Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1888-02-04

STRANGE coSrRAsn or RACE AND coxprrloN-rrPxs
OF NEARLY EvERy LIVING PsoPLR-uow WILL
BRED CUBAN WOMEN 10 THEIR sRoPPlSo-srRKRr
couRrxsIEs 10 STRANGERS
rCopynghtedl
Special Correspondents Of TIE EVENING s1Aa
HAVANA, CUBA. Jan. %. lisa
one nnds pleasing sense OF possession In wan
dering about any foreign city quite alone II Is In
this way you get full enjoyment OF the delicious
tribes that go TO make up any great national fact
II Is also the only truly receptive condition. To
enjoy travel with friends is more In polite form.
But crowds mean dissipation OF reflective energies
10 be seen, so In crowds. To see, 90 alone.
MARROW THoRoUGHFAREs.
In the old fortified city OF Mayence Germany
once thought I had seen remarkably narrow
streetS believe there are narrower ones In this
queer, quaint city. There are surely narrower
SIDEWALKS here. With the exception OF the Paseo,
the Prado, and the many Interesting little plazas,
with their tiny parks In which the dora of the
tropics are seen In delicious luxurance the Gales
puolicas or public thoroughfares OF Havana are re-
markacly narrow. Many are only from IL to 20
feet wide. There are q number but from q TO &
TO stroll through these sinuous passages and
build little rOmances based on the contiguity OF
Isr senortas aicooa TO some persistent dons
wnlle aodg1ng the sharp angles and massive walls
Is reminded oy innumerable sounds and glimpses
endless beauty bloom, and song. Nearly an the
streets here are wen paved with New England
gI;anite, Drought here cheaply by water, and ad-
miIted Tor The citys use duty free that man and
oeast have everywhere solid footing. sidewalks,
In ene american sense. are unknown. narrow,
than all yca av w ma 70 no ss,ss,
than ~ ec sese nave measured some no wider
anoeeo 70 always retain his footing.
STREET OOURTEsIRa
custom rules that fo0t-passengersta take the right
hand way. All this has certain advantages No
people on earth so courteous in the streets as
the HayaneSe. There are no crowdfug and bust
nnS here II you have the footway and please to
saunter leisurely, and one behind you is in haste.
kindly ,n10 .Ge and you with
ieave!" so, too, II one meets you-quite an un-
usual thing for the human tide moving opposite
entially step from the walk into the roadway.
Wnile saiuttng you with some brief but earnest ex.
Way Is a9SSioy This rule OF the rgho
general n either CHANGED TO be on foot would OBJ
ssrVs ~ with al the courtesy and exactitude OF
uon That is In favor OF the ladies' They are held
stlctly accountable to thi, universal po.iteneSs
anu consideration on their own part; but IL occa-
~ m come when you can serve them by getting
tnIo Lne mud even for a beggar or bag, and you
lail OF DONG 1t you are notwithstanding.
PUBLIC CoNvEYANcEs.
This street usage and right extend also 10 pub
The omnbusses here are called guaguas. The lines
pound from the outskirts 10 central city points
are compelled TO come into the city on one street
10 the right, and return by another street to the
leit ana no similar vehicle Is permitted TO run In
the opposite direction on those streets Only the
little yictor1aS-each one horse, cochero or driver
ana aa,s an, compact enough TO drive through an
American dwelling house door-are allowed no
wrisgle and twist around almost anywhere The
gudgua Is 80 characteristic a Havana institution
ludt IL cahnot DC overlooked. La Appearance it
much resembles the first patterns or our own
Streetcars. set little higher In the air or a very
oiu-Lasnioned daguerreotype gallery on low-geared
wagon wheels IL has an excl ed and noisy con-
ductor Ia gaudy uniform, and an empuiador or
az. yer VINO seems In perpetual frenzy. Four lit
We Cuodn ponies are attached to the affair and as
you see II coming down, possibly Gale de oui,po-
rattnng and crushing Inunderously through the
nairow tnoroughfare-t nags at full gallGp, the
gudsud swaying ana bounding as though IL would
ilnd In SOME saoprront at every lurch, the driver
leaning lar over the wheel team, Iasning IL with
the lines and cracking his huge WHIP at the leader
tue meantime shouting: "fi-Li!THi-i-Iir ar the
top OF his voice. while working with his right Knee
atremendous stationary rubber bellows that at
hlde0uS as a seaside Iog-hOrn-yOu feel Won have
Witnessed one active form OF Cuban DANGER
GUAGUAs.
