Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-11-29
Experiences Of a Traveller
Held Up at Triscornia.
CAREFULLY EXAMINED
CUBAN HEALTH LAWS ARE
STRICTLY ENJoINED.
Americans From Southern Ports Forced
to Spend Five Days in the
Detention Camp.

That Cuba is safely guarded against yell
low fever and that the quarantine laws are
most strictly enforced has become evident
to Americans who have found 1t necessary
to visit lie Pearl Of the Antilles during the
epidemic at New Orleans. The travellers
first intimation that quarantine inconveni-
ence awaits him comes from the purser OF
the steamer on which he sails.
"You will have to pay me $3.50 more. SIR.
This covers your ticket to Havana, all
right but not your quarantine expenses.
"Quarantine?" queries the Traveller.
Havana is quarantined against the
whole state of Florida, sir. and our COM
pany is required to collect the amount of
your board for the five days you will spend
III the quarantine station"
Gently and kindly the traveller explains
to the purser that such rule cannot pos
sibly apply to him. Why, he has just come
straight through from Chicago and New
York on important business that cannot
possibly stand five days delay. And be-
sides, Florida has no yellow feYer-only
case or two at Pensacola and Tampa, so
the newspapers say.
The purser seems a very intelligent man
and agrees most cordially with these unde-
Diable facts; yet he insists on collecting Tor
that prospective board bill. Arguments are
useless, and SO 1t is finally arranged. new
Orleans takes liberties with the laws of
health, and the New Yorker has to pay part
of the price, beginning with the sum OF
$50.
A day later the traveller is called from
dizzy, wave-troubed sleep by the noise OF
feet shubing along the decks and of voices
that float in through the ventilators of his
state room. SeepMy he remembers that the
steward said something last night about
getting up early in the morning II he
wanted to see the sunrise in Havana har-
Dor. With eyes still only half opened he
| g,,%~ 1t -~1lt hoe Nd cfa
the deck Then he begins to realize that
this is better than lazily rolling around In
a stuffy berth. The sun Is not yet up, but
its light has come ahead. Straight in front
of the vessel is the narrow entrance to the
harbor only half mile away. In the dim
light he sees the angled cliffs of Moro
castle the left, the great sea light on
its nearest corner still burning brightly.
To the right are the long gray lines OF the
city, brilliantly pointed with electric lights
that are already beginning to be dimmed
by the daylight. Slowly the little steamer
goes into the opening and the harbor IN
side begins to appear.
Inspected on Shiphoard.
The ship has scarcely been fifteen minutes
at her anchorage near the wreck Of the
Maine when a graceful white launch shoots
out from the long low wharf on the shore
The traveller sees at the PROV yellow flag
and at the stern a flag Of tricolor, with
single white star set in triangle of red.
1t is the launch Of the Cuban health IN
spector. The launch Is soon alongside and
the doctor steps aboard. clean-cut young
man, clad In white. A few moments later
he faces in the cabin the sad little band of
ffrSt-clasS passengers. All are Americans
but one, little old woman who wears
mantilla over her head and sits with a
bird cage on her knees. evidently all ready
to go ashore.
What is your name, please?" The trav-
eler is surprised to hear that the doctor
speaks excellent English.
John Smith,
"CitiZenship?'
American
Have you an immune certfcate?"
mo"
Five days in quarantine at Triscorna."
1t sounds suspicously like the decree OF
a police court judge and a giggle comes
from the other side of the cabin. Evident
~ not all the passengers are awestruck.
The traveller explains. The doctor listens
and is much pleased to learn that the trav-
eler has just come through from Chicago
and New York. where there Is no yellow
fever. The traveller need then have no
worry about his health, as he might if he
had come from New Orleans instead But,
unfortunately, that makes no difference
with the quarantine rules. The doctor
smiles pleasantly and passes on to the
next, then to another, until all have heard
the words of fate. But the little old wo-
man with the bird cage does not under
stand the questions sputters away in Span
ish, institutes a hurried search through
her pockets and finally produces dirty
document that makes her the enved of
all She has had yellow fever, it is
certified. She gathers together her be-
longings and goes away to that promised
land where others may not follow-at least
not within five days. Then the doctor
steps again into his white launch, seats
himself in a beautiful white wicker arm
chair on the little deck in the stern, lights
a cigar and sails away to inspect a big
ma q
probably just arrived from Panama or the
Argentine Republic or some other such un-
known country of the south.
All Ashore.
But it is harder to down the spirits of
American citizens than to inprison their
bodies so that it is after all jolly, JOSH
ing little crowd that loads its suit cases
and bundles into a lighter that comes and
takes them, not to Havana, but to point
on the opposite side of the harbor, not far
from the south end of Cabanas.
There the custom-house employees paw
over the contents Of the baggage few
minutes and then the passengers are load
ed into bus that goes by the name of
guagua and whose motive power is fur
nfshed by four husky looking American
mules. A soldier in yellow khaki with
rough-rider hat on his head and a rife
slung over his shoulder, jumps onto the
Dack step, e1ectually closing the exit, the
driver makes certain sounds that even an
American mule can understand, and the
guagua already rechristened the hurry
up wagon. starts UP the hill. There are
only few hundred yards to go. The
mules clatter up TO little sentry box that
marks the gateway in an innocent-Iooking
barbed wire fence soldier stands in
front of the box. The guagua goes rolling
by and a moment later the outfit draws
sharply up in front of low-browed
wooden building. in quarantine at last
The traveller has become a prisoner He
climbs sheepishly out and walks into the
building to make peace best he can with
the man In charge and have room as
signed to him. He tells his companion he
likes this hotel pretty well, and thinks he
will stay for several days.
There is nothing pretentious about the
place. 1t has two long. single storied build
ings Of frame, with wide caves, three or
four smaller buildings, and small, COW
cred pavilion, with tables and chairs that
speak of possible liquid comfort. The in
closure is some ten acres in extent, sur
rounded by the wire fence. Little sentry
boxes placed at intervals seem to hold a
threat OF guards and guns.
At Triscornia.
The traveller finds himself assigned to a