The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1902-04-13
FLORIDA AMID. CUBA. AS. SEEN
BY ADISTINGUISHED VlRG1NlAN

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and for over year has not had a case
or yellow fever or smallpox. It's SAID
that this Is the first lime that such
condition has existed in Cuba for more
than three hundred years. One can go
and so and keep on going in that balmy
air without being tired: visited the
forts and saw the dungeons underground,
those long black holes OF Calcutta, called
on General Wood and was courteously
treated by him and his aide Lieutenant
McCoy. and young Mr.. Harry Holt; OF
Lynchburg, who was in his office. Cen
erRl Wood believes the mosquito is the
great promoter, if not the author, Of the
yellow fever scourge, and has done much
to reduce this insect to nothingness in the
island. General Wood says that Cuba
ought to contain a population OF 100000
& of peoIAe and even with that poulation it
would not have more people than Porto
kico contains to-day. The present popula-
ton OF Cuba is probably not over 100000
III its territory Of 700 miles i'll length by
scarcely q in breadth. The enterprising
American is in Cuba and so is q. large
amount Of American money. The largest
fabr1ca tobacco is owned by English and
American money; it's employees number
LOCO. and the pay of its Matchmaking
sSSdl -1hdhcIS iduSSS5 lICIlt SSUv 10 SS.tJ
per day in, Spanish silver. s>1vcn the
girls employed in this factory get s1.Jo 4
day in Spanish silver. One of the larg-
est sugar plantations in Cuba Is owned
by New York capital and the owner Of
this plantation and factory connected with
it, most courteous gentleman, told me
that before the war there were 80 sugar
factories in the island, but now there are
less than 400 and not over 25D Of these are
at Work.
THE SUGAR COUNTRY.
To visit the sugar country and see the
cane grow take a cartelie de fcrro. the
iron car. for Matanzas across the ha rbor
from Havana at Regla. Matanzas is
just 81 kilomcters from Havana. about
52 miles. It takes. however, about two
and half hours TO make this distance
You see something of the canenelds on
this route. but # you will go back to
Havana by the other line. going over to
La Union for that purpose in that way
your eye will feast for miles and miles on
the magnificent canefields of Cuba. that
rival tin beauty to behoid) ii they do not
excel the cornfieldS of Kansas. The sugar
cane will grow from eight TO fifteen years
without replanting. You can see it plant
ed, you can see it growing. YOU can see
it cut and for this purpose they use huge
knives which resemble butchers clcavers.
You can see the fabricas wnere they crush
the cane. express the juice, boi! it, con-
dense it. separate the sugar from the mo-
lasses, empty the sugar into bags for
shipping, and pour the mola sses into watts
TO be/placed in hogshcads. You can also
see the carts drawn by oxen that carry
the cane from the fields TO the factories.
The oxen are the beasts of burden of
Cuba. The Cubans use the refuse sugar.
cane for fuel TO run the engines of their
factories. At these factories they have
factory stores as in the United States. at
which the employees make their purchases.
You can sec the plows. great, heavy ones.
turning up the rich black loan of the
soil. These caneliclds seem to catch, re-
tain and diffuse the genial suns rays that
give them light, sustenancc, aDd growth
and their rich development. The tobacco
fields are off towards Pinar del Rio, but
one can get a glimpse Of them by going
to Guanajai called Wanahi, which is
about 30 miles west Of Havana. The To-
bacco is grown to perfection in the pro-
vince of I'inar del Rio. AT Matanzas,
which means slaughter. / saw the beau
tiful valley of the Iumarri. viewing 1t
from the old church on the heights at
Monserratc, Iumarri is said to mean we
are dying" 1t is told that i'll the carly
days the Spaniards surrounded the ln-
dams in this valley and annihilated them
and that their last cry was Yumarrl.
I'VE are DYING" as they were being
slaughtered and killed, and out of this
valley of death Matanzas sprung. 1t is
rather an attractive looking castle-like
Spanish town of about 10000 souls, rest
ing lazily like in the prongs of two rivers
and divided into three parts. ] saw its
old fortress, and the place where Samp-
xJ,z ..,,l.> an nit az
are uniform in their appearance. They
are built of native white stone and are.
as 1 have said, castle-like in appearance.
and the houses, stores and dwellings are
placed compa city together and everything
is under one roof. including the horse ana
COW stables. This native white stone out
of which their buildings are constructed.
is auarried in soft state, but contact
with the air causes it to harden.
lIAVANA'Se WATER WORKS.
Havana draws a magnificent water sup
ply from a point nine miles distant. The
supply issues from springs. This system
of water-w works required twenty years to
complete, being finished in 1878. 1t is
probably the purest supply of water for
city of its size anywhere to be found un-
less perchance it be the city Of Baltimore.
The women OF Havana, 1 am told, 10
little needlework. but that they largely
content and occupy themselves by lnduiG-
ing in Srocking-chair exercise.
An American told me that at his board
ing house, which was not a very large one,
there were twenty-five rocking chairs to
his certain knowledge. 1t is q fact that
in Havana. as in Mexico. all the cham
Der work is done by men, The Women
of Havana show themselves very little
in public in the daytime. but at nights
can be seen ON the prado With their es-
corts a Cuban woman of the higher
class rarely goes out except in pairs or
with a male escort. They are fair to
look upon. except that their indoor lie
gives them pale and not attractive ap-
pcarance to Americans. who are accns.
toned to see such splendid specimens OF
healthy. red-blooded wornanhood am
told that they indulge in cigarettes even
the better classes. and I saw Cuban wo-
men smoking at a meal. AS for the men,
they smoke everywhere. They indulge
in this pastine in the frst-class cars IN
the presence of ladies' and the pall-bear-
crs 80 to the graves smoking cisarros;
and, by. the way, no female ever goes TO
a grave in Havana am told. Certain
it is, / saw none and I saw several bll-
rails. The tipping business goes to the
5cra xex,ard After they had inferred one