Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1909-09-11
CUBAN CUSTOMS.

surely RUE tnein ttnh Nlihout'
CUBAN CUSTOMS.
A few further outlines Of the Cuban
on his native heath may not he amiss
| In addition to what I have already
written.
II is an amusing thing TO see the
| Cuban buy his groceries I'm the small
villages and towns. In these places
the grocery store Is the meeting place
for the natives. where they can have
an opportunity TO be seen and 10 talk,
their chief delights.
They usually 60 10 make their pur-
chases. armed with two empty beer bot
ties. one for OH and one for melted
lard. Of which latter commodity they
use immense quantities Their food
is simply rocking with ~. They buy
lu innnitesimal quantities and make
more fuss over n than II they were
provisioning for twenty men. With
every little purchase OF rice. Goldfish.
beans. bread. OIL lard and pork, their
main staples. say "a "cuartillO' or two
and one half cents worth OF each, they
demand and get, too, "nana' with
each purchase. Tho merchant expects
this "napa" business and provides for
IL, and indeed he could not do any bust
ness without n. They always expect
they viii cheat each other. No one
trusts the other 40 an, and they are
right, too for they do get cheated and
cheat This may also be called one Of
their characteristics
The merchant could no more trust
one OF them 10 be honest I'm any N
their little purchasing transactions.than
be could trust them With a hundred dol
lar bin.
The "napa" consists ~ candy. q little
bit ~ OIL q little scrap OF cod fish and
.... %. "A rHs.H nM
shrek FOR until they have gotten and
claim as their tight.
They try 10 confuse the merchant by
rapidly buying "A "cuartillo' of this. au-
other ~ that. ana still another Of am
other kind of stun. ln quick 7ucCesslon
then waiting minute or two, until De-
Is waiting on somebody else. and has
his attention diverted. and then when
ho r. thus busy. rapidly ordering some
thing else IN this way they try 3d.
and frequently do. confuse him, in the
adding up ~ the total so that they
can cheat him out Of "cuartilIo' or
two. As the grocery merchants bon the
smaller towns are mostly Cubans. 10 De-
case ~ diamond cut diamond and mo-
sympathy need be- wasted on either
party
have seen fine looklng. wen
dressed white man. The owner NJ several
large new houses ln the town whore De
lived. and well 10 do, spend no minutes
buying FIVE cents worth ~ cod FISH,
insisting ON Just such and such quality,
and then wuugling no minutes more
10 get just the kind Of "uapa' hc want
"a. can one conceive ~ an American
of any station in me- doing thatr 30
course not Ho would De simply
ashamed o.. but with thr cuban che
only shame consists boo tur fear THAT
be- has not been successful in beating
the seller out of a few cents This to
him ir disgrace indeed. This m1N be-
called another of their characteristics
SINGULAR LAWS
Again. some very singular laws stu
obtain here Whlcn VIII seem incredible
60 American readers. The following
two fOr instance that D shall mention.
are sim absolutely ln force Many cum-
hersome and absurd provisions uf tne
0ld Spanish laN have been removed,
hy decree hy che American governor a..
either during the hrst or the lasl ur
oupatlons. but these two extraordinary
ones SIN remain our governors Dave
mad enough to Do as 10 ls. bet uF nope
those laws win also shortly hr changed.
Woe 40 lho poor euui IA Dec meets
nith an accident IF Whatever nature
In Cuhal Are you overturned IN