Due South; or, Cuba Past and Present
by Maturin M. Ballou · English · Gutenberg #30130 · 561,192 chars · public domain (US)
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Title: Due South; or, Cuba Past and Present
Author: Maturin M. Ballou
Release date: September 29, 2009 [eBook #30130]
Most recently updated: October 24, 2024
Language: English
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TRANSCRIBER'S NOTES:
1) Passages in italics are surrounded by _underscores_.
2) A few chapter sub-headings do not end with a period. For consistency,
obvious errors have been corrected by ending these with a period.
3) A few obvious misprints where sentences did not end with a period have
been corrected.
4) The words "manoeuvres" and "manoeuvre" use oe ligature in the original.
5) The following misprints have been corrected:
"which we pet in our" corrected to "which we put in our" (page 243)
"Britian" corrected to "Britain" (page 271)
6) Other than the corrections listed above, printer's inconsistencies in
spelling, punctuation, hyphenation and ligature usage have been retained.
DUE SOUTH
OR
CUBA PAST AND PRESENT
BY
MATURIN M. BALLOU
AUTHOR OF "DUE WEST; OR ROUND THE WORLD IN TEN MONTHS"
BOSTON AND NEW YORK
HOUGHTON, MIFFLIN AND COMPANY
The Riverside Press, Cambridge
Copyright, 1885,
By MATURIN M. BALLOU.
_All rights reserved._
ELEVENTH IMPRESSION
_The Riverside Press, Cambridge, Mass., U. S. A._
Electrotyped and Printed by H. O. Houghton & Company.
PREFACE.
The public favor accorded to a late volume by the author of these
pages, entitled "Due West; or Round the World in Ten Months," has
suggested both the publication and the title of the volume in hand,
which consists of notes of a voyage to the tropics, and a sojourn
in Cuba during the last winter. The endeavor has been to present a
comprehensive view of the island, past and present, and to depict
the political and moral darkness which have so long enshrouded it.
A view of its interesting inhabitants, with a glance at its beautiful
flora and vegetation generally, has been a source of such hearty
enjoyment to the author that he desires to share the pleasure with
the appreciative reader. The great importance of the geographical
position of the island, its present critical condition, and the
proposed treaty of commerce with this country, together render it
at present of unusual interest in the eyes of the world. If possible,
Cuba is more Castilian than peninsular Spain, and both are so Moorish
as to present a fascinating study of national characteristics.
M. M. B.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
PAGE
Departure. -- On Board Ship. -- Arrival at Nassau. -- Capital
of the Bahamas. -- Climate. -- Soil. -- Fruits and Flowers.
-- Magic Fertility. -- Colored Population. -- The Blockade
Runners. -- Population. -- Products. -- A Picturesque Local
Scene. -- Superstition. -- Fish Story. -- The Silk-Cotton
Tree. -- Remarkable Vegetation. -- The Sea Gardens. -- Marine
Animal Life. -- The Bahama Banks. -- Burial at Sea. -- Venal
Officials. -- Historical Characters. -- The Early Buccaneers.
-- Diving for Drinking-Water. 1
CHAPTER II.
Among the Islands. -- San Salvador. -- A Glimpse at the
Stars. -- Hayti. -- The Gulf Stream. -- The Caribbean Sea. --
Latitude and Longitude. -- The Southern Coast of Cuba. -- A
Famous Old Fortress. -- Fate of Political Prisoners. -- The
Oldest City in Cuba. -- The Aborigines. -- Cuban Cathedrals.
-- Drinking Saloons. -- Dogs, Horses, and Coolies. -- Scenes
in Santiago de Cuba. -- Devoured by Sharks. -- Lying at
Anchor. -- Wreck of a Historic Ship. -- Cuban Circulating
Medium. -- Tropical Temperature. 24
CHAPTER III.
Doubling Cape Cruz. -- Trinidad. -- Cienfuegos. -- The Plaza.
-- Beggars. -- Visit to a Sugar Plantation. -- Something
about Sugar. -- An Original Character. -- A Tropical Fruit
Garden. -- Cuban Hospitality. -- The Banana. -- Lottery
Tickets. -- Chinese Coolies. -- Blindness in Cuba. -- Birds
and Poultry. -- The Cock-Pit. -- Negro Slavery, To-Day. --
Spanish Slaveholders. -- A Slave Mutiny. -- A Pleasant
Journey across the Island. -- Pictures of the Interior. --
Scenery about Matanzas. -- The Tropics and the North
contrasted. 46
CHAPTER IV.
The Great Genoese Pilot. -- Discovery of Cuba. -- Its Various
Names. -- Treatment of the Natives. -- Tobacco! -- Flora of
the Island. -- Strange Idols. -- Antiquity. -- Habits of the
Aborigines. -- Remarkable Speech of an Indian King. -- A
Native Entertainment. -- Paying Tribute. -- Ancient Remains.
-- Wrong Impression of Columbus. -- First Attempt at
Colonization. -- Battle with the Indians. -- First Governor
of Cuba. -- Founding Cities. -- Emigration from Spain. --
Conquest of Mexico. 70
CHAPTER V.
Baracoa, the First Capital. -- West Indian Buccaneers. --
Military Despotism. -- A Perpetual State of Siege. -- A
Patriotic Son of Cuba. -- Political Condition of the Island.
-- Education of Cuban Youths. -- Attempts at Revolution. --
Fate of General Narciso Lopez. -- The Late Civil War and its
Leader. -- Terrible Slaughter of Spanish Troops. --
Stronghold of the Insurgents. -- Guerrillas. -- Want of
Self-Reliance. -- Spanish Art, Literature, and Conquest. --
What Spain was. -- What Spain is. -- Rise and Fall of an
Empire. 88
CHAPTER VI.
Geographical. -- A Remarkable Weed. -- Turtle-Hunting. --
Turtle-Steaks in Olden Times. -- The Gulf Stream. -- Deep-Sea
Soundings. -- Mountain Range of Cuba. -- Curious Geological
Facts. -- Subterranean Caverns. -- Wild Animals. -- The
Rivers of the Island. -- Fine Harbors. -- Historic Memories
of the Caribbean Sea. -- Sentinel of the Gulf. -- Importance
of the Position. -- Climate. -- Hints for Invalids. --
Matanzas. -- Execution of a Patriot. -- Valley of Yumuri;
Caves of Bellamar; Puerto Principe; Cardenas. 102
CHAPTER VII.
City of Havana. -- First Impressions. -- The Harbor. --
Institutions. -- Lack of Educational Facilities. -- Cuban
Women. -- Street Etiquette. -- Architecture. -- Domestic
Arrangements. -- Barred Windows and Bullet-Proof Doors. --
Public Vehicles. -- Uncleanliness of the Streets. -- Spanish
or African! -- The Church Bells. -- Home-Keeping Habits of
Ladies. -- Their Patriotism. -- Personal Characteristics. --
Low Ebb of Social Life. -- Priestcraft. -- Female Virtue. --
Domestic Ties. -- A Festive Population. -- Cosmetics. --
Sea-Bathing. 125
CHAPTER VIII.
Sabbath Scenes in Havana. -- Thimble-Riggers and Mountebanks.
-- City Squares and their Ornamentation. -- The Cathedral. --
Tomb of Columbus. -- Plaza de Armas. -- Out-Door Concerts. --
Habitués of Paseo de Isabella. -- Superbly Appointed Cafés.
-- Gambling. -- Lottery Tickets. -- Fast Life. -- Masquerade
Balls. -- Carnival Days. -- The Famous Tacon Theatre. -- The
Havana Casino. -- Public Statues. -- Beauties of the
Governor's Garden. -- The Alameda. -- The Old Bell-Ringer. --
Military Mass. 144
CHAPTER IX.
Political Inquisition. -- Fashionable Streets of the City. --
Tradesmen's Signs. -- Bankrupt Condition of Traders. -- The
Spanish Army. -- Exiled Patriots. -- Arrival of Recruits. --
The Garrote. -- A Military Execution. -- Cuban Milk Dealers.
-- Exposure of Domestic Life. -- Living in the Open Air. --
The Campo Santo of Havana. -- A Funeral Cortége. -- Punishing
Slaves. -- Campo de Marte. -- Hotel Telegrafo. -- Environs of
the City. -- Bishop's Garden. -- Consul-General Williams. --
Mineral Springs. 166
CHAPTER X.
The Fish-Market of Havana. -- The Dying Dolphin. -- Tax upon
the Trade. -- Extraordinary Monopoly. -- Harbor Boats. -- A
Story about Marti, the Ex-Smuggler. -- King of the Isle of
Pines. -- The Offered Reward. -- Sentinels in the Plaza de
Armas. -- The Governor-General and the Intruder. -- "I am
Captain Marti!" -- The Betrayal. -- The Ex-Smuggler as Pilot.
-- The Pardon and the Reward. -- Tacon's Stewardship and
Official Career. -- Monopoly of Theatricals. -- A Negro
Festival. 184
CHAPTER XI.
The Havana Lottery. -- Its Influence. -- Hospitality of the
Cubans. -- About Bonnets. -- The Creole Lady's Face. -- Love
of Flowers. -- An Atmospheric Narcotic. -- The Treacherous
Indian Fig. -- How the Cocoanut is propagated. -- Cost of
Living in Cuba. -- Spurious Liquors. -- A Pleasant Health
Resort. -- The Cock-Pit. -- Game-Birds. -- Their Management.
-- A Cuban Cock-Fight. -- Garden of the World. -- About
Birds. -- Stewed Owl! -- Slaughter of the Innocents. -- The
Various Fruits. 200
CHAPTER XII.
Traveling by Volante. -- Want of Inland Communication. --
Americans Profitable Customers. -- The Cruel National Game.
-- The Plaza de Toros. -- Description of a Bull-Fight. -- The
Infection of Cruelty. -- The Romans and Spaniards compared.
-- Cry of the Spanish Mob: "Bread and Bulls!" -- Women at the
Fight. -- The Nobility of the Island. -- The Monteros. --
Ignorance of the Common People. -- Scenes in the Central
Market, Havana. -- Odd Ideas of Cuban Beggars. -- An Original
Style of Dude. -- A Mendicant Prince. 219
CHAPTER XIII.
Introduction of Sugar-Cane. -- Sugar Plantations. -- Mode of
Manufacture. -- Slaves on the Plantations. -- African
Amusements. -- The Grinding Season. -- The Coffee
Plantations. -- A Floral Paradise. -- Refugees from San
Domingo. -- Interesting Experiments with a Mimosa. -- Three
Staple Productions of Cuba. -- Raising Coffee and Tobacco. --
Best Soils for the Tobacco. -- Agricultural Possibilities. --
The Cuban Fire-Fly. -- A Much-Dreaded Insect. -- The Ceiba
Tree. -- About Horses and Oxen. 236
CHAPTER XIV.
Consumption of Tobacco. -- The Delicious Fruits of the
Tropics. -- Individual Characteristics of Cuban Fruits. --
The Royal Palm. -- The Mulberry Tree. -- Silk Culture. -- The
Island once covered by Forests. -- No Poisonous Reptiles. --
The Cuban Bloodhound. -- Hotbed of African Slavery. --
Spain's Disregard of Solemn Treaties. -- The Coolie System of
Slavery. -- Ah-Lee draws a Prize. -- Native African Races. --
Negroes buying their Freedom. -- Laws favoring the Slaves. --
Example of San Domingo. -- General Emancipation. 260
CHAPTER XV.
Slave Trade with Africa. -- Where the Slavers made their
Landing. -- An Early Morning Ride. -- Slaves marching to
Daily Labor. -- Fragrance of the Early Day. -- Mist upon the
Waters. -- A Slave Ship. -- A Beautiful but Guilty
Brigantine. -- A French Cruiser. -- Cunning Seamanship. -- A
Wild Goose Chase. -- A Cuban Posada. -- Visit to a Coffee
Estate. -- Landing a Slave Cargo. -- A Sight to challenge
Sympathy and Indignation. -- Half-Starved Victims. --
Destruction of the Slave Ship. 282
CHAPTER XVI.
Antique Appearance of Everything. -- The Yeomen of Cuba. -- A
Montero's Home. -- Personal Experience. -- The Soil of the
Island. -- Oppression by the Government. -- Spanish Justice
in Havana. -- Tax upon the Necessities of Life. -- The
Proposed Treaty with Spain. -- A One-Sided Proposition. -- A
Much Taxed People. -- Some of the Items of Taxation. -- Fraud
and Bankruptcy. -- The Boasted Strength of Moro Castle. --
Destiny of Cuba. -- A Heavy Annual Cost to Spain. --
Political Condition. -- Pictures of Memory. 300
DUE SOUTH.
CHAPTER I.
Departure. -- On Board Ship. -- Arrival at Nassau. -- Capital
of the Bahamas. -- Climate. -- Soil. -- Fruits and Flowers.
-- Magic Fertility. -- Colored Population. -- The Blockade
Runners. -- Population. -- Products. -- A Picturesque Local
Scene. -- Superstition. -- Fish Story. -- The Silk-Cotton
Tree. -- Remarkable Vegetation. -- The Sea Gardens. -- Marine
Animal Life. -- The Bahama Banks. -- Burial at Sea. -- Venal
Officials. -- Historical Characters. -- The Early Buccaneers.
-- Diving for Drinking-Water.
We left Boston in a blustering snow-storm on the morning of February
25th, and reached New York city to find it also clothed in a wintry
garb, Broadway being lined on either side of its entire length with
tall piles of snow, like haycocks, prepared for carting away during
the coming night. Next morning, when we drove to the dock to take
passage on board the steamship Cienfuegos, the snow-mounds had all
been removed. The mail steamer sailed promptly at the hour assigned,
hauled out into the stream by a couple of noisy little tugs, with
two-inch hawsers made fast to stem and stern. Before sunset the pilot
left the ship, which was then headed due south for Nassau, N. P.,
escorted by large fields of floating ice, here and there decked with
lazy snow-white sea-gulls. The sharp northwest wind, though
blustering and aggressive, was in our favor, and the ship spread all
her artificial wings as auxiliary to her natural motor. We doubled
Cape Hatteras and Cape Lookout well in towards the shore, sighting on
the afternoon of the fourth day the Island of Abaco, largest of the
Bahama Isles, with its famous "Hole in the Wall" and sponge-lined
shore. The woolen clothing worn when we came on board ship had already
become oppressive, the cabin thermometer indicating 72° Fahrenheit.
With nothing to engage the eye save the blue sky and the bluer water,
the most is made of every circumstance at sea, and even trivial
occurrences become notable. The playful dolphins went through their
aquatic pantomime for our amusement. Half a dozen of them started off
just ahead of the cutwater, and raced the ship for two hours, keeping
exactly the same relative distance ahead without any apparent effort.
Scores of others leaped out of the water and plunged in again in
graceful curves, as though they enjoyed the sport. A tiny land bird
flew on board, and was chased all over the ship by one or two
juveniles until caught, panting and trembling with the unwonted
exertion. Presently it was given its liberty, partook freely of bread
crumbs and drank of fresh water, then assumed a perch aloft, where it
carefully dressed its feathers, and after thanking its entertainers
with a few cheerful notes it extended its wings and launched out into
space, no land being in sight. The broken mainmast of a ship,
floating, with considerable top hamper attached, was passed within a
cable's length, suggestive of a recent wreck, and inducing a thousand
dreary surmises. At first it was announced as the sea serpent, but its
true nature was soon obvious. At midnight, March 1st, Nassau light
hove in sight, dimmed by a thin, soft haze, which hung over the water,
and through which the light, by some law of refraction, seemed to be
coming out to meet the ship. Overhead all was bright,--almost dazzling
with unnumbered stars and familiar constellations, like silver
spangles on a background of blue velvet. We anchored off the island an
hour before daylight, the harbor being too shallow to admit the ship.
A forbidding sand bar blocks the entrance, inside of which the water
is but fifteen feet deep. Indeed, Nassau would have no harbor at all
were it not that nature has kindly placed Hog Island in the form of a
break-water, just off the town. The vibrating hull of the Cienfuegos
was once more at rest; the stout heart-throbs, the panting and
trembling, of the great engine had ceased; the wheelhouse and decks
were deserted, and one was fain to turn in below for a brief nap
before landing on this the most populous of the Bahamas.
The island, which was settled by Europeans as early as 1629, embraces
nearly a hundred square miles, forming an oasis in the desert of
waters. It is sixteen miles long and about one half as wide,
containing fourteen thousand inhabitants, more or less, who can hardly
be designated as an enterprising community. On first landing,
everything strikes the visitor as being peculiarly foreign,--almost
unique. The town is situated on the northerly front of the island,
extending along the shore for a couple of miles, and back to a crest
of land which rises to nearly the height of a hundred feet. This
elevation is crowned by the residence of the English Governor-General,
in front of which may be seen a colossal but not admirable statue of
Columbus. The town boasts a small public library, a museum, theatre,
several small churches, a prison, a hospital, and a bank. The
government maintains one company of infantry, composed of black men,
officered by whites. It must be admitted that they present a fine
military appearance when on parade. Nassau has long been a popular
resort for invalids who seek a soft, equable climate, and as it lies
between the warm South Atlantic and the Gulf Stream it is
characterized by the usual temperature of the tropics. There seemed to
be a certain enervating influence in the atmosphere, under the effects
of which the habitués of the place were plainly struck with a spirit
of indolence. The difference between those just arrived and the
regular guests of the Victoria Hotel, in this respect, could not fail
to be observed. The languidly oppressive warmth imparts a certain
softness to manners, a voluptuous love of idleness, and a glow to the
affections which are experienced with less force at the North. Neither
snow nor frost is ever encountered here, and yet it is as near to
Boston or New York as is the city of Chicago. The temperature, we are
told, never falls below 64° Fahrenheit, nor rises above 82°, the
variations rarely exceeding five degrees in twenty-four hours. In
Florida a change of twenty degrees is not unusual within the period of
a single day. The thermometer stood at 73° on the first day of March,
and everything was bathed in soft sunlight.
It is somewhat singular that an island like New Providence, which is
practically without soil, should be so remarkably productive in its
vegetation. It is surrounded by low-lying coral reefs, and is itself
composed of coral and limestone. These, pulverized, actually form the
earth out of which spring noble palm, banana, ceiba, orange, lemon,
tamarind, almond, mahogany, and cocoanut trees, with a hundred and one
other varieties of fruits, flowers, and woods, including the
bread-fruit tree, that natural food for indolent natives of equatorial
regions. Of course in such a soil the plough is unknown, its
substitutes being the pickaxe and crowbar. However, science teaches us
that all soils are but broken and decomposed rock, pulverized by
various agencies acting through long periods of time. So the molten
lava which once poured from the fiery mouth of Vesuvius has become the
soil of thriving vineyards, which produce the priceless Lachryma
Christi wine. This transformation is not accomplished in a lifetime,
but is the result of ages of slow disintegration.
Among other flowering trees, some strikingly beautiful specimens of
the alligator-pear in full bloom were observed, the blossom suggesting
the passion-flower. While our favorite garden plants at the North are
satisfied to bloom upon lowly bushes, at the South they are far more
ambitious, and develop into tall trees, though sometimes at the
partial expense of their fragrance. The air was full of sweet perfume
from the white blossoms of the shaddock, contrasting with the deep
glossy green of its thick-set leaves, the spicy pimento and cinnamon
trees being also noticeable. With all this charming floral effect the
bird melody which greets the ear in Florida was wanting, though it
would seem to be so natural an adjunct to the surroundings. Nature's
never-failing rule of compensation is manifested here: all the
attractions are not bestowed upon any one class; brilliancy of
feathers and sweetness of song do not go together. The torrid zone
endows the native birds with brilliant plumage, while the colder North
gives its feathered tribes the winning charm of melody.
The soil of these Bahama Islands, composed of such unpromising
ingredients, shows in its prolific yield how much vegetation depends
for its sustenance upon atmospheric air, especially in tropical
climes. The landlord of the Victoria Hotel told us, as an evidence of
the fertility of the soil, that radish seeds which were planted on the
first day of the month would sufficiently mature and ripen by the
twenty-first--that is in three weeks--for use upon the table; and also
that potatoes, tomatoes, cucumbers, and melons were relatively
expeditious in ripening here after planting. Our mind reverted to the
jugglers of Madras and Bombay, who made an orange-tree grow from the
seed, and bear fruit before our very eyes, at a single sitting.
