The De Soto County news., 1906-03-02
INTERESTING LETTER OF TRIP
TO THE ISLAND OF CUBA

covered 70 make the trip, including
hack hire, boat, and guide. This
also includes visit to the fortress.
in which the guide points out the
dungeons where were confined the
distinguished prisoners; Lopez, a
young man, whose hair from the hor.
rors Of his confinement, turned per-
fectly white; also Garcia and Crit
tenden. Here is also the famous
Laure! Ditch, where Cuban prison.
ers were slaughtered in cold blood
without the form Of a trial. they
were made to kneel face TO the wall
and a vollcy was fired by Spanish
soldiers from the rear. A bronze
tablet costing t15, 600 as memorial
to the lives of the martyred victims
has been placed in the wall, Scared
and iudcnted by the murderous bull
lets before which the doomed men
knelt.
10 is a great surprise to all, and q
great shock as well, to find that no
monument or tablet Of any kind
marks the original burial ground Of
victims Of the Maine. We tramped
over the entire cemetery grounds
in a futile search, and at last ape
pealed to a negro grave digger, TO
whom we made known the object of
our visit. We were directed to
neglected piece of ground which no
one would identify as the burying
ground of men who died IN such a
manner in a great nations service.
The tourist travel is now heading
this way; people from all over the
United States are finding this de-
lightful resort. 1t is principally by
these that we hear English spoken at
all. Individually, l have found the
greatest affinity in a crowd of Hoo
sler school teachers here on a like
mission as myself, taking advantage
of the holidays to make an enjoya-
BILE trip. There are at least a hum
dred aud fifty of these Indiana teach~
ers Of whom about a hundred are
women. These schoolmarms in typ
ical fashion are exercising the pre-
rogative of asking questions of all
who come within hailing distance,
regardless of color or nationality.
Yesterday the entire party boarded
the train for Matanzas, singing their
patriotic songs at every station they
produced deep CONSERVATION, maxi
ing the natives take to the woods,
thinking the Americans had once
more occupied the island. This same
party, strengthened by our own three
strong, besieged the Presidents Pals
ace. President Palma finding him-
self so beset, offered no resistance,
but ordered the gates thrown open to
the assaultlng party and he, in per-
son, received them in the beautiful
state reception rooms. There are
three reception rooms. one, furnished
in white and blue, another in GRIM
son with the escutcheons of Spain
and Havana over the doors and win
dows, and another smaller one, which
under the old Spanish regime was
known as the Throne room, and is
now the reception room of Mrs.
Palma. These rooms are reached by
a broad marble stairway with large
mirrors in gold frames on the land-
ing. This Is the old palace formerly
occupied by the governor-generals
sent over by Spain, Weyler, Blauco,
etc.
From Havana a tourist can go by
rail to all parts of the island. From
the car window the scenery is var-
led, picturesque and interesting, the
tall feather-topped royal palms im-
parting delightful sense of tropical
color to the panorama of hills and
wales. Passing through the country
on the swift-hying trains - which
make about three times the speed of
our Arcadia division Of the Atlantic
Coast Line-.you can readily appre>
clate the great fertility Of the soil,
surprising that of our own country
except the lands of the Mississippi
valley, from which you can reap
three or four crops in one year, withs
out replanting or using an ounce of
fertilizer. Scattered along the route
can be seen the Cuban farmers huts
the bahia" constructed Of the
fronds and bark of the royal palm,
built after the manner of the natives
that inhabited the island whom Co
lumbus first visited these shores-the
children playing around the door,
.n..n.. Al.nl. .A...-l.-.--