 
 Conference for the consideration of numer¬ 
 ous subjects pertaining to the efficient prose¬ 
 cution of our work in Porto Rico. Nearly 
 two days were spent here, with public ser¬ 
 vices both nights in our rented room, which 
 was well filled, several soldiers being pres¬ 
 ent. The necessity for a suitable house of 
 
 worship in this important centre led to nego¬ 
 tiations, since consummated, for an admir¬ 
 able site on which a tasteful chapel, costing 
 about $4,000, should be erected this year. 
 Bro. Humphrey has made rapid progress in 
 the use of Spanish, is held in high esteem, 
 thoroughly enjoys his work, including the 
 ride through the mountains to Cidra, preach¬ 
 ing Christ along the way, and hopes it may 
 be his privilege to devote his life to the evan¬ 
 gelization of Porto Rico. He is admirably 
 adapted for the work. 
 
 in. Our Southern District in Porto Rico 
 
 ON HORSEBACK —TH E BISHOP AND PASTORAL 
 NEGLECT—THE CROWNING DAY IN PORTO RICO 
 
 T he nine principal stations in the southern 
 district are Barranquitas, Barros, Coamo, 
 Ponce, La Playa, Corral Viejo (Ve-a-ho), 
 Adjuntas (Ad-hiintas), Yauco and Guanica 
 (Gwan-ica). Going from Cayey by carriage 
 to Aibonito, there Bro. Rudd and myself took 
 
 Our Mission 
 I’rojierty at 
 Barranquitas 
 This is a 
 Makeshift, 
 and Ought 
 Soon to be 
 Replaced 
 hy a Neat 
 Chapel 
 
 saddle horses for the seven mile ride over 
 the new highway northward to Barranquitas, 
 and thence for about the same distance over 
 a rough mountain trail to Barros. Two 
 bright young men, internal revenue officials 
 and very friendly to our cause, most hospit¬ 
 ably entertained us over night, refusing any 
 compensation. They had declined to enter¬ 
 tain the Romish Bishop, because they could 
 not give him a sufficiently stately reception ! 
 The real reason was; they wanted to have 
 nothing to do with him. The coming of this 
 ecclesiastic was the sensation of the place 
 and the country roundabout. For fourteen 
 years no bishop had been here to confirm the 
 
 young people, some of whom had reached 
 the age of 35 without the episcopal blessing. 
 This is but one instance in many of the neg¬ 
 lect of the people by their religious guard¬ 
 ians. All abroad, through this thickly set ¬ 
 tled region word was sent of the Bishop’s 
 coming for the confirmation of the people 
 at ten cents each! It was estimated that he 
 would receive from $400 to $500 on this visit. 
 Rest assured that both here and at Barros 
 where he was also going, in our discourses 
 
 Tobacco Culture under cheese cloth, hut roofs 
 protruding, near Barranciuitas. This shows 
 about 150 acres, and dwelling houses for 
 laborers 
 
OUR WORK IN PORTO RICO 
 
 O 
 
 to the large congregations we made eflfective 
 use of the incident of these ecclesiastical 
 money-changers who cared more for the 
 fleece than for the flock. 
 
 THE GOSPEL LEAVEN WORKING 
 
 Barranquitas, though of less than i,ooo 
 people, has been and is influential in insular 
 politics, being the home of the Federal leader, 
 Sehor Rivera, who spends some of his time 
 in New York City, as editor of the Porto 
 Rico Herald published there. Here again we 
 saw how the gospel leaven is working among 
 the people. At the meeting was a fine look¬ 
 ing young man whom we had passed on the 
 highway, who reads and explains the Scrip¬ 
 tures to his fellow-workmen whenever he has 
 opportunity. Services are held in a rented 
 building, for the purchase of which we ne¬ 
 gotiated, though it may not be obtained, ow¬ 
 ing to defect in title. 
 
 METHOD OF TOBACCO CULTURE 
 
 Near here, we passed a field of over lOO 
 acres of tobacco growing under cheese-cloth, 
 with the houses of workmen projecting 
 through it, like jutting rocks out of a snowy 
 landscape. Oranges are abundant, but the 
 natives never eat them before breakfast. As 
 we despatched some the first thing in the 
 morning, our host declared that he would 
 not eat one for ten dollars; our reply being 
 that for that sum we would eat several. 
 