The luscious pineapple, zapota, mango, pomegranate, guava, star-apple,
citron, custard-apple, mammee, and other fruits abound. The
profuseness and variety of beautiful ferns and orchidaceous plants
will also be sure to attract the attention of the Northern visitor.
The rocky formation of the soil produces good natural roads, so that a
long drive in the environs of Nassau is like a pleasure excursion over
a well-macadamized thoroughfare. We were told of a delightful drive of
fifteen miles in length which follows the sea beach the whole
distance, but did not find time to test its attractions, though
strongly tempted by the excellence of the roads. Here, as in other
tropical regions, each month has its special floral display, although
there are many, and indeed a majority, of the plants which continue to
flower all the year round. We observed that the stone walls and
hedges were now and again covered for short spaces with the
coral-vine, whose red blossoms, so pleasing to the eye, emit no odor.
The yellow jasmine was dazzlingly conspicuous everywhere, and very
fragrant. Red and white roses, various species of cacti, and
tube-roses bloomed before the rude thatched cabins of the negroes in
the environs, as well as in the tiny front gardens of the whites in
the streets of the town; while red, white, and pink oleanders grew as
tall as trees, and flower here every month in the year. The
night-blooming cereus abounds, opening just at sunset, and closing
again at break of day. The outside leaves of this poetical flower are
of a pale green, the inner ones of a pure wax-like white, and the
petals light yellow. Complete, it is about eight inches long, and from
twelve to fifteen in circumference.
While we drove through the suburbs, slatternly, half-clothed family
groups of negroes watched us with curious eyes, and on the road aged
colored men and women were occasionally met, who saluted us with grave
dignity. No one seemed to be at work; sunshine was the only
perceptible thing going on, ripening the fruits and vegetables by its
genial rays, while the negroes waited for the harvest. Like the birds,
they had no occasion to sow, but only to pluck and to eat. There was,
both in and out of the town, a tumble-down, mouldy aspect to the
dwellings, which seemed to be singularly neglected and permitted to
lapse into decay. With the exception of the town of Nassau, and its
immediate environs, New Providence is nearly all water and wilderness;
it has some circumscribed lakes, but no mountains, rivers, or
rivulets. The island is justly famous for the beauty and variety of
its lovely flowers. It is true that the rose is not quite equal in
color, development, and fragrance to ours of the North; Nature has so
many indigenous flowers on which to expend her liberality that she
bestows less attention upon this, the loveliest of them all. The
Cherokee rose, single-leafed, now so rare with us, seems here to have
found a congenial foreign home. In the suburbs of Nassau are many
attractive flowers, fostered only by the hand of Nature. Among them
was the triangular cactus, with its beautiful yellow blossom, like a
small sunflower, supported by a deep green triangular stem.
The pendulous cactus was also hanging here and there on walls and tree
trunks, in queer little jointed, pipe-stem branches. The royal palm,
that king of tropical vegetation, is not very abundant here, but yet
sufficiently so to characterize the place. Its roots resemble those of
asparagus, and are innumerable. Another peculiarity of the palm is
that it starts a full-sized trunk; therefore, not the diameter, but
the height, determines its age, which is recorded by annual concentric
rings clearly defined upon its tall, straight stem.
During the late civil war in the United States, when blockade runners
made this place a port of call and a harbor for refitting, it was by
English connivance practically a Confederate port. The officers and
sailors expended their ill-gotten wealth with the usual lavishness of
the irresponsible, the people of Nassau reaping thereby a fabulous
harvest in cash. This was quite demoralizing to honest industry, and,
as might be expected, a serious reaction has followed. Legitimate
trade and industry will require years before they can reassert
themselves. Sudden and seeming prosperity is almost sure to be equally
transitory. We were told that, during the entire period in which the
Confederates resorted here under the open encouragement and protection
of England, the town was the scene of the most shameful drunken orgies
from morning until night. Lewdness and crime were rampant. Officers
played pitch-penny on the veranda of the Victoria Hotel with gold
eagles, and affiliated openly with negresses. The evil influence upon
all concerned was inevitable, and its poisonous effect is not yet
obliterated.
Three quarters of the present population are negroes, but of course
all trace of the aborigines has disappeared. It is curious and
interesting to know what Columbus thought of them. He wrote to his
royal mistress, after having explored these Bahamas, as follows: "This
country excels all others as far as the day surpasses the night in
splendor; the natives love their neighbors as themselves: their
conversation is the sweetest imaginable, and their faces are always
smiling. So gentle and so affectionate are they that I swear to your
highness there is no better people in the world."
The negroes are mostly engaged in cultivating patches of pineapples,
and yams, sweet potatoes, and other vegetables; a large number of the
males employ themselves also in fishing and gathering sponges. It will
be remembered that from this locality comes the principal supply of
coarse sponge for Europe and America. There is also a considerable
trade, carried on in a small way, in fine turtle-shell, which is
polished in an exquisite manner, and manufactured by the natives into
ornaments. Though the Bahama sponges are not equal to those obtained
in the Mediterranean, still they are marketable, and Nassau exports
half a million dollars' worth annually. It is a curious fact that
sponges can be propagated by cuttings taken from living specimens,
which, when attached to a piece of board and sunk in the sea, will
increase and multiply. Thus the finest Mediterranean specimens may be
successfully transplanted to the coral reefs of these islands, the
only requisite to their sustenance seeming to be a coralline shore and
limestone surroundings. Another important industry which gives
employment to a considerable number of the inhabitants is the canning
of pineapples, a process which is equivalent to preserving them for
any length of time. One firm on Bay Street, as we were informed,
canned and exported nearly a million of pines in one season, lately;
and another, engaged in the fresh-fruit trade, shipped to the States
fifteen cargoes of pines in one year, besides many thousands of
cocoanuts. These are not all raised in Nassau, but this port is made
the headquarters for collecting and disposing of the fruit grown upon
what are termed the out-islands, as well as marketing the large
product of its own soil. It is but a short drive inland to the
extensive pineapple fields, where the handsome fruit may be seen in
the several stages of growth, varying according to the season of the
year. If intended for exportation, the fruit is gathered green; if for
canning purposes, the riper it is the better. The visitor will also be
impressed by the beauty and grace of the cocoanut trees, their pinnate
leaves often a hundred feet from the ground, notwithstanding the bare
cylindrical stem attains a thickness of only two feet.
The Royal Victoria Hotel, though bearing a loyal name, is kept by an
American, and is a very substantial, capacious building, composed of
native limestone, four stories high, three of which are surrounded by
wide piazzas, which afford the shade so necessary in a land of
perpetual summer. The native stone of which the island is composed is
so soft when first quarried that it can easily be cut or sawed into
any shape desired, but it hardens very rapidly after exposure to the
atmosphere. The hotel will accommodate three hundred guests, and is a
positive necessity for the comfort and prosperity of the place. It was
built and is owned by the British government, who erected it some
twenty-five years since. At the time of our arrival there was gathered
under the lofty Moorish portico of the hotel a most picturesque group
of negroes, of both sexes and of all ages, their ebony faces forming a
strong contrast to the background of well-whitewashed walls. Some of
the women were dressed in neat calico gowns, and wore broad-brimmed
straw hats; some were in rags, hatless, shoeless, and barelegged; some
had high-colored kerchiefs wound turban-like about their woolly heads;
and some wore scarlet shawls, the sight of which would have driven a
Spanish bull raving mad. There were coquettish mulatto girls with
bouquets for sale, and fancy flowers wrought of shells; these last of
most exquisite workmanship. Specimens of this native shell-work were
sent to the Vienna Exposition, where they received honorable mention,
and were afterwards purchased and presented to the Prince of Wales.
Old gray-haired negroes, with snow-white beards on a black ground,
offered fruits in great variety,--zapotas, mangoes, pineapples, and
grape-fruit. Others had long strings of sponges for sale, wound
round their shoulders like huge snakes; some of these were good, but
many were utterly useless. No one knows this better than the cunning
negroes themselves, but strangers, only touching at Nassau, they do
not expect to see again, and there is proverbially cheating in all
trades but ours. A bright, thrifty-looking colored woman had spread
out her striped shawl upon the ground, and on this arrayed a really
fine collection of conch-shells for sale, delicately polished, and of
choice shapes. When first brought to the surface by the divers they
are not infrequently found to contain pearls imbedded in the palatable
and nutritious meat. These pearls are generally of a pinkish hue, and
greatly prized by the jewelers. Now and then a diver will realize a
hundred dollars for one of them. From the conch-shell also come the
best shell cameos. A smart half-breed offered canes of ebony, lignum
vitæ, lance, and orange wood, all of native growth. He was dressed in
a white linen jacket, pantaloons to match, with a semi-military cap,
cocked on one side of his head,--quite a colored dude. The women who
sell native-made baskets are most persistent, but if you purchase of
them make your own change, for they are apt to take money away for
this purpose and to forget to return. Negro nature is frail,
characterized at Nassau by theft and licentiousness, but great crimes
are rare. If you have occasion to hire a boat for a sail in the
harbor, be sure to find and employ "Bushy," a tall, intelligent
darkey, the best boatman and stroke-oar in Nassau.
Bushy showed us what he called a fish-whip, made from the whipray, a
fish quite new to us, but indigenous to these waters. With a body
shaped like a flounder, it has a tail often ten feet long, tapering
from about one inch in thickness at the butt to an eighth of an inch
at the small end. When dried this resembles whalebone, and makes a
good coach-whip. There is a great variety of fish in and about the
Bahamas. We saw, just landed at Nassau, a jew-fish, which takes the
same place here that the halibut fills at the North, being cut into
steaks and fried in a similar manner. They are among the largest of
edible fish, and this specimen weighed about four hundred pounds.
According to Bushy, at certain seasons of the year the jew-fish lies
dormant upon the sandy bottom, and refuses to take the bait. In these
transparent waters he is easily seen when in this condition, and the
native fishermen then dive down and place a stout hook in his mouth!
Though this may sound like a "fish story," we were assured by others
of its truth. Bushy undertook to give us the names of the various
fishes which abound here, but the long list of them and his peculiar
pronunciation drove us nearly wild. Still a few are remembered; such
as the yellow-tailed snapper, striped snapper, pork-fish, angel-fish,
cat-fish, hound-fish, the grouper, sucking-fish, and so on. Both
harbor and deep sea fishing afford the visitor to Nassau excellent
amusement, and many sportsmen go thither annually from New York solely
for its enjoyment.
The colored people of Nassau, as we were assured by one competent to
speak upon the subject, form a religious community, according to the
ordinary acceptation of the term. They are very fond of church-going,
and of singing and shouting on all religious occasions. Nervously
emotional, they work themselves up to a hysterical condition so
furious as to threaten their sanity, but having naturally so little of
that qualification, they are pretty safe. No people could possibly be
more superstitious. They shut up and double lock the doors and windows
of their cabins at night to keep out evil spirits. There are regular
professional man-witches among them, persons a little shrewder and
more cunning than their fellows. The very ignorant believe in a sort
of fetichism, so that when a boat starts on a sponge-fishing trip, the
obeah man is called upon for some coöperation and mysticism, to insure
a successful return of the crew. The sponge fishermen have several
hundred boats regularly licensed, and measuring on an average twenty
tons each. On favorable occasions these men lay aside their legitimate
calling, and become for the time being wreckers, an occupation which
verges only too closely upon piracy. The intricate navigation of these
waters, dotted by hundreds of small reefs and islands, and which can
be traversed by only three safe channels, has furnished in former
years a large amount of shipwrecked merchandise to Nassau. The
wrecking business at best is extremely demoralizing, unfitting any
community of men for legitimate industry, as we know very well by the
experience gained on our own Florida shore. Men who have cruised
fruitlessly for months in search of a profitable wreck will sometimes
be tempted to decoy a ship from her proper course, and lead her upon
the rocks, by a display of false lights.
In front of the Victoria Hotel are some noble specimens of the ceiba,
or silk-cotton tree, as it is called here, the finest and loftiest we
have seen in any country. These trees, naturally slow growers, must
be over a century in age, and afford, by their widespread branches, a
shade equally graceful and grateful. Like the india-rubber trees of
Asia, these ceibas have at least one half of their anaconda-like roots
exposed upon the surface of the ground, dividing the lower portion of
the stem into supporting buttresses, a curious piece of finesse on the
part of nature to overcome the disadvantage of insufficient soil. The
tree bears annually a large seed-pod, packed with cotton of a soft,
silky texture, and hence its name. It is, however, suitable neither
for timber nor fuel, and the small product of cotton is seldom if ever
gathered. The islanders are proud of a single specimen of the banyan
tree of considerable size, which they show to all visitors; but it
cannot be indigenous--it must have been brought in its youth from
Asia. There is, however, in these West Indian isles, the black
mangrove, with very similar habit to the banyan. The limbs spread to
such an extent from the trunk as to require support to prevent them
from breaking off or bending to the ground by their own weight; but to
obviate this, nature has endowed the tree with a peculiar growth. When
the branches have become so heavy as to be no longer able to support
themselves, they send forth from the under side sprigs which, rapidly
descending to the ground, take root like the banyan, and become
supporting columns to the heavy branches above. So the writer has seen
in Hindostan a vine which grew, almost leafless, closely
entwined around the trees to the very top, whence it descended, took
fresh root, and ascended the nearest adjoining tree, until it had gone
on binding an entire grove in a ligneous rope. Long tendrils of the
love-vine, that curious aerial creeper, which feeds on air alone,
were seen hanging across some of the low branches of the Nassau trees,
and we were told that the plant will grow equally well if hung upon a
nail indoors. Emblematic of true affection, it clings, like Japanese
ivy, tenaciously to the object it fixes upon. One specimen was shown
to us which had developed to the size of the human hand from a single
leaf carelessly pinned by a guest to one of the chamber walls of the
hotel.
There are said to be six hundred of the Bahama islands, large and
small, of which Nassau is the capital, and there, as already
intimated, the English Governor-General resides. This numerical
calculation is undoubtedly correct; many are mere rocky islets, and
not more than twenty have fixed inhabitants. Is there anything more
wonderful in nature than that these hundreds of isles should have been
built up from the bottom of the sea by insects so small as to be
microscopic? All lie north of Cuba and St. Domingo, just opposite the
Gulf of Mexico, easily accessible from our own shores by a short and
pleasant sea-voyage of three or four days. They are especially
inviting to those persons who have occasion to avoid the rigor of
Northern winters. People threatened with consumption seek Nassau on
sanitary principles, and yet it was found upon inquiry that many
natives die of that insidious disease, which rapidly runs its career
when it is first developed in a tropical climate. To the author it
would seem that consumptives might find resorts better adapted to the
recovery of their health. Intermittent fever, also, is not unknown at
Nassau.
The sea gardens, as they are called, situated just off the shores of
the island, are well worth a visit; where, by means of a simple
instrument of wood and glass, one is enabled to look many fathoms
below the surface of the water, which is here so remarkable for its
transparency. These water glasses are all of home manufacture, easily
improvised, being formed of a small wooden box three or four inches
square, open at the top, and having a water-tight glass bottom. With
the glass portion slightly submerged, one is enabled to see distinctly
the beautiful coral reefs, with their marvelous surroundings. There
are displayed tiny caves and grottoes of white coral of great delicacy
and variety, star-fishes, sea-urchins, growing sponges, sea-fans, and
gaudy-colored tropical fishes, including the humming-bird-fish, and
others like butterflies with mottled fins and scales, and that little
oddity the rainbow-fish. The prevailing color of this attractive
creature is dark green, but the tinted margins of its scales so
reflect the light as to show all the colors of the rainbow, and hence
its name. When bottled in alcohol, these fairy-like denizens of the
deep lose their brilliancy, which they exhibit only in their native
element. This unique display is greatly enhanced in beauty by the
clearness of the Bahama waters, and the reflected light from the
snow-white sandy bottom, dotted here and there by curious and delicate
shells of opalescent lustre. One longs to descend among these coral
bowers,--these mermaid-gardens,--and pluck of the submarine flora in
its purple, yellow, and scarlet freshness.
It will be remembered that Columbus wrote home to his royal patrons
that the fish which abounded in the seas partook of the same novelty
which characterized everything else in the New World. This was about
four hundred years ago, before the great Genoese had discovered Cuba.
"The fish," as he wrote, "rivaled the birds in tropical brilliancy of
color, the scales of some of them glancing back the rays of light like
precious stones, as they sported about the ships and flashed gleams of
gold and silver through the clear water."
The surface life of these translucent waters is also extremely
interesting. Here the floating jelly-fish, called, from its
phosphorescence, the glow-worm of the sea, is observed in great
variety, sheltering little colonies of young fishes within its
tentacles, which rush forth for a moment to capture some passing mite,
and as quickly return again to their shelter. One takes up a handful
of the floating gulf-weed and finds, within the pale yellow leaves and
berries, tiny pipe-fish, sea-horses, and the little nest-building
antennarius, thus forming a buoyant home for parasites, crabs, and
mollusks, itself a sort of mistletoe of the ocean. The young of the
mackerel and the herring glance all about just beneath the surface
near the shore, like myriad pieces of silver. Now and again that
particolored formation of marine life, the Portuguese man-of-war, is
observed, its long ventral fins spread out like human fingers to
steady it upon the surface of the water. Verily, the German scientist
who says there is more of animal life beneath the surface of the sea
than above it cannot be far amiss. This seems to be the more
reasonable when we consider the relative proportions of land and
water. The whole surface of the globe is supposed to have an area of
about two hundred million square miles. Of these only about fifty
millions are dry land. Within the harbor of Nassau the divisions of
shoal and deep water presented most singular and clearly defined
lines of color, azure, purple, and orange-leaf green,--so marked as to
be visible half a mile away. All was beneath a sky so deeply and
serenely blue as constantly to recall the arching heavens of middle
India.
The Bahama Banks is a familiar expression to most of us, but perhaps
few clearly understand the significance of the term, which is applied
to a remarkable plateau at the western extremity of the archipelago,
occupying a space between two and three hundred miles long, and about
one third as wide. These banks, as they are called, rise almost
perpendicularly from an unfathomable depth of water, and are of coral
formation. In sailing over them the bottom is distinctly seen from the
ship's deck, the depth of water being almost uniformly forty to fifty
feet. Some years since, when the author was crossing these banks in a
sailing ship, a death occurred among the foremast hands, and the usual
sea burial followed. The corpse was sewn up in a hammock, with iron
weights at the feet, the more readily to sink it. After reading the
burial service the body was launched into the sea from a grating
rigged out of a gangway amidship. The waters were perfectly calm, and
the barque had but little headway. Indeed, we lay almost as still as
though anchored, so that the body was seen to descend slowly alongside
until it reached the calcareous, sandy bottom, where it assumed an
upright and strangely lifelike position, as though standing upon its
feet. An ominous silence reigned among the watching crew, and it was a
decided relief to all hands when a northerly wind sprang up, filling
the canvas and giving the vessel steerage way.
So many years have passed since the occurrence of the scene just
related that we may give its sequel without impropriety, though, at
the same time, we expose the venal character of Spanish officials. The
man we buried on the Bahama Banks had died of small-pox, though no
other person on board showed any symptoms of the disease. On entering
the harbor of Havana, three days later, we had been hailed from Moro
Castle and had returned the usual answer. A couple of doubloons in
gold made the boarding officer conveniently blind, and a similar fee
thrust quietly into the doctor's hand insured a "clean bill of
health," under which we were permitted to land! The alternative was
twenty-one days' quarantine.
Fort Montague, mounting four rusty guns, "with ne'er a touch-hole to
any on 'em," as Bushy informed us, stands upon a projecting point
about a mile from the town of Nassau, the road thither forming a
delightful evening promenade, or drive. The fort is old, crumbling,
and time-worn, but was once occupied by the buccaneers as a most
important stronghold commanding the narrow channel. These sea-robbers
imposed a heavy tax upon all shipping passing this way, and for many
years realized a large income from this source. It was only piracy in
another form. Most vessels found it cheaper to pay than to fight. When
the notorious Black Beard had his headquarters at Nassau, he sought no
such pretext, but preyed upon all commerce alike, provided the vessels
were not too well armed to be captured. This notorious pirate had an
innate love for cruelty, and often tortured his captives without any
apparent purpose, after the fashion of our Western Indians. When the
English lashed the mutineers of Delhi and Cawnpore to the muzzles of
their cannon and blew them to pieces, they were enacting no new
tragedy; legend and history tell us that Black Beard, the pirate of
the Windward Passage, set them that example many years before. His
rule was to murder all prisoners who would not join his ship, and
those whom he took fighting, that is, with arms in their hands, were
subjected to torture, one form of which was that of lashing captives
to the cannon's mouth and applying the match. Fort Montague is not
occupied by even a corporal's guard to-day, and is of no efficiency
whatever against modern gunnery. The reader will thus observe that the
principal business which has engaged Nassau heretofore has been
wrecking, buccaneering, privateering, and blockade running.
