The History of Cuba, vol. 5
by Willis Fletcher Johnson · English · Gutenberg #41267 · 812,975 chars · public domain (US)
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Title: The History of Cuba, vol. 5
Author: Willis Fletcher Johnson
Release date: November 2, 2012 [eBook #41267]
Language: English
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Credits: Produced by Chuck Greif, Broward County Library and the
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Produced by Chuck Greif, Broward County Library and the
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[Illustration: FRANCISCO DE FRIAS
One of the foremost agricultural and economic scientists of his time,
Francisco de Frias y Jacott, Count of Pozos Dulces, was born in Havana
on September 24, 1809, and died in Paris, France, on October 24, 1877.
He studied in the United States and Europe, specializing in physics and
chemistry, and then sought to devote his genius to the economic welfare
of Cuba. He wrote notable works on Cattle Breeding, on Chemical
Research, and on Labor and Population. His patriotic spirit provoked
Captain-General Canedo to banish him for a time, but on his return as
editor of _El Siglo_ he conducted so powerful a campaign for social,
economic, political and administrative reforms that the Spanish
government was constrained to heed him and to plan new legislation for
Cuba. For this purpose it formed a Junta of Information, of which he was
a member representing Santa Clara. Upon the failure of that body he
wrote a memorable protest against the policy which had compelled that
result, and a year later removed to Paris.]
THE
HISTORY OF CUBA
BY
WILLIS FLETCHER JOHNSON
A.M., L.H.D.
Author of “A Century of Expansion,” “Four Centuries of
the Panama Canal,” “America’s Foreign Relations”
Honorary Professor of the History of American Foreign
Relations in New York University
_WITH ILLUSTRATIONS_
VOLUME FIVE
[Illustration]
NEW YORK
B. F. BUCK & COMPANY, INC.
156 FIFTH AVENUE
1920
Copyright, 1920,
BY CENTURY HISTORY CO.
_All rights reserved_
ENTERED AT STATIONERS HALL
LONDON, ENGLAND.
PRINTED IN U. S. A.
REPUBLICA DE CUBA
SECRETARIA DE AGRICULTURA, COMERCIO Y TRABAJO
Habana, Cuba,
July 11, 1919.
TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:
The information in this volume pertaining to Cuba and her natural
resources, climate, soil, mines, forests, fisheries, agricultural
products, lands, rivers, harbors, mountains, mineral zones, quarries,
foreign and domestic commerce, business opportunities, etc., has been
compiled under the auspices of the Department of Agriculture, Commerce
and Labor, and has been verified by the Bureau of Information.
It is intended to acquaint the world with the truth and actual facts in
regard to Cuba, and for the guidance of those who may be interested.
Respectfully,
[Illustration: signature]
SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE
COMMERCE & LABOR.
PREFACE
Nature designed Cuba for greatness. That salient fact is written large
and clear upon every page of the island’s history. He must lack vision
who can not discern it even in the annals of political, military and
social development of the Cuban nation. Although one of the earliest
lands in the Western Hemisphere to be discovered and colonized, it was
actually the last of all to be erected into political independence and
thus to enter into an opportunity for improving fully the incomparable
opulence of its natural endowment. No land ever shows of what it is
capable until it is permitted to do so for its own sake and in its own
name.
During the long and tedious centuries of Spanish domination, therefore,
the resources of Cuba remained largely latent. That is to be said in
full view of the notorious fact that the island was openly declared to
be “the milch cow of Spain.” In those two facts appears perhaps the most
impressive of all possible testimonies to the surpassing richness of the
island. If while it was a mere colony, only partially developed and
indeed with its resources only in part explored and imperfectly
understood, and with the supreme incentive to enterprise denied it--if
in these unfavorable circumstances, we say, it could be a source of so
great revenue to Spain and in spite of thus being plundered and drained
could still accumulate so considerable a competence for its own people,
what must its material opulence prove to be under its own free rule,
with every advantage and every encouragement for its full development
according to the knowledge of Twentieth Century science?
We need not be fanciful or visionary if we believe that some important
purpose was subserved in such withholding of Cuba from complete
development until so late a date. Her neighbors went on ahead,
developing their resources, and passing through all the political and
social vicissitudes of which colonial and national experience is
capable, inevitably with a great proportion of sheer loss through
ill-directed experimentation. Cuba on the contrary remained held in
abeyance until in the fulness of time she could profit from the
experience and example of others and thus gain her development at a
minimum of effort and expense and with a maximum of net profit.
The beneficent design of nature, to which we have alluded, is to be
seen, moreover, in the inherent conditions of insular existence. No
other great island of the world is so fortunate in its geographical
placing, either strategically or climatically, nor is any other
comparable with it in topography and material arrangement and
composition. It lies midway between the two great continents of the
Western Hemisphere, within easy reach of both across landlocked seas,
where it receives the commerce of both and serves as a mart of exchange
between them. Similarly it lies between the Temperate Zone and the
Torrid Zone, so as to receive at its very doors the products of each and
of both, the products, that is to say, of all the world. Nor is it less
significant that it lies directly upon the line of commerce and travel
not only between North and South but equally between East and West, on
the line of passage between the Atlantic and the Pacific and between the
lands which border the one and those which occupy the shores of the
other. Such strategic position--the strategy of commerce--is unique and
incommensurable in value.
Equally beneficent is the climatic situation of Cuba. Mathematically
lying just within the tropical zone, it in fact enjoys a temperance of
climate surpassing that of the temperate zone itself. It has all the
geniality of the regions which lie to the south of it, so that it can
produce all the fruits of the sultry tropics in profusion throughout a
year-round season of growth; yet it escapes the oppressive and
enervating heat which makes life in those lands burdensome to the
visitor and indolent to the native. It has the comfort and the tonic
properties of northern climes, yet without the trying and sometimes
disastrous fluctuations and extremes which too often there prevail. As a
result, Cuba can produce, if not always in fullest perfection yet with a
gratifying degree of success, practically all the vegetable life of the
world, from that which thrives close to the Arctic Circle to that which
luxuriates upon the Equator.
In coastal contour, and thus in profusion of fine harbors, Cuba enjoys
preeminence among the countries of the world. In varied contour of
mountain, valley and plain, in endowment with springs and rivers, she is
conspicuously fortunate. The often quoted tribute which her first
discoverer paid spontaneously to her magic beauty has been repeated and
confirmed uncounted times, with a deeper significance as it has been
found that the beauty of this island is not merely superficial but
intrinsic, and that Cuba is as hospitable to the interests and welfare
of the visitor and resident as she is fair to the passing eye.
It is a grateful task to dwell in these pages upon the varied and
opulent resources of the island, in all the natural conditions of the
mineral, the vegetable and the animal kingdoms. We shall see that the
hopes and dreams of the early conquerors, of rich mines of gold, have
been far more than realized in other ways which they knew not of. The
mines of what they regarded as base metals, and of metals unknown to
them, are richer far than they ever hoped deposits of the “precious”
metal to be, while the products of forests and plantations are
immeasurably richer still. Today Cuba stands before the world a
Treasure Island of incomparable worth even in her present estate, and of
an assured potentiality of future opulence which dazzles the
imagination.
We shall see, too, most grateful and inspiring of all, how at last the
people of Cuba have come into their own and are improving the vast
endowment with which nature has so bounteously provided them. It has
been only since they gained their independence that they could or would
do this; the result being that a score of years have seen more progress
than the twenty score preceding. Indeed we may say that the great bulk
of this progress has been achieved in the last six or seven years, the
earlier years of independence being unfortunately marred with untoward
circumstances of dissension and revolt which held in check the progress
which the island should have made. But with the final establishment of a
government capable of fulfilling all its appropriate functions, the
advance of Cuba has been and is to-day swift and unerring.
The taking advantage of natural conditions and resources through
scientific applications, the organization and administration of such
governmental institutions as best conduce to the security, the
prosperity and the happiness of a self-governing people, are agreeable
themes to contemplate and are profitable to study. We shall see how
agriculture, mining, manufactures and commerce have been promoted in
both extent and character. We shall see how all parts of the island
realm have been made accessible, for business or for pleasure, with
railroads and a marvellous system of highways for motor vehicles. We
shall learn of the sanitation of what was once a pestilence infested
land until it has become one of the three or four most healthful in the
world.
We shall see, too, the practical creation and universal development of a
scheme of free popular education which to-day gives to what was within
the memory of living men one of the most illiterate of countries such
school facilities as scarcely any other can surpass. If we were writing
in this volume of some long-established Commonwealth, with many
generations, perhaps centuries, of progress and culture behind it, we
should not be able to restrain our admiration of much that has been
accomplished. When we consider that we are writing of a land that
suffered nearly four centuries of repression and oppression, followed by
a dozen years of devastating strife, and less than twenty years ago
began to live the free life of a sovereign people, we are entranced with
amazement at the memory of what Cuba has been, with appreciation of what
she is, and with the assured promise of what she is to be.
It was a fascinating task to trace the story of her existence in its
many phases, largely of vicissitude, from the days of Diego Velasquez to
those of Mario Menocal. But that after all was a record of what has
been, of what has largely passed away. More welcome is it to contemplate
what Cuba actually is, in present realization and achievement, and to
scan with sane and discriminating vision the prospect of what she may be
and what, we may well believe with confidence, she will be. It is to
reveal the actual Cuba of to-day, and to suggest the surely promised
Cuba of to-morrow, that these pages are written. So far as they may seem
technical and statistical, their very dryness contains a potency of
suggestion surpassing the dreams of romance. So far as they may seem
touched with imagination, speculation, enthusiasm, they are still based
upon the practical and indubitable foundation of ascertained facts.
Their aim is to present to the world an accurate, comprehensive and
sympathetic living picture of the Twentieth Century Republic of Cuba,
and as such they are submitted to the reader with a cheerful confidence,
if not always in the adequacy of its treatment, at least in the
unfailing interest and merit of the theme.
January, 1920.
WILLIS FLETCHER JOHNSON.
CONTENTS
PAGE
CHAPTER I. THE PEOPLE OF CUBA.....1
The People of Cuba--Hospitality Their Characteristic--Love of
Children--Founders of the Cuban Nation from the Southern Provinces of
Spain--An Admixture of French Blood--Immigration from Northern
Spain--English, Irish, Italian and German Immigrants--Colonists from the
United States.
CHAPTER II. THE TOPOGRAPHY OF CUBA.....10
The Topography of Cuba--Five Distinct Zones--The Mountain
Ranges--Plateaus and Plains--The Highest Peak in Cuba--The Organ
Mountains--Beautiful Valleys and Fertile Plains--Action of the Water
Courses--Character of the Soil.
CHAPTER III. THE CLIMATE OF CUBA.....19
The Climate of Cuba--Freedom from Extremes of Temperature--Influence of
the Trade Winds--No Ice and Little Frost--The Rainy Season and the Dry
Season--Gloomy Days Practically Unknown.
CHAPTER IV. PROVINCE OF HAVANA.....21
The Province of Havana--The Pivotal Province of the Island--Visits by
Columbus and Velasquez--Topography of the Province--Soil and
Products--Agricultural Wealth--The Fruit Industry--Manufacturing--The
Harbor of Havana--Transportation Facilities--The Water Supply--The
Climate--The Seat of Government and Social Centre of the Island.
CHAPTER V. PROVINCE OF PINAR DEL RIO.....34
The Province of Pinar del Rio--A Picturesque Region--Interesting
Topography--The Organ Mountains--The Vinales Valley--A Rare Palm
Tree--Hard Wood Timber--Agriculture--Harbors and Fishing
Interests--Tobacco Lands of the Vuelta Abajo--Coffee
Plantations--Mineral Resources.
CHAPTER VI. PROVINCE OF MATANZAS.....49
The Province of Matanzas--Comparatively Unimportant in History--A Great
Drainage and Traffic Canal--Rivers and Mountains--The Coast and
Islands--The Henequen Industry--The City of Matanzas--The Caves of
Bellamar--Sugar Production--Mineral Resources.
CHAPTER VII. PROVINCE OF SANTA CLARA.....60
The Province of Santa Clara--A Land of Great Variety of Scenes--Ancient
Gold-Seeking--The Mountain Ranges--Rich Lands of the Parks and
Valleys--Rivers and Lakes--Harbors--Cities of the Province--The “Swamp
of the Shoe”--Forests, Sugar Plantations, Tobacco, and
Coffee--Opportunities for Stock Raising.
CHAPTER VIII. PROVINCE OF CAMAGUEY.....71
The Province of Camaguey--Where Columbus First Landed--In the Days of
Velasquez--Events of the Ten Years’ War--Topography of the
Province--Mountain Ranges--Rivers and Coastal Lagoons--Harbors--Lack of
Railroads--The Sugar Industry--Minerals--American Colonies--Some Noted
Men.
CHAPTER IX. PROVINCE OF ORIENTE.....83
The Province of Oriente--Area and Topography--Mountains and Rivers--Fine
Harbors--Great Sugar Mills--Scene of the First Spanish Settlement in
Cuba--The Bay of Guantanamo--Santiago de Cuba--Copper
Mines--Manzanillo--The Cauto Valley--Sugar Plantations and Stock
Ranches--Timber and Minerals--American Colonies.
CHAPTER X. THE ISLE OF PINES.....99
The Isle of Pines--An Integral Part of Cuba--American Settlements and
Claims--Character of the Island--Infertile and Storm Swept--Vast
Deposits of Muck--Marble Quarries--Efforts to Promote Agricultural
Interests.
CHAPTER XI. MINES AND MINING.....104
Mines and Mining--The Early Quest of Gold--First Working of Copper
Mines--The Wealth of El Cobre--Copper in All Parts of Cuba--Operations
in Pinar del Rio--Vast Iron Deposits in Oriente--Nickel and
Manganese--Exports of Ore--American Investigation of Chrome
Deposits--Many Beds of Great Richness--Manganese and Chrome for All the
World.
CHAPTER XII. ASPHALT AND PETROLEUM.....126
Asphalt and Petroleum--Ocampo’s Early Discovery at Puerto
Carenas--Humboldt’s Reports of Petroleum Wells--Prospecting for Oil in
Many Places--Some Promising Wells--Asphalt Deposits of Great
Value--Prospects for Important Petroleum Developments.
CHAPTER XIII. FORESTRY.....135
Forestry--Vast Resources of Fine Woods Recklessly Squandered in Early
Times--Houses Built of Mahogany--Hundreds of Varieties of Valuable
Timber Trees--A Catalogue of Sixty of the Most Useful--Need of
Transportation for the Lumber Trade--Forests Owned by the State.
CHAPTER XIV. AGRICULTURE.....144
Agriculture--The Chief Interest of Cuba--Fertility of Soil, Geniality of
Climate, and Variety of Products--The Rainfall--Many Farmers
Specialists--The Government’s Experimental Station--Opportunities for
Stock-Raising--Work of the Department of Agriculture--Its Various
Bureaus--Value of Experimental Work Begun by General Wood and Extended
by President Menocal--Improving Live Stock--Fruit Growing--Grains and
Grasses--Combating Insect Pests--Bureau of Plant Sanitation.
CHAPTER XV. SUGAR.....160
“King Cane”--Cuba’s Crop and the World’s Production--Natural Conditions
Favorable to Sugar Culture--Extent of Lands Still Available--The
“Savana” and “Cienaga” Lands--Assured Projects for Draining Great
Swamps--Potential Increase of Sugar Production in Cuba--Methods of
Planting, Culture and Harvesting--The Labor Problem--Improved
Machinery--Something About the Principal Sugar Producing Concerns in
Cuba and the Men Who Have Created Them and Are Directing Them--The
Largest Sugar Company in the World--Cuba’s Assured Rank as the World’s
Chief Sugar Plantation.
CHAPTER XVI. TOBACCO.....183
The Tobacco Industry--First European Acquaintance with the Plant--The
Famous Fields of the Vuelta Abajo--Immense Productivity--Methods of
Culture and Harvesting--Various Regions of Tobacco Culture--Insect
Pests--Wholesale Use of Cheesecloth Canopies--Monetary Importance of the
Industry.
CHAPTER XVII. HENEQUEN.....190
The Henequen Industry--The Source of Binding Twine for the Wheat
Fields--Cuban Plantations Now Surpassing Those of Yucatan--Methods of
Growth and Manufacture--Magnitude of the Industry and Possibilities of
Further Extension.
CHAPTER XVIII. COFFEE.....197
The Coffee Industry--Early Plantations Which Were Neglected and
Abandoned--An Attractive Industry--Methods of Culture--Harvesting and
Marketing the Crop--Government Encouragement Being Given for Extension
of the Industry.
Chapter XIX. The Mango.....203
The Mango--The King of Oriental Fruits--Two Distinct Types in Cuba--All
Varieties Prolific--The Trees and the Fruits--Some of the Favorite
Varieties--Marketing and Use.
CHAPTER XX. CITRUS FRUITS.....211
Citrus Fruits--American Introduction of the Commercial
Industry--Varieties of Oranges--Comparison with Florida and California
Fruit--Grape Fruit in the Isle of Pines--Limes and Wild Oranges.
CHAPTER XXI. BANANAS, PINEAPPLES AND OTHER FRUITS.....219
Antiquity and Universality of the Banana--Its Many Uses--Commercial
Cultivation in Cuba--Methods of Culture--Varieties--Pineapple Culture in
Cuba--One of the Staple Crops--Difficulty of Marketing--The Canning
Industry--The Fruit of the Anon--The Zapote or Sapodilla--The
Tamarind--The Mamey--The Guava--The Mamoncillo--Figs of All
Varieties--The Aguacate.
CHAPTER XXII. GRAPES, CACAO, AND VANILLA.....232
Grape Culture Discouraged by Spain--Recent Development of the
Industry--Much Wine Drinking but Little Drunkenness--Food and Drink in
the Cacao--The Chocolate Industry--Culture and Manufacture of Cacao--The
Vanilla Bean--Methods of Gathering and Preparing the Crop.
CHAPTER XXIII. VEGETABLE GROWING.....240
Vegetable Growing in Cuba--Regions Most Suitable for the Industry--Seed
Brought from the United States--Winter Crops of Potatoes--Green Peppers
a Profitable Crop--Cultivation of Tomatoes and Egg Plants--Okra--Lima
Beans and String Beans--Squashes and Pumpkins--Desirability of the
Canning Industry--Utility of Irrigation--Prospects of Profit in Truck
Farming.
CHAPTER XXIV. STANDARD GRAINS AND FORAGE.....248
Indian Corn Indigenous--Improvements in Culture Desirable--Millet or
Kaffir Corn--Neglect of Wheat Growing--Culture of Upland
Rice--Possibilities of Swamp Rice Culture--Profusion of Meadow and
Pasture Grasses--Experiments with Alfalfa--Cultivation of Cow Peas and
Beans--Peanut Plantations.
CHAPTER XXV. ANIMALS.....257
Paucity of Native Fauna--Deer, Caprimys and Ant Eaters--The Sand Hill
Crane--Guinea Fowls, Turkeys and Quails--Buzzards, Sparrow Hawks,
Mocking Birds and Wild Pigeons--Varieties of Parrots--The Oriole--The
Tody--The Lizard Cuckoo--The Trogon--Water Birds.
CHAPTER XXVI. STOCK RAISING.....263
Introduction of Horses and Cattle by the Spaniards--Improvement in the
Quality of Stock--A Favorable Land for Cattle Ranges--Importation of
Blooded Stock from the United States and Europe--Introduction of the
Zebu--Great Profits in Hog Raising--Forage, Nuts and Root Crops for
Stock Food--Sheep and Goat Raising for Wool, Meat and Hides--Value of
the Angora Goat.
CHAPTER XXVII. POULTRY: BEES: SPONGES.....278
Recent Scientific Development of the Poultry Industry--President
Menocal’s Importations of Choice Stock--Opportunities for
Agriculture--Wild and Domesticated Bees--Varieties of Honey Yielding
Flowers--Large Exportations of Wax and Honey--Valuable Sponge Fisheries
on the Cuban Coast.
CHAPTER XXVIII. PLACES OF HISTORICAL INTEREST.....284
Historic Interest of Havana Harbor--The Romance and Tragedy of El
Morro--“The Twelve Apostles”--The Vast Fortress of La Cabaña--The “Road
Without Hope”--A Scene of Slaughter--Cells of the Fortress Prison--The
Castillo de Punta--The Ancient City Walls--The Romance of La
Fuerza--Ancient Churches and Convents of Havana--The Cathedral and the
Tomb of Columbus--The San Francisco Convent--San Agustin--La
Merced--Santa Catalina--Santo Angel--Santa Clara--The Convent of
Belen--The Old Echarte Mansion--La Chorrera--Fort Cojimar--Some Ancient
Watch Towers and Fortresses--The Botanical Gardens.