 A MORNING RIDE UPHILL 
 
 A FIELD OF GREAT PROMISE 
 
 And now, early in the morning, mounting 
 our horses, away we go to Barros, over the 
 steep winding mountain trail, in places al¬ 
 most like riding up a flight of stairs; ford¬ 
 ing several streams; through groves of the 
 magnificent royal palm; crossing the summit 
 at an altitude of about 3,000 feet; after three 
 hours’ continuous riding reaching our des¬ 
 tination. The town itself has about 1,000 in¬ 
 habitants. The neighboring district is densely 
 populated. It presents a striking combina¬ 
 tion of fine residences in the centre of the 
 town and rustic cabins on the steep eastern 
 hillside. Fronting the plaza is our rented 
 house, which was crowded at night, while 
 about a hundred people outside attentively 
 listened to the speakers. At the close of the 
 discourse a bright young man, a teacher in 
 the public school, came to the front and pub¬ 
 licly made known his purpose to follow 
 Christ, making four teachers and the post¬ 
 master who are with us. Bro. Rudd says 
 that in all the fifteen years of his missionary 
 experience he has never seen so rich, ripe 
 and promising a field as Barros. The tide 
 of sentiment is strongly in our favor. So 
 important is it to have a house of our own 
 here that we negotiated for a central lot with 
 a building, the material of which can be util¬ 
 ized in the erection of a church edifice, which 
 can be built with $1,000 additional. And the 
 man who sold it is President of the Roman 
 Catholic Society of the place and was to en¬ 
 tertain the Bishop the next week! Our na- 
 
 VIEWS I.\ BARROS 
 
 I. Homes of the Humble. 2. The Roman Cath¬ 
 olic Church. 3. The Town from the West. 
 4. Our Rented Premises. 
 
i8 
 
 OUR WORK IN PORTO RICO 
 
 Our Rented Quarters The Catholic Church The Main Street 
 
 CHURCH CONTRASTS IN COAMO 
 
 tive missionary who labors here and at Bar- 
 ranquitas is Gabriel de Santiago, a very capa¬ 
 ble and estimable young man. The work was 
 begun here in the spring of 1903, and when 
 we were there 14 persons were awaiting bap¬ 
 tism. 
 
 SERVICE AT COAMO 
 
 After the return horseback ride of about 
 14 miles to Aibonito, and a two hours’ car¬ 
 riage ride thence, zigzagging down the steep 
 mountain sides amid beautiful and sublime 
 scenery, we reached Coamo in time for the 
 evening service, in our rented barn-like room. 
 Though short notice was given of the meet¬ 
 ing there were about 80 present. The work 
 here has been difficult, partly because of the 
 unattractive place of worship, partly because 
 of the strong Catholic influence, and for lack 
 
 Guanica Bay, where the American troops landed 
 to take the Island. Our rented Mission premises. 
 
 of a suitable workman. Coamo is a fine city 
 of about 5,500, and demands energetic and 
 liberal measures for its evangelization. Here 
 also a site for a house of worship was pro¬ 
 visionally acquired. 
 
 THE WESTERNMOST MISSIONS 
 
 On to Ponce the next afternoon; the fol¬ 
 lowing morning very early by rail an hour 
 and a half to Yauco; thence an hour by car¬ 
 riage and we were at our westernmost mis¬ 
 sion, Guanica, where the American troops 
 landed in 1899 for the invasion of the island. 
 The town of 700 or 800 people is dull, very 
 little maritime business being done here; but 
 the broad bay with its bold bluffs at the dis¬ 
 tant ocean entrance is beautiful. Large sugar 
 cane plantations and mills are in this vicinity. 
 There is no Roman Catholic church here. 
 This is an outstation of Yauco, services being 
 held in a small rented huilding. But for us 
 the people would be absolutely without re¬ 
 ligious attention. No attempt was made to 
 get a meeting in the forenoon. Guanica may 
 yet assume importance as a naval station. 
 
 A COMMERCIAL CENTRE 
 
 Yauco is the commercial centre of this sec¬ 
 tion. It has a population of about 6,000; 
 many excellent buildings; is one of the 
 wealthiest cities of its size on the island. 
 Our missionary here, Eugenio Alvarado, was 
 a student for the priesthood, became dis¬ 
 gusted with the badness of the priests, left 
 them for a worldly life, at a crisis in his 
 career was converted, and is not only an 
 effective preacher but very studious, as evi¬ 
 denced in some of the examination papers of 
 the correspondence school work inaugurated 
 by Bro. Rudd. Here we have a church of 
 62 members, meeting in a very good rented 
 building with a seating capacity of about 125. 
 The room was packed, and a large number 
 unable to get in stood at*the door and win¬ 
 dows, listening most intently to our utter¬ 
 ances. Here a house should soon be built. 
 An excellent site was negotiated for while 
 we were there and has since been purchased 
 by the Society. 
 