Some noted characters have found an asylum here, first and last. After
Lord Dunmore left Virginia he sought official position and made a home
on the island. He was appointed governor, and some of the buildings
erected by him are still pointed out to the visitor, especially that
known as the Old Fort, just back of the Victoria Hotel, crowning the
height. His summer seat, known as the Hermitage, is a quaint old
place, still in fair condition, and surrounded by oaks and cocoanut
trees, near the sea. Such matters do not often get into history, but
legend tells us that some strange orgies took place at the Hermitage,
where the play was for heavy stakes, and the drinking was of a similar
excessive character.
Another well-known individual who sought to make a home here, and also
to escape from all former associations, was the notorious
Blennerhasset, a name familiar in connection with Aaron Burr. After
his trial, it will be remembered that he suddenly disappeared, and
was heard of no more. He left his country for his country's good,
changing his name to that of Carr. His objective point was Nassau;
there his undoubted talent and legal ability were duly recognized and
he was appointed government attorney, officiating in that capacity for
a number of years. Having deserted his first wife, he found another to
console him upon the island. At last wife number one appeared upon the
island. She had discovered his hiding-place, and a domestic war
ensued. Wife number two carried the day and the rightful spouse was
sent away and paid an annuity to keep away. The pretended Mr. Carr is
said to have finally lapsed into habits of excessive intemperance, and
to have found a stranger's grave on the island.
Much of the drinking water, and certainly the best in use at Nassau,
as well as on some of the neighboring islands, is procured in a
remarkable, though very simple manner, from the sea. Not far from
shore, on the coral reefs, there are never-failing fresh water
springs, bubbling up from the bottom through the salt water with such
force as clearly to indicate their locality. Over these ocean springs
the people place sunken barrels filled with sand, one above another,
the bottoms and tops being displaced. The fresh water is thus
conducted to the surface through the column of sand, which forms a
perfect filterer. Such a crude arrangement is only temporary, liable
to be displaced by any severe storm which should agitate the
surrounding waters. If destroyed in the hurricane season, these
structures are not renewed until settled weather. In so small and low
lying an island as that of Nassau, it is very plain that this crystal
liquid, pure and tasteless, cannot come from any rainfall upon the
soil, and its existence, therefore, suggests a problem, the solving of
which we submit to the scientists.
On the arid shores of the Persian Gulf, where rain so seldom falls,
and where there are no rills to refresh the parched soil, fresh water
is also obtained from submerged springs beneath the salt water. Here
it is brought to the surface by divers, who descend with a leather
bag, the mouth of which being opened over the bubbling spring is
quickly filled and closed again, being drawn to the surface by those
who are left there to assist the diver, who hastens upward for air. In
descending his feet are weighted with stones, which being cast off at
the proper moment, he naturally rises at once to the surface. This
operation is repeated until a sufficient quantity of fresh water is
procured. There is no mystery, however, as to the source of these
springs. The rain first falls on the distant mountains, and finding
its way downward through the fissures of rocky ledges, pursues its
course until it gushes forth in the bed of the gulf.
CHAPTER II.
Among the Islands. -- San Salvador. -- A Glimpse at the
Stars. -- Hayti. -- The Gulf Stream. -- The Caribbean Sea. --
Latitude and Longitude. -- The Southern Coast of Cuba. -- A
Famous Old Fortress. -- Fate of Political Prisoners. -- The
Oldest City in Cuba. -- The Aborigines. -- Cuban Cathedrals.
-- Drinking Saloons. -- Dogs, Horses, and Coolies. -- Scenes
in Santiago de Cuba. -- Devoured by Sharks. -- Lying at
Anchor. -- Wreck of a Historic Ship. -- Cuban Circulating
Medium. -- Tropical Temperature.
After leaving Nassau we stood northward for half a day in order to get
a safe and proper channel out of the crooked Bahamas, where there is
more of shoal than of navigable waters, leaving a score of small
islands behind us inhabited only by turtles, flamingoes, and sea
birds. But we were soon steaming due south again towards our objective
point, the island of Cuba, five hundred miles away. San Salvador was
sighted on our starboard bow, the spot where Columbus first landed in
the New World, though even this fact has not escaped the specious
arguments of the iconoclasts. Nevertheless, we gazed upon it with
reverent credulity. It will be found laid down on most English maps as
Cat Island, and is now the home of two or three thousand colored
people. San Salvador is nearly as large as New Providence, and is said
to claim some special advantages over that island in the quality of
its fruits. It is claimed that the oranges grown here are the sweetest
and best in the world, the same excellence being attributed to its
abundant yield of pineapples and other tropical fruits.
There are so many of these small islands in the Bahama group that the
geographers may be excused for the heterogeneous manner in which they
have placed them on the common maps. To find their true and relative
position one must consult the sailing-charts, where absolute
correctness is supposed to be found, a prime necessity in such
intricate navigation. The total population of the Bahamas has been
ascertained, by census, to be a fraction less than forty thousand.
The voyager in these latitudes is constantly saluted by gentle breezes
impregnated with tropical fragrance, intensified in effect by the
distant view of cocoanut, palmetto, and banana trees, clothing the
islands and growing down to the water's very edge. As we glide along,
gazing shoreward, now and again little groups of swallows seem to be
flitting only a few feet above the water for a considerable distance,
and then suddenly disappearing beneath the waves. These are
flying-fish enjoying an air bath, either in frolic or in fear;
pursued, may be, by some aqueous enemy, to escape from whom they essay
these aerial flights. The numerous islands, very many of which are
uninhabited, have yet their recorded names, more or less
characteristic, such as Rum Key, Turk's Island,--famous for the export
of salt,--Bird Rock, Fortune Island, Great and Little Inagua, Crooked
Island, and so on, all more or less noted for the disastrous wrecks
which have occurred on their low coralline shores. Our Northern cities
are largely dependent upon the Bahamas for their early annual supplies
of pineapples, cocoanuts, oranges, bananas, and some vegetables, in
which they are all more or less prolific. Here also is the harvest
field of the conchologist, the beaches and coral reefs affording an
abundant supply of exquisitely colored shells, of all imaginable
shapes, including the large and valuable conch-shell, of which many
thousand dollars' worth are annually exported, the contents first
serving the divers for food.
It was interesting to remain on deck at night and watch the heavens,
as we glided silently through the phosphorescent sea. Was it possible
the grand luminary, which rendered objects so plain that one could
almost read fine print with no other help, shone solely by borrowed
light? We all know it to be so, and also that Venus, Mars, Jupiter,
and Saturn shine in a similar manner with light reflected from the
sun. It was curious to adjust the telescope and bring the starry
system nearer to the vision. If we direct our gaze upon a planet we
find its disk sharply defined; change the direction and let it rest
upon a star, and we have only a point of light, more or less
brilliant. The glass reveals to us the fact that the star-dust which
we call the Milky Way is an aggregation of innumerable single suns.
Sweeping the arching blue with the telescope, we find some stars are
golden, some green, others purple, many silvery-white, and some are
twins. Probably there is no such thing as stars of the first and
second magnitude, as the common expression names them. It is most
likely only a question of distance, which regulates the brightness to
our vision. Science reduces the distances of heavenly bodies from our
earth to figures, but they are so immense as to be simply bewildering.
At the North the moon is silvery, but in tropical skies at night it
becomes golden, glowing, and luxurious in its splendor, never pale and
wan as it seems with us.
When the lonely lighthouse which marks Cape Maysi, at the easterly
point of Cuba, hove in sight on the starboard bow, the dim form of the
mountains of Hayti was also visible on the opposite horizon. A
subterranean connection is believed to exist between the mountain
ranges of the two islands.
When the outline of the Haytian mountains was in view, it was very
natural to express a wish to visit the island at some convenient time.
This led to some intelligent and interesting remarks from a compagnon
de voyage, who had resided for two years at Port-au-Prince, the
capital. "Unless you are compelled to land there," said he, "I advise
you to avoid Hayti." He fully confirmed the reports of its barbarous
condition, and declared it to be in a rapid decadence, as regarded
every desirable element of civilization. In the country, a short
distance from either Gonaives, Jacmel, or Port-au-Prince, where the
mass of the negro population live, Voudou worship and cannibalism are
quite common at the present time. The influence of the Voudou priests
is so much feared by the government that the horrible practice is
little interfered with. When the officials are forced to take
cognizance of the crime, the lightest possible punishment is imposed
upon the convicted parties. The island of San Domingo is about half
the size of Cuba, Hayti occupying one third of the western portion,
the rest of the territory belonging to the republic of San Domingo.
"As to Port-au-Prince," said our informant, "it is the dirtiest place
I have ever seen in any part of the world." Nevertheless, the historic
interest clustering about the island is very great. It was the seat of
the first Spanish colony founded in the New World. Its soil has been
bathed in the blood of Europeans as well as of its aboriginal
inhabitants. For three hundred years it was the arena of fierce
struggles between the French, Spaniards, and English, passing
alternately under the dominion of each of these powers, until finally,
torn by insurrection and civil war, in 1804 it achieved its
independence. The city of San Domingo, capital of the republic, is the
oldest existing settlement by white men in the New World, having been
founded in 1494 by Bartholomew Columbus. It contains to-day a little
less than seven thousand inhabitants.
We gave Cape Maysi a wide berth, as a dangerous reef makes out from
the land, eastward, for a mile or more. The fixed light at this point
is a hundred and thirty feet above sea level, and is visible nearly
twenty miles off shore.
We were running through the Windward Passage, as it was called by the
early navigators, and whence one branch of the Gulf Stream finds its
way northward. The Gulf Stream! Who can explain the mystery of its
motive power; what keeps its tepid waters in a course of thousands of
miles from mingling with the rest of the sea; whence does it come? The
accepted theories are familiar enough, but we do not believe them.
Maury says the Gulf of Mexico is its fountain, and its mouth is the
Arctic Sea. The maps make the eastern shore of Cuba terminate as
sharply as a needle's point, but it proved to be very blunt in
reality, as it forms the gateway to the Caribbean Sea, where the
irregular coast line runs due north and south for the distance of many
leagues. It is a low, rocky shore for the most part, but rises
gradually as it recedes inland, until it assumes the form of hills so
lofty as to merit the designation of mountains.
There was on board of our ship an intelligent resident of Santiago,
who was enthusiastic in his description of the plains and valleys
lying beyond the hills which stood so prominently on the coast,--hills
probably older than any tongue in which we could describe them. The
Scriptural Garden of Eden has absolutely been placed here by
supposition on the part of traveled people. The temperature is simply
perfect, if we are to believe our informant; the vegetation is of a
primitive delicacy and beauty unequaled elsewhere; the fruits are
fabulously abundant and of the most perfect flavor; the water bubbles
forth from springs of crystal purity, and the flora is so lovely as to
inspire the most indifferent beholder with delight. "It is called the
Garden of Cuba," said the American Consul of Cienfuegos, "but many go
further, and declare it to be the location of the original Paradise."
Certain it is that the few Americans who have sought this so highly
praised region, though compelled to deny themselves the ordinary
comforts to be found in more accessible resorts, have admitted with
emphasis that nature, pure and undefiled, was here to be enjoyed in
unstinted measure.
The hills bordering the shore and extending some distance inland
contain much undeveloped mineral wealth, such as iron, silver, and
gold. A mine of the former product is now being profitably worked by
an American company, and the ore regularly shipped to Pennsylvania for
smelting. This ore has special properties which render it more than
usually valuable, and it is even claimed to be the best iron mine in
the world. There is a strangely solitary and inhospitable appearance
about this portion of the island, devoid as it is of all human
habitations, and fringed either with long reaches of lonely
snow-white beach or rugged brown rocks. The volcanic appearance of the
land is significant of former upheavals, and this immediate region is
still occasionally troubled with geological chills and fever.
The nights of early March in this latitude were exceedingly beautiful,
and solemnly impressive was the liberal splendor of the sky. The full
moon looked down upon and was reflected by waters of perfect
smoothness. River navigation could not have been more quiet than were
these nights on the blue Caribbean Sea. The air was as mild as June in
New England, while at night the Southern Cross and the North Star
blazed in the horizon at the same time. As we steered westward after
doubling the cape, both of these heavenly sentinels were seen abeam,
the constellation on our port side, and the North Star on the
starboard. Each day, at the noon hour, the passengers were interested
in watching the officers of the ship while they were "taking the sun,"
to determine the latitude and longitude. Shall we put the process into
simple form for the information of the uninitiated? When the sun
reaches the meridian, or culminating point of ascension, the exact
moment is indicated by the instrument known as a quadrant, adjusted to
the eye of the observer. The figures marked on the quadrant give the
latitude of the ship at the moment of meridian. The ship's time is
then made to correspond, that is to say, it must indicate 12 o'clock,
M., after which it is compared with the chronometer's Greenwich time,
and the difference enables the observer to determine the longitude. As
fifteen miles are allowed to the minute, there will be nine hundred
miles to the hour. The importance of absolute correctness in the
chronometer will at once be realized, since, were it only three
minutes out of the way, it would render the calculation as to
longitude wrong by nearly fifty miles, which might be, and doubtless
often has been, the cause of wrecking a ship upon rocks laid down upon
the charts, but supposed to be far away. With the chronometer and the
quadrant observation correctly ascertained, the sailing-master can
prick off his exact situation on the chart. So long as the weather
will permit a clear view of the sun at noon, the ship's precise
location on the wide waste of waters can be known; but when continuous
cloudy weather prevails, the ship's course is calculated by what is
called dead reckoning, depending upon the speed and distance run as
indicated by the log, which is cast hourly under such circumstances,
and becomes the main factor in calculating the position of the ship.
Of course the result cannot be very accurate, but is a dernier
ressort. When land is in sight no observation is necessary, as the
bearing of the ship is then unmistakably defined.
The sea was like molten sapphire as we glided swiftly along the
southern coast of Cuba, watching the gracefully undulating shore. The
mountains rose higher and higher, until they culminated in the lofty
peak of Pico Turquino (blue mountain), over ten thousand feet high, as
lately ascertained by actual measurement. There are coves and bays
along this coast where oysters _do_ grow upon trees, ridiculous as the
assertion first strikes the ear. The mangrove-trees extend their roots
from the shore into the sea, to which the oysters affix themselves,
growing and thriving until plucked by the fishermen. They are small
and of an inferior species compared with those of our own coast, but
are freely eaten in the island. Near the shore hereabouts are many
islets containing from three to five square miles, some of which are
quite barren, while others are delicious gardens, full of tropical
fruit trees, flowers, and odoriferous plants, where Paul and Virginia
might have felt quite at home, wandering hand in hand.
Soon after passing the remarkably sheltered port of Guantanamo, which
was for nearly a century the most notorious piratical rendezvous in
the West Indies, the famous castle of Santiago is seen. It is known as
Moro Castle, but it antedates the more familiar Moro of Havana by a
full century. This antique, yellow, Moorish-looking stronghold--which
modern gunnery would destroy in about eight minutes--is picturesque to
the last degree, with its crumbling, honeycombed battlements, and
queer little flanking turrets, grated windows, and shadowy towers. It
is built upon the face of a lofty dun-colored rock, upon whose
precipitous side the fortification is terraced. It stands just at the
entrance of the narrow channel leading to the city, so that in passing
in one can easily exchange oral greetings with the sentry on the outer
battlement. What strikingly artistic pictures the light and shade
together formed with those time-stained walls, as we steamed slowly by
them! On the ocean side, directly under the castle, the sea has worn a
gaping cave, so deep that it has not been explored within the memory
of the people living in the neighborhood. The broad and lofty entrance
is in form as perfect an arch as could be drawn by the pencil of a
skillful architect. As is usual with such formations all over the
world, there is a romantic legend concerning the cave related as
connected with the olden time, and there is also a prevailing
superstition, that no one attempting to explore it will live to
return.
In passing up the channel two or three little forts of queer
construction are seen, supplementing the larger one, placed upon
jutting headlands. The Moro of Santiago is now used as a prison for
political offenders; its days of defensive importance ended with the
period of the buccaneers, against whose crude means of warfare it was
an ample protection. As we steamed past it that sunny afternoon,
stimulated by the novelty of everything about us, a crowd of pallid,
sorrowful faces appeared at the grated windows, watching us
listlessly. Two days later five of them, who were condemned patriots,
were led out upon those ramparts and shot, their bodies falling into
the sea, and eight were sent to the penal settlement of Ceuta. Spain
extends no mercy to those who dare to raise their hands or voices in
favor of freedom; her political existence is sustained only in an
atmosphere of oppression and cruelty. Every page of her history is a
tableau of bloodshed and torture. The narrow winding channel which
leads from the open sea to the harbor passes through low hills and
broad meadows covered with rank verdure, cocoanut groves, and little
fishing hamlets. Thrifty laurels, palms with their graceful plumes of
foliage, and intensely green bananas line the way, with here and there
upon the banks a pleasant country house in the midst of a pretty
garden of flowering shrubs. So close is the shore all the while that
one seems to be navigating upon the land, gliding among trees and over
greensward rather than on blue water. Presently we pass a sharp angle
of the hills into a broad, sheltered bay, and before us lies the
quaint, rambling old city of Santiago de Cuba, built upon a hillside,
like Tangier in Africa, and nearly as Oriental as that capital of
Morocco. The first most conspicuous objects to meet the eye are the
twin towers of the ancient cathedral which have withstood so many
earthquakes. The weather-beaten old quartermaster on our forecastle
applies the match to his brass twelve-pounder, awaking a whole
broadside of echoes among the mountains, the big chain rushes swiftly
through the hawse-hole, and the ship swings at her anchor in the
middle of the picturesque bay.
A boat was promptly secured with which to land at this ancient city,
founded by Velasquez. From the moment one touches the shore a sense of
being in a foreign land forces itself upon the new-comer. The
half-unintelligible language, the people, the architecture, the
manners, the vegetation, even the very atmosphere and the intensity of
the sunshine, are novel and attractive. It is easy to convey our
partial impressions of a new place, however unique it may be, but not
our inward sensations. The former are tangible, as it were, and may be
depicted; the latter are like atmospheric air, which cannot be seen,
but is felt. The many-colored, one-story houses of Santiago are
Moorish in architecture, ranged in narrow streets, which cross each
other at right angles with considerable regularity, but with roadways
in an almost impassable condition, lined with sidewalks of ten or
fifteen inches in width. These thoroughfares were once paved with
cobblestones, but are now characterized by dirt and neglect, a stream
of offensive water constantly percolating through them, in which
little naked children are at play. No wonder that the city is
annually decimated by yellow fever; the surprise is that it does not
prevail there every month in the year. The boys and girls of the lower
classes, white and black, are not thought to require clothing until
they are about nine years of age. A few negresses were observed
sitting on the ground, at the corners of the streets, beside their
baskets containing sweet cakes, mouldy biscuits, bananas, and
grape-fruit, the uninviting appearance of which seemed to indicate
that they were in the last stage of collapse. Was it possible any one
could eat such stuff? As we passed and repassed these patient waiters,
certainly no purchasers appeared. How the forty-five thousand
inhabitants manage to achieve a living it would be difficult to
imagine, for the town seemed to be as dead and void of all activity as
Cordova, in far-off Spain, the sleepiest city in all Europe. Santiago
has not a single bookstore within its limits. No other place in
Christendom, with so numerous a population, could exist, outside of
Spain, without some literary resort. There are here three or four
spacious two-story club-houses, with some pretension to neatness and
social accommodations; but then no Cuban town of any size would be
complete without these anti-domestic institutions, where the male
population may congregate for evening entertainment. The interior
arrangements of these club-houses were entirely exposed to view, as we
passed by the iron-grated windows, devoid of curtains, blinds, or
screens of any sort, and extending from ceiling to floor.
