The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1898-06-13
around ocean trip.

HedreSI 10 pelHS Wlue~dWAke liltth any
place in the country. Bright, clean,
progressive, it has been not inappro-
priately dubbed the Yankee town of
Cuba. Instead of the narrow, crooked
lanes, rambling up hill and down,
which distinguish it's older neighbor,
Santiago, Its straight, well paved
streets are laid out on a dead level and
Were long ago lighted with gas While
those Of Havana were yet depending on
oil lamps. The fact is it is too Yankee
fled and devoid of picturesqueness to
be attractive to the average curiosity
hunting American traveller. Its COM
monplace, two story houses might be-
long to any northern town, and are all
so nearly alike that man coming
home late at night must needs be COM
paratively sober not to mistake his
neighbours casa for his own. The
present population Is officially reck-
oned at forty-five thousand, and there
are Cor We're before the WARP a number
of English and American merchants
and planters engaged in the sugar and
tobacco trade. 1t has fine harbor
and is one Of the few tropical ports
where steamers come UP to the wharf,
as they do in New ork, permitting pas
sengers to land without the aid of small
boats. The instant our gang plank was
thrown out we were surrounded by
crowd Of hollow-eyed spectres, who
seemed to sprig up from the earth.
They were all products of this long and
terrible war, mostly homeless recon-
centrados, who had been lying about
the wharf for want of better to place
to stay, They would have swarmed
upon the boat in their desperation of
hunger had not Spanish soldiers driv-
en- them off at the point of a bayonet,
and the skeleton hands outstretched
and pitiful appeals for aims made us
regret that we had ever seen the I'M
happy island. Being the commercial
center Of 80 or 40 of the largest sugar
estates on the island, as well as many
extensive tobacco plantations, Glen
fuegos enjoys a large export trade in
time of peace. There are three toler-
able hotels, a government palace" an
opera house, market place, military and
public hospital and ne alameda or
grove of elIns," which serve as a fash
ionable driveway and promenade. The
few noteworthy public buildings are
mostly grouped around the central
plaza. The latter is large. handsome
square, we'll lighted by electricity and
enormous ornamental gas lamps. Its
broad pavement of marble tiles border
| ed by palm trees and beds of flowers,
| is guarded by two lion surmounted
| pillars, while pedxtals here and there
| support white-washed statues. On one
side of 1t stands the cathedral-too new
| to be very interesting, with an esplan-
ade in front and two towers, one much
taller than the other, filled with little
bells perpetually tangled out a tune.
| On another side of the plaza is the gov
| eminent house faced with impressive
colonnades and f1anked by a long line
| of barracks. On the opposite side is
| an open-air theatre, popular cafe
and an extraordinary club house, built
and owned by Chinese. Its president
| Is a Chinaman who was educated at
| Harvard and speaks good deal better
! English than some native Americans I
| have known. The place is well worth
visiting, being fully up to the best Of
| It's kind in the Chinese quarter of San
| Francisco. A broad hallway. paved
| with marble tiles, leads to an extern
| sive sala, also marble-paved which
| opens into a quadrangular courtyard,
in which palms and Towering shrubs
grow around a central fountain. In a
| big reception room on the second floor,
above shelf where Jos sits surround
| ed by other gods, hangs framed
parchment upon which are recorded
the name of the $50 Cinnamon who
compose the membership of the club.
To get general idea Of the town you
should climb to the top Of reservoir
hill, the only commanding point in the
vicinity, from which the city stretches
west couple of miles, while country
ward are the plantations with their
neat villas and sugar mills and scat
tered groups of palms. The parti-col-
ored casas--pink, blue, purple and
green, often all Of the colors of the
rainbow combined on one wall-are
built In the usual Cuban style interior
ly, with an open courtyard in the GEN.
ter, well-filled with Towering plants A
few of the more ambitious display law
ish adornment of iron work, carvings
or stucco, balustrades and marble
floors.
1t happened that we arrived on a
Sunday, the gala day of the week in all
Spanish America; and although sc
much suffering and hunger were every
where apparent, Cienfuegos was not
without its show Of gaiety-mostly kept
up by the Spanish residents who still
maintain brave front of ignoring the
gravity of the war situation. In these
parts the clergy are so accommodating
as to have the last service in the
church over by or 10 o'clock, in the
morning. This leaves nearly full day
for cock fighting, bull fighting, horse
racing gambling, and the other favor.
tie advertisements of Spanish-America
In the evening military band renders
excellent music In the plaza, and all the
local world turns out to enjoy it. Tht
broad marble walk upon which thu
SenoritaO in their best clothes parade6
! to and flo, was lined on one side with
indulgent chaperones and duenas, sit
i ting upon stone benches and convent
Il emily keeping but half an eye upor
l their flirtatiously inclined charges; ant
{. on the other side by solid phalanx
d several rows deep, or admiring NAL,
: onlookers, while the farther edged wer,
darkly fringed by hopeless and hungry
poverty. During all the week the Sen
= oritas are never allowed to go GU
alone; but are kept under rigid re
! straint, constantly watched and al
WAYS accOu1paniad nv their elders M