Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1878-04-29
THE POSTAL EXCURSION TO HAVANA,
What We Saw In Cuba.
Correspondence Of The Etening Star


| we stroled and rode about the city. The first
| person here to pay us his attention was Mr.
Luis Begueria, Reporter Del Didri0 de La
| Marina, who is the official reporter of the city,
He speaks fair English, and is man of great
Intelligence, and, like the great American re-
| everybody in the city he lives in. He writes
ANONYMOUSLY for two daily and three weekly
papers, and all he writes goes through the
hands Of the press censor before being printed
Yesterday afternoon several of us took a long
drive around the city, and found a great deal
to interest and instruct us. The streets are
generally well paved and pretty clean.
THE PECULIARITIES OF HAVANA.
Most of the houses are only one and two
stories, but the stories are very high and the
fronts all window and door, exposing the
stores IN the business streets, and the parlOrS
an ana q llving rooms in the dwellings to the free
gaze e OF IT. the passenger. To us this is strange,
window in the city, and we trust the CubanS
90 not consider us impertinent when We stare
so curlously into their houses. In the more
is next to the entrance to the dwelling and in
houses of two stories the carriage house
ana ;ha stab, stable is frequently in the front of
diately over it. We look through the
open windows and see in the rear of the
houses beautiful tropiea! verdure of in
American furniture IN all the houses. We
rode by the palace of the Governor General
Nnlcn is situated In the midst of an extensive
park filled with an endless variety of tropical
vegetation, and towering above all immense
cocoa nut and palm and plantain trees. We
returnedto our hotel through a broad, we'll
RaSed R business, ne Shocking thoroughfare in which
II seemed to me every, Imaginable kind of
trade is carried on. The city abounds with
spacious parks and public squares, which are
the ordinary places OF resort of great multi
tudeS IN the late afternoon and evening until
an advanced hour of the night. One park
near our hotel is Ornamented with a heroic
statue OF Queen Isabel, and in another is a
monument to Alfonso, the present rejgning
sovereign. Near this park in the open space
is still standing part of the arch erected to
celebrate the recent peace between the mother
country and the insurgents of Cuba
SOMETHING ABOUT THE LATE CHRISTOPHER
COLUMBUS.
Mr. Begueria took me yesterday to visit the
tathelral st, ChrlStOph, a spacious pile
erected over two hundred years ago, with lofty
arches and heavy projections The building
IS well preserved, the altar space adorned with
curious Old paintings and rich hanging dra-
pefleS, and IN niche near the main altar is a
marble slab, with an alto relief bust Of the
great dlScOverer, under which is the follow
ing inscription: 20 reStos :ymagen del grande
Colon! Mil Siglos durad guarda dos on la
Orna yen la remembrance de nueStra nacion."
The carving of this tablet was exquisitey
beautiful. have been observing
THE CUBAN PEOPLE,
and am very agreeably disappointed in their
appearance. They appear we'll prODortoned
physically, and of good stature, and are hand
somely dressed, and clean. The regular and
volunteer troops, which are numerous, are
uniformed in cool fabrics, wear Panama hats
with c0ckades, and when on duty. are armed
with Remington breech-loading, rifles. saw
a.battallOn on dress parade today, and they
Impressed me as being composed of as good
hghtlng material as any of the troops of our
late war. Last night MI Begueria took us all
to the Casino. a club composed of the elite of
Havana SOclpty an Of
the wealth Of the island. The building is very
extensive; has spacious assembly rooms, i'm
mense l billiard galleries, library, whose cata-
printed pages, wide balustrades, exceedingly
Fic Eh and costly furniture statuary Of very
ss sads sdss wt6 apS s hsorea Mas p5f pannss nsa
While here we We're entertained with cool
ices, cakes, and Spanish wine. The secretary
Is MI Jose f. Nergez, who speaks but little
and is attached to the Dari0 de la Marina as
one OF the editors: He treated US with great
core lallty: had almost forgottent to state that
this club, in addition to being the great assem-
bly, OF the best people, is an institution which
cOnfers public benefits. There are fine school
rooms attached to the building and the mem
DerS, at their own expense, employ professors
and educate constantly over one hundred of
the youth of Havana, giving them the best
possible commercial instruction, and gradu-
ating year by year a class of one hundred youth
TO take high position among the citizens and
business population of the city.
we visited the school apartments, were in
troduced to the professor then in charge and
noted with satisfaction the Intelligence as well
as the modest demeanOr of the boys in the
class, all OF whom arose as we entered, and re-
manned standing in respectful attitudes while
we stayed. Gentlemen with our party who
have visited the Union League Clubs of New
YORK and Philadelphia, stated that neither of
the eSta blShmentS Of those celebrated aSsOci
atlonS could compare in rOOminess, usefulness
or elegance Of appointment with this institu-
tiOn, attached to which, beyond the library
wing, is vast gymnasium, pistol gallery, and
fencing school.
THE THEATERs OF HAVANA
We subsequently visited the Teatro de Pay
ret where we saw one act of Camille we'll
played, the heroine's part being personated by
the celebrated Italian tragedienne, Mad
Pezzana. While there, the orchestra Der
formed specially as compliment to the Post
taste. This theater has five tiers of boxes and
seats four or five thousand persons. All its
appointments are OF the most modern kind,
well in place of public amusement. We
afterwards visited an American circus, which
was very entertaining. Human nature seems
notice that while the legitimate drama only
called together few hundred persons at the
tneater, the circus was crammed with as
amused an audience as l ever saw in Wash
ingt9n. At the circus we were introduced to
the chief Police agent of Cuba, who is second
only to the Captain General in position He
was handsome, well dressed gentleman, very
polite, and wore a gOld-headed cane with an
immense cluster OF diamonds around the top
He accompanied several of us on brief call
at Cuban club-rOOm, where number of
native Cubans, male and female, were dancing
to the music of flute and pianO-the latter
sadly needing the visit OF the tuner.
STREET SCENES.
Ox-teams are used almost altogether for
heavy drayage in Havana, and they are yoked
to carts with very large wheels-the yokes
being fastened to the horns of the oxen with
ropes, and the load being pushed along by the
oxen by means of the head and neck. While
yOked in this position their heads cannot be
turned. Their noses are pierced. and rope
through that opening passes up over the head
to the driver. who, by its means, guides his
team, and induces them to greater exertions
by the use of gOad with a spur in the end.
Mules are used for lighter drayage and are
harnesSed to carts about five feet wide,
and have saddles perched on their backs
to bear the weight of the shafts on top of layers
of folded blankets about two feet high. The
mules are also used with pack-saddles and
paniers for light express transportation. The
his milk cans dangling from pack saddles and
capacious paniers all around his smuers"
sides. Female asses are driven about and
MIXED at the doors of the purchasers -Four
of them were driven UP to the entrance of our
hotel this morning and MIXED for the benefit
of an invalid lady. stopping here, and who
every morning drinks goblet of this asinine
Leehe fresh from the udder. John Chinaman
hops about numerOuSly, his hair cut short He