The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1913-04-30
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about it in later letter.
A two hours ride across Cuba
brought me to Batabano (accent on
the o., where the steamer Cristobal
Colon waited. The ride over the Car
ribean sea was something to remem-
Der. The moon shone upon the quiet
waters, the boat scarcely made a rip
pie, the night breeze was cool and
it was difficult to waste the night in
sleep. The whistle next morning
aroused from slumber and we aWoke
to our first view of the Isle of Pines.
The boat was in a broad deep river
of clear water Near by was the low
lying shore with the little landing
place and warehouse and in the dis
lance were beautiful ranges OF tree
clad mountains. An auto awaited and
saw it glide away over road that
would make the transcontinental
route turn green with envy. My des-
tination was Nueva Corona (forget
the &c" when you pronounce this),
and | stayed with the boats as it made
it's way out of the river and along the
coast. There were more mountains
with beautiful bungalows tucked away
on their sides, then another river and
the red-tiled roofs of Nueva Corona.
A large part of the town was down
to see the boat come in. Everybody
was friendly. An utter stranger took
me in his auto and landed me at a
hotel. The town is typically Cuban
in appearance, but one meets Ameri-
cans at every hand. Nearly all the
houses are Of one story, but with
ceiling Of from fifteen to twenty feet.
They are built of brick, covered with
cement and each house is built around
court which is filled with flowers
and palms. The floors are tiled There
are no front yards, the inner courts
taking the place of lawns. Glass is
not used and the windows are barred
or grilled, to keep out intruders and
provided with wooden shutters which
are rarely closed in this land Of sun
shine. The native cottages lie near
err the mountains and are of wood
with matched roofs OF palm leaves.
The natives of the isle seem much in
advance of the natives of Cuba, at
least in the matter of dress. There
are fig leaves in Cuba, but they are
not fashionable with the infants OF
the land and it is no uncommon sight
to see urchins of three or four stroll
ing about, clothed from head to foot
in a beautiful dress of brown, satin
skin.
A few hours in Corona served to
make us a number Of acquaintance
and welcome to our island" seemed
to be written on every face.
That is one thing l like about the
isle, it is all so hearty and free and
"pioneery" They are to have social
function at Santa Fe next Friday and
there will be representatives from
every town on the island. But with
their splendid roads and autos dis
lance has no terrOrs. 1t was two In
the afternoon when l took an auto
bus to Santa Fe, eleven miles distant.
We passed many pretty homes with
.e..;o,, of Aoworc opd Mains The
Caballos or Horse mountains were on
our left and the Casas or House noun
tains on the right and as we started
there was a glimpse of the sea Santa
Fe is the Oldest, the best built, and in
some respects the prettiest town on
the isle. 1t is more largely American
than Nueva Corona, and is the center
of a network of government roads
which are justly the pride of the isl
and. never saw race track in bet
ter condition than these government
roads. There is no speed limit and
the autos go just as fast as the driv-
ers wish. These roads are in prime
condition the year around.
This letter is already too long and
| shall save something for another
week. l am supposed to have reached
the island at the close of the winter
season and at the head of the rainy
season. So far there have been two
showers of about fifteen minutes
each. The nights are cool, down to