The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1902-12-20
CASTRO SOLD GOOD
KENTUCKY BRANDS

Story of venezueIa's President
Told by One Who Knew Him
Well Years Ago.
ibid you see President Castro when you
lived In Venezuelan was asked of Mr..
Walter w. Kuhn, of the Celluloid Starch
Company. of Cincinnati.
Il knew him well. He used to be In my
employ He was not president then. You
know. His party was out Of power. He
was a cousin of the former president,
GuZman B anco, whose administration had
been overthrown by Crispo. At the time
Of my residence in Venezuela Blanco was
sojourning in Paris for his health. Why
his cousin, Senior Castro, was allowed to
remain in Venezuela cannot say, but no
was persona non grata with the people In
power. He was. Of course, deep In po-
i litlcal intrigues and had large follow
! ing. but was in very INDECENT circum-
i stances and ready to accept employment
which would enable him to subsist until
| the dawn of a brighter day.
HE SOLD WH1SkEY.
Noting his needy condition and his reti-
ME of friends, it occurred to me that
, could not do better thing for my firm
| thar engage him to popuarize brand
Of whiskey which had been sent to Vene-
sold in the country They have no sa-
looms there. but beers and French BRAN
| dies were sold in the cafes. was the
| first person to place American whiskey
! OH sale there, and Senior Castro was the
| man I chose to boom It.
''He would stroll into a cafe where a
! crowd of his friends had gathered. and
ir.u,lire if any of them had ever tasted
our whiskey. On being answered In the
negative. he would invite them to have
a drink of it at his expense. PAID
the bills, but it was profitable invest
! rent, and the work proved congenial for
a gentleman of Senior Castros soclaole
/ and generous disposition
CAFES In CARACAS.
"The cafes in Caracas are dlnerent
| from anything we have in the United
States, as they do not serve meals, but
merely beers, brandies, coffee, cocoa ana
pan duce (pan. bread: dulce. sweet. that
/, is, cake or sweet bread. The floors OF
the cafes are bare. There are small ia
bles, and the walters are men attlred
| much as are Americans In the same vo-
| cation.
| "If the current pictures Of President
! Castro are true to life, he must have
/ changed greatly since I knew him. he
was then perhaps forty years OF age ne
! was q man of intellect and capacity. ana
had more white blood In his veins than
most Venezue.ans. There are three dis
tinct types Of people In the country-the
/ whites, the negroes and the natives. VINO
resemble our Indians. although they are
darker skinned.
"Crispo was a ful1-blooded Venezuelan.
and quite dark An attempt was made
! to overthrow him during my stay IN
Caracas Rojas Paul sent 6'cCO troops
against the city. but they were repulsed.
WAS Rojas Paul killed." was asked
HE never was near enough to get Kill
ed He stayed further south. where the
| bullets could not reach him.
BUILT FOR REVOLUTIONS.
Revolutions are a part Of daily life IN
Venezuela The houses in Caracas are
all so built as to withstand attack. They
are of adobe bricks, covered with cement
which is increased into blocks to resenl-
HE stone. The roofs are Of brick-red
Dutch tile. All the houses are flush with
the sidewalks and built around a patio
in the center. Large dwellings, have an
entry way from the street, with rooms on
each side. The windows Of these rooms
have no sashes. but are provided with
stout iron bars and heavy wooden shut
tiers, which are an effective defense IN
time of war. The great doors to the en-.
try way are iron studded, consisting OF
three planks bolted together They serve
as barbados in the constantly recurring
revolutions.
ANY one who has ever been in Cara
cas- will never forget it.. The Capitol
building is a very imposing structure.
but, on inspection, proves to: be built OF
cement, like the rest of the buildings. 1t
occupies an entire block, but it was erec-
ted in just sixty days by the soldiers Of
the army of Guzman Blanco. It is built
around a central patio, which is redOlent
of the perfume Of giant heliotropes. This
plant, which is so fragile In the ONO
Valley as to be grown for house plant.
in Caracas is seen as a tree ten feet III
Insight. The Venezuelan coat of arms is
emblazoned at the entrance to the Senate
Chamber IN the Capitol Building.
EATING AND PRAYING.
1.-THE hotels Of the city are very good,
all being conducted on the European
plan, with French cooking. Chapels are
to be found all about. If you desire to
prav YOU may do SO almost anywhere
The INNER class people wear the regula-
tion European costume. The lower class
r,ea dress in white duck trousers anc
shirt, the latter being worn over the
trousers instead of tucked In after the
American mode.
Caracas is only eight miles from La
Guayra, the seaport. but is o2W 1ee'
above the sea level. and it takes ar
ho1,r and a half by train to descend the
corkscrew, which is twenty-seven miles
long. There are three ways of travelling
from Caracas down to La Guayra-by
train, which costs $3.50; by wagon which
, means a mountain journey of fourteen
!. miles. and by bride path. which involves
the crossing Of a ledge two feet vide
IN the broadcast part with a sheer De
scent SHOULD one make misstep} o.
500 feet to the bottom OF the gorge
Two people dare not try to pass eacl
other. Even the burros learn to lear
far ont as they cross lest their packs
: strike the mountain side and precipitat'
them into the awful chasn. When an!
ono approaches this ledge he pulls
string which causes bell to ring at tn
other end and warns the oncoming ira
? weller that there Is no room and n
must wait. If you hear the oeli tinki
you must wait until those VINO gave III