The Frankfort roundabout. [volume] (Frankfort, Ky.) 1882-1908, 1899-02-04
Letter From Florida and Cuba.
TAMPA, FLA, Jan. 26, 1899.

wrote n letter 1Or puDllcdtIol, anu
not having written one for so long, 1t
is " it'll some hesitancy 1 undertake
to do so.
/ left Frankfort the evening JAM
uary 9Th for trip through the South.
principally Florida. / arrived at
Jacksonville, Fla, the night of the
9th, at II O'Clock, by way of the
Cincinnati Sou hern Railway, the
train being 2 hours behind time.
/ spent three days in Jacksonville
looking after the interest Of Miles u
Son, in which State they have had a
nice trade in their -four since my first
trip, in the winter of 1886.
I went from Jacksonville to Fer
nandina, at which place l spent one
day talking business. From there,
my first stop was st. Augustine,
where / spent two days; next Day.
tona, two days; next took train for
Mama, the terminus of the East
Coast Railway, about 800 miles be-
low Jacksonville, at which point l
took steamer for Key West, 165
miles. I staid there three or four
days, talked -four and established an
agency for its sale. From there l
took steamer for Havana, Cuba, in
the Arkansas, one of the Morgan line
vessels, running from, New Orleans
via Key West.
Havana, being only 80 miles, we
lay outside harbor until after 3 O'Clock
in the morning, no vessel being al
lowed to go into the harbOr until
after this time. In going up the har-
Dor / got chair and sat on the bow
of the vessel, so could see on each !
side and in every direction. But
little passed my notice. The first
thing passed was Moro Castle, one
of the most noted Notifications in the
world. After passing Moro, other
forts were passed, almost innumer-
able, which would take too long to
write about. My intention is to only
give sketch of what l saw. The
last will name i'm the harbOr is the
wreck of the Maine, photograph Of
which l have with me and will be
pleased to show my friends " hen 1
get home. /
BY the way, 1 went to the ceme-
terry in, Key West and stood over the
graves of twenty-five of the Maine
boys who were killed in the explO.
sion. Just here I will also state l
stood over the burial place in the
cemetery of Havana of two hundred
and sixty-five whose lives were lost
in this disaster, they being buried in
two heaps.
You will remember five years ago
next June left Frankfort and made
a trip through nine countries of
Europe. speak Of this to show you
and the readers Of this am prepared
to compare what l saw here with
what saw in those nine countries.
Besides these nine countries, l have
been in Mexico and Canada. In all
/ have never seen such squalid
wretche dness, poverty in its most
abject form.
The vessel was anchored out some I
distance from the dock and was met
by Cubans with little sail boats,
whichwOuld carry from six totem per-
sons with their baggage.
The steamer let down a stair or
walkway outside the vessel for pas
sengers to. walk down to the little
sail boats. Only one boat could get
passengers in at "a time. There was
perfect confusion, each one of the
Cuhans trying to get his share of pas
l could not understand a '
word they said. We, that is, the '
party / was with, made contract at s
20 cents each to put us on the dock, ,
will have to make my description '
Of things short. On the dock is the
custom house, through which we all [
had to pass, baggage all being opened ]
by Cubans who could not speak /
word of English. AS we left the (
custom house door it was full of
Cubans to collect something for put b
ting the baggage In the custom t
house. No difference how much you y