Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-05-09
A ROUND OF LEISURE
Appears to Be the Only Aim in Life
fthe Average Cuban.
sQUALIDNESS In POOR HOMES.
Human Beings, Pigs, Cows, Chickens and
Horses Under One Roof
HAVANA PARADISE OF FOUL SMELLS
WRITTEN FOB THE pIsrArcn.,

WRITTEN roB THE DIsPATcH.i
The plaza in Havana Is probably the
most brilliantly lighted public park In the
world, and nightly the bellies and beaux
walk to and fro, to the music of the Spanish
military bands. Along the outskirts Of the
plaza are the beautiful equipages Of the
notables, In which are seated handsome
women, who are too luxurious to walk with
the crowd in the plaza, but content them
selves with looking on and being looked at.
At concert given In one of the large the
aters-and one here Is the largest In the
world next to the Scala at Milan-we saw on
last Sunday evening all the elite Of Havana,
and heard some excellent vocal and instru-
mental music. One concerted piece. rendered
with 12 pianos, was marvelously tine. Tick
cts are in Havana, a. In Mexico, sold only
for one act, at the end of, which one must
either buy for the next act or leave the the
ster. The object of this plan was unable
to learn, but no doubt the average Cuban or
Mexican Spaniard could explain its advan-
tages from his own standpoint.
Like to Be Stared At
The men stare at the ladies and the latter
expect and are apparently pleased with the
attention, at least tine younger and prettIer
ones seem to like it. while the older ones,
who invariably are present and on guard,
frown disbursement upon the beaux.
In box was pointed out to me the Cap
tain General of Cuba, whose wife is now
gone to Spain.
In the box with the Captain General of
Cuba WAS q most beautiful young lady, tall
and rather blonde with fine suit of hair
and handsome Anglo-Saxon features,
Miss O'Reilly, daughter of Marquis
O'Reilly, one of the grandees of Spain.
Rather odd to have such Hibernlan
name; with Spanish accent O'Reelie, but
Havana sbounds in such. The O'Donnells,
the O'Reillys and other Irish names are dis
tinguished Spaniards and Cubans and some
of Hayana's most noted thoroughfares are
named after them.
In no instance is the true martial charac-
ter of the Irish race better illustrated than
by the fact that in Cromwells time these
distinguished families became fugitives and
went to Spain, and their sons entering the
armies of Spain, maintained the Irish
martial character and became distinguished
generals and grandees of Spain and rulers
in Cuba, and are now among her most
notable families.
Fervent Eaters of Spain.
If you scratch a Cuban you find Span
lard, but the Cuban is none the less as
fervent hater of the Spaniard as the Irish
are of England's rule, and Ii is not an un-
common fact that a son born of Spanish par
ents in. Cuba grows up to hate his own par
ents; in fact, Cubans don't seem to like any
living thing but themselves. There seems,
however, much reason for their hatred of
Spain, since this country has been from the
time of the original Spanish conquest kept
under the iron heel of oppression and the
very life blood expressed from a naturally
fertile country to satisfy the greed and un-
holy avsrice of the Spanish ruling class.
There are now 10000 Spanish troops in
the Island of Cuba, and this is the only
thing which keeps the island from declaring
her independence and probably asking for
annexation to the United States. Not that
the Cubans care fig for the United States
or any other country, but because they have
an idea that the moment they are annexed
they will change their now waning fortunes
for sudden and enormous riches. They are
satisfied now that Cuba is the greatest
country in every sense on the face Of the
globe and it is only Spanish oppression that
keeps the entire world from openly acknowl-
edging that palpable fact.
With 50,000 Chinese population and over
one-half of the remainder Of negro or mixed
blood, 1t is more than probable the United
States have not and will have, no desire for
this hotbed of bandits and insurrectionists,
more especially as it now requires with
partial futiIiiv more than twice the standing
army of the United States to keep even q
semblance of order and safety to person aud
property in the island.
Charming Stretches Of Foliage.
The scenery crossing the island from
Cieufuegos to Havana in a northwesterly
direction, a distance of 225 miles, is singu-
larly tropical and charming. The royal
palm grows to q height of 30 to go feet and
spreads its umbelliferous tops along broad
avenues to the plantation houses. Here
are cocoanut groves and there broad
plains of sugar cane, containing literally
square mile of the stalks topped with the
green blades, and, as this is the gathering
season, we see here and there long trains of
oxen attached to carts laden,with this prod
uct vending their slow and patient way to
the sugar mill. The oxen are not attached
by means of rope, as with us, but as they
were in scriptural days in Palestine, at
tsched by their horns, and draw their load
by means of pad across their forehead.
The country is here and there undulating,
though but few streams are crossed. The
houses ofthe poor are mere thatched one
story and one apartment structures ON four
posts inserted deeply in the ground to pre-
vent the occasional hurricane from topping
them over. The roof Is picturesquely
matched with the sugar cane tops, and the
sides are covered rudely and loosely with
the bark of the royal palm, which at dis
tance looks like strips of dark sole leather
irregularly warped and .curled, and stood
up vertically, edge to edge, with plenty of
space between for ventilation. There are
no windows and no chimneys or fire places.
The cooking is done in the doorway in a
rude circle of stones There are none other
than dirt floors and the family pig, goat, pet
sheep, turkeys and all the chickens have the
center of the house along with the numer-
Gus children, who never think Of disputing
their hereditary rights.
The Pig at Home.
There, too, the family hen watches her
opportunity to lay an egg among the rags
that swaddle the unwashed and sleeping
babe of the family. Sometimes the razor
backed family pig, by reason of his yora-
cious appetite for any eatables laying around
loose, may possibly be seen tied around the
neck with rope and gazing and grunting
in hopeful admiration of the scanty, but
happy interior of his domicile. No family
is SO poor, either in or out OF tine town, but
what it has few turkeys and chickens
The latter are all of type that make them
fitted for the cockpit, and, ii the truth be
told, most of the male birds find their death
in the arena, but invariably thereafter find