Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1900-03-15
SHOES! SHOES! SHOES+

the Cnion.) There the Negro, Gu
ban and Chlnaman are kept separate
and intercourse is strictly prohibited
by law. After attending thcil
Mardi Gras ball last Tuesday, where
all colors and nationalities wcr,
dancing and drinking together indis
crlmlnatcly and upon terms Of entire
social equality, sentence of few
days to the pcnitcntiary would not
have seemed so bad"
"llow did the soil of Cuba i'm.
press you?"
"lfich beyond anything l have
ever sen. Every variety of tho
vegetable kingdom not only grows
mxuriantly but spontaneously.
saw them planting sugar cane, cut.
ting it and grinding it ali on the
same plantation. Indian corn was
the same, planting, cutting, gather
ing in adjoining fields. They use no
fertilizers and the sugar cane grows
for ten to fifteen years with but one
! planting. Oranges, lemons and cof-
fee grow on bushes or trees bear
ing for fifty years or more with very
little attention; bananas, pincapples,
! guavas and all other tropical fruits
reward most abundantly the small
est care and@lttention. The crudcst
system Of farming exists, and even
where modern implements are used
the greatest improvidcncc seems to
p"rvadc everything. One Of the
wholesale merchants told me that
although he sold hundreds of plows
and cultivators every year he had
never sold point, but that when
they became dull the whole thing
was thrown away and new machines
bought"
"What kind of horses, mules and
cattle do they havc?"
"probably the most remarkable sur
prise to stranger is their stock.
The finest mules and the best oxen
ever saw were on the island and
their native horses, though small,
have all the strength and endurance
OF the large horses Of the States.
tf hn IL
ditl0n of the roads in the country,
they do not use four wheeled wagons,
but have tremendous two wheeled
carts, to which they hitch two or
four oxen, the yokcs resting on the
neck just back Of the ears, and being
tied to the horns, thus distributing
the load, and enabling them to carry
tremendous loads. They are driven
by rope through the nose. The
mule carts are the same tremendous
clumsy two wheeled carts. In the
shafts is hitchcd the largest mule or
horse they have, and strung out in
front Of him are from three TO five
little mules or ponies. The remark
able feature about these teams il
their strength and their docilitv,
driven without lines except the one
in the shafts, and their splendid con-
dItion. They are AZ sleek and fat az
molcs, and slow as the North star"
"llow is the farming donc?"
"ln village about fifty miles from
Havana a coal black negro about
fifty years old was pointed out az
the richest man in town. The post
master when asked how he got his
money, explained that he could not
hcl p being rich, that he had twelve
wives, twrnty-four sons and fifteen
daughters. Thus his labor cost him
nothing and J." cn"ld make them
work. Being asked if he was a good
business man he replied, 'Ycs he
owns many of the houses here and
five or six large farms, besides lend
ing lots of money! The postmaster
explained that he had borrowed
$4,000 from the negro this year to
make his own crop. Being asked
what interest he paid, he replied
that he was charged no interest, but
under the laws of Cnba he could not
sell a pound Of the crop until the
man advancing the money was paid,
and tn" negro always made them sell
their tobacco and corn to him pretty
cheap.
"Canr mills are very scarce, the
insurgents having burned up every
one in the country which was not
constantly guarded by the Span
iarls.'
"What is the feeling Of the pro-
pie towards annexation ?"
"Thc sentiment Of the Spaniards
who have property in the islands