Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-10-03

~ times tne price OF the paper, though
u Is only a handful. printed on one side
This enterprise Is even shown when the
poet laureate Of the town writes a new
poem this probably beng the only way he
is able to get pay for his poetry. Most of
the extras are poems or prociamations OF
some politician or party. and the real news
Is kept for the regular edition, which is a
small two-page sheet containing a few
G S o'sPatehes somewhat coiored by the
french Cable Company. which furnishes
them There are few subscribers and the
paper is maintained by copies sold for about
cent In American money by ragged bare
Footed negro boys who run wildly through
the streets at the publication hour awaken
ing the echoes with their shouts. In fact.
the city Is a pandemonium until the thirty
or forty boys sell out the edition OF 800 or
s s Several of the editors have been in
JAIL and the paper Is In a state of sup
preston a good part Of the time 1t IS
not sedittous in its utterances. and in fact,
seems to be purely a money-making enter
prise, but the articles sometimes touch au-
therity. as exemplified by the government.
the wrong way and the paper is suppressed
until matters are adjusted.
The Street Railway.
Up from the lower city, along the plaza
rough narrow-gauge street railway runs
whose antfGuated cars move slowly along
with the aid of two little and always weary
mules. The line runs to the outer city gate,
and there connects with a rural line which
extends for two miles along the sea, where
the modern homes Of wealth are. These
rural cars run once an hour during the
busy part of the day. The distance IS
much more rapidly traversed on foot con-
sidering the many stops of the cars, but
many natives without burdens of any sort
wait the full hour for the next car. when
they arrive at the terminal moment too
late.
The homes along this route are beautiful
ana modern, though of Moorish archi-
lecture The coral rocks all along the shore
are undermined by the sea, and there is
beach. but instead a shelving rock which
Is dangerous in that 1t sometimes unexpect-
ediy falls into the sea. The houses are
several hundred yards from the waters
edge and are not In danger. Along this
route the Spanish courtesy prevails and the
stranger Is somewhat taken by surprise on
boarding crowded car to hear in chorus
"salud. senor." This is repeated to every
arrival and is the custom of this little city
of 10000, where the foreigner is seldom
seen and where every one knows his neigh
bor at least knows who he is. The fare
on each division Of this system is 10 cents,
Dominicana, and as that is only 2 cents,
American, 1t is not eXorbitant.
The City Market.
Down in the city the railway passes the
market, which is quite study. Women
scantily clad and barefooted expose the
simple fruits and products Of the fields,
plantatns, oranges, bananas, mangoes and
whatever else may be in season The entire
stock in American money would not justify
trip to town. but the market Is feature
Of life and the stock could not be bought
at higher figure at the field for then there
would be no day in market The women sit
around lazly and talk necessarily, so that
the hotel opposite the market is not a
pleasant place to stop especially the
market begins life at am. A few have
eggs ard chickens, seldom more than one or
two chickens and five six eggs. The lat
ter are sold by the piece, and the purchaser
examines them critically, holding them up
to the sun and spending several minutes
haggling over the price Of one The early
corners select the larger ones, and then the
price goes down. They sell as high as )
cents each, American money about Easter
time, for the two weeks holidays at that
time make everything very high. The usual
price is from 1 to cents, American. The
meat stands are not the most attractive
features of the market, and an American
will refrain from indulgence in meat for a
long time after visit to Meat is
brought in the night before and hung up
where the mosquitoes and flies can have a
nights banquet. When a purchaser ap-
pears the butcher takes down the shoulder,
brushes the flies and the big, fat cat from
the counter and cuts off the quantity de-
sired.
No wrapping paper is used, and the
chunk is handed to the servant, who has
just been carressing the sweating burro.
The servant throws it into panier, hung
over lLe DuTTO, WHICH mas DeGD the Tectptd-
Gle for all sorts of things, clean and I'M
clean, for several months years. Some
times he or she drops 1t in the dirty dust
of the market and picking it up, with a
brush or two at the dust, throws 1t into the
panier. Often a servant will pick up a
piece of paper from the street and uses 1t
as a wrapper, not knowing to what pre-
vious use it has been put. The stranger is
assured that all the meat is washed sew
eral times in soda and water before being
cooked. but it is not best to inspect the
culinary department If dinner with meat
dish is desired
There are ruins of interest on the HILL
side churches and other buildings wrecked
by earthquakes.
Trip Up the Ozama River.
The old theater is not uninterestfng and
the Ozama river offers an interesting trip
up to the foot of the mountains fifteen or
twenty miles away. 1t is easy to get an es-
cort at the charcoal market down the
river. Hundreds of canoes come down
every day laden with charcoal or fodder.
The trip up takes seven hours, and the canoe,
made Indian fashion. gets rather tiresome.
but the scenery is beautiful. The jet-black
oarsman is barred to the waist and bare
footed. Most of the time he is hatless.
His teeth are filed to sharp point in front,
an old African custom, and are stained
black. His macbete hangs at his side. and
when q lonely stretch of woods Is passed
he is rather suggestive of a cannibal ready
for business. He is good natured and HARM
less however, and sings as he paddles
against the swift current for seven long
hours. The music Is not melodious. 1t IS
a monotonous song without words, but 1t
is better than silence A lunch, some bot
ties of water on a cake of ice and a palm
sunshade make the trip endurable. The
canoe seeks the overhanging mangroves on
the shore for the shade, occasionally shoot
ing across the stream to save long bend.
At the end of the journey wild and un-
restrained country is reached, where, how
ever, the foreigner can walk miles through
the narrow and devious paths in the forests
without fear, always receiving the respect
full "Salud, senior" The children of these
rivers begin life padding the long narrow
canoes for their parents and in later years
paddle them for themselves. They work
hard at 1t and steadily, putting in twelve
hours day down to market and back and
yet they, will not work at anything else 1t
seems to be the early training and there is
hope in the lesson for the future agricultu-
raj development of the island, which is now
a vast and fertile wilderness. few ma
hogany logs are taken out of the river, and
occasionally a raft of mahogany is encoun-
tered 1t floats low and the raftsman is
more or less in the water. This is the only
besides the charcoal fodder