CHAPTER XXIX. HAVANA.....303
The Charms of Havana--Early History of the City--Made the Capital of
Cuba--The Quarries from Which It Was Built--Something About Its
Principal Streets and Buildings--Various Sections of the City--On the
Road to the Almandares--Principe Hill--The University of Havana--The
Famous Prado--The National Theatre--The Central Park and Parque de
Colon--Colon Cemetery--Music in Havana--Favorite Drives and Resorts--The
Bathing Beach--Fishing--Jai Alai--Baseball--Horse
Racing--Golf--Buildings of the Various Government Departments--Memories
of the Old Presidential Palace--Some Fine New Buildings--The New
Presidential Palace--The New Capitol--The National Hospital.
CHAPTER XXX. A PARADISE OF PALM DRIVES.....326
A Paradise of Palm Drives--Splendor of the Flamboyans--The Road to
Guines--A Fine Drive to Matanzas--Roads from Havana to Guanajay,
Artemisa and the Ruby Hills--Old Military Roads Improved and
Extended--Fine Drives in Pinar del Rio--The Valley of Vinales--Some
Wonderful Landscapes and Seascapes--Roads Radiating from Matanzas--The
Roads of Santa Clara and Camaguey--Road Making Among the Mountains of
Oriente.
CHAPTER XXXI. BAYS AND HARBORS.....340
The Bays and Harbors of the Cuban Coasts--Bahia
Honda--Cabanas--Mariel--Havana--Matanzas--The Land-Locked Bay of
Cardenas--Santa Clara Bay--Sagua--Caibarien--The Bay of
Nuevitas--Manati--Puerto
Padre--Gibara--Banes--Nipe--Levisa--Baracoa--Guantanamo--Santiago--Manzanillo--Cienfuegos--Batabano--Santa
Cruz--Various Other Ports, Great and Small.
CHAPTER XXXII. RAILROAD SYSTEMS IN CUBA.....353
Origin of the Railroad Systems of Cuba--The United Railways of
Havana--The Matanzas Railway--Electric Lines Around Havana--The Great
Work of Sir William Van Horne--The Cuba Company’s Railroad System--The
Cuba Central Road--The North Shore Line--Other Lines and Branches
Existing or Projected.
CHAPTER XXXIII. MONEY AND BANKING.....361
Money and Banking in Cuba--The First Currency of the Island--The First
Monetary Crisis at Havana--Development of Modern Coinage and
Currency--Single Standard and Double Standard--Colonial Paper
Money--Stabilization of Currency Under American Rule--Statistics of
Shipments of Money--Coinage of Cuban Money Under the New
System--Financing the Foreign Commerce of the Island.
CHAPTER XXXIV. PUBLIC INSTRUCTION.....367
The Educational System of Cuba--Influences of Clericalism--Work of
General Wood and Mr. Frye--Cooperation of Harvard University--Dr.
Lincoln de Zayas--The Teaching of English--Progress Under President
Menocal--Scope of the System--Some Special Schools--Normal Schools--The
Institute of Havana--The National University--Cooperation with the
United States--The Free Public Library.
CHAPTER XXXV. OCEAN TRANSPORTATION.....376
Importance of Ocean Transportation to the Insular Republic--Development
of the United Fruit Company--The Ward Line and Its Fleet--A Network of
Communications with All Parts of the World--Service of the Munson
Line--The Peninsular and Occidental Company--The Railroad Ferry Service
from Key West to Cuba--The Pinillos Izquierdo Line from Spain--The
Morgan or Southern Pacific Line--The Great Fleet of the Compagnie
General Transatlantique--A New Line from Japan--Customs Regulations--The
Consular Service of Cuba.
CHAPTER XXXVI. AMERICAN COLONIES IN CUBA.....390
American Colonies in Cuba--Founded After the War of
Independence--Pernicious Activities of Unscrupulous American
Speculators--Heroic Efforts of Illfounded Colonies--The Story of La
Gloria and Its Neighbors--Colonization of the Isle of Pines--The Colony
of Herradura--Various Colonies in Oriente--Inducements to Further
Colonization.
ILLUSTRATIONS
FULL PAGE PLATES
Francisco de Fri _Frontispiece_
FACING
PAGE
The Vinales Valley 36
San Juan River, Matanzas 54
On the Cauto River 92
National Theatre, Central Park, Havana 144
The Gomez Building 190
Pablo Desvernine 284
In New Havana 296
Colon Park 306
An Avenue of Palms 326
Grand Central Railway Station, Havana 354
Leopoldo Cancio 362
The Chamber of Commerce, Havana 376
TEXT EMBELLISHMENTS
City Hall and Plaza, Cardenas Page 56
A Mountain Road, Oriente “ 84
Cuban Rural Home “ 145
Fruit Vender, Havana “ 209
THE HISTORY OF CUBA
CHAPTER I
THE PEOPLE OF CUBA
In the last analysis, of course, the people of a country have much to do
in making it what it is, or what it may be. From them must come the
life, energy, character and development. They will regulate its social
standing and fulfill the promise of its future. Society in Cuba, as in
nearly all long settled countries, is many sided, and while resembling,
more or less, that of all civilized communities, certain racial traits
stand out prominently in the Island Republic.
If asked to name the most prominent or salient characteristics
dominating the Cuban race, we should probably be justified in saying:
unfailing hospitality, exceptional courtesy, and unmeasurable love of
children.
Hospitality in Cuba is not a pose, but on the contrary is perfectly
natural, having descended from a long line of ancestors, as have the
beauty of eyes and teeth and color of hair. Hospitality among those of
higher education, like courtesy, is tempered with good form that
breeding has rendered an essential characteristic of the individual.
Journeying through the rural or remote sections, it is so manifestly
genuine that unless held back or retarded through diffidence or
suspicion, no one can avoid being deeply impressed with the extent to
which hospitality has pervaded every corner of the country.
John B. Henderson, the naturalist, in his “Cruise of the Barrera,”
refers to an occasion when, after serving coffee in the house of a
native family living far from contact with the outside world, a dollar
had been surreptitiously given to a child; and when the guests, whom he
had never seen before, were quite a mile away, the father came running
breathlessly down the mountain path to return the money, which he said
he could not possibly accept under any circumstances.
True courtesy, also, has kept hospitality close company in all grades of
society. Among the higher ranks of scholars, statesmen and Government
officials, the visitor who by chance has occasion to call on the Chief
of any Department, if said individual belongs to the old type of genuine
nobility, from the moment he crosses the threshold will note certain
polite forms that, while never obtrusive, are always in evidence.
No word, gesture or deed will come from the host that can possibly jar
the sensibilities of the visitor, no matter what his errand may be.
During his stay, courtesy will seem to pervade the atmosphere, and the
caller cannot help feeling absolutely at home. Upon leaving, he will be
made to feel that he has been more than welcome, and even if the topic
discussed or the nature of the errand has been delicate, he will realize
that he has been given all the consideration that one gentleman could
expect of another.
The educated Cuban is by birth, by nature and by training, a polished
gentleman and a diplomat; a man who will be at ease in any position, no
matter how difficult, and whose superior, socially or intellectually, is
seldom found in any court, committee or congregation of men. This all
prevailing trait of courtesy is also surprisingly manifest among those
who have had no advantages of education, and who have been denied the
wonderfully civilizing influence of travel and contact with the outside
world. Nor is this trait of courtesy and self possession confined by any
means to the man.
Love of children, and willingness to make any sacrifice for their
happiness, are perhaps exaggerated developments of the motherly
instinct. A man will be polite to you in Cuba even if he intends to sign
your death warrant the next moment. A Cuban mother will yield to any
caprice of her children, even although she may realize that in so doing
she endangers their future. As a result, Cuban children, although
lovable and affectionate, are not always well behaved or gentle
mannered. Still this depends largely, as it would in any country, on the
temperament and education of the mother, who in Cuba has all to do
towards forming the character of the child, especially the daughter, in
whose “bringing up” the father is supposed to take no immediate interest
or part.
The love which parents, rich or poor, educated or ignorant, bestow on
their children, no matter how many little ones may compose the family,
or how small the purse which feeds them, is proverbial. No child, even
of a far removed relative, is ever permitted to enter an institution of
charity if it can be avoided, but will find instead an immediate and
hearty welcome in the family of a man who may not know at times where to
look for money for the next day’s meal.
The original stock from which sprang the natives of Cuba, and from which
many of their traits undoubtedly came, reverts back to the followers of
Columbus, and to the old time conquerors of Mexico and the New World.
These gentlemanly adventurers were mostly from the southern provinces of
the Iberian Peninsula, whose blood was more or less mixed with that of
the Moor, and whose chief physical characteristics were regularity of
features, beauty of eyes, teeth and hair, and whose mental attributes
were dominated by pride, ambition, love of pomp and ceremony, with great
powers of endurance, a strong aversion to ordinary forms of labor,
exceptional courtesy, and an intelligence frequently marred with almost
unbelievable cruelty.
These original pioneers or soldiers of fortune in Cuba found the climate
exceedingly to their liking and, after love of conquest and adventure
had been tempered by increasing years, and the possible accumulation of
modest means, they settled down to quiet and fairly industrious lives
in the Pearl of the Antilles. From them sprang the true Cuban race, in
which still remain many of the physical, moral, and intellectual traits
of their ancestors.
Some of these early settlers made wives of comely Indian women, whose
beauty had captured their fancy, and while the influence of the kindly,
pleasure-loving “Cubenos” has not made any deep or striking impression
on the race, it may account for the quite common fondness of display and
love of gaiety found in the Cuban of today.
Next to the pioneers of Andalusia and southern Spain, it is probable
that the introduction of French blood has influenced the Cuban type and
life more than any other race foreign to the Island. Back in the
seventeenth century French traders and privateers made frequent visits
to Cuba, and some of them found Cuban wives, whose descendants afterward
became citizens of the country. Then again, in the very first years of
the nineteenth century, a large influx of French settlers, forced by
revolution from Santo Domingo, fled as refugees to Cuba and made for
themselves homes in Santiago and Santa Clara, whence with the increase
of Havana’s distinction as the capital, many of them transferred their
abiding place to that province and to Pinar del Rio, bringing with them
their experience as coffee growers; this in the early part of the
nineteenth century, becoming one of the most important industries of the
Island.
In the province of Havana, social life and the Cuban race itself, to a
certain extent, were influenced by the various officials and army
officers sent there from the mother country, many of whom found wives
and made homes in Havana, bringing with them the predominating traits
and customs of Madrid and other cities of Central Spain, which had given
them birth.
In later years, when Cuba began to obtain some prominence in the
industrial and commercial world, immigrants from the mother country came
to Havana in steadily increasing numbers. These were mostly from Galicia
and other northern coast provinces of Spain. They were a plodding,
frugal and industrious people, who, leaving a country that offered
little compensation for the hardest forms of labor, found easier work
and higher pay in Spain’s favorite colony.
The Gallego in Cuba, however, prefers the life of the city, in which he
plays quite an important part, since beginning at the very bottom of the
ladder, through patient thrift and industry, maintained throughout a
comparatively few years, he often succeeds in becoming the proprietor of
a bodega, the ubiquitous barber shop, the corner café, or the sumptuous
hotel on the Prado.
In the commercial life of the Island, he has a serious rival in the
Catalan, who, while possessed of many of the traits of the hard working
son of Galicia, is perhaps his superior in establishing successful
enterprises of larger scope. The Catalan seldom if ever fails in
business, and in energy, persistence and keen foresight, is quite the
equal of those most famous of all traders and men of commerce, the sons
of Israel.
Since the capture of Havana in 1763, when some of the members of the
English army, captivated by the climate, concluded to remain there
permanently, a small influx of English immigrants may be traced along
through the past century, but never in sufficient numbers to play a very
important part in the social or economical life of the country.
Nevertheless, those who came and remained as permanent residents of
Cuba, brought with them the elements of courage, thrift and integrity
which characterize the English colonist in all parts of the world.
Strange to relate, the general rule in regard to the unconformity of the
English, when living in foreign climes, does not seem to apply in Cuba.
The immigrant from Great Britain, who settled in Cuba, while leaving the
imprint of his character on his descendants, has nevertheless, sooner or
later, become in many respects a typical native of the country, adopting
even the language, and using it as his own, while his children, bright
blue eyed and keenly intelligent, are often permitted to remain
ignorant of their paternal tongue. Hence it is that we frequently meet
with Robert Smith, Henry Brown, Herbert Clews, Frank Godoy, Tom
Armstrong and Billy Patterson, sons or grandsons of former British
subjects, who would look at you in doubt and fail to comprehend if
saluted with such a common phrase as “a fine day” in English. Cuba has
appreciated the sterling value of the small English immigration that has
come to her shores, and only regrets that there is not more of it.
Quite a large sprinkling from the Emerald Isle have become permanent
residents of Cuba, and aside, perhaps, from a little trace of the
original brogue, it would be hard to distinguish them from the wide
awake Gallegos. The men of no race will so quickly adjust themselves to
circumstances, and become, as it were, members of the family, no matter
whether they settle in France, Italy, Spain, Cuba or the United States,
as will the immigrants from Ireland. The Irishman brings with him, and
always retains, his light-hearted, go-as-you-please and
take-it-as-it-comes characteristics, no matter where he settles. More
than all, the Irishman seldom makes trouble in any country but his own,
and seems not only content, but quite willing, to accept the customs of
his adopted country, even to the point of “running it” if opportunity
offers.
Why more Italians have not settled in Cuba, a country that in many
respects resembles some sections of southern Italy, is not easy to
determine, although it is probably due to a lack of propaganda on the
part of the Republic itself. Occasional commercial houses are found,
owned by Italians who have been residents there for many years, and a
few of the laboring class, seeking higher wages within the last few
years, have made their homes in Havana. Marvellous opportunities in the
various fields of agriculture wait the keen witted thrifty Italian in
Cuba. The certainty of a competence, if not a fortune, in small stock
raising and grape growing, evidently has not been brought to his
attention, otherwise more would have come and settled permanently in a
country with whose people, in their fondness for music, their religious
and social customs, they have much in common.
Of the Germans, of whom quite a number came to Cuba within the last
thirty years, a different tale is told. The Teuton who roams abroad
seems to come always with a definite purpose. He is diplomatic,
courteous, observing, hard working, but essentially selfish in his
motives, and makes no move the object of which is not to impress on the
land he visits, or in which he may become a permanent resident, every
custom, tradition and practice of the Fatherland that can possibly be
implanted in the country that has given him shelter or social
recognition. His club, his habits, his beer, his songs, his language and
his precepts of “Deutscher Ueber Alles,” are spread to the utmost of his
ability. But the German has been efficient and has catered in all his
commercial dealings to the customs, caprices and even to the vices or
weaknesses of the people with whom he trades and comes in contact. Hence
it is that, up to the outbreak of the war of 1914, Germany certainly had
the advantage over every competitor for trade from the Rio Grande to
Patagonia.
Strange as it may seem, although Cuba is no farther from American
territory in Florida than is Philadelphia from the City of New York,
there was very little immigration from the United States and almost no
citizens of that country, in spite of the attractions of the Pearl of
the Antilles, had apparently ever thought of making a home in Cuba,
until the Spanish-American War brought an army of occupation to the City
of Havana in the fall of 1898.
Following this army, as a result perhaps of favorable reports that came
from the lips of returning soldiers, quite an influx of Americans,
actuated by curiosity or motives of trade, came to Cuba and remained
here permanently, many marrying into Cuban families, purchasing farms,
or establishing branch houses and independent industries in the Island
Republic. Most of these have succeeded socially and financially.
The larger part of the American settlers of 1900 came from Florida, and
the Gulf States, although scattered throughout the various colonies of
the Island are found people from almost every State of the Union. While
the greater part of them, owing to the attractiveness and to better
transportation facilities have remained in or near Havana, quite a
number have settled in the Province of Camaguey, most of whom have
prospered there as stock raisers and followers of agricultural
industries.
The American as a rule, although of little experience as a colonizer,
has nevertheless readily adapted himself to circumstances, and had made
fast friends in his new surroundings. Many broad and excellent changes
have been brought about by this influx of citizens from the sister
Republic of the North. Most important of all was the introduction of an
excellent system of modern sanitation which the Cuban has appreciated
and followed with zeal. The absolute elimination of yellow fever and
every other disease common to the tropics, can be placed to the credit
of the country that became sponsor for Cuban Independence.
To this immigration may be attributed, also, many changes in Cuban
social life, especially the gradually broadening sphere of activity
among Cuban women, and the removal of some of the social barriers which
from the immemorial had placed her in the position of a treasured toy,
rather than that of an independent partner, and a responsible unit in
the game of life.
The impress of American influence on education, too, has been very
great, since almost the first move of the military forces that took
charge of the Island’s affairs with the exit of Spanish authority was to
establish in Cuba a public school system, and modern ideas of education.
To the American farmer and fruit grower of Florida was due also the
introduction of the citrus fruit industry, and the growing of
vegetables on a large scale for the northern market, and while these
enterprises are still, to a certain extent, in their infancy, many
millions of dollars have been added thus to the wealth of the Island. In
spite of what has been done, truth compels the statement, however, that
in the United States really little is known of Cuba and her
opportunities, although from the beginning of that country as a nation,
aside from Mexico, geographically Cuba has been her closest neighbor.
There are great possibilities for American enterprise in the Island
Republic, in agriculture, in stock raising, mining and other industries
that American genius in the near future will undoubtedly discover and
develop.
CHAPTER II
THE TOPOGRAPHY OF CUBA
Topographically the surface of Cuba may be divided into five rather
distinct zones, three of which are essentially mountainous. The first
includes the entire eastern third of the province of Oriente, together
with the greater part of its coast line, where the highest mountains of
the Island are found. The second includes the greater part of the
province of Camaguey, made up of gently rolling plains broken by
occasional hills or low mountains, that along the northern coast, and
again in the southeast center of the Province, rise to a height of
approximately 1500 feet above the general level.
The next is a mountainous district including the greater part of eastern
Santa Clara. The fourth comprises the western portion of this province
together with all of Matanzas and Havana. The surface of this middle
section is largely made up of rolling plains, broken here and there by
hills that rise a few hundred feet above the sea level.
The fifth includes the province of Pinar del Rio, the northern half of
which is traversed from one end to the other by several more or less
parallel ranges of sierras, with mean altitudes ranging from 1,000 to
2,000 feet, leaving the southern half of the Province a flat plain, into
which, along its northern edge, project spurs and foothills of the main
range.
The highest mountains of Cuba are located in the province of Oriente,
where their general elevation is somewhat higher than that of the
Allegheny or eastern ranges of the United States. The mountainous area
of this province is greater than that of the combined mountain areas of
all other parts of the Island. The mountains occur in groups, composed
of different kinds of rock, and have diverse structures, more or less
connected with one another.
The principal range is the Sierra Maestra, extending from Cabo Cruz to
the Bay of Guantanamo, forty miles east of Santiago. This chain is
continuous and of fairly uniform altitude, with the exception of a break
in the vicinity of Santiago where the wide basin of Santiago Bay cuts
across the main trend of the range. The highest peak of the Island is
known as Turquino, located near the middle of the Sierra Maestra, and
reaching an altitude of 8,642 feet.
The hills back of Santiago Bay, separating it from the Valley of the
Cauto, are similar in structure to the northern foothills of the main
sierra. In the western part of the range, the mountains rise abruptly
from the depths of the Caribbean Sea, but near the City of Santiago, and
to the eastward, they are separated from the ocean by a narrow coastal
plain, very much dissected. The streams which traverse it occupy valleys
several hundred feet in depth, while the remnants of the plateau appear
in the tops of the hills.
East of Guantanamo Bay there are mountains which are structurally
distinct from the Sierra Maestra, and these continue to Cape Maisi, the
eastern terminus of Cuba. To the west they rise abruptly from the ocean
bed, but further east, they are bordered by terraced foothills. Towards
the north they continue straight across the Island as features of bold
relief, connecting with the rugged Cuchillas of Baracoa, and with “El
Yunque” lying to the southwest.
Extending west from this eastern mass are high plateaus and mesas that
form the northern side of the great amphitheatre which drains into
Guantanamo Bay. Much of this section, when raised from the sea, was
probably a great elevated plain, cut up and eroded through the ages
since the seismic uplift that caused its birth.
