The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1899-04-07

makes up what our American soldiers
call an after the war uniform" In
other words, the little officer has
sprung Vi like a mushroom since peace
has come. It would be interesting TO
know the opinion OF h Cuban privates
have OF him. All the men In ali the
cars smoke incessantly. The track Is
stone ballasted. but there is plenty or
coal smoke.
The country grows more and more
stretches, rich with vegetation. but no
jungle. Here are clusters or reeds.
each distinct. and thirty to forty feet
high Here is some tobacco being cut.
and strung on sticks. II is learned
that it was planted December 18th.
Here is some cotton in bloom. only
three or four stalks. Some of the stalks
are at least nine feet high, and the
/ plant Is as large as the big castor oil
bean plants which are near by. Here
are some men cutting and loading SUI
gar cane The absence of shade as We
know il here at horne. Is very marked.
All along the route there are big ma
| hogany trees, but their tops, though
broad and tossed Oft like those Of a
Wit I blown live oak, do not give much
shaue. The palm gives but little. The
railway ties. il is found, are made OF
rosewood or mahogany. The wood used
for making fires. or rather for making
charcoal, is brought from the tops of
the hills. Ii Is small. looks rather like
small black jack, but is r=dder, and
some resembles the roots of trees. 1t
is costly. II in the United States there
was an avenue Of royal palms people
would rave over its beauty. In Cuba
You tire Of seeing these trees. which
are never out of sight. At a distance
their smooth runks seem TO be white
washed and the tops are exactly like
feather busters.
I A. tho trnin ic n Len va each STA finv
the announcement is made by the ring
ing of the hand bell. Whoever is near
est to IL appears TO do the ringing,
the conductor, or the station agent. The
conductor, with tortoise-shell visored
cap, Ices not take up tickets, but
punches them and at station where he
passenger leaves the ticket is taken up.
1t is a V shaped card, and very small
The passenger cars are not over thirty
feet long and very low. There is an
empty water tank in a few of them, but
! never a glass or water.
The and is here n there beirg
ploughed, always with OK teams. The
soil is very red. 1t is so rich that no
fertilizer is ever used. Many OF the
plows are of Cuban make; an almost
straight piece of wood, iron shod, but it
is good to see some big American plows
now and then. The Cubans are great
users of old railway iron. They make
bridges of it, use it as ratings for
roads and bridges, etc. The whole is
land is a vast stone. AT most places IT
is near the surface, and even in mead
ows it crops out. 1t makes the land
fertile. 1t makes grass. Four crops
a year are easily raised.
At one railway station there il a.
market garden with banana and or
ange trees in it, an adjunct of the sta
ton, and a very pretty one. Beside Il
stand the sad-eyed Cuban beggar girls.
Thaxy q ro Of oil anlprS and the whittier
the face the sadder they are. At this
station in a pen are two herons, "grul-
las" in Spanish. They have blood-red
heads and are very tame indeed. AS
Matanzas is neared there are exquisite
views of mountains, some of them APP
parently several thousand feet high.
In that clear air distances are very de-
ceptive. What seems only a mile away
is oftener three or four miles distant.
AT Matanzas we leave a very neat sta
ton and walk into the city, of say
40. 900 people, with now familiar narrow
streets. two-story stone buildings, and
sidewalks a trifie over two feet wide.
In Cuba people eat as soon as they
get up, taking a little bread, some cot
fee and fruit. At o'clock they
breakfast and about 6 O'Clock they
dine. The hotel at Matanzas at which
the party stopped, is d specimen of all
in Cuba. 1t would be difficult TO de-
scribe it Understandings. But like al
the houses, it is built o a court
yard. The latter is bright with flow
ers: The rooms open either on the
street or on this court yard-"patio,
to use the Spanish term. There are big
doors of rough wood which can be
used when it rains, but there are very
seldom ever needed. Outside OF then
are the doors in daily use. These are
like the half-doors of the barrooms anC
are nearly all glass, with gay picture:
and patterns, mostly red, green or blu
Thus the air c%irculates freely and it /:
like being outdoors and yet out OF tn
dew or rain. The beds are of metal
l The bedding rests on leather and ther'
is not much of it. There is invariabl!
a MOSQUITO bar. Some of the beds ar
beautiful. with mother of pearl anC
l bright decorations.
At 6 o'clock we dine. The dining
room is like all rooms in Cuba, loft.
and with marble or tiled floor. Ther
are 10 carpets in any rooms, and reIa
lively little furniture in bed rooms. Bu
, cleanness, GOODNESS and plenty or al
: are secured. The bill of fare at TN
dinner was as follows: Regular dishes
: Soup, fish, beef, Irish potatoes, half
!, bottle of wine, bread, coffee and sugar
. Entrees: Veal with sauce, catfish wit
pepper and tomatoes, cowfeet wit
beans, and a sort of soup with bits o
pork. Then there We're small HOLSTERS
In the way of a final there were guav
jelly, a fruit called membrello, nativ
cheese and Roquefort cheese, orange
and bananas.
The landlord of this inn was a sub
ject for a painting. He looked, oh. S
tired, and who should say why ar
there such people as Americans? Wh
do they come here, and why do the
want things lone in a hurry? We new
err hurry. We don't ask a customer !
our stores will he buy anything, "
don't show him anything unless h
asks TO see it; we do not send a laun
dryman after clothes; but the clothe
owner takes them to the laundry"
Night comes on, the lovely night {
Cuba. with a June softness Of the a.
and the stars like soft eyes Of fire. Ma
. tanzas is a pretty town, and visitor
fall in owe with it from the start. TT
prado or park is the centre of attrac
ton. The band Of the First kentuck'
: regiment. one of four quartered q
:. MatanZas, is playing, to the delight
the people. All classes gather Their
Yet in this square last autumn Mis-