It was the 23d of February, and a smallsized blizzard had blanketed the Middle North with a coating of snow and ice, and the bitter cold with its weight of humidity cut to the marrow. There was a feeling of relief, as though the cold of the North had already been vanquished, when the "Florida Limited" of the Seaboard Air Line pulled out of Washington at 7.35 p. m. It may seem prosaic to mention names and schedules in this manner, but they are certainly very important items to be remembered in the itinerary of any journey. "Pullman" trains paper with morocco covers and an abundance of gold leaf. The class of travel to and from Florida, Cuba and the South in the height of the winter season may be likened unto the latter. It is generally of the ultra type and everybody looks at everybody else and knows that the world is having a few weeks' holiday. The first rays of morning revealed an entirely different scene than the day before. The train was speeding through pine wastes, dotted here and there with one-story houses, unpainted and grim, characteristic of the Carolinas. Cotton fields with the dead A little further on were two colored men pulling a plow, while a third guided it. At Columbia, S. C., the first climatic change was experienced, indicating spring. The grass was green and the air balmy. Looking for the unusual, attention was called to the uniforms of the policemen, who carried their espantoons attached to the left side of their belts and their immense revolvers in holsters on the right side, which tended to give the impression that the people were of a sanguinary tempera ment. For miles after leaving Columbia, the 4 THROUGH FLORIDA TO CUBA Fhoto by Blain, Havana PLAZA DE ARMAS-PRESIDENT'S PALACE, HAVANA residents of the scattered houses along the railway seemed imbued with the one idea of airing the entire family bedding in the windows, verandas and yards of their dwellings. There were sandy wastes everywhere and the majestic oaks, beeches and maples of the North gave way to the scraggy pines and scrub oaks, which were fantastically festooned with Spanish moss. The cabbage palm was profuse in swampy places, and turpentine camps were in evidence. The scarred pine trees with their arrow head gashes, from which the sap dripped into tins or crockery, were remindful of the maple sugar camps of New England. Savannah was reached about 2.00 o'clock in the afternoon, the train switching back into the station. The steam heat in the cars had been shut off, as the afternoon was balmy like the early fall, and when Jacksonville was reached at 6.00 o'clock summer weather was experienced. The first real impressions of the sub-tropics are obtained at St. Augustine, which is but an hour's ride from Jacksonville, and where a two hours' lay-over permits the tourist to leave the stuffy cars and get an airing. The smell of flowers, the soft evening air, the music and lights of the famous hotels, surrounded by gardens of palms, produce strange impressions on the traveler, who but twentyfour hours before had left a country where all was desolate and cold in the icy clasp of winter. "From snowballs to oranges" is an old advertising phrase, but it goes. As the party was racing against time, a glimpse of St. Augustine sufficed until the return journey, and the 9.00 o'clock train was boarded for lower Florida. The morning of the second day revealed the exquisite delights of Palm Beach. Great cocoanut palms, heavily laden with clusters of Cocoanuts, leaned over the train. The beautiful green grass, colored with the brilliant scarlet of the hibiscus, indicated clearly the lower latitude we had reached. From Palm Beach to Miami there were fields of pineapples, groves of oranges, and flowers everywhere. The modest little morning glory trailed the track all the way to the jumping-off place. At Miami bevies of pretty girls in pink duck dresses, and men in flannels and straw hats, swarmed about the train to meet their friends. It now had become as hot as the Northern summer, and during the rest of the journey down to the Keys the windows of the cars were all open. We left the mainland of Florida at Homestead and then went out to sea from key (island) to key over Mr. Flagler's new railroad enterprise, which is the only one in the world whereby neering point of view, this railroad is unique. you can go to sea by rail. From an engiThe roadbed was formed in shallow places by hydraulic dredging, and the soft coral mud, as it hardens in the sun, is splendidly adapted for the purpose. The greater gaps between the islands are spanned by con Photo by Blain, Havana MODERN RESIDENCES ON THE PRADO, HAVANA THROUGH FLORIDA TO CUBA crete viaducts, the longest of which, between Long Key and Grassy Key, is three miles. This construction continues until Knights Key is reached, 112 miles from Miami. At no other section of the western hemisphere is the ocean so beautiful, nor can the Mediterranean surpass it in color schemes. The end of the line at Knights Key was reached at 6.00 o'clock and the steamer of the Peninsular & Occidental Steamship Company was ready to set sail at 8.00 o'clock for Havana. At the call of