Times-promoter. (Hernando, DeSoto County, Miss.) 1898-1970, 1909-03-18
LETTER FROM CUBA
Maj. Dockery Sightseeing in Queen Of
the Antilles"
Havana, March 9Th, 1909.

| believe L LETT you at Tampa. we
boarded the ship (Clinton) Sunday
evening, arriving at Key West next
merning and at this city Tuesday
morning and after waiting on the
boat three hours for the government |
to measure its red tape, We landed in
the beautiful city of Havana, passing
the great skeleton Of the Maine. The
trip across the gulf stream was rough |
and l rocked and rolled over the |
cabin like a man with big jag on
everybody was sick and casting up in
to the sea. One good old lady threw
out her artificial teeth and lost her
piety, Judging by her looks after
wards. l didn't enjoy the trip across.
I could hardly stick in-my berth, and
the table fare was the most abomi-
nable | ever had. The cook was
Spaniard and the, walters couldn't
speak English, and l really didn't
know whether | was eating pig or
puppy, but we made the trip safely.
I mean by we (my grandson, Love
Banks) and party of about one hun
dred and fifty people, blue, black and
white. The fat boys who were on
exhibition at the Tampa fair, one
weighing 305 and the other 295, and
little midget years of age weighing 40
pounds were in the crowd and helped
to enliven the trip by their contribu-
tions to neptune.
The scenes and sights and language
here were all new to- me and very in
teresting.
We entered the mouth of the bay
under the frowning walls of Moro
Castle, with it's scores of big guns
pointing as if saying if you dare enter
here, but these guns, since Uncle
Sam drove Spain cut, have lain idle
and rust is eating them up. The line
of forts connected with the castle
extends along the solid rock wall half
mile and in the cd days and old
fashion the city was perfectly safe,
but now with our big guns that throw
balls or shells weighing twelve hun
dred pounds twelve miles the forts
would not protect the city.
The bay is four hundred yards wide
at the mouth and goes in in a jug
shape and would foat thousand
battle ships easily atganchor.
The Maine, whose huge body lies
like a great skeletonin front of the
city, shows only great iron girders,
beams and ribs, which are rusting,
and sight-seers easily break off pieces
for mementoes. It's tragic end has
tened our intervention which drove
Spain out of her '.'eyer faithful ISLE"
as Queen Isabella used to call it.
Cuba has no navy and there are no
war ships in the har6or, but there are
a great number of saerchant vessels
loading with Cuban 5products and un-
loading every sort osthing that goes
to make commerce..
| MORO Castle is Oh solid rock one
hundred and eighty feet high I was
told). / walked lip it, down it,
through it, under it, and when I came
out was exhausted and shall not get
over it for month. | would charge
like some, of our lawyers do, to repeat
the trip. From thes top the city is
seen at your feet in All it's beauty and
quaint style, and 10 "a young man a
trip to the top payssin that way. The
vessels do not go to the, docks as in
other cities, but anchor out in the
bay, and the lighter edge-that is
conveying the goods from vessels
to shore costs as much as the freight
from where it started. This gives
employment to great numbers of men
and great number of vessels. The
government knows the outrage bnt
dares not change it for it might bring
revolution.
We got to shore after waiting on
the boat about three hours for the
officers to overhaul our trunks and
grips, and found innumerable hacks
ready, willing and waiting to take us
to our hotels. The government fixes
the charge for these hacks and it is
4 =
leasonable enough, but the rascally
drivers take advantage Of you if you
are not wary. The charge by law is
twenty cents to haul you to the hotel
but the driver charges thirty cents
and it is only necessary to say police