Santiago dates back to the year of our Lord 1514, making it the oldest
city in the New World, next to San Domingo, and it will be remembered
as the place whence Cortez sailed, in 1519, to invade Mexico. Here
also has been the seat of modern rebellion against the arbitrary and
bitterly oppressive rule of the home government. The city is situated
six hundred miles southeast of Havana, and, after Matanzas, comes next
to it in commercial importance, its exports reaching the handsome
annual aggregate of eight millions of dollars. It is the terminus of
two lines of railways, which pass through the sugar districts, and
afford transportation for this great staple. Three leagues inland,
among the mountains, are situated the famous Cobre copper mines, said
to be of superior richness, and whence, in the days of their active
working, four million dollars' worth of the ore has been exported in
one year. This was the amount shipped in 1841, and so late as 1867 six
thousand tons were exported in ten months. Not content with realizing
a very large income from the mines by way of taxes upon the product,
the Spanish government increased these excise charges to such an
extent as to absorb the entire profits of the works and kill the
enterprise, so that the rich ores of Cobre now rest undisturbed in the
earth. It seems there is an Indian village near the copper mines,
whose people are represented to be the only living descendants of the
aborigines,--the Caribs whom Columbus found here on first landing.
Careful inquiry, however, led us seriously to doubt the authenticity
of the story. Probably this people are peculiar in their language, and
isolation may have caused them to differ in some respects from the
inhabitants of the valley and plains, but four centuries must have
destroyed every trace of the early inhabitants of Cuba. Having been
from the very outset enslaved and brutally treated by the Spaniards,
it is believed that as early as the year of our Lord 1700 they had
utterly disappeared, and some historians say no trace even was to be
found of the native race one century after the settlement of the
island by Europeans.
The head of the Church of Rome in Cuba is located here, it being an
archbishop's see; and the elaborate ceremonials which occasionally
take place attract people from the most distant cities of the island.
We chanced to be present when the bishop was passing into the
cathedral, clothed in full canonicals and accompanied by church
dignitaries bearing a canopy above his head. Observing our little
party as strangers, though in the midst of a stately ceremony, the
bishop graciously made us a sign of recognition. The cathedral of
Santiago is the largest in Cuba, but extremely simple in its interior
arrangements; and so, indeed, are all the churches on the island. As
to the exterior, the façade resembles the cathedral of Havana, being
of the same porous stone, which always presents a crumbled and mottled
surface. The inside decorations are childish and fanciful, consisting
mostly of artificial flowers of colored paper, crudely formed by
inexperienced hands into stars, wreaths, and crosses. One innovation
was noticed in this church: a saint on the right of the altar was
mounted upon a wooden horse, with spear in rest à la militaire,
forming a most incongruous figure. In the church of Matanzas, visited
a week or two later, the effigy of our Saviour was observed to be half
dressed in female attire, a glaring absurdity which the author has
once before seen in the Spanish convent-church of Burgos. In the
Matanzas church alluded to, boys and girls of nine and ten years were
seen at the confessional. Could absurdity be carried to a greater
height? These with negro women form nearly all the audiences to be met
with in the Cuban churches, unless upon festal occasions. The men
manifest their indifference by their absence, and white women are
scarcely represented. Besides the cathedral, Santiago has three or
four other old churches, small and dilapidated, within whose sombre
walls one seems to have stepped back into the fifteenth century. Upon
strolling accidentally into one of these we felt a chill suffuse the
whole system, like that realized on descending into a dark, undrained
cellar.
The multiplicity and gaudiness of the drinking-saloons and bar-rooms
were particularly noticeable in passing along the principal streets,
and all were doing a thriving business, judging from appearances. The
Cubans drink lightly, but they drink often, and are especially
addicted to gin, which is dealt out to them at an extraordinarily low
price. It appears that people can consume a much larger quantity of
spirituous liquors here without becoming intoxicated than they can do
at the North. It is very rare to see a person overcome by this
indulgence in Cuba, and yet, as was afterwards observed in Cienfuegos,
Matanzas, and Havana, the common people begin the day with a very
liberal dram, and follow it up with frequent libations until
bed-time,--tippling at every convenient opportunity. A few of the
better class of private houses were constructed with courts in the
centre, where flowers and tropical fruits were growing luxuriantly.
These dwellings were confined to no special quarter of the town, but
were as often found next to a commercial warehouse or a negro shanty
as elsewhere. The dogs, horses, and Chinese coolies were all in
wretched condition. One might count the ribs of the first two a long
way off, while the latter were ragged, lame, half-starved, and many
of them blind. Animals are the recipients of the severest sort of
usage both in Cuba and Spain. Few vehicles were to be seen, as
merchandise is mostly transported on the backs of mules and ponies,
and these animals are seldom shod.
The town is lighted with gas, or rather it was so illuminated a few
weeks since; but it was quietly whispered about that the corporation
had failed to pay for this service last year, and that the monopoly
itself was on the verge of bankruptcy, like nearly everything else of
a business character in Cuba. The gaslights certainly appeared pale
and sickly enough, as though only half confirmed in the purpose of
giving any light at all, and were prematurely extinguished in many of
the streets. In the shops, whose fronts were all open, like those of
Canton and Yokohama, the clerks were to be seen in their shirt
sleeves, guiltless of vests or collars, coquetting over calicoes and
gaudy-colored merinos with mulatto girls decked in cheap jewelry, and
with negresses wearing enormous hoop-earrings. At the approach of
evening the bar-rooms and saloons, with a liberal display of
looking-glasses, bottles of colored liquors, gin, and glitter, were
dazzling to behold. The marble tables were crowded with domino and
card players, each sipping at intervals his favorite tipple. The
sidewalks are so narrow that the pedestrian naturally seeks the middle
of the street as a pathway, and the half a dozen victorias and four
volantes which form the means of transportation in Santiago, and which
are constantly wandering about in search of a job, manage to meet or
to overtake one perpetually; causing first a right oblique, then a
left oblique, movement, with such regularity as to amount to an
endless zig-zag. We did not exactly appreciate the humor of this
annoyance, but perhaps the drivers did. After climbing and descending
these narrow, dirty streets by daylight and by gaslight, and watching
the local characteristics for a few hours, one is only too happy to
take a boat back to the ship, and leave all behind.
A desire for a cold bath and a good swim is natural in this climate
after sunset, but beware of indulging this inclination in the waters
of Santiago. Under that smooth, inviting surface, glistening beneath
the rays of a full moon, lurk myriads of sharks. They are large,
hungry, man-eating creatures, the tigers of the ocean, and the dread
of all local boatmen here. To fall overboard in these waters, however
good a swimmer one may be, is simply to be devoured. At Singapore,
Sumatra, or Batavia, a Malay will for a consideration dive into the
waters of the Malacca Straits, armed with a long, sharp knife, boldly
attack a shark, and rip open his bowels at the moment when he turns on
his side to give the deadly bite. But on that coast this dreaded fish
appears singly; it is rare to see two of them together; while Santiago
harbor seems to swarm with them, the dark dorsal fin of the
threatening creatures just parting the surface of the sea, and
betraying their presence. Lying at anchor between our ship and the
shore was a trig Spanish corvette,--an American-built vessel, by the
way, though belonging to the navy of Spain. It was curious at times to
watch her crew being drilled in various martial manoeuvres. While an
officer was exercising the men at furling topsails, a few days before
our arrival, a foretopman fell from aloft into the sea. Under
ordinary circumstances and in most waters, the man could easily have
been saved, but not so in this instance. He did not even rise to the
surface. A struggle for portions of his body between half a dozen
ravenous sharks was observed alongside the corvette, and all was
quickly over. The foretopman had been torn limb from limb and
instantly devoured.
The over-stimulated brain felt no inclination for sleep on this first
night in the harbor, the situation was so novel, and the night itself
one to suggest poetic thoughts. The moon was creeping slowly across
the blue vault, like a great phantom mingling with the lambent purity
of the stars. We sat silently watching the heavens, the water, and the
shore; saw the lights go out one after another among the clustering
dwellings, and the street gas-burners shut off here and there, until
by and by the drowsy town was wrapped in almost perfect darkness. Only
the ripple of the sea alongside the ship broke the silence, or the
sudden splash of some large fish, leaping out of and falling back into
the water. It seemed as though no sky was ever before of such
marvelous blue depth, no water so full of mystery, no shore so clad in
magic verdure, and no night ever of such resplendent clearness. The
landing-steps and grating had been rigged out from a broad porthole on
the spar deck, where a quartermaster was awaiting the return of the
purser and a party of gentlemen who were making late, or rather early,
hours on shore; for it was nearly two o'clock in the morning, and the
weary seaman, who had sat down at his post on the grating, was snoring
like a wheezy trombone. The measured tread fore and aft of the second
officer, who kept the anchor watch, was the only evidence of
wakefulness that disturbed our lonely mood. A similar night scene was
vividly called to mind as experienced in Typhoon Bay, below Hong Kong,
a few years since.
In the harbor, next morning, a sunken wreck was pointed out to us,
which was partially visible at low tide, not far from the shore. Only
the ribs and stanchions are still held together by the stout keel
timbers and lower sheathing. This wreck has lain there unheeded for
years, yet what a story these old timbers might tell, had they only a
tongue with which to give voice to their experience!--literally the
experience of ages. We refer to the remains of the old St. Paul, one
of the ships of the great Spanish Armada that Philip II. sent to
England in 1588, being one of the very few of that famous flotilla
that escaped destruction at the time. What a historical memento is the
old wreck! After a checkered career, in which this ancient craft had
breasted the waves of innumerable seas and withstood the storms of
nearly three centuries, she was burned to the water's edge here in the
harbor of Santiago a few years since, and sunk, where her remains now
lie, covered with slime and barnacles,--a striking emblem of the
nation whose flag she once proudly bore. During the last years of her
career afloat she was used for transporting troops from Europe, and as
a Spanish guard-ship in these seas by the local government. It is
doubtful if it is generally known that this relic of the Spanish
Armada is in existence. Curio-hunters, once put upon the scent, will
probably soon reduce these ancient timbers to chips, and a crop of
canes and snuff-boxes, more or less hideous and more or less
counterfeit, will ensue.
Here we got our first experience of the present currency,--the
valueless circulating medium of Cuba. When one has occasion to visit
the island it is best to take American funds, either in bank-bills or
gold, sufficient to meet all ordinary expenses. Our bank-bills and our
gold are both at a premium. This will also save all necessity for
drawing on home through any local bankers, who have a way of charging
for the accommodation quite after the style of everything Spanish. The
hotel-keepers will require their pay on the basis of Spanish gold, but
will cheerfully allow a premium of six per cent. on American gold or
American bank-bills. As to the banks in Cuba, all are shaky, so to
speak; several have lately failed, and the others might as well do so.
It is not long since the president of the Havana Savings Bank placed a
pistol at his temple and blew his brains out. Mercantile credit may be
said to be dead, and business nearly at a standstill. Commercial
honesty is hardly to be expected from a bankrupt community, where the
people seem only to be engaged in the sale and purchase of lottery
tickets, a habit participated in by all classes.
What little gold and silver coin there is found in circulation is
mutilated; every piece of money, large and small, has been subjected
to the ingenious punch, and thus has lost a portion of its intrinsic
value. American gold and silver, not having been thus clipped, justly
commands a six per cent. premium.
The circulating medium upon the island is paper scrip, precisely
similar to that used in this country before the resumption of specie
payment. This scrip is dirty beyond endurance, and one absolutely
hesitates to take it in making change.
When our currency became soiled and torn we could exchange it for new,
but there is no such facility in Cuba. One dollar of our money will
purchase $2.45 of this scrip. It passes current, and really seems to
answer the necessities of trade, but even the Cubans are not deceived
by it. They know that it is really worthless, being based upon
nothing, and issued indiscriminately by a bankrupt government. The
paper-mill grinds it out in five, ten, twenty, and fifty cent pieces
as fast as it can be put into circulation, while no one knows how much
has been issued. But one thing is known; namely, that every authorized
issue of a given sum has been enormously exceeded in amount.
Within about five years, or less, an issue of bank-bills and of this
small currency was entrusted to an establishment in the United States,
when fourteen millions of dollars were printed in _addition_ to the
amount authorized! All were duly receipted for and signed by corrupt
Spanish officials, who coolly divided these millions among themselves!
The Captain-General of Cuba during whose administration this financial
stroke was accomplished came to the island a poor man, and returned to
Spain in two years possessed of three million dollars!
There is no more beautiful or safe harbor in the world than that of
Santiago de Cuba, commercially speaking, as it is completely
land-locked and protected on all sides from storms; but for the same
reason it is as close and hot an anchorage as can be found in the
tropics. An intelligent resident gave us 80° Fahrenheit as the average
temperature of the year, though the thermometer showed a more
ambitious figure during our brief stay. There are but two seasons,
the wet and the dry, the latter extending from September to May. The
city might have an excellent water supply if there were sufficient
enterprise among the citizens to cause it to be conducted by pipes
from the springs in the neighboring hills. It is now wretchedly
deficient in this respect, causing both suffering and ill health in a
climate especially demanding this prime necessity of life.
CHAPTER III.
Doubling Cape Cruz. -- Trinidad. -- Cienfuegos. -- The Plaza.
-- Beggars. -- Visit to a Sugar Plantation. -- Something
about Sugar. -- An Original Character. -- A Tropical Fruit
Garden. -- Cuban Hospitality. -- The Banana. -- Lottery
Tickets. -- Chinese Coolies. -- Blindness in Cuba. -- Birds
and Poultry. -- The Cock-Pit. -- Negro Slavery, To-Day. --
Spanish Slaveholders. -- A Slave Mutiny. -- A Pleasant
Journey across the Island. -- Pictures of the Interior. --
Scenery about Matanzas. -- The Tropics and the North
contrasted.
To reach Cienfuegos, our next objective point, one takes water
conveyance, the common roads in this district being, if possible, a
degree worse than elsewhere. It is therefore necessary to double Cape
Cruz, and perform a coasting voyage along the southern shore of the
island of about four hundred miles. This is really delightful sailing
in any but the hurricane months; that is, between the middle of August
and the middle of October. It would seem that this should be quite a
commercial thoroughfare, but it is surprising how seldom a
sailing-vessel is seen on the voyage, and it is still more rare to
meet a steamship. Our passage along the coast was delightful: the
undulating hills, vales, and plains seemed to be quietly gliding past
us of their own volition; the tremor of the ship did not suggest
motion of the hull, but a sense of delight at the moving panorama so
clearly depicted. No extensive range of waters in either hemisphere is
so proverbially smooth as the Caribbean Sea, during eight months of
the year, but a stout hull and good seamanship are demanded during the
remaining four, especially if coming from the northward over the
Bahama Banks and through the Windward Passage, as described in these
chapters.
The city of Trinidad, perched upon a hillside, is passed at the
distance of a few miles, being pleasantly situated more than a league
from the coast. The town of Casilda is its commercial port. This
arrangement was adopted in the early days as a partial protection
against the frequent inroads of the buccaneers, who ceased to be
formidable when separated from their ships. Trinidad was once the
centre of the prosperous coffee trade of Cuba, but is now, and has
been for many years, commercially wrecked. It is very beautifully
located, with Mount Vijia for its background, in what is declared to
be the healthiest district upon the island. But it is an ancient city,
comparatively deserted, its date being nearly contemporary with that
of Santiago. Cienfuegos, its successful business rival, is on the
contrary quite modern, exhibiting many features of thrift and
activity, and is counted the third commercial city of Cuba. Like
Cardenas, it is called an American capital. It has some twenty-five
thousand inhabitants, a large proportion of whom speak English, nine
tenths of its commerce being with the United States. In this immediate
neighborhood Columbus, on his second voyage, saw with astonishment the
mysterious king who spoke to his subjects only by signs, and that
group of men who wore long white tunics like the monks of mercy, while
the rest of the people were entirely naked. The town is low and level,
occupying a broad plane. The streets are of fair width, crossing each
other at right angles, and are kept neat and clean. The harbor is an
excellent and spacious one, admitting of vessels being moored at the
wharves, a commercial convenience unknown at Santiago, Matanzas, or
Havana. The navies of all the world might rendezvous here and not
crowd each other. Three rivers, the Canudo, Saludo, and Danuyi, empty
into the bay, and each is navigable for a considerable distance
inland, a matter of great importance in a country so devoid of good
roads. The parti-colored houses are of the usual Cuban type, mostly of
one story, built with a patio or open courtyard in the centre, well
filled with flowering plants, among which were observed the attractive
coral-tree, which resembles a baby palm, and the universal banana.
The Plaza of Cienfuegos forms a large, well-arranged square, where an
out-door military concert is given twice a week, a universal practice
in all Cuban cities. It is laid out with excellent taste, its broad
paths nicely paved, and the whole lighted at night with numerous
ornamental gas-lamps. The vegetation is both attractive and
characteristic, consisting of palms, laurels, and flowering shrubs,
mingled with which are some exotics from the North, which droop with a
homesick aspect. Plants, like human beings, will pine for their native
atmosphere. If it be more rigorous and less genial at the North, still
there is a bracing, tonic effect, imparting life and strength, which
is wanting in the low latitudes. On one side of this fine square is
the government house and barracks, opposite to which is an open-air
theatre, and in front is the cathedral with any number of discordant
bells. The little English sparrow seems to be ubiquitous, and as
pugnacious here as on Boston Common, or the Central Park of New York.
Boyish games are very similar the world over: young Cuba was playing
marbles after the orthodox fashion, knuckle-down. It was very pitiful
to behold the army of beggars in so small a city, but begging is
synonymous with the Spanish name, both in her European and colonial
possessions. Here the maimed, halt, and blind meet one at every turn.
Saturday is the harvest day for beggars in the Cuban cities, on which
occasion they go about by scores from door to door, carrying a large
canvas bag. Each family and shop is supplied with a quantity of small
rolls of bread, specially baked for the purpose, and one of which is
nearly always given to the applicant on that day, so the mendicant's
bag becomes full of rolls. These, mixed with vegetables, bits of fish,
and sometimes meat and bones when they can be procured, are boiled
into a soup, thus keeping soul and body together in the poor creatures
during the week.
Cienfuegos is situated in the midst of a sugar-producing district,
where soil and climate are both favorable, and over twenty large
plantations are to be seen within a radius of two or three leagues.
The export from them, as we were informed by the courteous editor of
"La Opinion," a local paper, aggregates thirty thousand hogsheads
annually. The visitor should not fail to make an excursion to some
representative plantation, where it is impossible not to be much
interested and practically informed. One of these sugar estates,
situated less than two leagues from the town, was found to be
furnished with a complete outfit of the most modern machinery, which
had cost the proprietor a quarter of a million dollars. It was working
with the usual favorable results, though at the present price of sugar
no profit can accrue to the planter. The plantation presented a busy
scene. During the grinding season the machinery is run night and day,
but is obliged to lie idle for eight months out of the year.
In the uncultivated fields through which we passed when driving out to
the sugar estate, the prickly pear grew close to the ground in great
luxuriance, as it is seen on our Western prairies. Its thick leaves,
so green as to be dense with color, impart the effect of greensward at
a short distance. On close inspection it was seen to be the star
cactus, which like the Northern thistle kills all other vegetation
within its reach. Here and there the wild ipecacuanha with its bright
red blossom was observed, but the fields, except those devoted to the
cane, were very barren near Cienfuegos.
Sugar-cane is cultivated like Indian corn, which it also resembles in
appearance. It is first planted in rows, not in hills, and must be
hoed and weeded until it gets high enough to shade its roots. Then it
may be left to itself until it reaches maturity. This refers to the
first laying out of a plantation, which will afterwards continue
fruitful for years by very simple processes of renewal. When
thoroughly ripe the cane is of a light golden yellow, streaked here
and there with red. The top is dark green, with long narrow leaves
depending,--very much like those of the corn stalk,--from the centre
of which shoots upwards a silvery stem a couple of feet in height, and
from its tip grows a white fringed plume, of a delicate lilac hue. The
effect of a large field at its maturity, lying under a torrid sun and
gently yielding to the breeze, is very fine, a picture to live in the
memory ever after. In the competition between the products of
beet-root sugar and that from sugar-cane, the former controls the
market, because it can be produced at a cheaper rate, besides which
its production is stimulated by nearly all of the European states
through the means of liberal subsidies both to the farmer and to the
manufacturer. Beet sugar, however, does not possess so high a
percentage of true saccharine matter as does the product of the cane,
the latter seeming to be nature's most direct mode of supplying us
with the article. The Cuban planters have one advantage over all other
sugar-cane producing countries, in the great and inexhaustible
fertility of the soil of the island. For instance: one to two
hogsheads of sugar to the acre is considered a good yield in Jamaica,
but in Cuba three hogsheads is the average. Fertilizing of any sort is
rarely employed in the cane-fields, while in beet farming it is the
principal agent of success.
