THE TIPPLE OF CUBA.

Oamaru Mail, Volume XXXVI, Issue 11654, 8 June 1912, Page 3 (Supplement)

THE TIPPLE OF CUBA.

: Tin* old colored cook in Cuba when she goes to market can pick out tW pork obtained from pig* which barn been fed on sugar cane- alone, and slur ' refuses to purchase any other. No one caiii cheat her into buying alcohol made from any other source, either. Somo foreigneis may not- know leal aguardiente, -pure and undeiiled : sugar ca-no made, but she does. She bathes her face ini it. sips it, rubs the baby with it, puts a {Prop of it in the baby's hot soup, makes a cross on the forehead asa charm against evil spells with the aguardiente and thanks heaven for tile ever present remedy. It restores her spirits as ofticaciously as French cognac does her Spanish master's. Should a wound be received a remedy is at hand ; the sore is bathed in aguardiente. a. little is taken for' the.

stomach's sake, and all is well. Aguardiente is as close, even much closer,' at" hand' often than is water, and l il is the lemcdy of all remedies for every nl that flesh is heir to among the majority .of natives. So betimes it is used' to spice a hot cup of tea made, from the. leal' of the orange 'tree or a distilled hot tea. called' tila.

All the infirmities of mail' are supposed in Cuba to be helped, if not cured, by a drink of some kind, hot or

cold or tepid', but iced', never. "What a. flying in the face of Providence to a Cuban it is to d'rink iced' anything! Tea as known in other countries is slightly esteemed and seldom used. As to water, yes, it is used, as a drink

in every house. J3ut it is natural water. A "tineja" for water stands in every home, enclosed by slats of mahogany or carved teak wood and ivory, according to the owner's wealth, and' in the large porous earthen jar within is water, but ice, never. In the poorer houses swings tile "porron" somewhere in the ciiculating air. It is a porous earthenware bottle. You drink from it directly by throning back your head and poising it. deftly aimiug the stream from the right spout—for there are two. one to drink from, the other to fill it by—straight dawn the throat. No water ever tastes better, even from" a cocoanut gourd, but practice alone can make perfect in dexterity with the "poiron." But perhaps you cannot learn. Ola ! you must be a foreigner, "un est.ranjero." Oh, well, their there are other arrangements to suit you better. Quick sorvidor, bring something to. drink',—r lor no iNitive- ever releases a visitor without offering him something cooling to drink.

Tamarind' is cooling to foreign blood.It is served as a crushed pulp mixed with sugar find' water. Perhaps you prefer a refreshing drink ot' crushed pineapple—but pineapple in its- native juicy, normal state and superiority... There are a hundred resco.es' 1 of juicy fruits over at hand, from the anon, the custard' apple planted in tho Garden of Eden by mother Nature, to., the chirimoza., the papaya, and scores of others. Their names may bo unpronounceable to the stranger, but aro glibly rolled off by the residents of-the Gulden of Eden, as eveiy native calls Iris beloved' island. Then there arc the pantiles. These are made of sugar and wliite of egg dried in the form of honeycombs, and a jar o: them is usually found on top of every tineja ready for use, while stacks.* of them are visible in- the cafes. ' Pleasant to the palate? Of course. Everyone finds them useful in. cutting the dust from the throat in the' "Garden. of Eden" where the heat makes the mouth like a. dry sponge. Simple? Yes, very; so are the delectable linis drinks so abundant, the real thing and not concoctions of some drug essence. Just follow the old negress with the large gold hoop in- her nose, who was transplanted to this island from Mozambique about :i decade ago—follow her as she goes strolling along, jingling a triangle as she begs coppers 011 her way to the corner grocery to get her sip of firewater or a cup of red 1 claret. As slw" dawdles and jingles she sings a common refrain. ''So says the Priest." This is almost the only class seen drunk ou the streets. The cart driver, an emigrant from tliei Basque country of Spain, will bo at the corner grocery also for liis thimbleful of "Manzanilia," a kind l of apple toddy made in Spain. Hanging from a. rafter thero may be a strange looking object somewhat resembling a large, smoked ham, but it is in reality a pigskin filled with ordinary wine. The Chinese quarters reveal another.

kind of "bebida." A large number of Chinese remain in Cuba, wlierei a living may be had with small labor and less capital. Some earn, enough by merely ringing the bell in a railroad station for

the train to leave. Others aret storekeepers or truck gardeners and others are domestics in well-to-do families. Some of them, seen as beggars, look more than any other begars as if quite deserted by "Ka,' who gave the seed of life. 111 the Chinese, stores there are tucked, away quite out of sight many black squat pots filled with a. liquor looking like ink. This is to be had at any .and all prices, according to the customer's

pocket-book. As John travels to» and from market this stuff steeped in opium nerves him for another trial at

"rifa rifa," liis own pet gambling sport. Because the hot "gu.ara,po" is puro antl healthful one shpuld taste it when, visiting a. sugar -mill or '"ingenici." "Guarapo" is the hot boiling ca.ne juice before it is made, into granulatedi sugar. Often, a thimbleful of anisette or kimmel is put in to remove its insipidity. Invalids stand .in tlie» vapor of this foaming syrup and! drink it hot daily as a supposed remedy for many diseases of the body. But the 1 drink of all drinks in Cuba is just coffee, liven- babies in twaddling clothes drink coffee and milk aa it is prepared in a. native Cuban .household—a cupful of fresh boiled milk with just dash! of coffee. The pura bean is not even ground out 011 the plantations, in. some instances it is .merely crushed and put into a flannel bag, boiling water then being poured over it. j It is something of a problem liow 'to secure fresh milk in Cuba, it lias > been known to curdle almost 011. leaving the cow. The; wail in many households of early morning is "Ay! oh.! the milk is curdled. No coffeo or milk. 10 first born takes up the cry of "Ay mania-ita," and the next heir chants it to the rising sun, till all down the line goes a. howl, for milk alonei is tlio common breakfast, partaken of by all. In the cities and towns to prevent calamity the cow and her calf are brought to one's doorsill and there, tlio milkman seated on the very doorstep, the cow is-,milked. _ ~ ~ In Cuba the cafe is open on all side* and 1 within'sit rich and poor day in anc* dav out sipping, sipping. . JNo one di-i'nks in Cuba. Every one sips. Isobpdv could keep (Irinkinu: all the time, but' sipping has the advantage that one can keep it up almost perpetually. _ Chocolate may be found at some ■> o'clock tea where tlie guests .are ot mixed blood, but it is no false presentation of this rich nourishing cup, but tlio true "fabriea" made; from the bean right in the city of Ha vana, where, are large factories importing it direct tiom South America. In vast cool aliriacens" along the. wharves of large cities are to he had wines; oily and rich, ht for a golden chalice, pure, unadulterated, from Cadiz direct or other^mn,Itets There are some of thei ordinary soda fountains, but they are supposed' to be for the use of foreigners elueil}.