Our War with Spain for Cuba's Freedom

by Trumbull White

CHAPTER VIII.

THE CUBANS, AND HOW THEY LIVE.

Life in the Rural Districts—A Cuban Bill of Fare—The Amusements
of the Country People—Sports of the Carnival—Native Dances—An
Island Farm—Fruit Used for Bread—Cattle Ranches and Stock Farms
—Population of the Island—Education and Religion—Railways and
Steamship Lines.

The traveler from the north, landing for the first time on Cuban shores, will discover his greatest delight in the radical changes he finds from everything he has been accustomed to in his own land. If he has read Prescott and Irving, he knows something of Castilian manners and customs in theory, but as the peculiarities of the people, their home life, their amusements, their religious observances, and their business methods are brought before him in reality, he is impressed with the constant charm of novelty.

In times of peace, the native of Cuban soil in the rural districts knows nothing of the struggle for existence which faces the majority of mankind in colder climes. He "toils not, neither does he spin," for the reason that nature provides so freely that very little exertion is necessary to secure her gifts. Occasionally he may plow, or sow a little grain, or even pick fruit, but, as a rule, he leaves the labor to the negroes. If he lives on a main-traveled road, he may possibly provide entertainment for man and beast, where he delights in gossiping with all who come his way, and is ready to drink whenever invited. Neither does his raiment possess the glory of Solomon's, for it generally consists of a pair of loose trousers, belted with a leather band, a linen shirt of brilliant hue, frequently worn outside his pantaloons, a silk handkerchief fastened about his head, a palm-leaf hat, and bare feet encased in leather slippers.

He is astute, though frank, boastful, though brave, and superstitious, if not religious. Gambling is his chief delight, and his fighting cocks receive more attention than his wife and family.

His better half is more reserved than her lord, especially with strangers. She is an adept horse-woman, though she sometimes shares the animal's back with her husband, riding in front of him, almost on the neck of the horse. Her dress is the acme of simplicity (sometimes rather too simple to suit conventional ideas), and consists of a loose frock, and a handkerchief tied around her neck. Like her husband she dispenses with stockings, except on occasions of ceremony. Her pride is her hair, on which she bestows a great deal of attention, and she delights in displaying it at every possible opportunity.

A CUBAN BILL OF FARE.

The mode of life among the people of these rural districts is entirely unlike that of the residents of the cities. This difference extends even to their food and the manner of preparing it. In the populous centers, especially among the better classes, the table service is of the French mode, but among the country people will be found the real Cuban cuisine.

The morning meal usually consists of fried pork, of which they are very fond, boiled rice, and roasted plantain, which serves them for bread. Beef, birds or roast pork are served for dinner, together with plantains and a stew composed of fresh meat, dried meat, green plantains, and all kinds of vegetables. These are cooked in a broth, thickened with a farinaceous root called malanga, and flavored with lemon juice. Rice is a staple article of diet, and no meal is complete without it.

RURAL AMUSEMENTS.

It is not in gastronomy alone that the Cubans of the country districts differ from their city cousins. They have their special amusements, some of which seem cruel to people of refinement, but it may be said in their defense that football is not a popular game on the island.

Cock fighting is the national sport, and men, women and children will wager their last possession on the result of an encounter between chickens of fighting blood. The goose fight is another cruel sport. Two poles are placed in the ground, with a rope stretched between them, on which a live goose is hung with its feet securely tied, and its head thoroughly greased. The contestants are on horseback, and ride at full speed past the goose, endeavoring to seize its head and separate it from the body as they pass. The fowl usually dies before the efforts are successful, but the rider who finally succeeds in the noble endeavor gains the glory and the prize.

There is a patron saint for every village, for whom there is a feast day, which is celebrated by masses at the church, and afterwards by games and dances. A procession is always arranged on this day, in which a little girl, dressed as an image, rides in a wagon, decorated with banners and flowers. Men in costumes of Indians lead the way, followed by others clad as Moors. A band is a necessary adjunct, and bringing up the rear are the inhabitants, marching and singing to the music of the band. When the church is reached, the people gather about the child, and she recites a composition written for the occasion.

