Show IN SANTIAGO DE CUBA should columbus and his contemporaries por aries come on a ghostly cruise over the course they tock more than four centuries ago they would have no difficulty in recognizing this old city of st james jamee such an ancient and iberian savor has it retained to this day besides it our boosted boasted san augustine is as an infant in arms and it was wa growing a trifle gray and weary when the pilgrim fathers Pa theirs first sighted plymouth rock what a checkered career it has had since that autumn day in 1514 when don diego do velazquez christened it in honor of patron saint ponce de leon lived here before ever he began searching tor for the fountain of eternal youth cortez sailed from this place to the conquest of mexico juan de grijalva made it his base of supplies when in 1618 1619 he started for the conquest of yucatan narvaez recruited re the roen men here for the first invasion ot of clorida all off of abo whom m were lost loot in the cypress swamps of that land of prom joe hse and mystery aad and here de sotos expedition tarried awhile in 1528 since in santiago the red and yellow flag of spain was first raised for the conquest of the two americans it seems in the eternal fitness of things that here the decisive novel naval battle should lie be fought which will forever banish the banner of blood and gold from this side aide of the world I 1 vietter quitted santiago a few weeks ago as ae usual with notebook note book and camera in a previous letter I 1 told you about the narrow winding channel which leadstrom leads from the open sea into the harbor pursuing a sinuous course past thi morro mom and other fortifications of quaint construction between low hills and broad meadows and fishing ff hana hamlet sall I 1 the time so close to hare e on either side that you seem to DC navigating an wand inland river till suddenly you turn a sharp angle of the hills and enter the broad and sheltered bay which old women seamen call abne 1 of the most magnificent in the world IV U not so big as atte uy bay of rio dd janeiro and not so beautiful in some respects but like the brazilian harbor it Is studded with islets and mountains are encamped around it the water is too shallow for large vessels to approach its wharves and steamers anchor a mile or more from shore the weather beaten quartermaster quarter master in the forecastle applies the match to his brass braes twelve and hardly have the reverberations died away among the hills before the steamer is surrounded by a swarm of boatmen in queer covered r canoes clamoring to land passengers and their luggage but unlike other west indian ports there is ie nobody bathing in the luminous waters and not an urchin offers to dive for coins the harbor is full of sharks big hungry ones of the man eating variety you may count dozens of them from the deck of the vessel especially at night so extremely tr m ay iy phosphorescent is the water that when the wind blows every ripple makes little sparks of fire in the darkness A fish swimming through it has the same saine effect as the wind leaving a trail of fire behind him like the trail of a comet every bis big stationary spot of phosphorescent light you see ee is caused by EL a shark lazily moving his fins as he lies in wait for a meal they are the tigers of the ocean the terror of the local boatman however good a swimmer a man may be he has no chance for his life in these waters to fall overboard is simply to be torn limb from limb without raising once to the surface landing at the wharf you are instantly beset by the drivers of half a dozen volantes colantes vol antes and vict victorias orlas whose antiquated vehicles comprise the entire wheel transit of santiago and they fail to secure a a passenger unless it be an unusually verdant gringo because the steep steel streets are so 80 atrociously paved that everybody who does not ride a horse or mule prefers to trust his own two feet the hills which enclose santiago on three sides rising in green terra terraces cei from the waters edge to the farther mountains are beautiful to look upon and afford execl excellent lent drainage to the city but axe are ap no end of a nuisance for daily climbing starting at the surf line the narrow stony streets run sharply up feet or more and appear to have never been repaired since the days of velazquez tropical rains have washed great gullies down them in some places several feet deep and the traffic of nearly four centuries has uprooted and original cobblestones cobble stones and worn dangerous pitfalls and man traps the street which our consul lives in one of the principal thoroughfares ough fares is not passable at all for vehicles nor for horsemen after dark and to walk through it at any time is almost at the risk of your neck most of the narrow streets are lined with cement sidewalks from ten to fifteen inches wide but others have no sidewalk at all and in them pedestrians are obliged to take the road dodging donkeys carts carte and naked children the latter are always to be encountered without a rag of clothing on them playing in the streams of dirty r water that percolates through the broken stones it Is no wonder that this old city to is so notoriously unhealthy housewives and servants come to their doors and throw out slops slope and garbage of all sorts into the street regardless of passers and playing children and with all this filth festering in the tropic sun and no street cleaners but ut the carton birds the surprise is not that yellow fever makes an annual visit and aad carries off many victims but that it does not remain the year round A nwe favor able field for the study of anatomy anatoliy could hardly be found than santiago de cuba where living pictures abound in the thoroughfares drapery of any sort for boys and girls of the lower classes under 10 or 12 years of age being thought entirely superfluous when it rains in these regions and how it does rain during certain seasons reminding one of the bible J simile that the windows of heaven were opened these narrow perpendicular alleys become filled with torrents of such impetuosity that no one can cross them on footland foo tand even horsemen hesitate about ascending the steep grades with their unknown pitfalls fal Is at such times stout carga dores turn an honest penny standing knee deep in the puddles and toting the