The Middleburgh post. [volume] (Middleburgh, Snyder Co., Pa.) 1883-1916, 1899-02-23

the pavement, some of these are
quite fantastical and spaces large
enough between to poke out your
head. There are no buildings, ex-
cept possibly an occasional hotel or
Government building, over one story
high. The tiling used on the roots
as a rule are for the most part SINH
lar to those used by the Chinese.
Very funny looking indeed. Nearly
every house is painted light blue
and white, a sort of light brown and
brick red or dirty yellow. These
colors prevail throughout the city
and brick and frame house are to
be seen nowheres. The streets are
cobble stones and Belgian blocks,
good enough for the 10Th Century
carts used on them. Imagine carts
with wheels about ten feet in diane
ter and halfa wide again as ours,
great big massive things drawn by "A
diminitive mule with enough har-
ness. etc. on him to almost cover the
animal up so that you have to guess
at his identity. Guady trimmings
cover the poor beast together with a
large assortment of sleigh bells at
tached TO yoke arranged around
his neck. Here You have the means
of locomotion chiefly usedin Havana
for hauling purposes. Two Of these
can just pass each other in these mar
row streets and no more. Every
store is Il curiosity shop to me.
Chas. Dickens Curiosity shop is
not in it with these. Everything is
so un-American that you can't help
feeling that You have certainly enter
ed a world 1000 years behind the
times.
Some one in the party suggested
that we buy hats more suitable TO the
climate than the campaign hats Of
the army which we had been wear
ing, 50 search for II "Somblareio"
(the Spanish name for hat store,
which we shortly found. Panama and
Macinaw straw seemed to be in
greater demand than other styles,
and as their width of rim end light
weight made them the proper thing
for camp life, we supplied our wants
in this fashion. Unlike other hat
stores | have been in hats are solu in
the rough, as it were, without inside
band, lining, etc. However, each
store has boys employed to do this
work and do the work in Il surpris-
inglv short time. As our time was
| limited sightseeing had to be cut
short and we retraccd our way back
20 the dock TO prepare for our ride
to camp. Some idea of the poverty
of the lower classes of Cubans was
given us as we wcnded our way
/ through the narrow, filthy streets
near the quavs. There was one i'll
stance OF this trip that ! shall never
never forget although it is doubtless
common occurrence in this City.
Living prone upon tie sidewalk rag
gcd aud filthy, the glaring sun full
upon him, infested with flies and
starvation, his only companion was
a man. Some charitable person (?)
had been kind enough to place Il
cobblr stone urder his head for Il
pillow. He died there as we after
wards learned, homeless and alone,
perhaps from starvation-a recon-
centrado without doubt. Thus did
Spain care for her subjects, orSpain
was even yet in control of Cuba.
Everywhere children were to be seen
almost nude, lying in doorsteps, on
the narrow pavements, any place
that afforded them shelter from the
intense rays of the sun. 1t is said
that labor is about the scarcest thing
to be found in Havana because
the war killed off the great
er number of the poorer classes and
those who still live are too weak to
stand hard work. | overheard a
Spanish dealer in Wood and Lumber
tell a Quartermaster of the Army
who was trying to contract for some
hauling to bedone that he was afraid
he would be unable to secure suffic-
lent laborers to consummate the work,
yet one would think in passing
through the city that one-half the
population was idle. 1t may be,
however, that the feeling is so strong