During carnival time, processions of mountebanks, cavaliers, dressed as knights of old, on horses splendidly adorned, races, masques, balls and all manner of revelries are indulged in.

Dancing is a universal accomplishment, in which the young and old find enjoyment in all places and at all seasons. The Zapato, a dance peculiar to Cuba, is performed to the music of the guitar, accompanied by the voices of the dancers. It consists of fantastic posings, fancy marches, and graceful figures, and resembles in some details the "cake walks" of the negroes of our own country.

AN ISLAND FARM.

In the neighborhood of the larger cities are hundreds of "Estancias," which correspond to what are known as market gardens in the United States. These farms usually consist of less than a hundred acres each, and on them are raised vegetables, chickens, small fruits and other table delicacies, for the city trade. Properly looked after, this business might be one of great profit, but the land is, as a rule, cultivated by tenants, who pay a rental of about five dollars per acre a year, and who are too indolent to give it the care necessary to gain lucrative returns.

The principal vegetable raised on these farms is the sweet potato, of which there are two varieties, the yellow and the white. The soil and the climate are not favorable to the cultivation of the Irish potato, and it is necessary to import this luxury, which accounts for the fact that they are seldom seen outside the cities.

Plantains are raised in large quantities. This product is to the Cuban what bread is to us, and may be characterized as the standard article of food. Though less nutritious than wheat or potatoes, it is produced in vastly larger quantities from the same area, and with far less effort. It closely resembles the banana, and is in fact often regarded as a variety of that fruit. A fanciful name for it among the natives is "Adam's apple," and the story is that it was the forbidden fruit of the Garden of Eden.

On a number of these places the business of farming has been entirely abandoned, and kilns built, where the burning of lime is carried on extensively.

CATTLE RANCHES AND STOCK FARMS.

The raising of cattle is one of the important industries of Cuba, and as it costs comparatively nothing to fit the stock for the market, handsome profits are realized. Herds of vast numbers roam over the prairies, receiving no attention from their owners, and are sold without any preliminary fattening. Fabulous prices are received for the fierce bulls which are used for the bull fights in the cities, and the breeding of these animals brings large returns.

Hides are one of the principal exports of the island, and bone black, prepared from the bones, is sold in immense quantities to the sugar-makers, for use in the manufacture of that article.

The finest horses raised in Cuba come from Puerto Principe, and magnificent specimens of the noble animal they are. They are noted for their powers of endurance, and can journey day after day, covering sixty to seventy miles, at an easy gait, without showing signs of fatigue. As horses were unknown to the original inhabitants of the island, it is supposed that the Cuban horse of to-day comes from Spanish stock, and the fact that it differs so greatly from those animals, both in appearance and quality, is explained by the changed climatic conditions in its breeding. Whatever its origin may be, it is certain that there are no finer specimens of horse flesh than are to be found in Cuba, and the natives take great care of them, almost regarding them as belonging to the family. Like the Irishman who "kept his pig in the parlor," the Cuban often stables his horse in a room of his house.

PECULIAR FUNERAL CEREMONIES.

One of the strangest customs that is likely to be observed by the tourist in the interior sections, is the ceremony attendant on the burial of the dead. First come small boys, with white linen gowns over their clothes, short enough to display their ragged trousers and dirty shoes. A boy in the center bears a tall pole, upon the top of which is a silver cross, partially draped, while each of the other boys carries a tall candlestick.

Behind them comes the priest, in shabby attire, in one hand his prayer book, from which he is chanting from time to time, while in the other hand, the sun being hot, he carries an umbrella. Following him, a venerable old man comes tottering along, personating the acolyth, the bell-ringer, the sacristan, or other church dignitary, as may be necessary, croning out in his dreary voice, as he swings the burning censor, the second to the chants of the priest. The coffin then makes its appearance, made of rough boards, but covered with black paper muslin, and borne upon the shoulders of four villagers, a crowd of whom, all uncovered, bring up the rear.

Here, as in all other Catholic countries, the spectators uncover their heads at the passing of a funeral cortege. At the church are ceremonies of reading prayers, burning candles, and sprinkling the coffin with holy water, after which the priest goes his way, and the procession takes up its line of march for the newly-made grave, in the dilapidated and neglected cemetery, where the coffin is deposited without further ceremony. No females are present during the whole affair.