Though the modern machinery, as lately adopted on the plantations, is
very expensive, still the result achieved by it is so much superior to
that of the old methods of manufacture that the small planters are
being driven from the market. Slave labor cannot compete with
machinery. The low price of sugar renders economy imperative in all
branches of the business, in order to leave a margin for profit. A
planter informed the author that he should spread all of his molasses
upon the cane-fields this year as a fertilizer, rather than send it to
a distant market and receive only what it cost. He further said that
thousands of acres of sugar-cane would be allowed to rot in the fields
this season, as it would cost more to cut, grind, pack, and send it to
market than could be realized for the manufactured article. Had the
price of sugar remained this year at a figure which would afford the
planters a fair profit, it might have been the means of tiding over
the chasm of bankruptcy which has long stared them in the face, and
upon the brink of which they now stand. But with a more than average
crop, both as to quantity and quality, whether to gather it or not is
a problem. Under these circumstances it is difficult to say what is to
become, financially, of the people of Cuba. Sugar is their great
staple, but all business has been equally depressed upon the island,
under the bane of civil wars, extortionate taxation, and oppressive
rule.
If you visit Cienfuegos you will take rooms at the Hotel Union, as
being the least objectionable of the two public houses which the city
contains, and there you will make the acquaintance of Jane, who is an
institution in herself. Indeed, she will doubtless board your ship
when it first arrives, so as to enlighten you concerning the
excellences of the Union over its rival establishment, which will also
be sure to be represented. Jane is interpreter and general factotum of
that delectable posada, the Union, and being the only one in the house
who speaks either French or English, she becomes an important factor
in your calculations. Jane's nationality is a pleasing mystery, but
she may be classed as a Portuguese quadroon. Venus did not preside at
her birth, but, by means of the puff-ball and egg-shell powder, she
strives to harmonize her mottled features. Being interpreter,
waitress, hotel-runner, and chambermaid, she is no idler, and fully
earns the quarter eagle you naturally hand her at leave-taking. In
visiting the neighboring sugar plantation Jane acts as your guide, on
which occasion her independence will be sure to challenge admiration.
She salutes slave or master with equal familiarity, conducts you
through each process of the elaborate works, from the engine to the
crushing mill, and so on, until you reach the centrifugal machine,
where the glistening crystals of pure sugar fall into an open
receptacle ready for packing and shipment. She takes you into the
slave-quarters among the pickaninnies, hens, pigs, and pigeons,
looking on blandly and chewing huge pieces of cane while you
distribute the bright ten cent pieces with which you filled your
pocket at starting. If Jane slyly pinches a papoose and causes it to
yell, it is only for fun; she means no harm, though the dusky mite
gets smartly slapped by its mother for misbehaving. The cabin floor of
bare earth is sure to be covered with these little naked, sprawling
objects, like ants. On the way back to town Jane orders the postilion
to drive into the private grounds of a palatial Cuban residence, where
she boldly announces herself and party to the proprietor in good
rolling Spanish. It is the home of Señor N----, a wealthy merchant of
the city. We are received as though we belonged to the royal family.
The hospitable owner speaks English fluently, and answers our thousand
and one questions with tireless courtesy, takes us into his superb
fruit garden (of which more anon), then introduces us to his domestic
quarters, where everything appears refined, faultlessly neat, and
tasteful. If you go to the railroad station, as usual the evening
before departure, in order to secure tickets and get your baggage
labeled,--for the cars start in the morning before daylight,--Jane
will accompany you, riding by your side in the victoria. Excuse her if
she orders the calash thrown back, as she appears bonnetless in a
loud, theatrical costume, trimmed with red and yellow, and carrying a
bouquet in her freckled hands. It is her opportunity, and she looks
triumphantly at the street loungers in passing. If you are charged on
your bill a Delmonico price for a mythical lunch to be taken with you
on the journey to Matanzas, and which Jane has forgotten to put up,
pay without wrangling; it saves time and temper.
The tropical garden which we visited just outside of Cienfuegos
embraced a remarkable variety of trees, including some thrifty
exotics. Here the mango, with its peach-like foliage, was bending to
the ground with the weight of its ripening fruit; the alligator pear
was marvelously beautiful in its full blossom, suggesting, in form and
color, the passion-flower; the soft delicate foliage of the tamarind
was like our sensitive plant; the banana trees were in full bearing,
the deep green fruit (it is ripened and turns yellow off the tree)
being in clusters of a hundred, more or less, tipped at the same time
by a single, pendent, glutinous bud nearly as large as a pineapple.
The date-palm, so suggestive of the far East, and the only one we had
seen in Cuba, was represented by a choice specimen, imported in its
youth. There was also the star-apple tree, remarkable for its uniform
and graceful shape, full of the green fruit, with here and there a
ripening specimen; so, also, was the favorite zapota, its rusty-coated
fruit hanging in tempting abundance. From low, broad-spreading trees
depended the grape-fruit, as large as an infant's head and yellow as
gold, while the orange, lime, and lemon trees, bearing blossoms, green
and ripe fruit all together, met the eye at every turn, and filled the
garden with fragrance. The cocoanut palm, with its tall, straight
stem and clustering fruit, dominated all the rest. Guava, fig,
custard-apple, and bread-fruit trees, all were in bearing. Our
hospitable host plucked freely of the choicest for the benefit of his
chance visitors. Was there ever such a fruit garden before, or
elsewhere? It told of fertility of soil and deliciousness of climate,
of care, judgment, and liberal expenditure, all of which combined had
turned these half a dozen acres of land into a Gan Eden. Through this
orchard of Hesperides we were accompanied also by the proprietor's two
lovely children, under nine years of age, with such wealth of promise
in their large black eyes and sweet faces as to fix them on our memory
with photographic fidelity.
Before leaving the garden we returned with our intelligent host once
more to examine his beautiful specimens of the banana, which, with its
sister fruit the plantain, forms so important a staple of food in Cuba
and throughout all tropical regions. It seems that the female banana
tree bears more fruit than the male, but not so large. The average
clusters of the former comprise here about one hundred, but the latter
rarely bears over sixty or seventy distinct specimens of the
cucumber-shaped product. From the centre of its large broad leaves,
which gather at the top, when it has reached the height of twelve or
fifteen feet there springs forth a large purple bud ten inches long,
shaped like a huge acorn, though more pointed. This cone hangs
suspended from a strong stem, upon which a leaf unfolds, displaying a
cluster of young fruit. As soon as these are large enough to support
the heat of the sun and the chill of the rain, this sheltering leaf
drops off, and another unfolds, exposing its little brood of fruit;
and so the process goes on until six or eight rings of young bananas
are started, forming, as we have said, bunches numbering from seventy
to a hundred. The banana is a herbaceous plant, and after fruiting its
top dies; but it annually sprouts up again fresh from the roots. From
the unripe fruit, dried in the sun, a palatable and nutritious flour
is made.
No matter where one may be, in town or country, in the east or west
end of the island, Santiago or Havana, the lottery-ticket vender is
there. Men, women, and children are employed to peddle the tickets,
cripples especially being pressed into the service in the hope of
exciting the sympathies of strangers and thus creating purchasers. It
may be said to be about the only prosperous business at present going
on in this thoroughly demoralized island. Half the people seem to
think of nothing else, and talk of dreaming that such and such
combinations of numbers will bring good luck. Some will buy only even
numbers, others believe that the odd ones stand the best chance of
winning; in short, all the gambling fancies are brought to bear upon
these lotteries. Enough small prizes are doled out to the purchasers
of tickets, by the cunning management, to keep hope and expectation
ever alive in their hearts, and to coax out of them their last dollar
in further investments. "If," said a native resident of Matanzas to
us, "these lotteries, all of which are presided over by the officials,
are honestly conducted, they are the one honest thing in which this
government is concerned. Venal in everything else, why should they be
conscientious in this gambling game?" No one believes in the integrity
of the government, but, strange to say, the masses have implicit faith
in the lotteries.
At one corner of our hotel in Cienfuegos, there sat upon the sidewalk
of the street a blind beggar, a Chinese coolie, whose miserable,
poverty-stricken appearance elicited a daily trifle from the habitués
of the house. Early one morning we discovered this representative of
want and misery purchasing a lottery ticket. They are so divided and
subdivided, it appears, as to come even within the means of the street
beggars! Speaking of blindness, the multiplicity of people thus
afflicted, especially among negroes and coolies, led to the
enumeration of those met with in a single day; the result was
seventeen. On inquiry it was found that inflammation of the eyes is as
common here as in Egypt, and that it runs a rapid and fatal
course,--fatal to the sight after having once attacked a victim,
unless it receives prompt, judicious, and scientific treatment.
The Chinese coolies, who are encountered in all parts of the island,
but more especially in the cities, are almost invariably decrepit,
poverty-stricken mendicants, and very frequently blind. They are such
as have been through their eight years' contract, and have been
brought to their present condition by ill-treatment, insufficient
food, and the troubles incident to the climate. In the majority of
cases these coolies have been cheated out of the trifling amount of
wages promised to them, for there is no law in Cuba to which they can
appeal. There are laws which will afford the negro justice if resorted
to under certain circumstances, but none for the coolies. There are
some few Chinamen who have survived every exigency, and are now
engaged in keeping small stores or fruit stands, cigar making, and
other light employments, their only hope being to gain money enough
to carry them back to their native land, and to have a few dollars
left to support them after getting there. There are no Chinese
laundries in Cuba; John cannot compete with the black women in this
occupation, for they are natural washers and ironers. John is only a
skillful imitator. He proves most successful in the cigarette and
cigar factories, where his deft fingers can turn out a more uniform
and handsome article than the Cubans themselves. Machinery is fast
doing away with hand-made cigarettes. At the famous establishment of
La Honradez, in Havana, which we visited some weeks later, one machine
was seen in operation which produced ten thousand complete cigarettes
each hour, or a million per day! Still this same establishment
employed some fifty Chinese in order to supply its trade with the
hand-made article, for home consumption. The Cubans prefer to unroll
and readjust a cigarette before lighting it. This cannot be done with
the machine-made article, which completes its product by a pasting
process. The three machines (an American patent) at the Honradez
factory turn out three millions of cigarettes per day, and this is in
addition to those which are hand-made by the Chinese.
The landlord of the Hotel Union, at Cienfuegos, will give you plenty
of fruit and cheap Cataline wine, but the meat which is served is poor
and consists mostly of birds. Any other which may be set before you
will hardly be found to be a success, but then one does not crave much
substantial food in this climate. There is a small wild pigeon which
forms a considerable source of food in Cuba, and which breeds several
times in a year. They are snared and shot in large numbers for the
table, but do not show any signs of being exterminated. Ducks and
water-fowl generally abound, and are depended upon to eke out the
short supply of what we term butcher's meat. Three quarters of the
people never partake of other meat than pigeons, poultry, and wild
ducks. Eggs are little used as food, being reserved for hatching
purposes. All families in the country and many in the cities make a
business of raising poultry, but the product is a bird of small
dimensions, not half the size of our common domestic fowls. They are
very cheap, but they are also very poor. The practice is to keep them
alive until they are required for the table, so that they are killed,
picked, and eaten, all in the same hour, and are in consequence very
tough. As the climate permits of hens hatching every month in the
year, the young are constantly coming forward, and one mother annually
produces several broods; chickens, like tropical fruits, are
perennial.
Sunday is no more a day of rest in Cienfuegos than it is in other
Roman Catholic countries; indeed, it seemed to be distinguished only
by an increase of revelry, the activity of the billiard saloons, the
noisy persistency of the lottery-ticket venders, the boisterousness of
masquerade processions, and a general public rollicking. The city is
not large enough to support a bull-ring, but cock-pits are to be found
all over the island, and the Sabbath is the chosen day for their
exhibitions. It must be a very small and very poor country town in
Cuba which has not its cock-pit. The inveterate gambling propensities
of the people find vent also at dominoes, cards, checkers, and chess
in the bar-rooms, every marble table being in requisition for the
purpose of the games on Sundays. Having noticed the sparse attendance
at the cathedral, we remarked to Jane that the church was quite
empty, whereupon she replied with a significant leer, "True, Señor,
but the jail is full." More than once an underlying vein of sarcasm
was observed in the very pertinent remarks of which Jane was so
happily delivered.
There are comparatively few slaves to be found on the plantations or
elsewhere in the vicinity of Cienfuegos: in fact, slavery is rapidly
disappearing from the island. "Slave labor is more costly than any
other, all things considered," said a sugar planter to us. "I do not
own one to-day, but I have owned and worked six hundred at a time," he
added. "We pay no tax on the laborers we hire, but on slaves we pay a
heavy head-tax annually." An edict has been promulgated by the home
government, which went into force last year, and which frees one slave
in every four annually, so that on January 1, 1888, all will have
become free. In the mean time the commercial value of slaves has so
decreased in view of their near emancipation that they are not
appraised on an average at over fifty or sixty dollars each. The law
has for a period of many years provided that any slave who pays to his
master his appraised value shall at once receive his free papers. Many
purchase their liberty under this law, and then hire themselves to the
same master or to some other, as they may choose,--at low wages, to be
sure, but including food and shelter. Slaves have always been entitled
by law in Cuba to hold individual property independent of their
masters, and there are few smart ones who have not accumulated more or
less pecuniary means during their servitude. They have had no expenses
to meet in the way of supporting themselves. That has devolved upon
their owners, so that whatever money they have realized by the several
ways open to them has been clear profit. Many slaves have anticipated
the period of their legal release from servitude, and more will do so
during the present year. We also heard of planters who, realizing the
inevitable, have manumitted the few slaves whom they still held in
bondage, and hiring them at merely nominal wages, believed they saved
money by the operation.
It will be seen, therefore, that slavery as an institution here is
virtually at an end. Low wages will prevail, and this is necessary to
enable the planters to compete with the beet sugar producers of
Europe. In truth, it is a question how long they will be able to do so
at any rate of wages. The modern machinery being so generally adopted
by the sugar-cane planters, while remarkably successful, both, as to
the quality and the quantity of the juice it expresses from the cane,
not only is expensive in first cost, but it requires more intelligent
laborers than were found serviceable with the old process. To supply
the places of the constantly diminishing slaves, emigrants, as they
were called, have heretofore been introduced from the Canary Islands;
men willing to contract for a brief period of years, say eight or ten,
as laborers, and at moderate wages. These people have proved to be
good plantation hands, though not so well able to bear the great heat
of the sun as were the negroes; otherwise they were superior to them,
and better in all respects than the Chinese coolies, who as workers on
the plantations have proved to be utter failures. The mortality among
these Mongolians, as we learned from good authority, had reached as
high as sixty-seven per cent, within eight years of their date of
landing in Cuba, that being also the period of their term of contract.
None have been introduced into the island for several years. This
coolie importation, like the slave-trade with Africa, was a fraud and
an outrage upon humanity, and never paid any one, even in a mercenary
point of view, except the shipowners who brought the deceived natives
from the coast of China. Slavery in Cuba and slavery in our country
were always quite a different thing, and strange to say the laws of
the Spanish government were far more favorable and humane towards the
victims of enforced labor than were those established in our Southern
States. When the American negro ceased to be a slave, he ceased to
cultivate the soil for his master only to cultivate it for himself.
Not so in the tropics. The Cuban negro, in the first place, is of a
far less intelligent type than the colored people in the States;
secondly, the abundance of natural food productions in the low
latitudes, such as fruit, fish, and vegetables, requires of the negro
only to pluck and to eat; clothing and shelter are scarcely needed,
and virtually cost nothing where one may sleep in the open air without
danger every night in the year; and finally, the negro of the tropics
will not work unless he is compelled to.
There is a certain class of the Spanish slaveholders who have always
fought against negro emancipation in any form,--fought against
manifest destiny as well as against sound principles, fought indeed
against their own clear interest, so wedded were they to the vile
institution of slavery. Yet to every thinking man on the island, it is
clearly apparent that human slavery in Cuba, as everywhere else, has
proved to be a disturber of the public peace, and has retarded more
than anything, else the material and moral progress of the entire
people. It is but a short time since that the editor of a Havana
newspaper, the "Revista Economica," was imprisoned in Moro Castle, and
without even the pretense of a trial afterwards banished from the
island, because he dared to point out the fact in print that the
freeing of the slaves would prove a mutual benefit to man and master,
besides being a grand act of humanity. Two years since the slaves on a
large plantation near Guines refused to work on a holiday which had
always heretofore been granted to them; whereupon the soldiery were
called in to suppress what was called a mutiny of the blacks,
resulting in nine negroes being shot dead, and many others put in
chains to be scourged at leisure. Doomed as we have shown slavery to
be, still it dies hard in Cuba.
In the vicinity of Cienfuegos, Santiago, and Trinidad, in the mountain
regions of the eastern district, there are many lawless
people,--banditti, in fact, who make war for plunder both upon native
and foreign travelers, even resorting in some cases to holding
prisoners for ransoms. Several aggravating instances of the latter
character came to our knowledge while we were on the spot. Since these
notes were commenced five of these robbers have been captured,
including the leader of the band to which they belonged, a notorious
outlaw named Clemente Martinez. They were taken by means of a
stratagem, whereby they were decoyed into an ambush, surrounded, and
captured red-handed, as they fought furiously, knowing that they had
no mercy to expect at the hands of the soldiers. It was the civil
guard at Rancho Veloz who made this successful raid into the hills,
and every one of the prisoners was summarily shot. Such, off-hand
punishment is dangerous, but in this instance it was no more prompt
than just. It is necessary, therefore, to carry arms for self-defense
upon the roads in some parts of the island, and even the countrymen
wear swords when bringing produce to market. Residents having occasion
to go any distance inland take a well-armed guard with them, to
prevent being molested by the desperate refugees who lurk in the hill
country. Undoubtedly many of these lawless bands are composed of
former revolutionists, who are driven to extremes by want of food and
the necessities of life.
Our journey was continued from Cienfuegos to Havana, by way of
Matanzas, crossing the island nearly at right angles. The traveler
plunges at once by this route into the midst of luxuriant tropical
nature, where the vegetation is seen to special advantage,
characterized by a great variety of cacti and parasitic growth,
flowering trees and ever graceful palms, besides occasional ceibas of
immense size. Though the landscape, somehow, was sad and melancholy,
it gave rise to bright and interesting thoughts in the observer:
doubtless the landscape, like humanity, has its moods. Vegetation,
unlike mankind, seems here never to grow old, never to falter; crop
succeeds crop, harvest follows harvest; nature is inexhaustible,--it
is an endless cycle of abundance. Miles upon miles of the bright,
golden-green sugar-cane lie in all directions, among which, here and
there, is seen the little cluster of low buildings constituting the
negroes' quarters attached to each plantation, and near by is the tall
white chimney of the sugar-mill, emitting its thick volume of
wreathing smoke, like the funnel of a steamboat. A little on one side
stands the planter's house, low and white, surrounded by beautiful
shade trees and clustering groups of flowers. Scores of dusky Africans
give life to the scene, and the sturdy overseer, mounted on his little
Cuban pony, dashes back and forth to keep all hands advantageously at
work. One large gang is busy cutting the tall cane with sharp,
sword-like knives; some are loading the stalks upon ox-carts; some are
driving loads to the mill; some feeding the cane between the great
steel crushers, beneath which pours forth a ceaseless jelly-like
stream, to be conducted by iron pipes to the boilers; men, women, and
children are spreading the crushed refuse to dry in the sun, after
which it will be used for fuel. Coopers are heading up hogsheads full
of the manufactured article, and others are rolling up empty ones to
be filled.
Some years ago, when the author first visited Cuba, the overseer was
never seen without his long, cutting whip, as well as his sword and
pistols. The latter he wears to-day, but the whip is unseen. The fact
is, the labor on the plantations is now so nearly free labor that
there is little if any downright cruelty exercised as of yore. Or,
rather, we will qualify the remark by saying that there has been a
vast improvement in this respect on the side of humanity. The shadow
of the picture lies in the past. One could not but recall in
imagination the horrors which so long characterized these plantations.
