The Republican journal., 1899-07-13


Address Dr. r V Pierce. Buffalo. \. Y.
knocker, or tossed through the window
bars as the family sat at dinner An eye
arrived in this manner, a foot, an arm,
and when at length a CHASTITY human head,
propped up on a stick against the open
window, greeted her with reproachful
which ended in death, leaving a family of
orphans to the charity of the town.
To get a good general idea of Cienfue-
COS, the stranger should climb to the top
of reservoir hill, the only commanding
point in the vicinity. For two or three
miles the city stretches east and west
curving around the crescent shaped bay,
while countryward are the plantations.
green as the greenest, with the neat villas
and sugar mills and scattered groups of
palms. The parti- colored casas-pink,
blue, purple, green, often all the hues of
the rainbow combined on one wall-are
built in the usual Cuban style around an
open courtyard in the middle, though
there are more two and three stored
houses here than any other place in central
Cuba can show. The few noteworthy
public buildings are grouped around the
inevitable plaza-the latter large and
handsome square, well lighted by cleo
triCiry and ornamental gas lamps. Its
broad, marble walks are bordered by
palm trees and flower beds, with foun-
tain in the middle surrounded by statues
and benches, while each of the four en-
frances is guarded by the two lions of
Spain, one asleep, the other awake, cou-
chant on wall pedestals. These lions are
as common i'll all the Spanish possessions
as the eagle in Uncle Samuel Sin the
parks, before the public buildings, and
often in the grounds of private houses;
and always one watches, fierce and wide
awake, while the other sleeps. Right
under the nose of one OF these royal pairs,
an American band was playing 1.-The Star
Spangled Banner as we passed through
the plaza
One side of the central square is occu-
pied by the great cathedral, with its broad
esplanade in 'front.' and double towers, one
much taller than the other, filled with lit
tie bells perpetually tangled out of tune
all too new to be interesting. On another
side is the government ''palacio, faced
with stately colonnades and tianked by
long line of barracks. Not far away is the
! opera house, quaint open air theatre,
the market place, town hall, military hos
pital and the carcel, or prison, which be-
came so unpleasantly famous during the
late war, Sentinels pace perpetually be-
fore it's closed doors, and the little barred
windows high up in the enormously thick
walls are like shut eyes that betray no
secrets. They tell as that subterranean
passages connect the dungeons below it
with the forts, the palace and tribunal;
and that deeds have been committed there
which would shame the darkest days of
the Inquistion. In the spacious Alameda,
grove or elms) at the edge of the town,
fashionable Cienfuegos drives or prone
when military bands play. Now days
large proportion of the people speak Eng
lsh, and those who do not know it are
studying with might and main; while the
presence of SO many American soldiers,
American doctors, dentists and photogra-
piers, department stores run on the Amer
lean plan, not to mention American saloons
on every corner justify its frequently heard
appeliation of "a Yankee town. Captain
Baker, who was consul here before the
war, is now captain of the port, and Cap
tain Bean is quartermaster, and the two
are about the busiest pair in Cuba.
The Hotel Union, said to be the best in
Cienfuegos, is odd enough to deserve a
paragraph. The words ''English spoken
figure prominently in its advertisement;
but the assertion applies only to the hotel
guests, not to its managers or employees.
Such conglomeration of paradoxes was
never seen before under one roof! I'm
painted rafters are threaded with electric
wires; bare, dirty wooden floors, and
elegant furniture of carved mahogany
brought from southern Europe long ago,
tall brass bedsteads, quaint enough to
arouse the sin of covetousness in the most
religious heart, are canopied with yellow
satin and covered with red calico spreads,
the linen sheets trimmedwith coarse cotton
lace. The dining room is ornamented (?)
E with plaster statues draped in gorgeous
painted gowns, and the several patios,
7 with their growing plants, colonies of
doves and gossiping servants, form inter
esting studies
The Mayor of Cienfuegos called upon
Miss Barton at once and begged for some