Evening star., 1898-12-02
The CONDITIONS IN CUBA
Member of Fourth q. s. Volunteers Dis
cusses the Situation.
tommends President Nckfnle,-s
Judgment in Declining 10 Kecos-
nfze Caban Republic.

q fetter containing many facts OF inter-
| est regarding the conditions now ex.stin,,
IN 'uha has been received in this city. The
winter is an officer Of the 4th Regiment.
| hlteu states Volunteer Infantry. and com
| hl"Hds a company Ir-1ds up st Ci;iz-ns at
! nearby points in Maryland The regiment
is stationed al Manzanilio. Tht writer says
! in part:
| "onr. trip Ia tnis place consumed A v-a.k
and we covered l.lua miles In thar iin..
/ Ihe route We cHme was ~ way Of san sd
| Nadpr our first view ~ cuba heinz cane
| M"ysi. We ran CLOSE shore, al Sarrlsg,
10 50" the several wrecked Spani-h >ts-
| Stis: thence around the coast 10 Cap. ,--71z.
! %" ~hnl" southeast coast is hor.Ia-.B 1.,
! mountains some Of thu peaks being laprs
| cue S''tl'ls. .i'uR appearing most SlipI-lr 1
| rh9oN'n thc UP immensely. remaining IN
| HggN the entire trip. and though provided
| WIN state room. slept ou deck iu mar. r,,t
| anu Was not sick ~ all though the ma
| l"rty fell out of ranks rapidly ON. thing
| l c"uii not afford was IT, miss, a meal ,h4T
| cost me ~ cents.
From Cape Cruz the entire caas, an
! peared TO be but a few feet above sea level.
( l was. therefore. most arr.eabIy .,5-r,,-,-...i
! To behold cernpactlr built little cit, s,..m-
! lngly rising out OF The bav Of N4EZ3ufrfo
! btnlnd II, standing out in bold rriief was
4 ,,f spanish ii castle or fort. and number of
| great buildings with accommpda tintls sum
! Gem-for 5.boo troops. masuiticantlv forfi-
| lled with block houses ana trochas- which
! formed a semi-circle of defense reaching
| tiie sea north and south Of the city.
Blocks of Houses
| Solid blocks of houses are built OF ma
| terials in close Imitation of stone. ou--s;nry
nigh With thirty-fo"t walks tiled with mar
bic blocks, having Masonic figures craven
/ hes.
/ dows reaching from floor to ceiling. with
! IRON gratlngS, resembling somewhat Fortified
! houses or jaiis. In the center A plaza win
! stone walks fifty feet wide. ana -aa-hl, hg-
| ufeS with the most beautiful Tai..-= t,rovr-
| nag and rare trees including giganfic palms
| with branches twelve feet long. corGatlut
almond and other rare and he eautifuI trees
| This is the bright side
ne othcr portion of the city IS cnn1-
! posed OF huts made from the bark Of a
| species OF palm, and covered with th,. fn-
! mage OF the same, with dir floors and
| from ten TO twenty feet square Each brt
! mas an average Of about ten miserable, sn-
| mates ofUtimes starving. known as recon-
! tthtrados. Ehciins overhead iocks Of the
aiways-present buzzard. Ia the east tn.
| 'l>tSttlt MOUNTAINS loomiug W.t and seeming
! to touch the sky. Looking west across The
/ bay. the ocean along the shore immense
| sharks and alii@ators IN search Of prey.
/ with countless sea fowl altering their
! strange notes: different kirls Of vessels
! coming and going. sailing past the twelve
/ wrecked Spanish vessels irat fringe the
| shore. the result of American prouess on
| ZanillO, cuba.
! Insects Plentiful.
| When here, / have an immense room,
! thirty by forty feet. wiki my little cot in
! the center, the only furniture. There are
| all kinds of insects here. Yesterday morn
! ing, on removing my blanket amors other
! visitors Of the night l found singing
| scorpion. The feaS here are very bad all
| of these buildings being full OF them
When sleeping out of doors. tarantulas are
! quite companionable. Just as soon a. / am
| able TO travel | VIII command a most i'm
! portant expedition 10 the interior.
| Il like these trips-the excitement and
| adventure is quite to my liking-ani with
! eighty good Maryland boys at my hack all
I eager for scrap / am ready for anything
/ that turns up.
The climate here Is good so far the
| evenings being delightful. and a blanket
| comfortable al night hut it is exceedingly
| warm during the day. No one lahor7 from
| 1u a m. to = T. m. Fifteen of my men have
! had typhoid fever. but are all improving.
| the fever being thu result. l think, OF sur
| roundings al JacksonyfIle Fla.
The Spaniards left these quarters in a
} most filthy condition, every form Of refuse
| being thrown out into the streets But
! have gotten nearly everything around the
! barracks cleaned up and have started "n
| the city. Water is scarce and bad. Va
| have to boil all water for drinking rur-
| poses and it is amusing to s@e us waiting
around the water barrel until the fluil is
| cool enough 10 drink.
Heartrending scenes.
! One sees heartrending sights here-little
ones with their bones almost through heir
skins and mothers The same way. ! have
no sympathy with the men, who seem con-
tented as long as they do no work. but tho
women and children are different We em-
ployed a number Of men for a dollar a day.
and no sooner had they got food into their
stomachs than they struck for A.5o day.
Such is life. We have distributed over one
hundred thousand rationS TO them, and the
soldiers divide with those who come To camp
at meal time. They pick up every scrap
that * thrown away. even TO the potato
peelings and coffee grounds. We don't have
to keep a slop barrel any more. They large
ly devour the ofal of the slaughtered cat
tie.
This soil is as rich as cream, but the
whole country is desolate indeed. Ii is Il
sad sight to see these large sugar estates,
with machinery costing anywhere frofa
So 600 to S1o0.O10. in ruins. When In opera
tion the whole country is prosperous. All
that il needed here is to start up This in
Gustry again and the problem OF taking
care of the poor Is solved. With soil so
productive and a climate so propltous an
American would. indeed, be in clover. Cot
ton here grows to height of twenty feet,
and all other vegetation in proportion. Grass
grows as high as mans head on horse
back.
People of All Shades.
The people here are all shades of color.
from coal black to snow white. Some OF
them-.the paIrician class Castiiian'-are
beautiful. but are brunettes. They very
modest. dropping their eyes in passing, and
glancing shyly through the barred windows
from under their dropping eyelids Ne
woman ever goes out without being chap
erened or receives alone even her affianced
husband and the few places / have called,
being
generally called in the neighbors.
THE children here. even those Of the
wealthy, go entirely nude until four or hye
years of age. The town swarms with these
naked children. The people have very
small bones ard consequently small feet
and hands.
Present mt Reception.
1--WE give a concert three times a week
on the plaza with our fine band. and the
beauty and chiyalry of the town turns out
and prolnenadss around the square. This
is ahout OiIr only relaxation. We were