The most prominent feature of the northern mountains of Oriente
Province, west of “El Yunque,” is the range comprising the Sierras
Cristal and Nipe. These extend east and west, but are separated into
several distinct masses by the Rio Sagua and the Rio Mayari, which break
through and empty into harbors on the north coast. The high country
south of these ranges has the character of a deeply dissected plateau,
the upper stratum of which is limestone.
The character of the surface would indicate that nearly all the
mountains of the eastern part of Oriente have been carved through
erosion of centuries from a high plateau, the summits of which are found
in “El Yunque” near Baracoa, and other flat topped mountains within the
drainage basins of the Mayari and the Sagua rivers. The flat summits of
the Sierra Nipe are probably remnants of the same great uplift.
Below this level are other benches or broad plateaus, the two most
prominent occurring respectively at 1500 and 2000 feet above sea level.
The highest summits rise to an altitude of 2800 or 3000 feet. The 2000
foot plateau of the Sierra Nipe alone includes an area estimated at not
less than 40 square miles. It would seem that these elevated plateaus
with their rich soils might be utilized for the production of wheat, and
some of the northern fruits that require a cooler temperature than that
found in other parts of Cuba.
In the province of Oriente, the various mountain groups form two
marginal ranges, which merge in the east, and diverge toward the west.
The southern range is far more continuous, while the northern is
composed of irregular groups separated by numerous river valleys.
Between these divergent ranges lies the broad undulating plain of the
famous Cauto Valley, which increases in width as it extends westward.
The northern half of this valley merges into the plains of Camaguey,
whose surface has been disturbed by volcanic uplifts only by a small
group known as the Najassa Hills, in the southeast center of the
province, and by the Sierra Cubitas Range, which parallels the coast
from the basin of Nuevitas Bay until it terminates in the isolated hill
known as Loma Cunagua.
The central mountainous region of the Island is located in the province
of Santa Clara, where a belt of mountains and hills following
approximately northeast and southwest lines, passes through the cities
of Sancti Spiritus and Santa Clara. Four groups are found here, one of
which lies southwest of Sancti Spiritus, and east of the Rio Agabama. A
second group is included between the valleys of the Agabama and the Rio
Arimao.
The highest peak of Santa Clara is known as Potrerillo, located seven
miles north of Trinidad, with an altitude of 2,900 feet. A third group
lies southeast of the city of Santa Clara, and includes the Sierra del
Escambray and the Alta de Agabama. The rounded hills of this region have
an altitude of about 1,000 feet although a few of the summits are
somewhat higher.
The fourth group consists of a line of hills, beginning 25 miles east of
Sagua la Grande, and extending into the province of Camaguey. The trend
of this range is transverse to the central mountain zone as a whole, but
it conforms in direction with the general geological structure of the
region.
East of the city of Santa Clara the hills of this last group merge with
those of the central portion of the province. The summits in the
northern line reach an altitude of only a thousand feet. The principal
members are known as the Sierra Morena, west of Sagua la Grande, Lomas
de Santa Fe, near Camaguani, the Sierra de Bamburanao, near Yaguajay,
and the Lomas of the Savanas, south of the last mentioned town.
In the province of Pinar del Rio, we find another system, or chain of
mountains, dominated by the Sierra de los Organos or Organ mountains.
These begin a little west of Guardiana Bay, with a chain of “magotes,”
known as the “Pena Blanca,” composed of tertiary limestone. These are
the result of a seismic upheaval running from north to south, almost at
right angles with the main axis of the chains that form the mountainous
vertebrae of the Island.
Between the city of Pinar del Rio and the north coast at La Esperanza,
the Organos are broken up into four or five parallel ridges, two of
which are composed of limestone, while the others are of slate,
sandstones and schists. The term “magote,” in Cuba, is applied to one of
the most interesting and strikingly beautiful mountain formations in the
world. They are evidently remnants of high ranges running usually from
east to west, and have resulted from the upheaval of tertiary strata
that dates back probably to the Jurassic period.
The soft white material of this limestone, through countless eons of
time, has been hammered by tropical rains that gradually washed away the
surface and carved their once ragged peaks into peculiar, round,
dome-shaped elevations that often rise perpendicularly to a height of
1,000 feet or more above the level grass plains that form their base.
Meanwhile the continual seepage of water formed great caverns within
that sooner or later caved in and fell, hastening thus the gradual
leveling to which all mountains are doomed as long as the world is
supplied with air and water. The softening and continual crumbling away
of the rock have formed a rich soil on which grows a wonderful wealth of
tropical vegetation, unlike anything known to other sections of Cuba, or
perhaps in the world.
The valley of the Vinales, lying between the City of Pinar del Rio and
the north coast, might well be called the garden of the “magotes,” since
not only is it surrounded by their precipitous walls, but several of
them, detached from the main chain, rise abruptly from the floor of the
valley, converting it into one of the most strangely beautiful spots in
the world.
John D. Henderson, the naturalist, in speaking of this region, says:
“The valley of the Vinales must not be compared with the Yosemite or
Grand Canon, or some famed Alpine passage, for it cannot display the
astounding contrasts of these, or of many well-known valleys among the
higher mountains of the world. We were all of us traveled men who viewed
this panorama, but all agreed that never before had we gazed on so
charming a sight. There are recesses among the Rocky Mountains of Canada
in which one gazes with awe and bated breath, where the very silence
oppresses, and the beholder instinctively reaches out for support to
guard against slipping into the awful chasm below. But the Valley of
Vinales, on the contrary, seems to soothe and lull the senses. Like
great birds suspended in the sky, we long to soar above it, and then
alighting within some palm grove, far below, to rejoice in its
atmosphere of perfect peace.”
A mountain maze of high, round-topped lomas dominates almost the entire
northern half of Pinar del Rio. It is the picturesque remnant of an
elevated plain that at some time in the geological life of the Island
was raised above the surface 1500, perhaps 2000, feet. This, through the
erosion of thousands of centuries, has been carved into great land
surges, without any particular alignment or system.
Straight up through the center of this mountainous area are projected a
series of more or less parallel limestone ridges. These, as a rule, have
an east and west axis, and attain a greater elevation than the lomas.
They are known as the Sierras de los Organos, although having many local
names at different points. Water and atmospheric agencies have carved
them into most fantastic shapes, so that they do, in places, present an
organ pipe appearance. They are almost always steep, often with vertical
walls or “paradones” that rise 1000 feet from the floor or base on which
they rest.
The northernmost range, running parallel to the Gulf Coast, is known as
the “Costanero.” The highest peak of Pinar del Rio is called Guajaibon,
which rises to an altitude of 3000 feet, with its base but very little
above the level of the sea. It is probably of Jurassic limestone and
forms the eastern outpost of the Costaneros.
The southern range of the Organos begins with an interesting peak known
as the Pan de Azucar, located only a few miles east of the Pena Blanca.
From this western sentinel with many breaks extends the great southern
chain of the Organos with its various groups of “magotes,” reaching
eastward throughout the entire province. At its extreme eastern terminus
we find a lower and detached ridge known as the Pan de Guanajay, which
passes for a few miles beyond the boundary line, and into the province
of Havana.
Surrounding the Organos from La Esperanza west, and bordering it also on
the south for a short distance east of the city of Pinar del Rio, are
ranges of round topped lomas, composed largely of sandstone, slate and
shale. The surface of these is covered with the small pines, scrubby
palms and undergrowth found only on poor soil.
From the Mulato River east, along the north coast, the character of the
lomas changes abruptly. Here we have deep rich soil covered with
splendid forests of hard woods, that reach up into the Organos some ten
miles back from the coast. Along the southern edge of the Organos, from
Herredura east, lies a charming narrow belt of rolling country covered
with a rich sandy loam that extends almost to the city of Artemisa.
Extensions, or occasional outcroppings, of the Pinar del Rio mountain
system, appear in the province of Havana, and continue on into Matanzas,
where another short coastal range appears, just west of the valley of
the Yumuri. This, as before stated, has its continuation in detached
ridges that extend along the entire north coast, with but few
interruptions, until merged into the mountain maze of eastern Oriente.
Outside of the mountainous districts thus described, the general surface
of Cuba is a gently undulating plain, with altitudes varying from only
a few feet above the sea level to 500 or 600 feet, near El Cristo in
Oriente. In Pinar del Rio it forms a piedmont plain that entirely
surrounds the mountain range. On the south this plain has a maximum
width of about 25 miles and ascends gradually from the shores of the
Caribbean at the rate of seven or eight feet to the mile until it
reaches the edge of the foothills along the line of the automobile
drive, connecting Havana with the capital of Pinar del Rio.
North of the mountain range the lowland belt is very much narrower and
in some places reaches a height of 200 feet as a rule deeply dissected,
so that in places only the level of the hill tops mark the position of
the original plain.
The two piedmont plains of Pinar del Rio unite at the eastern extremity
of the Organos Mountains and extend over the greater part of the
provinces of Havana and Matanzas and the western half of Santa Clara.
The divide as a rule is near the center of this plain, although the land
has a gradual slope from near its northern margin towards the south.
In the neighborhood of Havana, the elevation varies between 300 and 400
feet, continuing eastward to Cardenas. The streams flowing north have
lowered their channels as the land rose, and the surface drained by them
has become deeply dissected, while the streams flowing toward the south
have been but little affected by the elevation and remain generally in
very narrow channels.
East of Cardenas the general elevation of the plain is low, sloping
gradually both north and south from the axis of the Island. Considerable
areas of this plain are found among the various mountain groups in the
eastern half of Santa Clara province, beyond which it extends over the
greater part of Camaguey and into Oriente. Here it reaches the northern
coast between isolated mountain groups, extending as far east as Nipe
Bay, and toward the south merges into the great Cauto Valley.
From Cabo Cruz the plain extends along the northern base of the Sierra
Maestra to the head of the Cauto valley. Its elevation near Manzanillo
is about 200 feet, whence it increases to 640 feet at El Cristo. In the
central section of Oriente, the Cauto River and its tributaries have cut
channels into this plain from 50 to 200 feet in depth. In the lower part
of the valley these channels are sometimes several miles across and are
occupied by alluvial flats or river bottoms. They decrease in width
towards the east and in the upper part of the valley become narrow
gorges.
A large part of this plain of Cuba, especially in the central provinces,
is underlaid by porous limestone, through which the surface waters have
found underground passages. This accounts for the fact that large areas
are occasionally devoid of flowing surface streams. The rain water sinks
into the ground as soon as it falls, and after flowing long distances
under ground, emerges in bold springs, such as those of the Almandares
that burst out of the river bank some eight miles south of the City of
Havana. Engineers of the rope and cordage plant, just north of the City
of Matanzas, while boring for water, found unexpectedly a swift, running
river, only ten feet below the surface, that has given them an
inexhaustible supply of excellent water.
Most of the plains of Cuba above indicated have been formed by the
erosion of its surface, and are covered with residual soil derived from
the underlying limestones. Where they consist of red or black clays they
are exceedingly fertile. Certain portions of the plains, especially
those bordering on the southern side of the mountains of Pinar del Rio,
are covered with a layer of sand and gravel, washed down from the
adjoining highlands, and are inferior in fertility to soils derived from
the erosion of limestone. Similar superficial deposits are met in the
vicinity of Cienfuegos, and in other sections of the Island, where the
plain forms a piedmont adjacent to highlands composed of silicious
rocks.
CHAPTER III
THE CLIMATE OF CUBA
Since on the climate of country depends largely its healthfulness,
nothing perhaps is of greater importance, especially to the man who
wishes to find some place where he may build his permanent home and
raise his family; to him this feature above all demands careful
consideration.
The most striking and perhaps the most important fact in regard to the
climate of Cuba is its freedom from those extremes of temperature which
are considered prejudicial to health in any country. The difference
between the mean annual temperature of winter and that of summer is only
twelve degrees, or from 76 degrees to 88 degrees. Even between the
coldest days of winter, when the mercury once went as low as 58 degrees,
and the extreme limit of summer, registered as 92 degrees, we have a
difference of only 34 degrees; and the extremes of summer are seldom
noticed, since the fresh northeast trade winds coming from the Atlantic
sweep across the Island, carrying away with them the heated atmosphere
of the interior.
The fact that the main axis of the Island, with its seven hundred mile
stretch of territory, extends from southeast to northwest, almost at
right angles to the general direction of the wind, plays a very
important part in the equability of Cuba’s climate. Then again, the
Island is completely surrounded by oceans, the temperature of which
remains constant, and this plays an important part in preventing
extremes of heat or cold.
Ice, of course, cannot form, and frost is found only on the tops of the
tallest mountain ranges. The few cold days during winter, when the
thermometer may drop to 60 after sundown, are the advance waves of
“Northers” that sweep down from the Dakotas, across Oklahoma and the
great plains of Texas, eventually reaching Cuba, but only after the
sting of the cold has been tempered in its passage of six hundred miles
across the Gulf of Mexico.
A temperature of 60 degrees in Cuba is not agreeable to the natives, or
even to those residents who once lived in northern climes. This may be
due to the fact that life in the Tropics has a tendency to thin the
blood, and to render it less resistant to low temperature; and also
because Cuban residences are largely of stone, brick or reinforced
concrete, with either tile or marble floors, and have no provision
whatever against cold. And, although the walls are heavy, the windows,
doors and openings are many times larger than those of residences in the
United States, hence the cold cannot readily be excluded as in other
countries. There is said to be but one fire-place in the Island of Cuba,
and that was built in the beautiful home of an American, near Guayabal,
just to remind him, he said, of the country whence he came.
Again in the matter of rainfall and its bearing on the climate of a
country, Cuba is very fortunate. The rains all come in the form of
showers during the summer months, from the middle of May until the end
of October, and serve to purify and temper the heat of summer. On the
other hand, the cooler months of winter are quite dry, and absolutely
free from the chilling rains, sleets, snows, mists and dampness, that
endanger the health, if not the life, of those less fortunate people who
dwell in latitudes close to 40 degrees.
Cloudy, gloomy days are almost unknown in Cuba, and the sun can be
depended upon to shine for at least thirty days every month, and
according to the testimony of physicians nothing is better than sunshine
to eliminate the germs of contagious diseases. Hence we can truthfully
says that in the matter of climate and health, Cuba asks no favor of any
country on earth.
CHAPTER IV
PROVINCE OF HAVANA
The Province of Havana, with its area of 3,171 square miles, is the
smallest in Cuba, and yet, owing to the city of Havana, capital of the
Republic, it plays a very important part in the social, political and
economic life of the Island.
Geographically, it is the pivotal province of Cuba, since the narrowest
place across the long arch-like stretch of the Island is found along the
border between Havana and Pinar del Rio, where only twenty-two miles lie
between the Mexican Gulf and the Caribbean Sea. The province proper
measures about thirty miles from north to south, with an average width
of fifty-five.
The topography of Havana includes a varied assortment of hills, ridges,
plateaus, valleys and plains, so that the scenery never becomes
monotonous; and with the numerous automobile drives that radiate from
the Capital, shaded with the luxuriant foliage of royal palms, bamboo
and other forms of tropical vegetation, it offers to the tourist and
traveler an almost endless panorama of charming change and pleasant
surprise. The average altitude of Havana province is slightly lower than
that of either Matanzas or Pinar del Rio, bordering on the east and
west.
Columbus, on his second voyage of discovery, cruised along the southern
coast of Cuba until he reached a point a little west of the Indian
village of Batabano. Here he heard of another island not far to the
south. Leaving the coast he threaded his way through shoals and
scattered keys, that even up to the present time have been only
imperfectly charted, and finally, on July 12, 1494, landed at some place
on the northern shore. He called this island the Evangelist. It is the
largest of a chain of keys running parallel with this part of the south
coast, irregular in form with an area of approximately eight hundred
square miles, and forms the southern half of the judicial district of
Havana.
Columbus remained here, taking on fresh water and wood, until July 25,
and then began his return voyage east, sailing over shoals that
displayed so many varying shades of green, purple and white, that his
mariners are said to have become alarmed.
Some twenty years later Diego Velasquez cruised along the southern coast
to a point west of the Guines River, where he founded a city, which he
called San Cristobal de la Havana. The fifty odd colonists whom he left
behind soon became dissatisfied with the general surroundings of the
spot which he had selected for their abiding place and moved over to the
north shore of the Island near the mouth of the Almandares River, which
they found in every way more agreeable as a place of permanent
residence. In 1519 a second move was made to the Bay of Carenas, where
they located permanently on the harbor, destined soon after to become
the most important port of the West Indies.
The inhabitants of that irregular group of palm thatched huts little
dreamed that four centuries later the Port of Havana would have a
foreign commerce whose tonnage is excelled by only one other in the
Western Hemisphere.
With the exception of the low, grass-covered plains of the southern
shore, the topography of the Province of Havana is undulating and
picturesque. The northern shore, throughout most of its length,
especially from the City of Havana west to Matanzas, rises more or less
abruptly from the beach until it reaches a rather uneven plateau,
several hundred feet above the level of the sea.
In the northwestern corner, some two miles back from the shore line, the
“Pan” or “Loma of Guayabon,” which is really a continuation of the Organ
Mountains of Pinar del Rio, forms a palm covered, picturesque ridge,
six hundred feet in height, extending from east to west for several
miles. Along the southern edge of this range of hills, runs a beautiful
automobile drive, connecting the capital with the city of Pinar del Rio,
the wonderful valley of the Vinales, Guane and the extreme western end
of the Island. A drive leading from the city of Guanajay extends fifty
miles northwest to the Bay of Bahia Honda, chosen originally as a
coaling station for the Navy, but never occupied.
In the east central part of the province lie two small mountains known
as the Tetas de Bejucal, and from them, extending in an easterly
direction into the Province of Matanzas, are broken ridges, plateaus,
and hills that form one of the connecting links between the Organ group
of mountains in the west, and the still higher cordilleras of the
Province of Oriente in the extreme east.
With the exception of the coastal plain running along the southern
boundary, the remainder of the province is undulating, more or less
hilly, and quite picturesque in its contour. A little east of the Tetas
de Bejucal, from the top of the divide that forms the water shed of the
province, looking south, one sees below him the Valley of the Guines,
known as the Garden of Havana. Thousands of acres are here spread out
before the view, all irrigated by the Guines River, whose source is in
the never failing springs that gush from the base of a mountain ridge in
the east center of the Province.
The rich soil of this section, furnished as it is with water throughout
the year, produces a marvelous yield of sugar cane, potatoes, tomatoes,
peppers, egg plants and other vegetables, affording an inexhaustible
supply during the winter to the capital, forty miles north. Engineers
are making a study of this river so that its water may be more
economically distributed and the acreage of irrigated lands greatly
increased.
In the southwestern quarter of Havana Province, known as the Tumbadero
District, experiments were first made in growing tobacco under cheese
cloth. These were so successful that in a few years Tumbadero, or Havana
wrappers, became famous for their fineness of texture, and within a
short time thousands of acres in that section were converted into
fields, or vegas, whose returns in tobacco leaf product were excelled in
value only by those of the celebrated Vuelta Abajo district of Pinar del
Rio. The towns of Alquizar and Guira de Melina were built and sustained
by the reputation of the Tumbadero wrapper, and the tobacco district was
soon extended well up into the center of the province, including Salud,
Rincon, San Antonio de los Banos, and Santiago de las Vegas. In the
northwestern corner of the Island, the rich valley extending south and
east of the “Pan de Guayabon,” including the towns of Caimito, Hoyo
Colorado, and Guayabal, has recently rivaled the Tumbadero district in
the excellence of its tobacco, and excels in citrus fruit.
Over three-fourths of Havana Province have been blessed with a
remarkably fertile soil, and although much of it has been under
cultivation for three centuries or more, with the judicious use of
fertilizers, the returns, either in fruit or vegetables, are very
gratifying to the small farmer.
Along the delightfully shaded automobile drives that radiate from the
Capital in nearly all directions, the price of land within thirty miles
of the city has risen so rapidly that it is being given over almost
entirely to suburban homes and country estates, maintained by the
wealthy residents of the capital. In a climate where frost is unknown,
where the foliage remains fresh and green throughout the winter, it is
comparatively easy to convert an ordinary farm into a veritable garden
of Eden.
One of the most beautiful places on the Island within the last few years
has been created by General Mario G. Menocal, President of the Republic.
It covers several hundred acres and is known as “El Chico,” or the
“Little One.” A commanding residence of Cuban colonial architecture,
standing a little back from the road, has been surrounded with beautiful
drives, lined with every variety of fruit tree, flower and ornamental
plant known to Cuba. The green lawn sweeps up to the stately building
occupied by President Menocal as a residence or country seat in summer.
