St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1888-09-01

. Mounted Courier PreeeAes the Tran -
8eraja It's Approsch.
Railway travelling in Cuba has some
curious aspects. For instance. when
trains arrive and depart for cities or
villages it is rather a queer thing to
see. between the depots and limits Of all
municipalities, man on horseback
preceding the engine. No train may
arrive or depart more rapidly than the
speed OF this courier, who announces
his own and the trains coming by tre-
mendous bellOwings and hallOoings.
Sometimes he is provided with sort Of
trumpet, which he sounds lugubriOusly.
The railways are nearly oil Of narrow
guage. and freight and passenger cars
are little and low. Not long ago Gu.
ban engineers were nearly all Ameri-
cans and received fabulous wages.
This was also true of the en-
gineers on the sugar planta-
tions. But Cubans are bright and
initiative, and they are alone now in
charge. The machinery .attests that.
1t is dingy, rusty, half-ruitsd.
The Cuban engineer hx1dles his en-
CINE in hesitant. hysterieal sort of q
way. He is no mechanic. II . break
down occurs he calls upon every body
within reach and. In compbete despera-
ton. talks it all over" runs away al.
together or commits suicide from sheer
fright.
the railway stations are all walled
about a. high as fortress. and freight
il handled In the yards and transferred
much as q lower Mississippi river
steamboat Is wooded" BY negro roust-
abouts who ..shanty" with dismal
songs. or by the unwieldy bull-carts.
with their picturesque carrstoneros. 20
common to the streets OF Havana
There are some odd regulations about
Cuban railway travel. Ticket Offices
are closed five minutes before departure
of trains: and il one thus fails Of secur.
ing a ticket. One-third additional to reg.
ular fare is exacted for the first division
over which your route may lay. You
are allowed to carry free only hat box
or a medium size valise; but II your
train does not make schedule time you
can stop anywhere along the route and
get your entire fare refunded. No
'.persons OF color" are allowed In first
class cars. though gamecocks in bas.
kets are; and il you attempted to ride
upon the platform or to occupy more
than one seat, you would Immediately
be turned over to the Aiardia civil.
whose members ride on tsains between
stations to flirt with fair scnOritas, and
to constantly enforce the fact that Spain
owns Cuba.
As in most European countries, there
are three grades of passenger coaches,
and all are modelled on the American
plan. The third grade cars have only
solid wood seats; the second are very
plain, but the seats are Of ''cane:" the
first are very pleasant and convenient
and in most cases prettily enough deco
rated, the woven cane seats taking the
place Of our plush cushions on account
Of the difference in climate. The con-
ductor is uniformed as with us, and is
the busiest man on earth for the amount
Of business he transacts. He is at
everybody every five minutes for re-ex-
animation of tickets, and a pompous
guardia civil, a soldier OF one Of the
three classes Of military in the island.
is forever at his heels, glaring impu-
IDENTIFY into faces, demanding with mad
dening frequency your passport. II you
happen to be a foreigner, and especially
SO il an American, whom the Spaniard
loathes. and searching your person. or
even lady's reticule, il the whim seizes
him.-Cor. Philadelphia Times.