The Republican journal., 1899-11-09
A Last Look at Matanzas.

special Correspondence of The Journal
NrANzAs, Cuba, Sept. %, 1899. Why
. that so many people in the United
states speak of this well-known city as
Man tanzas;' why, indeed, do most
.meIicans in Cuba persist in saying the
,ne even after they have learned better?
much easier it seems to adopt an error
ai To correct it. The best way of cur
oueself of this mispronunciation is to
Il, u mind the meaning of the word-Ma-
as spanish for ''slaug hter-pen, de-
,ed from mdtdr, ''to kill" This san
uuary name was bestowed upon the
lIlry some three centuries ago, because
arst European settlers ia colony of
nsTy islanders) went into the business
ing cattle to supply Havana with
The city itself was christened with
-, and solemn ceremonials-San Carlos
Seyerino; but somehow, in spite of
.-. arch, king Charles and the patron
>.lt the old title chung to it. as bad
,.n,.quent good deeds.
MODERN Matauzas has been so often
graphed and pen pictured since the
rl hat | shall not intlict any further
upon You concerning its innumer-
at points of interest. Everybody
,uNS that it lies on the north coast of
ua sixty miles east from Havana Dor
one of the most beautiful bays in
world; but one who has not expert
harm of the place-its broad and
ri.llng sheet of water, bluer than the
sky that bends above it; its ram
Ill., uphill streets, with their dim old
.uAes and rows of royal palms; its
M.t low walled casas, with their fiat,
rOofs, inner courts and grated win
MS and the queer social life and Gus
u, as Spanish to- day as those of any
5pain-all of which have given rise
~ amending of the old saying, "See
yHes and die" to "See Matanzas AMI
forever"
ae population of the city is now
,.y NJ two less than fifty thousand, but
-ns vas when it boasted of 200, 600 souls.
-t' was in the golden days of long ago,
ar the old capital was the outlet of the
Test sugar producing section of the
Ind What has become of the people,
Il ask? Consult the annals of the
nd the bursting Campos Santos for
'uswer. For personal safety, hundreds
eealthy Castilian families fled to the
-aI country; thousands of Cubans
r klled in three years diminishing, or
eath in Spanish prisons, and more
hundred thousand men, women and
zen starved in the streets during the
Nta period of recommendation.
the stranger in Matanzas, the
>utest way of spending a day is in
4te. First he should drive to the So
e palace the very large, two
Ttti, time stained structure, faced with
red portals, that fronts the Plaza d
nls- and pay a duty~visit to the Gov
nj the province. The instant your
-e approaches the curb a swarm of
.cdnts. old and young, appear to
up out of the earth; dozens of lean
are outstretched and soft voices
for centavos-''p amor de dos
-- in the name Of Sanctissima Marie
al the Saints in the calander. AL
.-a recommendation is so long a thing
past, some of its horrors will linger
ars to come, pot only in actual suf-
Of the orphaned and homeless, but
bits Of beggary become chronic with
Hs jsing generation. According to Span
Stom, the ground floor of the palace
ven up to quarters for soldiers, ser
.t, and police, offices and store-rooms,
.-a-s and kitchens, while "up- stairs
as the official residence of the Gov
"aaE If the province. You go up wide
--t OF stone steps, in deep hollows worn
he passing feet OF two or three CEN
.-fies- through a dim anteroom, bare of
slNthing but a secretary's desk and a
llle Of sentinels pacing to and fro, and
>-ntly find yourself in an enormous
sa. or rather, feel yourself lost in the
as- echOing expanse. A livered tiunky,
F'- pistol osentatiously protruding from
lip pocket and a machete dangling at
Leels, meets you at the door and con-
you across the desert of marble
ing to the central oasis of Turkish
{ upon which are cane bottomed chairs
l sofas, set Wis a Wis around a marble
s led table laden with the china vases,
su,9 dogs and toy saints SO dear to the
+ attn heart; and in a moment you are ex
angling the glad hand with as true and
~urteous a gentleman as any of his titled
+ ledecessors. This shabby ''palacio'' is
ef without its tragic, as we'll as brilliant
Aa!al history. The beauty and chivalry
twenty generations have danced and
uetted under the crystal chandeliers of
, 4, Vast sala, when to the voluptuous
-lsic of the ddnzd ''soft eyes looked love
Eyes that spoke again. Within these
Boldly walls decisions have been reached
3 '1Ioh sent numerous enemies of Spain to