little meanness in the
Cubans as in any class of people he had ever fallen in with, and many
other Americans in La Gloria echoed this sentiment.

I can easily conceive that under abuse the Cubans would exhibit some
very disagreeable and dangerous qualities, but what people of spirit
does not under such circumstances? Self-control is not a marked
characteristic of the Cuban, and he is apt to revenge himself upon his
enemy in any way he can at the earliest opportunity. But with kind and
just treatment, he is your friend, and very good friends we found these
Cubans--we of the colony at La Gloria. Among themselves they are an
easy-going, good-natured, talkative people, and they display these same
qualities to foreigners who approach them rightly. Rude they never are,
but they sometimes show a childish sullenness when offended. Strong in
their likes and dislikes, they often exhibit no little devotion to
those whom they esteem or respect, and I believe them to be quite as
reliable and trustworthy as the average among the inhabitants of the
tropics. I have heard it said that the Cubans of some of the other
provinces do not compare favorably with those of Puerto Principe, which
may be true; yet I cannot help thinking that the race as a whole has
been much maligned. Under a strong, just government I believe they would
prove to be excellent citizens, but I do not expect that they will soon
develop much administrative ability.

Some writers and travelers have done the Cubans justice, but many
obviously have not. The soldiers of the United States army have an
unconcealed dislike for them, which the Cubans, naturally enough,
ardently reciprocate. Perhaps the soldiers expect too much homage from a
people upon whom they feel they conferred the priceless boon of liberty.
At all events, in many cases where there has been bad blood between the
two, it is easy to believe that the soldiers were the most to blame, for
the Cubans as we met them were anything but aggressive. Many a Yankee
could take lessons of them in the noble art of minding one's own
business.

So much for the character of the Cubans. Less can be said for their
style of living, which in the rural districts and some parts of the
cities is primitive to the verge of squalor. In the country around La
Gloria it was no uncommon thing to find a Cuban who owned hundreds or
thousands of acres of land--most of it uncultivated, to be sure--living
in a small, palm-thatched hut with