And so this little band of eight devoted men and women have entered upon the pioneer work in opening up Porto Rico to an intelligent gospel. They have gone out with the prayers and sympathy of thousands of those who have been greatly interested in the important work in this island territory. The future promises large things in the building up of Christian character and the establishment of progressive Christian institutions. [Illustration: REV. JOHN EDWARDS, _Evangelist_.] _Where have these missionaries gone?_ They landed first at San Juan, on the northeastern portion of the island. They established a school at Santurce, which is a few miles distant from San Juan. From this field Miss Blowers writes as follows: [Illustration: AMERICAN MISSIONARY ASSOCIATION SCHOOL, SANTURCE.] "The schoolhouse opens on the street (the military road), where there is a constant stream of passers by. There is not an hour in the day that there are not spectators peering in at doors and windows with idle curiosity or eager interest. Sometimes there are not more than three or four, but often as many as eighteen or twenty. Let me tell you of the various persons who composed this outside audience, as I watched them one morning. A native policeman, a business man waiting for his car, three beggars, boys with large trays of bread, fruit and sweetmeats on their heads, a washerwoman with a huge basket of clothes poised securely on her head, the driver of an ox-cart, who stopped his team while we sang "America," three women going to market, a party of daintily dressed, sweet-faced senoritas with their chaperone, a dirty, wild-looking old hag who almost frightened me, a young mother carrying a naked baby in her arms, and boys--well, it was no use to count them. What do you think? Are we not being well advertised?" [Illustration: ON THE MILITARY ROAD FROM SAN JUAN TO LARES.] Great care was taken in locating these schools. Rev. A. F. Beard, Senior Secretary of the A. M. A., and Rev. William H. Ward, D.D., a member of the Executive Committee, visited the island to examine the conditions and discover the best points for such work. Prof. Scott, after reaching the island, also made thorough investigation concerning the most important location. He wrote after reaching Porto Rico: "The railroad from Arecibo is impassable. I hired a pony and a boy to guide me and started for the town. The only way of traveling now, except on military roads, is by pony. I had never ridden two miles on horseback in my life, but it had to be done and I am still intact, and have ridden twenty to twenty-five miles to-day without even getting stiff. We reached Arecibo, having to ford or ferry streams five times. There were no bridges left.