The Winslow mail., 1898-12-17
CUBAN HOUSEKEEPER
Would Give the American House
wife the Horrors.
Ter Knowledge of Cooking Is Linn
ited and She Is Not at All
Particular as to
Cleanliness.

The Cuban woman is not adaptable.
She may not be to blame for it, but the
.auit-as we must call it's there all
he same. She is not going to try to
.Capte herself to our ways, because
he thinks her ways are the best, ana
Tue only reason she thinks so Is be-
cause tney are sanctioned by antiquity.
In fact. she is rather an unpromising
subject o convert.
The way an average Cuban family
lives would give an American house
wife the horrors. Improvident, of
,5urse, and with such little knowledge
O. cookery that it amounts to not more
.han d farce. The frying-pan and the
ea4 pot are the only two Indispensable
ar-leles in Cuban kitchen. \ roast
j. an unknown quantity; stew is oc-
eesso1aIiy ventured upon, and the soup
IS raee and diaphanous. But the cof-
fee uct IL always in evidence. and the
irving lan sizes at every meal.
Aaye often been amused at seeing
Cuban women frying meat. They will
have Ecthing but the leanest kind, and
the butcher must trim off every par
tleie eft fat. In the far south this is not
e eary .ilicult matter. as kline are not
5uraeneG with that article 10 any great
extent. cut the Cuban woman, 10 make
SIRE. prefers a cut from the round to
auy cher peortion.
This Iean-and generally tough
neat IS taken home, and then the lady
.rbo abhors beef fat drops it into pan
.outaining about half a pound of hog
fat and sizZles it to the consistency of
a riece of wet sole leather. Of vegeta-
a.es heir range is confined to yams,
al.ra. rice. bananas, and one or two
others. I very much fear that our
rcrtLern markets would not please the
Cuban woman.
n other matters relating to house
seeping I very much regret TO say
tat he Cuban woman is. not in line
r5lh cur ideas. The broom is occa-
s.oraiiy in evidence, but there all at
temps TO ''tidy up" stop. Soap and the
crubbing brush appear to be un-
known quantities. Year in and year
out the floors remain as they were, the
window panes get but an occasional
wipe with bit of paper, and the yard,
e there happens to be one, is a sight
e n behold. Those who have read about
he streets of Santiago must not think
The reports exaggerated. street
where Cubans live must be cleaned by
the city if at all; the residents would
I's buried in filth before they would
rake 4 move TO clean up. When the
foir mn
These hor rseheld habits extend TO
the rerson. A bathtub is unknown to
Cuban woman of the ordinary sort,
and Il daily face wash is almost as
rare Perjury and face powders are
used as substitutes, and American
women will hardly accept them in that
light.
Now what is to be done with woman
who is i heather in cookery, is not
lean or ti6y in the house or with her
person. and is not in the least inclined
10 mend her ways? To the American
mind no amount of coquettish ways,
no soft voice or gliding walk can com
rersate for these shortcomings. Such
p woman needs civilizing. Perhaps we
III bStttI OtSIu liON VI di-i~i--S S~OI-
les for teaching Cuban wcmen
american ways, We cannot ignore
Ibis new addition to cur sisterhood,
SO we can but hope that our example
vii Inspire the Cuban woman o lib
crate herself from the thralldom of
cid customs and try to keep step with
chr higher system of civilization
Fife wv hrauf Smith in Chica on Times
Herald.