The Ocala banner. (Ocala, Marion County, Fla.) 1883-194?, 1894-03-09
The sANNIR MAN IN CUBA.
OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT GIVES A
SPLENDID DESCRIPTION OF THE
QUEEN CITY OF THE
ANTILLES


The following will give your readers a Sigh,
| idea of this beautiful island:
When a steamer is within 40 miles from the
port national flag is raised showing where and
what nation she comes from. AS soon as this
| flag is raised it is seen at the lei Moro" the
| Moor castle. They raise the same flag there
| shooting on a cannon, announcing that a
| steamer is in sight and bound for this port The
pilot boat, and doctors and custom house officers
| wait until the steamer has passed within FL
| Moro and then they go aboard. 1t takes about a
| half hour to pass the castle and the ports and
then you come into large open bay at the
mouth Of which your steamer shoots cannon
and is answered by the Spanish gun boats and
| they send up the stars and stripes while the
comiug steamer sends up the Spanish colors;
| and after this operation the steamer is anchored
In the bay AMI the passengers are taken ashore
IN small row boats for fifty cents The distance
Is about one and half miles, a very nice sail in
good weather You are landed in the custom
house Office aud there you open your trunks and
baggage TO be examined by custom house officers;
ii you have anything dutiabIe small tip" to
the officer means that's all right /" and then he
puts a mark on the baggage aud you depart On
| leaving this building you enter the custom
house yard, which has high stone wall and at
the entrance is custom house officer who reg
! isters your name to show the mark on your
baggage, and on leaving here you come to the
captaln-Gen of the Marines Palace and then
You are in the heart of Habana.
The streets are about II feet wide and the side
walks only one and a half and two feet wide. In
olden times, well, about twenty-five years ago,
all the negroes were slaves and no white people
| ever went on foot; they went IN coaches and the
! nlggers went foot, single file. The streets in
/ those days were made of limestone; they are
now paved with American cobble stones The
| streets that have been bailt within the past ten
years are made under the American system
wide streets and broad sidewalks of cement
/ Haoana has four very fine hotels located at the
'El Parque Central" central park or prom.
enadel Hotel de Englatierra is the finest; then
comes FL Telegrafo ami Hotel de Pasaje and the
grand Continental Hotel Roma This hotel is
kept by Mr.. John Repk5 aui his brother and
seems to be the most popular of all, with the
Americans. He seems TO be always full q mean
! his hotel and not himsslE) This Is the only
house on the island that gives an American
meal aud employs American walters, American
Cooks chambermaids. etc There are also some
very tine boarding houses Mrs Fischer has
the best American boarding house This also Is
very popular place for Americans
! The houses here are built of limestone two
aud three stories high; there are very few three
stories, they are mostly one and two; the ceilings
are very high. The only parts wood are the
floors doors ami sleepers under the floors The
stairs in private houses are of marble and the
floors also. In the stores they are mostly wood
en- stairs and stone floors. When there is a win.
dow in house the ground floor it is well
barred with iron bars ana mostly all doors have
an iron gate in front; this is to prevent entrance
| by robbers. All houses are built with a court
! yard and balconies facing the streets
All policemen Spaniards directly from
| Spain, and are compelled to serve four years A
common officer only makes $40 silver, per
moath; the silver beiug worth IS per cent less
] than gold and the gold 10 per cent less than T.
| ). currency. $40 less IS per cent does not leave
| him much in U. S currency Out of this small
| amount he buys his uniform and lives and has
10 leave IS IN the police treasury every month;
so when his time is up he has Sz4o saved in the
| treasury. After he has served three years they
| generally make them roun 1sneu or sergeants or
some office little higher, allowing a little
| larger salary to induce them to serve a longer
time. They go armed with long knives called
"Matchitas' and long horse pistols. When once
they have prisoner in their hands and he es-
| capes the officers have to serve another wear
They 60 in pairs and never leave each other
while on duty and are never to stop and talk
: with people on the streets except when absolute
| ly necessary.
All Spaniards coming to Cuba must either
serve as a soldier or on the police force Those
! who don't serve as police serve as soldiers, or
| pay $3.50 per month as a volunteer and serve
| probably one day during a month. In other
words he must pay the governor SO much to
work or live in Cuba the first four years.
| Ia Spain he has to serve the king preferring
! not to serve the king he comes to Cuba and
works hard, and being economical generally goes
back TO Spain in the course Of or IS years with
! $4,000 or $4,000. With this amount he can live
like king in Spain,
In the trade Of Cuba the majority are Span
! iards, and are mixture of Americans English
! men, Germans and Frenchmen. There are no
! cubans engaged in commerce. If there are
any there very few. They generally are
found as lawyers doctors, doctors Of science,
and study sugar and cigar making. They are
not a working class of people.
Habana has 8 horse car lines OF about four, FIVE
and six miles long. The cars are drawn by
: three horses.
There a number of omnibus lines aud FIVE
J
| parts OF the island.
Cardeuas, Matanzas and clenfuegas are very
large sugar shipping cities Baracoa is noted for
fruits Santiago de Cuba and Santiago de los
Blics are where the hot spring sulphur baths
are.
NOTES.
few days ago Manuel Campos, the king OF
the bandits, with his men attacked family
| near Port Principe and stole child and held il
| for ransom The father failing or refusing to
plank down a large amount Of money the child
was brutality buchered
The country is filed with civil guards, but
Manuel Garssa, and the bandits, have no NOR
far of them than an American mob at lyn,h.
ing have of the courts.
A few years ago the Captain General made an
offer of large amount of money for the heads
Of the leaders" or kings of the bandits" and
heads rolled in on him in most promiscuous pro
fusion, but it was soon discovered that they were
the wrong heads-the heads of friends instead OF
enemies and he had to close his contract Dur
ing its continuance there were great many
deaths in the districts inhabited by the bandits
but the bandits didn't grow less It was a rope
tition of the song familiar IN your city: But
the Cat Came Back"
AS 1 write an Extra" is out stating that four
OF NJ. Campos men were shot only a short dis
tanee from Habaua while stealing horses from
the soldiers camp. Two are as dead as her.
rings and the others may live to see the pen.
If ocala don't get the new cigar factories it
VIII be the first time she's got left" But these
words ought not to be in her vocabulary. Your
p 'ople should stand right by H. L. Anderson.
Hes hustler" and should be encouraged.
Hold up his hands in every possible way, and il
you don't help him with money, give him moral
help, and newspaper applause. When read of
his efforts in your paper my handkerchief and
hat always wave in his honor.
ABE L. HEYMANN
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