Evening star., 1900-12-17
Havana Getting Ready to Entertain
Them. ...-.
MATTERS OF MOMENT TO TOURISTS
They Are Generally Afraid of the
Water and Fruits.
] u r n EYS BY RAIL
Copyright. 1909

Havana is getting ready for Its winter
visitors. They begin to come during the
holiday season, and continue coming until
late in the spring. Each year the number
is increasing. but there is always great
lack of Information shown when they land
In Cuba. Whether coming for business or
pleasure, a few hints may not be out of
place.
Though It is supposed to be winter, ordi-
nary summer clothing is comfortable dur
ing the midday when the sun is hottest.
One can travel about in clothes which
answer in the north for the late spring or
the early fall. Sometimes there is a raw
wind, lasting a day or two. which makes
light overcoat wrap useful Once or
twice have known it to be cold enough to
numb the fingers, but this is rare The
CGbans and Spaniards wrap themselves in
great cloaks during these spells of raw
weather and shiver as though 1t were freez-
ing. The American usually finds no trou-
BILE in warming up by taking brisk walk.
The houses being without stoves or Chin
neys and the rooms being built specially for
warm weather, with plenty of means for the
free circulation of the air, during really
cold spell they are full Of draughts and are
trif1e uncomfortable. But at the longest
, these cold spells do not last more than
three days, and they rarely come more than
twice within the season, so that the in
coEveniences can be tolerated.
A Cool Spell.
For week past Havana has been having
what they call 'cool weather" This means
that the bracing winds from the north have
been sweeping over the island, and everybody
has been benefited by it. But the GOODNESS
has not been great enough to make over
coats wraps necessary, except for those
who have rich imaginations and who can
easily convince themselves that there is
such a thing as winter in the tropics.
The American visitor who comes to the
island for the first time is pretty sure to
worry himself out Of enjoyment by ques-
toning everybody what to eat and what to
drink and how to sleep. Sleeping on a
Cuban bed is a matter Of experience. and Is
not always acquired during single visit.
A wire mattress will be stretched across
the head and the foot and blanket for
comfort is about all that the inhabitants Of
the country think is necessary. and their
customs are based intimate knowl-
edge of the climate. When the art of Sleep
ing is acquired by the visitor, he agrees
with the native and there is not much
more to be said on the subject.
The eating and drinking is more serious
matter. Visitors who have haZy notions
about the water supply of Havana usually
make nuisance of themselves to their ac-
ouaintances. 1t is absolutely pure and
healthful and the aqueduct which brings it
from the natural reservoir. which is the
source of the supply, into the city, was the
triumDh of a distinguished Spanish engi-
neer. Don Francisco Albear- Nevertheless
Americans who are not satisfied with these
statements take refuge in mineral wa
ters or in the light Spanish clarets. which
are abundant and cheap. A common ques-
ton Is whether the water is boiled for
drinking purposes. 1t is not, for one reason
because it is unlike the fluid which comes
from the Mississippi the Potomac or other
streams in the United States. The Cuban
custom is to boil the milk but to drink wa
fpr n
is very we'll suited to Havana. though it
does not answer for all parts of the island.
Afraid of Fruits.
Another matter which worries visiting
Americans is the fruits Of the country.
At this time the pineapples and the oranges
are in season. But the majority Of visitors
look on them with suspicion, because some
officious friend has a long tale to tell re-
gardng somebody else who got sick from
eating green or overripe fruits. But the
same thing happens in the northern cli-
mates. There may be a more delicious
fruit than the pineapple, gathered in the
early morning when the dew Is fresh upon
it, but l have yet to find it. An American
woman who had some friends visiting her.
thought to afford them a rare treat by
proffering the dewy pineapple, but they de-
clined because they thought it grew too
near the ground to be healthful. At least
they do not share a common error which Is
At this time of the year cocoanut milk is
also both healthful and refreshing but 1t
Is rejected by most Americans because they
fail to see why the colorless liquid should
be called milk, and moreover, they think it
insipid to the taste. The truth about it is
thai 1t is quite nourishing, and out in the
country to get fresh cocoanut and have 1t
sliced In two by machete and the liquid
retained In half the shell natural gourd
Is to get both meat and drink. 1t Is to be
had In all the cafes Of Havana This is
not the season Of the mango so that the
dread Of taking the yellow fever through
enjoyment in Its delicious flavor is not
present. The dread is fancied one, any
how.
For those who are unable to satisfy their
appetites either with the fruits of the
country or the food that is prepared in
Spanish style. the advice Of an army officer
who had grown weary trying to make some
visitors understand that they could live
safely the people Of the country live
may be given. This was that American
visitors limit their diet to hard tack and
canned bacon. He was a sarcastic army
officer, yet he had ground for his advice.
because everything he had recommended
had been rejected.
Concession to American Habits,
Some concession has been made to Amer
lean habits by the Havana hotels and
cafes The visitors who cannot accustom
themselves to a simple roll and coffee for
early breakfast now can also get eggs and
oranges. Most of them, after a vain en-
deavor to have the eggs boiled according
to their liking, give up the unequal strug-
gle and manage to content themselves un-.
till the midday meal. which is q substan-
tial dinner. Those who are unable to sat
isfy their cravings with so little usually
compromise on fried eggs. But it is neces-
sary to go into the side streets and hunt
up one Of the places bearing the sign
American restaurant" II one wants the
combination known as ham and eggs and
pie which is the standard dish and Is
served at all hours. 1t was a Cincinnati
man stopping at the leading hotel of Ha-
vana who clinched argument that the
Latin race is an inferior one by calling for
pie. When he failed to get 1T he cited this
proof of inferior civilization. The story
is not apochryphaL. heard the argument
and saw its demonstration. r.
There are two sides to all these questions
When the Cuban school teachers We're at
Harvard last summer they wrote home
some keen observations on the different
ideas Of what constitutes sensible living
Boston beans and brown bread and apple.
sauce served them for breakfast threatened
their digestion and caused them to make
comments on American cooking.
Leaving the lighter phases Of tourist vts-
iting and other visiting two or three points
are important for those who come to Cuba
to know. A health certificate Is necessary
in fO GOT he jclo rJ>t;