 MRS. Duggan’s school 
 
 The visit to Mrs. Duggan’s mission in a 
 suburb of Ponce, the next day, was of much 
 interest. With a folding organ in her buggy, 
 after fording a stream, we reached the 
 
OUR WORK IN PORTO RICO 
 
 
 “chapel,” which was an arbor covered with 
 palm leaves, open at the sides, and contain¬ 
 ing some cheap benches for the children and 
 a few older people who gather there. Though 
 the Roman Catholics had recently resorted 
 to their peculiar methods to break up the 
 mission, 25 were present; and as we heard 
 their hearty singing of Sunday School hymns 
 and beheld their interest in what was said, 
 and thought not only of the spiritual benefit 
 
 VIEWS IX YAUCO 
 
 to their own lives but also of the gospel 
 truths they conveyed to their homes and ac¬ 
 quaintances, we felt that this humble mis¬ 
 sion, conducted by a most devoted and suc¬ 
 cessful Christian woman, might be the sim¬ 
 ple seed sowing of an abundant harvest. 
 Mrs. Duggan, who labored for years in Mex¬ 
 ico and is the author of the popular book “A 
 Mexican Ranch,” may, it is hoped, write an¬ 
 other on Porto Rico. She is supported by 
 
 I. The Catholic Church 
 
 2. A Principal Street _ 3. Our Rented Premises on the Right 
 
 4. Our Native Missionaries, Eugenio Alvarado and Wife 
 
20 
 
 OUR WORK IN PORTO RICO 
 
 the Woman's American Baptist Home Mis¬ 
 sion Society of Boston, which had recently 
 sent as her associate Miss Greenlaw. Mrs. 
 Duggan also has a class weekly of women at 
 the church, besides doing much else in the 
 interests of the work at Ponce and vicinity. 
 
 POINTS OF VANTAGE 
 
 At La Playa, the busy port of Ponce and 
 two and a half miles distant, the meeting at 
 night in the room of a residence fitted up for 
 services was well attended. The chapel, 
 which will probably be completed in May at 
 a cost of about $1,700, will contribute greatly 
 to the strengthening of our cause here. It 
 occupies a conspicuous location where it will 
 be seen and known by the numerous passers- 
 
 From the sea-shore, north, 21 miles up into 
 the mountains to Adjuntas, was the next 
 day’s program. Grand and glorious is this 
 
 Street in Adjuntas, and Our Mission Property 
 
 trip over the macadamized road, built since 
 American occupation and crossing the island 
 to Arecibo. Sharp curves in mountain ra¬ 
 vines and at jutting points of the road, with 
 massive retaining walls below and towering 
 rocks above, and magnificent landscapes 
 stretching away to the ocean, are some of 
 the attractions of this remarkably interesting 
 route. Adjuntas itself will undoubtedly, with 
 returning prosperity to the island, again be¬ 
 come a great summer resort because of its 
 salubrity, and its coolness which at night was 
 quite enough for our comfort. 
 
 Here the Society has acquired a very de¬ 
 sirable property, a good corner lot fronting 
 the plaza, on which is a large building afford¬ 
 ing accommodations, though inferior, for our 
 services, and a residence for the missionary. 
 After the evening service, which was well 
 attended, Bro. Rudd baptized three persons, 
 making the number of members in the church 
 54. About $1,000 is needed for the recon¬ 
 struction and proper equipment of a part of 
 
 the building for a chapel. The native mis¬ 
 sionary, Dionisio Hernandez, was a zealous 
 Romanist who violently broke up some evan- 
 
 Corral Viejo 
 Chapel. 
 Dedicated 
 January, 1904 
 What Can 
 Be Done 
 for $800 
 including 
 Furniture 
 
 gelical services in the beginning of our work, 
 but at length, like persecuting Saul, was con¬ 
 verted through and through. He preaches 
 also at two or three outstations. The recep¬ 
 tion of members was conducted most satis¬ 
 factorily; and after the usual baptismal 
 formula, as well as after the benediction, the 
 church members responded in unison with 
 the minister: “Amen.” And here, again, is 
 a native Bible class teacher whose wife was 
 baptized the night we were there, who since 
 his conversion has got a surprising knowl¬ 
 edge of Scripture truth. With the develop¬ 
 ment of such material in our churches we 
 may expect substantial growth by their own 
 inherent vitality. 
 