A family in mourning in Cuba, not only dress in dark clothes, upon which there is no luster, but they keep the windows of the house shut for six months. In fact, by an ordinance of the government, it is now prohibited to display the corpse to the public through the open windows, as was formerly done, both windows and doors being now required to be shut.

AN HOSPITABLE PEOPLE.

The Cuban of the better class is noted for his hospitality. His door is always open to receive whomsoever calls, be he acquaintance, friend or stranger. There is a place at his table for the visitor at all times, without money and without price, and no one having the slightest claim to courtesy of this kind need hesitate to accept the invitation. There is little travel or communication on the island, so even if the guest be an entire stranger, his host will feel amply repaid for his hospitality by the news the traveler brings from the outside world. There is a good old custom among the Danes, that when the first toast is drunk, it is to the roof of the house which covers everyone in it, meaning thereby it is all one family. This same custom might appropriately be kept up amongst the Cuban planters, for when one takes his seat at the table, he is immediately installed as one of the family circle.

EDUCATION AND RELIGION.

Education is woefully backward on the island. In the absence of recent statistics it is estimated that not one-tenth of the children receive lettered education of any kind, and even among the higher classes of society, liberal education is very far from being universally diffused. A few literary and scientific men are to be found both in the higher and middle ranks, and previous to the revolution, the question of public instruction excited some interest among the creole population.

At Havana is the royal university with a rector and thirty professors, and medical and law schools, as well as an institution called the Royal College of Havana. There is a similar establishment at Puerto Principe, in the eastern interior, and both at Havana and Santiago de Cuba there is a college in which the branches of ecclesiastical education are taught, together with the humanities and philosophy. Besides this there are several private schools, but these are not accessible to the masses. The inhabitants can scarcely be said to have any literature, a few daily and weekly journals, under a rigid censorship, supply almost all the taste for letters in the island.

To show how little liberty of opinion the newspapers of Cuba enjoy, we quote a decree issued by General Weyler, formerly Captain-General of the island:

Don Valeriano Weyler y Nicolau, Marquis of Tenerife, governor-general, captain-general of the Island of Cuba, and general-in-chief of this army.

Under the authority of the law of public order, dated the 23rd of
April, 1870.

I Order and Command,

1st. No newspaper shall publish any news concerning the war which is not authorized by the staff officers.

2nd. Neither shall be published any telegraphic communications of a political character without the authority given by the secretary of the governor general in Havana, or by the civil officers in the other provinces.

3rd. It is hereby forbidden to publish any editorials, or other articles or illustrations, which may directly or indirectly tend to lessen the prestige of the mother-country, the army, or the authorities, or to exaggerate the forces and the importance of the insurrection, or in any way to favor the latter, or to cause unfounded alarm, or excite the feelings of the people.

4th. The infractions of this decree, not included in Articles first and sixth of the decree of February 16th last, will make the offenders liable to the penalties named in Article 36, of the law of the 23rd of April, 1870.

5th. All persons referred to in Article 14 of the Penal Code of the Peninsula, which is in force in this Island, will be held responsible for said infractions in the same order as established by the said Article.

6th. Whenever a newspaper has twice incurred the penalty of said offense, and shall give cause for a third penalty, it may be then suppressed.

7th. The civil governors are in charge of the fulfillment of this decree, and against their resolutions, which must be always well founded, the interested parties may appeal within twenty-four hours following their notification.

VALERIANO WEYLER.

Havana, April 27, 1896.

POPULATION OF THE ISLAND.

Conflicting accounts render it impossible to arrive at anything like a certainty as to the number of inhabitants in Cuba at the time of its conquest, but it may be estimated at from 300,000 to 400,000. There is but little doubt, however, that before 1560 the whole of this population had disappeared from the island. The first census was taken in 1774, when the population was 171,620. In 1791 it was 272,300.

Owing to the disturbed condition of the island, no census of the inhabitants has been taken since that of 1887, when the total population was 1,631,687. Of this number, 1,111,303 were whites, and 520,684 were of negro blood. These figures make questionable the claim that the war for liberty is simply an insurrection of the colored against the Caucasian race.