The Hawaiian gazette., 1883-03-21
Aaluaiialr 6azettr.
WEDNESDAY, MARCH q. 1883.
Sugar Plantations ON tho Island Of Cuba


each Of which places had several hours on
shore. Here in Havana find everything IN
like anything had ever seen before. The city
lies on fat plain shut in by low hills. Across
the bay is splendid breezy height. but it is
monopolized by the fortress aud no residences
are allowed upon it. 1t is a pity as it would
make a magnificent location for suburban resi-
dences, being high and we'll drained, and swept
by ocean breezes. As it is the rich must herd
with the poor in the city; the wealthy mansion
side by side with the negro hut, and as the
drainage is bad and no attention paid to clean
ing the streets, the two take the fever together.
l don't wonder that the yellow fever is almost
perennial here. should think that any kind
of filth disease would flourish for it has mast
mess and heat combined to feed upon.
went last night into the country, spending
two days on a plantation, or Lagsnio, as they
are called here, and two more days at Carde-
mas. l had gathered my ideas of plantation
life in the tropics mainly from my Hawaiian
experience and looked to find another Ulupa-
lakua, but on a grander scale. But / was
nightly mistaken. The plantation was very
large, some $4,000 acres in extent, with over
1000 in cane and as much more in wood land,
and sugar house, including machinery, that
could not be built for 500, 900. Pat had the
proprietor been an ignorant cobbler he could
hardly have lived with less luxury, not to say
comfort, at least according to our ideas of COM
fort The house was single story with roof
| and floor of tiles. The windows, like Hawaii
an houses, were "French, opening upon the
piazza, like doors. They were of blind stats
with inner shutters of heavy plank, but no
glass. A marble top table with few papers
and books, dining table and some chairs of
rough hand made frames seated and backed
with hide dried with the hair on, furnished the
living room, around which were hung framed
Autographs and advertising pictures Of ma
| chinery.
The food was cooked well according to
| Spanish taste, suppose, and l had no fault TO
| find with the most of it, except that should
have preferred something else than fresh pork
and other vegetables than potatoes ana onions.
| There was boiled root called Yucca that
thought might be something like Pia, as l am
told they make starch of it. in growing the
bush looks like high bush burberry. The
sweet potatoes are very good and meaiy; Irish
potatoes not so dry. Outside the house was a
little garden with few plants in soap boxes
| and wine boxes, but the season had been terri
bly, dry and everything looked sckly and dus-
ty.
Last September there were two tremendous
hurricanes, that destroyed the bananas so that
they are still quite scarce here in the city, and
on the plantations are as yet none ripe. As
for oranges l did not see a tree, or indeed OF
any fruit, although this is the fruit garden Of
the world. Outside the garden fence the ground
about the sugar room was trodden bare and
brown by the hoofs of horses and oxen.
The buildings were arranged as nearly as
| possible to the center Of the cane tract and as
] the ground was dead level with occasional
hillocks, there is no view at all. Access to the
railroad station was by railroad switch track
for sugar, etc., and by horseback for humans.
In all the country travelling is almost entire
ly by horseback, though in my trips of 200
miles and more, / did see two roiniieS-chaise
| with long shafts and wheels behind almost as
one in the shafts, which are fully ten feet long
the other beside him, attached to the whiffle-
tree by long ropes. The side horse is ridden
a Ia position by the driver and as tie carriage
seat is nearly midway between the wheels and
the horse, it makes a sort Of sedan chair, or
blackboard spring that enables the rider to
jounce over the rocks without dislocating his
spine.
While at cardenas l rode out about ten miles
into the country to look at some machinery OF
our manufacture at work. Cardenas is one Of
the oldest cities on the island, with popula-
ton of $4,000 to 10000, and 1 doubt not the
road has been in existence for 100 years, but
you would hardly find worse places on the
road to the volcano than we found that day
We passed one OK wagon, the only vehicle
saw. The frame mounted on two wheels was
like one of our own n. L. carts. The pole OK
en- were large strong animals with the yoke
fastened to the horns. The yoke is quite light
and is dashed to the horns Gust back of which
it lies) only enough to prevent slipping. A
broad soft cushion lies against the forehead
across which there are ropes flashing it to the
yoke. In this way the entire strain Of the pull
comes upon the hard bones of the upper fore
head, enabling the OK 70 throw his whole
weight againstit.
Besides the pole oxen there was another
yoke of smaller ones on the lead at the end oil
a rope so long that they were ten feet ahead Of
the pole, and thirty feet farther ahead was
another yoke of little steers hardly bigger thar
half-grown heifers.
Before l came here l wondered why the Gu
bans hadn't given up their oxen and taken tC
mules like the Louisiana planters, but after
seeing these rocks / am not SO much surprised
On the plantation where l first visited found
cane growing on land as rough and full oil
rocks as down east sheep pasture How they
managed to plough such land is a mystery tc
me, but they did, and now rM rdit0On croI
II gears running, they lriH take Of, in spite d
tie drought, orer a ton Of sugar 10 The acre, and
had there been sufficient rain would have dOu-
lied the amount.
have spoken of the fruits. This is out oil
season for most of them, but there is still q
| good variety in the Havana markets. Oranges
are beginning to come in though as yet they
are sour as compared with the Louisiana fruit
which, under the influence of light frost, had
ripened up rapidly before left Here the fruit
is said TO be very dear compared to the price
when fairly in season. The other day bought
ten cents worth (paper equivalent to five cents
silver) and got fifteen fair-sized smooth fruit
The custarC apple is nearly out Of season; il
is called the Neu Anon. 1t is, l think, the
Chiri Moya, though my recollection of that
fruit is Of real custard about as solid as baked
custard, and with only few black seeds scat
tered among the pulp. The Anon looks like
small green pineapple, the rind being more
knobby. Inside it is full Of elongated black
seeds the size of peanut meat, each of which
is enveloped in a slightly stringy sheath and
the whole permeated with soft pulp. 1t has 10
be eaten with a spoon as the pulp is so soft
and sticky.
Pineapples, too, are out Of season, though
there are few in the market. / bought, to-
day, new fruit called the "Mami Colorado. -
/ 1t looks like the meat of q cocoanut taken out
whole in its brown skin from the she'll Inside
1t is red like water melon. Near Cardenas |
saw single pawpaw or papaia tree. also
saw few breadfruit trees. Pomgranates are
in the market large and handsome. Green CO.
coanuts are piled on the floors of all the res
taurants and Aqua de Coco, either with or
without ice, is a favorite drink Ochatta
| (which in English is changed to Qrgeat) is
made by MASKING the meat of almonds and
rubbing up the pulp in water. Ii makes a
beverage as white as milk and is simply deli
cious on hot day. Guanibana must be made
fresh as used. The fruit looks like dropsi-
cal cactus leaf and is about as repulsive a
looking fruit as one could imagine. The green
skin peels off like that of q mango, showing a
white pulp Of the consistency of a musk melon
with hard core in the center. A handful of
this pulp is put into bowl with some sugar
and pounded with pestle, shaken with water
and then drained through a sieve into glass
holding pint. Water is added to the pulp in
the sieve until the tumbler is full and il is
ready to drink. 1t is slightly acid, depending
upon the amount OF sugar used Although