citizens across on their shoulders the city might easily have an ex hau stable supply of pure water if only there were sufficient enterprise among the people to cause it to be brought in pipes from the neighboring hills though there has always been suffering and ill health resulting from lack of this prime necessity no steps have ever been taken to inaugurate a system of waterworks water works A brief visit will not give the traveler a true idea of santiago one must remain long enough to get en rapport with the spirit of the place in order to understand der stand and appreciate it the first impression gained from its tumble down buildings its rough neglected dirty street snaked gamin abounding poverty lean curs and frightfully abused mules and horses is by no means favorable even to lovers of the quaint and antique but after you have become better acquainted with its ita hospitable people and have seen the intel interior of some of its casas which were built a full century before the first dutchman had set up a house on manhattan island you discover the charm df the rare old place and find yourself in love with r f it in spite of its many shortcomings the finest mansions are confined to no particular locality but are scattered around Imp haphazard hazard and are as likely to be found sandwiched between negro sh shanties antles or commercial warehouses as anywhere else they are all of the order of architecture which the moors brought into the iberian peninsula low and large with enormous windows reaching from aarn roof to pavement and having iron gratings before them floors of tiles square bricks or blocks of marble and inner courtyard with limes and pomegranates growing around a central fountain toilsome and dirty though they are the streets of santiago never leae to interest they have haive such curious signs stretched across them or protruding over the narrow t sidewalks and the commodities exposed for sale are to us so strange and often ludicrous the shop fanta are all open and inside we see clerks in their shirt sleeves flirting with mulatto girls over gay colored calicoes cali coes and gaudy ribbons ladies of the aristocracy never visit the shops but buy what they require from samples through their servants pat and comfortable for regresses neg saes with enormous eoln eai rings and gorgeous turbans compared to which jacobs coat would be a colorless affair squat on the ground at the street corners with baskets of dul cles swept meats fruits and boiled yarns to sell half way up the hill bill its is the main plaza adorned with statues and thickly set with trees and ben hoes the mill tAvy band plays here on certain evenings of the week when according cordin sg to the universal custom of spanish america everybody turns out to see and be seen the ladies in their newest gowns mostly bareheaded and many with bare shoulders and arms arm jewels promenade lp in pairs round and round the plasa while gallants line the walk in triple rows looking on with more or less sa silent admiration and the less fashionable portion of the population observe the beauty show at a respectful distance or rather this is what they used to do they kept it up bravely until a few weeks ago but now between hunger and anxiety as to the fate of santiago with the american fleet in front and the insurgents behind the plaza is deserted except as a convenient dying place for the starving above the plaza rises the great cathedral the largest in cuba with its double towers and facade of porous stone which gives ita ia singularly mottled and crumbling appearance pe arance it is of the usual spanish architecture with an esplanade in front its extremely simple interior adorned with er car arlands lands of paper flowers and old spanish paintings the several other churches are all small and dilapidated lapi dated and within their sombre walls one seems to have been imprisoned at least four centuries but if sanctuaries are somewhat behind the times the saloons and club houses are certainly up to date and unaccountably numerous for a population of only there are six casinos or club houses some of them fitted up with surprising magnificence nin ence cence marble floors cafes wons salons de billures bi llares reading rooms dancing parlors and all accessories no span ish amerlean american town of any size is destitute of these anti domestic institutions whatever else it may lack where the th male population may pass the evenings and get rid of their surplus cash there acears to be no skeleton con in their gullied closets however for the interior arrangement of the awell est clubhouses club houses are exposed to the vie bof passers by though the grated windows which extend from floor to ceiling entirely devoid of shades and screens passing along the principal streets one is struck by the municipality and gaudiness of the drinking saloons especially in the evening when they are dazzling to behold with their lights and glasses and colored liquors their marble tables crowded with card players each with a glass of his favorite tipple at his elbow but one seldom sees a drunken man in cuba the natives drink often but lightly and the gin to which they are universally addicted must be exceptionally pure or r else the climate cli nate tenders it comparatively the upper streets of at the town are even narrower than those near the landing and to reach the crest of the I 1 hill bill on which slope the city is built you must thread several blind alleys lined by the houses of the and poorer dirtier classes where unclothed babies are held up to the window gratings and cen but when the hilltop is gained near the long line of buildings which belong to the Benefi cien hospital there lies before you suca a view as few are privileged to see twice in a lifetime beyond the far sloping roofs of tiles which stretch compactly down to the waters edge lies the bay its surface ot heavenly blue encircled by emerald hills all glorified by tropical sunshine it to is difficult to say haw the V people of santiago ever managed to make a living oVe of course ourse few of them pretend to now for nobody appears to be doing anything the only industrial establishment of the place except the private enterprises of the american copper miners in the nearby near by hills ate are a few sugar factories a tanyard tan yard and a soap manufactory PANNIE B WARD |