But after all, the gulgua is as harmless and ex-
hilarating an affair as you can find anywhere for
the money, while its name has quite history.
When the first railroad every constructed in Cuba
was beng built, the ties were imported duty free
from the cypress swamps OF Florida. The next
year 1ollowing certain insect ravaged and nearly
DESTROYED all the orange groves OF Cuba Scientifc
investigation proved that this lively insect had
been brought TO the island In these cypress ties
Soon the term began to be applied to anything
which had been cunningly Slipped into the com,
Try free ottmport; then 70 shrewd innovations That
cheapened existing prices and tariffs In any re-
spect; ana waen Tn Sc raging stage-iines began to
actively compete with railways and tramways
they tel heir by Instant common consent TO the
have q more widespread and subtler use a
Snrewd lmposter Is Ia guagua. Any man OF
canny WAYS. or woman OF uncanny life, where a
certain degree OF wise Secretiveness mlnrles sus-
pected Shortcomings tsOf the order OF la euapua.
and society Quizzes society regarding delicate
ana arIIu intruder as toh9w he exists, and with
poSibilfdad la !"-"poSSibly by his wits
80 that one even stumbles into Spanish sociology
snackIe omnibus through the narrow streets Of
Havana.
CUBAN STREET SCENES.
1t Is impossible to adequately convey the inter-
est found in the varying and vagarous character
OF these Cuban street scenes. They furnish end
splendor and positive tiresome grandeur OF our
great American cities while extraordinary is win-
some and restrul Huddled alongside Havana's
most brilliant shops are everywhere found snad-
owy little holes and inches where patching and
mending 80 on with tools and In Ways as PRINT
tive as In the villages OF Europe thousand years
ago. Attracted here by display OF gems thar
would honor the merchants OF the Louvre in
Paris snerg at the very next step grmy black
keys and padlocks as ever staunch Old Warden
wrought upon. Against this den crowds great
cai6 whose antique Splendor OF appointment is
SURPRISING In richness and design. Next this you
are likely TO ind the stall OF zapatero or shoe
maker, who, upon bis rawhide seat, and in no
other light than that straggnng In from the street
aperture, hammers away unconscious OF his odd
surroundings, keeping time In his work TO some
rOllicklnz contradanZa he is whistling Next him
may be found a quaint little casa de Gamble or
money-changer's box, not six feet square, where
wall like prison may follow, IL has One1lt
entrance. Peering within you will see
AsPLENDID ENTRADA
ana beyond, court gallery, corridor and countless
objects Of tropc beauty in bird, plant and flower.
The whole interior is a maze OF color, sound and
sceneful grouping for here a score OF Cubas great
factors, agents, UanSrrs or commission houses viii
be found. AMI so on and on winds the narrow
street, here a shop, there home, here palace,
there howell; while from the overhanging baico,
MES thousand half-caught scenes OF mingled
business and home life gre the eye and con-
seriousness with rare suggestfveness, picturesque
ness and color. Nor Is this 1.-THE OF the inter, st
else such strange contrasts IN diversity OF race and
condition In q lalf hours time types OF nearly
every living peoples, and living illustrations OF
every possible condition In life Will pass before
you. Nearly every powerful nation has Its man.
of-War in Havana harbor tn winter. Their Officers
and men nit TO and fro on errands or duty or
quests OF pleasure. Every shade OF negro blood
Can be traced In q thousand faces 10 that time
Every type or the Asiatic group OF humans troop
before you. The American types are all here nom
the Quickiy-made millionaire 20 the quickly ruined