The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1897-01-16


stirring history. 1t Is a scientifically and
well-fortilied town, occupying a penin-
sula lying east and west and terminal
ing in the MORO headland The city
commands the entrance to the harbor,
which is scarcely $40 feet wide at its
neck. Just opposite the town on the 9TH
er side of the eXquisitely beautiful
little bay rise the fortified hills of the
Cabanos, whose guns produce a cross
fire with those of Fort Principe, which
commands the city on it's west side.
There are other fine military works
surrounding the harbor, 50 that, as far
as coast defense goes, Havana need
have no. fear
Havana is a city thoroughly repre-
sentative of the island. 1t is Cuban,
and nothing else 1t has long been reck-
oned the eighth commercial city of
the world. MORO Castle, with it's Dahl
gren guns Deeping out through the yell
low stones. and it's tall sentinel light
house. stands guard over the narrow
entrance of the harbor; the battery of
La Punta on the opposite shore ans
wering to the MORO. It is a proud and
strong fort, but it's defense is merely
a matter of sentiment With such ar
fleet could be held out of the bay. The
castle is re-enforced by the long range
of cannon and barracks on the city
side. and the massive fortress of the
Cabanos crowning the hill behind the
MORO. All these are decorated with
the red and yellow flag of Spain. So
many strong Notifications show how
important the home government re-
CARDS the place.
The harbor of Havana compares ia
vorably with the most famous in the
world. Infinitely more picturesque than
New York Bay, it is much livelier in
maritime interest than that of the Col
den Gate. The bay is shaped like a hu-
man hand outstretched, with the wrist
as the entrance. 1t is populous with
ships from almost every nation on
earth. The one idea it impresses is that
of activity. European and American
mail steamers come and go daily.
Coastng steamers and the boats of the
regular lines from Mexico and the
islands of the Caribbean seek the bay,
and great ferries ply between the docks
of the city and the Regina shores.
There is also fleet of sailing boats,
yachts gathered from all over the
w
seaWay.
PLEASING OR IRRITATING.
The city itself is pleasing or irritating
to the newcomer according to the spirit
that may possess him at the time of his
arrival. But all travellers agree on one
point-they universally declare it to be
one of the noiseiest liveliest, pellmell,
happy go-lucky, wide-awake, clamor-
Gus, dangerous towns in existence. The
great Humboldt said of it as he enter
ed it from the bay that it was the gay
est and most picturesque sight in all
America.
1t is certainly not American, and yet
there is nothing like it in Europe. 1t is,
as has been said above, intensely Gu
ban, and a type of itself. In a general
view the town presents churches,
cathedrals and other structures that
force themselves into prominence
against the background of less impos-
ing houses. There is nothing in this
great extent of public buildings that
strikes one as being specially valuable
from an architectural point of view,
and even If there We're its beauty would
be entirely subordinated by a colossal
prison near the shore, which was built
for the purpose of having a capacity
to lodge with ease matter of !, coo priS-
oners at time.
The city is divided into two parts,
called the intramural, or old town,
which lies between the bay and the site
of the ancient walls which have fallen
into decay and have been used for an
upbuildng of the new city, and the
extramural town, consisting of the new
city, which lies beyond the site of
the old walls and is more or less mod
ern in its architecture The streets of
the old town are laid out in fairly
regular order, and are pretty well
paved. But these thoroughfares are
narrow in the extreme, with sidewalks
barely wide enough for one pedestrian.
The streets of the new city, although
laid only in macadam, are wider, airier
and fringed on either side with pretty
palm trees, giving the town a gar
den-like aspect.
The architecture of the dwelling
houses is heavy, and this gives them
an appearance of old age which they
really do not deserve. The material used
in their building is the porous stone
which abounds in the island, and which
when first quarried, is as easily worked
into blocks as wood, but which be-
comes as hard as granite when ex-
posed to the atmosphere. The facades
OF the houses are generally covered
with stucco, painted in all colors. Blues,
yelloWS and greens are used indiscrim-
inately, and the visitor is at once un-
pleasantly struck by the bizzare effect,
but soon learns to appreciate the nice
manner in which this apparently crazy
and unsystematic laying on of color
harmonizes with the glowing tropical
atmosphere. This coloring of the house
fronts is not without a reason, in fact.
1t has been found to absorb much of
the SUMS rays, which, without this dis
advantage, would work serious injuries
to the eyes.
There is no city in the world where
noise--pure noise, made for its own
sake and nothing else--regns as su-
preme as III Havana. AT daybreak all
the bells in the city are Iung furiously.
Church bells, fire bells. public bells and
private bells unite with one accord to
produce a discord calculated to drive a
civilized man mad. Add to this the
growing of game cocks, with which the
town is overstocked for gambling pur-
poses; the rattle of innumerable cabs
and public conveyances, the clangor of
gongs on street car lines. electric and
otherwise, and the general roar to
which every waking Havenese adds his
mite, and the city, even in the time of
most slumberous peace, can well be
supposed to surpass any other town of
100000 population in the world.
MORALS ARE LOW.
and the morals are very low. The lad
les are closely kept and live in tropical