The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1902-02-14
ACROSS THE ISLAND OF CUBA

should have appeared in The Messenger
before the n published Tuesday. but
was delayed in transmission.l
Havana. Cuba, January q.
Editor Messenger:
At SIS o'clock yesterday morning l
left C~ienfuegos and reached here al
500 o'clock last night. The distance.
the way 1 came, is 3OS kilometers, or $50
miles.
Being the second train I had seen In
Cuba. when / got to the dep t ani had
my baggage, which consisted of two
grips and n valise, put aboard. I
took out my notebook to take dowu
some notes in regard to it. The engine
looked all right. but the cars Ior he'd tn
be in poor order. 1t was mada I'D az
engine, first, second and third class
coaches. baggage and mail EAR. But
rhC lettering on them, On the engine
were the letters and word: Of. Cs
Centrales;" on the baggage and mail
car, IF. Cs Centrales Equipajas, No.
2" On the third class COACH: "Sagua
Ia Grande c. T.; on second class
coach: " Sagua la grande 2 ~classe," anu
so on to first class coach.
The track is standard gauge and IN
poor condition till neal Havana. There
were three different firm
Cienfuegos here.
We changed cars once-at Santo-
Domingo. Coal is used on all the en-
gines, as there is no timber along the
road the entire distance. to amount to
much.
The engineer is signaled to start the
train by the ringing of a bell like a
dinner bell by a man at the station. No
bell cord is puned by the conductor o.
some one of the train crew. as /,
case in the states. for the train to .u..
out.
The conductor goes through the car
smoking-if he smokes. and wishes to-
while taking up the tickets. Smoking
is allowed on all the cars, and aides
ride on any of the coaches.
Thirty-four stations were passed, the
principal ones being Santo-D Domingo.
where we changed cars; Colon. the din
ner station; Matanzas and Empoline.
The train stopped at Regla and We
came over to Havana across the bay by
boat.
We crossed almost their entire with
the provinces of Santa Clara, MatanZas
and
We were in sight of twenty or more
sugar plantations; nothing but the
DTICh SIIlOhCSldChS " SOIllC VI thC otSok
mills destroyed during the war we're {"
be seen.
All the circumstances considered, /
have never had a more interesting and
Instructive days ride on a railway than
i had yesterday across the Island OF
Cuba. 1t was Sunday and a perfect
day. about like an early June day in
North Carolina. 1t may have been right
or it may have been wrong for me to
come across on that day. but I saw
things that I could never have seen
without doing so. / saw the stores m
the towns open the same as they would
be on Monday: ! saw men. women ana
children working in the fields as they
would any other day: 1 saw no regard
whatever for the Sabbath. Freight "a
well as the passenger trains were run
ming. In the large cane fields hundreds
Of people were at work-some cutting.
some loading on the wagons and some
loading from wagons on the cars. while
hundreds of cars loaded were standing
on sidings ready to be carried t" the
mills. While the cane was being taken
of some fields other fields were being
ploughed and replanted. For the l9o
miles there were NJ crops much but
sugar cane. Now and then a little to-
bacco some fruits, corn, etc. About
the sugar plantations the people 1--we IN
little th~atch-roofed huts. as a rule. with
no garden and in great poverty. ap-
parently: for I was told that the plaH.-
err were not making much money IN
the business now and, OF COURSE couio
not pay high wages.
Most of the country the entire ols,
lance is low and slightly rolling. Small
brooks are the only water courses, anu
no timber scarcely, except the royd,
palm; that was all along. Cattle ana
Monies were about all the stock seen.
-oo-4 +1-a MOS Qf one Mace ana a Few
goats. The large farms seemed TO De
well stocked with fine cattle; Few blroS
and a lot of chickens were seen. Mali
was taken on and put off at all sta
tons. -.
world over he would find no r1cher SOIL
than is generally found between here
and C~ienfuegos. It is sometimes req,
then black and sometimes light and.
apparently sandy.
often on the way platforms 81
weighing the sugar cane on the cars
could be seen.
) N~antanzas we came in sight or the
Atlantic ocean. Not a rail fence was
seen the whole 100 nilesIa stone wall
now. q hedge or wire fence then, AND
mostly nothing. Almost all the build
ings 1 saw were one story built any
and every way except modern. ,
Almost every policeman or of1icer L
saw on the way either had a big knife
or q pistol or both hung to his side.
All along 1 thought of that long and
cruel war and those starving women
and children undeI Meyers iiitunlsin
rule. 1
that when I came to ava 10 slol
with Mr.. and Mrs. Thrower. VINO Were
from Atlanta, Ga, q keeping hoteI
here. When 1 -eached the other SIDE
of the bay he was there, ana L au nov
comfortably situated at his hotel. II l.
called Hotel Thrower," MT. l. q,
Thrower being proprietor, at NO. :,
O'Reilly street, and one block from lis
governor generals palace and three
blocks from the postoffice. The dinins
room is on the ground flower and tht
entire end of the building is open on tl'
street. The street in front of it is aDou'
Is feet wide and the side walks arr
about two feet wide. My seat at tn'
table is about Pix feet from the slo'
walk. Various kinds of vehicles ar
constantly passing and the sight is yer.
interesting. At night large screens oil