The Cook County herald. [volume] (Grand Marais, Minn.) 1893-1909, 1899-12-16
INTERIOR I! ] RI OF CUBA.
VERY DIFFERENT FROM THE
sEAcOAST CITY VIEW. ! s..=
Daughters Sold by Parents -The Burial
Customs Seem Shockingly Brief and
Coldb1ooded to an American-Ha-
vana's Highly Ornate Hearse.

So much has been written concern
| Ing Havana and Santiago, and SO little
said OF other large towns, the impress
| sion has been conveyed that there are
| put two cities on the island. Such is
not the case, however, for some of the
| provinces, especially the western prov
! lnces' are densely settled, says the
washington Post. The province of
Havana alone has nearly a hundred
large towns. Those who have visited
only the seacoast towns have seen the
worst, and in fact a very small por-
ton, OF Cuba. Over two-thirds of the
island is just as healthy, even during
the summer months, as any part of the
world. Two distinct classes of people
live in Cuba. The people who live in
the seacoast towns may be placed in
one class, while those living in the
interior towns form distinct and very
different type. These people differ
greatly in their ways and customs. The
coast people are more enlightened, the
reason, perhaps, being that they inter-
mingle with other classes of people,
Which partly proves that one great
need OF Cuba is the immigration to it's
/ shores of other races who will import
V1tal1ty and enterprise. Naturally the
| seacoast towns have developed more
rapidly, and the laws of civilization
| are more readily obeyeG In the in
terror towns, where other races of peo-
pie have seldom been, the people in
general are very ignorant. All classes
of people in the interior are early ris-
ers. EARLY to bed and early to rise''
Being their motto. AS soon as dark
ness comes every place is closed up and
quiet prevails. At 6 o'clock in the
morning all the places are opened and
business is resumed. They have not
yet learned that Sunday is day of rest
and worship. All business PAGES are
kept open all day, and as many tran
sactlons take place as on any other
day. Cuban men rarely go to church.
But of the women it may be affirmed
that they are very devout, and early
in the morning they fill the churches
What strikes one forcibly is the great
spirit of democracy that exists in the
Cuban churches. Many of the ne
groes are very devout, and they go to
church regularly. They are not rele-
gated to the galleries or few back
seats, but may go anywhere. It is not
an unusual sight to- see a beautiful
girl of naughty Castilian features tell
ing her beads beside a rough-looking
negro with only dirty, everyday shirt
between himself and the outer world.
In the interior of Cuba the marriage
laws need much mending. Few Gu
bans are lawfully married and many
of them have seven or eight wives.
This is not only tolerated, but rather
| encouraged. Men will go around brag-
ging about the number of mojers
(wives) they have, and as the Cuban
marriage laws are worse than the Nor
prevent a man from having as many
wives as he wants. Courtships, as
rule, are of short duration, many not
lasting longer than a week or ten days.
Girls marry very young. Many are
wives when they have attained the age
of - Or 13, and some even marry at
10. When they marry so young it is
not always their desire to do so, but
because they have been sold by thei'
parents. Like our Indians, the Cubans,
especially those living in the noun
tains, believe in selling their daugh-
T,,ho
baptized the name of both parents are
| used. If Juan Rodriguez marries Ma
ria Lopez and they have child-say a
boy-when he is christened they choose
for him the name of Francisco then
| his full name will be Francisco Rodri-
| guez Lopez, the mothers maiden name
being added, which explains the cause
OF so many long names among the Gu
bans.
Hearses in Cuba are very rare. Dur
ing all my travel I saw but one and
that was in Havana. 1t is magnifi-
cent affair, drawn by six jet-black
horses. Two men in red uniforms
trimmed with yellow sit on the box
Such gay uniforms at one of our fu-
nerals would perhaps be regarded as
out of place. The well-polished brass
that adorns it's sides, and the kneel-
ing angel on the very top, seemingly
so eager to fly, greatly enhance the
spectacular appearance of the hearse.
Six men, three on either side, in black
uniforms trimmed with yellow and
wearing red-top boots, act as a body
guard. Every time this hearse turns
out the owner receives $3.50, so it can
be seen that only those belonging to
the upper ten can afford to bye. driven
to their graves in hearse. The lower
class makes use of all kinds of We
hicles to convey their dead to the GEM
etery. I have seen a coffin laid across
a heavy-wheeled cart, drawn by four
oxen, off to the burying ground. Now
we get to the interior where little or
nothing is known of civilized customs.
Bodies are often buried when they are
still warm. All kinds of rough boards
are used to make collins. The old
boards of a battered blockhouse near
q little mountain town furnished sew,
eral collins during my stay there. Yet