On this place may be found many varieties of poultry, recently imported
from the United States for experimental purposes, in which the President
is deeply interested. Competent gardeners and caretakers are maintained,
with the result that “El Chico,” where General Menocal and his family
spend much of their time, has become one of the show places of the
Province.
Col. Jose Villalon, Secretary of Public Works, and Col. Charles
Hernandez, Director of Posts and Telegraph, have pretty country estates
located west of Havana, not far from El Chico.
The soil of the Province, throughout most of its extent, has been formed
through the erosion of tertiary limestone, colored in many places a
reddish brown of oxide of iron that has impregnated most of the soils of
Cuba. Just south of Havana, serpentine has obtruded through the
limestone along a belt some two or three miles in extent, and forms the
round topped hills in evidence from the bay.
The greater part of Havana Province, when found by the Spaniards, was
covered with forests of hard woods, that were gradually cut away during
the centuries in which the land has been tilled. The trees, according to
early records, included cedar, mahogany, acana, majagua and others,
still found in the mountainous districts and those sections of Cuba not
yet brought under cultivation. These valuable hard woods formed the
posts, joists, rafters, doors and windows of nearly all the old-time
residences of early days. Many buildings that have remained standing
through centuries, have ceilings that are supported by heavy carved
timbers of mahogany and give promise still of long years of service if
permitted to remain.
The basic wealth of the province, as in nearly all other sections of
Cuba, is dependent on agriculture, although since the inauguration of
the Republic in 1902, manufacturing and various other industries are
beginning to play a prominent part in her economical wealth.
In agricultural products, the Guines Valley previously referred to
undoubtedly produces greater returns than any other similar lands in
Cuba. Hundreds of thousands of crates of tomatoes, egg plants and other
vegetables, that have been raised through the whiter month by
irrigation, are shipped to the United States from December to April.
Thousands of barrels of Irish potatoes from the Guines Valley, also, are
sold in Philadelphia, New York and Boston during the month of March, at
prices averaging four dollars per hundred weight.
In the Valley of Caimito, Guayabal and Hoyo Colorado, large crops of
vegetables are shipped to the northern markets during the winter months,
when good prices are assured. A certainty of profit, however, can only
be depended on where irrigation from wells is secured.
Large acreages of pineapples are grown in the same district, although
the center of the pineapple industry in Havana today is located about
thirty miles east of the City, on the road to Matanzas. Over a million
crates every year are shipped out of Havana to the northern markets
between the middle of May and the middle of July.
It is probable that no section of either the West Indies or the United
States offers greater opportunities for the canning industry than is
found in Cuba at the present time, especially in the Province of Havana,
where facilities for transportation are plentiful. A general canning and
preserving plant, intelligently conducted, could be operated in this
province throughout the entire year. In this way all of the surplus
pineapples not shipped abroad could be utilized.
During the last few years several manufacturing industries have sprung
up on the outskirts of Havana, all of which seem to be yielding
satisfactory returns. Three large breweries are turning out a very good
grade of beer that is disposed of throughout the Island. The plants are
located in the suburbs of Havana, each surrounded by grounds rendered
attractive by landscape gardeners and furnishing places for recreation
and rest to both rich and poor on holidays, which are plentiful in Cuba.
A large up-to-date bottling plant, located just west of the City,
manufactures the containers for the output of the breweries.
Between the city of Havana and the suburb of Ceiba, a modern rubber tire
and tube factory has been established, and is said to be working on full
time with very satisfactory profits. Several large soap and perfume
factories, recently established, are supplying the demand for these
products with satisfaction, it is said, both to the manufacturer and the
consumer.
A number of brick yards and tile factories are located not far from the
City, the combined output of which is large. The erection of wooden
buildings within the city limits of Havana is not tolerated. In fact
they are not at all popular in Cuba since the climate is not conducive
to the preservation of wood, aside from cedar and mahogany or other hard
woods, which are too expensive for construction work. Limestone, easily
worked, and of a fine quality for this climate, is found in abundance,
hence it is that the vast amount of building going on at the present
time in Cuba makes heavy demands on both this material and brick, for
all constructive purposes.
Nature has again favored this Island in her large deposits of excellent
cement-clay, limestone and sand, which are essential to the manufacture
of cement. The Almandares factory located on the west bank of that river
has long been in successful operation. Within the last year another
large modern cement factory has been established on the eastern shores
of the harbor of Mariel, twenty-five miles west of Havana, and today is
turning out high-grade cement at the rate of six hundred barrels per
day.
Local factories have had a monopoly of the match-making industry in Cuba
for many years. Few, if any matches are imported from abroad, and may
never be, owing to the fact that the people of Cuba prefer the wax taper
match. Although short and rather inconvenient to those who are not
accustomed to this miniature candle, the flame burns longer and persists
more successfully in a breeze, hence it is probable that the Cuban match
will hold its own against all competitors. Quite a revenue is derived
from the penny stamp tax placed on each box of matches.
Large quantities of pine lumber are imported into Cuba from the Gulf
cities, especially from South Pascagoula, Miss., and Mobile. This
material is used throughout the island for interior work, sash, doors,
blinds, etc. Unless covered with paint, hard pine is not very lasting in
this climate, for which reasons, perhaps, show cases, fancy work and
ornamental doors are usually built of the native cedar and majagua,
which are practically impervious to either decay or attack from boring
insects.
The most important industry of the Province, from the monetary
viewpoint, at least, is the manufacture of cigars and cigarettes, which
are produced in greater quantity in Havana and throughout the province
than in any other part of the world. It is needless to state that the
cigars made in Havana from the celebrated Vuelta Abajo leaf are shipped
from this capital to all parts of the world, and may be found, it is
said, on the private desk of every crowned head in Europe. Large
shipments are made every year, also, to Japan and the Orient. Thousands
of men and girls are employed in this industry, the value of which, in
the export trade alone, amounts to over $30,000,000 a year.
The Province has but one harbor of any importance, the Bay of Havana,
located near the center of the north coast. It covers several square
miles, and although the entrance between the promontory of Morro and the
Punta is only a few hundred yards across, the channel is deep, perfectly
protected, and leads to an anchorage sufficient for large fleets of
vessels. The shore portions of the main body of the harbor were rather
shallow in early times, but during recent years have been well dredged
up to the edge of the surrounding wharves, thus reclaiming a large
amount of valuable land, and greatly increasing the capacity of the Bay
for shipping purposes.
Since the inauguration of the Republic in 1902, a series of large,
modern, perfectly equipped piers, built of concrete and iron, have been
extended out from the shore line of the western side of the bay, so that
the largest ships may now discharge and take on cargoes, eliminating
thus, to a great extent, the custom of lightering which prevailed only a
few years ago. Owing to the fact that nearly all the principal railroad
systems of Cuba radiate from the Capital, each with a terminal system
connecting with the wharves, the transportation facilities of this port
are superior to any others in Cuba.
Steam and sail vessels are leaving Havana for different parts of the
world every day in the year, and it is a fact of which the Republic has
reason to be proud, that under normal conditions, or up to the beginning
of the great war, a greater amount of tonnage entered and left the
Harbor of Havana than that of any other city of the Western hemisphere,
with the exception of New York. Dredging is still going on with new
wharves in process of construction and projected, so that today frontage
on the bay is valuable and hard to secure at any price.
Owing to its excellent transportation facilities and to the local market
furnished by the City of Havana itself, the growing of fruits and
vegetables, within a radius of one hundred miles from the capital, has
proved more profitable than in other parts of the Island.
Although several small streams flow to the north and south of the
dividing ridge, passing through the center of the Island, none of them,
either in length or depth, could well be termed rivers.
The Almandares, that has its origin in a group of magnificent springs
near the western center of the Province, meanders through a
comparatively level valley, emptying into the Gulf of Mexico, some three
miles west of Havana Harbor. The mouth of this stream, with a depth of
twelve or fourteen feet, accommodates schooners that come for sand and
cement at the factory.
The Vento Springs, already referred to, are a most valuable asset of the
City of Havana, since the abundant flow of water, that through skilful
engineering has been conveyed some eight miles into the City, is of
excellent quality. The quantity of water, with economy, is sufficient,
according to engineering estimates, for a city of one or two millions.
In the latter part of the 16th century the Italian engineer Antonelli
cut several ditches across the intercepting ridges and brought water
from the Almandares River into the city of Havana, not only for domestic
purposes but in sufficient quantity to supply the ships that dropped
into port on their long voyages between Spain and the eastern coast of
Mexico.
On November 7, 1887, the famous Spanish engineer D. Francisco Albear y
Lara completed the present aqueduct and system of water works by which
the springs of Vento are made to contribute to the present Havana, with
its 360,000 inhabitants, a supply of excellent drinking water, although
only a small portion of the flow is utilized.
Owing to the peculiar coral and soft limestone formation on which the
soil of this province has been deposited, numerous lagoons and rivers
flow beneath the surface at various depths, ranging from 30 to 300 feet.
These, when found and tapped, furnish an abundance of splendid fresh
water, seldom contaminated with objectionable mineral matter. At the
Experimental Station at Santiago tiago de las Vegas, a magnificent
spring of water was discovered at a little over one hundred feet in
depth.
Other springs have formed a shallow lagoon just south of the city of
Caimito, the exit from which is furnished by a small swift running
stream, that after a surface flow of five or six miles suddenly plunges
down into the earth some forty feet or more, disappearing entirely from
view and never reappearing, as far as is known. Like many other streams
of this nature, it may come to the surface in the salt waters of the
Caribbean, off the south coast.
The disappearance of this river takes place within a hundred yards of
the railroad station, in the town of San Antonio de los Banos, and
furnishes rather an interesting sight for the tourist who is not
familiar with this peculiar phenomenon.
Although the City of Havana is considered one of the most delightful
winter resorts in the Western Hemisphere, there are many who claim, and
with reason perhaps, that the Capital has many advantages also as a
place in which to spend the summer. Many visitors from the Gulf States
in summer have been loath to leave Cuba.
The mean annual temperature of Havana varies only twelve degrees
throughout the year. During the winter the mercury plays between the two
extremes of 58 and 78 degrees, with an average of about 70. During the
summer the temperature varies from 75 to 88 degrees, although there are
occasional records where the mercury has reached 92 degrees. Even at
this temperature, however, no great inconvenience is experienced, since
the cool, strong, northeast winds, that blow from the Atlantic, straight
across the Island, sweep into the Caribbean the overheated atmosphere
that otherwise would hang over the land as it does in the interior of
large continents, even in latitudes as high as northern Canada.
This continual strong current of air, that blows from the Atlantic
during at least 300 days in the year, with its healthful, bracing
influence, tempers the heat of the sun that in latitude 22 is directly
overhead, and probably prevents sun strokes and heat prostrations,
which are absolutely unknown in Havana at any time of the year.
During the first Government of Intervention, American soldiers in the
months of July and August, 1900, put shingled roofs on barracks and
quarters built at Camp Columbia, in the suburbs of Havana, without the
slightest discomfort. Officers who questioned the men with more or less
anxiety, since they were not accustomed to the tropics, were laughed at
for their fears, the soldiers declaring that, “although the sun was a
little hot, the breeze was fine, and they didn’t feel any heat.” Of the
thousands of horses and mules brought from Kentucky and Missouri not one
has ever fallen, or suffered from heat prostration in the Island of
Cuba.
The nights are invariably cool, so much so that even in July and August,
during the early morning hours, a light covering is not uncomfortable.
There is every reason to believe that in the near future summer resorts
will be successfully established on many of the elevated plateaus and
mountainous parks in various sections of the Island.
The Province of Havana, even during the times of Spanish rule, had three
or four fine military drives radiating to the south and west of the
Capital. Since the inauguration of the Republic, these highways, shaded
with the evergreen laurel, the almendra, flamboyant and many varieties
of palm, including the royal and the cocoanut, have been converted into
magnificent automobile drives, to which have been added many kilometers
of splendidly paved roads known as carreteras, which connect the towns
and villages of the interior with each other as well as the capital with
the principal cities of other sections of Cuba.
Along these highways every three or four miles, are found road repair
stations supported by the Department of Public Works, in which laborers
to whom the keeping up of the road is assigned, live, and which shelter
the necessary rollers and road builders under their direction. These
stations are well built, well kept, and sometimes rather picturesque in
appearance. Their presence should be a guarantee of the permanence and
extension of good road-building in Cuba.
The political, social and commercial heart of the Republic of Cuba
centers in the city of Havana, hence the province shares more directly
in the national life and prosperity than any other. Cables, wireless
stations and passenger ships of various lines coming and going every day
in the year, maintain constant touch with outside world centers.
The Presidency, the various departments of the Federal Government, the
Army, Navy, higher Courts, Congress and Universities all pursue their
activities at the capital. The surrounding province, therefore, although
the smallest of the Island, will probably always remain the most
important political division of the Republic.
CHAPTER V
PROVINCE OF PINAR DEL RIO
Topographically, the Province of Pinar del Rio is perhaps the most
picturesquely beautiful in the Island. Owing also to its variety of
soils, mahogany red, jet black, mulatto or brown, and the grey sands of
the south and west, Pinar del Rio offers marvellous opportunities for
many agricultural industries. Tobacco, of which it produces over
$30,000,000 worth annually, has always been the most important product
of this section of Cuba.
This Province, with its area of 5,764 square miles, owing to the fact,
perhaps, that it lay west of Havana, the capital, and thus outside of
the line of traffic and settlement that began in the eastern end of the
Island, has played historically and politically a comparatively small
part in the story of the Pearl of the Antilles. Its capital, Pinar del
Rio, located about one hundred and twenty-five miles west of Havana, on
the Western Railroad, was founded in 1776, and claims today a population
of 12,000 people.
The delightful aroma and flavor of the tobacco grown in the section of
which this city is the center, and whose quality has been equaled in no
other place, has rendered this province, in one way at least, famous
throughout the entire civilized world.
The topography of the province is more distinctly marked than that of
any other in Cuba. The greater part of the surface, including the entire
southern half, together with the coast plains between the mountains and
the Gulf of Mexico, is quite level. Rising almost abruptly from the flat
surface, we have the western terminus of the great central chain of
mountains that forms the backbone of the Island. This begins near the
shores of Guadiana Bay and extends in a northeasterly direction
throughout almost the entire length of the Province. The main or central
ridge of the Pinar del Rio system is known as the Sierra de Los Organos,
or Organ Mountains, owing probably to the fact that the sides of these
mountains, in many places, form great perpendicular fluted columns,
whose giant organ like shafts reach upward for hundreds of feet.
From this western terminal point the mountains rapidly widen out like an
arrow head, so that between San Juan y Martinez on the south, and Malos
Aguas on the north, the foot hills approach close to both coasts. On the
south, however, they quickly recede towards the Capital, some twenty
miles north, whence they continue throughout the northern center of the
Province in a line more or less direct, leaving the southern half a
great, broad level plain.
On the north coast, from the harbor of San Gayetano east, the mountains
with their adjacent foothills follow more closely the shore line, until
at Bahia Honda, sixty miles west of the city of Havana, they come almost
down to the head of the harbor, gradually receding a little from this
point east, until the chain disappears some ten miles west of the
boundary line that separates Pinar del Rio from Havana.
Strange as it may seem, nature in her mysterious caprice has twice
repeated the form of a shoe at separate points in the outline of the
south coast of Cuba. The first, known as the Peninsula of the Zapata,
with its definitely formed heel and toe, is in the Province of Santa
Clara; and again a second perfect shoe; that resembles with its high
heel set well forward a slightly exaggerated type of the shoe so popular
with the women of Cuba and all Latin American countries, forms the
extreme western terminus of the Island and is almost separated from the
mainland by a chain of shallow lakes. It extends from Cape Francis on
the east to Cape San Antonio, some seventy-five miles west, with an
average width of only about ten miles. Just in front of the heel we have
the indentation known as the Bay of Corrientes, while on the opposite
side, or top of the foot, lies the quiet and protected Bay of Guadiana.
The lighthouse of Cape San Antonio is located on the extreme western
point. From the toe to the heel, following the arch of the foot for
forty miles, runs a low range of hills that introduce the mountain
system of Cuba, developing later into the great central chain that
continues to the other end of the Island.
Between the City of Pinar del Rio and Vinales, the range is broken up
into three parallel ridges, the central one composed of limestone, while
the other are of slates, schists and sand. The highest peak, known as
the Pan de Guajaibon, has an altitude that has been variously estimated
from 2500 to 3,000 feet. It rises abruptly from the narrow plain of the
north coast, about eight miles, southwest of the harbor of Bahia Honda,
and is difficult of ascent. The various parks, plateaus and circular
basins or sumideros, often of large extent, with subterranean exits,
form strangely picturesque spots that burst on the traveler, mounted on
his sturdy sure footed pony, unexpectedly, and if a lover of scenery he
will leave with sincere regret.
One of these charming valleys, known as Vinales, lies between two
prominent ridges, about twenty miles north of the City of Pinar del Rio,
and is in many respects the most glorious bit of scenery in all the West
Indies. A splendid macadamized automobile drive winds from the capital
up along the foot hills to the crest of the ridge, whence it descends,
crosses the valley, cuts through the northernmost ridge, and continues
on to La Esperanza, on the north shore of the Province.
[Illustration: THE VINALES VALLEY
A scene in the heart of the wonderland of Pinar del Rio, which
innumerable tourists have declared second to no other spot in the world
in romantic beauty and fascinating charm. The combination of cliffs and
plain, with the rich coloring of tropical flora, is so bewildering as to
create the illusion of a stage-setting made for scenic effect by some
master artist.]
Rex Beach, the novelist, writer and traveler, looked down from his auto
into the valley for the first time in 1916. Stopping the machine
suddenly, he jumped to the ground and stood spellbound, looking down
into that beautiful basin, over a thousand feet below. After a
moment’s pause he exclaimed: “I have visited every spot of interest from
northern Alaska to Panama, and traveled through many countries, but
never before in my life have I met anything so picturesquely,
dramatically beautiful as this valley, this dream garden that lies at
our feet. There is nothing like it in the Western Hemisphere, probably
not in all the world.”
The length of the basin is not over twenty miles while its width varies
from three to ten. The floor is level, covered with rich waving grass,
watered by a little stream, that comes meandering through the valley,
dives beneath a mountain range, afterwards to reappear from a
grotto-like opening on the northern side, beyond the valley, whence its
waters eventually find their home in the Gulf of Mexico.
The peculiar, almost unreal, indentations of the northern ridge are
silhouetted so vividly against the sky above that from the southern
shore of the valley one is inclined at times to believe them
fantastically formed clouds. The remarkable feature, however, of Vinales
lies in the peculiar round-topped mountains that rise abruptly from the
level surface below, and project themselves perpendicularly into the
air, to a height varying from 1,200 to 2,000 feet.
Unique imposing formations, resulting from millions of years of tropical
rains and rock erosion, are covered with dense forests of strange palms
and thousands of rare plants, whose varied foliage seems to be peculiar
to this isolated spot in the western central part of Pinar del Rio.
These singular dome-like lomas of Vinales, looming up so unexpectedly
from the valley below, are usually accessible from one side, although
but very few people seem to have taken the trouble to climb to their
summits. All of these mountains and foothills, composed of limestone
formations, are honeycombed with caves, some of them of rare beauty.
Shortly after the founding of the Republic, a group of men composed
mostly of naturalists and scientists, representing the Smithsonian and
like institutions in the United States, together with several Cuban
enthusiasts in the study of nature, spent several months studying the
fauna and flora of the Vinales Valley. In fact they rambled and worked
through most of the line of foothills that traverse Pinar del Rio
between its central ridges and the Gulf of Mexico. Some of the party
were specialists in tertiary fossils, others in the myriad varieties of
submarine life. These latter spent considerable time studying the
various species of radiata, mollusca, crustacea and allied forms of life
on the inner side of the long coral barrier reef which parallels the
shore of the province of Pinar del Rio, from Bahia Honda to Cape San
Antonio. Many new varieties of the snail family, also, were discovered
and studied.
In this connection it may be stated that a very rare variety of the palm
family, the Microoyco Calocoma, commonly called the Cork Palm, found
only in Pinar del Rio, seems, owing perhaps to some unfavorable change
in climate or surrounding conditions, to be disappearing from earth. Not
more than seventy specimens are known to exist and these are all growing
in an isolated spot in the mountains back of Consolacion del Sur.
Several of them have been transplanted to the grounds of the Government
Experimental Station for study and care. One also has been removed to
the grounds of the President’s home at El Chico. The palms are not tall,
none reaching a height of more than twenty feet, with a diameter of
perhaps eight inches.
