Evening star., 1901-05-25
Every One Goes Out to See Pelota
Played.
EASILY MASTERED BY THE SPECTATOR
Fine Display of Strength and En-
durance.
SCENE AT A GREAT GAM t

Special Correspondence of The Evening Star.
HAVANA, May o. 1901.
Havana has new sensation. 1t Is not
political social, but simply the healthy
sensation which comes from witnessing
strength and skill. Wednesdays and Sun
days everybody goes to the fronton to see
the Basques Viscainas play "pelota.
1t is more open and far more manly than
the game of Cuban politics and is a pleas
ing diversion from that subject. 1t divides
the interest with base ball which is be-
coming the Cuban national game.
The frontnn is simply an inclosed ath-
letic park, erected on the water front out
toward the battery. The society which
manages 1t is known as the Jai-Alal
Jai-Alai Is the Basque term for hesta
alegra,' and fiesta alegra translated from
Spanish into English means glorious holi-
day. The Basques are the most interest
ing people in Spain, shut in as they are,
by the Pyrenees and having preserved
their racial identity and even their Ian
guage distinct from the mixed Spanish
race. They are by all odds the most IN
teresting of the natives of the different
provinces of Spain who have settled IN
Cuba. A considerable colony of them are
engaged in business in Havana, and the
| lahOring classes are found on several plan
tations in the central and western part OF
that they have very long and unpronounce-
able names. which spelled with dlth-
Guilty, because eVe~y vowel Is not soundcd
as in the Castilian language, and there IS
a combination of conSOnantS Wnlch is dll-
fCult to master.
Two or three years ago sugar planter
whose guest | was told me about the an
cient and noble sport of pelota,. which he
said had been played with little chdnSe
for hundreds of years. He was himself a
Basque, and he regretted that the ma
jority of the Spanards preferred the pull
fight to the fronton. Pelota itself is never
described Spanish national game be-
cause, as the natives of the northern prov
inces say. ''tf7e lazy Andalusians and the
other southern provincials have not taken
to it" But it is the faVorite sport in many
of the villages In northern Spain, which
have their frontoHs, and the Spaniards IN
| Havana seem disposed to take to 1t In lieu
of the bullfight, which will not be revived
in the Island of Cuba.
Everybody now attends at least one per
formance. Bishop Sbarretti is an OCCASION
al visitor and General Wood who always
| has been an enthusiast on athletics. mas
become so in love with the sport that he is
praCtiCng 1t himself Nearly every morn
ing before General Wood, with several of
his aids. goes out to the frOntOn for an
hours practice 1t is a good way, the gen
eral says, to begin hard days labor Of
official routine. AT first the aids may have
grimaced little, but now they are also
enthusiastic converts. Lacrosse" General
Wood said, lis the only game have
which approaches it, but lacrosse is moth
ing like so difficult. Pelota is the swftest
game | have ever seen
He thinks that it will become popular
part of COllcg" athletics in the United
states when it is understood He has pop
ularized the American administration with
a large and influential Spanish element by
his own enthusiasm for the sport They like
to know that a high American official en-
joys the pastme.
Scene at the Grounds.
went OUT one dlleFHooh moved Dy the
curiosity with which every one Is moved
when novelty is promised. The first thing
=. ,,,1~s,.,,1 i ,b, fr,,.o h. +to. ts
si,,,,,Il', ,r,,,., :. - nn1,,
siI'ipI' enough II - hl'i'iS rectangular
court =" 1eel long ana - or :" feet wide
with concrete flooring TWO end walls and
one side wall. The audience is seated some
/ oist"nce hack at the other sldc. !he players
tice before tI, game nprned Th4y wera
muscular. well-I;nit young men. apparently
ranging from twenty to thirty or thirty
~, ~ He"is ~ o'n, naA were 'l hasqufs
th, C2itv Of Naxirn wbira Tho ,,,,oa 81 IN az
lota has become naturalized. The pictur-
esque accessories OF the Basque provinces
III the way OF costumes added to the inter
EST III the eyes OF Il stranger
ne hrSt thlnS that struck me was the
cro"u when sursed around the betting
booths. Ilckets We're sold just as the
|
at the races. one could bet on a faVorite
prayer or on team An amlable English
man, VINO mas spent most OF MS life i'll the
west indies without delgnlng t. learn the
language Whlch Is spoken by most of the
people, showed me couple Of biletes, or
tickets, which he had purchased at the
betting booth. imagining that they We're for
admission and for seats. He was wander
ing around showing them and trying to
make the usherS understand that he want
ed to ind his seat. When told that he had
risked two dollars on two of the players
VINO ranked lowest and had nOt bought a
seat at all, he smiled restgnedly and dis
appeared. But that evening in one of the
cafes ne gleefully produced thirteen dollars
which he had blundered Into winning and
which he would not have won haI he taken
the pains to inform himself in advance
The Jolly begSars he said, had given
him great afternoons sport.
PeIotn EasiIx Tudars,n,a
D, ,,s
elota Nseii Is easily mastered by the
spectator l do not know whether It would
be called hand ball or basket ball hut the
princ,uIe of II all ts to keen tho hon ,,,,;,,.
" " ~ eP 'iie 'f'i moving
WITHIN tle lliiltS ol the rectangular court.
The bail itself is little different from the
sheepskin used In playing American hasa
ball. The basis is gutta pe-,ha. wo,,I1
|