the bugle announcing dinner there was much misgiving among the novices who were about to enter on their first voyage in the choppy seas of the gulf in a small vessel, as to whether after all it was worth while to 5 placed on the wreck twice a year, on the anniversary of its destruction and on Decoration Day. Above her hung the moon, like a single watchful eye, just about to close, and turn her sentry duty over to the sun, which now had appeared above the ocean's edge to the east. Slowly steaming into the harbor the vessel anchored but a few hundred feet from the wharf. Then daylight broke in earnest and life seemed to spring up all around in the harbor. The Cuban government tender came out to meet the vessel, and on it were the runners for each of the hotels, a noisy lot of fellows. Passengers on the boat who had engaged hotel accommodations were surprised to hear their names called from the tender by the runner for their hotel. These eat. But the sea was calm and the voyage uneventful and rest was peaceful. The impressions on entering Havana harbor in the early morning, just before sunrise, are thrilling. It is one of the most picturesquely beautiful harbors in the world. Grim Morro Castle, scarcely a stone's throw from the vessel on her port side, guarded the narrow entrance to the harbor. Beyond her were the dim outlines of the dreaded Cabanas. On the starboard lay the beautiful city of Havana, lazily waking for the day. No furnace fires to mar it with smoke and no fog to dim the vision. And there lay the rusted hulk of the "Maine," adorned with many wreaths of flowers, for it was just nine years ago on February 15, 1898, that the fearful catastrophe occurred. These decorations are Photo by Blain, Havana runners take charge of all their patrons' baggage, attend to its passing through the Cuban customs and delivery to the hotel. It might be a matter of twenty-four hours before the baggage reaches the hotel, but patience is the thing always necessary in going from one foreign port to another. It had taken just sixty hours to reach Havana from Washington, and the journey was so interesting as to make it seem shorter than that. The first question in the minds of tourists is why the vessel doesn't go right up to the wharf, as the harbor is deep enough to admit vessels of any draught. The Cuban government has a monopoly on the revenue from lighterage, and every passenger and every pound of freight must be brought in on tenders, and an enormous lighterage fee 6 THROUGH FLORIDA TO CUBA A WORKSHOP IN THE KEYS is charged. It is claimed that it costs as much to have a cargo taken ashore from a vessel five hundred yards from the wharf as it does to bring it all the way from Bos ton. When in Rome you do as Romans do. When in Havana bear in mind the same maxim. Consequently, while we had a rousing good American dinner on board the boat the night before, passengers, instead of being served breakfast before leaving, were served "coffee," as is the custom of the islands. This repast consisted of fruit, rolls and coffee. Breakfast would be obtained in the city between 10.00 and 12.00 o'clock. First impressions of Havana are delightful. It is so clean and bright, and absolutely "foreign" in every way, with strange surroundings and strange customs. Machina Wharf, which is the government landing, is a busy place. There were hundreds of one-horse, open victorias waiting for fares, which by the way is the most reasonable expense in the city. Two passengers will be carried for 20 cents, or three for 25 cents, American money, from THE DEAD LINE IN CABANAS the wharf to the hotels uptown, more than a mile away. To Spanish is the common language. attract the attention of a cabby, the custom is to make a hissing sound with the lips like "Pst! Pst!" and wave the hand away from the body with a contraction of the fingers, as though one were grabbing at some object in the air. This custom by no means applies to the cabman only, but is the usual method for attracting attention or calling to anyone. The narrow streets of Havana barely perinit two vehicles to pass each other, and the average sidewalk is about two feet wide. The houses, of Spanish architectural design, overhung with balconies, are built flush with the sidewalks. Great double doors with heavy brass knockers bar the entrance, and often these doors enter a A "WHITE WINGS" CART ON THE PRADO Courtyard or square in which there fountains and tropical plants. are In houses of the well-to-do, porters sleep just inside the large doors, and the big brass knockers are used effectively if a caller comes after the family has retired. The floors of all dwellings are tiled and can easily be kept sanitary. The windows are barred with artistic iron grillwork, with inside shutters with movable slats. The climate, which averages 70 degrees the year around, makes glass windows unnecessary. There are no chimneys in Cuba, cooking being done altogether with charcoal. A real modern hotel, as an American would understand the term, is an unknown quantity. There are good hotels, however, after the Spanish idea, and their prices equal those of a first-class American |