This rare palm is one of those miraculous survivals of the carboniferous
age that by some strange protecting influence have survived all the
great seismic upheaval and geological changes wrought on the earth’s
surface during the millions of years since the epoch, when this and
similar varieties of carboniferous plants were the kings of the
vegetable world. Their dead forms are frequently found imprinted in the
coal fields of Pennsylvania and Brazil, but only in Cuba has this
family of ancient palms persisted, mute survival of an antiquity that
probably antedates any other living thing on earth. So slow is the
growth of this remarkable plant, that only one crown of leaves appears
each year. By simply counting the circles of scars left by the fallen
leaves, it is clearly demonstrated that many of these remnants of a
remote geological past were living in the mountains of Pinar del Rio
long before Columbus dreamed of another continent. Some of them are
today over a thousand years old, and may have antedated the fall of
Rome, if not the birth of Christ on earth.
A strange variety of indigenous wild legumes, belonging probably to the
cow-pea tribe, is found growing luxuriantly in the low sandy soil of the
southwestern coast. The vine forms a splendid cover crop of which cattle
are very fond, while the peas, although small, are delicious eating.
Plants of the lily family are found in great quantities in some of the
fresh water lagoons of this Province, the ashes of which furnish 60% of
high-grade potash.
Back in the mountains of Pinar del Rio, an exploring party from the
Experimental Station came across, most unexpectedly, a little group of
five immense black walnut trees. No one knows whence came the seed from
which they sprung, since the district has never been settled, and the
black walnut is not known in any other part of the Island. It is quite
probable that many, if not all, of the forest trees of a commercial
value in the Gulf States, and perhaps further north, would thrive in
Cuba if planted there.
There is much fine, valuable hard-wood timber in the mountain ranges of
Pinar del Rio, between Vinales and Bahia Honda, but lack of facility for
the removal to the coast will probably cause it to remain unmolested for
some years to come.
The extreme length of Pinar del Rio, from southwest to northeast, in a
straight line, is nearly two hundred miles, while its average width is
fifty. The rivers and streams all have their sources in the central
divide, and flow to the north and south, emptying into the Gulf of
Mexico and the Caribbean Sea. None of these, of course, are available
for navigation more than a few miles up from their mouths, and while
serving as drainage streams during the rainy season, many of them,
unfortunately, cease to flow during the dry months of February and
March.
Some of them, with sources in large springs, back in the mountains,
could be used very advantageously, with small expense, for irrigation
purposes, thus rendering adjoining lands, especially in the tobacco and
vegetable district, doubly valuable. With the control of the water
supply, the profit to be made from these lands, on which three or four
crops may be gathered a year, would seem almost incredible, especially
if compared with the returns of similar lands in the United States.
As an illustration, in any of the rich sandy soils bordering streams
like the Rio Hondo or Las Cabezas of the south coast, or the Manimani or
the Mulata of the north coast, whose waters are always available for
irrigation purposes, in January, February or March corn and cow peas may
be planted on the same ground in the early spring. Crops from these may
be gathered in late May or June, and the same land planted in carita
beans, sweet potatoes or squash, that may be removed in September,
leaving the field to be again planted in October with tobacco, peanuts,
yuca, potatoes, peppers, tomatoes, egg plants or okra, that when
gathered in January and February will bring splendid returns in either
the local markets of Havana, or the early spring markets of the Atlantic
and Gulf Coasts of the United States.
The short streams flowing from the mountain chains along the north coast
are the Mariel, the Manimani, the Mulata, the San Marcos, the Guacamayo,
the Caimito and Mantua, and the Rio Salado. Returning on the south coast
we have the Cabeza, the Guama, Ovas, Hondo, Herradura, San Diego, Los
Palacios, Bacuranabo, Sabanal and the Bayale.
The northern coast of Pinar del Rio is fortunate in having three of the
finest harbors of Cuba, bordering on the Gulf of Mexico. First, the
beautiful Bay of Mariel, located about 30 miles west of Havana, has a
narrow, deep entrance with a lighthouse on the eastern point, and the
Government Quarantine Station for foreign ships on the western side at
the entrance. This Bay rapidly widens out into a large deep basin, three
miles in length from north to south, with an average width of perhaps a
mile, together with several prolongations towards the west, all
furnishing excellent anchorage and securely protected against any
possible weather.
The shores of Mariel are beautiful. Palm covered bluffs several hundred
feet in height rise almost abruptly from the eastern side of the Bay. On
top of this promontory or plateau is located a fine two-story building,
erected in 1905 as a club house, but occupied at the present time by
Cuba’s Naval Academy. The view from the crest over the surrounding
country, with its tall mountains in the distance, its forest covered
foothills and great valleys planted in sugar cane to the south and west,
with the Gulf of Mexico lying off to the north, presents a picture of
rare tropical beauty.
Between this promontory and the lighthouse a modern cement factory was
built in 1917, turning out at the present time 1,000 barrels of Portland
Cement per day, while near the head of the Bay, a narrow gauge railroad,
bringing asphalt from back in the foothills, terminates alongside the
shipping wharf.
The quaint little fishing village of Mariel is located on the shore at
the southern end of the Bay. Its inhabitants, although leading rather an
uneventful life, seem quite content to remain, although Havana is less
than thirty miles distant over a splendid automobile drive; one of the
most beautiful in Cuba. The Quarantine Station is splendidly equipped
and always in readiness to take care of any ship’s crew or passengers
that may be detained by orders of the authorities in Havana. Mariel,
owing to its natural beauty and its proximity to Havana, is frequently
visited by President Menocal in his yacht, and furnishes a delightful,
cool resting place for anyone during the summer season.
Ten or twelve miles further west, we have the Bay of Cabanas, another
perfectly land-locked harbor, whose deep entrance is divided by an
island into two channels. These open out into a wide picturesque expanse
of water, extending east and west for some ten miles or more, with an
average width of two or three.
On the small island that almost obscures the mouth of the harbor from
the sea, a little old Spanish fort, with its obsolete guns, up to the
present unmolested, bears mute evidence to those times when visits of
pirates, with the equally troublesome corsairs of France and England,
were common, and provision for defense was absolutely necessary. The
village of Cabanas, in order to secure better protection from the danger
mentioned, is located two or three miles back from the eastern end of
the harbor.
Great fields of sugar cane surround the Bay on all sides. These, of
course, have been greatly extended since the European War and the
increased demand for sugar. A beautiful automobile drive that branches
from the main line or Pinar del Rio road, at Guanajay, passes along the
crest of the ridge of hills back of the Bay of Cabanas, for over ten
miles, giving at almost every turn a new view to this beautiful sheet of
water. Once known to the outside world, this magnificent Bay of Cabanas
would soon become a popular resort for private yachts that spend the
winter season in tropical waters.
Fifteen miles further west, this same winding, hill-climbing,
macadamized Government driveway, reaches another splendid harbor known
as Bahia Honda, or Deep Bay. Like most of the bays of Cuba, the entrance
to this, although comparatively narrow, is deep, and with two range
lights maintained for the purposes of easy access day and night. This
harbor extends back from the Gulf of Mexico some seven or eight miles,
with an average width of three or four, furnishing good anchorage for
ships of any draught.
Bahia Honda was selected by the United States Government in 1902, as a
coaling station, a large body of land on the western shore being
reserved for that purpose. Owing, however, to the completion of the
Panama Canal later, and to the consequent advantages of having a naval
station closer to the line of maritime travel, between Panama and the
Atlantic Coast, Bahia Honda was surrendered to the Government of Cuba
and Guantanamo became the principal United States Naval Station for the
West Indies.
The harbor of Bahia Honda, dotted with islands, and with comparatively
high lands extending all along its western and southern shores, offers
the same advantages, not alone for an extensive commerce, but as a
rendezvous for foreign yachts and pleasure craft, during the closed
season or winter months of the north. The little village bearing the
same name, two miles back from the Bay, is reached by a branch from the
main driveway connecting Bahia Honda with Havana and intermediate
cities.
The Bay of La Esperanza, one hundred miles west of Havana, is inclosed
by the long chain of islands and coral reefs known as the “Colorados,”
that lie some eight or ten miles off the mainland, and protect
three-fourths of the shore of Pinar del Rio from the heavy waves of the
Gulf of Mexico. The entrance to this and adjacent bays is through narrow
breaks in the barrier reef. Its waters have an average depth of only two
or three fathoms; nevertheless considerable amounts of copper ore are
shipped from the mines some fifteen miles back in the mountains during
all seasons of the year.
Along the western shore of the main body of this Province, we have the
harbors of Dimas and Mantua. Like the Esperanza, they are comparatively
shallow bays, entered through breaks in the Colorado Reefs, but still
available for moderate draft vessels in all seasons of the year.
In the angle of the ankle, formed by the shoe-like extension of the
Province of Pinar del Rio, we have a beautiful wide indentation of the
coast known as Guardiana Bay. On the shores, some ten years ago, was
located a Canadian colony, but, owing to its isolation, and lack of
transportation of all kinds, it has since been practically abandoned.
This settlement, like the Isle of Pines, had little to recommend it
except its beautiful climate and its perfect immunity from the cares and
troubles of the outside world.
Aside from wide, deep indentations from the sea, and shallow landing
places at the mouths of rivers, the south coast of Pinar del Rio has
nothing to offer in the shape of harbors. Nevertheless, owing to the
presence of long lines of outlying keys, and to the fact that northerly
winds produce only smooth water off these shores, there is considerable
local traffic carried on between various places on the south coast and
Batabano, whence connection with Havana is secured by rail. A large part
of the charcoal used in the capital is cut from the low lying forests
that cover almost the entire length of Pinar del Rio’s south coast.
Across the ankle-like connection between the mainland and the peninsula
forming the western extremity of the Island a depression runs from
Guardiana Bay on the west to the Bay of Cortez on the east. Numerous
fresh water lagoons or inland lakes lie so close that a small amount of
dredging would cut a canal from one shore to the other, and save thus
over a hundred miles of travel for local coasting vessels. At the
present time these lakes, with their rich growth of aquatic plants,
furnish a retreat during the winter season for many varieties of wild
ducks, which the game laws of Cuba are endeavoring to protect. Wild deer
are also very plentiful throughout the greater part of the Province,
especially in the mountainous districts and in the jungles of the south
coast.
The capital, Pinar del Rio, is a modern and rather attractive little
city of some 12,000 inhabitants, located on a gentle rise of ground in
the western center of the Province. Immediately surrounding it is the
celebrated tobacco district known as the Vuelta Abajo, or Lower Turn, so
called, perhaps, owing to the fact that the coast line of this section
recedes rapidly towards the south and west.
The choice lands of this locality cover a relatively small area, not
over thirty miles from east to west and less than half that distance
from north to south. And even within this circumscribed area, the best
tobacco is grown only in little vegas, or oases, whose soil seems to
contain mineral elements the character of which has never been
discovered, but that nevertheless give to the plant a peculiarly
delightful aroma and flavor, not known to the tobacco of any other part
of the world. As a result, the price of these little vegas, so favored
by Nature, is very high, often running into thousands of dollars per
acre.
Pinar del Rio is connected with Havana by the Western Railway, that
traverses almost the entire length of the Province, terminating at the
present time at the town of Guane within thirty miles of Guardiana Bay.
This railroad furnishes transportation for the great level plains,
together with the fertile foot hills that occupy the southern half of
the Province.
An extension of the line has been granted and contracts signed carrying
it around the western terminus of the Organ Mountains, whence it will
follow the line of the north shore, returning east to Havana. This line
when completed will furnish transportation to the entire length of the
coast lands bordering on the Gulf of Mexico.
Along the Western Road are a number of prosperous little cities or
villages, with populations varying from two to eight thousand, including
Artemisa, Candelaria, San Cristobal, Taco-Taco, Los Palacios,
Herradura, Consolacion del Sur, Ovas, etc., all of which are located
along the foothills, and in the tobacco district is known as the Partido
or Semi Vuelta. Beyond Pinar del Rio, we have San Luis, Martinez and
Guane, which claim to be within the charmed zone of Vuelta Abajo.
Tobacco is also grown around the little town of Vinales, nestling in the
center of that valley, and in nearly all of the foothills that border
the north coast; hence the tobacco industry in this end of the Island,
greatly exceeds in value, that of sugar cane, which up to the beginning
of the great war, was grown only in the basins of rich heavy soil
surrounding the harbors of Mariel, Cabanas and Bahia Honda. There are
seven ingenios or sugar mills within the limits of this province that
produced together 645,000 bags of sugar in 1918.
The growing of fruits and vegetables, especially since the birth of the
Republic, was introduced into Pinar del Rio as an industry by Americans,
many of whom settled along the line of the Western Road, many of these,
taking advantage of the rich sandy loams between the railroad line and
the Organ Mountains, have built up a really important industry not
before known to Cuba.
An American colony was started at Herradura, one hundred miles west of
Havana in 1902. Unfortunately, the inhabitants of the little settlement
gave nearly all of their capital and energy to the planting of citrus
fruit groves, which as a whole, have rather disappointed their owners.
This was not because the growing of citrus fruit cannot be successfully
carried on in Pinar del Rio, but was in most instances owing to the fact
that the areas planted were very much larger than the available help
could possibly handle and care for intelligently; hence many groves,
lacking this care, have lapsed into grazing lands, whence they came.
The growing of vegetables, green peppers, tomatoes, egg plants and
beans, especially where farms were located near enough to streams to
provide irrigation during the months of January, February and March,
has proven very profitable, and within the near future will undoubtedly
be still further extended.
In the early part of the 19th century, and for that matter, up to the
abolition of slavery in 1878, the production of coffee in the
mountainous districts of Pinar del Rio was the chief industry in the
Province. Beautiful estates, the ruins of which are frequently scattered
along the line of the Organ Mountains, especially in that section of the
range included between San Cristobal and Bahia Honda, and splendid
country homes with approaches cut from the main highways of travel up
into these delightful picturesque retreats, were occupied during the
summer months by prominent citizens of Havana, who found the growing of
coffee both profitable and agreeable. The coffee trees still grow,
although uncared for, and many thousand of pounds are still brought out
of this almost forgotten district, on mule back, to be sold to the
country groceries of Bahia Honda and San Cristobal, where the green
beans bring twenty dollars per hundred weight.
With the introduction of colonists from the Canary Islands, Italy, and
other countries who love the fresh air of the mountains, and who do not
object to the isolation which naturally follows a residence in remote
sections, there is every reason to believe that the coffee industry will
again be resumed. The settlement of these hills and vales with families
whose children can assist in the picking of berries, will make the
growing of coffee a great success.
Until 1913 the mining interests of Pinar del Rio were practically
ignored, in spite of the fact that several excavations or shafts, that
had been worked many years before, gave evidence of the existence of
copper. It was in this year that Luciano Diaz, formerly Secretary of
Public Works, became interested in the district known as Matahambre.
Competent mining engineers, brought from the United States, assured Mr.
Diaz that his claim was valuable, and merited the investment of
capital. This proved to be true, since the mine has produced high-grade
copper at the rate of about five million dollars per year since the date
of its opening.
Valuable deposits of manganese, too, have been recently discovered in
the western end of the province, and will undoubtedly be developed in
the near future. Excellent iron ore is found in the same chain, west of
the capital, but owing to the difficulties of transportation, the mines
have never been operated. Asphalt, asbestos and other substances used in
the commercial world, are found at various points along the range, and
await only intelligent direction and capital for their development.
Although Narciso Lopez, with his unfortunate followers, endeavored to
arouse the people of this Province against the iniquities of Spanish
rule in the year 1852, the revolution had never reached the west until
the winter of 1896, when General Antonio Maceo, with his army of Cuban
veterans, carried the “invasion of the Occident” to its ultimate
objective. After one of the most skilfully conducted campaigns known to
history, he rested for a few weeks in the little town of Mantua, within
a few miles of the extreme western shore of Cuba.
The crossing of the Trocha, that had been built between the harbor of
Mariel and the south coast, by this invading army, was very distasteful
to General Weyler, who soon filled Pinar del Rio with well armed
regiments and gave Maceo battle for more than a year. Short of
ammunition, and in a section of the country where it was almost
impossible for the expedition to aid him, General Maceo was compelled to
keep up a running fight for many months, and in the Organ Mountains and
in their various spurs toward the north coast were fought some of the
most stubbornly contested engagements of the War of Independence.
CHAPTER VI
PROVINCE OF MATANZAS
Historically the province of Matanzas has played a comparatively
unimportant part in the various events that have influenced the destiny
of the Island. In the early days of conquest, little mention of the
district was made. Grijalva, however, with a small body of men, was the
first of the Spanish conquerors who, pushing his way along the northern
coast of Cuba, reached the harbor now known as Matanzas on October 8,
1518. A very substantial fort of the same excellent style of military
architecture as that seen in Havana, was erected on the western shore of
the Bay of Matanzas to protect the city from invasion, in the middle of
the eighteenth century.
The province of Matanzas joins Havana on the east and has an area of
3,257 square miles. The surface as a whole is comparatively level,
although the chain of mountains, which forms the backbone of the entire
Island, is represented along the center of Matanzas in a series of low
peaks and foothills sloping away to the northwest corner, in which the
capital, Matanzas, is located on a bay of the same name.
Across the eastern center of the Province of Matanzas, nature left a
depression that extends from the north coast at Cardenas, almost if not
quite, to the shore of the Caribbean, at the Bay of Cochinos. The
elevation above the sea level is so slight throughout this belt that a
series of fresh water lagoons, swamps and low lands, without natural
drainage of any kind, has rendered the district almost useless for
agriculture and grazing purposes during the rainy season. Between the
months of May and November this section is frequently flooded so that
animals occasionally perish and crops are frequently destroyed.
To relieve the situation a drainage canal was proposed a few years ago,
that should furnish an artificial exit for the surplus water into the
Bay of Cardenas. The length of the proposed canal was thirty miles, and
work began on the big ditch in 1916. At the present time it is
practically completed, at a cost of approximately five millions of
dollars. Its width varies from sixteen to forty-four meters, carrying an
average depth of one and a half meters, or five feet.
The possibility of eventually converting this drainage canal into an
avenue of traffic, between the north and the south coasts, furnishing
thus water, or cheap transportation, between Havana, Matanzas, Cardenas
and Cienfuegos, or other ports on the south coast, has naturally
appealed to engineers who have studied the terrain. There are no
engineering difficulties that would prevent a canal of this kind from
being converted into a deep ship canal across the Island which would
shorten the distance between New York and Panama by at least two hundred
miles. Steamers bound north from Panama would then cross the Caribbean,
pass through from Cochinos Bay to Cardenas, entering at once the Gulf
Stream, the force of whose current would still further shorten the time
between Panama and Pacific ports on the south, and all Atlantic ports
north of Cuba. The engineering problem could not be more simple, since
it is merely a question of dredging through earth and soft limestone
rock for a distance of seventy-five miles, taking advantage, as does the
present drainage canal, of the Auton River, where it empties into
Cardenas Bay. That such a saving of time and distance will some day be
consummated is more than probable. Not only the economics and benefits
to be derived from such a shortening of miles between local points in
times of peace, but the strategic advantage of the short cut for naval
units in time of war, are more than manifest to any one at all familiar
with the geography of Cuba and the West Indies. Cuba, for commercial and
economical reasons, is deeply interested in the construction of a canal
that would make the Province of Matanzas an intersea gateway, not only
for her own coastwise trade, but for much of the northbound traffic that
in the near future will carry millions of tons of raw material from the
west coast of South America to the great manufacturing centers of the
North Atlantic.
Running parallel with the north shore, a short series of remarkable
hills rise abruptly from the surrounding level plain to an altitude of a
thousand feet or more. One of these is known as the “Pan de Matanzas,”
whose round, palm covered top may be seen for many miles at sea. Ships
coming from New York usually make this peak above the horizon before any
other part of the Island comes into view.
The Yumuri River, at some time in the remote geological past cut its way
through these hills and found exit in Matanzas Bay. The valley lying
between two of these parallel ridges, through which the Yumuri flows,
has been rendered famous by Alexander Humboldt, who visiting the spot in
the winter of 1800, traveling over most of South and Central America,
pronounced it the most beautiful valley in the world. No terms of praise
are too great to bestow on the Yumuri; but in truth it must be said that
Humboldt had never seen the Valley of Vinales, one hundred and thirty
miles west, or he would probably have hesitated in bestowing such
superlative praise on the Yumuri.
