The daily tribune., 1903-12-14
TRAVELS OF A
FLORENCE MAN
L. c. Bailey Gives Some In
teresting Information.
He Tells OF the Possibilities of the
ivestor in Cuba-Interesting
Happenings During His
Trip to the Island.
Continued from Saturday. !,

|
liar climatic conditions Cuba today
is as much in it's pioneer state as was
our western lands forty years ago and
the harvest will be reaped by the sec.
ond aud third generation. The first
and second. will. after years of toll
become disheartened, sick and dis
couraged and will sell at great loss.
To American women and Children.
unless they have the money and busi-
ness to establish their homes in the
large cities and surround themselves
with American comforts.
At Trinidad 1 hired horse and
guide and rode some 90 miles into the
interior. We stopped over night at
a squatters ranch. On this ranch
were two houses or "shacks. At
the first one there were three grown
men and two women. We stopped
here at l0:30 for breakfast. Cubans
have but two meals per day. They
go to their work at daylight; in tie
early morning they take cup of very
strong coffee, as strong as it is possible
to make it. They work until IL
O'Clock. At that hour they psrtake of
| their real breakfast after which they
rest and sleep until about two O. clock
p. m. when they resume their work
| They work 1ntil dark, eat their sup
per and retire. This plan for meals
is the same ut hotels in the large
cities of Cuba. Coffee in the early
morning. breakfast from ten to twelve,
supper at six. The Cuban cooked
foods are very unappetizing to an
American In fact they are unpalat.
! able. At the above mentioned poverty
stricken ranch land this one is but one
of one thousand) we sat down to a
breakfast of plain boiled rice. Our
dessert was native. or wild honey.
| The Cuban wild honey has peculiar.
ly strong flavor This and nothing
more was oar repast
AT the next shack we remained
over night. A Cuban soldiers widow
| resided on this ranch with her family,
consisting of her son about % years
old, girl about l6 and three small
boys aged 3, and ~. For supper we
had boiled rice and pork, fried and
boiled bananas and the root of some
tree or bush that is boiled and ate as
"A substitute for bread. There was no
cloth upon this table. The dishes
nf OF of nd r
| terms, Underneath the table and
around on the floor We're the remand
er of the family of which will now
make list Three dogs, who, from
thir appearance never got anything
to eat; tive cats, one parrot, one goat,
one old SOW and six pigs; twelve old
hens, flock of chickens and two old
roosters. This small but happy family
/ were fighting for the crumbs IA they
| fell from the table. They we're under,
over and above our feet and if the
pigs did not upset ones char lie was
| in luck. After we had finished our
meal the parrot and two or three
privileged hens were allowed the top
of the table. To accommodate us
for the night this family had to sit
up Myself and the guide occupied
separate beds in the one and only err
closed room in the shack. Ny bed
was common canvas cot. such as our
army of occupation used. with just
sheet spread over it and | still Lave
| the guess coming as to whether that
sheet was to go over or under me.
The next morning we left the ranch at
nine O'Clock too early for break kfast-
| for which felt thankful-but we had
the accustomed cup of coffee. Ever
since l visited that country Cuban
over the problem as to whether the
| hen lived in the Cubsns house or the
| Cuban lived in the hen house and If
it WIS by mutual consent or WAS it
! through their socialistic principles
| that the Cubaus allowed all other liv-
ing creatures the freedom of their
] home.
Our return to Trinidad Was without
serious misbp. During the night We
had very heavy rain and when we
reached a stream we had forded the
day before IN but three feet of water
we now found six feet. l did not
fancy getting my feet or clothes wet
so l took off my shoes. stockings and
pants; strapped them TO my shoulders.
tied my coat tails high under my
arms. mounted the horse and he swan
the stream without further incon-
venience. By the way, my horse WAS
a small mule and not very good one
at that, but it is not policy to find
fault with the bridge that carries one
safely over. Thanks, there are no