 A GREAT SUNDAY 
 
 The crowning day of all in Porto Rico was 
 Sunday, Jan. 24th. Corral Viejo, where Bro. 
 Rudd has found it necessary to live on ac¬ 
 count of the health of his family, is about six 
 miles north of Ponce on the road to Ad¬ 
 juntas, at a considerable elevation, and lying 
 between towering hills. Thence early we 
 went to the Sunday School in our church at 
 Ponce, where we have a beautiful and com¬ 
 modious house in this city of many fine 
 buildings and a population of 28,000. The 
 site, house and furnishings cost in round 
 numbers $13,000. The location is excellent. 
 Here were nearly 200 persons studying the 
 
 On the Road to Adjuntas 
 
OUR WORK IN PORTO RICO 
 
 2 I 
 
 Panoramic View of Ponce, Second City in Importance 
 
 word of God; Bro. Rudd having a fine class 
 of young men; Mrs. Duggan a primary class 
 of 83 packed in the small rear rooms; a 
 men’s Bible class numbering 25; a woman’s 
 Bible class of 40 taught by a native woman 
 
 Our Model Baptist Church in Ponce. Such houses 
 command respect and give us ])roper standing 
 and equipment 
 
 of much ability; and several other classes of 
 youth of both sexes. The singing was good. 
 Of course the visitor had to address the 
 school. 
 
 The dedication of the new chapel at Corral 
 Viejo followed in the afternoon. It is a plain 
 structure, neatly painted, comfortably seated, 
 well located in the midst of this thickly set¬ 
 
 tled hamlet, which is becoming a favorite 
 suburb for residents of Ponce. The entire 
 property, including furniture, cost less than 
 $800; Bro. Rudd giving much personal at¬ 
 tention to the enterprise. The house, seating 
 about 150, was crowded and many stood at 
 the doors. The Secretary of the Society dis¬ 
 coursed on the purposes for which the house 
 was erected; Alvarado followed in an ex¬ 
 cellent discourse on the spiritual temple. 
 llo-cv much the erection of this house means 
 to the community may be inferred from the 
 fact that until zve began to hold services, no 
 priest had been here for eight years, unless 
 on some special occasion. Suddenly, they be¬ 
 came concerned and tried various expedients 
 to turn the current that was running in our 
 favor. The very afternoon of our dedication, 
 according to previous announcement, tzoo 
 priests came from Ponce to hold services in 
 the house of a leading family of the place, 
 hoping thereby to draw the people away from 
 us. They had a small congregation compared 
 with ours, and got scant comfort as on their 
 return they rode by our thronged house. 
 This is a fair illustration of the independence 
 of Porto Ricans in religious matters. Our 
 chapel, which is the only one of any kind be¬ 
 tween Ponce and Adjuntas, is said to be the 
 first country house of worship erected any¬ 
 where on the island. We ought to build a 
 score for rural communities remote from the 
 principal cities. Hardly anywhere could a 
 few hundred dollars be more wisely invested. 
 
 Back to Ponce we went for the evening 
 service, addressing there a most attentive 
 congregation of about 250 people. This 
 church is being trained in the system of 
 weekly offerings and in the proper manage¬ 
 ment of its affairs. It maintains in part three 
 mission schools, in the eastern and northern 
 parts of the city. The church needs the 
 
22 
 
 OUR WORK IN PORTO RICO 
 
 services of a native assistant, inasmuch as it 
 is simply impossible for Bro. Rudd to give 
 it requisite attention, with the manifold du¬ 
 ties and heavy responsibilities of supervision 
 of the other interests in this southern por¬ 
 tion of the island. At Corral Viejo, particu¬ 
 larly, the interest and efficiency of the Sun¬ 
 day School and of the prayer meetings is due 
 largely to Mrs. Rudd, whose soul goes out 
 in Christian sympathy and helpfulness to 
 these people groping out of darkness into day. 
 In addition to his other labors Bro. Rudd has 
 begun a successful correspondence school in 
 Bible study for the native preachers. 
 
 FAREWELL SCENES 
 
 The final service the following night at 
 Corral Viejo was attended by a large congre¬ 
 gation. Two native brethren, Alvarado and 
 Mier, preached strong and stirring sermons, 
 after which came a few parting words by the 
 Society’s representative. Elpidio de Mier. 
 educated for the priesthood, is a talented 
 man, intense and rapid in delivery, quick in 
 every movement and full of zeal. It is hoped 
 that he may become a power in the evangeli¬ 
 zation of Porto Rico. For the time he is sta¬ 
 tioned at La Playa. 
 
