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

White ~ the partr1uke, the COO OF the
dove. the clacking OF the great water
rail- and the harsh note OF the guinea
fowl. which are wild. These are the
only familiar sounds. Bob White" is
given an answering whistle and pipes
merrily back
The church OF la Santissima Viz
gin de Montserrat" is very old. OF lime
stone. with statues OF saints In front.
and with grand laurel trees half In
closing Il. Its great door Is open The
altar is OF large slabs OF cork. artis-
tfcally arranged, n At least thirty
feet high. In n recess In this, high up
are the Virgin and the 90 Vi. Both are
nearly black. But this is y no means
rare in Cuba. while the statues OF the
Mother and Son are seen in all shades.
from white TO Jet black. ON the walls
are hundreds OF native offerings. and
inside the door trinkets are sold. Fast
ened TO the wall is a wooden hand, cut
off at the wrist. Between this ia a rude
painting showing the owner OF the
hand saved in a railway accident. Two
cars are telescoped but he Is thrown
in the foreground and only lost a
hand.
From the church the wanderers go
TO the top OF some peaks and thence
TO a Spanish blockhouse. The latter il
OF wooden beams, and rests on n solid
limestone Its roof Is partly
OF tiles and partly OF tin. n II has a
tower. There are three rows or firing
holes. While W. ooh at IL the thick iron
door opens with a clang and n woman
puts out her head. She is presently In
duced TO stand in the door and her
son also appears. They and the block
house, now their home. are photograph
ed and they are rewarded with some
American nickels. She was making a
palmetto hat and never stopped her
slow plating.
Tn The afsnrnaAn xNn CO 80 uAA tho
caves of Bellamar. the greatest OF the
kind in Cuba They are two miles In
extent, but hot and poorly lighted. each
visitor taking a way candle two feet In
length.
At night the Cuban Club Is visited
and some OF the leading men are met.
Your correspondent made many in
quiries about lands. Lands are not sold
by the acre, but by the ''cavalleria-"
which is about SO 1-3 acres: that is
about as much as one horse can work.
For such land, near Matanzas. from
$500 to $500 is asked: that is for the
SO 1-3 acres. AS n gentleman said.
Very good sugar land can be had at
500 to $25 per acre. as the Americans
would say" Inquiries were made as to
land titles and assurances were given
that they are good; the system OF reg
istry being practically the same AZ
here. The richness OF the lands Is in
.NtC%A tp1oANs aDlNa 10 VI w ca
n tear of plant Is large in that moist
climate, but SO are profits. There used
to be a large coffee plantation near
MatanZas, but the S~paniards crushed
this business and forced all to go into
sugar making. In one field is the grow
ing cane, say six inches high, other half
ripe, yet another fully ripe and being
cut, the growth being incessant.
h Spaniards were masters OF the
art Of taxation. They taxed marriages.
births and deaths. and this tax was
so high as to prevent marriage and
would increase unlawful living. The
tax on marriages Was higher at night
than in the day. The cost OF horses, or
rather ponies, is very high. something
like 5000 Spanish money (of which 81
American money is worth S1.30)
All the Americans conversed with
agree that If we hold the island IL will
be a good place for investment and
for business, but If the Cubans hold
it, 1T will be to use a strong American
ism, mo good" Some of the Cubans
said frankly they wanted annexation,
others said they wanted TO Try n gov
eminent. All the Spaniards favored
annexation.
Sunday was a great day for church
going and business too. There was a
tinkling, not a ringing of multitudin-
GUS bells. These are really not rung
but struck. The fire department with
us well arranged noSplLal annex, Is a
model. The horses nearly all have
American names, Jack and Jim"
among them. The Jail lin Spanish, car
cel') is also a model. In front is a
park of laurels. The building is a deep
blue, with spacious courts bright with
flowers. In this Jail the Spaniards had
400 prisoners. mostly ''politicals." A
visit is paid old Fort San Severino, and
in one Of the are seen the
rough charcoal sketches which II. J.
Whigham and Phil Robinson, the Eng
list correspondent, made
when imprisoned. Under each is the
legend: Prisoner in San Saverino Nav
charge Of the First Kentucky regiment.
The Cubans in MatanZas say they
are fast becoming Americanized. Hap
by indeed is the Spanish girl who knows
a little English. At one window. only
half barred, was one who spoke fair
English and the American officers
made her quite a pet. Her three sisters
could only speak with eyes, but those
were very effective. American money
is the thing wanted by the merchants
and they wonder why the miserable
Spanish money is not called in. They
all say they are buying 40 goods save
from the United States. The children
call all the American soldiers Char
ley Their greeting is not "Howdy,"
but strange to say Good -bye"-or az
they put 1t, "Boo-bye."
When you ask what will be the fu-
ture Of Cuba and what the form OF
governments, people shrug their shout
ders n say, 'Quien Sabe?"-who
knows? What American knows? The
latter think they know but say the
uncertainty is ~dreadfully annoying. The
man l n the island a month, they say.
KNOWS Just as much as General Brook
does on this particular subject.
Matanzas was left with regret on a
bright Sunday afternoon. At the rail-
way station all were duly photograph
ed, with a dapper Cuban officer ranged
/ alongside. The tickle agent
that his office was open by coming
= out and clapping his hands.
/ F. A. OLDS.
: Fire on the Transport Thomas