The bloodthirsty spirit of the Spanish slaveholders had free scope
here for centuries, during which time the invaders sacrificed the
entire aboriginal race; and since then millions of Africans have been
slowly murdered by overwork, insufficient food, and the lash, simply
to fill the pockets of their rapacious masters with gold. Few native
Cubans are sugar-planters. These estates are almost universally owned
and carried on by Spaniards from the European peninsula, or other
foreigners, including Englishmen and Americans.
Occasionally, in the trip across the island, we passed through a crude
but picturesque little hamlet having the unmistakable stamp of
antiquity, with low straggling houses built of rude frames, covered at
side and roof with palm bark and leaves; chimneys there were
none,--none even in the cities,--charcoal only being used for cooking
purposes, and which is performed in the open air. About the door of
the long, rambling posada, a dozen or more horses were seen tied to a
long bar, erected for the purpose, but no wheeled vehicles were there.
The roads are only fit for equestrians, and hardly passable even for
them. At rare intervals one gets a glimpse of the volante, now so
generally discarded in the cities, and which suggested Dr. Holmes's
old chaise, prepared to tumble to pieces in all parts at the same
time. The people, the cabins, and the horses, are all stained with the
red dust of the soil, recalling the Western Indians in their war
paint. This pigment, or colored dirt, penetrates and adheres to
everything, filling the cars and decorating the passengers with a
dingy brick color. It was difficult to realize that these
comparatively indifferent places through which we glided so swiftly
were of importance and the permanent abode of any one. When the cars
stop at the small way-stations, they are instantly invaded by
lottery-ticket sellers, boys with tempting fruit, green cocoanuts,
ripe oranges, and bananas,--all cheap for cash. And here too is the
guava seller, with neatly sealed cans of the favorite preserve.
Indeed, it seems to rain guava jelly in Cuba. Others offer country
cheese, soft and white, with rolls, while in a shanty beside the road
hot coffee and "blue ruin" are dealt out to thirsty souls by a
ponderous mulatto woman. There are always a plenty of the denizens of
the place, in slovenly dresses and slouched hats, hands in pockets,
and puffing cigarettes, who do the heavy standing-round business.
Stray dogs hang about the car-wheels and track to pick up the crumbs
which passengers throw away from their lunch-baskets. Just over the
wild-pineapple hedge close at hand, half a score of naked negro
children hover round the door of a low cabin; the mother, fat and
shining in her one garment, gazes with arms akimbo at the scene of
which she forms a typical part. The engineer imbibes a penny drink of
thin Cataline wine and hastens back to his machine, which has been
taking water from an elevated cistern beside the track, the bell
rings, the whistle sounds, and we are off to repeat the process and
the picture, six or eight leagues further on. Take our advice and
don't attempt to make a meal at one of these stations. The viands are
wretchedly poor, and the price charged is a swindle.
As we approach Matanzas the scene undergoes a radical change.
Comfortable habitations are multiplied, passable roads appear winding
gracefully about the country, groves and gardens spring into view,
with small and thrifty farms. Superb specimens of the royal palm begin
to appear in abundance, always suggestive of the Corinthian column.
Scattered over the hills and valleys a few fine cattle are seen
cropping the rank verdure. There is no greensward in the tropics, and
hay is never made. The scenery reminds one of Syria and the Nile.
One sees some vegetable and fruit farms, but sugar raising absorbs
nearly every other interest, the tobacco leaf coming next, now that
coffee is so neglected. The farmer ploughs with the crooked branch of
a tree, having one handle with which to guide the crude machine,--just
such an instrument as is used for the purpose in Egypt to-day, and has
been used there for thousands of years. The cattle are mostly poor,
half-starved creatures,--starved amid a vegetation only too rank and
luxuriant. The dairy receives no attention in Cuba. Butter is seldom
made; the canned article from this country, thin and offensive, is
made to answer the purpose. The climate is too hot to keep butter or
cream without ice, and that is expensive. Human beings, men, women,
and children, look stunted and thin, possessing, however, wonderfully
fine eyes, large, lustrous, and ebony in hue; eyes that alone make
beauty; but the physiognomists have long since learned that eyes of
themselves are no indication of character or moral force.
The thermometer had stood since early morning at 83°, during the long
ride from Cienfuegos. It was hot and dusty. Notwithstanding the
ceaseless novelty of the scene, one became a little fatigued, a little
weary; but as we approached Matanzas, the refreshing air from off the
Gulf of Mexico suddenly came to our relief, full of a bracing tonic,
and rendering all things tolerable. The sight of the broad harbor,
lying with its flickering surface under the afternoon sun, was
beautiful to behold.
After all, these tropical regions lack the delicious freshness of the
greensward, of new foliage, and the fine fragrance of the rural North;
they need the invigorating sleep of the seasons from which to awake
refreshed and blooming. Where vegetation is growing and decaying at
the same time, there can never be general freshness and greenness;
eternal summer lacks interest; we crave the frost as well as the
sunshine. Compensation follows fast upon the heels of even a Northern
winter. The tropical loveliness of the vegetation in this attractive
land indicates what Cuba should be, but is not.
Having accompanied the reader across many degrees of latitude,
effecting a landing and reaching the interior of Cuba, let us now pass
to other considerations of this interesting and important island.
CHAPTER IV.
The Great Genoese Pilot. -- Discovery of Cuba. -- Its Various
Names. -- Treatment of the Natives. -- Tobacco! -- Flora of
the Island. -- Strange Idols. -- Antiquity. -- Habits of the
Aborigines. -- Remarkable Speech of an Indian King. -- A
Native Entertainment. -- Paying Tribute. -- Ancient Remains.
-- Wrong Impression of Columbus. -- First Attempt at
Colonization. -- Battle with the Indians. -- First Governor
of Cuba. -- Founding Cities. -- Emigration from Spain. --
Conquest of Mexico.
The island of Cuba was discovered by the great Genoese pilot, on the
28th day of October, 1492. The continent of America was not discovered
until six years later,--in 1498. The name of Columbus flashes a bright
ray over the mental darkness of the period in which he lived, for the
world was then but just awakening from the dull sleep of the Middle
Ages. The discovery of printing heralded the new birth of the republic
of letters, and maritime enterprise received a vigorous impulse. The
shores of the Mediterranean, thoroughly explored and developed, had
endowed the Italian States with extraordinary wealth, and built up a
very respectable mercantile marine. The Portuguese mariners were
venturing farther and farther from the peninsula, and traded with many
distant ports on the extended coast of Africa.
To the west lay what men supposed to be an illimitable ocean, full of
mystery, peril, and death. A vague conception that islands hitherto
unknown might be met afar off on that strange wilderness of waters was
entertained by some minds, but no one thought of venturing in search
of them. Columbus alone, regarded merely as a brave and intelligent
seaman and pilot, conceived the idea that the earth was spherical, and
that the East Indies, the great El Dorado of the century, might be
reached by circumnavigating the globe. If we picture to ourselves the
mental condition of the age and the state of science, we shall find no
difficulty in conceiving the scorn and incredulity with which the
theory of Columbus was received. We shall not wonder that he was
regarded as a madman or as a fool; we are not surprised to remember
that he encountered repulse upon repulse as he journeyed wearily from
court to court, and pleaded in vain to the sovereigns of Europe for
aid to prosecute his great design. The marvel is that when door after
door was closed against him, when all ears were deaf to his earnest
importunities, when day by day the opposition to his views increased,
when, weary and footsore, he was forced to beg a bit of bread and a
cup of water for his fainting and famishing boy at the door of a
Spanish convent, his reason did not give way, and his great heart did
not break with disappointment.
But he felt himself to be the instrument of a higher power, and his
soul was then as firm and steadfast as when, launched in his frail
caravél upon the ocean, he pursued day after day and night after
night, amidst a murmuring, discontented, and even mutinous crew, his
westward path across the trackless waters. No doubt he believed
himself to be inspired, or at least specially prompted from above.
This was shown by his tenacious observance of all ceremonies of the
Church, in his unaffected piety, and in that lofty and solemn
enthusiasm which was a characteristic of his whole life. This must
have been the secret in no small degree of the power he exerted so
successfully over his semi-barbarous followers, who were more affected
by awe than by fear. It was the devout and lofty aspect of their
commander which controlled his sailors under circumstances so trying.
We can conceive of his previous sorrows, but what imagination can form
an adequate conception of his hopefulness and gratitude when the
tokens of the neighborhood of land first greeted his senses? What
rapture must have been his when the keel of his barque first grounded
on the shore of San Salvador, and he planted the royal standard in the
soil, as the Viceroy and High-Admiral of Spain in the New World! No
matter what chanced thereafter, a king's favor or a king's
displeasure, royal largesses or royal chains, that moment of noble
exultation was worth a lifetime of trials.
Columbus first named Cuba "Juana," in honor of Prince John, son of
Ferdinand and Isabella. Subsequently the king named it Fernandina.
This was changed to Santiago, and finally to Ave Maria; but the
aboriginal designation has never been lost, Cuba being its Indian and
only recognized name. The new-comers found the land inhabited by a
most peculiar race, hospitable, inoffensive, timid, fond of the dance
and the rude music of their own people, yet naturally indolent, from
the character of the climate they inhabited. They had some definite
idea of God and heaven, and were governed by patriarchs or kings,
whose word was their only law, and whose age gave them undisputed
precedence. They spoke the dialect of the Lucayos, or Bahamas, from
which islands it is presumed by historians they originated; but it
would seem more reasonable to suppose that both the people of the
Bahamas and of the West India isles came originally from the mainland;
that is, either north or south of the Isthmus of Panama. In numbers
they were vaguely estimated at a million, a calculation the
correctness of which we cannot but doubt. Reliable local authority,
Cubans who have made a study of the early history of the island,
assured the author that the aborigines at the time of Velasquez's
first settlement, say in 1512, could not have exceeded four hundred
thousand. They had but few weapons of offense or defense, and knew not
the use of the bow and arrow. Being a peaceful race and having no wild
animals to contend with, their ingenuity had never been taxed to
invent weapons of warfare against man or beast. The natives were at
once subjected by the new-comers, who reduced them gradually to an
actual state of slavery, and proving hard task-masters, the poor
overworked creatures died by hundreds, until they had nearly
disappeared. The home government then granted permission to import
negroes from the coast of Africa to labor upon the soil and to seek
for gold, which was known to exist in the river courses. Thus
commenced the foreign slave-trade of the West Indies, King Ferdinand
himself sending fifty slaves from Seville to labor in the mines, and
from that time this plague spot upon humanity has festered on the
island. It should be remembered in this connection that previous to
the discoveries of Columbus, negro slavery had been reduced to a
system by the Moors, and thus existed in Spain before the days of the
great Genoese.
The Spaniards were not content with putting the aborigines to labor
far beyond their power of endurance on the soil where they were born,
but shipped them by hundreds to Spain to be sold in the slave-market
of Seville, the proceeds being turned into the royal treasury.
Columbus himself was the promoter of this outrageous return for the
hospitality he had received at the hands of the natives. Irving
apologetically says he was induced to this course in order to
indemnify the sovereigns of Castile and Leon for the large expense his
expedition had been to them. The fact that the great navigator
originated the slave-trade in the New World cannot be ignored, though
it detracts in no small degree from the glory of his career.
Although the conquerors have left us but few details respecting these
aborigines, still we know with certainty from the narrative of
Columbus, and those of some of his most intelligent followers, that
they were docile, artless, generous, but inclined to ease; that they
were well-formed, grave, and far from possessing the vivacity of the
natives of the south of Europe. They expressed themselves with a
certain modesty and respect, and were hospitable to the last degree.
Reading between the lines of the records of history, it is manifest
that after their own rules and estimates, their lives were chaste and
proper, though it was admissible for kings to have several wives.
Moreover, though living in a state of nudity, they religiously
observed the decencies of life, and were more outraged by Spanish
lasciviousness than can be clearly expressed. This debasing trait,
together with the greed for gold exhibited by the new-comers,
disabused the minds of the natives as to the celestial origin of their
visitors, a belief which they at first entertained, and which the
Spaniards for mercenary purposes strove to impress upon them. The
labor of this people was limited to the light work necessary to
provide for the prime wants of life, beyond which they knew nothing,
while the bounteous climate of the tropics spared the necessity of
clothing. They preferred hunting and fishing to agriculture; beans and
maize, with the fruits that nature gave them in abundance, rendered
their diet at once simple, nutritious, and entirely adequate to all
their wants. They possessed no quadrupeds of any description, except a
race of voiceless dogs, as they were designated by the early
writers,--why we know not, since they bear no resemblance to the
canine species, but are not very unlike a large rat. This animal is
trapped and eaten by the people on the island to this day, having much
of the flavor and nature of the rabbit.
The native Cubans were of tawny complexion and beardless, resembling
in many respects the aborigines of North America, and as Columbus
described them in his first communication to his royal patrons, were
"loving, tractable, and peaceable; though entirely naked, their
manners were decorous and praiseworthy." The wonderful fecundity of
the soil, its range of noble mountains, its widespread and
well-watered plains, with its extended coast line and excellent
harbors, all challenged the admiration of the discoverers, so that
Columbus recorded in his journal these words: "It is the most
beautiful island that eyes ever beheld,--full of excellent ports and
profound rivers." And again he says; "It excels all other countries,
as far as the day surpasses the night in brightness and splendor." The
spot where the Spaniards first landed is supposed to be on the east
coast, just west of Nuevitas. "As he approached the island," says
Irving, "he was struck with its magnitude and the grandeur of its
features: its airy mountains, which reminded him of Sicily; its
fertile valleys and long sweeping plains, watered by noble rivers; its
stately forests; its bold promontories and stretching headlands, which
melted away into remotest distance."
Excursions inland corroborated the favorable impression made by the
country bordering upon the coast. The abundance of yams, Indian corn,
and various fruits, together with the plentifulness of wild cotton,
impressed the explorers most favorably. Their avarice and greed were
also stimulated by the belief that gold was to be found in large
quantities, having received enough to convince them of its actual
presence in the soil, but in the supposition that the precious metal
was to be found in what is termed paying quantities they were
mistaken.
The Spaniards were not a little surprised to see the natives using
rude pipes, in which they smoked a certain dried leaf with apparent
gratification. Tobacco was indigenous, and in the use of this now
universal narcotic, these simple savages indulged in at least one
luxury. The flora was strongly individualized. The frangipanni, tall
and almost leafless, with thick fleshy shoots, decked with a small
white blossom, was very fragrant and abundant; here also was the wild
passion-flower, in which the Spaniards thought they beheld the emblems
of our Saviour's passion. The golden-hued peta was found beside the
myriad-flowering oleander, while the undergrowth was braided with
cacti and aloes. The poisonous manchineel was observed, a drop of
whose milky juice will burn the flesh like vitriol. Here the invaders
also observed and noted the night-blooming cereus. They were delighted
by fruits of which they knew not the names, such as the custard-apple,
mango, zapota, banana, and others, growing in such rank luxuriance as
to seem miraculous. We can well conceive of the pleasure and surprise
of these adventurous strangers, when first partaking of these new and
delicate products. This was four hundred years ago, and to-day the
same flora and the same luscious food grow there in similar abundance.
Nature in this land of ceaseless summer puts forth strange eagerness,
ever running to fruits, flowers, and fragrance, as if they were
outlets for her exuberant fecundity.
The inoffensive, unsuspicious natives shared freely everything they
possessed with the invaders. Hospitality was with them an instinct,
fostered by nature all about them; besides which it was a considerable
time before they ceased to believe their guests superior beings
descended from the clouds in their winged vessels. The Indians lived
in villages of two or three hundred houses, built of wood and
palm-leaf, each dwelling containing several families, the whole of one
lineage, and all were governed by caciques or kings, the spirit of the
government being patriarchal.
We are told by Las Casas, who accompanied Velasquez in all his
expeditions, that "their dances were graceful and their singing
melodious, while with primeval innocence they thought no harm of being
clad only with nature's covering." The description of the gorgeous
hospitality extended to these treacherous invaders is absolutely
touching in the light of our subsequent knowledge. They reared no
sacred temples, nor did they seem to worship idols, and yet some few
antiquities have been preserved which would seem to indicate that the
natives possessed grotesque images, half human and half animal, like
Chinese gods in effect. These were wrought so rudely out of stone as
hardly to convey any fixed idea; vague and imperfect, it is not safe
to define them as idolatrous images. They might have been left here by
a previous race, for, as we are all aware, respectable authorities
hold that this part of the world was originally peopled by
Carthaginians, Israelites, Egyptians, Hindoos, and Africans. Columbus,
in his second voyage to the West Indies, found the stern-post of a
vessel lying on the shore of one of the Leeward isles, which was
strongly presumptive evidence that a European ship had been in these
waters before him. The fact that at this writing, as already
described, there lies in the harbor of Santiago the wreck of the old
St. Paul, which must be over three centuries old, shows how long a
piece of marine architecture may last, submerged in salt water.
An idol similar to those referred to was dug up in Hayti, and is now
believed to be in the British Museum, drawings of which the author has
seen, and which resemble original religious emblems examined by him in
the caves of Elephanta, at Bombay. This emblem, carved by a people
unacquainted with the use of edge tools, is believed by antiquarians
to afford a degree of light as to the history of worship of the
ancient inhabitants of Hispaniola, and also to form a collateral
support of the conjecture that they sprang from the parent stock of
Asia. According to Las Casas, the native Cubans had a vague tradition
of the formation of the earth, and of all created things; of the
deluge, of the ark, the raven, and the dove. They knew the tradition
of Noah also, according to the same high authority, but for our own
part we do not believe that the aborigines had any knowledge of this
Biblical story. Their priests were fanatics and kept the people in
fear by gross and extravagant means; but as to any formulated system
of religious worship, it may be doubted if the aborigines of Cuba
recognized any at the time of its discovery by Columbus. Unbroken
peace reigned among them, and they turned their hands against no other
people.
These aborigines exhibited many of the traits universally evinced by
savage races, such as painting their bodies with red earth and
adorning their heads with the feathers of brilliant birds. Much of the
soil is red, almost equal to a pigment, for which purpose it was
employed by the natives. They lived mostly in the open air, weaving
themselves hammocks in which they slept, suspended among the trees.
The cotton which they spun grew wild, but tobacco they planted and
cultivated after a rude fashion. The iguana and the voiceless dog,
already spoken of, were hunted and eaten, the former of the lizard
family, the latter scarcely more than fifteen inches long. They had
domestic birds which they fattened and ate. Their only arms were
lances tipped with sea-shells, and a sort of wooden sword, both of
which were more for display than for use. Fish they caught in nets and
also with hooks made of bones. Their boats, or canoes, were formed of
the dug-out trunks of trees, and some of these canoes, as Columbus
tells us, were sufficiently large to accommodate fifty men. An ancient
writer upon this subject says the oars were well formed and properly
fitted, but were used only with the power of the arms, that is as
paddles, no rowlocks being cut in the boat. The speed attained by
them was remarkable, reaching four leagues an hour when an effort to
that end was made by the occupants. A large canoe, made from the
straight trunk of a mahogany tree, is described as having been five
feet in width and seventy-five feet long. This craft was propelled by
twenty-five oarsmen on each side, a steersman in the stern, and a
lookout at the prow. This was a cacique's barge, in which he made
visits of state along shore and up the rivers.
History has preserved a remarkable and characteristic speech made by a
venerable cacique, who approached Columbus with great reverence on the
occasion of his second visit to Cuba, and who, after presenting him
with a basket of ripe fruit, said: "Whether you are divinities or
mortal men, we know not. You have come into these countries with a
force, against which, were we inclined to resist, it would be folly.
We are all therefore at your mercy; but if you are men, subject to
mortality like ourselves, you cannot be unapprised that after this
life there is another, wherein a very different portion is allotted to
good and bad men. If therefore you expect to die, and believe, with
us, that every one is to be rewarded in a future state according to
his conduct in the present, you will do no hurt to those who do none
to you." This was duly interpreted to Columbus by a native whom he had
taken to Spain, and who had there acquired the Spanish language. His
name was Didacus, and the date of the speech was July 7, 1492. The
truth of this version is attested by Herrera and others.