Only a few miles south of the Yumuri, another river known as the San
Juan has broken through the ridge which lies along the western shore,
and empties its waters into the bay. Another small stream, the Canima,
pouring its waters into the Bay, a little further east, flows through a
series of limestone cliffs covered with a wealth of tropical forest and
furnishes a source of recreation to visitors and many people of the
capital, who make excursions to the head of navigation in motor
launches.
The Province has an average length of about 70 miles, with a width from
north to south of fifty miles, and forms a fairly regular parallelogram.
From the center of the coast line a narrow neck of land, known as the
Punta Hicaco, projects out toward the northeast for some fifteen miles,
inclosing the Bay of Cardenas on the west. The outer shore of this strip
of land, known as El Veradero, forms the finest bathing beach in all
Cuba, to which those who do not find it convenient to visit the United
States in summer, can come during the warmer months.
A chain of islands varying in size from little keys of a half acre to
that of Cayo Romano, seventy miles long, extends from a few miles east
of Punta Hicaco, along the north shore of Cuba to the Harbor of
Nuevitas, a distance of three hundred miles. The Bay of Cardenas,
although large in extent is rather shallow in comparison with most
harbors of Cuba. Extensive dredging, however, has rendered it available
for steamers of 20-foot draft.
The southern boundary of the Province is formed by the River Gonzalo,
fairly deep throughout half its length, but obstructed by shoals at the
mouth. The upper extension of this stream, known as Hanabana, flows
along the larger part of its eastern boundary. Just south of the Gonzalo
River lies the great Cienaga de Zapato, or Swamp of the Shoe, which
belongs to the Province of Santa Clara. The land along the northern bank
of the river is also low and marshy, with sharp limestone rocks
frequently cropping out on the surface. Of navigable rivers, Matanzas
has really none worthy of mention but with railroads it is quite well
supplied.
The surface as a whole is slightly rolling and has long been under
cultivation, especially in the production of sugar cane, for which
nearly all of this section is excellently adapted. There are forty sugar
plantations in active operation in Matanzas Province, producing in 1917
over four million sacks. The cultivation of sugar cane, as in other
provinces, is the chief source of wealth and yields the greatest
revenue.
In recent years, or since revolutions have practically destroyed the
industries of Yucatan, capital has been attracted to the cultivation of
henequen, and to the extraction of the fibre known as sisal, from which
not only rope and cables are made, but also binding twine, so essential
to the wheat crop of the United States.
Leaving the city of Cardenas, which promises soon to be another great
sisal center, and traveling west over the automobile drive towards
Matanzas, a perfect panorama of growing henequen is spread out on both
sides of the road as far as the eye can reach. The peculiar bluish green
color of the fields of this valuable textile plant, dotted as they are
with royal palms, produce a fascinating effect as one passes through
league after league of henequen.
There are many limestone hills, plateaus and plains in Matanzas
Province, whose surface, covered with a thin layer of rich red soil, is
especially adapted to the growth and cultivation of henequen, and it is
quite possible that the sisal industry, in a short time, may equal if
not excel in importance the sugar industry of the province.
Some twenty years ago a complete plant was established in the city of
Matanzas for the manufacture of cables, cordage and binding twine for
the local market. Thousands of acres of barren hillsides south of the
city were planted in henequen at that time, and have since furnished
enough raw material to keep this rope factory going throughout the
entire year. The decortator, or machine by which the sisal is separated
from the pulp of the leaves, is located near the crest of the hill,
about a half a mile back of the factory. From this point down to the
plain below, the green fresh sisal is conveyed by gravity in iron
baskets, where it is received by women and spread out on wire lines to
dry. Twenty-four hours later it is carried into the factory and there
spun into rope of all sizes, from binding twine to the twelve-inch
hawsers. Water was found alongside the factory only a few feet below the
surface, where an underground stream furnishes an inexhaustible supply.
Several millions were invested in the Matanzas henequen industry,
started by a company of Germans, who recently sold out to local and
foreign capitalists. It is said that the capacity of the plant will be
greatly increased.
The city of Matanzas, capital of the Province, is spread out over the
side and along the base of the low hill that forms the western shore of
the Bay. Although not possessing the wealth of Havana, the general
appearance of the city, with its substantial stone buildings, gives
every evidence of prosperity and comfort. Its population numbers
approximately 40,000, the greater part of whom are interested in sugar,
henequen and other local industries of the section.
Matanzas was first settled in 1693, but the modern city is laid out with
wide streets, the oldest of which as usual radiate from the central
plaza or city park, a quaint square ornamented with oriental palms and
tropical flowers. The most pretentious drive of this provincial capital,
however, has been built along the shore of the bay, a beautiful wide
avenue lined with laurels and with statues of various local heroes,
which add greatly to its interest. The view from the opposite side of
the bay is excelled only by that of Havana from the heights of Cabanas.
Just back of the City, or rather on the edge of its northwestern
boundary, perched on the front of a commanding promontory known as La
Loma de Monserrate, is located a quaint little cathedral dedicated to
the Virgin of El Cobre. The altar and background of the nave are
constructed of cork, brought from Spain for that purpose many years ago.
From the crest of this flat topped hill, protected on the north by a
stone wall, with spacious seats of the same material, under the shade of
laurel trees, the traveller has spread before him a beautiful view
of the Yumuri Valley, over which Humboldt gazed with admiration some
hundred years ago.
[Illustration: SAN JUAN RIVER, MATANZAS
Second only to Havana itself on the northern coast of Cuba is the great
commercial and residence city of Matanzas. Instead of standing upon the
shore of a land-locked bay, however, Matanzas is built on the banks of
the San Juan River, a broad, deep stream affording admirable facilities
for navigation, and lined for a considerable distance partly with
handsome houses and business buildings and partly with busy docks and
wharves, thronged with vessels of all descriptions.]
Leading from the Capital are several very beautiful automobile drives;
one reaching out towards the north and rounding the eastern terminus of
the Yumuri Valley, gives a beautiful view of that charming basin as it
stretches away toward the west.
Another delightful drive sweeps along the south shore towards Cardenas.
A few miles from Matanzas, however, a sharp turn to the right leads up
on to the summit of the ridge south of Matanzas. The drive passes
through the long stretches of henequen fields whose plants furnish the
fibre to the factory near the railway station.
On the crest of the plateau, under the shade of a small grove of trees,
is found an odd little building that serves as the entrance to the
Bellamar Caves. This famous underground resort is quite well known to
tourists who visit Cuba in the winter season. Visitors are lowered by
means of an elevator to a depth considerably below the level of the sea,
after which guides take the party in charge and lead the way through
several miles of interesting underground passages, ornamented with
stalactites, stalagmites and other beautiful formations peculiar to
those old time waterways that forced their tortuous channels through the
bowels of the earth thousands of years ago.
Many of these formations are of a peculiar pearl white with a delicate
texture that resembles Parian marble and gives a metal-like ring when
struck. The entire cave is lighted with electricity and entrance to the
more inaccessible spots has been rendered possible through artificial
steps and balustrades. The city of Matanzas furnished an interesting and
pleasant spot in which the tourist can spend a few days agreeably.
The harbor of Matanzas is a wide mouthed roadstead, cutting back from
the Atlantic some five or six miles with a width varying from three to
four. Dredging within recent years has greatly improved the port,
although with deep draft vessels, lightering is still necessary to
convey freight from the warehouses out to the various places of
anchorage.
[Illustration: CITY HALL AND PLAZA, CARDENAS]
The view of the City, covering the slopes of the hills on the west as
you enter the bay, is very attractive. Since the Province of Matanzas
has no harbors on the south coast, nearly all the sugar produced in her
forty big mills is shipped from either Matanzas or Cardenas, both of
which are connected with railroads that tap the various agricultural
sections lying south of them.
The second city of the Province, Cardenas, is located on Cardenas Bay, a
large and well protected harbor thirty miles east of Matanzas. In
comparison with most of the harbors, however, it is comparatively
shallow, needing a good deal of dredging to make it available for deep
draft vessels. Cardenas, like Matanzas, is comparatively modern, with
wide streets, regularly laid out. The old square, with its statue of
Columbus, has been recently remodeled at considerable cost.
The first serious indication of revolt on the part of the Cuban people
against the rule of Spain, was started here by General Narciso Lopez,
who landed at Cardenas with 600 men, mostly Americans from New Orleans,
on May 19, 1850. Within a few hours they had captured the Spanish
garrison and made prisoners of Governor Serrute and several of his
officials. The city was theirs, but to the unspeakable chagrin of
General Lopez, only one man came to his aid on Cuban soil, and before
nightfall, after defeating a Spanish column sent to oppose him, the
disappointed revolutionist abandoned the city, and with his followers
embarked for Key West.
It was on May 11, 1898, that Cardenas Bay became the scene of an
engagement between blockading vessels of the United States fleet and the
Spanish batteries, in which Ensign Worth Badgley was killed, he being
the first officer to lose his life in the war.
The exportation of sugar from the rich lands tributary to this bay has
always given Cardenas importance as a shipping point and rendered it,
for a city of only 30,000, quite a wealthy and prosperous community.
Many beautiful residences have been built along its stately avenues, and
the great henequen industry recently started in the great fields to the
west will add, undoubtedly, to the wealth of the locality. Splendid
stone warehouses line the shore for a mile or more, with a capacity
sufficient to hold in storage while necessary the enormous crop of sugar
that is produced in the province.
The presence of naphtha and many surface indications of oil deposits
south and east of the City of Cardenas have rendered that section
attractive as a field of exploration. Up to the present time, however,
no paying wells have been found, although many expert oil men are still
confident that the entire district from Cardenas to Itabo, and even
further east, will some day prove a valuable field for petroleum
products.
Midway between Cardenas and the City of Matanzas, just north of the
beautiful highway connecting these two cities, rises a range of low
serpentine hills, whose altitude is approximately five hundred feet.
These peculiarly symmetrical, round, loaf-like elevations above the
level surface of the surrounding country, are covered with a short
scrubby growth of thorny brush, and several varieties of maguey, of the
century plant family. Nothing else will grow on these serpentine hills;
hence in most respects they are decidedly unattractive. Since the
beginning of the international war, however, and the great demand for
chrome, some local mineralogists noted that little streams and rivulets
running down these hills left deposits of a peculiar black, glistening
sand. This sand, when analyzed, proved to come from the erosion of
chromite, the mineral so much in demand by the smelting industry of the
United States for hardening steel. In the spring of 1918 two well-known
mining engineers and geologists, with instructions from Washington,
visited several of these serpentine hills and found valuable deposits of
chromite that will probably furnish a very profitable source of this
much sought-for mineral and add greatly to the mining industry of this
province.
During the War of Independence, Generals Antonio Maceo and Maximo Gomez
led the invading columns of the Revolutionary Army into this Province
for the first time, in the fall of 1896. The great beds of dead leaves
lying between rows of cane, dried by the November winds, formed useful
material for the insurgent armies. The torch once applied to this vast
tinder box, with the prevailing easterly winds, all Matanzas was aflame.
Under cover of the great canopy of smoke which rose over the land, the
invading armies of the Occident swept rapidly on through the Province,
fighting only when compelled to, since the object of the invasion was to
carry the war into Havana and Pinar del Rio, where Revolution had never
before been known.
The vast cane fields that today line the railroad tracks on both sides,
bear no evidence of the ravages of Revolution, while handsome modern
mills, many of which have been erected since the beginning of the great
European War of 1914, have helped to feed the world with sugar that
could be obtained in sufficient quantities in no other place.
CHAPTER VII
PROVINCE OF SANTA CLARA
Probably in no part of Cuba is the topography more varied or the scenery
more beautiful than in the Province of Santa Clara, with its area of
8,250 square miles. Mountain, valley, table land and plain seem to be
thrown together in this, the central section of the Island, in reckless
yet picturesque confusion. The main system of mountains, extending
throughout the entire length of Cuba, disappears and reappears along the
northern coast of Santa Clara, thus permitting easy communication
between her rich central plains, covered with sugar estates, and her
harbors on the coast.
In the southwestern center of this province, we have another group of
mountains, foot hills and fertile valleys, in which are located some of
the old coffee estates of slavery days, established at the close of the
18th century, shortly after the negro uprising in Santo Domingo. These
cafetales, in the early half of the following century, made Cuban coffee
famous throughout the world. Nestling within this mountain cradle lies
the city of Trinidad, founded by Diego Velasquez in January, 1514. The
presence of gold, which the Indians panned from the waters of the Arimo
River, rendered Trinidad an important center for the early Spanish
conquerors during the first years of Cuban history. Sancti Spiritus,
lying on the edge of a fertile plateau, some forty-five miles to the
northeast, was founded a few months later.
Gold was the god of the Spanish conquerors, and to secure it was their
chief aim and ambition. Its discovery in this section of Santa Clara
brought hope to them and despair to the Indians, on whom the former
depended for labor with which to dig this precious metal from the earth.
Velasquez found the natives of Trinidad, like those of Oriente, a
gentle, confiding people, who asked only permission to live as they had
always done; tilling the soil, fishing, visiting and dancing, at which
they were most clever, an ideal and harmless life, suited to their
tastes. They grew corn, sweet potatoes, tobacco and yucca, from which
they made their cazaba bread, still used by the country people of the
present day. The Spaniards, however, soon changed this earthly dream of
ease and joy into one of arduous and repugnant toil, rather than to
submit to which, many of them committed suicide by poison and by
drowning.
Velasquez, enthusiastic over the locality of his newly founded city,
Trinidad, despatched at once one of his caravels to La Espanola in Santo
Domingo, with orders to bring back cattle, mares and other material
necessary to further the interests of the new settlement. And so it came
to pass that this section of southern Santa Clara, with its fertile
lands, beautiful scenery and promise of gold, played an important part
in the early colonization of the Island.
The desire to accumulate wealth through the toil of the unhappy Indians,
of whom the Spaniards made slaves, tempted even Las Casas, the great
defender of the Cuban aborigines, to accept assignment of them as a gift
from the crown, so that he might share something of the prosperity of
the early conquerors. It is reported that Las Casas repented this
departure from the path of rectitude and afterwards was led to indorse
the importation of African slaves in order to save the Cuban Indians
from extermination.
It was on the banks of the beautiful Arimo, some twenty-five miles east
of Trinidad, that this celebrated old historian and defender of the
faith maintained his ranch and other worldly possessions. Throughout the
sixteenth century this section of Santa Clara was an important station
on the line of travel between Santiago de Cuba and Havana.
Caravels leaving “Tierra Firme,” or the great continent of South
America, that had been discovered, frequently made this shore, on the
other side of the Caribbean, or were driven against it by storms, the
crews afterwards reaching Santiago de Cuba by travel overland, along the
south coast. Owing probably to the fact that all of this coast, from the
mouth of the Zaza River east to the Cauto, is low, covered with dense
jungle, reports reached Spain to the effect that the most of Cuba was a
swamp, which is far from the truth, since by far the greatest portion of
the Island is rolling and mountainous.
More than half of Santa Clara is hilly and broken, although owing to the
fertility of the soil this interferes but little with the agricultural
development of the Province.
The mountains of Santa Clara form the central zone of the great volcanic
upheaval that raised Cuba from the depths of the Caribbean. A broad belt
or double chain lies between the city of Santa Clara and Sancti
Spiritus. Another ridge, just south of the latter city, extends from the
Tunas de Zaza railroad to a point east of the Manatee River, near the
harbor of Cienfuegos. A second group lies between the valleys of the
rivers Arimao and Agabama, names taken from the original appellations
given them by the Indians.
The highest peak of this central region, called Potrerillo, is located
some seven miles north of Trinidad and reaches an altitude of about
3,000 feet. The mountains of this group extend northwest as far as the
Manicaragua Valley. A third group, lying southeast of the city of Santa
Clara, includes the Sierra del Escambray and the Sierra de Agabama. The
average altitude of these latter hills is only about a thousand feet.
Another range of hills begins at a point on the north coast of the
Province, twenty-five miles east of Sagua la Orande, and runs parallel
with the north shore of the Island into the Province of Camaguey, in the
western edge of which it disappears in the great level prairies of that
region. The highest peaks of this group are the Sierra Morena, west of
Sagua la Grande, and the Lomas de Santa Fe, near Camajuani. A little
further east they are known as the Lomas de Las Sabanas.
With the exception of the northern coast range, the other ranges of
Santa Clara have resulted from seismic forces, working apparently at
right angles to the main line of upheaval, leaving the tangled mass of
hills and valleys characteristic of this great central zone of the
Province. What is known as the schistose or pre-cretaceous limestones of
Trinidad, are supposed to be the oldest geological formations in the
Island of Cuba.
From the foot of the Sierra de Morena, near the north coast, a wide,
comparatively level plain sweeps across the province to the Caribbean
Sea, broken only at a few points by one or two abrupt hills, northeast
of Cienfuegos. Lying between the northern chain of mountains and the
coast, we find quite a broad area of rich level land washed by the salt
water lagoons of the north shore.
Again, in the extreme southeast corner of Santa Clara, is found another
large tract comprising perhaps a thousand square miles, located between
the Zaza and the two Jatabonico rivers that form the boundary between
the province and Camaguey.
Between the various chains of mountains and hills that cut the province
of Santa Clara into hundreds of parks and valleys, are exceptionally
rich lands, sufficiently level for cultivation. The Manicaragua Valley,
sloping towards the eastern edge of the Bay of Cienfuegos, is noted for
an excellent quality of tobacco grown in that region.
Of navigable rivers, owing to the short plains between the various
divides and the coast line, there are practically none in Santa Clara,
although many of the streams have considerable length, and are utilized
for floating logs to the coast during the rainy season. The Arimao,
with its falls, known as the Habanillo, is a picturesque and beautiful
stream, rising in the mountains of the southern central zone and flowing
in a westerly direction, until it empties into the Bay of Cienfuegos.
The Canao, another small stream with its source near the city of Santa
Clara, takes a southwesterly course and empties into the same bay. The
Damiji flows south to and into Cienfuegos Harbor. The Hanabana rises in
the northwestern extremity of the province, and, flowing south and west,
forms much of its western boundary until it empties into a little lake a
few miles north of the Bay of Cochinos, known as El Tesoro or Treasure
Lake. From this a continuation of the river known as the Gonzalo runs
due west throughout the entire length of the Cienaga de Zapata until it
empties into Broa Bay, an eastern extension of the Gulf of Batabano.
The Manatee River is a small stream with its origin in the center of the
nest of mountains that lie north of Trinidad; it flows south until it
empties into the Caribbean, midway between the ports of Casilda and
Tunas de Zaza. The Zaza River has its origin in a number of tributary
streams in the northeast corner of the Province, whence it wanders
through many twists and turns between hills and ridges until it finally
passes into the level lands of the southwest corner of the Province,
whence it eventually finds its way to the Caribbean. This stream,
although troubled with bars just beyond its mouth, has a considerable
depth for some twenty or more miles.
The most important river commercially in this Province, known as the
Sagua, rises a little west of the capital, Santa Clara, and flows in a
northerly direction until it empties into the Bay across from the Sagua
Light on the north coast. The city of Sagua la Grande, a small but
aristocratic place, is located about twenty miles from the mouth of the
river, and is the distributing point for that section of the province.
The river is navigable for small boats from the port of Isabella to the
city above. Another small stream, known as the Sagua la Chica, empties
into the Bay, about midway between La Isabella and the port of
Caibarien.
The southern coast of the province of Santa Clara, not including the
indentations of gulfs and bays, is approximately two hundred and fifty
miles long. This, of course, includes the great western extension of the
Zapata peninsula, whose shore line alone is one hundred miles in length.
The northern shore, bordering on the great lagoon that separates it from
the Atlantic, measures one hundred and fifty miles, forming thus for the
province an irregular parallelogram whose average width north to south
is about seventy-five miles.
In the center of the south coast we find the harbor of Cienfuegos, a
beautiful, perfectly land-locked, deep water bay, dotted with islands,
from whose eastern shores tall mountains loom up on the near horizon in
majestic beauty. One of the picturesque old forts of the early
eighteenth century on the west bank of the channel guards the approach
to the entrance of the harbor. Some ten miles back, located on a gently
sloping rise of ground, is the city of Cienfuegos, which next to
Santiago de Cuba is the most important shipping port on the southern
coast.
As far as definitely known, this port was first entered by the old
Spanish conqueror Ocampo, in 1508. No definite settlement was made
however, until 1819, when refugees from the insurrection of Santo
Domingo established a colony, from which rose the present city of
Cienfuegos. These involuntary immigrants from Santo Domingo were coffee
growers in their own country, and from their efforts splendid coffee
plantations were soon located in the rich valleys and on the mountain
sides that lay off towards the northeast. Large groves of coffee,
struggling under the dense forest shade, still survive in these
mountains, from which the natives of the district bring out on mule back
large crops of excellent coffee that have been grown under difficulties.
