The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1899-04-05
Sights and Scenes IN Havana.

Sights and Scenes IN Havana.
Under date of Havana, correspondent
! writes:
Naturally, unless they be travelling in
pairs or groupsi no two people visiting
! Havana will follow quite the same pro-
gramme in their occupations or their
| sightseeing. The mercantile man Will can
| upon buyers or sellers and pass his day
J in talking business. The politician, or, II
| he prefer the term, the statesman, VIII
| probably call at official headquarters ana
| be stored in certain conventional oirec-
| tions for. the obtaining of that knowledge
| of the affairs OF the island which he seeks
| for his guidance and for the information
| Of his constituents. Ladies will go shop
| ping on Obispo street, hoping for rich
| and rare bargains in fans and thread
! lace. Newspaper correspondents Will lie
! in bed all day and go to the theatre IN
the evening. That is all they have TO
| do. As they lie in bed they absorb local
color and news matter through their
pores. That is the way news is obtained
But there is certain general pro-
! gramme which all will follow, certain
things which most Will probably see. They
! will get up at eight or nine o'clock IN
! the morning That is, l should not be
able to testify, from my personal obser-
walton, that anybody ever does get up be-
| fore that time. 1t is possible that some
may do so. For the sake Of being de-
! finite, let US assume that the visitor has
| more money than brains, and is staying
at the Inglaterra, as 1 am. Let me say,
| in parenthesis, that after some twenty
! five years of hotel life, 1 know OF few
places where one can get so little of real
| satisfaction for so large sum of money
| as he can in Havana hotels. And the
| Inglaterra heads the list. 1t is a place
where one pays five good American dol
/ lars per day for a tiled floor, an iron
! bedstead, and two meals day. 1t does
not materially differ from any others in
the probability Of an opportunity for
quarreling over ones bill.
Having descended the marble stairway
of this caravansery at the above-men-
toned hour, one pauses moment to note
| the numerous holes in the mirrors, walls,
and ceiling. He is told that they are
the souvenirs of a little difficulty which
| occurred there last fall between the Span
iards and the Cubans. The holes were
made by Spanish bullets. Having idly re-
! Elected upon mans inhumanity to man."
| the visitor makes his way to a gloomy den
| behind the office, and seats himself at
| a long table in the coffee-room. The Ia
| BILE is covered with a soiled and faded red
|
with crockery and crusts which, because
of their condition, belong in the washing
| sink or the garbage-can. Here he is pro-
| Vided with a couple of oranges, If there
| be any in the market. The oranges have
been peeled with a sharp knife, and dis
| play themselves in luscious and juicy rich
| ness. The newcomer may usually be
| detected by his attack upon the oranges.
| The old hand impales the fruit upon
| fork and proceeds to extract from It as
much of it's juice as he can keep from
! streaming down his beard and DER his
robe" after the manner of Aaron's ONT
ment 1t isn't at all a dainty process,
but one rather gets to liking the results
of it.
A couple of oranges having been thus
| robbed of their sweets, while the ex-
| hausted pulp lies on the plate before
him, the traveller is served with a demi-
| tasse of coffee, black and strong, unless
| it be his preference to qualify it with no.
milk. Here, the plain coffee is cafe solo,
! or cafe sin leche. In Porto Rico it was
| cafe negro. With his coffee he takes a
chunky roll, cold, dry, and crusty. The
less said about the butter the better.
Also the less eaten of it the better. This
ordeal over, the visitor will probably go
and stand at the hotel doorway for few
minutes. Before him lies the Parque Cen
trail, with its trees, walks, and shrubbery.
In the middle of it there now stands upon
a broad stone platform, the pedestal from
which was recently removed the stone
statue of Isabel IL, which was placed
there in 1851. This is the second time that
the rather crude and inartistic effigy OF
a Spanish Queen has been taken down
from petty political motives. The poor
old figure did no harm where it was, and
was not glaringly offensive as a park dec
grafton. But it had the misfortune to DE
Spanish. Therefore-abajo la estatua. Its
other removal was by Spanish hands, and
1t was by them cast into a often, with
garbage and refuse. Its present resting
place Is building in large yard, where
reconcentrados died by the hundreds. Its
destination is said to be Madrid. Some
| day the pedestal may serve as the base
for Cuban goddess OF liberty or for
the statue of Cuban hero.
Standing in the hotel doorway one d.
vides his attention between the broad
| Prado which stretches away 10 right and
! left, double street with a shaded prom
! enade through the center, and a little
swarm of urchins who poster him to buy
| their papers or to have his shoes black
ened. The density of many of these ur-
chins is phenomenal. One may be en-
| gagged in reading some particular paper.
| and find life made a burden bpy persistent
requests to buy duplicate Of it. A BOY
may be blackening ones shoes. That VIII
not prevent a half-dozen others from both
ering him with Shine? Shine?' At this
| point the sightseeing current divides.
| Some saunter down Obispo street. the
principal retail and shopping thorough
| fare. 1t is barely more than an alley. with
| narrow sidewalks which would almost
/ better be left out than included. Carr
| riages are permitted to go down 1t, but
they must come up by some other street
! upon which none is allowed 10 60 down.
Much Of its length is covered by avn
/ ings which cross it from wall to wall. The
| moving throng" is interesting but trou-
| blesome. If one keeps the sidewalk, he
| must. at every few steps, hug the wall or
step into the street to avoid a deadlock
with other passers. If he keeps to the
street. the easier way. his operations as
a window-shopper meet serious interfer-
| ence.
The probability is that the shopper will
be disappointed. Most OF the stores are
| small and inconvenient. The stocks ere
selected for the local trade. and there IS
| displayed a difference in taste which
ELECTS unfavorable comment from the ma
jority Of Americans, who forget that taste
and beauty in most matters OF merchal-
disc are a question OF relative rather than
| absolute art. Thirty years ago coral and
/ coral-cameO jewelry were highly esteem
| ed IN American society. So, too. were
broad band bracelets. and many ether
/ patterns and fashions IN jewelry. Today
/ -bah,-they are hideous. Yet many Of
/ these things are sui seen in Havana jew
/ elry stores. Certain patterns in dress