The reception which Bartholomew Columbus, who was appointed Deputy
Governor in the absence of the Admiral, afterwards met with in his
progress through the island to collect tribute from the several
caciques manifested not only kindness and submission, but also
munificence. Having heard of the eagerness of the strangers for gold,
such of them as possessed any brought it forth and freely bestowed it
upon the Spaniards. Those who had not gold brought abundance of
cotton. One cacique in the interior, named Behechio, invited the
Deputy Governor to a state entertainment, on which occasion he was
received with great ceremony. As he approached the king's dwelling,
the royal wives, thirty in number, carrying branches of palm in their
hands, came forth to greet the guest with song and dance. These
matrons were succeeded by a train of virgins. The first wore aprons of
cotton, the last were arrayed only in the innocence of nature, their
hair flowing long and freely about their shoulders and necks. Their
limbs were finely proportioned, and their complexions, though brown,
were smooth, shining, and lovely. The Spaniards were struck with
admiration, believing that they beheld the dryads of the woods and the
nymphs of the ancient fables. The branches which they bore were
delivered to the strangers with low obeisance, indicating entire
submission. When the Spaniards entered the rural palace, amid songs
and the rude music of the people, they found there a plentiful and,
according to the Indian mode of living, a sumptuous banquet prepared
for them.
After the repast the guests were each conducted to separate lodgings,
and each provided with a cotton hammock. On the next day feasting and
games were resumed; dancing and singing closed each evening for four
consecutive days, and when the Deputy Governor and his people
departed, they were laden with gifts by their generous entertainers,
who also accompanied them far on their way. This episode will perhaps
serve better to give us a just insight into the condition and
character of the aborigines of Cuba at that early period than any
amount of detailed description possibly could.
These aborigines, according to Las Casas, had no tradition even,
touching their own origin, and when asked about it only shook their
heads and pointed to the sky. Antiquarians have endeavored to draw
some reliable or at least reasonable deductions from the collection of
bones and skeletons found in the mountain caves of the island, but no
conclusion worthy of record has ever been arrived at. Still, upon
these evidences some scientists pin their faith that Cuba was a
portion of the primitive world. Speaking of these caves, there are
many subterranean openings on the island, down which rivers of
considerable size abruptly disappear, not again to be met with, though
it is reasonably presumed that they find their way through the rocks
and soil to the sea-coast.
During the ten years subsequent to its discovery, Columbus visited and
partially explored the island at four different times, the last being
in 1502, four years previous to his death, which took place at
Valladolid in 1506. It seems singular to us that his investigations
left him still ignorant of the fact that Cuba was an island, and not a
part of a new continent. This conviction remained with him during his
lifetime. It was not until 1511 that the Spaniards commenced to
colonize the island, when Diego Columbus, then Governor of San
Domingo, sent an expedition of three hundred men for the purpose,
under the command of Diego Velasquez, whose landing was disputed by
the natives. A period of ten years had served to open their eyes to
Spanish lust and lore of gold, and from having at first regarded them
as superior beings, entitled to their obedience, they were finally
thus driven to fight them in self-defense. But what could naked
savages, armed only with clubs and spears, accomplish against
Europeans, trained soldiers, furnished with firearms, protected by
plate armor, and accompanied by bloodhounds,--men who had learned the
art of war by fighting successfully with the valiant Moors? The
natives were at once overpowered and hundreds were slaughtered. From
that time forth they became the slaves of their conquerors; a fact
which reconciles us in some degree in the light of poetical justice to
the fact that Amerigo Vespucci, who followed in the footsteps of
others, yet took the honors of discovery so far as to give his name to
the largest quarter of the globe.
Diego Velasquez, the earliest Governor of the island, appears to have
been an energetic and efficient magistrate, and to have administered
affairs with vigor and intelligence. He did not live, however, in a
period when justice ever erred on the side of mercy, and his harsh and
cruel treatment of the aborigines will always remain a stain upon his
memory. The native population soon dwindled away under the sway of the
Spaniards, who imposed tasks upon them far beyond their physical
powers of endurance. The victims of this hardship had no one to
befriend them at that time, and no one has done them justice in
history. The few glimpses of their character which have come down to
us are of a nature greatly to interest us in this now extinct race.
Their one fault was in trusting the invaders at all. At the outset
they could have swept them from the face of the earth, but, once
permitted to establish themselves, they soon became too powerful to be
driven out of the land. A native chief, whose only crime was that of
taking up arms in defense of the integrity of his little territory,
fell into the hands of Velasquez, and was cruelly burned at the stake,
near what is now the town of Yara, as a punishment for his patriotism.
The words of this unfortunate but brave chief (Hatuey), extorted by
the torments which he suffered, were: "I prefer hell to heaven, if
there are Spaniards in heaven!"
In point of energetic action and material progress, Velasquez reminds
us of a later Governor-General, the famous Tacon. In a single decade,
Velasquez founded the seven cities of Baracoa, Santiago de Cuba,
Trinidad, Bayamo, Puerto del Principe, St. Spiritus, and, on the south
coast near Batabano, Havana, since removed to its present site. He
caused the mines to be opened and rendered them profitable, introduced
valuable breeds of cattle, instituted agricultural enterprise, and
opened a large trade with San Domingo, Jamaica, and the Spanish
peninsula. Population increased rapidly, thousands of persons
emigrating annually from Europe, tempted by the inviting stories of
the returned explorers. Emigration schemes were approved and fostered
by the home government, and thus a large community was rapidly divided
among the several cities upon the island. Still this new province was
considered mainly in the light of a military depot by the Spanish
throne, in its famous operations at that period in Mexico. The fact
that it was destined to prove the richest jewel in the Castilian
crown, and a mine of wealth to the Spanish treasury, was not dreamed
of at that date in its history. Even the enthusiastic followers of
Cortez, who sought that fabulous El Dorado in the New World, had no
promise for this gem of the Caribbean Sea; but, in spite of every side
issue and all contending interests, the island continued to grow in
numbers and importance, while its native resources were far beyond the
appreciation of the home government.
Thus Cuba became the headquarters of the Spanish power in the West,
forming the point of departure for those military expeditions which,
though circumscribed in numbers, were yet so formidable in the energy
of the leaders, and in the arms, discipline, courage, fanaticism, and
avarice of their followers, that they were amply adequate to carry out
the vast scheme of conquest for which they were designed. It was hence
that Cortez embarked for the conquest of Mexico; a gigantic
undertaking, a slight glance at which will recall to the mind of the
reader the period of history to which we would direct his attention.
Landing upon the continent (1518) with a little band scarcely more
than half the complement of a modern regiment, Cortez prepared to
traverse an unknown country, thronged by savage tribes with whose
character, habits, and means of defense he was wholly unacquainted.
This romantic adventure, worthy of the palmiest days of chivalry, was
finally crowned with success, though checkered with various fortunes,
and stained with bloody episodes that prove how the threads of courage
and ferocity are inseparably blended in the woof and warp of Spanish
character. It must be remembered, however, that the spirit of the age
was harsh, relentless, and intolerant, and that if the Aztecs,
idolaters and sacrificers of human victims, found no mercy at the
hands of the fierce Catholics whom Cortez commanded, neither did the
Indians of our own section of the continent fare much better at the
hands of men professing to be disciples of a purer faith, and coming
to these shores, not as warriors, but themselves persecuted fugitives.
The Spanish generals who invaded Mexico encountered a people who had
attained a far higher point of civilization than their red brethren of
the outlying Caribbean Islands, or those of the northeastern portion
of the continent. Vast pyramids, imposing sculptures, curious arms,
fanciful garments, various kinds of manufactures, the relics of which
strongly interest the student of the past, filled the invaders with
surprise. There was much that was curious and startling in their
mythology, and the capital of the Mexican empire presented a strange
and fascinating spectacle to the eyes of Cortez. The rocky
amphitheatre in the midst of which it was built still remains
unchanged, but the great lake which surrounded it, traversed by
causeways and covered with floating gardens laden with flowers, is
gone.
The star of the Aztec dynasty set in blood. In vain did the
inhabitants of the conquered city, roused to madness by the cruelty
and extortion of the victors, expel them from their midst. Cortez
refused to flee farther than the shore; the light of his burning
galleys rekindled the desperate valor of his followers, and Mexico
fell, as a few years after did Peru under the perfidy and sword of
Pizarro, thus completing the scheme of conquest, and giving Spain a
colonial empire far more splendid than that of any other power in
Christendom.
Of the agents in this vast scheme of territorial aggrandizement, we
see Cortez dying in obscurity and Pizarro assassinated in his palace,
while retributive justice has overtaken the monarchy at whose behest
the richest portions of the Western Continent were violently wrested
from their native possessors.
CHAPTER V.
Baracoa, the First Capital. -- West Indian Buccaneers. --
Military Despotism. -- A Perpetual State of Siege. -- A
Patriotic Son of Cuba. -- Political Condition of the Island.
-- Education of Cuban Youths. -- Attempts at Revolution. --
Fate of General Narciso Lopez. -- The Late Civil War and its
Leader. -- Terrible Slaughter of Spanish Troops. --
Stronghold of the Insurgents. -- Guerrillas. -- Want of
Self-Reliance. -- Spanish Art, Literature, and Conquest. --
What Spain was. -- What Spain is. -- Rise and Fall of an
Empire.
Baracoa lies one hundred miles northeast from Santiago, and was the
capital of the island as first established by Velasquez. Here Leo X.
erected in 1518 the first cathedral in Cuba. The town is situated on
the north coast, near the eastern extremity of the island, having a
small but deep harbor, and a considerable trade in the shipping of
sugar and fruits to this country. The population at present numbers
about six thousand. Five years after the settlement of Baracoa, the
capital was moved to Santiago de Cuba, where it remained until 1589,
when Havana was formally declared to be the capital of the island, its
first Captain-General being Juan de Tejada. The city was captured and
partially destroyed by a French pirate in 1638, and afterwards
suffered a like catastrophe at the hands of the buccaneers of combined
nationality, embracing some disaffected Spaniards. So late as 1760
Havana was captured and held by the English, under the Duke of
Albemarle, but was restored to Spain, after a brief occupancy, in
1763. The first grand impulse to the material prosperity of the city,
anomalous though it may seem, was given through its capture by the
British. It is true that the victors seized everything by force, but
they also taught the listless people how to repair their losses, and
how to multiply prosperity. The port of Havana, accustomed heretofore
to receive the visits of half a score of European vessels annually,
suddenly became the rendezvous of a thousand ships in the same period
of time, much to the surprise of the inhabitants. Bourbon in nature as
the Spaniards were and still are, they could not but profit by the
brilliant example of their enemies, and from that time forward the
city grew rapidly in commercial importance, and has continued to do
so, notwithstanding the rivalry of Matanzas, Santiago, Cienfuegos, and
other ports, as well as the drawbacks of civil war and business
stagnation.
These buccaneers of the West Indies, to whom we have so often alluded,
were composed mostly of English, French, and Dutch adventurers, whose
bitter hatred the Spaniards early incurred. They were for a long time
their terror and scourge, being the real masters of the ocean in these
latitudes. They feared no enemy and spared none, while by shocking
acts of needless cruelty they proved themselves fiends in human shape.
Among these rovers there were often found men particularly fitted for
the adventurous career they had adopted, men who combined remarkable
executive ability with a spirit of daring bravery and a total
disregard of all laws, human and divine. By a few such leaders the
bands of freebooters were held in hand, and preserved their
organization for many years; obedience to the word of their chief,
after he was once chosen as such, being the one inviolable law of
their union. The romance of the sea owes its most startling chapters
to the career of these pirates. Sometimes their principal rendezvous
was at the Isle of Pines; at others further north among the Bahamas,
Nassau being one of their favorite resorts.
In the mean time, under numerous and often changed Captains-General,
the island of Cuba increased in population by free emigration from
Spain, and by the constant importations of slaves from Africa. It may
be said to have been governed by a military despotism from the very
outset to the present time; and nothing short of such an arbitrary
rule could maintain the connection between the island and so exacting
a mother country, more than three thousand miles across the ocean.
Accordingly we find the Captain-General invested with unlimited power.
He is in fact a viceroy appointed by the crown of Spain, and
accountable only to the reigning sovereign for his administration of
the colony. His rule is absolute. He has the power of life and death
in his hands. He can by his arbitrary will send into exile any person
who resides in the island whom he considers inimical to the interests
of the home government. Of the exercise of this power instances are
constantly occurring, as in the case of the editor of the "Revista
Economica," already recorded. He can at will suspend the operation of
the laws and ordinances, can destroy or confiscate property, and in
short, the island may be said to be in a perpetual state of siege.
Such is the infirmity of human nature that few individuals can be
safely trusted with despotic power; accordingly we find no
Captain-General whose administration will bear the test of rigid
examination. Indeed, the venality of a majority of these officials
has been so gross as to have passed into a proverb. It is not to be
expected that officers from Spain should consult the true interests of
the Cubans; they are not sent hither for that purpose, but merely to
look after the revenue of the crown, and to swell it to the very
uttermost. The office of Governor-General is of course a brilliant
prize, for which there are plenty of aspirants eagerly struggling,
while the means by which a candidate is most likely to succeed in
obtaining the appointment presupposes a character of an inferior
order. This official knows that he cannot count on a long term of
office, and hence he makes no effort to study the interests or gain
the good-will of the people over whom he presides. He has a twofold
object only in view: namely, to keep the revenue well up to the mark,
and to enrich himself as speedily as possible. The princely salary he
receives--fifty thousand dollars per annum, with a palace and
household attendants supplied--is but a portion of the income which,
by a system of peculation, he is enabled to divert to his private
coffers. As a rule, the Captain-General comes out to Cuba a poor man,
and returns a rich one, however brief his term of office.
Occasionally during the lapse of years a true and patriotic man has
filled this important post, when the remarkable elements of prosperity
contained within the limits of this peerless land were rapidly
developed and advanced. Such an one was Don Luis de las Casas, whose
name is cherished by all patriotic Cubans, as also is that of Don
Francisco de Arrango, an accomplished statesman and a native of
Havana. He was educated in Spain, and designed to follow the law as a
profession. This man, being thoroughly acquainted with the
possibilities of the island and the condition and wants of his
countrymen, succeeded in procuring the amelioration of some of the
most flagrant abuses of the colonial system. In his argument for
reform before the home government, he told them that serious dissent
permeated every class of the community, and was bid in return to
employ a still more stringent system of rule. To this Arrango replied
that force was not remedy, and that to effectually reform the
rebellious they must first reform the laws. His earnest reason carried
conviction, and finally won concession. By his exertions the staple
productions of the island were so much increased that the revenue, in
place of falling short of the expenses of the government as his
enemies had predicted, soon yielded a large surplus. He early raised
his voice against the iniquitous slave trade, and suggested the
introduction of white labor, though he admitted that the immediate and
wholesale abolition of slavery was impracticable. This was the rock on
which he split, as it regarded his influence with the Spaniards in
Cuba, that is, with the planters and rich property holders. Slavery
with them was a sine qua non. Many of them owned a thousand Africans
each, and the institution, as an arbitrary power as well as the means
of wealth, was ever dear to the Spanish heart. Former and subsequent
Captains-General not only secretly encouraged the clandestine
importation of slaves, after issuing an edict prohibiting it, but
profited pecuniarily by the business. It was owing to his exertions
that the duty on coffee, spirits, and cotton was remitted for a period
of ten years, and that machinery for the sugar plantations was allowed
to be imported into Cuba from the United States free of all duty.
The patriotic services of Arrango were appreciated by the court of
Madrid, although he was at times the inflexible opponent of its
selfish schemes. The Cross of Charles III. showed the esteem in which
he was held by that monarch. With a modesty which did him honor he
declined to accept a title of nobility which was afterwards tendered
to him by his king. This patriotic son of Cuba was at heart a
republican, and declared that the king could make noblemen, but God
only could make gentlemen. In 1813, when, by the adoption of the
Constitution of 1812, Cuba became entitled to representation in the
general Cortes,--a privilege but briefly enjoyed,--he went to Madrid
as a deputy, and there achieved the crowning glory of his useful life:
namely, the opening of the ports of the island to foreign trade. In
1817 he returned to his native land with the rank of Counselor of
State and Financial Intendant of Cuba, also possessing the Grand Cross
of the Order of Isabella. He died in 1837, at the age of seventy-two,
after a long and eminently useful life, bequeathing large sums of
money for various public purposes in his native isle.
When the invasion of Spain, which took place in 1808, produced the
Constitution of 1812, Cuba was considered entitled, as we have stated,
to enjoy its benefits, and it was so announced by royal statute; but
political revolution at home and a manifest restiveness upon the
island finally led in 1836 to the revoking of this royal statute,
which had never been practically operative, and the old Constitution
was proclaimed.
Up to this period of time the various political events at home had
disturbed but slightly the tranquillity of this rich province of
Spain. The Cubans, although sensible of the progress of public
intelligence and wealth under the protection of a few enlightened
governors and through the influence of some distinguished and
patriotic individuals, still felt that these advances were slow,
partial, and limited. The most intelligent realized that there was no
regular system; that the public interests were sure to suffer,
confided to officials entrusted with unlimited power. They frequently
saw themselves betrayed by a cupidity which impelled the authorities
to enrich themselves in every possible way at the expense of general
suffering. Added to these sources of discontent was the powerful
influence exerted by the spectacle of the rapidly increasing greatness
of the United States, where a portion of the Cuban youths were wont to
receive their education. No matter in what political faith these
youths had left home, they were sure to return republicans.
There also were the examples of Mexico and Spanish South America,
which had recently conquered with their blood their emancipation from
monarchy. Liberal ideas were naturally diffused by Cubans who had
traveled either in Europe or North America, there imbibing the spirit
of modern civilization. But with a fatuity and obstinacy which has
always characterized her, the mother country resolved to ignore all
causes of discontent, and their significant influence as manifested by
the people of the island. In place of yielding to the popular current
and introducing a liberal and mild system of government, she drew the
reins yet tighter, curtailing many former privileges. Thus it was that
blind persistence in the fatal principle of despotic domination
relaxed the natural bonds uniting Cuba and the mother country, and
infused gall into the hearts of the governed. Obedience still
continued, but it was the dangerous obedience of terror, not the
secure and instinctive spirit of loyalty.
This severity on the part of the home government has naturally given
rise to several attempts to cast off the Spanish yoke. The first
occurred in 1823, when Simon Bolivar offered to aid the disaffected
party by throwing an invading force into the island. Another was made
in 1826, and a third in 1828. In 1848 a conspiracy was formed at
Cienfuegos and Trinidad to establish Cuban independence, under the
leadership of General Narciso Lopez; but finding that his plans were
premature, he escaped to this country, and here arranged a descent
upon the island, which he led in person: this was in 1850. General
Lopez, however, was not seconded by the timid natives, though they had
freely pledged themselves to do so, and his expedition, after winning
one decisive battle and several important skirmishes, was at last
overpowered and its leader promptly executed. General Lopez was an
adopted citizen of Cuba, and was married to one of her daughters. He
was executed at the age of fifty-two.
The Lopez expedition would seem to have been the most serious and best
organized attempt at revolution in Cuba by invasion, though there have
been formidable attempts since. From 1868 to 1876 Cuba may be said to
have been in a state of chronic civil war. This outbreak was led by
Carlos Manuel de Cespedes, an able lawyer and wealthy planter of
Bayamo, in the eastern department of the island. He raised the
standard of independence on his estate, Demajagua, supported at the
outset by less than fifty men. This was in October, 1868, and by the
middle of November he had an organized army of twelve thousand men;
poorly armed, it must be admitted, but united in purpose and of
determined will. That portion of the island contiguous to Santiago,
and between that city and Cienfuegos, was for a long period almost
entirely in possession of the patriot forces. Here many sanguinary
battles were fought with varying fortune, at terrible sacrifice of
life, especially on the part of the government troops, over one
hundred thousand of whom, first and last, are known to have perished
in that district. Spain actually sent one hundred and forty-five
thousand enlisted men to Cuba during the eight years of active
warfare. Of this number those who finally returned to the European
peninsula were but a few hundreds! It was publicly stated in the
Cortes of Madrid that not enough of that immense force ever returned
to fill a single regiment! The climate was far more fatal to these
soldiers than were patriot bullets. The warfare was conducted by the
native Cubans mostly on the guerrilla plan, and was ten times more
destructive to the imported soldiers than to themselves. Discipline
counted for little or nothing in contending with men who fought
single-handed and from ambush, decimating the ranks of an invading
column, who in turn could only fire at random.
Exhaustion and promised concessions, which were, as usual with the
Spanish government, never fulfilled, finally brought this struggle to
an end; but it cost Spain many millions of dollars and the lives of
over a hundred and fifty thousand men, saying nothing of the
destruction of an enormous amount of property on the island, belonging
to loyal Spaniards. Miles upon miles of thrifty plantations, with all
their buildings and machinery, were laid waste, and remain so to this
day.
