Morning journal and courier., 1888-04-28
C1ENFUEeos, Cuba, April 2s.

Flight of Inc0ngruous Characters-
 Glowing Visions of a Dreamland
 Isle.
 CIENFUEeos, Cuba, April 23. To the Editor of the JOURNAL AND COURIER:
 It is impossible to give adequate notion of the delightful change to the eye from the metropolitan and suburban scenes of such cities as Havana and Matanzas, and their im- mediate environs, to those of trip across Cuba. Brilliant and interesting as is life and activities in these centers of weird and strange population, all coastwise scenes to the north have in them an irrepressible sense of sadness and desolation. The coast topo- graphy is dreary indeed. Blue and mystic as are the half mountain ranges when you first look upon them from the sea, when you come to explore them afoot, or upon your nimble pony, there is little to charm and en- thrall Great bald headlands are followed by bare sweeps of valley, and these, save where now and then blooming village may | be found like cheering desert oasis, are | again and again relieved only with their owr | like and kind. Here and there some single palm or coco tree lifts its stately form like { giant sentinel, but that is all. One must | reach the interior to kuow the real lovelinesE and luxuriance of the island, and it is only within the central and southern valleys, like the splendid valley of Guines, or within the almost impenetrable forests of Sepa, ol again upon the descending plateaus of the southern slope and along the matchless wales of the southern coast-line, that soil and for est, fruit and flower are so indescribably bountiful, majestic and magical, that the old Cuban legends that here in the night of the ages was the true garden of Eden, and here in the morn of paradise shall lay the blessed Aidenn, comes to one as happy supersti- tion if not possible reality.
 As luck would have is I fell in with an American Cuban, whom the revolution of '68 had driven out of his native island into the good fortune of American citizenship and wealth in Philadelphia. I will call him Senor Manuel Dominguez. He was now, af- ter twenty years repatriation, returning to his family estates among the once famous coffee-lands to the north of the ancient city of Trinidad. Here his widowed mother and brothers, the latter also former revolutionary leaders, still lived and it was with genuine delight that, as his friend and guest, I could in such intelligent companionship become acquainted with so fair and 30 little known Q portion of the eYer-winsome, ever-unfortu~ nate island.
 RAILROAD TRAVEL IN CUBA.
 Our route, first to the important port of Cienfuegos on the south coast, lay over the Bahia railroad past Matanzss to Bemba, and thence over the Cardenas and Jucaro and the Cienfuegos railroads to the sea, @ daylight ride of over twelve hsurs from Havana. This gave opportunity for little study of railroad travel in Cuba. It has some curious aspects. FoFinstance, when trains arrive at and depart from cities or villages it is rather Q queer thing to see, between the depots and limits of all municipalities, a man on horse back preceding the engine. No train may arrive or depart more rapidly than the speed of this courier, who announces his own and the train's coming by tremendous bellowings and hallooings. Sometimes he is provided with sort of trumpet which he sounds lugubriously. The railroads are nearly all of narrow gauge and freight and passenger cars are little and low. Not long ago Cuban en- ginsers were nearly all Americans and re- ceived fabulous wages. This was also true of the engineers on the sugar plantations. But Cubans are bright and initiative and they are alone now in charge. The machin- cry attests that. It is dingy, rusty, half ruined. The Cuban engineer handles his engine in hesitant, hysterical sort of way. He is no mechanic. If breakdown occurs complete desperation s'talks it all over, '' runs away altogether or commits suicide l from sheer fright. The railroad stations are | all walled about as high as 8 fortress; and | freight is handled in the yards, and trans ferred much as a lower Mississippi river | steamboat is "wooded," by negro rousta- | bouts who stshanty" with dismal songs or | by the unwieldy bull-carts with their pic 1 turesque earretoneros so common to the streets of Havana. There are also some \ odd regulations about Cuban railroad tray. | el. Ticket offices are closed five minutes before departure of trains; and if one thut fails of securing ticket, one-third addi, tional to regular fare is exacted for the first division over which your route may lay. You are allowed to carry free only hat box or 8 medium-size valise; but i your train does not make schedule tim you can stop anywhere along the route ant get your entire fare refunded. No ''per sons of colorn are allowed in frst-class cars though game-eocks in baskets are; and i
 you attempted to ride upon the platform o
 to occupy more than one seat you would b immediately turned over. to the guardi
 civil, whose members ride on trains be
 tween stations to firt with fair senoritas and to constantly enforce the fact tha Spain owns Cuba.
 TROUBLESOME OFFICIALS.
 I As in most European countries, there ar
 three grades of passenger coaches and al
 are modelled on the American plan. Tn
 third grade cars have only solid wood seats
 the second are very plain, but the seats ar
 of s'qane;n the first are very pleasant an
 confenient, and in most cases prettily
 enough decorated, the woven cane seat
 taking the place of aur plush cushions o ] 1 aco6pnt of the difference in climate. Tn
 condnptor is uniformed as with us, and is th
 busiest man on earth for the amount of bus
 ness hs transacts. He Is at everybody ever five minutes for re-examination of ticket
 and ppmpous guardia civil, soldier of or
 of the three classes of military in the island : ia foreyeA at his heels, glaring impudentl