The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1900-03-11
ROUGH RIDER RHODES
Writes 10 the Eagle Descrip-
tivey of Real Cuba.
NO CAPITAL Is NEEDED
But Men to Work Their Own
FARMS he Carnival.
fspecial Correspondence to the Eagle)

nival time and in its observance can be
seen the lighter side of tie Cuban ma
ture Almost the entire population is
masked and on the streets, both day and
evening. These masks, while of the
cheapest material, are very effective in
conceaIing the personality of the owners,
and represent about everything imagin-
able, from the devil 10 a sister of char
ity. No one had the nerve 10 dress as a
priest. but every thing else is We'll repre-
sented. His Satanic Majesty seemed to
be a favorite, and in many cases was an
accurate representation OF the popular
superstition in regard 10 him. One had a
pair of COW horns on the head while each
hand ended in claws, one OF which
grasped a spear, while a well defined tail
ended in a barb siIvered over with tin
foil. The Senoritas seemed TO prefer
black masks, and protected by them,
oVercame their natural modeSty and 1t
was no uncommon thing to be jostled by
them as they passed. They would shrek
OUT in a high falsetto voice, "A-du-o-s,"
accompanying il with handful of -four
cast, if possible, in the face. When two
parties Of the maskers met it was usual
" the signal for a small battle. in which
bags of flour were always the missiles
sent. There was no distinction as 10 per
sons, and many a gentleman clothed in
black broadcloth, with stovepipe hat,
found himself the target for a band of
the merrymakers. Last year in Havana
a party selected Gen. Ludlow as the vic
tim. which caused an edict to be pub
hshed within the next hour ordering the
soldiers TO break up the carnival. The
Cubans, and Spaniards themselves. take
no exceptions to it, but enter into the
fun with the populace.
If ever there was a country and a peo-
pie of which practically nothing is known
by its neighbors, it is Cuba. Every
American comes here with the idea that
he knows it all and will soon teach the
Cubans. 1t is true that in most things
the people are but little further advanced
than the Israelites il the time of Moses,
but in some things, especially in regard
to the raising of the ordinary troops, they
understand their business. Many Ameri-
cans are buying land and settling here.
Some have recognized that the soil and
climate is different from any they have
known before, and asked advice of their
Cuban neighbors. In many respects they
profited by these suggestions. while 9TH
ers who thought they knew it all, paid
dearly for their conceit, both in inferior
crops and money actually expended. The
first lesson they learned was that the
native chung to his wooden stick with
the iron point used as a plow, because
until recently, there has never been an
American pillow manufactured that would
work in the heavy clay soil of this coun-
try. No mould board plow. no matter
how hardened or chilled. will turn the
soil. Recent tests have shown that the
disk plow, well hardeded, is the only one
that gave satisfaction. They must be
drawn by mules, as oxen are too slow.
Four good mules are required to draw
one of them if any amount of work is
to be done as all the soil is clay, both
red and black, very heavy and sticky.
In setting out tobacco plants the native
tells by the feel which are best, rejecting
any that show tendency to being coarse.
AS all the tobacco is used for making CT
CARS, the quality depends upon the fine
ness, and price upon quality. Many a con-
ceited American has found that his to-
bacco brought only half that of his Gu
ban neighbor, owing to his lack of know
ledge in securing the proper plants.
An Englishman bought a farm and
stocked it with blooded Holstein cattle
and Berkshire hogs His cattle he kept
in stalls and carried the grass to them
instead of allowing them to Craze, be
cause that was the way they did in Eng
calves which Will bring him a fancy price
as milk stock are in great demand. II Is
though, to see him keeping
group of laborers employed carrying the
grass when the COW would prefer 10
Craze. His hogs throve and increased
until he decided to market some Of them.
To- his CONSERVATION no one would buy
them. every buyer looking at them re-
fusing TO even make an offer. as they
were all too fat. Upon Investigating he
found that the people eat no meat that
has any hog fat whe tever and that the
butchers strip all the meat OF both cattle
and hogs OF the least particle q It, which
is cast in the rendering pot. The salsable
hog here must be long, lean animal,
with but little o. no hams or shoulders.
Emigrants here viii find Il 10 their bene-
III to leave part Of their conceit and I
learn why the people here DO certain
things and improve upon them only when
he is sure OF his ground
i great many cattle have been ship
ped from the Southern States % be fat
tened in the luxuriaut grass here Most
Of these are very small animals from
Southern florida and on first arriving
are but . pack o. skin and bones Two /
months grazing makes chem fat a6t
sleek. ready Sor the market These cat- /
tie are bought in Florida for from sI2aa /
- $500 per head and weigh about 20
pounds for forr year old animals. u 4
Costs 800 f-r transportation and $40
duty When ready for the market they
bring from geo TO TOO per had ard I.
are all IN demand. as Cuba depends ~ 4
the United States for SIS meat. Beaf i
steak Il % ceuta pr pound ard PORK 4
steak = cents Eggs refan A. 2 cents 4
each ard ohlckens for fries are = eenta. I
while cd hens cannot be bouEsf far Tess 4
than s. - 70 $50 each Costs are worth 4
To- na51chiaz purposes, sEB each. ard /.
good mI4ca cows are mt - - ostai2e1 4
fo- slsa98 EEEs By TIE case s-f ehsck- 4
e.s IS ere hundred corse II from Mga3s
on every SKIP and al fHd ready sale
The late freeze e. F35rs1a rulaes rhe 1
,rsex gsEdsns tbsra and All dealers have
received taleg-a-ns iaQulrf-g or "a ahage
ard tomatoes ire cabbage car - OBJ
.afrsI ia sbuuAanes II beads y s-oas q 4
o. = pzsgnGE hzt 9EsaE - ns p-svl7Es /
8ersans. tomatoes ar VERY sac ard o.
inferior a1zilgv. mostly % e very s-ua1l /
variety Mazy FgorAzA trnrk sa--zers
have 8ecfse5 70 aeare Or a lard ~ssre
e-satz are zave- znoNn Tzk crzzgs