Since 1876 there have been roving bands of insurgents in existence,
causing the authorities more or less serious trouble, leading them at
times to make serious attempts at their entire suppression. But the
mountains and half-inaccessible forests of the eastern department
still serve to secrete many armed and disaffected people, whose
frequent outbreaks are made public by the slow process of oral
information. The press is forbidden to publish any news of this
character. Thus it will be seen that, although the spirit of liberty
may slumber in the island, it is by no means dead, nor is the intense
hatred which exists between the home-born Spaniard and the native
Cuban growing less from year to year. Indeed, the insurrection of
Trinidad and Cienfuegos (1868) still smoulders, and any extreme
political exigency would be liable to cause it to blaze forth with
renewed force. The region where the insurgents have always made their
rendezvous, and which they have virtually held for years, is nearest
to Guantanamo and Santiago. This mountainous district is the resort of
all runaway slaves, escaped criminals, and those designated as
insurgents. These together form at the present time a roving community
of several hundred desperate men. These refugees, divided into small
bands, make predatory raids upon travelers and loyal planters, as we
have described, to keep themselves supplied with the necessities of
life other than those afforded by the prolific hand of Nature.
Occasionally they are organized by some fresh leader, some daring
native, stimulated by a spirit of patriotism, and possessing some
executive ability; then follows a systematic outbreak of just
sufficient importance to harass the government, and to form, perhaps,
an excuse for demanding a fresh regiment of victims from the European
peninsula. Such a guerrilla contest engages the worst passions of the
combatants, and quarter is neither asked nor given when they come face
to face. The bloodthirsty acts of both sides, as related to the author
during his late visit to the spot, are too horrible to record in these
pages. It is not legitimate warfare, but rather wholesale murder,
which characterizes these occasions, and there is no expedient of
destruction not resorted to by both the refugees and the pursuing
soldiers. The nature of the country favors the revolutionists, and
determines their mode of conflict. Thus far, when the irregular bands
have been strong enough to meet these detachments of regulars sent
into their neighborhood to capture them, they have nearly always
beaten them gallantly, and this has served to perpetuate their hopes,
desperate as is a cause which only outlaws, escaped criminals, and
slaves dare to fight for. These people appear to be well supplied with
arms and ammunition, which it is said are smuggled to them from
sympathizers in this country, particularly from Florida. Though their
ranks are supposed to embrace but small numbers, still they form a
nucleus at all times, about which discontented spirits may gather.
Thus it is found necessary to quarter a foreign army of thirty
thousand soldiers upon the people at the present time, while half the
navy of Spain lies anchored in the ports of the island.
One great drawback and defect in the character of the native Cubans
is a want of self-reliance. The remedy for the outrageous oppression
under which they have so long struggled lies within themselves; "for
they can conquer who believe they can." In the consciousness of
strength is strength, but the Creole republicans have never yet
evinced the necessary degree of true manhood to challenge general
outside sympathy, or to command the respect of other nationalities.
The numerous revolutionary outbreaks upon the island--so frequent in
the last half century as to be chronic--have all been of the most
insignificant character, compared with the importance of the occasion
and the object in view. These efforts have mostly been made from
without, almost entirely unsupported from within the borders of Cuba,
with the exception of that of 1868. It appears incredible that an
intelligent people, within so short a distance of our Southern coast,
constantly visited by the citizens of a free republic, and having the
example of successful revolt set them by the men of the same race,
both in the North and the South, weighed down by oppression almost
without parallel, should never have aimed an effectual blow at their
oppressors. It would seem that the softness of the unrivaled climate
of those skies, beneath which it is luxury only to exist, has unnerved
this people, and that the effeminate spirit of the original
inhabitants had descended in retribution to the posterity of their
conquerors.
In closing these brief chapters relating to the early history of the
island of Cuba, and in bringing the record up to our own period, some
natural reflections suggest themselves as to the present condition of
the mother country. We follow with more than passing interest the
condition of Spain, whose history is so closely interwoven with our
own. From the close of the fifteenth century our paths have run on in
parallel lines, but while we have gone on increasing in power and
wealth, she has sunk in the scale of decadence with a rapidity no less
surprising than has been the speed of our own progress. At the
commencement of the sixteenth century Spain threatened to become the
mistress of the world, as Rome had been before her. She may be said to
have at that period dominated Europe. In art she was in the very
foremost position: Murillo, Velasquez, Ribera, and other famous
painters were her honored sons. In literature she was also
distinguished: both Cervantes and Lope de Vega contributed to her
greatness and lasting fame. While, in discoverers and conquerors, she
sent forth Columbus, Cortez, and Pizarro. The banners of Castile and
Aragon floated alike on the Pacific and the margin of the Indian
Ocean. Her ships sailed in every sea, and brought home freights of
fabulous value from all the regions of the earth. Her manufacturers
produced the richest silks and velvets; her soil yielded corn and
wine; her warriors were adventurous and brave; her soldiers inherited
the gallantry of the followers of Charles V.; her cities were the
splendid abodes of luxury, refinement, and elegance. She was the court
of Europe, the acknowledged leader of chivalry and of grandeur.
This is the picture of what Spain was at no remote period of time, but
in her instance we have an example showing us that states are no more
exempt than individuals from the mutability of fate. So was it with
Egypt, Babylon, Assyria, and Rome, though in their case we look far
back into the vista of history to recall the change, whereas in the
instance of Spain we are contemporary witnesses. From a first-class
power, how rapidly she has sunk into comparative insignificance! She
has been shorn of her wealthy colonies, one after another, in the East
and in the West, holding with feeble grasp a few inconsiderable
islands only besides this gem of the Antilles, the choicest jewel of
her crown. Extremely poor and deeply indebted, she has managed for
years to extort by means of the most outrageous system of taxation a
large share of her entire revenue from the island of Cuba, her home
population having long since become exhausted by over-burdensome
imposts. Her nobles of to-day are an effeminate, soulless, and
imbecile race, while the common people, with some excellent qualities,
are yet ignorant, cruel, and passionate. The whole country is divided
against itself, the tottering throne being with difficulty upheld.
Even the elements have of late seemed to combine against her,
decimating whole cities of her southern possessions by earthquakes,
and smiting her people with pestilence.
This simple statement of her present situation is patent to all who
read and observe. It is not an overdrawn picture. In it the moralist
beholds the retributive justice of providence. As Spain in the
plenitude of her power was ambitious, cruel, and perfidious, so has
the measure which she meted out to others been in return accorded to
herself. As with fire and sword she swept the Aztec and the Incas from
Mexico and Peru, so was she at last driven from these genial countries
by their revolted inhabitants. The spoiler has been despoiled, the
victor has been vanquished, and thus has Spain met the just fate
clearly menaced by the Scriptures to those who smite with the sword.
CHAPTER VI.
Geographical. -- A Remarkable Weed. -- Turtle-Hunting. --
Turtle-Steaks in Olden Times. -- The Gulf Stream. -- Deep-Sea
Soundings. -- Mountain Range of Cuba. -- Curious Geological
Facts. -- Subterranean Caverns. -- Wild Animals. -- The
Rivers of the Island. -- Fine Harbors. -- Historic Memories
of the Caribbean Sea. -- Sentinel of the Gulf. -- Importance
of the Position. -- Climate. -- Hints for Invalids. --
Matanzas. -- Execution of a Patriot. -- Valley of Yumuri;
Caves of Bellamar; Puerto Principe; Cardenas.
Having thus briefly glanced at the historical and political story of
Cuba,--whose very name seems bathed in sunshine and fragrance, yet
bedewed with human tears,--let us now consider its peculiarities of
climate, soil, and population, together with its geographical
characteristics. The form of the island is quite irregular, resembling
the blade of a Turkish scimitar slightly curved back, or that of a
long narrow crescent, presenting its convex side to the north. It
stretches away in this shape from east to west, throwing its western
end into a curve, as if to form a barrier to the outlet of the Gulf of
Mexico, and as if at some ancient period it had formed a part of the
American continent; severed on its north side from the Florida
peninsula by the wearing of the Gulf Stream, and from Yucatan, on its
southwestern point, by a current setting into the Gulf. Two broad
channels are thus formed, by either of which the Mexican Gulf is
entered.
These channels are nearly of the same width, somewhat exceeding a
hundred miles each, the northern passage being a few miles the
broader. The Bahama Banks extend along its northern coast-line about
fifty or sixty miles distant, where commences the group of many small
isles known as the Bahamas, and of which we have already treated. On
her eastern extreme, near Cape Maysi, Cuba is within about fifty miles
of the western shore of Hayti, from which it is separated by the
Windward Passage. The southern shore is washed by the Caribbean Sea,
which is also here and there interspersed with small islands of little
importance. One hundred and fifty miles due south lies the British
island of Jamaica, with a superficial area of over four thousand
square miles. Still further to the eastward, on the other side of
Hayti, lies Porto Rico (like Cuba a Spanish possession), and the two
groups of islands known as the Leeward and Windward isles. These are
of various nationalities, including English, French, and Dutch, thus
completing the entire region familiarly known to us as the West
Indies.
In approaching the coast from the Windward isles, the observant
traveler will notice the fields of what is called gulf-weed, which
floats upon the surface of the sea. It is a unique genus, found
nowhere except in these tropical waters, and must not be confounded
with the sea-weed encountered by Atlantic steamers off the Banks of
Newfoundland, and about the edges of the Gulf Stream in that region.
This singular and interesting weed propagates itself on the waves, and
there sustains, as on the shore of New Providence, zoöphytes and
mollusks which also abound in these latitudes. The poetical theory
relating to this sargasso, and possibly to the animals that cling to
it, is that it marks the site of an Atlantic continent sunk long ages
since, and that, transformed from a rooting to a floating plant, it
wanders round and round as if in search of the rocks upon which it
once grew. The southern shore of Cuba presents much of special
interest to the conchologist in the variety and beauty of the
sea-shells that abound upon its beaches. The water is of an exquisite
color, a brilliant green, very changeable, like liquid opal. Were an
artist truthfully to depict it, he would be called color-mad. Northern
skies are never reflected in waters of such fanciful hues. Some
beautiful specimens of white corals are found here, but they are not a
characteristic of the coast.
On that portion bordering the Old Bahama Channel, and also opposite
the Isle of Pines, which Columbus named Evangelista,--on this south
shore, large numbers of turtles are taken annually, which produce the
best quality of tortoise-shell. It is strange that the habits of these
creatures down here in the Caribbean Sea should so closely resemble
those of the tiny tortoises described by Thoreau as frequenting Walden
Pond. The female turtle digs the hole in which to deposit her eggs on
the sandy beach, just above the margin of high tide, generally
choosing a moonlight night for the purpose. The hole is often so large
that the turtle will require an hour of industrious labor to dig it to
her entire satisfaction. Observing the strictest silence, the
turtle-hunter steals upon the animal, and with a single motion turns
it upon its back, rendering it utterly helpless, after which it can be
secured at will. Thousands are annually caught in this manner.
It is a curious fact worth recalling to memory that four hundred
years ago, when Columbus first landed upon the island, he found that
the aborigines kept turtle corrals near the beach, amply supplied with
these animals. From them they procured eggs, and also furnished
themselves with the only meat which it was possible to obtain, if we
except that of the little "voiceless dog" which they hunted, and such
birds as they could snare. Probably as many turtles were taken by
those Carib Indians in 1492 as are caught by the fishermen this year
of our Lord, in the same waters, showing how inexhaustible is the
supply of Neptune's kingdom. Modern epicures may not therefore claim
any distinction as to the priority of discovery touching turtle soup
and turtle steaks, both of which were certainly indulged in by the
Caribs in Columbus' time, and probably they were in vogue many
centuries previous.
One neither departs from nor approaches the Cuban shore without
crossing that marvelous ocean river, the Gulf Stream, with banks and
bottom of cold water, while its body and surface are warm. Its color,
in the region of the gulf where it seems to have its rise, is indigo
blue, so distinct that the eye can follow its line of demarkation
where it joins the common waters of the sea in their prairie-green.
Its surface temperature on the coast of the United States is from 75°
to 80° Fahrenheit. Its current, of a uniform speed of four to five
miles per hour, expends immense power in its course, and moves a body
of water in the latitude of the Carolina coast fully two hundred miles
wide. This aqueous body exceeds in quantity the rivers of the
Mississippi and the Amazon multiplied one thousand times. Its
temperature diminishes very gradually, while it moves thousands of
leagues, until one branch loses itself in Arctic regions, and the
other breaks on the coast of Europe. It is well known to navigators
that one branch of the Gulf Stream finds its outlet northward from the
Caribbean Sea through the Windward Passage, and that here the current
extends to the depth of eight hundred fathoms; the width, however, in
this section is not over ten miles. It will be nothing new to tell the
reader that the sea, especially in its proximity to the continents,
has a similar topographical conformation beneath its surface. The
bottom consists of hills, mountains, and valleys, like the surface of
the earth upon which we live. A practical illustration of the fact is
afforded in the soundings taken by the officers of our Coast Survey in
the Caribbean Sea, where a valley was found giving a water depth of
three thousand fathoms, twenty-five miles south of Cuba. The Cayman
islands, in that neighborhood, are the summit of mountains bordering
this deep valley at the bottom of the sea. It is known to extend over
seven hundred miles, from between Cuba and Jamaica nearly to the head
of the bay of Honduras, with an average breadth of eighty miles. How
suggestive the subject of these submarine Alps! Thus the island of
Grand Cayman, scarcely twenty feet above sea level, is the top of a
mountain twenty thousand five hundred and sixty-eight feet above the
bottom of the submarine valley beside which it rises,--an altitude
exceeding that of any mountain on the North American continent. A
little more than five miles, or say twenty-seven thousand feet, is the
greatest depth yet sounded at sea.
With an extensive coast-line particularly well adapted for the
purpose, smuggling is at all times successfully carried on in Cuba,
stimulated by an almost prohibitory tariff. It is well understood that
many of the most prosperous merchants in Havana are secretly engaged
in this business. The blindness of minor officials is easily
purchased. The eastern department of the island is most notorious for
this class of illegal trade. It was through these agencies that the
revolutionists were so well supplied with arms, ammunition, and other
necessities during the eight years of civil war. While we are writing
these lines, the cable brings us news of a fresh landing of
"filibusters" on the shores in this immediate neighborhood.
Cuba is the most westerly of the West Indian isles, and compared with
the others has nearly twice as much superficial extent of territory,
being about as large as England proper, without the principality of
Wales. Its greatest length from east to west is very nearly eight
hundred miles; its narrowest part is over twenty miles, and its
average width about forty miles. The circumference of the island is
set down at two thousand miles, and it is supposed to contain
thirty-five thousand square miles. The face of the interior is
undulating, with an average level of three hundred feet above the
surface of the sea. The narrow form of the island, and the chain of
mountains which divides it throughout its whole length, leave a
limited course for its rivers, and consequently most of these in the
rainy season become torrents, and during the rest of the year are
nearly dried up. Those streams which sustain themselves at all seasons
are well stocked with fine fish, and afford to lovers of the piscatory
art admirable sport. Near their mouths some of the rivers, like those
of the opposite coast of Florida, are frequented by crocodiles.
The chain of mountains running through the centre of the island, more
or less broken in its course, is lofty in the east, but gradually
diminishes in elevation towards the west, until it becomes a series of
gently undulating hills of one or two hundred feet above sea level,
ceasing as a connected range in the vicinity of Matanzas. On the
easterly end this range of mountains approaches the south coast
between Puerto Principe and Trinidad. The country lying between Cape
Cruz, Cape Maysi, and the town of Holguin has the highest elevations;
the most lofty point, Turquino, lately measured, has a height of ten
thousand eight hundred feet. Illustrative of the great revolutions
which the globe has undergone in its several geological epochs,
petrified shells and bivalves are found on the summits of these
highest peaks, surrounded by coral rocks, both of which differ
entirely from those at present existing on the shores of the Antilles.
An immense bowlder was pointed out to us on the summit of La Gran
Piedra, at an elevation of five thousand feet, of totally different
composition from any other rocks on the island. The great mystery is
how such a mass of solid stone could have got there. Most of these
mountains are thickly wooded, some of them to their very tops, and
appear to be in a perpetual state of verdure. There are mahogany trees
in these hills reported to be of almost fabulous dimensions, besides
other trees of great age. Some idea of the excellence of the timber
grown in Cuba may be had from the fact that over one hundred Spanish
ships of war--some of which were of the largest size, mounting a
hundred and twenty guns--have been built from native stock at the port
of Havana.
Copper ore is found in abundance, as well as silver and iron, in the
mountains. Snow is never known to fall even in these elevated
districts, and of course in no other part of the island. In the
interior, the extreme heat of the low-lying sea-coast and cities is
not experienced, and the yellow fever is unknown. Low, level swampy
land is found only on the southern coast, where there are some wild
deer, wild cats and dogs, which are hunted; the former introduced into
Cuba half a century since, the two latter descended from domestic
animals. Large tracts of undulating country are without trees,
affording good pasturage. In some of the mountains are extensive
caves, not unlike the caves of Bellamar near the city of Matanzas, in
which are still to be found the bones of an unknown race, while
several of these elevations are so precipitous as to be nearly
inaccessible.
Travelers who have visited the Bay of Biscay, on the French and
Spanish shore near Biarritz, have observed how the rocks have been
worn into caverns, arches, alcoves, and honeycombed formations by the
action of the waters for centuries. Just so the soft limestone strata
beneath the surface of Cuba, in many portions of the island, have been
hollowed out, tunneled, and formed into caves, by the tremendous
downpour and wash of tropical rains. So the action of the sea has
created a cave under Moro Castle, at the mouth of the harbor of
Havana, as well as under that other Moro which stands guard over the
entrance of Santiago de Cuba. The existence of these subterranean
caverns has often led to serious accidents. In some instances
buildings which were by chance erected just over them have suddenly
been swallowed up as though by an earthquake.
Many of the rivers are navigable for short distances. The longest is
the Cauto, in the eastern department, which, rising in the Sierra del
Cobre, passes between Holguin and Jiguani, and empties on the south
coast a little north of Manzanillo. It is navigable for half its
length, between fifty and sixty leagues. The river Ay has falls in its
course two hundred feet high, and a natural bridge spanning it, nearly
as remarkable as that of Virginia. The Sagua le Grande is navigable
for five leagues, and the same may be said of the river Sasa. The
Agabama, emptying on the south coast near Trinidad, is also partially
navigable. There are two hundred and sixty rivers in all, independent
of rivulets and torrents. So abundantly is the island supplied with
fresh-water springs, especially on the south side, that the pure
liquid filters through the fissures of the stratified rock in such
quantities as to form, by hydrostatic pressure, springs in the sea
itself some distance from the shore. The sulphurous and thermal
springs of San Diego are the resort of numerous invalids annually, who
come hither from Europe and America.
The coast and harbors of Cuba are carefully marked for the purpose of
navigation by eighteen well-placed lighthouses, visible from fifteen
to twenty miles at sea, according to the importance of the surrounding
points. That which stands in Moro Castle, on the south side of the
harbor's entrance at Havana, is eighty feet in height and about a
hundred and fifty from the level of the sea. It is visible in clear
weather twenty miles from shore. In honor of a former Governor-General
this lighthouse bears the inscription "O'Donnell, 1844," in mammoth
letters. So plain and safe is the entrance to this harbor, which in
the narrowest part is some hundred yards wide, that a pilot is hardly
necessary, though foreign vessels generally take one. There is little
or no tide on this part of the coast, the variations never exceeding
two feet. No regular ebb and flow is therefore observable, but when
the land breeze rises there is a very slight tide-way setting out of
the harbor. No country in the world of the size of this island has so
many large and fine harbors. They number twenty-nine on its northern
side and twenty-eight on the southern. The well-defined water-line
along the yellow, rusty rocks of the coast shows the mark of ages, and
also that there has been no upheaval since the land took its present
shape. Where there are no regular harbors the shore is indented with
numerous deep channels forming inlets, safe only for native boatmen,
as the winding course of the blue waters covers myriads of sunken
rocks. On the southern side, opposite the Isle of Pines, there are
some beautiful reaches of beach, over which the gentle surf rolls
continuously with a murmur so soft as to seem like the whispered
secrets of the sea. Yet what frightful historic memories brood over
these deep waters of the Archipelago, where for nearly two centuries
floated and fought the ships of sea-robbers of every
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