The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1908-07-16
SIOUX CITY TO CUBA.

fish, was written by E. E. Stephenson
of Sioux City, Iowa, to his sister,
Mrs. J. B. Wiggin of Freedom. MI.
Stephenson was born and brought up
in the town of Knox, was educated at
Freedom Acadamy, and has many
friends in this city and county. He Is
assistant director of the Sioux City
Branch of the New York Life lnsur-
ance Co:
NV dear sister: Inasmuch as have
not written you very often during the
past few months, am going to lnf1lct
on you a long letter. You need not
read it until the next Sunday after you
get it, unless you want to.
About forty of us left Sioux City on
February 4th, over the Northwestern
road for Palmetto Beach, Ala. VI
course the first thing we did after get
ting aboard the train was TO get our
dinner and then we gosslped ana ex-
changed stories until night. Wheh we
reached Omaha we were met by the
the Agency Director of the New ork
Life office there and had nice dinner
at the Union Station. AS soon as we
had finished dinner, everybody wanted
to resume the journey the very Wofst
way: that is what we did, too. we TOOK
the Wabash to st. Louis and we knew
we would not do that again before we
had been out an hour. However, we
got through the night with 20 mlshaps
and in the morning we rolled lnlo %;
Louis in good shape, where a splehulu
breakfast had been prepared for us Dy
request OF our chareron, MI, a. M
Jackson.
After breakfast our cars we're trans
ferred to the Mobile & Chic and every
thing rolled along smooth ana NICE
until we reached the city OF CAIRO
where we stopped for lunch: ms Is d
very different proposition than III was
when the author of Martin ChuzzleWlt
visited the place some years ago ana
called it Eden: although when we came
to the eating proposition everybody
emulated Martin and came out strong
at the end. After that we resumed our
tourney until it was time to have DIN
ner, which we got somewhere in Ten
uessee. Another comfortable night
placed lis in Mobile, where we were en-
tertained at the Cawthorne, and after
resting for one day the Commercial
Club of the city gave us an automobile
ride around the city and the hotel peo
ple gave us splendid banquet.
After spending two days in Mobile
we started for Palmetto Beach, across
Mobile Bay, on the steamship Bald
and found very comfortable quarters at
the Hotel Henrietta where we spent
several DAYS. In the course OF three or
four days our party began to separate
and go to different points IN the south
and after something more Than Two
weeks the StephensonS went to mobile,
where we inspected the city during the
next two weeks in every nook and cor
ner.
From these we went to Biloxi, Miss,
where we spent few pleasant days,
and then we resumed our journey TO
New Orleans and made it point to
visit everything of interest III the
famous old Crescent City. On one side
of the town we found the most beautf-
full residences and splendid wide streets
fringed with palm trees and roses ana
all sorts of flowers that one could
imagine. On the other side of the city,
we found the old French quarters
which have not improved any for
hundred years or more and have not
the least notion of changing. The peo-
pie are Just as French today as they
were hundred years ago. The streets
are narrow and sometimes very dirty.
There are a large number of antique
stores where all sorts of old truck can
be bought, and you can get any KIND OF
a history on the articles that you want
and they will guarantee the history to
he true. However, all this vas very
interesting and we were glad OF the
privilege of inspecting 1t carefully, not
Withstanding we do not want to live III
New Orleans. The city Itself is some
several feet below the surface of the
river. and we noticed that nearly all the
splendid residences had doctors sign,
and though, of course, we did not know
what it meant, it looked like 1t was
good place for physicians.
From New Orleans we crossed the
gulf to Cuba, spending two days and
two nights on the water In CUBA we
had all sorts of experiences, some
pleasant and some were not; however,
we saw many strange things and learn
ed a lot. Some of the principal busl-
ness streets in Havana are so narrow
that YOU could only drive one team
along at time. The city, however, is
the cleanest city that | have ever seen,
but for three hundred years supposed.
according to all reports, that 1t was the
dirtlest. We went into the country
and spent some time there trying to
gain information relative to orange
groves and all other kinds OF tropical
fruits and flowers. We saw ana IN
spected a great many different kinds of
palms and / believe all the kinds that
there are, and it is our belief that Cuba
was originally the Garden of Eden until
they drove old Adam out and peopled
the place with Spaniards. No i'm
provements have been made since ex-
cept those made by Americans or Eng
lishmen. We had desire to visit the
Caribbean Sea, consequently, we got
up one morning about 5 o'clock and
took the train across the island, reach
ing there about O'Clock, when we de-
sired breakfast. Going to restaurant
we sat down to the table, and finding
that no one could speak English, we
consulted our books which contained
English and Spanish phrases and final
ly ordered, or thought we ordered, ham
and eggs. don't know what we real
lv did order, but we got two bottles OF
beer for breakfast and | resolved then
and there to put on the white ribbon as
soon as / reached civilization and JOIN
the w. c. L. u, at least during the
early part of the day. We certainly
felt that we were in a strange land and
among strange people and we 'hollered'
C., Iii, ord in and behold an angel of |