children,
chickens, and dogs, and often pigs and goats. There was a democracy
about the domestic economy of the household that must have been highly
flattering to the chickens, dogs, pigs, etc. They always had all the
rights and privileges that the children or even the adults had. I have
seen a two-year-old child and a cat eating contentedly out of the same
dish.

[Illustration: FRANK J. O'REILLY.

(_One of the Early Colonists._)]

But if the children were always in evidence, their clothing oftentimes
was not. Nothing is more common in Cuba than to see young children in
unabashed nakedness. Their nudity is complete, and their unconsciousness
absolute. In nature's garb they toddle along some of the streets of the
cities, and in the rural districts they may be seen in the same
condition in and around their humble homes. Naked babies lie kicking in
hammocks or more quietly in their mothers' arms, and naked children
run about at play. I once stopped at a shack to get coffee, and while
waiting in the open front of the "casa" for its preparation, was
surrounded by a bevy of bright little children who had neglected to put
on their clothes. At last it seemed to occur to a pretty four-year-old
girl that she was not properly attired for company, so she sat down on
the dirt floor and pulled on a slipper! She appeared somewhat disturbed
at not being able to find its mate, and hunted quite a while for it, but
finally gave up the search and accepted the situation, evidently
concluding that a single shoe was clothing enough in which to receive
even such distinguished guests as "Americanos." With the adult members
of the family, also, this nakedness of the children passes as a matter
of course. The climate is so mild that clothing is not demanded, but I
caught myself wondering if insects never bite Cubans.

The Cubans are rather an abstemious people. They care little for their
food and are not given to excessive drinking. Those in the country
around La Gloria lived chiefly on pork, stewed beans, rice, and boniatos
(sweet potatoes). It is a mistaken idea that they do not eat much meat;
they eat a great deal of pork in all forms, and seem to be equally fond
of wild hog and the domesticated animal. As a matter of fact, there is
small difference between the two. Both are "razor backs", and have
practically no fat on them. The flesh tastes about as much like beef as
it does like the fatted pork of New England swine. The Cubans keep a