The record-union., 1898-07-11
CITY OF SANTIAGO.
AN AMERICAN WOMAN TELLS
WHAT SHE SAW.
Some Of the Queer Customs of the
Inhabitants of the Eated
City.

ptIOI6 the war.
Now the pilot boat comes out to our
| steamer, and we start off to take
breakfast at the only cafe in Santiago,
! The Venus There are no hotels.
The only handsome building 1 saw was
the clubhouse, or casino" There are
no streets, only lanes, narrow and
dirty; no sidewalks; some are cob
| bled, but the stones are sunken and
so uneven that it's hard to walk and
| harder to ride. There are no churches
but the Roman Catholic Cathedral, no
schools, no books or papers, nothing
of what we call civilized living, but
of novelty there is no end.
When we reached the shore the first
thing I saw was a ''volante," which
| looked as if it came out of the ark,
but I was tickled to death with it, and
| it's driver, who was black as ebony
and who sat on the leading horse. A
volante has two long shafts attached
at one end to two immense wheels; at
the other end is one or two horses,
| hitched one ahead of the other; they
have braided tails, which are brought
/ forward and tied to the saddle. An
open chaise body rests on the shafts
third of the way from the axle to
| the horse, and perched on the first
horse sits the little driver, in big boots,
1 a red jacket, and pair of monstrouS
spurs.
THE CITY AND ITS RESTAURANT.
Well, into this old volante we got and
ratified away up the hill past the pink
| and blue houses which look like sta
| bles, with their long grated windows
and doors like stable, where, if you
drive up when these are open, you go
| into what we would call the front hall
horse, carriage and all, and the horse
! stands here till your visit is over
where he can survey you during your
call, as there are no partitions, only
| low iron fence divides the house. We
went past funny shops, where they
bring the goods out to you to choose
| from, past the clubhouse and plaza
| deserted at this time of day except by
| beggars. Now we come to the We
| nus" which has a story above that
| juts out, and hangs over the narrow
| street; it is perched so high on the hill
! roofs, which are like inverted flower
pots-one inside the other; you go in
and find yourself the only lady in the
| big room as no Spanish ladies are out
at that time, and likely you find your
self being admired by all on the street
| as all can look in, all houses being
flush with the street and open right in
to 1T, and foreign lady with a bonnet
on her head is a sight to them.
The restaurant had very high walls,
with open rafters painted blue, a mar
BILE floor, and very long, grated win
dows and little tables set for two and
four, and bamboo chairs. The bar is
in plain sight, with long mirrors run
ming the whole length back of it. Their
breakfast is very different from ours
the waiter brings claret and bread
then an omelet and rice, with black
beans, fried plantains, and live fish on
a stick, so you can pick out the partic-
ular fish you want cooked
Now all these things take up my
mind, but I am more distracted when
the proprietor's wife comes in and
speaks to Mr.. R., my escort, whom she
asks to introduce me, which he does;
but as I can speak no Spanish, and
she no English, we only bow and smile,
and she goes off and sits at her own
table Men came in to sell US lottery
and bull-fight tickets. Steamer days
are their bargain days.
AT THE CATHEDRAL
After awhile we go out into the hot
which is very large and cool. There
are no seats; the floor is marble, and
many Of the ladies bring little prayer
rugs which they (or their servants)
spread to kneel on. There are few
men but many ladies at mass, with
their heads covered with the lace veil
worn so differently from other women,
who never can arrange one just like a
Snani3rd The church
mense wooden cross with a figure Of
our Savior. which is just at the door
as you step in, the altar is very high
and sacristy and vestry behind, and a
small altar, by which is the lamp which
never goes out. There are all kinds
Of vestments, some elegant, some tawdy
All service is very early in the morn
ing. The Cuban ladies will not be seen
on the street again until evening when
they visit and ride and shop. They
seldom walk, and a young girl is never
out alone for moment.
The soldiers come to church in body
to military mass, and look very gay
They wear seersucker uniforms, with
the different colors of the regiment in
trimmings on sleeves; straw hat with
red and yellow cockade. The Royal
walk with quick steps, and are very
easy in their gait, swinging arms after
the French fashion. We see at the
theater soldiers on duty, and at bull
fights, the same as policemen with us.
Many of the soldiers are short and dap
per. We see them early in the morn
ing at drill; they are we'll drilled and
disciplined. You can go nowhere in
Cuba without seeing soldiers on duty.
There is sunrise and sunset gun fired
at the forts every day, and you hear
trumpet notes and calls all day long.
We see in the streets and at bars Span
ish ''men-of-war" with wide duck trou-
sers, blue jackets, straw hats with the
name of their ship on the front Of the
hat. These men may be seen rolling
along with English, French, or other
sailors who are lying in port, for ves-
sells of all nations lie here.
QUEER CUSTOMS.
On the top of the hill is the prison,
and it is terrible thing to get into
prison here, for you may get clapped
into the chain gang The watchman
at night stands on the corners with a
pike and lantern; he blows a whistle
and cries the hour and state of weather.
The clocks strife the quarter hours
from all the converts and castles, MAX
ing silver chime. We meet priests
and sisters hurrying to sick beds, re-
gardless of the music on the plaza or