 Reluctantly, on the twenty-sixth of Jan¬ 
 uary, we left La Playa for Santiago, Cuba, 
 with pleasant memories of association with 
 the choice spirits who direct our work, and 
 
 of the score of congregations aggregating 
 about 2,000, whom it was our privilege to 
 meet and address on great gospel themes. 
 Brethren Rudd and Mier accompanied us in 
 a row boat to the steamer at anchor a mile 
 or more away, the harbor near the shore be¬ 
 ing too shallow for large vessels. Inde¬ 
 scribably beautiful was the scene before us 
 from the steamer’s deck; the blue waters of 
 the bay, the white surf of the reefs, the pink, 
 blue and orange colored buildings of the city, 
 our ever beautiful banner, tbe deep green 
 fringes of royal palm and cocoanut groves in 
 the foreground; beyond, the lighter green 
 with darker patches of the hills, their thread¬ 
 like trails and frequent cabins ; some valleys in 
 gloom, others in the white of sunlit showers; 
 distant peaks here and there in clear cut out¬ 
 line against patches of deep blue sky, others 
 in heavy shadows with silvery clouds in the 
 background; all constituting an enchanting 
 scene that gradually faded from view as the 
 sun went down, leaving us at the southwest- 
 ernmost point of the island to see at last the 
 brilliant rays of a lighthouse on a bold head¬ 
 land, and away back above the mountain 
 peaks a glowing pillar of cloud—the one 
 seeming a symbol of our gospel lighthouses 
 in the spiritual darkness; the other, sug¬ 
 gestive of the shining cloud of old that at¬ 
 tested the Divine presence among his chosen 
 people. 
 
 Street in Ponce, Fronting Plaza. Carnival Procession. 
 
OUR WORK IN PORTO RICO 
 
 23 
 
 Special Notes on Porto Rico 
 
 A PARTIAL SUMMING UP OF THE NAR¬ 
 RATIVE—THE THINGS THAT SHOULD 
 INTEREST AMERICAN GIVERS : : 
 
 R ev. H. P. McCORMICK and wife and 
 Miss Ida Hayes, of San Juan, and Rev. 
 A. B. Rudd and wife and Mrs. Janie P. Dug¬ 
 gan, of Ponce, were for several years effi¬ 
 cient missionaries in Mexico under the aus¬ 
 pices of the Foreign Mission Board of the 
 Southern Baptist Convention. For good 
 reasons they left its service and returned to 
 the States shortly before the conclusion of 
 our war with Spain. They heartily re¬ 
 sponded to our quick call for workers in 
 Porto Rico. This providential and most 
 timely gift of able and experienced workers 
 who spoke Spanish fluently accounts in large 
 measure for the success of our missions in 
 Porto Rico. 
 
 Rev. E. L. Humphrey, of Cayey, had a 
 varied experience in Christian work which 
 seems to have been a preparation for his 
 present service. The recent appointments of 
 Rev. L. E. Troyer and Mr. H. W. Vodra, of 
 the graduating class of the Rochester Theo¬ 
 logical Seminary, one for Northern and the 
 other for Southern Porto Rico, constitute 
 valuable and needed reinforcements for our 
 v/ork there. Only one more American mis¬ 
 sionary will be needed for some time to come. 
 The six native workers will doubtless be in¬ 
 creased to eight or nine soon. Indeed it is 
 surprising how much good native talent the 
 Lord has already raised up for this field 
 white unto the harvest. 
 
 CONCERNING ORGANS 
 
 Cabinet organs are needed for church and 
 Sunday School services. There are but five 
 or six for all our 21 principal stations. 
 Some of the missionaries “tote” baby-organs 
 on horseback or in wagon from point to 
 point. We should have ten more organs 
 speedily; half of the number costing each 
 with freight about $125; the others, portable 
 organs, costing each with freight about $40. 
 This instrumental music adds much to the 
 attractiveness and effectiveness of our ser¬ 
 vices. 
 
 CONCERNING GOSPEL HORSES 
 
 Gospel wagons can do a very limited work 
 in Porto Rico, or in Cuba, because the roads 
 on which they can be used are few. Gospel 
 horses, without wagons are necessary to 
 traverse the hilly interior where the people 
 can be reached only by this method or on 
 foot. With a horse, many a missionary can 
 double his efficiency, and often effect a de¬ 
 cided saving in travelling expenses. Porto 
 Rican horses cost on an average from $40 to 
 $50, including outfit, and the annual expense 
 of about $60 for keeping. The Society has 
 eight horses in service in Porto Rico and 
 ought to have five more at once, for its 20 
 
 stations and 30 outstations. Who will have 
 a horse at work for him in Porto Rico? 
 