The city of Cienfuegos, or a Hundred Fires, is substantially built of
stone and brick, with wide streets, radiating from a large central
plaza, as in all Spanish cities the favorite meeting place where people
discuss the topics of the day, and listen to the evening concerts of the
municipal band. There are several social clubs in Cienfuegos and a very
good theatre, together with the city hall and hospital, which are
creditable to the community. The population is estimated at 36,000.
Sancti Spiritus is one of the seven cities founded by Diego Velasquez in
1514, and still bears every evidence of its antiquity. Its streets are
crooked and but little has been done to bring the city into line with
modern progress. This is owing largely to the fact of its being located
twenty-five miles back from the southern coast, and some ten miles off
the main railroad line, connecting the eastern and western sections of
the Island. It lies on the edge of the plateau, east of the mountain
group of southern Santa Clara. An old, tall-towered church still bears
the date of its founding by Velasquez. The city has a population of
approximately 15,000.
Santa Clara, the capital, is located almost in the center of the
province, well above the sea level. Its wide, well kept streets are
suggestive of health and prosperity. It was founded in 1689, and until
1900 was the eastern terminus of the main railroad line running east
from Havana. Rich fertile lands surround Santa Clara, while the mining
interests a little to the south, although not at present developed, give
every promise of future importance. Copper ore of excellent quality has
been found in a number of places between Santa Clara and Trinidad, while
silver, zinc and gold are found in the same zone, but up to the present
not in quantities that would justify the investment of capital in their
development. Ten thousand tons of asphalt are mined annually not far
from the city, and considerable tobacco is grown in the surrounding
country. The population is estimated at 15,000.
Sagua la Grande is located on the Sagua River, twenty miles up from the
port of La Isabella. It is a comparatively modern city, with wide
streets, and is the distributing point for the large sugar estates of
that section. Its population is 12,000.
The Port of Caibarien has grown into considerable importance owing to
the large amount of sugar brought in by the different railroads, for
storage in the big stone warehouses that line the wharf. Shoal water
necessitates lightering out some fifteen miles to a splendid anchorage
under the lee of Cayo Frances, on the outer edge of the great salt water
lagoon which envelops the entire north coast of Santa Clara. The
population is 7,000.
Five miles west, on the line between Caibarien and Santa Clara, is the
little old city of Remedios, that once occupied a place on the coast,
but was compelled by the unfriendly visits of pirates, as were many
other cities in Cuba in the olden days, to move back from the sea shore,
so that the inhabitants could be warned of an approaching enemy. Around
Remedios, large fields of tobacco furnish the chief source of income to
this city of six or seven thousand people.
The great “Cienaga de Zapata,” or Swamp of the Shoe, so called on
account of its strange resemblance to a heeled moccasin, although
geographically a part of the Province of Matanzas, has nevertheless
always been included in the boundaries of Santa Clara. Its length from
east to west is about sixty-five miles, with an average width from north
to south of twenty. Many plans, at different times since the first
Government of Intervention, have been formed for the drainage and
reclaiming of this great swamp of the Caribbean, whose area is
approximately twelve hundred square miles.
Nearly all of the surface is covered with hard wood timber, growing in a
vast expanse of water, varying in depth from one to three feet. Owing
to its lack of incline in any direction, reclamation of this isolated
territory is not easy, although the land, after the timber was removed
and the water once disposed of, would probably be very valuable.
Enormous deposits of peat and black vegetable muck, cover the western
shores of this peninsula and will, when utilized for either fuel,
fertilizer or gas production, be an important source of revenue, as will
its forests of hard wood, when transportation to the coast is rendered
possible.
Just east of the heel of the “Zapata” and some forty miles west of the
harbor of Cienfuegos, a deep, open, wide-mouthed roadstead projects from
the Caribbean some eighteen miles into the land, almost connecting with
the little lake known as “El Tesero” or Treasure, located at the most
southerly point of the Province of Matanzas. This roadstead, known as
the Bay of Cochinos, furnishes shelter from all winds excepting those
from the south, against which there is no protection, although abutments
thrown out from the shore might give artificial shelter, and thus render
it a fairly safe harbor.
Quite a large forest of valuable woods lies a few miles back from the
coast, between Cochinos Bay and the harbor of Cienfuegos. The broken
surface of the dog teeth rocks, however, upon which this forest stands,
renders the removal of logs difficult and dangerous, since iron shoes
will not protect the feet of draft animals used in the transport of wood
to the coast. A narrow strip of very good vegetable land, running only a
mile or so back from the beach, extends along this section of the coast
for about twenty-five miles, awaiting the intelligent efforts of some
future gardener to produce potatoes and other vegetables on a large
scale for spring shipments to Cienfuegos.
The great source of wealth of the Province of Santa Clara, of course, is
sugar, and to that industry nearly all of her industrial energies are at
present devoted. Seventy great sugar estates, with modern mills, are
located within the Province, yielding an annual production of
approximately eight million sacks of sugar, each weighing 225 pounds.
The fertility of Santa Clara soil has never been exhausted, and the
great network of railroads covering the Province furnishes easy
transportation to the harbors of Cienfuegos, Sagua and Caibarien.
Considerable amounts of sugar are also shipped from Casilda, the port of
Trinidad on the south coast, and some from Tunas de Zaza, at the mouth
of the Zaza River, thirty miles further east. The sugar produced in the
Province in 1918 was valued at eighty million dollars.
The tobacco of Santa Clara Province, although not of the standard
quality obtained in the western provinces of Pinar del Rio and Havana,
still forms a very important industry. That coming from the Manicaragua
Valley, northeast of Cienfuegos, has obtained a good reputation for its
excellent flavor.
Coffee culture in the mountains and valleys lying between Trinidad and
Sancti Spiritus, introduced by French refugees from the Island of Santo
Domingo the first years of the last century, was at one time a very
important industry. With the introduction of machinery for hulling and
polishing the beans, and with better facilities for the removal of the
crop to the coast, there is every reason to believe that this industry,
in the near future, will resume some of the importance which it enjoyed
half a century ago, or before the abolition of slavery rendered picking
the berries expensive, since this work can be done only by hand. The
growing of coffee offers a delightful and profitable occupation to large
families, since the work of gathering and caring for the berries is a
very pleasant occupation for women and children.
Owing to the fertility of the soil of Santa Clara, the abundance of
shade, rich grass, and plentiful streams of clear running water flowing
from the mountains, there is perhaps no section of Cuba that offers
greater inducement to the stock raiser.
The breeding of fine horses, of high-grade hogs, of angora goats, sheep
and milch cows, will undoubtedly, when the attention of capital is
called to the natural advantages of this section of the country, rival
even the sugar industry of the Province. In no part of the world could
moderate sized herds of fine animals be better cared for than on the
high table lands and rich valleys of Santa Clara.
Santa Clara bore its part in the trials and sufferings endured by the
patriots of Cuba in the War of Independence. The range of mountains
between Sancti Spiritus and Trinidad, during those four fearful years,
furnished a safe retreat for the Cuban forces, when the soldiers of
Spain, abundantly supplied with ammunition, which their opponents never
enjoyed, pressed them too hard. It was in these dense forests and rocky
recesses which Nature had provided that the great old chieftain, General
Maximo Gomez, in the last years of the war, defied the forces of Spain.
CHAPTER VIII
PROVINCE OF CAMAGUEY
According to the log of the _Santa Maria_, the first glimpse of the
Island of Cuba enjoyed by Christopher Columbus, sailing as he did in a
southwesterly course across the Bahama Banks, is supposed by many to
have been at some point along the northern coast of what is now known as
the Province of Camaguey. The area of this Province, including Cayos
Romano, Guajaba, Sabinal and Coco, is approximately 11,000 square miles.
The general trend of the coast lines is similar to those of the Province
of Santa Clara, and the length of each is approximately one hundred and
seventy-five miles. The average width of the province is eighty miles,
although between the southern extension of Santa Cruz del Sur and the
mouth of the harbor of Nuevitas, we have a hundred miles.
The same gentle graceful inoffensive natives were found in this section
of Cuba as those who first received the Spanish conquerors at Baracoa
and other places in the Island. Those of the great plains belonging to
this province were known as Camagueyanos, and although for many years
Spain called this section of the island Puerto Principe, the musical
Indian term stuck, and with the inauguration of the Republic in 1901,
the name of Camaguey was officially given to this part of Cuba.
In the year 1515, Diego Velasquez, with his fever for founding cities,
established a colony on the shore of the Bay of Nuevitas, and christened
it Puerto Principe. In those early days, however, there was no rest for
the unprotected, hence the first settlement was moved in a short time to
another locality not definitely known, but a year later the city was
permanently established in the center of the province, about fifty miles
from either shore, where it remains today, with many features of its
antiquity still in evidence.
The first of the old Spanish adventurers who succeeded in making himself
both famous and rich without flagrant trespass of law, was Vasco
Porcallo de Figueroa, one of the original settlers whom Velasquez left
in the City of Puerto Principe founded in 1515. This sturdy old pioneer
did not bother with gold mining, but succeeded in securing large grants
of land in the fertile plains of Camaguey, where he raised great herds
of cattle and horses, exercising at the same time a decidedly despotic
influence over the natives and everyone else in that region.
Vasco, although spending more than half of the year in the cities of
Puerto Principe and Sancti Spiritus, had a retreat of his own, probably
some place in the Sierra de Cubitas, where he held princely sway and
guarded his wealth from intrusive buccaneers and other ambitious
adventurers of those times. It was he who, meeting Hernando de Soto on
his arrival at Santiago de Cuba, escorted that famous explorer across
the beautiful rolling country of Camaguey, which he seemed to consider
as his own special domain, and finally accepted the position of second
in command in that unfortunate expedition of De Soto into the Peninsula
of Florida in 1539. Fighting the savage Seminoles was not however to his
taste, and the old man returned to Havana inside of a year, mounted his
horse and rode home, firmly convinced, he said, that Camaguey was the
only country for a white man to live and die in.
Even with the removal of the capital far into the interior, the
peacefully inclined citizens were not free from molestation and
unwelcome visits. During the middle of the seventeenth century, the
famous English corsair, Henry Morgan, afterwards Governor of Jamaica,
paid his respects to several Cuban cities, including Puerto Principe.
In 1668 he crossed the Caribbean with twelve boats and seven hundred
English followers, intending to attack Havana. He afterward changed his
mind, however, and landing in the Bay of Santa Maria began his march on
the capital of Camaguey.
The inhabitants made a desperate resistance, the Mayor and many of his
followers being killed, but the town was finally compelled to surrender
and submit to being sacked, during which process many women and children
were burned to death in a church behind whose barred doors they had
taken refuge. Morgan finally retired from Puerto Principe with his booty
of $50,000 and five hundred head of cattle.
During the Ten Years’ War the province of Camaguey became the center of
active military operations. The inhabitants of this section had
descended from the best families of Spain, who had emigrated from the
Mother Country centuries before. They were men of refinement and
education, men whose prosperity and contact with the outside world had
made life impossible under the oppressive laws of the Spanish monarchy.
Ignacio Agramonte, a scion of one of the best known families of
Camaguey, was a born leader of men, and soon found himself in command of
the Cuban forces. The struggle was an ill advised one, because the odds
in numbers were too great, and the resources of the Cubans were so
limited that success was impossible. The effort of General Agramonte and
his followers, all men of note and social standing, was a brave one, and
the sacrifice of the women, the mothers, sisters and daughters, of that
period, were not surpassed by any country in its fight for liberty.
But the unfortunate death of General Agramonte, and the long uphill
struggle, brought about the inevitable. The treaty of Zanjon in 1878 was
ultimately forced upon the revolutionists, many of whom afterwards
emigrated with their families to the United States, where some have
remained as permanent citizens of that Republic; among others, Doctor
Enrique Agramonte, a brother of Ignacio, who after fighting through the
ten tiresome years, left his country, never to return.
In the more recent struggles for Cuban liberty, known as the War of
Independence, Camaguey again took a prominent part and General Maximo
Gomez, who had succeeded Agramonte at his death, and General Antonio
Maceo, had the satisfaction of carrying the campaign of the Occident,
from Oriente, across Camaguey, where they defeated the Spanish forces in
several battles, and in the winter of 1896 led their victorious troops
in three parallel invading columns, to the extreme western end of the
Island. Thus the revolution was carried for the first time in history
beyond the Jucaro and Moron Trocha, or fortified ditch, near the western
border of Camaguey.
Narrow crooked streets still prevail in some parts of Camaguey and the
erection of modern buildings, that has become so common in Havana, has
not reached this quiet old municipality of the plains which still lives
and breathes an atmosphere smacking of centuries past.
Topographically, although the surface of Camaguey, in altitude and
contour, varies much, it is, as a whole, far more level than any other
province in the Island. Great fertile savannas and grass covered plains
predominate in almost every part. The potreros, or grazing lands, of
Camaguey, have made it famous as the breeding place par excellence for
horses and cattle, and its equal is not found anywhere in the West
Indies.
In spite of the comparatively level nature of the country, with the
exception of the low, heavily covered forest belt that sweeps along the
entire southern coast, extending back from ten to twenty-five miles, the
rest of the province partakes more of the character of an elevated
plateau, interspersed with low ranges of mountains and foothills, which
give pleasing diversity to the general aspect of the country.
The longest range in Camaguey is a continuation of the great central
chain, that follows the trend of the Island. It begins with a prominent
peak known as the Loma Cunagua, which rises abruptly from the low level
savannas ten miles east of the town of Moron in the northwestern corner
of the Province. A little further southeast, the range again appears and
finally develops into the Sierra de Cubitas, which follows the direction
of the north coast, terminating finally in the picturesque peak of
Tubaque, on the Maximo River.
A small stream, known as the Rio Yaguey, sweeps west along the southern
edge of this ridge and finally breaks through its western end, emptying
into the lagoon or Bay of Cayo Romano. A parallel range of lower hills,
with various spurs, lies a little south of the main Sierra de Cubitas.
The bountifully watered prairies, valleys and parks south and west of
these hills form the ideal grazing ground of the Pearl of the Antilles.
Several large herds of fine hogs and cattle, recently established in
this section, will soon play an important part in the meat supply of
Cuba.
As in Santa Clara, an independent group, or nest, of low peaks and
beautiful forest covered hills, occupies the southeastern center of the
Province of Camaguey. The lands in this section are very fertile and the
delightful variety of hill, valley and plain renders it a very
attractive country in which to make one’s permanent home. Several
elevations of moderate altitude, known as lomas, rise from the more
level country, a little to the north of the above mentioned district,
and form something of a connecting link between the Najasa, or mountains
of the southwest, and the Sierra de Cubitas of the north shore.
As before mentioned, several chains of the north coast, originating in
Santa Clara, sweep over and terminate in Camaguey, some ten or fifteen
miles east of the boundary line. The mountains of this district, owing
to the fact that they were distant from the coast, have never been
denuded of their virgin forests, and with the opening of the Cuba
Railroad, connecting Santa Clara with Santiago de Cuba on the south
coast, and the Bay of Nipe on the north, a considerable quantity of
valuable timber has been taken out within recent years.
Camaguey has no rivers of importance, although numerous streams flowing
from the central plateaus, toward both the northern and southern coast,
are utilized during the rainy season to float logs to shipping points.
These short streams, varying from ten to thirty miles in length, each
form basins or valleys of rich grass lands that are always in demand for
stock raising. Between the Jatobonico del Sur, which forms a part of the
western boundary of the Province, and the Rio Jobobo, which forms the
southeastern boundary, are more than a dozen streams emptying into the
Caribbean. Among these are Los Guiros, the Altamiro, the Najasa and the
Sevilla.
The Najasa has its origin a little south of the City of Camaguey, and
passes through a heavily timbered country, carrying many logs to the
landing of Santa Cruz del Sur. A railroad was surveyed from the latter
city to the capital some years ago, but has never been completed.
On the north coast, between the Jatibonico del Norte, which forms the
northwestern boundary, and the Puentes Grandes, forming the
northeastern, we have some ten or a dozen short streams, among the most
important of which are the Rio de los Perros, emptying into the Lagoon
of Turaguanao; the Rio Caonao emptying into the lagoon of Romano; the
Jiguey, cutting through the western extremity of the Sierra de Cubitas
and emptying into the eastern end of the above mentioned lake; the Rio
Maximo, rising on the south side of the chain, sweeping around its
eastern end and emptying into the Bay of Sabinal; and the Saramaguacan,
one of the longest in the province, rising in the mountains of the
Najasa, whence it flows in a northeasterly direction and empties into
the harbor of Nuevitas. Both the Chambas and the Rio Caonao, when not
obstructed by mud bars at their mouths, are navigable for light draft
schooners and sloops, for some twelve or fifteen miles into the
interior.
At no point on the south Coast of Camaguey can be found any harbor
worthy of the name, although at Jucaro, Santa Cruz del Sur and Romero,
considerable timber and sugar are shipped from piers that extend out
into the shallow waters of the Jucaro and Guacanabo gulfs.
The long system of salt water bays or lagoons, beginning at Punta Hicaco
in Matanzas, continues along the entire north coast of Camaguey and
terminates in the beautiful harbor of Nuevitas. The lagoons of Camaguey
are formed by a series of keys or islands, of which Cayo Romano,
seventy-five miles in length, with an average width of ten miles, is the
most important.
Although most of the area of this island is covered with a dense jungle
of low trees, the eastern end rises to quite a high promontory, with
more or less arable land, planted at the present time in henequen, and
yielding a very good revenue to the owner. An unknown number of wild
ponies, variously estimated at from six hundred to two thousand, inhabit
the jungles of Cayo Romano, living largely on the leaves of the forest,
and consequently degenerating in size and form to such an extent that
they have a very little commercial value.
Cayo Coco, really an extension of Romano, reaches out to the westward
some fifteen miles further, while the Island of Guajaba, separated by a
narrow pass with only three feet of water, incloses the beautiful harbor
of Guanaja. Sabinal, some 25 miles in length by ten or twelve in width,
forms the northern shore of the harbor of Nuevitas. On the latter key
there is fairly good grazing ground and much territory that eventually
will probably be planted in henequen, as is the promontory of Nuevitas,
just north of the city of that name.
These salt water lakes or bays are often twenty-five miles or more in
length by ten wide and with an average depth of fifteen feet.
Unfortunately, not only are they separated by narrow passes seldom
carrying over three feet, but exit to the ocean for any craft drawing
over five or six feet is very difficult to find.
The harbor of Nuevitas, in the northwestern corner of the Province, is
one of the finest in the Island. Its width varies from three to ten
miles, while its length is approximately twenty, carrying excellent deep
water anchorage throughout almost its entire extent. A peculiar
river-like opening, six miles in length, deep and narrow, connects it
with the Atlantic Ocean.
In proportion to its size, the province of Camaguey has less railroad
mileage than any other in the Island. Until 1902, when Sir William Van
Horn, late President of the Cuba Company, connected the City of Santa
Clara by rail with Santiago de Cuba, there were but two railroads in
that section of the country. One, the Camaguey & Nuevitas Road,
connected the capital with practically the only shipping point on the
north coast. Another, built many years before, for military purposes,
connected the town of San Ferrando, on the north coast, with Jucaro on
the south coast, and ran parallel with what was known as the Trocha, a
military ditch about eighty kilometers in length, with two story
concrete forts at each kilometer, and low dug-outs, or shooting boxes,
located midway between the principal forts. The ground was cleared on
either side of the railroad for a kilometer, while on both sides a
perfect network of barbed wire, fastened by staples to the top of wood
stakes, rendered it difficult for either infantry or cavalry to cross
from one side to the other. This modern military device was established
by the Spanish forces in 1895, so as to prevent the Cubans from carrying
the revolution into Santa Clara and the western provinces.
As in the other provinces of Cuba, cane growing and the making of sugar
forms the chief industry, although, owing to the wonderfully rich
potreros, or grazing lands of Camaguey, the raising of live stock in the
near future will doubtless rival all other sources of wealth in that
section.
There are twenty sugar mills in the province with a production of
approximately 3,000,000 bags. The two mills at Las Minas and Redencion,
between Camaguey and Nuevitas, have been in operation for many years,
but with the opening up of the Van Horn railroad a new impetus was given
to sugar production, and during the past ten years, some eighteen new
mills have been established at various points along the railroad where
lands were fertile and comparatively cheap.
