The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1906-02-08
TELLS OF TRIP TO CUBA
G. A. Long Writes a Very interesting
Letter, Telling of the Many
Sights of Cuba.
Havana, Cuba, Jan. %, 1906.

SuDh3 oih. -e'S icoos
EDITOR REPORTER: We left st. Louis
in a storm of sleet and snow, with our
train laboring heavily to keep on time,
but at Anna, on the Illinois Central the
last snow was seen. The Ohio river is
the color line, and at this point the con-
ductor passes through the cars and di-
rects colored people to the rear com
partment of the smoker. On arising
next morning the pine trees play a
notable part in the fitting scenery.
They grow on a dirty yellow soil, three
inches deep, and seem to form quite an
extensive industry. We passed in full
view Of the Pearl river mills, the largest
in the south. On below Macomb the
country continues to be wooded large
ly with pine, until the gray hanging
moss appears, and then swamps and
more swamps with shanties on blocks,
and large per cent with water stand
ing under and around them. Appears
healthy? No.
New Orleans is fine, but you have not
seen New Orleans unless you have
stopped at Antonie's in QUARTER
Francais, familiarized yourself with
Chartres, Toulese and Bourbon streets,
eaten LIE Beef la louisiana cooked by
the finest French chef and attended the
French theatre on Bourbon street.
This is the only theatre in the United
States where the company plays. The
people of New Orleans guarantee to the
company certain amount. They are
direct importation from gay Paris. All
is in the French language, even the
ballet. The steamer Mongolia, on
which President Roosevelt was pas
senger when she met with an accident,
is in dry dock here, having the damage
she sustained in that accident repaired.
New Orleans is becoming quite an I'M
portanG port with new docks building
and more shipping each year.
The trip here on the steamer from
New Orleans was mostly in the night,
reaching the gulf about midnight, where
a gentle swell was encoun tered. Dur
ing the entire voyage the water was
comparatively smooth, with little sea-
sickness on board. The ladies, however
suffered most. Our boat was equipped
with wireless telegraph, and in COM
munication with New Orleans, Dry
Tortugas and Havana continually. We
saw but one sail off our port bow, land
disappearing starboard. The entrance
to Havana harbor is certainly beautiful
with El MORO and Cabanas on the left
and La Punta on the right with their
massive gray moss spotted towers and
Notifications rising up for hundreds of
feet frol the waters edge. The mouth
of the harbor is but few hundred
yards wide, the harbor however
widens as we pass and anchor near the
wreck Of the Maine. The lookout and a
portion Of the chart house, about twice
as large as freight car, stick out Of
the water.
Havana is certainly beautiful city.
The color plan seems light orange,
trimmed in white, and viewed from the
walls of grim old Moro we imagine
that such sight greeted one who look
ed down on ancient Rome, the fishing
boats in the foreground and houses ris-
ing tier on tier to greet the horizon.
The population of Cuba reminds one of
a marble cake, a conglomeration of
color lntermixed, a white brother and a
black sister as far as know We found
the people very courteous and not
at all quarrelsome, but little addicted
to drink and lazy. They live fairly
clean, and fare we'll, needing little
clothing. In fact, the children under a
Ger tain size on some streets have none
| that one could notice, but they chatter
and seem to be happy. This, Sunday
morning we attended service at El
Belen, Jesuit. which has the finest altar
in the city, and most beautiful grotto,
Our Lady De Lourdes fac smile of the
grotto in France known as the grotto OF
the miraculous cure. Also at Merced,
Lazafist Missionary. We saw low mass
at Ell Belen and high mass at Merced.
The high class ladies of Havana are Ger
tainly as beautiful as they are celebrat-
ed, and they have such a hard {p) life
0, my. The daily life of the senoras
and senoritas consists of arising at $3.50
a. M, breakfast at IL a. m., siesta from
1880 to D. N. The interim she spends
in rocking chair and just rocks her.
sell, and you know that must bo hard
work. She does not have to dress her
self, the Moro does that and everything
else. But the senoritas and senoras are
pretty. They need no brains. What
could they do with them? But they are
| very nice and pleasant in their way
/ and one feels just at ease when Uaking
coffee with them aS ia 3ha cuutnu, ot,