 CONCERNING “eL EVANGELISTA” 
 
 The new Baptist paper for Porto Rico, 
 “El Evangelista,” Rev. H. P. McCormick, 
 editor, made its first appearance in March, 
 1904. It was found impracticable to have one 
 Baptist paper for Porto Rico, Cuba and Mex¬ 
 ico, or, indeed, one for the two islands, in- 
 
 EL EHNGELISTA. 
 
 
 " vO HE SIDO PUESTO PARA LA DEPENSA DEL EVANGELIC. t:€. 
 
 asniLich as now steamers ply only monthly 
 between Ponce and Santiago. Therefore our 
 brethren in each island were pronounced in 
 favor of a paper of their own. It is needed 
 to keep our people informed of the progress 
 of our cause there and elsewhere and to set 
 forth the great truths of the Gospel in a 
 fresh and forcible way, as well as to refute 
 the objections and misstatements of the Rom¬ 
 anists and others. In response to the re¬ 
 quest of the Home Mission Society the Amer¬ 
 ican Baptist Publication Society appropria¬ 
 ted $300 for this purpose which is divided 
 between the two papers. An addition of $200, 
 with the small receipts from subscriptions, 
 will probably cover expenses of monthly pub- 
 
24 
 
 OUR WORK IN PORTO RICO 
 
 lications; of course the work of editing and 
 managing these papers is entirely without 
 compensation. 
 
 CONCERNING BELLS 
 
 Every one of our chapels should have a 
 bell to remind the people of our presence 
 and of the hours for services. They have 
 not our fixed habits about going to church. 
 Many have no timepieces in their homes. Six 
 bells are needed now—one costing $350 for 
 the house at Ponce; others costing, includ¬ 
 ing freight, from $75 to $100 each. Special 
 rates are offered us by one of the best con¬ 
 cerns in the country. Who wants to set the 
 Gospel bells a-ringing in Porto Rico? 
 
 CONCERNING “sPIRITISm” 
 
 “Spiritism” is very prevalent both, in 
 Porto Rico and Cuba. It is spiritualism and 
 more. It has its mediums, its table tip¬ 
 ping, knockings, etc., and has arrayed itself 
 to a considerable extent in a Christian garb. 
 There are numerous organizations for the 
 propagation of the faith. They teach the 
 repeated reincarnations of human spirits un¬ 
 til at length perfection shall be attained. 
 Allan Kardec (which, however, is a pseudo¬ 
 nym), of France, is the great apostle of 
 spiritism, his works being extensively cir¬ 
 culated throughout these Spanish-speaking 
 countries. It is avowedly antagonistic to 
 Romanism. It calls its own system the 
 “Religio Ideal,” and that of Rome the “Re- 
 ligio Positiva”; the former being the ideal 
 or spiritual religion in contrast to the Rom¬ 
 ish religion of dogma and rites and cere¬ 
 monies. It is estimated that a third of the 
 population are adherents of this system.. 
 At first, they thought that we, who placed 
 so much stress upon spiritualitv and the in¬ 
 sufficiency of ceremonies as means of salva- 
 
 Easy 
 way to 
 get a 
 meal 
 if one 
 is good 
 at the 
 climb¬ 
 ing. 
 
 One of 
 our mis¬ 
 sionaries 
 and a 
 group of 
 natives 
 watch 
 the opera' 
 tion 
 
 with glee 
 
 Native climbing a tree for cocoanuts, 
 near Mediania—Snap-shotted in 
 the act. Missionary McCormick 
 on the right of group 
 
 tion, were essentially like themselves and 
 were ready to join our churches. They soon 
 found, however, the radical differences be¬ 
 tween us and fell away, though some have 
 come to a knowledge of the truth. In gen¬ 
 eral their attitude towards us is very 
 friendly, regarding us as an ally in their op¬ 
 position to Romanism. 
 
 A Private Modern High Class Residence in Ponce 
 
DATE DUE 
 
 1 
 
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 Nia 
 
 
 
 JUL 25 7 
 
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 JUL 2 3 7- 
 
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 OCT 3 1 
 
 1191 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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 GAYLORD 
 
 
 
 PRINTED IN U.S A. 
 
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