A line known as the North Shore Railroad of Cuba, connecting the city of
Nuevitas with Caibarien, in Santa Clara Province, some 200 miles west,
was surveyed and capital for it was promised, in 1914. The breaking out
of the European war delayed work on the road, but its completion can be
assured in the near future.
Several large sugar estates have been located along the line that will
open up a territory rich in soil and natural resources. Important iron
mines, too, in the foothills of the Sierra de Cubitas, are waiting only
this transportation to add an important revenue to the Province. A great
deal of valuable timber will be available when the line is in operation.
Owing to the large beds of valuable ore belonging to the mineral zone of
the Cubitas, it is quite probable that the mining industry will some day
rank next to that of general farming in Camaguey, although as far as
natural advantages are concerned, there is no industry which in the end
can rival that of stock raising.
During 1895, the first year of the War of Independence, over a million
head of sleek, fat cattle were registered in the Province of Camaguey,
where the grasses are so rich that an average of seventy head can be
kept in condition throughout the year on a hundred acres of land. The
two grasses commonly found in Camaguey were both brought from abroad. Of
these, the Guinea, imported from western Africa, grows luxuriantly on
all the plateaus and higher lands of the province, while the Parana, a
long running grass from the Argentine, does best in the lower lands and
savannas. One stock man of Camaguey at least, has succeeded in producing
splendid fields of alfalfa, from which seven or eight cuttings are taken
each year.
Fruits of all kinds, especially oranges and pineapples, grow luxuriantly
in this Province, but owing to the lack of transportation, the railroad
haul to Havana being practically prohibitory, shipments of fruit and
vegetables to the northern markets are confined almost entirely to a
steamer which leaves the harbor of Nuevitas once every two weeks.
Owing perhaps to the rich and comparatively cheap lands offered by the
Province of Camaguey, more Americans are said to have settled in this
section than in any other part of Cuba. The first colony, called La
Gloria, was located in 1900 on the beautiful bay of Guanaja or Turkey
Bay, some five or six miles back from the shore. The location, although
healthful and in a productive country, was most unfortunate as far as
transportation facilities were concerned. Two hundred or more families
made clearings in the forests of the Cubitas, and there made for
themselves homes under adverse circumstances. The worst of these was the
isolation of the spot, and lack of communication with any city or town
nearer than Camaguey, some forty-five miles southwest, or Nuevitas,
forty miles east; without railroads, wagon roads, or even water
communication by vessels drawing over seven feet.
The Zanja, or ditch, some three miles in length, connecting the harbor
of Nuevitas with Guanaja Bay, was recently dredged to a depth of three
or four feet, so that launches can now pass from La Gloria to Nuevitas,
but aside from the fertility of the soil, there was but little to
commend La Gloria as a place of permanent residence. Only grit and
perseverance on the part of sturdy Americans has sustained them during
the past sixteen years. But they concluded to make the best of the
situation in which they found themselves, and are producing nearly
everything needed for their subsistence. A considerable amount also of
farm produce and fruit will soon be shipped to northern markets from the
harbor of Nuevitas. A very creditable agricultural fair is held in La
Gloria each winter, and the contents of the weekly paper seems to bear
every evidence of progress and content. In spite of adverse conditions,
the people of La Gloria have prospered and enjoy there many comforts not
found in colder climates, and with the opening up of the North Shore
Road, this really attractive section of country, which includes several
smaller colonies scattered along the water front, will be brought in
close touch once more with the civilization of the outside world.
Another colony, also unfortunate in its location, was established at
Ceballos on the Jucaro and Moron railroad, about eight miles north of
its junction with the Cuba Company road at Ciego de Avila. The soil was
well adapted to the growth of citrus fruit, and large groves were laid
out by Americans, some ten or twelve years ago, along the line of the
old clearing that bordered the Trocha. The groves, as far as nature
could provide, were successful, but the excessive freight rates between
Ceballos and either the city of Havana or the Bay of Nipe, have proved
discouraging to the original settlers.
Several smaller colonies have been located along the Cuba Company’s
railway and the line connecting the city of Camaguey with Nuevitas, but
again the long distance between these points and large markets, either
local or foreign, have worked to the disadvantage of the growers. If
stock raising instead of fruit growing had occupied the time and
attention of these American pioneers, more satisfactory results would
have been obtained.
Nuevitas, located on the southern shore of the harbor of that name, is a
modern city with wide streets and a population of approximately 7,000
people. Its location, at the terminus of the Camaguey Railroad, and on
the only harbor of the north coast, renders it a place of considerable
commercial importance, since large quantities of sugar, lumber and
livestock leave the port during the year, while coasting steamers of
local lines touch every few days.
Camaguey, the capital of the Province, so long known as Puerto Principe,
has a population of about 45,000 people. The natives of this city have
long enjoyed and merited an enviable reputation for integrity,
intelligence and social standing, traits that were inherited from a
number of excellent families who came to Cuba from Southern Spain in the
early colonial days. The rich grazing lands of Camaguey and the
salubrious climate, not only of the north coast, but of the great
plateaus of the interior, were very attractive to the better class of
pioneers who came over in the sixteenth century in search of peace,
permanent homes and wealth based on legitimate industry.
There is no section of the Island more highly esteemed for the integrity
of its people than that of the isolated, aristocratic city of Camaguey,
such as the families of Agramonte, Betancourt, Cisneros, Luaces,
Sanchez, Quesada and Varona. Nearly all these families through the long
painful Ten Years’ War suffered privations, followed by exile and loss
of everything but pride, dignity and good names.
Most of them made permanent homes in the United States, but many of
their children, educated in the land that gave their parents shelter,
have returned to their native country and occupied positions of trust
and responsibility in the new Republic.
CHAPTER IX
PROVINCE OF ORIENTE
The Province of Oriente, called by Spain Santiago de Cuba, forms the
eastern extremity of the Island, and is not only the largest in area,
but, owing to the exceptional fertility of its soil, the great number of
magnificent harbors, the size and extent of its plains and valleys,
together with the untold wealth of its mines of iron, copper, manganese,
chrome and other minerals, it must be considered industrially as one of
the most important provinces of Cuba.
Its area consists of 14,213 square miles, its form is triangular, Cape
Maysi, the eastern terminus of the island, forming the apex of the
triangle, while the base, with a length of about one hundred miles,
extends from Cabo Cruz along the Manzanillo coast to the north shore.
One side of the triangle, formed by the south coast, has a length of
nearly 250 miles, while another, without counting the convolutions of
the sea coast, borders for two hundred miles on the Atlantic.
Mountain chains follow both the north and south shores of Oriente, while
about one-third of its area, which composes the eastern section, is a
great tangle or nest of irregular mountains, flat top domes, plateaus,
and foothills, with their intervening basins, parks and valleys.
While the main chain, or mountainous vertebrae, seems to disappear in
the Sierra de Cubitas of Camaguey, it reappears again, just west of the
Bay of Manati, in the extreme northern part of the province, and extends
along the north shore at broken intervals, until it finally melts into
that great eastern nest of volcanic upheavals that forms the eastern end
of the Island. From this north shore chain, innumerable spurs are thrown
off to the southward between Manati and Nipe Bay, reaching sometimes
twenty-five or thirty miles back into the interior.
[Illustration: A MOUNTAIN ROAD, ORIENTE]
Along the southern shore of Oriente from Cabo Cruz to Cabo Maysi,
ascending at times abruptly from the beach, and at others dropping back
a little, we have the longest and tallest mountain range of Cuba. One
peak, known as Turquino, located midway between the city of Santiago de
Cuba and Cape Cruz, reaches an altitude of 8,642 feet.
From the crest of this range, known as the Sierra Maestra, the great
network of spurs are thrown off to the north toward the valley of the
Cauto, while between these mountain offshoots several of the Cauto’s
most important tributaries, including the Cautill, Contraemaestre and
Brazos del Cauto, have their sources.
Most of the mountainous districts are still covered with dense tropical
forests that contain over three hundred varieties of hard woods, the
cost of transportation alone preventing their being cut and marketed.
The interior of the Province, from the Mayari River west, is the largest
valley in Cuba, with a virgin soil marvellously rich through which runs
the Cauto River, emptying into the Caribbean Sea, a little north of the
City of Manzanillo. This stream, with its tributaries, forms the most
extensive waterway in the Island.
A tributary on the north known as the Rio Salado, rising south of the
city of Holguin, flows in a westerly direction and empties into the
Cauto just above the landing of Guamo, some fifteen miles from the
Caribbean. Small streams empty into all of the numerous deep water gulfs
and bays that indent the north coast of Oriente. Each serves its purpose
in draining adjacent lands, but none, with the exception of the Mayari,
is navigable. This stream, the most important perhaps of the north
coast, rises in the eastern center of the Province, cutting its way west
along the base of the Crystal Mountains, until it reaches their western
end, whence it makes a sharp turn to the north, and after tumbling over
the falls, gradually descends and empties into Nipe Bay.
The Sagua de Tanamo and its tributaries drain quite a large basin east
of the Mayari, and empty into the Gulf of Tanamo. The Moa, a short
stream, rises not far from the Tanamo but flows north to the ocean. The
Toa, flowing east, cuts through valleys for fifty miles, and finally
empties into the Atlantic thirty miles west of Cape Maysi.
But little is known of this river; and like many of the streams which
for countless centuries have been cutting their tortuous ways through
the table lands and gorges of the eastern part of Oriente, its shores
have seldom been visited by human beings since the Siboney Indians, who
once made that section their home, gave up trying to be Christians and
took their chances of happiness on the other side of the “Great
Divide.”
The Harbor of Puentes Grandes, that separates Oriente from Camaguey on
the north coast, is sufficiently deep for ordinary draft vessels, but
owing to sand spits and coral reefs that extend for some distance out
into the Atlantic, and to the fact that good harbors lie within a few
miles on either side, commerce up to the present has never sought this
place as a port of entry.
About twelve miles east, however, we have the Bay of Manati with a
fairly easy entrance and an elbow-like channel that will give anchorage
to vessels drawing fathoms. On the shore of Manati Bay has been
established a very fine sugar mill surrounded by thousands of acres of
cane grown in the Yarigua Valley. Sugar is exported from this port
directly to the United States.
Within the next twenty-five miles, east, are found two well protected
harbors, Malagueta and Puerto Padre. The latter is the deeper and more
important, owing to the large basin of fertile lands immediately
surrounding it. Puerto Padre has excellent anchorage and belongs to the
type of narrow mouthed bays so common to the north coast of Cuba.
On the eastern shore of Puerto Padre are located two of the Cuban
American Sugar Company’s largest mills, “El Chaparra” and “Las
Delicias,” each with a capacity of 600,000 bags of sugar per year. These
two mills are considered, both in location and equipment, among the
finest in the world. The sugar, of course, is shipped directly from
Puerto Padre to New York, rendering them independent of railroad
transportation, and consequently large revenue producing properties.
General Mario Menocal, General Manager of the Cuban American Company’s
mills, began his great industrial career at Chaparra, which he left to
assume the Presidency of the Republic in 1913. It is a very neat little
city, with wide avenues, comfortable homes, good schools and many of the
conveniences of much larger places. President Menocal visits Chaparra
several times during the grinding season each year.
Some thirty-five miles east we have the large open roadstead of Jibara,
with sufficient depth of water to provide for shipping, but with very
little protection from northerly gales. On the western side of this
harbor is located the city of Jibara, which forms the shipping place for
the rich Holguin district, some thirty miles south.
Some forty miles further east, around the bold Punta de Lucrecia, we
have another fine, deep-water, perfectly protected harbor, known as the
Bay of Banes, whose rich valleys lying to the south and west contribute
cane to the Ingenio Boston, belonging to the United Fruit Company, whose
output is approximately half a million bags of sugar per year.
Southeast of Banes, about fifteen miles, we reach the entrance of the
Bay of Nipe, considered one of the finest and best protected harbors in
the world. Its entrance is sufficiently wide for ships to pass in or out
at ease, while the bay itself furnishes forty-seven miles of deep water
anchorage.
Nipe Bay is a little round inland sea, measuring ten miles from north to
south by fifteen from east to west. The Mayari River flows into the bay
from the southern shore and furnishes, for light draft boats,
transportation to the city, some six miles up the river. On the north
shore of the bay is located the town of Antilla, terminus of the
northern extension of the Cuba Company’s lines, and one of the most
important shipping places on the north coast. On the Bay of Nipe is
located the Ingenio Preston, one of the finest sugar mills in Cuba,
contributing 371,000 bags in the year 1918 to the sugar stock of the
world.
Some seven or eight miles east of the entrance of Nipe lies another
large, beautiful, land-locked bay, or rather two bays, separated by a
tongue of land extending into the entrance of the harbor and known as
Lavisa and Cabonico, both of which are deep, although the first
mentioned, with a length of eight miles and a width of six, is the
larger of the two. The shores of both these harbors are covered with
magnificent hardwood forests, most of which have remained intact. The
lands surrounding them are rich, and will, within a very short time,
probably be converted into large sugar estates. These beautiful virgin
forests, with their marvellously fertile soil, surrounding the harbors
of Lavisa and Cabonico, might have been purchased ten years ago at
prices varying from eight to twelve dollars an acre. In 1918 they were
sold at fifty dollars per acre, and were easily worth twice that sum.
Fifteen miles further east we have another fine deep-water harbor known
as Tanamo. Its entrance is comparatively easy, and although the bay is
very irregular in shape, the channel furnishes good anchorage for fairly
deep draft vessels. The Sagua de Tanamo River, whose tributaries drain
the rich valleys south of the bay, has its source in the great nest of
mountains in the eastern end of Oriente.
Baracoa, some twenty miles east, is a small, picturesque anchorage, but
with almost no protection against northerly winds, and for this reason
cannot rank as a first class port, although a good deal of shipping
leaves it during the year, the cargoes consisting mostly of cocoanuts
and bananas, for which this district has always been quite a center of
production in Oriente.
It was on this harbor that Diego Velasquez made the first settlement in
Cuba, in the year 1512. He called it the city of Nuestra Senora de la
Asuncion, but the original Indian name of Baracoa has remained attached
to the spot where Spanish civilization began in the Pearl of the
Antilles.
It was here that General Antonio Maceo with a little band of thirty men
landed from Costa Rica in March, 1895, and began the War of
Independence, which ultimately led to the formation of the Republic of
Cuba.
Rounding Cape Maysi at the extreme eastern end of Cuba, and following
the south coast, no harbor is found until we reach Guantanamo Bay,
nearly a hundred miles west. This magnificent harbor was first visited
by Columbus on his second voyage when he sailed along the south coast in
1494. The celebrated navigator referred to it as “Puerto Grande,” but
the original Indian name of Guantanamo again replaced that of the white
invaders.
The Bay of Guantanamo is considered one of the finest harbors in the
world. It was selected from all the ports of Cuba by Captain Lucien
Young in 1901 as the best site for a naval station in the West Indies
for the United States Navy. Arrangements were later made between Cuba
and authorities in Washington, by which it was formally ceded for that
purpose. Not only is Guantanamo a large bay, extending some fifteen
miles up into the interior, but its mouth is sufficiently wide and deep
to permit three first-class men of war to enter or leave the harbor
abreast at full speed, without danger of collision or contact with the
channel’s edge on either side.
The Guantanamo River, after draining the great wide valleys that lie to
the north and west, enters the Bay on the western shore. The City of
Guantanamo, some fifteen miles back, is connected by rail with the
coast, and also with the city of Santiago de Cuba, fifty miles further
west. It was founded toward the end of the eighteenth century by French
refugees from Santo Domingo, and has at present a population of 28,000.
Eleven large sugar estates are located in the Guantanamo valley, which
is one of the largest cane producers in Oriente.
Fifty miles further west we find the harbor of Santiago de Cuba,
absolutely land-locked, and probably the most beautiful of all in the
West Indies. Its entrance, between two headlands, is narrow and might
easily escape observation unless the passing vessel were less than a
mile from shore. Rounding the high promontory of the east, with its
old-fashioned fort of the middle eighteenth century, one enters a
magnificent bay, dotted with palm covered islands, gradually opening
and spreading out towards the north. Its winding channels present
changing views at every turn, until the main or upper bay is reached, on
the northern shore of which is located the city of Santiago de Cuba,
that for half a century after its founding in 1515 was the capital of
Cuba.
Santiago played a very important part in the early history, or colonial
days, of the Pearl of the Antilles, passing through the trials and
tribulations that befell the first white settlers in this part of the
Western Hemisphere. Not many years after its founding, it was sacked and
burned by French corsairs.
Santiago was one of the few cities in all Cuba that retained the names
given them by their Spanish founders. It was here in June, 1538, that
Hernando de Soto, appointed Governor by the King of Spain, recruited men
for that unfortunate expedition into the great unknown territory across
the Gulf, which cost him his life, although his name became immortal as
the discoverer of the Mississippi River.
Santiago became famous in American history through the destruction of
Cervera’s fleet by Admirals Sampson and Schley, and the capitulation of
the city to United States forces in July, 1898. It has a population of
about 45,000. The city lies on the southern slope of the plateau, rising
from the bay towards the interior. Its streets are well laid out and
fairly wide, with several charming little parks, or plazas, such as are
found in all Latin American cities.
The commercial standing of the city is based on the heavy shipments of
sugar and ores, iron, copper and manganese mined in the surrounding
mountains. The building of the Cuba Company’s railroad connecting it
with the other end of the Island and with the Bay of Nipe on the north
coast, did much towards increasing the importance of Santiago. The
outlying districts of the city are reached by a splendid system of
automobile drives, surveyed and begun at the instigation of General
Leonard Wood, then governor of the Province, in 1900. These well-built,
macadamized carreteras wind around hills and beautiful valleys, many of
which have a historic interest, especially the crest of the Loma San
Juan, or San Juan Hill, captured by the American forces in the summer of
1898. A unique kiosk has been built on the summit of this hill from
which a view of El Caney, over toward the east, and many other points
which figured in that sharp, brief engagement, are indicated on brass
tablets, whose pointed arrows, together with accompanying descriptions,
give quite a comprehensive idea of the battle which loosened the grip of
the Spanish monarchy on the Pearl of the Antilles, and made Cuban
liberty possible for all time to come. In the valley just below is a
beautiful Ceiba tree, under which the peace agreement between American
and Spanish commanders was concluded in July, 1898. The grounds are
inclosed by an iron fence with various inscriptions instructive and
interesting.
Santiago is named in honor of the Patron Saint of Spain, and the
Archbishop of Cuba, in keeping with custom and early traditions, still
makes his headquarters in this picturesque and historically interesting
capital of the Province of Oriente.
Between Santiago and Cabo Cruz, one hundred and fifty miles west, is but
one harbor worthy of mention, the Bay of Portillo, a rather shallow
although well protected indentation of the south coast. On the rich
level lands at the base of the mountains back of and around the harbor
of Portillo, grow enormous fields of cane, feeding the mill on the
western side of the bay. Several other indentations of the south coast
furnish landing places from which either timber or agricultural products
may be shipped, when southerly winds do not endanger the anchorage. A
small harbor known as Media Luna, between Cabo Cruz and Manzanillo,
forms the shipping place of the Ingenio Isabel, which produced 175,000
sacks of sugar in 1918.
The somewhat shallow harbor of Manzanillo is located at the mouth of a
small stream in the Sierra Maestra. Vessels of more than fifteen feet
draft, find the Manzanillo channel somewhat difficult. The city itself
is comparatively modern, with wide streets regularly planned and laid
out. Its population is about 18,000, although the municipal district
contains some 35,000 inhabitants. Manzanillo is one of the chief
shipping ports and distributing points for the rich valley of the Cauto,
the largest valley by far in Cuba. This river during the rainy season is
navigable for river boats for some hundred miles to the interior. Bars
that have formed near its mouth on the west shore of Guacanabo Gulf
prevent the navigation of deeper craft.
The City of Bayamo, located on the Bayamo River, a tributary of the
Cauto, is connected by the southern branch of the Cuba Company’s
Railroad with Manzanillo, twenty-five miles west, and also with Santiago
de Cuba. It was one of the original seven cities founded by Diego
Velasquez in 1514. In the early days of colonial occupation, Bayamo
passed through the same period of trials and tribulations that afflicted
nearly all of the early settlements in Cuba.
Historically it has never been prominent as the birth-place of struggles
in which the natives of Cuba endeavored to throw off the yoke of Spain.
It was the home of Cespedes, the first revolutionary President of the
Island, who freed his slaves in 1868, and with a small force of men
raised the cry known as the “Crita de Baire,” that started the Ten
Years’ War.
Again, in February, 1895, General Bartolome Maso with his son and a few
loyal companions left
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