THE CUBA REVIEW 



19 



GENERAL NOTES 



THE ISTAS PARTY 



Senator Antonio Sanchez Bustamente 

 said recently that the Liberal Party was now 

 generally known as the "Istas," being com- 

 posed of Zay-istas, Asbert-istas, Aliguel- 

 istas and Hernand-istas. 



CUBAN MADE CIGARS 



"Before the Dingley bill advanced the 

 duty on Cuban-made cigars and reduced 

 that on Cuban tobacco, three-quarters of 

 the genuine Havana cigars consumed here 



were made in Cuba. To-day this is re- 

 versed. 75 per cent are made in this country 

 and but 25 per cent in Cuba. Free Puerto 

 Rican tobacco helped. Of the supposedly 

 Havana cigars made in the United States 

 annually many are wrapped with Puerto 

 Rican or American wrappers, while the 

 composition of others has defied speculation. 

 A new law introduced in the Senate by 

 Senator Fletcher of Florida, if signed, will 

 require all to be labeled Havana, Puerto 

 Rica, Connecticut, Lancaster County, rope 

 or cabbage, according to the ingredients 

 used." — Buffalo (X. Y.) Engineer. 



Religious Work in Cuba 



A MAYARI VALLEY MISSIONARY 



Life down in Cuba, "the Pearl of the 

 Antilles," seems fascinating and interesting 

 when viewed from a distance, but the 

 missionary sees life there as it really is. 



Mr. John F. Caperton, whose work in 

 Cuba is well known, tells of his work 

 there and gives a true insight into the life 

 of the people. He says : 



"Mayari is in the center of a large val- 

 ley and is built along the river that bears 

 the same name. We are surrounded by 

 beautiful high mountains, some of them 

 towering 2,500 and 3,000 feet in the air. 

 I have been to the little mining camp at the 

 mountain top, and believe the view is one 

 of the most beautiful on this hemisphere. 

 The magnificent Nipe Bay stretches out 

 almost at the foot of the mountains and 

 further on is the broad Atlantic, and in the 

 other directions the mountains and cities 

 of the eastern province of Cuba. 



"They tell me there are 15,000 people in 

 this valley, and I am the only missionary 

 here. In one afternoon I rode through five 

 settlements, where there were no less than 

 600people, and innone of these was there 

 any service at all. The Sabbath is a day 

 of drunkenness and revelry. There are a 

 number of cock pits scattered along the 

 valley wherever there is a settlement and 

 two large ones here in Mayari. and on 

 Sunday afternoon the hoarse screams and 

 yells of the men can be heard all down the 

 valley. Such is their idea of sport and the 

 observance of the Sabbath day. 



"If there is a nation on the globe that 

 needs salvation to-day. it is Cuba. 



"There is no doubt that God is blessing 

 us. At my first service seven little street 

 waifs came out of curiosity. It was almost 

 impossible to have order, and indeed for 

 two months had to try every way possible 

 to have order and finally succeeded. The 



services have grown gradually, till we have 

 an average of about fifty now. The Sun- 

 day school had to begin with nothing, .and 

 we have enrolled forty-nine to date. 



"Every other Sunday I ride twenty-four 

 miles in the middle of the day to preach. 

 They are not organized yet indeed only 

 last week managed to find a shed in which 

 they could hold services. On the other 

 Sundays I have an eight-mile trip to preach. 



"Up in the heart of the mountains there 

 is a little settlement which I have visited 

 and one man has promised to let me hold 

 services in his house. I will have to go on 

 moonlight nights, as it is only a path and 

 dangero'us. I have two other appointments 

 in private houses, and one on Tuesday 

 night four miles away, where we have a 

 small church. I have been having five ser- 

 vice nights a week, and sometimes will 

 have an extra one. The horseback riding 

 and the brisk mountain air is splendid for 

 me, and I have not had better health since 

 I came to the tropics five years ago. 



"I wish you could ride out with me 

 over my work. There is one home espe- 

 cially a humble place, thatched but with 

 dirt floor, but the preacher always has a 

 warm welcome there. Tiie Cubans are not 

 as a rule very hospitable, and one almost 

 never gets an invitatin to eat with them. 

 But old Don Ramon and his wife. Dona 

 Josefa. always want me to stay for dinner 

 when I go. and are disappointed if I re- 

 fuse. The last time I ate with them they 

 had a chicken roasted on the coals, and 

 fried bananas for bread and the regular 

 Cuban dinner of soup and frijoles. I ate 

 with a meat fork and an immense butcher 

 knife while the others ate with their fin- 

 gers. I came away with oranges, sweet 

 lemons and other fruits tied to my saddle 

 and a bouquet of roses. I love flowers and 

 thev alwavs save me the choicest blossoms." 



