Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1905-03-02
{ ()F}A !
Interesting Letter From the
Land of Constant Summer.


o~~~>~>~>~~~>1
Havana, Cuba, Feb. 20, 1905.
This is different. One week ago we
! were Enjoying % degrees below zero
weather in Iowa, wearing furs and
heayy overcoats, and burning coal in
manner to make happy the heart of
the coal baron. Today we are wearing
straw hats and summer clothes; enjoy
Ing out of door restaurants, and sleep
ing under mosquito netting in rooms
with nothing but lattice work screens
or shutters in the window openings.
Window glass Is not used in Cuba, ex-
cepting occasionally for mere orna-
mental purposes. February in Cuba
Us like June in Iowa, and the clothing
which we wore when we left home has
not only been taken off, but has been
put out Of sight, as too hot and op-
pressive even to look at. This heavy
Clothing is great curiosity to the ma
! tives here. who examine it closely and
ff3sssxpress all kinds of surprise that peo-
pie ever wear such heavy things. Sum-
mer clothes, shirt waists and linen
suits are the rule here from one years
end to the other, for the mean temper
ature does not vary over 10 degrees,
being 80 degrees for the hottest month,
August, and II degrees for the coolest
month, January. The highest re-
corded maximum temperature Is 100
6-10 degrees and the lowest about Sd
degrees. The year is divided into a
wet and dry season, the wet season
comprising the months of May and
October inclusive, but even in the
rainy months. the weather is usually
clear until about 10 o'clock in the
morning. between which hour and
night there are frequent showers while
the nights are commonly clear. AT this
season there Is always a delightful
breeze in the afternoon and evening,
and the nights throughout the year are
said to be always cool. AS indicating
February temperature, in riding about
the city this morning in street cars,
we saw numerous children in the
poorer quarters playing in the court
~ yards of their homes, stark naked
But the eternal law of compensation
applies in Cuba as well as in the rest
of the world. Thistle Pearl of the
Antilles--is not heaven by any means.
There are drawbacks and inconveni-
ences to life, even here.
Inadequate Hotel Accommodation
Just at this time the chief concern
OF the tourist is to find a place to lay
his head, for Havana now is overrun
with people from the States, and the
city Is not adequately prepared with
desirable hotel facilities to care for
the great numbers that come by every
boat. Another year will see many new
hotels erected and a material change
for the better in this respect We ar
Slrived here last Thursday. It is now
Monday and it is only today that we
are comforta bly,. settled IN the Trotcha
hotel In the delightful suburb Of We
dado-several miles from the center of
the city. In this aristocratic suburb
are already hundreds of palatial homes
surrounded by beautiful tropical verdi
uress overlooking the ocean, and being
directly on the Gulf stream, balmy
breezes prevail every day, making this.
it is said, the finest winter climate in
the world. The northern guests at this
hotel enjoy the novel winter expert
ence Of dining out of doors in vine COW
cred arbors in the brightly illumin-
|, .ated gardens of the hotel, listening to
IN the music Of playing fountains. as we'll
pas that of an orchestra. Indeed as
write these lines, am at a. M, sit
ting out of doors in one of these vine
!, covered arbors. having just been
served with coffee, rolls and fruit
which comprises all the breakfast one
gets here until IL a. m. Only two
meals are served in Havana breakfast
at IL a. M, and dinner at 6 p. m. At
the hotels the hours range for break
fast from 1880 to 1 o'clock and for
dinner from $3.50 to o'clock. Coffee
rolls and fruit are served from to s
a. m. 1t is astonishing how quickly one
becomes accustomed to this arrange
ment and how natural and convenient
itseems. In this climate one does not
require or desire to eat as much as
is necessary in the colder north.
The Bill Of Fare.
The coffee here is as black as ink,
and cup of coffee to be palatable
must consist of three-fourths or more
II hot milk, and one fourth of coffee.
The stranger finds it necessary to ex-
pertinent considerably in order to
make up combination that he can
drink with any satisfaction, and in or
der to say truthfully that one likes
the coffee the taste for it must be Gull
!, tiyated. The fruit is delicious, the or
5}anges being especially sweet and
juicy, and the pineapples seeming to
melt away in ones mouth. Beans are
a prime article of diet here, and bean
soup (made either from red, white or
/ black beans) is a staple dish at every
meal. The oranges are pared just as
one would pare an apple, and are taken
up whole on fork and are eaten, in
that way. There are no seedless or
anges here, but the sweetness and
Juclness is far superior to the Cali
fornia product. 3
Fish is one Of the principal articles
OF diet, and the Spanish cooks know
hoW.to prepare it, par excellence The
fish are kept alive in tanks of water at
the markets, and are cooked in the
quickest time possible after being re-