Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1910-05-18
The Wonders Of the West Indies
Augusta Man Talks interestingly
OF Travels in Sunny Isles.

, or no liquor is sold to carry away. No
provision is made for this class Of
trade by the saloons. | myself want
| ed small flask of whiskey one eve
ming for a cold, but there was nothing
to be had but the drink" or the large
Original package" from which 1t was
served. They couldn't even hunt up a
| small bottle to fill for me. Certainly
with all the freedom of trafnc there
| must be some good reason for the alb
sence of intoxication.
AS to morals Well, did you ever
live in the tropics? l can answer
that best perhaps in the language
of an old sea captain friend OF NINE
who has sailed much in tropical seas
and who when asked a similar ques-
ton replied, There is no use in taxi
ing or arguing about this thing. There
| is one code of morals for the north,
and another and entirely different code
for the tropics. 1t always has been so
| and always will be-
| was in a little seacoast town dur
| ing Holy Week and as perhaps you
know Good Friday is the great day of
| all the year among these people.
wish the Journal readers could have
| Witnessed tue fTOcSSSlOUcT, IL
| ligious parade on that day as it passed
| through the streets. The people do
not wait until Easter as we do before
doning their new clothes. They do 1t
Good Friday. Everything new in the
way of raiment is put on and the
streets all Friday afternoon and eve
ming are thronged with men, women
and children. every one bent upon hav-
ing a good time. / feigned ignorance
and inquired of bystander what it
was all about, why the fiesta? He
answered in decidedly happy view as
if importing some rather good news
that Jesus was dead" and invited me
to have some refreshment with him.
Mass was said in the Iglasia or church
from morning until noon. During the
afternoon great crowds of people as
sembled in the Plaza fronting the
church, everyone dressed in their best
and walking up and down, bowling here
and there as il at a reception. AS the
| big clock strikes five, Las Cinco,' the
doors of the church open and the pro-
| ceSsion starts. First comes lot OF
children dressed in white, then follow
the bearers of huge wooden cross.
| hanied on either side by boys in
vestments carrying lighted candles on
long poles. The townspeOple now
| crowded in making another section
and behind them born on the heads
and shoulders of ten strong men, came
| a large glass caSket, in which lay a
life size image of Christ with all the
CHASTITY wounds of the crucifiXion.
This was attended on either side by
more boys in vestments with lighted
candles. People filled the street from
curb to curb behind this display and
then came the priest chanting attend
ed by his altar boys. More people
| filled the space behind and they were
| followed by bearers of draped plat
| form on which was an upright figure
| of the Virgin dressed in black and
| gold. Black ribbon streamers extended
from this and were carried in the
hands of many of the women followers
who marched near this display in
great numbers. A large concourse of
people and the local brass band
| formed the rear of the procession, the
latter playing at such times as the
priest would cease chanting. 1t was
certainly remarkable procession and
with the townspeople dressed in their
massed solidly from curb to curb at
| the sides, it formed a beautiful ami
| mated picture. OF course l secured a
| photograph of it.
The return of the procession to the
| church seemed to mark the end of all
mourning and from that time until
late in the evening everybody was
| promenading in the Plaza, eating ice
Lin
dominoes or cards and having a good
time generally. A circus had arrived
in town and was getting ready for it's
| first performance on Saturday evening.
Saturday, the Saturday preceding
Easter. at A. NJ, found the tent
packed with jolly crowd awaiting the
opening of the performance and my
| next neighbor was the priest who
conducted the procession of few
hours before and who was to officiate
at early Easter service in the morn
| ing. He thoroughly enjoyed the per-
Torrance too and laughed heartily at
| the jokes of the clown i'm Spanish and
applauded loudly the good work of the
acrobats. On Easter evening the cir
Gus had even bigger crowd than on
| the preceding Saturday evening and a
big ball was also in full swing at the
| Casino. What would our people think
of an Easter like that?
| Every Sunday is big market day,
but Easter Sunday was especially live
| ly All the Poems and country people
came to town bringing to the market
| PIazas whatever they had to sell
Fruits. vegetables baskets. eggs, live
poultry, pigs, goats, calves. horses.
donkeys. cows and bullocks. The hat
makers come and spread their wares
on the ground and business is rushing.
They probably believing that 1.-THE bet
ter the day the better the deed" OF
course the thrifty store keeper keeps
open in order to relieve the country
people of their hard earned cash,
while the saloons and billiard rooms
90 thriving trade. All this seems
shocking to us from the north, but it
is there and will be condition hard
TO overcome.
Porto Rico has beautiful climate.
almost anything will grow there. Just
now sugar cane is the back bone of the